Are Protests Effective Anymore?

Reading Time: 7 minutes

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

Protests have been an integral part of democracies across the world. Protests are one of the most effective means of displaying dissent towards authority. Today’s blog will discuss the essential aspects of protest, how a protest gets initiated, its driving factors, what makes it successful and what leads to its failure, and famous examples of successful and failed protests in India and worldwide.

How does a protest start?

Protests find their fertile ground in the geographies where political dissidence plagues the society, dissonance between rulers and ruled increases, and people do not trust the country’s institutions. In the first kind, mild dissent will get sensed in the environment where people would look normal and happy with the government, but their disagreement will be seen on social media platforms. The rights promised to them are either not given to them properly or are violated at the top level. In the second type, people come out in the open and gather at a particular place with banners, posters, and pamphlets in their hands and raise slogans against the subject that they are opposing. These gatherings may be small to mid-size, generally get ignored on prominent media platforms although covered at the local level, do not generally affect people’s daily lives in and around the country, and most importantly, have a meager success ratio. When the topic of dissent is severe, the situation can turn grave in a short period. These third types of protests attract large gatherings that occur at different places across the country and sometimes worldwide. They get featured in almost every media outlet, have a high chance of getting violent, and have a more excellent success ratio due to their sheer size. The last and fourth types of protests are enormous, have extreme aims, are often violent, and attract foreign influence. These are mainly directed at those in power and often lead the country into severe change. These changes can be good, but they can also be fatal to the country. Regimes get changed, protests turn into a civil war which overwhelms the country, generations get fatigued, and most importantly, the cost of the protest gets so high that achievement gets blurred in the process.

What are the driving factors behind protests?

According to Dr. Nicole (Fisher) Roberts, Executive Director of Feed A Billion, the following are driving factors behind protests:

  • Lack of Trust in Government or Authority: When political parties come into power making vast promises of improving the condition of people but fail to deliver, people start questioning. These dissents turn into protests, and eventually, many people gather who do not have faith in the government.
  • Shared Grievances: People suffering from the same systematic problems come together to unify their voices. These united voices give a strong message to the world about their sufferings and the solution they want. E.g., the participation of every community in India’s independence movement.
  • Shared Intensity: When emotions run high, people make decisions that they will not under normal circumstances; they can be good or bad. Unfortunately, in many situations that involve groups of people, anger and frustration can build upon each other until the collective rage spills over—E.g.reactions of fans during the India – Pakistan match.
  • Geographic Proximity: The place where one lives reflects one’s response to the protests. When an individual is witnessing the protests taking place in his/her area, compared to those watching it on television or listening about it on the radio, he/she will have a different standpoint towards that protest. It molds him into a completely different personality. It is also a matter of volume. e.g., it is much more common to see protests in urban areas than rural ones.
  • Anonymity: Group behavior and its dynamics are driven in various ways by the ability to be known. In some instances, people want their names and faces associated with what they believe. However, in many situations, due to fear of persecution, prosecution, or retaliation, people will not act individually. Hence they want to voice their opinion along with a recognized group to avoid risk.
  • Efficiency: When doing something alone, it can feel like a waste of time and resources. Nevertheless, when a group of people come together and voice their opinions in the same direction, it has a more significant impact. The more people are protesting, the greater the efficiency. Furthermore, this efficiency leads to activation – sometimes called a “contagion effect.”
  • Survival Triggers: Adrenaline hormones lead to the fight or flight response. Also, our human tendency tells us that we must do something; otherwise, we are over. We tend to find ways to come out of it. We, as humans, go into survival mode and do all the necessary things that are needed.

According to Shom Mazumder, a social scientist, and fellow at Data for progress, there are mainly four ways to evaluate a protest:

  1. Did it raise awareness?
  2. Did public opinion change?
  3. Were these institutional changes a result?
  4. Were there electoral consequences, either intended or unintended?

What makes protests successful?

A protest to become successful requires certain ingredients that make a perfect recipe to succeed when mixed perfectly. According to experts, the best way of protesting is nonviolent protests where nobody is harmed, and still many people are attracted to it. In their article “Why Civil Resistance Works,” Chenoweth and Stephan argue that successful nonviolent resistance ushers in more stable and internally peaceful democracies, which are less likely to regress into civil war. Presenting a rich, evidentiary argument, they originally and systematically compare violent and nonviolent outcomes in different historical periods and geographical contexts, demystifying the myth that violence occurs because of structural and environmental factors and is necessary to achieve specific political goals. Instead, the authors discover, violent insurgency is rarely justifiable on strategic grounds. Erica Chenoweth also noted that every campaign that got active participation from at least 3.5 percent of the population succeeded, and many succeeded with even less.

