Many Paths to Salvation

Since ages we have been wondering about the existence of a god or not, and if a god exists, how to reach him, and to know how the world is governed. Seers and saints have given deep thought to this. The Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagwad Gita, Puranas and other works have highlighted a number of aspects related to existential questions. Broadly, most religions concur that there is a super power, and that super power is called by various names. God is believed to be omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. The ultimate goal of all would be to get freedom from the cycle of life and rebirth, but one kind of spiritual path may not be suitable for all. Hence, sages have devised four paths of Yoga. These are Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Raja Yoga. In Bhakti Yoga, the seeker tries to attain salvation through the heart, surrendering to the will of God. Karma Yoga focuses on good action, based on the law of cause and effect. Krishna says in the Gita that we should perform our karmas without longing for its fruits, results. Even in case of good karmas, we should give up sense of attachment, doership. Jnana Yoga is followed through the intellect. According to this path, everything in this world is an expression of Brahmn. It means, “I am Brahman, you are also Brahmn, everything is expression of the same reality and universal consciousness, Brahmn.” Raja Yoga practitioners try to reach the peak through the mind. Sage Patanjali has described the following steps to achieve this: yama, niyama, asanas, pranayama, dharana, dhyana and samadhi.

Source: Economic Times, 4/11/2019

Amending and updating the 1981 Air Act will help in the battle against pollution

In its present form, India’s Air Act does not mention or prioritise the importance of reducing the health impact of rising pollution. This is the first change that a new law on air pollution should bring.

Accountability and deterrence are essential in making sure industries comply with emission standards. (Illustration: CR Sasikumar)

As Delhi’s Air Quality Index crosses 500, the national capital has officially entered the public health emergency category. Schools have been shut, children are complaining of breathing problems, but the state and Central governments are simply indulging in blame-games. When something as fundamental as the health of our children is at risk, we should devise a more robust, permanent solution to the problem of pollution. This forms the basis of the need for amending the 1981 Air Act and making it more compatible with contemporary India.

Advertising

Air pollution in India is not simply an environmental problem, but a major public health concern. It impacts all those breathing in the polluted air — children, the elderly, women and men alike. As its concentration worsens in India and statistics grow more grim, so do our policymakers’ reactions. As a father of a three-year-old, my concern for my child’s health is shared by numerous other families. Recently, the Centre for Science and Environment reported that air pollution kills an average 8.5 out of every 10,000 children in India before they turn five. Similarly, the WHO in 2016 reported that pollution has led to the deaths of over 1 lakh children in India. Overall, several internationally acclaimed studies have affirmed that life expectancy in India has declined anywhere between two to three years.

Statistics show that India is in a worse situation compared to its global counterparts. According to Greenpeace, 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India and Delhi has yet again bagged the position of the world’s most polluted capital. These are grim figures, especially when compared to India’s neighbours: Five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh. In 2018, India was placed in the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index, ranking 177th out of 180 countries, along with Bangladesh, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nepal.

Because of the toxic air and the lax liability system, young children’s health and quality of life are being significantly affected. Currently, breathing in Delhi’s air is similar to smoking 22 cigarettes in a day. One can only imagine the impact on the lungs of our children. And yet, there is a deafening silence at the helm of policymaking because it has not become an electoral priority for political leaders. Besides a few underfunded programmes, the government shows no willingness to bring a bill or law compelling central and state governments to ensure that its citizens are breathing clean air.

Over numerous conversations with taxonomists over the years, I realised that every new discovery of a plant or an animal species had the possibility of becoming a news story, not only because it would reveal something new to the world, but also expand our knowledge beyond flagship species that always make it to the news. The publications of these survey organisations are a treasure trove, opening a floodgate to fascinating, weird and exciting information about India’s biodiversity. For instance, I was excited to discover that water striders have appendages that are designed to enable them to walk on water. Similarly, the discovery of several ginger and balsam species in the Northeast highlights the importance of these biogeographic zones.

A single new discovery on the basis of morphological features or genetic diversity highlights the importance of conservation. Many species may be lost without ever being discovered. It also shows us the importance of ecological hotspots such as the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, and the Northeast, where most of these discoveries are made.

The fact that both these organisations are headquartered in Kolkata is useful to me as I am able to interact with scientists directly. The principle I follow is that I write a story only after details of the discovery are published in a science journal or a book and are available in the public domain.

