Alia Malek, Patriot Acts. Book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alia Malek, Patriot Acts. Book - Essay Example Where of how law enforcement officers bully normal citizens, as well as how normal citizens bully other citizens who they consider are much lesser than them in a number of aspects such as race and colour. We hear of bullying stories every day in our schools. Students from different races (rather than whites) and deprived backgrounds among others fall prey to mostly white students who consider themselves more superior to other races (Bacon 35). I also fell prey to some of the worst bullies while in high school. It shows so evidently the role of our lack of knowledge as a country and as humans. I find both enraging and heartbreaking that parents, teachers, as well as schools, can be the major persecutors in a majority of these stories. The stories of Gurwinder and Rana truly drove the cultural unawareness home, but my own ignorance, as well: I echoed on the rage of my Sikh or Muslim friends and how immature I was of what they were enduring from the entire nation while they were going t hrough persecution in other regions of the globe I am delighted to have stumble upon this volume. The stories in Patriot Acts cope with one basic issue: what defines an American? Can United States citizens put on turbans? And can they pray openly? The storytellers in this volume are being deprived of their Americanism (which is that different when compared to citizenship) and, in the United States, that means that they are being shorn of their humanity (Malek 56). I marvel if this tendency to link Americanism with basic humanity is exclusive to the United States or if other nations are no different. A brand of American patriotism is to associate America with liberty, as well as freedom with ones fundamental rights (Bacon 40). However this principle, the highest confidence Americans have in this thought, depends on that liberty being indivisible from their citizens and not only the government. So how do individuals’ freedoms get

Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves Essay Example for Free

Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves Essay â€Å"It seems to me that we all look at Nature too much, and live with her too little† This quote provides a philosophical insight into the main theme I will explore within my chosen poems. Nature is defined as the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations. However this simply states that nature and humans are opposites, and one opposes the other. The poems I have chosen question this definition of nature and put it to humankind to answer the question, are we one with nature, or merely manipulating it to our own advantage, giving little back to our heritage? Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ explores our own humanity and how easily two conflicting emotions become each other; whilst Charlotte Mew’s ‘The Trees Are Down’ examines human ignorance and through use of language she unravels the ever changing connections with nature. However it is Lawrence’s ‘The Snake’ that uses strong imagery to portray humankind in all its shapes and forms, forever changing. These three poems utilize a series of techniques that bring forth a common phrase we are what we hate, kill and love, which ultimately contributes to a universal relevance, the main idea I will be focusing on, ‘each man kills the thing he loves’. Oscar Wilde is considered a gifted author, playwright and poet of the nineteenth century. He was intimately involved in the up rise of aestheticism, a philosophy of nature and expression of beauty; Wilde expanded the narrow-mindedness of the Victorian Era, ultimately bringing a new light to society. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, a semi autobiography, is considered the most seminal and serious of all Wilde’s works. However it is after being accused of homosexual offences, by his lover’s father, and further incarcerated at Reading Gaol that Wilde’s writing took a more melancholic approach. After serving his two years of hard labour, Wilde then moved to France, and was in ‘penniless exile’ It was in his last remaining years that Wilde produced two extremely heart felt pieces of work; De Profundis, a Latin term for ‘from the depths’, was an epistle addressed to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, and recounted his lifestyle of extravagance and love, within the first half. In the second part the text looks into his recent experiences, during his time at Reading Gaol, as he comes to terms with his spirituality. The other, ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’, a six ‘cantos’ poem, further subdivided into six lined stanzas, describes his experiences of loneliness and death, whilst incarcerated at Reading Gaol. The initial scene of the ballad, ‘He walked amongst the Trial Men, In a suit of shabby grey’, was inspired by the hanging of Charles Thomas Wooldridge, on Saturday 7th July 1896, a thirty year-old man convicted of cutting the throat of his wife. Charlotte Mew was an understated poet, whose works were less recognised, in comparison to Wilde, however she was highly praised by the likes of Siegfried Sassoon and Virginia Woolf. Mew lived a traumatic life, from beginning to end; facing close family deaths and two of her siblings being diagnosed with mental illness. These early experiences affected her future and had major influences on her; beginning with her and her sister Anne making a pact never to marry, in fear of passing on her family’s madness. Additionally Mew had similar sexual orientations as Wilde, attracted to ones own sex, however due to the condemnation of homosexuality, in the nineteenth century, Mew was left with a strong sense of suppression. Her life was extremely stifled by such experiences of death, loneliness and disillusionment and hence reflects these themes within her work. ‘The Trees are Down’ is a six stanza poem, that follows no structured form, merely ranging from one to nine lines, each stanza. The poem is based around the Revelation reference, at the beginning of poem: ‘-and he cries with a loud voice: hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees† and relates this to our society, past, present and future. David Herbert Lawrence, D. H.  Lawrence, was an extremely successful writer and artist. Publishing many plays, novels and volumes of poetry. He lived a very modest life, born in the small mining township of Eastwood, England, in 1885. Lawrence was an outcast, with few friends at school, who didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a miner. So Lawrence went on to study, gaining a scholarship at Nottingham High School and then becoming an elementary teacher. However it was after falling in love with his old professor, Earnest Weekely’s, wife, Frieda von Richthofen, that his life was altered. Breaking off his engagement and ending his teaching career, Lawrence developed his writing into a career. ‘Sons and Lovers’ is a semi-autobiographical account of Lawrence’s experiences as a boy, under the name of Paul Morel, who loved his mother and full of hatred for his father. Lawrence wrote this novel after the death of his mother, in 1910, and explores the love of a mother As her sons grow up she selects them as loversfirst the eldest, then the second. These sons are urged into life by their reciprocal love of their motherurged on and on. † All three poets lived extremely different lifestyles, however the common thread between them is the literary period they lived in, the nineteenth century. Wilde’s work, pre-incarceration, was considered extremely lush and light, however post-incarceration it grew sad and he adapted Dark Romanticism into his works. Mew explored Naturalism where the environment controls people, especially in ‘The Trees are Down’, which is similar to the works of Lawrence who combines naturalism with Pre-Raphaelitism, combining literacy with the visual arts, which is seen through his strong imagery. Comparing these three literary movements helps shape each poem, providing a purpose behind the theme of each text. The intent of these poems differ slightly from one another, however all three have embedded the allegory of killing our intimates within their texts. Wilde takes his own personal experiences of loss, and additionally the example of Wooldridge’s own act, to reveal how within love echoes hate and vice versa. Mew, who’s poem seems completely ahead of her