When a group of focused leaders leads a protest, is undivided into different factions, does not get hijacked by opposing powers, and is primarily nonviolent, it has a very high chance of success.

What leads to the failure of protests?

Inactive participation of people, the selfishness of leaders who keep self-interests above people’s interests, lack of leadership, propaganda of opposition overpowering the protest, and many other reasons can lead to failure. Let us take an example of a movement that gained substantial public support initially but vanished into thin air, “Occupy Wall Street.” This movement was started by a group of people who believed that the difference between the quality of life of poor and rich people is vast, and one percent exploits the rest of ninety-nine percent for their luxury. However, after months of protests, it failed to sustain itself. Experts point out a few reasons why this protest, which created a considerable sensation, was unsuccessful. The number one reason that it failed was because of a lack of leadership. This protest was a kind of mob protest organized by unorganized people who were frustrated in their life and blamed their misery on other people thus were not clear what they were doing in the protest. The second reason experts point out is that this protest could not give a clear message, or we can say the message they conveyed was wrongly interpreted in the media and public opinion. This protest was meant to maintain class equality in society but got conveyed as they wanted to remove certain people from society, which many did not see on good terms. The third reason was the name itself, “Occupy” was historically used to signify the unjust occupation of people by another group of people. Furthermore, this made people skeptical that this protest is not going in the right direction, and hence it lost its public support.

Now we will see some movements across the world throughout history and will try to analyze them.

The “Quit India movement,” was organized by Indians from all spheres of life from 1942 until 1947, when India got independence. It was an entirely nonviolent movement that got massive support from every Indian. It made Britishers step down and provide a way for independence to India. It is an example of how a completely nonviolent, publicly supported movement based on truth can overthrow even the most powerful and achieve its aim.

Are Protests Effective Anymore?

The “Civil rights movement,” carried out in the 1950s and 1960s, is also a famous example of a nonviolent movement against racial inequality prevailing in the United States. It resulted in the passage of several federal laws that helped in improving racial issues in the USA.

Are Protests Effective Anymore?

The Arab spring started in the 2010s from Tunisia and spread to almost all the Arab nations. This protest was against dictatorships that ruled nations with an iron fist, and gross human rights violations occurred. Once the Arab spring started, many dictatorships got toppled. Initially, it was successful, but soon it led to wrong leadership, and greed took over. Violence spread and countries went into chaos. Various civil wars, religious extremism, and political vacuum led to the creation of groups fighting for their interests, and people’s interests were long forgotten. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives, and millions got displaced. Many countries are still recovering from the devastating effects of movement, which many experts have described as a failure.

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Brexit and The Pounds

Reading Time: 6 minutes

The History                              

Brexit was a word barely heard till 2012 but rose to prominence and became a politically defining term in 2016. This term is a blend of two words “Britain” and “exit” which represents Britain’s exit from the European Union. Visionary leaders came together to create economic and political stability to ensure long term peace in Europe. 

The EU had a total of 28 European member states, including the UK. From then on, many others have followed in their footsteps, striving to build on this vision through successive treaties. In 1957, France, West Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of today’s European Union. 

The Treaty of Maastricht signed on February 7, 1992, established the European Union (EU) based on three pillars: the European Communities, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and the Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (JHA). It introduced the concept of European citizenship, enhanced the powers of the European Parliament and launched the economic and monetary union (EMU). The Treaty of Nice, signed in 2001, streamlined the institutional system in a bid to maintain efficiency. The UK finally made it into the club in 1973, but just two years later was on the verge of backing out again.

In 1975, the nation held a referendum on the question: “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?” The 67 percent “Yes” vote included most of the UK’s 68 administrative counties, regions and Northern Ireland. In contrast, only Shetland and the Western Isles voted “No.” The center-left Labour Party split over the issue, with the pro-Europe wing splitting from the rest of the party to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Tensions between the EEC and the UK exploded in 1984 when the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher talked tough in order to reduce British payments to the EEC budget. In October 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May announced her intention to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union, formally giving notice of Britain’s intent to leave the EU. In the vote of June 23, 2016, The UK voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48%. Leave won the majority of votes in England and Wales, while every council in Scotland saw Remain majorities. On March 29, 2017, the order, signed by May was delivered to the Council of the European Union, officially starting the two-year countdown to Britain’s EU departure, set for March 30, 2019.

