Tuesday, June 08, 2021
A new variety of Apples. Exciting!
Apple is a ₹ 4k crore/y business in Himachal. Most of it comes from higher altitude areas like Shimla and Kinnaur. A common understanding is that the higher the altitude better the quality and the higher the production of apple will be. But there is exciting news for us. A new variety of apples is in its experimental phase. A variety that can be grown at lower altitudes like Dharamshala or Palampur. In this picture, you can see the sample of that variety, and you can call them Palampuri apples. #worldfoodsafetyday
Monday, June 07, 2021
World Food Saftey Day- What Media can do
You must remember the discussion around Genetically Modified (GM) crops? There has been a long and persisting confusion over the safety and efficacy of GM crops. There were (are) only a few media outlets that reported and pursued this issue sincerely .
Food and travel bloggers, on the other hand, whenever recommending any place of eating to their audiences should make sure that they are not fooling them. They should clarify to their audience if their coverage of a specific eating point is paid or unpaid. Media also plays a significant role in promoting good food habits and food safety awareness as well.
Its World Food Safety day today! And, for healthy tomorrow we need safe food today.
Why Young Himachal Politicians are Non-Serious about Social Media: A Case of Himachal Assembly By-election
Social media has emerged as a new outlet for politicians to connect with their voters. Social media not only has potentially minimized politicians’ reliance on mainstream media but has also acted as an empowering tool for a candidate having no political background and finances to buy space in mainstream media. Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), a leading political party in India, swept into power in two consecutive parliamentary elections i.e. in 2014 and 2019. BJP’s success in the general elections is attributed in part to the efforts that the party’s IT cell has put in managing social media platforms. Similarly, there are pieces of evidence that support the claim that social media played a key role in forming (manipulating) British citizens’ opinion in favour of Brexit. The Arab Spring, as some political communication scholars note, would have not made its presence felt globally had the revolutionaries not used social media platforms to raise their voices.
Candidate
|
Facebook friends
|
Facebook page followers/likes
|
Twitter followers/following
|
Vishal Nehria (BJP)
|
5000
|
3310/3304
|
458/193
|
Inder Karan Singh (INC)
|
4993
|
NA
|
11/9
|
G R Musafir (INC)
|
NA
|
20663/20659
|
00/01
|
Reena Kashyap (BJP)
|
611
|
NA
|
NA
|
Ashish Sikta (BJP)
|
5000
|
4496/6638
|
1851/858 |
Candidates’ Social Media Presence (As in their name)
Candidate
|
Facebook friends
|
Facebook page followers/likes
|
Twitter followers/following
|
Instagram followers/following
|
Vishal Nehria (BJP)
|
5000
|
3310/3304
|
458/193
|
1392/44
|
Inder Karan Singh (INC)
|
4993
|
NA
|
11/9
|
NA
|
G R Musafir (INC)
|
NA
|
20663/20659
|
00/01
|
NA
|
Reena Kashyap (BJP)
|
611
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Ashish Sikta (BJP)
|
5000
|
4496/6638
|
1851/858
|
NA
|
As on 29 September 2019
In this high time of social media, an electoral candidate fighting elections having no or very little social media presence is an unimaginable political occurrence. But this is the reality of the ongoing by-elections for two assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. The candidates who have been fielded by both parties are less innovative and active in using social media platforms. The young politicians’ low presence on social media, even after the fact that 53 per cent of the state’s population use smartphones, (CyberMedia Research, a market intelligence firm tracking the technology sector 2018) is thought-provoking.
