Legality of the Lockdown

On 24 March, 2020, our hon’ble Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi declared 21 days lockdown which kept on extending further as the number of COVID 19 cases in India kept on increasing. Certain guidelines were laid down at both, centre and the state levels. As you would have observed that there were instances where some state governments issued guidelines in addition to what was issued by by the central government. Ever wondered whether imposing such a lockdown was legal or not? Well, by the time you get to the end of this article you will have a basic understanding of how it works. So keep reading.

The legality of such actions taken at different levels can be derived from the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA) which aims “to provide for the effective management of disasters and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

The Act provides for the establishment of Disaster Management Authorities at the Centre, State and District levels of which the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and the District Magistrate/Collector/Deputy
Commissioner respectively shall be the ex-officio Chairperson. Such authorities have the responsibility for laying down the policies, plans and guidelines for ensuring timely and effective response to disaster. But how does the law define the term “disaster”? Is the term “lockdown” defined in Indian Law? If yes, what does it mean and if no how and who gets to decide what it means? These are some of the obvious questions that might arise.

It is to be noted that, although, the term “Lockdown” has not been defined under Indian Law, it can be elucidated from the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987 which “gives power to centre and state governments to take necessary actions to contain the outbreak of an epidemic even if such steps are not mentioned in the law practice or theory.” As we all know that scientists from around the world have still not found a credible vaccine for the same and considering India’s health care facilities, there would not have been enough resources to treat people if the number of people affected would have become large. Since the novel coronavirus is contagious, lockdown was a need of the hour to contain its outbreak.

But as mentioned earlier, the lockdown was inposed under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 , so it is essential to understand the meaning of the term “Disaster” which is defined as

“a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or gave occurrence in any area arising from natural or man made causes, or by accident or negligence, which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or mangnitude as to beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area.”

Section 2 (d), Disaster Management Act, 2005

Technically, if one goes by the definition, COVID-19 does not fall within the definition of “disaster” as per the Act, as it is a pandemic, not any calamity, mishap or catastrophe. So, as per the definition, lockdown which was imposed to contain its outbreak, cannot be imposed under the Act. But that happened; it was imposed under the Disaster Management Act. You might be by now contemplating as to how did that happen? How is that legal?

This was possible because the Ministry of Home Affairs declared COVID-19 as a “notified disaster” thus bringing it within the purview of section 2(d). This was done to increase the scope of its administrative powers so that quick actions could be taken.

You might also be aware that any action taken by the government must be in consonance with the Indian Constitution and some of you might have suffered from the restrictions on movement as a consequence of the lockdown. You might already have some idea about the fundamental rights that are guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution of India. Yes, you are right! I am talking about Article 19 in Part III of the Indian Constitution. Many might have felt that the lockdown infringed their right to assemble peacefully wothout arms [Article 19 (1) (b) )] ; right to move freely throughout the territory of India [Article 19 (1) (d)] ; right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business [Article 19 (1) (g)]. Many of you might thus say that its against the constitution, hence, illegal. But it is important to note that, these rights aren’t absolute, they are subject to reasonable restrictions as per the latter part of the Article. Hence, lockdown being a reasonable restriction, for public health and safety, is legal.

How An Average Student Became An IAS Officer

This is an inspirational and motivating story of an average student who was never interested in studies. Yes, his name is Vaibhav Chhabra. He is a resident of Delhi and has completed his Btech degree almost in 5 years from Netaji Subhash Chandra Institute with 56% marks. He belonged to a very common family. As he was no more interested in further studies so he joined a coaching institute as a faculty of Physics. After teaching for 2 years he thought of doing something great and that was the time when he decided to become an IAS Officer.

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“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for great” – John D. Rockefeller

After leaving the coaching institute he also worked in BSNL but for a short span of time as he was determined to join civil services. So he left his job. But the problem was that he was not able to concentrate on studies because he was not interested in that. But he didn’t lose hope. He was positive and determined about his decision. So initially he started off by studying only for few hours 1-2. Later when he developed his interest in studies he studied continuously for 12 hours. Just imagine an average student studying for 12-14 hours.

The time came when he filled UPSC form and was at the edge of his preparation fully determined to crack the exam. But one day he met with an accident and got some severe injuries. He was bedridden for 8 months. But that average student still didn’t lose hope. He studied for several hours in the hospital. His journey was not at all easy. After facing continuous failures for 8 times he finally cracked the exam in the year 2018. That average student gained 32th rank in the examination. His hard work was paid off and he finally achieved his goal.

