The Knowledge Courtyard

Our Environment, Our Responsibility: An Appeal to Action

2023-08-24T12:39:00.011+05:30

Our Environment, Our Responsibility: An Appeal to Action

Introduction:

In the entire universe, the Earth is only known planet till now, which has life on it. Life on this planet is possible only because of the Environment. It plays crucial role in sustaining life on the Earth. We have been endowed, the air to breath, water to drink and, resources to fulfill our needs. And we ‘The Humans’ are the only living being which understands the relationship between nature and the human. The below Sanskrit shloka expresses this relationship as:

शाश्वतम्, प्रकृति-मानव-सङ्गतम्,

सङ्गतं खलु शाश्वतम्।

तत्त्व-सर्वं धारकं

सत्त्व-पालन-कारकं

वारि-वायु-व्योम-वह्नि-ज्या-गतम्।

शाश्वतम्, प्रकृति-मानव-सङ्गतम्।।

Meaning: -“The relationship between nature and man is eternal. Relationship is eternal. All the elements of water, air, sky, fire and earth are really the holders and the protector of the living beings.”

Image courtesy to www.vlr.eng.br

The beauty of this relationship could be long lasting only, if we ‘the humans’ will keep fulfilling our responsibilities towards nature. With the growth of human population, various human activities have taken a toll on our environment. Consequently, it has led to the ecological imbalance which could be the reason for extinction of life from this beautiful planet. Hence, it is upon us that how we recognize our responsibility towards the planet. Hence, it is upon us that how we recognize our responsibility towards the boon for us, but be the blessings for our future generations also.

Read also:- Marriage System in India

How we are affecting the Environment?

Can we recall those days when there were no separation of natural entities and everything was a shared resource? In essence everything belonged to each one. It used to express the relationship between nature and human, beautifully.

Ironically, with the span of time as we grew, we started exploiting the nature for our greed and we, consequently destroyed this relationship. Various human activities have affected the environment badly which must be concern for everyone on this planet.

Image Courtesy to www.pixstory.com

The degradation of the environment can be attributed to various factors as it is the result of the dynamic inter play of socio-economic, institutional and technological activities. Environmental changes may be driven by many social, economic, political, administrative and environmental factors such as:

1. Land clearing and deforestation: - One of the major cause behind environmental depletion is land clearing and deforestation. Forests are considered as the respiratory organ of this planet. Humans for their need and greed, clearing lands mindlessly, which is causing environmental degradation.

2. Overgrazing: - Overgrazing is one of the activity which may consequent to desertification of fertile lands. Mindful usage of grassland with good management could keep a control over the overgrazing results.

3. Over-irrigation: - Applying more water than what a crop requires may cause to over irrigation. It disturbs the oxygen balance of the root zone, drowns roots, reduces plant water uptake and stresses plants.

4. Soil erosion: - Soil erosion occurs due to detachment and removal of soil particles by wind or water. This is one of the major concern worldwide.

5. Pollution: - Various types of pollutions like air, water, noise, soil etc. are causing the environmental depletion. Today, urban areas are the most affected regions of pollution. It is causing many hazardous diseases.

6. Urbanization: - Migration to the cities from rural areas has created immense pressure on the urban population and causing expansion of slums. Due to the ecological challenges and the lack of prospects for productive employment in rural areas, people are compelled to move to the cities.

7. Economic growth: - Industrialization based economic growth has led to the environmental deterioration. With the time span as we are growing economically, the cases of environmental depletion is increasing equally.

8. Population growth: Population growth is playing key role in the speedy consumption of natural resources and the production of waste which is causing environmental degradation. It is also defined to various environmental pressures like biodiversity imbalance, air and water pollution and increased demand on arable land.

Why should we preserve the Environment?

All the living beings on this planet are the part of the ecosystem in which everyone is interconnected and inter-dependent on each other. This forms an intricate web of life on the earth. A disruption in one part of the ecosystem can have cascading effects on others.

Conservation of biodiversity is very essential for the ecosystem stability and resilience. Biodiversity supports food security and sustained livelihood through overall genetic diversity. Genes regulate all biological process on the planet and increases the ability of organisms to cope with environmental stressors. If the biodiversity is not safeguarded, it may consequent to the extinction of many animal and plant species.

Climate change: We need to take up arms against Climate change as it is one of the most pressing issue we are facing today. Human-induced climate change is proceeding towards the deterioration of the environmental balance. Ozone layer is thinning day by day, which is like direct invitation to the UV rays and many incurable diseases to the human and other living organisms.

Combatting Pollution: - The main contributors to the environment deterioration are air and water pollution. Contaminants brought into the ecosystem by pollution have potential to harm and even eradicate some animal and plant species from this planet.

Human health has got significantly negative effects due to environmental deterioration. Around the world, lack of access to the pure water is causing millions of deaths and billions of illness each year. Water shortage and a reduction in the quality of foods are two effects of environmental depletion.

