Democracy versus Dictatorship

In theory, democracy is the best form of government. It is the government of the

people as distinguished from the government of an individual or of a class of
people. It makes all the citizens interested in their country by giving them a voice
in legislation. It gives them a feeling of importance and a sense of responsibility. It
thus gives a meaning to their personality. Another merit of democracy is that it is
less liable to revolution than other forms of government. Since people themselves
elect the members of government the need of a revolution does not arise. In
additions to this, a democratic government usually guarantees freedom of thought
and speech. This twofold freedom is a very great advantage as it enables
theindividual to grow freely. Democracy thus offers the most favorable atmosphere
for the development of the human personality.

Democracy literally means the rule of the people. It has been defined as
government of the people, by the people for the people. Modern democracy rests
on the principle of representation. The people elect their representatives by vote.
These representatives attend the legislature and act on behalf other citizens. Ifthe
citizens are not satisfied with their representatives, they may not re-elect them
in the next elections.

But democracy has its danger. The greatest of which is that it may be the rule of
ignorance. Nine peoel out of every ten, says Carlyle, are fools and citizens who
are not sufficiently intelligent or educated are likely to commit errors of judgment in
the casting of votes. The best men may this fail to get elected. Elections are usually
matters of propaganda. However, the voters in countries like Britain and America
have not proved so lacking in judgment as many of the opponents
of democracy would have us believe, though it is true that our own country the
people, being illiterate, rarely give evidence of sound or independent judgment.
Another critic of democracy is that it is wanting in efficiency. For prompt and
effective actions, unity of action is essential.

One bad general, said Napoleon is better than two good ones. In a multitude of
minds, much unprofitable discussion takes place, whereas unity of control is needed
for a vigorous national life. According to Newman, for example, the British
government cannot cope with the emergencies created by war as effectively as a
dictator can. This criticism, however, is not very convincing because in times of war
the British prime minter usually wields the powers of a dictator. During world wars,
for examples, Sir Winston Churchill faced few real difficulties as a result of the

system of democracy in England. A sounder criticism of democracy in times of war

would be to say that secrecy in military affairs becomes difficult, if not impossible,
and that the oppositions usably lowers the morale of people by its loud
condemnations of the actions of the Cabinet.

It was thought that the two world wars had made the world safe for democracy, but
this forecast proved to be wrong. While democracy worked quite well in France and
the English speaking countries, most other countries swung towards dictatorship.
So successful and powerful did their dictatorships become, that the days
of democracy seemed to be almost over.

Unfortunately, theemthods of scitatorhsip are, and have to be, ruthless.

Dictatorship employed force and violence OT maintain itself.
It resorts to physicalcompulsion, person, concentrations camps censored,
intimidation purges and execution. Both n Russia and Germany countless execution
was ordered for the sanity of dsicitsorhsip. A dictatorship cannot brook slightest
oppositions.

Dictatorship is certainly not without its merits. As carryall poitnsour, society is

anorgnaism. And not a machine. Now mechanical sytemliek the ballot-box can,
therefore, prove satisfactory. The safer course is OT gives all power to a dictator.
The dictator must, of course, be once who has exception amity to organize, direct
and admitter. Parliamtary rule usably means gomer by clues ofpoliticans whose
purviews dictator on the other hand, can concentrate all his emerges towards
theupliftment and improvement of his country.

Thus, there can be no freedom of thought or speech under such asstm. Intesivece
propaganda is employed, as was den s germy, to retain the sport of the people.
Dictatorship, therefore by its very nature hampers the free devleoepmtn of the
human personality. It does not awe for divest of political option and belief, but
tends towards political regimentations or standardizations of human beings. The
greatest danger of dictatorship, however, is its partiality for war as an instrument
of national aggrandizement. Practically very dictate preaches war, partly because he
is actuated by person amnion and partly because he suffers from an exaggerated
anaionslism.

Dowry System-A Curse

Dowry deaths have become common occurrences in our country. It happens in all
families, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. This reflects the unhealthy condition
of our society. The system of giving in kind or in cash in ancient times to the groom
out of love by the rich has become a compulsory one. The Dowry system has grown
to gigantic level which consumes the life innocent women.

Our government has enforced anti-dowry act. This step would check this evil to
some extent. But unless and until the people realise its ill-effect sincerely, this will
prevail. The root cause of it is desire for money and the attitude of TIT FOR TAT
tendency. We would have heard of people saying. I gave dowry for my daughter
and got it back through my son.

Every young man and woman should not encourage their parents for it. They
should wage a peaceful war to root it out and educate them. The answer to thisevil
is in the hands of younger generation. The first step against this social curse is
removing the sex-bias. People should realize that women are the important
members of the society.