 

GBP’s (Great Britain Pound) roller coaster ride on Brexit

Brexit and The Pounds

The economic relationship of Britain with the world was sure to take a different turn as it decided to leave the European Union. The boat of Brexit has posed many unforeseen challenges to the pound. Enhanced periodic volatilities have inevitably surrounded vital diplomatic and political events not just in the UK, but almost the entire European continent Let us witness the journey of pound through the Brexit years: –

  1. JUNE 2016: BREXIT VOTE

The vote was undoubtedly an iffy prospect for political leaders and parties, economists and financial professionals. The aftermath of the March 2016 vote resulted in a tumultuous position of pound in the market. GBP experienced heavy losses and fell to a 31-year low. It continued to fall against its major standard competitor dollar in the coming months. It fell to 6% against USD in October 2016, and by June 2017 it had plummeted to a 12% low. That means the pound which was earlier worth 1.32 euros had fallen to a lowly 1.11 Euros by the October following the vote.

  1. MARCH 2017: ARTICLE 50 IN PLAY

Because of the March 2017 triggering of Article 50, the GBP experienced considerable pressure after a Parliamentary vote cleared the way for May’s declaration. In the hours after Parliament rendered its decision, the GBP rapidly fell 0.7% against the USD.

  1. DECEMBER 2017: EU/U.K. DIVORCE DEALS

On December 8, 2017, leaders from the EU and UK reached an agreement for the coming “divorce” or separation.

The deal outlined provisions for the Northern Ireland border, EU/U.K. citizenship and a financial settlement of £39 billion to be paid by the UK to the EU. Upon public announcement of a deal, the GBP rallied 0.9% against the USD and more than 1% vs the euro. 

While some were apprehensive of the future of the pound, some people and organizations viewed this in the positive light. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said that the pound was still a profitable investment. Currency traders were also optimistic about the divorce move. The dubious atmosphere persisted, but GBP restored some of the trust, its potential in the global market soared again.

  1. JANUARY 2019: REJECTION OF THERESA MAY’S DIVORCE DEAL

On January 15, 2019, the House of Commons officially rejected May’s divorce deal by an overwhelming margin. However, the vote came as no surprise to forex traders. For January 15, 2019, session, the GBP lost a modest 0.01% vs the USD while climbing by 0.46% against the euro.

There were possibilities of a new Brexit referendum, snap election or delay of the scheduled March 29, 2019, Brexit Day.

  1. THE IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

The “implementation period”, was the period of 21 months between March 29, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Many see the implementation period as merely being an extension of UK membership in the EU. However, the ability of the UK to negotiate its treaties opens the door for new economic partnerships. The GBP echoed this sentiment shortly after the Brexit transition deal’s announcement. Significant rallies against the euro (+0.51%) and USD (+0.61%) occurred after the agreement became public in March 2018. 

However, the GBP struggled to sustain market-share throughout the tumult of 2018. For the year, the GBP lost 1.8% against the USD and 1.1% vs the euro. Nonetheless, the pound sterling rebounded in 2019 against the majors. During 2019, the GBP gained more than 4% and 6% versus the USD the euro respectively.

THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

There has been a diverse division of people of what holds for the UK economic future. People of the United Kingdom feel that leaving EU has saved the nation from various anomalies of the organisation like:

  • The corruption in the EU
  • Regional Separatist mentality in the number of member states
  • Anti-Democratic nature of EU

Experts say that leaving the EU might be the right decision in the long run. However, it leads to tensed relations with Ireland, losses for both, importers and of course, fall of the pound.

Brexit and The Pounds

Being a part of the EU gave Britain a myriad benefits. However, its exit has put doubt in the mind of investors and businesses across the world. The UK was one of the politically most influential countries of the total of 28 countries. As it has withdrawn, there is speculation that Germany might rise to power and dominate the organization.

The bigger question which arises now is how Britain withdraws from the European Union, whether it will go for Hard Brexit (sharp deal to cut off ties with no trade and projects continued) or Soft Brexit (agreement on specific policies). 

