REPUBLIC-DAY RESOLUTIONS

Governor N N Vohra while extending his greetings to the people of Jammu and Kashmir State on 63rd Republic Day spoke his heart out. He was right in telling that agitations and confrontations in our state have caused enormous human and economic losses. These disturbed conditions had also badly hit our education system and put at stake the career of thousands of youth. Similar concern for youth was also shown by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who was of the opinion that unemployed youth need to be trained in a way that they could seek employment both in government sector as well as private concerns and that too within the state and in rest of the world. He wanted job oriented courses for the youth so that they could find ample employment opportunities. Both the Governor as well as Chief Minister were quite right in their speeches that no development can take place unless normalcy is restored. The record arrival of visitors both tourists as well as pilgrims this year was clear indication that peace can help develop our state economically as well. The government also tried to take credit for holding Panchayat elections, strengthening State Accountability Commission (SAC) and constituting State Vigilance Commission (SVC). Here the government gets caught on a wrong foot for the reason that there are differences between the coalition partners over these issues. These institutions meant to bring in transparency and eradicate corruption are not that strong in our state and Panchayats too need to be empowered. If the state government has resolved on this day to bring in a new era of development in our state, it needs to plug all the loopholes for which it will have to hold elections to local bodies and Municipal Corporations while empowering Panchayats in true sense. Though the Chief Minister Omar had assured holding of elections to these institutions by the mid of this year, he must stand by his words and make sure that powers are decentralised. Chief Minister's concern over rising power bills and poor revenue realisation as compared to the transmission is quite right. This is an area where people have to contribute more than the government. People must realise that deficit between power purchase bill and revenue realisation needs to be bridged so that our state does not become defaulter and lose the share of electricity supply from Northern Grid. The Governor Vohra did indicate in his speech that centrally sponsored schemes and central grants if utilised judiciously can create miracles and help develop our state in a bigger way. Messages, regarding eradication of corruption from our system, delivered by our President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil as well as Governor N N Vohra must be taken seriously especially when our state is always looked upon with suspicion. Our coalition government needs to focus more on streamlining the administrative functioning and restore lost confidence of an army of employees which ironically becomes tool in the hands of political masters. Strict implementation of Civil Services Rules (CSR) which have completely been eroded in our state need to be brought back on rails and make executives function in a systematic way so that all programmes of the government are implemented in a better way. Omar's efforts to revoke Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) can also bear fruit if situation in Jammu and Kashmir is brought to the desired level of peace for which he must continue his efforts. A persistent R-Day spirit throughout the year and such resolutions will definitely help us build a strong, unified and successful state.

Celebration and Significance of Republic Day in India

Madhav Sharma

India became independent from the British Rule on 15th August, 1947. However, the country did not have its own constitution and wholly depended on the modified colonial Government of India Act, 1935. Also, India was headed by King George VI, until the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950.
Prior to this, the seeds of a republican nation were sowed by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in the Lahore session at the Indian National Congress at the midnight of 31st December, 1929 - 1st January, 1930.
The tri-color flag was unfurled by the nationalists present who took a pledge to celebrate 'Purna Swaraj' (Complete Independence) Day every year on 26th January, while continuing to fight for the establishment of a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic of India.
The Constitution of India came into force and India declared itself a Republic on 26 January 1950, a day thereafter celebrated annually as Republic Day in India. The Constitution had been drafted by the Constituent Assembly headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar which was set up when India gained its independence from the British in 1947. This, in fact, was a deliberate act
The festivities for Republic Day are a lot more extensive than for Independence Day. To honour the occasion, a grand parade is held in the National Capital New Delhi on this day. The various branches of the armed forces, the police, National Cadet Corps and students from various schools and institution take part in it. There have so many show casing the cultural heritage of the states and there are also the display of the latest armaments that the country has acquired.
The parade starts from India Gate and proceeds through Rajpath. There have also so many cultural programmes performed by children from various schools. Republic Day is also the time when exemplary achievements are recognized and rewarded throughout the country. Selected children are awarded the Children's Bravery Awards on this day. Soldiers who have performed exceptionally are awarded the bravery medals, Param Veer Chakra, Veer Chakra and Maha Veer Chakra.
These celebrations and rituals not only make us happy but also make proud to be an Indian which have so many cultures, religions and languages but having a Unity. Thats why India is also called as a wonderful multi-cultural country.
Republic Day parade in India is a colorful event with participation from all states. India's rich cultural heritage is celebrated and participants engage the crowd with traditional dances and performances. Several school children display their talents and take part in the proceedings as well.
While the grand Republic Day parade happens in the country's capital, State wise celebrations also happen where the Chief Ministers of each State take the salute, hoist the Indian flag and deliver Republic Day speeches. This occasion serves as a platform for each State to showcase its culture and traditions as well as remember the freedom fighters from the State.
On the third day, after Republic Day, 29th of January a beating retreat is conducted to officially denote the end of the Republic Day celebrations. The President of India presides over this event and bands from the India Army, Navy and Air Force perform well known numbers.
Republic Day is honored by Indians and on this day it is not uncommon to find people assembling together for flag hoisting, taking the pledge and singing the national anthem. Many Indians wear small badges of the Indian Flag and shops put up the tri color on display to show their patriotism.
Republic Day represents the true spirit of the independent India. This day celebrates the power of the citizens and the secularism of the state. The Day has its significance because of our constitution.
The day of 26th January every year the day we celebrate as the Republic Day not only because it was the day to give us our own constitution to come into action and we were self dependent on our own rules and regulations to be an Indian. It's not only the day of celebration by distributing sweets in the schools amongst the students and commons to focus on our past that was not same as today but it is the day of beginning we got listed on world map, it is the day we got source and way to become another super power.

