A 'Yes' on World's No Tobacco Day

'Yes' is the word on the 'World's No Tobacco Day'. Millions die across the globe due to the ill-effects of tobacco, including cancer, heart attacks, angina, high blood pressure, cerebrovascular accidents, cerebral arteriosclerosis and chronic respiratory diseases, chronic bronchitis.

It has also the capacity to produce impotence in males, lack of sperm counts, infertility in females and still births in pregnant mothers. Tobacco kills 10-15 lakh persons annually in India (more than TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria combined) 2,500 deaths daily. It causes 50 percent of cancers in men and 25 percent in women. India has got the highest incidence of oral cancer and other head and neck cancers in the world.

In our nation, India, we have acts like Smoking Ban Act etc. which are in full effect but unfortunately it is not widely observed. Now's the time to say a 'Yes' to 'No Tobacco'. On the eve of World No Tobacco Day, the people of Kerala received a gift in the form of 'Pan Masala Ban'. This is what's really needed. Although no one can guarantee about the effective implementation of the ban but one can definitely hope that it will act as a deterrent to tobacco consumers. It's also important from the point of view of the next generations.

So the question is why only Kerala? Is it the only state in the nation that's responsible enough to push for such moves? Are others fool? Well, the problem lies in the attitude of the governments ruling the states. If they decide to act against such menace then it won't be such a huge problem as it is today. Moreover, the people also need to act a bit responsibly. If they can't do it for the society as a whole then they can at least try to change for their kids. It's not impossible. Where there's a will there is a way!

So what exactly the 'World No Tobacco Day'?

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is meant to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption across the globe. The day is further intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to 5.4 million deaths worldwide annually. The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. In the past twenty years, the day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance across the globe from governments, public health organizations, smokers, growers, and the tobacco industry.

A WHO initiative!

World No Tobacco Day is one of many other world health awareness days throughout the year organized by the WHO, including World Mental Health Day, World AIDS Day, and World Blood Donor Day, among others.

• In 1987, the World Health organization of the WHO passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for April 7, 1988 to be "a world no-smoking day". April 7, 1988 was the 40th anniversary of the WHO. The objective of the day was to urge tobacco users worldwide to abstain from using tobacco products for 24 hours, an action they hoped would provide assistance for those trying to quit.
• In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed by the World Health Assembly, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31. Since then, the WHO has supported World No Tobacco Day every year, linking each year to a different tobacco-related theme.
• In 1998, the WHO established the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), an attempt to focus international resources and attention on the global health issue of tobacco. The initiative provides assistance for creating global public health policy, encourages mobilization across societies, and supports the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The WHO FCTC is a global public health treaty adopted in 2003 by countries across the globe as an agreement to implement policies that work towards tobacco cessation.
• In 2008, on the eve of the World No Tobacco Day the WHO called for a worldwide ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. The theme of that year’s day was Tobacco-free youth; therefore, this initiative was especially meant to target advertising efforts aimed at youth. According to the WHO, the tobacco industry must replace older quitting or dying smokers with younger consumers. Because of this, marketing strategies are commonly observed in places that will attract youth such as movies, the Internet, billboards, and magazines. Studies have shown that the more youth are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to smoke.

Each year, the WHO selects a theme for the day in order to create a more unified global message for WNTD. This theme then becomes the central component of the WHO’s tobacco-related agenda for the following year. The WHO oversees the creation and distribution of publicity materials related to the theme, including brochures, fliers, posters, websites, and press releases. In 2008 for the theme Tobacco-free youth, Youtube videos were created as a part of the WNTD awareness campaign, and podcasts were first used in 2009.

In many of its WNTD themes and related publicity-materials, the WHO emphasizes the idea of “truth.” Theme titles such as “Tobacco kills, don’t be duped” (2000) and “Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise” (2006) indicate a WHO belief that individuals may be misled or confused about the true nature of tobacco; the rationale for the 2000 and 2008 WNTD themes identify the marketing strategies and “illusions” created by the tobacco industry as a primary source of this confusion. The WHO’s WNTD materials present an alternate understanding of the “facts” as seen from a global public health perspective. WNTD publicity materials provide an “official” interpretation of the most up-to-date tobacco-related research and statistics and provide a common ground from which to formulate anti-tobacco arguments around the world. 

