Women In Armed Forces

Across globe India is among few nations where the role of women is negligible in society and workplace. Although the Constitution of India grants equal rights to females, no one could deny that socially the ‘equality’ is not visible. And that it is also due to our culture and traditions which have a larger and bigger impact on our lives than the laws of the land. Go back in Indian history or talk of present, women had faced and continue to face this kind of discrimination which has kept them back in most of the fields. India is an interesting case of gender bias and gender insensitive rules. This all has become a roadblock in the growth of women in various careers available to them in this country. 

In India, we see many women fighting for ‘equality’ but strangely many among them get disapproved of by their own families on such ideas. This example is the majority of ‘traditional families’ as very few females here are born in an enlightened family where they get groomed in a manner where equality is given free to them and social obstacles are not a hindrance for them. This can be easily seen and found around us when we compare three generations of women and we find complete contrast in mental attitudes. In the past two decades, we have seen women slowly entering the workplace. It reflects the changing social and workplace environment which is now evolving to accommodate females. 

Earlier, workplace problems were in abundance all over the country and women had to fight to survive in traditional male bastions and male dominated careers. One such field has been the ‘uniformed services’ where women are negligible in any role across the country. To talk of police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) the representation of women as per national data is at 5.7%. Although females have started to join uniformed services, whether it’s Central Armed Police Organizations or Indian Police Services still it is seen as a non-traditional career for them by many parents. The question arises as to who is to be held responsible? Is it the society we live in where patriarchy comes in the way of equality or institutional attitudes right at the top or the women themselves who aren’t ready to exploit the opportunities available for them? While others continue to argue on this, I feel that women should be allowed to serve in any role in the armed forces.

In 1888, during the British rule women started joining Indian Army when the ‘Indian Military Nursing Service’ was formed. And it took more than 100 years (as it was in 1992) to induct women in non-medical roles. Inspite of inducting women officers since 1992 at present women are just 0.56% of India's 1.4 million army personnel which is the world's second-largest military force. A lot is being said and done on this but nothing seems to have changed. However, a few days back a game changing step was taken when the centre government told the Indian Supreme Court that it has now decided to induct women for permanent commission in the armed forces through the National Defence Academy (NDA). My observation says that if this goes in the right direction then very soon we all would witness a changed profile of women in the armed forces. Rather, the truth is that gender parity could only come when countless women start wearing ‘uniform’ and men see all that with pride. Besides, this would be the ultimate victory of our social system when we accept women breaching the male bastion!

Olympics Tally

The Tokyo Olympics are over and so are the scenes of jubilation across the nation. Neeraj Chopra's stunning victory has got registered in the history books. But think once again, how many among us knew Neeraj Chopra earlier and how many among us knew about the game of javelin? I feel like asking all this because Neeraj Chopra didn’t reach Tokyo directly. He qualified and participated in many events before representing India at Tokyo Olympics. All that went unnoticed from crores of people of this country. This reflects a clear case of our country lacking sporting culture. The result is that India with a population of 1.35 billion and with good resources always falls short in events like the Olympics. In every Olympics, many contenders and big contingent goes from India but only few players out of them get some medal.

It took us decades to get one gold medal in athletics. Need is to revive India's sports culture at the grass-root level or we may have to wait for another decade to get gold. One thing is clear that there is no shortage of skills in our country. We have to think over and above cricket and into other sports like hockey, football, archery, wrestling, badminton and table tennis. The under performance of our players is due to many reasons.  Parents have a role to play as they give no priority to sports in the life of their children. And preoccupation with grades or marks is the reason which makes them keep their children away from sports. We need a cultural revolution and focus should be laid at school and college level because physical classes in college are considered unnecessary till today by students. Moreover, poverty is also a reason which keeps many children away from sports because poverty affects the performance of any individual to continue his/her journey on the sports field. We have seen this in our country as many national/international players later do petty jobs for survival and running home.