An Educational Tour
We had our second terminal holidays. We made use of these vacations to see places
of historical importance with our teacher. We hired a bus. First we went to the Qutb.
It is now a building of five stories. Two of its upper stories had been brought down.
It was built by QUTD-UD-DIN, the first slave king of India. We admired the
architectural beauty of the building. We went up the highest story and watched how
the people below looked small like dwarfs. We also saw the ironpillar nearby. It is
known as King Chandras pillar. It is more than two thousand years old. Next we
went to see the carvings of Hindu gods and goddesses on stone slabs. We were
really surprised to see the wooden slabs changing into stone.

From the Qutb we went to Tughlagabd. Here an old city of Delhi, founded by
Tughalq Kings, was once situated. Now it lies in ruins. Then we proceeded to Hauz
Khas which were the residence of kings. We relaxed for some time in the green
lawns. We have our lunch here and refreshed ourselves with tea.

Next we went to Humayuns Tomb where Emperor Humayuan lies buried. We

appreciated the Mughal art and architecture. There are graves of the Mughals
nearby. Our next place to visit was Kotla Feroz Shah. Feroz Shah Bahadurs tomb

and a mosque are built in it. This place is known for the Asoka pillar which was
brought from Meerut. Next we saw there in of Old Fort. It was started by human
but was completed by Sher Shah Suri.

At the end we went to the Red Fort. It is a fine building of majestic grandeur. We
entered the Red Fort. There we saw Diwani-I-Khas. It shows the architectural taste
of the great Mughal Empire Shah Jahan. The glory of the ancient ages is writ large
on its face. We visited the museum inside the fort. Many things of historical values
are displayed here. We learnt a lot from the visit and eagerly desired to have
another educational tour of Delhi.

I LOVE MY INDIA.
I love my India not because it is my mother-country. The people around me are
lovely. The tradition is something unique. My mother-tongue is the most beautiful
language on the earth. The natural beauty spread all over India is really
enchanting. The religious touch that we could find among Indians is heart-touching.
Besides all these factors, there are many other aspects of India which have
attracted my attention to keep me loving it. I want to state only two aspects here
because of shortage of time.

1. UNITY in DIVERSITY
We speak different languages. Every 25 kilometer entertains different culture. All
the major religions are followed here. Communal clashes are the nature of the
day.Political parties are diverse at national as well as the regional level. In spite of
all these differences, we feel ONE when it becomes the matter of Indianism. The
warmth and hospitality of the Indian people get deepened in spite of thisdiversity.
The economic renaissance is amazing in the recent past. The economic progress of
the people has maintained the unity of the people. Indian philosophy of life which is
also called is called Sanatan Dharma is prime factor to sustain this unity
in diversity.

2. CREATIVITY of THE PEOPLE

To quote Sri Aurobindo, 'For more than three thousand years, India has been
creating abundantly and incessantly, lavishly with an inexhaustible many sidedness,
republics, kingdoms, empires, philosophies, cosmogonies, sciences, creeds, arts,

poems and all kinds of monuments, palaces, temples, public works, communities,
societies, religious orders, laws, codes and rituals, physical sciences, psychic
sciences, systems of Yoga, systems of politics, administration, arts spiritual, arts
worldly, trades, industries, fine crafts - the list is endless.' This is the honest word
to vouch for the creativity of My India.

Of course there are many and many factors of India which have attracted different
people in different times. For all these things, I love My INDIA.

Work is Worship.
ACTION IS THE DUTY AND REWARD IS NOT THY CONCERN is the very lesson which
was imparted to Arjuna by Lord Krishna in the holy bookGITA. AS YOU SO YOU
REAP is the teaching we find in the Ramayana. There is no doubt that we
should work without any care for the result. Work is not only counted in this world
but counts something for the nextworld also. Good people are always praised in this
world. On the other hand bad workers are cursed everywhere. No doubt they are
famous for their bad works. It is an admitted fact that they are duty bound to their
work. If we take it sincerely, we will find some other story in respect of famous
dacoits. These dacoits have principle aim to work. Work is worship for them. They
may face anything to get their work done even at the cost of their life and get
themselves safe. Such was the case with fighters for freedom. Theres no life
without work. Great personalities of the world have become famous on account of
their work only.

Until we make an effort we cannot even eat our food. Life is dull without work. It is
useful only if we work ever. WORK IS WORSHIP is the main object of life. Laziness
and dullness are the curse of life. There is no personality without life. The
successful industrialists have understood the value of work. They devoted
themselves to their work ever in their life. Work is the only concerns with men
while reward is the concern in the hands of the almighty. Disappointment and
vacillation are nothing but the curse of life. Fortunes favor the brave. Brave persons
are always famous and rewarded. Vivekananda, Swami Dayanantha and, Mahatma
Gandhi all sacrificed themselves on the altar of work. Certainly work
was worship for them. Our first Prime Minister, late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was in
favor of worship of work.

