Democracy is meaningless if you didnt get the answer to your questions.

The right to information is a basic right that's in line with the principles and spirit of Democracy. India, being the largest democracy in the world enacted this wonderful piece of Legislation in 2005. It's intended for ensuring accountability and transparency of a Govt office, or such offices that are substantially funded by the Govt Exchequer. RTI being the worlds mostly used legislation, has made a tremendous impact on Governance as it often referred to as a Damocles sword hanging above the rulers. But, the recent trend of stockpiling the RTI applications is an alarming reflection of the weakening democracy.

It's noticed that there are 3,14,323 RTI applications are now pending in India at different levels. As it have four layers starting from Central Assistant Public information officer, Appellate Division, State public information officer, and then Central public information officer, in a bottom- up fashion, delay in reply from any of these layers(30 days+ further 15days) is smockscreening on transparency and accountability. The most number of pending cases are reported from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. There is a shocking estimate that the information commission will take another 24 years to clear the pending cases under RTI in West Bengal. With respect to the RTI act, 2005, the authorities are bound to pay penalties if they fail to provide the information unless that are not considered with confidentiality. But in case of 95% pending applications, there is no penalty imposed by the state so far.

Another reason for stockpiling of RTI, is the lack of Human Resources. In the state of Jharkhand and Tripura, the state information commission was defunct for 29 months and 15 months respectively. In Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, and Anthrapradesh there is no Cheif public information commission. In total, one fourth of the posts comes under information commission remain vacant. There is only 5% women in the entire workforce, so women are also not adequately represented.

As we all once cherished for RTI, now these trends show the picture of RTI as a toothless tiger. The Govt, despite the intentions of incumbency, should act immediately to uphold the power of RTI and the principles of democracy. The vacant posts need to be filled immediately and the backlogged cases should be disposed by launching some special interventions. Without the right to question and the Right to receive answers, 'Democracy' is a meaningless word. 

 

Improving access to Entertainment Content.

Entertainment is a very subjective pleasure a person follow to keep himself mentally and physically refreshed. Generally, Films, music, games, books etc are considered as entertainment. To be specefic to entertainment industry, a large section of the public are drived towards television, theatres and Music platforms,  to feel refreshed either visually or vocally. By the time a larger public got entertained, there may be a section of people who can't get it because of their disability to see or to hear as the content is still not much disabled friendly. In this context, as a society, we have to find alternatives for making the content available to disabled sections of the society to uphold the values of social justice.

There are some reasons for the unavailability of entertainment content to the disabled. Firstly, there is a social stigma that entertainment is not meant for differently abled people. They are mostly sidelined  though they are also interested and rightfully wish to enjoy such content. Disabled people are sometimes considered as a second class citizens who are not deserved to enjoy their life because of their physical incapacities. Secondly, producers of entertainment content never thought that there is a huge market for such content. If there is a market, making a disabled friendly content will not be economically viable to the producers. When the technology works and progress in line with the demand, technical know-hows and improvements to make a content disabled friendly is also very limited and unenthusiastic. Though there are lots of NGO'S and civil societies who work for differently abled people, they are also not much focussed on improving the entertainment needs of these differently abled, rather gives more priority to medical aids and welfare schemes. They can also compel the Govt and CBFC to assure the content in this way too.

 Understanding this issue, the Government of India has taken many steps in this regard. Rights of persons with disability act provides guidance to address this problems in a gentle way. Action 29 (h) of the act requires appropriate government to take measures to ensure that the persons with hearing impairment can have access to television programs with sign language interpretations or subtitles. Further section 42(2) requires the corporate government to take measures to ensure that the person with disability have access to electronic media by providing audio description in sign language interpretation and captioning. Ministry of Information and broadcast pursue audio description in films and they also advised Central Board of film certification(CBFC) suggest some alternatives in the regard. The films like Sanju, Andhadun, Romeo akbar walter etc had come up with such disabled friendly versions, is an admirable step.

