Current Affairs Essays

Both men and woman have intentions and act, so both are capable of virtue. Virtue ethics as a theory of morality has existed, most notably, since Aristotle. Courage is one such virtue and to display this, persons need to experience fear and perceive danger. The circumstances surrounding an act of courage need to be proportionate to perceived risk to avoid the activity becoming an enterprise of foolishness. Also the potential costs associated with the risk must be proportionate to the ends concerning the bravery. These elements associated with courage are undoubtedly equally available to both sexes and in the  sense of equality feminism woman can and have been courageous. However, in light of difference feminism, another facet may need to be added to the modem meaning of courage, as an acknowledgement that virtues are characterised with respect to attitudes held within the context of definition. A virtue is a prescription of how someone should be. It is a component of character. Aristotle described virtue as being a mean, or average of attitude which could be uncovered via reasoning and displayed through personality and behaviour styles. Courage is said to be an executive virtue. The virtue of courage contains at least two components. First there must be an internal factor of fear or even phobia. Psychology tells us that fear is an awareness of physiological changes in response to some stimulus or other. These changes include increased respiration, heart-beat, blood-pressure, and higher production of epinephrine (adrenaline). Other changes such as pupil dilation, increased sweating and decreased production of saliva are often present too. This process occurs in a part of the autonomic, non-voluntary, nervous system called the sympathetic division. All healthy humans, male or female have sympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system and are thus prone to the physiological, and thus the psychological, experience of fear. Second, there must be an external factor of perceived danger m a circumstance for a courageous deed to be possible. The degree of such will depend on how the individual relates the present circumstance with experiences of past events and situations. For example, if l see a torrentially flooded river an attempt to cross it would be perceived as dangerous because I have seen many such situations on television where lives have been put at risk. This cognitive component is important in danger because I may enter a dangerous situation without realising it and thus act without courage. It could be imagined that an individual has no idea that, to get a culled animal for feeding their family, they may have to walk across a minefield. If the minefield is unknown to the individual then no fear will be experienced because no danger is attached to collecting the prey on the other side ofthe field. So in this case no act of bravery has been committed. Alternatively, it appears, courage can be displayed without any real danger existing.  Phobias have the component of fear without physical danger. A phobia may be defined as an more...

The worth of a civilization can be judged by the place given to women in the society. One of several factors that justify the greatness. Of India’s ancient culture is the honourable place granted to women. The Muslim influence on India caused considerable deterioration in the status of women. They were deprived of their rights of equality with men. Raja Ram Mohan Roy started a movement against this inequality and subjugation. The contact of Indian culture with that of the British also brought improvement in the status of women. The third factor in the revival of women's position was the influence of Mahatma Gandhi who induced women to participate in the Freedom Movement. As a result of this retrieval of freedom, women in Indian have distinguished themselves as teachers, nurses, air-hostesses, booking clerks, receptionists, and doctors. They are also participating in politics and administration. But in spite of this amelioration in the status of women, the evils of illiteracy, dowry, ignorance, and economic slavery would have to be fully removed in order to give them their rightful place in Indian society. The worth of a civilisation can be judged from the position that it gives to women. Of the several factors that justify the greatness of India's ancient culture, one of the greatest is the honoured place ascribed to women. Manu, the great law-giver, said long ago, 'where women are honoured there reside the gods'. According to ancient Hindu scriptures no religious rite can be performed with perfection by a man without the participation of his wife. Wife's participation is essential to any religious rite. Married men along with their wives are allowed to perform sacred rites on the occasion of various important festivals. 'Wives are thus befittingly called 'Ardhangani' (better half). They are given not only important but equal position with men. But in the later period the position of women went on deteriorating due to Muslim influence. During the Muslim period of history they were deprived of their rights of equality with men. They were compelled to keep themselves within the four walls of their houses with a long veil on their faces. This was definitely due to Islamic influence. Even today in some Islamic countries women are not allowed to go out freely. The conservative regimes of Iran and Pakistan, for example, have withdrawn the liberties given to women folk by the previous liberal governments. Even in India the Muslim women are far more backward than their Hindu, Christian and Sikh counterparts. The sight of Muslim women walking with long 'Burkas' (veils) on their person is not very rare. The women are, as a matter of fact, regarded as captive and saleable commodities in Muslim families. One man is allowed to have so many wives with the easiest provision of divorce. The husband can divorce a wife just by saying 'I divorce you' under the provision of Muslim laws. This is what the emperors did hundred years back and the men are doing it even now in more...

