Unity in diversity

Heritage means what we inherit from our ancestors and from our past. The heritage of India is the result of developments in the social, economic, cultural and political life of Indian people over a period of thousands of years. The land and people are the two components of this heritage.

Nature has made India into a distinct geographical entity. India is a vast country. It extends for nearly 3000 km from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south and for the same distance from its western-most parts to its eastern-most parts. The Himalayan ranges in the north and the sea in the east, west and south separates it from the rest of the world.

India has been a crucible of various 'races' and ethnic groups. They have all contributed to the making of Indian history and culture. The people from other cultures and civilizations have brought with them their own traditions which got intermixed and integrated with the pre-existing traditions.

Similarly, people of India have gone to other parts of the world and various elements of culture carried by them have intermixed and integrated with the preexisting traditions. The mountains and the rivers systems have been an important factor in the emergence of a number of distinct cultural zones within the country. India's culture has been changing and developing due to internal factors and contacts with other cultures. The Harappan culture was the first urban culture to emerge in India.

Jainism and Buddhism which arose in the sixth century B.C. left a lasting influence on Indian life and culture. This period saw the spread throughout the country of beliefs and practices associated with Hinduism, including Vedic religion. The next phase in Ancient Indian History covers the period from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 300. There were the Indo-Greefes, the Shakas, the Parthians and the Kushanas. There was significant progress of Buddhist art in the Deccan, and the beginning of Tamil literature in the south.

The Gupta's built a large kingdom during eighth century. In the Deccan, there were kingdoms of the Pallavas and of the Chalukyas. After the fall of Buddhism and the rise of Hinduism idol worship became popular and building of temples on a large scale started in the south and the Deccan as well as in the north.

Medieval period is important for the growth of modern Indian languages, architecture, sculpture literature, and philosophy flourished under the patronage of the Chola Kings. The establishment of the sultanat of Delhi: It saw the introduction of new features in art and architecture of India. Two new languages-Arabic and Persian became a part of India's linguistic heritage. It replaced Sanskrit as the court language and through out the country under the influence of Persian, new forms of literature such as the ghazal were introduced.

The Bhakti movement which had started earlier spread throughout the country. Kabir and Nanak, disapproved of religious narrow mindedness. The Bhakti saints condemned caste inequalities and laid stress on human brotherhood. The Sufis or the Muslim mystics preached the message of love and human brotherhood.

Sikhism began to emerge as a new religion based on the teachings of Gurunanak.

The eighteenth century marks the beginning of the modern period of Indian history. Politically the period saw the decline of the Mughal Empire and the birth of a number of small and big independent states in different parts of the country. The process of colonization of vast areas of the world by a few European countries had been under way since the sixteenth century. From about the middle of the 18th century, the conquest of India by Britain began.

For the first time in her history, India came under foreign rule. A new system of exploitation of one country by the dominant classes and groups of another country came into being. . From the early decades of the nineteenth century, various social, religious, cultural and intellectual movements started which aimed at removing the state of stagnation of Indian society. The nationalist movement united the Indian people on a new basis.

It recognized and cherished 'the unity in diversity' and composite nature of India's - culture as its unique feature.

Students' Oxygen movement view

15/04/2012

Be a change - Be Eco Friendly

Are you eco friendly? You may not be doing your part to make the world a cleaner place for all of us to enjoy. Even if you like your modern conveniences, you have a responsibility to do your part. Being eco friendly doesn't mean you have to give up your favorite products. It simply means you make better choices so that you aren't contributing to the ongoing problem.

There is simply too much energy out there in our society being wasted. Since those resources used aren't able to replenish themselves, they will soon be gone. We do have some alternative renewable energy resources out there, but they aren't being used enough yet to give us the benefits we need. By cutting down on waste materials, you will also be cutting down on the waste of energy.

Being eco friendly is something the entire family should take part in. As a part, you need to teach your children from a young age how important it is. That way they will be making continuous efforts to be eco friendly over the course of their lives. Many schools and community programs are also promoting the importance of being eco friendly. Do your part to make this world better for yourself and everyone else in it.

Taking the time to recycle is one of the most powerful ways in which you and your family can save energy and be more eco friendly. It is estimated that at least 60% of what the average family tosses into the trash bin can be recycled. On average, that could mean a family would save 5,000 hours of energy if they choose to recycle.

Help your community to become more eco friendly as well. More people will take part in it if it is easy. Having convenient drop off locations for glass, cardboard, plastics, and other types of recyclable materials means people can conveniently participate. You should also implement such efforts in your office. Using both sides of the paper and even using old papers as notepads can significantly improve your ability to be eco friendly.

There are plenty of terrific eco friendly products on the market to select from. When people are buying more of them companies pay attention. They are in turn going to create more of them so that they can generate higher volumes of sales. It is in this way that being eco friendly allows consumers to have a strong say in what we will see for sale out there.