 There are also other government initiative that are included under the Rights of persons with disability act 2016. Renaming of Department of persons with disability  to Divyangan Sasakthikaran vibag is there symbolic representation of governments approach towards these section of people. Sugamya bharat app launched to address the accessibility issue faced by differently abled people in buildings and transportation system is also great move that have huge impact on the lives of them.

WHO says that 1 in ten people in this world is disabled and 1 in five of them are from economically humble background. The impact of a disabled individual would be more pathetic if he/she is economically ill. This issue also has to addressed by giving more focus towards the economically weaker section of people among the disabled community. Their right and access to entertainment should never be taken for granted since its the responsibility of the society to assure them the same.

A Brief History of Insurgency In Manipur.

The state of Manipur has been going through lots of sociopolitical crisis since the last decades of 19th century. It has tasted the bitterness of AFSPA(armed force special power act) for two decades because of the conflicting demands if various ethnic groups and their organsation like UNLF(United Nations liberation Front-1964), Peoples Liberation Army(978), Kangleipak communist party(1980), Naga Insurgent outfits, Kuki insurgent outfits, and other small such organisations.

The reason for such a numerous insurgent outfits, is having an identical history that can be traced back from Anglo- Manipur was of 1891. Although Britishers won this war, they did not annexed the kingdom of Manipur but kept it as a British Protectorates. The ruling class, Meities were given administrative autonomy by accepting the British Paramountcy till the Independence of India. But, on 15th October, 1949, The kingdom of Manipur was forcefully accessed into Indian Union, there by Meiti rulers lost their perceived sense of Autonomy. This event made sparks to start insurgent activities against the Govt of India by the meitie dominant class.To curb the developing insurgency, Govt of India granted statehood to Manipur in 1972.

To understand the rest of the story, Ethnic profile of Manipur should also be considered. This state has a dominant ruling class called Meities who enjoy key positions in political and administrative spheres of the society. Nagas, and Kukkis, though they were in majority in neighbouring states of Nagaland and Mizoram, are considered as minorities in the state of Manipur. These Minorities got official recognition as Scheduled Tribes from the Govt of India, there by got eligibility for holding some Privileges for their upliftment. They were allowed to purchase land in Hilly areas, that was disallowed to Meities as they were concentrated in plane areas. Such privileges angered dominant ruling class as they felt insecure in the hands of Government. As a reaction to this sense of disproportionate treatment, Meities formed various insurgent outfits against Govt of India namely UNLF, PLA, KCP and many other small groupings.

As the tension between the Naga-Kuki minorities were escalated the former got support from neighbouring states. These clashes invited interventions from the Govt to declare Manipur as a 'Disturbed Area' and forced to come under AFSPA. By 1990, the conflicts were largely silenced by the military and diplomatic steps from the Govt. The organisation of Nagas named NSCN signed cease fire agreement with india during this period and latet in 2008 Kuki wing also signed " Suspension of Operation pact" with both central and state Govts in 2008. The military interventions from the Govt is also widely criticised for its massive human rights violations and outfits like Kaplang faction of NSCN and Meities organisations didn't signed any peace agreements with the Govt still.

Challenges for the Government.

The Govt of india and neighbouring state Govts has done alot of initiatives to curb insurgency in this region, but not become successful completely. This is mainly because of the conflicting demands from the leading organisations. One favouring step to a section is considered as highly unfavourable to the other and they keep on fighting against each other and with the Govt as a common enemy.

Proxy groupings are the other reason why the Govt can't arrive at an amicable solution to this. When one faction of the grouping stands for peace, the other faction retaliates with violence. Diplomatic talks and consensus building still didn't work well in this region.

Opportunistic politicians are also providing oxygen to the insurgency fire for their vested interest. As they interact with the people directly, their negligence is a huge drawback that resume violence in the valleys.As Manipur is a border state with Myanmar, these insurgent outfits are massively helped by the immoral mafia to deal with weapons, drugs and hiding place. In the porous border of Manipur, the interventions of Indian military is troublesome.

Manipur has to find able leaders from themselves to solve this issue. Peace aspiring people and their Representatives are the hope of this region. Direct military intervention is not a suitable way of addressing this issue. Leaders who know the terrain and the spirit, when worked along with the Govt can only solve this issue. Alleged Violence committed military personals too, need to be addressed judiciously.

