Is India’s democracy sinking?

          

Democracy is a system of government that provides the authority to people for choosing their representatives directly through their voting rights. “ Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people” was quoted by Abraham Lincoln. Freedom and democracy are interrelated to each other can be used interchangeably.

India’s Democracy

India is the largest democratic country in the world. After the Independence of India on 15 August 1947, India became a Republic, Sovereign, and Democratic country. Democracy literally means freedom but there is a certain constraint ( they are basically offense or crimes). The democracy of India was one of the most influential examples of the democratic country but from the past few decades, India’s democracy is being in a crumbling state. There are also few instances in the later 20^th century where India’s democracy was challenged but in the 21st-century democracy has been declining stiffly.

Swedish V-Dem Institute’s Democracy Report

It has stated that the health of Indian democracy under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi has caused some concerns. The report has moaned the waning of the democracy global and has also stated that India’s democracy is on the brink. Shrinking space for the media, opposition, and civil society is the major cause of the decline of democracy in India.

Why India’s Democracy on the brink?

The opposition of the government in a democratic country is the largest factor that makes a country full democratic but in India opposition is being oppressed in many ways. Media is termed as the fourth pillar of democracy but these days media are busy in spreading the propaganda of the government.

On September 4, 2020, in Madhya Pradesh, students and youth started a campaign for demanding the government to release the vacancies for the vacant posts in different government institutions and release the results of previously held competitive examinations. It was the right of those youth to get the attention of the government but you know they were beaten and some of them who were leading were taken into custody. I agree that they broke the rule of social distancing but lathi charging was not the only option, they could have co-operated with them and made them follow social distance.

On September 10, 2020, peasants of Haryana ran a campaign against the government rules of Minimum Support Price (MSP) is formulated and to be implemented in the coming days. The peasants running the peaceful movement but here also the same thing took place they were beaten and were pushed back. Peasants were also not following the rule of social distancing but it doesn’t mean they should be beaten for the same.

If these protestors are being beaten for protesting peacefully then what is the role of being a democratic country where one can’t share their grievance through campaigns. There are many instances where the political parties have gathered in large numbers then they were not being beaten. So, these are the partiality that is done by the government. So, it is an alarming condition and people of India should be aware of the coming days.

 

74 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE: ARE WE REALLY FREE AND INDEPENDENT?

 

India got its independence on 15^th August 1947 from the rule of the British empire. It has been almost 74 years since our nation got independence. Our ancestors fought a true battle and did many sacrifices to gain independence from British rule. India was ruled by Britishers for almost 200 years and they drained the wealth of our country extravagantly. In this topic, I will mainly cover the facts about unemployment.

ARE WE REALLY FREE AND INDEPENDENT?

We maybe called free and independent but actually speaking we are still the slaves of unemployment, casteism, poverty, and health. People having any such problem is still a slave, so we too are slaves. In India, we have these problems but no government tries to eliminate the same. Corruption in India has grown to its apex and this corruption is going on in large government institutions. So, we are not really free and independent.

WHAT HAPPENED TO VACANCY OF RAILWAY NTPC?

In the year 2018, the government of India released the vacancy details for Railway RRB NTPC exam that was filled by almost two million applicants. The fee of the application was Rs 500 for the general and OBC category whereas Rs 250 for SC/STs. After few months the government declared the decrement of posts in railway RRB NTPC was provided previously. But here is the more dilemma creating situation that the government has still not conducted the exam. It has been almost a year and a half but there is no response from the RRB. Taking fee of Rs500 which was previously only Rs100 and creating such illusions just points out that it is the corruption of large amounts.

WHAT HAPPENED TO STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION (SSC) EXAMS?

SSC is a commission that conducts the examination for post of Group B and C for different government departments. There has always been an issue with SSC, in year 2017 there was a case of mass counterfeit that lead to delay in the result of various SSC examinations. Still the joining of students who were selected in SSC 2017 is pending. Tier III examination of SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) 2018 and a result of SSC Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) 2018 is still pending which should have been declared before. Some of the concerns and there is one larger concern that the vacancy for SSC is continuously decreasing every year in high numbers.

IS OUR GOVERNMENT CONCERN ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT?

No, government is not concern about the rate of unemployment that has been rising continuously every year because no family, no students, no person shows any concern then why the government would do the same. What is the problem of people of India is that we let everything go on as it has been going on. It is a great fact every change requires a bitter start but none want to give the impetus to that. So, neither the government shows any concerns. 

WHAT CAN YOUTH DO?

India is called a youth country because a total of fifty-five percent of our total population is youth. Though being a youth country we never raise our hand for our own concerns because it needs an effort. If the youth of the country decides to change the government they can do it just by snapping their fingers. We are the one who is facing the problem of unemployment, so it is our duty to raise the hand. Our government has become totally deaf when it comes to unemployment, but now it is our duty to raise concerns about such matters.

