Market fundamentalism of
neo-liberal economic
globalisation, religious
chauvinism and cultural
nationalism, financialisation of
the world economy, right wing
sectarian political leadership
both locally and globally,
valorisation of toxic patriarchy
and hyper masculinity with
hyper nationalism and jingoism
by globally controlled media
barons have intensified
complexities in governance,
polity, livelihood and survival
struggles in the midst of
climate change, for the mass of
rural and urban workers,
peasants, forest dwellers/
tribals, fisher folks, petty
traders, small scale
industrialists, sexual minorities
and women.
This document discusses several key crime and justice challenges facing the world in the 21st century. It identifies factors like migration, youth demographics, internal strife, ineffective security institutions, and Islamic terrorism that will impact crime rates. The author argues that internal violence within nations will increase due to issues like persistent poverty, environmental degradation, and population growth putting pressure on resources. Law enforcement will need to shift from preparing for war between states to policing asymmetric conflicts and building community partnerships. Overall, the challenges outlined could lead to a power vacuum and global instability if not adequately addressed through international cooperation.
Capitalism and globalization will not solve poverty according to the expert interviewed. Nearly a quarter of the world's population lacks meaningful employment, showing these systems only benefit a powerful few. The future costs of the current global financial crisis are estimated to be over $8 trillion, or 13% of global output, exacerbating poverty. A new universal system is needed that allows all humans to live without want or need, as neither communism nor unregulated capitalism have achieved prosperity and peace for all.
The document discusses several topics related to globalization including its historical background, reasons for wars, the golden arches theory of peace, multiple definitions of globalization, contested views of globalization as both progress and disaster, and examples of resistance groups like the Zapatistas in Mexico.
It is time for humanity to provide the urgently as possible tools needed to take control of their destiny and put in place a democratic governance of the world. This is the only means of survival of the human species and to halt the decay of humanity. Because there is no other means capable of building a world in which every woman, every man of today and tomorrow have the same rights and the same duties, and in which the interests of the planet and of all nations, of all forms of life and future generations would be finally taken into account, in which all the sources of growth would be used for environmentally and socially sustainable way.
This document discusses several debates around the topic of globalization. It begins by defining globalization and explaining how advances in technology and transportation have enabled increased global integration. It then summarizes the key arguments from six articles that debate different aspects of globalization, including discussions around free markets and trade, the impacts of globalization on jobs and wages, and the tensions between global cultural homogenization versus local cultural identities. The document analyzes Samuel Huntington's theory that future global conflicts will occur along civilizational fault lines as cultural identities become more prominent.
Power politics and resistance continuous analytical refelction final copyjoseph1023
Globalization has connected the world through increased trade, cultural exchange, and technology. However, critics argue it has replaced colonialism by allowing wealthy nations to exploit poorer ones through economic and institutional means. It has also eroded unique cultures and traditions. The rise of neoliberalism has accelerated privatization and reduced government responsibilities. While supporting free market policies, it has increased inequality and consolidated power among the wealthy. The debate around a "clash of civilizations" examines whether policies like multiculturalism have succeeded or failed at creating tolerant societies, as immigration policies impact cultural diversity.
Explaining variations in global demographic indicatorsjacksonthree
This document discusses the stages of demographic transition and their implications. It describes 5 stages:
Stage 1) Pre-industrial society with high birth and death rates. Children are an economic benefit.
Stage 2) Death rates fall leading to population growth.
Stage 3) Birth rates start to decline bringing populations toward stability.
Stage 4) Populations reach low, stable birth and death rates.
Stage 5) Some populations now have below replacement fertility rates, causing population declines without immigration. Countries like Japan and parts of Europe are in this stage.
Globalisation & Law Final Assignment (Distinction)Sue Stone
- Globalization has both positively and negatively impacted failed states in sub-Saharan Africa according to different theorists. Stiglitz argues that IMF policies have harmed states through austerity measures and liberalization, while others note a lack of political and legal infrastructure has also contributed to failures.
- Failed states struggle due to internal conflicts often related to control over natural resources for income, as well as predatory governing elites that centralize power and wealth. Reliance on primary exports also concentrates wealth among elites.
- Moving beyond primary industries and attracting private capital through manufacturing could help states integrate into the global economy, but most states have not seen sufficient investment to create self-sustaining industry growth
This document discusses several key crime and justice challenges facing the world in the 21st century. It identifies factors like migration, youth demographics, internal strife, ineffective security institutions, and Islamic terrorism that will impact crime rates. The author argues that internal violence within nations will increase due to issues like persistent poverty, environmental degradation, and population growth putting pressure on resources. Law enforcement will need to shift from preparing for war between states to policing asymmetric conflicts and building community partnerships. Overall, the challenges outlined could lead to a power vacuum and global instability if not adequately addressed through international cooperation.
Capitalism and globalization will not solve poverty according to the expert interviewed. Nearly a quarter of the world's population lacks meaningful employment, showing these systems only benefit a powerful few. The future costs of the current global financial crisis are estimated to be over $8 trillion, or 13% of global output, exacerbating poverty. A new universal system is needed that allows all humans to live without want or need, as neither communism nor unregulated capitalism have achieved prosperity and peace for all.
The document discusses several topics related to globalization including its historical background, reasons for wars, the golden arches theory of peace, multiple definitions of globalization, contested views of globalization as both progress and disaster, and examples of resistance groups like the Zapatistas in Mexico.
It is time for humanity to provide the urgently as possible tools needed to take control of their destiny and put in place a democratic governance of the world. This is the only means of survival of the human species and to halt the decay of humanity. Because there is no other means capable of building a world in which every woman, every man of today and tomorrow have the same rights and the same duties, and in which the interests of the planet and of all nations, of all forms of life and future generations would be finally taken into account, in which all the sources of growth would be used for environmentally and socially sustainable way.
This document discusses several debates around the topic of globalization. It begins by defining globalization and explaining how advances in technology and transportation have enabled increased global integration. It then summarizes the key arguments from six articles that debate different aspects of globalization, including discussions around free markets and trade, the impacts of globalization on jobs and wages, and the tensions between global cultural homogenization versus local cultural identities. The document analyzes Samuel Huntington's theory that future global conflicts will occur along civilizational fault lines as cultural identities become more prominent.
Power politics and resistance continuous analytical refelction final copyjoseph1023
Globalization has connected the world through increased trade, cultural exchange, and technology. However, critics argue it has replaced colonialism by allowing wealthy nations to exploit poorer ones through economic and institutional means. It has also eroded unique cultures and traditions. The rise of neoliberalism has accelerated privatization and reduced government responsibilities. While supporting free market policies, it has increased inequality and consolidated power among the wealthy. The debate around a "clash of civilizations" examines whether policies like multiculturalism have succeeded or failed at creating tolerant societies, as immigration policies impact cultural diversity.
Explaining variations in global demographic indicatorsjacksonthree
This document discusses the stages of demographic transition and their implications. It describes 5 stages:
Stage 1) Pre-industrial society with high birth and death rates. Children are an economic benefit.
Stage 2) Death rates fall leading to population growth.
Stage 3) Birth rates start to decline bringing populations toward stability.
Stage 4) Populations reach low, stable birth and death rates.
Stage 5) Some populations now have below replacement fertility rates, causing population declines without immigration. Countries like Japan and parts of Europe are in this stage.
Globalisation & Law Final Assignment (Distinction)Sue Stone
- Globalization has both positively and negatively impacted failed states in sub-Saharan Africa according to different theorists. Stiglitz argues that IMF policies have harmed states through austerity measures and liberalization, while others note a lack of political and legal infrastructure has also contributed to failures.
- Failed states struggle due to internal conflicts often related to control over natural resources for income, as well as predatory governing elites that centralize power and wealth. Reliance on primary exports also concentrates wealth among elites.
- Moving beyond primary industries and attracting private capital through manufacturing could help states integrate into the global economy, but most states have not seen sufficient investment to create self-sustaining industry growth
Globalization and its_socioal-_political-economic_and_cultural_impacts 2Wild Cato
Globalization has had wide-ranging economic, political, social, and cultural impacts according to the document. Economically, it has increased international trade, investment, and financial flows between nations, but has also increased inequality between rich and poor countries. Politically, it has reduced the sovereignty of nation states and increased the power of supranational organizations. Socially, it has led to both increased women's participation in society but also greater inequality and precarious work conditions. Culturally, it has increased the spread of global culture and civil society while threatening local identities.
How to prevent humanitarian debacle in the contemporary worldFernando Alcoforado
The document discusses the need to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the contemporary world. It argues that the current refugee crisis is the result of criminal wars and military interventions by Western powers like the US and EU in countries in the Middle East and Africa. It claims that rampant violence and crises around the world are caused by the failing capitalist system and ungovernable international system. It calls for replacing capitalism with a model like Scandinavian social democracy and establishing democratic global governance to ensure world peace and humanity's progress.
How to prevent humanitarian debacle in the contemporary worldFernando Alcoforado
The document discusses the current humanitarian crisis as a result of capitalism, imperialism, and lack of global governance. It argues that wars and military interventions by Western powers like the US and EU in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria have devastated societies and displaced millions of refugees. It calls for replacing capitalism with a model like Scandinavian social democracy and establishing democratic global governance to prevent war, terrorism, and further humanitarian crises.
New democratic movements for global regeneration driessen 2019TravisDriessen1
Our global species is confronted with the converging crisis of climate change, unsustainable levels of inequality, mass extinction, and growing water and natural resource scarcity that are threatening the existential crisis of collapse. This fallout has already led to massive displacement and refugee crisis across Latin America and the African continent. New democratic social movements are recombining and ushering in new opportunities for a revolution of regenerative settlements to be built out across the globe. Doing so, can create new opportunities to restore biodiversity, bring the atmosphere to safe operating levels, lift billions into unprecedented human prosperity, and transform global governance to promote a new era cooperation, human discovery and peaceful co-existence.
World After Covid-19: Multidisciplinary IdeasDilip Barad
This presentation is prepared for Online Conference by myvedant.com. The conference is organised on 10 May 2020. This presentation reflects views on multiple aspects of human life during covid-19 pandemic and key takeaways from from this pandemic.
Eric, x. l. (2012). globalization 2.0. new perspectives quarterlydmst
The document discusses two models of globalization that have developed in parallel since the end of the Cold War:
1) Globalization 1.0, led by the West, promotes liberal democracy, free markets, and individualism as universal ideals. However, it has led to economic troubles and cultural losses in Western nations.
2) Globalization 2.0, exemplified by China, emphasizes cultural pluralism and the right of each nation to choose its own path. It has brought hundreds of millions out of poverty without adopting Western political systems.
The convergence of Globalization 1.0 and 2.0 will determine whether global cooperation or conflict dominates the future. The West must accept China and other non-
A New Ecological Civilization based on The Economics of KindnessGuy Dauncey
300 years ago, the Enlightenment generated an inspiring vision of scientific, technological and economic progress. What was once global ‘progress’, however, has become a climate, ecological, economic and pandemic emergency.
We need new inspiration. When we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic we can’t afford to go back to business-as-usual. We need to build ourselves a new ecological civilization in which we live, work and play in harmony with Nature, with respect for all beings, in an economy based on the economics of kindness.
My article published in Eurasia Review yesterday (March 9, 2013) has thrown some lights on how we are suffering in the world that is both leaderless and defenseless. It also gives some evidences and few suggestions that can help us to manage with.
This document provides an overview of population studies, including definitions of key demographic terms and theories of population. It outlines 14 key concepts in demography, such as crude birth rate, fertility, life expectancy, and net migration. The document also summarizes several major population theories, like Malthusian, Neo-Malthusian, and Demographic Transition theories. Finally, it lists research activities and recommended readings for further lessons.
Human migration is driven by both "push" and "pull" factors. Key "push" factors include poverty, political oppression, armed conflicts, and poor environmental conditions in places of origin. Important "pull" factors are perceived economic opportunities, family/social connections, and improved quality of life in destination locations. Migration can take place internally within a country or internationally across borders. Both voluntary and forced migration streams have significant impacts on societies and challenge policymakers to respond to humanitarian crises.
Center and Periferies in Europe – The inequalities dinamics since 1990GRAZIA TANTA
The document discusses the rising inequalities within Europe since 1990 as a result of capitalism. It outlines several key developments that have contributed to the formation of centers and peripheries on the continent, including periods of economic growth and crisis; the rise of neoliberalism; globalization and the relocation of industries; rising debt, speculation, and inequality; and resulting population changes and migration patterns. These dynamics have led to decreasing populations in many Eastern and Southern European countries, while populations in Western countries like France and Spain increased at higher rates, revealing the unequal impacts of capitalism across Europe.
The document discusses several issues with the current global system including rising organized violence, wealth disparity, poverty, and environmental degradation. It argues that the system has been manipulated over time to serve elite interests and control the means of production. The extreme form of capitalism in recent decades has led to a debt-based system rather than free markets. This has negative consequences like job losses. Terrorism is driven by deprivation of resources and destruction of livelihoods. The clash of civilizations will be a major source of conflict. Real reforms are needed in financial systems and addressing injustice to reduce terrorism. An individual cannot change the whole system but dedicating oneself to a cause and gaining self-knowledge is important.
The document discusses trends in global population growth and demographics over the next several decades. It notes that immigration and fertility rates will impact countries' economic growth and workforce demographics. Specifically, by 2050 the US will have no single majority race and more people will prefer living in suburbs over cities. The document also discusses the concept of "second world" nations and argues that superpowers like the US and China should form partnerships with these countries to influence them and gain access to their resources.
1. Advancements in transportation and population mobility have allowed infectious diseases to spread rapidly between countries, demonstrating that political issues in one area can affect others.
2. International organizations like the UN and WHO play a vital role in promoting cooperation between countries to control diseases and other global challenges.
3. Due to political globalization, disputes between countries are inevitable but international organizations provide important channels for communication and negotiation to help resolve conflicts peacefully.
This document discusses three articles that analyze the impacts of globalization from different perspectives. While globalization is said to promote economic growth and provide access to technology and capital for developing nations, it also contributes to rising inequality within developed countries and between skilled and unskilled workers. The articles agree that governments need welfare policies and redistribution programs to mitigate the negative effects of globalization and prevent the public from favoring protectionism. Further research is still needed to better measure poverty and inequality impacts.
Based on The Economics of Kindness,
by Guy Dauncey
300 years ago, the Enlightenment generated an inspiring vision of scientific, technological and economic progress. What was once global ‘progress’, however, has become a climate, ecological, economic and pandemic emergency.
We need new inspiration. When we emerge from the pandemic we can’t afford to go back to business-as-usual. We need to build ourselves a new ecological civilization in which we live, work and play in harmony with Nature, with respect for all beings, in an economy based on the economics of kindness.
The video from my presentation during EarthFest April 2020.
https://youtu.be/ZS6n-pzanpE
This document provides an introduction to a book about European history from 700-1990 CE. It argues that history is still relevant despite claims that patterns of the past no longer matter. Taking a long view of history can help question assumptions about structures like the nation state and better understand shifts in global power. Examining changes in the past, like periods when governments were strong or weak, can provide insight into issues debated today like the role of the nation state and government. Awareness of history is important for citizens, organizations and policymakers to understand the scale and nature of current changes.
The World After COVID-19: An Opportunity For a New BeginningManoj Bhusal
As the COVID-19 pandemic propagates throughout the world, speculations have begun of the post-pandemic world. In this article, I argue that the world after COVID-19 will be a different and difficult one, with unprecedented economic hardships and rampant social anxieties becoming the new normal.
However, the pandemic also offers a chance to reflect and to revise our course, and to come up with an alternative that will be just and fair for the many. I begin the article by offering an assessment of COVID-19’s impact on global power structures and move on to elaborate its possible implications on political processes, particularly on the instruments of democracy and the rule of law.
Drawing from various experiences reported during the pandemic, I argue that the post-pandemic world will be characterized by populism, nationalism, intensified citizen surveillance, and curtailed and compromised individual liberties. The pandemic will also inflict severe damage to globalization, free trade, multilateralism, and development cooperation.
I conclude the article by arguing that most of the problems witnessed during this crisis, however, are systemic, and caused by dysfunctional neoliberal corporate capitalism. In that sense, if there is a political mandate of this crisis – that is to find an alternative to the obsolete and oppressive neoliberal corporate capitalism which has served a few and failed the many.
1) The document discusses drawing a clear national strategy for Nepal that promotes peace, prosperity, and development. A consistent national strategy that balances diplomatic, economic, and information powers can help achieve national objectives.
2) It notes that Nepal's foreign policy and national strategy need to be streamlined so that ordinary citizens are not victimized by immature political statements or decisions. Recent comments by some politicians have created confusion.
3) Looking ahead, the document questions how Nepali policymakers should appropriately devise a national policy and examines how unilateralism, bilateralism, and possibly multilateralism can protect national interests and be integrated into annual development plans. It concludes that negotiated political settlements and trust among neighboring states based on interdependence
COMING OF THE VIOLENT GLOBAL REVOLUTIONS FOR THE FAILURES OF ISLAM, CHRISTIAN...Dr. Raju M. Mathew
Anger and resentment of the youth and women lead to violent revolutions at an unexpected time. They are destructive. it is time to think globally and act for the well being of the Humanity rather than for a particular religion or ideology or nationality. There are failures on the part of Islam, Christianity, Capitalism, Communism or Democracy to address the basic problems of the Youth and Women who are loosing their faith in Religion or Ideology or Democracy or Communism or Capitalism.