His story in true sense is an inspiration for all the average students who think only high scorer students can crack competitive exams. No this is not at all true. Anybody can crack any competitive exam but the need is of having a positive approach towards your goal and a little faith in yourself.

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it” – Henry David Thoreau

This was the success story of IAS Vaibhav Chhabra. If you also have any inspirational story then do write up in the comment section.

How to Help Someone you Love When They are Hurting

@MARTIN

What can we do when someone we love is going through a really hard time or even a dark night of the soul? Even though you care dearly for your loved one, you have to be careful not to make their turmoil about you.

Here are some suggestions for healthy ways to support someone during a painful period in their lives.

Give them space
Back off from making demands on their time or energy. Give them the space and freedom to sort through their feelings and beliefs. Don’t interrupt their process by putting too many demands on them. Let them be for a little while.

Give them acceptance
Don’t judge them. Someone who is going through a healing process may act in ways you don’t particularly like. Let them explore who they want to be and accept that it is their choice and their free will. Remind them that they will have to live with the consequences of their actions, but don’t tell them how to feel or think or how to behave, even when you desperately want to.

Help them see options
Sometimes people are lost and they are looking for the beacon they can follow back to the light. Be a beacon for them without grabbing them and moving them onto a path you want them to be on. Help them sort through their options without needing or requiring them to behave a certain way. Sometimes people can’t see their way out of the darkness and if you stand there and hold the light, they will come to it. But don’t jump in the water to save the drowning victim. You’ll get pulled under. Just let them know you’ll be there with a helping hand when they’re ready to move forward.

Get help from the other side
Talk to the person’s higher self. See if you can get guidance from their higher self about what they are going through or how to help them. Often you can get this information from the person’s guides or higher self or angels, even when the person themselves has no idea how to heal. Some people are unable to connect to their own guides when they need help. If you are skilled with intuition, you can make the connection for them. Or you can book a session with me and I’ll find out from their guides how you can best help.

Ask them what they need
Instead of giving them what you would want in their position, actually ask them how they would like to be supported. “How would you like to be supported right now?” is a beautiful question. Some people might simply say, “It’s enough to know you care.” Or they might say, “I really need help with the kids right now so I can have some time to think or get away.” You won’t know until you ask.

Help them find gratitude
Help them raise their vibration if you can. Get them to see what they have to be grateful for. Take them out someplace where they can practice kindness towards others. Often that’s a catalyst for coming out of their own dark place.

Always be gentle when someone is going through a hard time. Sometimes this can last a long while. Be there for your loved one, but don’t allow a toxic situation to persist. Guard your energy while you’re helping others.

@MARTIN

Wild Thoughts for the WILD!

Indian mythology has always been known for aeons, symbolizing creation, destruction, evolution, values and morals. This magnum opus had the significance of animals as it’s crux. Fables of birds and animals etched on the monoliths of temples, in our holy books and manuscripts and shrines dedicated to pay our respects. The supreme deity, Lord Ganesha who bears the head of an elephant, mighty Lord Hanuman the divine vanara or the fiery and raging Narasimha (half man and half lion) or Nandi, Shiva’s beloved stead are some exemplary symbols of animal worship. In a culture dominated by throngs of ardent devotees fawning over and worshipping these incarnations, the current heinous instances of animal cruelty have shamed and besmirched our cultured.

A recent instance of animal cruelty which garnered attention from millions was the ‘intentional’ feeding of a fire cracker laced pineapple to a pregnant elephant in Kerala’s Palakkad district leading to it’s very tragic death. The elephant had wandered into the village in search of food and was fed the death seasoned fruit by a few locals and it burst in her mouth, leaving her jaw fractured and in unbearable pain. The firecrackers laced pineapple was meant for the wild boars that destroyed the farmlands of the locals. A thorough investigation was then conducted against the suspects.The incident was gut wrenching and left the nation appalled. Albeit, recent claims from the Kerala Government and Environment Ministry stated that the fruit was accidentally fed by the locals. However, this inhumane nature cannot be justified as our nation reeks of countless animal cruelty encounters.

Another poignant incident that took place in Bilaspur District, Himachal Pradesh on 6th June was when a man was arrested for allegedly feeding firecrackers mixed wheat balls to his neighbour’s cow. The poor bovine’s jaw was completely shattered as seen in a video uploaded by her owner, Gurdayal Singh. Netizens broke into angst demanding strict action against the notorious neighbour. In a country where communal dissent prevails at the mere thought of sacrificing a cow for it’s meat with worldwide debates and mob lynchings there hasn’t been much action taken to curb such tyrant practices.