The Other Half: We should be ashamed

KALPANA SHARMA

Absence of sanitation facilities, in our villages and in our schools, is a matter of national shame.
Shame, said the Prime Minister, that 42 per cent of Indian children are malnourished. Shame, said the Supreme Court, that despite the Right to Education, thousands of children, and particularly girls, are dropping out of school because there are no toilets. Shame, said Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, calling the absence of sanitation “the biggest blot on the human development portfolio in India.”
Yes, the lack of sanitation, the fact that one of out every two Indians is forced to defecate in the open, is a very good reason why we as a nation should be ashamed. Ramesh acknowledges that out of six lakh villages in India, hardly 25,000 are free from open defecation.
Never-ending story
Why does this story not change? India has made considerable progress in supplying water, although there are still vast areas where people have no access to potable water, where women have to walk miles to fetch a few litres of water. In one of the more evocative descriptions in a recent book, Rising by Ashoke Chatterjee, on the work of a remarkable women's organisation in Gujarat called Utthan, we read about little girls tied to ropes being lowered into a deep well with a little bit of muddy water at the bottom.
Despite the risk, their mothers wait till the child has managed to collect a small bowl of that water before she is pulled up.
But the absence of sanitation is even more widespread. It is a burden that women especially must carry. There is no place for them, literally, to answer “the call of nature”, as polite company prefers to refer to something that should be called by its real name — defecation and urination. Has sanitation been routinely neglected because it affects women more than men? If you read the handful of success stories of sanitation schemes, they are usually those where women have been involved.
But here I want to address specifically the absence of sanitary facilities in schools. What is the point of giving our children the Right to Education, if something as basic as toilets are not available in most schools? How can we expect women's literacy rate to improve if young girls feel embarrassed to be in school after puberty because there are no toilets?
There are budgets for building toilets. The Government of India has launched a Total Sanitation Campaign with the ambitious aim of achieving “Total Sanitation”, whatever that means, by this year, 2012. Yet, either the funds available are not spent on building toilets, or if toilets are built, they become unusable within a short time because there is no water, or they get vandalised.
I can recall visiting a shining new school building in a village in Bihar where children were attending school and were given the mid-day meal. But the brand new toilets built with government money had already been vandalised. The doors to the cubicles were stolen, the toilet pans were shattered and all the taps had disappeared. Children had to run to their homes if they wanted to take a toilet break. Not surprisingly, adolescent girls would simply drop out, or not attend school for several days each month.
Forced to act
The Supreme Court has been forced to intervene on the issue. It is amazing how many times the most basic aspects of development and governance get traction only because the apex court demands action. The court has given all states up to February 28 to build temporary toilets in all schools and permanent ones by March 31. And it has rightly refused to entertain any excuses. So far, only four states — Bihar, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh — have managed to meet 90 per cent of the target. Maharashtra, one of the richer states in this country, is shockingly lax with thousands of schools where there are no toilets for girls and some with no toilets at all.
Equally worrying is the fact that sanitation standards are not satisfactory even in the better-off schools where lack of funds cannot be an excuse. A survey of 304 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools revealed that 265 of them were below par in sanitation standards. In fact, only four schools got the ‘green' certification that represents excellent standards and another 35 came in the good and fair category. If such surveys were conducted in all schools in our cities, it is more than likely that the figures would be similar.
The toilet story is the real story of India. We constantly glorify our achievements, such as a good economic growth rate, but feel no sense of shame that our children are dying from lack of food and that our girls and women have to face the daily indignity of life without toilets.