India has Set an Example in Handling with Natural Calamity

  When the lockdown was declared for the first time in March 2020, some biased journalists were in the front to mock and ridicule the Prime Minister for taking such a step. These journalists relish in anti-Modi stories and find fault in him, where there is none. Obviously, these journalists are either being funded by some foreign forces, which are inimical to India in general and Modi in particular. They are so powerful that with the active support of some forces they can capitulate any government with their orchestrated echo system.

  There used to be regular debates on many TV channels, where all the time government was blamed to have not preparing contingency plans to deal with the pandemic. On NDTV, its proprietor-editor used to anchor a programme on the calamity of the Corona and had made it a point to always take an anti-government stand on the issue of handling Corona. All debaters, including some Doctors, used to agree on one point that ‘more people would die of hunger than Corona’. Now after two years one finds that these prophets of doom have been proved wrong. They look forlorn and depressed.  Deft handling of the grim situation by the government has shown to the whole world that not even a single person died because of hunger or starvation. The entire world has seen with wonder and amazement the way the Indian Government pulled all socks to face the pandemic and emerged much stronger. The free ration was provided to eighty crore populaces, month after month during the Corona, which staved them off the death from starvation.

 However, the latest and the first decision of the 2-0 Yogi government to continue to distribute free ration for three more months to over twenty crore people of Uttar Pradesh is not good for the state. The situation has returned to normal, and the Corona cases have come down next to nil therefore, the free ration supply could have been stopped. Harvesting of Rabi crop will start in another fortnight and the farmers will have enough food grains in their homes, so, the free ration supply could have been extended, at the most, for one more month. Freebies are good to tide over a crisis, but it should not be made a norm because people become lazy.

 Think of the days of March 2020, when everybody was scared. There was an acute shortage of masks, sanitisers, which are now available in plenty. Apart from it, the government asked the pharmaceutical companies to produce enough medicines to be distributed among Corona patients. Our scientists developed the two most effective vaccines in record time, which could not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the government. The country certainly suffered the crisis of Oxygen during the second wave of Corona but that was also solved on a war footing. Thus, the sterling performance of the government in handling the Corona cases won all-around accolades and appreciation for it. It was reflected in the recent assembly elections, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where the Yogi government registered the spectacular victory.

  The biggest causality during the Corona has been the media. The damage has been caused to the profession by the paid journalists, who were overactive in spreading false and fake news to defame the government and demoralise the people. Some journalists and most of them were unemployed UTubers, who had made it a point to report against the government what may. Many of the well-known faces took the mikes in their hands and shamelessly ran the anti-Modi agenda and interviewed only those people, who have been supporters of any political party. A lady journalist, who is known for her wheeling and dealing in the UPA government and was awarded Padma Award, took a mike in her hand and started inciting the migrant workers to move away from the places of their work to their home villages. The reason for it was given since they had nothing to eat, therefore they were moving away from the places of work. She forgot the fact that the government did not waste a day in declaring the relief of free ration to one and all. Such journalists were responsible for creating chaos and anarchy on the roads, knowing fully well that trains and buses were suspended during Corona. Without losing any time, however, the government made arrangements for the buses to transport the migrant workers to their destination free of cost.

  Another remarkable decision of the government was to distribute free ration across the board, without any discrimination on the ground of the region, religion, or caste. It will not be surprising that the Muslims have been the biggest beneficiary of the free ration and many other schemes like Ujjwala, Ijjat Ghar Yojna or PM Awas Yojna. It is a different matter that the anti-Modi and Yogi feelings have been drilled in their minds to such an extent that they still remain their worst critic for no rhyme or reason.

  When the Pandemic Corona has badly broken the economy of most developing and underdeveloped countries, India has set an example for the whole world as to how to handle a natural calamity.

Paid News Peddlers have Damaged Credibility of Profession

  It hardly needs to be said that social and digital media have grown beyond all proportions in the last nearly two and half decades, due mainly to the easy availability and connectivity of the internet in all nooks and corners of the country. The speed has gained further momentum in the last decade. Another reason for its popularity is that it is not limited by any geographical barriers or time zones. It can be reached from one corner of the world to the other in a moment.

