Current Affairs Secondary School Level

The present conflict and consequent tense relations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir started in 1947 when the British left. The partition of India is not only a turning point in the history of the Indian subcontinent, but a signal event in world history as well. Preceding partition, India was directly under Crown rule. The British in order to perpetuate their rule, had divided the Indian society on religious grounds. They put Muslims against Hindus and instilled in them the demand for a separate land for themselves, and thus Pakistan was created. With passing of Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British Parliament, all princely states including Kashmir were released from their obligations to the Crown; the Instrument of Accession was an integral part of that mechanism. Kashmir was thus free to accede to India or Pakistan. To complicate the matters, the Maharaja of Kashmir, at first, refused to handover Kashmir to either country. An enraged Pakistan pushed tribesmen duly backed and supported by military forces to attack Kashmir and annex it by force. Maharaja then signed accession to India, in October 1947, and sought military aid from India to counter Pakistani aggression. India swiftly moved in, fought the battle in 1947-48, and saved about two-third of the territory when ceasefire was declared and Line of Control (LOC) was established in January 1949; the other side of it to be Pakistani Azad Kashmir and this side Indian Jammu & Kashmir. The issue which was left unresolved by the British remained to be the cause of edgy Indo-Pak relations and led to two (1947-48 and 1965) of the three wars (the third being 1971) over the Kashmir problem, with continued strife. In both the attempts to capture Kashmir by military action, Pakistan was squarely defeated by India. Having failed to get Kashmir by military means, Pakistan planned a low-cost proxy war in Kashmir to wear down India under 'Operation Topac’. The proxy war still goes on. Kargil war (1999) was a desperate attempt in which too Pakistan was defeated militarily and humiliated diplomatically. The Indo-Pak relations have been either 'low’ or 'not too low' since, the partition. Although the accession of Kashmir to India was in strict adherence to the Instrument of Accession, yet the same British Government did not accept it and advised USA not to accept the legality and constitutionality of it. This breach of faith by both UK and USA, for over sixty years has been at the root of the dispute and strained Indo-Pak relations. These relations deteriorated further because of their military adventures; and the neighbouring country's support to terrorism. Pakistan has not done enough to keep their promise of permanently ending the infiltration of terrorists from across the border. Such actions by Pakistan foil the Indian initiatives for improved Indo-Pak relations. The importance and need for better relations, understanding and restraint is more now than ever before as both the countries have acquired nuclear capabilities and have thus assumed potentially dangerous destructive capability. The arms more...

Delhi is a place where exhibitions are held on a regular basis. The India International Trade Fair is held every year during November. I visited this exhibition for the first time recently. My first impression was that, the whole set-up looked like a fairy land. The exhibition ground with bright colours, fountains and lighting created a carnival atmosphere. People streamed in with their children and were busy looking at exhibits, watching open air shows, eating and purchasing. The attractive display of fancy items could entice any onlooker. The children of all age groups seemed to be flocking towards the amusement section, computer and electronic stalls, toy section and the shating rink. There were also a puppet show, street theatre, films and live fashion shows. One of the most interesting feature of the exhibition was the handicrafts pavilion, where craftsmen from various parts of the country were displaying their skills. Here one could get first hand knowledge of the making of the various handicraft. Here one got a view of the real India. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition which was very educative. That day was one of my most enjoyable of days. I now knew why people always flocked to exhibitions in big numbers.

God has given us a cycle of seasons. There is the freezing winter and then the gradually warming spring. After spring comes the scorching summer and then come the cooling rains, followed by the pleasant autumn and then winter once again. Each one of these seasons has something to recommend it. You will find the lovers of each as well as the critics. I love the rainy season. After two long months of scorching heat, when the clouds start gathering in the sky, my heart starts dancing. When the first showers fall, the wonderful smell of the earth has an intoxicating quality. The tired faces of the people brighten up with hope and happiness. To see the eagerness in a peasant's face is a heartening experience. When the rain comes down in torrents, I love to get drenched in it. All the dryness and heat of the summer is wiped out from the soul. The whole earth takes its refreshing bath. After the first heavy downpour everything appears to w be very fresh and clean. The dusty roads are shining. The dusty trees are bright. There is music of the birds and beasts and insects all round. The sky presents a wonderful view during the rainy season. Sometimes there are thick dark clouds. Sometimes there are small pieces of clouds chasing one another like small boats. Sometimes, in the stormy nights, the lightning creates dazzling patterns of artistic designs. It is wonderful to travel during the rains. The jungles are lush green. Travelling through them by train or by bus is very enjoyable. The visit to different waterfalls is another very exhilarating experience. The water falling down from great heights with deafening sound and creating a misty atmosphere is something very thrilling. I love to watch it.     Another very impressive sight is a visit to a river side. When the river is in spate in the rainy. season, it presents a grand spectacle. There is water, water every where, rushing madly and carrying trees, houses, animals - all. It is an awe-inspiring scene. The destructive power of the mighty river makes one believe in God. Finally, the music of the raindrops falling on one's roof is very soothing. The rainy season also means the beginning of new session and new activities. Yes, rainy season is indeed beautiful!

