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Children’s Day By Dr Arvind Kumar Today is 14th November; the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, this day is celebrated as Children’s Day throughout the nation. Many countries, including Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, hold Universal Children's Day events on November 20 to mark the anniversaries of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, other countries hold events on different dates, such as the fourth Wednesday in October (Australia) and November 14 (India). Universal Children's Day is not observed in the United States, although a similar observance, National Child's Day, is held on the first Sunday in June. However, the plight of children in India is deplorable as can be judged from following facts: Ø   One third of the world’s children living in poverty are in India; Ø   Every 6th girl-child’s death is due to gender discrimination, also known as

Need for Social Transformation By Dr Arvind Kumar As Matt Taibbi puts it “organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.” In fact, real transformation will occur when business behaves more like civil society, not the other way around. Energy and creativity of millions of ordinary people can be helpful in creating a foundation for lasting progress that will never come through top-down planning by new global elite, however well intentioned. Otherwise, it has always been civil society and government that have pressed businesses to do these things; and to exercise their influence effectively, both government and civil society need to be strong and independent. Only then can they exert sustained pressure for accountability and act from a different set of values and priorities. Transformation of the world in the image of love and justice entails deep social change and social transformation, of democracy versus plutocracy, and of people’s willingness to work together on com

Celebrate Green Diwali By Dr Arvind Kumar The entire nation is brimming with enthusiasm and joyful spirits of the festival of lights ‘Diwali’. This festive occasion is celebrated with renewed fervour and on this occasion, people buy new house, new cloths, many houses and shops get a fresh coat of paints, and are well decorated. There is exchange of sweets and gifts among relatives and friends, business clients and partners and last but the least, buying the firecrackers. This means a huge business for the apparel industry, firecracker, paint and household items and for sweets and gifts. According to broad estimates, the budget of corporate “gift” alone exceeds Rs 3,200 crore, and the sale of firecrackers to above Rs 500 crore. In all, India spends over 5000 crore rupees for the celebration of this annual event. Excessive consumerism, high-energy consumption and air pollution through firecrackers, are the three major concerns from the environment point of view. We should celeb