Current Affairs Essays

From the dawn of history until the beginning of the 17th century the knownuniverse consisted of only 8 planets: 1. Earth, 2. Sun, 3. Moon, 4. Mercury, 5. Venus, 6. Mars, 7. Jupiter,8. Saturn and the "fixed" stars. These are the ones that can be seen easily withoutany optical instruments. In Europe, the prevailing view was the Ptolemaic system withthe Earth at the centre and the other bodies revolving around it. In 1610, Galileo first turned a telescope on the heavens and the universe wasexplored. By the end of the 17th century, 9 new planets had been discovered andCopemmican’s heliocentric theory was widely accepted. The total number of knownplanets had more than doubled to 17. In 18th Century, only 5 new planets (not counting comets) were discovered, all by William Herschel , bringing the total to 22. Thenumber of planets in the solar system increased dramatically in the 19th century withI the discovery of the asteroids (464 of which were known at by 1899) but only 9 more"major" planets were discovered. The number of major planets rose to 31 (almostdouble the 17th century). In the first three quarters of the 20th century, 13 more majorplanets (and thousands of comets and asteroids) were discovered bringing the total upto 43. In the Space Age 27 more small moons were discovered by the two Voyagerspacecraft.In CCD Age dozens more small moons have been discovered in recentyears with large ground based telescopes and CCD cameras. There are well over 100now known.   Overview: The solar system consists of the Sun; the nine planets, more than 130 satellitesofthe planets, a large number of small bodies like the comets and asteroids, and theinterplanetary medium. There are probably also many more planetary satellites that, have notyet been discovered. The inner solar system contains the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.Themain asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The planets ofthe outersolar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.The first thing to noticeis that the solar system is mostly empty space. The planets are very small comparedto the space between them. The orbits ofthe planets are eclipses with the Sun at one focus, though all exceptMercury and Pluto are very nearly circular. The orbits ofthe planets are all more orless in the same plane .called the ecliptic and defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit,Theecliptic is inclined only 7 degrees fromtheplaneof the Sun'sequator.Pluto'sorbit deviates the most from theplane ofthe ecliptic with an inclination ofl7 degrees. Theyall orbit in the same direction, counter-clockwise looking down from above the Sun’s north pole, including Venus, Uranus and Pluto also rotate in that same sense. One way to help visualize the relative sizes in the solar system is to imaginemodel in which everything is reduced in size by a factor of a billion. Then the model Earth would be about 1.3 cm in diameter. The Moon would be about 30 cm from the  Earth. The Sun would be 1.5 meters in diameter and 150 meters from the more...

"It is ironic that dowry was originally designed to safeguardthe woman and the provision was made in the form of Sthreedhan”("Stree" means woman and "dhan"as wealth) consisting of money,property or gifts given solely to the woman by her parents at themarriage. The abuse of this custom eroded and aborted the originalmeaningful function where dowry was a safety net for the woman itwas forcible made as a price tag for the groom." Dowry or Dahej is served by payment in cash or/and kind by the bride's familyto the bridegroom' s family along with the bride (called Kunyadaan} in. Kanyadaanis an important part of Hindu marital rites. Kanya means daughter and dana meansgift. Dowry originated in upper caste families as the wedding gift to the bride. It waslater given to help marriage expenses and taken as a insurance in case her in-lawsmistreated her. Although the dowry was legally banned in 1961, it continues to behighly institutionalized. The groom often demands adowry consisting of a large sumof money, farm animals, furniture, and electronics. The practice of dowry abuse is still on the rise in India. The most severe isbride burning when it was considered insufficient dowry by her husband or in-laws.Most of these incidents are given the shape of as accidental bums in the kitchen or aredisguised as suicide.Itis evident that there exist deep rooted prejudices against womenin India. Cultural practices such as the payment of dowry is serving as death warrantsfor women in Indian society. The need for the enactment of the 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act in Indian PenalCode stemmed from a noticeable increase in the number of Indian brides