Students and Politics

Points: Need of political awareness in a democracy — A student’s primary object: study — Partisan politics to be avoided.

             India is a democratic country. In a democracy, political consciousness should be universal. Every adult citizen takes part in our country’s election. If he is not aware of the political crosscurrents he cannot exercise his vote properly. Students are future citizens. Student life should be an apprenticeship for adult life. So students should be familiar with the national politics in all its varieties.
             But the primary objects of student life is to acquire knowledge. If a student becomes actively involved in politics and becomes a member of this or that political party, he is sure to devote less time for study. Political parties should stop recruiting their party members from colleges and universities. They should wait till the students have completed their formal education. When India was not free, students’ participation in the national liberation struggle was all right. But in free India we should think deeply over the whole issue.
             Students’ unions and clubs should have various social activities.  They should be allowed to run their own clubs, magazines, wallpapers etc. In western countries, students often run their own campus news papers. We can introduce many such things in our schools and colleges. Partisan politics generates more heat than light and brings in narrowness and one-sidedness. Political debates, studies, discussions and writings are all right, but direct and active politics may not be good for the students.

Kolkata Book Fair

Points: Fair, a feast of books — Example of a particular fair — Helps national feeling.

             A book fair is like a feast of books. To see so many books and books of so many varieties at a time is a wonderful experience.
Everybody will not buy every book. But the kind of books we are interested in can be seen in plenty only in the fair. One can compare here the books by different publishers. Maps, paperbacks, art books, reference books, children’s books, technical books, dictionaries and encyclopedias — everything is before us. All stalls are open for everybody. The book fair is an appetizer for further reading. It is a mirror of modern knowledge explosion.
             Kolkata Book Fair is a huge thing. It has grown so much in size and quality that we may call it both national and international. Most of the important publishers of India participate in it. Many renowned publishers from abroad also come here.
             Kolkata Book Fair is a truly national fair. Books written in different Indian languages, and also Indian books either translated into English or into other Indian languages, are displayed here. Books on the history, geography and culture of the different parts of India are available in the book fair. Thousands of people visit the fair; buy books and place orders for more books. They are imbued with the idea of a big family of people called Indians.

The Handicapped and their Problems

Points: Different kinds of the handicapped — They should be usefully employed In society — Philanthropic organizations for them.

             The handicapped or disabled persons are our own people. We come across lots of persons who are born with defective limbs or organs. There are others, who have lost limbs or organs as after effects of diseases like smallpox, typhoid, poliomyelitis, leprosy etc. Others are victims of accidents like road accidents, bomb explosions, fire burns, and so on.
             We forget that the handicapped may not be perfect of limbs, but can be usefully employed in various crafts and occupations. A man who is blind may develop talent for music. The world-famous blind composer Beethoven is a good instance. We should not just pity the handicapped, but help them to be self-helping. We should rehabilitate them in society where they can live with dignity. We can devise suitable works for them and give them special training. It is not charity but fellow-feeling which is needed.
             There are some philanthropic organizations that are doing good works for the handicapped. Artificial limbs are being manufactured for those who need them. Special training centers have also been opened where the disabled get proper training for various kinds of occupation. Above all, our attitude to the handicapped should be changed. As human beings it is our duty to help those who need our help.

Can We do without English?

Points: The harmful slogan against English — Usefulness of English for modern science and technology — Its role in national integration.

             The cry of Angreji Hatao or “Drive English away” is a cry for putting the clock back. The inevitable result of downgrading English in parts of India has been a general decline of academic standards.
             Some of the Indian vernaculars have, no doubt, a rich and varied “literature of power” — poetry, novels, plays etc., but not “literature of knowledge”, books on Science, Technology, Law and Medicine etc. English at this stage is our only window to the world at large. It is through English that we keep track of all that is happening in Arts, Science, Technology, and in trade and commerce. In giving up English, we shall be, in fact, isolating ourselves from the advanced nations of the world; we shall lag behind modern science and modern civilization. That will mean stagnation and decay. The fanatics may scrap English? But that will give a blow to the unity and progress of the country.
             Without English we cannot keep our country one and united, we cannot communicate between one state and another. Without English we cannot communicate between one country and another, we cannot convene a non-aligned summit and have our deliberations. English is indispensable for a North-South dialogue within the country itself. We cannot simply do without English at this moment.

Discipline

Points: What it means — Examples from individuals and corporate lives — Its value.

             Discipline is the spirit of maintaining order. Discipline in human activities issues out of the discipline or control of the mind. In corporate life, the need for discipline is of primary importance. Standing in a queue, observing punctuality, maintaining order, helping women and children before helping oneself — all these are acts of discipline.
             In corporate life, where a large number of people live together, discipline is very much needed. Without it civilized life is impossible. If each and every car does not keep to the left, there will be road accidents all the time. Unless we respect a social code, we shall have the law of the jungle. The riots and street fights are the results of indiscipline on a large scale. An army is a fine example of the force of discipline. When a solider is shot down, another takes his place. If necessary an army will go on fighting to the last man. If, however, a rabble is fired upon, all the men will run away. It is the spirit of discipline which makes all the difference between an army and a rabble.
             True discipline, however, comes from a sense of dedication, not fear or compulsion. It adds grace and strength to our life.

Science a Friend or a Foe of Man?

Points: Negative role of science — Positive rote of science —Responsibility of man.

             We are living in a precarious world today. Atom bombs are being stockpiled by the two super-powers competing with each other. If there be any third world war, that will spell the total destruction of mankind. Science has given man the weapons to kill the entire human race within a short time. So there is a tendency to damn science as an enemy of man.
             But human civilization would hardly have been what it is today without the achievements of science. Television and wireless bring the world to our doors. There is hardly any disease which the doctors cannot cure today. And all this is due to science. Science by itself is neither a friend nor an enemy of man. If man is wise he can easily make this world a much better place to live in. Already the scientists are talking of “atoms for peace.” That is the most hopeful sign of our times. It shows that the enlightened sections of mankind are against using science for war or destruction.
             Man should not only have knowledge but also wisdom to make proper use of his knowledge of science. Our education should teach us values, not merely information. For it is the kind of man which will determine the kind of society and the kind of the world we have.

India in Space Age

Points: History of space flight — Indian advances in space technology — Achievement of mankind.

             ‘Twinkle twinkle little star/How I wonder what you are’. The nursery rhyme says that the stars and planets have been to us perpetual wonder and mystery. When Uri Gagarin’s ‘Vostok’  first shot out to move around the earth’s orbit in April 1961, the world gasped with wonder. Only in a month’s dine after that, Commander Shepherd of U.S.A. went into the orbit with his space-ship. In June 1963 a Russian lady Tereskova sailed through the outer space and exchanged talks with cosmonaut Bikovosky already in orbit. About the same time, Gordon Cooper circled the earth 22 times. Then man landed on the Moon. Since then attempts to probe Mars, Venus and other planets are continuing. 
             India is now making rapid advances in space technology. Our Haricota space centre is well equipped and is doing researches on satellites and space morning. In collaboration with Russia India is launching her own space-ships. A time will soon come when India will be self-sufficient in space science and use her own launching pad to put her space-ship into the orbit from Indian soil. Rakesh Sharma has already become the first Indian spaceman; we are proud of him.
             This great achievement belongs not to any particular nation but to mankind as a whole. H. G. Wells while writing his history, had a vision. With the earth as his foot-stool, he dreamt, man would one day reach out his hand among the stars. Space flight is indeed mankind’s flight into the future.