EGO AND SELF ESTEEM

EGO AND SELF ESTEEM

Why is that Indians who are highly talented, lag behind- is it talent or attitude; why is that Indians are hobbesians, why is that most of the cities have a culture of snobbery, why is that we waste our time more on pulling down others, envying them, being jealous of them rather than focussing on ourself, improving on ourself; why is that we take most of our decisions on the basis of perception, rather than on reality, why is that we prefer to bribe our priests and our gods too, rather than dispensing the same amount to the poor.... The list of such questions may not be endless, but it does cast aspersions on our attitude, our thinking, our interpretation of events and processes.

'The biggest hurdle that one comes across in India is almost everyone happens to know what you will say, what you will think, and how is it that you are going to act. The toughest hurdle is if they say someone is already doing what you have thought of . There isn't much to do then for an innovator.
This happens because we nurse our ego more than our self esteem,

Now the issue is-What is the impact of ego on attitude, and how is it different from self esteem.
Ego blinkers your vision, constricts your thinking, it makes you narrow minded, stops your adaptability (Its not the best species that survive, but the most adaptable), prevents your observation-power, blurs your communication, stops your learning process, inhibits your innovative ability and empties your social capital. In ego, you always try to make the others feel down, you look them down, prevent them from rising, and developing, by obstructing them, and then in some extreme cases, you always try to degrade them

Self esteem is different from ego.

In self esteem you always improve upon yourself, always make yourself better, you only compete with yourself so that you are improved to an extent that you are head and shoulders above others. In self esteem, you improve yourself to your satisfaction, beyond anyone's reach without imitation. In ego you do not know yourself, in self esteem you have a higher degree of self understanding. Self esteem improves your ability to know yourself.

In ego you try to change others, obviously this is strength, in self esteem you control yourself, you overpower yourself and that is absolute power.

*HINDUISM SEEN FROM WESTERN PERSPECTIVE* - by Francois Gautier

HINDUISM SEEN FROM WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

1) Believe in God ! - Aastik - Accepted
2) Don't believe in God ! - You're accepted as Nastik
3) You want to worship idols - You are a murti pujak.
4) You dont want to worship idols - no problem. You can focus on Nirguna Brahman.
5) You want to criticise something in our religion. Come forward. We are logical. Nyaya, Tarka etc. are core Hindu schools.
6) You want to accept beliefs as it is. Most welcome. Please go ahead with it.
7) You want to start your journey by reading Bhagvad Gita - Sure !
8) You want to start your journey by reading Upanishads - Go ahead
9) You want to start your journey by reading Purana - Be my guest.
10) You just don't like reading Puranas or other books. No problem. Go with Bhakti tradition. (devotion)
11) You don't like idea of Bhakti ! No problem. Do your Karma. Be a karmayogi.
12) You want to enjoy life. Very good. No problem at all. This is Charvaka Philosophy.
13) You want to abstain from all the enjoyment of life & find God - jai ho ! Be a Sadhu, an ascetic !
14) You don't like the concept of God. You believe in Nature only - Welcome. (Trees are friends and Prakriti or nature is worthy of worship).
15) You believe in one God or Supreme Energy. Follow the Advaita philosophy.
16) You want a Guru. Go ahead. Do seva & Receive gyaan.
17) You don't want a Guru! Help yourself ! Meditate, Study !
18) You believe in Female energy ! Worship Shakti.
19) You believe that every human being is equal. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam" (the world is a family)
20) You don't have time to celebrate the festival! Don't worry. One more festival is coming! There are multiple festivals every single day of the year.
21) You are a working person. Don't have time for religion. Its okay. You will still be a Hindu.
22) You like to go to temples. Devotion is loved.
23) You don't like to go to temples - no problem. You are still a Hindu!
24) You know that Hinduism is a way of life, with considerable freedom.
25) You believe that everything has God in it. So you worship your mother, father, guru, tree, River, Prani-matra, Earth, Universe!
26) And If you don't believe that everything has GOD in it - No problems. Hinduism Respect your viewpoint.
27) "Sarve jana sukhino bhavantu " (May you all live happily) You represent this! You're free to choose, my dear Hindu!
This is exactly the essence of Hinduism, all inclusive. That is why it has withstood the test of time inspite of repeated onslaught both from within and outside, and assimilated every good aspects from everything. That is why it is eternal !!!
There is a saying in Rigveda, the first book ever known to mankind which depicts the Hinduism philosophy in a Nutshell -" Ano bhadrah Kratavo Yantu Vishwatah"- Let the knowledge come to us from every direction"

CHILDREN LAERN WHAT THEY SEE.

INVALUABLE FOR YOU NOW TO KNOW WHY YOU ARE, AND
INVALUABLE FOR YOU WONT MAKE A MISTAKE LATER

Dr Arnold Toynbee, British Historian wrote

"It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in history, the only way of salvation for mankind is the Indian way."

INDIANS DO NOT REALISE THAT, IT TAKES A WESTERNER TO MAKE THEM REALISE IT SO, AND WE THINK INDIA CAN BE A SUPER POWER........

WHY DONALD TRUMP WON?

WHY DONALD TRUMP WON?

1. THE AMERICAN ELECTIONS SHOW THAT GLOBALISATION HAS REACHED ITS PEAK, AND THAT GLOBALISATION WILL NO MORE IMPACT THE MINDS OF PEOPLE. NOT ALL GLOBAL EVENTS HAVE GONE FOR USA.

2. THE WHOLE OF WESTERN WORLD REPRESENTED BY USA HAS BEEN FED UP OF BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT, DESPITE BEING DEMOCRATIC AND ACCEPTING DEMOCRATISATION OF SOCIETY. FROM INSIDE THEY WANTED TO ASSERT, AND THEY DID IT.

3. THE WHOLE OF WESTERN WORLD AND USA HAS BEEN RENDERED INSECURE, BY MAJOR TERRORIST ATTACKS MASTERED AND MANIPULATED BY PEOPLE FOLLOWING ISLAMIC RELIGION. MR DONALD TRUMP WAS VERY VOCAL ASSERTIVE AND AGGRESSIVE ON THWARTING TERRORISM.

4. IN ANY CASE THE THINKING OF THE WORLD HAS BEEN SHIFTING TOWARDS RIGHTIST APPROACH, EXHIBITED BY SRI MODIJI'S WIN, BREXIT AND NOW AMERICAN ELECTIONS.

आ गए तुम?

आ गए तुम?

द्वार खुला है, अंदर आओ..!

पर तनिक ठहरो..

*ड्योढी पर पड़े पायदान पर,*

*अपना अहं झाड़ आना..!*

मधुमालती लिपटी है मुंडेर से,

*अपनी नाराज़गी वहीँ उड़ेल आना..!*

तुलसी के क्यारे में,

*मन की चटकन चढ़ा आना..!*

*अपनी व्यस्ततायें,*बाहर खूंटी पर ही *टांग आना..!*

जूतों संग, *हर नकारात्मकता उतार आना..!*

बाहर किलोलते बच्चों से,

*थोड़ी शरारत माँग लाना..!*

वो गुलाब के गमले में, 

*मुस्कान लगी है..*

*तोड़ कर पहन आना..!*

लाओ, *अपनी उलझनें मुझे थमा दो..*

तुम्हारी थकान पर, *मनुहारों का पँखा झुला दूँ..!*

*देखो, शाम बिछाई है मैंने,*

*सूरज क्षितिज पर बाँधा है,*

*लाली छिड़की है नभ पर..!*

*प्रेम और विश्वास की मद्धम आंच पर,* चाय चढ़ाई है,

घूँट घूँट पीना..!

