NITI Aayog panel moots legalising Agril. Land leasing, yet another attempt of the anti-farmer Govt to CorporatiseFarming and snatch the sole source of Livelihood to the majority of Rural, Small & Marginal Land-holders.

Looming Drought in many parts of India, still Media & Govt. oblivious of the mis-happening in making.

Is agriculture, a business?

Agriculture; India’s largest private-sector enterprise, 119 million farmers (“cultivators”) and another 144 million landless labourers, 2011 Census.

“uttam kheti, madhyam vyapar, kanishtha naukri"

(supreme is farming, mediocre is trade and most lowly is service)”. 

Considered Most Respectable Business ; 

Ambanis, Adani, TATA, DS, Amitabh Bachchan,80% MPs, Nitin Gadkari, Sharad Pawar, etc

Universal Laws EXCLUSIVE to INDIAN AGRICULTURE

RULE-1

Agriculture; only business with both Production (Sowing- Harvesting) & 

Price Risks (Market Manipulations, Price Crash, Middlemen, Inadequate Market Infra)

RULE-2

Agriculture; only business you buy everything retail(Seed, Pesticides, Fertilisers, Machinery etc.) and sell everything wholesale (All Farm Produce). 

RULE-3

Agriculture; only business where expansion is a crime

RULE-4

Agriculture; only business where introduction of new technology is a matter of controversy (Dwarf wheat varieties - GreenRevolution & Cross-bred Cows - WhiteRevolution and currently GM crops)

Agriculture Ministry Issues Directives to the Cotton producing States.

Why?
To check the adverse affect of white fly on cotton.

Context:
White fly had inflicted tremendous damage to cotton last year in Punjab and Haryana.

Background:
Elaborate assessment and analysis has been carried out about the loss inflicted last year
Sowing process of cotton is set in, in the beginning of April in the States of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Directives/ Recommendations :
* Sowing process may be carried out within the precincts of scheduled timeframe.
* Only recommended seeds might be utilized.
* Close watch might be kept on the movement of pests.
* Timely sprinkling to check its spread culture Ministry Issues Directives to the States producing cotton.

Sedition v/s Freedom of Expression

Sedition v/s Freedom of Expression

§  What is Sedition:- Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code defines Sedition. The offence consists in exciting or attempting to excite in others certain bad feelings towards the government.

§  Why in news: Because of the ongoing case against the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

§  Salient Features of Sedition :- It has historical and constitutional perspectives, which are explained below.

§  Conflict between Sedition and Freedom of Speech :- Freedom of Speech cannot be absolute, it has to be curtailed in the interest of the society for maintenance of public order.

§  Why the law of sedition should be repealed :- It is detrimental for the freedom of speech and expression, which is our fundamental right.

§  Why the law of sedition should stay:- To maintain public order.

§  Conclusion:- India of the 21st century does not require a law used by the colonial government to suppress India’s voice.

What is Sedition?

Section 124A of the IPC defines sedition and says:

§  whoever by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, the government established by law; or

§  whoever by the above means excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law, has committed the offence of sedition.

The punishment prescribed varies from imprisonment up to three years to life imprisonment, with fine or without it.

The first explanation says that disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.

The News

This is particularly important in the context of the ongoing case against the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Salient Features

Historical Perspective

Sedition was not a part of the original Indian Penal Code(IPC) enacted in 1860 and was introduced in 1870. Britishers famously used the clause in three separate, successful trials of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and, also, later, in prosecuting Mahatma Gandhi in 1922.

Constitutional Perspective

The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court explained the amplitude of sedition for the first time in 1962 in the case of Kedarnath Vs. State of Bihar (1962).  The court held that “public disorder or the reasonable anticipation or likelihood of public disorder is the gist of the offence”.  The court was of the view that sedition implies resistance or lawlessness in some form and it was emphasized  that if there is no incitement to violence, there is no sedition. So, as per the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, a person can be charged with sedition only if there is incitement to violence in his speech or writing or an intention to create disorder.

 Sedition v/s Freedom of Speech

Sedition

Freedom of Speech

The words which directly provoke violence or which directly threaten the maintenance of public order deserve censure is unquestionable, especially given India’s constitutional structure.

It is abundantly clear that freedom of speech and expression within the Indian legal tradition includes within its ambit any form of criticism, dissent and protest. It cannot be held hostage to narrow ideas of what constitutes “anti national” speech and we hope that the courts will step in not merely to defend free speech but also pass strictures on those who abuse the legal process to create a chilling effect on constitutional rights.

The Argument Against Sedition

§  At its core, it is a devastating provision that is meant to assist in crushing all opposition to the ruling dispensation.

§  Its use continues to have the effect of chilling free speech and expression in India.