As bigoted and narrow minded religious fanatics spark communal disharmony on banning processions led by elephants that are beaten, tortured, made to stand for hours adorned in heavy ornaments. Or even, harvesting conch shells or defanging thousands of captured snakes for Nag Panchami and sanctioning such practices in the name of ‘upholding and protecting the religion’. It does not seem unusual to cast a blind eye on such instances.

As numerous, graphically disturbing images resurface on the internet of dogs with legs tied together just flung into rivers or a few merciless locals parading with a dead, beaten up leopard it really makes us question our conscience. Though our religious beliefs have become quite anaemic at this juncture it’s time to curb this gut wrenching cruelty as humans and in the name of humanity. Educate children on caring for animals, make sure you report any kind of malpractice to an animal care centre or helpline. Starting small by purchasing only cruelty free products and refraining from engaging in any sources of entertainment that propagates animal abuse.

E-learning

Internet is the major part of our day to day life, infact all are dependent on the smart phones excessively. Moreover almost everything is possible through the smart phones these days. It doesn’t seems longer that what technology will serve us in the coming time. There are such inventions which will blow our mind and we didn’t even know those gadgets exist. Sooner or later most of the things will be replaced by the qualifying technology and one can imagine what will be the circumstances. Robots may take places of many professional and non professional fields. They will be more skilful than us! There are both the pros and cons of having everything online. It’s basically on the person how one uses it!

Now, when we talk about online then one should not forget to consider online learning. Yes E-learning is what we are talking about. Even everything is online available on internet it is us who should use that skillfully. It takes dedication and determination to learn online because Internet is something which has ‘n’ number of things available and we may get distracted easily. Hopefully there are many courses available online and we have a great opportunity in our hand to learn them and get skilled and its the right time as we are quarantined. Many of us prefer face to face coaching as its convenient and we will be focussed, and there is no question of getting distracted as lecturers directly catch hold of us. But as the courses are free online and we can sit anywhere as per our convenience then its again not a big deal and to earn something one should lose something, What more one can ask for. As of a youtube video I heard there will be 4 skills which will be in the hype in the coming years.

Those are content writing, public speaking, 2d or 3d video editing, animation. One should try these skills, people are earning in lakhs from these and will have the good scope!

Biggest Irony exposed by Hidden Enemy ‘the COVID-19’

Charles dickens famous lines “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope , it was the winter of despair”…seems to be articulated with todays period what we are witnessing. The innovated globe of world developing at its full pace showing the output of best technologies and practices to transmogrify the this mankind civilization tending to make it the the most Intellectual the most forward the most advanced Planetary species. But at a sudden stroke an unknown intruder ‘covid-19’ without any weapon without any corporeal shook the most advanced civilization the countries which considered to be medically advanced compelled to fold its wings of high flying. The civilization which had purposed CRISPR cluster regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is the most advanced gene editing technology, Artificial organs ,wireless brain sensors , even mankind in this era produced clones and perform multitudes of technically advanced and innovative medical solution falters against ‘Covid-19’ we seems to be like helpless before it. And this helplessness caused many sufferings destroying and degrading many lives across the globes tolls of deaths and infected ones surging day by day and instead of doing something to control or to stop it we can do only the thing and that is expressing griefs and grievances for the loss and sufferings this civilization is facing. The civilization which had might and capabilities to convict the nature and its life forms surrendered under lockdowns. This is an irony those who considered themselves to be ‘Autocratic’ are put under Quarantine for months. for many it is the spring of Hapiness who are with their families, but for someone who is struggling even to witness the face of their beloved ones is a season of dryness struggling miles daily with a hope to touch their homes and shelter. Announcing packages brings little hopes for the Poor at least they can have one or two time bites to feed their bellies. Money transfer and ration transfer for every poor worker and farmer through Jan Dhan Bank Account, Kishan Samman Niddhi Yojna etc. gives a little support and hopes for living when Every employment providing manufacturing unit was at standstill. Stimulus package Of 20 lakh crore brings hopes and support for MSME’s etc. Amid of all these hopes and supporting hands the idea of returing of prawasi majdoor and others seems to be foolish under meager number of cases people prohibited to route their destiny to their homes but now when tools are growing with emblematic growth rate doors for Journeys to their homes are opened. People Struggled miles barefooted on cycles through rickshaw to head their journey to their homes and when they were about to reach their homes everything had opened this brings a contradiction that it might be conducted in the beginning when country got a slight indication. Reverse migration had commenced people had lost their jobs there is no hope for more livelihoods manufacturing units are on standstill industries outputs are folding Analysts purposed a significant shrinkage in GDP Forecast for forthcoming financial year. A country which was supposed to be the most energetic because of its demographic dividend falter to produce employments. And apart from these wisdoms and foolishness The ‘social Animal’ broke its adhesive power with its companions by performing social distancing this is the most tragic moment we had witness and therefore “it was the the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair….”

