Month: June 2014

Categories
Trends

Elder abuse on the rise in Mumbai

Most Mumbai senior citizens complain of verbal, physical abuse and neglect from sons and daughters-in-law, as also from their daughters.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is a trend that is showing disheartening upward signs – each year, the extent and intensity of abuse against the city’s and country’s elderly population is on the rise. Even worse, most of the abuse is meted out by immediate or close family members.

Elder abuseAs per a three-year survey and study carried out by HelpAge India and titled ‘Elder Abuse in India (2014)’, Mumbai is showing a rising propensity towards verbal and physical abuse, as also neglect, of its elders. As per the survey, which was conducted in 12 cities and which included Mumbai and Nagpur in its study area for Maharashtra, several traditional myths that Indian society holds about its elderly have been shattered over the years. “All general assumptions on elder abuse i.e. it does not exist in India and is a Western phenomenon and that it is a metro-centric phenomenon which does not exist in small towns, and does not occur in the educated middle-class strata, have been proven wrong. The most common assumption that in old age the son would be the main caregiver has been completely shattered. The son, along with the daughter-in-law, is increasingly turning abuser. Surprisingly, there is an emerging trend of the daughter also turning abuser,” the preface to the report reads.

As per the figures compiled for the report, “There has been a marked increase in the percentage of elders who reported experiencing abuse from 23 per cent in the previous year to 50 per cent now. Verbal abuse, disrespect and neglect continue to be the three major types of abuse. Economic and emotional dependence of the victim on the abuser have been cited as the major reasons for abuse. Strangely, economic dependence of the abuser on the victim is also cited as a major reason,” the report reads.

While abuse has gone up, unfortunately still 41 per cent of those abused, did not report the matter to anyone. ‘Maintaining confidentiality of the family matter’ was cited to be the major reason behind not reporting abuse (59 per cent). However, “more numbers of people are reporting abuse, (59 per cent) in 2014 as against 30 per cent the previous year,” the report says.

Findings for Mumbai

– Mumbai has the highest proportion of the elderly with self-owned homes (92 per cent), along with Guwahati (88 per cent) and Mangalore (84 per cent). The rate of abuse in these cities is also high.

– While the national average on ‘Perceptions on extent of elder abuse’ is high at 34 per cent in India, Mumbai rates it at 65 per cent.

– In Kanpur, Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai and Madurai, higher percentage of elderly reported beating and slapping as a prevalent form of abuse. Economic exploitation was also reported in cities like Mumbai.

– ‘Economic dependence of the abuser’ is seen as an important reason for elder abuse in society. Mumbai ranks first in this, with Kanpur and Guwahati.

– Awareness of police helplines is high, but exceptionally high in Delhi and Mumbai.

– In Tier I cities, Mumbai ranks highest in rating the daughter-in-law as the main perpetrator of abuse (92 per cent) while sons are rated lowest (21 per cent).

– Mumbai’s abused elderly did not report abuse because, a) They lacked the confidence in ability of any person or agency to help; b) They did not know how to deal with the problem; and c) They wanted to maintain confidentiality about what they felt was essentially a family matter.

(Pictures courtesy archives.deccanchronicle.com, www.siliconindia.com. Images used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Tech

Flipkart launches its first tablet, Digiflip Pro XT712

The company launched its first tablet at Rs 9,999 in a ceremony last week. The device is already on sale.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

After several leaks and rumours, Flipkart last week officially launched its first tablet, made by one of the product manufacturers on their online portal, Digiflip, named Digiflip Pro XT712.

Digiflip Pro XT712 - BlackThe tablet boasts a 7-inch (1280×800) IPS display, and has on-screen navigation keys. Running on Android 4.2.2, with a couple of Flipkart apps pre-loaded, the company said it may upgrade the device (over-the-air) later this year, but there’s no confirmation on that.

Under the hood, there is a MediaTek 8582 chipset (1.3 GHz A7 quad-core processor) along with 1 GB of RAM. Loaded with 16 GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card, the tablet packs a 3,000 mAh battery unit.

This 3G dual-SIM capable tablet has WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0 under the connectivity options. On the back there is a 5 MP (AF) camera with an LED flash; while the front has got a 2 MP camera. The Digiflip Pro XT712 comes in black colour for now, while the white variant will be available in a while, and has been priced at Rs 9,999.

