SARCAJC

SOUTH ASIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR ADVERTISEMENT, JOURNALISM & CARTOONS

Sarcajc Research in Journalism Advertisement & Cartoon 

According to INTUTE- “South Asian Research Centre for Advertisement, Journalism & Cartoons (SARCAJC) is South Asia's first study centre for research into the history and political importance of cartoons, political satire, advertisements and journalism..”. 

True Democracy

Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus every village will be a republic or panchayat having full powers. It follows therefore, that every village has to be self sustained and capable of managing its affairs even to the extent of defending itself against the whole world. It will be trained and prepare to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without. Thus, ultimately, it is the individual who is the unit. This does not exclude dependence on and willing help from neighbours. It will free and voluntary play of mutual forces. Such a society is necessarily highly cultured in which every man and woman knows what he or she wants, what is more, knows that one should want anything that others cannot have with equal labour
(Mahatma Gandhi. Harijan 28/7/46)

To study, research, acquire, preserve & promote cartoons, advertisement in Newspapers, Journals, and Magazines that constitute rich cultural heritage of this vast region. Projects related to Indian cartoons, advertisements and journalism during British Raj are being conducted. In order to promote innovative representations, we aim to hold exhibitions, seminars, conferences, workshops related to cartoons, advertisement and journalism. And of course, print media watch apart from television monitoring and special investigations for benefit of main street. The long term aim is to build an archival depository related to much neglected media- cartoons, advertisement and journals in the region of South Asia that would facilitate research in this region. Presently, we have Indian newspaper collection on various topics in several languages since 2006. Further, collection of thousands of Indian cartoons, classified topic wise since 2002 till date. Last, not the least thousands of advertisements under various categories.

The Brunderland Commission had defined the term as -- meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the need of the future generation. The emphasis is not only on high economic growth  but on development that involves improving the standard of living , health , education , providing equal opportunities ,ensuring political & civil rights etc. In other words , development is an encompassing term which tends to improve the well-being of the people. Further sustainable development reflects development which lasts. Even the term sustainabilty appeared in the opening remarks made by the President of the World Bank , James Wolfensohn as he called for a broader , more integrated approach to development in order to ensure sustainability. Surely the adaptation of the new development paradigm by the World Bank is a welcome move. Moreover recently, the UNDP has also called for linking India's economic growth with human development as it is of the opinion that economic growth should facilitate human development which would result in more sustainable development.

Due to the widespread variations in socio - economic, demographic and cultural conditions the generalized model of sustainable development tends to loose its validity. Therefore it appears to me that the there is a need for country specific model of sustainable development. For example for a country like India, a slowdown in its rate of population growth could be termed as a step towards sustainable development. Whereas this phenomenon would not contribute towards sustainable development for a country like Japan which is suffering from a slow down in its population growth and therefore in turn the Japanese government is trying hard to increase the population rate. At this point I would like to propose the model of sustainable development for India ( see model 1).

In my view, poverty is the greatest polluter of social as well as natural environment. Therefore special emphasis must be given to eradication of poverty. I strongly feel that tickle down mechanism is bound to fail in this regard, as it has in the past: not only in India but in several other countries as well. True that acceleration in economic growth is one of the prerequisite of a sustainable future for all of us , but equally true is that unless the fruits of the cake are not distributed ( in some degree if not all !) the very purpose of accelerated economic growth gets defeated. Accelerate economic growth must meet the basic needs of the people, so that their quality of life improves but also that they feel a sense of ownership of the process and are not alienated from the road of opportunities that high economic growth brings with it. In a sense alleviating absolute poverty has important practical consequences for Sustainable development  since there are close links between poverty, rapid population growth ( with it associated problems as child labour etc.) environmental degradation etc.

But there can be no doubt that we all have mistreated for long the delicate eco -- system and believed that there would be no adverse effects. According to the recent Human Development Report the emphasis on growth without any regard to sustainable development can be extremely destructive - polluting rivers , depleting the natural resources etc and moreover it could be consuming its very own foundation. In this regard the model while acknowledging the importance of environment includes other aspects that are equally important for the sustainable future of our country. Even the countries that have successfully combined advances in economic growth with human development have a history of rapidly depleting their natural resources. For example as Thailand had cut down its countryside from 55% to 28% during 1961-- 1988, the country faced disastrous floods that forced the government to officially ban logging in the decisive year of 1989. Surely we cannot or rather should not copy the pattern of industrialization of the today's developed countries.....pollution... colonies...... etc. !