Just before the winter when the leaves begin to wither we experience fall. This is the autumn season. The colour of the leaves changes to yellow, brown and auburn. Trees begin to shed leaves. Maple leaves are symbolic to autumn. The landscape is amazing. The earth gets a different hue. The weather is chilly but not severe. The sun is bright but mild. People enjoy picnicking and outing. Lazing in the parks and making barbecue is much enjoyed.      Autumn is not experienced in all parts of the world. Most part of India does not have autumn. But North India is heavenly with the chinar trees changing their colour. If you want to experience the real autumn you should visit Kashmir.

Maya Angelou's autobiography 'I know why the caged bird sings', won her a lot of acclaim. Angelou was hailed as a new kind of memoirist as she was the first African American woman who was able to publicly discuss her personal life. Angelou's autobiography set a precedent for the genre of autobiographies as a whole. Before “I know why the caged bird sings” black women writers had been marginalized to the extent that they were unable to present themselves as the central characters of their own books. With this autobiography, Angelou became not just famous as a writer but as a spokeswoman for the African American Movement and women as well. In this poem, Angelou effectively contrasts the characteristics of a caged bird and a free bird. The free bird has the courage to claim the sky because his faith has not been broken and his pride has not been bruised nor his dreams shattered. The caged bird, on the other hand sings because that's all it can do, its wings are clipped and it can only dream of freedom, never taste it. Maya Angelou is the caged bird in her autobiography having had to overcome white prejudice, black powerlessness and female subjugation to earn her place in the Sun.

Outline: Defining pollution. Pollution as a universal problem and factors contributing to air pollution. Water pollution and diseases caused by it. Factors contributing to sound pollution. Steps taken by India to control pollution. Pollution is the abstract cause for the shortcoming of life on the earth. Pollution can be defined as an undesirable and excessive addition of some toxic substances in air, water and soil. Pollution has adversely affected and changed the natural and original quality of environment. This in turn has gradually become unfavorable for living organisms on the earth. Pollutions are residues and leftovers of various things that we produce, use and throw away. The things that unfavorably disturb our natural surroundings are known as pollutants. Today the problem of pollution is universal as it is experienced by various nations. People are compelled to breathe contaminated air as there is no another alternative unless the sources of air pollution are minimized and controlled. One of the common factors of air pollution is carbon mono oxide gas. This gas is produced by automobiles. The industrial plants producing cement, chemicals, etc. are the principal sources of air pollution. They release different gases, dust particles, fumes and poisonous smoke. Moreover, excessive use of insecticides and pesticides discharges pollutants in the air causing air pollution. Any kind of adverse effect in the chemical and physical characteristic of water makes it contaminated and unfit to use. This leads to water pollution. The industrial waste materials contain harmful chemicals and acids. They act as an agent of death to the aquatic life. Polluted water causes diseases like jaundice, typhoid, cholera and other long-lasting health problems. Moreover, oil spill from the oil ship tankers in the seas and oceans causes severe damages to marine birds, fishes and water dependent animals. Various factors contribute to sound pollution. Different vehicles are in continuous movement. They increase the level of noise. Besides these, loud speakers also disturb the peace of the locality by increasing the level of noise. The sound pollution causes physical discomfort and temporary or permanent damage to hearing. It can even cause emotional disturbances. India has taken her own pollution control steps and measures. Agriculture provides livelihood to about two third population of India. Awareness about harmful effects of chemical pesticides has been a great gain to the environmental movement and controlling the pollution. The use of thin poly bag is prohibited by the government, as they are harmful to the environment. Using it has become a punishable offence. In short lesser the pollution longer the life of the living brings on the planet.

Integration is 'unification into a whole- of all the diverse elements in a community’. National integration thus implies unification of the diverse populace of the country. India is a secular country of rich cultural heritage with diverse races, religions, languages, castes, customs and traditions. Despite this diversity, India has always had a basic unity and distinctive identity. A major challenge was faced soon after independence viz. to bring together several princely states (over 500) under the Indian Union. This stupendous task was achieved and will be remembered as the first step towards national integration. One sprint of unity got India it's freedom from British rule. This unity found its manifestation during Chinese aggression (1962) and Pakistani attacks (1965 and 1971). It is strange, but true, that India displays its mettle in crisis when its destiny is threatened, but exhibits conflicting attitudes otherwise. We, as a country, are still learning that only when there is peace, unity and harmony amongst the people, can India achieve continuous growth, peoples' welfare and develop into a great nation. National integrity, for ever, is vital for its security and prosperity. The current trend of fissiparous, disruptive and disintegrating tendencies such as communalism, terrorism, casteism, regionalism and linguism must end. National integration remains a crucial issue in India notwithstanding the fact that India can boast of a civilization which is 5000 years old. True, some the divisive factors may be inherent in the history, geography and culture of India, but there have been forces which accentuate these factors. Religious fundamentalism is one such force and linguistic diversities constitute another. There are people who hold an exclusive view of religion which drives them into sectarian frenzy that does not admit any tolerance of other faiths. Despite a shared culture of so many years, linguistic chauvinism has often generated tensions and conflicts among different communities threatening the fabric of national unity. Linguistic regionalism reached a crisis stage with Telangana movement (1953), and so the states were reorganized (1956) along linguistic lines. With it came the expression of local culture instead of a national one, and proliferation of pan-Indian opposition parties. The recent anti-North Indian outburst in Mumbai and some other parts of Maharashtra by a local political party is an exhibition of linguistic regionalism only. The age-old caste system and discrimination based on caste and creed has significantly contributed to weaken the bond of unity in the society. The devil of communalism has no place in secular India as it disinvigorates national peace and integrity. Still, scattered instances of the violent hatred do occur e.g. the recent past (2002) flare-up in Gujarat. The monster of terrorism is another problem which creates chaos and disturbs national peace and harmony - most recent was in Jaipur (Rajasthan), others some time ago in Mumbai and Malegaon (Maharashtra), Rampur, Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), and Delhi, not to speak of the 'attack' on Parliament in Delhi. All such forces of dissatisfaction, unrest and disintegration are ugly heads of more...