 Moreover, it is empowering in the sense that anybody who has to say or inform anything to anyone can do so without any let or hindrance. This is inexpensive also in comparison to the traditional media.  However, this media has not been accorded the same importance as it is normally given to traditional media. A few years ago, while hearing the case of Sahara India Pvt Limited in the Supreme Court, the then Chief Justice of India, Justice SH Kapadia dismissed social media (not digital media) as Bazar- gossip, which should not be given much importance. Little did he know then the enormous power and potency of social media.

Having said it, this also has to be borne in mind that social media has created a huge deficit of credibility in society. Since there is no effective mode to check the veracity of what is being spread, the unscrupulous people keep on posting the fake news, more with the intent of spreading rumours than with disseminating any credible information. Credibility is the soul of media and in its absence, it becomes a dangerous tool in the hands and minds of its operators.

The golden principle of journalism has been to inform, to educate and to instruct/ guide the people, when the need arises, but in the era of unregulated social media, all its objectives have been thrown to the wind. What has been the cause of the deep concern for the people is how the social media- Facebook. Twitter, Instagram and YouTubes- have been misused during the recent elections in five states- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. The disgruntled media persons, who were thrown out of their media organisations started their own ventures by taking hefty amounts of money from the corrupt politicians.

It is said that some so-called journalists made hay while the sun of elections was shining. They peddled all cook and bull stories to please their political masters. They did not have any qualms or hesitation in selling their souls, little realising that they might make some easy bucks by working overtime for some leaders and parties, but they will never be believed or relied on anybody in the future.

These reckless U Tubers and warriors of Facebook were ceaselessly drilling fake stories in the minds of the electorates that the BJP was doomed and there was no chance of the party returning to power in any of the States. As far as Punjab was concerned, almost all of them had predicted for Hung assembly. But the Voters have shown them the way and did not believe, even a whit, in what was being presented day and night. Voters developed their own parallel source of information.

The positive side of it has been that the people have identified these paid media persons and no amount of false peddling of news is going to help them or those politicians who have been liberally opening their purse strings for them. This is high time the government must take some initiative to regulate social media for the credibility of the media persons and the profession.

 

 

Social Media: Empowering and Leveller Requires Regulatory Measures

          

  A few days back Congress leader Sonia Gandhi read out a statement in the Lok Sabha about the negative role being played by social media like Facebook, Twitter and Utube etc.  In fact, social media has been spreading all sorts of concocted and baseless stories more against the ruling dispensation than the opposition parties. Social media in India has been known to be Hindu phobic but that does not mean that it should be subjected to a blanket ban. Every type of mass media, be it electronic, print, digital or social is susceptible to misuse and that has been happening for a long time. Therefore, some regulatory measures would be welcome to make it more responsible and accountable. However, if we compare the advantages of social media it outweighs by far more than the disadvantages. The biggest advantage of social media is that it is the best leveller, and it has empowered the common and deprived sections of society. Before the advent of social media only those having access could enjoy or relish the fruits of the freedom of expression but now even a poor person, without having any resources, can create sensations, thanks to social media.

  The credit for it goes only and only to the Technology, not to any person or government. In fact, the whole world has changed after the invention of GOOGLE. Thus, the Media is divided between – Before Google (BG) and After Google (AG).  Think of any subject of the world and plenty of information about that is available on Google, that too, in a jiffy. During the recent elections of UP and other states, we have seen that every Tom, Dick, and Harry became a journalist and was not preparing the news as it was but as per the dictates of those, who paid them. Many of these flies by night journalists, without any training or ethics, were bribed to prepare the reports,  to the likings and benefits of their paymasters.

    Because of the proliferation of social media, some anarchists have found their easy tools to create confusion. This media was also able to a great extent to sway even the mainstream media is playing up the communalism and casteism. Regrettably, the issues which should have been discussed by the media were ignored mainly because of the corrupt media. It is always easy for politicians to purvey lies through social media than any other media.

 Be that as it may, it must be said in the same breath that in this era of powerful social media, it is easy to spread fake news. But it is equally true that fake news can also be exposed with Godspeed provided proper regulatory measures are framed.  