time, exposes the ignorance of the human race. This exposure of human’s prejudice towards nature is again echoed within Lawrence’s poem through the line ‘my education said†¦ he must be killed’. The common purpose within these texts is the exposure of human’s ignorance and how inevitable it is. Lord Alfred Douglas’s father took Wilde to court for alleged homosexuality and this life altering moment in Wilde’s life is easily identified within the poem ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’. However Wilde carefully entwines Wooldridge’s own attempt of ‘killing the thing he loved’ within his own story to expose the wider occurrence of this tragedy. It is questioned whether or not Wilde came up with this statement or whether it is a nod to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice when Bassanio asks ‘Do all men kill the things they do not love? ’ Wilde is well known for his stimulating epigrams, yet this phrase seems to generate a metaphor for life and although not a question, like in Merchant of Venice, Wilde questions the similarities of love and hatred. When searching the word ‘love’ up on Thesaurus. com it provides a list of antonyms, including ‘hatred’, and vice-versa and yet here we see Wilde placing the two, opposing verbs, hand in hand. Wilde’s underlying purpose within ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ is not to recount his experiences at Reading, but what Wilde is really looking for is the mode of interaction in which love and hatred are one and indivisible, in which the bitterness is an expression of the admiration. Written in the nineteenth century Mew’s poem, ‘The Trees are Down’, was completely ahead of its time and in today’s society is seen as an empowering demonstration of humanity’s destructive ignorance. Using the line from the revelation Mew makes deep connections with the past and by examining her present looks into the future of what is to come, what is now extremely relevant. The purpose of this is to reveal society’s destructive nature and speak out against the destruction of our heritage as ‘half my life it has beat with’. Lawrence examines prejudices of the human race towards animals, within the poem, ‘The Snake’, and how we accept the words fed to us in an alleged ‘education’. However the irony of it all is that we are one with the Snake and this is what Lawrence was trying to achieve. Describing the snake drinking from trough as if ‘he’ is a person, the same as the narrator, then ‘he’ looks up ‘just like cattle do’. Lawrence’s connections across the animal kingdom; man, snake and cattle alike, break down the barriers of humans vs. animals, generating a scene of equality. However it is once the narrator’s ‘voice of†¦ education’ convinces him otherwise, his face becomes humanity; fearful and paranoid. Each text focuses on humanity and from here branches off the love-hate, ignorance and prejudices of the human race. Wilde highlights the correlations between love and hatred we express towards one another, Mew exemplifies humanity losing touch with their heritage, whilst Lawrence’s reveals the irony within humankind’s prejudices. In all three cases the writer is attempting to exemplify how two effects, wildly different, grow closer together, reciprocating off one another, or how two objects, scientifically/emotionally tied together can push one another away.

Who is Arafat? :: Politics Political

Who is Arafat? Now more than ever President Bush is pushing Israel for a withdrawal from the Palestinian-occupied territories in order get the cease-fire in effect. President Bush once said that one cannot negotiate with terrorists; the question now is whether Arafat is a terrorist or a peacemaker. The answer is simple: Arafat is a terrorist, and President Bush should not force Prime Minister Sharon to negotiate with a terrorist. If Arafat is not a terrorist then why are Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (terrorist groups) headed by Arafat (Kalman 1)? President Bush must face the truth about the Arab terror against Israel; he has to "see that the goal of the Arab world has always been, and still is, to destroy the state of Israel"(Podhoretz 2). The fact is that after the Oslo peace accords in September 1993, Palestinians killed more Israelis than in the 15 years that preceded the accord (Kelly 2). If there was no peace as a result of that accord, why should anyone expect peace after any other accord that Arafat is in charge of, as he was in Oslo? How can a man that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, now urge Palestinians to "sacrifice themselves as martyrs in jihad (holy war) for Palestine"(Kalman 2)? Is this a man that anyone can negotiate with? Reuters reports that on April 1, 2002 "one of Lebanon's most prominent Shiite Muslim cleric [gave] his blessing to female suicide bombers, like [the] one who struck in Jerusalem on Friday (March 29, 2002), calling them authors of a 'new, glorious history for Arab and Muslim women.'"(Par. 1) President Bush must see that: "there is no moral difference between the terrorists operating out of the PA and the al-Qaida network. He will recognize that to sponsor the establishment of a state run by the thugs and murderers of the PA would be tantamount to putting the Taliban back into power in Afghanistan" (Podhoretz 4). To assail Israel now and make Sharon pull Israeli troops out of Palestinian territory without fully completing their task of rooting out the terrorists would be like telling Bush that he has to pull out American troops from Afghanistan because our troops are invading their land. After Prime Minister Sharon announced war on terrorism and began sending Israeli troops into Palestinian territories, there have been fewer suicide bombings. While Israel was occupying the major Palestinian towns, there were no suicide bombings for about eight days, but as soon as Israel started pulling out, suicide bombings began again. Who is Arafat? :: Politics Political Who is Arafat? Now more than ever President Bush is pushing Israel for a withdrawal from the Palestinian-occupied territories in order get the cease-fire in effect. President Bush once said that one cannot negotiate with terrorists; the question now is whether Arafat is a terrorist or a peacemaker. The answer is simple: Arafat is a terrorist, and President Bush should not force Prime Minister Sharon to negotiate with a terrorist. If Arafat is not a terrorist then why are Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (terrorist groups) headed by Arafat (Kalman 1)? President Bush must face the truth about the Arab terror against Israel; he has to "see that the goal of the Arab world has always been, and still is, to destroy the state of Israel"(Podhoretz 2). The fact is that after the Oslo peace accords in September 1993, Palestinians killed more Israelis than in the 15 years that preceded the accord (Kelly 2). If there was no peace as a result of that accord, why should anyone expect peace after any other accord that Arafat is in charge of, as he was in Oslo? How can a man that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, now urge Palestinians to "sacrifice themselves as martyrs in jihad (holy war) for Palestine"(Kalman 2)? Is this a man that anyone can negotiate with? Reuters reports that on April 1, 2002 "one of Lebanon's most prominent Shiite Muslim cleric [gave] his blessing to female suicide bombers, like [the] one who struck in Jerusalem on Friday (March 29, 2002), calling them authors of a 'new, glorious history for Arab and Muslim women.'"(Par. 1) President Bush must see that: "there is no moral difference between the terrorists operating out of the PA and the al-Qaida network. He will recognize that to sponsor the establishment of a state run by the thugs and murderers of the PA would be tantamount to putting the Taliban back into power in Afghanistan" (Podhoretz 4). To assail Israel now and make Sharon pull Israeli troops out of Palestinian territory without fully completing their task of rooting out the terrorists would be like telling Bush that he has to pull out American troops from Afghanistan because our troops are invading their land. After Prime Minister Sharon announced war on terrorism and began sending Israeli troops into Palestinian territories, there have been fewer suicide bombings. While Israel was occupying the major Palestinian towns, there were no suicide bombings for about eight days, but as soon as Israel started pulling out, suicide bombings began again.