In this day and age, traffic jams in any and every city is a common sight. To escape the congestion and pollution of Mumbai we were on our way to Uran in a hired car for a picnic last Sunday. We had gone way past the suburban towns when straight ahead of us I saw a massive traffic jam, something I least expected so far out of the city. Soon our car stood bumper to bumper with a long river of vehicles that extended as far as eye could see. I was wondering what happened? Was it a big accident? But everyone was looking quite impatiently to the right. What was it? got curious, I got permission from Dad, got out of the car and walked ahead. Soon I discovered that we were held up owing to a railway crossing ahead. A train was expected which was obviously late in coming. The gate at the railway crossing must have been closed for quite a while because on my side of the gate there were at least a thousand vehicles. A similar number of them was probably on the other side too. The street hawkers from a village close-by were quick to take full advantage of the situation selling from glasses of water to cut fruit and even tea and cold drinks! At long last a distant sound of a train whistle was heard. There was a visible sigh of relief and people started rushing back to their vehicles. I waited to watch the train go by. It was a goods train plodding along at a laboriously slow pace. I started counting the carriages. Wow! there were eighty-three of them no wonder it was going so slow. A few minutes after the train had passed, the gateman opened the gates. It was like opening the floodgates. The traffic just surged forward. Within ten minutes the traffic was clear and the place looked as deserted as a countryside road should look. We also continued on our way to Uran. Believe me, that day I enjoyed the scene at the railway crossing more than the picnic.

After the colourful, scented, flowery spring season comes the burning summer season. In India people are generally afraid of this season. They fear the heat, the 'loo' the dusty dryness and the glare of May and June. They find the parched and cracked earth, the empty fields, the dust-storms, very frightening and repulsive. I love this season. I always look forward to these months. They bring me holidays — I am free from the dull routine of college studies. I can do whatever I like. There is no dearth of absorbing activities in this season. The river Ganga flows by our city. Our group of friends goes there every morning for swimming. We swim, we dive, we play and have fan in the cool, refreshing water of the Ganga. When I came back home I am hungry enough to eat the whole world. After the breakfast we friends go to the nearby orchard. We relax under the shady trees and read books and magazines on different topics. We climb the trees and play games like hide and seek. It is such fun. This type of wonderful time is possible only in the summers. Then I come back home and have my lunch with all the members of my family. After a short rest, it is again time to read. Then in the evening it is again games like cricket, badminton or volleyball. When the night comes we all go to the river-bank and talk for long hours. Thus passed the usual summer day. The things we eat and drink in the summer are delicious. The 'lassi 'thandai 'milkshake' 'Jaljeera', the 'colas' and 'sherbets’ quench our thirst during the day. The different flavoured ice-creams and 'kulfis', the cool. cucumbers, the fine flavoured musk-melons and melons, the rich, ripe mangoes, the 'lichies' - all make the summer very desirable. Sometimes we go to the hill stations. What fun it is to enjoy your life in the cool, inviting hills. The trekking through the hilly routes, the boating in the lakes, the skating in the rinks, the evening walks along the gay, busy roads, and the inviting bazars — all make life wonderful. Really, summers are so enjoyable

Although the rainy season brings with it a relief from summer, it also brings several problems. The daily difficulties in a big city are; traffic jams, water flooding on streets due to poor drainage, electricity cuts, damage to trees, spread of diseases in mosquitoes, etc. Not only we human beings, but animals and birds also deprived of food and shelter at times.   The farmers face damage to their crops due to unprecedented rainfall. Some low lying regions could also get floods. Thus the problems of heavy rain could be quite devastating. Fisher folks also need to be careful while venturing out in the sea. Necessary precautions need to be taken to keep a check on the damage due to the rains. The infrastructure of the country should be geared to safe guard all from the monsoon menace.