Learn With Me - Target IAS

Introducing Group Contribution on Prep4Civils.com

2011-01-29T01:44:00.000-08:00

As you all know that our community, PREP4CIVILS.COM has the main aim of sharing knowledge with others. So far we have forums, groups to discuss among ourselves. We would like to take this to the next level by inviting all of you to our new "Group Contribution". This is a chance for all you people who want to write articles which will be read by thousands of fellow aspirants. This is a chance to improve your writing skills. This is a chance to interact with thousands of fellow aspirants. This is a chance for all the people who want to contribute to the site by making it the largest community contributed site for Civil Services.

How it Works?
So many of you might have been interested in writing an essay or an article and like to be evaluated by others. But you might not have got a chance or platform to write such articles. We make it possible. We provide you the platform where you can write the articles which will be read by thousands of people and get reviewed. All you need is a free account on our website. Once you are logged in, you will see a tab in the menu bar named "ADD NEW POST". Once you click that link you will be redirected to a page through which you can write articles or posts directly to the website. Once we go through your posts and if the post is within our rules and regulations, your post will get published.

Once it gets published it will be read by thousands of people who visit our site daily. And the comments section of the post can become a great place of interaction for your post. You can be reviewed by so many other fellow aspirants.

What you can Post?

You can write Essays.
You can write Editorials.
You can provide Study Material.
You can provide Current Affairs.
You can provide Aptitude Test Material.
You can post anything related to Civil Services.

So, what are you looking for? If you have an account start posting something. If you don't have an account, create one and start posting. We wish our site, PREP4CIVILS.COM would become the biggest community contributed site for Civil Services.

Regards
Ram Manohar

Latest Editorials on Prep4Civils.com

2010-12-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Made in Guangzhou, sold in India

Sustaining people on the move

India-EU summit

Time to reset India-China relationship

We are Hiring

2010-12-09T01:22:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone. We hope everyone is having a great preparation for the examination. We are happy to inform you all that we are hiring for part time jobs. And we would like to tell you all that the work involved will help you a lot in your preparation too. We have opened one position currently and the number of people that are going to be recruited will be flexible. We have other positions too in our mind and we will be opening them soon.You can view them at our Careers

Following position is currently available to apply. Mail us at careers@prep4civils.com if you are interested.

Content Writer (Daily Essay)

Essay writing is one of the important factors that decides a candidate’s final rank in the Civil services examination. It carries a weightage of 200 marks. So keep you all at an advantage, we are going to start a separate section named Daily Essay under which one essay will be featured each day. So, as a content writer for daily essay you can be a contributor to our Daily Essay programme.

So, what are the desired qualities in a content writer (daily essay)?
Dont expect a long lasting list. Enthusiasm and Good writing skills are the only things needed.

What will be a selected candidate do?
Write quality essays on contemporary topics and submit us on a timely basis. Everything will be done online.

Great!! So how should you apply and what is the selection process?
No hectic process involved. Just send an email to us at careers@prep4civils.com with following things mentioned clearly.
Name, Age, Education, What you are currently doing, your profile link at Prep4Civils (if you have one) and along with answering the following simple questions

Why do you think you are the best choice for this position?
Mention any of your experiences/achievements with respect to your writing skills (You might have won an essay competition at school level. Dont hesitate to mention them).

So will I get paid?
Yes.You will be paid reasonable amount for the work you are going to do and we are sure that you are going to like it.

And any other related queries can be mentioned in the email.

Email to which the answers and requests are sent: careers@prep4civils.com

Introducing Forums, Study Groups and User blogs

2010-12-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

Its been a week full of updates both design and functionality wise. Somethings have been changed and some things have been introduced newly. We have done these changes by taking the suggestions from one of our active member, Smt K Nethra. We thank Smt K Nethra for being an active member and a great critic. We also thank her for giving so many valuable suggestions and ideas to improve the website and the user interface.

User Blogs

The most important update of the season, User Blogs. So what exactly is the idea behind user blogs? Maintenance of a Diary for keeping track of your preparation is one of the important things to achieve success. So lets make it a blog. More easy, reliable and easily available. Now members can create their own blog by visiting http://www.prep4civils.com/blogs/ and create their own blog. Some video tutorials explaining the full features and power of blogging will be put up soon. Having user blogs is a win win situation for everyone. Users can post interesting and useful content in their blogs daily and all the content can be accessed from the main site. So a lot of knowledge is going to be pooled. That’s a great way of sharing knowledge.

New Forums

If you are an old user at Prep4Civils, you might have noticed that we have changed the forums a lot since we started the website. We were a bit hesitant with the old forums from the beginning and we have finally changed the forums to a lot more traditional one last week. You can now have exhaustive discussions at the forums. Only thing you need is a Prep4Civils account to login. You can register freely for an account in minutes here.

Study Groups

Now members can form groups with like minded people and carry out the preparation. This will be an important step in Group Study. You can form group based on a city or based on a subject or both or whichever way you want. Another good thing is you can create the group and maintain yourself similarly what we do as Communities in popular social networking sites. You can create a group by visiting http://www.prep4civils.com/groups/

New Logo

Last but not the least. We have a new logo!! Though we don’t have a creative and design team and also the main of the site is not design, we need to take care of the aesthetics properly so that users should not get irritated from the disturbing ads and fonts. So we are always particular about the font we use and also the user experience. One of the compliments we have received is that our site is clean and devoid of ads. And we assure you that level of user experience in future too.

