India ranked 141 in global peace index, Syria least peaceful

India was on Wednesday ranked 141 on a Global Peace Index -- making it less peaceful than countries like Burundi, Serbia and Burkina Faso -- with violence taking a 680-billion dollor toll on its economy in 2015.

In a ranking of 163 countries, compiled by global think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Syria has been named the least peaceful, followed by South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

On the other hand, Iceland was ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria.

India has moved up two position, from 141st last year, but the study said the country’s peace score has “deteriorated” over the past year -- which means the slight rise in ranking could be due to worse performance of others.

The report said that in the last decade, India’s position deteriorated when it came to peace “by 5 % largely due to deteriorations in the indicators measuring UN peacekeeping funding and the level of political terror”.

Within South Asia, Bhutan was ranked best (13th overall rank), while India was fifth followed by Pakistan at sixth (overall 153rd) and Afghanistan at sixth place (global 160th).

The report said, “India’s scores for ongoing domestic and international conflict and militarisation have deteriorated slightly. The country remains vulnerable to acts of terror and security threats at its shared border with Pakistan.

“As such, the number of deaths caused by externally organised terror strikes has risen over the year.”

At the same time, Sri Lanka saw the greatest upswing in its score in the region and the report attributed the country’s increased peacefulness to “better relations with neighbouring countries, particularly India”.

The GPI 2016 ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

It further said that “violence impacted India’s economy by USD 679.80 billion in 2016, 9 % of India’s GDP, or USD 525 per person”.

The economic impact of violence on the global economy touched USD 13.6 trillion or 13.3 % of gross world product. The amount is also equivalent to 11 times the size of global foreign direct investment, it added.

According to the report, world became a less peaceful in 2016, mainly on account of increased terrorism and higher levels of political instability.

Rankings of 81 countries have improved but deterioration in another 79 outweighed these gains.

IEP Founder and Executive Chairman Steve Killelea said increasing internationalisation of internal conflicts has coincided with UN peacekeeping funding reaching record highs in 2016.

However, peace building and peacekeeping spending remains proportionately small compared to the economic impact of violence, representing just two % of global losses from armed conflict, he noted.

“In 2015, violence containment expenditure in India totalled USD 679.8 billion PPP, an increase of 7 % from 2008. At 9 % of GDP this was ranked 65th in the world,” Killelea said.

As per the report, addressing the global disparity in peace and achieving an overall 10 % decrease in the economic impact of violence would produce a peace dividend of USD 1.36 trillion. This is approximately equivalent to the size of world food exports.

Source: Hindustan Times, 10-06-2016

Students accuse TISS of abruptly terminating prof's contract

Ankita Bhatkhande





Resentment is brewing among the students on the Deonar campus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences after the administration decided to discontinue the services of an associate professor. The students on Thursday night started a campaign on social media to bring back the professor.The students have alleged TISS abruptly terminated the contract of Sanober Keshwar (in pic), who was handling modules on law and social work since 2009. In a post on Facebook, they said Dr Sanober was informed about the “termination“ only in mid-May. “Sanober's phone was disconnected, her email ID blocked by the administration without any written or spoken word. How are others putting up so silently? Is this how TISS admin is honouring hard working profs who have an ideology and a spine to speak up?“ wrote a student.
The students have demanded immediate reinstatement of the professor and appointment of an external committee to look into the “termination“. TISS administration cited fund crunch as the only reason for its decision and denied that Dr Sanober was terminated. An associate professor on contract is paid nearly Rs 90,000, said sources. Mirror could not independently verify the figure.The institute has issued a statement saying it did not renew the contracts of a few temporary faculty. “The authorities have spoken to the faculty members concerned before the contracts were allowed to lapse.“
It said the TISS campus also houses the Maharashtra National Law University. The authorities have not been able to renew the contracts of two law professors, read the statement.~