*सुनो, इतना मुश्किल भी नहीं हैं जीना..!!*

क्रोध

 क्रोध

बुद्ध ने कहा है कि जब मैंने जाना तो मैंने पाया है कि अदभुत हैं वे लोग, जो दूसरों की भूल पर क्रोध करते हैं! क्यों? तो बुद्ध ने कहा कि अदभुत इसलिए कि भूल दूसरा करता है, दंड वह अपने को देता है। गाली मैं आपको दूं और क्रोधित आप होंगे। दंड कौन भोग रहा है? दंड आप भोग रहे हैं, गाली मैंने दी! क्रोध में जलते हम हैं, राख हम होते हैं, लेकिन ध्यान वहां नहीं होता! इसलिए धीरे-धीरे पूरी जिंदगी राख हो जाती है। और हमको भ्रम यह होता है कि हम जान गये हैं! हम जानते नहीं-- क्रोध की सिर्फ स्मृति है और क्रोध के संबंध में शास्त्रों में पढ़े हुए वचन हैं और हमारा कोई अनुभव नहीं। जब क्रोध आ जाये तो उस आदमी को धन्यवाद दें, जिसने क्रोध पैदा करवा दिया, क्योंकि उसकी कृपा, उसने आत्म-निरीक्षण का एक मौका दिया; भीतर आपको जानने का एक अवसर दिया। उसको फौरन धन्यवाद दें कि मित्र धन्यवाद, और अब मैं जाता हूं, थोड़ा इस पर ध्यान करके वापस आकर बात करूंगा। द्वार बंद कर लें और देखें कि भीतर क्रोध उठ गया है। हाथ-पैर कसते हों, कसने दें; क्योंकि हाथ-पैर कसेंगे। हो सकता है कि क्रोध में, अंधेरे में, हवा में, घूंसे चलें; चलने दें। द्वार बंद कर दें और देखें कि क्या-क्या होता है। अपनी पूरी पागल स्थिति को जानें और पागलपन को पूरा प्रकट हो जाने दें अपने सामने। तब आप पहली बार अनुभव करेंगे कि क्या है यह क्रोध। जब आप इस पागलपन की स्थिति को अनुभव करेंगे तो कांप जायेंगे भीतर से, कि यह है क्रोध। यह मैंने कई बार किया था, दूसरे लोगों ने क्या सोचा होगा! मनोवैज्ञानिक कहते हैं, क्रोध संक्षिप्त रूप में आया हुआ पागलपन है, थोड़ी देर के लिए आया हुआ पागलपन है, क्षणिक पागलपन है। क्षण भर में आदमी उसी हालत में हो गया, जिस हालत में कुछ लोग सदा के लिए हो जाते हैं। क्रोध में जलते हुए आदमी में और पागल आदमी में मौलिक अंतर नहीं है। अंतर सिर्फ लंबाई का है। पागल आदमी स्थायी पागल है, क्रोधी आदमी अस्थायी पागल है। दूसरे ने आपको क्रोध में देखा होगा, इसलिए दूसरे कहते है कि यह बेचारा कितना पागल हो गया है, यह क्या करता है? आपने कभी देखा है अपने को? अतः द्वार बंद कर लें। और अपनी पूरी हालत को देखें कि यह क्या हो रहा है। और रोकें मत, प्रकट होने दें, जो हो रहा है। और उसका पूरा निरीक्षण करें, तब आप पहली दफा परिचित होंगे, यह है क्रोध।

नेति-नेति प्रवचन 16

दबाव रहित पछतावा रहित जीवन: भगवन कृष्णा और भगवन बुद्ध से जवाब

दबाव रहित पछतावा रहित जीवन

अगर आज के समय में हम में से किसी को भी भगवन कृष्णा और भगवन बुद्ध से आज के सन्दर्भ में प्रश्न पूछा जाये तो उसका क्या जवाब मिलेगा

​१. आप - मुझे खाली समय ​और सुकून नहीं मिल पा रहा। जीवन बेहद ​जटिल हो गया है।

कृष्ण- गतिविधियां और एक ही ढर्रें पर किए जा रहे काम आप को व्यस्त रखते हैं लेकिन
​ जैसे ही ​ उत्पादकता ​बढाती है या आप सृजन कर कोई नया कदम उठाते हैं ​​तो आपको खाली समय का अभ्यास भी हो जाता है और जीवन बोझिल भी नहीं लगता। सृजन से नयी ऊर्जा मिलती है

2. आप- आजकल के समय में जीवन इतना जटिल क्यों हो गया है।

कृष्ण- जीवन का आंकलन करने से जीवन जटिल और भारी हो जाता है। हमें जीवन को सिर्फ जीना चाहिए।

3. आप- हम लगातार नाखुश क्यों रहते हैं?

कृष्ण- चिंता करना तुम्हारा स्वभाव हो चुका है, और यही कारण है की तुम हमेशा दुखी रहते हो।

4 आप- अच्छे और भले लोग ही हमेशा पीड़ित क्यों होते हैं?

कृष्ण- जिस तरह किसी भी हीरे को बिना रगड़े तराशा नहीं जा सकता। सोना भी आग में तपकर ही खरा सोना कहलाता है, उसी तरह भले लोगों को भी कई परीक्षणों से गुज़रना पड़ता है, वे पीड़ित नहीं होते हैं। इन अनुभवों से उनका जीवन कटु नहीं होता ब्लकि और बेहतर होता है।

5. आप- आपके कहने का अर्थ है की इस तरह के अनुभव उपयोगी होते हैं।

कृष्ण- हां, हर प्रकार
​का अनुभव एक​ ​कड़वा शिक्षक है। ​ज़िन्दगी पहले परीक्षा ​लेती ​ है और बाद में पाठ ​पढ़ाती ​ है।

6. आप- जीवन में इतनी सारी परेशानियों के कारण हमें पता ही नहीं चलता है की हम किस दिशा में जा रहे हैं....

कृष्ण- अगर तुम सिर्फ सतही तौर पर चीज़ों को देखोगे तो तुम्हें कभी भी दिशा नहीं समझ आएगी। अपने अंदर देखो। आंखों की मदद से हम सिर्फ देख सकते हैं लेकिन अपने अंदर हृदय में झांकने से हमें रास्ता मिलता है, अपने आत्मा निरक्षण के कारन हमे ​रास्तों को चुनने में मदद मिलती है

7. आप- अधिक चोट क्या सही दिशा में जाने से ​लगाती है या ​असफलता ​मिलाने से लगती है?

कृष्ण- सफलता वो पैमाना है जो दूसरों द्वारा निर्धारित किया जाता है वहीं संतुष्टी का पैमाना आप खुद तय करते हैं।

8. आप- कठिन समय में आप खुद को प्रेरित कैसे रख सकते हैं?

कृष्ण- हमेशा यह देखों की तुम कितनी दूर तक आ चुके हो, इसकी अपेक्षा अगर तुम देखोगे की कितनी दूर और जाना है तो तुम चिंतित होगे। हमेशा अपनी सफलताओं को गिनों, असफलताओं को गिनने से निराशा मिलेगी।​ सफलताएं आपकी क्षमता और आपके मनोनुकूल होने की अवस्था को बताती हैं ​

9. आप- लोगों के बारे में क्या चीजें हमें आश्चर्य में डालती हैं?

कृष्ण- जब वे कष्ट में होते हैं तो वे पूछते हैं की “,मैं ही क्यों "? जब वे उन्नति करते हैं तब वे यह कभी नहीं पूछते की “,मैं ही क्यों" ?

10. आप- मैं अपने जीवन से सर्वश्रेष्ठ कैसे प्राप्त कर सकता हूं?

कृष्ण- अपने भूतकाल का सामना बिना किसी पछतावे के करों। अपने वर्तमान का सामना पूरे आत्मविश्वास के साथ करो। अपने भविष्य की तैयारी निडर होकर करो।

11. आप- एक अंतिम प्रश्न। कभी कभी मुझे लगता है की मेरी प्रार्थनाओं का कोई जवाब नहीं मिलता है।

कृष्ण- कोई भी प्रार्थना अनुत्तरित नहीं होती है। अपने डर को भगाकर आस्था को बनाए रखों। जीवन एक रहस्य है जिसे हमें हल करना है, जीवन कोई समस्या नहीं
​जिसका हमे समाधान खोजना है। रहस्य के कारन ही जीवन हमेशा परिवर्तनशील रहता है, अनुत्तरित रहता है , सुन्दर और अनिश्चित भी रहता है अन्यथा यह एक ढर्रे पर चलता।

अगर कोई एक चीज़ जीवन में स्थिर है तो वह है परिवर्तन और यह परिवर्तन क्या होगा यह किसी को भी नहीं मालूम। जिस दिन हमें अपने जीवन के रहस्य मालूम हो जाएंगे उस दिन जीवन का सौंदर्य समाप्त हो जाएगा.

Everyone's Time Will Come ! सभी का एक दिन समय आएगा, सभी का समय आता है...

Everyone's Time Will Come ! 

सभी का एक दिन समय आएगा, सभी का समय आता है...

New York is 3 hrs ahead of California but it does not mean that California is slow, or that New York is fast. Both are working based on their own "Time Zone."

Some one is still single. Someone got married and 'waited' 10 yrs before having a child, there is another who had a baby within a year of marriage.

Someone graduated at the age of 22, yet waited 5 years before securing a good job; and there is another who graduated at 27 and secured employment immediately !

Someone became CEO at 25 and died at 50 while another became a CEO at 50 and lived to 90 years.

Someone became IAS at the age of 21, and just progressed ahead in the form of hierarchy, someone became IRTS at the age of 30 and went on to change the entire complexion of Indian Railway.

Someone tried six attempts to become IAS, never went on to become successful but what they are now as the founder of world renowned E Commerce company having a net worth of 6000 crores is more than being successful.