We wish you will have a great and knowledgeable stay at our site!!!

How to make the preparation of Civils Cool and thoughtful?

2010-11-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, its been a while that I have moved to the new website with latest technology and functionalities. We have started a new discussion at our forum on how to make the preparation for civils Cool, Enjoyable and Thoughtful at the same time. The reason behind our idea is we have seen so many people who suddenly become serious in their life as soon as they start preparing for civil services. We don't think it should be that way. You can be joyful and responsible at the same time and also we want to incorporate some fun in the learning process for civils. So we started a discussion here http://www.prep4civils.com/forums//topic/how-to-make-the-preparation-for-civil-services-cool-enjoyable-and-thoughtful#post-14

I request all of you to participate in the discussion and make some nice contributions so that we can implement some new trends in the preparation style of civils. Hope you all like the idea. See you at the discussion.

Updated IGNOU Political Science Links

2010-11-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

The following are the updated links for IGNOU Political Science material

Part 1

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/political-science/39/ignou-political-science-material-part-1/

Part 2

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/political-science/42/ignou-political-science-material-part-2/

Part 3

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/political-science/186/ignou-political-science-material-part-3/

Part 4

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/political-science/189/ignou-political-science-material-part-4/

Part 5

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/political-science/191/ignou-political-science-material-part-5/

Part 6

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/political-science/194/ignou-political-science-material-part-6/

Introducing New Feature: Submit an article

2010-11-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, I hope most of you have shifted to our new website http://www.prep4civils.com/ Today we have started a new feature which is, if you want to share articles or content you can directly submit them using a form on the home page of the website. All you have to do is to register and submit an article. If your article matches our rules we will publish your articles. To clearly understand how to participate in this please follow this link http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/uncategorized/164/introducing-new-feature-submit-your-articles-from-the-home-page/

Updated IGNOU Sociology Links

2010-11-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Study of Society

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ignou-material/105/ignou-sociology-material-part-1/

Society in India

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ignou-material/107/ignou-sociology-material-part-2/

NCERT Mathematics PDFs

2010-10-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

8th Class Mathematics - http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ncert/82/download-ncert-8th-class-mathematics-text-book-pdf/

9th Class Mathematics - http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ncert/89/ncert-9th-class-mathematics-text-book-pdf/

10th Class Mathematics - http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ncert/91/ncert-10th-class-mathematics-text-book-pdf/

Updated IGNOU Indian History Links

2010-10-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Part 1: Modern India

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ignou-material/72/download-ignous-indian-history-material-part-1-modern-india/

Part 2: India Earliest times to 8th century

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ignou-material/74/download-ignous-indian-history-material-part-2-india-earliest-times-to-8th-century/

Part 3: History of India from 8th to 15th century

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ignou-material/76/download-ignous-indian-history-material-part-3-history-of-india-from-8th-to-15th-century/

Part 4: India from 15th to mid 18th century

http://www.prep4civils.com/blog/ignou-material/78/download-ignous-indian-history-material-part-4-india-from-15th-to-mid-18th-century/

Updated IGNOU Public Administration Links

2010-10-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends. I have moved my blog to my new website http://www.prep4civils.com/

And also I had put a redirect from my blog to my website. So you people might not have access to my old posts. So many have asked for the new links for Public Administration material of IGNOU. So here are the links for the new material.

Administrative Theory

Indian Administration

Development Administration

Personnel Administration

Financial Administration

If you all liked the website please refer your friends to the website. And if you have any suggestions or queries, please mail me at admin@prep4civils.com

Launching my new website: www.prep4civils.com

2010-10-16T14:17:00.001-07:00

Hi friends... as i told u i have been working on the website from some time. I am happy to inform you all that i am launching the website www.prep4civils.com today on dussera. I did all the basic work to make the website. And some pending works are there which will be done as soon as possible.

so, friends please wish me all the best in my social entrepreneurship journey and be a part of my venture. and please spread the word about the website. it can really useful to every person who is preparing for civils.

website name : Prep4Civils
Address: http://www.prep4civils.com/

Hi Everyone... Comment ; Suggest and Help

2010-07-16T00:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone... I hope you all are fine... its been a long time since I posted something here. It is due to many reasons. Due to change of my interests I am not preparing for Civil Services. I thought I can do service where ever I am and whatever I may be. Its the motto of service is important. Recently I opened the blog after nearly 4 or 6 months. I just cant believe so many people are getting benefited and following my blog. The only reason is we do not have a proper online platform which can provide these things for free of cost. Isnt it? Why not I do it? I know what it involves. After all I started to prepare for it once upon a time.

So friends here is my idea of providing a platform for all of you get benefited in a big way. I have worked on it and going to come up with a website which can really help you in your preparation. So I am moving the material from here to there. So the download links may not work. I assure you that it will be a site which all aspirants will love. I think I will be doing service in this way. And friends I must be frank. I am not doing it for free. I will earn money through the website but not from the aspirants. Its from the proper advertisement revenue. And I am telling you now I am going to be a SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR.

I want all of you to comment on my idea. You may ask we already have so many websites. But I think no aspirant is satisfied with any of the website. I want your opinions and suggestions what all you want. Please do support me in this.

Making Sense of Jinnah Today : From EPW

2009-08-30T02:58:00.000-07:00

Making Sense of Jinnah Today

It is high time we moved beyond seeing Partition largely along lines of religious affiliation with clear villains.