Shortage of Natural Resources is also one of the negative effect of environmental degradation. It includes arable land, water, genetic resources, medicinal plants and food crops. In order to get rid of this scarcity, we need to preserve the environment.

Reduction of Green House effect is required as industrial development has played major role in the emission of Greenhouse gases which have caused Global warming. Every year it is observed that global temperature is increasing and causing glacier melting. If it keeps melting with an extraordinary speed, It could cause the rise of sea level and sinking of many land parts on the earth.

Image Courtesy: www.4thheswallseascouts.org.uk

How can we accomplish our Responsibilities?

Responsibility is the ethical obligation we hold to fulfill our duties and commitments, considering the impact of our actions on ourselves, others, and the world around us. It circumscribes accountability for our choices, decisions, and behaviors, whether they pertain to personal, social, or environmental spheres. If the responsibility is related to the conservation of Environment, it becomes equally important to be accomplished as we understand that the sustenance of life on this planet is dependent to the sustenance of environment. Embracing this responsibility towards conservation of environment requires us to be aware of the consequence of our actions and to be focused on the positive outcomes.

It’s not like we are unaware of our responsibilities. However, it requires more endeavor towards conservation of environment as the human activities are deteriorating it swiftly. The world is divided into undeveloped, developing and, developed nations. Generally, these nations throw balls to others court when it is to fix the accountability for the environmental deterioration. However, everyone will have to carry the accountability accumulatively whether it’s a small nation of a big.

Let’s make a note, what can be done:

Sustainable Practices: Encircling sustainability involves making choices that meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This includes responsible consumption, waste reduction, and supporting eco-friendly products and services.

Spreading awareness and Educating people: A sense of responsibility among individuals about the environment and the nature is required to be generated. In this direction, Educational institutions may play a key role in order to disseminate this information among the people. Governments can make it mandatory to the educational institutions, social, economic and political platforms to spread awareness and educate the people about their responsibilities towards the environment.

Blue prints and Laws: Worldwide, Industries are more responsible for environmental degradation. Hence, it is required to make strong strategies and regulations that hold industries accountable for their environmental impact. Governments should step forward in this direction to frame blue prints and legislations so that an accumulative responsibility should be fixed.

Let’s have a Look into the History!

The Conservation Movement, also known as Nature conservation is a political, environmental and, social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources for the future generations. The conservation movement can be traced back to John Evelyn’s work “Sylva”, presented as a paper to the royal society of England in 1662.

The conservation was revived in the mid-19^th century, with the first practical application of scientific conservation principles to the forests of India. The Madras Board of Revenue started local conservation efforts in 1842, headed by Alexander Gibson, a professional botanist who systematically adopted a forest conservation program based on scientific principles. This was the first case of state management of forests in the world.

With the emergence of Industrialization and urbanization, governments started making serious efforts towards environmental conservation. In 20^th century, especially after the world wars when UNO came into existence, specific organizations started working towards it. In year 1992, the famous Earth Summit held in Rio De Janeiro of Brazil, shown how serious it was to take steps in order to think about the environment. Efforts like, Agenda 21, the concept of Sustainable Development and thinking about the Global warming became essence to the world.

Conclusion:

An appeal to action is required as our environment is a finite and insubstantial resource that demands our attention and care. The well-being of future generations depends on the actions we take today. By recognizing our responsibility to the environment, embracing sustainable practices, and advocating for change, we can work towards a healthier and more harmonious planet. It’s not just a duty; it’s a moral obligation to preserve the beauty and diversity of the world we call home.

How was the Central Administration during Delhi Sultanate?

2023-08-20T11:28:00.001+05:30

How was the Central Administration during Delhi Sultanate?

Delhi Sultanate(1206 CE to 1526 CE)

Administration during Delhi Sultanate

Strong administrative system during Delhi Sultanate played the key role in expansion of sultanate reign from North India to Deccan and South India. It was the strength of good administration which helped the Sultanate rulers to establish a strong hold in India in spite of a large range of Social, economic, geographical and cultural diversity.

Delhi Sultanate starts with the reign of Qutbuddin Aibek who established Slave Dynasty. The Slave dynasty was also called the Mameluk dynasty. The Arabic word Mameluk means ‘owned’ which was used to distinguish the important Turkish slaves chiefly meant for military service from the lower slaves who were used as domestic labours or artisans.

The last Turkish conqueror of North India was Muizuddin Mohammad Ghori. He died in 1206 CE. With his sudden death, there began a tussle for supremacy among his three most important generals-Tajuddin Yalduz, Nasiruddin Qubacha and Qutbuddin Aibak. Although, Aibek was deputed as military general of complete India during Mohammad Ghori. Hence, it became very easy for Qutbuddin Aibek to persuade the other higher officials for the establishment of a Turkish State in India.

