Feminism in India

Feminism in India Introduction Gender Equality and Feminism have become growing topics all around the globe during the past half a century, with women organizing and protesting against the stereotypes imposed upon them by the men. Several theories exist about how these stereotypes and inequalities came about, with some people arguing that it is caused by the chauvinistic nature innately present in all human beings, with others rejecting this as a â€Å"lazy† argument to make, and attributing it to more specific causes. In the times of hunter-gatherers, the women occupied an equal status to that of men, and everyone had to contribute in order to survive and bring up the young ones. As agriculture started to appear, along with importance to ownership of land, the patriarchal form of society started dominating the scene, as men were bestowed with the duty to acquire and defend property, and hence the passing down of property down the line of male descendants (patrilineal) became relevant, thus side-lining the women in the society. With the growth of capitalism, the importance of the nuclear family had increased, which required the male to be employed, typically in industries, in order to earn income, and the women would have to stay at home and look after the domestic needs such as cooking, and raising of children, etc. The reason for this was that the main means of production was the modern nuclear family, and so this setup was promoted as the norm in order to maximise market gains and increase efficiency[1]. This effect of capitalism along with the patriarchal nature of most societies is what many argue to be the major reason behind the stigmatization and stereotyping of women as weaker, and restricted to household work. Challenging these notions, feminist movements have been seen in several countries of the world, thereby ensuring that the women in their country had rights and were relatively equal to the men, preventing further social downtrodding of women. Several countries have all owed women to join the army even, with some sending them into combat as well[2], in order to promote gender equality and inspire women to believe in themselves and change the way society looks at women. However, the situation in India is quite different. Gender inequality is rampant here, and nearly in every sphere of life, women are marginalized and oppressed, viewed as mere tools or property possessed by men. India witnesses the second highest amount of gender inequality in all of Asia, second only to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan[3]. However, some feminist movements have been seen even in India, however their task is much more difficult here due to a vast number of reasons which will be discussed in depth in this project with the help of some interviews of Indian feminist social activists. Methodology The first step I took towards this project was to search for social activists in India who had made contributions to the feminist movement, and identified some feminists out of whom I had picked the interviews of Dr. Vandana Shiva[4], Dr. Sarojini Sahoo[5], Ms. Flavia Agnes[6] and Mrs. Madhu Kishwar[7]. Of these, Dr. Vandana Shiva would be the most prominent activist, who has written several books for the cause of feminism and making the women of India aware of such discrimination, and also won the Fukuoka Prize in 2012[8]. Dr. Sarojini Sahoo is also a well-known activist who has written several books about gender and sexuality, and won the Laadli Media Award in 2011, and her interview offers us the most information regarding the topic, and therefore is the central interview for the purposes of this project. From all the interviews, a few major issues have been identified and then analysed with the help of other sources, and their impact on the society at large is shown. The activist s are generally in agreement with each other, and usually only the main focus of their argument is what changes. I have also identified a handful of interviews of feminists from countries other than India in order to compare them with those of the Indian feminists, and this affirm what is it that makes the feminist movement in India more essential and complicated than in other countries. Core Chapter After going through the interview[9] of Christina Hoff Sommers, a feminist activist from the USA, we can tell that the main focus of the interview is on improving women representation in politics, and mostly to disillusion women from several other schools of feminism which she believes to be false and misleading to the women population at large. This shows that feminism has already successfully granted them basic social equity in the USA. The interview[10] of Perla Vasquez, a feminist from Mexico, has also been identified and analysed. The major issues in this as well mostly comprise of economic and political difficulties faced by women in Mexico. This is in contrast with the stage in India as we can deduce from the 4 interviews analysed for the sake of this project, where the focus is on basic discrimination of women in the social field, and to stop the many forms of injustice suffered by them daily, and in almost every sphere of life. The major points of difference I have identified from these interviews is the basis of patriarchal values and oppression of women being strongly embedded with religious tradition, particularly Hinduism, since the later Vedic period; and the second being the rampant cases of sexual violence against women all around the country. It is this basic factor which makes feminism so much more essential in India, especially the rural places, and the reinforcement of patriarchy in the Hindu tradition, and the fact that a large majority of India is still religious, makes it much more difficult to acquire the goals of social equality and basic dignity for women. Effect of Culture and Traditions In her interview, Sarojini Sahoo states â€Å"At one time in India in the ancient Vedic period there were equal rights between men and women and even feminist law makers like Gargi and Maitreyi. But the later Vedic period polarized the sexes. Males oppressed females and treated them as other or similar to a lower caste.