Someone studied hard, they never had a good English and Maths, but their Hindi was terrific and preparation equally good, they never qualified for UPSC, but are editors of newspapers which can shake the foundation of governments.

Everyone works based on their 'Time Zone',

People can have things worked out only according to their pace.

Work in your “time zone”.

Your Colleagues, friends, younger ones might "seem" to go ahead of you.

May be some might "seem" behind you.

Don't envy them or mock them, it's their 'Time Zone.'

You are in yours!

Hold on, be strong, and stay true to yourself.

All things shall work together for your good.

You’re not late … You are not early ... you’re very much On time!

The most successful people are the not the ones who qualify CIVIL SERVICES, not all those who qualify for Civil Services become successful. One may not qualify Civil Services, but may become a Member of Parliament at as early as 30 years of age, one may have quit Civil Services, but may earn 1000 crores in 4 years, one may think that they have wasted their time in appearing for Civil Services, but the experience of preparation can make them a world class academician, one may think that that they were unlucky not to have qualified for Civil Services, but then today they grill very known personalities on Live TV debates.

IF YOU QUALIFY FOR CIVIL SERVICES, ITS GOOD, IF YOU DONT, ITS EVEN BETTER.

YOUR TIME WILL COME.

Stay blessed.

You Are In Your Time Zone

भारतीय सिनेमा-एक कहानी

3idiots जिनके नाम थे, Amar-Akbar-Anthony और उनकी बहन Bobby को LAGAAN न देने के कारण BANDIT QUEEN ने बंदी बना रखा था. एक रात Chupke-Chupke ये चारों, ZANZEER तोड़कर, DEEWAR फांदकर भाग गए. भागते-भागते उन्हें DO RAASTE मिले. वो हो गए कनफ्यूज़. तभी एक guide मिला जिसने उन्हें बताया कि पहला रास्ता AGNEEPATH है और दूसरा रास्ता जाता है BOMBAY. उन चारों ने किस्मत की नहीं सुनी और जो DIL CHAHTA HAI वही किया. आगे ही बढ़े थे कि एक ACHHUT KANYA ने उन्हें टच कर लिया. टच करते ही ज़ोर की Aandhi आने लगी, BARSAAT होने लगी, SHOLAY उठने लगे, हर तरफ इतना GADAR मच गया कि वो चारों Kaagaz Ke Phool की तरह ठोकर खाकर GHAYAL हो गए. WAQT ने उनके साथ ये कैसा GOL MAAL किया, इसकी HaqeeqaT उन्हें समझ नहीं आई. जिस DO BIGHA ZAMEEN पर ये सब हुआ, अचानक वहां KHOSLA Ka GHOSLA बन गया. DUNIYA NA MAANE लेकिन उन्होंने मान लिया कि इस ARTH का अनर्थ रोकने के लिए कुछ करना होगा. उन्होंने घबराकर तुरंत ARADHANA शुरू कर दी और ज़ोर से बोले HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA, उनकी आवाज़ सुन क्रिष्णा तो नहीं आए लेकिन DO ANKHEN BARAH HATH वाली MOTHER INDIA ज़रूर प्रकट हुईं. उन्होंने इस घटना का Ardh Satya नहीं, बल्कि पूरा SATYA जानना चाहा. मां ने बताया कि इन सब के पीछे उनके बेटे MR. INDIA का हाथ है. ये सुनकर चारों का थका-हारा PYAASA सा MASOOM चेहरा गुस्से से BLACK हो गया. उन्हें शांत करने मां ने उन्हें Roti Kapda aur Makaan ऑफर किया. इस UPKAR के लिए उन्होंने मां को धन्यवाद दिया और भागते हुए मकान की TEESRI MANZIL पर पहुंचे, क्योंकि पहली मंज़िल पर Umrao Jaan और दूसरी मंज़िल पर SHREE 420 रहते थे. वहां पहुंचकर उन्होंने PADOSAN का दरवाज़ा खटखटाया और टॉयलेट का DAAG साफ करने के लिए TEZAAB मांगा. तभी पड़ोसन के पीछे से KARZ में डूबा हुआ उसका बेवड़ा पति DEVDAS आ गया और tansen बनकर गा उठा, Kabhi Kabhie मेरे गली आया करो. चारों सर पकड़ कर भागे वहां से. भूखे-थके-हारे उन्होंने चौकीदार DISCO DANCER को CHAK DE India! चाइनीज़ ढाबा भेजकर खाना मंगवाया और खा-पीकर सो गए. सोए ही थे कि तभी किसी ने कहा Jagte Raho. चारों ने छत पर जाकर देखा तो MUGHAL-E-AZAM, PAKEEZAH के आस-पास टिमटिम JUGNU जैसे आंखें मटका रहे थे और Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak का गाना गुनगुना रहे थे. ये देख अकबर गुस्से से Baiju Bawra बन तान लगाने लगा और उन दोनों के Amar Prem का THE DIRTY PICTURE बताने लगा. जहांपनाह भड़क गए और ANKUR ब्रांड डंडा लेकर दौड़ा लिया.वो चारों टैक्सी में बैठ भाग खड़े हुए. नसेड़ी TaxiDriver ने गलती से उन्हें DON के MAHAK में घुसा दिया. जहां डॉन की जंगली बिल्ली टीवी पर ALAM AARA देख रही थी. डॉन से बचने के लिए चारों Jewel Thief की तरह चुपके से खिसकने लगे कि तभी उन्हें सेकरेटरी Madhumati ने पकड़ लिया और डॉन के सामने ले गई. Baaton-Baaton Mein डॉन ने पूछा Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..! तो उन्होंने खुद को AWARA बताया. डॉन ने RAM SHYAM को बुलाकर इन चारों के लिए लंच लगाने को कहा. ROJA चल रहा था, इसलिए इन चारों ने खाने मना किया. डॉन को ये अपमान बर्दाश्त नहीं हुआ और उसने बॉबी को BANDINI बना लिया. उसे बचाने के लिए ये तीनों Johny Mera Naam और MUNNA BHAI M.B.B.S की शरण में गए. उन दोनों ने कहा कि HUM DONO तुम्हें MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR बनाएंगे, डॉन की कैद से भगाएंगे. जैसे उन्होंने कहा वैसा हुआ. डॉन को MERA NAAM JOKER बनाके वो चारों Chalti Ka Naam Gaddi में चढ़ गए. आखिरकार आज उनके चेहरों पर Anand था. CHASHME BUDOOR ऐसे LAMHE पर किसी की नज़र न लगे. लेकिन तभी नज़र लग गयी. टीटी ने टिकेट पूछा तो उन्होंने कहा JaaNE BHI DO YaaRO. ये सुनकर टीटी ने उन्हें भेज दिया जेल. जेलर DABANGG पांडे का तो ANDAZ ही था निराला. पूरी घटना का SAARANSH सुनने के बाद उसके दिल में Rang De Basanti जाग उठा और उसने उन्हें छोड़ दिया. जेल से बाहर आते ही एंथॉनी की नज़र पड़ी गाड़ी में बैठे एक Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam पर और वो गुस्से से चीख पड़ा इसे देखकर Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, सबने पूछा क्यूं ? तो उसने बताया “ये मेरी फर्स्ट टाइम वाली Love Story है. कुछ साल पहले इसकी बेटी SANGAM से MAINE PYAR KIYA. पहली बार JAB WE MET तो हमें एहसास हुआ कि हम हैं EK DUUJE KE LIE. लेकिन इसी साहिब ने हमारा milan नहीं होने दिया. उस वक़्त मेरे tAAre zameeN Par थे लेकिन अब तो Dilwale Dulhania Le JAyenge. ये सुनकर अमर और अकबर ANDAZ apna apna लेकर चल पड़े साहिब के घर एंथॉनी को उसका प्यार दिलवाने, एक Naya Daur लाने. लेकिन साहिब के घर बैठी थी बैंडित क्वीन इन चारों के इंतज़ार में. वो फिर पकड़े गए और यहां खतम हुई 100 साल की कहानी. जहां इनकी कहानी खतम हुई, वहां से शुरू हुई आपकी कहानी.

साभार- हिंदुस्तान टाइम्स 

रावण बनना भी कहां आसान...

रावण बनना भी कहां आसान.

रावण बनना भी कहां आसान.