In 2014, Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) flagship athlete centric program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was started. This initiative of the government provided assistance to India's top athletes in their preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It helped players train with modern infrastructure to compete with other nations in a world class atmosphere. This shows that it’s actually more important to implement policy than just making policies. Another government initiative like Khelo India is among policies made for encouragement of sports which also focused on science behind the sports.  The budget on sports promotion was increased from 1400 crores in 2016-17 to 2826 crores in 2019-20. However, again in 2021-22 the budget was reduced to 2500 crores. Besides this all, it has to be seen that benefit must reach the beneficiaries because we have seen that in games like Taekwondo India couldn’t send a single player to Tokyo Olympics.

As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, situation is not conducive for sportspersons to grow and compete at national, international level. Infact we are lagging far behind to north Indian states like Punjab & Haryana. There are only few names from Jammu and Kashmir who have enormous talent and compete at international platforms to bring laurels for Jammu Kashmir. Lack of proper infrastructure and coaching facilities from J&K Sports Council is a hindrance for the proper development of different sportspersons in J&K. It is pertinent to mention a fundamental problem here that sports are trapped entirely in the politics and political system of Jammu and Kashmir. Need is to have alot of role models in sports which act as inspiration and produce more sportspersons. Also it is required that we at the earliest end lack of recognition in other sports in India to promote and support sportsmen. If this all is channelized in the next few years then the day is not far when we would rise to top from bottom in the Olympics tally.

Flooding In Urban Areas

Few days back, the onset of monsoon in Jammu took the shape of devastation with rains causing flash floods in low lying areas of Jammu. Once again this early morning calamity shattered many souls who were still sleeping and were all of a sudden surrounded by knee deep flood waters around their beds. Issue of flash floods in these low lying urban areas is not new and such incidents are now becoming a yearly affair. All these areas which witness flash floods are close to nullahs which swell during monsoon and the impact of such flooding is severe as all the urban areas these days are densely populated. But knowing all this, nothing solid in past years has been done by concerned government departments to protect the people who annually suffer losses. It also appears that many of the officers are dangerously insensitive to this local problem.

Firstly, encroachment near nullahs by some people in the shape of illegal construction has created interference in the natural path of rain water which results in flooding. This also reflects connivance of the employees of various departments in these urban areas. They all are playing in the hands of the land mafia by ignoring violations around all these nullahs. Secondly, concrete slabs over nullahs have converted these nullahs into drains. Basically, nullahs were covered with slabs to maintain hygiene. However, with this covering all nullahs required regular cleaning to prevent choking. But this part was ignored and now it has caused permanent choking in several areas resulting in blockage. This is not all, with these slabs encroachment too has increased. People have created parking lots, started putting household articles on concrete slabs and in some cases even dairy farms are operating from nullah slabs.  Thirdly, adding to this whole problem is dumping of solid waste in these nullahs. The regular dumping of solid waste into these nullahs has raised the ground level of these nullahs and helps rain water to divert from its path.

Inspite of number of regular complaints by residents in these areas against all these issues no change is witnessed. The local officers prefer to ignore rather than taking action on it. Accountability should be brought in to end this carelessness which is damaging institutional governance. It’s time that for every year devastation government officers should be held responsible. And stern action should be taken against all those who fail to act in their respective areas. A probe too should be ordered and taken to logical conclusion to unearth unholy nexus between officers & land mafia. Government action against encroachers’ should not only be limited to ‘state land’ and violations around nullahs too should be dealt seriously. The greed of some people is causing flooding in urban areas. Besides, some steps should be taken to stop sealing the nullahs with concrete slabs. Some policy should be drafted to maintain the width of nullahs because with reduced width the capacity to carry both natural and drainage water is reduced. Most importantly focus should be laid on easy and regular cleaning methods for the nullahs.

Although these days direction to deliver justice to people from the office of J&K LG is issued but on this, anything will happen only when no more time is spent in ‘close door meetings’ or else large destruction may happen in Jammu in the shape of loss of lives and property. Proper implementation of policies can only prevent this man-made disaster. Only photo ops done to highlight ‘Smart City Project’ and campaigns like ‘Swachh Bharat’ won’t work in the long term. Already these photo ops have stand exposed many times when rain water clogged roads in Jammu city. The citizens have a big role to play in this. Before that they need to be given options like designated spaces for ‘dumping anything’ only then will this trend of ‘dumping anything-anywhere’ will end. The situation will only get worse if all the multiple options are not adopted against the key threats for protection against these floods.

