The Cloning Debate Cloning is a form of non-sexual, or asexual reproduction in which all the offspring are genetically identical to each other and to the parent that gave rise to them. All the identical organisms-parent and offspring-collectively form a “clone”; and each individual is said to be a “clone” of all the others within the clone. Cloning is said to be used for many positive reasons, but the fact remains...

The Origin of Child Labour   Practically everyone is guilty of participating in this abusive practice through the purchase of goods made in across the globe, usually in poor, developing nations. This issue has been around for a  great length of time but has come to the forefront recently because of  report that link well-known American companies like Wal-Mart and Nike to the exploitation of children. Child Labour is a designation...

Arranged Versus Love Marriage   Marriage is a social institution (usually legally ratified) uniting a man and a woman in special forms of mutual dependence, often for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. Arranged marriages, which had been accepted almost everywhere throughout history, eventually ceased to predominate in Western societies, although they persisted as the norm in aristocratic society up to the mid-20th century. The usual opinion is that...

Drinking and Driving Thousands of road accidents recorded per year are due to drunken drivers. Under the influence of alcohol, the driver and the car have the potential for becoming most lethal weapons. They pose a hazard to themselves as well as the public on the roads. According to Dr. Isaac of NIMHANS, who mentions in a recent book “Alcohol and Emerging Markets” that while alcohol’s contribution to road traffic accidents...

Boys Are Blessings and Girls Are Curses Newspapers in Punjab were full of congratulatory messages for Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal. Senior Akali Dal leaders were congratulating the Chief Minister for his ‘achievement’ in having been blessed with a grandson! The extravagant praise for this ‘blessing’- not only from politicians, but also from senior bureaucrats – was conspicuously absent when Badal’s son, Member of Parliament Sukhbir Singh Badal, earlier had two...

Juvenile Crime   Juvenile crime rates have nearly doubled in many countries. In the news we keep hearing about youngsters got mixed up in shady affairs and committing petty crimes. What actually is a juvenile crime? It is a term denoting various offences committed by children or youths under the age of 18. Such acts are sometimes referred to as juvenile delinquency. Children’s offences typically include delinquent acts, which would be...

Divorce and Children   Irrespective of age, race, sex or religion, divorce has disturbing, often long-term, penalty. The immediate effects of divorce, such as hurt, anger and confusion, are evident in both children and adults. The long-term effects are not so easy to pin point. Divorce, or dissolution as it is increasingly becoming known is a legislatively created, judicially administered process that legally terminates a marriage no longer considered viable by...

Corporal Punishment is against Humanity   Corporal punishment a term in criminology is some manner of physical punishment inflicted by judicial order on the body of an offender. The term generally refers to flogging, branding, or mutilation as punishment for a crime. Corporal punishment has been practiced since ancient times. It was assumed that the injured criminal would be less likely to commit other crimes, but this assumption was never proved,...