Qutubuddin Aibak (1150 CE to 1210 CE)

In this way, Delhi Sultanate was established. Between the period of 1206 CE and 1526 CE, five different dynasties ruled in India. The Slave, The Khilji, the Tughlaq, the Sayyids and the Lodi’s are collectively referred to as the Delhi Sultanate. The rulers referred to as Sultans were of Turkish and Afghan origin. Not only they extended their rule over North India, but they also penetrated into Deccan and South India.

Read also:- Zero Budget Natural Farming ; Marriage system in India

Central Administration

During the reign of Mameluk dynasty or Slave dynasty in Delhi Sultanate, Central administration was administered by faithful slaves, who were deputed on administrative posts only by Sultan. These faithful slaves were those who had helped the Sultan acquiring throne. The administrative works were taken care by royal families also. Hence, faithfulness and trust were the first expectation and they were rewarded as well for the trustworthiness. Sultan was the head of all the military, administrative and judiciary powers. There were different departments to take care of these administrative units.

Wizarat or Diwan-i-Wazarat

After the Sultan, the most important department was Diwan-i-Wazarat which was under Wazir or Prime Minister. Under the Wazir, there were many Naib Wazirs or subordinate ministers who were accountable to the Wazir or Prime Minister. Wazir was also the chief supervisor who used to supervise the works of all other subordinate wazirs. He was the Chief advisor of Sultan who used to advise for all the important decisions related to administrative and non-administrative work.

Wazir also used to take car of the works of financial institutions. He and his department were responsible for the payments of one of the largest non-producer classes which was the royal army. His department used to keep control over the revenue collections from all over the state. There were many subordinate departments like Mustaf-i-Mumalik (Auditor General), Mushrif-i-Mumalik (Accountant general), Mazmuadar (Account Officers) to help him for these works.

The mints, the royal buildings, the intelligence department and the manufacturing units related to royal court were also in the jurisdiction of Diwan-e-Wazarat.

Diwan-i-arz or Department of Military

After Diwan-i-Wazarat, Diwan-i-arz was one of the most important pillars of Delhi Sultanate which was established by Bulban, the last powerful ruler of Illbari dynasty. It was essentially the department of Military which was managed by Ariz-i-Mamalik.

Military used to help the Sultan to conquer new areas, to defend the empire and to maintain the law and order in state. Delhi Sultanate had a large fleet of royal army, hence it was an important ministry.

Diwan-i-Insha or Department of Correspondence

Most of the operations of royal power were managed through declarations, orders and announcements. Diwan-i-Insha was the department in Delhi Sultanate which used to set up correspondence among the departments and with royal crown.

Dabir-i-Khas was the officer deputed as the head of Diwan-i-Insha who used to write and receive the letters of crown and maintain correspondence with the officers of other departments. Dabir-i-khas was the official and formal means between central administration and other parts of the empire. Dabir also used to act as the personal secretary of the Sultan.

Diwan-i-Riyasat

This department was created to control the market activities during Sultanate period. During the reign of Alauddin Khilji, this department became more important and was renamed or replaced by the department called Diwan-i-Riyasat whose primary function was to implement the economic regulations issued by the Sultan and control the markets and prices.

It used to register the supplies of all the sales goods and maintain the quality and standard of goods in the market. Inspection of weight and measurements was also the responsibility of this department. After the death of Allaudin Khilji, this department lost its importance.

Diwan-i-Qaza-i-Mamalik or Department of justice

This department was responsible for maintaining justice in the state. Judiciary system was independent and authorized to do justice without any compromise. Religious and Legal matters, both were taken care by this department.

Diwan-i-Qaza was headed by Qaza-i-Mamalik. He was responsible for maintaining judicial process and also act as Sadar-us-Sadar for religious matters. Local Judges or Qazis were also elected by Qaza-i-mamalik.

Diwan-i-Risalat or Department of Appeals

Diwan-i-risalat was the department for complaint and Appeal. During the reign of Firozshah Tughlaq, complaints of people were registered in this department. Sadar-us-Sadar was the head of the Diwan-i-risalat who also used to act as Qaza-i-mamalik.

Diwan-i-Kohi

During Tughlaq period, Muhammad bin Tughlaq created and new department named Diwan-i-kohi, which was basically the department of Agriculture. He created this department to regulate the agricultural work during his reign. The main objectives of this department were to increase the land under cultivation.

Diwan-i-Bandagan

As its name introduces it, this was the department related to slaves. Firoz shah Tughlaq introduced this department to inspect, maintain and regulate the slaves during his reign. He increased the number of slaves by capturing the defeated soldiers and young persons during war. He had more than 18,000 slaves. The officer in-charge of this department was the Wakil-i-dar.

ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING

2023-08-20T11:28:00.000+05:30

ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING

Image courtesy:- Quora.com

What is Zero Budget Natural Farming(ZBNF)?

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices.

