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Showing posts from August, 2018

Gandhi, Non-cooperation and Bhagavat Geetha

Indian independence movement is one of the earliest peaceful movements against the British rule. It opened doors for Non-violent protests against oppressors across the world. Gandhiji is credited for this idea. Indian freedom struggle is mainly classified into three phases: Moderate phase - prayer, petition, protest. Extremist phase - violent revolt. Gandhian phase - Peaceful non-co-operation. What made Gandhian phase unique? The moderate leaders of freedom struggle, though mostly viewed as unsuccessful, were responsible for forming the counter arguments to " white man's burden" theory  of  the British. They prepared ground, propounded theories for intellectual understanding of the British exploitation of India. The extremists, mostly young leaders, believed in complete freedom, resorted to violent means to overthrow the British . However, there was no significant harm done to the British. It is at this juncture that Gandhian philosophy came handy.  Ga...

Dying farmers of India

According to the provisional data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 11,370  farmers committed suicide in 2016 . At least one farmer commits suicide every  hour in India. So let me breakdown the reasons that drive farmers to commit suicides. Why people commit suicide? According to mental health daily, people commit suicide when they view  their current situation as being completely hopeless and feel as if they have no way to change things for the better . Common causes of suicide include : Depression Drug abuse Financial problems Relationship issues In the case of Indian farmers, depression, due to financial problems is the telling cause. Why Indian farmers are depressed? 50-60% of population depend on agriculture as a means of livelihood. Most of them are small and marginal farmers, meaning, they hold a meager 1-2 hectares of land. Almost entire agriculture on India is rain fed. However, monsoons are not consistent.Climate chang...