Joseph Stalin and First Five-Year Plan Essay

Abstract The historical scope of this research essay focuses on the methods undertaken by Joseph Stalin in industrializing the Soviet Union through his First Five-Year Plan. Thus, the main question arising throughout this essay is the following: To What Extent Were Joseph Stalin’s Methods In Employing The First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932) Effective In Achieving His Original Industrial Aims? In order to be able to analyze such controversial topic, the essay first addresses how Stalin approached the idea for economic growth, mainly by employing three methods: centralized, directive planning, utilization of political propaganda campaigns, and a focus on heavy industry. The results of industrialization are then analyzed and compared to the originally proposed objectives. Much of the research conducted was based on primary sources of evidence as well as secondary sources that most accurately depicted the situation of the Soviet Union at the time and its progress through the specified time pe riod of the Stalin administration. Analysis of such documents was also required in order to correctly deduce the credibility and validity of the evidence presented in order to be able to base the conclusions on the information. Lastly, the use of historians’ interpretations was used in order to substantiate claims or provide helpful alternative viewpoints. This research essay thus concluded that, although he did managed to expand enormously investment in industry and force the nation out of its backward, agrarian state, Stalin did not achieve comprehensive industrialization for the Soviet Union. Essentially, the deep bureaucratization of the economy, in concert with the particular features of the Soviet policy, produced a combination of contradictory forces originating from bureaucratic self-interests and impulsive political will. This would prevent the emergence of the right mix of factors that would assure the normal functioning of the economy. Table of Contents Abstract ———————————————————————————————————2 Abbreviations and Glossary ——————————————————————————— 4 Introduction —————————————————————————————————- 5 Stalin’s Realization for Industrialization 1. Explaining the Five-Year Plan (1928 – 1932) —————————————————-7 Analysis of Soviet Model of Industrialization under Stalin 1. Stalin and Centralized Directive Planning ——————————————————– 9 2. Stalin and Political Propaganda Campaigns —————————————————- 10 3. Stalin and Focus on Heavy Industry ————————————————————- 13 Results of First Five-Year Plan 1. Development of Overall Industrial Sector ——————————————————-10 Conclusion —————————————————————————————————-17 Notes ———————————————————————————————————- Bibliography ————————————————————————————â €”———–19 Abbreviations and Glossary 1. 2. Central Committee: Soviet Communist Party supreme body, elected at Party Congress. 3. Gosbank: Gosudarstvenny bank SSSR (USSR State Bank); Soviet Union central bank and the only bank in the entire USSR from the 1930s until 1987. 4. Gosplan: Gosudarstvenniy Komitet po Planirovaniyu (State Planning Committee); committee responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union. One of its main duties was the creation of Five-Year Plans. 5. Gossnab: State Supplies of the USSR; the state committee for material technical supply in the Soviet Union. Primarily responsible for the allocation of producer goods to enterprises, a critical state function in the absence of markets. 6. Gulag: Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei (main camp administration); eventually in charge of Soviet concentration camps. 7. Mensheviks: Minority faction of the RSDLP, founded in 1903 8. NEP: New Economic Policy (1921-1929) introduced by Lenin. 9. Pravda: the semiofficial newspaper of the Communist Party Introduction In October 1928, Joseph Stalin(1) executed the First Five-Year Plan (piatiletka) in order to strengthen the economy of the Soviet Union and accelerate its rate of industrialization. Part of a series of nationwide, centralized exercises in rapid economic development, the First Five-Year Plan would become the basis for future overall industrial production and development of heavy industries (manufacturing and military goods).(A) Since the conclusion of the First Five-Year Plan, however, numerous accounts have surfaced either praising or criticizing Stalin’s model of economic growth (depending on the interpreter’s predilection of results) in relation to the Soviet Union’s future development. Although modern historians, including  Evan Mawdsley(2) and Robert Gellately(3), debate over the extent of Stalin’s success in achieving the original aims of the First Five-Year Plan, the majority of them will agree that he did accomplish a significant and essential inc rease in industrial growth that would ultimately elevate the Soviet Union as a world class power. (E) Nevertheless, due to the unreliability of primary resources originating from Soviet archives and recurring debates among historians, some difficulties continue to exist in accurately defining the extent of Stalin’s success and whether his methods were applicable in employing the First Five-Year Plan most effectively. Advocates of Marxism-Leninism assert that the coercive and abrasive methodology in achieving major industrialization was the most appropriate and necessary in both the economic and social modernization of the USSR as well as indispensable for its survival in the face of capitalist â€Å"enemies†. However, Non-Soviet Marxists, from Mensheviks to Herbert Marcuse(4), criticize this approach for its long-term detrimental effects on the economy and working class, as well as the profound mark on the Soviet cultural life and standard of living.(F) Therefore, a critical examination of the diverse range of historical interpretations and analyses concerning this controversial subject should thus be conducted, making the topic of Soviet industrialization worthy of investigation. This research paper, in spite of the limited availability of Soviet primary sources and their dubious credibility, will thus attempt to answer the following question: To What Extent Were Joseph Stalin’s Methods In Employing The First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932) Effective In Achieving His Original Industrial Aims? In this way, valuable insight into historians’ methods in incorporating evidence to support their claims and constructing their arguments based on such evidence will be gained. In order to maintain clarity and focus, this research paper will essentially discuss industrialization and will thus revolve around two themes: First, the Soviet model of industrial advancement was not comprehensive and its achievements can only by attributed and limited to certain sectors. Second, the methods employed by Stalin to achieve industrialization and economic modernization were fallible and precluded complete achievement of the proposed goals. Stalin’s Realization for Industrialization Explaining the First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932) It is important to first gain an understanding of what Josef Stalin’s First Five-Year Plan entailed and what he aimed to accomplish in the industrial sectors by the end of the five year period. The latter approach will enable a qualified analysis examining how the results of the plan compared to the originally established objectives, thus, providing the necessary perspective in evaluating Stalin’s methods for economic reformation. In October 1928, Stalin incorporated the Soviet blueprint for the institution of socialism in the First Five-Year Plan, representing the first attempt by a major power to transform all aspects of economy and society. This new Soviet strategy focused primarily on establishing a heavy industrial sector to expedite the growth of manufactured products and armaments as well as reconstructing the agricultural sector on a new technical foundation.