We are on the verge of Violent Global Revolutions, challenging the very existence of Humanity. Unless Global Strategy for ‘Food, Dignity and Knowledge for All’ is implemented, nobody can bring Peace and Prosperity and ensure the survival of mankind for the failure of Islam, Christianity, Democracy, Capitalism, Communism, Corporatism, Globalization, IT Revolutions and the United Nations or IMF or WTO.
Don't consider this presentation is against any particular Faith or Religion or to spread hate to anybody. We need a better world ensuring Food, Dignity and Knowledge for All for they are capable of empowering people.
This document provides an introduction to the book "The Ethical Economy" which argues that a new type of economy is emerging driven by the ability to construct ethically significant social relations rather than labor. This ethical economy is already present in areas like brand management, knowledge work, open source software communities, alternative agriculture, and is growing with new communication technologies. The introduction outlines the current economic and social crises facing capitalism and describes how new forms of social production enabled by the internet are flowering globally in a way that parallels the original Enlightenment, involving millions of people and a new civic culture. This new era could see the emergence of a post-capitalist economic system as significant as the rise of capitalism itself.
1
Media Spectacle
Douglas Kellner
(http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/)
Preface and Acknowledgements
As the human adventure enters a new millennium, media culture continues to be a
central organizing force in the economy, politics, culture, and everyday life. Media
culture drives the economy, generating ebbing and flowing corporate profits while
disseminating the advertising and images of high-consumption life-styles that help
reproduce the consumer society. Media culture also provides models for everyday life
that replicate high consumption ideals and personalities and sell consumers on
commodity pleasures and solutions to their problems, new technologies, and novel forms
of identity. As technocapitalism moves into a dazzling and seductive
information/entertainment society, mergers between the media giants are proliferating,
competition is intensifying, and the media generate spectacles to attract audiences to the
programs and advertisements that fuel the mighty money machines. Yet the Terror
Spectacle of September 11 and its aftermath unleashed war and destruction, creating
multiplying crises in the global economy and growing insecurity in everyday life.
In the past decades, spectacle culture has significantly evolved. Every form of
culture and more and more spheres of social life are permeated by the logic of the
spectacle. Movies are bigger and more spectacular than ever, with high-tech special
effects expanding the range of cinematic spectacle. Television channels proliferate
endlessly with all-day movies, news, political talk, sports, specialty niches, re-runs of the
history of television, and whatever else can gain an audience. The rock spectacle
reverberates through radio, television, CDs and DVDs, computer networks, and
extravagant concerts. Media culture provides fashion and style models for emulation and
promotes a celebrity culture that provides deities and role models.
Media culture excels in creating megaspectacles of sports events, world conflicts,
entertainment, "breaking news" and media events, such as the O.J. Simpson trial, the
death of Princess Diana, or the sex, murder, and related scandals of the moment.
Megaspectacle comes as well to dominate party politics, as their heavily dramatized
presentations implode into the political battles of the day, such as the Clinton sex
scandals and impeachment, the 36 Day Battle for the White House after Election 2000,
and the September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent Terror War. These dramatic media
passion plays define the politics and culture of the time, and attract mass audiences to
their programming, hour after hour, and day after day.
1
The Internet in turn has generated a seductive cyberspace, producing novel forms
of information, entertainment, and social interaction, while promoting a dot.com frenzied
boom and bust that fuelled and then deflated the "new economy," producing a turbulent
new form of creative destruction in the vi ...
Globalization and its_socioal-_political-economic_and_cultural_impacts 2Wild Cato
Globalization has had wide-ranging economic, political, social, and cultural impacts according to the document. Economically, it has increased international trade, investment, and financial flows between nations, but has also increased inequality between rich and poor countries. Politically, it has reduced the sovereignty of nation states and increased the power of supranational organizations. Socially, it has led to both increased women's participation in society but also greater inequality and precarious work conditions. Culturally, it has increased the spread of global culture and civil society while threatening local identities.
How to prevent humanitarian debacle in the contemporary worldFernando Alcoforado
The document discusses the need to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the contemporary world. It argues that the current refugee crisis is the result of criminal wars and military interventions by Western powers like the US and EU in countries in the Middle East and Africa. It claims that rampant violence and crises around the world are caused by the failing capitalist system and ungovernable international system. It calls for replacing capitalism with a model like Scandinavian social democracy and establishing democratic global governance to ensure world peace and humanity's progress.
How to prevent humanitarian debacle in the contemporary worldFernando Alcoforado
The document discusses the current humanitarian crisis as a result of capitalism, imperialism, and lack of global governance. It argues that wars and military interventions by Western powers like the US and EU in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria have devastated societies and displaced millions of refugees. It calls for replacing capitalism with a model like Scandinavian social democracy and establishing democratic global governance to prevent war, terrorism, and further humanitarian crises.
New democratic movements for global regeneration driessen 2019TravisDriessen1
Our global species is confronted with the converging crisis of climate change, unsustainable levels of inequality, mass extinction, and growing water and natural resource scarcity that are threatening the existential crisis of collapse. This fallout has already led to massive displacement and refugee crisis across Latin America and the African continent. New democratic social movements are recombining and ushering in new opportunities for a revolution of regenerative settlements to be built out across the globe. Doing so, can create new opportunities to restore biodiversity, bring the atmosphere to safe operating levels, lift billions into unprecedented human prosperity, and transform global governance to promote a new era cooperation, human discovery and peaceful co-existence.
World After Covid-19: Multidisciplinary IdeasDilip Barad
This presentation is prepared for Online Conference by myvedant.com. The conference is organised on 10 May 2020. This presentation reflects views on multiple aspects of human life during covid-19 pandemic and key takeaways from from this pandemic.
Eric, x. l. (2012). globalization 2.0. new perspectives quarterlydmst
The document discusses two models of globalization that have developed in parallel since the end of the Cold War:
1) Globalization 1.0, led by the West, promotes liberal democracy, free markets, and individualism as universal ideals. However, it has led to economic troubles and cultural losses in Western nations.
2) Globalization 2.0, exemplified by China, emphasizes cultural pluralism and the right of each nation to choose its own path. It has brought hundreds of millions out of poverty without adopting Western political systems.
The convergence of Globalization 1.0 and 2.0 will determine whether global cooperation or conflict dominates the future. The West must accept China and other non-
A New Ecological Civilization based on The Economics of KindnessGuy Dauncey
300 years ago, the Enlightenment generated an inspiring vision of scientific, technological and economic progress. What was once global ‘progress’, however, has become a climate, ecological, economic and pandemic emergency.
We need new inspiration. When we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic we can’t afford to go back to business-as-usual. We need to build ourselves a new ecological civilization in which we live, work and play in harmony with Nature, with respect for all beings, in an economy based on the economics of kindness.
My article published in Eurasia Review yesterday (March 9, 2013) has thrown some lights on how we are suffering in the world that is both leaderless and defenseless. It also gives some evidences and few suggestions that can help us to manage with.
This document provides an overview of population studies, including definitions of key demographic terms and theories of population. It outlines 14 key concepts in demography, such as crude birth rate, fertility, life expectancy, and net migration. The document also summarizes several major population theories, like Malthusian, Neo-Malthusian, and Demographic Transition theories. Finally, it lists research activities and recommended readings for further lessons.
Human migration is driven by both "push" and "pull" factors. Key "push" factors include poverty, political oppression, armed conflicts, and poor environmental conditions in places of origin. Important "pull" factors are perceived economic opportunities, family/social connections, and improved quality of life in destination locations. Migration can take place internally within a country or internationally across borders. Both voluntary and forced migration streams have significant impacts on societies and challenge policymakers to respond to humanitarian crises.
Center and Periferies in Europe – The inequalities dinamics since 1990GRAZIA TANTA
The document discusses the rising inequalities within Europe since 1990 as a result of capitalism. It outlines several key developments that have contributed to the formation of centers and peripheries on the continent, including periods of economic growth and crisis; the rise of neoliberalism; globalization and the relocation of industries; rising debt, speculation, and inequality; and resulting population changes and migration patterns. These dynamics have led to decreasing populations in many Eastern and Southern European countries, while populations in Western countries like France and Spain increased at higher rates, revealing the unequal impacts of capitalism across Europe.
The document discusses several issues with the current global system including rising organized violence, wealth disparity, poverty, and environmental degradation. It argues that the system has been manipulated over time to serve elite interests and control the means of production. The extreme form of capitalism in recent decades has led to a debt-based system rather than free markets. This has negative consequences like job losses. Terrorism is driven by deprivation of resources and destruction of livelihoods. The clash of civilizations will be a major source of conflict. Real reforms are needed in financial systems and addressing injustice to reduce terrorism. An individual cannot change the whole system but dedicating oneself to a cause and gaining self-knowledge is important.
The document discusses trends in global population growth and demographics over the next several decades. It notes that immigration and fertility rates will impact countries' economic growth and workforce demographics. Specifically, by 2050 the US will have no single majority race and more people will prefer living in suburbs over cities. The document also discusses the concept of "second world" nations and argues that superpowers like the US and China should form partnerships with these countries to influence them and gain access to their resources.
1. Advancements in transportation and population mobility have allowed infectious diseases to spread rapidly between countries, demonstrating that political issues in one area can affect others.
2. International organizations like the UN and WHO play a vital role in promoting cooperation between countries to control diseases and other global challenges.
3. Due to political globalization, disputes between countries are inevitable but international organizations provide important channels for communication and negotiation to help resolve conflicts peacefully.
This document discusses three articles that analyze the impacts of globalization from different perspectives. While globalization is said to promote economic growth and provide access to technology and capital for developing nations, it also contributes to rising inequality within developed countries and between skilled and unskilled workers. The articles agree that governments need welfare policies and redistribution programs to mitigate the negative effects of globalization and prevent the public from favoring protectionism. Further research is still needed to better measure poverty and inequality impacts.
Based on The Economics of Kindness,
by Guy Dauncey
300 years ago, the Enlightenment generated an inspiring vision of scientific, technological and economic progress. What was once global ‘progress’, however, has become a climate, ecological, economic and pandemic emergency.
We need new inspiration. When we emerge from the pandemic we can’t afford to go back to business-as-usual. We need to build ourselves a new ecological civilization in which we live, work and play in harmony with Nature, with respect for all beings, in an economy based on the economics of kindness.
The video from my presentation during EarthFest April 2020.
https://youtu.be/ZS6n-pzanpE
This document provides an introduction to a book about European history from 700-1990 CE. It argues that history is still relevant despite claims that patterns of the past no longer matter. Taking a long view of history can help question assumptions about structures like the nation state and better understand shifts in global power. Examining changes in the past, like periods when governments were strong or weak, can provide insight into issues debated today like the role of the nation state and government. Awareness of history is important for citizens, organizations and policymakers to understand the scale and nature of current changes.
The World After COVID-19: An Opportunity For a New BeginningManoj Bhusal
As the COVID-19 pandemic propagates throughout the world, speculations have begun of the post-pandemic world. In this article, I argue that the world after COVID-19 will be a different and difficult one, with unprecedented economic hardships and rampant social anxieties becoming the new normal.
However, the pandemic also offers a chance to reflect and to revise our course, and to come up with an alternative that will be just and fair for the many. I begin the article by offering an assessment of COVID-19’s impact on global power structures and move on to elaborate its possible implications on political processes, particularly on the instruments of democracy and the rule of law.
Drawing from various experiences reported during the pandemic, I argue that the post-pandemic world will be characterized by populism, nationalism, intensified citizen surveillance, and curtailed and compromised individual liberties. The pandemic will also inflict severe damage to globalization, free trade, multilateralism, and development cooperation.
I conclude the article by arguing that most of the problems witnessed during this crisis, however, are systemic, and caused by dysfunctional neoliberal corporate capitalism. In that sense, if there is a political mandate of this crisis – that is to find an alternative to the obsolete and oppressive neoliberal corporate capitalism which has served a few and failed the many.
1) The document discusses drawing a clear national strategy for Nepal that promotes peace, prosperity, and development. A consistent national strategy that balances diplomatic, economic, and information powers can help achieve national objectives.
2) It notes that Nepal's foreign policy and national strategy need to be streamlined so that ordinary citizens are not victimized by immature political statements or decisions. Recent comments by some politicians have created confusion.
3) Looking ahead, the document questions how Nepali policymakers should appropriately devise a national policy and examines how unilateralism, bilateralism, and possibly multilateralism can protect national interests and be integrated into annual development plans. It concludes that negotiated political settlements and trust among neighboring states based on interdependence
COMING OF THE VIOLENT GLOBAL REVOLUTIONS FOR THE FAILURES OF ISLAM, CHRISTIAN...Dr. Raju M. Mathew
Anger and resentment of the youth and women lead to violent revolutions at an unexpected time. They are destructive. it is time to think globally and act for the well being of the Humanity rather than for a particular religion or ideology or nationality. There are failures on the part of Islam, Christianity, Capitalism, Communism or Democracy to address the basic problems of the Youth and Women who are loosing their faith in Religion or Ideology or Democracy or Communism or Capitalism.
We are on the verge of Violent Global Revolutions, challenging the very existence of Humanity. Unless Global Strategy for ‘Food, Dignity and Knowledge for All’ is implemented, nobody can bring Peace and Prosperity and ensure the survival of mankind for the failure of Islam, Christianity, Democracy, Capitalism, Communism, Corporatism, Globalization, IT Revolutions and the United Nations or IMF or WTO.
Don't consider this presentation is against any particular Faith or Religion or to spread hate to anybody. We need a better world ensuring Food, Dignity and Knowledge for All for they are capable of empowering people.
This document provides an introduction to the book "The Ethical Economy" which argues that a new type of economy is emerging driven by the ability to construct ethically significant social relations rather than labor. This ethical economy is already present in areas like brand management, knowledge work, open source software communities, alternative agriculture, and is growing with new communication technologies. The introduction outlines the current economic and social crises facing capitalism and describes how new forms of social production enabled by the internet are flowering globally in a way that parallels the original Enlightenment, involving millions of people and a new civic culture. This new era could see the emergence of a post-capitalist economic system as significant as the rise of capitalism itself.
1
Media Spectacle
Douglas Kellner
(http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/)
Preface and Acknowledgements
As the human adventure enters a new millennium, media culture continues to be a
central organizing force in the economy, politics, culture, and everyday life. Media
culture drives the economy, generating ebbing and flowing corporate profits while
disseminating the advertising and images of high-consumption life-styles that help
reproduce the consumer society. Media culture also provides models for everyday life
that replicate high consumption ideals and personalities and sell consumers on
commodity pleasures and solutions to their problems, new technologies, and novel forms
of identity. As technocapitalism moves into a dazzling and seductive
information/entertainment society, mergers between the media giants are proliferating,
competition is intensifying, and the media generate spectacles to attract audiences to the
programs and advertisements that fuel the mighty money machines. Yet the Terror
Spectacle of September 11 and its aftermath unleashed war and destruction, creating
multiplying crises in the global economy and growing insecurity in everyday life.
In the past decades, spectacle culture has significantly evolved. Every form of
culture and more and more spheres of social life are permeated by the logic of the
spectacle. Movies are bigger and more spectacular than ever, with high-tech special
effects expanding the range of cinematic spectacle. Television channels proliferate
endlessly with all-day movies, news, political talk, sports, specialty niches, re-runs of the
history of television, and whatever else can gain an audience. The rock spectacle
reverberates through radio, television, CDs and DVDs, computer networks, and
extravagant concerts. Media culture provides fashion and style models for emulation and
promotes a celebrity culture that provides deities and role models.
Media culture excels in creating megaspectacles of sports events, world conflicts,
entertainment, "breaking news" and media events, such as the O.J. Simpson trial, the
death of Princess Diana, or the sex, murder, and related scandals of the moment.
Megaspectacle comes as well to dominate party politics, as their heavily dramatized
presentations implode into the political battles of the day, such as the Clinton sex
scandals and impeachment, the 36 Day Battle for the White House after Election 2000,
and the September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent Terror War. These dramatic media
passion plays define the politics and culture of the time, and attract mass audiences to
their programming, hour after hour, and day after day.
1
The Internet in turn has generated a seductive cyberspace, producing novel forms
of information, entertainment, and social interaction, while promoting a dot.com frenzied
boom and bust that fuelled and then deflated the "new economy," producing a turbulent
new form of creative destruction in the vi ...
globalization project and ppt and pdf internationalRameshwarPagar
This document provides an overview of the political dimensions of globalization. It discusses several threats posed by globalization, including sub-national conflicts, terrorism, authoritarianism, organized crime, corruption, and socio-economic inequality. It also notes some benefits, such as expanded trade and diplomacy. Specific topics covered in more depth include fragile and failed states, global terrorism, authoritarian regimes, international organized crime, corruption, socio-economic inequality, population issues, and environmental threats posed by climate change and resource depletion.
