‘Draft’ national forest policy: Good riddance to bad rubbish

A week after the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) put out a document on its website titled ‘National Forest policy, 2016 (Draft): Empowered Communities, Healthy Ecosystems, Happy Nation’, a senior ministry official last week said the document is only a “study” done by Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, and not a draft policy. The preface to the document, however, said it had been prepared “based on village-level focus group discussions, regional and national level consultations, inputs from various stakeholders and analysis of primary and secondary data sets carried out during the years 2015 and 2016”. In fact, nowhere in the document has it been mentioned that the document should be treated as an input for a new forest policy.

What made the ministry suddenly change its stand on the document? Several civil society organisations have been extremely critical of the ‘draft’ mainly because it proposed to dilute the Forests Rights Act (FRA), do away with requirement of having two-third geographical area of mountainous and hill regions under forests, and for allowing industry to have commercial plantations on the forest land. Not only civil society, media reports suggested that even the Union tribal affairs ministry is unhappy with the proposed dilution of the FRA. The criticisms are not entirely misplaced: If a critical policy like the forest policy ignores FRA, combined with the Centre’s other steps — funneling huge amounts of money through Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority to forest officials, bypassing consent for diversion of forest land, instituting forest ‘rules’ to undercut community management, it shows that the aim is to increase the power of the forest bureaucracy and keep local communities out of the decision-making process.

While devising a new policy, the ministry must not only focus on increasing the forest area and bettering the quality of the forests but also ensure that the connection between forest-dependent communities and forests is not lost. The crux of the problem in India’s existing forest policy — the Forest Policy of 1988 — has been that it made the forest department the manager of the forests and the people lost their rights over it. But as the Uttarakhand forest fires showed recently, a few hundred forest officials and a few thousand employees of the department can do nothing when a calamity strikes. They need community support in such emergencies.

Savouring the Moment

K P SHASHIDHARAN





In the hurly-burly of life, many of us forget to live mindfully .We find that our mind is more preoccupied with emotions, feelings, thoughts, aspirations, the past and future, rather than engage with the present.Life, despite its myriad distractions, escapisms, obsessions and passions, makes us feel lonely even when we're among loved ones. There is an underlying feeling of void, a sense of helplessness. We are haunted, for example, by the process of ageing, by what we perceive as impermanence of goodness, and by pain, distress, disease and the thought of death. That's why Buddha talks about `dukha' as the essence of life, not a pessimistic perception, but the reality of life.
Mindfulness meditation enables us to live life mindfully , with awareness of the present to realise the true worth of our being. Mindfulness begins when we stop talking: being silent both inside and outside.We witness thoughts and ideas come and go like uninvited guests in mind waves. Can we listen to the silent song of our soul that is powerful enough to elevate us, taking us closer to Supreme Consciousness? It has power to inspire, and instil in us the true joy of living.
Be quiet first, sit straight, focus on incoming and outgoing breath, and follow and become the flow of air that you inhale and exhale. Keep body , mind and intellect fine-tuned in the present. Enjoy breathing in and out. Let your body be fully energised, and be fully aware of what is going on, effortlessly, like a witness, but mindfully .

Students prefer English in UPSC exams

The number of students writing the UPSC mains exam in English has been disproportionately high over the last few years compared to that in the past, analysis of UPSC data from 2009 to 2014 show.

Data was compiled from annual reports of UPSC by public information portal ‘Factly’, which they shared with The Hindu.

A significant jump was seen in the year 2011 when 83 per cent candidates took the mains exam in English compared to around 62 per cent in 2009. Corresponding to that, Hindi saw a steep decline – a drop of around 20 percentage points from 36 per cent in 2010 to 15 per cent in 2011.

This sudden change coincides with the introduction of the CSAT examination in UPSC prelims in 2011. This change was opposed by many, as it was argued that the new pattern was biased in favor of English-speaking students.

Note that data on the language chosen by candidates to write prelims is not available which makes it difficult to establish whether the jump is indeed indicative of a bias or if that is a consequence of more students taking the prelims exam in English.

Yogendra Yadav, founder of Swaraj Abhiyan and finds this trend concerning. Speaking with The Hindu, he said, “In India, language is one of the most significant markers of social inequality. Much of the social dominance is translated into language. The language of dominance – English – is now the dominant language and it is shocking to see this reverse in trend.”

Mr. Yadav says that students coming to bureaucracy from Indian language medium bring along certain sensitivity and understanding of problems of ordinary people.

In the Indian Languages section, most students opted for Hindi in the period from 2009 to 2014, followed by Marathi. But the proportion of students opting for Hindi is on a decline. 66 per cent candidates chose Hindi in 2014 compared to 74 per cent in 2009.