The coronavirus pandemic has already severely hit finances all over the world and the UK has taken one of the biggest hits by its GDP plummeting by 20.4%. It is undoubtedly a critical time for policy-makers and citizens all over the UK as their calculated risks and visions today will either save or destroy, once a valiant colony as the British empire.

If the UK fails to strike a deal with the EU by the current end date of the transition period, i.e., December 31, 2020 – and the period unextended – then the country would leave with no deal and revert to WTO rules on trade and security – which would have a direct impact on the pound.

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FALL OF USSR

Reading Time: 5 minutes

1. WHAT WAS USSR?

The ‘union of soviet socialists republics’ or USSR, which was established in 1917 after the Russian revolution against the absolute Tsar, was formally established in 1922. There were 15 subnational Soviet states including Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. 

It was established as a ‘communist country’. As its name suggests, it was the Union of soviets that were based on concepts of socialism. SOVIET is a Russian term that refers to a law-making body and works as a legislature. Every nation in the union had their own soviet as a law-making body like parliament. These soviets were in union with a centralized economy and planning in the capital, Moscow. 

USSR was first to introduce the 5 years planning concept which worked very well in the beginning. There was 1 party rule and the representative must be from the communist party. A sequence of soviets was established starting from workers and agriculture soviet to industrial soviet, to regional soviet and finally the CENTRAL SOVIET IN MOSCOW. 

As it was a communist union, there were strict prohibitions on private businesses and industries and all the party belongs to the state. 

2.GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

FALL OF USSR

The soviet union was the largest country in the world alone contributing to one-seventh part of total landmass on the planet. And this huge size posed great challenges to USSR. It was a difficult task to control the whole territory and people with different ethnicities living in USSR. 

3.CAUSES OF DISINTEGRATION

  • SPACE RACE: they spent billions of roubles to compete with the USA in space exploration. They were firsts in satellite (SPUTNIK), animal in space(LYKA), and cosmonaut in space (YURI GAGARIN). 
  • ARMS RACE: After WW2, soviets were terrified by their biggest rival, USA. So they spent billions to maintain a huge army, build technologies, and made the biggest nuclear arsenal. It was done because of fear of MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION with the USA. Because of this economy of the USSR shrank. 
  • COLD WAR (1945-1991): being a communist nation, to increase communism worldwide they supported Cuba. North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, China, and many other communist nations and political parties. USSR provided Army, technology, and financial support. 
  • AFGHAN WAR (1979-1989): USSR started a war with MUJAHIDEEN in Afghanistan cause they were interested in getting sea access for efficient trade and exports but Mujahideens were in against the puppet communist Party of Afghanistan. In this war, 15000 soldiers were killed and over  50000 red army soldiers got severely wounded. This caused the draining of vital resources and led to a decrement of the prestige of the USSR and MIKHAIL GORBACHEV. 
  • DECLINE IN ECONOMY: In USSR, the worst drawback of communism appeared. There was a continuous decline in the economy from 1928 to 1987. Tight state control over the economy and the absence of free-market economy was draining the USSR’s economic strength. 
  • OTHER REASONS: USSR had become a totalitarian state under STALIN, who was a ruthless dictator. Under STALIN, normal citizens with non-Russian ethnicity, officers, generals of the red army were murdered. He was known to be worse than Adolf Hitler. 

During the formation of the USSR, Lenin believed that people of different ethnicities (Russians, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tajiks, etc.) will slowly assimilate with each other. But these non-Russians people did not assimilate as Lenin believed. And STALIN killed them who differ in ethnicity. This created a demand for Independence in sub soviet states. 

4.EVENTS

  • TWO POLICIES: To make socialism more efficient and bring the economy out of stagnation, Mikhail Gorbachev launched two policies

GLASS NOT: It means openness in Russian. It granted freedom of speech to media and intellectuals. This created the easing of media censorship. Due to GLASSNOST, the media started criticizing the Gorbachev govt. itself and spread the demand of Independence in sub-national soviets. 

PERESTROIKA: It means Reformation. It changed the soviet political and economic structure. It allowed elections, foreign investment, and privately owned businesses, although it started with restrictions, initially. There was no change in the Communist Party but now there can more than one candidate in elections. 

 These two policies were implemented to improve the conditions of the USSR but ended up with the dissociation of the USSR. 

  • EASTERN EUROPE SCENARIO: Relaxed policies lead to demands of sovereignty and Independence in eastern and central Europe snd also in sub-national soviets. 

In Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, the communist government was the puppet of general of the USSR and took orders from Moscow. but due to those policies, there was a demand to end this influence of the USSR in these nations. 

  • 1989 – YEAR OF REVOLUTION: 

    ( DOMINO EFFECT) 

From the summer of 1989 till 1991 there were revolutions in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia, one after another. There were nationalists movements to gain Independence from USSR influence and communist puppet govt.

 

Gorbachev did not send a red army to suppress the protests or movements because he thought this will not harm the fate of the USSR. In December 1989, Bush sr. announced the end of the Cold War because slowly communist governments in eastern European nations were collapsing. The Baltic countries declared their Independence from USSR. They believed that they were never been part of the USSR. 

                       Throughout 1990-91, one by one all the 15 subnational soviets became Independent. And in reelections, the Communist Party was defeated everywhere. 

  • AUGUST COUP (THE LAST ATTEMPT): In August 1991, a group of senior party leaders attempted a COUP D’ETAT by placing Gorbachev under house arrest and demanding the restoration of USSR. They called the red army to control the public who were protesting against coup. But the army refused because this was against people’s will and so the coup failed. 

FALL OF USSR

BORIS YELTSIN ( leader of Moscow unit of the communist party) advocated for independent Russia and was against the coup. Later he became the first elected president of Russia. After the failed coup, the breakup process accelerated. 

8 DECEMBER 1991 – the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed BELAVEZHA ACCORDS, which dissolved the USSR and established the COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES ( CIS) in its place. Gorbachev RESIGNED as president of the USSR on 25 Dec. 

Supreme soviet dissolved the Union on 26 December 1991.

Written by: Anirudh Rajpurohit

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KOREA- LAND OF MORNING CALM

Reading Time: 6 minutes

36 Year old, The Supreme leader of North Korea again in the news due to rumors of his death. Kim Jong-un is a Dictator of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea has been a country under a dictatorship since 1948. & Since 1948 the world has seen contradictory growth of two nations with the same culture and language. The Korean peninsula was once one country, then a conflict carved it down the middle and created two nations divided by their rulers’ opposing ideologies, So what circumstances made one nation to divide into two?

GEOLOGY OF KOREA

Korea is an Eastern country of Asia known as “ Land of Morning Calm “. North Korea shares a border with South Korea, China, and a short border with Russia. The peninsula extends some 1000 km South of the China-Russia border dividing the Sea of Japan on the East from the Yellow Sea on the West.

KOREA- LAND OF MORNING CALM

ANNEXATION BY JAPAN

The annexation of Korea took place in August 1910 was based on the “Japan-Korea Annexation treaty”, which stipulated that the Japanese Empire take over the Korean empire, making it a colony of Japanese territory. The 1905 Korea-Japan Convention had already made Korea a protectorate of Japan, the reason was In 1905 the world had seen major upset by Japan over Russia. Yes, Russo-Japanese War. The foundation of the hegemony of japan over Korea is related to this war. So, How does a nation like Japan, which had way less military power than the mighty USSR, won the war?

Russo-Japanese War: 

In between 19th-20th century Japan’s transportation from an isolationist feudal state into a vigorous modern power drew the attention of the world. Meanwhile, Russia had its own political strategies for east Asia. Japan had already eliminated Chinese power in Korea and won over the peninsula of Manchuria in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. Russian had control over Siberia, and in 1897 Russia had embarked on Railway building on Chinese territory to open it up to commercial exploitation, The famous Moscow-Manchuria rail had the potential of economic control, colonization, and military policy caused alarm among Japanese leaders. As negotiations stalled, on the night of February 1904 Japanese destroyers launched a surprise attack on Russian warships at Port Arthur in Manchuria and Chemulpo (Inchon) in Korea. On 10 February 1904, after the initial assaults had taken place, Japan declared war. Russia was shocked and overconfident about this war. Russia had astonishing weapons and military power but the problem was transportation, the Russian military was in Moscow and it wasn’t possible to export a large army to port Arthur without rail. They still tried to reach there through the Atlantic ocean and Indian ocean but while in the North Atlantic ocean they misunderstood Britain’s ship as a Japanese and attacked it. Brittain didn’t start a war but they blocked ways for them. Death casualties were large on both sides but in the end, Japan had won clear victories at Manchuria and st. Arthur. Japanese forces were exhausted, low on ammunition and the country’s economy was strained. Russia could draw on more substantial reinforcements than Japan. In 1905 peace negotiation began in the US. The Treaty of Portsmouth signed in September 1905 recognized Japanese rights in Korea and ceded Port Arthur, Dalny, and the adjacent territory to Japan, along with control over the South Manchurian Railway. It was a rise in the hegemony of Japan over Korea.