The tablet is already on sale, and is only available on Flipkart.

Categories
Enough said

Still waiting for ‘achche din’

It is now 39 years since the 1975 Emergency, but how different is life today than in those strife-ridden times?
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

39 whole years have passed by since India declared an Emergency. But till date, June 25-26 stand out as the darkest day in our country’s democracy, in our recent history.

Just like every year, several groups such as the PUCL, CFD, Janhastakshep, the AMIYA and BG Rao Foundation, are observing the Anti Emergency Day in the country. They do this to “remember those dark days when internal Emergency was imposed in the country on the midnight of 25th/25th June 1975, which continued for 19 months. Fundamental rights were suspended, the Press was gagged, voices of dissent were throttled and more than one lakh opposition leaders and critics were detained without trial.”

Today, several activists comment that though the present day situation is not Emergency-like, the ground realities in the country are Sanctions on the Pressstill horrifying, with signs of dictatorship very much alive. Midnight knocks on the door and encounter killings are still a big reality. Innocents are thrown into jail. Non-violent protests are crushed. People’s anger over Government apathy is throttled. Watchdog groups and NGOs are slowly coming under State scrutiny. There seems to be a definite trend to crush critics and their criticism, to silence any rebellious voice.

With these human rights violations are other confusing matters. Currently, Delhi University cannot decide on whether there should be a three or four year course. How can it, when there seems to be little coordinator between the HRD Ministry and the UGC?

This confusion also seems to stretch into foreign policy decisions. Though Right Wing politicians have always been against Bangladeshi refugees in the country, Sushma Swaraj is now taking her first trip to Bangladesh, as Minister for External Affairs. We’re waiting to see what she will have to say in Dhaka vis-à-vis Bangla refugees.

But before this trip, shouldn’t she have flown East, towards Iraq, and seen what is really happening there? After all, hundreds of Indians are stranded in and around Iraq and they need immediate help. Are press briefings on this state of affairs enough? Will they substitute for firm ministerial-level intervention?

Perhaps the only area where there is absolutely no confusion is the area of price rise. Apart from the prices of everyday food items zooming upwards almost daily, there is now a price rise expected in gas, oil and electricity. In the coming months, it is going to difficult to sleep and commute.

Happy days or the supposed ‘achche din’ seem like a distant dream at this point. Frankly, how can we expect achche din when high costs of living come in the way of everyday survival?

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy theviewspaper.net, www.mtholyoke.edu)

Categories
Learn

The perils of water mismanagement

A TERI analysis on the state of the world’s current water mismanagement paints a scary picture for the world’s future.
by Girija K Bharat | TERI Feature Service

By 2030, about 47 per cent of the world’s population will live in highly water-stressed areas. The only way to reverse this trend is to invest in environmental infrastructure and effective management of water to bring relief to millions afflicted by poverty, hunger and disease.

More than 700 million people in 43 countries across the world live in water-stressed conditions with the Middle East being the world’s most water-stressed region, having an average annual availability of only 1200 m3 per person. By 2030, about 47 per cent of the world’s population is expected to dwell in areas that will be highly water-stressed (per capita water availability less than 1700 m3). Around 60-90 million hectares in Africa will be under arid and semi-arid climatic regime and this will have serious implications on food and water security in the region.

Water mismanagementThe water resource endowment and distribution across the world vary spatially and temporally. The problem of inequitable resource endowment has implications for water security. The variations in intra and inter-regional vulnerabilities are by virtue of their geographical locations, whereby runoff is projected to increase in high latitudes and wet tropics (like in China, Finland, high latitudes and large parts of USA) and decrease in the mid-latitudes and some parts of the dry tropics (parts of West Africa, Middle East, Southern Europe and Southern South America and Central America). Ironically, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population resides in areas receiving only one-quarter of the world’s total annual rainfall. In these circumstances, sustainability of water resources is of paramount importance.