So, let's all join hands to fight this menace and make our nation a better one! Jai Hind. 

I didn't vote for this but...

The images say it all! Today, they murdered it! They kicked it, punched it and threw it in trash! Here, 'it' refers to our democracy which has been replaced by dictatorship of our MLAs and MPs. 28th May 2012 will be remembered as the darkest day in the history of UP Assembly. It's not that this was the first time but it was definitely the worst ever!

On 28th February, 2012; I rushed from my college at Dwarka to Ghaziabad, UP to vote in the recently concluded UP polls. It's not that I want to prove any point or show others that I am a better citizen. Rather it's just the case that my belief in democracy is still in tact. That day i met people who laughed at me when i told them that i bunked a lecture to vote. They told me that there is absolutely no dearth of fools in this country who waste their time over such trivial things. Well, it was no surprise for me at all. I know that majority of people in our country don't go to polls just because they don't have any faith in this process. For them, everyone is the same wild chameleon who changes its color according to circumstances.

But this can't be the only reason why people don't trust in these politicians. I really wanted the ouster of Mayawati's BSP because they did absolutely nothing. Sorry! Actually they worked really hard to get those statues built from the taxpayers' money. But at the same time, I didn't want SP either. No one should forget what Mulayam Singh and his party did when they were in power.

But still they got into power. Why? Because there isn't any other party stronger than either SP or BSP that could make a mark. Congress tried but failed. The reason was obvious. Just by showing your might at two constituencies, a party can't rule a state of 413 constituencies.

But this is not the end. When Akhilesh Yadav and Co. would have looted the state with all their gundaraaaj the people will vote them out. And guess what! They will be replaced by none other than Mayawati. If you don't believe me then just skim through UP politics and you will know what I am talking about!

Today, we saw something that the UP politics is used to. Our representatives yet again proved that if anyone is voted to represent the state then anything can happen. They were pushing each other, hooting at each other, tearing the  address by Governor B L Joshi and our honorable chief minister was sitting as if some satsang  was taking place. Rather than acting like a king or so, he must have tried to voice his anger  (although I doubt if there were any anger) against such undemocratic show by our MPs.

All i want to say is that my spirit hasn't been shaken by what has happened today. I still believe in democracy and will always do. And Just like me there are hundreds other (hopefully more) who believe in democracy. Proof is the changed scenario in the voting numbers across the country. 

Such instances (Chaos in UP Assembly) are highly unfortunate and some exemplary actions should be taken against them. Simply showing anger won't do. And last but not the least we should not run away from our responsibility. We should vote so that we get the right representation at the center rather than any gunda! Jai Hind!

Satya Prakash Choubey Part - 2: Murder, Investigation and Legacy

Continued from the 1st part........

On November 27, 2003, Dubey was returning from a wedding in Varanasi, and called his driver to meet him at the station. He reached Gaya railway station at three in the morning, and found that the car was not able to come because of a battery malfunction. It appears that at this point Dubey decided to take a rickshaw home. When he didn’t reach home, his driver went to look for him and found him dead by the side of the road in the suburb of A.P. Colony. He had been shot. The news ignited tremendous public hue and cry. The matter was raised in Parliament, and the Prime Minister shifted the onus of investigation from the Bihar Police (who might themselves be implicated), to the CBI. The CBI registered a case against unknown persons under 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code and various provision under the Arms Act on December 14, 2003.