Jaswant Singh, former foreign minister of India and a long time leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has been summarily expelled from his party for writing a book on Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence, Rupa & Co, New Delhi, 2009), the founder of Pakistan. In this book, Singh appears to have argued that the intransigence of Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel practically forced Jinnah to demand Partition of Britishruled India and the creation of a sovereign Pakistan. Singh terms him the leader of Muslims in undivided India and apparently argues that Jinnah was merely trying to protect his constituency from a Hindu majoritarian democracy. Apart from the extraordinary irony of such a statement coming from a senior leader of the very party which has aggressively pushed the Hindu majoritarian agenda, such a position also goes against a widespread national consensus over the historical assessment of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his role in the creation of Pakistan. Whatever the other political and academic differences among the entire spectrum from the far left to the far right, Jinnah has been the universal villain of Partition in independent India’s historiography. While there may be substantial differences of opinion over the role of the Congress as a party and of individual Congress leaders in contributing to the Partition of the country, there has been unanimity over the destructive political role of Jinnah, especially in the last decade of British rule. Therefore, it is quite surprising and unexpected that the revision of this position has come, not once but twice in quick historical time, from political figures placed firmly in the far right of the Indian spectrum. In 2005, L K Advani had taken initial steps towards a similar reassessment of Jinnah. His comments calling Jinnah secular and praising his historical role could be explained away in two ways. One was the obvious, and perhaps superficial, explanation that he was being polite to his Pakistani hosts. But as the EPW columnist GPD wrote at that time, Advani calling Jinnah secular was merely a reflection of V D Savarkar’s Hindutva ideology, which claimed that once Hindus captured state power, they would treat the minorities with generosity. Jinnah, once he had acquired his Muslim state, was merely doing that by speaking of minority rights. It is instructive that these remained mere words in Pakistan and suggest that there was no contradiction in Advani applauding Jinnah, since he wanted India to be a similar polity. At most, Advani could be accused of making a tactical mistake but did not renounce any foundational idea of Hindutva. This was perhaps the reason why Advani got off with a mere rap on the knuckles. Jaswant Singh, it appears, forwards an argument which is a break from the Hindutva position. He suggests that Muslims were right to fear domination and discrimination in a Hindu majority India with universal suffrage and to demand special protections or rights. Further, he accuses Congress leaders, including Sardar Patel, of being complicit in the Partition. Therefore, it should have come as no surprise to anyone, least of all to a Hindutva veteran like Jaswant Singh that his party reacted with the fury it did. Jaswant Singh’s arguments are not novel. It is a well argued, and equally well contested, position in Indian historiography that, by the 1940s, Jinnah had emerged as the sole spokesman of the Muslims and that it was Nehru and Patel’s “intransigence” over devolution of powers from the union to the federating units, as well as their inability to accept checks on the absolute power of
the centre which pushed Jinnah to ask for a sovereign Pakistan. The controversy over Jaswant Singh’s book points to a little noticed dissonance in the way Jinnah’s legacy is seen in India and Pakistan. Unlike in India, where Jinnah remains universallyderided for entrenching communalism in the subcontinent, in Pakistan Jinnah’s legacy is the biggest political asset for the
liberal and left political forces to fight the fundamentalists. The very words promising political rights to the minorities, which form part of Jinnah’s speech to Pakistan’s constituent assembly in August 1947 and which were quoted by Advani and Jaswant Singh in his praise, are used by those in present day Pakistan who want to push back the fundamentalist forces and work for
a democratic state and tolerant society there. It is not Jinnah’s earlier record of working for Hindu-Muslim unity but rather, his post independence avatar which is the preferred political asset for secularism and liberal democracy in Pakistan today. The same person’s legacy serves diametrically opposite political purposes in the two successor states of British India. In India he is a symbol of right reaction, while in Pakistan he is the bulwark for the present day Left. What does this dissonance imply? The easy answer is that political conditions are so starkly different in India and Pakistan that a stable constitutional majoritarian democracy would be an advance in Pakistan while it would be a political regression in India. But there is something more troubling that this dissonance points to. Even 62 years after the traumatic events of Partition the two successor states of British India have not been able to encourage a historiography and national memory which does not demonise and vilify the founding fathers of the other. This surely does not help either of the two countries to move on and build more secure relations; rather it helps entrench the deep distrust that the national publics of the two countries have for each other. While there cannot be any denial of Jinnah’s crucial role in asking for division, it surely should be possible to move beyond the monochromatic visions of Partition seen largely along lines of religious affiliation with clear villains. Jinnah, Nehru, Patel or even Gandhi, were not merely representing religious or national interests. Rather, as any social scientist would aver, class, caste and a variety of other interests played an equally crucial role. Not only academic rigour but the pressing political needs of building peace in the subcontinent call for a renewed public debate on Partition.

Trouble in Xinjiang

2009-07-30T01:47:00.000-07:00

China’s minorities are signalling that they will not put up with policies that favour the Han majority.

China’s inability to offer its (non-Han) minorities an equal and fair stake has been revealed once again in the recent violence in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. If it was Tibet in 2008, it is Xinjiang in 2009. Neither event has shaken Chinese government and party control over the two provinces, but both have surely reminded the government and chinese Communist Party (CCP) that they cannot continue to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that there is no disaffection among the minorities. The conditions in Xinjiang were considered serious enough to compel President and CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao to embarrassingly cut short his participation in the G-8 meetings in Italy earlier this month.