Critical minerals crisis, Indian perspective.

 

Critical minerals are those minerals which are used in critical industrial sectors like Electronics, defense, clean energy harnessing etc.. They are rare earth minerals that includes 17 minerals, 15 lanthanides and Yitrium and scantium. As the science and technology progress, the demand for such minerals are skyrocketing day by day.

The potential use of these minerals are highly diverse. Its applications are mainly found in semiconductor chips, solar panels, medical equipments, wind energy sector, Electronic vehicles and even in defense equipments. China leads in this sector both in its production as well as in processing. Latin american countries, and some african countries are sensed with abundant resources of these minerals so that developed countries like US, Japan, Australia, France etc are already making lots of diplomatic efforts to secure their supply chain of these elements for future.

As far as india is concerned, there are some challenges to assure the supply of these minerals for our coming generations. Firstly, as these are found in highly sensitive regions of the world, to sense the resources before the interference of developed countries, is very difficult. Secondly, this sector is completely dominated by China as of now. Indias deteriorated relationship with China is a huge huddle to tackle these demand- supply mismatch of critical minerals for india. Thirdly, the existing resourceful countries of this sector have already signed long term treaties with US, European union, Australia, and Japan, so that getting into this market is a tough call to india. All these challenges compel India to find new supply chain, or else the country would face extreme shortage of these minerals to meet up its requirements. Though India have some resources of Rare earth minerals, it's not sufficient to meet India's demand. The exclusion from recently framed mineral security partnership by western countries, is also to be considered as the diplomatic failure of India.

By understanding this upcoming crisis, Govt of india launched an initiative called KABIL( Kanij Bidesh India Limted), a public sector undertaking to promote domestic production and to find resorces in other countries. One can't argue about the success of this program, but steps like this are really admirable. The only solution to meet this crisis is to make friendly relationships with resource-rich nations and to develop new supply chains for critical elements. Or else, India will be defenestrated to far away in its scientific innovations. SDG target to achieve net zero emission by 2070, will be an unfulfilled dream if the Govt couldn't act forsightedly.

Active and Healthy Aging

We may say that age is just a number. But when it comes to reality, its not. Aging is not just a physiological phenomenon. It includes so many changes in ones social, economic, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Sometimes, elderly people are considered to be a burden in the society and they are sidelined even in their families despite of been the backbone for decades.

World population prospect 2022, a report published by UN Department of Economic and social affairs estimates that 16% of the people will be of above 65 years of age by the end of 2050. Global population by that year will reach 9.7 billion, marking 1.7 billion as india's share. Elderly process is considered to be an end product of demographic transition or demographic achievement with decline in both birth and mortality rate, and consequent increase in life expectancy at birth. This will create a large dependant population and the responsibility of respective government to take care of this section is huge.

Taking care of old age people includes various aspects of Preventive, Promotive, Curative, and Rehabilitative aspects of their health. These key objectives of this geriatric care is recognised by the Govt of india under Atal Vayo Abhyudhaya Yojana, that was effective since 1st April, 2021. It includes various initiatives to assure financial security, food, healthcare and human interaction / life of dignity to the elderly population. Some noteworthy schemes like Rashtriya Vayosri Yojana, which provide physical aids and assisted living devices to senior citizens and the scheme SACRED(Senior able citizens for reemployment in dignity) that's launched on 1st October, 2021, to help them for taking employments for a dignified life, are some admirable schemes in this sector. By AGRASR(Active group aimed at social reconstruction ) they are encouraged to form Self Help Groups.

National program for Healthcare of elderly, launched in 2010-2011 to provide comprehensive and dedicated healthcare facilities for elderly people above 60 years at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. There are lots of programmes the Govt has initiated under this scheme to take care of the elderlies. Through Indira Gandhi National old age Pension scheme, the Govt is providing 200₹/month for all the people above 60 years of age, who are from BPL category. After they attain the age of 80, the amount will be increased upto 500₹/ month. Similarly, there are lots of welfare schemes and programs were initiated by the centre and the respective state governments in the line of Geriatric care. Monthly pension of 1200₹/ month to economically weaker person above 60 years, is a scheme in Kerala that promised lots of social changes, not just for elderly but even in the society as whole.

