An Unforgettable Incident 6o2aa

AN UNFORGETTABLE INCIDENT Certain incidents so impress us that they leave an indelible mark on our memory. I was once involved in an incident of which I shall always have vivid recollections. The incident occurred when I visited a village in India together with my parents, sometime during my holidays last year. Early in the morning on the day the incident occurred, I was talking with a few of my new friends in that village. All of a sudden, a boy of my age came rushing towards us to break the news that violence had broken out in the neighborhood. Alarmed at this news, we began to protect ourselves, and before long the violence spread like wild fire throughout our area. I was a little confused at first for I had no idea about the cause of the outbreak of violence there. One of my friends told me that the area had been notorious for such occurrence owing to rivalry between two parties. Each party tried to destroy the influence of the other in that area, and the bad blood that existed between them had caused several deaths and great misery to innocent people for a long time. Official influence could not be exercised effectively in this area owing to its remoteness from the centers of authority. The of the rival parties therefore enjoyed almost complete freedom of action. The police arrived only when there was news of violence, and often long after the damage has been done. While I was listening to this of facts and events, the situation suddenly took an ugly turn. A man who had been standing a short distance away from us ran into his house most unexpectedly, and within minutes his house was ablaze. My friends and I then ran towards his house to put out the fire; but we were stopped by a few burly men who were holding lethal weapons in their hands. They threatened to kill if we offered any help to anyone. One of them had even struck me on my head with a stick. We realized instantly that we were no match for them and that discretion was the better part of valor. We therefore decided to proceed no further. Soon the fire from that house began to spread and several houses were burning. There were frantic cries for help. Men, women, and children were running in all directions in their desperate attempts to save whatever they could from the fire, in spite of the interference of the gangsters. A few of the unfortunate ones were burned to death, including the man who had set fire to his own house. We then concluded that the man must have been so disgusted with what we had seen for so long that he had no more desire to live, and this was his way of putting an end to himself. It was indeed a pathetic sight.

Then, after several hours, the police arrived when more than a quarter of the village had already been burned to ashes. They asked us several questions to find out if we had ourselves participated in the violence. As I was foreigner who would be leaving that village the following day, I had the courage to answer all their questions and to point out the men who had threatened to kill us. Those men were then arrested together with other suspects. Early next morning, my parents and I left the village with no more desire to re-visit this place; but my memory of this incident will remain fresh forever.

IMPORTANCE OF GAMES AND SPORTS Games and sports keep one physically and mentally fit. They keep one away from diseases relating to heart, obesity, mental stress an sleeplessness. They instill in the player a spirit of selfconfidence, self-reliance, discipline, justice, fair play and patriotism. games provide us with recreation and enjoyment. Games are very essential for students but they are neglected in schools. Even parents do not have high opinion about games and they want their children to devote more time to studies. India lacks funds, and proper training facilities are not provided to the players. Sports bring rich dividends to sportsmen. The government has formulated a New National Sports Policy. Effective measures should be taken to popularize, and encourage participation in games and sports. We all are familiar with the maxim 'Health is wealth'. According to the World Health Organization, 'Health is a state of complete physical, the absence of disease.' Academics serve the purpose of nourishing the mind. But a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. One can develop and maintain a healthy body by actively participating in games and sports. Games keep our body alert, active, youthful and energetic. They instill in us a spirit of adventure. Games increase the circulation of blood, boost metabolism, burn calories and improve the respiration and digestive system. A healthy person can work hard cheerfully for a long period of time, and can face dangers boldly. Games also instill in the players the spirit of self-reliance, self-confidence, justice, and fair play. They enable him to follow other virtues like discipline, honesty, integrity, loyalty and patriotism. While playing games various exercises are performed automatically and one need not a gymnasium to exercise. Brisk walking, running, cycling, skipping, swimming and yoga are common activities to keep fit. They also tone up the body of both the young and the old. Mild exercise are beneficial for patients recovering from heart attacks and those who suffer from obesity, diabetes, blood pressure etc. Exercise invigorates the mind and the body and helps to keep fit. Games provides us with recreation and enjoyment. Soccer, cricket, lawn tennis or wrestling are watched by millions of fans all over the world. When we watch and play games, we forget all our worries and anxieties. They enable us to divert our mind fro the nasty thinking.