In early investigations, the CBI interrogated the rickshaw puller Pradeep Kumar who was caught using Dubey's stolen cell phone. The mobile phone had been switched off for about a fortnight after the murder, but then Kumar called his 'second wife' in Kolkata, following which the CBI traced the rickshaw puller to his slum in Gaya. Although Kumar had a criminal history in similar cases of robbery, it appears he was released after interrogation, and could not be traced a month later. Two other suspects, Sheonath Sah and Mukendra Paswan, were questioned by the CBI. They were found dead from poisoning on February 1, 2004, within 25 hours of the CBI questioning. Sah's father lodged an FIR against the CBI with the Bihar Police, but CBI Director Umashanker Mishra called their deaths a suicide in a press meeting a few days later. The CBI later arrested four persons, Uday Mallah, Mantu Kumar, Tutu Kumar and Babloo, all belonging to Katari village of Gaya on June 6, 2004. On June 13, the CBI arrested another accused Sarvan Paswan. In conclusion of its investigations, CBI arraigned four persons on September 3, 2004. Based on testimony by Pradeep Kumar, who was his rickshaw puller, the event was presented as an attempted robbery. Because Satyendra put up a fight about giving up his briefcase, he was shot. The person accused of actually shooting Dubey with a country-made pistol was Mantu Kumar, son of Lachhu Singh, of Village Katari, Gaya district. Accomplices with him included Uday Kumar, Pinku Ravidas and Shravan Kumar.

Mantu Kumar was arrested from near his home in Panchayatee khada in Gaya. He had apparently been living in Gaya town and working as a rickshawpuller. On September 19, 2005, while the case was being heard in Patna, Bihar in the court of Addl. Session Judge, J M Sharma, Mantu Kumar escaped from the court premises, leading to widespread allegations of police complicity. While Mantu was being held at the high security Beur Jail, the invigilation can be lax during such court appearances, and it is a common tactic of the mafia to organize a few policemen to make it possible for the criminal to escape. It was felt that the escape was engineered by higher-ups who may have executed the murder through Mantu Kumar. The CBI announced a cash reward of Rs. 1 Lakh for apprehending Mantu.

It is possible that Dubey may have been the victim of a simple robbery during which Mantu Kumar shot him, as alleged in the case filed by CBI. However, given the death and disappearance of several witnesses and the startling escape of the prime accused, there is widespread speculation that vested interests may have engaged the criminals who actually pulled the trigger. As for the GQ project, the Supreme Court is currently overlooking investigations into the corruption charges initially raised by the Dubey letter. Several official have been indicted and a technical team is overseeing the actual construction. Also, as of September 2005, news reports indicated that the law ministry was about to introduce legislation to protect whistleblowers. Meanwhile, on 10 February 2006, a 600 meter stretch of the GQ highway connecting Kolkata to Chennai subsided into the ground, opening up ten meter gorges near Bally, West Bengal. This stretch had been executed as a joint venture between two Malaysian firms RBM and Pati, selected after global tendering.

More than six years after the murder, on March 22, 2010 Patna Court convicted three accused Mantu Kumar, Udai Kumar and Pinku Ravidas for murdering choubey. The court convicted accused Mantu Kumar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 302 (Murder), 394 (Voluntary causing hurt in committing robbery) and 27 (A) Arms Act for possessing unlicensed weapon.The other two accused were convicted under Section 302/34 (Murder committed in furtherance of common intention) and 394 IPC.

Dubey's murder drew several protests in India and abroad, especially by the media. Student and Alumni bodies of IITs took the lead in raising this issue. S. K. Dubey Foundation for Fight Against Corruption was founded in the US by Ashutosh Aman (IIT Kanpur, Satyendra's batchmate) and Atal Bansal (IIT Kanpur) to systematically fight against corruption. IIT Kanpur instituted an annual award in his name, Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award, to be given to an IIT alumnus for displaying highest professional integrity in upholding human values. Arvind Kejriwal, a recipient of this award, went on to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award as well. The Indian Express also announced a fellowship in the name of Dubey. Satyendra Dubey was recognised posthumously by several awards, which included the Whistleblower of the year award from the London-based Index on Censorship, the Transparency International's Annual integrity award and the Service Excellence award from the All India Management Association. On November 26, 2007 NDTV aired a documentary by Mini Vaid on Satyendra Dubey, produced by Ashutosh Aman on behalf of the S K Dubey Foundation. Famous Indian musician Rabbi Shergill has dedicated one stanza in his song titled 'Bilqis (Jinhe Naaz Hai)' from album Avengi Ja Nahin to Satyendra Dubey. This song is a dedication to all those who died in vain or while supporting some cause (anti-corruption).

Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS), a Non-governmental organization from Lucknow has been awarding the Satya Parkash Choubey award for government services in reverence to his contributions to the cause of fighting corruption.

His death raises many questions. But what to say. The guy paid the ultimate price for fighting for his principles. We should not loose hope. Truth will prevail one day. Salute to a true indian! Jai Hind.  

Satya Prakash Choubey Part -1: Life, Career & The Expose

A true hero! Someone who trusted in trust. Someone who thought that he could bring the desired change to our system. Someone who wanted to live to serve the nation for long. A fighter and a true Indian, Mr. Choubey dreamt of a India where there will be great infrastructure just like any developed nation. He dreamt of good roads. He thought of himself as a difference maker. 

The reality is that he was a difference maker. Although he passed away but he left a legacy for the future generations. Something that we all should look at and learn from. 

He proved that there are still people present in our corrupt system who hold themselves upright and are ready for the ultimate sacrifice. This post focuses and pays tribute to a national hero.  

Satya Parkash Choubey[Satyendra Dubey] (1973 - 27 November 2003) was a project director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He was murdered in Gaya, Bihar after fighting corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project. 

Satya Parkash Choubey, the son of Bageshwari Dubey and Phulamati Devi, was born at the village of Sahpur in the Siwan district of Bihar, India. The family of five girls and two boys subsisted on a small piece of land, and Bageshwari also held a low-paying clerical position in a nearby sugar mill.Until the age of 15 he studied at the Gang Baksh Kanodiya High School in Sahpur and then joined junior college at Allahabad, about three hundred kilometers away. Living away from home was a considerable drain on the meager resources of his family. However, he pursued his dream of becoming an engineer, and was admitted to the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur in 1990, the first person from his village to enter an IIT. He graduated with an excellent academic record in 1994. Subsequently, he did his M. Tech (Civil Engg.) from IT-BHU in 1996. 

He was selected for the Indian Engineering Service (IES) in 1996, India's top engineering bureaucracy and joined ministry of surface transport. While at the ministry he once called the police when offered a bribe In July 2002 he was employed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Dubey became the Assistant Project Manager at Koderma, Jharkhand, responsible for managing a part of the Aurangabad-Barachatti section of National Highway 2 (The Grand Trunk Road). This highway was part of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) Corridor Project, the Prime Minister's initiative, which aimed to connect many of the country major cities by four-lane limited-access highways totalling 14,000 km, at an overall cost more than USD 10 billion. During this period, Dubey got the contractor of the project to suspend three of his engineers after exposing serious financial irregularities. At one point, he had the contractor rebuild six kilometers of under-quality road, a huge loss for the road contract mafia. 

Meanwhile, faced with the possibility of high-level corruption within the NHAI, Dubey wrote directly to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project. While the letter was not signed, he attached a separate bio-data so that the matter would be taken more seriously. Despite a direct request that his identity be kept secret and despite the letter's sensitive content, accusing some of Dubey's superiors, the letter along with bio-data was forwarded immediately to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Dubey also sent the same letter to the Chairman of the NHAI. Soon Dubey received a reprimand: the vigilance office of NHAI officially cautioned Dubey for the impropriety of writing a letter directly to the Prime minister. In the process, through connections in the NHAI and the Ministry, it is likely that the letter may have reached the criminal nexus running the highway construction projects in Bihar. Following the event, pressure is mounting in India to incorporate a Whistleblower Law. 

The letter said the NHAI officials showed a great hurry in giving mobilisation advance to selected contractors for financial consideration. "In some cases the contractors have been given mobilisation advance just a day after signing the contract agreement." 

"The entire mobilisation advance of 10 per cent of contract value, which goes up to Rs 40 crore (USD 10 million) in certain cases, are paid to contractors within a few weeks of award of work but there is little follow up to ensure that they are actually mobilised at the site with the same pace, and the result is that the advance remains lying with contractors or gets diverted to their other activities," it said. 

