Saturday, September 20, 2014

Salwa Judum: a factor for increase in Maoist activities

After the SC's directive to the CG government to abolish the notorious and ill-conceived Salwa Judum there has been marked reduction in the numbers of tribals joining the Maoist Cadres.

The tribals were forced to join the Maoists because of excesses perpetrated by the Salwa Judum cadets.

The Police have started giving job opportunities to surrendered Maoist cadres in the Police Force itself. This is a good move to encourage the deviated youth to come back to the main stream.

Example of caste based discrimination

Eleven children, all cousins belonging to a Scheduled Caste family, were removed from a government primary school in a village in Bikaner after two of them drank water from an earthen pot meant for an upper caste teacher.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/dalit-students-drink-teachers-water-dismissed/article6430978.ece

Monday, September 15, 2014

Distress induced migration


Migrant destinations are the underbelly of our economic growth and hold a mirror to any notion that this migration is ‘aspirational’ in nature.

The migrants of western Odisha are forced to leave their homes because of endemic poverty and lack of opportunities. Around the time of harvest of the paddy crop every year comes the festival of nuakhai , meaning eating new rice, around the beginning of September. At this time, poor families take an advance from labour contractors and then migrate to pay it through their labour.

Signs of change:

The village of Kathdungri in Muribahal block, Bolangir district, has 153 households of which, in 2011, 43 were distress migrants. Civil society and administration, working together, ensured MGNREGA works were planned and opened and wages were paid on time.
No one migrates from Kathdungri now. Water harvesting structures have recharged wells and enabled farmers to cultivate their hitherto uncultivable land, thus increasing their incomes. A mahabandha (large earthen dam) constructed in village Bhutungpada of Belpada block in 2012-13 was able to provide employment for more than half the year. Migration from the village has stopped. The dam will provide irrigation to 100 acres in the coming season.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Acid Attack

Acid Attacks (One form of violence against women and children)--> 

Acid violence is the deliberate use of acid to attack another human being. The victims of acid violence are overwhelmingly women and children, and attackers often target the head and face in order to maim, disfigure and blind. Acid has a devastating effect on the human body, often permanently blinding the victim and denying them the use of their hands. As a consequence, many everyday tasks such as working and even mothering are rendered extremely difficult if not impossible.Acid attacks rarely kill but cause severe physical, psychological and social scarring, and victims are often left with no legal recourse, limited access to medical or psychological assistance, and without the means to support themselves. It is not possible to provide the support that survivors require through a single intervention like a cleft palate surgery or the construction of a water-well. In order to rebuild their lives, acid survivors need long-term access to a holistic programme of medical support, rehabilitation, and advocacy that can only be provided by a local organisation.

Acid attacks are a worldwide phenomenon that are not restricted to a particular race, religion or geographical location. They occur in many countries in South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the West Indies and the Middle East, and there is anecdotal evidence of attacks in other regions. In many countries acid attacks constitute a hidden form of violence against women and children that often goes unreported.

Indian Scenario: 

Stories of women suffering from acid burns abound and span diverse backgrounds; Hindu, Muslim and Christian, some poor, some affluent. Reasons of acid attacks are also different like - as part of sexual violence, as part of punishment and in some cases when women refuses to marriage or opposes the sexual advances by men. 

Victims has to face many problems like social bio-cots, not enough employment opportunity, to avoid pubic hatred they have to cover their faces all the time, financial problems to cure the acid burn because curing is a long term process. In summary, they become completely dependent on family.

Despite Supreme Court ruling, response of govt is not very effective. Their attitude of "just pass the buck" has compounded the misery of the victims. It certainly lacks the strong political will and decisive action by government.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Child Marriage

The Unicef report said that child marriage is pervasive in South Asia even though most countries in the region have a legal marrying minimum age of 18. Before the age of 18, 46 per cent of South Asian girls are married, while 18 per cent are married before age 15. The highest rate of child marriage was in Bangladesh, where two-thirds of girls are married before age 18, followed by India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

The problem is rooted in poverty and social norms, with parents marrying their daughters early “because they see it as the ‘done thing’ and because they fear the social sanctions and moral judgments they would face if they refused to follow this practice,” the report said

How to counter?

1. Education
2. Financial Support
3. Support Network
4. Birth Registration


http://m.thehindu.com/news/international/world/46-of-south-asian-girls-marry-by-18-unicef/article6403721.ece/?secid=2780



Thursday, September 4, 2014

Vijaywada: the new capital of Andhra Pradesh: Sociological Impacts

CM of Andhra Pradesh Mr. N Chandrababu Naidu announced that the new capital city of the newly formed AP state would be developed around the city of Vijaywada.

What could be the sociological impact of such move?

Positives:
  1. Reduction in poverty rate
  2. Increase in Per Capita Income
  3. More employment opportunities
  4. Better education facilities
  5. More focus of the government towards overall development of the region
  6. Social mobility (Sanskritization)
Negatives:
  1. Rapid urbanization and associated issues: concrete jungle
  2. Straining of natural resources like Land, Soil, Water
  3. Slum
  4. Increase in Crime Rate
  5. High incidences of diseases
  6. Pollution
  7. Environmental degradation
  8. Displacement of farmers  (Development induced displacement)
  9. Migration