Shri Vajpayee was Prime Minister of India from May 16-31,1996 and a second time from March 19, 1998 to May 13, 2004. With his swearing-in as Prime Minister, he has been the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to occupy the office of the Prime Minister of India through three successive mandates. Shri Vajpayee has also been the first Prime Minister since Smt. Indira Gandhi to lead his party to victory in successive elections. Born on December 25,1924 at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Shri Krishna Bihari Vajpayee and Smt. Krishna Devi, Shri Vajpayee brings with him a long parliamentary experience spanning over four decades. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1957. He was elected to the 5th, 6th and 7th Lok Sabha and again to the 10th, 11th 12th and 13th Lok Sabha and to Rajya Sabha in 1962 and 1986. He has again been elected to Parliament from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh for the fifth time consecutively. He is the only parliamentarian elected from four different States at different times namely - UP, Gujarat, MP and Delhi. Elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance, which is a pre-election coming together of political parties from different regions of the country and which enjoyed a comfortable backing and support of the elected Members of the 13th Lok Sabha, Shri Vajpayee was earlier elected leader of his own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party which has also again emerged as the single largest party in the 13th Lok Sabha as was the case in the 12th Lok Sabha. Educated at Victoria (now Laxmi Bai) College, Gwalior and DAV College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Shri Vajpayee holds an M.A (Political Science) degree and has many literary, artistic and scientific accomplishments to his credit. He edited Rashtradharma (a Hindi monthly), Panchjanya (a Hindi weekly) and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun. His published works include "Meri Sansadiya Yatra" (in four volumes), "Meri Ikkyavan Kavitayen", "Sankalp Kaal", "Shakti- se-Shanti", "Four Decades in Parliament" (speeches in three volumes), 1957-95, "Lok Sabha mein Atalji" (a collection of speeches); MrityuYa Hatya", "Amar Balidan", "Kaidi Kaviraj Ki Kundalian" (a collection of poems written in jail during Emergency); "New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy" (a collection of speeches delivered as External Affairs Minister during 1977-79); "Jan Sangh Aur Mussalman"; "Sansad Mein Teen Dashak" (Hindi) (speeches in Parliament - 1957-1992 – three volumes; and "Amar Aag Hai" (a collection of poems) 1994. Shri Vajpayee has participated in various social and cultural activities. He has been a Member of the National Integration Council since 1961. Some of his other associations include - (i) President, All India Station Masters and Assistant Station Masters Association (1965-70); (ii) Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smarak Samiti (1968-84); (iii) Deen Dayal Dham, Farah, Mathura, U.P; and (iv) Janmabhomi Smarak Samiti, 1969 onwards. Founder member of the erstwhile Jana Sangh (1951), President, Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1968-1973), leader of the Jana Sangh parliamentary party (1955-1977) and a founder member of the Janata Party (1977-1980), Shri Vajpayee was President, BJP (1980- more...

My favourite pasttime is to spend time on the computer, even at a tender age I liked computer systems. to have a computer was a dream, an almost impossible dream. I had a friend named Akash at that time, we were in the same school, same grade and we had a very good relationship. At that time he had a computer system and we used to spend our free time playing games, printing greeting cards, banners, we also did our school home work. It was very nice and playful. Even then I yearned to own my own computer, so I could spend more time learning how to use the computer. One day my parents went to market without me because I was in school at that time so I stayed back till evening with my grandmother until my parents came back. "When my parents returned home they arrived with a big box with no labels or printings on the outside of the box. My parents always knew that I wanted a computer. I didn't know what was inside of the big brown box until the next day when 1 saw the computer on my homework table. It was the best day of my life, for that day my dream became reality. Now my favourite hobby turned to be computers and 1 like to spend a lot time making graphics, programs, configuring systems in my new Pentium II 450mhz processor, and playing with my small network system that I have at home. I also like to alter pictures for example take one girl face out and put in another girl or man face that no one would tell that particular picture was altered. I like to write my essays on my computer because I have more fun, my mind is more relaxed and I think better as opposed to writing with pen. At least it works for me. I am glad that I have chosen computers as my subject in school because I think the next millennium will be based on computers. I believe that in the future computers will became a part of everyday life, in schools, jobs, and even in leisure activities. In order to compete or stay abreast with peers computer knowledge will be mandatory. For me computer is not only having a hobby, which is very interesting, but it also opens doors now and in the future. My hobby has a promising career in a fast growing, high demanding and very rewarding field.  

