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Category Archives: Social/Political issues

  • 26
    Jul 24
  • -

What’s Indian railways’ priority after the CRS report: Vande Bharat or rail safety?

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Last week, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) had slammed Indian Railways for Kanchanjunga Express-goods train collision on June 17 in which 10 people had died and 30 others injured. The goods train rammed into Kanchenjunga Express from behind near Rangapani station , close to New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal.

The loco pilot of the goods train was given incorrect authority document, the report had said. The initial probe, however, had blamed the goods train crew for the accident.

“It was an accident-in-waiting,” said the CRS report, adding that there were errors in multiple levels of the administration and station staff.

According to CRS, a wrong paper authority to pass (T/A 912) was issued to the crew of the goods train by the authorities. Loco pilot of the goods train was not given any speed guidelines while crossing the signal which made matters worse, the report said.

The accident in Darjeeling district had been classified under the “Error in train working” section. Due to improper authority and that too without adequate information, such an incident was an “accident-in-waiting”, the CRS report had said.

“It is really a matter of concern that if the teachers themselves (traffic inspector and chief loco inspector), are not aware of the subject, what knowledge will they impart to students (loco pilot and SS/SM)?” the report had said.
Citing the failure of automatic signaling, the report said: “There have been 275 failures in the auto section of the Katihar Division since the commissioning in January 2023 till 20th June 2024…the large number of signaling failures in the automatic section is defeating the very purpose of mobility enhancement and causing safety concerns,” the report said.

Last week, the Railway Board, had announced that the rail ministry had standardized the operating procedure for train crew in case of such failures. “To increase the reliability of signaling equipment, an action plan is being prepared with the zone, under the chairmanship of RDSO (Research designs and standards organization)” the Board had said.

The CRS report also mentioned that the implementation of the Kavach anti-collision system needs to be shown on ground to avoid collisions,

As a rail enthusiast, I’d like to raise a few points to the rail ministry.

Well, the government may go ahead with bullet trains or high-speed trains. But, equal emphasis, if not more, must be given on improving infrastructure of suburban rail network on which millions of common people depend every day. Since I grew up in a suburb named Naihati, near Kolkata and lived close to the rail station, I am familiar with the rail infrastructure over the years. I used to travel everyday from Naihati to Sealdah rail station during late 70’s and early 80’s and had seen and personally experienced daily commuters’ ordeal and woes. I had seen how common folks travel in coaches packed like sardines!

Isn’t the top brass of the Sealdah section aware of the pain and pathos of the daily passengers? Doesn’t he know the deplorable state of affairs?

Even now, while the government has been working zealously to modernise railways and build high-speed trains befitting Asia’s third largest economy, daily passengers’ agony continues: local trains perennially run late, lack of adequate trains, most of the coaches are old and decrepit. Rundown and shabby interior will stare at you as you step into the compartment. Windows are mostly non-functional. About the cleanliness, hygiene and floor of the compartment, the less said the better.

However, recently the authorities have introduced some new coaches. I wonder how long these new coaches will shine in the absence of public discipline and poor maintenance.

What needs to be done urgently is to improve basic infrastructure (including tracks upgrade with high strength rails) and ensure commuters’ safety. The Kanchanjunga Express accident has made it amply clear that the authorities had been lackadaisical and adequate action was not taken following the Balasore train accident.

Will the rail authorities wake up and take urgent action following the CRS report keeping in mind the passengers’ safety which should be top priority?

Vande Bharat is good, but running trains on time, tracks upgrade, keeping coaches clean and making rail journey safer is better!

Is the rail minister listening?

  • 17
    Jul 24
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Searing heat wave in US: global cooperation needed to combat climate change

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A Washington Post news report last week on extreme heat in the US which has “killed at least 28 in the past week” has prompted me to write this story. Last August, I had written in my blog (following the wild fires in Canada and the US) that we’re living in a time of serious environmental catastrophe. Unfortunately, world leaders are blissfully unaware of its impacts on the environment, and its implications for society, economy and policy.

According to a BBC report, Canada’s boreal zone— a mixture of forest and wetland—makes up more than half of its land area. Wildfires burned a record185,000 sq km of the country in 2023, an area the size of Syria. In western Canada, 163 of these fires went underground and smoldered until this spring.