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Where Did This Global Movement Come From?Joe Brewer
The global anti-globalization movement emerged in the late 1980s and gained momentum through major protests in the 1990s and 2000s. Early protests targeted international financial institutions by a few hundred activists but grew to tens of thousands expressing concerns around issues like debt cancellation, environmental protection, and corporate power. While diverse, the movement lacked central organization and was framed by media as "anti-globalization" rather than representing the decentralized network it was. As communication technologies advanced, they empowered more direct democracy and collective action among disparate groups. However, the movement has focused on protest rather than articulating a clear alternative vision, which it now needs to do by standing for institutional change that creates shared prosperity within planetary boundaries.
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According to the data released by the NSO for the Financial Year 2021-22 on 31st May, 2022, the real GDP grew at the rate of 8.7 per cent. Thus, the growth rate of real GDP for India was higher than most of the other big economies. This is a clear indication that the Indian Economy is now on the path to recovery. But, challenges still remain in its way. The retail inflation is almost 8 per cent. The number of poor people is very high, the unemployment rate is at an alarming level, and a big part of the population is still grappling with malnutrition and undernutrition. According to the 'Report on Currency and Finance' published by the Reserve Bank of India on 28th April 2022, it will take another 10 years or more for the Indian Economy to recover fully from the adverse effects of COVID-19. All these issues have been adequately discussed in this 40th revised and updated edition of the book.
The organisation, structure and contents of the present edition are as follows:
Part I of the book 'Economic Development: A Theoretical Background' is divided into three chapters. It discusses the concepts of economic growth and development, common characteristics of underdeveloped countries, the role of economic and non-economic factors in economic lodu the concept of human development, human development index, gender inequality index, multidimensional poverty index, etc., and issues concerning the relationship between environment and development.
Part II discusses the 'Structure of the Indian Economy' and consists of thirteen chapters. It is devoted to the discussion of various issues relating to the nature of the Indian madarchod including the natural resources and ecological issues, infrastructural development, population problem, unemployment and poverty (including a discussion on universal basic income), income growth and inequalities, etc.
Part III of the book 'Basic Issues in Agriculture' consists of nine chapters. It starts with a discussion of the role, nature and cropping pattern of Indian agriculture and then takes up for discussion the issues in Indian agricultural policy (including a review of the new global opportunities and challenges facing Indian agriculture in the wake of the various agreements concluded under WTO). We then proceed to a discussion of agricultural production and productivity trends, progress and failures in the field of land reform, green revolution and its impact on the rural economy of the country, agricultural finance and marketing, agricultural prices and agricultural price policy, the food security system in India, and agricultural labour.
Part IV on 'The Industrial Sector and Services in Indian Economy' consists of ten chapters. It starts with a discussion of industrial development during the period of planning and then proceeds to discuss some major industries of India. This is followed by a discussion of small-scale industries, industrial policy, role and performance of public sector enterprises, the issue o
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This document discusses different perspectives on globalization. It begins by outlining the main strands of the globalization process, including increasing interconnectedness between societies, rising power of multinational corporations, and a growing global culture. It then examines five approaches to globalization: Technological Enthusiasts view it as an inevitable process driven by technology; Marxisant Pessimists see it increasing inequality and destroying local cultures; Pluralist Pragmatists see it as a complex process with both benefits and drawbacks; Sceptic Internationalists reject the idea of a borderless world and maintain the importance of nation-states. The document aims to provide a balanced overview of the diverse ways globalization can be understood.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIOLOGYAGENDAS FOR THETWENTY-FIR.docxpbilly1
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIOLOGY:
AGENDAS FOR THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
JOE R, FEAGIN
University of Florida
The world's peoples face daunting challenges in the
twenty-first century. While apologists herald the globaliza-
tion of capitalism, many people on our planet experience
recurring economic exploitation, immiseration, and envi-
ronmental crises linked to capitalism's spread. Across the
globe social movements continue to raise the issues of
social justice and democracy. Given the new century's
serious challenges, sociologists need to rediscover their
roots in a sociology committed to social justice, to cultivate and extend the long-
standing "countersystem" approach to research, to encourage greater self-reflection
in sociological analysis, and to re-emphasize the importance ofthe teaching of soci-
ology. Finally, more sociologists should examine the big social questions of this
century, including the issues of economic exploitation, social oppression, and the
looming environmental crises. And, clearly, more sociologists should engage in the
study of alternative social futures, including those of more just and egalitarian soci-
eties. Sociologists need to think deeply and imaginatively about sustainable social
futures and to aid in building better human societies.
WE STAND today at the beginning ofa challenging new century. Like
ASA Presidents before me, I am conscious
of the honor and the responsibility that this
address carries with it, and I feel a special
obligation to speak about the role of sociol-
ogy and sociologists in the twenty-first cen-
tury. As we look forward, let me quote W. E.
B. Du Bois, a pathbreaking U.S. sociologist.
In his last autobiographical statement, Du
Bois (1968) wrote:
Direct correspondence to Joe R. Feagin, De-
partment of Sociology, Box 117330, University
of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, (feagin®
ufl.edu). I would like to thank the numerous col-
leagues who made helpful comments on various
drafts of this presidential address. Among these
were Hernan Vera, Sidney Willhelm, Bernice
McNair Barnett, Gideon Sjoherg, Anne Rawls,
Mary Jo Deegan, Michael R. Hill, Patricia
Lengermann, Jill Niebrugge-Brantley, Tony
Orum, William A. Smith, Ben Agger, Karen
Pyke, and Leslie Houts.
[TJoday the contradictions of American civi-
lization are tremendous. Freedom of politi-
cal discussion is difficult; elections are not
free and fair. . . . The greatest power in the
land is not thought or ethics, but wealth. . . .
Present profit is valued higher than future
need. . . . I know the United States. It is my
country and the land of my fathers. It is still
a land of magnificent possibilities. It is still
the home of noble souls and generous
people. But it is selling its birthright. It is
betraying its mighty destiny. (Pp. 418-19)
Today the social contradictions of Ameri-
can and global civilizations are still im-
mense. Many prominent voices tell us that it
is the best of times; other voices insist that it
is the worst of t.
The price of_inequality_joseph_e_stiglitzUnico Coisa
This document is the preface to Joseph E. Stiglitz's book "The Price of Inequality". Stiglitz argues that protests around the world in 2011 showed that people felt economic and political systems had failed and were unfair. While specific grievances varied, shared themes included that markets were neither efficient nor stable, political systems failed to address problems, and both economic and political systems were fundamentally unfair. Stiglitz aims to explain how inequality is caused by and exacerbates failures in politics and the economy, creating a downward spiral. The consequences of high inequality include less stability, growth, and democracy that is captured by moneyed interests.
Moisés Naim argues that power is becoming more difficult to exercise and easier to lose in the modern world. In his book, he examines how power is dispersing due to new technologies and actors. According to Naim, no single country or organization can solve major issues like the Syrian conflict, Eurozone crisis, or climate change alone due to this diffusion of power. The document concludes by arguing that humanity must work towards building a democratic world government to rationally manage global issues and prevent threats in this increasingly chaotic environment.
Similar to Intensifying Complexities in the Global Context, People's reporter Vol. 32 no.24, December 2019 (13)
Vibhuti Patel: SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth, The Urban World Vol. 12,...VIBHUTI PATEL
The SDG 8 in the Indian Context articulated by Niti Ayog proclaims sustained economic growth, higher levels of productivity and technological innovation. Encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation are key to this, as are effective measures to eradicate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. With these targets in mind, the goal is to achieve full and productive employment, and decent work, for all women and men by 2030. The GoI has stated Skill India Mission, stand up India Mission, Start-up India Mission and Mudra Lona schemes for generation of self-employment over last 5 years. But in reality work participation as well as quality of Indian women have declined drastically.
Vibhuti Patel Human Rights Movement in india Social Change, Sage, vol. 40, no...VIBHUTI PATEL
Human rights movement in India got its germination during the Emergency
Rule during 1975–1977 and developed during the post Emergency period.
Two major trends were marked by Civil liberties concerns and the rights
based perspectives. In the last 35 years, the human rights movement has been
enriched by collective wisdom emerging from the tribal movement, peasant
struggles, environmental movement, women’s liberation movement, child rights
movement, dalit movement and struggles of the differently abled persons. The
state and the mainstream institutions have had love hate relationships with
different types of human rights movements at different phases of history.Human rights movement in India got its germination during the Emergency
Rule during 1975–1977 and developed during the post Emergency period.
Two major trends were marked by Civil liberties concerns and the rights
based perspectives. In the last 35 years, the human rights movement has been
enriched by collective wisdom emerging from the tribal movement, peasant
struggles, environmental movement, women’s liberation movement, child rights
movement, dalit movement and struggles of the differently abled persons. The
state and the mainstream institutions have had love hate relationships with
different types of human rights movements at different phases of history.
Vacha resource centre for Women Girls annual report 2018 19VIBHUTI PATEL
Vacha has impacted the lives of 77784 individuals through its creative and engaging programmes in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar Districts for building capacities in different areas.
Out of these, 70343 were extension beneficiaries, who have attended our events such as street play performances, meetings, rallies, newsletter release functions and public debates. Of these, 70 % were girls and women and 30% were boys and men
A total of 7441 i.e. 10 per cent were direct beneficiaries, who enrolled themselves for Vacha’s regular sessions, workshops, trainings, career fairs, gender and health fairs and camps and film screenings with follow up discussions on gender issues. Of these, 48% were girls, 23% were boys, 25% were women and 2% were men. We work with boys as they too are deprived, though the prevalent son preference gives them a preference at home for education and mobility. However with gender sensitisation, teenage boys become an excellent support group for girls, and together with girls in equal leadership roles, work on community issues.
The community residents (contemptuously called ‘slum dwellers’ though they themselves identify with the term basti for the community) are usually migrants from socioeconomically backward and very poor districts who have come in search of livelihood. Girls are affected in multiple ways as, besides the over arching gender and poverty issues many of them belong to religious and linguistic minorities. All of them have to deal with the orthodox mind set of elders as they still follow rather feudal practices of their villages.
3
Districts
6
Wards
48 Schools
15
Communities
5
Colleges
Vacha
Women Studies in Academic Disciplines: 6
Disciplining the Disciplines
- Prof. Maithreyi Krishnaraj
Transgression versus Transcendence an Analysis of 54
Dynamics of Women’s Sexuality in the Indian Epics
Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata
- Dr. Sarla Santwani
Women, Work and Empowerment: 70
A Case Study of the IT Sector
- Priyanka Dwivedi
The promise of the #MeToo movement for preventing and 83
reporting sexual harassment
- Dr. Linda Lane
Contribution of Socio-Cultural Factors in 96
Crime against Women
- Dr. Jasmine Damle
Identities and Negotiations between Women Householders and 113
Domestic Workers: A Case Study of Select Areas of Aligarh
- Dr. Tauseef Fatima and Dr. Shafey Anwarul Haque
Workplace Discrimination against Women in 130
the Formal Sector: Bias in the Quality of Work in
the Metropolitan Cities of India
- Dr. Sampriti Biswas
BOOK REVIEW
Political Feminism in India an Analysis of Actors, 152
Debates and Strategies
- Dr. Shital Tamakuwala
Women’s Employment: Work in Progress 156
- Ms Damyanty Sridharan
STATEMENTS
AIDWA and FAOW 158
SC judges in matter of Complaint of 158
sexual harassment against CJI
Golden jubilee lecture for css, surat prof. vibhuti patelVIBHUTI PATEL
Main concerns of women’s movement in India have been:
• Men outnumber women in India, unlike in most countries where the reverse is the case.
• Majority of women go through life in a state of nutritional stress - they are anaemic and malnourished. Girls and women face nutritional discrimination within the family, eating last and least.
• The average Indian woman has little control over her own fertility and reproductive health.
• Literacy rate is lower in women as compared to men and far fewer girls than boys go to school. Even when girls are enrolled, many of them drop out of school.
• Women’s work is undervalued and unrecognized. Women work longer hours than men and carry the major share of household and community work, which is unpaid and invisible.
• Once ‘women’s work’ is professionalized, there is practically a monopoly on it by men. For example, the professional chefs are still largely men. The Sexual Division of Labour ensures that women will always end up as having to prioritize unpaid domestic work over paid work. It is not a ‘natural’ biological difference that lies behind the sexual division of labour, but certain ideological assumptions.
• Women generally earn a far lower wage than men doing the same work, despite the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976. In no State do women and men earn equal wages in agriculture.
• Women are under-represented in various bodies of governance as well as decision-making positions in both public and private sectors.
• Women are legally discriminated against in land and property rights. Most women do not own property in their own names and do not get a share of parental property.
• Women face violence inside and outside the family throughout their lives.
Prof. Vibhuti Patel Food Price Volatility in India, Vidura July-September 2019VIBHUTI PATEL
At a time when hunger, food and nutrition security of the population and food sovereignty itself are at
stake, Vibhuti Patel looks at the effects of agricultural liberalisation in India, the dynamics of the food
market, the double standards of the developed nations, the failure of the Doha round of Trade Talks,
and possible remedies. Developing social safety nets for the socio-economically marginalised and poor
famers as well as urban, rural and tribal consumers needs the combined and concerted efforts of state
and non-state players,
Prof. Vibhuti Patel & Ms. Radhika Khajuria Hindi Bharat me Rajnaitik NaarivadVIBHUTI PATEL
Last 50 years of feminist activism in India has managed to challenge the 5000 years of patriarchal order by striking at root of exploitation and oppression, subjugation and degradation of women by deconstructing covert and overt violence against women in personal and public lives, to question pillars of male domination within family, kinship networks, organized religion, media and state. Series of legal reforms with respect to family laws dealing with marriage, divorce, custody of child/children, maintenance, inheritance; domestic violence; sexual violence, workplace harassment, maternity benefits and gender budgeting have become the part of an official agenda due to feminist movement. For this, pioneers of women’s rights movement and women’s studies scholars worked in unison.
Prof. Vibhuti Patel on "Draft Natinal higher Education Policy, 2019"People's ...VIBHUTI PATEL
The Draft National Education
Policy (DNEP)- 2019 is a serious
effort of the inter-disciplinary
committee chaired by
Dr. Kasturirangan, that included
Prof. Vasudha Kamath,
Prof. Manjul Bhargava,
Prof. Ram Shankar Kureel,
Prof. T.V. Kattimani, Sri. Krishna
Mohan Tripathi, Prof. Mazhar
Asif, Prof. M.K. Sridhar and
Dr. Shakila T. Shamsu.
It discusses content,
modalities, infrastructure and
support services for academic
excellence from early childhood
education till the post doctorate
research. The draft emphasises
integrating vocational education
into all schools, colleges and
universities. It highlights the
need for adult education,
promotion of Indian languages
and transformative education.
Vibhuti patel long march of indian women asian age 14 4-2019 pg11VIBHUTI PATEL
For the 17th Lok Sabha election,
major political parties
have again shied away
from fielding women. The
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and Congress, two of the
biggest political outfits in the country,
have given less than 12 per cent
seats to women.
Under-representation of women in
seat distribution for candidature in
the Upper and Lower Houses of the
Parliament of India and for
Legislative Assemblies and
Legislative Councils of the state
government has been debated in
SAARC countries time and again.
Our neighbouring countries have
women’s quota in parliament as follows:
Bangladesh - 13 per cent (2008),
Pakistan - 17.5 per cent (2002) and
Nepal - 33 per cent (2016).
Health Action Sustainable Development Goals April 2019. ISSN: 0970-471XVIBHUTI PATEL
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs-2015-2030) are a derivative of the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015), which spell out the following values: freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, and shared responsibility. They are a clarion call of 189 governments, on behalf of their citizens, to “free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected”.
Population fFirst Nnewsletter fFeb april 2019VIBHUTI PATEL
Gender promises made by the state gets translated into gender
responsive budgetary commitments of the Union ministries and
departments. Like previous years, The Gender Budget Statement
(GBS) for the year 2019-20, in its Part A has provided schemes and
programmes 100% targeted for women and Part B had given the
schemes that are expected to use minimum of 30 per cent of the total
allocation for women and girls. The GBS is significant as it is the only
source of verifiable, quantitative information on government's efforts
at ensuring budgetary commitments towards women. The overall
financial allocation for the Union for 2019-20 (BE) is Rs. 1,31,700
crore, while the same for 2018-19 (BE) was Rs 1,24,367 crore. Thus
there is an increase of Rs. 7333 crores in the current budget
People’s power to defend themselves
against life threatening and ever
increasing economic crisis and social
strife, is the need of the hour. ‘Power to
the People’ can correct damages done
by inhuman macro-economic policies
that attack basic survival base of the
poor and the marginalised sections of
the society namely workers, poor and
marginal farmers, Dalits, Tribals, and
ethnic/religious minorities.
Experiences of the past 40 years have
shown how the social movements put
pressure on societal systems to
accelerate transformation, respond
directly to the experiences of people and
ensure social security and social
protection. The Right Based Approach
concerned about human development
that includes health, education,
employment, representation in decision
making bodies, and the
democratic processes in governance,
have resulted in the transformation of
people’s lives for the better.
Laxmi menon and vibhuti patel grinding realitiesVIBHUTI PATEL
Women constitute a majority of the work force in the informal sector
everywhere. The informal sector is unregulated, unprotected, supports the
formal sector and so matches the profile of women in a society organised on
patriarchal values and practices. In South Asia, more than 90 per cent of the
workforce is employed in the informal economy. The informal economy also
acts as a sponge, absorbing retrenched, uneducated and untrained workers.