†[11] This statement has been proven to be true, and women had indeed enjoyed a position of equal rights to those of males in the Vedic period, with women being venerated, and the prevalence of several Goddesses and female Deities in the Hindu tradition from that time, further reinforcing their position in society[12]. However, during the time following the Vedic period, the situation of women deteriorated much further down. With the arrival of the Dharma Shastras, the Patriarchal form of society was stressed and promoted, causing the oppression of women in the society. However, most people argue that it is during the time of the Mughals when women in India became truly secluded, although there is evidence of such being practiced as early as during the time of Asoka.[13] The Smritis were another reason which led to the side-lining of women in the later Vedic society, which reflected the legislators’ chauvinistic nature in enforcing traditions and practices which led to the further o ppression and control of women in the society by males, and laws which lacked all notions of equity and justice. These causes led to a solidification of a society where women were treated worse than Shudras (untouchables)[14], suffering several inequalities from the men every day. This has continued for a long time, with practices such as the Dowry system and the system of Sati being followed widely all over India when the British had arrive, and had not declined until the British Empire issued legislations banning the practice of Sati[15], following which it slowly started declining. The dowry system was originally only prevalent in the middle class who actually owned property which they could give away for dowry, but later was adopted even by the poorer sections of society, often resulting in cases where one would give away a lifetime of savings as dowry. It was banned by the Government of India in 1961, by the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, but the practice of dowry is still very much prevalent almost everywhere in India, especially in the villages where the law has little effect. This gives rise to a social horror known as Dowry death, which will be discussed under the next topic. Another issue arising out of traditions is that women are assumed to be weaker, and are made to stay at home and taught how to perform household work such as cooking and cleaning, and are not allowed to take part in most social events. As a result, most parents do not allow their daughters to go to school, and make them stay at home and learn household skills. As a result, while 76% of men are literate in India, only 54% of women are literate[16]. This indicates how much of an effect such traditions and notions can have on a country as a whole. Violence against women One of the major issues discussed by almost every feminist in their interview is dowry death. This is a practice where the bride is killed when her family does not give a large enough dowry. It has in fact been on the increase, seen largely throughout North India[17]. This has caused women to be looked upon as a burden in their family of birth. Sarojini Sahoo has stated the same in her interview, describing how women are usually viewed in society: â€Å"An unmarried daughter seen as a spinster even in her late twenties brings shame upon her parents, and is a burden. But once married, she is considered the property of her in-laws.†[18] This burden leads to wanting a male child over a female one, along with the fact that the Dharma Shastras and other texts of Hindu religion which make a son more desirable than a daughter due to the fact they can inherit, carry on the name, and only a son can perform the last rites of his father/grandfather. This leads to the social practice of female infanticide, which has been on the increase in India. It is basically the act of killing young female children, as their parents want a male child. This has caused the sex ratio to drop in India over the years. India has a child sex ratio of 914:100, as of 2011.[19] Next is the actual physical violence against women, which is very widespread in India compared to all the other nations. India has of late become famous for rape, following the Delhi rape case. A statement from Madhu Kishwar regarding such violence aptly sums up a variety of such problems prevalent in India: â€Å"Another main issue is sexual violence of all kinds, from what goes by the name of â€Å"eve-teasing†, which is a very mild, insulting word used to describe what goes from pinching and rubbing to lewd comments to physical violence, hitting you†¦ Then there is rape of all kinds†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [20] Sexual violence is at its highest in India. Some theorize that this is the backlash of a strong patriarchal society[21] witnessing westernization of women. It is the biggest social issue in all of India, and is the major reason why India needs feminism. The final problem to be discussed is the fact that marital rape is to this day not criminalized in India. The Indian Penal Code has no sanction against this act. The only recourse for the wife is to ask for divorce and leave her husband, but apart from that, there is no punishment meted out to the husband/rapist. Domestic violence also has a separate law which many say is not stringent enough, thus making it prevalent in countless areas of the country. Flavia Agnes addresses the topic in her interview: â€Å"In a society where marriage is the norm, the ultimate power rests with the husband.† To sum up the issue of violence, a statement from Vandana Shiva fits perfectly: â€Å"This violent economic order can only function as a war against people and against the earth, and in that war, the rape against women is a very, very large instrument of war. We see that everywhere. And therefore, we have to have an end to the violence against women.†[22] Conclusion We have seen how the dawn of private ownership of land and property gave rise to the Patriarchal society, pushing women to a side role, and how this was further solidified by the rise of capitalism and its need for the nuclear family and the â€Å"ideal setup† for division of labour. We then discussed how it originated in India, and how the Vedic period originally had great equality for the women in their society, and how that status deteriorated over time due to the Dharma Shastras and the Smritis, giving rise to traditions like dowry and sati. We have seen how these practices came about, the efforts of the government to curb them, and the effectiveness of these laws. We also see how the traditions affected the rate of literacy among girls drastically, and then how dowry leads to murder in several cases, and how this burden then leads to female infanticide, and the culmination of all these oppressive traditions leading to the sexual violence against women due to them being