The Post report should be a wake-up call for urgent action on climate change.

Most of the heat-related deaths, the Post report says, have been reported in California, Oregon and Arizona, but high temperatures have caused deaths as far east as Maryland, the report has added.

Searing heat in recent years is nothing new in the US. Due to global warming, heat wave has been sweeping through much of the country. “We’ve forest fires in the West, Hurricane Beryl has wreaked havoc in Texas this month. We’ve tornadoes almost every week,” says Alokananda Bagchi, who had taught at Michigan State University. “We’re seeing the ravages of climate change much earlier than had been anticipated, and it feels as though our planet is headed for destruction at breakneck speed,” Bagchi, who has been living in the US since 1991, rues.

The Post report had also said that as of last Wednesday (July 10), “more than 135 million people across the Lower 48 were under heat alerts…” Federal data shows that deaths from heat have increased in the US steadily, in recent years climbing to over 2300 in 2023. About 1600 heat-related fatalities occurred in 2021 and there were approximately 1700 in 2022.

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies had published a report in the journal Climate Change last year stating that by the year 2050 the western US will experience not only more wildfires, but they will start earlier in the year, some of which can travel hundreds of miles away from the fire and potentially cause lung problems for anyone who breathes in these tiny particulate of soot and ash.

Much of Canada, like the rest of North America, has experienced record heat recently as climate change continues to warm the planet. Prof Lord Nicholas Stern, former chief economist at the World Bank, in his book “The Global Deal: Climate Change and the creation of a new era of progress and prosperity,” has said: …”the process of climate change starts with the actions of the people and ends with the impacts on people….” A leading authority on what we can do in the face of such threat, Prof Stern has said action on climate change requires the greatest possible international collaboration, led by the US and China, who are by far the greatest emitters of greenhouse gases.

The Biden administration had announced a plan to make the US carbon neutral by 2050. “This will never happen in a million years,” said American columnist Bradley Blankenship.

It’s a matter of great concern that private jets in the US make up approximately 67% of all private jets worldwide. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s private jets are registered in the US, according to data from Airbus Corporate Jets. According to the US Census Bureau, 91.7% of the US households own at least one car, up from 91.3% in 2018, and 22.1% of the household had three or more vehicles in 2022, a 5.2% increase from 2018.

According to a report by a local expatriate, as of the end of June 2023, it is estimated that there are 420 million vehicles (including trucks) in China. Until 2020, the US has held the top position in terms of the number of vehicles, but China now has surpassed it, the report says.

America has produced around 400 billion tons of CO2 since 1751, enough to account for 25% of all anthropogenic emissions globally—and doubles China’s share. This fact alone, coupled with the fact that China with a far larger population and industrial base, produces half as much CO2 per capita, demonstrate that the US bears a unique responsibility toward poorer countries.

Poor countries — the least responsible for the climate change- will be hit earliest and hardest.  Prof Stern has rightly pointed out that we cannot afford the risks of ignoring the costs and consequences of global climate change. Instead of engaging in a blame game, it is high time world leaders closed ranks and got together for the greatest possible international collaboration to save the planet.

Are the US and the Chinese governments listening?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • 10
    Jul 24
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OpenAI’s “Sky”: artistes worried over voice cloning

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A news report (in Times of India) earlier this week headlined “AI is our enemy, say voiceover artistes battling voice cloning” came to me as no surprise. I had pointed out in my blog posted last year in May the dangers of the commercialization of artificial intelligence.

San Francisco-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was launched on 30 November, 2022, became the fastest growing app in history when it had hit 100 million users in only two months. The technology’s lucrative potential had spurred companies into action.

However, leading AI experts have urged companies to take cautious approach and warned about the risks and dangers posed by the ground-breaking technology.

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson recently alleged that the OpenAI had impersonated her voice. The Hollywood star said she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” that the updated version of ChatGTP, which can listen to spoken prompts and respond verbally, had a voice  “eerily similar” to hers.

Johansson expressed concern about the Sky, a voice mode feature for ChatGPT which OpenAI had released. People have found striking similarity between the Sky and the Hollywood actress’ voice in the film “Her” which was released in 2013.