Such workers may uplift the standard of their lives in true sense. Theyworship their

work first and anything else afterwards. Thus work is worshipin our life without
which the life will be aimless.

Will-Power
All of us wish to achieve many things in life. But usually many of us do not succeed
in achieving anything. And often we tend to curse our fate or misfortune. But the
fact is that we have only ourselves to blame for our failures. Is there such thing as
fate? If our Will-Power is strong, we can easily overcome all hurdles. The concept of
fate is man-made. It is not enough that we wish to achieve something. We
should have the proper willpower to carry out our planes.

Even a cursory study of the history of human civilization tells us that all great
things have always been achieved by men of will. Great men become great because
from childhood onward they had willed to be great. The notable achievements of
science, art and literature are all the result of endeavours of MEN OF WILL who
worked against heavy odds to achieve their goals.

Without such determination, we will not be putting in enough strength to make our
plan a success. Apart from that even when the scope of our plane looks rather dull,
we will look out for fresh opening for success. On the other hand, a good plane with
enough scope will not succeed if there is lack of WILL. So what matters is that we
have the proper drive or determination to carry on with our planes in the face
of obstacles.

A few examples would suffice to drive the point home. Columbus could discover
America only because he stood firm against all the storms of difficulties that
threatened him. Nothing could deter him from the path that he had chosen for
himself. Mr. and Madam Curie could discover Radium - a great boon to humanity only because they were persons of WILL prepared to lay down even their lives in
the pursuit of their ideal.

Great conquerors, like Napoleon, were all men of determination whose will force
carried everything before it. Coming nearer home, we get the inspiring example of
Hillary and Tenzing who stood against all the dangers of high altitudes in their
resolve to reach the top of Everest. Urged by immense WILL-FORCE, Gandhi
demonstrated to the world conclusively that it is WILL that counts and not
thephysical might.

To sum up : WILL is a great force both for good and evil. It makes impossible things
possible. The story of mans progress from chaos to order, from barbarism to
civilization, is nothing but a story of his WILL POWER pitted against all the
hostile forces of nature. This WILL POWER can be achieved by one of us by
continuous process of concentration on noble objectives. Once acquired, it will
enable us to have our way in all things.

Hope for The Best and Prepare For The Worst.

We should be optimistic in life. By optimism, it is meant that one should firmly
believe that the best would happen. This belief will give us the moral boost to carry
on with our efforts. Only hard and incessant efforts will lead to success. For our
efforts to be incessant, we should positively believe that we are going to succeed.
This sort of positive thinking urges us onward till the end I achieved. Instead, if we
get discouraged and lose heart, chances are that he will fail. There is another
side to this, despite all our efforts it happens that we dont succeed. If such a thing
happens, we should be prepared to accept it. We should remember that defeat is
yet another step to success. Our next endeavor may succeed. But instead of that, if
we lose heart and remain inactive, we will be giving success no chance to help us.
Life as we all know is full of hard realities. At the same time life has its bright side
also. Life is really a mixture of success and failure nobody is entirely successful in
life. Likewise nobody can always be failures. If we fail once, the next time we may
succeed. And so in whatever we do it is always better to hope for the best and at
the sometime be prepared for the worst. Such an attitude will certainly help us in
life.

A Visit To An Exhibition
Recently an exhibition was held in our twon. It was not so big and grand as the
recent any metrocity fair, yet it was remarkable in its own way. It was a very
modest show nevertheless it was represented and well attened.

It was organized by the district authorities to encourage the introduction

ofcottage industries in villages. Th district collector, RDO and the local leaders took
a keen interest and put up a very good show. Never before had we realized that our
village possessed such as vast scope for the development of cottageindustries. We
all felt that a vast heap of wealth was lying unused in villages.

The exhibition was held in the vast grounds of the banks of the river Cauvery.
Atemporary fence was erected on all sides and temporary stalls were built to
accommodate exhibits of different articles.

The exhibitions lasted for about a week and were attended by thousands of
people. Buying and selling worth thousands of rupees was done.
The districtauthorities were pleased with its success.

First there were agricultural exhibits which the farmers had displayed. There were
vegetables of all kinds and sizes. One farmer had a peculiar pumpkin which was
praised by everybody. I was surprised to see a plum with resembled a red apple.
There was also exhibited fine specimen of cereals which attracted much attentions.
There were also remarkable specimens of carrots and radish, sweet potatoes and
tomatoes of different tastes and colors.

Specimens of local pottery and tableware were also exhibited. There were pots
made by rustic artisans. We saw apples, oranges, tomatoes, almonds, raisins and
cardamoms of such fine shapes and colours that we could hardly distinguish them
from Th real ones. The different shade of color was so beautifully laid that they
deceived even the sharpest eye. They received praise form all and the artist that
made them was awarded a gold medal.