vi ewed as weaker, or as property, and finally how the law even now is quite unfair with regard to women, denying them any just recourse marital rape, despite several protests for the sake of the same. To conclude, we have seen how gender inequality has its own unique points in India, and how it is all the more essential for India to learn feminism, and the higher difficulty of actually bringing about changes in this society. Bibliography JSTOR The Hindu The National Geographic The Times of India Foundation for Sustainable Development The Guardian [1] Systems of Stratification : Gender in Capitalist Society, The Red Phoenix, available at http://theredphoenixapl.org/2010/11/29/systems-of-stratificationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¬gender-in-capitalist-society/ [2] 8 Other Nations That Send Women to Combat, The National Geographic, available at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130125-women-combat-world-australia-israel-canada-norway/ [3] Gender equality in India among worst in world, The Times of India, available at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gender-equality-in-India-among-worst-in-world-UN/articleshow/18982029.cms [4] Vandana Shiva on Int’l Women’s Day: Capitalist Patriarchy Has Aggravated Violence Against Women, Democracy Now, available at http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/8/vandana_shiva_on_intl_womens_day [5] Feminism in India Conversation with Indian Feminist Sarojini Sahoo, Linda Lowen, available at http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/FeminisminIndia.htm [6] Feminism in India: violence, trades, Carol Ann Douglas and Alice Henry, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/25796296 [7] Feminism in India, Carol Ann Douglas, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/25793362 [8] Fukuoka Prize for Vandana Shiva, The Hindu, available at http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/fukuoka-prize-for-vandana-shiva/article3676826.ece [9] The Future of Feminism: An Interview with Christina Hoff Sommers, Scott London, available at http://www.scottlondon.com/interviews/sommers.html [10] An interview with feminist activist Perla Vasquez, available at http://www.mamacash.org/news/an-interview-with-feminist-activist-perla-vasquez/ [11] Feminism in India Conversation with Indian Feminist Sarojini Sahoo, Linda Lowen, available at http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/FeminisminIndia.htm [12] Women in Vedic Culture, Stephen Knapp, available at http://www.stephen-knapp.com/women_in_vedic_culture.htm [13] Indian Woman Down the Ages, LR Nair, available at http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/226/6/06_chapter2.pdf [14] Role of Vedas in Degradation of Status of Women in India, available at http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/faith-and-rituals/role-of-vedas-in-degradation-of-status-of-women-in-india [15] Bengal Sati Regulation Act, 1829 [16] Gender Equity Issues in India, Foundation for Sustainable Development, available at http://www.fsdinternational.org/country/india/weissues [17] Rising number of dowry deaths in India: NCRB, Ignatius Pereira, The Hindu, August 6, 2013, available at http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rising-number-of-dowry-deaths-in-india-ncrb/article4995677.ece [18] Feminism in India Conversation with Indian Feminist Sarojini Sahoo, Linda Lowen, available at http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/FeminisminIndia.htm [19] India loses 3 million girls in infanticide, The Hindu, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-loses-3-million-girls-in-infanticide/article3981575.ece [20] Feminism in India, Carol Ann Douglas, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/25793362 [21] Sexual violence in India is a patriarchal backlash that must be stopped, Priya Virmani, The Guardian, available at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/17/sexual-violence-india-patriarchal-narendra-modi-women-reform-rape [22] Vandana Shiva on Int’l Women’s Day: Capitalist Patriarchy Has Aggravated Violence Against Women, Democracy Now, available at http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/8/vandana_shiva_on_intl_womens_day

Raving Is A Lifestyle :: essays research papers

Raving Is a Lifestyle. One of the most rapidly expanding scenes in the world is raving. The dictionary defines "Rave" as To utter in madness or frenzy; to say wildly; as, to rave nonsense, which makes you wonder why raves were ever called raves to begin with, unless of course you have been to one. I will never forget my first experience at a rave. Media portrays Raves as cesspools of filth, sex and drugs, so naturally I was very nervous about attending my first party. We sit in a circle inside the party with the lights and music assailing my senses and take out the pills. I stare at mine and sweat nervously. I have never really done drugs before, and I am going to put a pill in my mouth that someone that I do not know has manufactured in their basement. Little did I know that this was a common theme in the scene, quality control for basement pharmaceuticals is a difficult thing. I down the ecstasy and wait nervously for some thing to happen to feel something that had been e xtensively described to me, but for which I still had no idea what to expect for words can do it no justice. After forty minutes, I start to stand up to get some water, and before I know what is going on, I am already standing. It feels like I have no joints in my body, and everything is fluid. My mind is rushing and I let this sense of pure energy, goodwill and friendliness wash over my body. I feel the need for something different and wander off to make some new friends. I sit to talk to a beautiful girl by a pillar. Normally, I would be very shy and never dream of talking to a goddess such as she. Before I know what is going on, I am laying on my back with my head in her lap and she is massaging my face and neck gently, her touch so light that there seems to be almost no touch, just energy passing from her fingers to my face. I start to imagine strange worlds in my minds eye, seemingly rendered by computers full of brilliant glow-stick colors like fluorescent blues, purples and g reens, and there are strange creatures dancing and racing about. Now this total stranger is kissing me very very softly, and I am lost in space and time, I can no longer feel the floor beneath my body and the images I see are more vivid, the moment lasting for eternity.