OpenAI vehemently denied replicating Johansson’s voice, claiming they had hired a separate voice actress and the similarity was just coincidental. Johansson, however, reportedly secured legal representation and demanded more information from OpenAI. Johansson suspected that OpenAI was profiting by leveraging her voice similar to hers.

Meanwhile, OpenAI has temporarily suspended the “Sky” voice. The Johansson-OpenAI case will serve a cautionary tale and has prompted discussions on ethical considerations and the importance of clear boundaries in the realm of AI development.

Indian voiceover artiste Sanket Mhatre, dubbing for Hollywood superheroes, faces threat similar to Johansson.

Mauricio Bustos, a Chilean artiste, used his Youtube channel for years to try and break into the music industry. Then he discovered AI. Overnight, he made it big using others’ voice. He could rap like Bad Bunny and sing like Justin Bieber. He went viral. Now, he is at the forefront of a global debate: Is AI art really art?

The former CEO of Twitter and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, lamented that he had committed mistakes in forming the company that became OpenAI, the originator of game-changing ChatGPT artificial intelligence company.

He had regretted about the ChatGPT, saying he’s a ‘huge idiot’ for letting go of OpenAI.

Musk thinks the world is woefully unprepared for the impact of AI. The technology will hit people “like an asteroid”, he had said.

Even though Bill Gates had said he was “scared” about the technology falling into the wrong hands, he had dismissed Musk-backed plan to pause the AI research.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had said last year the technology had the potential to be used to manipulate voters and target disinformation especially in an election year in the US.

The AI tools, which have been developed by several firms, met with backlash from their critics for the potential to disrupt millions of jobs, spread misinformation and perpetuate biases.

Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of artificial intelligence” is particularly concerned that these tools could be trained to sway elections and even to wage war.

He had quit a high-profile job at Google especially to share his concerns that unchecked AI development could pose a danger to humanity.

Hinton said AI chatbots, for instance, could be the future version of election misinformation spread via Facebook and other social media platforms.

He also added: “Don’t think for a moment that Putin wouldn’t make hyper-intelligent robots with the goal of killing Ukranians.” He has suggested a global agreement similar to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention might be a good first step toward establishing international rules against weaponized AI.

His concerns have been shared by the Center for AI safety, an organization dedicated to reducing the societal-scale risks from the artificial intelligence.

“Humans are more important than money,” says Yoshua Bengio, one of the pioneers of AI technology. He says he feels “lost” because of the direction that the AI is headed in.

The dangers of artificial intelligence remind me of Oppenheimer’s famous words: “Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

 

 

 

 

 

  • 23
    Aug 23
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Wildfires in US and Canada: Wake-up call for urgent action on climate change

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We’re living in a time of serious environmental catastrophes. The Maui wildfires (August 8) in Hawaii and the Canadian wildfires in May and June this year have once again brought into focus the devastating impact of climate change. Along with humans, every year we lose thousands of species, even as others slip deeper into danger.

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies published a report in the journal Climate Change recently, and they predict by the year 2050 the Western US will experience not only more wildfires, but they will start earlier in the year, and they will emit more pollutants, some of which can travel hundreds of miles away from the fire and potentially cause lung problems for anyone who breathes in these tiny particulates of soot and ash.

The Maui fires have killed more than 100 people, forced tens of thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate the island and devastated the historic resort city of Lahaina. The blaze is the deadliest U.S. wildfire since 1918, when northern Minnesota’s Cloquet Fire, which raged for more than four days, claimed 453 lives, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The deadliest wildfire in US history, Wisconsin’s Peshtigo fire in 1871, killed 1,152.

Much of Canada, like the rest of North America, has experienced record heat and drought recently as climate change continues to warm the planet. In May and June this year wildfires spread across the country, causing mass evacuations and burning through millions of acres. Even on Monday thick smoke blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest as numerous wildfires in Canada, Washington State and Oregon continued to burn, killing at least one person, destroying scores of buildings and threatening dozens more.

Wildfires are a natural part of the landscape in the West. The issue really becomes where we’ve altered the natural order of things, as is happening with climate change. There’s also a health consideration with the pollution and the particulates that come with these large fires.