Caption for above chart: Apart from Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi are the only languages chosen by more than 5 per cent candidates

On the other hand, percentage of students choosing Marathi is increasing – from 5 per cent in 2009 to 9 per cent in 2014, with a peak in 2013 when 11 per cent chose the language. Note that apart from Hindi, only Marathi, Tamil and Telugu are chosen by more than 5 per cent of the candidates in the Indian language exam.

On an average, 20 per cent of the selected candidates are alumni of IITs and University of Delhi put together. Jawaharlal Nehru University, Anna University and Rajasthan University are other prominent universities from where most students come from.

These apart, University of Mumbai, University of Allahabad, MGR Medical University, IGNOU, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Osmania University and University of Pune are the ones from where more than ten students have qualified the exam in few or all years between 2009 to 2013.

Data show that students with engineering background now comprise the bulk of selected students, overtaking humanities. 51 per cent of the recommended candidates in 2013 were engineers, compared to 30 per cent in 2009.

Earlier, Humanities students were the most successful – 50 per cent of the students were from humanities background in 2004. But in 2011 and 2013, students with humanities education comprised of just 27 per cent of all the selected candidates. Around 12 per cent of the students have a background in medicine.

“In my broad experience over decades, I find that technical persons don't do as well or better than non-technical people in the field of administration,” TSR Subramaniam, former Cabinet Secretary told The Hindu. “For the engineering students, it is not their subject knowledge, but their training of mind that comes to play in this role,” he added, while expressing his concern that we need talent in every walk of life not just in administration, which is often glamorised. He also added that because the state spends on education, specialists are much more needed in their respective areas compared to administration, which is of a more generic nature.

Source: The Hindu, 25-06-2016

Life without Britain: European Union will struggle to survive

On Friday morning the ground beneath the European Union (EU) shook and how did it!

The financial implications of Britain’s exit from the EU will be manifold, and if market reactions are anything to go by it’s going to be a tough ride.

But Brussels, the EU headquarters, will have to brace itself for the political aftershocks. And suddenly, almost as though they were waiting for Britain’s decision, leaders of some EU-member nations are voicing similar intentions. The probability of a smaller EU, which seemed almost outlandish until this morning, is now real and amplified.

Marine Le Pen of France’s National Front is on record saying that France has 1,000 more reasons to leave EU than Britain. Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, has promised that if he was elected the next prime minister a referendum will be held in Netherlands. Both countries go to polls within a year’s time. Sweden and Denmark also have their eurosceptics. Unsurprisingly it is nationalist, Right-of-the-centre politicians who are fanning ‘xenophobic’ emotions.

The economic prudence of Britain’s decision aside, Brexit should force Brussels to introspect. The EU was set up almost 60 years back to bring prosperity and security to Europe--while it has brought prosperity in varying degrees, on security the jury is still out.

There are many positives that the EU has brought about, especially when it comes to easing trade bureaucracy, but as is with any alliance, when the going gets tough the faultiness magnify. Two recent developments expose these wide gaps: The EU’s approach to tackling terrorism and the union’s policy towards refugees and displaced people.

The Charlie Hebdo shootings, the November 2015 Paris attacks and the Brussels bombings in March exposed the flaws in the EU’s preparedness to tackle terror attacks. If the Charlie Hebdo shootings caught EU unawares about home-grown terror, the latter two attacks exposed the chinks in the EU’s efforts to monitor and check the movement of suspects.

The refugee crisis, amplified by the current unrest in Syria and Iraq, saw thousands, if not millions, crossing borders into Europe. But not only did the EU lack a policy, but when it came to formulating one, countries were at odds with each other. Finally, all it could do was strike a deal with Turkey to accommodate the refugees and, in many ways, ask it to act as a vetting agency for displaced people wanting to enter the EU.

For the moment it looks unlikely that the EU will disintegrate with Britain’s exit--but it won’t be the same anymore. The EU will have a tough fight to keep its relevance at world forums.

It is to be seen how, or whether, Britain’s exit will affect countries queuing up to enter the union, and how many members will consider following Britain. The EU is changing; it will rest on Brussels on whether that change is for the better.