It was firstly started by a Marathi agriculturist SubhashPalekar, in the mid of 1990s. He practised it without using any chemical fertilizers and pesticides to cultivate. It is unique model as it relies on Agro-ecology. It aims to bring down the cost of production to nearly Zero and return to pre-green revolution model of farming.

Its focus is not to use the expensive inputs like, fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and intensive irrigation.

Some Unique Qualities of ZBNF

v In the Zero Budget Natural Farming, nothing has to be purchased form the outside. All the things required for the growth of the plant are available around the root ground of the plant.

v More than 98% of nutrients are taken from air, water and solar energy.

v Remaining 2% of nutrients taken from soil are also available free of cost as it is taken from the prosperous soil which enriched with these nutrients.

v It uses biological pesticides instead of chemical-based fertilizers.

v Farmers use earthworms, cow dung, urine, plants, human excreta and such biological fertilizers for crop grow.

Read also:- How was the central administration during Delhi sultanate?

Four Farming pillars of ZBNF

Zero Budget Natural Farming is based on total four pillars. There is a complete set of farming methods under this model. These four pillars are: -

Image courtesy:- thehindubusinessline.com

1. Soil Treatment or Jeevamrutha:- It is a fermented microbial culture in which a mixture of India’s indigenous cow dung, urine, jaggery, pulse, flour, water and soil are applied on farm land which promotes the activities of microorganism in soil.

2. Seed Treatment or Beejamrita: It is a treatment used for seeds, seedling or any planting material. It is a concoction of neem leaves & pulp, tobacco & green chillies, prepared for insects and pest management.

3. Herbicide Treatment or Acchadana(Mulching):- It protects topsoil during cultivation and does not destroy it by tilling. According to Subhash Palekar, there are three types of mulching. a) Soil mulch; b) Straw mulch & c) Live mulch.

4. Air infusion in Soil or Whapasa:- It is the condition where air molecules and water molecules(moisture), both are present in the soil. It helps in reducing irrigation requirements.

Read also:- Marriage system in India

Advantages of ZBNF

Image courtesy; apzbnf.in

v In ZBNF, the cost of production could be reduced and farming made into a “Zero Budget” exercise.

v In this age of environmental degradation which is causing due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and intensive irrigation, ZBNF could be one of the good initiatives of environment friendly farming method.

v With the rising cost of fertilizers and pesticides, which is the leading cause of farmer’s suicide, ZBNF would break the debt cycle of many small farmers.

v It suits all types of crops in all kind of agro-climatic zone.

v ZBNF method discourages deep ploughing and intensive irrigation, which is helpful to stop land degradation and it encourages inter-cropping, soil aeration, minimal watering.

v As this method is much beneficial, hence, the governments of many states have aimed to start organic farming. In June, 2018, Andhra Pradesh rolled out its ambitious project to become India’s first state to practise 100% natural farming by 2024.

NEED OF ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING(ZBNF)

India was struggling to gain self-dependency in every field after its independence. In order to feed it’s more than 340 million population and to fulfil their basic requirements, it was strongly felt that self-dependency should be achieved first. Indian economy was largely depending on Agriculture sector and its contribution in GDP was more than 54%. Hence, to reduce that thrust, agricultural development was kept as the main aim in First Five Yearplan in 1951. In year 1968, Green Revolution was commenced in India in the leadership and guidance of agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan and India adopted modern methods of farming and technology, such as use of HYV seeds, tractors, irrigation facilities, pesticides and fertilizers.

Although, the Green Revolution yielded great prosperity during its early years by increasing agricultural productivity in India and it achieved it’s goal of self-dependency in food grains. However, it created regional disparity as only of few states of India like Punjab, Haryana, Western U.P and M.P could adopt this new revolution in agriculture as these were irrigated and high potential rainfed areas. Rest of the states of India were unable to connect themselves with this new change.

The use of costly HYV seeds, with their associated demands of increased irrigation system and pesticides, use of chemicals or synthetic fertilizers, advanced machines, pushed the farmers into a cycle of debt which was commonly borrowed at very high interest rates from the local money lenders and banks. It became painful trap, especially if they have a bad harvest. This phenomenon started a new chapter of catastrophe as farmers started committing suicides. The reason was very obvious, their incapability of repaying debts mostly taken from private land lords and banks. As per the reports of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) of India, a total of 2,96,438 Indian farmers had committed suicide since 1995.

Hence, to stop this catastrophe of India and to save the farmers of committing suicide due to inability of repayment of loans, a low budget or Zero Budget farming was required where, an alternative of Green Revolution methods should be presented and poison/chemical free food grains could be grown.

States Implementing ZBNF

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) started as grassroot peasant movement. It has spread to various states in India. It has attended wide success in southern India, especially the southern state of Karnataka where it first evolved. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana replicated this model. It was a result of a collaboration between, agriculturist Subhash Palekar and state farmers association.