We need to think about what the greenhouse gas emissions impacts are at play, and how much we can moderate the continued rise of temperature if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

Climate change is expected to worsen the frequency, intensity, and impacts of extreme weather events. For example, sea level rise increases the impacts of coastal storms and warming can place more stress on water supplies during droughts.

US is the main climate culprit

The US is by far the world’s leading historic emitter of greenhouse gases. America has produced around 400 billion tonnes of CO2 since 1751, enough to account for 25% of all anthropogenic emissions globally — and double China’s share. This fact alone, coupled with the fact that China, with a far larger population and industrial base, produces half as much CO2 per capita, demonstrates that the US bears a unique responsibility towards poorer countries.

The Biden administration announced a plan to make the US carbon neutral by 2050 but there are a few snags to consider. First of all, the current Supreme Court has made clear that regulatory agencies have limited powers and that Congress must clearly specify their scope. It means that Congress would need to pass and continually fund a carbon neutrality plan through 2050, and whoever is president would need to sign the bills. “This will never happen in a million years,” says American columnist Bradley Blankenship.

Polls indicate that a substantial majority of Americans want to take action on the climate change. According to an April poll by Pew Research, 69% of Americans are in favor of the US becoming carbon neutral by 2050. And 54% believes climate change is a major threat — though 78% of Democrats feel this way.

The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), which will be held in Dubai, UAE, from 30 November to 12 December this year, is supposed to focus on four paradigm shifts:

  • Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030;
  • Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance;
  • Putting nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action; and
  • Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever.

It’s time for a serious political will to take steps to save the planet.

Wordtoon by Subhendu Sarkar

  • 06
    Jun 23
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Zimbabwe world’s most ‘miserable’ country, Switzerland ‘least’

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Thomas Hardy might have resigned to pessimism when he had said: “Happiness is but an occasional episode in a general drama of pain.” However, modern-day economists have been making painstaking efforts to find out what causes ‘misery’ and ‘unhappiness’.

According to the US economist Steve H. Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI), Zimbabwe is the most ‘miserable’ country in the world. HAMI ranks 157 nations from ‘most’ to ‘least’ miserable.

Hanke, professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, had been the advisor to several world leaders, such as Ronald Reagan, Suharto of Indonesia, and the President of Bulgaria.

“The surefire way to mitigate the misery is through economic growth. Comparing countries’ metrics can tell us a lot about where in the world people are sad or happy,” said Hanke.

Zimbabwe has snagged the first-place slot with inflation — or, “economic mismanagement,” as the contributing factor to residents’ unhappiness. According to the index, Zimbabwe experienced a skyrocketing inflation rate of 243.8 per cent in 2022. Venezuela has the second highest misery index score of any country on the planet.

Switzerland has emerged as the ‘least miserable country’ in the world. “It’s hard to beat a democracy in which most major decisions can, if enough of the electorate insists, be put to a popular vote,” said Hanke.

The second-happiest country is Kuwait, followed by Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Niger, Thailand, Togo and Malta.

The US is among the least miserable countries with a rank of 134.

India has ranked 103rd. The country has fared better than countries like Brazil (rank 27), Pakistan (rank 35), Nepal (rank 63) and Sweden (rank 88).

Australia ranks 116 (Misery index 20.107% with unemployment being the major contributing factor). New Zealand’s ranking stands at 104.

While Finland has ranked 109th, it has historically reigned as the “world’s happiest country.”

The rankings are calculated using the sum of inflation, unemployment (multiplied by two), bank-lending rates, minus the annual percentage change in real gross domestic per capita.

Arthur Okun, a renowned economist who had served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during President Lyndon B.Johnson’s tenure (1963-1969), had developed the original ‘misery index’ for the US in the 1970s. His objective was to find a way to measure the overall well-being of the Americans. Okun believed that unemployment and inflation rate were the most important factors that affected people’s lives.

Later, Harvard Professor Robert Barro created what he had dubbed as the Barrow Misery Index (BMI) in 1999. He had modified the index by adding bank’s lending rate of interest. However, Prof Hanke had amended Barro’s version of the ‘misery index’ by replacing the output gap with the growth rate of real GDP per capita and replacing the 30-year government bond yield with lending rates. After all, higher lending rates mean more expensive credit, and more borrowers’ misery.