A player develops team spirit, he learns to adjust with other person's shortcomings. A player respects and follows the rules of the game he plays. He, thus, becomes a man of principles. Sportspersons display punctuality, diplomacy and self-discipline. Sports help us to face the challenges in life bravely. One would not be deterred by failures as they are the stepping stones to success. Such an approach would help one reorganize one's skills and work harder with renewed vigor, to achieve one's goal. Games generate a feeling of sportsmanship and broaden one's outlook. They are very essential for the students. In our schools, however, games and sports are not given much importance. A period of half an hour or forty five minutes is dedicated to games everyday in schools. Some schools dedicate this timing for games only once a week. Children find it difficult to pursue a game in the specified period. Some schools cannot afford funds for sports equipments while most schools do not have a playground. Many schools do not employ any physical instructor to guide the children in various games. Even parents want their children to complete their home assignments after school hours rather than play games. They fail to realize that games make children strong both mentally and physically. Many school children become obese due to lack of participation in games. Obesity puts them in the high risk category of contracting diseases like diabetes, heart ailments etc. The education system needs to be reformed, and equal importance needs to be given to sports and games. Lack of concern of the general public and authorities is evident from out country's poor performance in international sports events. In Beijing Olympics, India's best-ever performance by winning one gold and two bronze medals is a 'historic break through' for the country. It is very disappointing that our players win few medals at the Olympic Games. Even players from small countries like South Korea, Romania etc. are able to win a large number of medals. We are far behind other countries in a number of games. Moreover, in the absence of funds and facilities, the players are unable to use their talent and energy in an organized way. For example, hockey is mostly played on grass courts in India. There is also a lack of training of international standards. The players lack motivation. They are unaware of the diet they should follow to keep it. Cricket is the only game which is given some importance. But accusations of match-fixing and faulty selection procedures have harmed the image of cricket in India. Sports bring rich dividends to sportsmen. Whether it is the matter of getting ission in institutions or getting jobs, sportsmen receive preference everywhere. Sports also bring fame and reputation. No doubt sports have plenty of advantages but they also have drawbacks. Some sportsmen lose their limbs, fracture their legs or get permanently disabled while playing games. Many students take more interest in games and ignore their studies. The government has formulated a New national Sports Policy. It promotes a liking for sports among public at large. It aims at development of infrastructure and provision of better coaching facilities. Seventy percent of our population lives in villages. To popularize games and tap hidden talent in rural areas, Rural Sports Programme was launched in 1970-71. The scheme has been revised

recently. Grants to sports has been increased. Sports scholarships are given to talented boys and girls. Effective measures should be taken to ensure people's active participation in games. The government should evolve a long-term national sports policy. Children should be informed about the advantages of games. They should be made to play games regularly. Training facilities for various games should be introduced. The existing training facilities should be upgraded and expanded. Selection of players for national and international games should be fair. Participation in sports and games will improve the overall health of the nation and its citizens.

The duties of a citizen The word citizen has three shades of meaning. It may mean to town-dweller as distinguished from a villager; or, secondly, the member of a city, who has recognized municipal privileges and duties – as, a citizen of Manchester, or of Bombay; or lastly, it may mean the subject of a sovereign state, in which sense we speak of an English citizen, or a French citizen. The first meaning may be left aside here; for the subject is concerned with the second and third meanings only. What, then, are the duties of a citizen to his city and his country? A citizen is the member of a community, whether that community is a town or a great country: and as the member of a community he has both privileges and duties. We may think of a community as existing for the sake of its individual , or, the individual as existing for the sake of the community. The first view, held by individualists, emphasizes the privileges of a citizenship. One says, the State exists for the good of the citizen – and that is true; the other says, the citizens exist for the good of the State – and that also is true. Both views must be combined and a citizen must recognize that the State he belongs to has a duty to him (his privileges) and that he has an obligation to it (his duties). However, as we are in no danger of forgetting our privileges as citizens, it is wise to emphasize our duties. The first obvious duty of a citizen is loyalty to the country of his birth or adoption. Patriotism does not mean “My country, right or wrong”; but it does mean that in a national crisis or danger, a citizen must be prepared to and defend his country even, if necessary, with his life. Secondly, it is the duty of a citizen to obey his country’s laws. He must have no sympathy with crime, which is a breach of law. He may consider some laws