Though women workers in the informal economy (the unorganised sector)
are engaged in employment activities which contribute significantly to the
GDP of a country, their economic and social contribution remains hidden,
under or unvalued. The heterogeneous nature of the informal economy
ranging from part time and irregular workers in East Asia to home based, self
employed, sub contract workers in South east and South Asia, makes
computing the economic as well as social contribution by workers of this
sector difficult.
Aapse newsletter issue 1 January 2019, Issue !VIBHUTI PATEL
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
We invite authors to send their research based articles, book reviews, statements, poems, etc. for publication in this peer reviewed and globally circulated journal. Prof. Vibhuti Patel and Dr. Ananda Amritmahal
We invite authors to send their research based articles, book reviews, statements, poems, etc. for publication in this peer reviewed and globally circulated journal.
Prof. Vibhuti Patel and Dr. Ananda Amritmahal
Quest in Education July 2018 ISSN: 0048-6434VIBHUTI PATEL
We request authors to send their original research-based articles and book reviews on issues concerning education. As Quest in Education publishes peer-reviewed articles, the authors should be ready to wait for seeing their article in print.
Quest in education January 2019 ISSN: 0048-6434VIBHUTI PATEL
We request authors to send their original research-based articles and book reviews on issues concerning education. As Quest in Education publishes peer-reviewed articles, the authors should be ready to wait for seeing their article in print.
This presentation was provided by Steph Pollock of The American Psychological Association’s Journals Program, and Damita Snow, of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), for the initial session of NISO's 2024 Training Series "DEIA in the Scholarly Landscape." Session One: 'Setting Expectations: a DEIA Primer,' was held June 6, 2024.
This document provides an overview of wound healing, its functions, stages, mechanisms, factors affecting it, and complications.
A wound is a break in the integrity of the skin or tissues, which may be associated with disruption of the structure and function.
Healing is the body’s response to injury in an attempt to restore normal structure and functions.
Healing can occur in two ways: Regeneration and Repair
There are 4 phases of wound healing: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. This document also describes the mechanism of wound healing. Factors that affect healing include infection, uncontrolled diabetes, poor nutrition, age, anemia, the presence of foreign bodies, etc.
Complications of wound healing like infection, hyperpigmentation of scar, contractures, and keloid formation.
This slide is special for master students (MIBS & MIFB) in UUM. Also useful for readers who are interested in the topic of contemporary Islamic banking.
LAND USE LAND COVER AND NDVI OF MIRZAPUR DISTRICT, UPRAHUL
This Dissertation explores the particular circumstances of Mirzapur, a region located in the
core of India. Mirzapur, with its varied terrains and abundant biodiversity, offers an optimal
environment for investigating the changes in vegetation cover dynamics. Our study utilizes
advanced technologies such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Remote sensing to
analyze the transformations that have taken place over the course of a decade.
The complex relationship between human activities and the environment has been the focus
of extensive research and worry. As the global community grapples with swift urbanization,
population expansion, and economic progress, the effects on natural ecosystems are becoming
more evident. A crucial element of this impact is the alteration of vegetation cover, which plays a
significant role in maintaining the ecological equilibrium of our planet.Land serves as the foundation for all human activities and provides the necessary materials for
these activities. As the most crucial natural resource, its utilization by humans results in different
'Land uses,' which are determined by both human activities and the physical characteristics of the
land.
The utilization of land is impacted by human needs and environmental factors. In countries
like India, rapid population growth and the emphasis on extensive resource exploitation can lead
to significant land degradation, adversely affecting the region's land cover.
Therefore, human intervention has significantly influenced land use patterns over many
centuries, evolving its structure over time and space. In the present era, these changes have
accelerated due to factors such as agriculture and urbanization. Information regarding land use and
cover is essential for various planning and management tasks related to the Earth's surface,
providing crucial environmental data for scientific, resource management, policy purposes, and
diverse human activities.
Accurate understanding of land use and cover is imperative for the development planning
of any area. Consequently, a wide range of professionals, including earth system scientists, land
and water managers, and urban planners, are interested in obtaining data on land use and cover
changes, conversion trends, and other related patterns. The spatial dimensions of land use and
cover support policymakers and scientists in making well-informed decisions, as alterations in
these patterns indicate shifts in economic and social conditions. Monitoring such changes with the
help of Advanced technologies like Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems is
crucial for coordinated efforts across different administrative levels. Advanced technologies like
Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems
9
Changes in vegetation cover refer to variations in the distribution, composition, and overall
structure of plant communities across different temporal and spatial scales. These changes can
occur natural.
How to Build a Module in Odoo 17 Using the Scaffold MethodCeline George
Odoo provides an option for creating a module by using a single line command. By using this command the user can make a whole structure of a module. It is very easy for a beginner to make a module. There is no need to make each file manually. This slide will show how to create a module using the scaffold method.
How to Manage Your Lost Opportunities in Odoo 17 CRMCeline George
Odoo 17 CRM allows us to track why we lose sales opportunities with "Lost Reasons." This helps analyze our sales process and identify areas for improvement. Here's how to configure lost reasons in Odoo 17 CRM
How to Add Chatter in the odoo 17 ERP ModuleCeline George
In Odoo, the chatter is like a chat tool that helps you work together on records. You can leave notes and track things, making it easier to talk with your team and partners. Inside chatter, all communication history, activity, and changes will be displayed.
it describes the bony anatomy including the femoral head , acetabulum, labrum . also discusses the capsule , ligaments . muscle that act on the hip joint and the range of motion are outlined. factors affecting hip joint stability and weight transmission through the joint are summarized.
How to Setup Warehouse & Location in Odoo 17 InventoryCeline George
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How to Setup Warehouse & Location in Odoo 17 Inventory
Intensifying Complexities in the Global Context, People's reporter Vol. 32 no.24, December 2019
1. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 1
VOLUME 32 ISSUE 24 MUMBAI DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Rs. 100
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on 10th & 25th every month.
- Annual Special Issue 2019
Intensifying Complexities of the Global ContextIntensifying Complexities of the Global ContextIntensifying Complexities of the Global ContextIntensifying Complexities of the Global ContextIntensifying Complexities of the Global Context
The Complex Global Context
The 21st
century began generating a new hope of a better world.
The end of the cold war, possibilities of greater strength to democratic politics
because of the fall of the Communist rule in Europe, promises offered by the neo-
liberal economic policy, unbelievably fast expansion of the horizons of Information
and Communication Technology, promises of Nano Technology and increasing
use of Artificial Intelligence were the reasons for a New Hope. But, very disturbingly
we find all-round despair at the close of the first two decades of this century.
Although the Cold War based on ideological differences ended, in the last two
decades, the whole of West Asia has been changed into a ‘permanent theatre of
war’. The end of Communist rule, instead of strengthening democratic forces,
has given way for the rise of fascist forces in the US, India, Turkey and in many
countries in Europe. The neo-liberal economic policy, instead of helping to improve
the health of the economy and welfare of the people produced recession in the
US in 2008 and in advanced countries subsequently, and intensified the misery of
the people. The on-going recession threatens the life of the people in India too.
The US that imposed neo-liberal policy with much promise and fanfare has
abandoned it, and announced its opposite, Trade War. While Information/
Communication/Cyber technology has broken new paths of success, and the
improvement of the life-situations of the people it is being misused by the
miscreants and the governments against freedom of individuals. The progress
of Research and Development of Artificial Intelligence raises not only the threat
of the intensification of unemployment, but also ethical issues related to the
substitution of humans with machines. Although neo-liberal policy has proven a
failure, the Market still controls and dominates the economy, society and culture.
Along with these issues the transformation of culture, religions , and ecological
catastrophe to serve the interests of the Market, makes the situation in the 3rd
Decade of the 21st
century extremely complex and even frightening.
Profound and systematic efforts to understand the nature and dynamics of
these issues would be the key to face the new threatening challenges before us.
Democracy
and Its Discontents
M. A. Oommen
The topic ‘democracy and
its discontents’ is wide and
comprehensive. It
encompasses the concept,
content and practice of
democracy. Democracy has
immense intrinsic value, in
and of itself, because it is the
only means to ensure
collective choice. It is not an
unattainable utopia. It has
tremendous instrumental
value in promoting inclusive
development, freedom,
progress, human welfare
and tremendous capability
for arbitration between
conflicting interests and for
ushering in a just society.
Therefore, how democracy
flourishes is key to human
development and civilization.
This article is a brief
reflection on the
contemporary context of
democracy and the
dissatisfaction and
discontent that one observes
in its conceptualization as
well as its working.
We can certainly say that the era of
kings and land-owning feudal class
ended by the 20th
century.
Can we then say
that the era of democracy
has dawned?
We cannot.
Quite often we are reminded
of the direct democracy of
Athens. But looking back we know
that the Athenian democracy
which kept out women and slaves,
was more a patriarchal and
elitistic governance system.
Democracy in the 21st
century is an
engaging and vital issue. Its discontent is
important because its blossoming is
crucial for the creation of a better world.
We are witnesses to Arab
Spring, Pink-Tide (Latin America),
the Occupy Wall Street protests,
the Hong Kong protests and so
on, but they are no more than
green shoots and do not show
sustainable democracy devoid of
the ills of capitalism.
Continued on Page 2 Col. 2 ..>>>
Alternatives to
Death-Bound Capitalism
Ulrich Duchrow
Continued on Page 3 Col. 1 ..>>>
Introduction
Imperial Capitalism
has conquered the globe
in its financialized
neoliberal form
since the late 1970s.
Why is itWhy is itWhy is itWhy is itWhy is it
death-bound?death-bound?death-bound?death-bound?death-bound?
Briefly summarized
you can say:
- Structurally the whole
capitalist economy is driven
bytheonemotor:capitalmust
grow. Capital is not just
money. It is any asset,
measured in money, invested
to get out more than what
was invested – and not only
more, but maximum profit at
all costs, including social and
ecological devastation.
- This functional
mechanism stimulates the
desire to accumulate limitless
money and it is, at the same
time, made possible by the
desire to have more,
consume more and buy more.
We call it the interaction of
greed and greedy money1
.
The limitless structural
and human dynamic
leads to compulsory
growth.
This is why the capitalist
system is creating
the climate catastrophe,
the extermination of
species and
the poisoning of the earth.
When capital must grow
at all costs and without limits,
you have to increase
the material output
in production.
And you have to
increase consumption
in order to sell your products.
The results are visible
to everyone with open eyes.
2. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 2
Thought for the Fortnight
If the last four millennia had witnessed
the ascent of man the thinker,
we now seemed to be living through
the ascent of man the banker
– Niall Ferguson– Niall Ferguson– Niall Ferguson– Niall Ferguson– Niall Ferguson
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Intensifying Complexities of
the Global Context: Alliances:
Alternatives to Death-Bound Capitalism
Either transition to Socialism
or regression into Barbarism
Cosmic Christ:
The Hope of Humans and Cosmos
Kerala Is Secular
Contents
The New Media of Communication:
Prospects and Challenges
Urbanisation and Peoples’ Development:
Smart Cities – Are they safe and
sustainable for people at large?
The crisis in the Indian economy
Paupers, Yet Enriching All
Amos’ simple message
for a complex world
Christianity as
a Movement in Solidarity:
In Response to Ecological Crisis
“Amet-truth; met-death”
Where are we heading to?
See, hear, travel and
be radically transformed
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context
Democracy in the 21st
century is an engaging and vital issue. Its discontent is important because its blossoming is
crucial for the creation of a better world. We are witnesses to Arab Spring, Pink-Tide (Latin America),
the Occupy Wall Street protests, the Hong Kong protests and so on, but they are no more than green shoots
and do not show sustainable democracy devoid of the ills of capitalism.
Democracy and Its Discontents
Dr. M. A. Oommen is
Honorary Professor
at the Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram
M. A. Oommen
Many people throughout the
world equate democracy with
balloting and periodic elections.
Not only the political class, even
great scholars like Samuel
Huntington and Joseph
Schumpeter subscribe to this
view. This indeed is a
reductionist approach and
ignores the tremendous
instrumental potential of
democracy in transforming the
world in which we live, without
compromising on human
dignity.
Sadly, this potential is largely
ignored or by-passed. True there
are conspicuous exceptions like
the Scandinavian countries
which promote social
democracy, to which we may
come back later.
Democracy is not merely
overthrowing arbitrary power or
fighting state terrorism and so
on. This is a negative approach.
Of course these movements and
protests are a great force in
changing aggressive
governments and putting
pressures for better governance.
But that is not the right way to
herald durable and well-
functioning democracy. While
we underscore strongly the fact
that democracy cannot exist
without freedom of political
choice, realizing the full potential
of democracy is an altogether
different kettle of fish.
The Occupy Wall Street
Movement, in September 2011,
which raised the pertinent
slogan ‘a government of 1% by
the 1% for the 1%’ which
characterized United States of
America was a great eye opener.
Democracy has lost its relevance
and sense of fairness. But
Americans later voted Donald
Trump to power who belonged
to this minority and unduly
favoured this minority through a
plethora of tax concessions and
hand-outs. That Michael
Bloomberg, a media baron with
a net worth of about $55 billion
(far richer than Donald Trump)
announced his candidature on
December 1, 2019 as a potential
Democratic Party candidate,
shows that plutocracy is well
entrenched in USA. When
Joseph Stiglitz tells us (see his
well-argued book ‘The Price of
Inequality’) that the top 1% of the
Americans gained 93% of the
additional income created in the
country in 2010 as compared with
2009 (and now the situation by
all counts might have worsened),
a relevant question is: what sort
of democracy is the superpower
Contd. Page 14 Col. 1 ..>>>
Some Burning Issues of
Indian Economy Today
The image of God
9 16
Contents
Indian Christian Women’s Movement
At the threshold of
the third decade of the century
The last century ended with a lot of hopes and promises for
the next century. The end of the Cold War, demise of the
communist governments in Europe, introduction of neoliberal
economic policy across the world, progress of information,
communication and nano technologies and Artificial Intelligence
machines raised great hopes of better, more prosperous and
peaceful life, for all across the globe, in the new century. But,
when we enter the third decade of the century, we find an
alarmingly complex global situation.
In politics, the fall of Communist regimes, instead of
strengthening democracy has only weakened it. The political
parties, generally, are only making lip service to democracy and
have caste away ideals and worthy ideologies.And voters across
the world have conveniently shifted towards populist leaders
who, by and large, uphold fascist policies. The practice of
politics, based on the opportunism of some leaders, and not
on any great ideology is a grave threat to humanity. After the
bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, we hoped that
fascism would not raise its heads again. But, today, the spectre
of fascism looms large across the world; not only in politics, but
also in the fields of education, culture and religion. Whereas
during the pre-1945 period only a few political leaders were
fascists, today, unfortunately people, in general in all areas of
life, are switching over to fascist mindsets.
At the dawn of the century, there was a hope among the
people that neo-liberal economic policy would make their life
more comfortable and secure. But, the neo-economic policy
during the two decades have turned more people shockingly
poor, jobless, homeless and indebted, than ever before. And
widened inequality in the distribution of income and wealth
within each country and across the world more than ever before
in history. Apart from this, during the last two decades,
unbelievably, the indebtedness of nations reached
unmanageable levels and countries like Portugal, Iceland, Italy,
Greece and Spain became bankrupt. In fact, the bankruptcy of
governments created a situation of the IMF-World Bank-
European Monetary Authority-the trio, appointing the Prime
Ministers of Italy and Greece, bypassing the democratic process.
It is true that in the past two decades there is some economic
development in many places. But, the means and strategies
adopted to achieve this also aggravated ecological imbalance
and scarcity of water and pure air - the two sources of life provided
by God freely, to sustain the life of all. Although, private
appropriation of water is a crime against humanity and an
encroachment on the domain of God, this issue is not taken up
as a human rights violation and an attack on the authority of
God. Although, religions are very vigilant in influencing the
governments in so many issues, they conveniently allow this
attack on the life of the people and the Will of God. The
unprecedented increase in the flow of migrant workers and
refugees in each country, and across the world, and the rise in
the level of crime are the other impacts of the drive for more
development! The volume of solid and liquid wastes being
created as the by-product of development every minute makes
the earth uninhabitable.
Although all these problems raise severe threat to the
existence of humanity, even the learned people fail to understand
adequately that the type of development we embrace is violence-
ridden. The fall of religions, and the Churches that are expected
to enlighten the people on these issues, is the biggest calamity
we face. In fact, the religions, and the Churches that teach their
followers to hate the other, on the one side, and that are mired
in undemocratic and corrupt practices that beat even the Church
in the Dark Ages, to increase accumulation of wealth on the
other, are highly disappointing. The religious, political and
humanitarian institutions and agencies have to begin a deep,
sincere self-examination and renewal. And there is the need of
a new dawn.
>>> Contd. from Page 1 Col. 1
Life Giving Agricultural Centre
Life Time Achievement Award - 2019
to Dr. Bennet Benjamin
P. N. Benjamin passes away
3. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 3
Alternatives to Death-Bound Capitalism
Dr. Ulrich Duchrow is
Professor of Systematic Theology at
the University of Heidelberg, Germany
Ulrich Duchrow
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context
Solidarity
Vs Competing Individuals
What is the role of alliancesthe role of alliancesthe role of alliancesthe role of alliancesthe role of alliances
in this situation?