Although these schems are running, the population estimates suggested that the present day health sector is not prepared to manage the upcoming demand in this area. The govt should provide more targeted schemes to assure the welfare of this population. It can provide more subsidies to the treatments and to buy equipments for those people with mobility issues. Promoting more startups to assure accessibility to these services are much needed in achieving the benefits of different schemes. The govt should also promote private sector and provide tax reductions for investments and returns in this key healthcare need Mandatory health saving plan or schemes from the early age will reduce the burden of the Govt spending so that the money can be purposefully utilised in another key areas of economy. Private insurance reforms and its accessibility, liberalisation and simplification will be also beneficial to the people who are not well aware of the insurance policies and its complexities.

The society has to uplifted by energy of younger generations with the experience of the older generations. In this way, elderlies are the greatest asset to our society, not to be considered as dormant.

To the Husband or a stranger, No means No.

Sex is not a taboo in Indian society from ancient times. But, when it comes to modern day social perspectives, it shook the morality of indians in diverse dimensions because of the huge imprints of patriarchy. Our legal system is also not devoid of this reflections.

Recently published National family health survey, points that 1 in 3 women in india suffered spousal abuses either sexually or physically. The form of sexual violence commonly reported is the use of physical force to have sexual intercourse when the wife did not want to (5%). Although this is a form of rape, this was not considered as crime in the law books, so the word Marital rape is deemed to be strange in indian legal system. Another noteworthy figure is that in the cases of sexual violence to a married women, their husband is the perpetrator in 82% of the cases. Such a bad experience to a married women from a stranger is just 0.2%. This clearly shows that Indian women are sexually exploited or raped by their own husband not uncommonly.

From where men earn such an authority.? There are two aspects to answer this question. Firstly, the concept of coverture. It means that upon on marriage, a woman surrendered her agency to her husband, including when it comes to consent for sexual intercourse. Secondly, there is a traditional beleive that the purpose of her womanhood is to please her husband sexually. Even though, both of these ideas are strictly patriarchal, indian family system still uphold such values even today.

Rape is defined in section 375 of Indian penal cide..However, the section rules out marital rape (Exception 2 of Section 375). "Sexual relations or sexual intercourse by a male partner with his own wife could not be considered rape if his wife is not a minor i.e under the age of eighteen." This debarring mainly gives a "husband" a marital authority to engage in consensual or non-consensual sexual acts with his "wife" with legal authorisation. Legal fight against this exclusion had started decades before, and Law commission had also proposed reforms in this regard way back in 2000, but the amendments in this regard were not accepted in the parliamentary panel in 2013. The legislatures, including the then minister Murshid Paradhibhai chaudhary (2015) opined that such an amendment that criminalise marital rape will shook the society since the marriage is treated as a sacrament or sacred in indian society. In 2017, the then Home minister Krishna ray also expressed that the entire family system will be under great stress if marital rape is brought under the law.

As the Parliament couldn't come up with a legal framework to criminalise marital rape, judiciary had come up with some progressive observations and commendable judgment in this regard. In Nimeshbhai Bharatbhai Desai v. State of Gujarat (2018). It explained that "dehumanised treatment of women will not be considered acceptable. By giving judgement on adultery Justice D Y Chandrachud expressed that "the freedom to say NO exists after the marriage as well." In 2021 Kerala highcourt observed that the marital rape is a valid ground for divorce. Recently pronounced verdict on unmarried women's Right to free and safe abortion upto 24 weeks of pregnancy also strictly mentioned about Marital rape. This judgement clearly uphold the right of married and unmarried women to access abortion and included Marital rape under the purview of sexual assault that qualifies a women to subject herself for abortion. Despite the fact that most of the developed countries have criminalised marital rape, India is still one among the 38 countries where a husband can rape his wife without any legal scrutiny.