imperfect, unwise and even unjust; and he may, and should, use all constitutional means in his power, such as public speaking, writing to the press, organization, and the use of his vote, to get such laws reformed or abolished. But so long as a law is a law, he must obey it. Thirdly, he must do more than keep the law himself, he must, as occasion arises, actively assist the guardians of the law in the performance of their duty in putting down crimes and arresting criminals. Criminals must be made to feel that they have, not only the police, but also all respectable citizens against them. Fourthly, he ought to take an intelligent interest in politics; for as a citizen he has a vote, and he is responsible for using that vote for the good of his country as a whole. He must form definite opinions as to what is best for his country, and what men are the best to rule it, and what new laws and reforms it needs, and then actively use such influence as he has to forward such measures. Lastly, a citizen must be ready, if he has the ability and is called upon to do so, to render active voluntary service to his city or country, by serving on municipalities, education committees, and other public bodies, or even in the central legislature. Good citizens have no right to leave the management of local or national institutions to professional politicians.

Is Science a Blessing or a Curse The gifts of science are indisputable and countless. There can be no denying the fact that science has made so much progress that life of a man, society, nation and the world has advanced tremendously. The knowledge gained learn through science and scientific technology speaks volumes about man’s ingenuity and skill. If all this was not achieved by science it would be no wonder that, even today, man might have been the animal as he was in the ages past – i.e. just another animal. It is science that has given us all the amenities of modern living that we can proudly boast of end enjoy. The drudgery of household work has been reduced to an almost nil by the numerous gifts of science. You have much task to do, and there is a machine to do it for you. In its social aspect, no matter where we want to go, whomsoever we want to meet, the scientist has helped us and we have umpteen scientific modes of traveling to and fro. We want entertainment, the radio and then the television are at our doorstep to do the job, in our drawing rooms or in the bedrooms. If we want to gain knowledge we have other media – books. This is also the result of mechanization of solving problems. When we want to know more about other countries of the world, we have the internet to help us out. So, in a nutshell, we can say that, the twins of science and mechanism have brought us out of the darkness of the woods. Let us understand that, is the subject, and mechanization is the outcome. We can say the two are like two bodies and one soul. Our lifestyle is now undoubtedly much above and the animal that of man ages back. This journey has taken man centres but, it has been worth it. Now, having studied the gifts of Science to

mankind, it will do us some good if we do some introspection and try also to study how, and to what extent we are now misusing our scientific knowledge. As far as science is helping man to make life better it is very good but, does man stop there? He continues his so-called study and research which further leads him on to the destructive capability of science. We are in for making bombs, using nuclear energy for purposes of destruction. Today man has the most destructive weapons ever produced. One bomb can annihilate civilization. In the event of a third world war, there is no doubt that man will perish. It is at this aspect of scientific growth we must put a stop whose gain will it be, if the world is destroyed? I am sure it will benefit none. Yes, none at all. We must understand that we should not pursue the track that leads to annihilation. All the gifts of science must be enjoyed to the full and that can happen only if man survives to taste the fruits of mechanization. Production of destrictive weapons the greatest curse of science to men. On the home front also it is felt that, too much mechanization, s for our inability to work of our own self. We get so used to machines that our bodies get absolutely frozen and become unfit to do any work. Moving about all the time in cars makes our physique. This creeps several diseases. We become basically very lazy. On the national front, mechanization has led to industrialization which, in turn has given birth to extensive unemployment and capitalism. Machines being devices to save labour, have mercilessly thrown thousand out of employment, and capitalism has led to class struggle, the big capitalists exploiting the poor labourers. At the lowest and smallest level of life, man has lost his own humaneness as though he himself has become a machine. He has got so enmeshed in the machines that the has lost all with his own species who make for his live company. This live company has been sacrificed for the mechanical idiot box. As son as man loses touch with his kin, he is most likely to become a machine whose company he keeps all the while. The human touch which was so special about a family and the society is getting lost as every individual has become more or less a machine. Besides these mundane and down-to-earth results of scientific growth, there is one very important aspect which has got lost. Science leaves no place to accommodate God or religion. For the scientific and mechanical mind can understand only what he sees or, something that can be explained with some amount of reasoning. God and religion are two things that can have no mathematical formulae to explain. Today’s man cannot understand this so called foolish premise of the existence of any God. This disbelief in God is leading to further degeneration of the family and the society, the two essential composites of a healthy nation. There does not in today’s context seem to be any force that can convince man of the necessity of being God fearing and thus being good. Man understand only what he can see and these days his vision is too blurred to see the place of God in the scheme of things. This irreligious attitude of man is further bringing down to the lowest ebb, the sensitivity of our very beings. Thus we see that the blessings of science though innumerable, have a matching number of abuses. The abuses are so great that they even pose the danger of complete annihilation of the human race, both physically and mentally and of course spiritually. Looking at the sum total of the scenario the abuses outnumber the blessings. This is because man is basically destructive by nature and getting too much of scientific know-how will only confirm his doom.