Gangu Ram Musafir, former Assembly Speaker whom Indian National Congress (INC) has fielded from Pachhad constituency of Sirmour district, seems to have no Twitter and Instagram presence. However, there is a Facebook page with the username ‘GRMusafir’ which has more than 20 thousand followers. The page is frequently updated, as checked on 29 September 2019. To reach this conclusion ‘gangu ram musafir’ ‘GR Musafir’, ‘Gangu R Musafir’ keywords were used for search purpose on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Similarly, Reena Kashyap who is BJP’s candidate from the same constituency is unavailable on Instagram and Twitter. However, the candidate seems to have an unverified Facebook account. But this Facebook account has a friend list that contains a meagre 611 friends as on 29th September, 2019, the date Kashyap’s candidature was declared. It is interesting to note that Reena Kashyap is also the co-convener of BJP’s Mahila Morcha IT Cell. BJP’s Ashish Sikta from the same constituency who lost his candidature to her seems to be comparatively more active on social media. A Facebook account with user name AshishSikta’s has matured as the friend count of the account has reached the five thousand mark. A Facebook page with the same name is followed by nearly five thousand people. There is also a Twitter account with the same user name where has two thousand followers and the account is quite frequent updated. After being denied the ticket, his supporters has created Facebook pages and groups to express their disagreement and anguish. The page ‘We Support Ashish Sikta’ has gained more than 700 followers within 24 hours of when the party declared Reena Kashyap as its candidate.
The social media situation in the constituent assembly of Dharamshala is not quite different. Vijay Inder Karan, the INC candidate has no Instagram account and is almost inactive on Twitter. A Facebook account on his name has 4993 friends as on 29th September 2019. Keyword search with ‘VIKaran’ Vijayinderkaran’, ‘vijayikaran’ could not retrieve any additional page or account. On the other hand, BJP’s candidate from Dharamshala Vishal Nehria is comparatively more active on social media platforms. An account on Nehria’s name has reached the five thousand Facebook friend mark and a page with a similar name is followed by more than three thousand people. A Twitter handle with the user name @VishalNehria has more near five hundred followers. Vishal Nehria as an exception has an active Instagram account where he is followed by nearly fifteen hundred people and as on 29th September 2019 the account has 56 posts.
Social media is pervasive and its political potential is vast. It may not necessarily assure an electoral win for a candidate but may provide him/her with a platform where he/she can bypass mainstream media and directly communicate with his/her potential voters. By using social media, the candidate can also minimize propaganda-agenda setting risk which mostly is led by mainstream media. Himachal’s young politicians should opt for a less ignorant attitude towards this medium and adapt to this new social media ecosystem. Moreover, political parties should also motivate their workers to explore the potential of this medium.
Friday, February 14, 2020
How research can contribute to nation building
Nation-building is a sacred job which we carry out collectively and as well as Individually. It can never be
accomplished unless you have immense love for the land you are born in.
I think and ardently believe that no
research should be carried which goes against the core spirit of a nation, and
no researcher should fail to imagine his role in the broader framework of
nation building, as a nation is built by the people who contribute positively
towards overcoming problems and challenges a nation is facing.
After we succeeded in disintegrating East
and West Pakistan in 1971, Pakistan reeled under huge pressure to enhance its
military power. Pakistan’s nuclear ambition also became a big problem for
India’s security. But our great scientists like Homi J. Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai
and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam with their scientific research contributions gave us
confidence that we are not only capable of guarding our people and land against
our annoying neighbours like Pakistan, but are also capable of giving a befitting
reply to every evil move they make against us.
We researchers love problems more
than solutions. Most of our time goes into finding problems. Pakistan was a
problem founded back in 1947, and we are still looking for military and
political solution to handle this problem. Indian researchers in the field of
defence and international politics have suggested several solutions which our
nation is still working on.
Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi in
his recent speech while talking about Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Mission underlined a
fact that “in the last 70-72 years, only 3.5 crore Indian rural households were
given functional tap-water. We have a total of 18.5 crore households, which
means we have to cover 4 times more households in next 5 years.” Now you tell
me can this mission succeed without research assistance? India is a
geographically and topographically diverse nation. That topographical
dissimilarity creates problems for policy makers because a single policy cannot
be universally implemented. Every area has specific needs and requirements. These
should be known. Now who will work for this? It’s the primary job of
researchers to carry out researches to find out what are those area-specific
requirements which need to be dealt with while implementing a policy.
Let’s take up another example-
Terrorism. Over the past decade, terrorism has killed an average of 21,000
people worldwide each year. Our country also has been a victim of this menace.