Korean dynasty ruled over unified Korea for 1500 years. From 1910 to 1945 Japanese ruled in Korea. There is the view that Japan’s 35 years of colonial rule improved Korea’s infrastructure, education, agriculture, other industries, and economic institutions, and thus helped Korea modernize. But one should never forget the discrimination and sufferings that the Korean people experienced under colonial rule.

DIVISION OF KOREA

Korea chafed under Japanese colonial rule for 35 years until the end of world war-2. Japan lost world war-2 & it became clear to the Allied Powers that they would have to take over the administration of Japan’s occupied territories, including Korea until elections could be organized and local governments set up. Korea wasn’t a part of the US’s priority but Russia was keen to acquire control of lands that the Tsar’s government had relinquished its claim to after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05). On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. Soviet amphibious troops also landed at three points along the coast of northern Korea. On Aug. 15, after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender, ending World War 2. Now it was clear that southern Korea was occupied by the US and northern by Russia. The US wanted to establish Democracy in South Korea with a capitalistic ideology. On the other hand, Russia wanted communism in North Korea. Without consulting any Koreans, they arbitrarily decided to cut Korea roughly in half along the 38th parallel of latitude, ensuring that the capital city of Seoul—the largest city in the peninsula—would be in the American section. The establishment of the division—made without their input, let alone their consent—eventually dashed those hopes.

IMPACT OF DIVISION:

The location of the 38th Parallel was in a bad place, crippling the economy on both sides. Most heavy industrial and electrical resources were concentrated north of the line, and most light industrial and agricultural resources were to the south. Both North and South had to recover, but they would do so under different political structures. The US had appointed anti-communist leader Syngman Rhee to rule South Korea. Meanwhile, USSR appointed Kim Il-Sung, who had served during the war as a major in the Soviet Red Army.

MODERN NORTH KOREA & SOUTH KOREA:      

KOREA- LAND OF MORNING CALM

It’s been more than 70 years since Unified Korea split into two. North Korea is now a Stalinist state and is accused of holding hundreds of thousands of people — including children — in political prison camps and other detention facilities across the country. It also receives the lowest ratings when it comes to press freedom and government accountability. Life in South Korea, on the other hand, is fueled by an unashamedly loud and proud style of capitalism. The country is also officially a constitutional democracy. After this many year’s North Korea is far behind South Korea in every aspect whether its economy, industries, human resources, technology. After the demise of the USSR, North Korea was vulnerable and insecure, they languished by spending more money on Military, implied isolatic state rules, business with selected countries & plight of citizens. Whereas  South Korea is a lifestyle fuelled by an unashamedly loud and proud style of capitalism.

FUTURE OF PENINSULA

The North Korean regime is concerned foremost with regime survival, it regards economic reform as potentially destabilizing. Admittedly, evidence on this point is mixed. Certain recent changes in rhetoric, diplomatic opening, and economic policy signal a will of change. South Korean GDP per capita has more than doubled since the end of the 20th century in 2020. But South Korea would see a loss of around 2.9 trillion South Korean won in tourism revenue if the novel coronavirus spreads rapidly in the country. Hyper competitive lifestyle is the reason behind the increase in suicidal rate,  hard-pressed school children consistently rank among the world’s least happy countries. South Korea might work on the Standard of living in Future. The contradictory growth of both nations leads to the conclusion that the foundation and ideology of a nation & people are essential for a prosperous future. 

REFERENCES

https://www.thoughtco.com/why-north-korea-and-south-korea-195632

https://www.theguardian.com/world/datablog/2013/apr/08/south-korea-v-north-korea-compared

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2010/08/29/editorials/the-annexation-of-korea/#.XruaxGgzZNw

http://fightforjustice.info/?page_id=3169&lang=en

https://www.dw.com/en/north-and-south-korea-how-different-are-they/a-43548731

https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/russian-japanese-war

JOURNALISM IN INDIA : Brave Men’s Work

Reading Time: 4 minutes“Hope no one will take this blog in the way in which it is not intended. Whoever you support just be calm because it’s just a blog, it just tries to question WHY, it is not at all meant for any kind of vandalism.”

