Reservation One Chance

Reservation, if given once in a lifetime to depressed classes to get them a level playing field, is justifiable, but if it continues several times over in life, first for education, then for employment, and then for promotion, it plays havoc with merit and national progress, and most importantly with the attitude and aptitude.

If we lag behind in world rankings in several fields, it is due to this malaise.

A person from a reserved category should be allowed reservation only once in life, and let him or her choose if they want it for education or for employment or for promotion. Once a person gets it, he or she or their children and grandchildren must not be allowed any reservation.

After all, merit has to take the centre stage. 

Jai Hind

Comrades in Revolution (Inquilab Ke Sathi)

My new Hindi book, Inquilab Ke Sathi (Comrades in Revolution), published by the Prabhat Publication, a renowned name in Hindi books, dives deep into the interpersonal relationships and friendships amongst the revolutionaries, covering the period esp. after the Kakori Case. These martyrs were out to sacrifice their lives for the motherland, but at heart, they remained bubbly youths, most of them in early twenties and even under twenty, and wrote their stories of companionship through actions and sentiments, which make them like any youth around us. This book is an effort to bring these revolutionaries closer to our hearts, with special emphasis on their lighter interpersonal moments, which took them all to the exalted zenith of self-sacrifice. The book is divided into six sections, each making an earnest effort to bring out the characteristics what made these young people they actually were

. Numerous anecdotes have been included in the book during different stages of their lives, including when they were busy in 'action', to when they were in jail, to when they were fighting their case in the court, to when they were doing things in their personal capacities, especially during the days of underground life or during long hunger strikes in jails. Some of these anecdotes are certainly going to shake the readers. I am confident once you start to read the book, you will not be able to put it down until you have reached the last page. Some selected photographs have been made part of the book, which will make your reading experience lively and unforgetful. Thank you.

Urban Challenges and How to Meet Them

Urbanisation has created many challenges. We can meet them through proper planning and sustainable development. Some of the important measures can be the following:

1.1.       Planning Cities: Many problems of urbanisation can be overcome by planning our urban spaces. Cities should be well-designed with adequate infrastructures, like roads, railways, parks, residences and public facilities, as well as spaces for businesses and industries etc. We have several planned cities, in full or parts, like Chandigarh and Jaipur.

2.2.       Strengthening Infrastructure: When basic infrastructure is improved in cities, better living conditions are created. It is the duty of the government to pay attention to basic problems, like traffic congestion, drainage, water logging, waste management, lack of hospitals etc.

3.     3.  Better Living Conditions: Better living conditions can be created in cities through providing affordable housing and improvement of slums. Also, reliable water supply, sanitation and electricity, and good quality healthcare and education facilities help to improve living conditions.

4.4. Creation of Employment Opportunities: A proper environment should be created by which employment opportunities can be created. This can be done through encouragement to industries and businesses. For this, efforts should be made for skill development of people.

5.5.       Conservation of Environment: Pollution is created in several ways. The problem of air, water and noise pollution has reached a new high in many cities. Awareness should be created about planting trees, conserving water and controlling pollution.

66..       Promotion of Sustainable Cities: A hearty effort should be made to promote sustainable practices, like the use of renewable energy, energy-efficient building and environmental-friendly technologies.

7.   7.    Good Governance: The government should make and enforce laws by which all people are able to take advantage of the infrastructure in a collective manner. People should be involved in decision-making. Also, the government should ensure efficient delivery of public services.

8.      8. Spreading Awareness and Discipline: One of the massive problems that almost each Indian city faces is dirtiness, as people are not aware of the value of cleanliness. Gandhiji said: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” We all should learn how to dispose our waste in a proper way. This can be achieved when we all have a sense of discipline regarding the spaces around us.

All these measures can help to make our cities cleaner, safer, more inclusive and better places to live.

Shyamji Krishna Varma (1857-1930)

A revolutionary, lawyer and journalist, and best known for establishing the India House and the Indian Home Rule Society in London, Varma mentored a number of radicals including Savarkar and Lala Hardyal. He displayed excellent intellect right from the early age. His mastery over Sanskrit at the young age earned him the title of Pandit. He came in touch with Swami Dayanand, a fountainhead of revolutionary thought and founder of Arya Samaj, and was even appointed the President of the Bombay Arya Samaj. Dayanand was impressed by his profound knowledge of Sanskrit and ancient scriptures, so he was asked to tour India to conduct lectures focussing on the Vedic philosophy. This earned him popularity among people across India.

Varma moved to England upon invitation by Sir Monier Williams, a professor in Oxford University, and received a postgraduate degree in arts (the first Indian to do so) and a Bachelor in Civil Law. He helped Williams in the study of oriental Sanskrit texts. He was later called to the Inner Temple as a pioneering Indian barrister. Numerous professors and scholars, including Max Muller thought high of his potential.

Back in India in 1885, he served as the Diwan (chief minister) or part of the cabinet in several princely states like Ratlam, Udaipur and Junagadh. Peeved at the attitude of the British agent at Junagadh and his humiliation by the British racial discrimination, he returned to England in 1897 to run India’s freedom movement from there. When Gandhiji supported the British government in the Boer War, Varma criticised him strongly because the people of Boer were a small nation fighting for their freedom against the British imperialism and greed.