(G) This would create a self-dependent USSR in terms of military and industry and, more importantly, prop agate the socialistic doctrines throughout the nation. Overall, the plan would mainly impact the industrial and agricultural sectors, but it was also set to transform the social and cultural aspects of the Soviet populace. The aims were to surpass capitalism’s per capita output; to make greater technological advancements; employ a radical transformation of agriculture through the employment of machinery and modern techniques; to give priority to heavy industry, rather than consumer goods; produce the infrastructure of a modern, efficient state; raise the standard of living, providing people access to better education, health care, and welfare; and to secure the country against foreign invaders.(H) However, this research essay will narrow the scope of Stalin’s Five-Year Plan objectives by focusing on the industrial aspects of the plan. Quantitatively, in terms of industry, the projected growth for overall industrial production was to increase by 250% and heavy industry by 330%.(I) The extent to which this economic feat of mo dernization was plausible was a matter often discussed and disputed inside the Communist Party. Sergo Ordzhonikidze, the commissar of heavy industry, admitted the challenge to be formidable considering the agrarian, industrially-backward state of the USSR. Stalin himself admitted in his 1933 speech on the results of the First Five-Year Plan that â€Å"the restoration and development of heavy industry, particularly in such a backward and poor country as [USSR] was at the beginning of the five-year  plan period, was an extremely difficult task.†(K) Their justification in making such statements probably was that heavy industry requires both the enormous financial expenditure and the existence of experienced technical forces (both of which the Soviets could not afford or did not have), without which, generally speaking, the restoration of heavy industry is impossible. Certainly, with Stalin’s steep demand in industrial development, the Five-Year Plan appeared barely achievable. Historian Evan Mawdsley correctly points out how the two major policies stipulated in the plan were extremely demanding and in the long run proved to be unattainable. It is probable he based such observation on several factors including unavailable seed capital because of international reaction to Communist policies, little international trade, and virtually no modern infrastructure. Essentially, Stalin’s proposition of the First Five-Year Plan seemed unviable and unsustainable, but it is for this same reason that it is necessary to evaluate how Stalin achieved his goals and to what extent. Analyzing the Soviet Model of Industrialization under Stalin Stalin and Centralized Directive Planning Perhaps one of the clearest distinctions in Stalin’s methods of Soviet industrialization was that it was not based on private enterprise, but that it was totally state-driven and was largely based on centralized directive planning.(J) Most effective, argues Evan Mawdsley, was the system of economic administration that was based on the party leadership, Gosplan, the ministerial system, the commissariat of heavy industry (Narkomtiazhprom), and the supervisory role of the Central Committee. In contrast to Lenin’s NEP, the First Five-Year Plan represented this new system’s movement towards establishing central planning as the basis of economic decision-making and the stress on rapid heavy industrialization. This economic mechanism displayed particular strengths at periods when the political objectives of the regime demanded a rapid breakthrough in some branches of the national economy or during the emergency of war. However, Evan Mawdsley further argues against other historians that referring to the Soviet economy as a â€Å"planned† economy would be misleading, especially for the initial period of Soviet industrialization.(M) First of all, Stalinist planning did not make for the balanced growth of industry, or consider investment rates versus  consumption rates. Historian Andy Blunden makes a similar argument in which he proposes that the Stalin economic model of development was not based on the Marxist concept of planned economy, but rather (to some extent) on a bureaucratic centralist-command economy.(N) Combining both historical interpretations, it thus follows to infer that what the system did provide was a means of rigid prioritization, concentrating production in key are as of the Soviet economy (heavy industry), but at the same time limiting the expansion and diversification of the economic sector as a result of stringent political issues. Thus, Alex Chubarov, a professor at Coventry University in England, makes a rather true statement about the overly centralized planning system in the Soviet Union: It did not always work in practice. Stalin’s policies to â€Å"tighten work discipline† often worsened economic output instead of promoting production. Because of the stringent political climate that permitted few people to provide negative input or criticize the plan, Soviet planners had very little reliable feedback which they could use to determine the success of their plans.(O) Thus, economic planning was often done based on faulty or outdated information, especially in sectors with a large clientele. As a result, certain goods, especially consumer goods, tended to be underproduced, leading to shortages, while some goods such as manufactured goods, armaments, etc. were overproduced and put in storage. Furthermore, factories took to inflating their production figures due to the severe punishment of failure and the poor quality of products inhibited their use.(P) Stalin and Political Propaganda Campaigns The next important distinction was that Stalin’s industrialization was greatly politicized. Industrialization as a process usually accompanies the movement towards modernization in any country. However, in the Soviet Union, the achievement of industrialization was greatly a result of political influences, mainly the power of carefully stage-managed propaganda campaigns. These political campaigns ultimately focused on socialist industrialization as the essential and indispensable step in building the material foundations of socialism, a theme constantly used by Stalin in several of his public appearances. The Stalinist political regime and the inflation of ideological principles for the rapid economic growth to prevent hindrance in the global â€Å"competition† would thus prove to be perhaps one of  the most necessary components of the economic success. During the late 1920s, the need for rapid industrialization arose from the question of whether Soviet Russia could pr ovide the needs to support socialism in a country that was industrially underdeveloped and agriculturally backward. Thus, as reiterated constantly by Stalin in his public speeches, socialist industrialization was the key element in instituting the material basis for socialism in the Soviet Union as well as ensuring its success. In November 19, 1928, Stalin delivered a speech warning the populace about the vulnerability of socialism to the capitalist nations, and the survival of the ideology through industrial fronts: â€Å"†¦[Soviets] have overtaken and outstripped the advanced capitalist countries by establishing a new political system. That is good. But that is not enough. To secure the final victory of Socialism in our country, we must also overtake and outstrip these countries technically and economically. If we do not do this, we shall find ourselves forced to the wall.† (B) In this excerpt from his 1928 speech, Stalin instilled fear in the population about imminent attacks from the capitalists if the USSR â€Å"did not overtake and outstrip† the Western nations through technical and economic means. However, this method of conveying war panic through the manipulation of the â€Å"catch up and overtake† (dognat’ i peregnat’) theme was used as justification to dissolve Lenin’s New Economic Policy and attain populist appeal to adopt major industrialization. Robert Gellately, the Earl Ray Beck Professor of History at Florida State University, argues that Stalin inflated a â€Å"war scare† inspired by â€Å"Anglo-French† imperialism that came up in 1927, â€Å"one he deliberately exaggerated to driv e home the point that the USSR was vulnerable to the hostile West.†(N) He denotes how Stalin used the elimination of diplomatic relations by Britain in May and the presence of political friction with France, Poland, Romania to the west and Japan to the east accordingly in â€Å"his demand to industrialize the country as rapidly as possible, to focus on heavy industry, and to drop the NEP in favor of a more Communistic five-year plan.