Column | Window Seat | 16.8.2020

Window Seat | 16.8.2020 | Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

Independence!

At the 74^th year of our hard-fought and blood-soaked independence, we need to take a serious look at the shackles that we still need independence from. Of course, we have much to celebrate. When India became independent in 1947, life expectancy of an average Indian was 32. Presently it is close to 70. In 1947 our literacy rate was just 12 per cent. It has grown to over 80 per cent. We used to import our food. Now we are self-sufficient in food production. We are one of the largest producers of milk, sugar, tea and many other food items. Our population growth rate has started falling. Poverty has considerably reduced in the last few decades. We have joined the league of select nations to launch moon and mars mission.

However, some fundamental problems still persists. We still need independence from hunger, unemployment, illiteracy, ill-health and several other basic problems. In human development index (HDI) list we are at 129^th place in a list of 189 countries.  Corruption continues to be a problem. In the CPI (Corruption Perception Index) 2019 released by Transparency International India is in the 80th position with  Benin, China, Morocco, and Ghana. Healthcare, especially in rural areas is still a huge problem. Our Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 29.8 per 1000 live births compared to 7.4 in China. Lack of nutrition caused stunning growth in 50% of all our babies. As per the 2018 data, the rate of unemployment has increased to 3.53% from 3.52% in 2017. Covid-19 pandemic has made the situation even worse.

Our country has been revered as Sujalam, Suphalam, Sasya-syamalam (plenty of water, plenty of production and bountiful produce of grains). Look at the present reality. The NITI Aayog has warned that the demand for drinking water will outstrip supply by 2030 if preventive steps are not taken. Nearly 600 million Indians suffer from high to extreme water stress. About 2,00,000 deaths per year are attributed to lack of access to safe water. Experts predict that 21 big cities will run out of groundwater by 2020. The Ganga and Yamuna rivers are today two of the most polluted rivers in India. In many rivers the water is un-touchable, forget drinking.  

We are facing a huge agrarian crisis. India’s farm economy is in turmoil as farmers are not getting remunerative prices. Add to that the problems of degradation of land, depleting natural resources and loss of biodiversity.

Our policing and justice dispensation system is severely stressed. According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, India’s ratio of 138 police personnel per lakh of population in 2013 was the fifth lowest among 71 countries. Experts state that the archaic Indian police system doesn’t meet the requirements of a modern welfare state and reforms proposals have been pending for long. 

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written reply said 43.55 lakh cases are pending in the high court and out of these, 18.75 lakh relate to civil matters and 12.15 lakh are criminal cases. As on 2019 June 1, 58,669 cases were pending in the Supreme Court.

As a country aiming to be a Global Power-house- we need independence from these problems. We need to launch another freedom movement- freedom from hunger, ill-health, illiteracy and unemployment.

Use of Newspapers

During Corona pandemic, Newspapers are being innovatively used for different purposes- other than publishing news and analysis.
In an attempt to create awareness about the use of masks during the Coronavirus pandemic, an Urdu daily published from Srinagar distributed a mask for free along with each newspaper. On the front page of Urdu daily Roshni, the caption besides the mask read, “Mask ka istemal zaroori hai” meaning “It is necessary to use (wear) a mask”.

As Australia faced shortage of toilet papers, Darwin, Australia based newspaper NT (Northern Territory) News printed eight pages extra with their regular paper and said- it could be used as toilet paper.

Story@9

As the currently raging pandemic makes it almost impossible for children to move out of home and visit places, Bhubaneswar-based NGO Bakul  has decided to come home to children and parents on their digital screens.

Having played a significant role in promoting storytelling in Bhubaneswar with regular storytelling sessions at the library and having curated and co-organized with BDA and Odisha Tourism, the Bhubaneswar Festival of Storytelling (BhuFeSto) during the Hockey World Cup in 2018, BAKUL now brings Storytime @ 9. In this, every Saturday at 9 PM, storytellers from different countries will come Live on the Bakul Foundation page on FB, twitter and youtube in an attempt to bring bedtime storytelling to digital platforms.

Bakul is aiming to run this for 50 weeks in which 50 storytellers from 50 different countries will tell stories from their country and also introduce their country in the English language of course. The aim is multicultural exposure.

Storytime @ 9 will be LIVE simultaneously on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube every Saturday at 9PM.

To join the storytelling, you need to follow/like BAKUL on any of the following social media platforms:

http://facebook.com/bakulfoundation

http://Twitter.com/bakulfoundation

http://YouTube.com/bakulfoundation

And be online on any of these handles at 9PM on Saturday.

Mud Art

Odisha is known for Sand Art, besides several other visual and performing art forms. Puri based Sudarshan Pattnaik almost single handedly took this art form from the beaches of Puri to international level.

Balasore based artist Kesu Das has recently started working on what he calls Mud Art in which people enact a short play or pose as installations plastered with mud. The idea is to use human body as a material for creating an aesthetic experience. This photo is a part of a song commemorating the Bhumi Pujan of Shri Ram Mandir at Ayodha.

Tailpiece:  Aura of Light

Man: "Oh Guru! Why is it that when I open my eyes in bed at night, I see an aura of light around my wife's head? What does it all mean spiritually?"

Guru: "She's checking your cellphone."

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Journalist-turned media academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives in Dhenkanal, Odisha. He also writes fiction and plays.