Even the materials used for packaging your products should be eco friendly. Many of them have the symbol on them to indicate this fact. Shop with your own reusable bags when grocery shopping when you can. Otherwise, you should frequent those shops that make paper bags out of recycled paper.

By avoiding use of plastics, individuals and organizations will be saving the planet for the future.

Going green provides opportunities for organizations to manufacture environment friendly products and to enter new markets. By adopting environment friendly processes, companies can save on toxic waste disposal costs. A research study has revealed that 15% of customers are willing to pay more for green products

Eco-friendly cleaning products like vinegar and lemon juice clean more effectively than their eco-unfriendly counterparts. Using soap and shampoo made from eco-friendly ingredients promotes healthy skin and hair. Regular shampoos and soaps are laden with chemicals which may cause damage to hair and skin.

Avoiding the use of cars will help in reducing green house gases. This prevents pollution. It also saves the cost of fuel and provides exercise for the individual. Constructing eco friendly houses will benefit the individual in the long run. Using email instead of regular mail will save paper. This will save trees from being cut. High efficiency light bulbs will consume 25% of power consumed by regular bulbs. These bulbs also last 10 times longer.

Governments should frame their policies in an effort to promote environment friendly behavior. Individuals should "go green" and encourage their friends and relatives to do so.

It is very important for all of us to be as eco friendly as possible. We have the ability to make this world better for ourselves, our children, and for future generations. Having clean air to breath and eliminating various types of waste from our world is something we can all be proud of. Take the time to learn ways in which you and your family can start being eco friendly today.

Students' Oxygen movement view

08/04/2012

Computers- A Boon or A Bane?

Technologies and inventions have revolutionized the modern era. In modern age, with booming techno world, the computers have extended their reach to everyone from children to adults and it has got everyone hooked onto it. As computers have become really affordable for families, nearly every household of upper class family has one.

The introduction of 3-D games and the consistent use of it have left a negative impact on children's minds. Psychologists and sociologists believe that some of the violent game leads to imitation of violent activities in children. Thus we find a behavioral change in them. Evidences have been found regarding the addiction of these computer games. People aged between 25 to 30 years cannot retreat from this childhood activity within themselves.

Computers are a big boon to children as they not only help them with their education but also help them enhance their knowledge in many ways. But due to the presence of this electronic device, children have started spending more time in front of it as computer games have become more dearly thing to them. This has not only led to their health getting affected but has also put their social life on the back burner.

Computer’s influence have taken over children lives so much that today they prefer to play games on it rather than go out and indulge them in some physical exercise by playing various sports. Such a thing severely affects a child's health as a lack of physical exercise could lead to health problems. Research shows that youngsters who spend their valuable time in playing video games fifteen hours a week are intended to be more aggressive in nature.

Together with the computers, internet today have more or less erased the physical boundaries between people. With online social networking fast catching on among children also, social lives of children have been affected very much. Earlier children used to hangout with each other in groups, have fun playing board games with each other, etc. But now they prefer interacting with each other online. This has led to them becoming less active with the people around them and has also affected their personality.

The role of the internet to students is not be undermined. The internet has a wealth of information awaiting resourceful students. The students can click onto the masses of information on a vast number of subjects for their perusal and research purposes. Also, they can contact authorities on these subjects from various universities globally. For example, there are readily available website on literary texts and criticism. What amazing is that the website not only provide notes but also provides answer for literary assignments. This is great as students do not have to spend a bug sum of money or time to discuss issues with authorities on specified subjects. In addition, there are chat rooms that facilitates e-forums on literary issues. Hence, students can pose their questions or clear the air with other literary enthusiasts.

Finally, the computer is a source of recreation for students to spend their time fruitfully. Exciting computer games that challenge the mind help develop alertness among students. They can also relax while listening to music or watch a movie on the computer. Since the world is computer-savvy, students need to equip themselves with the basic computer skills to meet the demands of the job market.

Nowadays, acquiring computer skills is not a privilege but a necessity, not just for students but for the general public as well. In short, the computer is a boon for students.

It is necessary for children as well as parents to understand the dire consequences of this mind gripping machine. To avoid children getting sucked into the world of computers so much so that it starts affecting them health wise and disconnects them from the real world, parents have to start advising them at an early age about the ill-effects of too much computing and they should take care that their children spends more quality time with their family and friends.

In this way computer would not only help children have better worldly knowledge but also make them responsible adults in the future.

Students' Oxygen movement view

1/04/2012

Coaching Centers-Selection with Caution

Coaching centers! the name people and students listen everyday. .Thousands of coaching centers have been established everywhere. It is been spreading like a huge epidemic. In earlier days parents as well as teachers considered that those students who go to tuition were failures in life . But the time has changed a lot and students consider it a passion and status too. But we never see the dark side of it.

Coaching centers are earning a lot's of money and it's a sort of business nowadays. Some of them are merely earning money with less focus on teaching. Some of them are doing their duty sincerely with much focus on teaching. It's a awakening message for all that whatever you do, do with awareness.