Dubey also highlighted the problems of sub-contracting by the primary contractors like Larsen and Toubro. 

"Though the NHAI is going for international competitive bidding to procure the most competent civil contractors for execution of its projects, when it comes to actual execution, it is found that most of the works, sometimes even up to 100 per cent are subcontracted to petty contractors incapable of executing such big projects," he said. Everyone in the NHAI is aware of the phenomenon of subcontracting but looked the other way. "A dream project of unparalleled importance to the Nation but in reality a great loot of public money because of very poor implementation at every state." wrote Dubey. Finally, he ends: "I have written all these in my individual capacity. However, I will keep on addressing these issues in my official capacity in the limited domain within the powers delegated to me," the letter said.

Part - 2: Murder, Investigation and Legacy.............to follow tomorrow!

The Great Indo-pak Tamasha

When we got independence, it was the fulfilment of the destiny that millions in the sub –continent were craving for. It should have been a joyful instance. But India had something else in store for her. A faction decided to act for a separate state. The state was itself divided. Separated by a vast area, two parts of a new country took birth namely East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The incident was marked by bloodshed. Hindus residing in Pakistan and Muslims residing in India suffered the ultimate losses of their loved ones.

Trains that left Pakistan (for India), arrived with corpses of Sikhs at various stations in India. And in return, the Sikh community also retorted with somewhat same answers. This was about some 60 odd years back. Today, we live in a modern world. Our constitution has granted us with the ultimate powers of governance, judiciary etc.

From an outsider’s perspective, the two nations should live happily and there should be an environment of mutual understanding. But to the surprise of the outsiders, we are still stuck at where we were about 60 years ago.

Every now and then, there is bloodshed followed by some talks and the drama continues. No one should forget the Kargil war or the Mumbai attacks. What happened then and what followed thereafter, simply lay evident to the false intentions of our leadership.

These days, there is a new tamasha doing the rounds. It also has a name – aman ki asha, a peace initiative by the Jang group and The Times of India. What I want to say is that there is no problem in carrying out such initiatives. But what i simply can’t understand is for how long this will sustain. Going by history, every now and then our neighbour Pakistan has shown its true colours. First they talk peace and then they betray us. I won’t be surprised if any peace initiative is followed by yet another attack.

The problem is not with the common people. Going by some interviews conducted by various agencies, people on both the sides want to live together and with peace. It’s the politicians who are the real culprits. Just to stay in the news, they keep bringing up the matters that hurt the sentiments of the people on either side. They are the ones who are not letting the peace process to make any further progress. They visit each other’s nation. They stay in the most luxurious hotels, enjoy the highest possible security but simply don’t do what’s there on their agenda.

And we follow them curiously. All the news items cover on what they ate, where they stayed, which places they visited, and their itinerary. It’s simply rubbish! There are so many issues to tackle in our country. But all that we are doing is following this drama. It may take another century to get some result out of it. Moreover, it may take a couple of centuries to divert the attentions of our society from this tamasha to the real issues.

I may sound a little pessimistic but unfortunately this is the truth. All I want to say is focus on the real issues and stop following these trivial matters. Already we have some other factions in Naxals, Telangana sponsors, Mayawati etc. who want further pieces of our nation. And all these characters are a result of utter negligence. It’s time to get little serious and bring the much needed change. Otherwise, we may be serving our neighbors or some people alike with a cake of the shape of our nation asking them to make the cuts!   

A noble sole

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 the clear stream of reason

has not lost its way into the

dreary desert sand of dead habit; ...

Into that heaven of freedom,

my Father, let my country awake.

..........................Rabindranath Tagore

On the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of an Indian legend, Late Shri Rabindranath Tagore, it is time to revisit and celebrate the life of a maestro. A nobel laureate and the writer of the national anthems of two countries, India and Bangladesh, he  is a towering figure in the millennium-old literature of Bengal.