For reporters on every ‘beat’, every assignment is a dot on a learning curve. For me, it has been a unique experience. When the news is otherwise almost always about losses — of lives, biodiversity — the thrill of publishing stories on gains — of new species and the ways in which they add value to the ecosystem — is of a different kind.

Source: Indian Express, 4/11/2019

All creatures great and small

On the joy of reporting on new species of plants and animals.

Every year on World Environment Day, the Botanical Survey of India and the Zoological Survey of India, set up in the colonial era in Kolkata to record the flora and fauna of the country, publish a list of new species of animals and plants discovered the previous year.

About seven years ago, when I began visiting these organisations as a reporter, I found it difficult to get the scientists and taxonomists to explain their work in common parlance to me. I had no formal training in zoology or botany and was full of questions and doubts about the scientific jargon in their explanations. But what I funnily found as difficult was convincing them that what appeared as routine work to them could in fact be of interest to common people.

For instance, in 2015, the Zoological Survey updated its list of raptors (birds of prey) in India. I was interested in knowing how many of the world’s raptors were found in the country. It turned out that India was home to 106 species of raptors, which is 18% of the number of species found in the world. These included raptors that can only be found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Similarly, I found out that there exists a new species of banana, which is edible and sweet and with orange coloured pulp. The scientist was not convinced that this species, found in a tropical rainforest on the Little Andaman Islands, would be of interest to anyone but scientists. It turns out that the story was interesting enough to make it to the Civil Services Examination in the form of a question later.

Over numerous conversations with taxonomists over the years, I realised that every new discovery of a plant or an animal species had the possibility of becoming a news story, not only because it would reveal something new to the world, but also expand our knowledge beyond flagship species that always make it to the news. The publications of these survey organisations are a treasure trove, opening a floodgate to fascinating, weird and exciting information about India’s biodiversity. For instance, I was excited to discover that water striders have appendages that are designed to enable them to walk on water. Similarly, the discovery of several ginger and balsam species in the Northeast highlights the importance of these biogeographic zones.

A single new discovery on the basis of morphological features or genetic diversity highlights the importance of conservation. Many species may be lost without ever being discovered. It also shows us the importance of ecological hotspots such as the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, and the Northeast, where most of these discoveries are made.

The fact that both these organisations are headquartered in Kolkata is useful to me as I am able to interact with scientists directly. The principle I follow is that I write a story only after details of the discovery are published in a science journal or a book and are available in the public domain.

For reporters on every ‘beat’, every assignment is a dot on a learning curve. For me, it has been a unique experience. When the news is otherwise almost always about losses — of lives, biodiversity — the thrill of publishing stories on gains — of new species and the ways in which they add value to the ecosystem — is of a different kind.

Source: The Hindu, 1/11/2019

Quote of the Day

November 1, 2019

“Kindness, a language deaf people can hear and blind can see.”

‐ Anonymous

“करुणा, एक भाषा जिसे बधिर सुन सकते हैं और नेत्रहीन देख सकते हैं।”

‐ अज्ञात

On socio-economic indicators, Muslim youth fare worse than SCs and OBCs

The percentage of youth who are currently enrolled in educational institutions is the lowest among Muslims. Only 39% of the community in the age group of 15-24 are enrolled against 44% for SCs, 51% for Hindu OBCs and 59% for Hindu upper castes.

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections have reconfirmed the political marginalisation of Muslims — MPs from the community are very few in Parliament’s lower house. This process is converging with the equally pronounced socio-economic marginalisation of the community. Muslims have been losing out to Dalits and Hindu OBCs since the Sachar committee submitted its report in 2005.

Advertising

Using the recent “suppressed” NSSO report (PLFS-2018) and the NSS-EUS (2011-12), examine the socioeconomic status of Muslim youth vis-à-vis other social groups in India. We use the same set of 13 states covering 89 per cent of the 170 million Muslims enumerated in 2011. We use three variables: Percentage of Muslim educated youth (21-29 age) who have completed graduation, percentage of the community’s youth (15 to 24 age) in educational institutions and the percentage of Muslim youth who are in the NEET category (not in employment, education or training). These variables together reflect pathways of educational mobility for the country’s youth.

The proportion of the youth who have completed graduation — we call this, “educational attainment” — among Muslims in 2017-18 is 14 per cent as against 18 per cent among the Dalits, 25 per cent among the Hindu OBCs, and 37 per cent among the Hindu upper castes. The gap between the SCs and Muslims is 4 percentage points (ppt) in 2017-18. Six years earlier (2011-12), the SC youth were just one ppt above Muslims in educational attainment. The gap between the Muslims and Hindu OBCs was 7 ppt in 2011-12 and has gone up to 11 ppt now. The gap between all Hindus and Muslims widened from 9 ppt in 2011-12 to 11 ppt in 2017-18.