Child Safety Essay

Safety is the condition of being protected against physical, social, emotional, financial or other types or consequences of failure, damage, harm or any other event which could be considered un-desirable. To me safety is the most important aspect of any environment because it affects a person mentally and for anyone to show his/her best performance it is necessary that their safety zone is intact. When we think about safety the first thing that comes to mind is protection, shelter, freedom etc. And, this starts from the moment a child is born till he/she is alive. All human beings want a secure and healthy environment which is utterly devoid of hazards and dangers. And, when we talk about children’s safety; it plays a vital role in their upbringing and development in ensuring they are enthusiastic, creative and confident because when they are provided with an environment that is relatively free from danger, risks and threats of harm then they feel relaxed, happy, free to explo re. It is very important to provide safety to the children because sometimes some events, incidents or actions affect children a lot, whereas we adults feel that it will not matter to the child. Talking about myself as a teacher, I would take all the necessary steps to ensure that my learning environment is unhindered. Firstly, I would plan the physical appearance with material and ideas that are age appropriate. This will allow me to attract and inspire my pupils in a positive direction. The class should have a warm environment and the color schemes used should be inviting. Indisputably there will be material and some resources like scissors, glue, sockets, play dough etc. that might be dangerous or harmful to the child, these items though needed in the class should be kept out of reach and when required used under the guidance of the teacher. The furniture and seating arrangement in the class should have smooth edges and preferably be circular in shape. There should be just enough furn iture in accordance with the strength of the class. This will allow safe and free movement for the children in the class space. Physical safety is not only confined to the classroom. When the child is in the school premises every event that takes place is the responsibility of the adult. When the child leaves the classroom, it is important that the adult accompanies him/her to whatever place the child has to go. Be it the play area, the swimming pool, the playground or even the toilet; they should all have proper safety features such as flooring which in case of a toilet should be dry so as to avoid slipping, age appropriate equipment and infrastructure all safely installed with irrelevant material kept out of reach of the children. Another aspect of safety is the social-emotional effect on a child. To foster an emotionally safe classroom it is important for the adult to discuss how each child in the class is as an individual and that everyone is different. The classroom environment can detract from a student’s ability to learn if he/she does not feel safe. A safe environment means that there is respect between the child and the adult and amongst the children themselves. Hence students feel accepted and free to voice their opinions. It is important to teach children class room rules at the beginning of the year and the adult to be consistent in enforcing them. But when talking about rules, they should be realistic and not rigid. If adults overwhelm children with rules for everything, there could then be countless power struggles with children. The adult should speak to the child individually if he/she suspects any problem because when children are corrected in front of their peers they may get demotivated and feel a sense of insecurity. This insecurity can also take place when a child is faced with an obstacle such as bullies. In this case the children have no way of defending themselves. It is very important that the adult makes sure all pupils are comfortable in their learning environment. Discussing with the children about peer press ure and bullying and how it has a negative effect in the classroom by revising child friendly moral stories is a reasonable way out. To develop the children to be socially interactive the adult needs to build bonds by providing opportunities of group play, interaction and discussions. The adult can also train the children to look after each other and the environment of their classroom. This can be in the form of a daily clean-up routine in regards to toys, blocks, art work etc. The classroom can be messy due to different activities of the children which could present a safety hazard to all the children depending on the cleanup. For example: â€Å"If the children have just finished their free play activity, it can be possible that while the children were exploring the different items in front of them some of the toys could have broken or cracked. In this event the children can hurt themselves or hurt each other.† Now, the introduction to a clean-up routine after every activity allows the children under the guidance of the adult to dispose of broken toys or equipment that may cause injury or choking, immediately. This will secure the classroom and prevent any unforeseen event concerning the activity. The child will feel a sense of ownership and accomplishment; it will also develop the ability to work with others in different situations and bring about the pride of teamwork to create a friendlier environment. I feel that, creating a safe learning environment for children is a daunting prospect because children not only need physical safety but also need to feel emotionally and intellectually protected. It is important that the adult should pay attention and be vigilant of the children’s activities. When adults plan lessons and activities for children they should not only keep the academics in mind but also the safety needs that pertain to the lesson. The teacher should explain the children the rules by her actions because children respond faster to what they see rather than what they are simply told. In the end it all comes down to child protection and hence it is important to take care of them to allow for the development of their ideas and enthusiasm to explore their imagination allowing them to grow.