† (D) Based on Gellately’s observation, it would follow that Stalin could then make the argument that it was crucial to the health and security of the Soviets that the Party take this change of course, facilitating popular support for the Five-Year Plan. (C) Stalin was not the only communist to take the threat seriously, and the crisis had an  important influence on the decision to industrialize. But of those nations, Romania was the only threat to ever develop. More important, however, was a subsequent â€Å"war scare† in hi s speech to industrial managers on February 1931 (during the height of the enthusiasm for the Five-Year Plan), when Stalin proclaimed: â€Å"To reduce the tempo, means to fall behind. Those who fall behind get beaten†¦We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed.† (C) Ten years later, in 1941, Adolf Hitler commences military mobilization for â€Å"Operation Barbarossa† to invade the Soviet Union. But to see the German invasion as proper justification for Stalin’s rapid industrialization solely from the perspective of the 1941 invasion would be misleading. During 1931, Germany was suffering deep economic turmoil from the Great Depression and Hitler was still a fringe politician, so it was no real danger to the USSR. Germany’s army had also been limited to 100,000 soldiers, without tanks or aircraft. Historian Mawdsley also identifies the elaborate propaganda machine, â€Å"coupled with upward mobility and popular nationalism at critical periods,† as successful in winning support for the program of industrialization.(M) However, unlike Gellately, he proposes that the acceleration of industrialization as a result of tentative attacks may have been justified. Industrialization came from the Soviets’ general mistrust of the outside world which, in turn, had root both in the Russian tradition and in the Communists’ perception of the outside world. Russia’s rulers had promoted industry for military opposition and defense as well as to assure the country’s power status. In part, Stalin and the Communist Party proselytized the ideology of â€Å"capitalist encirclement† and the real memories of invasion from European powers and Japan during World War I and the Russian Civil War. Stalin’s Method and Heavy Industry Finally, the doctrine of â€Å"socialist industrialization† put great emphasis on massive expansion of heavy industry, particularly the means of production, as a necessary first step on the way to the technological restructuring of the entire economy. Only after a massive surge in heavy industrial capacity had been achieved would it be possible to embark on a more balanced economic strategy, including the development of consumer-oriented light industry. As a result of a whole number of factors, the Soviet industrialization would be  confined, for the most part, to the one-sided priority development of heavy industry. Aside from receiving special attention from the planning the economic system of administration, industrial production was relatively easy to plan even without minute feedback, which led to significant growth in that sector. Consequently, industrial production was disproportionately higher in the Soviet Union than in Western economies, with production of consumer goods also being proportionately higher. However, one of the most eminent Marxist scholars in the world of economics, Maurice Dobbs, points out the problems of Soviet economic â€Å"planning† and explains the fallible economic logic behind the Soviet way of industrialization with investment priority for heavy industries. First of all, the rate of investment or the average savings ratio in an economy will be rather static, largely determined within fairly narrow limits by past history and past decisions. Therefore, focus should be given to distribution of investment because it may essentially determine the future output and consumption in a major way. Dobbs argues that â€Å"it may in fact be more important than the overall rate of investment.†(Q) Dobbs seems to base his argument on the theory of factor proportions, a doctrine of ‘comparative costs’ in terms of marginal productivity, which states that those factors of production that are relatively abundant have a low marginal productivity and henc e a low price and conversely with factors that are relatively scarce. Consequently, those forms of production that use relatively more of the abundant factors and economize on the scarce ones would have the lowest expenditures. He argues that in a country like Russia with plentiful labor and scarce capital, relatively labor-using techniques are most economical (rather than capital-expensive ones). It is thus more beneficial and appropriate for the applications on handicrafts and light industries rather than heavy industries, where there is a large expenditure of fixed capital (plant and equipment).(R) Results of the First Five-Year Plan Development of Overall Industrial Sector After having analyzed Joseph Stalin’s methods in employing the First Five-Year Plan, it is then necessary evaluate their impact on the proceeding industrialization results. First of all, by directing and focusing  investments on heavy industry and not consumer goods, it was possible to attain industrialization over a relatively short period. The industrialization enabled the Soviet Union to mass-produce aircraft, trucks, cars, tractors, combine harvesters, synthetic rubber, and different types of equipment designed primarily for the expansion of heavy industry and military might. In the years of the â€Å"great leap† industrial production grew at an average annual rate of 10 to 16 percent, displaying the remarkable dynamism and seemingly boundless potential of the new economic system. Table 1-1 shows the specific advancements made in heavy industries as a result of concentrating in such sector, thus, illustrating Stalin’s accomplishment of his aforementioned go al of focusing in heavy industry. Table 1-1: Russian Industrial Growth under Stalin. | 1928| 1932| Prescribed Target| Percentage Increase| Pig Iron (million tons)| 3.3 | 6.2 | 8.0 | 87.8%| Coal (million tons)| 35.4 | 64.0 | 68.0 | 80.8%| Steel (million tons)| 4.0 | 5.9 | 8.3 | 47.5%| Oil (million tons)| 11.7 | 21.4 | 19.0 | 82.9%| Electricity (mill. kWhs)| 5.0 | 13.4 | 17.0 | 168%| However, it is important to evaluate these results and compare them with the larger global context. Table 1-1 shows significant growth for heavy industries in the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1932 despite only achieving the prescribed target in one of the five areas of production. Nevertheless, these results were relatively small compared to Western standards and were accomplished at a great human cost. Furthermore, reported Soviet aggregate output figures were too high, not least by failing to take into account of the rising prices. Thus, Stalin’s aforementioned methods of industrialization did indeed make advancements in heavy industrial output but did not accomplish his previous goal of the ‘catch up and overtake’ slogan considering that the Soviet Union still lagged behind Western capitalist nations in terms of economic power. In terms of manufacturing infrastructure and technological advancements, a colossal industrial complex and city were constructed at Nizhni Novgorod on the Volga with the help of the Austin Company (a large American firm), which was designed to produce over 100,000 vehicles per year. Other American companies were also involved  in building tractor plants in Kharkov, Stalingrad and Chelyabinsk. Among the other spectacular projects was the construction of the steel complex at Magnitogorsk, a brand-new city built from the ground up. (S) The colossal project of Magnitogorsk was one prime example of the sixty or more towns created out of nothing during the First Five-Year Plan. Through the accelerated pace of industrialization employed in the Five-Year Plan, the Soviet Union began producing all the machinery and manufacturing plants necessary to supplement heavy industrialization. Major works included the Moscow, Nizhni-Novgorod, and Gorky automobile plants, the Urals and Kramatorsk heavy machinery plants, the Dnieprostroi hydro-electric project, the mammoth steel plants at Magnitogorsk and Kuznetsk, and the network of machine shops and chemical plants in the Urals. Entirely new branches