Profile

Sir Rabindranath Tagore , 1861–1941, Indian author and guru, b. Calcutta (now Kolkata). Tagore came from a wealthy Bengali family. He went abroad in 1877 to study law in England but soon returned to India. For a time he managed his father's estates and became involved with the Indian nationalist movement, writing propaganda. His characteristic later style combines natural descriptions with religious and philosophical speculation. Tagore drew on the classical literature of India, especially the ancient Sanskrit scriptures and the writings of Kalidasa . His prodigious output includes approximately 50 dramas, 100 books of verse (much of which he set to music), 40 volumes of novels and shorter fiction, and books of essays and philosophy.   

Works and Ideology

In his devotion to peace, Tagore denounced nationalism and violence. He sought to instill in human beings a sense of their unity; he was severely critical of the Indian caste system. His most important philosophical work is Sadhana: The Realization of Life (1913), which echoes the fundamental ideas inherent in sacred Hindu writings. His dramas are filled with lyricism and philosophy, while his poems deal with amorous, mystical, and fabulous themes. In India his appeal was nearly universal. A man of striking appearance, Tagore came to be regarded with the reverence due an ancient teacher. He wrote in Bengali but translated much of his work into English. It attracted attention in the West, and he was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, especially for his collection of poetry, Gitanjali (1912). His Janaganamana ( Thou Art the Ruler of All Minds ) was adopted as the Indian national anthem. 

Tagore's best-known novels and poetry include The Gardener (1913), The Crescent Moon (1913), Songs of Kabir (1915), Cycle of Spring (1917), Fireflies (1928), and Sheaves (1932). Among his plays are The Post Office (1914), Chitra (1917), and Red Oleanders (1924). Philosophical works include Personality (1917),Nationalism (1917), The Home and the World (1919), The Religion of Man (1931), and Man (1932). In 1915 Tagore was knighted. His travels and lectures took him around the world. He was impressed with the capacity of the West for accomplishing its practical goals, but he deprecated what he considered its spiritual emptiness and waste. In 1922, Santiniketan (abode of peace), the school he had founded at Bolpur in 1901, was expanded into the internationally attended Visva-Bharati Univ. The curriculum stressed social reform, international unity, and rural reconstruction. 

Crime Capital?

For its people, the city has many faces. Some say that it has a big heart. Some say that it changes lives. But one thing i know is that it's a city of liveliness. All the motion, chaos and noise keep the tempo high. With 1.5 crores Indians, Delhi is in an entirely different league.

But this is not what the outsiders know of Delhi. I am not generalising but stating the position with most of them. Over the years, Delhi has transformed into something that most of us disguise. With probably the highest crime rate in the country, even the most loyal of all, feel unsafe themselves. What to say about the rest?

Social menaces like rapes, murders, thefts etc. have increased exponentially and are spreading to other parts of the Delhi-NCR region. Recently, one top police official called for a ban on working of women during late hours. Although, it wasn't implemented but it was enough to remind us all about what's happening in our society.

Another instance is that of the new rule by Delhi Traffic police. It's regarding the removal of all kinds of films (even 50:70 ones) from cars. I think i don't need to explain where the roots lie but it again points to what wrong is happening in the now called Crime Capital of India.

So, what are the causes of such a jungle raaj? Why is it the case that we are not able to put brakes to such trends? What are the police doing? (Apart from playing "Delhi police" on FM stations) What the common man do? All these questions have been left unanswered for far too long. Unfortunately, these trends originate from the mainstream thinking of the general population. What we do, is evidence of what we think.

The tremendous shift to the western culture left a big hole in our society. Still, a huge proportion of our population, haven't been able to adjust to the change. We have lived with a conservative mindset for centuries. And to expect everyone to shift to the western way of thinking within decades is a lot to expect. The society needs time to adjust. And till the day comes, we will continue seeing such incidents happening.

People can say whatever they want, and mostly they try to be politically correct, saying all the right things. But truth is definitely far from being realized.

Everybody says that he/she is concerned about the system! There is a lot wrong with the system! There are bad people ruling the roost! But remember that we are also a part of the system. So rather than crying foul, we should act as responsible citizens.