Ethnic violence leading to the deaths of more than 190 people rocked Urumqi on 5 July, when rioters belonging to the predominantly Sunni Islamic Uyghur denomination attacked members
of the Han Chinese in the city. The immediate trigger for the incidents in Urumqi was the violent targeting of Uyghur migrants by Han workers in a factory in the southern Chinese province of
Guangdong on 26 June. Upset by what some Uyghurs felt as Chinese government inaction in bringing the guilty Han workers to justice, protests were staged in Urumqi. The public anger was
transformed into a bloody ethnic riot with Uyghurs attacking the migrant Han Chinese population.

The official reaction of the Chinese government was to blame external forces for these incidents, pointing fingers at a Uyghur separatist leader (of the World Uyghur Congress) based in the
United States. But just as in the Tibetan events last year, the riots in Urumqi must be attributed to resentment among the minority ethnic groups of China’s population against government policies. One such policy is the “Western development” initiative launched in the latter half of the 1990s, which involved the large-scale capital investment in utilisation and extraction of natural resources in an endeavour to economically develop the western regions of China. Simultaneously, there was also an influx of ethnic Han Chinese to partake in the economic benefits of the growth process in these regions, including Xinjiang, a process which the CCP has been silently pleased about since it alters the demographic composition and facilitates control over the minorities. The Han migrants have been able to garner a large share of the employment opportunities. This combined with measures such as teaching of Mandarin in schools in Xinjiang has not gone down well with the Uyghur-speaking people. Thus, despite certain concessions to minorities such as the relaxation of the One-Child policy or other social measures, resentment against Han inmigration, corruption among the ruling elite, lopsided development and perceptions of cultural suppression have seen Uyghurs increasingly turning antipathetic to the Chinese government. This resentment also resonates with the perception of rising inequality and government corruption elsewhere in China.

China’s constitution and its 1984 Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law on paper provide ethnic minorities the right to protect, preserve and promote their cultures. The provision for diversity in the constitution and in the autonomy law have not been translated into implementation in Xinjiang (and Tibet), giving rise to open expression of grievances. The Chinese government will be foolish if it persists with its policy of conflating all forms of Uyghur dissent and grievances within “separatism, extremism and terrorism” and if it refuses to adopt a far more commodative
approach basing itself on the stated aims of the constitution. Merely blaming the separatist elements in the Uyghur diaspora for “fomenting” the riots is not going to help resolve the situation.The danger of a Han chauvinist and nationalist reprisal and consequent repression of Xinjiang remains, but thus far the Chinese government, both at the national and at the local levels, has tried to restore normalcy by appealing for calm while bringing those engaged
in murder and violence to justice. The relative freedom and access given to the press (both local and foreign) in covering the events after the 5 July incidents suggests a marked change from the Chinese government response to the incidents in Tibet last year. Beyond the political measures, the CCP and the government have to revisit the capital-intensive growth paradigm which is yielding some benefits to the Han majority but seems to be yielding little to the Uyghurs.

source : Economic and Political Weekly

Forum for Help

2009-07-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Hi friends since this is a blog everything cannot be possible. So I am making a post specially for Help. Below this post in comments section you can ask your questions, make suggestions and interact. It can help many people and at a single place.

Thank You !!!

India and Balochistan Insurgency

2009-07-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

Question of provincial rights: Islamabad cannot get away with blaming India for the unrest in Balochistan.

Why is Manmohan Singh under fire in India? Many Indians, including the Opposition, are not happy about the reference to Balochistan in the joint statement released at Sharm-El-Shaikh, Egypt, after the meeting between Dr. Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned summit. Some feel Dr. Singh stabbed them in the back by accepting the claim that India interferes in Balochistan. There are reports that Mr. Gilani pressured Dr. Si ngh at Sharm-El-Shaikh by handing over a dossier of evidence alleging Indian involvement in cross-border terrorism in Balochistan and that was how the Prime Minister was forced to accept the reference to Balochistan. I was present at Sharm-El-Shaikh. Many Indian journalists were shocked on reading the joint statement. They asked me why Balochistan was mentioned in the statement. In fact, many of them, like many common Indians, were not aware of what was going on in Balochistan. Within a few hours, I started receiving calls from many Indian television channels asking what evidence Pakistan showed Dr. Singh of the alleged Indian involvement in Balochistan.

While Mr. Gilani did mention Balochistan to Dr. Singh, he never handed over any dossier. The situation in the province came in for detailed discussion during the first meeting of the Foreign Secretaries at Sharm-El-Shaikh in the evening of July 14, two days before the meeting of Dr. Singh and Mr. Gilani. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told his Indian counterpart, Shiv Shankar Menon, that India must delink the composite dialogue process from action on terrorism, otherwise Pakistan would be forced to produce before the international media at least “three Indian Ajmal Kasabs” who were directly or indirectly part of the terrorist activities in Balochistan. He added that Pakistan would easily establish that the Indian Consulate in the Afghan city of Kandahar was actually a control room of terrorist activities organised by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The three Indian nationals were arrested in Pakistan in the last few weeks. According to Pakistani officials, they have undeniable evidence of the links of these Indians with Baloch militants.

Mr. Bashir told Mr. Menon that Pakistan and India could not afford a blame game. If Pakistan were to come out with evidence of India’s involvement in the attack on Chinese engineers in the Gwadar port city, not only would India’s credibility be damaged but also more anti-India feelings would spread in Pakistan. The extremist forces would be the ultimate beneficiaries, Mr. Bashir said.