Source: Hindustan Times, 25-06-2016

Try Saying `Thank You'

SANT RAJINDER SINGH





God once sent two angels to earth to gather the prayers of humanity . The first angel was asked to collect prayers that were essentially requests from people asking God for something. The second angel was asked to collect all the prayers of thanksgiving. The two angels agreed to meet in a month with their collections.The first angel collecting prayers that appealed to God for something became extremely busy . Several baskets were needed to hold the prayers: asking for money , health, car, jewellery and clothing. Some prayed for a spouse, for children, or for better relationships. There were so many such prayers that the angel had to obtain several vans to cart them.
Meanwhile, the second angel travelled far and wide looking for prayers of thankfulness.Several days went by with hardly a prayer of gratitude heard. A month later, the two angels returned to God. The angel collecting prayers for requests was laden with many baskets.The angel collecting prayers of thankfulness had a small amount compared to the prayers requesting things.
The story illustrates the human condition. Many of us request others to do things for us, but how many of us thank them? Let us thank God for the many gifts we have received: for our birth, health, food, clothing, shelter and for our families. Let us also thank God for our education and for our jobs.However, let us not thank God merely with words but with deeds, by leading lives of nonviolence, truthfulness, purity , humility and selfless service.

Valuable Lessons From The Honeybee

Farida Khanam





Once we come to terms with the notion that our thinking and actions may be marred by negativity , we should not allow this problem to go unresolved. Let's look at an example from the animal kingdom, that of the honeybee. Consider how it extracts nectar from flowers and how it wings its way, without once stopping, to a multitude of gardens, and then unerringly lands on the flower of its choice.Of course, there are always thorns in plenty in the path of the honeybee. But adroitly steering clear of them, the honeybee gently alights on the flower ­ its pre-determined destination. We have to reflect on how it finds its way to the flower, how it poises itself above it and how assiduously and devotedly it extracts the nectar! Also worthy of reflection is how, having completed its task, the honeybee does not waste a single moment. Flying straight back to the beehive, it deposits its share of honey. To be able do this, the honeybee has to be totally focussed on its task. It is only fitting that we should learn a lesson from the honeybee in being diligent and persevering and never swerve from the pursuit of our goals. The Creator has sent us to Earth, not without purpose, but to strive towards the perfection of our spiritual personality .Moreover, we must remain fully aware of how the Creator expects us to exhibit an extraordinary spirit in extracting spiritual nourishment from both good and bad experiences.We must never lose sight of the fact that, whatever our mission, we must stay fully focussed. Our path, of course, is strewn with distractions and it is all too natural that we should be tempted at times to pay undue attention to them. But the Creator uses these distractions to test us on our ability to remain patient, to be compassionate, and to give up being vengeful. In eschewing vengeance, we beat back negativity , we steer clear of unsavoury incidents, and, rising above petty vendetta, we are able to forgive others their follies. In so doing we enhance our own spiritual personality , and ensure that we get closer to Paradise.
Negative experiences are a challenge to test us on our reactions in extraordinary , provocative situations because the purpose of the test cannot be served in normal situations.What we are being tested on is how patient, forbearing, compassionate we are.
Faith in the Almighty at every step, shrugging off falsehoods, remaining firm in carrying out our civic and religious responsibilities, and the exercise of restraint in the face of provocation are all virtues that show that we have been continually receiving spiritual sustenance.
This spiritual goal of Islam of attaining a state of peace has been expressed in the Quran in these words: `A soul at peace' (89:27). According to the Quran this is the ultimate stage in a person's spiritual development. When he reaches this stage, he qualifies to be ushered into Paradise, the perfect and eternal world of the Hereafter. The Quran addresses such souls in these words: `O serene soul! Return to your Lord, joyful, and pleasing in His sight. Join My servants and enter My paradise' (89:27-30).
(The author is professor, Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia and Chairperson, CPS International.)

Anger and Compassion

KAMAL JAIN





Why is there so much anger, rage, violence in our lives today? All religions advise us to overcome anger and learn to forgive. Anger breeds hatred, fanning the flames of revenge.We are unable to forgive because we hold on to resentment.We first need some time and space to let go either to forgive or be forgiven. The moment we are prepared and able to forgive, we feel liberated from the experience of bitterness. Forgiveness marks our freedom from all the negativity we have been nurturing as a result of our unforgiving heart.
Why should we forgive? Nobody is ever truly bad. No situation is ever without a brighter side. There is always a flip side.By forgiving, we are creating a whole new experience. We can finally move on. It enables us to heal. Forgiving the person does not excuse the act; it just brings about peace and understanding. A more helpful question would be how we can better understand to put the situation in proper perspective. The emotional foundation of compassion is needed to erect the temple of forgiveness. Compassion can bring about a paradigm shift in transforming anger into forgiveness.
Mindfulness is another quality that enables us to be watchful of our thoughts, feelings and activities for greater understanding. Compassion does not stop us from holding the person accountable. It simply means we understand the root of the problem instead of looking only at surface behaviour.This way , we find productive and long-term solutions that leads us to blissfulness.