Indian Institute of Students

A Candle Light Vigil in London condemning the Peshawar school attacks/Wikimedia Commons Over the last decade, there has been a exponential rise in the number of terrorism cases. From 26/11 to the Peshawar school attacks, these are horrific acts of shameless and brutal assault on innocent people. As  The Conversation  puts it, "Terrorism is some form of purposive and planned violence that has a political, religious, or ideological motivation. It is intended to coerce or intimidate and is targeted at civilians or government. Legislation prohibiting terrorism ought to have extra-territorial effect". It is an open fact that the ISI and the Pakistani Army has long nurtured extremist organisations. These organizations harbour militants in the name of Jihad, or holy wars. As long as your pet barks at others, it's fine. However, when that pet becomes a rogue stray and bites you back, that's when you suffer. That is precisely what has happened to the Pakistani Army. The...

"I must publicly laud the flair some people have got to create issues out of nothing. If evaluated analytically, PK preaches us to bust the business of those who exploit the afraid. The previous line is self-explanatory." I have a habit of browsing news channels whenever I get time. Some call it good; others tag me a "nerd". Yesterday, while browsing through the channels, I switched on to Times Now at prime time noon and rather found a shocking display: Right-wing activists vandalising multiplexes that screened 'PK' , a recent Aamir-starrer film. While this unfortunate incident occurred a few cities (Bhopal, Agra, etc.), it is common sense that such acts spread like wildfire. I am not paid by the ' PK' team, nor am I a hardcore purist. Therefore, I have scripted, what I feel is from a neutral perspective. In recent times, the RSS has stepped up re-conversion or ' Ghar Wapsi' programmes. These acts are not only uncalled for, but are also de...

"To me, education is something that actually makes a person wiser, and something that teaches one to be a better person.. Let me pose you a striking question. How would you have reacted if anyone threatened to close down your school, or college, or whatsoever it is?" Recently enough, I purchased the book titled, " Malala Yousafzai "- authored by the world's youngest Noble Peace Prize recipient. I am not a person who appraises books much, and you can call me a hard critic. As the pages went by, I understood a point: the value of education we receive. What is education to us?  If we ask anyone from a developed nation, I suspect they'd actually laugh at our benchmark for being literate. We are taught from rudimentary levels that a literate is a one who can sign a document. The standard defines it all. India's literacy rate, as of the latest UNESCO survey, stands at 74%. Would you help to increase it?  India has a lot of schools set up in urban tow...

“ Asche bochor abar hobe ”. These mere words make us feel disconsolate deep down. We all know the emotions that run through our veins on the day of Dashami. We want Maa Durga to stay with us forever, treading our path and always guiding us in life. Durga Puja as we know it is just not like the other pujas. Typical Bengalis will understand. I will understand and you’ll understand. There is a lot of hype and excitement in the minds of people of all age- whether be it 2-year old kids dancing in joy, or the 80-year old “ dadu ”. Everyone is united during this brief period of four days. We meet with old acquaintances we have long forgotten- meet up with old friends we have lost track of- and who not. And of course we can’t miss out the delicious part. The Lunch and Dinner menus. Ah! The very thought of having Mutton Biryani at dinner and other exotics accompanying it brings drops down every tongue. Simply because you’re allowed to eat- however much be your restrictions list- and becau...

Teachers Day, as we know, is celebrated on 5th of September every year. This auspicious day was a day when one legendary educationist was born- Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. He dreamt big; and people who dream to achieve, experience the taste of success. Dr. Radhakrishnan went on to become the second President of India. He once remarked that teachers are people who "are the brightest mind in the country". Who is a teacher? Is the term allotted to someone who has the ideology 'Education for Money'? Or is it someone, who is committed to the welfare of a student's life and career prospects? The latter wins the case, hands down. Teachers provide us education. Education transforms into knowledge. Knowledge wields itself as wisdom. And wisdom is what human beings crave for. The entire spark is ignited by the teachers. The fifth day of September is specially designated for celebrating these invaluable preceptors who have influenced us. When we stepped into the fi...

The Ebola Outbreak, the largest in the history, has taken the world by storm. It has taken a severe toll on human life- more than a thousand people have died during recent months. The Ebola virus existed before as well; it claimed lives then. After researching, I found a link of the World Health Organisation statement that shows the record for the first known case of Ebola- an unidentified man from Yambaku, Africa in the year of 1976. Fast forward to today and the case is out of control. The Ebola Virus Cycle What is the prime reason for this situation reaching such heights? Why was it not controlled properly? The answer is very simple. The affected nations, namely Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are economically weak. They cannot afford world-class healthcare personnel; nor do they have the required medical expertise.  That is why it went undetected for so long. We know that anonymous cases of Ebola had been reported till March 2014- but when it spread beyond the...

It is a common sight nowadays for opposition parties to slam the ruling party on every other issue. Recently, it came into bold headlines and front pages that the newly elected BJP government has increased the fare by a staggering 14.2%. At first sight we feel it's unnecessary, really. It is our natural instinct, so if you think same, you're no wrong. But was this change really required? A big yes. In the financial year 2012-13, Railways reported a loss of Rs. 24,600 crores. Railways are the lifeline of the country. If there existed no Railways, imagine the chaos and situation that the same "common man" had to face. Over the last decades, Indian Railways suffered huge losses one after the another- and that too, in thousands of crores. In the financial year 2012-13, Railways reported a total loss of almost Rs. 24,600 crores. Losses upon losses. All because of the ignorance of previous ministers, and their intentions to appease the public. I asked a few officer...