It is crucial at various levels.
At the fundamental level the
status quo is characterized by the
fact that capitalism is building on
the individual homo
oeconomicus competing with
other individuals for more power,
wealth and reputation.2
Since the end of the 19th century, corporations
have been regarded as legal persons. At first glance, they may seem
to be ready for alliances, “strategic alliances”. But these are meant to
kill or to devour other competing companies, not to work with them.
The capitalist economy is ‘disembedded’ from the social life of
people.3
Modernity is built on Platonic and Aristotelian assumptions.
Modernity is understood in the sense that behind the phenomena we
have ideas in the form of mathematical structures, (Plato). It
understood Aristotle as saying that everything is a substance in itself
and only secondarily relates to other substances or, in the case of
persons, individuals. According to Descartes, therefore, the I as an
individual faces various objects. These are the fundamental concepts
of modern science and technology, including capitalist political
economy and anthropology.
By contrast, all alternatives to capitalism build on person-in-
community and other concepts privileging constructive and life-
enhancing alliances. As a matter of fact, we are currently
experiencing a deep paradigm shift from mechanistic modernity
to relational cultures of life. Meanwhile, in most sciences you find
progressive minorities putting relations first, as the primary reality –
moving more towards Buddhist and Daoist philosophy4
, starting with
the assumption that everything relates to everything. Brain research
shows that human beings have an inborn tendency towards empathy
through their “mirror neurons” and also towards cooperation.5
Relational psychology proves that humans become subjects, selves,
through inter-subjectivity.6
Biology is the science of life itself. Here, we
have the most dramatic rethinking of the wholeness of the web of life.
We can learn from researchers like Margulis and David Korten, who
use their insights for designing a post-capitalist economy.
At the fundamental level the status quo is characterized by the fact
that capitalism is building on the individual homo oeconomicus competing
with other individuals for more power, wealth and reputation. Since the end
of the 19th century, corporations have been regarded as legal persons.
At first glance, they may seem to be ready for alliances,
“strategic alliances”. But these are meant to kill
or to devour other competing companies, not to work with them.
The capitalist economy is ‘disembedded’ from the social life of people.
– Courtesy:
Soical Justice,
Aug/Sept 2019, Sri Lanka –
Alliances:
>>> Contd. from Page 1 Col. 3
There are Alternatives
Relating these basic
methodological shifts to the
concrete political economy and
strategies of transformation,
Kairos Europa, the organization
I work with, has developed what
is called the double strategy. It
was developed in the European
Kairos Document (1998): “Fora
socially just, life-sustaining and
democraticEurope–Acalltofaith
communities, trade-unions and
all movements and individuals
that are working for social,
political and economic change,
to build coalitions to work for the
liberation of society from the
stranglehold of the deregulated
globalised economy and its
competitiveculture”.8
The double
strategy means: There are two
components in the
transformation of death-dealing
capitalism into a life-enhancing
economy:
(1) Cooperating at local and
regional levels in post-capitalist
concrete ways.
(2) Building alliances of
these cells and different
sectors of society to intervene
in the economic and political
macro-structures towards
change.
References:
1 Cf. DUCHROW, Ulrich/
Hinkelammert, Franz: Transcending
Greedy Money: Interreligious
Solidarity for Just Relations. New
York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012.
2 In classical form developed by
the English philosopher Thomas
Hobbes in the 17th century. Cf.
DUCHROW, Ulrich / Hinkelammert,
Franz J.: Property for People, Not for
Profit: Alternatives to the Global
Tyranny of Capital. London and
Geneva: Zed Books in association
with the Catholic Institute for
InternationalRelationsandtheWorld
Council of Churches, 2004, chap. 2.
3 See POLANYI, Karl: The great
transformation. New York [u.a.]:
Rinehart, 1944.
4 In Germany the Buddhist
philosopher and economist Karl-
Heinz Brodbeck has extensively
written about this, especially in Die
Herrschaft des Geldes. Geschichte
und Systematik. Darmstadt:
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft,
(2009) 2012; cf. BRODBECK, Karl-
Heinz: The Rule of Money, Summary
by Peter Johnson. - 8 Sept 2009
(https://www.opendemocracy.net/
en/die-herrschaft-des-geldes-the-
rule-of-money/). The Brazilian
theologian Leonardo Boff and the US
physicist Mark D. Hathaway bring
together many sciences in the same
perspective:Cf. The TaoofLiberation:
Exploring the Ecology of
Transformation.Maryknoll,N.Y.:Orbis
Books, 2009.
5 Cf. DAMASIO, Antonio:
Descartes‘ Error: Emotion, Reason
and the Human Brain. New York:
Vintage, 2006, and also BAUER,
Joachim: Prinzip Menschlichkeit:
Warum wir von Natur aus
kooperieren. München: Heyne, 2008.
6 Cf. WINNICOTT,DonaldW.:Ego
Distortion in Terms of True and False
Self. In: id. (Hrsg.): The Maturational
Process and the Facilitating
Environment. London : 1965.
7 Cf. MARGULIS, Lynn/Sagan,
Dorion: What is Life?: The Eternal
Enigma. London: Weidenfeld &
Nicolson, 1995; MARGULIS, Lynn:
Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at
Evolution. New York: Basic Books,
1999; KORTEN, David: The Post-
Corporate World: Life after
Capitalism. West Hartford, CT/San
Francisco, CA: Kumarian Press/
Berret-Koehler, 2000; KORTEN,
David:TheGreatTurning:FromEmpire
to Earth Community. West Hartford,
CT:Berrett-KoehlerPublishers,2006.
8 See http://kairoseuropa.de/wp-
content/uploads/2015/10/Kairosdok-
eng.doc.
Wish YouAll
A Blessed New Year 2020
The Rt. Rev. Dr. A. C. Solomon Raju
Bishop in Medak
Mrs. A. C. Vajra Santhosha Kumari
President,
Diocesan Women’s Fellowship
Rev. K. A. Charles Wesley
Ministerial Secretary
Rev. Dr. U. Daniel
Treasurer
Rev. Dr. T. Bhaskar
Vice- Chairman
Mr. D. David
Lay Secretary
Mr. B.J. Deenadayal
Registrar
CSI Diocese of Medak
4. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 4
Vibhuti Patel
Dr. Vibhuti Patel is Professor
at the Advanced Centre for
Women’s Studies, School of
Development Studies, Tata Institute of
Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai
Either transition to Socialism
or regression into Barbarism
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context
In this year of the death centenary of Rosa Luxemburg, I would like to quote
her prophetic and most suitable statement, “Bourgeois society stands at
the crossroads, either transition to Socialism or regression into Barbarism.”
Market fundamentalism of
neo-liberal economic
globalisation, religious
chauvinism and cultural
nationalism, financialisation of
the world economy, right wing
sectarian political leadership
both locally and globally,
valorisation of toxic patriarchy
and hyper masculinity with
hyper nationalism and jingoism
by globally controlled media
barons have intensified
complexities in governance,
polity, livelihood and survival
struggles in the midst of
climate change, for the mass of
rural and urban workers,
peasants, forest dwellers/
tribals, fisher folks, petty
traders, small scale
industrialists, sexual minorities
and women.
Predatory Role
of Financial Capital:
Global financial networks of
global economic oligarchies are
pressurising the developing
countries to surrender their
economic sovereignty for the
super profits of Transnational
corporations and Multinational
corporations controlled by
predatory capitalism. Financial
liberalisation has greatly eroded
regulatory structures and
mechanisms resulting in the
nexus of financial capital and
politicians robbing citizens of
their savings, earnings, assets
and basic survival needs.
Financial scams by nationalised
banks, Non-Banking Financial
Companies, Cooperative Banks
and Chit Fund Societies have
become an order of the day. On
the one hand, when farmers are
committing suicides due to their
inability to pay debt, billionaires
are roaming around in their
luxuries even after being caught
for financial scams. The super-
rich have impunity for their
economic crimes as entire
criminal justice system
subserves their interest.
New International
Division of Labour
Multinational corporations
have long realised that the best
way to reduce the wage bill and
to enhance profits is to move
parts of the production process
to poorer countries like India, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Thailand. The
cheap labour of Asian women is
regarded as the most lucrative
way to enhance profits. Women
in developing countries are a
‘flexible’ labour force. Their
cheaper labour forms the basis
for the induction of women into
export industries such as
electronics, garments, sports-
goods, food processing, toys,
agro-industries. Women are
forced to work uncomplainingly
at any allotted task, however dull,
laborious, physically harmful or
badly paid it may be. A large
number of poor women looking
for work within the narrow
confines of a socially imposed,
inequitable demand for labour
have become ideal workers in the
international division of labour.
Globalisation is riding on the
back of millions of poor women
and child workers in the
margins of the economy.
The relationship between the
formal sector and the
decentralised sector is a
dependent relationship. The
formal sector has control over
capital and markets, and the
‘informal’ sector works as an
ancillary. In India, more than 90%
of women work in the
decentralised sector, which has
a high degree of labour
redundancy and obsolescence.
These women have almost no
control over their work and no
chance for upward mobility
because of the temporary and
repetitive nature of the work.
The shift from a stable/
organised labour force to a
flexible workforce has meant
hiring women part-time, and the
substitution of better-paid male
labour by cheap female labour.
The new economic policies
provide State support to
corporate houses that are
closing down their big city units
and using ancillaries that
employ women and girls on a
piece-rate basis. Home-based
work by women and girls gets
legitimised in the context of
increasing insecurity in the
community due to a growth in
crime, riots, displacement and
relocation. Sub-contracting,
home-based production, the
family labour system, all have
become the norm. This is being
called an increase in ‘efficiency’
and ‘productivity’. The casual
employment of urban working
class women in the
manufacturing industry (textiles
is a glaring example) has forced
thousands of women to eke out
a subsistence through parallel
petty trading activities (known as
‘informal’ sector occupations).
Working Class-Context
very precarious
Globalization, aided by
significant changes in
transportation and technology,
has meant wider and even
deeper production networks and
markets. These have aided
changes in the “geography of
production”, new globalisation
triangles have emerged
throughout Asia where financial
hubs reign supreme while
suppliers of cheap labour and
raw materials are impoverished.
Competition has redefined
product market context and
necessitated reorganization of
labour market transactions and
regulations. Given the interface
between product market and
labour market, the employers
supported by global financial
institutions and some
academics have managed
liberalization of industrial
relations systems and labour
market such as decentralization
of collective bargaining,
liberalization of inspection
system, anti-worker labour
codes that allow employers
freedom to lay off and retrench
workers and close down
industrial undertakings (without
prior permission), free
employing of contract labour,
dormitory labour system, putting
out system, anciliarisation and
subcontracting. Feminisation of
labour in SEZ, FTZ and EPZ is
promoted by the state
governments. Tamiladu’s
Sumangali scheme and Tirupur
model of production for global
market have used dormitory
labour system in which young
unmarried women are made to
sign contract for 3 years to work
at SEZ at less than minimum
wages and stay at the
dormitories provided by the
employers. Government of
Haryana promoted similar
scheme named ‘Sabala’ where
adolescent girls are inducted
into manufacturing sector as
cheap and easily controllable
labour. To meet the production
targets, employers intensify
production violating labour
standards and occupational
health and safety measures.
Ecological Crisis
Unfortunately, for capital, the
restructuring undertaken to
manage the crisis that emerged
in the 2008, has further
deepened the crisis. The
accumulation process has
brought about serious
environmental challenges for the
sustenance of human civilization.
It has brought about
unemployment, impoverishment
and concentration of wealth of
such magnitude that civil
societies are being torn apart
with rampant corruption,
increased crimes, and mindless
ethnic or religious conflicts. Most
important, the financial
dynamism which overshadowed
everything else in the recent past
has reached a chaotic stage. The
world financial structure and the
production structure are now far
more closely knit than during the
1930’s, and therefore the threat
of a breakdown looms larger.
Social Anarchy and
Choice
before the Humanity:
Socialism or Barbarism?
Increasing economic
inequality has resulted in social
anarchy that manifests itself in
the form of Racial attacks,
xenophobia, communal conflicts,
ethnic cleansing, arbitrary
killings, more intensified
violence against women in their
private life and in public,
trafficking of human persons and
war mongering. In this year of
death centenary of Rosa
Luxemburg, I would like to quote
her prophetic and most suitable
statement, “Bourgeois society
stands at the crossroads,
either transition to Socialism or
regression into Barbarism.”
Rays of Hope
People’s movements
demanding democratic and
participatory governance and
polity, that ensure social justice,
distributive justice and gender
justice and solidarity of the
marginalised across inter-
sectionality, with faith thatAnother
World is Possible, keep our
morale going in these difficult
times.Young girls fighting for their
right to education in Africa and
South Asia, youth fighting against
autocrats in the middle east,
people in the industrialised
countries fighting for job security,
women fighting for dignity and
safety at the workplace provide
rays of hope in the midst of
civilizational crisis.
Efforts must be intensified
to strengthen the global
solidarity movement—united in
its determination to fight
against the concentration and
centralisation of wealth in the
hands of a microscopic
minority, the destruction of our
earth due to capitalist greed,
consumerism and hedonism,
and the proliferation of poverty
due to anti- people policies and
inequalities based on class,
caste, race, religion, ethnicity
and gender.
We must think and actWe must think and actWe must think and actWe must think and actWe must think and act
locally and globallylocally and globallylocally and globallylocally and globallylocally and globally.....
JAYARAJ ANNAPACKIAM CSI POLYTECHNIC
MARGHOSHIS NAGAR, NAZARETH - 628 617
Ph.No: 04639-277117 Fax: 04639-278118
******************************************************
JAYARAJ ANNAPACKIAM CSI
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
MARGHOSHIS NAGAR, NAZARETH - 628 617
Ph.No: 04639-279906 Fax: 04639-279905
WITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROM
5. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 5
Cosmic Christ:
The Hope of Humans and Cosmos
The Rt. Rev. Dr. P. J. Lawrence,
former Bishop in the Diocese of
Nandyal of the Church of South India is
presently the Director of the Centre
for Theological Leadership Training
(CTLT), Cayman Islands
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context
P. J. Lawrence
Human spirit has survived
through unbearable hardships
and most painful struggles
throughout the history of
humanity. A few individuals and
families with control over
institutions of power ruled over
common people through
oppression, and trampling their
humanity. Natural resources
were plundered with no
consideration for future
generations. This process is
continuous and ongoing in the
name of royal heritage or political
elite. Ultimately, what we witness
is loss of all moral and ethical
values and having consideration
only to selfish greed of very few
individuals and institutions.
Globalization, scientific and
technological advancements,
artificial intelligence etc., are at
the service of this post modern
Empire builders, eroding the
whole of cosmos.
The resisting politics of
Jesus, the Cosmic Christ who
lived and witnessed at the height
of one such empire, the great
Roman Empire, is the living
example of Hope for all
generations. Especially, in the
context of the present day empire-
a nexus of Industrial and military
production, pharmaceuticals,
banking and insurance
businesses, and natural
resources like oils, minerals and
precious stones.
Jesus, the Christ, came as
the Saviour, hope of humanity
and cosmos:
“The spirit of the Lord is up
on me, because he has anointed
me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind. To
set the oppressed free. To
proclaim the favorable year of the
Lord.” Luke 4:18 and 19
The favorable year of the Lord
according to Leviticus 25:10 “So
you are to concentrate the fiftieth
year and proclaim liberty to the
land for all its inhabitants. It shall
be your jubilee, when each of you
shall return to your property and
to his clan.” Implications of
jubilee year is also in the
cancellation of all debts. To live a
debt free lives.
The Gospel of Jesus is the
Gospel of Love, Light and Liberty.
Jesus demonstrated that he
cared for people with an infinite
care and loved them with
everlasting infinite love.
Jesus’ message has striking
notes of courage, hope and faith.
He sought to inspire every one
with new hopes, telling the
possibilities of goodness and
perfections. He summons as to
a life of purity, unselfishness and
faith. In his tone there is
boldness, conviction and
hopefulness that was itself a
victory.
Jesus’ Gospel was a Gospel
of light. He was a Light-bringer.
Jesus himself had a wonderful
power of vision. His eyes were
divinely bright for they carried their
own light. He had the forward-
looking eye. And he had the eye
that looked within and saw the
heart and soul of things. Jesus
was the true light that enlightens
everyone. Jesus gives sight by
renewing and regenerating life by
creating a new a clean heart
within us.
The gospel of Jesus was a
Gospel of Liberty. This liberty is
both amnesty and
enfranchisement. One offers
freedom to the captives and the
other offers freedom to the
slaves, while together they form
an act of emancipation for
humanity, giving the poorest, the
freedom of God’s world.
Jesus Christ also embodies
the prophetic vision of cosmic
harmony as in Isiah 11:1-9
“A shoot will come up from the
stump of Jesse;
From his roots a branch will
bear fruit.
The spirit of the Lord will rest
on him-
The spirit of wisdom and
understanding,
The spirit of counsel and
might,
The spirit of knowledge and
the fear of the Lord-
And he will delight in the fear
of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he
sees and with his eyes,
Or decide by what he hears
with his ears;
But with righteousness he
will judge the needy,
With justice he will give
decisions for the poor of the
earth.
He will strike the earth with
the rod of his mouth;
With the breath of his lips he
will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his
belt
And faithfulness the sash
around his waist.