documentedto have died in their early married years under suspicious and mysterious circumstances.The cause of death was characteristically labeled as "kitchen fires". The rampantoccurrence of bridal deaths by kitchen fires were usually uniform in nature with theclassical setting of the young bride found dead in the kitchen, clad in a kerosene soakedsari, trapped in flames and left alone to bum to ashes. Very often it was the groom'smother or someone from the groom's family. In some cases, the groomhimself acted.The reward in these cases is another bride, another dowry. Along with curious vicissitudes of a modernizing India, the growing middleclasswithitsopportunities for upward mobility also propagated inevitable inflationarymonetary expectations to an already existing evil. This may be considered as oneof the most promiscuous and prevalent linkages to the past and present of manycultures. The term, "dowry" as a quantifiable offering does not have its roots solely inthe Indian culture. It has been noted in early 12th century Europe and was oftenreflected in European 1'airy tales and literature making suchreferences to a woman asofferings of a "straw mattress", a "wooden stool" or "farm animals". The amount of"money" for a dowry depended on the status of being a rich or poor woman. Monetaryexchanges also had the show of preserving the aristocracy as a class and as a meansof cultural and economic determination. An interesting event utilization of dowry,symbolizing both marriage as well as an union more...

"India has the highest number of illiterates in the world, amind-boggling 290 Millions adult illiterates—A matter of utter shame. Mahatma Gandhi Ji visualized education a basic tool for the development of consciousness and reconstruction of society. Great reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and IsliwarChandra Vidyasagarthought that emancipation of Indians was only possible through education." After 57 years of independence, we are still too far away from the universalliteracy What is the reason 7 Why have we come to such a sorry state? Reason canbe well enumerated; Improper planning, poor implementation of policies, lack ofInfrastructure and lack of political will are the main causes responsible for such stateof affairs. If seen statistically, literacy in India has made remarkable strides sinceIndependence as seen by the recently declared provisional results of the Census 2001.The literacy rate has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% in 2001. This isdespite the fact that during the major part of the last five decades there has beenexponential growth of the population nearly 2% per annum. Some of the importanthighlights of Census 2001 are given below: The literacy rate in the country has increased to 65.38% which reflects anoverall increase of 13.17%, the fastest ever growth. This is the highest rate sinceindependence. The male literacy rate has increased to 75.85% which shows an increase of11,72%. On the other hand, the female literacy of 54.16% has increased at a muchfaster rate of 14.87%. The male-female literacy gap has reduced from 24.84% in 1991 to 21.70% in2001. Mizoram has the smallest gap (4.56%) followed by Kerala (7.45%) andMeghalaya (8.27%). All States and Union Territories without exception have shown increase inliteracy rates during 1991-2001. In all the States and Union Territories the maleliteracy has gone now over 60%. For the first time since independence there has been a decline in the absolutenumberof illiterates. In the previous years there has been continuous increase in thenumberofilliterates, despite the increase in the literacy rates, but now for the first timethe total number of illiterates has come down by 31.96 million. The number of literate persons has increased to 562.01 million in 2001 thusadding an additional 203.61 million literates in the country. Rajasthan has recorded the highest increase in the literacy rate among theStates/UTs oflndia. Literacy rate ofRajasthan in 7+ population in 1991 was 38,55%which has increased to 61.3% in 2001. The State also recorded very good increase inthe female literacy. It was 20.44% in 1991 which has increased to 44.34% in 2001.The female literacy rate ofChhattisgarh in 7+ population in 1991 was 27.52% whichhas increased to 52.40% in 2001. Thus the rise in female literacy rate in Chhattisgarhhas been to the extent of 24.88% which is the highest among all the States/UTs of thecountry. Madhya Pradesh also recorded a good increase in female literacy rate.1991 the literacy rate of females was 29.35% which has increased to 50.28% in 2001. According to Census 2001, the State ofKerala has topped the list with 90.92%literacy. This state also secured top position in both male (94.20%) and more...