रावण में ज्ञान और विद्वता का अम्बार था लेकिन उसका दुरुपयोग करने का संस्कार नहीं था
रावण में अहंकार था, तो पश्चाताप भी था
रावण में ज्ञान और विद्वता का शक्ति थी तो एक मनुष्य जैसे बच्चे के सामान ज़िद भी थी
रावण की सोच अगर सामान्य होती तो वह एक व्यक्ति होता वह देवतुल्य था क्योंकि वह दस अलग दिमाग से, (दशानन) दस अलग अलग परिप्रेक्ष्य से सोच सकता पर इस सोच को सच्चाई से बताने का सहस भी था
रावण में अपने को श्रेष्ठ कहने की क्षमता थी तो अपने नश्वर होने का एहसास भी था
रावण शक्ति का प्रतीक था उसका प्रतिबिम्ब था पर उसे अपने लोगों से कमज़ोर भी था
रावण में सोने की नगरी बनाने का सृजन था वैभव को प्रतिलक्षित करने का मन था तो तपस्या करने की और वैभव से अलग रहने की दृढ़ता भी थी
रावण में वासना थी, तो संयम भी था
रावण में सीता के अपहरण की ताकत थी, तो बिना सहमति पराए स्त्री को स्पर्श न करने का संकल्प भी था
सीता जीवित मिली ये राम की ताकत थी, पर पवित्र मिली ये रावण की मर्यादा थी
राम,
तुम्हारे युग का रावण अच्छा था..
दस के दस चेहरे, सब "बाहर" रखता था..
महसूस किया है कभी उस जलते हुए रावण का दुःख
जो सामने खड़ी भीड़ से बार बार पूछ रहा था.....
"तुम में से कोई राम है क्या?"

ITS NEVER TOO LATE

At age 5 his Father died.
At age 16 he quit school.
At age 17 he had already lost four jobs.
At age 18 he got married.
Between ages 18 and 22, he was a railroad conductor and failed.
He joined the army and washed out there.
He applied for law school he was rejected.
He became an insurance sales man and failed again.
At age 19 he became a father.
At age 20 his wife left him and took their baby daughter.
He became a cook and dishwasher in a small cafe.
He failed in an attempt to kidnap his own daughter, and eventually he convinced his wife to return home. At age 65 he retired.
On the 1st day of retirement he received a cheque from the Government for $105.
He felt that the Government was saying that he couldn’t provide for himself.
He decided to commit suicide, it wasn’t worth living anymore; he had failed so much.
He sat under a tree writing his will, but instead, he wrote what he would have accomplished with his life. He realised there was much more that he hadn’t done. There was one thing he could do better than anyone he knew. And that was how to cook.
So he borrowed $87 against his cheque and bought and fried up some chicken using his recipe, and went door to door to sell them to his neighbours in Kentucky.
Remember at age 65 he was ready to commit suicide.
But at age 88 Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire was a billionaire.
Moral of the story: Attitude. It's never too late to start all over.
*MOST IMPORTANLY, IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE. NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER HOW HARD IT GETS.*

पुनर्योवन : नवजीवन

 पुनर्योवन :  नवजीवन

"बाज लगभग 70 वर्ष जीता है .... परन्तु अपने जीवन के 40वें वर्ष में आते-आते उसे एक महत्वपूर्ण निर्णय लेना पड़ता है ।
उस अवस्था में उसके शरीर के3 प्रमुख अंग निष्प्रभावी होने लगते हैं ..... पंजे लम्बे और लचीले हो जाते है, तथा शिकार पर पकड़ बनाने में अक्षम होने लगते हैं ।
चोंच आगे की ओर मुड़ जाती है,
और भोजन में व्यवधान उत्पन्न करने लगती है ।
पंख भारी हो जाते हैं, और सीने से चिपकने के कारण पूर्णरूप से खुल नहीं पाते हैं, उड़ान को सीमित कर देते हैं।
भोजन ढूँढ़ना, भोजन पकड़ना, और भोजन खाना .. तीनों प्रक्रियायें अपनी धार खोने लगती हैं ।
उसके पास तीन ही विकल्प बचते हैं....
1. देह त्याग दे,
2. अपनी प्रवृत्ति छोड़ गिद्ध की तरह त्यक्त भोजन पर निर्वाह करे !!
3. या फिर "स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करे" !!
आकाश के निर्द्वन्द एकाधिपति के रूप में.
जहाँ पहले दो विकल्प सरल और त्वरित हैं,
अंत में बचता है तीसरा लम्बा और अत्यन्त पीड़ादायी रास्ता ।
बाज चुनता है तीसरा रास्ता ..
और स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करता है ।
वह किसी ऊँचे पहाड़ पर जाता है, एकान्त में अपना घोंसला बनाता है ..
और तब स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करने की प्रक्रिया प्रारम्भ करता है !!
सबसे पहले वह अपनी चोंच चट्टान पर मार मार कर तोड़ देता है,
चोंच तोड़ने से अधिक पीड़ादायक कुछ भी नहीं है पक्षीराज के लिये !
और वह प्रतीक्षा करता है चोंच के पुनः उग आने का ।
उसके बाद वह अपने पंजे भी उसी प्रकार तोड़ देता है, और प्रतीक्षा करता है .. पंजों के पुनः उग आने का ।
नयी चोंच और पंजे आने के बाद वह अपने भारी पंखों को एक-एक कर नोंच कर निकालता है !
और प्रतीक्षा करता है ..
पंखों के पुनः उग आने का ।
150 दिन की पीड़ा और प्रतीक्षा के बाद ...
मिलती है वही भव्य और ऊँची उड़ान पहले जैसी....
इस पुनर्स्थापना के बाद
वह 30 साल और जीता है ....
ऊर्जा, सम्मान और गरिमा के साथ ।
इसी प्रकार इच्छा, सक्रियता और कल्पना, तीनों निर्बल पड़ने लगते हैं हम इंसानों में भी !
हमें भी भूतकाल में जकड़े
अस्तित्व के भारीपन को त्याग कर कल्पना की उन्मुक्त उड़ाने भरनी होंगी
150 दिन न सही.....
60 दिन ही बिताया जाये
स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करने में !
जो शरीर और मन से चिपका हुआ है, उसे तोड़ने और
नोंचने में पीड़ा तो होगी ही !!
और फिर जब बाज की तरह उड़ानें भरने को तैयार होंगे ..
इस बार उड़ानें और ऊँची होंगी,
अनुभवी होंगी, अनन्तगामी होंगी ।

Challenges in UPSC/IAS/Civil Services Examination PT Preparation

GS PT में प्रश्नों का स्वरुप

Arctic Sea melting and its impact on Geopolitics

Arctic Sea melting and its Impact on Geopolitics

An interesting mix n match analysis on one of the major development across the world
The melting of Arctic Ice has significant ecological and geopolitical implications for the world. In the Arctic, the sea ice has shrunk by about two-thirds over three decades.
Predictions by various models say the summertime Arctic sea ice could disappear completely by 2050. This will open new shipping rules are being, The ‘Polar Code’, as it is called is expected to boost traffic in the region, but will have stringent rules on pollution.

Why does this matter?

The Northern Sea Route along Russia’s edge, that is likely to be free of ice first, can reduce the sailing distance between Asian ports and northern Europe by 40 per cent. The other major Arctic shipping route is the Northwest Passage, which connects Europe and Asia.
It is nearly 5,000 nautical miles shorter than the 12,600 nautical mile distance between Europe and Asia through the Panama Canal. The Arctic is believed to hold about 13 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil, 30 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas, and 20 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas liquids.

The Current Situation

Right Now, there are no international conventions regulating Arctic shipping operations. Rules are coming into force in 2016.
As of 2010, most Arctic shipping routes were ice-free for only about 30 days. The commercial shipping route is currently open for only about four months a year.
The Concern
‘The Polar Code’ does not deal with the problem of ballast water discharge, which often introduces non-native species to a region, and continues to allow vessels to use heavy fuel oil, a potential pollutant.

Stance of Different Countries

Russia Submitted its initial claim to the North Pole, and 7,40,000 5q km of surrounding territory, to the UN in 2001.
In 2006 Norway became the second and only Arctic nation besides Russia to submit an extended continental shelf claim.

In 2013, end Canada said it would claim the North Pole, around 800 km north of Alert, Nunavut, the country’s – and the world’s – northermost settlement, provoking threats of military deployment by Moscow.
Geographically, Denmark is not within the Arctic region. However, because of its territory, Greenland, and its province, the Faroe Islands, its potential claims to the Arctic extend from Greenland up to the North Pole, via the potentially oil-rich Lomonosov Ridge.
Since International Law only allows countries to extend their territory 200 km offshore, the claims are based on some creative interpretations of where the landmasses end. All argue that mountain ranges that criss-cross the floor of the Arctic Ocean are extensions of their own continental shelves. It is up to the UN to adjudicate.

Conclusion

No country owns the geographic North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. However, the 5 countries located along the shore of the Arctic Ocean – Russia, the US, Denmark, Canada and Norway – have competing territorial claims.
While some maintain that like Antarctica, the Arctic should not be exploited for any activity save scientific expeditions, others contend that its resources belong to the entire world.