Image courtesy:- 10pointer.com

Elections in India

2023-05-07T19:42:00.010+05:30

Elections in India

Image courtesy: www.jagranjosh.com

Elections- A Universal process of Decentralization

Decentralization of power is one of the basic features of any democracy. Countries like India, USA, Canada, France, which are considered as the largest democracies of the world, has a set of mechanism of sharing its power. Election is one of those mechanisms in democracy, which provides stability to the government. In democracy, the government gets legitimacy if it is elected by its citizens through a fair process.

Although, forms of government may be different in democracies, like Parliamentary form of government, Presidential form of government etc. However, the process of forming the government should be universally accepted, and this universal acceptance or legitimacy comes with a fair process. This fair process is Election.

Election provides choice of leadership, political participation, which enables a person to raise their voice, their resentment to the governing party. It is a self-corrective system in which if there was any mistake made by the citizen in their choice of leadership, gets corrected next time.

Process of Election in India

India is the largest democratic country of the world. The modern Indian Nation State came into existence on 15th of August 1947. It is a constitutional democracy with a parliamentary system of government, and at the heart of the system lies a commitment to hold regular, free and fair elections. The architects of India made the provisions of Election, in the Indian Constitution for the formation of government, so that a long sustaining democracy could be set up. These elections determine the composition of the government, the membership of the two Houses of Parliament, the State and Union Territory Legislative Assemblies, and the Presidency and Vice-Presidency.

In India, Elections are conducted according to the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by, Parliament. The major laws are Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post-election disputes.

Constitutional provisions and the Election Commission

Image courtesy: www.livelaw.in

Part XV of the Indian Constitution deals with elections, and establishes a commission for these matters. Article 324 to 329 of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc. of the commission and the members. The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25^th January 1950. The Supreme Court of India has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner.

Read also:- Marriage system in India

Types of Election in India

India is a country of approximately 1.43 billion people. Here, the process of electing the representatives can be seen at different levels. As India is a country of Federal structure, hence, election holds at Central, State, corporation and village levels. Majorly, there are three types of elections:

1. General Election: - Election to constitute a new Lok Sabha or Assembly is called General Election.

2. By-Election: - If at any time there is a mid-term vacancy due to death or resignation of a member either in Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly only one seat falls vacant. The election for that state is known as By-election.

3. Mid-Term Election: - If the Lok Sabha or State Assembly is dissolved before completion of five years and the election is held to constitute new Lok Sabha or new, State Assembly, etc. is called Mid-term election.

Electoral Systems

An electoral system is defined as “the manner in which votes are translated into seats.” There are different types of election systems in the world. We can classify these into:

1. Majoritarian System

2. Proportion Representation System

3. Mixed System

Plurality or Majoritarian system: - This system is based on the principal that the candidate or party with the plurality of votes or a majority of votes is declared the winner. Such a system may use single-member districts or multi-member districts.

Proportional Representation System: - It is the electoral system family based on the principal of translating the overall votes into a correspondence proportion of seats in an elected body. For example, a party wins 30% of the votes, will receive approximately 30 percent of seats. All proportional representative system requires the use of multi–member districts. There are two Proportional representative system: - One is List Proportional representative system and another is Single Transferable Vote system.

Mixed System: - In this system, voters choices are used to elect representatives using two different systems: one proportional representative and one majority. There are two kinds of mixed systems: Parallel Systems and Mixed-member proportional Systems. As women representation on average in proportional representation systems than the majority systems, strategically designing a mixed system can be an effective way to increase the women representation.

In order to understand the majority system, it is required to understand at what principal this system works. In this system, after votes are cast and totalled, those candidates or parties with the most votes are declared as the winner of that election contest. However, the way this is achieved in practice varies widely.

ElectionCommission of India

Image courtesy: telegraphindia.com

Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body. The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. It is responsible for conducting elections to both the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures and for the offices of President and Vice-President. Besides, it is also responsible for the preparation revision, updating and maintenance of lists of voters. It delimits constituencies for election to the Parliament and the State Legislatures, fixes the election programme and settles election disputes. It performs many other functions related to elections.

Originally, the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. From 1st October, 1993, the Election Commission is a three- member body, consisting of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.

Appointment & Tenure of Commissioners: -

The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and service conditions as are enjoyed by the Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by the Parliament.

Read also:- How was the central administration during Delhi sultanate?

Electoral Process

Elections in India are conducted according to the procedure laid down by law. The following process is observed.

Notification for Election

The process of election officially begins when on the recommendation of Election Commission, the President in case of Lok Sabha and the Governor in case of State Assembly issue a notification for the election. Seven days are given to candidates to file nomination. The seventh day is the last date after the issue of notification excluding Sunday. Scrutiny of nomination papers is done on the day normally after the last date of filing nominations. The candidate can withdraw his/her nomination on the second day after the scrutiny of papers. Election is held not earlier than twentieth day after the withdrawal.