Summer Heat Series By PDD

Post August 2019 numerous things have changed in J&K as many structural reforms were done. But in spite of such big shifts, business is as usual for J&K PDD department and the department maintained its consistency from erstwhile state to UT. An ‘award of honour’ must be given to this department for not changing its performance even after having witnessed a big structural reform. Numerous progressive things have been done to improve the status and picture of our J&K. However, it seems that significance to the issue of unscheduled power cuts in Jammu isn’t on the priority list of the present administration too. Like past many years, this year too Jammu region is facing hot and humid days with erratic power supply. During the prevailing heat wave, power cuts are happening for 6 to 10 hours daily. These unscheduled power cuts and fluctuations in the Jammu region have pushed the people into a hell like situation.

The issue is not extreme for those living in government accommodations as they don’t have to face this. The result is that they don’t get associated with this on ground problem. Adding to it are PDD engineers who consistently present a positive situation of power issue in Jammu. The revenue generation done by PDD is not going in the right direction and nothing is done to instill confidence in the public. Every year as mercury rises and frequent cuts cause uproar, PDD asks people to make judicious use of electricity. Instead of admitting the failures on their part they make an excuse of people overloading the system. It’s purely wrong and manipulative because with changing times electricity consumption requirements have increased and it is the duty of PDD to enhance its system. By asking for ‘judicious use of electricity’ basically PDD demands ‘minimum use of electricity’ from the public. 

Some people are honestly paying electricity bills and yet they are among the sufferers. A non-paying customer and a law abiding citizen both are getting the same treatment at the hands of PDD. Now talks are going on for installing ‘prepaid meters’ in Jammu by PDD. This ‘prepaid meters’ theory should be left aside and first post-paid meters should be installed in the entire Jammu as many people are still using the services of PDD without having any meter in their houses. The LG led administration must ensure that such problems are solved firstly so that scorching summers next year aren't the same due to misadventures of PDD. Administration should keep in mind the real problem and work on it before going ahead with such fancy ideas of ‘prepaid meters’. 

Not to forget that ongoing pandemic circumstances are keeping people homebound and in this COVID crisis these power cuts may  prove fatal for all those who are on oxygen support at their homes. The long cuts adversely impact the entire family who has such patient and a sense of fear comes in as power goes. Besides, all students who are at homes due to closure of educational institutes too are getting affected by this interrupted power supply. This alone is not the impact, talk of the economy and Jammu industrial sector couldn’t pick up on work the way it could have ever since unlock started in J&K. This all caused hue and cry and Jammu residents started campaigns on social media against the government to declare ‘city of temples’ as ‘city of power cuts’. 

The result of this social media campaign came and the LG led administration ordered an enquiry to find out the reasons for prevailing power situation. Hoping for this enquiry to reach a logical conclusion and it will be interesting to see on whom the responsibility will be fixed for such unscheduled blackouts. Earlier also in the erstwhile state of J&K the governments have shown displeasure on such incidents but as summers passed they forgot everything. This gap generated in past years to fix accountability is the main cause of this continuous summer heat series by PDD every year. J&K has set targets of travelling a long way after August 2019 and the access to electricity will surely improve the idea of ‘Naya’ Jammu Kashmir.

Sikhs: “Covid Warriors” On The Frontline

The Sikh community in the whole world is known for the tradition of ‘seva’. Every time we have floods, earthquakes or any other kind of natural calamity, Sikhs are always on the front position with a helping hand. And now ever since Covid-19 pandemic came, Sikhs are once more showing their community spirit in this tough time faced by humanity.  In India, the Sikhs have taken forward this ‘seva’ during pandemic by providing ‘langar’, medicines, oxygen cylinders etc. to all people irrespective of religion, caste, gender, social or economic status in several cities in India. In Delhi ‘langar on wheels’ is operated by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) under which free meals hygienically packed in plastic containers from various Delhi Gurdwaras are being sent daily to different areas for thousands of people.