We were ruled by Britishers for almost 200 years and it was our youth powers who were also the most important factors in getting the Independence from the English rule. For the Independence of India, youth raised their voice and also sacrificed themselves for it. They bravely fought for their concern until the end of life. Now the youth of our country also required to show the same power because if we can’t fight for our own concerns then we are not worthwhile.

ROLE OF MEDIA

Media is also known as the fourth pillar of any democratic country because it plays a great role in connecting the people to the government. But coming to this era, the media of our country has become full of absurdity and most of them are totally controlled by the government somehow. These days media are busy showing the news that is of no use or concern. The media should act as a receiver of concerns of the public and transmitting it to the government but it has been just the opposite, they are getting propaganda news from the government and transmitting it to the public.

CONCLUSION

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” So, we must put our concerns and ask the government for what is our rights.

RENASCENCE OF JAMTARA GANG: E-SIM PHISHING TECHNIQUE

 

PHISHING: It is the process of deceiving the target or targets with the message, call, e-mail or some other means that is intended to cajole them to provide sensitive information like password, credit/debit card details, or some personal information that can lead the target to suffer some financial losses.

Jamtara, a city in Jharkhand state. This is a city that was responsible for eighty percent of the phishing carried in India but after 2017 onwards the cases got decreased from there. Previously, the young boys of this city used to make fake calls through fake sims being an official of bank and lure the target to provide the details that were required to fraud the money. Jamtara is also known as the “Phishing Capital of India” and it has been involved in cybercrime since 2012. In 2017 some of the masterminds of the gang were caught and after that, the frequency of phishing from Jamtara sunk subsequently.

Of late, again there has been found a case of phishing in Haryana by members of Jamtara gang. This time they came with some new technique that is availing the e-sim of the target and then transferring the money from the victim's account.

E-SIM: It is an embedded sim that can be generated from the sim operator’s site and can be used as a normal sim without changing the physical sim.  For example, I have only one slot for the sim in my device but I want to use more sims in the same device. It is now possible as we can generate the e-sim form the authoritative companies and can be used as a normal sim.

WHAT IS E-SIM TECHNIQUE?

Here, the gang lures the target by describing them about the Know Your Customer (KYC) and also influence them that they required it do their KYC. The callers also assure the target that KYC can be done online, so the target also gets happy and does as the caller insists. During the process, the scammer sends a mail that is linked to authorize the e-sim for the same number being used by the target. As the target clicks the link, e-sim gets issued to the scammers and they transfer the money from the target’s account.

 

VACCINE NATIONALISM (COVID-19)

 

What is the vaccine nationalism?

Vaccine nationalism is an unethical mechanism of securing the doses of the vaccine of any epidemic or pandemic disease by a country for its domestic market before the completion of human trials of the vaccine. By this process, a country makes deal with the companies that are manufacturing the vaccine and lands on an agreement to avail the vaccine reserved for their country before it is made available to the other countries.

Which countries are engaged in vaccine nationalism? (COVID_19)

The USA, Japan, UK, and European Union are the top countries that have already made agreements with the top giant companies that are on different stages of trial of manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine. These countries have a high economy and resources as well so they are able to invest in companies like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca-Oxford.

Why is vaccine nationalism in news these days?

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns about the matters related to vaccine nationalism that can create havoc, and countries with a poor economy will be debarred of the vaccine in early stages. For the same WHO has come up with initiative termed as “Covax Facility”. The aim of Covax-Facility is to have the procurement of two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2020. It also aims to distribute those vaccines to low-income and middle-income countries.

What is Covax-Facility?

Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility is that will provide an equitable and fair opportunity for every country to procure the COVID-19 vaccine. There will be an agreement that will be signed by the different countries to have the benefits of this opportunity.  It will also ensure that the country that manufactures the vaccine first will be allowed to secure 20% of vaccines for their country and rest will be distributed among the other countries that are in need.

Will Covax-Facility provide benefits?

Yes, covax-facility will provide benefit but only after each and every country signs the agreement because if countries with a high economy don’t sign the agreement then the objective of this facility will not be upheld. 

Is there any law to prevent vaccine nationalism?

Vaccine nationalism has its effect on public health globally, even though there are no international laws that helps to prevent or stop such unethical activity.

What are the drawbacks of vaccine nationalism?

If countries start vaccine nationalism then it results in countries with fewer resources and makes the bargaining difficult for other countries. Moreover, if countries having a large number of cases lags behind in procuring the vaccine then they will suffer the most which will also result in the economic loss. The economic loss in any country can result in some sort of butterfly effect that will ultimately affect the global economy.

 

 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE- A BOON OR BANE?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with the machine intelligence that is incorporated within the machines and helps them to act like humans and animals. The machines incorporated with AI can perform various tasks like speech recognition, handwriting recognition, robotic performances, puzzle-solving, and a variety of other works. AI has its inception at the very beginning of 1956 and since early 2000 it has captured wider landscapes. In the current scenario, AI is used in various fields of engineering, medical science, agriculture, etc.

