Polticology of Religion, till when?

Since ages, Politics and religion have been complementary to each other. Religion has been playing a very important role in the field of politics as we see many political parties, which have come up on the basis of religious origin. The principle of Political Science of Religion or Politicology of Religion refers to the branch of political sciences that deals with a study of influence that religion has on politics and vice versa with a focus on the relationship between the subjects in politics in the narrow sense: government, political parties, pressure groups, and religious communities.

Religion has become a means of bagging in the votes of a particular religious community. Firstly, the political party would appoint the candidate belonging to the religion of the majority community. Secondly, there is publicity on how the party is going to help the majority religion and in what way are the people going to benefit from having a leader in power who belongs to their own religion, thus creating a large impact on the masses. Blind voting follows. Use of religion, caste or regionalism is a regressive and dangerous trend, capable of alienating people and dividing them into small sections

The effect of religion on Indian politics has been staggering. The hatred that has, for so many years put the country in a political strife, does not seem to be declining. The feelings between all the religions are just as strong as ever. The structure of the Indian government sets up for the confrontations between the opposing political parties. These confrontations are the basis for power struggle within the Indian government.

For instance, a volunteer organization of India was accused of being a reactionary group of “Hindu fanatics” with “fascist” tendencies by some political parties. On the other hand, a few others see it as a cultural organization dedicated to the revitalizing of the moral and spiritual traditions of India. Thus we see religion is also a source of conflict among the political parties themselves.

Once I heard one of a renowned political science professor quoting the following words – “According to dictionary, secularism is a condition or state, which is not concerned or connected with religion. That is to say, you have no religion when you exercise your mundane rights as an Indian. No one can debar you in the pursuit of your mundane activities like your wanting to become a carpenter or a taxi driver or an IAS officer or a politician or a Governor or the Rashtrapati even, on the basis of your religion. In India, religious and spiritual aspects are outside the domain of governance. There is freedom of all religions.”

But sir, all I want to ask is just a single question – “Are we a TEXT BOOK secular nation? ”

Keeping Religion from Politics has been one of the major concerns of many well wishers and leaders of our nation. But it is easier said than done. Religion has become a part of Contemporary politics.

However a few steps can be taken to reduce the impact of religion in the field of politics.

The incorporation of religious agenda within political manifestos or electoral promises should be made an electoral offence and should incur summary disqualification for the individual or for the political parties.

Awareness programmes should be conducted by the Election Commission of India and other concerned authorities which educate the people on how to choose their leaders correctly on the merit of their achievements and leadership qualities and not on the basis of religion, caste or any other such attainments.

These are a few ways in which the society can work towards seeing a less religiously influenced politics so that we all can have a better and bright future ahead.

Eco ways: Handmade paper- Cut your Preferences, not Trees

My article elucidates one of many ways to safeguard our ecosystem. This is on the pretext that, a lot of discussion, thought and debate is being put into finding ways to reduce damage of any sort done to our natural habitats.

“We are in danger! And, we are digging traps for ourselves through our ignorant deeds!!”

We might not plant some trees to feed the environment crying for its survival, but we are no-one to cut, harm and endanger the natural aestheticism.

But, now it’s high time that we react. React sensibly and act accordingly.

We may go for shopping without a friend, but not without a plastic carry bag, which is not supposed to do anything good other than being economic. (In 1980, many supermarkets switched from paper bags to plastic (polyethylene) bags as they are less expensive.) Trend reversal to paper bags doesn’t seem to be a remedy. Some shoppers choose paper assuming it as an environmentally better alternative.

But is this the case?

• In a comparison of the two types of grocery bags, Franklin Associates* concluded that the manufacture of plastic bags produced considerably less air pollution, water borne wastes, and industrial solid-wastes. Because plastic bags are lighter, they also produce less post-consumer solid waste, taking up less space in landfills.
• Energy-wise, it is a tie. Plastic bags required slightly less energy to manufacture at a use rate of 1.5 to 1 compared with paper and more energy at a use rate of 2 to 1. Paper bags are better because they are made from wood, a renewable resource, while plastic bags are made from petroleum. Also paper grocery bags are recycled at a higher rate and are reused more frequently, since many home kitchen trash containers are designed with paper grocery bags in mind.

The main reason most people choose paper bags over plastic is due to recycling. Here are some others:

• Are made from a renewable natural resource
• Can be reused again and again
• Can be shipped to paper mills to be made into new paper
• Require less energy than plastic to be recycled
• Are biodegradable
• Are safe for small children to play with
• Pose less of a threat to wildlife

In the end, it is a toss-up whether paper or plastic grocery bags are better for the environment. The important thing is to reuse paper and plastic bags over and over. Best still is to bring your own cloth bags or ask store clerks to hand you easily transportable items without bags.