Moreover, along with it DSGMC has even launched a free ambulance service for Covid-19 patients in Delhi. Not only this, a revolutionary step was taken by Delhi Gurdwaras along with several Sikh NGOs when they started providing free oxygen cylinders in the shape of ‘langars’ by helping lakhs of people who were gasping for oxygen in the capital. In Delhi, many Sikh organizations also came forward to help many families to perform last rites of their relatives in crematoriums. On the other hand in Punjab, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has started Covid Care Centers at Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib (Ludhiana), Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Bathinda) and at Bholath (Kapurthala) to provide totally free treatment to Covid patients. Amid Covid- 19 news, such news of non-profit Sikh NGOs helping people also came from Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka and it reaffirmed the faith of people in humanity.

Many Indians, who are not well versed about the Sikh traditions and history, wonder how the Sikh community mobilizes resources and always comes forward to serve in times of crisis. The answer to this tradition of ‘seva’ lies in the teachings of the ten Sikh Gurus which started almost four centuries ago and continues without any kind of discrimination. It’s the reason that in the time of Covid-19 pandemic, Sikhs have stepped out to offer help to all even when the government was found lacking. These all initiatives have come as a beacon of hope and a way to ensure that the needy and helpless don’t die or sleep empty stomach. It is worth recalling that every Sikh since childhood is trained to serve the human race and the result of that we have seen in the past, when many supreme sacrifices were made by Sikhs for India which till today has no parallel in history.

The acknowledgment of this contribution of Sikhs during Covid-19 catastrophe has also come out clearly on various social media platforms in India as it is flooded with thanksgiving posts and messages praising the Sikh community for their selfless service. In Jammu, although the Gurdwara Parbhandak Committees/Board hasn’t yet started anything on ground but that hasn’t deterred many Sikh volunteer organizations like Sikh Motorcycle Club which is working to provide free packed meals to Covid patients. Many Sikh youths are continuously doing sanitization works in various areas of Jammu city. Khalsa Aid, a UK-based humanitarian relief charity, with its group of volunteers in Jammu is providing free oxygen concentrators to needy people and local administration. In addition to it, Onkar Singh ‘Bal Shakti Puraskar’ awardee from Jammu has created a website covidcarejammu.in for the people to combat Covid-19 by seeking expert medical opinion.

When the country is in the grip of the deadly second wave of Covid -19, the Sikhs have displayed courage of a warrior by coming on the frontline and humbly following the teachings of Sikh Guru Sahibs to serve humanity. This pandemic has become another shining example of the selfless service of the Sikhs in India. For Sikhs, social service is the core principle of religion and they have proved it once again when the entire healthcare system of the country is struggling. The Sikhs have stepped up to make sure no one dies until the spirit of Sikhs to serve humanity is alive. It is all this I am proud of and revere!

New Covid Appropriate Governance

India has now touched the mark of over 2.5 lakh new Covid-19 cases. These numbers reflect the growing intensity of the second wave of Covid-19. And it is rising at a magnitude which is far higher than what we saw last year after the onset of this pandemic in India. But still in India deaths per million and cases per million are among the lowest in the world. Yet that couldn’t stop the impact of Covid-19 on our healthcare system. In the past some days, there have been reports of long queues for RTPPCR tests, shortage of beds, oxygen supplies and ICU facilities in some states. With such unusual circumstances now the need is to ramp up vaccination drive and immediately expand it to other age groups including youth on the basis of needs and criticality. Young people are worried about their turn for getting vaccinated. The government should fast track and start vaccination for young people as at the current pace India will need another one year to vaccinate half of the population. Additionally, by vaccinating the young age group we will be able to reduce hospital admissions and save healthcare institutions from burden. Moreover, the second wave is infecting young people at a higher speed and in turn with this many of them are likely to infect the older people in the society who already are going through a rough passage of time. For this an urgent and renewed commitment is needed from both state and centre governments to end the dilemma around the ongoing vaccination drive.

