Pairokar

 Pithily written book ‘Dharma, Yoga aur Aadhyatm’ by Supreme Court Advocate Shri Radha Krishna Kumar is indeed like food for thought for each and everyone; regardless of his/her being a deeply religious, non-religious or even an atheist. One is amazed to find the gems of knowledge in the book. It is not merely a painstaking collection of axioms by a researcher, but it reflects the uncanny understanding, nay the subtle practices of dharma and yoga in life by the writer. The book contains four independent chapters. The first one deals with different religions of the world, and the rise of faiths.  The crux of all major religions has been given in the most succinct manner and astonishing style. The description of the Buddhist theory of Pratityasamutpad (cause and effect), Astaang Marg (eightfold path), Panchasheel(five codes of conduct) and four Arya Satya (noble truths) are like eye-openers for the human being steeped in ignorance.   It may be noted here that births and rebirths have bee

  Law to Weed out Touts is Inadequate and Needs to be Done More The presence of touts is ubiquitous in any court, be it district, High Court or even the Supreme Court. Why only courts- this is a common sight of any government office dealing with the public. So much so, even in the hospitals, touts rule the roost. Police stations remain hovered by the touts all the time. Even an FIR cannot be lodged without the help of the touts. As far as the courts are concerned, touts are found on all their gates itself. Many advocates depend on them because it is they who bring cases to them and in return get good commissions. Many touts have their own independent offices, and they operate by giving a façade of computer operators or typists. That is why, the Advocate Amendment Bill 2023 passed by Parliament the other day is a welcome law.    Verily speaking, the judicial system is swamped with touts. The definition of tout that has been given in the new Advocates (Amendment) Bill of 2023 is ‘a p

The Late SubrotoRoy was, no doubt, a genius, who set a new record of fraud and forgery. Millions of small investors, who were trapped by the greed and inducements of Subroto Roy; more known as Sahara Sri, never got back their hard-earned savings. Dishonest politicians of all parties had parked their ill-gotten moneywith Subroto Roy, and they vied with each other supporting and even getting close to him. Film actors and actresses used to flaunt their proximity to him. A large number of journalists, who benefitted from the largesse of SubrotoRoy sang peans during his lifetime and even after his death. Many of them did not lag behind in showing their close connections with the king of thuggery. He was brought to books, thanks to the Supreme Court although he did not leave any stone unturned even dodging the Apex Court. When he was asked to deposit Rs. 24000crores of investors' money to the SEBI along with documents for verification, he sent 132 truckloads containing 32 thousand cart

 National Press Day has been celebrated under the auspices of the Press Council of India on the 16 th of November every year since 1995 when it was decided to celebrate it on the day when the Press Council was enacted by the Parliament. It may be mentioned here that the first Press Commission was constituted on 23 rd September 1952 to study the state of affairs of the Press under the Chairmanship of Justice G S Rajyadhyaksha.  Many eminent persons from different streams were its members. It was set up to secure freedom of speech and expression, to curb yellow journalism, sensationalism, malicious attacks on public men, indecency and vulgarity, bias in the presentation of news and lack of responsibility in comment, to inquire about the control, management and ownership, the financial structure as well as other important aspects of the newspaper industry in the country.   It submitted its report on 14 th July 1954. It made two very important recommendations; one was the enactment

       Israel and Hamas war started on 7 th October and has already taken the toll of more than 15 thousand human lives. In the past, no friction with Israel has lasted for more than a week but this time it is still continuing despite the passage of nearly six weeks’ time.  In fact, it is no longer a war but a relentless thrashing of the Hamas terrorists and their sympathisers in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest reports almost the entire Gaza Strip has been occupied by Israel’s forces. Hamas terrorists are hiding like rats in the tunnels, which they have constructed mainly under the hospitals to shield themselves. Terrorists are now targeting hospitals, killing innocent people and blaming Israel’s forces to gain sympathy from the world. But no country has till now come forward to join the war against Israel. Even Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan do not have the courage to face the wrath of Israel.   As a matter of fact, the world can learn a lesson from Israel, which has vowed