of industry were developed, such as aviation, plastics, and synthetic rubber. The plan constituted an important milestone in the process of the socioeconomic transformation of Russia. At the en d of the Five-Year Plan in 1932, Stalin declared that the First Five-Year Plan had been achieved ahead of time. However, the extent to which it was achieved was vague and unclear, with newspapers only allowed to report â€Å"outstanding achievements† of the Soviet Union advance toward socialism and local state agencies prohibited from publishing any economic data other than the official figures given by Gosplan. Based on the figures in Table 1-1, Stalin declared that the Five-Year Plan for industrial development had been fulfilled by 93.7% in only four years, while development for heavy industry was achieved by 108%. But considering the levels of deception and figure inflation, it is hard to determine how accurate these figures are and to what extent the statements of â€Å"success† can be trusted. Certainly, it was not surprising that the plan did not achieve its prescribed goals of 250% projected growth for overall industrial production and 330% projected growth in heavy industry. Conclusion Essentially, the coercive and abrasive methods of industrialization employed by Stalin during his First Five-Year Plan were admittedly successful when viewed from a holistic perspective. However, it cannot be acknowledged that the plan and how it was particularly executed was comprehensive in achieving its originally proposed objectives of economic development and that the  methods applied were completely effective and appropriate for the Soviet Union. Overall, this essay explicitly raises the question of exactly what constituted the â€Å"achievements† of the Soviet industrial system as a whole, and whether, in fact, the Stalin model of industrialization was ultimately the most effective solution based on its particular approach. First of all, there were several consequences of the over-centralization and very high level of state power reflected in the economic policy of the USSR. The ‘planning’ system established targets emphasizing quantity at the expense of quality, with the particular system of reward and punishment distorting output reports and encouraging ‘storming’ (last-minute attempts to achieve targets) and hoarding, i.e. waste, of raw materials. This system of economy was responsive to a small number of ‘customers’ but inherently inflexible for it could not change to rising demands. Furthermore, due to the stringent political climate that drove the command, bureaucratic economy and encouraged severe output inflation among factories, the extent to which the industrialization results are credible is still unknown. Secondly, the incorporation of the Stalinist political regime into the promotion of economic success would prove to be effective yet also damaging. The elaborate propaganda campaigns set out by Stalin and the injection of popular nationalism at critical periods, won popular support for the program of in dustrialization. Furthermore, there was a particular kind of motivation present in the enthusiastic officials to establish the pace of industrialization. Now, whether such enthusiasm was felt by the Communist Party as much as Stalin is still under question. However, the darker side of the system was that the pace of industrialization could only be accomplished at the human cost and real sacrifices. Lastly, the urban economy was kept static and investment exclusive to heavy industry at the expense of consumer-oriented production. Certainly, the prominence of military production in the economy can be potentially beneficial, but at the same time imminently harmful. Paul Kennedy would later disclose an analysis of the rise and fall of great powers that applied especially to the Soviet Union in which he warned that â€Å"if†¦too large a proportion of the state’s resources is diverted from wealth creation and allocated instead to military purposes, then that is likely to lead to a weakening of national power over the longer term†. (T) The huge investments in producer-goods industries led  to acute shortages of labor, ca pital, and material in other crucial sectors. Factories did not meet their expected targets and would provide quantity at the cost of quality. Instead of producing the projected 2,000 tractors by September 1930, the Stalingrad tractor factory produced only forty-three, which began to fall apart after seventy-two hours of operation. Thus, the deep bureaucratization of the economy, in concert with the particular features of the Soviet policy, produced a combination of contradictory forces originating from bureaucratic self-interests and impulsive political will. This would prevent the emergence of the right mix of factors that would assure the normal functioning of the economy. Completely new branches of industry were built and massive manufacturing plants were undertaken, certainly contributing to the notion of the USSR as an emerging industrial power. However, this new power was endowed with fallible features: the inherent tendency to produce harmful imbalances, the blatant ignorance to consumer goods, production of quantity at the expense of quality, ineffective economic administrative system, etc. Essentially, Stalin did not achieve comprehensive industrialization for the USSR, but he did force the nation to advance from its backward, agrarian state and into a momentum towards economic growth and industrial d evelopment. Notes 1. Joseph Stalin (18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953): born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhughashvili. In office as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 3 April 1922 – 16 October 1952 and Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. 2. Evan Mawdsley: Professor of International History in the Department of History, University of Glasgow. His previous publications include The Russian Civil War (1983/2008), The Soviet Elite from Lenin to Gorbachev: The Central Committee and its Members, 1917–1991 (with Stephen White, 2000), The Stalin Years: The Soviet Union, 1929–1953 (2003) and Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War, 1941–1945 (2005). 3. Robert Gellately: Newfoundland-born Canadian academic who is one of the leading historians of modern Europe, particularly during World War II and the Cold War era. He is presently Earl Ray Beck Professor of History at Florida State University and was the Bertelsmann Visiting Profe ssor of Twentieth-Century Jewish Politics and

Ghanshyam Thori Introduction: with a Quotation or Hypothetical Question

Ghanshyam Thori Introduction: With a quotation or Hypothetical question Followed by Resources for Essay â€Å"India’s new identity as a federal nation has been determined by the values & the heritage cherished by our trimphed national liberation movement. Media/Indian Education/Democratic Principles (depending on topic) has not only played an important role to liberate India from foreign rule but also to emanicipate its people from the tribal & feudal practices & elaborate indigenous system of sanctified social inequalities & oppression†. Content:  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · All Dimensions should be included. Social Economic Historical Political Administrative Psychological Geographical (E. g. Geographical Inequalities, Variations etc) Humanitarian Dimension International Dimension (Developed Versus Developed Countries, South-South Cooperation, International Bodies like UNO, FAO, IMF, World Bank etc) Environmental Dimension.  ·  ·  ·  · Quote examples from GS, News, Magazines, TV etc. Current examples add marks. Don’t stretch on idea nor repeat any idea. Essay is coherent story of a number of ideas. Quotations are highly useful for essays & need to be memorized well. Language should be powerful (Sentences which show your command over language: â€Å"Read Essay on â€Å"Whither Indian Democracy† – Crack IAS material to get a glimpse of the demands of language required in essay writing†. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori  · Resources for Essay Language should be creative (E. g. Not many would have imagined that the India Democracy would not be a case of Infant Mortality). Conclusion: The end of conclusion can be â€Å"Remember the immortal words of Swami Vivekananda or Gandhiji or Nehru etc† followed by quotation on that topic. Some Typical Words to be Used: Problem: predicament, plight, dilemma, quandary, bone of contention, hassle, conundrum, crisis. Criminal/Wrongdoer: offender, wrongdoer, culprit, lawbreaker, criminal, hooligan, vandal, ruffian, hoodlum, miscreant, malefactor, transgressor; juvenile delinquent, young offender. delinquent adjective 1. delinquent young people mischievous, culpable, transgressing, offending, criminal. 2. delinquent policemen negligent, neglectful, remiss, careless, slack, derelict. Love/Affection: affection, fondness, care, concern, attachment, regard, warmth, intimacy, devotion, adoration, passion, ardour, desire, lust, yearning, infatuation, adulation. Hate: loathe, detest, abhor, dislike, abominate, despise, execrate, have an aversion to, feel hostile towards, be unable to abide/bear/stand, view with dislike, be sick of, be tired of, shudder at, be repelled by, recoil from. Destroy: destroy the bridge demolish, knock down, pull down, tear down, level, raze, fell, dismantle, wreck, smash, shatter, crash, blow up, blow to bits, explode, annihilate, wipe out, bomb, torpedo. . destroy the countryside ruin, spoil, devastate, lay waste, ravage, wreak havoc on, ransack. 3. destroy their confidence terminate, quash, quell, crush, stifle, subdue, squash, extinguish, extirpate. 4. destroy the herd/tribe kill, kill off, slaughter, put to sleep, exterminate; slay, murder, assassinate, wipe out, massacre, Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay liquidate, decimate. 5. destroy the enemy/opponents defeat, beat, conquer, vanquish, trounce, rout, drub; inf. lick, thrash. Hope: expectation, xpectancy, anticipation, desire, longing, wish, wishing, craving, yearning, aspiration, ambition, dream, belief, assurance, assumption, confidence, conviction, faith, trust, optimism. Initiative: , deed, move, effort, operation, performance, undertaking, manoeuvre, endeavour, exertion, exploit, striving. Emancipation (Focus on Spelling): setting free, liberation, release, deliverance, discharge, unfettering, unshackling, manumission; freedom, liberty. Empower: allow, permit, authorize, entitle, qualify, fit, license, sanction, warrant, accredit, validate, commission, delegate, legalize, empower. . enable you to cross the river allow, permit, give the means/resources to, equip, prepare, facilitate, capacitate. Important/Crucial: decisive, critical, determining, pivotal, central, testing, trying, searching. 2. the matter is of crucial im portance very important, high-priority, essential, momentous, vital, urgent, pressing, compelling Macabre: , grisly, grim, gory, morbid, grim, ghastly, hideous, horrific, horrible, horrifying, horrid, horrendous, terrifying, frightening, frightful, fearsome, shocking, dreadful, appalling, loathsome, repugnant, repulsive, sickening. Pathetic: pitiful, pitiable, piteous, to be pitied, moving, touching, poignant, affecting, distressing, heartbreaking, heart-rending, sad, wretched, mournful, woeful. pitiful, lamentable, deplorable, miserable, wretched, feeble, woeful, sorry, poor, contemptible, inadequate, unsatisfactory, worthless. Terrorism/Violence 1. â€Å"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind† – Mahatma Gandhi Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay 2. Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary – Mahatma Gandhi 3. Hate the sin, love the sinner. Mahatma Gandhi 4. When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always. – Mahatma Gandhi. 5. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. – Mahatma Gandhi 6 . To err is human, to forgive divine – Alexander Pope Hope/Corruption/Faith You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi You must be the change you want to see in the world – Mahatma Gandhi Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached — Swami Vivekananda Only as high as I can reach can I grow. Only as far as I can seek can I go. Only as deep as I can look can I see. Only as much as I can I dream can I be. Freedom/Liberty Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. – Mahatma Gandhi Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay – Unkown (Karen Ravn). Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay General Quotes Gandhiji’s Talisman (Use in Swaraj, Liberty, Poverty, Help etc)  · â€Å"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away. Preamble of Indian Constitution WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONST ITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November,1949,do HERE BY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.  ·  ·  · Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress – Mahatma Gandhi A strange darkness engulfs earth today – Jibanananda Das (Used in Essay on Indian Heritage). One ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk (Swami Vivekananda – This quote can be used to conclude almost every essay). â€Å"The future depends on what we do in the present. † Mahatma Gandhi (Can be used to conclude almost every essay). â€Å"Strength is Life, Weakness is Death. Expansion is Life, Contraction is Death. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Love is Life, Hatred is Death. † — Swami Vivekananda Resources for Essay Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom – Nehru’s Speech on India’s Independence. (The speech was made to the Indian Constituent Assembly, on the eve of India's independence, towards midnight on August 14, 1947. It focuses on the aspects that transcend India's history. It is considered in modern India to be a landmark oration that captures the essence of the triumphant culmination of the hundred-year Indian freedom struggle against the British Empire in India. ) I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards – Abhraham Lincoln Only as high as I can reach can I grow. Only as far as I can seek can I go. Only as deep as I can look can I see. Only as much as I can I dream can I be. Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work. Abdul Kalam Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action-Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay – Rabindranath Tagore (Let us remember the golden words of Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore which still serve as lighthouse & illuminate the direction for the nation to move in). India of my Dreams â€Å"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 and low class of people, an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There shall be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability. Women will enjoy same rights as men. We shall be at peace with the rest of the world. This is India of my dreams† – M. K. Gandhi. Education The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The girls, we say, do not have to earn; so why should they be educated? As long as such ideas persist there is no hope of our ever knowing the true value of education. Mahatma Gandhi Sustainable Development â€Å"The earth, the air, the land and the water are not am inheritance from our fore fathers but on loan from our children. So we have to handover to them at least as it was handed over to us. † ~Mahatma Gandhi â€Å"Nature has enough for Man’s Need but not for Man’s Greed† – Mahatma Gandhi Conclusion: â€Å"Man has been u niquely endowed in that he can contemplate on his mortality & sadly if we do not soon realize that it is no longer a question of either development or environment but Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay armonius development or doom, we may find that we should be the first species to orchestrate its own extinction† Women Empowerment (Include examples of Inspirational & Remarkable women like Hellen Keller, Joan of Arc (French Catholic Saint & led French army to victory during the Hundred Year’s war indirectly leading to coronation of Charles VII), Mother Teresa, Sister Nivedita, Margaret Thatcher (Iron Lady & PM of England from 1979 to 1990), Indira Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Angela Merkel, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Michelle Bachelet (Chile President, Surgeon), Hellen Clark (PM of New Zealand), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Often referred to as the â€Å"Iron Lady†, Johnson-Sirleaf is Africa's first elected female head of state i. e. Pres ident), Pratibha Patil, Tarja Halonen (Current President of Finland). The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The girls, we say, do not have to earn; so why should they be educated? As long as such ideas persist there is no hope of our ever knowing the true value of education. – Mahatma Gandhi â€Å"It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing† – Swami Vivekananda. Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge† The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, â€Å"It's a girl. † ~Shirley C hisholm Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, â€Å"She doesn't have what it takes. † They will say, â€Å"Women don't have what it takes. † ~Clare Boothe Luce I asked a Burmese why women, after centuries of following their men, now walk ahead. He said there were many unexploded land mines since the war. ~Robert Mueller All nations have attained greatness by paying proper respect to women. That country and that nation which do not respect women have never become great, nor will ever be in future – Swami Vivekananda Manu, the law giver, has written Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devta, it means God resides in homes where women are respected It’s a tragedy that since the time the first human opened his eyes, he started subjugating his own creator – the woman. Religion â€Å"True religion is not a narrow dogma. It is not external observance. It is faith in God and living in the presence of God†. – Mahatma Gandhi â€Å"All the different religions are but applications of the one religions adapted to suite the requirements of different nations†. – Swami Vivekananda. Media â€Å"Let the people know the facts & the country will be safe† – Abraham Lincoln Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay â€Å"Where the Eyes go, the mind also goes there† – Vedas (Among the five sense organs, eye is the most subtle. Whatever the eyes see the mind perceives quickly and retains for a long period. This underlines the impact of Media on human mind as well as behaviour). Conclusion: If world has become a prosperous global valley it is the Media which will have to become a lighthouse. Humanity (Serving Humanity) â€Å"All my life I have lived like an animal on the street & now I am dying like an angel† – A man uttered these final words as he lay dying in an angel’s lap. The angel was none other than Mother Teresa who in the slums of Kolkata saw Christ in the distressing disguise of a destitute & downtrodden. â€Å"If in this hell of a world one can bring a little joy & peace even for a day into the heart of a single person, that much alone is true; this I have learnt after suffering all my life, all else is mere moonshine† – Swami Vivekananda Judicial Activism â€Å"Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment. † William Shakespeare (Wrote this in his hamlet many centuries back. Even today judiciary is seen as the last asylum to many who long for the deserved justice). Equality: â€Å"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. † – Martin Luther King Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Examples of Creative Sentences (Which can be Generalized Elsewhere)  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Any judge/MP who seeks immunity from truth under the cover of the robe robs the right of We, the People of India, the sovereign of Bharat. The Court is an open book & if the Bench seeks an iron curtain between its economic interest & Litigant community, it is violative of Glasnost (the policy of openness & transparency). Democracy is an open book & if any public functionary seeks an iron curtain between its own interest & the public, it is violative of Glasnost. In our murky world of gloom, greed & agony, our duty is to save the country of means of a compassionate recipe & dedicated endevaours. hope†¦. is defined by a farmer who ploughs his land when drought conditions prevail,by the blind who learn colors,young girl who steps into mama's high heels. Conclusion of Essay on Democracy: The success of Indian democracy in future will hugely depend on how the human resource of this nation is able to raise itself to face the challenge of the new economic & political scenario,. For all its strengths & weaknesses, this is where the future of the Indian democracy hinges. Go to the interior tribal villages of India. If you have a healthy little girl child coming out of the school with a smile on her face & a mind sharper than yesterday, we should be on the right track.  ·  ·  · The unmatchable planning of Harrapans, the empire of Ashoka, the ragas of Nanak, Kabir & Namdeva find their place in the Golden words throughout the world. (India of my Dreams). We have not invaded anyone. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them (Quotation by Abdul Kalam). Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? Is it a legacy of our colonial years? We want foreign television sets. We want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported? In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Nehru’s Tryst with Destiny Speech Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge f dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future? Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now. That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments. To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell. The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about. It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed! We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrowstricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people. On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation [Gandhi], who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest. Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death. We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good and ill fortune alike. The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman. We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action. To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service. Ten Political Disgrace of Free India (India) 1. The Emergency, June 1975-March 1977: It effectively bestowed on Indira Gandhi the power to rule by decree, suspending elections as well as civil liberties, such as the right to free press. 2. Operation Bluestar, June 1984: It was a political disaster and an unprecedented act in Indian history. Its aftermath and the increased tensions led to assaults on the Sikh community in India. 3 The Bofors scandal, 1987-1996: One of the biggest political scams in the country till date, involving Rs 64 crore. It was responsible for Rajiv Gandhi’s defeat in the November 1989 general elections. 4. Demolition of Babri Masjid, December 1992: The date has remained etched as a blot in Indian history. The mosque was destroyed by 15,000 strong Hindu extremists as BJP leaders watched. 5. The JMM Bribery Case, July 1993: The democratic values of the country were put to shame when the then PM P. V. Narasimha Rao was accused of bribing members of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to vote in his favour in the confidence motion. 6. Fodder Scam, January 1996: The scam involved millions of dollars in alleged fraudulent reimbursements from the treasury of Bihar for fodder, medicines and husbandry supplies for non-existent livestock. It forced Lalu Prasad Yadav, the then CM of the state, to resign. 7. The IC-814 Hijacking, December 1999: IC-814 was hijacked by terrorists and taken to Kandahar. The government was forced to release dreaded terrorists for the passengers. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay 8. The Arms Bribery Scandal, March 2001: India’s coalition government began to fall apart when video tapes of highly-placed officials taking bribes in arms deals were released in 2001, forcing the then BJP president Bangaru Laxman to resign. 9. Gujarat riots, February-March 2002: The riots were horrific blotches of communal hatred in the country’s secular history. Despite the killings of 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims, the state government chose to sit in a cushy corner, doing nothing to stop the wave of hatred. 10. The vote of no confidence, July 2008: Parliament was adjourned after BJPmembers waved around wads of money, claiming they were offered cash in return for their support. Ghanshyam Thori Resources for Essay