2020 – An Unforgettable History In Future

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a history for the coming generation. 2020 will be a part of history in coming next years. A small virus has shaked off the world. Everyone has a fear in their mind of coronavirus. The whole world is deserted due to lockdown. It caused death of lakhs of people in the world. It is named COVID-19 as:-
CO – Corona
Vi – Virus
D – Disease
19 – because it came in 2019
It started spreading from China and to grip the whole world. In starting, its cases were less but as the time passes, it spread all over the world. It is an infectious disease which can cause the death of a person. If the immune system of a person is better, then they can fight against it. Mainly, it attacks the lungs, but it can also strike anywhere from brain to toes. It spreads when a coronavirus infected person comes in contact with a healthy person.
Coronavirus has caused lakhs of deaths, which will be a history for furure. The whole world is affected by it. The government of every country has shut down all their works. The system of world has been shaked off. It has ruined the economic conditions of whole world. It has affected many of the big countries that have best health facilities. As compared to whole world Italy and America who have an excellent health and economic system are not able to fight against it. In Italy coronavirus caused thousands of deaths and in America, deaths reached upto 1 lakh which is very intimidating. It has affected many countries like China, Britain, America, India, Italy, Iran and many other.
The government of India imposed lockdown at the right time. If India was not locked down, the condition of India would also became as other countries. The health facilities of India is not too good, but it has a very good control over it.
Coronavirus in upcoming years, will be read as a history in the books because it has created a scary scene in present life. Everyone has a fear to come out of their houses.
It has spoiled  the life of many people who are living on thier daily wages. These are very difficult days for them. Many of them died due to hunger. Due to lockdown they have nothing for labouring, so they can’t get wages and food. It is the most struggling time for them.
No one knows that when they will have no fear from coronavirus and the whole world is engaged in making the vaccine of coronavirus. So to be safe, stay at home.

One India, One Education Board?

CBSE or ICSE or IGCSE or IB or State Board - The right choice ?

Over the past few years, a number of education boards have come up in India, each with its own syllabus and grading system. This has happened because education falls in the tertiary list and is the shared responsibility of the centre as well as of the states. CBSE, CISCE and NIOH are the central boards with CBSE having the maximum number of affiliated schools. There are various state boards like Bihar and UP Board, Kerala Boards, Assam Boards and many others. Some of the top schools in India are also affiliated to international boards like IB and Cambridge International.

All these education boards have their own pros and cons. While one can argue that the syllabus for sciences are more or less the same, it differs a lot when it comes to social sciences and literature. State boards give more preference to vernacular languages and local history whereas the central and international boards have fondness towards English and other foreign languages. The history taught in CBSE focuses on pan India topics like freedom struggle, ancient empires, world wars etc. India is a diverse country with an equally diverse population and this justifies the existence of so many education boards. However the problem arises when students from all these boards apply for higher education in colleges of universities like the Delhi University.

Delhi University has cutoffs for admissions into most of the streams from English to Journalism. These cutoffs are based on marks scored by a student in their respective board exams. Bihar and UP boards are difficult and have stricter marking scheme as compared to CBSE or Kerala Board. ICSE board is tougher still. So, a student scoring 98% in CBSE might have the same aptitude as a student scoring 82% in Bihar board. The one scoring 98% will clear the high cutoffs of the colleges of Delhi University. An inequality also exists within the boards, as students from state boards are considered inept as compared to students coming from ICSE or CBSE. Parents are also confused and often feel pressurized to send their kids to CBSE or ICSE affiliated school, assuming that these schools provide better education. The rich can easily afford these schools but the poor cannot, resulting in further deepening of the inequalities. So even education has not remained the great leveler that it once was.

It is high time that the governments, intellectuals, teachers and civil societies come together and brainstorm ideas so that they can come up with a solution for all these issues. Let’s hope that the draft National Education Policy 2019 recognizes and addresses these concerns.

glory of brihadeswara temple

Brihadeswara Temple is temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It was built by Raja Raja Chola I, between 1003 and 1010 A.D. It is the part of UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple entrance, or Gopuram as its is locally called, is 30 meters in height. This temple is the largest temple with the brilliant work done by the Indian Architecture. This temple shows the power of Chola rulers that is Raja Raja Chola I.