Gillette Case Essay

President, new business development, Gillette Safety Razor Division (SRD) Problem: Ralph needs to achieve company targets for earnings growth for his division by developing a new business product. Ralph has commissioned an extensive investigation into the blank cassette tape market and he views this market as poised for substantial growth and opportunity over the long-term range of ten to fifteen years. Ralph feels that his division is well positioned to enter the market through utilization of its many core strengths. Market Overview The current blank tape market segment has many weaknesses, such as, lack of widespread distribution, lack of media coverage, poor product display and packaging, and lack of a true market leader. These weaknesses in the blank cassette tape market are all areas where Gillette has developed strong core competencies in their Safety Razor Division. The blank cassette tape market is segmented into three distinct product markets: Professional quality, Standard Quality, and Budget Quality and within those segments there are recording lengths of 30, 60, 90 and 120 minute cassette tapes. Bingham’s consultants have focused on the 60-minute cassette tape market in particular. Gillette Safety Razor Division Decisions Gillette has four product options: 1. ) do not enter market. 2. ) enter professional tape market 3. ) enter standard tape market. 4. ) enter the budget tape market. The professional quality market offers the greatest margin on products, but it is also the smallest segment in the market. The professional segment will also have the most competition as more established tape makers enter the market. As such, the fierce competition may potentially saturate the market and decrease the margins on these tapes and make it less appealing in the long run. Alternatively, standard tape market has moderate margins, but is a highly growing segment and is ready for a market leader, such as a company like Gillette. Lastly, the budget market has the lowest profit margins, the highest volume sales, but also requires a high volume of sales in order to be profitable due to the significant fixed costs associated with manufacturing. Gillette’s manufacturing constraints make it difficult for Gillette to enter the budget product market and Gillette would not want to damage its brand name by affiliating with a lower end product such as the budget quality tapes. (See appendix for quantitative analysis) Recommendations & Conclusions The Gillette Safety Razor division should enter the Standard Quality 60-minute cassette tape market and target the teenager and student market as it is a growing segment and offers much potential. Gillette should distribute the tapes using their established channels and wholesalers. Gillette should promote this new line through an aggressive advertising program as a high standard quality tape free from the defects of budget cassette tapes and with greater quality than the average standard tape. Gillette should leverage its brand name to promote the quality and value of these tapes. Gillette’s pricing for the standard quality tapes should be priced at the regular retail price with the design that consumers will choose Gillette’s product and pay more than the discounted brands due to Gillette’s high quality and brand name. In this scenario, Gillette’s monthly break-even quantity would be 518,758 units and it would make a monthly profit of $92,867 if it conservatively sells 750,000 units/mo. in year one. Annualized, the company’s net profit would be $1,114,400 at 9,000,000 units sold. Â  

Butterfly Bush Alternatives for Environmentally Friendly Gardeners