Nature has always been respected in India & most of the African countries, unlike the Western countries where the aim had been to conquer nature. Therefore the World Commission on Environment and Development in its report, "Our Common Future" had nothing extraordinary to tell us. Our tradition has always incorporated the concept of sustainability as there have been very close bonds between 'mother' nature and us. In fact way back in the medieval ages in the epic Ramcharitmas there was a metaphor which said :

Shiti Jal Paavak Gagan Sameera
Panch rachit ye adham sharira'

It meant that our perishable body is composed of five elements which were Shiti , Jal , Paavak ,Gagan ,Sameera. They signify the importance of earth, forests, water, energy, sky and air. In a way these elements are crucial for the survival of mankind. Further in the Indian mythology there are several examples which underline the above mentioned points such as cutting of a tree was seen equivalent to  murdering ones own son and planting one tree is equivalent to raising hundred sons. Moreover the usage of soap, washing cloths in the river etc. was strictly forbidden by the religious texts of Hinduism. These kind of metaphors are not limited to Hinduism. For example in Christianity the holy water in baptisation ceremony of a baby reflects the importance of the environment. The point is that if one views rivers as a mother how can he or she pollute it ? The tree of Pipal was regarded as sacred and it is not surprising that the folklore is that Pipal is the only tree that imparts oxygen during day as well as in night.

Series of verses in the Atharva Veda, addresses the earth, as from sons to a mother, evoking her benevolence. These sentiments denote the bond between the Earth and human beings; and exemplify the true relationship between the Earth and all living beings, and the relationship of humans to other forms of life. Mother Earth is seen as an abode of a large and extended family (Kutumbakam) of all beings.

Giryaste parwata himavantoranyam te prithvisyonamstu
Babhrum krushnam rohini vishvarupam dhruva bhumi
Prithivimindraguptam
Ajitohato akshatamdhvashtan prithivimaham.
(Atharva Veda, Kanda XII, Hymn I, Verse 11).

O Mother Earth! Sacred are thy hills, snowy mountains, and deep forests. Be kind to us and bestow upon us happiness. May you be fertile, arable, and nourisher of all. May you continue supporting people of all races and nations. May you protect us from your anger (natural disasters). And may no one exploit and subjugate your children.

This prayer is based on the cosmic vision of our planet Earth and reflects the notion of  Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. According to which every entity and organism is a part of one large extended family system which is presided by the eternal Mother Earth. It is She who supports us, it is She who nourishes us, it is She who provides us with a sustainable environment, and it is She when angered by the mis-deeds for her children punishes them with disasters. As one ought not to insult, unduly exploit, and violate his mother but to be kind and respectful to her, in the same way, one should behave towards the Mother Earth.


Aum dyauh santirantariksa santih prithivi santirapah
santirausadhayah santih vanaspatayah santirvisvedevah
santirbrahma santih sarva santih santirevasantih sa ma
santiredhi
[Yajurveda Samhita 36/17 Vajasaneyi Madhyandina Sukla]

May there be peace and prosperity in the outer space and inner space, on earth, in the water, in the life-giving vegetable kingdom, in plants and trees, in the entire cosmos,  in the entire Reality, everywhere and at all times. May there be peace and prosperity. Peace and prosperity alone (never otherwise). May every one attain and experience peace and prosperity.”

I feel that the scientific decoding of these religious symbols embodied in the pages of religious, philosophical texts has not taken place (as desired). In a country with around 50% of the population is illiterate, the importance of protecting the environment can be conveyed by interpreting the symbols in a scientific way to the masses? Unfortunately instead of conveying the much needed environmental consciousness in the country we are busy fighting over trivial things and have forgotten the issue of sustainability in the context of development. It could be that due to evolution and time the society has in a way become self centered and in the process has forgotten the prospects for the future generations However as this is the only known earth we have we must go ahead with sustainable development .Many environmentalists in India have opposed several projects on environmental grounds and have gone too far by blaming the opening of the economy for the destruction of the environment.. But this does not imply that opening up of the economy and expansion of trade will necessarily harm the environment and therefore India should remain a closed economy. In fact there are several laws in India that provide protection to the environment. The decision by the Supreme Court to close down several polluting units in Delhi reflects presence of strong institutional framework, which unlike claims actually works! If this verdict is the beginning of environmental consciousness in the country then surely it is a good sign. The implementation of the policies and legislation is more crucial that the formulation of yet another policy or legislation. Even the GATT had a similar view point on this issue .It said ' conceivably , an expansion of trade could produce negative environmental effects so large that they outweigh the conventional benefits from the open market , resolution in overall decline in the national welfare. However, it is possible only if the country lacks a domestic environmental policy that reflects the environmental values and priorities.' The document has accepted that lack of appropriate environmental policies creates problem not just in the trade sector but thoughout every facet of country's economic life.