So, neither is a better option.

We don’t have to do something with extra effort, what we are supposed to do is to go to another shop, which has handmade products.

With the aim to minimize the amount of paper waste produce by office, Eco India had created the Handmade Paper. With this project , offices particularly in India will now be able to minimize the need of paper, the possibility of cutting more trees and help save the forest.

With the fact that making a single tonne of paper from virgin pulp does require 17 large trees, that large number simply means that deforestation is not impossible that will eventually destroy natural habitats.

With the presence of the Handmade Paper, these unwanted acts towards our forests will be minimized dramatically. Other global benefits that the handmade paper provides include the reduced use of energy by at least fifty percent, up to ninety percent of wastewater, and air pollution reduction by seventy percent. These benefits may not be noticed immediately but in the end people will know how these green deeds affect the environment and the world.

You might wonder why this handmade paper is eco-friendly. Firstly, since it is handmade, it does use less energy in manufacturing. Next is that, these papers use non-wood raw materials, which obviously does not require the manufacturers to cut some trees, and thus, saves many trees we have in our beautiful forests. Another feature why this handmade paper is eco-friendly is the manufacturer’s extensive use of solar energy, which is obviously a pollution-free method.

Aside from the green features these handmade paper has, it also boasts off its quality. Compared to a mill made paper, these papers are more tensile and is not easy to tear because of its double-fold strength.

Finally, apart from those interesting green features that the Handmade Paper has, it also has a fine and elegant quality that will surely satisfy everyone’s need when it comes to paper. It is whether the users are corporate groups or students, the handmade paper will surely provide the right quality that the users may want and need. Even manufacturers can use this wonderful paper, which is also ideal in creating numerous paper products.

Time to herald renaissance in jungles..

Unproductive, cacophonous and conflicting debates have raged through for the past one year or so apropos the unending violence unleashed by the Naxals. The critiques have encompassed causes and what went horribly wrong in resolving the problem but none included answers to those waiting-to-be-answered questions. One reason for that could be the lack of discernment. Not one person could provide a guarantee that the simmering tribe dominated areas in Chattishgarh, Bengal, Bihar, Jharkand and the rest would finally settle down never to rise up again. Well, no human can guarantee!
Perhaps no soothsayer or clairvoyant can unearth what these violent Reds are trying to put across by wreaking unrestricted, atrocious and cold-blooded carnage. Are they attention-seekers? Or is it a hapless case of settling scores? Are the Naxalites waging war against the Indian state seeking to overthrow them? Or is it that they have been forced to take up the arms on behalf of destitute people in order to deliver social justice? In each case there is a justification. Let’s dig up each instance. If seeking attention of the government with the intention that the latter addresses their issues, is the case, let there be no ambiguity they have succeeded. (Too much of attention has already been paid to them.) But the fact that it stops there and doesn’t finish up with their concerns being addressed says that the path treaded is flawed and fruitless. If the Naxals are trying to settle scores, they have miserably failed in their attempts, because civilians, jawans and helpless villagers are not in charge of the government from whom they possibly expected attention followed by development. If it is about social justice, then their efforts have been all the more futile since it is they whom the Naxals claim to be representing who are getting killed. All this can bring us to one confident conclusion if not multiple: the path of violence thereby walked by the Maoists in order to fulfill their objective, whatever it is, is dreadfully erroneous and unpardonable.
Now the onus is squarely on the government. Why were those areas so starkly undeveloped that things turned so ugly? Why has the government failed to anticipate (The government should have seen it coming)?
Solutions: (personal views)
1. Call for immediate truce. Halt operation Green Hunt so that peace talk like situation is created. Violence and armistice cannot go together.
2. Convince the Naxals that the chances of any grievance in future would be minimal.
3. Fast track development – health and education, to start with.
4. Let the two pronged approach, which is harped by Sonia Gandhi, the PM and the articulate spokespersons of the Congress, be implemented. But one prong of the process will be to develop and the other should be to convince, not to fight out.
5. Why not implement NTEGA (National Tribal Employment Guarantee Act) like a NREGA exclusively in states affected by Naxalism to be executed by the state and not the centre?
6. Finally, give them a period of time (say 3 months) – those who do not buy the proposals should be simply treated as scalawags who come in the way of positivism and productivity. Treat them as vehement violators of the law and penalize them heavily.
Conclusion:
No other thing, in the past year or so has gained more air time (TV) and print space (Newspapers/magazines) consistently than Naxalism. It is time for them to call it a day and make sure it dies out once and for all. But for that to happen, some thorough brainstorming by the think-tanks is required. It is also high time that internal spats are put to death. In addition, let us stop christening some people as Maoist sympathizers. Let us not coin terms like the latter, red terror and so forth. It is time to mean business and get down to brass tacks.