Population Explosion

Points: Population figures alarming in India — More population means greater poverty — Comparison between India and the advanced countries of the west.

              India is known to be over-populated. Next to China it is the most populate& country of the world. Its population has more than doubled within the last fifty years. This is very alarming. With more mouths to feed, our per capita income is bound to fall. This means greater poverty. Our production is increasing. But our population is increasing even more. If the growth of population is not checked, food shortage will occur and poverty will increase.

              People should be properly educated about this danger. Explosion or outburst of population will only mean more misery and more suffering. The poorer section of the people will suffer most. So they should be taught how to keep the size of a family smaller.

              In the advanced countries of the world, population growth is almost zero per cent annually. It is possible because most of the people there are educated and responsible. In India poor peasants and poor workers think that more children would mean more money earners. They care little for how to bring up the children properly. They do not care at all for their education. The result is, the poor family is burdened with more poverty, more hunger, more want, more dirtiness and more disease.

A Debating Society

Points: Debating, an art, needs practice — Value of speech in a democracy — Debating in schools.

              A school or a college has its debating society. All students are members of such a society. Debating is an art. It is a form of elocution. Without practice nobody can be a good speaker or orator. In ancient Greece, oratory was highly valued.
India is a democratic country. Indian people elect their representatives’ by votes. During the election, many public meetings are held. Good speakers make very good impressions upon the voters. In the Parliament, only good speakers can be good speakers can be good parliamentarians.
              A school or college debating society helps a student to acquire the power of speech. Debating competitions are held among different schools and colleges every year. Sometimes all-India debating competitions are organized. Ready wit, presence of mind, sound general knowledge and a sense of humor make a good debater. All these can he developed through a debating society.
              School debates teach discipline. Every debater has to conform to rules. He has to maintain the time limit very strictly. The mover of the motion is like the opening batsman. He introduces the subject of the debate in the form of a motion or resolution as in the Assembly. He appeals to the audience to support his motion. The leader of the opposition these come up. He tries to point out the hollowness of the motion. After all the speakers have addressed, the mover of the motion gets his light to reply. After his reply, the motion is put to vole.  A competition debate takes the form of a debate in the Assembly or Parliament. It is often called a mock Parliament.

Strike

Points: What it means — Strike in industrial disputes and elsewhere — Strike In India.

              ‘Strike’ means cessation of work by workers or employees. It occurs when negotiations fail between the employer and the employees. When the employers stop production and close down the work, it is called lock-out. In a factory, the workers may demand an increase in pay or allowance. The authorities or owners may not agree to the demand. As a last resort, the workers often declare a strike. They down tools and bring the factory to a stand-still. If there is no work there will be no profit also. Sometimes a strike continues for months till a settlement is reached.
              There are also strikes in banks, offices and even in schools and colleges. All strikes are not for wages or allowances. Some strikes are called to protest publicly against some wrongs. Sometimes general strikes are called when all offices, factories and transports remain practically suspended. Strike is an organized pressure. It should not be used on a flimsy ground.
              In India strike is a very common occurrence. Every year good many workdays are lost owing to strikes. Sometimes the strikers become violent. Nobody supports such violence. We should try to create a condition so that there is neither strike nor Lockout. Let all disputes be settled In a spirit of cooperation for the good of the nation.

Energy Crisis

Points: Sources of energy — Crises due to limited stock — Alternative sources to be explored.

              No work is possible without energy, and for energy man depends on Nature. We get wood from Nature, with which we make fire. By burning fire we cook food, light lamps, and melt iron. After wood came coal. It is an underground storage of energy. We dig up coal and burn it. Oil also is another source of energy. By burning oil we get heat and light. Petroleum or gas came later on. Our motor cars and aero planes are run by them. Electricity is the widely used form of energy in the modern world. From the rivers we get hydro-electricity.
              But the source of energy in Nature — coal or petroleum — is not unlimited, Petroleum may be exhausted within a few decades. Scientists are warning us that mankind may soon face energy crisis. That is why people are seeking alternative sources of energy like nuclear energy and solar energy.
Solar energy has an unlimited supply. In a tropical country like India, solar energy has a great future. Indian agriculture may be revolutionized if solar energy be available to our peasants. The initial cost of installing the apparatus is still heavy. If that could be reduced, our energy crisis would have been solved for good.

Dignity of Labour

Points: Manual work not inferior — Self-help In western countries false notion of dignity in India — Dignity of Labour should be taught.

              ‘Labor is sacred, labour is honorable’, wrote Carlyle. By ‘labour’ he meant manual labour. Manual or physical work is not inferior to intellectual work. We need both.
              In western countries, all household works are done by the people themselves. There is no porter to carry luggage. A passenger’ has to carry his own bag. There is no ‘servant’, and nobody can hire a servant or a cook for his personal service. Institutions like hospitals employ persons like nurses bit they are employees of institutions, not personal servants. The dwellers of a house have to clean their own floors and wash their own bathrooms. Everybody is self-helping there. Unfortunately, many people in India still think that manual labour is not dignified. This is a false notion. It is ridiculous to think that a clerical job alone is a good job. Neither agriculture nor industry can develop if the educated people stay away from them.
              Dignity of labour should be taught from childhood, if every child is asked to do his or her own work it will be good for the child. A self-helping person has to do a lot of things, some physical, and some intellectual. Both are necessary and dignified. What is undignified is to depend on others. What is immoral is to prosper on others’ labour.

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.