Marital rape exception violates fundamental rights of a married women is manifestly clear. India should take the steps to criminalise this practice without upholding the patriarchal social values in this modern world. The legal safeguards for a men who may subject to false accusations should be also considered while framing legislations on these issues. So called sanctity of the marriage is only fulfilled when both subjects are absolutely honest to each other. If the victimisation, vengeance, violence, accusations and emotional torture are the things cooked up in the private space of a couple, the role of judiciary and legislature may only be a standing clown, but should try to be Just.

What Tourism means to India.

The writer Saint Augustine said " The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only few pages of it. " This words conveys the whole idea of travelling. Its the best choice to make one's life more interesting by learning and experiencing the differences. India, as a tourist destination is very fulfilling in this aspect of definition. It have mountains as well as deserts, cold deserts to hot desert, Rouf to kathakali, Panipuri to kappa and millions of lives and billions of stories. Integrating all these aspects, india can be a global hub of tourism in the coming years.

Tourism sector in india is very potential in so many other domains as well. It attracts the forex exchange and boost the prestige infront of international forums. Its one of the largest sector that provides massive employment opportunities also. Presently 12.75% of jobs in India are in tourism sector alone. India have 40 world heritage sites and so many soft powers like art forms and Ayurveda.

 Understanding all these potentials in the post covid era, Govt of india called for a meeting with all the govt stakeholders framed a policy for the upliftment of this sector and published Dharamshaala declaration as a blueprint of indian tourism. The govt has also trying so many appreciable initiatives in this regard. In 2019, the prime minister urged indians to visit atleast 15 Indian destinations if they can afford to understand, explore and to stimulate a sense of nationalism among the indians. Postcovid credit guarantee upto 5 lakh crores allotted to the tourism sector is also a commendable move from the govt to revive the glory of indian tourism. Recently, Tourism ministry along with ministry of external affairs have identified 20 nations were we have lots of foreign visits, to build country specific strategies with respect to tourism. As india hosts G20 summit in 2023, its considered as great opportunity to project our potentials to the global audience. Apart from G20 summit, India hosts around 200 international meetings. These chance has to be fruitfully nurtured in favour of tourism sector.

The estimates tells that there will be 15 million tourist arrivals in the year 2024, that brings 150 billion US dollar to our exchequer. By the year 2030, this figures are expected to rise upto 25 million tourist arrivals and 250 billion US dollars. By 2030, it is also estimated that tourism sector can provide 140 million jobs to indian citizens.  The National tourism policy recently drafted, considers tourism sector as an industry so that lots of Govt schemes will be also applicable in this sector. Other benefits like taxation reliefs are also addressed in the policy frameworks.

When we discuss on Govt initiatives, some existing schemes are worth mentioning. Swadesh darshan scheme launched in 2014 to integrate theme based tourism circuits is very remarkable. As india is having lots of religious faiths and customs, PRASHAD scheme ( National mission on pilgrimage rejuvenation and spiritual heritage augmentation drive) is very helpful for the promotion of believers in and around the world. Ek bharat sresht bharath programe, launched as a part of celebrating 140th birthday of Sardar vallab bhai patel, is very successfull in providing a sense of unity and integrity among the different states of india in the field of tourism. Under the program called Dekho Apna Desh, the govt is organising webinars, quizes, pledge, and discussions to keep people connected with stakeholders to encourage citizens to travel within the country. 'Adopt a village' initiative launched in 2017 is also a welcome move with the coordinated effort of Ministry of tourism, ministry of culture, different state governments, Union territories along with archeological survey of india. 'Destination North East, 2020 is an annual event of ministry of development of North east region. This event highlites various potential like eco tourism, culture, heritage and buisness of north eastern region.

Though there are lots of govt schemes that runs well, India can go miles more in tourism sector. Understanding our soft powers and targeted initiatives with joint support of respective state Govts can attract more national and international tourists. Medical tourism, digital tourism, spiritual tourism etc are having lots of scopes in this regard. If india uses its true potential, spirit, and marketing strategies, it can definitely become the world's favourite destination.