GS PT में प्रश्नों का स्वरुप

GETTING INTO IAS AFTER +2 AND 12TH

Challenges in PT Preparation

NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL

NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL

A very small amount of nuclear fuel generates wastes when put through the fusion pro­cess. Since the half life periods of these wastes are much much longer compared to human time scale, they have a potential to emit radiation for a much longer time.
The radiation, emitted in the form of  a. b or g rays need to be stored in such "containers" which cannot be penetrated by these rays and in case of even an accident, there is no damage' to the environment.

A number of proposals advocating va­rious methods have been mooted to store nuclear wastes. But the efficacies of such methods remain questionable.

A 1,000 megawatt conventional fission reactor will produce 27,000 kilograms of 238 U, 340 kilograms of 235 U, 700 kilo­grams of a multitude of different fission products, and 230 kilograms of actinides (mostly plutonium, its daughter products and chemical relatives) as wastes in one year. Fission products include hundreds of isotopes with different chemical and/or radiologic properties, most of which lose their radioactivity in several hundred years. The greatest difficulty in disposing of high level fission products wastes is dealing with chemically different prob­lems. Actinides are relatively immobile in multitude of chemical terms (that is they generally have low solubilities in water), but may take thousands of years to lose their radioactivity.

THREE methods are currently being used to dispose of radioactive wastes:  

Dilute and disperse

Delay and decay

Concentration and containment

In dilution and dispersion, low level wastes are released into the air, water or ground to be diluted to presumably safe levels. As wastes proliferate, this dangerous practice will begin to add significantly to artificial radiation levels in the environ­ment particularly from hydrogen­3C (tritium) and krypton-85 which are difficult and fairly expensive to contain and remove.

Delay and decay can be used for radioactive wastes with relatively short half lives. They are stored as liquid, slurries in tanks. After 10-20 times their half lives, they decay to harmless levels at which they can be diluted and dispersed into the environment.

Concentration and containment is used for highly radioactive wastes with long half lives. They are not only radioactive but also thermally hot (primarily from caesium-137 and strontium 90).

The objective of all high level waste disposal is to isolate toxic or radioactive waste from the biosphere through a sys­tem that is free of the risk of sabotage, theft and leakage. The system must prevent the accumulation of an explosive critical mass of the waste, it must dissipate the heat of the wastes, and it must be effective for thousands of years, till the radiation is reduced to a very low level.

Present disposal systems meet few of these criteria. Hundreds of millions of liters of radioactive defence wastes are being stored in stainless steel tanks as sludge or liquid and 8,000 tonnes of spent fuel rods from power plants are being held in liquid filled tanks, often on the premises of the plant itself. Many waste holding facilities are reaching the end of their useful lives. With the potential for an on-going growth in high level wastes in the future, permanent methods for dis­posing them are obviously badly needed.

Periods and phases of disposal

Four periods are expected in the life of a permanent waste repository.
The period of testing and excava­tion when geologic tests determine the acceptability of local geologic conditions.
The operational period when the waste is placed in the repository but can be retrieved should any geologic criteria fail.
The thermal period, which is the first 1,000 years after the repository is sealed. During this period heat generated by the wastes will increase and then gradually dissipate. Physical and chemical changes in the waste, the waste container and between the waste and the repository will proceed at the highest rate during this period.
The post thermal period, a storage time of thousands of years during which the radioactive actinide waste lose radia­tion.
Once a repository is sealed, waste can escape isolation to the biosphere only if it is exposed by either geologic processes or by humans or if it is dissolved or otherwise transported by water. The concept of isolating a hazardous waste from exposure of contact with water for thousands of years requires predicting reactions over time periods far beyond any human observation. Very long term predictions of waste and geologic behaviour thus will have to be based upon very short term (in a geologic sense) tests.

To prevent exposure, burial of wastes deep within the earth (300 to 900 metres) in an area of very low geologic activity is proposed. To prevent transport by ground water from such a site, a multiple barrier approach has become the accepted alternative, in which a succession of inde­pendent barrriers to stop wastes move­ment are established.
Conversion of the waste to a form that can withstand intense heat, is impermeable to water, and is unleachable. Vitrification (incorporating the waste in borosilicate glass) is the most widely accepted approach.
Enclosing the waste in sealed canisters made of alloys that are resistant to corrosion.
Backfilling the repository with material that is impermeable to ground­water, that strongly binds wastes, and that neutralises any leaching capabilities of groundwater. Thus, backfilling would protect, surround, and isolate the cannisters.
Choosing a host rock with high strength that conducts heat rather than absorbs it and that does not expand too much upon being heated. A high degree of ability to bind any free waste is also an essential host rock's characteristic that minimise unfavour­able chemical reactions with waste pro­ducts should they reach a liquid form.
Employing geologic factors with other natural barriers to groundwater flow. This means rock with few or no fractures, few seismic faults, low per­meability to water and low porosity for water flow that is isolated from groundwa­ter - by an impermeable barrier.
MOST experts agree that a repository that meets most of the qualifica­tions of the multiple barrier system could probably isolate wastes for as long a period of time as humans can envision. However, the cost of a risk-free waste storage system will be high adding to the already capital intensive nature of the nuclear industry. Morever, no such re­pository has been developed. Arguments continue.

Initially it was proposed that the wastes should be surrounded with concrete and stored in surface warehouses until a better solution was found. But there were grave dangers associated with these proposals.

In 1977 the American Science Congress came with a novel proposal. The proposal was to solidify wastes, encapsulate them in glass or ceramic and place it in metal containers and bury the containers deep inside in earthquake and flood-free geological formations such as dug out salt or granite deposit. But the proposal if implemented would have created more problems than it would have solved because long-term occurrence of natural disasters cannot be predicted. Moreover, heat from radioactive decay would have cracked  the glass containers and fractured salt or granite formations allowing ground water to enter the depository contaminating the ground water supplies.

Transportaion of deadly radioactive wastes to repository sites would have caused additional problems and if inspite of all the project failed, wastes would have been difficult to retrieve.

Jakino and Bupp in 1978 proposed to bury the nuclear wastes in an underground hole created by a nuclear bomb so that the wastes eventually melted and fused with surrounding rocks into a glassy ball. But for such an unknown thing the effects being unknown and unpredict­able-the danger of failure of the project was always there and such a failure would have necessarily contaminated the groundwater.
• Earnest E Angina in his paper published in Nature under the heading ‘High Level and Long Level Radioactive Waste Disposal' came out with a rather novel proposal. His proposal essentially envisaged changing harmful isotopes into harmless ones by using high level neutron bombardment lasers or nuclear fusion. The proposal, however, was too novel in its approach for technological feasibility to be established. Even if technology could make it feasible there was every chance that process would have created materials which would have required disposal. So such a proposal necessarily had to be dispensed with.

Researchers working on nuclear waste's disposal have recently shown that once a suitable container was designed, the nuc­lear wastes could either be dropped in ocean or the oceanic sediments and floor that are going to subduct in the mantle.
The problem was essentially related to designing the container free from any fault. If such a container was dropped to be subducted, the fear that these wastes might spread out somewhere else by volcanic activity would linger. This fear, scientists feel, is largely unfounded since the subduction zone is believed to be the final destroyer, and the crust which is destroyed in the mantle itself, contains radioactive elements. A 'number of specific technological problems also remain to be resolved.
Political decisions about irretrievable burial or allowance for access in the future also must be made. These technical problems can be solved through research efforts.
Meanwhile, the ethical question whether we have the right to leave potent toxins as a legacy to civilisations that hundreds or thousands of years from now may or may not know of their existence, is a value judgement that societies must face as they decide the fate of the nuclear industry.

BLIZZARDS

BLIZZARDS

A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds of at least 56 km/h and lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically three hours or more. A blizzard is characterised by air temperatures that are low (generally less than –10 °C) and winds of at least 30 knots (55.6 km/hr) blow falling snow or that, which has already fallen, such that visibility does not exceed 200 m. For a storm to be classified as a strong blizzard,
Winds must blow at a minimum of 40 knots (74: I km/hr),

Temperatures must be no higher than -12 °C and visibility must be effectively nil.
A severe blizzard has winds over 72 km/h, near zero visibility, and temperatures of −12 °C or lower for a duration of at least 3 hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling but loose snow on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds.
The difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind, not the amount of snow. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have sustained winds or frequent gusts that are greater than or equal to 56 km/h with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or a quarter mile or less and must last for a prolonged period of time — typically three hours or more.

Nor’easter blizzards

A nor’easter is a macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada; it gets its name from the direction the wind is coming from. The usage of the term in North America comes from the wind associated with many different types of storms some of which can form in the North Atlantic Ocean and some of which form as far south as the Gulf of Mexico.