The wolf will live with the
lamb,
The leopard will lie down with
goat,
The calf and the lion and the
yearling together;
A little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the
bear,
Their young will lie down
together,
The lion will eat straw like the
ox.
The infant will play near
cobra’s den,
And the young child will put
his hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor
destroy
On all my holy mountain,
For the earth will be filled with
knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea”
This passage allows us to
celebrate Jesus’s ministry in the
past and especially in the
present. The text also urges us
to the place of intercession,
where we long for creation’s
promised destiny, as a place
where peace, justice and grace
have the final word.
Paul’s letter to Colossians
1:15-17 is the supreme summary
of Cosmic Christ;
“The Son is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over
all creation. For in him all things
were created: things in heaven
and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or
powers or rulers or authorities;
all things have been created
through him and for him. He is
before all things , and in him all
things hold together.”
God created all things
through Christ, and he is
reconciling those same things to
himself through Christ.
As James Dunn puts it:
“What is claimed here is quite
simply and profoundly that the
Devine purpose in the act of
reconciliation and peacemaking
was to restore the harmony of the
original creation.....resolving the
disharmonies of nature and the
inhumanities of human kind, that
the character of God’s creation
and God’s concern for the
universe in its fullest expression
could be so caught and
encapsulated for them in the
cross of Christ”
We are reminded that God
who works, completed God’s
creative and receptive work on
earth.
God invites us to work along
side God here and now.
The Gospel of Jesus is the Gospel of Love, Light and Liberty.
Jesus demonstrated that he cared for people with an infinite care
and loved them with everlasting, infinite love.
Jesus’ message has striking notes of courage, hope and faith. He sought to
inspire every one with new hopes, telling the possibilities of goodness and
perfections. He summons us to a life of purity, unselfishness and faith. In his
tone there is boldness, conviction and hopefulness that was itself a victory.
6. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 6
Six women, members of the
Indian Young Lawyers’
Association, petitioned the
Supreme Court of India in 2006
to lift the ban against women
entering the Sabarimala
temple. They argued that the
present practice of not allowing
women between 10-50 years
was a violation of their rights.
The Supreme Court on 28
September 2018 ruled that “We
have no hesitation in saying that
such an exclusionary practice
violates the right of women to visit
and enter a temple to freely
practise Hindu religion and to
exhibit her devotion towards Lord
Ayyappa. The denial of this right
to women significantly denudes
them of their right to worship”.
Since then Kerala has been
witnessing highly disturbing
incidents in the name of women,
their temple entry, religion, caste,
etc. Has Kerala changed? Put it
differently can religion be
politicized in the State of Kerala?
When Swami Vivekananda
reached Thiruvananthapuram on
13 December 1892 and spent
time with the royal family, it was
an unplanned visit and, above
all, for him personally, that journey
through Kerala was shocking.
Swami’s original plan was to visit
Mysore, and then Madras, and
end his tour of India in
Rameswaram.
Who was responsible for
changing Swami Vivekananda’s
original travel plan? Dr. Palpu, a
medical practitioner in
Bangalore who had a degree
from Madras and who had
studied in Europe. He was not
allowed to take up medical
profession in Kerala because he
belonged to the ‘untouchable’
caste - Ezhava. In Bangalore
Dr. Palpu got an opportunity to
meet the Swami and explain to
him the prevalence of horrific
caste system and untouchability
in his State. On the request of
Dr. Palpu, Swami cancelled his
travel to Rameswaram and went
to Kanyakumari travelling by train,
bullock cart and boat from north
to south of Kerala. While in
Trichur he was very eager to visit
the Kodungallur temple. Even
after waiting for three days,
Swami Vivekananda was not
allowed to visit the temple
mainly because his caste was
not clear to the temple
authorities as he was from
another State. Observing the
dehumanizing caste system in
Kerala, when Swami
Vivekananda said, “Kerala is a
lunatic asylum, a mad house of
casteism”. It became a talking
point all over the world.
More than 125 years have
passed since the Swami visited
and felt the dehumanizing caste
system in Kerala. At that time the
living condition of the low castes
(the untouchables) was
inhuman, to say the least.
Over the years since 1892,
Kerala saw radical social change
because of two factors: one, the
Kerala people were exposed to
global society and two, education
became the primary drive for all.
Floodgates were opened when
Rani Parvathi Bayi declared on
17 June 1817 in Travancore that
all children must go to school
and the cost of their education
would be borne by the State. As
Amartya Sen puts it: “… the
totality of foreign exposures,
including Christian, Jewish and
Islamic elements, drawn from
the Arab world and the
Mediterranean, side by side with
indigenous Hindu, Jain and
Buddhist ancestry, must have
had its impact on this part of India.
Tolerant pluralism is itself an
educational influence, and by
opening the door to other people
and other cultures, a host society
remains alive to learning from
other traditions and other ways
of living, including the uses of
education and schooling
elsewhere”.
Kerala began to feel its
impact through Dr. Palpu, Sree
Narayana Guru, Chattampi
Swamikal, Ayyankali, Mannathu
Padmanabha Pillai and many
others from all castes and
religions.
The radical changes towards
the secular ethos were evident
when Sree Narayana Guru said:
“one caste, one religion, one God
for all”. Then no one attacked
him; on the contrary, he became
a hero. His ideas led to the Kerala
people travelling all over the
country and beyond; growth of
radical writings, cultural
developments like theatre,
cinema and so on followed. The
novels, stories and writings of
thinkers led all Malayalees to
become a debating,
argumentative community. No
one was a victim of radical
thinking.
When Vayalar Ramavarma
wrote the Malayalam song,
meaning “Man created the
religions, Religions created the
Gods; and man, religions and
Gods together shared the land,
they shared the mind”, he was
not attacked by anyone; instead
he became a well known poet.
K. J. Yesudas sang this song for
the film Achanum Bappayum in
1972, which reverberated across
the streets and corridors of
Kerala.
All these happen because of
deep community bonding in
Kerala, which began centuries
ago. This community bonding
leads to secularization. That is,
Kerala is not in the iron frame of
a religious or caste ‘community’.
The secular identity is very strong
in Kerala; the people hold hands
with every one; for them, there is
no religion, caste, or gender
distinction. That is why when an
IAS officer K. Jayakumar said
Kerala is ‘God’s own country’
everyone took it with a smile.
Thus Kerala has been
transformed over the years as an
iconic State for secularism and
socialism.
Two events, which happened
since 1980, are acid tests of
secular Kerala.
First, there was a serious
conflict between Hindus and
Christians over Nilackal, where
according to Christian tradition,
St. Thomas, disciple of Jesus,
built a church in the first century.
There a cross was said to be
found and soon disappeared. It
sparked off a serious communal
tension in March 1983. There
was a war cry from a section of
Hindu organizations to save the
Nilackal temple and church
leaders wanted to save Nilackal
for Christians. It went to the extent
of some predicting that the cross
found and lost at Nilackal would
become the crucifixion of
Kerala’s communal harmony. But
there was no violence; not a drop
of blood was shed and after eight
months the social fabric of Kerala
regained in its original texture; the
fundamentalists, who wanted to
fan communalism, failed. They
were ridiculed by the secular
stream.
The second was the 1987
elections to the Kerala Assembly
when B. J. P. - Hindu Munnani
(Front) claimed that
communalism had come in a big
way in the State. They contested
122 seats out of 138 throughout
the State with the support of a
section of resourceful upper
caste Hindus.
But the Left Democratic Front,
led by the CPI (M) and its leader
EMS Namboodiripad had a
different view: the LDF preferred
to sit in the Opposition rather than
aligning with politics of
communalism. EMS’ question
was: “The Left Democratic Front
makes the people of different
castes and religions human.
Which is the need of Kerala?”
The Kerala people elected the
Left Democratic Front and the
BJP –Hindu Munnani could not
win even a single seat.
Swapan Das Gupta writing
about the Kerala electioneering
in the Statesman (18.3.1987)
stated “Kerala despite being
hotbed of communal politics is
remarkably tolerant and devoid
of communalism. The gulf
between politics and social
relations is striking”.
Kerala finds itself at a critical
juncture. God’s own country
can’t afford to fail. Kerala will
assert its unique identity.
Secularism is Kerala’s manifest
destiny. This was evident from
the Vanitha Mathil (women’s
wall) formed on 1 January 2019
across the Indian state
of Kerala to uphold gender
equality and protest against
gender discrimination. The wall
was formed solely by women
and extended for a distance of
around 620 kilometres (390
miles) from Kasargod to
Thiruvanathapuram. Around
three to five million women
participated in the event on their
own. Witnessing it was an
exciting experience for me.
(Based on the article by the(Based on the article by the(Based on the article by the(Based on the article by the(Based on the article by the
author on “God’s ownauthor on “God’s ownauthor on “God’s ownauthor on “God’s ownauthor on “God’s own
Challenge” published inChallenge” published inChallenge” published inChallenge” published inChallenge” published in
The Indian Express.)The Indian Express.)The Indian Express.)The Indian Express.)The Indian Express.)
Kerala Is Secular
Dr. George Mathew is
the Chairman of
the Institute of Social Sciences,
New Delhi
God’s Own Challenge?
George Mathew
“The totality of foreign exposures, including Christian, Jewish and Islamic
elements, drawn from the Arab world and the Mediterranean, side by side
with indigenous Hindu, Jain and Buddhist ancestry, must have had its
impact on this part of India. Tolerant pluralism is itself an educational
influence, and by opening the door to other people and other cultures, a
host society remains alive to learning from other traditions and other ways
of living, including the uses of education and schooling elsewhere”.
With Fraternal Greetings from
Centre for Rural Health and Social Education &
Human Resources Development Centre
A collective of community development practitioners
CRHSE’s Mission
To promote a self-supporting health system among rural and tribal people through education
and training, and that which is simple, inexpensive and appropriate to the needs of the
communities; to directly empower the most disadvantaged groups, particularly women; and
to participate in programmes promoting a secular and democratic society in India.
CRHSE’s Concerns
Community Health; Community Development; Siddha Medicine; Micro Financial Initiatives;
Self Help Groups; Youth Welfare; Legal Awareness; Environmental Awareness; AIDS Awareness;
Coastal Communities Development; Human Resources Development ; Community Colleges.
Address :
Dr. Bennet Benjamin, Director
Centre for Rural Health and Social Education
215/216, Kottaiyur Road, Yelagiri Hills – 635 853
Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, INDIA
Telefax : + 91 4179 245339, Tel: + 91 4179 245235
E-mail: crhse@rediffmail.com; bennetben44@gmail.com
7. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 7
Prospects and Challenges
Rev. Dr. Samuel Meshack is
Pro-Chancellor of
Martin Luther Christian University,
Shillong, Meghalaya
“In questions of mind, there“In questions of mind, there“In questions of mind, there“In questions of mind, there“In questions of mind, there
is no medium-term: either weis no medium-term: either weis no medium-term: either weis no medium-term: either weis no medium-term: either we
look for the best, or we live withlook for the best, or we live withlook for the best, or we live withlook for the best, or we live withlook for the best, or we live with
the worst.” John Gardnerthe worst.” John Gardnerthe worst.” John Gardnerthe worst.” John Gardnerthe worst.” John Gardner
Imagine a university without
buildings or classrooms or even
a library. Imagine a university ten
thousand miles away from its
students. Imagine a university
without academic departments,
without required courses or
major or grades. Imagine a
college open 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a
year. Imagine a college
proposing a bachelor’s degree
in individualised studies or
Interdisciplinary studies, with a
catalogue of more than 4,000
different courses. Imagine a
degree valid only for five years
after graduation. Imagine a
higher education system where
institutions are ranked not by the
quality of their teachers, but by the
intensity of electronic wiring and
the degree of internet
connectivity. Imagine a socialist
nation which charges market-
rate tuition fees to obtain full cost
recovery in public higher
education. Are we entering the
realm of science fiction? Or are
these evocations of real-life
stories of revolution in the world
of higher education on the eve of
the twenty-first century? (LCSHD
paper series No.62)
This statement of Jamil Salmi
writing on “Tertiary Education in
the Twenty-First Century:
Challenges and Opportunities,
stated in the context of
transformation in higher
education from a global
scenario can very well connect
to the prospects and challenges
the New Media of
Communication is pushing on
the world of the future generation
in every sphere of life, be in
educational, social, economic,
cultural, spiritual or health or any
sphere of human existence.
What were seen in science
fictions are becoming a reality.
What is the secret of the rapidly
evolving world a What is likely to
happen to a society or a nation
or a church or educational
(secular/theological) system
which are not willing, or able, to
change?
We are crossing the first two
decades of the 21st
century and
witnessing very distinct
occurrences. The technological
revolution has made us redefine
the meaning of communication.
By renegotiating the meaning of
communication, we have also
successfully re-named our own
identity with a global culture,
which suggests an increasingly
global scope of political,
economic, social, cultural and
religious activities. Therefore, to
identify future issues concerning
human existence, one must
accept a symbiotic relationship
between communication and
globalisation, realising that one
is symptomatic of the other.
Marshall McLuhan, in his
book, The Gutenberg Galaxy
(1962) described the end of the
events initiated by the invention
of the printing press as the end
of the “Gutenberg era”, indicating
that communication and
information technology affected
the cognitive organisation and
thus social organisation
(1962:41). Gutenberg culture
flowed into Google or yahoo
culture, which refers to the
digitised, globalised and
connected world and the
multitude of relational networks
enabled by social media. Sweet
(2011) says that the “Googlers
have rewritten the rules of forming
networks, connections, and
relationships. In the hands of
Googlers, technology has been
bent to the purposes of core
human longings: knowing, being
known, belonging,
perception.”Eric Harr (2012),
rightly observes that social
media is everywhere, pervading
every area of our lives…social
media has not changed one
thing, but it has changed
everything. As a self-directed
mass communication, social
media allows people to
communicate with each other
encompassing a broad range of
activities, platforms, and
technologies with the ability to
rapidly publish to the Web and to
communicate with an audience.
Social media allows us to create,
comment, converse, rate, review,
or publish. Hence, the role of
social media, as an agent of
change amounts to nothing less
than a social revolution.
Social media has brought an
exciting democratisation of
communication. The citizen’s
journalism or citizen’s media is
on the increase which provides
space for every voice to be heard,
exercising freedom of expression
and freedom of speech. It
provides a shorthand description
of everything from a blogger from
his/her mobile communication
system, which challenges the
mainstream media which tries to
set agenda for people to accept
what it says is truth, pushing
some agendas and squashing
others as Mc Combs M, Shaw D.
(1972) pointed out. The more
coverage a topic receives in the
news, the more likely it is to be a
concern of the public in gaining
attention or ignoring it.
On the contrary, the new
media provided space for people
to gain attention to enable people
to seek out and find the news they
want versus the news they need.
It provides an opportunity for
churches and religious
organisations, civil society and
community groups of all kinds to
take responsibility to control their
messages, enabling citizens not
just consumers of the news and
information but to be creators and
publishers of news and stories.
We should come out of the
comfort zones that force us to slip
into a false sense of security, but
we must learn and teach our
young people to employ a critical
eye to question things as never
before. Two generations ago,
there were many mainstream
media owners; today, there is a
mere handful.
The new media of
communication paved the way
for fast-paced innovation, and
expansion of knowledge or
transitioning into a new age
called the Age of Knowledge,
which a few scholars call a
‘conceptual age’. The stone age
was transformed to agrarian age
and the agrarian to the industrial
The New Media of Communication:
Samuel Meshack
We are crossing the first two decades of the 21st
century and witnessing
very distinct occurrences. The technological revolution has made us
redefine the meaning of communication. By renegotiating the meaning of
communication, we have also successfully re-named our own identity with
a global culture, which suggests an increasingly global scope of political,
economic, social, cultural and religious activities. Therefore, to identify
future issues concerning human existence, one must accept a symbiotic
relationship between communication and globalisation,
realising that one is symptomatic of the other.
and the industrial to information,
and now the information age has
given way to the age of
knowledge or a conceptual age.
It must enable future citizens to
cope with the pressures that it
causes and the needs it creates.
They highlight two critical issues:
1) What are the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills necessary for
success in this new age, and 2)
How should education be
transformed to address these
changes.
Sam Brinson (2015)
observes that Higher-order
Thinking and Creative Problem-
solving are the new in-demand
skills in the 21st century, which
rely on our ability to find meaning,
to see things that exist outside of
raw facts and numbers, to see
the beauty and identify meaning
in patterns and creatively use our
insights to solve problems that
cross a variety of different fields,
learning new systems, and
finding creatives way to apply this
knowledge.
There are a hug and cry
among elderly parents, teachers
and administrators that children
are spending an unlimited
amount of time on their devices,
and it is ruining their creativity.
Technology is becoming a
distraction for their education and
social and community life.
However, Lori Rice of Kaplan
University says that children and
young people are learning more
than we ever did, faster and better
and it is our fear and ignorance
that make us complain that the
children are not learning. She
says that we have to adapt to the
fact that this is how our younger
generation wants to learn and
they are going to be the smarter
generation.’ They are children of
the conceptual age or in the age
of knowledge and creativity, and
they are multi-taskers. Let us
help them to see a new meaning
of their life in this fast-changing
world. We have to help them
establish a new media model or
new media citizens charter with
the principle of democratisation
of communication to help many
voices in the globalised society
achieving societal agreement for
a better world.