"II is paradoxical that the man who needs the healthy environment most, is destroying its sanctity and purity for present monetary gains and endanger its own coming generation." Never before in the history, the environment pollution has drawn such ate of policymakers, academicians and the court, at least in India. A lot of research has done during the last few years to find out a suitable linkage between economic activities and the environment and a need for new technologies has felt in order to save the environment from the ever increasing pollution.  Because of the rapid industrial growth the most precious heritage of mankind the natural environment is in danger of becoming polluted. Earlier most (economic activities, development policies, were centered towards the motive of benefits or gain, but for the last few years it has been sincerely realized that investment on environmental conservation and pollution control measures enhance and \v^ the productivity. It is necessary to save the mankind from revenge of the nature" pollution continues like in the past. Environmental pollution causes Global Warning—a threat to the r civilization. In 1992, the United Nationals Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC) was adopted. It recognized that industrialized countries were^ responsible for increased Green House Gases, concentration in the Earth's atmosphere and should be the first to act against climate change.  In 1997, United Nation's conference on global winning was held in the ancient Japanese Capital of Kyoto for ten days, the climate change meet lay deadlocked, as none was ready to take initiative to check the further damage to planet earth. USA and 37 other industrial nations agreed to binding reduction in their Green House Gas emission by 2012, setting out a target of five per cent below 1990 levels. The next meeting held at Buenous Aires, where it was agreed on Nov. l4, 1998, to set a time for discussing by 2000 the many issues that still need to be settled.  Actually the USA and Europe want that other developing countries like India, China, should act as   per the accord signed at Kyoto, but India and China have their own reasons as in these countries industrialization has just began, while developed countries who are actually responsible for the global warming must act fast to have some remedial measures. The present concern for preservation and conservation of environment from the hazardous impact on the environment due to human actions. Human den are increasing day by day, with the growth of population and modernization, and to meet with such increased demands the resources are limited. Reckless and regular          exploitation of natural resources is causing serious impact on the purity of environment. The spread of many diseases like dengue, viral fevers, like endemic, soil erosion, floods, droughts, earthquakes, urban congestion and threat of extinction of many species of plants, birds and more...

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, son of Mahadev Sahai, was born in Zeradei, Bihar on December 3, 1884. Being the youngest in a large joint family Rajen was greatly loved. He as strongly attached to It is mother and elder brother Mahendru. In Zeradei's diverts population, people lived together  inconsiderable harmony. Rajendra Prasad's earliest memories were of playing "kabaddi" with his Hindu and Muslim friends alike. In keeping with the old customs of his village, and family, Rajen was married when he was barely 12 years old to Rajvanslii Devi. Rajen was a brilliant student: standing first in the entrance examination to the University of Calcutta, he was awarded a Rs.30/month as scholarship. He joined  the famous Calcutta Presidency College in 1902. His scholarship, ironically, would pose the first test of his patriotism. Gopal Krishna Go hale had started the Servants of India Society in 1905 and asked Rajen to join. So strong was his sense of duty toward his family and education that he, after much deliberation, refused Gokhale. But the decision would not rest easy on him. Rajen recalled. "I was miserable “and for the first time in his life his performance in academia declined, and he barely cleared his law examinations. Having made his choice, however, he set aside the intruding thoughts, and focused on his studies with renewed vigor. In 1915. Rajen passed the Masters in Law examination with honours, winning a gold medal. Subsequently, he completed his 1 Doctorate in Law as well. As an accomplished lawyer, however, Rajen realized it would be only a matter of time before he would be caught up in the turmoil of the fight for independence. While Gandhiji was on a fact finding mission in Chamaparan district of Bihar to address grievances of local peasants, he called on Rajendra Prasad to come to Chamaparan with volunteers. Dr. Prasad rushed to Champ ran. Initially he was not impressed with Gandhi ji' s appearance or conversation. In lime. however, Dr. Prasad was deeply moved by the dedication, conviction and courage that Gandhi ji displayed. Here was a man alien of the parts who had made the cause of the people of Champaran his own. Dr. Prasad decided that he would do everything he could help with his skills as a lawyer and as an enthusiastic volunteer. Gandhi ji influence greatly altered many of Dr. Prasad's views, most importantly on caste and untouchability. Gandhiji made Dr. Prasad realize that the nation, working for a common cause, "Became of one caste, namely co-workers." Dr. Prasad reduced the number of servants he had to one and sought ways to simplify his life. He no longer felt shame in sweeping the floor, or washing his own utensils and other tasks he has all along assumed others would do for him.  Whenever the people suffered Dr. Prasad was present to help more...