Indian economy in the early period was a self-sufficient economy Comprising of several villages. Indian villages produced and met their requirement according to division of labour and their economic activity was restricted to village economy. Barter system prevailed as an exchange mechanism. Basically, the primary activity was agriculture. Other services like carpentry, weaving, hair dressing, etc. were offered by labourers who extended their services based on heredity. They received their wages as food products. In short, Indian villages functioned as independent republics and the only interference was from the King to whom they paid taxes in kind. Thus, India had happy villages. Prior to the British rule, religion, system of the society and king's law influenced the economy to a great extent. There prevailed caste system which decided the division of labour for the benefit of the society's economy. Further, the prevalence of joint-family system helped them to pool their resources for their individual  family benefit and also for the benefit of the society. Another advantage of the joint-family system was that the cultivable lands were not fragmented, yielding better economic gains. Another influencer on early Indian economy was the Hindu religion. The religious centres also functioned as Indian trade  centres. For example, major pilgrimage spots like Nasik, Allahabad, Varanasi, etc. also functioned as centres of commerce and trade. Many trade and commerce activities were linked to the religious festivals and functions. In short, the Hindu religion acted as an indirect catalyst for the Indian economy. One of the major industries in early India was textile. Handicrafts was also part of the Indian industrial activity. Indian textile products like shawls, dhotis, dupattas, woollen products, cotton goods, etc. and handicraft products were exported to overseas markets, such as Egypt, South EastAsia, Greece, etc. It is worth noting that when Europe (birth place of modern industrialism) was inhabited by uncivilised people, India was very popular for its craftsmanship and rich economy. Indian land had been invaded and ruled by many outsiders, amongst which the British regime was considered very important. British East India Company entered India in 1757 through the Battle of Plessey and the Crown took the complete administration during 1858. Politically, India was under the British rule for around two centuries and the Indian economy was significantly influenced during their rule. Indian culture and administration too underwent a major transition during British rule. Other invaders, prior to British, created a feeling of differentiation between Indian citizens and themselves as a separate class. However, British identified themselves as citizens of India. Thanks to this attitude, British followed an administrative set up in India to develop their motherland at the expense of India.   Further, the spread of colonialism of the British in South East Asia also led to another problem. They transported Indians to other neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka as labourers to work in their plantations. However, when they left this sub-continent, they left several of these issues unsolved. Still today, these Indian labourers in Sri Lanka face an identity more...

The world is in a sorry and sad state as we pass from the festivities of the holidays to the hard realities of our working and daily lives. We find divisions and strife - between continents, between countries, between cultures, and between different ethnic or racial groups. There is separation and conflict between the rich and the poor, between the powerful and the powerless, between religions, between ideologies, between classes, between families and even between members of the same family or group. Perhaps it was ever thus' or perhaps it is, as it appears, even more dire and dreadful than ever before. What is certainly true is that what applies to continents, and countries, and groups, and families, also applies within the individual's own self. So many people feel tom and divided within. they are not at peace with themselves or with their surroundings. They feel anxiety, stress and strain. They are in a state of war within themselves. At every turn it seems they face difficult decisions - they want inward peace but they want the conveniences and toys of the modern market place. They want happiness - but also the excitement of a hectic world and busy life. They want traditional values - but they also want modern 'freedoms'. They want an ordered society, but they also want to be free to do what they want regardless of others. Integration implies something of a very different nature. It implies the reconciliation of opposing elements - not by taking one in favour of another, or by fusing all the elements into one mixture, but by bringing all the different threads into a single harmonious or integrated whole that does not exclude the independent uniqueness of its elements. As a rope contains many separate strands which nevertheless work together without losing their identity. It may surprise you to know that Shah Wali Ullah of Delhi, one of the greatest Sufi saints and thinkers of his own, or any time, recognised that, even at the astonishing heights of spiritual development that he reached, there still remained choices between diverging tendencies of the soul to be made. He wanted to reach such a spiritual situation that those divergent tendencies were reconciled. In traditional thinking you may know that there is a process for resolving theoretically conflict between opposites - in philosophy it is called 'dialectics' - but a short reflection will enable you to see it is a common experience. It means that the difference between two opposites are resolved by transcending them both – however this transcendence then forms a new entity which by the nature of things is then found to have its own opposite. The process is then repeated again and again. Each time transcending opposites creates a new set of opposites. It appears that there is no end to this process, and it is in itself a valuable thing to enable the mind to move ever upwards in its search forever higher levels of understanding. The period prior more...