OR

The twentieth century has been the age of science. Modern science has achieved so many wonders. Science is a boon for all of us. Scientific discoveries and inventions have changed our entire life on earth. Time and distance have been killed. Science has overcome the old miracles of mythology. The recent advantages of science have beaten magic and witchcraft hollow. Reaching Mars and the moon is no longer thought to be impossible. Electricity is the supreme achievement. It is the crowning glory of science. Electricity is helping us in our houses and factories. Radio, television and telephone are also the greatest miracles of science. Radio brings us the songs of the greatest musicians of the world. Television enables us not only to hear distant voices but also to see distant functions, matches and other events. Telephones provide us the swiftest possible means of communication. Hats off to Guglielmo Marconi, John Logie Baird and Alexander Graham Bell. Science has made impossible things possible. The contribution of modern science to medicine and surgery is marvellous, extraordinary and outstanding. Plastic surgery is a new feather in the cap of science. In physics, the most notable event is the X-ray and also medicine with the invention of penicillin by the great English scientist, Alexander Fleming. Thousands of surgical operations are performed daily and countless human lives are being saved from the jaws of death. Science has also placed in the hands of man the atom bomb and the hydrogen bomb, which are the most hideous and destructive weapons ever invented. Technology and rapid strides in aeronautical engineering have been amazing. Railways on land, ships on sea and aeroplanes in the air enable us to travel from one place to another in the shortest possible time. Travel has become rapid and comfortable. There is no end to the miracles of science. Science has added immeasurably to human comfort but has also been a curse to man to some extent. Man has become the slave of machines. One machine can do the work of hundreds of labourers. One factory throws thousands of labourers out of work. Unemployment is ever on the increase. Another curse of science is that it has made man godless. Science has fed on our bodies but it has starved our souls. How does man benefit himself if he gains the whole world but loses his soul in the game? It has destroyed man's character and personality. Man has lost neighbourliness, sympathy, love, affection and feelings. Science has created more problems than it has solved. It has brought comforts but it has also brought death with it. The modern civilization has become addicted to scientific inventions. In the past woman was healthier as she was not assisted by electrical appliances. Since there was

neither gas stove nor electric cooker, she used to cook on the hearth. But nowadays, it is a pity to note that modern woman uses only modern electronic appliances, even the electric brush. Being addicted to those electric household appliances, she tends to become inactive and even looks diseased. If aeroplanes have made long distance travel easy and quick, they are also used for bombing inhabited localities and killing. Bombs have rendered millions of people homeless. In a nutshell, we must use science for the good of humanity and not for its destruction.

Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968) was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. When she was 19 months old, Helen was struck with a fever and became both deaf and blind. The lively child changed into a little wild 'animal' who terrorised the people around her. In 1887, her parents, Arthur H. Keller and Kate Adams Keller, finally ed Alexander Graham Bell, who worked with deaf children. He advised them to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. They delegated the teacher Anne Sullivan, who was then only 20 years old, to try to open up Helen's mind. It was the beginning of a 49-year period of working together. Sullivan demanded and got permission from Helen's father to isolate the girl from the rest of the family, in a cabin. Her first task was to instill discipline in the spoiled girl. Helen's big breakthrough in communication came one day when she realized that the motions her teacher was making on her palm symbolized the idea of "water" andnearly exhausted Sullivan demanding the names of all the other familiar objects in her world (including her prized doll). Anne was able to teach Helen to think intelligibly and to speak, using the Tadoma method: touching the lips of others as they spoke, feeling the vibrations, and spelling of alphabetical characters in the palm of Helen's hand. When Helen was 24 she graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College, where Anne Sullivan had translated every word in her hand. With tremendous willpower Helen went on to become a world-famous speaker and author. She made it her own life's mission to fight for the sensorially handicapped in the world. Helen Keller was a member of the socialist party and actively campaigned and wrote in of the working classes from 1909 to 1921. Helen Keller also ed the industrial union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), in 1912 after she felt that parliamentary socialism was "sinking in the political bog.