"The Constitution of India secures justice to all its citizens apart from securing liberty, equality and promoting fraternity. In Indian democracy the Supreme Court plays important role of safe- guarding tlie fundamental rig/its of citizens which includes providing fair justice also. Justice which is the soul of a democratic society,   \ must be administered without fear or favor. Integrity, Impartiality and Intelligence are some of the important characteristics of the independent judiciary in a democratic setup." The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of law, the entire judicial system of the country is controlled by it. Article 124 of the Constitution provides the establishment and the composition of the Supreme Court. Article 131 tol40deeds with the powers of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of India has three kinds o jurisdiction: (i) Original jurisdiction(ii) Appellate jurisdiction (iii) Advisory jurisdiction. Under Article 131 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has Original jurisdiction in any dispute arising between Union and one or more States and between two or more states. Such a dispute should, however, involve some question of law or fact on which the existence or extent of legal rights depends. Under Article 133 are 134, an appeal may lie to the Supreme Court in any Civil or criminal proceeding so a High Court. The advisory function of the Supreme Court is also very important] there arises any ambiguity regarding the interpretation of a clause of the constitution or certain constitutional problem arises, the President can refer the same to (hi Supreme Court for its expert opinion. The Supreme Court of India is a court of record which means that the recon of its decisions and proceedings are preserved and published. The decisions of Supreme Court are binding on all the courts of India. The Supreme court also ha powers to review its own judgement or order. The Supreme Court of India is the highest judiciary body, responsible to ensure justice to all. The Supreme Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, has the constitutional mandate to pass such orders) maybe necessary for doing complete justice in any case before it. All authorities, civ or judicial are under obligation to follow such orders. In Indian democracy, the Supreme Court plays important role of safe guard in the fundamental rights of citizens which includes providing fair justice also. Justice which is the soul of a democratic society, must be administered without fear or favor if Integrity, Impartiality and Intelligence are some of the important characteristics off independent judiciary in a democratic setup. It is a matter of academic discussion as to who really controls the process of justice, whether the courts or the governments. So far the criminal cases are concerned,, all the investigations are done by the poi ice or other governmental agency which report lo the government. Prosecutors are appointed by the government also. Courts are concerned with the trial. Thus two important aspects which constitute justice investigation and prosecution are totally in the hands of Government. The more...