With increasing intrusion of aliens in their lives, it was natural that nationalist feelings began to be articulated by an increasing number of Indians. A group of middle class Indians formed the Indian National Congress (1885) - a society of English – educated affluent professionals - to seek reforms from the British. The British did not respond adequately to the legitimate demands of the Indians and this resulted in growing resentment against them. By the last decade of the 19th Century a younger, more militant generation of Indians had begun to assert their birthright to independence. The Indian National Congress inevitably changed under the constant pressure exerted by men like Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra. In Bengal too, there was a fiery group of revolutionaries who maintained that violence was the only language the foreigners understood. The partition of Bengal, announced by Lord Curzon in 1905, triggered a political earthquake - people rose in revolt en masse and forced the withdrawal of the ill-advised plan. The mass movement brought out the widespread love for India and things Indian - Swadeshi - and reinforced communal harmony. Foreign produce was boycotted and a bonfire of imported clothes became the characteristic feature of protest. The anticolonial struggle became truly a mass movement with the arrival of Gandhi in 1915. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 -1948) had suffered great humiliation in South Africa due to the policy of racial discrimination and was committed to rid his motherland of the ills of foreign rule. While practicing as an attorney in South Africa, Gandhi had read widely and contemplated deeply. After having acquainted himself with the ground reality in India he devised a unique strategy for India's freedom struggle. Laying equal emphasis on the ends and means, he told his compatriots to accept non-violence as their creed and civil disobedience as their invincible weapon. Gandhi had a unique gift for dramatic manipulation of symbols as well as a charismatic personality. It was not long, before he galvanised the masses in the fight against the British. Almost all the major leaders in the national movement accepted him as their mentor. He conceived and led the Non-cooperation Movement in 1922, the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 that climaxed in the Dandi March and the Quit India Movement in 1942 with its stirring battle cry - Do or Die - shaking the roots of the British empire. Even revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad, who disagreed with the philosophy of non-violence, respected Gandhi Ji. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, who organised the Indian National Army (1943) m South East Asia during the Second World War to liberate India, also sought his blessings before starting his military campaign. Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad, Jaiprakash Narayan, Vallabhbhai Patel followed Gandhi's commands as disciplined soldiers of the Congress party. After a long and arduous round of constitutional negotiations and in the face of the determined struggle of the Indian people, the British agreed to transfer power on 15th August 1947(the date is commemorated as Independence more...

Indian society is multifaceted to an extent perhaps unknown in any other of the world's great civilisations. Virtually no generalisation made about Indian society is valid for all of the nation's multifarious groups. Comprehending the complexities of Indian social structure has challenged scholars and other observers over many decades. The ethnic and linguistic diversity of Indian civilisation is more like the diversity of an area as variable as Europe than like that of any other single nation-state. Living within the embrace of the Indian nation are vast numbers of different regional, social, and economic groups, each with different cultural practices. Particularly noteworthy are differences between social structures in the north and the south, especially in the realm of kinship systems. Throughout the country, religious differences can be significant, especially between the Hindu majority and the large Muslim minority; and other Indian groups— Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Jews, Parsis, Sikhs, and practitioners of tribal religions—all pride themselves on being unlike members of other faiths. Access to wealth and power varies considerably, and vast differences in socioeconomic status are evident everywhere. The poor and the wealthy live side by side in urban and rural areas. It is common in city life to see a prosperous, well-fed man or woman chauffeured in a fine car pass gaunt street dwellers huddled beneath burlap shelters along the roadway. In many villages, solid cement houses of landowners rise not far from the flimsy thatched shacks of landless labourers. Even when not so obvious, distinctions of class are found in almost every settlement in India. Urban-rural differences can be immense in the Indian Society. Nearly 74 percent of India's population dwells in villages, with agriculture providing support for most of these rural residents. In villages, mud-plastered walls ornamented with traditional designs, dusty lanes, herds of grazing cattle, and the songs of birds at sunset provide typical settings for the social lives of most Indians. In India's great cities, however, millions of people live amidst cacophony— roaring vehicles, surging crowds Jammed apartment buildings, busy commercial establishments, loudspeakers blaring movie tunes— while breathing the poisons of industrial and automotive pollution. Gender distinctions are pronounced. The behaviour expected of men and women can be quite different, especially in villages, but also in urban centres. Prescribed ideal gender roles help shape the actions of both sexes as they move between family and the world outside the home. Cross-cutting and pervading all of these differences of region, language, wealth, status, religion, urbanity, and gender is the special feature of Indian society that has received most attention from observers: caste. The people of India belong to thousands of castes and-caste like groups—hierarchically ordered, named groups into which members are born. Caste members are expected to marry within the group and follow caste rules pertaining to diet, avoidance of ritual pollution, and many other aspects of life. Given the vast diversity of Indian society, any observation must be tempered with the understanding that it cannot apply to all Indians. Still, certain themes or underlying principles more...

