The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 76

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The International News Weekly Edit 06 January 18, 2018 | Toronto The w w w . canadianparv asi. c o m Publisher & CEO Associate Editor Editor (India) Online Graphic Designer Official Photographer Contact Editorial Sales Rajinder Saini Meenakshi Saini Gursheesh Kshitiz Dalal Naveen Bashir Nasir editor@canadianparvasi.com sales@canadianparvasi.com Dumbing Down Quotas across the board will be disastrous for higher education While India’s agrarian crisis is well recognised by now, less mentioned is that India also has a full-blown education crisis on its hands – of which the latest ASER report by NGO Pratham is an indicator. Among class VIII children 56% are unable to divide a 3 digit number by a 1 digit one; a quarter of them lack even basic reading skills. Standards have declined even over the past decade. In 2008, 37% of class V children could do basic math and 84.8% of class VIII students could read class II level texts; now those numbers have declined to 28% and 72.8% respectively. Moreover, recent government actions appear calculated to make India’s education crisis worse. Scrapping the no-detention policy means that children will be penalised for the education system’s failures. It is also likely to increase the dropout rate. Alongside, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar announced reservations will be extended to all private higher educational institutions, including unaided ones. This means that merit as well as the fundamental right to equality will be superseded by caste. It also destroys space for policy autonomy of private institutions, including unaided ones, and is legally contentious. The Allahabad high court ruled in 2011 that quotas do not apply to private unaided institutions. The government is likely to introduce a bill to override legal objections. But SC should not allow legislation to trample on the fundamental right to equality, part of the Constitution’s basic structure. The Centre seems to be extending a familiar povertarian logic into education, which will only deepen its crisis: make up for public sector deficiencies by beating up on the private sector. If schools functioned well and imparted decent education to all, there would be no need for reservations in higher education. While India seems to have adopted the Maoist dictum of “politics in command” when it comes to education, it’s instructive to look at how far China has come since it discarded Maoist precepts (at which time India and China were roughly level in scientific, educational and economic terms). Now, Times Higher Education rankings feature seven Chinese universities in the top 200, and zero Indian. The emerging economy rankings feature 25 Indian but 72 Chinese institutions, including four in the top five. China has overtaken the US in number of scientific papers. Meritocracy and vaulting ambition, in place of pretend egalitarianism and fake science, make China five times richer than India today. And thereby hangs a tale. TNN 2019: A Scary Story The election outcome that’s terrifying for India, BJP and Congress Saubhik Chakrabarti We are not going to mince words saying this: A terrifying prospect awaits India if general election results go a certain way. That way is best understood by doing a little, basic math. Suppose BJP plus Congress seats add up to well short of 300 in the 543-seat Lok Sabha. That means 250- plus Lok Sabha seats will be in the kitties of a motley crew of regional parties. Two questions are relevant immediately. How will such a situation come to pass? And why is this terrifying? Let’s, first, take a look at some Lok Sabha numbers from the recent past. The following are Congress plus BJP numbers in successive Lok Sabhas since 1989 elections. In eight Lok Sabha elections from 1989 there have been five stable, that is fiveyear, governments – in 1991, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. All these governments have been unquestionably led by either Congress (1991, 2004, 2009) or BJP (1999, 2014). In all these five stable governments, the BJP plus Congress Lok Sabha seat count has been over or close to 300. More important, in all these five stable governments, the national party in power was, unquestionably and by a big margin, in a command position and had enough allies. When Congress or BJP gave outside support because they didn’t have enough seats to take the pole position or when they were especially vulnerable to blackmail by allies, India had unstable governments. That’s what happened between 1989 and 1991 and again, between 1996 and 1999. So, this basic math suggests that the BJP plus Congress Lok Sabha seat count crossing 300 is possibly a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a stable government of any variety. The sufficient condition is that either BJP or Congress has enough seats to be the natural leader and, if required, enough reasonably well-behaved allies. Keeping this context in mind, let’s answer the first question: How can a BJP plus Congress seat count fall well short of 300 in the coming national election? In 2014, BJP won 100 out of the 106 seats that saw pretty much direct BJP versus Congress fights. And it won 71 seats in 80-seat UP. If BJP loses a substantial minority of the direct BJP versus Congress contest seats, if the SP-BSP alliance gets around 60 seats in UP, and BJP’s performance elsewhere is middling, today’s ruling party can slump to below 200 and in the worst case scenario, well below 200. But Congress may not be the