FORMATION OF BLIZZARDS

There are set of three criteria that must be met for a storm to be considered a blizzard.
First, there needs to be blowing or falling snow that results in a reduction of visibility to less than one-quarter of a mile.
Second, the storm needs to produce sustained winds or frequent wind gusts in excess of 35 mph, and
Finally, the previous two conditions need to continue for at least three hours.
Blizzard conditions often develop due to intense pressure differences. The difference between the lower pressure in the storm and the higher pressure to the creates a tight pressure gradient, which in turn results in very strong winds.
These winds combine with snow and blowing snow to produce extreme conditions. Storm systems powerful enough to cause blizzards usually form when the jet stream (a very fast moving wind, 240-300 km/hr) which in a sense drags cold polar air, dips far to the south, allowing cold air from the north to clash with warm air from the south leading to formation of front (the narrow zone separating cold and warm air masses).
With the colder and drier polar air, atmospheric temperatures fall enough for the development of snow, sleet, or freezing rain.

American Blizzards

When cold, moist air from the Pacific Ocean moves eastward to the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, and warmer, moist air moves north from the Gulf of Mexico, all that is needed is a movement of cold polar air moving south to form potential blizzard conditions that may extend from the Texas to the Great Lakes.
Another storm system occurs when a cold core low over the Hudson Bay area in Canada is displaced southward over southeastern Canada, the Great Lakes, and New England. When the rapidly moving cold front collides with warmer air coming north from the Gulf of Mexico, strong surface winds, a lot of cold air advection, and extensive wintry precipitation occur.
Low pressure systems moving out of the Rocky Mountains onto the Great Plains can cause thunderstorms and rain to the south and heavy snows and strong winds to the north. With few trees or other obstructions to reduce wind and blowing, this part of the country is particularly vulnerable to blizzards with very low temperatures and whiteout conditions.
What are its various impacts?

#1. Whiteout

Blizzards can bring whiteout conditions. In a true whiteout there is no visible horizon and multiple reflection allows the sense of direction and distance to be lost. People can become lost in their own front yards, when the door is only 10 feet (3 meters) away, and they would have to feel their way back. Motorists have to stop their cars where they are, as the road is impossible to see. Whiteouts can paralyze regions for days at a time, particularly where snowfall is unusual or rare.

#2. Wind chill

The wind chill factor is the amount of cooling the human body feels due to the combination of wind and temperature. Blizzard conditions of cold temperatures and strong winds can cause wind chill values that can result in hypothermia or frostbite.

#3. Inundation and Flooding

All the snow that blizzards usher in has to go somewhere. When the temperatures start to rise, the snow melts too quickly and abundantly for it to be absorbed, which increases the risk of flooding, especially in coastal areas. Blizzards also cause sea levels to rise, which can lead to flooding. Floods devastate the plant and animal population, shifting the local ecosystem and potentially impacting the food supply. Floods can also spread pollution from oil dropped on parking lots to plastic bags left out on the street; pesticides; fertilizers and detergents. All of these impact the water supply and further poison the plant and animal population.

#4. Destabilised Water Cycle

Whether blizzards result in flooding, they blanket the land with heavy precipitation that is drawn up into the atmosphere as a result of evaporation. Whether it is the snow from the blizzard or the water from the resulting flood, blizzards can contribute to heavy accumulation of water vapour in the atmosphere. That can lead to greater rainfall throughout the rest of the year, including heavy storms. Those storms can raise water levels and impact plant and animal populations, depending on their severity.

#5. Ecosystem impact

Temperatures quickly drop below zero during a blizzard, especially with the wind chill. Ice and winds cause trees to fall and plants to die. Such storms have the potential to cause significant damage to entire forests, which then release carbon during decay. The excess carbon causes an imbalance in the local ecosystem, which impacts other plants and wildlife. When other plants and flora are killed during a blizzard, their lack of availability also impacts the food supply for local animals and wildlife. Additionally,
Trees, plants, and crops can die in a blizzard, because of the extreme cold.
Tree branches and limbs can break.

#6. Mold and Fungus Damage

Blizzards create wet or damp conditions for extended periods, both while there is snow on the ground and while it is melting. The on-going wet and damp conditions encourage the spread of mold and fungi. Some mold and fungi are beneficial for the environment because they help break down decaying matter, like fallen trees. However, some mold and fungi damage the environment by destroying plants and trees that provide food sources and are important to sustaining the local ecosystem.

#7. Effect on city life

1. A blizzard can shut down a city, sometimes for days. Transportation can be impossible. Adults cannot get to work. People can be stuck in their homes for days.
2. Electrical wires often go down because of the heavy wind and snow. This leaves people with no electricity.
3. A blizzard can cause lots of property damage, such as roof cave-ins and windows breaking. Trees can fall on houses, cars, etc.
4. Blizzards are the cause of car accidents. Cars can be stranded on highways too.
5. Blizzards are life-threatening storms taking lives.
6. Blizzards can hurt the economy.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION

UTTARAKHAND FLOODS & LANDSLIDE

UTTARAKHAND FLOODS & LANDSLIDE

Uttarakhand, the Himalayan state is rugged has a fragile geophysical structure, very high peaks, high angle of slopes, complex geology, variable climatic conditions and active tectonic processes.


1.   Himalayas formed when the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate 55 million years ago. The Himalayas are continuously rising as plate convergence between India and Tibet continues. The collision makes the Himalayas an unstable zone. This triggers earthquakes, fracturing and shearing of rocks, making the Himalayan slopes unstable. The process of formation led to rivers forming gorges through rising mountains. It is in these rivers that huge silt has been deposited. At the same time, steep slopes, cliffs were created, especially in and around the Alaknanda-Bhagirathi systems. All this leads to the Himalayan Mountains slopes to be fragile. To cap it all the westerlies collided with the rising air stream of the monsoons to lead to intense rains

2.   During April-June strong westerlies are generally active over the mid-latitudes (areas between the tropics and the polar regions, approximately 30° to 60°lat). In May and June the westerlies, which flooded central Europe, reached and were responsible for very heavy rainfall and flooding in central European nations, such as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic to the Himalayan states via Afghanistan to collide with the monsoon, triggered deadly rains. Driven by westerlies, western disturbances, swept into the north Indian hilly states around mid-June, where a monsoon-related low-pressure system had already moved in from Bay of Bengal. In general, the monsoon is relatively weaker in the Himalayan region, which is located near the "periphery" or the northern limit of the monsoon that brings up to 80% of India's annual rainfall. When westerlies encounter the monsoon, they stagnate. The westerlies virtually locked on to the monsoon system, the two systems feeding moisture into each other gave rise to intense interaction. While monsoon currents progress from south to northwest, western disturbances move across north India from west to east, driving up pressure. In fact, in some Himalayan areas, the monsoon is activated by western disturbances. The unusual combination of westerlies along with monsoons led to intense upliftment of moisture-laden winds and deadly cloudburst. That caused excessive runoff, triggering landslides and flooding. Such mechanism of excessive rainfall is not unusual for the Himalayan region, nor such type of flooding is unusual as such an event takes place in one or another region of the Himalayas.

3.   It was GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) that caused Kedarnath floods. Kedarnath floods 2013 were caused by the burst of Chorabari Lake or Gandhi Sarovar. Gandhi Sarovar or Chorabari Lake is located at 3,900 metres is a permanent water body on the side of the Chorabari glacier and has been in existence even in maps of the area from 1962. The glacier is about two km upstream from the Kedarnath temple. The lake is surrounded by hard rock on one side and a lateral moraine on the other. The lake is fed by snow and not by the waters of the Chorabari glacier which has receded over the years. The lake was full to the brim and burst its moraine barrier since there was no natural drainage. That outburst is what caused the most damage on June17 and the tons of sediment and water wreaked havoc down the valley. The over 300 mm of rain recorded on June 15 and 16 accelerated the snow melt into the lake. The rain was too early and too heavy causing this extreme event.

Although floods are natural and are part of the hydrological cycle, and floods must also occur and that they must take place because it cleanses the entire system. But, floods also become a hazard when the hydrological cycle is destabilised and the humans interfere with it without having known the dynamics of nature.

A man made disaster 

Uttarakhand has an unplanned settlement, an ever increasing population, weak economic condition and a low literacy rate. Apart from these factors, resource constraint, the lack of technical manpower, the lack of public awareness, very remote, rural and difficult geo-physical situation of the country, absence of modern technology and so on are other factors Uttarakhand prone to disasters.

The recent Uttarakhand floods were more manmade than natural. It was not a natural event or phenomena, it was a man-made disaster. The Uttarakhand floods were caused by many man made events one above another in their intensity of effect.