Advertising is the communication link between the seller Hid the buyer or the consumer. It does not simply provide information about the products and services but is an active attempt at influencing people to action by an overt appeal to reason or emotion. Advertising may be in any form of presentation. It may be a sign, a symbol, an illustration, an ltd message in a magazine or a newspaper, a commercial on the radio or television, a circular dispatched through the mail or a pamphlet - handed out at a street corner, a sketch or a message on a billboard or a poster. Any form of presentation which an advertiser wants to make. Advertising is communication with many consumers of products and services. To communicate with a large group, we put the advertising message through mass media like the press, magazine and TV Ethics in advertising is concerned with good and bad, with reference to a particular culture at a given point of time. It represents a set of Moral and principal values. Ethical advertising contains truth, not absolute truth by socially accepted standards of honesty as truth. It has to be right towards its approach and claim. Truth in ethical advertising is valued because an advertiser indulging in untruth will be spotted sooner or later. He will lose goodwill forever, not only for one product, but also possibly for his entire product line. Hasty truth in advertising should be valued for its own sake. Ads offering mixtures and substances which promise gains like right growth of hair "by the use of a specific company's oil, generally make patently false claims. The exaggeration in consumer advertisements is not only in headlines, body copy and slogans but also in the strong visuals. The Mouth watering visuals of television ads of ice creams, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, jellies and yoghurt are created with Models that have nothing to do with the look, the feel and the taste of the actual products. Advertising of alcoholic drinks and tobacco are banned in the broadcasting Media and in cinema but still advertisers go around these prohibitions and indirectly promote through soda and Mineral water. These indirect ads are called Surrogate ads. To sum up, advertising does reflect the changing social, economic and cultural values. While doing so it should not lose sight of the development perspective. Advertising is what people see and they believe in that. An identified sponsor should promote it. The advertisements that are required to be shown should contain some message and they should convey some meaning to the people. The social ethics should be considered in' mind keeping in view the culture and traditions of the people. There should be a promise made by the advertiser where he/she is conveying a message to its target audience. The target audience is an important criterion that one has to keep in mind while advertising for the desired product or service. Advertising should be meaningful and truthful. It should help to promote the desired product more...

Prudence is the virtue of the senses. It is the science of appearances. It is the outmost action of the inward life. It is God taking thought for oxen. It moves matter after the laws of matter. It is content to seek health of body by complying with physical conditions, and health of mind by the laws of the intellect. The world of the senses is a world of shows; it does not exist for itself, but has a symbolic character; and a true prudence or law of shows recognises the co- presence of other laws, and knows that its own office is subaltern; knows that it is surface and not center where it works. Prudence is false when detached. It is legitimate when it is the Natural History of the soul incarnate; when it unfolds the beauty of laws within the narrow scope of the senses. There are all degree of proficiency in knowledge of the world. It is sufficient, to our present purpose, to indicate three. One class lives to the utility of the symbol; esteeming health and wealth a final good. Another class lives above this mark to the beauty of the symbol; as the poet, and artist, and the naturalist, and man of science. A third class lives above the beauty of the symbol to the beauty of the thing signified; these arc wise men. The first class have coin on sense; the second, taste; and the third, spiritual perception. Once in a long time, a man traverses the whole scale, and sees and enjoys the symbol solidly; then also has a clear eye for its beauty, and, lastly, whilst he pitches his tent on this sacred volcanic isle of nature, does not offer to build houses and barns thereon, reverencing the splendour of the God which he sees bursting through each chink and cranny. Cultivated men always feel and speak as if a great fortune, the achievement of a civil or social measure, great personal influence, a graceful and commanding address, had their value as proofs of the energy of the spirit. If a man loses his balance, and immerses himself in any trades or pleasures for their own sake, he may be a good wheel or pin, but he is not a cultivated man. The spurious prudence, making the senses final, is the god of sots and cowards, and is the subject of all comedy. It is nature's joke, and therefore literature's. The true prudence limits this sensualism by admitting the knowledge of an internal and real world. Prudence does not go behind nature, and ask whence it is. It takes the laws of the world, whereby man's being is conditioned, as they are, and keeps these laws that it may enjoy their proper good. It respects space and time, climate, want, sleep, the law of polarity, growth, and death. There revolve to give bound and period to his being, on all sides, the sun and moon, the great formalists in the sky: here more...