Filing of Nomination

Structure of Government A person who intends to contest an election is required to file the nomination paper in a prescribed form indicating his name, age, postal address and serial number in the electoral rolls. The candidate is required to be duly proposed and seconded by at least two voters registered in the concerned constituency. Every candidate has to take an oath or make affirmation. These papers are then submitted to the Returning Officer designated by the Election Commission.

Security Deposit

Every candidate has to make a security deposit at the time of filing nomination. For Lok Sabha every candidate has to make a security deposit of Rs. 25,000/- and for State Assembly Rs. 10,000. But candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are required to deposit Rs. 12,500/– for if contesting the Lok Sabha elections and Rs. 5,000/– for contesting Vidhan Sabha elections. The security deposit is forfeited if the candidate fails to get at least 1/6 of the total valid votes polled.

Scrutiny and Withdrawal

All nomination papers received by the Returning Officer are scrutinized on the day fixed by the Election Commission. This is done to ensure that all papers are filled according to the procedure laid down and accompanied by required security deposit. The Returning Officer is empowered to reject a nomination paper on any one of the following ground:

(i) If the candidate is less than 25 years of age.

(ii) If he/she has not made security deposit.

(iii) If he/she is holding any office of profit.

(iv) If he/she is not listed as a voter anywhere in the country.

The second day, after the scrutiny of nomination papers, is the last date for the withdrawal of the candidates. In case that day happens to be a holiday or Sunday, the day immediately after that is fixed as the last day for the withdrawal.

Election Campaign

Image courtesy: www.deccanherald.com

Campaigning is the process by which a candidate tries to persuade the voters to vote for him rather than others. During this period, the candidates try to travel through their constituency to influence as many voters as possible to vote in their favor. In the recent times, the Election Commission has granted all the recognized National and Regional Parties, free access to the State-owned electronic media, the All India Radio (AIR) and the Doordarshan to do their campaigning. New technology has also played a vital role to create influence among the voters. Today, all the political parties are using social media platform to promote their election campaign.

The total free time is fixed by the Election Commission which is allotted to all the political parties. Campaigning stops 48 hours before the day of polling. A number of campaign techniques are involved in the election process. Some of these are:

a) Holding of public meetings.

b) Distribution of handbills, highlighting the main issues of their election manifesto (election manifesto is a document issued by political party.

c) Social Media like, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, What's App etc. has become one of the popular methods now a day to influence the voters and change their favors.

d) Door to door appeal by influential people in the party.

e) Broadcasting and telecasting of speeches by various political leaders.

Model Code of Conduct

The Election Commission of India keeps an eye on every events happening during the election. To maintain a uniformity and to get the election conducted free and fair, Election Commission of India releases certain guidelines. This guideline is known as Model Code of Conduct. During the campaign period the political parties and the contesting candidates are expected to abide by a model code of conduct evolved by the Election Commission of India on the basis of the consensus among political parties. It comes into force the moment schedule of election is announced by the Election Commission.

Image courtesy: www.jagranjosh.com

The code of conduct is as follows:

a) No religious places should be used by any political parties or the contesting candidates for their election campaign.

b) According to code of conduct, no hate speech should be there while political leaders delivering their speeches so that harmony among different communities belonging to different religions, castes and languages could be disturbed.

c) No Official machinery can be used for election work.

d) No new grants can be sanctioned; no new schemes or projects can be started once the election dates are announced.

e) One cannot misuse mass media for partisan coverage.

Polling, Counting and Declaration of Result

Image courtesy : www.livemint.com

In order to conduct polling, large number of polling booths are set up in each constituency. Each booth is placed under the charge of a Presiding Officer with the Polling Officers to help the process. A voter casts his/her vote secretly in an enclosure, so that no other person comes to know of the choice he/she has made. It is known as secret ballot.

After the polling is over, ballot boxes are sealed in the presence of agents of the candidates. Agents ensure that no voter is denied right to vote, provided the voter turns up w within the prescribed time limit.

Although, to cast votes EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) machine was used 1982. However, It became very popular only in 21^st century. Now, EVM is used in pan India to collect the consent of the people.

After, voting is done all the ballot boxes/EVMs are secured by the election commission and brought to a decided control center for counting. On the set day of counting, government officials start counting the votes and result gets declared by the evening of the counting day.

Conclusion

Legitimacy of any government depends upon the acceptance of the leadership by the public. In democracy, if the government is formed by the winning contestant who has been elected through a free and fair election process gets a wider acceptance. In the constitution of India, the architects of the constitution made sure that the election process be in such a way that there would not be any challenge to the legitimacy of the government. In part XV of the Indian constitution, from article 324 to 329 electoral process has been described. A constitutional body, named Election Commission of India was framed to conduct and monitor free and fair elections in India. Election is considered as the soul of any democracy. Countries like India, USA, France, Canada, UK, Brazil etc. are the biggest democracies where election is considered as the political festivals of the democracy.