 

Nitish Kumar Must Apologise to the speaker for his Uncouth behaviour

 

 It was a very sad and unfortunate spectacle to see the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar livid with rage against Assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha yesterday on the floor of the House. Nitish Kumar is known for being a sober politician but the way he behaved with Speaker Shri Sinha was reprehensible, highly unbecoming of the leader of the house and deserves to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. In fact, after the verbal humiliation that was heaped on him by the leader of the house, Shri Sinha has lost all moral authority to continue in the post he is holding. If he has even an iota of self-respect, he must tender his resignation from the post of the Speaker. It is being reported that terribly hurt by the insult, he did not attend the house today. 

Why was Nitish Kumar so provoked and enraged that he forgot the basic courtesy towards the Speaker and started openly fulminating against him despite many requests from him to calm down and listen to him? Nobody knows the exact reason for losing his control but it is certain that Nitish Kumar has done irreparable damage to the institution of the Speaker. Shri Kumar was visibly shivering with rage against the Speaker but that is not done in a democratic set-up. Even if Shri Nitish Kumar had any grievance against Shri Sinha, he should have privately discussed the issue in the chamber of the Speaker and resolved the same. In fact, in Parliamentary democracy, the Speaker of either the Lok Sabha or assemblies is the highest authority of the house as he/ she presides over the meetings and is the custodian of the House. The highest respect must be shown towards any Presiding Officers even if he/she is not the Speaker or Chairperson of the House. Anybody, howsoever high and mighty he/she may be is expected to show respect to the post of the Speaker/ Chairperson. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected under Article 93, and he/she can be removed by resolution under Article 94 of the Constitution. Similarly, the Speaker of the Assembly is elected under Article 178 of the Constitution of India and can be removed by resolution under Article 179 of the Constitution.

The Constitution provides the highest dignity to the office of the Speaker. So much so, the Speaker can haul up even the judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court if any impeachment proceeding is initiated against the Justices. The speaker cannot be summoned by any court of law. The historic cases of 'Keshav Singh of UP Assembly' or 'Pandit MSM Sharma versus Sri Krishna Sinha and another' have clearly delineated the powers and privileges of the Speaker.  In the recent past the then Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee had refused to even accept the notice of the Supreme Court in the petition filed in the Raja Ram Pal Sigh case related to the disqualification of some MPs. Thus, the primacy of the office of the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies is undisputed and beyond any reproach. 

It is very strange that Nitish Kumar who has a very long parliamentary career was yesterday behaving with an Assembly speaker like a cheap and rowdy politician. The least that he can do now is to restore the dignity to the office of the Speaker by publicly apologising to the Speaker on the floor of the house and instead of washing the dirty linens against any constitutional authority, he must set an example of equanimity by paying respect to them at least in public.

Historic Victory of Yogi has Broken Many Myths and Superstitions

Yogi Adityanath has broken many myths in the UP-Assembly elections. He has successfully cast aside the superstition that any Chief Minister who visits NOIDA would soon lose the chair. Yogi has visited NOIDA many times as the Chief Minister and yet he has led his party to a spectacular win in the assembly elections. Those who have been spreading and perpetuating this myth are, in fact, the enemies of science and the scientific temper. Unfortunately, the opponents of Yogi and Modi have been very vocal in proliferating this myth. Because of this fallacy, Mayawati and Akhilesh never ventured to visit NOIDA during their Chief Ministership, yet they lost their chairs. As a matter of fact, they have been foremost in drilling this superstition among the minds of the people, little knowing that such credulities often cause huge damage to them.

The second big myth that has been broken by Yogi ji is that no Chief Minister, who has led his party to power continuously for five years, has returned to power after the elections. Even Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and Dr Sampurnand could not complete their term of five years, although in their times there was not even the slightest doubt of the Congress coming back to power. But after 1985 no party or leader has been repeated to power in elections. Yogi Adityanath has thus, made a history, who not only remained in power for five years but has led to the stunning victory for himself and the party in the assembly elections.