1.   Unplanned growth and rampant felling of forests responsible for this scale of disaster. The Himalayan water divides and slopes have witnessed unprecedented deforestation over a long period. Forest cover depletion has loosened soil, and this leads to frequent landslides. Landslides block the natural flow of water leading to inundation or constriction of the river path. While official estimates say forest cover has increased in the Himalaya, observations and facts do not give credence to this claim. The fact is that forests have been actually diverted for a host of land use activities such as agriculture, human settlements and urban built up area expansion for infrastructure development such as hydropower construction as well as road building. Scientific studies indicate that at the current rates of deforestation, the total forest cover in the Indian Himalaya will be reduced from 84.9 per cent (of the value in 1970) in 2000 to no more than 52.8 per cent in 2100. Dense forest areas, on which many forest taxa (groups of species) critically depend, would decline from 75.4 per cent of the total forest area in 2000 to just 34 per cent  in 2100, which is estimated to result in the extinction of 23.6 per cent of taxa restricted to the dense Himalayan forests. Vegetative cover slows the speed of falling rain and prevents soil erosion and gully formation - the precursors to landslides and floods. Dense vegetation, by evapotranspiration, also stops nearly 30-40 percent of rainwater from falling to the ground, thereby significantly reducing run-off. Besides holding the soil together, forests and soil soak water from the rain, release it slowly and prevent water flowing as run-off, So, deforestation brings about slope destabilisation which leads to landslides. The landslide and debris flow downstream add enormous load to the streams causing the valley volume to decrease and spilling of the rivers causing flood.

2.   Conversion of Pine to Oak Plantation. These parts of the Himalayas that once boasted of oak forests had turned into pine woods. Oak is an un-exploitable tree for commerce compared to the pine that has a variety of uses. From pine resin to its wood, everything is used profitably by man. Pine is profitable for man but it is not profitable for the Himalayas. The oak is a wonderful tree that in fall over years and decades creates a layer of black subsoil that nourishes the thickest undergrowth one can ever see. These scrubs and brushwood feed on rainwater that seeps down to create an organic whole, a sort of natural masonry that toughens and fortifies the soil against erosion caused even by heavy rainfall. Pine trees, unlike the oak, do not grow leaves, but needles that fall and form a smooth dry bed that does not soak water. This prevents the soil from developing underbrush.

Oaks are not protected by law enforcers. In any case the forest department, comprising no doubt some prized ignoramuses, do not mind this because they watch the pines creep up where once were oaks. Oaks are not protected by law enforcers as it does not ensure that profitability. In order to Green the Himalaya, the forest department greened the Himalayas s all they wanted was a Green cover, irrespective of the type of the tree. Pine is chosen as it spins out more money.

3.   Erratic rain pattern which may have been a product of climatic and weather aberrations led to intense bursts of rain first, and then its subsequent slowdowns causes the Himalayan rocks to be loosened flooding of silted rivers. Some recent studies, pointed out that Himalayan ecosystems have experienced faster rates of warming in the last 100 years and more than the European Alps or other mountain ranges of the world. In such a scenario, a faster melting of glaciers is expected with a higher water discharge in the Himalayan rivers.

4.   Series of dams have upset ecological cycle and hill slope stability. Construction 70 hydro-electric projects recently, including 37 in high landslide susceptibility zone increases the instability of slopes. Large-scale dam building in recent years has caused massive land use changes with ensuing problems in the Himalayan watersheds. Hydropower and allied construction activities are potential sources of slope weakening and destabilisation. Most downstream damage in otherwise flood-free areas is caused by dams and barrages, which release large volumes of water to safeguard engineering structures. Dam operators often release more water during rains than the carrying capacity of downstream areas, causing floods, increasing erosion and destabilising the base of the slopes further.

5.   Pilgrimage are responsible for significant human movement into the Himalaya beyond the region's carrying capacity, whether it is Amarnath in Jammu & Kashmir Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Hemkund inUttrakhand. Commercialisation of pilgrimage routes with encroachment on river banks, forests and dangerous slopes increased risks manifold. The heavy pilgrim population has also resulted in the mushrooming of shanty towns, cheap accommodation and numerous ramshackle buildings along river banks. Huge building construction, cheap hotels and individual dwellings at Uttarkashi, on the banks of the Assi and Bhagirathi rivers have been allowed. There is hardly any buffer between the river and the human settlements. While it is important to appreciate the aspirations of the local people and their economic activities, there cannot be a lack of enforcement of land use control laws on the part of local governments and officials.


6.   A complete neglect of urban planning has led to settlements coming up in danger areas in Rudraprayag, Joshimath, Chamoli etc. These settlements havent followed a simple rule-‘Where the river has its way, stay out it.’ Whether it was Kosi sometime back, and now Alaknanda or Bhagirathi, the rule applies to all.

7.   The illegal sand mining that is so common and rampant both of it has removed the protective cover at the base of the slope increasing its vulnerability to various types of mass movements, landslides and slippages.

8.   3 yrs ago, while auditing hydel projects in Uttarakhand, CAG had warned about severe ecological hazards. Its report ignored.

Suggestions

1.   Increasing literacy rate and train the people to rediscover their local wisdom, and civilisation. As a part of literacy, and school education, disaster management course should be included in the school and university curriculum. It is also necessary to train school teachers, selected students, women leaders, health workers and social workers to educate others in measures to prevent or mitigate the natural disasters. Such types of program may convince people to believe that natural disasters are not an act of God, rather it is a product of peoples’ action who lose their respect for environment and natural surrounding. To attain all this, there is the need of the strong political determination, pragmatic policy formulation and quick decision making. It is also needed very much to think on improving road infrastructure without slope destailisation and other alternatives to road transport such as ropeway; improving communication facilities to carry out rescue and relief works effectively and efficiently. In order to prevent inappropriate construction of buildings, the building code should be strictly implemented.
2.   Afforestation and Species Composition Change. Planting oak by the removal of pine. The oak is ecologically wonderful because its fall over years and decades creates a layer of black subsoil that nourishes a thick undergrowth. These scrubs and brushwood feed on rainwater that seeps down to create an organic whole, a sort of natural masonry that toughens and fortifies the soil against erosion caused even by heavy rainfall.

3.   Independent and serious monitoring of the catchment area treatment plans proposed by Forest Departments with funds from hydropower companies needs to be carried out and reported to the Green Tribunal.

4.   Himalayan State governments need to consider imposing high environmental tax on visitors, particularly during summer and monsoon months. Heavily sizing down pilgrim numbers in fragile areas must begin

5.   All vulnerable buildings need to be either secured or relocated away from rivers. Governments must impose penalties on buildings structures within 200 metres of river banks.

6.   Hydropower policy must consider building fewer dams and prioritise those that have the least environmental and social costs.

7.   This increasing variability and intense downpours are consequence of temperature changes and other weather aberrations, due to the capacity of warmer air to hold more water vapour. It happened last year inUttarkashi, it's occurred this year again. It's going to continue to happen, frequently. This raises three issues.

8.   Surely adaptation means not just desperate evacuation during and after extreme rains, but preparing for them. Experts suggest prior warning systems are feasible, with reasonable investment. Given there was no warning from the IMD, what technological or administrative improvement do we need to ensure that advance warnings are issued before such future events?

9.   Two, that needs not just technology but political will. We need to collectively challenge the callous indifference that most political elites have for the lives and livelihoods of the poor

10.   And three, even assuming a best-case scenario of capacity, efficiency and political will, what impacts and devastation are inescapable in a difficult and mountainous terrain? What we are currently experiencing is in a world 0.9°C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures. Due to the lag between carbon emissions and global warming, a significantly warmer world is inevitable, as are more extreme events.

CIVIL SERVICES SELECTION-ISSUES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR REFORMS

BUREAUCRATIC SELECTION 

The present selection system in IAS: Its limitations & relevance for good governance

A good governance requires an efficient, coherent, amicable and smooth functioning of the coordination between the executive, legislator, judiciary and the civil services, supported by an awakened, enlightened and well informed citizens. The people select someone to represent themselves in an election mandate who frames policies for the welfare of the people, which is in accordance with the law or not, is analysed by the judiciary and then implemented by the government servants called civil servants.

In order to implement the policies of the government, the chosen civil servants require to behave in a holistic manner having an idea about everything happening around them, so that they can administer the policies taking almost everything or maximum number of variables into account. Thus, these civil servants are not required to be any specialists rather they require to know something about everything, i.e., they are required to be generalists, who form the army of bureaucrats who supposedly 'run (or ruin)' the administration of the country.