In fact quite a lot has been written about sustainable development with respect to environment, unfortunately other aspects have been ignored grossly. One really can’t limit the sustainable development within the frontiers of environment; it's a much broader concept.. The well-being of any nation cannot be equated to its Gross Domestic Product, Index of Industrial Growth, Rate of Economic Growth or buoyancy of its external sector. World bank, International Monetary Dund did concede to the economics junk cream tof restructuing economy on the same prescription. What matters at the end of the day whether all these hard economic, financial jargon ( that is to the common man / women ) have translated into better quality of life for the common man or women or not. It seems that the commom man / women do not have the patience to wait for years in the hope that at least something would eventually tickle down from above. In short, to them ( and for us too!) the crucial issue is that whether development has taken place or not , and moreover it is sustainable in the long run or not. One could argue that during elections, the wellbeing of voters does improve to some extenxt by the downpour of unlimited promises & goodies by the prospective candidates. But the important question is whether we can term this kind of improvement in the wellbeing of the masses sustainable or not? What happens after the election is a well known fact, which I guess every Indian eligible voter knows too well, and therefore requires no further elaboration! So it is important that development should be sustainable in nature.

Sustainable development tends to give Sustainable Human Development a priority along with environment. It seems that with India faring a poor 135 th in the ranking by Human development index, a lot needs to be done. Some of the policy makers I had the privilege to meet infact questioned the benefits of making every Indian literate ( leave aside education !). Before attempting to initiate any programme to improve our pathetic HDI ranking, the first and the most crucial step should aim at changing the typical mind set of those who underscore the importance of literacy in India. It is extremely important to realize at this point that human development is different from human resource development. Unlike human resource development which sees humans as a means of greater output of commodity, human development identifies people as ends. Awareness, knowledge and skill tend to boost the self esteem of a person. Though now and then, we do hear the much acclaimed experts and policy makers emphasizing the importance of literacy, education unfortunately in reality these concepts have not been able to come out as priority areas. The fall in the number of primary school teachers between 1980-81 and 1990 -91 reinforces the above mentioned point. Unfortunately this is not a new trend. In real terms the number of teachers has actually fallen steadily from 1950s , 1960s to 1970s and through 1980s. This has been accompanied by low priority given to education in the budgetary allocation. Therefore the India's current adult literacy which is around 50% should not come as a surprise . Moreover the figure of 50 % becomes even more pathetic when  we  compare it with other countries like China , Thailand , Korea etc. Infact all these countries had adult literacy rates of around 70% or higher at the time  they had gone for fast economic expansion ( in 1960s in Hongkong , Korea , Thailand & about 1980 in China). The latest studies on sustainable development have shown that there is high positive correlation between investment in human development and GDP, investment in education and human development performance. Further investment in education tends to influence, supports and complements all other social initiatives including health improvement, family planning and population control. So even if one takes a human resource development perspective, it seems that it would not be wrong to state that sustainable human development is absolutely important.

However the recent arguments that have cropped up emphasize the enforcement of compulsory education as a solution to the problem of child labour. This line of argument is extremely simplistic and flawed as education is a necessary part of sustainable human development but not sufficient by itself. Unless the main obstacle that is poverty is globally addressed, the attempts made by the developed countries to eradicate child labour in isolation to the socio - economic conditions will be viewed as self serving and as a disguised form of protectionism.

Further the collective benefits of investment in women's education are well documented .Studies have shown a direct relationship between female enrolment rates and economic production, female enrolment rates and indicators of social welfare. In fact the rate of return on educating girls tend to be higher than the return on educating boys. Unfortunately in India unlike its economy. the low status of women has yet to undergo a transformational change.

DONT ASK ME WHETHER I COPIED THE ABOVE FROM SOMEONE ELSE NOTEBOOK, BY THE WAY DECADES BACK I DID STUDY ECONOMICS.

THANKS FOR TRANSLATION, ANT. YOU SEE, WE ARE IN COLLATERAL BUNDLE OF OUR OWN FLOWERS, SO IF YOU ARE RATHER UNIQUE, WE DONT KNOW HOW TO SPARE SOME OF OUR ATTITUDE

 (DONT LAUGH)

THANKS BY THE WAY, NEWSPAPERS DONT SPEAK.

STILL ARROGANT?  i dont know you, opposites dont attract, nor do termites. Plus we have never met, so what is the fuss all about? Foreign?

LE CHARIVARI HAS NO ORIGIN. SHALL WE BRING BY DESCRIBING THE EDIT?