Human+Sciences

toc

= = = = = = = = = Case Study 1 : Increase in the rate of urbanization = Study the following case and write down all possible knowledge questions that come in your mind...



[|Department of Economic and Social Affairs] **Population Division** || > The twentieth century witnessed the rapid urbanization of the world’s population. The global proportion of urban population increased from a mere 13 per cent in 1900 to 29 per cent in 1950 and, according to the //2005 Revision// of //World Urbanization Prospects//, reached 49 per cent in 2005. Since the world is projected to continue to urbanize, 60 per cent of the global population is expected to live in cities by 2030. The rising numbers of urban dwellers give the best indication of the scale of these unprecedented trends: the urban population increased from 220 million in 1900 to 732 million in 1950, and is estimated to have reached 3.2 billion in 2005, thus more than quadrupling since 1950. According to the latest United Nations population projections, 4.9 billion people are expected to be urban dwellers in 2030. || || || = Case Study 2 : Rahul Gandhi's oposition to ordinance =

Observe the statements made by two renowned politicians of India and refer the Newspaper article dated below. Frame your own knowledge questions The ordinance is complete nonsense. It should be torn up and thrown away... What the government is doing with this is completely wrong
 * Rahul Gandhi**

The country is waiting to see if the PM has any self-respect left ...whether he accepts this compliment of being called nonsense or reacts for honour of his own government
 * Arun Jaitley**

Times of India : Dated 28th September 2013 Rahul Trashes Ordinance Shield, Shames Own GovtUnder Pressure, Cong VP Forces Stunning Backtrack On Cabinet Decision To Save Convicted MPs, MLAs
 * Seeks To Salvage PR Wreck, Shows Who Is Boss**TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Friday announced his emergence as the new Congress boss, rejecting as “complete nonsense” the ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification. In a powerful intervention, he sealed the fate of the contentious legislation, embarrassing PM Manmohan Singh hours before his meeting with Barack Obama in Washington DC and publicly rebuked the party old guard. “I will tell you what my opinion on the ordinance is. It is complete nonsense. It should be torn up and thrown away. That is my personal opinion,” Rahul said, stunning his audience at a press event where he made a surprise entry. He repeated the comment for emphasis and followed that up by attacking the government for persisting with efforts to bring the ordinance. “I am interested in what the Congress is doing and what our government is doing. That is why what our government has done as far as this ordinance is concerned is wrong,” said the Congress vice-president who, it later transpired, had written to the PM to express his displeasure. Rahul’s censure of his government immediately led the party and the government to do a somersault on the contentious ordinance, amplifying the message of Rahul’s ascendancy. It, as a logical corollary, embarrassed the government and dealt a blow to the PM’s authority, with the opposition insisting that he had been humiliated and, hence, should quit. The ordinance, pending with President Pranab Mukherjee, is now likely to die a natural death with the PM indicating from Washington that the Cabinet would seek its withdrawal after his return to the country next week. The attempt to break away from the old guard was in line with Rahul’s script to play the outsider, only this time he went to unusual lengths. Not likely that such a hugely important decision wasn’t shared with the two leaders **2** **Why the last-minute change of heart?** Decision after murmurs in party, feedback on public opinion & opposition attacks **3** **Why use such harsh words publicly and not** **do it quietly?** This was perhaps seen as not being as effective **4** **Where does this leave the PM?** Singh’s already depleted authority stands further eroded. Will he quit over this? Seen as unlikely **5** **What happens to the ordinance now?** The ordinance is dead. Cabinet expected to complete formal rights of its withdrawal once PM returns from the US **RAHUL ROW** **Rahul’s exercise of power ambushes party old guard** The party expects that the President, who met leaders of the Aam Admi Party on Friday, will neither promulgate the ordinance nor embarrass the government by sending it back for reconsideration. The PM appeared to have taken the Rahul rebuke in his stride. “The ordinance cleared by the Cabinet pertaining to the Representation of the People Act has been a matter of much public debate. The Congress vice-president has written to me on the issue and also made a statement. The government is seized of these developments. The issues raised will be considered on my return to India after due deliberations in the Cabinet,” Singh said in a statement from Washington. Coming against the backdrop of growing concern in the party over the adverse fallout of the “savethe-convicted” ordinance, the tough comment marked a daring effort to salvage matters for the party. Sources said Rahul, who first signalled his disquiet with the ordinance by refusing to speak about it on Wednesday in Pune, had grown wary of the repercussions. The party vice-president’s dramatic performance marked an ambush of the Congress old guard; a ruthless projection of power by the Gandhi-Nehru scion who revels in his aloofness from decisionmaking. Unabashedly disclosing the in-house deliberations, Rahul said: “The argument being made is that we need to do this because of political considerations. Everybody does this. The Congress does this, the BJP does this, the Janata Dal does this, the Samajwadi Party does this. “It is time to stop this nonsense, political parties, mine and all others... If you want to fight corruption in the country, whether it is Congress or BJP, we cannot continue making these small compromises. Because if we make these small compromises, then we compromise everywhere.”
 * POLITICS OF THE U-TURN** **1** **Did Rahul, Sonia not know about ordinance?**