You must have heard about ISIS. It has run a worldwide campaign on social media
to recruit people. Studies have suggested that ISIS has succeeded in virtually
radicalizing youths. And, how a person gets radicalized is a socio-psychological
matter which really needs to be investigated.
We are also facing challenges in
health, education and economic sector. It is the primary duty of researchers of
these fields that they work honestly to contribute towards the resolution of
those challenges.
It’s a common understanding that a
strong nation cannot be built in a day. Nation cannot be built by one or by a
few. Nation building is a long process and every individual needs to make sure
that truly and surely, they have contributed to this sacred task of national
building. Researchers are no exception as already have been pointed out.
It’s the duty of a researcher that he
must ensure that his contribution in nation building cannot be without
maintaining honesty in his research work. Our nation spends around one lakh
crore rupees every year on education and research. Isn’t this the duty of all
who ever is involved in research and academic activity that every penny of that
amount is utilized and not wasted?
This is how research can contribute
to nation building.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Fake News- It Is Dangerous And Everywhere, But It Is Stoppable (Takeaway from a Workshop on 'Fact Check and Fake News Verification')
As the number of smartphone and social media users are proliferating in the state, it becomes immensely important that the users do not become vehicles of online political propaganda and spreaders of fake news. During election campaigning for the 2019 by-elections in the state, a case was registered with Kangra Police against an unidentified youth for spreading misinformation about a candidate of a major political party. Superintendent of Police, Kangra had confirmed that the action against the accused would be taken under IT (Information and Technology) Act. During the same time, with the intention to spread awareness about fake news and to enable social media users in verification of fake news, a workshop on ‘Fact Check and Fake News Verification’ was organized by the School of Journalism, Mass Communication and New Media, Central University of Himachal Pradesh at Dharamshala. The major takeaway from the workshop can be summarised as follows- Read More
Monday, September 30, 2019
Strangers to political influence of social media
The candidates fielded by the BJP and the Congress in the by-elections are less active in using social media platforms.
Published in The Tribune
The BJP won two consecutive parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019. The party’s success in the General Elections is attributed in part to the efforts of its IT cell in managing social media platforms. Similarly, there is evidence to support the claim that social media played a key role in forming (manipulating) British citizens’ opinion in favor of Brexit. The Arab Spring, as some political communication scholars note, would not have made its presence felt globally had the revolutionaries not used social media platforms to raise their voice. READ MORE
Published in The Tribune
Social media has emerged as a new outlet for politicians
to connect with their voters. Social media has not only potentially minimized
their reliance on mainstream media but has also acted as an empowering tool for
a candidate having no political background and finances to buy space in
mainstream media.
The BJP won two consecutive parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019. The party’s success in the General Elections is attributed in part to the efforts of its IT cell in managing social media platforms. Similarly, there is evidence to support the claim that social media played a key role in forming (manipulating) British citizens’ opinion in favor of Brexit. The Arab Spring, as some political communication scholars note, would not have made its presence felt globally had the revolutionaries not used social media platforms to raise their voice. READ MORE
Saturday, September 28, 2019
The Inconclusive Tibetan Paradox
Tibet's illegal occupation by China back in 1959 led to a prolonged pain of homelessness, insecurity, distress, and uncertainty.
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These eyes! Gloomy yet hopeful. They saw their houses looted and demolished to rubble. They saw their women raped, and their loved ones murdered and butchered. They saw things worse than a nightmare. They saw obscurity darker than a new moon night.
These faces! Dejected yet sanguine. They still wait for the darkness to get over. They wait for the night to pass and await wishing each other on a new morning of freedom and peace.They wait for their loved ones to return. They await justice for their women, children who were raped, tortured and butchered.
These souls! Perturbed yet calm. They are worried. Worried because China's dictatorial tendencies are rising. Worried because the aid coming from the West is shrinking. Worried because their future is unforseeable. Worried because their culture and identity are dimming day by day. Worried because their community is scattered and disconnected.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
सरहदें, गुलाबी सी
दिन रात की वो गुलाबी सरहदें
जिनकी सैर पर हम अक्सर निकल जाया करते हैं
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©vizantaphotography |
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