Definitely coaching centers are not a boon. A student is sent to coaching centers by parents when he/she fails to get good marks in examination. Parents should try to find out the reason behind their failure instead of sending to coaching centers. Travel to coaching centers kills students valuable time like anything. Moreover coaching centers will take the students in wrong path by providing important questions. Students are greatly affected by depending on the important questions. So students should say a big no to coaching centres.

The mushrooming of coaching centers all over the cities big or small, metros or districts highlight the growing trend of students opting for coaching classes apart from the regular curriculum. Once upon a time coaching was a rare phenomenon, generally unheard of and only taken by those who were weak in their studies. But now it is a way of life for students, aggressively promoted by the teachers and too some extent by the parents also.

But does coaching really help in scoring good marks in school or in competitive examinations? Is it advisable for the school students to opt for coaching? When is the right time to join coaching? Does it take away time of self-study and make student dependent on coaching center? Or does it give your career the right boost and direction?

These are some of the questions which every student and their parents face.

Even though coaching center loots thousands of rupees from innocent students in the name of coaching only some number of students will be benefitted through coaching. Now a days coaching centers are making business with the money of students by announcing short term coaching. With in short period of time student can't learn the subject and examination tricks. So for long term preparation of any kind of examination coaching centers are needed but for short term preparation it is waste of money and time. The Government should also make sure that the coaching fees collected by such coaching centers do not become a burden upon the children and their parents.

The craze for coaching has led to opening of coaching center in every by lane of cities selling dreams of guaranteed success. One can see the newspapers, magazines or roads filled with advertisements like you can 'learn English in 30 days' or 'score 90% in Boards with our guidance' or 'clear PMT/IIT with our two year package'. More and more students are flocking these centers as an alternative or supplement to school teaching.

.This coaching industry has occupied a major space in the field of business as well because nowadays education is mainly being considered as a commodity salable in the market. To be precise, education has been commercialized to a threatening extent.

Many experts believe that education is a natural process of learning. For the regular and attentive students coaching is not really required till class twelfth.

.There are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration before selecting a coaching center. The quality, experience and expertise of the teachers should be the top priority. One should also talk to other students before taking admission. The standard of coaching can best be analyzed by the success rate and academic performance of the students studying there. Whether to join a coaching or not is an individual's decision. If a student is sincere and hardworking with good grasping power he or she can prepare for competitive exams even at home. But if professional help is required then select the coaching center which offers the best options.

Students' Oxygen movement view

25/03/2012

The Truth of The Coaching Hub

Noted scientist and educationist Prof Yash Pal has said that there is maximum corruption in the education sector of the country. “Large-scale corruption is prevalent in the education system. Coaching classes are hell, as they are killing the creativity of students.” said Prof Pal.

Like every thing else, education too has fallen to corruption. Right from admission of students to issue of certificates, recruitment of Vcs, faculty and non-teaching staff, procurement of grants and funds, all our educational institutions and educators are facing the dark forces of institutionalized bribery and back scratching. And that coaching institutes are not mere commercially driven teaching shops is also evidenced by the fact that a large number of them offer modestly priced correspondence courses which are invaluable to students in poorly managed, under-served government schools in rural India where teacher absenteeism is an epidemic.

It is difficult to deny that coaching institutes which benefit only the urban middle class who are able to afford their high fees, deepen the existing education-led inequalities in society. Over the years, there has been a constant growth in the number of coaching institutions. You can find a coaching institution at every nook and corner of the city. But the moot question is do coaching institutions really help us?

Nowadays parents have started admitting their children in these coaching institutions from the moment the children start schooling. The coaching centers have somewhat made the students dependent notwithstanding their extremely high charges. Before analyzing and looking up their problems and working over them, the students directly expect the coaching centers to clarify all of it.

In this connection a committee of experts was constituted to register centers after proper assessment of their functioning. Had the move been implemented properly, it would have put an end to exploitation of students by unauthorized centers in the name of called quality education.

The centers over-charge students in the name of imparting quality education. Through attractive advertisements in both print and electronic media, the coaching centers lure the students promising quality education and other facilities, which they never fulfill. The centers woo the students by floating attractive advertisements but on ground, students are made to suffer.

To make education as the biggest issue, Students’ Oxygen Movement has led a fight to protest against the exploitation of the students by the so- called coaching institutions. Students from different schools and colleges have made their presence felt by organizing Bachchon Ki Adalat on a regular basis where they raise their voices to bring about transparency in the field of education which has also received a thumbs up from the guardians, teachers and even noted educationists.

As we continue with our fight against coaching scams, we place three basic and genuine demands in students' interest-

1). Coaching fees to be paid on monthly basis.

2).Total number of students enrolled in a coaching institution to be made public.

3).Details of special coaching groups to be published.

We sincerely hope that in the near future we would certainly be able to bring about a speedy revolution.

Students' Oxygen movement view

18/03/2012