One must understand why the Pakistani authorities are very careful in exposing the alleged Indian involvement in Balochistan. First, this new blame game will only help the extremist forces who successfully organised the attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 to derail the India-Pakistan peace process. Secondly, it will harm Afghanistan-Pakistan relations. The U.S. does not want tensions between Islamabad and Kabul at this stage because the NATO forces are trying their best to conduct a presidential election in Afghanistan in a few weeks. Thirdly, the PPP-led coalition government is aware that Balochistan is not a serious dispute like Jammu and Kashmir; it is a problem of provincial rights. Instead of internationalising the issue, therefore, Islamabad should address the problem realistically. It cannot get away by blaming India alone for the unrest in the province. It has engaged many Baloch militants in talks behind-the scenes. Good news is expected soon.

Pakistan is making noises about the alleged Indian involvement in the Baloch insurgency in a careful, calculated and “limited manner.” The U.S. magazine, Foreign Affairs (March 2009) published the report of a roundtable discussion on the causes of instability in Pakistan. Christine Fair of RAND Corporation said, “having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity. Indian officials have told me privately that they are pumping money into Balochistan.”

Where is Zahedan? It is the capital of the Irani province Sistan-o-Balochistan bordering Pakistan. More than two million Balochis live on the Iranian side of Balochistan. Iran is building a big port of Chabahar in the same area with active help from India. Top Iranian leaders have repeatedly alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency is supporting the Iranian Balochis to destabilise the Islamic Republic. American journalist Seymour Hersh admitted in July 2008 that the Bush administration gave millions of dollars to the separatist Iranian group, Jandallah, which is responsible for violence in the Iranian part of Balochistan.

If Pakistan plays the India card in Balochistan, many anti-U.S. forces in Pakistan will demand to know why it is silent on the CIA’s role in Balochistan.

Keeping in view the sensitivity of the problem, it is difficult for India to openly support the Baloch insurgency because it may harm its relations with Iran. If Indians come out openly in support of the BLA, anti-Indian elements in Pakistan will quickly bracket New Delhi with the alleged great game of the U.S. against Iran.

The Balochis are Kurds of South Asia. The Kurd population is distributed in Iran, Turkey and Iraq, while the Balochis are spread over Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Separatist groups in Pakistan and Iran want the Baloch areas unified. This is not acceptable to both countries. Balochistan has huge quantities of natural gas and unexplored oil reserves and is the largest Pakistani province in terms of area, covering almost 48 per cent of the country. But it accounts for only five per cent of the total population. A tribal society, it is the most underdeveloped province.

The first military operation in Balochistan was launched by General Ayub Khan in the late 1950s. The second was launched in 1974 when Iraq tried to destabilise Iranian Balochistan with the help of pro-Soviet Afghan ruler Sardar Daoud in collaboration with some Pakistani Baloch leaders. Daoud tried to exploit the slogan of independent Balochistan, on the one hand, and Pashtunistan, on the other. Afghanistan’s interference in Pakistan forced Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to use Ahmad Shah Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar against the Kabul regime. The two Afghan rebels became guests of the Pakistani security forces in 1975. Later, General Zia-ul-Haq used them against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

Pervez Musharraf gave Gwadar to the Chinese for development in 2003. Three Chinese engineers were killed and nine injured on May 3, 2004 in a remote-controlled car bomb attack. Two months later, Pakistan claimed for the first time that India was involved in the attack. Locals were not happy over the employment of non-Balochis in the main development projects of their province. They also wanted a fairer share of royalties generated by the production of natural gas. Instead of addressing their grievances, the Musharraf regime launched a third military operation against them in 2005, further aggravating the situation.

Why must India discuss Balochistan with Pakistan? For, it will be the transit route of at least two multinational gas pipelines — one from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan and the other from Iran to Pakistan. India could be a beneficiary of both pipelines, which could be extended from Multan to New Delhi. A stable Balochistan will, thus, ultimately benefit India.

Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, China and India should join hands, and stop proxy wars in Kashmir and Balochistan. They can then change the fate of the whole region.

source: The Hindu

Who are the Taliban?

2009-07-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Taliban are now active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan

Recent years have seen the re-emergence of the hardline Islamic Taliban movement as a fighting force in Afghanistan and a major threat to its government.

They are also threatening to destabilise Pakistan, where they control areas in the north-west and are blamed for a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks.

The Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

A predominantly Pashtun movement, the Taliban came to prominence in Afghanistan in the autumn of 1994.

It is commonly believed that they first appeared in religious seminaries - mostly paid for by money from Saudi Arabia - which preached a hard line form of Sunni Islam.

The Taliban's promise - in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan - was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.

In both countries they introduced or supported Islamic punishments - such as public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers and amputations of those found guilty of theft.

Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering burka.

Madrassas

The Taliban showed a similar disdain for television, music and cinema and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over from going to school.

The Taliban first came to prominence in Afghanistan in 1994

Pakistan has repeatedly denied that it is the architect of the Taliban enterprise.

But there is little doubt that many Afghans who initially joined the movement were educated in madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan.

Pakistan was also one of only three countries, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which recognised the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s until 2001.

It was also the last country to break diplomatic ties with the Taliban.

The attention of the world was drawn to the Taliban in Afghanistan following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001.

