2011-12 के लिए निर्धनता आकलन

योजना आयोग समय-समय पर निर्धनता और निर्धनता अनुपात का आकलन करता रहता है। यह आकलन घरों में उपभोग पर होने वाले खर्चों के आधार पर किया जाता है। यह कार्य सांख्यिकी एवं कार्यक्रम कार्यान्वहयन मंत्रालय के राष्ट्री य सैम्प्ल सर्वेक्षण कार्यालय द्वारा किया जाता है। सामान्य्त: यह सर्वेक्षण पंचवार्षिक आधार पर होता है। पिछला पंचवार्षिक सर्वेक्षण 2009-10 में किया गया था। चूंकि 2009-10 सामान्य  वर्ष नहीं था क्यों कि इस वर्ष बहुत सूखा पडा़ था, इसलिए राष्ट्रीूय सैम्पेल सर्वेक्षण कार्यालय ने 2011-12 में बड़े पैमाने पर सर्वेक्षण किया था। सर्वेक्षण के परिणाम 20 जून, 2013 को जारी किए गए।

निर्धनता आकलन तेंदुलकर-प्रणाली के आधार पर किया जाता है। इसका ब्यौंरा नीचे दिया जा रहा है -

	निर्धनता अनुपात (प्रतिशत में)			निर्धनों की संख्‍या (लाख)
	ग्रामीण	शहरी	योग	ग्रामीण	शहरी	योग
1. 1993-94	50.1	31.8	45.3	328.6	74.5	403.7
2. 2004-05	41.8	25.7	37.2	326.3	80.8	407.1
3. 2011-12	25.7	13.7	21.9	216.5	52.8	269.3
वार्षिक औसत गिरावट : 1993-94	0.75	0.55	0.74
से 2004-05 (वार्षिक प्रतिशत)
वार्षिक औसत गिरावट: 2004-05	2.32	1.69	2.18
to 2011-12 (वार्षिक प्रतिशत)

 

India-China Ties: Need for a Balanced Policy

China constitutes by far our most difficult diplomatic challenge as its rise impacts us directly in view of its territorial claims on us, the unsettled Tibetan situation, the potential impact of China’s upstream river projects, its “more precious than gold” relationship with “iron brother” Pakistan, its strategic penetration in other neighbouring countries as well as in the Indian Ocean. The imbalance in our bilateral trade ties is also becoming unsustainable.

Chinese power is challenging us in Central Asia, the Gulf and Africa, aided by its much larger financial reservoir which it uses for gaining access to energy and mineral resources for its future growth under State direction that India cannot equal. The India-China equation is getting progressively tilted in China’s favour globally. Politically, this draws countries of interest to us into the Chinese orbit; economically, it affects the direction of international trade and investment flows in Asia to our disadvantage.

Yet, we reach out to China as if it is a partner-in-waiting and project congruence of interests bilaterally and multilaterally even where they are in conflict. There is a palpable disconnect between how we see China in private and how we treat it in public.

We justified our nuclear tests in 1998 because of the China threat. Subsequently, we gave China satisfaction by declaring that we did not view it either as a threat or an adversary. We have established a strategic partnership with China even when it has long countered us strategically. We say glibly that China is not a competitor and that the world is big enough to accommodate the rise of both countries. On the heels of the Ladakh incident, we have affirmed that our relationship is a model of co-existence between big neighbouring countries. We say we support our respective friendships with common neighbours, contrary to reality. We are open to maritime cooperation with China in the Indian Ocean when its increasing presence there causes us concern. Even on the nuclear issue, where China has been the source of our biggest strategic challenge, we talk about civilian nuclear cooperation with it. We are consciously letting China off the hook on every issue of concern to us and attributing a benign air to its policies.

Perhaps we judge that any perception of mounting India-China differences reduces our capacity to bargain with other power centres. We probably want to give less room to those who would prefer China and India to be pitted against each other as such a conflict in Asia’s heart would suit their interests. We might be reasoning that those seeking to incorporate us into their anti- China strategy cannot themselves ignore the reality of China, and that with the already achieved integration of its huge economy with the global one, any scope for confrontation is limited. Moreover, our role in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summit, our participation in the emerging Asian security architecture, our BRICS dialogue and collaboration with China on the World Trade Organization and climate change issues, would be strained by India-China wrangles.

Such thinking has merit up to a point, but between exaggerating levels of understanding with China to ward off external exploitation of our underlying differences and constantly ceding ground politically to it bilaterally on contentious issues and helping it to present an accommodative face to an anxious international community by being receptive to its tactical grandstanding in India during Li Keqiang’s visit, we have room to craft a more balanced policy.

Just when wariness of China is growing, we make a show of bonhomie with it. When Myanmar wants to dilute its dependence on China and the United States of America and Japan courts it, we advocate an economic corridor between China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India that would promote Chinese influence in this region. We are ready to allow our North East to move economically into China’s orbit, as if that would help us to better integrate it with the rest of India and Arunachal Pradesh can be insulated from Chinese inroads there. If China was visibly moderating its policies in our periphery and on our territorial differences, our postures would make better sense. But then, The Global Times has just reminded us that “India must accept and adapt to the enviable friendship between China and Pakistan. China cannot scale down this partnership merely because of India’s feelings!”