Muslim youth in the Hindi heartland fare the worst. Their educational attainment is the lowest in Haryana, 3 per cent in 2017-18; in Rajasthan, this figure is 7 per cent; it is 11 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh is the only north Indian state where the Muslims are doing relatively better in education — their educational attainment is 17 per cent. In all these states, except MP, SCs fare better than Muslims. The gap between SCs and Muslims with respect to educational attainment is 12 ppt Haryana and Rajasthan and 7 ppt in UP. In 2011-12, in all these states, SCs were slightly above the Muslims on this parameter.

In eastern India, the educational attainment among the Muslim youth in Bihar is 8 per cent, as against 7 per cent among SCs, in West Bengal it is 8 per cent, as against 9 per cent for SCs, and in Assam it is 7 per cent as against 8 per cent for SCs. While the gap between Muslims and SCs has narrowed in the last six years, the latter still fare better.

In western India, the educational attainment figures for Muslims are better compared to 2011-12. But they do not necessarily reflect a significant educational improvement when compared to the SCs and Hindu-OBCs. In Gujarat, the gap in educational attainment between the Muslims and SCs is14 ppt in 2017-18; six years ago, it was just 8 ppt. In Maharashtra, the Muslims were marginally — by 2 ppt — better off than SCs in 2011-12, they have now not only lost to SCs but the latter has now overtaken them by 8 ppt.

With 36 per cent graduate Muslim youth, Tamil Nadu tops the educational attainment parameter with respect to the community in the country. In Kerala, this figure is 28 per cent, in Andhra Pradesh, it is 21 per cent and in Karnataka, 18 per cent of the Muslim youth are graduate. While the community is giving a close competition to SCs in Tamil Nadu and AP, it is losing out in Kerala. The developments in South India have more to do with the relatively faster mobility of SCs than the marginalisation of Muslims. The community’s achievements also have to be seen in the context of positive discrimination Muslims enjoy in these states – Dalit and OBC Muslims are given reservations under the OBC quota.

The marginalisation of Muslims on socio-economic indicators becomes clear when we evaluate the statistics related to youth currently in educational institutions. The percentage of youth who are currently enrolled in educational institutions is the lowest among Muslims. Only 39 per cent of the community in the age group of 15-24 are in educational institution as against 44 per cent for SCs, 51 per cent for Hindu OBCs and 59 per cent for Hindu upper castes.

BEST OF EXPRESS

J&K becomes UT: 'Everybody can sense mood... state lost its identity today'

Seven days to seek mercy, Tihar tells December 16 rape convicts

LIVECyclone Maha likely to intensify into very severe cyclonic storm in 24 hrs

A sizable proportion of Muslim youth are leaving the formal education system and moving into the NEET category. Thirty-one per cent of youth from the community fall in this category — the highest from any community in the country — followed by 26 per cent among the SCs, 23 per cent among the Hindu OBCs, and 17 per cent among the Hindu upper castes. This trend is more pronounced in the Hindi belt — 38 per cent of Muslims youth fall under NEET in Rajasthan, in UP and Haryana, this figure is 37 per cent and in MP, it is 35 per cent. In South India, the proportion of Muslims outside the formal eduction system is relatively low — 17 per cent in Telangana, 19 per cent in Kerala , 24 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 27 per cent in AP.

While the marginalisation of Muslims began several years ago, the phenomenon seems to have gathered pace in recent years. As Sam Asher et al point out in their recent study, ‘Intergenerational Mobility in India: Estimates from New Methods and Administrative Data’, “Muslims are being left out from educational mobility in India while the SCs are getting integrated into it”. More studies are needed to link this disturbing process to the political marginalisation of Muslims. The activities of vigilante groups could possibly have led young Muslims to withdraw in to their shell.

This article first appeared in the print edition on November 1, 2019 under the title ‘Most marginalised of them all’. Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, and Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King’s India Institute, London. Kalaiyarasan is faculty at Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, Delhi.

Source: Indian Express, 1/11/2019

How to stay relevant in constantly changing world

With the advancement of technology, we are only going to see the pace of change accelerate and continuously upskilling yourself has become the most sensible way to stay relevant.