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 10-06-2016

Overcome Addiction

R VENKATESAN





The reason why many indulge in substance abuse is because they are unable to deal with life's problems. Or their expectations are unrealistic. Depression and anger, sadness and frustration are further fuelled by drug-dependency , alcoholism or both. Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence says that it is the lack of application of intelligence to emotions that makes one lonely and depressed, angry , unruly , prone to worry , more impulsive and aggressive. A scientific assessment of the emotional and spiritual mind has emerged more recently , trying to understand why we can be reasonable one moment and irrational the very next moment.Goleman attributed it to two minds: one emotional and the other rational; one that feels and one that thinks. He argues that emotional mind is far quicker than the rational mind, making split-second decisions without reflection of the consequences that can be bewildering to the analytically inclined rational mind.Spiritual teachers like Buddha and Jesus touched their disciples' hearts by speaking the language of emotions. Why is improving the emotional quotient (EQ) or imbibing spiritual intelligence (SQ) important? Because it helps us deal with problems in a constructive manner, and deflects us getting addicted to harmful habits like substance abuse.According to Zohar, SQ can be improved by Hinduism's Kundalini Yoga or explained in terms of the lotus model with its centre and six petals.

Ramzan, A Process Of Self-Purification

M Aslam





Roza or fasting in Islam is an elaborate process stretching over a period of one month every year.It essentially means that a person observing fast will not only observe abstinence from eating and drinking but will get into a sublime state of mind in order to develop positive feelings. To achieve this one has to restrain oneself from listening, speaking, hearing or thinking negatively about others. The Qur'an says, “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.“Fasting is a tool for reconstruction of our spiritual faculties. It instills the essence of consciousness of the Creator in the devotee's heart. It also instills moral courage and guides the seat of our emotions on moral issues. Since fasting helps in conditioning the heart, soul and body , it leads to tranquility and calmness in the face of adversity . This helps one become patient. Patience is the pinnacle of discipline and spiritual suppleness. Jalaluddin Rumi said: “Have patience, for that is true worship.“
One needs to experience Ramzan to understand its social significance in its totality. It is an elaborate process of self-purification. The expectation is that if one passes through this process of self-purification for a period of one month, its impact will remain for the remaining 11months, after which this process will be repeated. Physical fasting alone does not have any social or religious significance.
Sociologically speaking fasting is an expression of solidarity with the poor. It is manifested through the concept of charity , neighbourhood and of charity , neighbourhood and hospitality. Apart from helping to purify body and soul through the process of self-purification, addressing these areas of social significance is bound to help people to shed all those things which are not socially desirable.
Charity includes helping the poor through giving of alms. It is said that if one gives away even a small amount during this month, he will get 70 times more blessings in return. We should also take care not to forget the social significance of iftar gatherings.
The practice of the concept of neighbourhood is equally important. It has wider connotations than its literal meaning. The Prophet had said, “One should behave decently with the whole of humanity and foremost among them is your neighbour.“ If one connects it with the concept of fasting, an immediate tion is that a true Muslim implication is that a true Muslim cannot see any human being hungry , even if it means having to sacrifice `iftar' and to continue fasting for the next day . Simi larly, a true Muslim cannot see a human being in pain or misery . It applies to both one's immediate neighbourhood as well as entire humanity . What we are witnessing around us in the name of Islam is not Islam. In essence Islam in general and `roza' in particular teaches a person to address human concerns and values.
Muslims need to demonstrate through observance of `roza' (in its totality), Islam's relevance in today's world. Let us make clear once and for all that any type of violence has no place in Islam.One of the greatest advantages of observing the month of fasting is that its true observance inculcates in a person the habit of speaking the truth, remaining patient, practising the concept of hospitality and neighbourhood and give charity to the needy .
If followed in letter and spirit a person will certainly become a true `Insan' and will be bestowed with God's blessings and protection, which we all need so desperately in these turbulent times.

AIDS deaths in India down 55% since 2007

Sushmi Dey

New Delhi:





Deaths caused by AIDS declined nearly 55% in India in the past eight years, whereas new HIV infections came down by 66% since 2000.In 2007, India had recorded 1,48,309 such deaths; in 2015, the figure stood at just 67,600, according to latest statistics presented by health minister J P Nadda at an ongoing highlevel United Nations meeting in New York. The conclave is evaluating the implementation of the United Nations AIDS control programme. Globally, such deaths declined 41% between 2005 and 2015.
Between 2000 and 2015, new HIV infections in India dropped from 2.51 lakh to 86,000 (66%) -compared with a global fall of just 35%.
The UN General Assembly has proposed to fast-track implementation of AIDS control strategies to end the epidemic across the world by 2030. Endorsing the proposal, Nadda said countries must adopt the target and collabo rate strategies to achieve it.
Highlighting the importance of affordable medicines to tackle the prevalence of AIDS and India's role in making such drugs available worldwide, Nadda asked the UN to ensure global access to affordable medicines. India, which faced the spectre of disastrous con sequences on account of AIDS epidemic 15 years back, has been able to manage the challenge effectively,“ Nadda told the UN meeting. “Targeted interventions based on close collaboration and empowerment of communities and civil society with appropriate funding from the gov ernment have helped deliver key life saving services to the affected population,“ Nadda said. Seeking higher investment from international public health agencies to end the epidemic, Nadda said, “The role of international assistance and cooperation cannot be underestimated.This is the time for developed countries to do more, not less, and enhance their commitments. We cannot afford to give the epidemic a chance to rebound.“
The National AIDS Con trol Programme has been walking a tightrope with international funds drying up over the last three years. This has led to fears about recurrence of new HIV cases. Estimates show a reduction of almost 90% in funding from various multilateral, bilateral and philanthropic donor organisations over the last three years. The government is, therefore, trying hard to seek continuous funding for the programme as it is currently at a critical juncture.
Indian firms like Cipla and Dr Reddy's Laboratories supply 80% of the generic drugs used worldwide for treatment of AIDS. However, many of them have been facing tough regulations in several countries because of patent litigations.

Source: Times of India, 10-06-2016

Student population rises 30%, Muslims beat national average Subodh Varma   Christians At 80% But 1 In 4 Without Jobs India's student population in the 5-19 age group has in creased by 30% between 2001and 2011but the rise is unevenly distributed among religious communities, with lagging sections playing catch up.Among Muslims, the number of students surged by 44%, and within that, girls recorded a staggering 53% rise. As a result, students now make up 63% of this age group among Muslims. This is still behind the 73% among Hindus, 80% in Christians and 88% in Jains -the highest student ratio in the 5-19 age bracket. Details of student populations and employment among various religious communities are available in freshly released Census data. In the 20-29 age group, the share of those seeking work was 20% nationwide. Among Christian youth, unemployment was strikingly higher at 26%. This is worrying because Christians were among the highest educated communities in the last Census, with 71% of those aged 5-19 studying. Religious communities that had embraced education more widely in the past, like the Christians, Sikhs, and Jains, understandably show much smaller changes since the last Census in 2001. In fact, among Jains, there is a 10% decline in the number of students, a result of slow population growth, leading to fewer children in the studying age group though the student-population ratio is the highest. A significant increase is also seen in `other reli gious persuasions', which mainly comprise various tribal communities and faiths with fewer adherents like Parsis and Jews. The number of students increased by 64% for these communities as a whole. Another feature of the changes in student populations is the high pace of growth of girl students. Barring Sikhs and Jains, the rate of increase is higher among girls in all communities. Among Hindus, the number of male students increased by 22%, compared to 36% for girls. Among Muslims, the corresponding figures were 37% and 53% and among `other religions', 48% and a phenomenal 86%. All this points to the tremendous urge across faiths to attain education. Those with limited access to education earlier, whether as communities or as women across communities, are now embracing it. Hence, Muslims, tribals and women show the highest degree of change over a decade. Just over 2% of students are working part-time as marginal workers. This proportion reaches nearly 4% for Christians and crosses 6% among `other religions'. Source: Times of India, 10-06-2016  

Live IIT lectures to be aired on TV via HRD channels

Going a step further with ‘Digital India’ mission, the Union Human Resource Department (HRD) would be soon starting 32 Direct-to-Home channels for catering to the needs of students.

With this development, students across the country would be able to watch live telecast of lectures from six IITs and some other top institutions while seated comfortably at their homes. To make this progressive project a reality, the department of space would be allotting two transponders on a GSAT series satellite. Moreover, MoUs have been signed with many institutions, for providing lessons and content that will be aired  on these channels

With this project in place, the government wants to utilise space technology to expand the reach of high-quality education. Through the 32 DTH channels, the aim is to ensure that live classrooms can be transmitted from ten ‘Teaching Ends’ out of which six will be IITs located in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur and Guwahati. Additionally, lectures of over a dozen other premier institutions will also reach students on their TVs.

These channels will be freely available on Doordarshan’s Free Dish DTH platform and all that the students will need is a Set Top Box to receive them.

Source: Digital Learning, 9-06-2016