“India is perhaps a unique country where one witnesses a bandh or strike almost every other day.” —A foreign Press reporter. Our Constitution guarantees the basic rights to every citizen of the country in the chapter on Fundamental Right. It is also a virtual fact that fundament rights of people as a whole cannot be subservient to the fundamental rights of a group or section of the people. There cannot be any right to strike which interferes in the lives of common people and also causing huge loss to national economy. In a democracy, government employees are part and parcel of the government machinery and so owe duty and responsibility towards the society. Too many strikes and bandh are very disastrous for the smooth functioning of government and cause lot of hardships to a common man. In our country everyone is found talking of his rights in democracy, but he forgets the fundamental duties enshrined in the same Constitution. From workers point of view, strikes are ultimate weapons which are only resorted to by them when all other means of struggle and negotiation to meet their genuine demands have exhausted. It is experienced that the working class as a whole has been relatively responsible and only used strikes in extreme cases when negotiations have 1'ai led completely or when employers have appeared to be completely insensitive to genuine demands of labour. Denial of this right would lead to a massive deterioration of the bargaining power of workers which has already been weakened by various macroeconomic processes such a global integration and the withdrawal of the state from important areas of regulation and provision. In any society, the socio-economic rights of the citizens including workers have never the been freely gifted by the State or the employers; their recognition and implementation have always been the result of prolonged struggle on the part of workers and other groups.  Changing the conditions of such struggle amounts to changing the possibility of ensuring these basic rights which are even recognized in the Constitution of India. Therefore, the right to strike for workers remains an important instrument for ensuring the basic economic rights of all citizens. Nobody says that the government employees should not have right to form their associations to protect their rights. The trouble arises when this right is misused and they resort to Strikes, Hartals and Bandhs, thereby bringing the everyday life of a common man to a halt. In fact over the years under the patronage of politicians and political parties, the trade unions or organizations have begun to feel themselves so powerful and pervasive that they do not mind neglecting their work, but at the same time will like to demand for more perks and facilities. The frequency with more...

"After 15 long years and much hobbling Indian Cricket team   I embarked on the historic tour to Pakistan in March 2004. A lot of hitch prevailed upon the decision offending Indian Cricket team to   ' Pakistan/or security and safety reasons, but thanks to prudency and statesmanship of Mr. Vajpayee that Indian Cricket team could visit Pakistan and not only won the cricket matches but also the soul and heart of the Pakistani people" After partition, it was the First time when thousands of Indian poured i| Pakistan by road. rail and by air to watch the India-Pak ODI and Test Series. Kudos to the people of Pakistan who welcomed every Indian with affability and geniality that had no parallel since partition. Even the long history of cricket matches between the two countries never find such a praise and admiration which made everyone believe as if two brothers are playing and vying to win with any animosity towards each other. The cricket match between India and Pakistan which had earlier been played Like a war and with an hysteria over victory and defense The spirit of sportsmanship was always lacking when India and Pakistan were far to face in cricket ground. The win or defeat was always witnessed as gain or loss pride of the country, such was an attitude of the players, of the people of both if countries, but this tour of Indian Cricket team has altogether changed the scenario., the Gaddaffi Stadium, the Indians and Pakistanis sat together, enjoyed to gulf cheered together and jointly carried the flags of the two countries stitched together Many young Pakistani girls wore the flag colours of the both the countries on the faces. A six or four by an Indian player earned the same applause as by a Pakistan player. Fifty or Century by a player of any country was given same clippings is thumping. The team mates of Indian side were seemed earlier worried for their safe and security, enjoyed the cricket and hospitality in such a manner that was nev imagined in their dreams on the soil of Pakistan. Before embarking on its historic tour of Pakistan, Sourav Gauguly and his team called on the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi on March 1 2004. The Prime Minister blessed the team: "Khel hi nalii, dil bhi Jeetiye—Sh kamnayen." (Win not only the game but hearts too—best wishes). The Prime Minister's exhortation came in the form of an inscription on a cricket bat. The India cricket team also presented the Prime Minister a bat, autographed by the entire teal On the same day Mr. Imran Khan. the Ex. Captain of Pakistani team, said that! wished that this tour of Indian team would help in healing the bitter divide between two neighbors. A Feel Good Factor seemed working in both the countries. After Indian team more...