Prof Hanke’s latest misery index doubles the unemployment rate and the data is created on that basis.

One reason for Switzerland’s ranking, Prof Hanke says, is the Swiss debt brake. The debt brake has worked like a charm for the country. Unlike most countries, Switzerland’s debt-to-GDP ratio has been on a downward trend in the last two decades, since it has enshrined its debt brake into its constitution in a 2002 national referendum.

The misery index of Zimbabwe counts 414.7 due to high inflation. The major challenge faced by the country is due to its government ZANU-PF. Prof Hanke states in his blog: “Indeed, ZANU-PF operates more like a political mafia than a political party. Its policies have resulted in massive misery.”He has been tracking Zimbabwe’s economy since 2008 when Robert Mugabe was President.

Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Argentina, Yemen, Ukraine, Cuba, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Angola, Tonga, and Ghana comprise the 15 most miserable countries in the world, according to HAMI.

 

  • 31
    May 23
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Will AI augur well for humanity?

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Science is supposed to be the pursuit of truth, but there might be decidedly something unscientific and possibly even dangerous about the commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past several months.

The era of ‘move fast and break things’, the longtime mantra of Silicon Valley giants, is now facing a severe challenge from the AI technology.

Last year’s launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which became the fastest-growing app in history when it hit 100 million users in only two months, showcased the technology’s lucrative potential and spurred companies into action.

However, leading AI experts have urged companies to take a cautious approach and warned about the risks and dangers posed by this ground-breaking technology.

Tech firms, including Google and Microsoft, are pouring billions into the AI research with Alphabet adding $115 billion in value after unveiling new AI tools. Amazon has announced the launching of its own in-house AI model known as Titan.

But where is this race leading to?

The former CEO of Twitter and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, lamented that he had committed mistakes in forming the company that became OpenAI, the originator of the game-changing ChatGPT artificial intelligence company.

He had also regretted about ChatGPT, saying he’s a ‘huge idiot’ for letting go of OpenAI.

Musk thinks the world is woefully unprepared for the impact of AI. The technology will hit people “like an asteroid”, he said revealing that he had used his only one-on-one meeting with the then President Barack Obama to push for the AI regulation. He proposed a six-month ban on artificial intelligence to ensure better planning and management.

Even though Bill Gates had said he was “scared” about the technology falling into the wrong hands, he had rejected Musk-backed plan to pause the AI research, saying the technology may already be on a runaway train.

On May 16, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during a Senate panel hearing had urged US lawmakers to regulate the AI, describing the technology’s current boom as a potential “printing press moment” but one that required safeguards. “We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models,” he had said in his opening remarks before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

He said the potential for AI to be used to manipulate voters and target disinformation are his “areas of greatest concern,” especially because “we’re going to face an election next year and these models are getting better.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal explained that it could just as easily have produced “an endorsement of Ukraine’s surrendering or Vladimir Putin’s leadership.” That, he said, “would’ve been really frightening.”

The new AI tools, which have been developed by several tech firms in recent months, met with backlash from their critics for their potential to disrupt millions of jobs, spread misinformation and perpetuate biases.

Former diplomat Henry Kissinger, 99, says he wants to call attention to the dangers of AI the same way he did for nuclear weapons and warns it’s a ‘totally new problem’.

Author Yuval Noah Harari argues society needs time to get artificial intelligence right.

Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of artificial intelligence”, has decided to blow the whistle on the technology, raising concerns over its use.  The 75-year-old is particularly concerned that these tools could be trained to sway elections and even to wage wars. He recently quit a high-profile job at Google specifically to share his concerns that unchecked AI development could pose danger to humanity.

Hinton has highlighted four possible dangers in the coming years: Military applications, misinformation and disinformation, jobs lost and the rise of dictators. His concerns are shared by the Center for AI Safety, an organization dedicated to reducing the societal-scale risks from artificial intelligence.

What causes alarm 

Our human brains can solve calculus equations, drive cars and keep track of the characters in ‘succession’, thanks to their native talent for organizing and storing information and reasoning out solutions to thorny problems. The roughly 86 billion neurons packed into our skulls — and, more important, the 100 trillion connections those neurons forge among themselves — make that possible.