Architecture-

For the construction of this temple around 1.3 lakh tons of granite was used. With 66 meters high, the temple tower Vimana is the largest towers on the earth. In 11th Century, Tamil People completed its first major irrigation network for movements of goods, to control water flow and for agriculture. It is also said that about 3000 elephants were used to bring these stones from far away. Also inside the temple a figurine structure of bull or Nandi is made up by a single rock carving at the entry of Brihadeswara Temple. No cement, plaster or adhesives were used between the stones. For making up of this temple Tamil people used puzzle technique as one stone is placed on another stone, to lock it.undefined

Comparison And Specialty

London’s Big Ben and the Leaning Tower of Pisa are tilting with time. But the glory of Brihadeswara temple still remains beautiful. This temple stands straight even after 1000 years. The reason behind this is the base of the temple which is very wide. The width of the base has kept the structure straight over the years. Another specialty of this temple is that it was made without digging into the earth which means it was built on a plain land. There were no cranes or power machinery to lift the stone to such a height. Wondering how they manage to place this single stone on the top of the Gopuram? And for that to the top of the temple tower they made a ramp of around 6 kilometers long. With the help of Elephants, horses, bulls and laborer’s who together carried the stone.

Festivals–

However, it is also a site of annual dance festivals around the Mahashivratri. Around 10 days artists as well as regional teams performs classical dances at this Brahan Natyanjali festival. The Thanjavur Maratha royal family is currently administering and managing the temple glory. For devotees temple provide free meals and wayfarers on daily basis. Also Brahmins were particularly invited and fed with the meals during the Hindu festivals. Many people are employed in the temple for which they are given wages, roles and names. These people mainly are of priests, lamp lighter, washer man, tailors, jewelers, potters, carpenters, dance guru, dancing girls, both male and female singers, musicians, superintendents of performance artists, accountants. Wages are divided between the land distributions. It is one of the most visited temples by tourists in Tamil Nadu. This fascinating architecture is still appreciated by everyone.

“1000 years, 6 Earthquakes, Still Standing Strong.”

THE E-WAY

Like an endless loop of strings, E-learning opens up multiple avenues for the students to choose from the comfort of their homes. Through E-Learning students in India can do varied courses offered by Harvard University ranging from a programming course such as CS50’s Introduction to Game Development to a social sciences course such as American Government: Constitutional Foundations.
Universities and their invaluable courses continents away can be accessed easily without the unnecessary hassle of the physical presence in the classroom.

E-Learning has brought varied courses around the globe in the comfort of one’s own house. E-learning has been successful in bridging the quality of education that one can access in the developing nations. It is a more economical and appeasing form of education in world crises such as the raging Covid-19 pandemic. It has ensured the unhindered transfer of knowledge when one is unable to be physically present in classrooms.  Schools and colleges have taken up E-Learning to ensure social distancing is not an issue they have to deal with so they can solely focus on the quality of education imparted to the students.

Despite its many perks, E-Learning also has its fair share of drawbacks. It is often difficult to cater to and overlook the progress of the students online which would have been a far easier prospect in the in-classroom mode of education. There are different challenges such as poor internet connectivity in the remote places and often the underprivileged do not have access to proper electronic devices. Some struggle with technology and thus are often unable to have a seamless E-Learning experience.

Though it is not without its fair share of challenges, E-Learning has been successful in the re-moulding the education system for the better. It is undoubtedly the mode of education for the future. It has been successful in providing affordable education to people in the different corners of the Earth. It has enabled some institutes to do without the physical infrastructure and additional costs that come along with maintaining physical classrooms.

There are several applications like Zoom, TeamLink, Google Meet, Duo etc which are being used by teachers and institutes to impart lessons to the students. The dangers of video lessons can be seen in the multiple instances of hacking and misuse of these applications. Data are stolen by hackers of the users of the application who misuse the data to their own fruition. The applications should be secured from hackers for seamless usage and to ensure that the users can operate it without any fear of their account being hacked.

E-Learning may, however, lead to a loss of jobs for a majority of people who used to assist in the seamless functioning of the brick and mortar classrooms. Publishing houses may suffer as learning moves online resulting in a sharp decline of hard copy textbooks. Publishing houses too shall have to adapt and move their publications online. Small publishing houses may fade away with time. The implementation of the proper 5G network would ensure an immersive learning experience. Physical libraries are slowly becoming defunct with even libraries uploading their content online. Information is available to Scholars very easily. Research has become easier than before. Some people have found it hard to cope up with the technological advancements while some have become unemployed with technology replacing manual labour. However, technology has changed the world for the better and made our lives easier. We should embrace technology as an inseparable part of our lives.