Under its Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, Japan is reaching out to India as never before with the shared threat from a muscle-flexing China in mind. China has tried to queer this pitch with the prime minister, Li Keqiang, landing in India before our Prime Minister travelled to Japan in late May and wooing us with rhetoric and smiles, an exercise in which we willingly participated. This contrived show of friendship and harmony lacked diplomatic finesse, as signalling to the Japanese that our relations with them and China followed matching tracks weakens our playing hand with both. Buoyed by the success of Li Keqiang’s visit, Chinese commentators have lectured Japanese politicians — described as “petty burglars” — on the manner in which India and China managed to “properly” solve their border stand-off quickly. Such contemptuous rhetoric towards Japan should caution us not to take China’s engaging tone towards us too seriously.

If China wants full freedom to calibrate the level of its relations with our neighbours, it cannot question India’s freedom to boost its ties with Japan. It is significant that the Sri Lankan President’s visit to China (May 27-30) overlapped with that of Manmohan Singh’s to Japan (May 27-29), with the Chinese Prime Minister announcing during the visit that China-Sri Lanka ties had reached the stage of “strategic cooperation”. Given its own policies to balance us strategically in our own region, China cannot object to the stated intention of India and Japan to strengthen their strategic partnership, including defence ties, with more frequent bilateral naval exercises.

Nothing in our Prime Minister’s visit to Japan was prejudicial to China’s legitimate interests. The formulation in the joint statement on South and East China Seas — a subject of acute sensitivity for China — was a standard one supporting freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce in accordance with international law. The reaffirmation of the importance of the East Asia Summit forum for building an open, inclusive and transparent architecture of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific was standard fare too.

The Prime Minister’s reference to India and Japan as natural and indispensable partners for mutual prosperity and a peaceful and stable future for the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions was unexceptionable. The Global Times nevertheless warned in an article titled, “India gets close to Japan at its own peril” that “overheated strategic cooperation with the Abe administration can only bring trouble to India and threaten its relationships with the relevant East Asian countries”— implying China too. Such finger-wagging predictably ignored the India-China joint statement that unrealistically mentioned that “the two sides are committed to taking a positive view of and support each other’s friendship with other countries”. Such bullying attitudes encouraged by our appeasement of China need to be decried as we forge a durable strategic and global relationship with Japan and others, to circumscribe China’s challenge. 

येलो फीवर के टीके की कमी

येलो फीवर बीमारी दुनिया के 44 देशों में होती है। इनमें से 23 देश अफ्रीकी महाद्वीप और 11 देश दक्षिण अमरीकी महाद्वीप में हैं। भारत येलो फीवर बीमारी से मुक्‍त है। इन देशों की यात्रा पर जाने वाले मुसाफिरों को येलो फीवर से बचाव के लिए टीका लगवाना पड़ता है। इस टीके की 0.5 मिली लीटर की एक खुराक इस बीमारी से आजीवन बचाव संभव कराती है और बार-बार इन देशों की यात्रा पर जाने वालों को यह टीका बार-बार नहीं लगवाना पड़ता। देश में येलो फीवर टीके की वार्षिक मांग 1.8 लाख खुराक है।

देश में स्‍वास्‍थ्‍य एवं परिवार कल्‍याण मंत्रालय के स्‍वास्‍थ्‍य सेवा महानिदेशालय द्वारा निर्धारित 27 येलो फीवर टीकाकरण केंद्र हैं। इन केंद्रों में येलो फीवर टीके की सप्‍लाई सी.आर.आई., कसौली (एक तिहाई का निर्माण होता है और दो तिहाई का आयात होता है) द्वारा की जाती है। किसी भी निजी अस्‍पताल/दवाखाने/संस्‍थान को भारत सरकार ने येलो फीवर टीकाकरण उपलब्‍ध कराने तथा विश्‍व स्‍वास्‍थ्‍य संगठन - डब्‍ल्‍यू एच ओ द्वारा स्‍वीकृत प्रमाण-पत्र जारी करने के लिए प्राधिकृत नहीं किया है।

भारत सरकार द्वारा निर्धारित येलो फीवर टीकाकरण केंद्रों में मार्च 2013 से येलो फीवर टीके की कमी है। इसकी वजह सी.आर.आई. कसौली में उपकरण की खराबी तथा वैश्विक कमी की वजह से डब्‍ल्‍यू एच ओ के माध्‍यम से आयात के जरिए होने वाली आपूर्ति में रुकावट है।