By contrast, the technology underlying ChatGPT features between 500 billion and one trillion connections. GPT-4, the latest AI model from OpenAI, knows “hundreds of times more” than any single human.

Hinton says maybe it has “much better learning algorithm” than we do, making it more efficient at cognitive tasks.

He suggests that a global agreement similar to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention might be a good first step toward establishing international rules against weaponized AI.

In March, more than 1,000 researchers and technologists had signed a letter calling for a six month’s pause on AI development because, they said, it poses “profound risks to society and humanity.”

What would smarter-than-human AI systems do? Malicious individuals, groups or nation-states might simply co-opt them to further their own ends. What’s not clear is how anyone would stop a power like Russia from using AI technology to dominate its neighbors or its own citizens. Hinton says AI chatbots, for instance, could be the future version of election misinformation spread via Facebook and other social media platforms.

And that might just be the beginning, Hinton had said. “Don’t think for a moment that Putin wouldn’t make hyper-intelligent robots with the goal of killing Ukrainians.”

“Humans are more important than money,” says Yoshua Bengio, one of the pioneers of AI technology. He says he feels “lost” because of the direction that the AI is headed in.

Humanity now is at the mercy of a vast and uncaring universe. As I write this, I’m reminded of Byron’s terrible tale of apocalypse and despair in his poem “Darkness”.

 

  • 19
    Apr 23
  • -

Mizoram India’s ‘happiest state’

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Teachers are students’ best friends in Mizoram. Parents in the north-eastern state do not put pressure on their kids. Every child in the state goes for work early and is independent and self-supported. Despite having ‘broken families’, students are determined to reach their goals and upbeat about their success in life. A study by Rajesh K Pillania of the Management Development Institute (MDI) at Gurugram, has revealed.

According to Prof Pillania’s report, Mizoram is the happiest state of India. Pillania, popularly known as India’s Happiness Professor, has made seminal contribution to the study of happiness in India.

“Mizoram’s happiness index is based on six parameters including family relationships, work-related issues, social issues and philanthropy, religion, COVID-19‘s effect on happiness, and physical and mental health,” the report said.

According to the report, Mizoram, the second Indian state to achieve 100 per cent literacy, offers students opportunities for growth even in the most difficult of circumstances.

“A student of the Government Mizo High School (GMHS) in Aizawl, Mizoram, has had to face several difficulties since his father abandoned his family when he was young. Despite this, he remains hopeful and excels in his studies. He hopes to become a chartered accountant or appear for civil services exams if his first choice does not work out,” the report said.

Similarly, a student in Class 10 at GMHS aspires to join the National Defence Academy (NDA). His father works in a milk factory and his mother is a homemaker. Both are hopeful about their prospects because of their school.

“Our teachers are our best friends, we are not scared or shy of sharing with them anything,” one student said. Teachers in Mizoram regularly meet students and their parents to address any problems they may be facing.

One of the factors contributing to the happiness of the youth is Mizoram’s social structure. “It is the upbringing that adds to youth being happy or not, we are a casteless society. Also, parental pressure for studies is less here,” said a teacher of Eben-ezer Boarding School based in Aizawl.

Every child regardless of gender in the Mizo community, goes for work early, the report further stated.

“No task is considered too small and youths typically find employment around the age of 16 or 17. This is encouraged, and there is no discrimination between girls and boys,” it said.

Mizoram has a high number of broken families, but having many peers in similar situations, working mothers, and financial independence from an early age means children are not left bereft. “When both genders are taught to earn their living, and neither is dependent on the other, why should a couple continue to live together in an unhealthy setting?” asked the teacher of Eben-ezer Boarding School.

Pillania, who taught thousands of students and executives about happiness strategy, has written 11 books and reports on Happiness such as Happiness Strategy, Happiness Diary: My Experiments with Happiness, India Happiness Report 2020, India Cities Happiness Report 2020, World Happiness 2021, India Happiness 2022 and World Happiness 2022.

Pillania’s pioneering work has earned kudos from HH Dalai Lama, and management legend Philip Kotler.

 

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