Butterfly Bush Alternatives for Environmentally Friendly Gardeners Gardeners who want to attract butterflies to their gardens often plant butterfly bush (genus Buddleia), a fast growing shrub that blooms prolifically. While butterfly bush is easy to grow, inexpensive to buy, and a good attractant for butterflies,  some argue its one of the worst choices for a butterfly garden. For years,  butterfly bush  (Buddleia) has divided gardeners into two camps: those who plant it without apology, and those who think it should be banned. Fortunately, its now possible to plant butterfly bushes without negatively impacting the environment. Why Gardeners Love Butterfly Bush Buddleia  is well-loved by butterfly gardeners because it is well-loved by butterflies. It blooms from spring to fall (depending on your  growing zone), and produces an abundance of nectar-rich flowers that butterflies cannot resist. Butterfly bush is easy-to-grow and tolerates poor soil conditions. It requires almost no maintenance, other than an annual hard pruning (and some gardeners even skip that). Why Ecologists Hate Butterfly Bush Unfortunately, a plant that produces such a bumper crop of flowers also produces a bumper crop of seeds.  Buddleia  is not native to North America; butterfly bush is an exotic plant from Asia. Ecologists deemed the shrub a threat to native ecosystems, as butterfly bush seeds escaped backyard gardens and invaded forests and meadows. Some states banned the sale of  Buddleia and listed it as a noxious, invasive weed. For commercial growers and nurseries, these bans were consequential. According to the USDA, the production and sale of butterfly bush was a $30.5 million industry in 2009. Despite  Buddleias environmental impact, gardeners still wanted their butterfly bushes, and growers wanted to continue producing and selling it. While butterfly bush provides nectar for butterflies, it offers no value for butterfly or moth larvae. In fact, not a single native North American caterpillar will feed on its leaves, according to entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy, in his book Bringing Nature Home.   For Gardeners Who Cant Live Without Buddleia Butterfly bush spreads easily because it produces thousands of seeds during the course of a growing season. If you insist on growing butterfly bush in your garden, do the right thing: deadhead Buddleia flowers as soon as the blooms are spent, all season long. Shrubs to Plant Instead of Butterfly Bush Better yet, choose one of these native shrubs instead of butterfly bush. In addition to  providing nectar, some of these native shrubs are also larval food plants. Abelia x grandiflora, glossy abeliaCeanothus americanus, New Jersey tea​Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbushClethra alnifolia, sweet pepperbushCornus spp., dogwoodKalmia latifolia, mountain laurelLindera benzoin, spicebushSalix discolor, pussy willowSpiraea alba, narrowleaf meadowsweetSpiraea latifolia, broadleaf meadowsweetViburnum sargentii, Sargents cranberry bush BuddleiaBreeders to the Rescue Just when you were getting ready to compost your butterfly bushes for good, horticulturalists found a solution to the problem.  Buddleia  breeders produced cultivars that are, in effect, sterile. These hybrids produce so little seed (less than 2% of traditional butterfly bushes), they are considered non-invasive varieties. The State of Oregon, which has a rigorous ban on  Buddleia  in place, has recently amended their ban to allow these non-invasive cultivars. Seems you can have your butterfly bush and plant it, too. Look for these non-invasive cultivars at your local nursery (or ask your favorite garden center to carry them!): Buddleia  Lo Behold ®Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœBlue Chip’Buddleia ‘Asian Moon’Buddleia  Lo Behold ®Ã¢â‚¬ËœPurple Haze’Buddleia  Lo Behold ®Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœIce Chip’ (formerly ‘White Icing’)Buddleia  Lo Behold ®Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLilac Chip’Buddleia ‘Miss Molly’Buddleia ‘Miss Ruby’Buddleia Flutterby Grandeâ„ ¢Ã‚  Blueberry Cobbler Nectar BushBuddleia Flutterby Grandeâ„ ¢Peach Cobbler Nectar BushBuddleia Flutterby Grandeâ„ ¢Ã‚  Sweet Marmalade Nectar BushBuddleia Flutterby Grandeâ„ ¢Ã‚  Tangerine Dream Nectar BushBuddleia Flutterby Grandeâ„ ¢Ã‚  Vanilla Nectar BushBuddleia Flutterby Petiteâ„ ¢Ã‚  Snow White Nectar BushBuddleia Flutterbyâ„ ¢Ã‚  Pink Nectar Bush One important thing to remember, though, is that  Buddleia  is still an exotic plant.  While it is an excellent source of nectar for adult butterflies, its not a  host plant  for any native caterpillars. When planning your wildlife-friendly garden, be sure to include  native shrubs  and flowers to attract the most butterflies.