Water scarcity impacting poverty

Water scarcity, unclean water and lack of sanitation affect the poor people all over the world. One in five people in the developing world lack access to clean drinking water (a suggested minimum of 20 liters per day), while average water use in Europe and the US ranges between 200 and 600 litres/day. A number of studies including the report by the United Nations Development Programme have revealed that people living in slums in developing countries pay between 5 to 10 times more per unit of water than do people with access to piped water (UNDP, 2006). Over 1 billion people suffer from diseases due to lack of safe water, and are consequently less productive than they would be. The poor spend a huge amount of time fetching water, the opportunity cost of which they hardly realize. The desperate situation of the poor, therefore, exacts a toll on the economy as well as on their environment and its ecosystem.

For poor people, water scarcity is not only about droughts or rivers running dry, it is about guaranteeing the safe access they need to sustain their lives and secure livelihoods. For the poor, scarcity is about how institutions function and how transparency and equity are guaranteed in decisions affecting their lives. It is about choices on infrastructure development and the way they are managed. In many places throughout the world, organizations struggle to distribute resources equitably.

While access to safe water and sanitation have been recognized as priority targets through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Johannesburg plan of action of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), there is increasing recognition that this is not enough. Millions of people rely on water for their daily income or food production. Farmers, small rural enterprises, herders and fishing communities – all need water to secure their livelihoods. However, as resources become scarce, an increasing number of them see their sources of income disappearing. Silently and progressively, the number of water losers is increasing – at the tail end of the irrigation canal, downstream of a new dam, or as a result of excessive groundwater drawdown.

Along with the UN’s MDGs for ending poverty, eradicating hunger, achieving universal primary education, improving health, and restoring a healthy environment, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment examines the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being, and analyses options for conserving ecosystems while enhancing their contributions to human society. Environmental degradation is a major barrier to sustainable development and to the achievement of the MDGs. More than 70 per cent of the 1.1 billion poor people surviving on less than US $1 per day live in rural areas, where they are directly dependent on ecosystem services.’ Investing in environmental assets and the management of those assets can help achieve national goals, bringing relief to millions of people from poverty, hunger and disease.

In large parts of the developing world, irrigation remains the backbone of rural economies. However, smallholder farmers make up the majority of the world’s rural poor, and they often occupy marginal land and depend mainly on rainfall for production. They are highly sensitive to many changes – such as droughts, floods – and also on shifts in market prices. Investment in water infrastructure, in both its physical and natural assets, can be a driver of growth and the key to poverty reduction.

The waters ahead!

Poverty reduction and economic growth can be sustained only if natural resources are managed on a sustainable basis. Greening rural development can stimulate rural economies, Water shortagecreate jobs and help maintain critical ecosystem services and strengthen climate resilience of the rural poor. Conversely, environmental challenges can limit the attainment of development goals. As the economy grows rapidly, it will meet the constraint of natural resources and will have to exploit them in a sustainable manner for growth to persist.

The governments in many of the developing countries are developing schemes to deliver green results and contribute to the goal of ‘faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. As the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Sustainability notes, there exists tremendous opportunity for a dramatic improvement in the lives of the rural poor, even while they move towards more sustainable production models. Resource users will need access to assets, technology and markets. Success will depend on initiatives with capacity to effectively coordinate efforts and cooperation in water resource use. This will not only help overcome the constraints posed by environmental degradation, but utilise environmental resources as an opportunity to spur growth and poverty reduction.

(Pictures courtesy blogs.wsj.com, balaramranasingh.blogspot.com, www.indiawaterportal.org)

Categories
Bombay, bas

I, me, myself and my smartphone

Clearly, there’s nothing we need in Mumbai, including friends and family, if we have a m0bile phone in our hands.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

New to travelling in the local trains of Mumbai, I was slowly beginning to learn the basics of acceptable train behaviour. I started out with buying a first class pass, but I would travel by second class because many people scared me about how unsafe travelling alone in the ladies first class compartment was (even though most of these ‘advisors’ seldom travelled by train).

But my time with the second class convinced me to take the first class coach even if I was alone in it, which was seldom, because the city’s population won’t allow for empty coaches.

In the first few days, I found myself looking at the women travelling with me. And very soon, I found the fashionably-dressed women giving me strange looks. I realised what the problem was – I was probably the only person travelling sans ear plugs connected to a music player or a fancy phone, and not staring at my mobile phone.

