An Apolitical Defence Force Good governance is the right and expectation of every citizen. Citizens exercise their right to vote in the hope and belief that the party they vote for will bring peace and prosperity to the country and a better quality of life for the citizens. Politics, therefore, is a part of citizens’ life and as soldiers are also citizens, they also have the right to vote. However, as...

The Politics of Information The recent communication explosion is the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind. This era is characterized, on the one hand, by the rising aspirations and expectations of millions of people living in the Third World and, on the other. by the emergence of new forms of domination and colonialism. The recent advances in the field of science and technology have led to an...

People’s Participation in Development People’s participation is becoming the central issue of our times. The democratic transition in many developing countries, the collapse of several socialist regimes and the worldwide emergence of people’s organizations—these are all parts of historic change, not just isolated events. People today have an urge–an impatient urge—to participate in the events and processes that shape and influence their lives. And that impatience brings many dangers and opportunities....

Transforming Our Huge Population into Human Resource India is a large nation with a huge population. In terms of population, India is next only to China, which is the most populated nation in the world. However, considering the rate at which India’s population is growing, the day is not far off when India would overtake China. Many social scientists blame India’s overgrown population on the country’s social and economic backwardness. Their...

The Two-Child Norm for Population Control Children covered in dust, with runny noses and matted hair, begging at street corners or playing or lolling about at construction sites, overcrowded schools, traffic jams. growing slums, shortage of water, electricity and other amenities, environmental degradation, indeed, any failure of the infrastructure and we attribute it to growing population. True, to a certain extent, population does put pressure, immensely at that, on limited resources....

Media Freedom and Individual Privacy Some time ago, the President of the Philippines was asked at a Press Conference if she had sex. She replied that she did and laughingly stated that was what would hog the headlines next day, not what she had spoken on development. I wonder if the President’s sexual needs and fulfillment are of any relevance to the public or to the nation. Was the question in...

The Rights and Wrongs of Conversion The dictionary meaning of the term ‘conversion’ in the present context may be, in its theological sense, the Mining of sinners to God; a change from sinfulness to righteousness; or in the more familiar sense, the action of bringing a person over, or the fact of being brought over, to a particular belief or opinion, specially to a religious faith. Conversion, historically speaking, must be...

Our Cultural Heritage India has a rich cultural tradition. There is a harmonious blend of art, religion and philosophy in the Indian culture. They are so beautifully interwoven in the fabric of Indian way of life and thought that they are inseparable. Indian culture is actually an outcome of continuous synthesis and has absorbed many external influences in the course of long journey of history. The first stirring of civilisation occurred...