biggest gainer if BJP takes such a hit. Even if the party gets more seats in the direct Congress versus BJP fights, it can become a two-seat party in UP (the Nehru-Gandhi family bastions) and it may not really do very well anywhere else. Congress can then end up not crossing 100 seats. Let’s assign, for ease of analysis, two nice round figures to the two national parties. BJP: 160 and Congress: 90. So, BJP plus Congress will be 250 seats. The motley crew of regional parties, including some pre-poll BJP and Congress allies, will then have 293 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha. BJP likely won’t have enough allies to have a shot at power. Plus, since today’s BJP is yesterday’s Congress, that is, the party against whom most other parties are fighting, post-poll realpolitik will be aimed at forming a non-BJP government. And since Congress won’t have enough seats to be in a command position, regional parties eyeing power will tell the grand old party that it needs them more than they need it. Thus will be born a Third Front government that will see one national party as a bit player and another, as a much-demoralised opposition. Of course, this may not happen. It’s foolish to either underestimate Narendra Modi-Amit Shah’s BJP or even the newly energised Rahul Gandhi’s Congress. But anyone with a passing understanding of Indian politics can’t say for certain that this will absolutely, utterly not happen. In punditspeak, there’s a non-trivial probability attached to this outcome. So, the second question. Why is this terrifying for India? Simple: A government such as this will be inherently unstable, permanently squabbling, it will be comprised mostly of parties that can be brutally transactional, every constituent party will try to push its regional, caste/ voter base special interests, therefore the chances of national policy coherence will be minimal; also, since parties in power will know their government may not last five years, they will have major incentives for, shall we say, using the system to enhance their capital base. Markets will likely tank, India as foreign investment destination will lose much of its lustre, India Inc will wish it hadn’t complained so much about earlier BJP and Congress governments, the economy, poised for a substantial uptick, may take hits, and, of course, it will be middle and low income Indians who will bear the brunt. This is not the government India, currently the world’s fastest-growing major economy, should have. But if both BJP and Congress falter badly, that’s the government India may get. And that, as we said, is terrifying. Source Credit: This article was first published in The Times of India. (The writer is Senior Journalist in times of India) Parvasi weekly & people associated with it are not responsible for any claims made by the advertisement & do not endorse any product or service advertised in Canadian Parvasi. Please consult your lawyer before buying/hiring/contracting through the advertisement Publised in this newspaper. The Canadian Parvasi is in the business of selling space and the clains made by the advertisement are not tested/confirmed by an independent source.
The International News Weekly world January 18, 2018 | Toronto 07 Thailand signals more tolerant refugee policy after Saudi case Bangkok: Thailand’s immigration chief has vowed not to force refugees to return home “involuntarily”, after a Saudi woman’s desperate plea for resettlement drew global attention to a country that does not recognise asylum seekers. The country is not a signatory to a UN convention on refugees and has long come under fire for holding them in detention centres or deporting them back to repressive regimes where they face prison or worse. Many cases do not make headlines but that changed earlier this month when 18-year-old Saudi runaway Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun arrived in Bangkok and staved off deportation by barricading herself in a hotel at the airport, live-tweeting the standoff to an international audience. She was handed over to the UN refugee agency within days and resettled to Canada within a week, where she was welcomed by Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland after landing in Toronto on Saturday. Qunun said she suffered abuse in the ultraconservative kingdom and refused to see family members who came to Thailand after her flight. The lightning-fast processing of her case was unprecedented for Thailand and was overseen almost from start to finish by immigration chief Surachate Hakparn, a blunt-talking media-savvy official nicknamed “Big Joke” who was recently appointed to the role and vowed reforms. Responding to questions about Thailand’s treatment of refugees, Surachate told an audience at the foreign correspondents’ club on Wednesday he would take a new approach and that under his supervision “there will be no one involuntarily sent back to the country if they don’t want to go back”. He added that as chief of the department, “we will now follow international norms”. But the claims were met with scepticism given the November arrest in Thailand of refugee footballer Hakeem Alaraibi, who had been granted permanent residency in Australia but was stopped at the airport in Bangkok while trying to go on vacation. Alaraibi, a former player for Bahrain’s national team, is wanted on charges relating to the damage of a police station during the Arab Spring in the Gulf State, but rights groups say he was playing a match at the time and the allegations are false. Surachate said the case was different as there was an