INFOSYS Chairman Narayana Murthy has stirred a hornet’s nest by throwing an idea that the working hours of employees and workers should be fixed seventy hours a week. However, a large number of workers, trade unions and even politicians are up against this idea. The opposition has erupted against this stupid idea which he has proposed. It must be mentioned here that there have been agitations across the world in the late 19th century with regard to limiting working hours to eight hours per day for six days a week. After years of struggle in May 1886, the workers went on for complete strike in support of their demand. Many of them, around two dozen, were killed and suffered violence of various types. Now after nearly 150 years if somebody is advocating for increasing the working of workers from a 48-hour week to 70 hours a week is certainly inhuman, illogical and cruel to say the least. Even in the ‘Occupational Safety, health and Working Code’, which is yet to be promulgated although

                                                                                                         A well-known lawyer of labour laws in Delhi H L Kumar is no more.   He was courteous to the core and enjoyed a good reputation across the country. Not only employers and their organisations but also employees, trade unions of all hues and colours, government officials and judges used to take advice and benefit from his knowledge and experiences. He was more known as Kumar Saheb to all his friends and acquaintances. He silently passed away on 24 th  October leaving hundreds of admirers and colleagues to mourn his death. He was in his late eighties and was an Ajatshatru, a friend of all and foe of none. Soft-spoken and quite amiable with everybody, Kumar Saheb was always ready to help others in every possible manner. He showed no signs of any illness, except age-related weaknesses, and was found to be engrossed in works to the fag-end of his life. Kumar Saheb used to be nostalgic

 By Parmanand Pandey Now the reports suggest that Hamas terrorists were responsible for the ghastly attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital situated in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is the original sinner of starting and escalating the war in West Asia. It was guilty of killing hundreds of innocent people in Israel. Some 300 people died when they were busy enjoying the dance party. Israel immediately started retaliatory attacks. There has hardly been any resistance from Hamas once Israel swung into action. Then a psychological warfare was launched that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah would also join Hamas against Israel, which would not be able to bear the two-pronged attacks. More than a fortnight has passed, and Israeli forces have been pounding on Hamas to decimate the terrorists, but it will take some time to completely exterminate them. The frustrated Hamas then attacked the hospital blaming Israel for its bombing. Now the video footage shows that Hamas misfired on the hospital by its cheap missiles.

After many years I have had the opportunity to talk to the former editor of the Amrit Prabhat Shri K B Mathur the other day on WhatsApp, who lives near Toronto in Canada with his son. In my life I have worked with three editors, the first one was Shri S K Bose of Northern India Patrika of Allahabad. My stint with him was very brief nearly three months. He was a gem of a man- well-read and punctilious to the core. It was he who was instrumental in sending me to Shri Mathur, who apart from being a good and laborious journalist, has always been a thorough gentleman. My third editor was the late Shri Prabhash Joshi, who was full of bluff and bluster but very fair. He was abstemious and spartan in his personal life but more dedicated to the profession and the proprietor than to the working class. This is my personal viewpoint about him, which does not mean that others would agree with it. Returning to Shri K B Mathur, I can say with all the emphasis at my command that journalists working

These days love stories of two women namely, Anju Thomas and Seema Haider (Sachin) have become the talk of the town. Both crossed the borders of their own respective countries to meet their loved ones. The latest one is Anju Thomas, who went from India to Pakistan to marry her lover, Nasarullah. Seema Haider has already been living in for nearly two or three months in India with her new husband Sachin Meena in NOIDA. Their love stories started almost in the same manner through chat on their mobile phones but thereafter the similarity ends. While Seema Haider (Sachin) says that she has bid on Pakistan forever. It is now a closed chapter for her. She says that she would rather die in India than go to Pakistan. She has converted to Hinduism and has been observing all the rites and rituals of her new religion. Anju Thomas, on the other hand, is still indecisive. Sometimes she says that she would go back to India after her tourist visa gets expired. But sometimes she says that she would a