§  Section 124-A of the IPC negates the right to dissent, which is an essential condition of any reasonable government.

§  Viewed thus, it is Section 124-A that is “anti-India”, that is opposed to the idea of a legitimate, liberal democratic state

The Argument for Sedition Law

§  To maintain the public order

§  It would act as deterrence for anti-social elements.

Conclusion

Despite the strict construction adopted by the Supreme Court, the law enforcement agencies have always used it against artists, public men, intellectuals, et al for criticising the governments. In fact the Supreme Court itself did not apply these strict principles to the speech of Kedarnath and his conviction.

The Supreme Court, being the protector of the fundamental rights of the citizens may step in now and declare Section 124A unconstitutional. India of the 21st century does not require a law used by the colonial government to suppress India’s voice.

The line between dissent and treason may be thin to some, but the ability to distinguish between the two is a constitutional duty of the state. And given the history of its misuse and its incompatibility with a modern Constitution, Section 124-A of the IPC ought to be junked altogether.

Character v/s Reputation

“Character Is Made By What You Stand For, Reputation What You Fall For”

Simply stated – it is what we think of ourselves, the values we stand for and the definition of who we are as a person and the thoughts we resemble. It is about those things which matter the most to us and we are willing to go the extra mile cos it means so much to us and we relate to it so strongly.

Reputation:

This is simply what others think about us. We all like a little bit of publicity. We all like it when someone appreciates us for what we do and we would like to be known and celebrated for our good deeds. But it so happens that reputation is a binding factor whereas character is a much simpler aspect without many boundaries or limitations.

Character is what you do for yourself while reputation is what you do for others, for the society, for the people around you. It is what you want them to think about you. And it is not all true, is it?

Character on the other hand is simple plain truth, it is only for yourself and no one else. People at the receiving end don’t even get to see the half of it cos we can easily mask the distasteful aspects of character. But then what do we have to stand for – character or reputation?

Well, the answer is fairly simple, any 10 year old kid will tell us that we will have to stand up for character and we all know it too. But a part of being grown up is that we do expect the world to appreciate us and to an extend we do depend on it as well.

Don’t let the reputation rule you or define what you want in life and what your values are. You can’t care for people just cos the society expects you to. You can’t help someone in distress just cos your PR advises you to. These things are the ones which mean something to you and they retain their essence only cos you feel for it and do it accordingly. Not cos an idiot PR told you so. Reputation can be shallow but character goes beyond that.

It is deeper than that and more meaningful than that. Above all, your character is the true fibre of who you really are while reputation is what you want to be perceived as. It is as  simple as that!

10 Brilliant Quotes on Character:

1) Be more concerned about your character than your reputation cos character is what you really are, while reputation is merely what others think you are

– John Wooden

2) Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow, the shadow is what we think of, the tree is the real thing

– Abraham Lincoln

3) No change of circumstances can repair a defect in character

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

4) Character, not circumstance makes the person

– Booker.T. Washington

5) Character is the real foundation of all worthwhile success

– John Hays Hammond

6) Knowledge will give you power but character, respect

– Bruce Lee

7) Character is who you are under pressure, not when everything is looking fine

8) Character is the result of two things – mental attitude and the way we spend our time

9) Character like a photograph develops in darkness

10) Success is always temporary when all said and done, the only thing you’ll have left is character

(Courtest: Vinay Nagaraju, INSPIRE99)

CSE'2015; CSAT paper made Qualifying@33%

Civil Services Examination 2015

CSAT paper made Qualifying@33% score

  

 At last, GOI has conceded to the demands of last year protests by a large group of aspirants to existing biases and disparities in the CSE prelim exam since 2011, mainly on account of the GS Paper-II (Aptitude & Comprehension part) aka CSAT to the aspirants belonging to Rural & Hindi/ Regional languages background, and benefit only certain group of candidates from Engineering, Medical, Science, Management & other Technically Educated at the cost of Humanities & Social Sciences, which constitutes the major chunk engaged in the preparation from considerable period of time.

With these welcome changes, it is hoped that the undue tilt would be reduced to the extent possible as nothing is absolutely perfect.

The Government has approved the following in respect of Civil Services Examination:
ü  An Expert Committee would be constituted to comprehensively examine various issues raised from time to time namely, eligibility, syllabus, scheme and pattern of Civil Services Examination.

ü  Till such time the Government takes decision on the recommendation of the above Committee, the General Studies Paper-II(CSAT) in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will remain a qualifying paper with a minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

ü  The English Language comprehension skill portion from General Studies Paper-II of Civil Services(Preliminary) Examination will continue to remain excluded.

ü  The above decisions are incorporated in the CSE Rules-2015.

ALL THE BEST for CSE’2015!