outstanding arrest warrant for Alaraibi in Bahrain, but said that he could argue his case in court. Australia has called for Alaraibi to be returned to the country, where he lives in Melbourne and plays for a semi-professional football team. He also said that the processing of Qunun’s experience would not serve as a model for future cases in Thailand and denied that authorities caved to pressure as the story went viral and the young woman picked up tens of thousands of Twitter followers. “Each case will be considered case by case.” Sikhs in Texas feed US govt employees hit by shutdown Houston : In a unique gesture, the Sikh community in San Antonio, Texas, offered free meals to fellow American government employees affected by the ongoing shutdown that has left thousands without pay in the US. The partial government shutdown, which entered the fourth week, has left more than 8,00,000 federal government workers out of work across key departments. Trump wants to build a US-Mexico border wall and is seeking USD 5.7 billion in funding for the physical barrier which, according to him, is a must to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants into the US. The Democrats assert that such a move is a “waste” of taxpayers money. All federal employees, who have been forced to work without pay, or have been furloughed during the partial government shutdown were offered freshly prepared, hot vegetarian meals for three days beginning January 11. Sikh community workers prepared the gurdwara menu which comprised lentils, vegetables, rice and tortillas. “Workers and families affected by the shutdown are invited to the Sikh Centre all weekend for free meals starting today,” the centre posted on its Facebook. The idea that originated from the community’s willingness to offer help during this hour of difficulty for many American families soon drew volunteers who offered to cook to feed. “The Sikh community is there to support the federal employees who did not receive their pay cheques. Also, the Sikh community appreciates their services and believes in showing gratitude to those men and women for their wonderful service to the nation,” Balwinder Dhillon, president of the Sikh Centre of San Antonio, told the media. “The least we could do is support them with a hot meal for the next three days,” he said. The Sikh Centre is the oldest gurdwara in the city and was established in 2001. It also offers food, clothing and shelter to needy new immigrants. Afghan President thanks Pakistan PM for peace efforts Kabul : Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday telephoned Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss the ongoing international efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. During the call, Ghani "expressed his gratitude for Pakistan's sincere facilitation of these efforts" that were initiated by the US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, the Dawn newspaper quoted an official statement as saying. Khan assured Ghani that Pakistan was making "sincere efforts for a negotiated settlement" of the Afghan conflict through an inclusive peace process "as part of shared responsibility". Ghani also invited Khan to visit Afghanistan and the Pakistan Prime Minister reciprocated the gesture. "Both leaders also agreed to remain engaged and create an environment for resolving all outstanding issues," the statement said. Smelling high-calorie food for 2 minutes can help you eat less New York: Does a whiff of pizzas, burgers or sandwiches entice you, but you refrain from eating them due to the high-calories it contains? Take heart, smelling these for longer than two minutes will make you feel satiated, suggest researchers, including one of an Indian-origin. The study showed that ambient food scent can directly satisfy the belly because the brain does not necessarily differentiate the source of sensory pleasure. "Ambient scent can be a powerful tool to resist cravings for indulgent foods. In fact, subtle sensory stimuli like scents can be more effective in influencing children's and adults' food choices than restrictive policies," said lead author Dipayan Biswas, Professor at the University of South Florida in the US. The researchers discovered a direct connection between the length of exposure time and whether or not one will indulge. They also conducted a series of tests using a nebuliser that separately gave off the scent of healthy and unhealthy food items (cookies versus strawberries, pizza versus apples). The findings, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, showed that participants exposed to the smell of cookies for less than 30 seconds were more likely to want a cookie. However, those exposed for longer than two minutes did not find that cookie desirable and picked strawberries instead. The results were the same in case of the scent of pizza and apples. Since non-indulgent foods do not give off much of an ambient scent, they are typically not connected with reward, therefore they have little influence on what we order, the study noted. High caloric foods are high in fats and sugars and extraordinary intake of these types of foods increase your risk factors for obesity Type-2 diabetes, heart disease as well as cancers.
Page 1 and 2: www.luxurylights.ca 905-856-9999 La
Page 3 and 4: The International News Weekly Canad
Page 5: The International News Weekly Janua
Page 9 and 10: The International News Weekly india
Page 11 and 12: The International News Weekly India

The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 76

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?