Having been a psychology student, it had become a habit for me to observe people and study their mannerisms. But I had to train myself to not stare, so, I learnt to observe them slyly. And almost always, this is what I found: 90 per cent commuters are hooked to their phones, while the rest sleep or chat with their friends.

Isn’t it awesome, this technology that allows us to chat with our friends and associates at all times of the day? You are no longer alone if you have a phone in your hands – not even talking on phonewhen you’re physically alone in a coffee shop. A few years ago, one would feel uncomfortable waiting alone at a bus stop or a train platform, or even in a restaurant. But our phones, in front of our eyes at all times, divert us so well, we don’t even feel alone despite being alone. Our phones help us escape feelings of awkwardness in public spaces, and keep us so occupied, we hardly know who is sitting next to us.

But you know what? I miss the times when journeys were times when we smiled at our fellow passengers, had a few casual talks, and sometimes made great friendships with the mothers of cute babies travelling with us. I can only vaguely remember the simpler times when social networking did not dictate our first actions for the day and the last things we did at night. I sometimes brush my teeth in the morning with my eyes glued to my cell phone.

People have also found ways to scare us into forwarding certain messages to a fixed number of people or incur the wrath of some God (who, I suppose, has cracked a way to keep a tab on the forwarded messages and do calculations of who followed instructions and who didn’t).

Unlike a lot of people who constantly berate technology for reducing human interaction, I am not going to say that social networking is totally unnecessary – after all, it does help unite us with people we knew ages ago, and it helps us keep in touch with everything in a rapidly shrinking world. It gives us a daily insight into how others we know are living their lives – and sometimes makes us believe they’re having more fun than we are.

I admit I love secretly peeping into other people’s lives. If we had this level of communication growing up, we wouldn’t have to contend with coy glances at our crushes in our teenage years. We would wait for the other person to make a move (which never happened), and all we would be left with would be fond memories. Imagine now, if you had a crush on somebody, all you had to do was write a smartly-worded message and send it to the person, thereby saving yourself from potentially embarrassing moments.

And yet, a part of me wants to take the time out to actually talk to others, rather than type to them. It is indeed sad that we are forgetting to even make small talk when we do happen to meet people. The other day, a friend of mine said that when she meets her parents on her visits to India, she struggles to find topics of conversation. It is also distressing to observe grandparents or parents in parks blissfully unaware of what their little wards are up to, because they are so busy tapping away at their phones.

With every revolution comes a change in our social patterns, and it takes a while to accept these changes. Funnily enough, I am writing this article on my cell phone in a local train. Who would have thought this was possible a few years ago? Once I am done writing, I am going to plug in my earphones and browse through my phone, not looking left or right. And it gives me a little thrill to know that I have been writing about my co-passengers and the local train, and they have no idea.

Dr Pooja Birwatkar is currently pursuing post doctoral research and working in the area of science education. She has been associated with the field of education in the past as a teacher educator, and her area of interest is research in education. 

 

Categories
Tech

BlackBerry launches Z3 in India at Rs 15,990

The largest and cheapest BlackBerry in the market launched yesterday amid much fanfare. We take a look at the specs.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Sunil Lalvani, MD, BlackBerry India, Michael Adnani, VP-Retail & Head of...Yesterday, BlackBerry launched its new mid-range BB 10 device, Z3, in India. The phone boasts a 5-inch (540×960) screen, making it the largest and cheapest BB 10 device in the market.

Under the hood, there is a Snapdragon 400 chipset (1.2 GHz dual-core with Adreno 305 GPU), coupled with 1.5 GB of RAM. It packs in 2,500 mAh battery, and the company promises 15.5 hours of talktime on it. Further, the phone has 8 GB of on-board storage, which is expandable via microSD card.

Running on BB 10.2.1 OS, it introduces BlackBerry Maps especially for Indian users, with updated data points and destinations. On the back, there is a 5 MP camera; while the front carries a 1.1 MP camera. This is BlackBerry’s first phone to be manufactured by Foxconn after their recent agreement; the phone has a textured soft material on the back for better grip and does not compromise on the premium feel.

The phone can be pre-ordered on Flipkart or The Mobile Store, with both online portals giving buyers vouchers worth Rs 1,000. The device is available in black, and goes on sale starting July 2, 2014 across the country.

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