Keller, Helen Adams (1880-1968), American author and lecturer, who, having overcome considerable physical handicaps, served as an inspiration for other

afflicted people. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When 19 months old, she was stricken with a severe illness that left her deaf and blind. No way could be found to educate her until her seventh year, when she began her special education in reading and writing with Anne Mansfield Sullivan, later Macy, of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. She quickly learned to read by the Braille system and to write by means of a specially constructed typewriter. In 1890, she learned to speak after only one month of study. Ten years later, she was able to enter Radcliffe College, from which she graduated with honours in 1904. She then served on the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and shortly thereafter lectured throughout the world. After World War II, she visited wounded veterans in United States hospitals and lectured in Europe on behalf of the physically handicapped. Her writings include The Story of My Life (1903), The World I Live In (1908), Out of the Dark (1913), Midstream—My Later Life (1930), Let Us Have Faith (1940), Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy (1955), and The Open Door (1957). Her life is the subject of a film, The Unconquered (1954) and a play, The Miracle Worker (1960; made into an award-winning film in 1962), by the American author William Gibson." Shah Abdul Latif [1689-1752]

Shah Abdul Latif, a great scholar, saint and spiritual poet, was born in Hala Haveli near the Khatiyan village of Hyderabad District, Sindh in 1689. His ancestral roots lay in Afghanistan. It is said that the Shah's father, Syed Habib Shah, had migrated from Matyaru, his ancestral home in Afghanistan to Bhainpur in Sindh, in order to gain spiritual with Bilawal, a local pious man. Abdul Latif received his early education from a Madrasa run by Akhund Noor M. Bhatti. He was proficient in the knowledge of Quran and the traditions. He always carried with him copies of the Quran, Masnavi Maulana Room, and Risalo of his great grand father Shah Abdul Karim of Burli. The poet excelled in the Sindhi language. He was also proficient in the Persian, Sanskrit, Saraiki, Urdu and Baluchi languages. Shah was a missionary and believed in practical learning. It is through his journeys that he acquired the background for most of his poems. He denounced extravagance, injustice and exploitation in all forms and at all levels, and praised simplicity and hospitality. His spiritual and mystic poetry carries a message of love and universality of the human race. In 1713, the Sufi poet married Bibi Saidha Begum. It was a love marriage. His wife died at an early age, before she could have any children. Shah never married again. In 1742, Shah Abdul Latif decided to settle in Bhit, meaning "The Sandy Mound". Having a great ion for music, one day he ordered the musicians to play music. They played continuously for three days. When they stopped playing from pure exhaustion, they found the poet dead. He died in 1752, and is buried in Bhit. A mausoleum was later constructed there. Before his death, fearing that people might ignore his poetry, he destroyed all his writings by throwing them in the Kiran Lake. But at the request of one of his disciples, the sufi poet asked his servant, Mai Naimat, who had memorized most of his verses, to rewrite them. The message

was duly recorded and compiled. A copy of the compilation known as "Ganj" was retained at the mausoleum. The original copy disappeared sometime in 1854. It was in 1866, 114 years after the poet's death, that Ernest Trumpp, a German scholar who knew Sindhi as well as many other languages, compiled "Risalo", a complete collection of Shah Abdul Latif's poetry, along with two other Sindhi scholars. Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai is always ed for his great poetry with love and reverence.

Last Sermon of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was born in 571 A.D at Holy cit of Makkah. He belonged to noble family of Quraish.Quraish were worshipers of idols. God chose Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as last of his prophet. He asked Quraish not to worship their false gods. He told them to worship only one and true God and accept the religion of Islam. But they opposed new faith. Due to there fierce opposition Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) asked the believers to migrate to Madina. In 622 migration took place and is known in history as “Hijra”. In Madina Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) established Islamic society based on universal brotherhood. In the 10th year of Hijra Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) along with his followers performed last Hajj. There he addressed a very large gathering. This address is known as Last Sermon of Holy Prophet. In last address, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) told that all men and women were equal in the eyes of God. No Arab was better than non-Arab. A white man was not in any way better than a black man. Only qualities of a person made him better than others. He further said all men and women are children of Adam. The Adam was created from dust. In the end Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said that he was leaving to them the Holy Book of God the Quran. If believers acted upon it’s teaching, they will ever remain great and successful.