Historical highs in terms of daily cases are reported and alongside it also the reports of vaccine shortage has come out from some places in the country. This thing is being attributed to the export of a high number of vaccine doses. Because vaccine manufacturing is a complex process so therefore export of vaccine should be stopped until vaccination objectives are achieved in India. While this all is happening in the country, some other vaccine manufacturers are still awaiting approval from experts for use in India. At this critical juncture India should clear the way for these other vaccine manufacturers at the earliest. On one hand, it is said that vaccines are not an instant cure and on the other hand shortage of vaccines in the country can definitely add to social problems. This has already affected the mental health of many with questions like: Will I get the vaccine? Will I get treatment in the hospital? Will my parents-relatives survive if I infect them? Such a situation can end only with some vital changes from the government in the vaccination plans in order to bring a sense of confidence in citizens that they haven’t been left to God’s mercy in the country.

There is no denying that in the past some days there has been a steady surge in corona virus cases, deaths and hospitalizations in Jammu and Kashmir too. It indicates that the second wave of the virus is already here like the rest of the country. However, no shortage of the vaccine till now has been reported from Jammu and Kashmir and the vaccination drive is going on with people being administered the Covishield vaccine The recent spike has led to night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am, few micro containment zones and closure of schools, colleges and universities for students in the region to curb the surging coronavirus. Even if we continue with Covid-19 appropriate behaviors, the need is also for new Covid appropriate governance which would help to tackle the spread of the virus. Although we cannot afford to let our guard down against this virus, it will take a few more months to break the pandemic. The next eight to twelve weeks will be critical and if all countermeasures are not put in place, we could end up having a situation which could be worse than last year because the new mutant of this virus is more deadly. With cases and deaths growing everywhere we all want our country to sustain and win this fight!

Covid Is Still Among Us

It was Sunday evening at around 6pm, the Gole Market and adjoining Apsara Road market of Jammu was crowded with people who were out shopping, eating and strolling. With hardly anyone wearing face masks and none following social distancing norms everything appeared very normal with no worry for Covid pandemic. This all reminded me of the similar situation prevailing in these bazaars last year. It was a déjà vu moment for me when I noticed people smiling and walking around just like they must have done during the same season of 2020. I also noticed a small number of people clicking selfies. There was nothing in these shopping areas to remind the general public that Covid isn’t over yet. With this approach, the Jammuites appeared to have switched back to a normal life by raising further risk amid ongoing pandemic.

Covid is still among us and it was shocking to note how casually everyone has started responding to it. These shopping destinations have remained deserted for months last year but I felt on that Sunday that everything has gone out of the minds of these people who, if made to recall those days, may feel depressed once again. It is not wrong to be joyous but as we aren’t yet out of the worst period in the memory of mankind we need to act diligently. We cannot say to ourselves that we are done with Covid. Think of the period last year we spent away from our comfort zones in the middle of police nakas everywhere and praying for the return of our old routines. One thing is sure that we aren’t still in our ‘old selves’ and we have to remain ready to face this harsh reality for some more months.

We discovered adaptability and our own strengths and weaknesses last year which helped us to fight this virus till now!  Cases are again rising across the country very sharply and Jammu–Kashmir is also among the places witnessing a spike in the past some weeks. After facing strict travel restrictions I think it’s again that time when we restrict our desires to go out and search shopping places. It is important that we strictly follow all safety precautions to save lives. We have started reliving our lives since last year and that vital process must continue for some more months as harsh realities of this pandemic are still running along. We all responded differently to the Covid with many among us having gone through emotional/ physical challenges initially. During panicked situations we were forced to resign from many places and positions and we supported our moves by feeling that the new normal is acceptable to me.

But why are we responding differently when we know that the fear is still valid! We need not move mindlessly in places just for leisure as Covid won’t wait for us to settle down before it takes its old shape. As the vaccination drive progresses across India, there is plenty to cover before we can celebrate our victory on Covid. For all of us who love to move around, we need to restrict ourselves for some more time and for this I have made up my mind  that I will stop visiting all these markets, malls of Jammu  for next one month except it’s an emergency situation to visit these places. Let’s admit that we changed our perspectives and lived without all this for months and prayed for the safety of our families, near and dear ones. The lockdown isn’t affordable and enjoyable so rest all things can wait.