Marriage System in India

2021-11-16T02:49:00.000+05:30

Marriage System in India

What is marriage?

Among all the Institutions in Human society, Marriage is one of the most important and sacred institutions. In any religion, it is considered as a sacrosanct union. Marriage is a culturally recognized union between two individuals which is legally and socially approved. It unites the life of two individuals not only legally, but economically and emotionally also. Although, its meaning could differ or vary in different religion and regions. However, the common consideration about marriage is that it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned.

Etymologically, the word “Marriage”, derives from Latin, matrimonium da mater madre, meaning it as a female office regarding the creation and care of the family. It firstly appears in 1250-1300 CE in Middle English marriage.

History of Marriage

Image Courtsey: Indianexpress.com

During the very early age, no marriage existed and even the notion of marriage was not known. A man was on intimate terms with a woman, but it did not become either a legal or a religious act, so that both the man and woman were free to live their own lives afterwards.

However, with the development of social institutions in later age, this union of two individuals got social, cultural and legal considerations and became one of the most important institutions of the society. We can see the traces of family system in Harappan Civilization, where each individual family was living together in a house. The Harappan people were generally known to strictly adhere to only legal relations, and the fact that the couple were buried in the same pit together could be an indication of societal acceptance of their relationship.

As per the belief of researcher, people in Harappan Civilization could have been married which would in turn suggest the possibility that the institution of marriage originated in Harappan Civilization.

Marriage system in Ancient India

In Sanskrit, the word for marriage is Vivah which has the roots in Vedas. During Rig Vedic period, the institution of marriage was strongly planted. According to the Rig Veda, the purpose of marriage was to enable a man, by becoming a householder, to perform sacrifices to the God and to procreate sons. Marriage or Vivah was one of the sacred sacraments which every individual had to undergo and was also the second stage, Grihasthashrama among the four stages of life prescribed in the Ashram Dharma.

According to Hindu ideology, life is divided into four stages (Ashrama), Brahamcharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. Among them, the second stage (Grihasthasharama) dealt with marriage and included the goals of Dharma, artha and Kama. It is considered that without a marriage and without the cooperation of Ardhangani (Wife), one cannot achieve, Mukti or salvation.

The Vedas and Smritis, gave an authentic written foundation to the institution of marriage. It is indispensable as for the perseverance of race and body. According to smritis, Vivah is one of the Sarira-samskara each of every man and woman must pass through it at proper age and time. The primary function of marriage was the continuity of the race through the procreation of children and to ensure transmission of cultural heritage. The Hindu believer that one’s progeny is connected with and is instrumental to happiness to this world as well as hereafter. Manu smriti states, “he is a perfect man, who consist of his wife, himself and, his offspring.”

Selection of bridegroom and bride

There were many criteria set to choose a bridegrooms and brides. To choose a bridegroom, certain factors were important and mandatory as a bridegroom should be intelligent, having good character, good health and should be wealthy also. In many Hindu mythologies, it has been denied to choose a bridegroom who do not possess these qualities. As per the stories of Mahabharata, friendship and marriage should always take between those who have equal status and wealth.

As far as the criteria for choosing brides were concerned, a bride should be fair and beautiful, intelligent, healthy and having good characteristics. In later age it was observed that knowledge of music, singing and dancing were also certain criteria for the marriage. During post Vedic era, when caste system became one of indispensable characteristics of the society, marriage between same caste were made mandatory. According to Kamasutra, the bride must be younger to the bridegroom by at least three years and a virgin. They should not belong to the same gotra.

Types of Marriage

Hindu scriptures have stated many types of marriages which indicates towards its different basis. Arrange marriage was one of the popular and majorly accepted type of marriage. Even, in medieval age and in today’s society this type has been largely accepted. Instances of marriage between two and more, have also been seen in all ages, like Polygamy, Polyandry, Plural marriage etc.

Grihayasutras, Dharam sutras and Smritis mention eight types of Vivaah. They were-

1. Brahma Vivaah- In this type of marriage, the father used to invite a man learned in Vedas to marriage his daughter ornamented with auspicious garments and jewels.

2. Daiva Vivaah- In this type of marriage, the person who organizes a sacrifice, marries his daughter to the priest who has come to preside at the sacrifice.

3. Aarsha Vivaah- In this type of marriage, bridegroom has to donate a cow and a bull or a pair of both to the bride’s father. After that bride’s father used to allow the bridegroom to marry his daughter.

4. Prajapatya Vivaah- In this form of marriage, the bridegroom had to give commitment to the girl’s father about togetherness with the bride. The father after honouring the bridegroom, gave his daughter and used to address both of them with the words, “May both of you perform your religious duties together.”

5. Asura Vivaah- This type of a marriage was rarely prevalent in the society as it was hardly liked by all. In this form of marriage, a father used to sell his daughter after taking a handsome amount and wealth from the bridegroom and the bridegroom willingly gave the said amount.