There has been a dramatic shift in the way we do business in the past decade. Businesses are more global and technologically advanced, which requires highly skilled employees who thrive in a time of change. What started as a slow process, has been propelled forward, and now both businesses and employees are faced with the challenge of how to best adapt to the rapidly changing environment.

With the advancement of technology, we are only going to see the pace of change accelerate and continuously upskilling yourself has become the most sensible way to stay relevant.

In a report by McKinsey, the consulting firm concluded that it is an urgent business priority to invest in retaining and ‘upskilling’ existing workers. It is no longer enough to think about what works for the business right now but rather developing strategies for future growth through investment in the employees. The shift from skilling continuous learners to connected learners maximizes the core value for corporate learning; there is a culture of simultaneously learning and developing the skills that an individual acquires, thereby fostering an environment for connected progression. As a result, it is imperative for corporations to lead the way with upskilling their employees.

In another report by PwC, the research shows that employees who lack the right skills can become a major threat to business growth and development. The global survey discovered that business leaders are willing to upskill their employees to fill the current skills gap when presented with options to either retain, outsource and/or take in employees with a strong academic background.

Both entrepreneurs and business leaders alike have consistently emphasized that the single most important thing to achieve and sustain market leadership is relevance. Relevance comes along with upskilling and innovation which acts as a growth imperative for companies. With the surge in technologically complex tasks, the need to upskill has never been more critical. Better innovation, lower costs of additional training, a decrease in outsourcing and client understanding are some of the benefits that in-house upskilling and training offer. Employees tend to become highly adaptable when presented with opportunities to upskill, which the organization can harness effectively, leading to business development in all areas of the business.

Microlearning helps learner engagement

The workplace continues to evolve, with increasing demands on employees’ time and performance. Microlearning is the practice of delivering just the right amount of information to help a learner achieve a specific goal. The short nature of microlearning fits easily within a busy workday, and it’s what most employees prefer. This is why shorter videos can maximize learner engagement.

Agile Learning

It’s increasingly critical to understand the business needs for each part of the organization. While it’s important for every learning and development team to tie learning back to organizational objectives, it becomes crucial when the objectives vary largely throughout the business. Business leaders should consider implementing an agile approach and modernise their solutions to manage constant disruption and deliver learning and development at the speed of the business.

Blended Learning

Blended learning has become a powerful method to drive upskilling as new digital technologies are redefining learning experiences in the modern workplace. While in the past blended learning programs meant combining the best of the classroom and online learning, today, blended learning experiences mean layering classroom learning and online learning with a wide variety of digital technologies and social practices.

Scalable coaching

There are a number of ways learning and development leaders are incorporating coaching into the learning experience. This might involve layering social learning and one-on-one coaching post-classroom to reinforce learning on the job and ensure behavior change occurs. Or, it might be offering to coach in a more scalable and affordable way by leveraging internal group mentors, video-based meetings, and coaching tools to ensure outcomes are achieved.

Lifelong learning is the answer to staying relevant in today’s fast-changing business world. There are many different ways an organization can help its employees upskill and prioritizing that will stimulate growth, for the organization as well as the individual.

(Irwin Anand is Managing Director, Udemy India. Views expressed here are personal.)

Source: Hindustan Times, 31/10/2019

Hold That Outburst

A series of right actions eventually come around to insulate you from the undesirable situations and events in life. Good thoughts, words and actions culminate to become your shield. It’s not that life will stop shooting arrows, but you are protected. And, I think most people can see the value in this strategy: postpone your unkind actions and do the kind ones with a sense of urgency. The issue, perhaps, is not in understanding but execution. That is, how do we ensure we remember this when we are mad with anger and all wisdom is heading south? Temptations, habits, urges and our automatic responses trigger forgetfulness. A fit of rage scares and flees the goodness out of us like a loud clap does to birds. How do you ensure that the mindfulness required to deliver a measured and delayed response stays with you when we need it the most? First, of course, is the practice of mindfulness itself, which is cultivated by repeatedly bringing your awareness to the present moment. Two simple questions will do it for you: (a) what am I doing right now, and (b) what should I be doing in the present moment? Second, even more importantly, a conducive environment is critical to the practice of mindfulness and kindness. Put yourself in the right environment and watch the miracle of mindfulness unfold effortlessly. Our handling of any situation depends primarily on two things: our view of life and our habits. A change in these brings an automatic shift in our feelings, reactions and comebacks. Always postpone an outburst. Never delay a good deed

Source: Economic Times, 1/11/2019