   First of all, here is news, which has been flashed across all newspapers that an airline Pilot couple in Delhi, who allegedly hired a 10-year-old girl as domestic help and tortured her, were arrested a few days back, and have been sent to jail. According to police, medical tests showed that the girl had sustained some injuries and had burn marks. A case has also been registered against the couple. While the Police are investigating the torture of the minor girl, data shows a substantial increase in child labour during the last year. The statistics show that 311 children were rescued in Delhi itself till June this year in contrast to 107 in the same period last year. It has also been reported that 22 people were arrested under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act this year, whereas only eight people were taken in by police in 2022.  Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986 to save ‘childhood’. As per law, nobody can employ children below the age

Controversy has flared up across the country over Seema Haider, an illegal migrant from Pakistan to Greater NOIDA of Uttar Pradesh (India) to live with her lovelorn new husband. She claims to have converted to Hinduism and has married a Hindu Sachin at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu (Nepal). She has illegally come to India along with her four minor children but not to create terror or law and order problems. Some people are looking at it as a big security threat because she comes from Baluchistan in Pakistan, they conveniently forget that crores of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are illegally living in India for decades and are eating into the vitals of our economy. Many of them have even obtained forged documents to be citizens of India. But here is a woman, who has come to marry a boy five younger than her in age and belongs to the Hindu religion. She is being projected by some as a security threat to the country. Nothing could be more ridiculous than this misconceived belief. Can

  University and College teachers' appointment processes and interests have changed beyond recognition in the last four to five decades. My father-in-law Dr Sabhajit Mishra, a retired Professor and Head of the Philosophy Department of Deen Dayal Upadhyay University of Gorakhpur, says that in the seventies the salaries of university and college teachers were not as lucrative as they are today yet the desire among good students to become university teacher was very high. The yearning to learn more and excel in their fields was unbeatable. Dr Mishra tells the story of a Professor at BHU, who used to commute from his home to the university on a cycle because he could not comfortably afford any motorised vehicle, however, his enthusiasm to purchase books was seen to be believed. It was generally seen that after collecting his salary every month, the first thing that he used to do was to go to any big bookstore to purchase the new arrivals of books.   See the contrast, in present tim

    Article 44 of the Constitution of India says: ‘ The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.’  This was made clear by the makers of the Constitution of India more than 7 decades ago, yet it is still not fulfilled and is being debated at various fora about its utility and applicability. Thus, it is long overdue and should have been implemented in the early fifties. Then there would not have been any need to introduce the Hindu Code Bill. In fact, no nation can become strong and cohesive if it contains different laws and rules for different communities or persons living in the country. Our Constitution speaks of equality and non-discrimination on the ground of caste, creed or sex yet when we find that the discrimination continues in many ways and sometimes it is used as a tool by some people for their ulterior goals. The most unfortunate part of it is that while equality is demanded but the Uniform Civil Code is opposed

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Sometimes the cover of a book can be deceptive. Normally the title of a book is made catchy to attract the attention of the readers. But what can you say about a serious book having a cumbersome rather embarrassing title like ‘Honeymoon’ by Sushil Chand Shrivastav, an officer in the secretariat of Uttar Pradesh? I hesitated to read this book for more than two years because of its cover title but during this summer vacation, I started reading the book and found it to be amazingly good, highly informative and replete with shlokas, chaupais and folk idioms. The story of the novelette begins with a daughter of an air force officer, who laid down his life in the service of Mother India in the 1971 war and an idealist Sooraj, a son of the retired Vice-Principal of a College. One marvel at the description of the scenario that was built around and after the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. It is like a refreshing memory for those who have witnessed the