The government has come under severe criticism for the price rise of essential commodities. An editorial in the Hyderabad-based daily Rahnuma-e-Deccan on December 24 says: The government claims it is sensitive to the difficulties of aam aadmi. But instead of reducing these difficulties,it is increasing them… The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. The paper laments: The curious situation is that one does not find any restlessness among the people in this regard.
Diagnosing the cause of the present trend of rising prices,Delhi-based daily Hamara Samaj writes in its January 3 editorial Menhgaai ka naya saal (The new year of price rise): As soon as the second term of the UPA government began and it got free of the Left Front,it became completely uncontrollable (poori tarah belagaam ho gai). The outcome of this development is there for all to see. In the first term of the UPA government the Left Front was part of the government as an ally,and the governments hands were tied. The communist parties did not allow the government to revise prices of certain items and the government was compelled to control prices… Today there is no party to control the government and check the forces that make prices rise. The paper goes on: In reality the person most responsible for the present situation is Sharad Pawar because of whose irresponsible statements and policies the prices are uncontrollable.
In a strongly-worded front-page commentary on January 1,the Jamaat-e-Islamis bi-weekly,Daawat asks: Are the other names of development high price and poverty? The paper says: Now the rates of growth and inflation are almost the same… People are not concerned about what the countrys current level of GDP is. They are badly hit by the price rise that empties their pockets,and becomes the cause of increased poverty and starvation.
An editorial in Delhi-based daily Jadeed Khabar on December 23,points out that even in the states where the BJP or other regional parties are in power,prices are rising as much as in Congress-ruled states. The need is to take strong action against hoarders who earn immense wealth exploiting the needs of the common people.
Ghalib and Science
Urdu poet Ghalibs poetry has been analysed,unusually and at length,for the echoes of science in his work. According to December 29 Rashtriya Sahara,at a special lecture to commemorate Ghalibs 213th birthday at the capitals Urdu Academy,professor Wahab Qaiser of Maulana Azad National University reportedly said that in Ghalibs time,many madrasas established in Delhi taught medical science and also included elements of mathematics,astronomy and the study of elements…. Ghalib belongs to the 19th century,when science was making rapid progress in Europe,and Ghalib was not untouched by its impact. If his poetry is analysed in the light of scientific knowledge,it will be found that many couplets clearly show the influence of the principles of life sciences,medical sciences,chemistry,astronomy and environmental sciences.
Imams at Rs 12!
According to a report from Hajipur in Hamara Samaj on the December 26,imams,appointed in Bihars jails for conducting namaz,are paid a daily remuneration of only Rs 12,amounting to Rs 144 a month,as against the salary of a chowkidar,which is Rs 5,000. Their duties involve leading namaz five times a day,and special prayers on festivals like Eid and Baqr-Eid. This continues till today. According to the report,the teachers appointed for teaching the jail inmates are paid the same amount.
Compiled by Seema Chishti