In conclusion, in questions
of mind, there is no medium-
term: either we look for the best,
or we live with the worst. Let us
think about what we want to
offer to our children, looking for
a future in the conceptual age,
the age of Knowledge and
creativity that the new media of
communication is offering.
Recognized by National Council for Teacher Education
and Affiliated to Tamilnadu Teachers Education University
(Run By St. Stephen’s Educational Trust, Madurai)
St. Stephen’s College of Education for Women
Hosanna Mount, New Natham Road, Kadavur, Chatrapatti P.O., Madurai – 14, Tamilnadu.
Principal/Director: The Rev. Dr. Milton Jeganathan, <mjegenathan@yahoo.com>
Tel: 0452 – 3200135, Cell: 99439 80489, 9843050489, www.stephenscollegemdu.com
Vision and Mission
St. Stephen’s College of Education for Women is run by St. Stephen’s Educational Trust, Madurai – 7
with a great vision and commitment to impart value based teacher education and promote Professional
Ethics among teachers.
The motto of this institution is Devotion, Sacrifice and Excellence so that holistic development can be
provided to the students which can equip the students serve as catalysts for the Transformation of the society.
In the context of advanced technical and scientific developments etc, equipping women as well as girl
students particularly from rural areas is focused through imparting contextual, relevant and meaningful teacher
education programme with theoretical, practical and community based training and research that can contribute in
the context of Nation building today.
Infrastructural facilities
Very spacious library, the store house of knowledge, entertains and evokes enthusiasm among the students
with its vast collection of books.
A variety of journals are also within reach to assimilate and enhance awareness.
Various community oriented programmes and extra-curricular activities like Spoken English, ComputerApplications,
Life skill development, etc. are provided along with the regular course.
Internet facility is made available to students to keep abreast of the latest developments in all fields of study.
Well-equipped labs ensure 100% practical application of, what is studied in theory are provided. The vast play
ground in the College enables students to have a good physique. Various athletic events will be conducted for
aspiring sportswomen at Stephens. High quality cafeteria offers highly nutritional food at nominal rates. Hostel
accommodation will be provided. The college is having well organized transportation facilities to cater to the needs
of students from various locations. The college is situated at Hosanna Mount, New Natham Road, Kadavur, which
is 11Km from Madurai city. It is surrounded by natural beauty, aesthetic view and Eco-friendly atmosphere.
B.Ed. OPTIONAL SUBJECTS: Tamil; English; Maths; Physical Sciences; Biological Sciences; History; Economics;
Commerce; Computer Science; Social Science; Geography.
St. Stephen’s College
of Education for Women
8. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 8
Urbanisation and Peoples’ Development
Smart Cities – Are they safe and
sustainable for people at large?
Bennet Benjamin
Though people believe that development is essential and are happy that
some development happens in their city, they also have concern regarding
the type of development happening. The Smart City should be for the
people. The city should be inclusive and sustainable. Moreover, they look
for a Smart City and not a smart place in the city as a display piece.While
they demand the efficient and effective implementation of the plan by the
government, also equally emphasize the responsibility of the citizens to
participate in city development and maintain the facilities properly.
Nearly 31% people of India’s
current population live in urban
areas and contribute 63% of
India’s GDP(Census 2011). With
increasing urbanization, urban
areas are expected to house
40% of India’s population and
contribute75%ofIndia’sGDPby
2030. This requires
comprehensive development of
physical, institutional, social
and economic infrastructure.
Development of Smart Cities is
considered as a step in this
direction.
Though urbanization is linked
to economic factors and growth,
the emerging cities, especially in
Asia and Africa are confronted
with the challenge of
sustainability. Between 2014 and
2050, India is expected to add
404 million people to the existing
urban residents, which will be a
large addition to urban
population. Due to this growth in
urban population, the existing
socio-economic problems are
bound to reach alarming levels.
Further, the problem is
compounded by the fact that India
is vulnerable to a number of
Dr. Bennet Benjamin is
the Founder Director of
the Centre for Rural Health
and Social Education,
and the Human Resources
Development Centre,
Yelagiri, Tamilnadu
climate change impacts such as
uncertainties in rain patterns,
increasing sea level, extreme
cases of disasters.
In India, urban development
is impacted by policies and
decisions at the levels of the
Central Government (providing
policy-guidelines), the State
Government (providing policies)
and the Urban Local Bodies
(implementation of the policies)
such as municipalities and
corporations. Jawaharlal Urban
Renewal Mission (JURM) was
the first over-arching effort at the
Central Government level to
influence urban development
policies across the country. In
2015, SMART City Mission, which
aims to develop 100 Smart Cities
across the country, was
introduced as a flagship
programme. In the same year, the
global Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) were announced.
These SDGs lay out a 30-year
development trajectory for the
world through a framework of 17
goals and 269 targets. In this,
Goal 11 specifically relates to
‘making cities inclusive, safe,
sustainable and resilient’.
Therefore, it is important to
review the SMART cities of the
Government of India from
the SDG framework perspective
of making cities inclusive, safe,
sustainable and resilient. An
analysis done by some apex
NGOs under SDG 11 shows that
India in general is far away from
the core principles of
sustainability and that the Smart
Cities need to imbibe these
principles. A vision of
‘Sustainably Smart Cities’ on the
basis of the SDG 11 is imperative
for India, more than just SMART
cities. The role of citizens is key
in this effort, for the Central and
State Governments’ approach to
focus on being enablers of this
vision. This requires to align the
SMART city with SDG 11,
integrating the principles of
sustainability and inclusivity.
Specifically, concerns around
climate change resilience,
sustainability, and socio-
economic inclusivity should be at
the focus of SMART CITY
planning policies in India.
Are Smart Cities inclusive,
safe, and sustainable? Are they
really planned and implemented
considering the aspirations of the
citizens and with their
participation? Do Smart City
plans align with the SDG 11,
ensuring sustainability and
inclusiveness? These emerging
questions and associated
issues make it necessary to
validate the smart city project and
proposals from the peoples’
perspective and of the SDG
framework.
The overarching issues that
need to be addressed along the
enthusiastic promoting Smart
Cities are:
· Good and affordable
education
· Nature conservation –
protecting existing greeneries
· Sanitation and drainage –
in line with WHO standards
· Healthcare services –
available, accessible and
affordable
· People centric development
– notwithstanding the scourge of
slum clearance etc.
· Awareness among youth –
responsible use of amenities
etc.
· Proper implementation –
coordination by all departments.
· Safety of children –
travelling, movement, leisure
time activities
· Women friendly city –
placement of marketing at
convenient and proximal areas,
housing, water supply etc.
Though people believe that
development is essential and are
happy that some development
happens in their city, they also
have concern regarding the type
of development happening.The
Smart City should be for the
people. The city should be
inclusive and sustainable.
Moreover, they look for a Smart
City and not a smart place in the
city as a display piece.While they
demand the efficient and effective
implementation of the plan by the
government, also equally
emphasize the responsibility of
the citizens to participate in city
development and maintain the
facilities properly.
The Smart City Mission
Guidelines also propose the
same with an objective to
promote cities that provide better
infrastructure and a decent
quality of life to its citizens, a clean
and sustainable environment
and application of ‘Smart’
Solutions. With a focus on
sustainable and inclusive
development, it attempts to look
at compact areas for
development;create replicable
models for other cities to follow.
The primary purpose of the
Smart Cities Mission is to drive
economic growth and improve
the quality of life of people by
enabling local area development
and harnessing technology,
especially technology that leads
to smart outcomes. This
includes area-based
development to transform
existing areas into better planned
ones, thereby improving livability.
The pan city development
includes application of Smart
Solutions to improve
infrastructure and services.
Comprehensive development in
this way will improve quality of life,
create employment and enhance
incomes for all, especially the
poor and the disadvantaged,
leading to inclusive cities.
With respect to smart city
initiatives, it is important that
citizens are provided with the
information, data, and expert
opinions with diverse views for
engaging in meaningful
discussions around these
questions. A voice to the weaker
sections is essential to ensure
inclusive plans.
This is an ongoing and
evolving process and the
outcomes of this public
discourse would guide the
planning and implementation of
the Smart City projects to deliver
better on the desirable results
as envisaged in the Smart City
Mission and expected by the
citizens.
The learning,from the people
across the cross section of the
society, provides an opportunity
to contemplate mid-term
changes for those cities which
have already been initiated and
an SDG framework for those
which are in the process of
planning.
Why? Because all aspire for
an inclusive, safe, sustainable,
and resilient living place and
may be willing to work for such
a Smart City.
“To have a right to do a thing
is not at all the same as
to be right in doing it”
– G. K. Chesterton –
All Good Wishes
AWell Wisher
Kottayam
9. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 9
Some Burning Issues of
Indian Economy Today
Dr. V. Mathew Kurian is
the Joint Director of
Dr. K. N. Raj Centre of
Mahatma Gandhi University,
Kottayam, Kerala
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context:
V. Mathew Kurian
Introduction
It was with unbounded,
rising expectations that the
people of India participated in
the great nationalist movement.
Their hope was that the post-
independent India would be
economically prosperous and
socially just. Responding to the
aspirations of the people,
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first
Prime Minister of India, in his
historic ‘Tryst with Destiny’
speech said that the imminent
task of the Indian state was to
end poverty, ill health, illiteracy
and inequality in social and
economic areas.
Now the country has crossed
more than seven decades of
freedom. But the original
commitments made by the
Indian state to the vast masses
of people remain unfulfilled.
Further, in recent times, the
economy of India is facing a
number of burning issues. This
article attempts to explore some
of these issues.
1. Economic Slowdown
In the neo-liberal era, there
was a great celebration, both
within India and outside,
regarding the hike in the GDP
growth rate. But that hype is now
almost evaporated with the
slowdown. Even though the
present Narendra Modi
government rhetorically claims to
take the Indian Economy into a
$5 trillion one by 2024-25, the
performance of the economy is
not at all in tune with this
perception. In its fifth Bi-monthly
Monetary Policy Review, Reserve
Bank of India lowered the GDP
growth forecast of India for the
financial year 2019-20 to 5%. For
the July- September quarter of
this fiscal year, the GDP growth
rate is estimated to be only 4.5%.
One could notice consistent fall
in the rate of growth of the GDP
during the last six quarters. All
multilateral institutions like the
World Bank and the IMF and
rating agencies like the Moody’s,
picture dim performance of the
Indian economy.
In October 2019, the factory
output of India contracted by
3.8%. Many economists now fear
that the negative industrial growth
coupled with poor agricultural
performance and hike in the
retail prices would lead the
economy into a situation of
‘stagflation’.
There are many reasons for
this vulnerability of the Indian
economy. Among them, the most
crucial one would be the 2016
‘Demonetization’. This, along
with the GST, destroyed the
informal economy of India. The
decline in the lending capacity of
the Commercial Banks due to the
piling up of Non Performing
Assets (NPAs) may be another
factor in the slowdown of the
Indian economy. The dim global
economic environment is yet
another disincentive factor. The
present social and political
climate in India is not at all
favorable to better economic
performance and growth.
2. Poverty and Inequality
According to the just
released 2019 Human
Development Report of the
UNDP, in Human Development
Index, India ranks 129 out of 189
countries with a value of 0.647.
Our position is much behind
even some other South Asian
countries like SriLanka (71) and
Maldives (104)! In multi
dimensional poverty, “India
accounts for 28% of the 1.3
billion multi dimensional poor”.
Widening inequality is a
burning issue of India. According
to the 2019 Human Development
Report, India’s Inequality
Adjusted Human Development
Index (IHDI) is only 0.477. When
we compare India’s HDI with
IHDI, we can notice a loss of
26.3% due to inequality in the
distribution of the Human
Development dimension indices
(1. Per capita income, 2.Life
expectancy and 3.Education). In
Gender Inequality Index also our
rank is very low. Out of 162
countries, India’s rank is only
122nd. According to the latest
World Bank Report,” more than
36 crore of Indians still cannot
afford three square meals a day”.
According to the latest Oxfam
Study Report, the richest 1% of
the Indians now own 58% of the
country’s wealth. In their study
entitled, ‘Indian Income
Inequality, 1922-2014: from
British Raj to Billionaire Raj,
Lucas Chancel and Thomas
Piketty pointed out that the top
one percent of Indians enjoy 22%
of the country’s total income. In a
recently published report by the
Development Finance
International Inc. and Oxfam, on
the commitment to narrow
income inequality, India’s rank is
only 122 among the 152 nations.
3. Swelling Agrarian
Distress
Farmers have become the
most vulnerable section of India
today. They find it difficult to earn
their livelihood in agriculture.
There are heart-breaking news
like ‘farmers selling their children
to fetch a livelihood’. About 52%
of farmers are reported to be
under severe debt. The average
debt of a farmer comes to about
Rs.47,000, while the prices of
agricultural products fluctuate
and show a declining trend, and
the costs of cultivation
consistently grow upwards.
Since 1995, more than 3 lakh
farmers have committed suicide
in India.
4. Environmental
Hazards
Ecological crisis has become
another grave issue of India.
Climatic changes are inflicting
detrimental effects on the
functioning of Indian economy. In
the number of deaths due to
environmental pollution, India
tops in the world. Mainly due to
industrial pollution, the rich
mineral resources in the states
like Odisha and Jharkhand have
become a ‘curse’ to the life of
millions of people. Metropolises
like Delhi are now so notorious
for atmospheric pollution.
5. Unemployment
In the neo-liberal period, India
has been experiencing ‘jobless
growth’. The present
unemployment rate is 6.1%, a
four decade high, possibly
caused by the 2016
Demonetization and the
imperfect implementation of the
GST. Declining agriculture
makes rural work force
redundant. The recent ‘distress
migration’ form Northern parts of
India to the Southern states is
mainly due to the decay of the
agrarian sector in the North.
6. Widening Inter-
Regional Inequality
Another burning issue of the
Indian economy is its unequal
spatial development. Cities and
metropolises grow at the
expense of villages. ‘Gram
Swaraj’ of Mahatma Gandhi still
remains a day-dream. Further, if
we exclude the spatial
contributions of the GDP by
metropolitan centers, we could
find a stagnant Indian economy.
7. Rampant Corruption
The great Swedish
economist and Nobel laureate,
Gunnar Myrdal dubbed India as
a ‘soft state’. According to him, a
‘soft state’ is inefficient and
corrupt. Corruption has become
a cancer of the Indian political
economy. It makes the economic
system rigid and inefficient. The
malfunctioning of the Indian
economy is largely due to it.
Conclusion
In this brief article, we have
noticed the decaying, unjust and
unsustainable nature of the
economy of India. The present
pro-corporate economic
policies of India need to be
changed to make the economy
genuinely prosperous and just.
For that, we need to rediscover
and integrate the great visions
of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal
Nehru and B.R. Ambedkar.
According to the just released 2019 Human Development Report
of the UNDP, in Human Development Index,
India ranks 129 out of 189 countries with a value of 0.647.
Our position is much behind even some other South Asian countries
like Sri Lanka (71) and Maldives (104)! In multi dimensional poverty,
“India accounts for 28%of the 1.3 billion multi dimensional poor”!!
THE CHURCH OF NORTH INDIA
The Inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Church of North India
was held at Nagpur on 29 Nov. 2019
Office-Bearers of the Church of North India
Moderator: Most. Rev. P. C. Singh, Deputy Moderator: Rt. Rev. Bijay Nayak,
General Secretary: Mr.Alwan Masih, Treasurer: Prof. Jayant Agrawal
Golden Jubilee Inaugural Meeting
10. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 10
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context:
The crisis in the Indian economy
Dr. P. J. Philip,
a Yale University Scholar,
is former Principal of
St. Thomas College, Kozhenchery
P. J. Philip
There is now unanimity in
the assessment that India is in
the beginning of an economic
decline. The differences are
only on the nature of the
downturn. Some say, it is a
periodic fluctuation and it will
be corrected eventually. The
Finance Minister’s packages
like targeted bank credits, fiscal
initiatives in health and rural
services, tax exemption to the
rich hoping that they will
reinvest their savings are all the
results of such an evaluation.
But according to the majority
of economic and social
analyses, India’s and the world’s
economic fortunes are going
downhill. India particularly
vulnerable as about seventy
percent of Indian people do not
have economic or social
entitlements like land, capital
stocks, skill education. An
analysis of the National Sample
Survey data (EPW, November 9,
2019) declares that India is
currently facing “From Job-less
to Job loss Growth”.The share
of wages in the Gross Domestic
Product is steadily coming down.
In the absence of ownership or
possession of cultivable land,
poor rural people will have to buy
from the market their food grains,
vegetables, milk and other
essential commodities. In the
States, where there is a reliable
public distribution system, the
poor will be saved from
starvation if they possess ration
cards. But in the absence of
regular employment, majority of
the poor will not get money for
the domestic consumption of
quality food, health care and
education.
The Twenty to twenty five
percent of the middle class in
India are the driving forces of
consumption, notably that of
consumer durables like cars, two
wheelers, refrigerators, air-
conditioners and so on. The
phenomenal expansion of
finance capital, and real estate
transactions, tele-
communication net-works,
computers and mobile phones
expanded the service sector
industries, providing
employment to the educated
youth in big cities and towns from
the 1990s upto 2016. The
“Demonetization’ and the new
GST regimes have deflated the
real estate and service sectors.