Yogi Adityanath is a Sanyasi-king (Chief Minister) like that of Raja Janak of Mithila, who is known as Rajarshi. Raja Janak was an ascetic with a family, whereas Yogi has not only renounced his own family but has embraced the entire state as his family.

The third myth that he has broken is that of the MY (Muslim- Yadav) factor and has got replaced it with another MY (Modi-Yogi) factor. In the second type of MY, he has got support from all communities, even from Yadavas also but Muslims voted against him with all vigour and vehemence. Yogi administration has extended all facilities like; free ration, Kisan Samman Nidhi and other benefits without any discrimination against any caste but due to the toxicity of communalism, Muslims failed to see any goodness in Modi-Yogi.

The fourth myth has been that without the support of goondas, nobody could think of winning the elections, but Yogi romped back home without taking any help from the goondas and mafia dons, albeit he took them head-on. Hopefully, in his second term, YOGI will further consolidate the good works done by him and set many more new records and role models of the government without fear, favour or ill-will towards anyone.

Russia- Ukraine War: Throttling of Information by Western Media and Fascination for Half-baked Medical Degrees by Young Indians

Russia- Ukraine war has thrown two surprises before us. One is the enormity of Indian students, who go to Ukraine for medical education when the whole world knows that it is grossly sub-standard? In fact, the medical degrees of only Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America is recognised and valid in India and the medical graduates from other countries including Russia and China have to get through the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) conducted by the National Board Examination (NBE) to become a qualified medical doctor. I personally know a person who holds a medical degree from a country, which was once part of the USSR. He has been working as a Compounder in a Hospital because he has not been able to clear through the FMGE even after three attempts, the maximum limit provided by the NBE.

There appear to be two reasons for this. One is that anyone having resources can go and get admission in medical colleges of Russia, Ukraine, China and some other countries. They are not required to clear even the basic scrutiny to get admissions. Doctors are still in great demand in our country, even if they are no better than quacks. In India, admissions are given by clearing the NEET, although the caste reservations sometimes compromise the quality still, they are far better than those coming from these countries where half-baked medical education is imparted.

Secondly, Medical education in these countries is comparatively cheaper. The students who have obtained degrees from these countries can, at least, rest assured of getting some jobs or can even start their own practice, where rules can be moulded by greasing the palms of corrupt officials. Even in Mumbai and Delhi, such clinics can be found where the Board of any qualified Doctor is hung/displayed but any unqualified assistant prescribes medicines and administers them.

This can be seen to be believed particularly in pathological laboratories, where a technician makes the report on the letterhead already signed by the Pathologist. Since Allopathy is more profitable, most of the Homeopaths and Ayurvedic doctors prescribe and give English medicine (a euphemism for Allopathic medicines). They forget that by doing so, they do more disservice to the stream of medicine, in which they are trained and qualified but also to the people, who approach them for Ayurveda or Homeopathic medicines.

The Government of India has done a very splendid and commendable job by evacuating rather extricating nearly twenty thousand students, who were caught in the war-torn zone, which has been facing heavy shelling day and night. It was at the request of the Indian Prime Minister that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders agreed to give safe passage to these students. It was a Herculean task by all means. Think of those days, when our government miserably failed to take out five lakh Kashmiri Pandits from its own land of Kashmir, when they suffered deaths and dishonour at the hands of barbarians.

The second big surprise is that despite being the superpower the information that is being fed to the whole world is only through western media. The other side of the story has been blacked out. In all wars truth is the biggest casualty but, in this war, the other side found no mention. Needless to say, western media is notorious for disseminating only such news as suits them. British and American media have always been mischievously giving highly skewed and coloured news and the same is happening with the Ukraine Russia war. And no one knows about it more than most of the Indians but the irony in India is that there is no dearth of such journalists who are ready to be sold out for some bucks and work as per the callings and dictates of their paymasters.

The Government of India and the conscientious people of the country will, therefore, have to give a fresh look in formulating a credible and robust policy so that our media houses could be able to give independent, objective and nation-centric news, not the person or party-centric information. Apart from it, some screening should be done of those students who waste a lot of precious foreign exchange and return to the country with practically no knowledge of medicine and medical science.