There were textile products manufactured by local weavers. Their delicacy of

texture and finest of finish astonished us beyond any measure. We saw a piece of
silk cloth which could beat in shimmer even the finest silk of China or Japan. The
muslin made by a local weaver was so light and fine that it appeared as if it were a
relic of the ancient Dacca art.

Besides these, a blacksmith had put models of an airplane and a rocket launcher
which were highly appreciated. A carpenter had deployed a beautiful radio set and a
goldsmith had made a wonderful golden idol of the lord Krishna.

The exhibition was a success in every way. The local authorities were able to collect
nearly Rs. 2 Crores on the occasion. It was decided that the amount be sent in
awarding pries for the bet exhibitors.

The need for organizing such exhibitions in our village and towns is greet at
present. Local cottage industries can be given an impetus if such exhibitions are
orgnaised from time to time. Local skill is not deficient and if property used can add
greatly to the wealth of India.

A Pleasure Ride In A Car

Riding a car is a pleasure. But riding an old car is an experience. My fathers old
car is a good show-piece for an old curiosity shop. Its paint peeled off and its body
seems to be plague ridden. Its doors are kept intact with wires. Ther is no
windscreen. The bonnet has so many dents that it looks like the shield of a great
warrior. Of course, it has fought many storms and rains. Rust coats its body. The
springs of seats are raising their heads like the snakes from the snake charmers
basket. It moves at will and stops at will.

I took out this car for taking part in a vintage rally. We started it by sweating our
bodies. My friends pushed it up and done but it seemed to be doing nothing. I
turned the handle but to no avail. After an hour we were about to give up theeffort
when it obliged us. Its whole body shook as if it has an epileptic fits. I pressed the
accelerator and we all shouted like Galileo O, it moves! The uncomfortable seats
did not dampen the spirit of my friends. They hummed tunes which were drowned
in the rattling sound of the engine.

Suddenly it stopped. We pushed it, looked at it and felt disappointed. One of us

slipped under the engine to check it up. As he toched something the mobile oil
blackened his face and clothes. We could not recognize him. All the handkerchiefs
could not remove that dark hue. He looked like a baboon peering atus. But the car
started. One held the door which fell on the road.

The car moved smoothly. There was red signal. I applied the brakes. The car did not
stop. Oh God, brakes have failed! people shouted at me. They absued me. But I
was sitting helplessly at the steering wheel. It came to a halt after striking the red
light on the opposite side. The traffic cop issued a chalan desite my apoliges.

By this time we had come a long way. My friends decided to proceed further
forgetting about what had happened. They asked me to drive at a very slow speed.
One of my friends sat on the bonnet waving a red handkerchief, it was an abrupt

descent and we could not discover it. The car started moving at a speed. My friend
lay on the bonnet which heaved up nd down. We held our breath. Everyone blamed
the other. In front of us we saw the jammed traffic.

What could we do? one asked. We stretched our legs out of the doors and tried to
stop it. But it struck against a truck. People were amused to see the car. The traffic
was jammed due to the vintage rally. Passers- by took it sportingly and
atruck driver even offered to tow it down to our home.

Action Speaks Louder Than Words.

In todays world, practical aspects of life weigh more than the theoretical. Life isfull
of hazards and to overcome the obstacles of life, a person must strive to
bepractical and stop wasting precious time on unnecessary preaching. In other
words, he must be man of action in order to succeed in life. Many great
personalities of history have put into practice what their conscience told them to do
and have acted according to their beliefs. They have not contemplated too much on
how to reach their set goals. Precious time much be converted into moments of
action for real success in life. Idle talk can lead one nowhere. On the contrary, life
should be molded on the firm basis of action. It must be secondary to
the practical aspects of life. In our dynamic world, success and happiness depend
on action, not on theory or empty words.
Science is A Good Servant but A Bad Master. :

Science is a boon to mankind. The growth of science has given us a lot of

advantages. They are in the fields of lighting, transports, kitchen wares,
runningfactories, medicine, agriculture etc. The fans, the electric lights, the
electrictrains and the air flights radio, television, mixie, grinder, electric ovens, gas
stovesetc., are of great use to us. They are useful but to some extent cheap.

In the field of medicine today we get a lot of powerful life-saving drugs. The costly
modern hospital equipments that we make use are of X-ray, scanning. Surgical
machines are the modern gift of science and technology. In the field of agriculture
too, we use modern farm equipments like tractor, harvesting machines. Pesticides
and manures have come to help the farmers. They make the best use of them and
grow more and more corns. The green revolution is the result of modern science.
The computer and modern electronic goods help us a lot. These have made our life

happier and more comfortable.

Science is a bad master. Some make use of the growth of Science for their own
selfish ends. Especially the politicians muddle with Science and with the help of
scientists manufacture dangerous bombs. We had enough experience of such bomb
explosions in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan. So we must act and thus convert it
as our good servant and not bad master.