6. Gandharva Vivaah- This was a love marriage in which the parents of bride and bridegroom hardly knew about this marriage. With the mutual consent of both, bride and bridegroom used to marry with each other. Swayamvar, was one of the forms of Gandharva Vivaah.

7. Rakshasa Vivaah- This type of marriage was also known as abduction marriage. This marriage was prevalent in Kshatriya Varna. In this marriage, the bride was forcibly carried out by the bridegroom from her home and her kinsmen were beaten and injured.

8. Paishacha Vivaah- This form of marriage was abject and abominable. In this form, a seduced and raped girl had to marry with that person forcibly.

The above mentioned out of eight types of marriage, the first four were according to the Dharma Shastras and there was a provision of gift or Kanyadaan by the father or the other guardian of the bride to the bridegroom. In the above four forms, there was no any provision of Divorce or separation. However, the rest four forms were less liked and prevalent. They were not legalized. Brahama Vivah was the most prevalent and the best form of marriage and Paishacha Vivaha was worst.

Marriage system in Medieval India

Medieval age of Indian history shows a different phase in terms of marriage system. During this time the marriage was compulsory for all the girls except for those who opted ascetism. From the fifth century onwards, it is seen that the marriage age of girls, especially Brahmin girls was between eight and ten. Among Kshatriyas, Polygamy was prevalent due to political reasons. According to Abhilashitartha Chintamani, the king should marry a Kshatriya girl of noble birth for a chief Queen though he is permitted to have Vaishya or Shudra wives for pleasure.

Due to political anarchy, child marriage became common during medieval era which was not prevalent during ancient age. Separation or Divorce was not common during this age and marriage was considered as a permanent bonding of life. However, if divorce did occur, generally the couple's possessions were divided equally and any child stayed with the mother.

Marriage during Sultanate Era- Delhi sultanate period starts with slave dynasty. During this period, the marriage system among the invaders was different to the common people of India. Kings conquered the kingdoms; the conqueror often took away his choice as his bride and the consent of the bride was always not taken.

Marriage during Mughal period- Marriage during the Mughal period became a pomp & show and extravagance. This period was flourishing not only from the historical, economical and administration only, but marriages in this time were significant and memorable.

Marriage system in Modern India

Image courtsey: IANS

In modern days, a vast change has occurred in the marriage system. Government and legislation have interreference in the system. Certain provisions and customs which were prevalent in early ages, were banned and amended during the British rule and later on. Child marriage was banned and Widow remarriage started in 19^th century.

The modern form of Hindu marriage, life partner selection process and age at marriage are result of modern legislation. The rules regard to Varna, caste, sub-caste, endogamy and exogamy, gotra, are prohibited in modern society. Met selection process in modern days has changed and traditional factors in met selection process are no longer associated in arranged marriages. In stead of looking towards the traditional sources of met selection, urban Hindu society is turning towards the modern sources of met selection like, newspaper matrimonial, family connections, marriage bureau, matrimonial websites etc. Today, family, parents and children are given equal opportunity to select a spouse. Society has learnt an art of met selection and understands the demands of modern days.

Now a days, love marriage is as prevalent as arrange marriage. Even, it is seen that love marriages are getting consents of parents and it becomes love cum arrange marriage. Live-in-relationships have become common in urban societies of present time where, individual freedom and liberty of taking decisions has taken places in the family. Modern educated generation is deciding their own way in case of spouse selection.

Conclusion

The institution of Hindu marriage, mediates between individual and society. However, the traditional concept of Hindu marriage from Vedic period to the modern days, has shown its different colours and different shades. From the age of promiscuity to the modern liberal age the system of marriage has got many stages to perform the role and it led the society, accordingly. However today, the institution of marriage is losing its glory and on the name of individual freedom all customs and tradition are being vanished which used to be the jewel of life bound between two.

The Knowledge Courtyard

Our Environment, Our Responsibility: An Appeal to Action

Our Environment, Our Responsibility: An Appeal to Action

How we are affecting the Environment?

Why should we preserve the Environment?

Let’s make a note, what can be done:

How was the Central Administration during Delhi Sultanate?

How was the Central Administration during Delhi Sultanate?

Wizarat or Diwan-i-Wazarat

Diwan-i-arz or Department of Military

Diwan-i-Riyasat

Diwan-i-Kohi

Diwan-i-Bandagan

ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING

Elections in India

Elections in India

Types of Election in India

Electoral Systems

ElectionCommission of India

Electoral Process

Notification for Election

Filing of Nomination

Security Deposit

Scrutiny and Withdrawal

Election Campaign

Model Code of Conduct

Polling, Counting and Declaration of Result

Read also : - ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING

Marriage System in India

Marriage System in India

What is marriage?

History of Marriage

Marriage system in Ancient India

Selection of bridegroom and bride

Types of Marriage

Marriage system in Medieval India

Marriage system in Modern India

Conclusion