There have been some
formalization of the tax regime,
but because of the slump in
market transactions, the
revenues of both central and
state governments have gone
down. The fall in the government
revenues consequently,
depresses development
activities and social welfare
spending all over the country. This
year’s Nobel Prize winner, Abhijit
Banerjee says that such a fall in
the income of the workers and
peasants causes fall in
consumer demand, leading to
recession.
The upper classes in India,
who are big business
proprietors, own the chunk of
private capital in the country. The
banking, trade and technological
expansion of the last three
decades, phenomenally
increased their assets and
capital base. They are the fair
weather friends of any political
ruling class. They donate hugely
An analysis of the National Sample Survey data (EPW, November 9, 2019)
declares that India is currently facing
“From Job-less to Job-loss Growth”.
The share of wages in the Gross Domestic Product
is steadily coming down.
to elect their governments and in
the mean time get access to
foreign rulers and capitalists as
part of trade and business
delegations. Indian big business
people have secured, it is learnt,
privileged immigration status for
their families in developed
countries and set up foreign
business and consultancy
offices. They are unlikely to invest
their capital in India when there
is a recession. The current
foreign exchange reserve
position is good. But if the
balance of payment situation
shows trends of fallin
remittances and export earning,
and also increase in the
petroleum import bill, then the
flight of capital may occur. The
stock market, the currency and
derivative trade components,
have all shown expansionary
trends in 2018 and 2019, but if
the past experiences are any
indication, foreign capital may fly
away, when the economy shows
recessionary trends. Already, the
last quarter GDP has gone below
the crucial 5%. This has to be
read with the comment of the
former advisor to the Prime
Minister that Indian GDP
estimates are really 3% lower
than the Government’s data. In
other words, the present GDP
growth would be below 3%. If we
take into account the present
inflation rate, especially that of
food items, many families’
income has gone to negative
scales on the graph.
Automation and Job-loss
One of the reasons for the
paradigm shift in the employment
is the wide-spread use of
robotics and artificial intelligence
in the production of goods and
services. Many research studies
have predicted that employment
of labour in the world is going to
shrink. The World Economic
Forum Survey in 2016 estimated
that 7.1 million jobs would be lost
because of automation. The
McKinsey Institute in 2017
estimated 80% of the labour
force to be affected. Machine
tending and soldering jobs in
factories are already affected. In
India statistics related to the
introduction of robotics show that
big companies are shifting to
new technologies. Automobile -,
and electronics - manufacturing,
which employs machine-
manufacturing techniques, has
reportedly scaled down their
production.
The cumulative effects of
technological shifts in industries
and services are likely to reduce
employment opportunities in
India during the next two
decades. To compensate for the
loss of jobs, many experts
suggest labour relocation and
training of the younger labour
force in artificial techniques. With
a huge population of youth in
India, many suggest that there
should be opportunities to
provide skill-training and
diversification of skills in health-
care, agro-processing , social
and cultural asset building and
so on.
What we understand from the
latest economic scenario.1. The
traditional economy comprising
of agriculture and small scale
industry is squeezed by the
falling demand of the seventy
percent of common masses and
the ensuing fall in employment
and income. 2. The high-
technology sector is gearing up
towards automation. The huge
capital stock in the possession
of the rich is not reinvested within
the country. The banking and
monetary sector is still suffering
from the backlash of non-
performing assets and de-
monetization fears. The multiple
tax rate in the GST and non-
realization of the Central and
State’s share, is causing
hardships to Central and State
finances.
In the meantime, the Central
Government appears to be
dividing the country on religious
and ethnic base, hoping that a
sizable people’s loyalty to the
nation, as the majority
community, will weather all
storms. If history is any lesson,
the people will not pardon
wrong doers.
WITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROMWITH BEST COMPLIMENTS FROM
C.S.I. JAYARAJANNAPACKIAM COLLEGE OF
NURSINGANDALLIED SCIENCES
MERRY DEW HILLS, JONESPURAM,
PASUMALAI, MADURAI -625 004
Ph No: 0452-2370676,2371741 Fax: 0452-2370676,2373057
E-mail:jaconmadurai@yahoo.co.in
Best Wishes
From
Thomas John (Benny)
Suby Thomas
Jeremy John Thomas &
Jaimy Ann Thomas
Chenathara Kuttiyil
Cherukole,
Mavelikara,
Kerala
11. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 11
Daniel Premkumar
Rev. Dr. Daniel Peramkumar is
Founder of the Home for HIV Infected
or Affected Children, Adoni, and
of the Life Giving Agricultural (LGA)
Centre, Malapalle Village, Mantralayam
Mandal, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh
Paupers, Yet Enriching All
The bottom most segment
of Indian populace is the
marginal and small farmers and
landless agricultural workers.
Most of these hail from Dalit and
tribal communities. One
substantiating indicator for this
conclusion is the number of
suicides committed by them
surpassing even the numbers
of collateral deaths in Iraq and
Afghanistan combined!
The poorpoorpoorpoorpoor mentioned by Paul
in 2 Cor 6. 10 bestows a picture
of one who cowered down, one
bent over, deeply destitutedeeply destitutedeeply destitutedeeply destitutedeeply destitute,
completely lacking resources
(earthly wealth) – i.e. helpless ashelpless ashelpless ashelpless ashelpless as
a beggara beggara beggara beggara beggar.
This aptly describes the state
of today’s agricultural workers
and marginal farmers. This
segment of the Indian society is
the bolts and nuts of complex
agrarian machinery that feeds
the nation with vital agricultural
produce.
Since external inputs in
agriculture like chemical
fertilizers and toxic pesticides
have become more and more
expensive, small and marginal
farmers ultimately end up in debt
trap leading to suicides. The Only
way out of the present impasse
is for the small farmers to shift to
non-Chemical methods of
agriculture. The key to this
turnaround is the humble desi
(country) cow, servicing land with
her nutrients and land friendly
essential microbes defending
the crops. This paradigm shift in
agricultural method not only
liberates peasants from debt
trap it also helps consumers with
poison free food grains.
Moreover this shift deters
farmers from indiscriminate use
of chemicals destroying the
vitality of the soil, water bodies
and environment as well.
Consequently, we have initiated
a Movement – Donate a Cow and
Become an Active Defender of
Mother Nature at Life GivingLife GivingLife GivingLife GivingLife Giving
Agricultural Center (LGA)Agricultural Center (LGA)Agricultural Center (LGA)Agricultural Center (LGA)Agricultural Center (LGA),
Malapalle Village, Mantralayam
Mandal, Kurnool District of AP. At
the LGA Center we have been
practicing Cow-based agriculture
for the last 4 years and organizing
Farmers’ meetings on the issues
confronting them and offering
trainings on cow-based
production of organic fertilizers
and pesticides.
Paul in his Second letter to
the Corinthian (Chapter 6) lists
trials and tribulations he faced in
Since external inputs in agriculture like chemical fertilizers and toxic
pesticides have become more and more expensive, small and marginal
farmers ultimately end up in debt trap leading to suicides. The Only way
out of the present impasse is for the small farmers to shift to non-Chemical
methods of agriculture. The key to this turnaround is the humble desi
(country) cow, servicing land with her nutrients and land friendly essential
microbes defending the crops. This paradigm shift in agricultural method
not only liberates peasants from debt trap it
also helps consumers with poison free food grains.
A Farmer’s Reflection on 2 Cor 6.10
his ministry describing himself
as- ‘poor yet making many rich,poor yet making many rich,poor yet making many rich,poor yet making many rich,poor yet making many rich,
having nothing, yet possessinghaving nothing, yet possessinghaving nothing, yet possessinghaving nothing, yet possessinghaving nothing, yet possessing
everything’.everything’.everything’.everything’.everything’. If we understand the
Good News of Jesus as
ushering in Fullness of life to all
especially to the vulnerable
sections of the society, and the
created order like Planet Earth,
then the shifting of humble
marginal farmers to Cow-based
organic mode of production,
surely not only enriches
consumers with non-poisonous
food grains but also enriches the
land and water bodies preventing
them from becoming toxic,
affecting micro-climate change.
It is a Strategy to Increase to the
Agrifood System’s Sustainability.
The livestock sector is of great
importance for the sustainability
of rural economies and many
ecosystems; however, it also has
a high environmental impact.
There is a need to revisit
traditional livestock production
systems that allow the
combination of food security and
sustainability. Within this context,
organic livestock may be a useful
strategy to achieve such a pivotal
goal From a cultural perspective,
the particularities of the different
livestock systems are crucial for
the conservation of the heritage,
including breeds, landscapes,
and habitats of high aesthetic
and environmental value [6-7],
which on the economic
development of the rural areas.
When looking at comparisons
between organic livestock
farming systems and
conventional ones, several
studies have shown that organic
systems have a greater potential
to preserve the environment,
mainly with regard to biodiversity.
These positive externalities are
the consequence of many
factors, such as the reduced use
of inputs, better nutrient recycling,
less use and exploitation of non-
renewable/external resources,
and finally, eco-toxicity.
These aspects are of great
importance, since the increasing
degradation of the agricultural
soils and the reduction in the
supplies of fresh water are two
of the most serious problems
that Indian farmers are facing.
These problems pose an
impediment to achieving food
security, especially if one takes
into account the growing
population and demand for
animal products. It is even more
relevant in semi-arid areas Like
Rayalaseema in AP
characterized by pasture-based
(low-input/pasture-based/
extensive) production systems.
According to several authors,
organic livestock systems have
the potential to contribute to the
sustainability of these areas.
Finally, and more urgently, as few
farmers shifting to organic mode
of production are concerned
about the marketing strategies of
organic products (organic plus
products and marketing
channels) since this is the main
constraint of the sector, and it is
the point where there are more
possibilities for improvement for
both farm profitability and overall
sustainability of the food system.
Regarding the environment,
livestock activity involves lots of
environmental benefits,
especially when it is carried out
under environmentally-friendly
production systems, such as the
extensive, pasture-based, low-
input, and/or organic systems.
At this juncture we also need
to make mention of humble desi
(native) Cow which is fast
becoming extinct giving place to
more exotic varieties of imported
varieties of milchcows which fits
the bill for MNC’s marketing
equations. It is a proven fact by
science that Indian Desi Cows
though low on milk production
have other goodly outputs she
can make enriching the soil and
nature in general. More
importantly, small and marginal
farmers can now enjoy
independence from predatory
market forces and be
emancipated from debt trap. It is
a win-win situation for one and
all including Mother Nature. Let
us support Cow based
agriculture in our localities and
get proactively involved in
relieving the agrarian distress.
Let us revisit the apostolic
model of preaching the Gospel
of spreading wellness all
around! At this advent Season
let us remember how Jesus
comes down to live among
humans inviting us to stand in
solidarity with the paupers
enriching one and all!
Greetings & Best Compliments to the People’s Reporter
South Central India NetworkSouth Central India NetworkSouth Central India NetworkSouth Central India NetworkSouth Central India Network
fffffor Deor Deor Deor Deor Devvvvvelopment Alterelopment Alterelopment Alterelopment Alterelopment Alternatinatinatinatinativvvvveseseseses
SCINDeA
A Network of 15 NGOs from Tamilnadu,
Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka
Working towards Empowerment of Communities
through People’s Participation.
Registered Office
No. 40, Thambusamy Street
Kilpauk, Chennai – 600 010
Tamilnadu, India
Functional Office
219, Kottaiyur Road,
Yelagiri Hills – 635 853
Vellore District, Tamilnadu, India
Phone: + 91 4179 245339; 245265 Tele fax: + 91 4179 245339
Email: scindea1@rediffmail.com; scindea1@gmail.com
Website: www.scindea.org
12. DECEMBER 25, 2019 – JANUARY 10, 2020PAGE 12
Cynthia Stephen
Ms. Cynthia Stephen
is an independent writer
and researcher
Amos’ simple message
for a complex world
Intensifying Complexities of the Global Context
As the second decade of the
third millennium draws to a
close, there is a sense of
impending doom over the
planet-Forest fires in the
Amazon basin, in Australia’s
wilderness and in the
Californian deserts. The ice-
cover over the Atlantic melts
rapidly, and causes sea levels
to rise, inundating islands and
coastal towns and cities. Venice
seems to be on its way into the
sea, as are several Pacific
islands and a good part of the
littoral areas in Bangladesh.
Measles, TB, even some
polio are taking a toll as
immunization coverage goes
down due to loss of credibility of
vaccination, lower levels of
funding for public health, etc.
Ebola and other unknown viral
fevers are afflicting vulnerable
populations, including children,
the aged, and the infirm.
Antibiotic resistance threatens
medical systems as we know
them.
The number and the intensity
of violent storms are increasing,
even as the rainfall pattern and
the snowfall become
increasingly erratic. This affects
food production and creates
climate refugees, mostly in poor
communities in developing
countries. Water and food, health
and education, are no longer
easily available as political and
economic systems are grappling
with rising debt, lowered GDP.
Income inequality rises across
the world.
War and civil strife continue
to ravage a number of regions
across Asia, Africa and Latin
America. Younger generations
are growing up with little
prospect of jobs and decent life-
styles even as literacy rises and
they have improved educational
and professional qualifications.
Technological innovations
promote jobless growth by
automatic processes, that used
to employ humans.
The natural world – soil, air,
water, forests, the seas, wildlife,
trees, birds, insects crucial to life
on earth like bees – are at an
unprecedented existential crisis
due to unchecked exploitation,
pollution, pressure due to fossil
fuel based industry and
agricultural processes like
monocropping, chemical
agriculture, GM crops, and
mechanized and corporate driven
agriculture.
Children now raise
questions to global leaders,
international and multilateral
bodies and funding agencies
and banks about their errors of
omissions and commissions,
social and economic injustice,
climate change, and the wars
across the globe.
In such a grim scenario, is
there anything positive ahead?
What can the Bible tell us
in such a context?
Pondering such a doomsday
scenario, I was drawn to the book
of Amos, written by one of the
“Minor Prophets”, who lived about
750 years BCE, during the reign
of the kings Jeroboam II and
Uzziah. He hailed from the
kingdom of Judah but preached
in the kingdom of Israel. He was
older to, but a contemporary of,
the prophets Hosea and Isaiah.
Scholars say that he wrote at a
time of relative prosperity but also
of neglect of God’s laws. His
themes were social justice and
the increasing disparity between
the very rich and the very poor.
He was not a part of the
religious establishment, nor was
he from the lineage of the
prophets of Israel. He says that
he was a herder of sheep and a
farmer of figs. He makes this
disclaimer because of the
reputation that the prophets of the
time had for being flatterers of the
powerful, and were ignoring their
duty to denounce the misdeeds
of the rulers. The book of Amos
is short, with just nine chapters,
opening with a note on the
prophet, locating him in the space
and time, and an oracular
statement on the nations
neighbouring Judah. But in the
second chapter, there is a
judgement on the kingdom of
Judah and Israel. This means
that no nation will be spared from
punishment and judgement by
God, be they Jewis or gentile. He
declares in 3:6b “Does disaster
come to a city, unless the Lord
has done it?”. He continues “For
the Lord does nothing without
revealing his secrets to his
servants the prophets. The lion
has roared; who will not fear? The
Lord has spoken; who can but
prophesy?”
The next section, chap 4-8,
covers prophetic warnings to the
women of Samaria, the rich of
Samaria, and the rich of Judah.
There is a short passage, 7:10-
17, where the priest of Bethel
accuses Amos before the king of
Israel of making dire prophesies
of doom against the king himself.
The priest also advises the
prophet to leave for the Kingdom
of Judah and to prophesy there.
To this, Amos defends himself
saying that though he didn’t
belong to the company of
professional prophets, it was the
Lord himself who asked him to
go and prophesy to Israel. He
continues with an oracle against
those who want to engage in
“business as usual” in the face
of huge tragedies and social
injustice. The Lord declares a
number of consequences for the
society - famine, thirst,
destruction, and disaster.
The book of Amos appears
to have been written just for this
complex world where famine,
thirst, war, destruction and all
kinds of climate disasters are
being experienced, where the
very elements are becoming
more unstable and violent, and
where peace and stability are
lacking for large populations
displaced by war, ethnic and
religious strife, and climate
change. Nothing good seems to
happen all through the book and
all because the nations depart
from justice and righteousness.
In chapter 5 he warns: “Seek
good, and not evil, that you may
live… Hate evil, and love good.
Establish justice at the gate…Let
justice roll down like water, and
righteousness like and ever-
flowing stream.”
Thus the connection between
social, political and ecological
processes and the health and
well-being of the society is made
very clear. The prophet declares
that good and ethical behavior,
justice in the courts, and dealing
appropriately with evil are the
keys to peace and security in the
world.
The world and its problems
may be complex and difficult,
but the solution is simple and
straightforward – choose the
good, ethical, just and righteous
way, and peace, plenty and
security will result.
What choice will we make
as individuals, families,
countries and as the
international community?
The book of Amos appears to have been written just for this complex
world where famine, thirst, war, destruction and all kinds of climate
disasters are being experienced, where the very elements are becoming
more unstable and violent, and where peace and stability are lacking for
large populations displaced by war, ethnic and religious strife, and
climate change. Nothing good seems to happen all through the book and
all because the nations depart from justice and righteousness.
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