In addition to establishing the India House and the Indian Home Rule Society in 1905, he also started a monthly journal, The Indian Sociologist, a tool to propagate his views on freedom and self-rule. The purpose of setting up the Society was to specifically secure home rule in India, carry out propaganda in England by all possible means, and to spread the virtues of freedom and national unity among Indians. He also published pamphlets, wrote books and delivered lectures condemning the British domination over India. In addition to the Herbert Spencer Fellowship, he also started other fellowships, including the ones in the name of Swami Dayanand, to support the cause of Indian students and social justice.

At the inauguration ceremony of the India House, a hostel providing lodging and boarding to 25 Indian students, were present numerous Indian and foreign luminaries, including Dadabhai Naoroji, Lala Lajpat Rai and Madam Cama. Speaking on this occasion, Mr. H.M. Hyndman, the founder of the Social Democratic Federation, said: “As things stand, loyalty to Great Britain means treachery to India. The institution of this India House means a great step in that direction of Indian growth and Indian emancipation, and some of those who are here this afternoon, may live to witness the fruits of its triumphant success.”

Owing to his fiery writings and speeches, he was disbarred from the Inner Temple; interestingly, he was reinstated to it posthumously more than a century later saying that he was not given a proper, fair hearing. To avoid arrest, Varma moved to Paris, and then to Geneva in Switzerland when the First World War broke out. Even there, he continued with his campaign until his death.

About this time, when Gandhiji was raising voice for the rights of the coloured people in South Africa which never focussed on India’s freedom, Shyamji Krishna Varma started his freedom movement abroad. He too favoured non-violence as the tool to achieve freedom, but did not rule out violence if need be. He was the first to adopt the term Swaraj or self-rule which was later adopted by the Congress leader Dadabhai Naoroji and others.

In Paris, Varma continued with his agenda of India’s freedom and worked to procure support among the Europeans. There he also agitated to secure the release of Savarkar when he was arrested when fleeing from the ship by the French police and handed back to the British authorities. For this, he received great support all over Europe and Russia. In Geneva, he had to somewhat moderate his tone for freedom struggle as he had given a word of political inaction to the Swiss government during the war period.

Varma did not live to witness India’s independence, but he had strong conviction that one day India would rise to freedom. Just before his death, he made prepaid arrangements with the local government at Geneva, Ville de Geneve, and St. George Cemetery to preserve his and his wife’s ashes at the cemetery for one hundred years and to send their urns to India whenever India gains freedom. It took a nationalist leader, Narendra Modi, when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, to bring back the urns and erect a memorial in the name of this great patriot at his birthplace Mandvi in 2003.

Written by: A.K. Gandhi

Key to SST-6 Chapter 3 - Landforms and Life

Question 2 : Chhota Nagpur is located in the plateau, Prayagraj in the northern plains while Almora is located in the northern mountains.

Question 3: Rameshwaram is located in coastal plains, Mahakal is located in Ujjain which is a plateau, Mehdipur Balaji is located in western desert, Varanasi is located in northern plains and Vaishno Devi and Badrinath are located in the northern mountains.

Question 4: False, True, True, False, False, True, True, True, False.

Question 5: Mount Everest - climbing, rafting - river, camels - desert, plateau - roof of the world,  Gangetic plains - rice fields, waterway - Ganga, Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa, Yamuna - tributary.

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Key to NCERT SST-6 Chapter 2 - Oceans and Continents

Explain the following terms: 

(a) Continent : A continent is a very large land area on Earth. There are seven continents, though some people can count differently: Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Europe.

(b) Ocean : An ocean is a huge body of salty water that covers most of the Earth’s surface. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean. The others are Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean.

(c) Island : An island is a piece of land that is surrounded by water on all sides. Sri Lanka, Andaman and Greenland are examples of an island.

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Key to NCERT SST-6 Chapter 1 - Locating Places on the Earth

1. Why is it 5.30 pm in India when it is 12 pm or noon in London?

It is 5:30 pm in India when it is 12 noon in London because:

• The Earth rotates from west to east, so places in the east see the Sun earlier.

• India lies east of London, so time in India is ahead.

• India follows Indian Standard Time (IST), which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) used in London.

Therefore, when it is 12 noon in London, it is 5:30 pm in India.

2. Why do we need symbols and colours in the map?

We need symbols and colours in maps because:

• They make maps easy to understand.

• Symbols show things like rivers, roads, schools, and mountains.

• Colours help to differentiate land, water, forests, and heights.

• They help us read a lot of information quickly without long descriptions.

Thus, symbols and colours make maps clear, simple, and useful.

3. What is the difference between local time and standard time?

Local Time and Standard Time are different in the following ways:

• Local Time is the time of a place based on the position of the Sun at that place.

• Standard Time is the same time followed by the whole country.

Local time changes from place to place, but standard time is fixed and helps in maintaining uniform time across the country.

Delhi's and Bengaluru's latitudes are 29oN and 12oN; their longitudes are almost the same, 77oE. How much will be the difference in local time between the two cities?

There will be no difference in local time between Delhi and Bengaluru because:

• Local time depends on longitude, not latitude.

• Both cities lie almost on the same longitude (77°E).

So, the difference in local time is zero.

4. False, True, True, True, False, True, True.