AI-A BOON

1. INDEFATIGABLE: Unlike humans the AI machines are indefatigable, they can continuously work for a long period of time without any disruption until any breakdown occurs.
2. PERFORMS COMPLEX TASK: AI machines are cable of performing the difficult tasks at less time than what is required by a human.  It is possible because the algorithm of AI is capable to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
3. CURTAILMENT OF ERRORS: Humans have a tendency to make some errors while performing some tasks but AI machines curtail the errors.  Also, the precision of AI machines is very high and a good feature.
4. DIGITAL ASSISTANCE: AI helps in reducing the manpower required for assistance as it acts and provides the facility of digital assistance. It is used in chat processes and many other virtual assistances.

AI-A BANE

1. EXORBITANT COST: The cost associated with the AI is very high as the AI machines are constructed with complex hardware and intricate with high the training which helps them to be adaptable for various tasks.
2. INAPTITUDE TO REPLICATE HUMANS: It is believed by many that AI machines can never replace humans. AI may be efficient than humans and has been smarter day by day but even though they will never be able to possess human-like moral concepts and emotions.
3. NO-SELF EXPERIENCE: AI machines mainly depend on human experiences as they don’t have their own trait of it. The foremost difference is that machines don’t have the quality of being reactive to environments.
4. UNEMPLOYMENT: The increment of AI machines is dwindling the job opportunities of humans.  The overusing of AI-based machines by humans can lead to highly dependent on them which can lead to loss of thinking ability.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the wider range of concept or tool that is part of computer science. It has got many benefits and disadvantages. The efficacious use of AI machines can help to overcome some major disadvantages. AI has fully revolutionized the era and continuously it has been widening its area.

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT

Any interaction between human and wildlife that results in negative impacts on social, economic or cultural life, on the conservation of wildlife populations or on the environment is termed as human-wildlife conflict as per the World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF). Human was also animal for ages after the emergence of life on the earth, they used to live of intimacy with animals but humans evolved and animal leapfrogged.

The burgeoning of the human population and waning of animal population accompanying human advancement in technology had remodeled the way of living for humans. Human is continuously expanding their habitation and industrialization in forest lands which are reserve for wildlife that ultimately results in deforestation. The destruction of forests instigates animals to invade the human land for prey. There are many occurrences of human-wildlife conflicts and most of them are because of human intrusion on animal’s land for various motives like industrialization, farming, grazing of domestic animals, road and railway development through forest land, etc.

Recently, there has been a case in Kerala where a pregnant elephant died because of the human gaffe which ushered the global attention, besides humans have become selfish for their development and don’t care about the environment and ecosystem. After seeing ghastly pictures of animal cruelty it can tremble anyone. But almost all show their care and mourn for a day and again the next day it is unremembered. There are a plethora of such incidents that occur every year. It is the responsibility of the human to protect the areas of wildlife and not to disturb their habitat.

To combat such conflicts human settlement should be improved or there should be proper barriers between them, training should be provided so that humans can avoid direct conflict with animals, the establishment of technical supports, and geo-tagging of animals can benefit more. Life of human also matter as some time in this the conflict they die so, there should be a proper implementation of safety measure in such areas. The government should be more active on this matter as it is the ecosystem that helps us to live. 

FINAL YEAR EXAMINATIONS TO BE HELD ??

 

On July 6, 2020, the University Grants Commission (UGC) released a notice regarding the final year examination. It also stated that the final year examination is necessary to be held and is intended to protect the academic future of students which will be irreparably damaged if the examinations are not held as per the statement provided by UGC.  These statement of UGC was denounced by students and teachers across India. After the notice got released some students went to the supreme court (SC) to challenge the UGC’s decision.

The SC acted on the petition and gave a date of hearing on 10^th August but they further gave provided new date that is 14^th August for reviewing. On 10^th August review the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta shared the information that students should go on preparing for the examination and also stated that states have no power to cancel the examination but it is UGC that decides. UGC’s decision for taking examination was based on the academic future of students but it doesn’t seem the same.

It has been almost a month when UGC gave the notice about the examination but it seems that UGC is not concerned about the future of students but they are just vesting their authority as per my perspective. Coming to the UGC’s statement if they were concerned about the academic future of students then they would have acted upon this sooner. There are many students who pursue further studies after graduation and admission of such students has started already in many foreign countries but due to the non-availability of degree, they will be barred. There are many examinations that will be held in the coming days whose forms have to be filled but those forms can be only after getting the degree.

The decision by UGC is just creating the confusion and hodgepodge among the students whether the examination will be held or not. It is a time of pandemic and we all are aware that our colleges are not adaptable to conduct the offline examination in such conditions. Coming to an online examination, it is also merely possible because there are a plethora of students who are from remote areas where there are no proper facilities of electricity, internet and many of them don’t have a PC or laptop. In India, in the current situation, either way of examination can’t be held.

So, preferably UGC has just created a state of turmoil and they themselves should review it. It is hight time that SC and UGC act on the matter as soon as possible and with some positive note.

(If I have done some mistakes while writing then please let me know I will try to correct it)

Thank You!! Peace Out!! Stay Safe!!