Socio-Economic Status of Slum Dwellers

Socio-Economic Status of Slum Dwellers Free Online Research Papers The study region is municipal area situated in dist. Pratapgarh, which sites in Gangetic plain in UP. It spreads over 12 km2 with total population of 71999 persons. In the age of urbanization in developing countries like India, the slums are like white spot on the body which is caused by uneven development. To sort out the urban problems, socio-economic study of the city is necessary and if we want to have clean cities in near future, the studies of slums are not only important but demand of time also. Therefore a sample area has been randomly taken for the socio-economic study. The parameters for demarcation slums are water supply condition, sanitation and road, employment, housing condition, sufficient living area. To sum up, the study reveals that a particular caste resides in a particular slum and these castes are related to either Pal or Harijan and Muslims. The slums lack with water, sanitation, road facility and it also denotes that the slum dwellers are unaware of programs launched by the Government. Pratapgarh District, one of the oldest Districts of UP, which came into existence in the year 1858, is situated in eastern part of UP. According to JNU’s development list based on socio-economic-agricultural, Pratapgarh stands in last category. So it is an undeveloped district. Pratapgarh district famous for its Aonla and people gives alias â€Å"AONLA NAGRI†. The district, which forms from a part of Faizabad division, is named after it headquarter town Bela Pratapgarh commonly known as Pratapgarh. When district was constituted in 1858 it’s headquarter established at Bela which come to know as Bela Pratapgarh. The name Bela presumably being derived from the temple of â€Å"Bela Bhawani†, sites on the bank of river SAI. The study region districts headquarter; Bela Pratapgarh is situated at Allahabad-Faizabad national highway no. 96, at a distance of 39 km from Sultanpur and 60 km from Allahabad. Bela Pratapgarh city is a secondary town and spreads over 12 km2 with total population of 71999 persons (as per 2001 census). It is municipal area, which is divided in 25 wards so far. In total population of Bela Pratapgarh, percentage of OBC population is 31.58% and SC is 7.97%. The percentage of male and female population is 52.67% and 47.32%. The SEX ratio of Bela Pratapgarh is 898 which are quite lower than the district ratio (1004) and literacy rate is 71.039% which is higher than the district literacy ratio (58.67 percent). In Bela Pratapgarh, male literacy rate 77.03 percent followed by female 64.36 percent and district male literacy rate 74.61 percent followed by female literacy rate 42.63 percent. The Study Area: Study area of slums spread in all over the city in small patches. In 1997 District Urban Development Agency (DUDA) was stabilized and DUDA has declared 3 slum areas, these registered slums are Patkohli, Padawa and Karanpur. But there are some unregistered slum areas like Azadnagar, Khuskhuswapur, Pitai-ka-purwa, Bholiapur etc. Among these slum areas Patkoli ward is largest slum area with the 160 households. In Patkoli ward slum area is found in 3 patches- Ziriyamau, Patkoli and Bela Ghat; Pitai-ka-purwa with 2 patches- pitai-ka-purwa and nai-basti. Other slum areas have 30 to 60 households. Ward-name Basti name No of households Patkoli ziriyamau, patkoli, bela gaht 160 Aspatal ward Azadnagar 60 Bali Pur Khuskhuswapur 35 Pitai ka Purwa Nai basit, pure pitai 60 Padawa harizen basti 30 Karanpur Karanpur 35 Bholiapur Bholiapur 25 Objective of the Study: Every citizen has the right to live in a good living condition with employment, safety and other facilities. If any area left undeveloped, creates crisis in the mode of crime, unsocial activities, uneducated and unaware persons, low-level living condition, inadequate housing condition, unmoral citizens and unhealthy children with the unhealthy future of city and country. Now governments aware of the slum Basties of cities and launched many programmes to improve the condition of slum dwellers and his proficiency. But the game does not over, commonly seen that unregistered slums site over Urban Fringe area or at inner border of city, because of special spatial condition policies never imposed its effect in full fledged from. In city area, which is defined by the municipality area, plans take its own time to produce its impacts. Since, slums are present before the executions of development plans; therefore many problems stand in front of city and the citizens in form of crime, violence, poverty etc. These causes also exist in the study area. The objective behind the study aimed at to evaluate the socio-economic condition and to access the impact of government programmes upon slum dwellers of Pratapgarh City (Bela). Methodology: Every city has two types of slum areas i.e. registered and unregistered. The parameters for demarcating the slum are water supply condition, sanitation and road, housing condition. After that, to study the socio-economic status, a random sampling method has been adopted. For the survey and sample collection, a questionnaire has been prepared and door to door survey has been done. Because, Patakoli ward has large number of households, so, in this area 20 households were randomly selected for the study and in other areas 8 households have randomly taken. To evaluate the condition of dwellers, center tendency method is used. Social Status: In Bela Pratapgarh, slum dwellers are Hindus (64.44 percent) and Muslims (35.64 percent). In the total population of slum dwellers OBC with 57.14 percent, are in majority followed by SC with 33.65 percent and General with 9.2 percent. Religion CATEGORY PERCENTAGE HINDU GENERAL 2.955 OBC 47.783 SC 49.261 MUSLIM GENERAL 20.595 OBC 74.107 SC 5.357 Among Hindus, SC population is 49.261 percent and followed by OBC with 47.783 percent and General with 2.955 percent. In Muslims, OBC population is in majority with 74.107 percent followed by General 20.595 percent and SC with 5.357 percent. In slum areas sex ratio is 944 is greater than the Bela Pratapgarh sex ratio (898) and State sex ratio (898) but lower than district sex ratio (1004). In slum areas Hindus sex ratio (1071) is higher than Muslim sex ratio (778). Literacy: The overall literacy rate in slum areas is 56 percent with male and female literacy 65 percent and 46 percent against 71.039 percent in Bela Pratapgarh with male and female literacy 77.03 percent and 64.36 percent. Literacy rate of slum areas, near to district rate (58.67 percent) and UP state rate (57.36 percent) but it lower than the National rate (64.8 percent). The male literacy rate of slum areas 65 percent is quite lower to district rate (74.61 percent), national rate (75.8 percent) and state rate (70.23 percent) but female literacy rate 46 percent is near to district rate (42.63 percent), state rate (42.98 percent) and lowers than the national ratio (53.7 percent). In slum areas Primary educated persons are in majority with 60.71 percent followed by Madhyamic (28.27 percent), Inter (5.089 percent), Graduate (2.68 percent) and Post-Graduate (1.071 percent). The vocational trained persons are 1.09 percent. Income: Total working people percentage of slum dwellers is near about 24.14 percent. Among these persons, 60 percent people do not know the nature of day’s work. The average of working day in a month stands between 16 to 20 days. Over all average income of slum dwellers is quite lower with 13.03 Rs a day/person against the urban poverty line, which is near about 17 Rs. Average income of a working people 55.98 Rs for doing work 7 hour and 36 min in a day, which is quite lower than the UP Government regulation. Housing condition: In slum areas housing conditions are found in a very poor position. In sample area 46.34 percent of Kchcha houses made by mud, plastic and bamboo, 21.95 percent of Pakkaa houses made by bricks and 31.71 percent houses made by mud and bricks which have greater part Kachcha and smaller part Pakka. So, 78 percent of households face problem of housing. Sanitation, Water, Road and Health: In slum area sanitation and road facility are totally unavailable, for example except karanpur, ziriyamau, ptakholi, bela ghat, padava have Kaccha road and azad nagar, khuskuswapur, nai basati and pitai ka purwa have Kharanja road. In these areas drinking water facilities totally unavailable, except Azadnagar, in other ward water source is well or government hand pump, at per 25 households. Also in Azadnagar drinking water facilities totally unavailable and dwellers get drinking water from hand-pumps of rich neighbors. In other areas, if there is water supply, its condition is very poor. Generally water supply pipes are sunk in drain water. Hence, the water can not be used being coal black. In slum area latrine facilities are in poor condition, only 20% households have own latrines and other 80% uses the open lands. The wastages of households dump by householder near the open land or the path. As far as, the total environment of slums does not good, in all these areas children are suffering from viral infections, boils, fever etc for ever. Social Activities: -In crime, violence and immorality slum areas are leading portion of the city. In study area violence seems as quarrel, fight or abuse in home with wife, children, parents etc. or with the neighbors. The day life of the dwellers start and end with the quarrel and it happens because of drinking liquor. Immorality can be seen in the form of gambling. A sentence told by an old man to me in zriyamau about the gambling, pinched me a lot. He told, â€Å"He bhaiya agar in nanha-nanha larikan ka juaa chudawai detya tau enkar kalyan hoi jaatai.†(If you can escape younger Boys from gambling, then they would lead a good life). In these areas some families are vagabonds. Police keeps an eye over them, arrest and warn. Because most of them many times involved in unsocial and immoral activities like snatching, thieving, gambling etc. Government Plans and Awareness: District Urban Development Agency is the coordinating agency at district level for formulating different developmental schemes in urban areas. The following schemes/programmes are being implemented under the supervision of DUDA. Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rojgar Yojana, which is currently in operation with effect from 1.12.97, is a substitution of the earlier programmes like Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP), Prime Minister Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Yojana (NRY), Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums (EIUs). Under the scheme SJSRY, the following programmes are being implemented in all the ULBs of this district. Community structure (Information Education and Communication (IEC) Component. Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP) (subsidy) Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) Thrift and Credit Society Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP) U.S.E.P (Skill up gradation Training) Administration and Office expenses (A O.E.) About these programmes and DUDA slum dwellers unaware and in sample area only one person know about DUDA and its U.S.E.P. programme. It shows the lack of publicity of programmes and unawareness of slum dwellers. Some advantages they gain from common programmes like Antyodaya yojana, Mid-day-Meal programme and Scholar-Ship programmes. Conclusion: To conclude; we can say that a big number of people, known as slum dweller, are forced to live below poverty line. The main reason of their poverty is illiteracy and lack of will power to improve his condition. They always look for the government helps; debt, relief etc. and wait for them, this type of mentality and government plans make them paralyzed instead of self reliance. They lack behind good education, health, sanitation and economy. There are Governments plans to improve their poor condition. But these programmes are executed half heartedly. There is need to focus their problems and a strong heart and mind to execute these programmes. If it happens so, the day will come with hope for them and for the people who are affected by these slum dwellers. 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