The bureaucracy has to dispense certain duties, handle a lot of responsibilities, help in governance, help frame policies of the government and that too with a feeling towards the countrymen, so that the policies bring about a holistic upliftment of the society and do all these require certain qualities. The bureaucracy requires a combination of human traits, personality traits and attitudinal traits.

The identification of the bureaucratic tests, abilities, capabilities, its testing and ultimately its selection is done through a system of examination promoted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

The UPSC tries to identify whether the candidates possess the desired qualities or not and on that basis recommends them to the Ministry of Personnel Affairs for their induction into Civil Services.

Had it been that the selection process of the UPSC would have been infallible, the chosen government servants would have been patriotic, intelligent, efficient, hard working, visionary, sensitive and understanding. However, the present corp of officials far from showing these qualities rather excel in qualities which are completely reverse and on the extreme.

They come to earn money, which they start doing right from their early stage, they have a bloated ego, which gets a boost by qualifying and subsequently oil massaged in the administrative setting, they come with minimum feelings about the country which becomes dead.

Obviously then, something is wrong somewhere. There is a thorough mismatch between what is required, what is desirable, what type of government servants we get and how they work. The qualities that are desired of them, whether they have been tested, checked or is that, that they are picked up for wrong qualities.

An attempt in the following paragraphs is being made to understand these anomalies and make some suggestions for sustainable governance of the country.

To begin with, the civil servants don't require to be genius, intelligence is enough. A genius has its own ways, his/her thinking is completely out of the world. Genius are not part of the general masses, they do not care for the world and can be out and out a revolutionary. An intelligent person allows his logic and intuition to function in a balanced manner. He knows when actually to use his intuitive abilities and his logic. The present examination system particularly the Prelims lays more emphasis on the retentive capability, rather than on intelligence but its Mains examination has a good mixture of intelligence and retentive power capability. Indeed the people chosen are intelligent, talented, but whether they use their talent and intelligence for the right cause or not, leaves a lot to be desired.

Language for bureaucracy is not merely a test of only the reading and writing ability but a means of communication. It emboldens the bureaucrats' ability to draft letters, understand legality, communicate what is to be communicated to the masses without causing any offence , and prompt the reader to think beyond words. Language has never been the most important test for the bureaucracy, however at two levels of examination the ability of the candidates to communicate used to be checked-- the Mains level and the Interview level. Since the Mains answer require the candidates to faithfully reproduce rather than think originally, therefore to what extent the language was tested remains a question mark. Some interview boards go on to become quizzical. Consequently, their efficacy in testing the communication skill and language also remains to be seen. The induction of essay has been a good attempt to check the language of the candidates, and its comprehension ability. Still, the questions in the Mains require to test the analytical capability to a greater range by inducting complexities and to test the conclusive range of the candidates.

As part of the recent changes in the civil services examination system the welcome development has been the introduction of Interpersonal skill, including communication skill as part of CSAT. CSAT is an appreciable effort for the reason that the qualified candidates of the Services will not be required to be taught English language (Some four IFS candidates who though having qualified and not able to comprehend English had to be taught English separately for one year) and the non-expressive one will be eliminated right in the beginning.

One of the most important administrative traits is the organisation of thoughts and the capability to organise the thoughts. The more organised the thought of a person, the better are the possibilities of his becoming a better administrator. If not in the PT, surely in the Mains examination, and in the Interview the unorganisation of thoughts become a major hindrance. The candidate in no way can clear the Mains examination without this ability.

Only when the thoughts are organised, can there be any enhancement of analytical ability and that always helps a better judgement after a solid comprehension. The prelims test has introduced such questions and enlarged their numbers in the question paper as well.

However, the real test of analysis comes in the Mains. Fortunately, the scope of analytical questions has increased over the last two years to such an extent that the civil services examination has ceased to be only a test of reproduction. Some interview boards also test candidates’ ability to analyse but most of them still go on to be quizzical. After all, a quizzical interview is so easy, less strenuous and requires virtually no quality interviewer. Analysis, helps one to convert information into knowledge or use the tool of information for knowledge. Knowledge is the capability of using information, learning for a value based judgement on what is wrong and right, what is good and bad, what is desirable and undesirable, what is view and vision, and whether it is better to be short sighted, visionary or to be blind.

Unfortunately, knowledge is not really subjected to any realistic assessment at any stage of candidate's qualification scheme of things, as the perspective base of candidates is not subjected to any value based assessment. A selected candidate devoid of wisdom is bound to be poor in decision making, has to be short-sighted and irrational.

Even with a diverse perspective base, the candidate can be objective in thinking ready to balance perception. Any lack of balance of perception is bound to make the officer partial, show a lot of biases take a sectarian view, ally themselves easily to any ideology, political party and view.

No test has been designed for checking the balance of perception and objectivity of the candidates in their thinking. Needless to say, the present corp of bureaucrats show every type of bias, sectarianism, casteism, regional bias and what not.

The UPSC could have better thought of advancing its thinking on CSAT as previously thought of, where it sought to check in the candidates’ "ethical, moral and analytical dimension in decision making" but the present form of CSAT is a good departure from its previous motive of testing ethic and morality.

The form of testing of ethics and morality is nowhere visible in the present format. Although it must be said that a design of test to check the ethics and morality in the candidates aptitude couldn't have been too difficult to assess and check. Asking the candidates to choose between "Monsoons are uncertain" and "Monsoon are unpredictable" and "Monsoon show high degree of spatial and temporal variation" would have indicated the candidates approach towards nature – whether critical or appreciative, whether ethical or consumerist.

In turn such a designed test with the help of certain questions would have indicated the feelings of the candidate towards either nature or fellow human beings such a question would have a choice in the form of "A train accident killed 70 people or "70 talents of country, or 70 families devastated because of train accident"

Indeed, the bureaucracy must have a fair degree of sensitivity along with talent. Bureaucracy must be picked from the best in the country. Talents are easy to spot and identify. But it is difficult to find and identify candidates sensitive and benevolent vision for our country. The country's governance is bad not because of talents but because of the attitude of the bureaucracy. It is attitude that would have determined the progress of the country. Well being of oneself, positive thinking, progressive nature and the ability to identify and respect others as well as one's own talent comes with attitude.

Attitudes have hardly been studied and/or they have got any precedence over talent. Talents can be spoilt brats, attitudes are always rational.

Inability to have an attitudinal test or to design one or the lack of willingness has determined the dearth of attitude in the administrative manpowers.

A leadership trait in bureaucracy will help the bureaucracy take a lot of lead in initiative building, mobilising people, association building, developing consensus for far fetched concepts, furnish thinking and consequently improve the predictive power of the candidates. Incidentally none of these traits are associated with the present bureaucracy. They are perceived as leaders by virtue of the powers they hold, or they have, or the perception they build around them, or their subordinates who protect them to such an extent. They are not leaders by virtue of having it as one of the personality traits.

The present system of examination does not seek to test the leadership qualities of the candidates. Had it been, the initial screening would have been done on the lines of SSB, a complete picture of the perspective candidates would have emerged of the candidates who really had (the leadership qualities) in them. An examination system that is ostensibly meant to select the cream of the candidates from the country, grossly lacks on this count. The Prelims checks the information capability of the candidate, the Mains examination checks the candidates’ ability of to reproduce fact, the Interview of 30 minutes duration hardly gives correct information about the candidate.

Had the present system of examination with a Prelims-Mains-Interview combination been very effective, we could have hardly seen the type of inefficient, incapable, short-sighted, corrupt and psychological dented bureaucracy.

The present CSAT related reform ostensibly to check the aptitude of the candidate must not be a departure from the initially thought out plan of testing, "ethical, moral and analytical dimensions in decision making." What the reform in prelims examination means or intended to mean can be known only when the Preliminary examination takes place with the new pattern. It will prove how far the Union Public Service Commission is sincere in its efforts to really design and bring out a test which could choose a bureaucrat with moral and ethical value, required at the crucial time that the country is passing through with scams in all the fronts…… be it telecom sector, banks, commonwealth games, space or judiciary……. and many more.

In the Main examination, there is an urgent need to re-frame the syllabus and its content change along with a change in the way the questions are asked, so that the candidates who can only faithfully reproduce facts can be weeded away, and encourage good amount of thinking among the candidates so that they assimilate, account for and analise the situation, circumstance an the setting. Some subjects like that of literature and some social science subjects must not be encouraged, as they deter any improvement in the imaginative power, analytical capability of the prospective candidate or to infuse fresh thinking.

The scope of personality test have to be increased/ improved further and its weightage must – must be increased in terms of marks and its form changed to SSB type or evolve a dynamic, as well as customised variant so that in five-six days of time it really tests, the attitude and talent of the candidate that is not fake and which the candidate cannot camouflage.

By K. SIDDHARTHA