Mullah Omar's precise whereabouts are still unknown

The Taliban in Afghanistan was accused of providing a sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda movement who were blamed for the attacks.

Soon after 9/11 the Taliban were driven from power in Afghanistan by a US-led coalition, although their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was not captured - and neither was Osama Bin Laden.

In recent years the Taliban have re-emerged in Afghanistan and grown far stronger in Pakistan, where observers say there is loose co-ordination between different Taliban factions and militant groups.

The main Pakistani faction is led by Baitullah Mehsud, whose Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is blamed for dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks.

Observers warn against over-stating the existence of one unified insurgency against the Pakistani state, however.

The Taliban in Afghanistan are still believed to be led by Mullah Omar, a village clergyman who lost his right eye fighting the occupying forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Afghans, weary of the mujahideen's excesses and infighting after the Soviets were driven out, generally welcomed the Taliban when they first appeared on the scene.

THE TALIBAN

1. Emerged in Afghanistan in 1994

2. Mainly supported by ethnic Pashtuns

3. Toppled after US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001

4. Fugitive leader Mullah Omar wanted, whereabouts unknown

Their early popularity was largely due to their success in stamping out corruption, curbing lawlessness and making the roads and the areas under their control safe for commerce to flourish.

From south-western Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly extended their influence.

They captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran, in September 1995.

Exactly one year later, they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, after overthrowing the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani and his defence minister, Ahmed Shah Masood.

By 1998, they were in control of almost 90% of Afghanistan.

They were accused of various human rights and cultural abuses. One example was in 2001, when the Taliban went ahead with the destruction of the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues in central Afghanistan, despite international outrage.

US onslaught

On October 7, 2001, a US-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan and by the first week of December the Taliban regime had collapsed.

Mullah Omar and his comrades have evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world

Mullah Omar and most of the other senior Taliban leaders, along with Bin Laden and some of his senior al-Qaeda associates, survived the American onslaught.

Mullah Omar and most of his comrades have evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world and are believed to be guiding the resurgent Taliban.

Since then they have re-grouped in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, but are now under pressure in both countries, from the Pakistani army and Nato respectively.

Despite ever higher numbers of foreign troops, the Taliban have steadily extended their influence, rendering vast tracts of Afghanistan insecure, and violence in the country has returned to levels not seen since 2001.

Their retreat earlier this decade enabled them to limit their human and material losses and return with a vengeance.

source: BBC

Imagining a Nation : Great Article from The Hindu

2009-07-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

Rethinking the nation: A cohesive and just space for all...

July 18, 2009 marked the world’s first Mandela Day. Mandela Day is celebrated to honour the life and legacy of the 91-year-old veteran freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela. Mandela spent 67 years of his life, 27 of these in prison, in South Africa's struggle against apartheid. Mandela Day marks the moral authority of this great statesman and is a global call to action to each and every individual to devote their time and effort to the service of their communities.

The history of the struggles of many nations across the world has shaped each country’s basic beliefs and core national values. This evolves into a nationally upheld value system which is usually institutionalised in that country’s constitution.

The United States of America has laid out its core democratic values in its Declaration of Independence and its Constitution. These core values of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, justice, truth and common good are taught to every elementary school student in America.

Members of the European Union have been working on a consortium for European values and in 2005, the Atlas of European Values was published. This atlas presents the values, norms, and beliefs of Europeans at the turn of the millennium. The results of this study have turned out surprisingly conservative. An overwhelming majority of folks has chosen “married-with-children” as their preferred lifestyle, dispelling influences from the liberating 1960s, with its messages of emancipation and individualisation.

Our Indian heritage is awash with values that have been emphasised and passed down from generation to generation. The Indian national pledge calls for treating parents, teachers and all elders with respect. The Indian interpretation of respect differs slightly from those of Western nations. As a mark of respect for elders, we rise to offer them a seat, we refrain from calling them by their first names and are taught not to backchat to them.

Refreshingly different

United States President Barack Obama demonstrates an understanding of and is at ease with different world cultures. After being sworn in as President, when Obama personally saw off his outgoing counterpart George W. Bush onto his helicopter Marine One and off to his home in Texas, the President was practising a value that is well understood in the Eastern world. Another unprecedented act in the realm of Western campaign politics was the dinner that President Obama hosted for his defeated opponent, John McCain. Many people of Eastern descent would recognise the act of seeing off an elder statesman to be a mark of respect for his age, for his stature and for the services rendered to his country. President Obama has had global life experience — having spent four of his formative teenage years in Indonesia.

The Indian constitution embodies many of the core values that have been part of the Indian ethos. It has resolved to secure to all its citizens justice, equality, liberty and fraternity.

The Preamble to the Constitution of India seeks to establish what Mahatma Gandhi described as “The India of my Dreams”:

“I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class or low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability or the curse of intoxicating drinks and drugs. Women will enjoy as the same rights as men. We shall be at peace with all the rest of the world. This is the India of my dreams.”

We have other core values handed down to us over the generations — values such as respect for women, caring for the old and the sick and empathy for the poor and downtrodden.

If morality is the answer to the question “how ought we to live”, group morality develops from shared beliefs and helps regulate behaviour within a community. The reality of today’s society is that many countries are faced with endangered values.