India is a democratic country and we all are proud of it. India follows its constitution rigidly and devotedly. Our Constitution says that any Indian has six fundamental rights, freedom of speech and expression is one of them. For a true journalist, this is the most fundamental one.

JOURNALISM IN INDIA : Brave Men's Work

Is media vulnerable? If yes, why?

So how much do you think is the Indian mainstream media (the news channels) are unaffected by the government? I am not talking about only the current government but government as a whole, right from the beginning of independence.

You must be knowing that the media is the easiest and most adorable messenger of public of the deeds of the government. It is a great way to affect what the majority of public thinks about any candidate. Because most us assume while watching television that whatever is being shown is definitely correct and focus more on what actually is being said and displayed. So you can easily figure it out that for any government the best and most straightforward way to become stars of citizen’s eyes is through media. In eyes of the common man like all of us, it is next to impossible to purchase media.

BUT NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE RULING PARTY, BECAUSE IF POWER HAD NOT BEEN THERE THAN THERE WOULD HAVE NO CHANCE OF A DEMOCRACY TURNING INTO DICTATORSHIP!

Let’s talk about the figures:

India ranked 138 among 178 countries in World Press Freedom Index in 2018. Here is the link, you can check:

  •  https://rsf.org/en/ranking

As per the report, in this year, 11 journalists murdered, 46 attacked, 27 booked in police cases and 12 threatened for reporting.

  • https://www.huffingtonpost.in/vineet-john-samuel/if-2017-was-a-terrible-year-for-the-freedom-of-press-in-india-2018-isn-t-looking-any-better_a_23341292/

JOURNALISM IN INDIA : Brave Men's Work

Don’t you have a mixed feeling of ashamed, afraid, rage and vex?

So along with the bad conditions of engineers, the media men who report it to the public is itself not in good condition. And believe me, it’s not a statement of rage against the media for shamming us (the engineers) but this feels quite frustrating and deep trauma. Both of them are such an essential part of our country and the worst part is that no one gives a thought for that.

QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED:

  1. What had caused senior journalists (like respected Milind Khandekar, PP Bajpai, Abhisar Sharma) to resign from the mainstream media and start their journalism on alternate media like blogs and videos on the internet?
  2.  A primetime show named Masterstroke on a quite well-known channel ABP NEWS, being anchored by a senior journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai was being literally blocked to prevent viewers from watching it when the show was technically on air. Why the ABP NEWS was blocked repeatedly at the primetime when other channels were running well? Who was responsible?
  3. Why it has become so tough for police to trace the threatening calls to the journalists?

Government must be answerable to public:

You must have heard that the prime minister of the country is the prime servant of the country, and so the ruling party. And when your servants in whole life serve you honestly and for one time attempts some thief, you will definitely ask for that. That time your servant cannot claim for his long devoted service. Same should be applied with the government, it is not a kind of mercy they do to the public if it does something good, it’s their duty, and the public has the right to ask for his scams, and the government needs to answer it not count its establishments instead of answering.

Essence of being a modern viewer:

Nowadays the parameters of being a true reader or viewers have been changed, now you cannot trust any source of information blindly, not even the mainstream media. Instead, you have to vigil about what you see or hear, what you think and most importantly what you believe. From the political point of view, one has to break the already set paradigms through which we see the world around us. We need to search answers to questions like “IS IT REALLY HAPPENING WHAT IS SHOWN OR CLAIMED?”.

I had doubt on demonetization, thus I cleared that, and here is the brief report of it, in the same way, you can also challenge the paradigms of your minds and read as a responsible citizen of INDIA. And do share your reports and views. Be fearless and be true to discuss the achievement and the drawbacks of the current government.

REPORT ON DEMONETIZATION:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XSDi5mBME6vT5mxqIUqnRvfB83kFUWL2vUbErgOSn28/edit?usp=sharing

 

JOURNALISM IN INDIA : Brave Men's Work

Being a voter in today’s India is a great responsibility and a tedious job too, because you don’t have to select who is better in fact, you have to select who is less unethical.

If we asked for our rights in beginning then, in the end, why not see the fundamental duties also!

JOURNALISM IN INDIA : Brave Men's Work

JAI HIND!

THANKS FOR READING,

“KEEP READING, STAY BLESSED”

TEAM CEV!

(the writer himself soundly takes the responsibility of the statements and data presented in the blog)

CEV - Handout