We can contribute our bit by helping the police via programmes like "Be the eye and ear of police". Also, one should raise his/her voice against any wrongdoing rather than acting mute. Remember, the ones who do not act against a crime are also criminals because they are in turn promoting the criminal ideology.

So, instead of pointing fingers at others and calling the capital of the nation, a crime capital, one should act at changing the scenario. Jai Hind!

Should we be proud or be scared?

India entered an entirely different league by successfully testing Agni-V. With a range of more than 5000 kms (China said it's more than 8000 kms), the missile can cover entire China, Eastern Europe, North Eastern and Eastern Africa and even Australia if fired from the Nicobar Islands.

Agni-V(India)

Agni-V, the ICBM test fired by India, is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and will be crucial for India's defence against China. The missile can carry a pay-load of 1 tonne, is 17 m long, 2 m wide and weighs 50 tonnes. After the missile is inducted into India's strategic forces by 2014-2015, India will acquire a strong deterrent capacity against China.

Only the permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, Russia, France, the United States and the United Kingdom - have such long distance missiles. Israel, too, is believed to posses ICBMs although there is no official confirmation of the same. The missile is a significant improvement over Agni-IV which had a range of only 3500 kms.

But there was more to come. In what is touted as a reply from Pakistan to India, Shaheen-1A was test fired in Indian Ocean within a week. It has a range of about 750 kms.

Shaheen - 1A (Pakistan)

According to the Pakistani military the missile is an improved version of the Shaheen 1 with a longer range. Shaheen 1A has a range of 750 kilometers (465 miles), but there was no immediate confirmation of the new missile's range. Shaheen-1A, an upgraded intermediate-range ballistic missile, can target all the major cities of North and West India.

According to current stats, there are more than 20,000 nuclear warheads present in the world. Russia has the maximum number (about 10,000) followed by USA (around 8,500).(See the table below)

Country	Warheads active/total	Year of first test	CTBT status
The five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT
United States	1,950 / 8,500	1945 ("Trinity")	Signatory
Russia (former Soviet Union)	2,430 / 10,000	1949 ("RDS-1")	Ratifier
United Kingdom	160 / 225	1952 ("Hurricane")	Ratifier
France	290 / 300	1960 ("Gerboise Bleue")	Ratifier
China	180 / 240	1964 ("596")	Signatory
Non-NPT nuclear powers
India	NA / 80–100	1974 ("Smiling Buddha")	Non-signatory
Pakistan	NA / 90–110	1998 ("Chagai-I")	Non-signatory
North Korea	NA / <10	2006 (2006 test)	Non-signatory
Undeclared nuclear powers
Israel	NA/ 80–200	possibly 1979	Signatory

But do we really need these? With already so much destruction, don't we need peace? These WMDs are only going to open new avenues that lead to chaos. Over the past two decades, we witnessed the use of WMDs against Afghanistan, Iraq and in the Gaza strip. Besides terrorists, thousands of soldiers and civilians too lost their lives. 

From movies like Resident Evil, Avengers etc. the filmmakers showed the way the people see these weapons, an easy way out to wipe off any threat!

Today, if a country develops a missile, there is a sense of pride amongst the people. But the truth is that the very same source of pride could be responsible for the loss of their own brothers and sisters.

Unfortunately, the episodes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki couldn't change the fate of mankind. There were prayers, tears but no stopping the events that followed. Today also, people can see the after-effects of what happened there. Apart from deseases like Cancer, the genes of people (survivors and their generations) were permanently distorted. For exmple, there are people who have their eyes on their ankles.(I can't put any pictures here because they are very disturbing)

Instead of spending billions in developing the WMDs, if these countries spend the money wisely towards their people and the environment, won't it be much better?

But nothing has changed, has it? Still, we have a monster named USA which is always ready to joke with the lives of innocent people. Still, developing countries like India and China, are developing these weapons to prove their might. All that i can say is until and unless the world go WMD-free, no one can live a peaceful life. There will always a fear of WMDs going in wrong hands. 

So, the message is clear! Instead of developing the WMDs, the nations should step forth to stop them. There is still time to realise our current position. Still, it's not too late. Hopefully, they will get the message but when, can't be said.