In answer to the question, “What is the world’s greatest challenge in the new millennium?”, Jimmy Carter has stated in his book Our Endangered Values America’s Moral Crisis: “The greatest challenge we face is the growing chasm between the rich and the poor on earth”. He goes on to explain that the gap is steadily widening. At the beginning of the last century, the 10 richest countries were nine times wealthier than the 10 poorest ones. Today that ratio is 131:1.

Many independent studies are being conducted on the factors affecting changes to the moral fabric of our society. There is a need to put into perspective the values that are changing as a result of globalisation. George Matafonov in his book Fire and Water: Market Morality and Civil Society states that the root causes of global social unrest are not primarily the result of the rise of terrorism, but should be attributed to the new model of society whose core has become economic theory rather than traditional human values. He argues that in a span of less than 50 years, economic theory has turned the world upside down by insisting that our chief value should be competitive self interest. The challenge therefore for modern societies is to bring back the sense of traditional morality without negating the advantages of economic theory.

Our choices

India is a country of many cultures and ethnicities. Our common binding force doesn’t have to be drawn from Western influences, food, language or dress. Our history can be taught as a proud acceptance of our diversity or can be spun into a grim reminder of assault and plunder. Our attitude can be forward looking as an all-inclusive and tolerant community or can be backward looking, exclusionist, reactionary and violent. Our behaviour can be marked by belligerence and suspicion or we can be cosmopolitan and yet preserve our individual cultures.

Every so often, the moral fabric of our nation must be whetted and reaffirmed. Refreshment of our core values has to be an ongoing process. While attempts have been made in different communities to define a benchmark set of moral standards — enforcing these standards is quite another issue. Coersion is not the best form of adherence. If we perceive an individual or group of individuals to be violating a core value, the appropriate response is one which is within the framework of justice and equality.

Our most steadfast and enduring values are those that were introduced in our early years. Character education shows best results when introduced early in life. This makes schools a vitally important instrument in the character education agenda. Also, cohesive nationalism is a concept that needs broader definition and support. We need to champion this cause — something that we can practise everyday until it resonates in our lives. To teach our children to be divisive is a very dangerous game to play. They grow up looking at all relationships from this lens. The dangers of stoking the embers of hatred for this or that ethnic group are that the ensuing fire sometimes turns around to ultimately consume one of our own loved ones.

True progress has no room for mutual suspicion or divisiveness and can be achieved collectively, not individually. Our greatest moral challenge today is our poor. As a country with about 25 per cent people in poverty, this should be our primary focus. Our second biggest challenge is finding a way to live peacefully and amicably with all of our cultures and to preserve and promote our diversity.

source: The Hindu

Download India Year Book - 2009 E-Book

2009-07-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

India Year Book is a great compilation of the facts and important things involved during a year. It is a must read for General Studies. Here is the download link for E-Book

DOWNLOAD

Remembering KARGIL

2009-07-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

Its been 10 years since Kargil War ended. Today 26th July, We are celebrating Vijay Diwas due to the sacrifices made by our Jawans. In this regard I would like to post an article I came to see through on Kargil War' Victory in Sainik Samachar.

July 26, 1999 will go down in the annals of Indian history as a day when the determined Indian forces achieved a glorious victory over the retreating Pakistani army.

It was on this day that the Indian victory over Pakistan was complete. True to its character despite having to pay a heavy price for fighting a war within its territory, the Indian forces allowed the Pakistanis to return across the Line of Control (LoC). It was a gesture which depicted the great Indian tradition of forgiving even the enemy, when it pleads for it. For Pakistan, it was another lesson which it would probably not forget for a long time. It would also put Pakistan to shame, for it chose to torture and kill the Indian prisoners of War (PoWs), rather than handing them over safely as was done by India through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Fighting against all odds in the icy heights of Kargil, a remote region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian forces ensured that the supreme sacrifice made by their gallant soldiers did not go waste. As the nation stood like a rock behind the men fighting a war forced upon India by Pakistan, the plea from Islamabad to allow a safe passage to the trapped Pakistani soldiers was an ultimate proof about the capabilities of the Indian defence. The successful eviction of Pakistanis by the concerted action of the Indian Armed Forces clearly demonstrated that while India remains a votary of peace, it has the will and the capability to fight and win a war. The advancing Indian forces left no stone unturned to ensure that not even one Pakistani soldier remained on the Indian soil. With the backing of the Indian Air force (IAF), the Indian Army achieved a feat which would be hard for any of the armies around the world to match. It was also a milestone in the history of military aviation, as it was for the first time that air power was deployed with such effectiveness in such a hostile environment. The lessons from Kargil would also be applicable to all Air Forces for the world.

Though Indian forces initially suffered some losses, they were able to gain control of various heights very quickly. From Patalik to Chorbatla, from Valdor to Shangruti, the Indian soldiers were victorious everywhere. The Pakistanis were surrounded from all sides. Despite fighting uphill, the brave Indian officers and jawans cut through the Pakistani barricades. And for once the nation stood united like never before. The religion was relegated to the background and all communities were one. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari there was an outpour of emotion for the valiant Indian soldiers. Every time a body returned from the battlefield, entire nation shed tears and only vowed with further resolve to show no mercy for the Pakistanis. The nation also did not lag behind in lending the much needed financial support for the families of the soldiers who had laid down their lives protecting the Indian sovereignty. Aware of the need for a boost in the morale of the soldiers going to the front who had knowledge that they may never return home, singers and stars turned up in large numbers at the railway stations. The Indian cricketers also palyed their part and visited the hospitals where the wounded were being treated. It was an effort to show India was not divided as the enemy was hoping.