"There are some parts of the world that once visited get into your heart and won 'I let go. For me India is such a place when I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land by ifs lush beauty and exotic architecture by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colours, smells, tastes and sounds. It was as if all my life I was seeing the world in black and while and when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything rendered in brilliant Technicolor.. "                                                                                                    —Keith Bellows "It we were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power and beauty that nature can bestow in some parts a very paradise on earth. I should point to India."                                —Max Mueller The most valuable assets of India as a desirable tourist destination lies in it thousands years old historical and cultural heritage. Every region, every pan i Mia encompasses culture of its own, entirely distinct in traditions, language. Festivals beliefs and rituals with different and unique style of living and dresses. No country in the world comprises such distinction such diversity with a unity and integration. This diversity may be attributed to the historical roots of developments of each region, due to different dynasties ruled the different regions. The development of different life style, celebrations of different festivals, adopting different languages, different dressing sense, all exit as per the norms fixed by the then ruling dynasty. Each region has unique physical features, soil types and climatic conditions, so has the distance vegetation and wild life. When all the nature beauty is mingled with different culture the resultant harmony present a unique land sparkled picture, reflecting; cac1 destination in its unique and colorful way.  One finds everything in India: exotic as well as native, the snow clad Himalayas crowned the head in the north, enveloped all the beauty within itself, releases the mighty rivers. Indus. Ganges. and Yamuna and their tributaries. These rivers rolling the whole country like arteries, supplying life blood to the body of the country and its inhabitants throughout the year. The complex beauty of the desert state of Rajasthan is found rarely in any part of the world. With That at its background and sand dunes, mirages and camels, the huge and glorified palaces, forts and have present a complex and unique beauty. The culture of Rajputs with bright Badhari H colours intricate designs and the Royal background give their sharp look different! from others. In their unique architectural style in the series of palaces are lake palace of Udaipur, sand colored forts in Jaisalmer. city palace of Jaipur, the pink city dm India coupled with the vibrant folkdances and folksongs make India an "Epitome om Cultural”. The Taj Mahal at Agra, symbol of Mughal romaine and faith, in its architectural perfection and splendor attracts tourists from all over the world. Taj Mahal reflects the more...

"In a democratic country like ours, where all the agents of the public must be responsible for their conduct, there can be few secrets. The people of this country have right to know every public act. The denial of the right to know which is derived from the concept of freedom of speech and expression, though not absolute yet is a factor which should make one worry"                                                                                                                                         —Supreme Court In Indian context the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, criminals and Police is a known clumsy fact. Corruption has rooted in all walks of life- Every wing of the administration is rotten with corrupt practices, even judiciary is also grappled by the devil of corruption. The right to know or need of transparency in Public administration becomes too important to keep it away any longer. Transparency means knowing the reasons, facts, logics and basis of the decision taken by the administration. Transparency in public administration in legal terms means that a citizen of India has a right (legal or fundamental) to have access to the information about government's actions. Denial of such information to the public by the public authorities without appropriate reasons would be offence under the law. Though Supreme Court has recently gave a constitutional status for the right to know. Yet under the guise of Official Secrets Act 1923 and Section 123 of Indian Evidence Act 1872 the executive can withhold the records from production in the court of law on security point of view. The laws were framed by the British with the sole purpose of protecting the interest of the British executives and keep them out of the purview of the scrutiny of court and has become outdated. These laws corrupt officials and protect them from the public exposure. Undisputedly, Transparency in Public administration will make the executive more responsible and friendly. The red tapes prevailed in the administration will be minimized as the public become more powerful. Transparency will positively result in wiping out the authoritarianism and whimsical way of working of the so called powerful bureaucrats under the patronage of politicians. The discretions enjoyed by bureaucrats and the ministers also comes into focus, as soon as the Transparency in Public Administration is restored. Though Supreme Court has decided in several cases that discretions enjoyed must be used reasonably and decisions taken must be based on logical reasoning, yet the things are not so smooth as it appears. Transparency or right to know or right to get information, emanates from the fundamental rights: Right to speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(i)(a) of the Indian Constitution. Denial of information means a restriction on Right to speech and expression. "In a democratic set up like India, the rightof franchise is not sufficient, but right to know the affairs of the state is necessary," says an eminent thinker. Mr. Justice Krishna lyer rightly observed, "the essential measure to ensure a responsible political system is to grant the right la information without which an intelligent participation is not more...