Incidentally, our policy of restraint and resolve during the Kargil crisis was appreciated by the international community. The blatant misadventure of the Pakistani military establishment in Kargil failed miserably on the politico-diplomatic and military fronts. The Pakistani attempt in Kargil has had such far reaching effect that it has still not been able to emerge from the indignity it invited upon itself.

Viewed against the background the historic initiative taken by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee to visit Lahore in February 1999 and the signing of the Lahore Declaration, which clearly reflected India’s willingness and determination to resolve its differences with Pakistan through a process of dialogue and confidence building, the Pakistani intrusion in Kargil was a betrayal of trust. Even while accepting India’s extended hand of friendship in Lahore, Pakistan was planning its clandestine, unprovoked full-scale intrusion across the LoC. Taking undue advantage of the unheld gaps in the continous and glaciated terrain, Pakistan attempted this aggression against India which led to the occupation of strategic territory on the Indian side of the LoC.

But in the end a great disservice was done by the Pakistani Army to not only all their countrymen but particularly to their soldiers, who were laying down lives in a war which had no idea, ideology or purpose. They did not know as to why they were fighting. While here in India there was an outpour of emotion and solidarity, the Pakistani soldiers died an unrecognised death. They were also not given a decent burial by their own men, whereas the Indian soldiers despite knowledge that these were the bodies of the enemy choose to give them a burial. For it goes by the Indian tradition to pay respect to the dead human, whoever he or she may be. Instead of recognising their sacrifices, the best traditions of the Armed forces, the Pakistani army not only treated their soldiers as cannon fodder, but adamantly refused to acknowledge their presence across the LoC. Later, despite being made fully aware of the identities of their slain soldiers, it continued to turn its back on the dead. This evidently was so because it would have immediately exposed the direct involvement of the Pakistani army.

Unable to face the humiliation inflicted by the Indian forces, Pakistan finally did acknowledge that some of the dead were their men. But then it asked India to hand over the bodies to the ICRC rather than accepting them directly. This again reflected little or no concern of Pakistan towards its own dead soldiers who will never return home and to their families. In fact, by this refusal, the fate of many Pakistani soldiers will remain an unsolved mystery, a pain that will be very hard to endure. And, the pain and agony suffered as a result by the families of these soldiers who are no more will squarely rest with the Pakistani army.

Kargil has lessons for both, India and Pakistan. India’s policy of peace has earned her recognition from world over, yet it must not take defence preparedness for granted. The lesson for Pakistan is, it must understand that dialogue is the best course for sorting out mutual problems between the two countries.

source: Sainik Samachar

Collection Of Websites For Your Preparation

2009-07-25T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hi all... We all know that Internet is a huge pool of knowledge.But without knowing what to read it will be a disaster. In the same way we have many websites for our preparation for UPSC. But you might know some and you might not know some.So in this post I will post some of very useful websites for your preparation. Use this post as a way to share the links of the website you think are worth to mention.

1. Saptarshi's Blog -- LINK -- If you are out of mind and you are messed up with lots of current affairs stuff then you should visit this blog for important articles with great presentation.

2. General Studies Daily Quiz -- LINK -- A great blog to test your knowledge daily on a certian topic in 5 minutes.

3. Indian Current Affairs -- LINK -- One post per day and you will get the whole news in a concise form. Best site for to keep updated with News in 3-5 minutes.

4. Help For UPSC Prelims -- LINK -- A great blog for all your questions and queries about UPSC prelims. You can also find strategies for preparation of various subjects.

5. General Knowledge Today -- LINK -- One of the best blogs for your General Knowledge and Current Affairs knowledge.

6. Civil Service India -- LINK -- Are You preparing for UPSC ? Then dont miss this site Its like our Mini Bible

7. Exam Race -- LINK -- Where can you get so much of material and previous papers in an organised way? Here is the answer.

8. CSGS India -- LINK -- UPSC General Studies Bible.

9. UPSC Portal -- LINK -- Another great website with large user database providing free material and a free monthly competitive magazine. Shouldnt miss it

10. Indian Officer Forums -- LINK -- A great forum for your questions and helpful information about preparation of the concerned subject you are opting for.

This is not the entire list. I will update it whenever I find any worthy website. If you know any good website other than these mentioned here , please make a comment here.

Download IGNOU: Sociology Notes ebooks for Free

2009-07-25T02:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone one of our friends asked me to upload IGNOU's Sociology notes. I have uploaded the files and providing links here.But there are some gaps in between.I downloaded everything from their site and couldnt find some missing files. So please find their relevant material some where else.

So here are the chapters included in Sociology
1. The Study of Society
2. Society in India
3. Sociological Thought
4. Society and Stratification
5. Society and Religion
6. Social Problems in India

Following are the download links. As of now I am providing mediafire links I will soon upload them to rapidshare too.

MediaFire Links :

The Study of Society

Society in India

Sociological Thought

Society and Stratification

Society and Religion

Social Problems in India

The Rest of the Chapters will be uploaded ASAP.

IGNOU - Indian History Notes ebooks Free to Download

2009-07-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here goes the Indian History notes..

The following are the chapters as of now uploaded by me

1. Modern India (1857-1964)

Rapidshare OR Mediafire

2. India - Earliest times to the 8th century AD

Rapidshare

3. History of India from 8th - 15th Century AD

Mediafire

I will post rest of the chapters soon....