1. आपूर्ति में कमी की वजह से येलो फीवर टीकाकरण केंद्रों को सूचित किया गया है कि वे येलो फीवर टीका लगवाने के इच्‍छुक सभी यात्रियों से अंतरिम उपाय के तौर पर निर्धारित येलो फीवर टीकाकरण केंद्रों से येलो फीवर टीके की एक खुराक लेने (सनोफी पॉस्‍चर द्वारा निर्मित) और डब्‍ल्‍यू एच ओ येलो फीवर टीकाकरण प्रमाण-पत्र (इसके लिए कोई लागत वसूली नहीं जाएगी) प्राप्‍त करने को कहें। भारत सरकार येलो फीवर टीका 300 रुपये प्रति खुराक की दर पर मुहैया कराती है और बाजार में सनोफी पॉस्‍चर की येलो फीवर की एक खुराक की कीमत 1100 रुपये है।

2. साथ ही डब्‍ल्‍यू एच ओ के पास 2.57 लाख खुराकों का ऑर्डर भी भेजा गया है (इसमें वर्ष 2012-13 और वर्ष 2013-14 की बची हुई खुराकें भी शामिल हैं।)। आपूर्ति अब तक प्राप्‍त नहीं हुई है। डब्‍ल्‍यू एच ओ की आपूर्ति अगस्‍त के दूसरे सप्‍ताह में मिल सकती है।

3. दूसरा सी.आर.आई. कसौली से नियमित आपूर्ति में रुकावट और संकटपूर्ण स्थिति के अनुमान के मद्देनजर सनोफी पॉस्‍चर (यह अकेली कंपनी है, जिसे डी सी जी आई की स्‍वीकृति प्राप्‍त है, लेकिन सिर्फ टीके की अकेली खुराक की शीशी के लिए) से 60 हजार खुराकों (दस खुराक की शीशी) की आपूर्ति के लिए अप्रैल 2013 में संपर्क किया गया था। इस बात का उल्‍लेख किया गया है कि सनोफी पॉस्‍चर के पास मल्‍टी-डोज शीशी के लिए लाइसेंस नहीं है। उसे भारत सरकार के आपूर्ति के ऑर्डर के लिए डी सी जी आई से मंजूरी लेनी होगी।

4. आपूर्ति मुंबई तट पर पहुंच चुकी है और गुणवत्‍ता नियंत्रण प्रमाणन के लिए नमूने सी.आर.आई. कसौली को 18 जुलाई 2013 को भेज दिए गए थे।

5. सी.आर.आई. कसौली से रिपोर्ट मिल चुकी है और येलो फीवर टीके की आपूर्ति आज चार महानगरों के येलो फीवर टीकाकरण केंद्रों को भेज दी गई।

6. भारत सरकार के सभी केंद्रों पर एक सप्‍ताह के भीतर नियमित टीकाकरण का कार्य सामान्‍य हो जाने की संभावना है।  

Mughal Painting In India

The origin of Mughal painting in India traces back to around 16th century-18th century. During this time period Mughals dominated a huge part of India. Paintings of Mughal period or Mughal paintings developed and boomed during the reign of Emperor Akbar, Jahangir and Shajahan. There is a fine blend of the Indian and Persian style in Mughal paintings. A big number of themes were depicted by Mughal paintings. Paintings that belong to Mughal era were rich as far as their range is concerned. Mughal painting of India is an exquisite art of creativity which has won numerous laurels to its name and that of India as well. The grace and glamour of Mughal paintings is painted in the account that follows.

History of Mughal Painting

Mughal paintings dawned during the time of Humayun. Praiseworthy Persian artists Abd-us-samad and Mir-Sayyid Ali accompanied him on his return to India from exile. These artists hold the credit for the growth of Mughal painting. The latest example of the Mughal art style is the Tutinama painting-Tales of a parrot. Currently, it is in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Another popular Mughal painting is the ‘Princess of the House of Timur’ which is amongst the early Mughal paintings redone several times.

Development of Mughal Painting

It was during the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shajahan that Mughal paintings richly prospered. Mughal paintings of early part of Mughal period are seen in a specialist organization of a scriptorium or palace studio. The celebrated painter Bihzad led the scriptorium. Scriptorium became a role model for the scriptoria which was later built by Humayun and Akbar. Though Aurangzeb didn’t encourage painting but it didn’t leave its momentum during his reign. During Muhammad Shah Rangeela, there was a little revival of Mughal painting.

Themes of Mughal Painting

Mughal paintings portray a number of themes. Scenes these paintings included portraits, events, and scenes of hunting, wild life, illustrating lovers in warm postures and instances of battles and life of courts.

Mughal Paintings during Akbar

Mughal paintings greatly grew during the reign of Akbar. Numerous artists painted under the supervision of Persian artists. As tales fascinated Akbar, the paintings of his period reflect Ramayana, Mahabharata and Persian epics. Naturalism accompanied by portraits, animal tales landscapes and the like was depicted in Mughal paintings.

Mughal Paintings during Jahangir

Jahangir greatly supported various art forms, particularly paintings. His time period witnessed excellent finish in brushwork along with the usage of subdued and lighter colors. Main themes of these paintings revolved around the instances from Jahangir’s life, flowers, portraits, animals, birds and the like. The most celebrated examples of Mughal paintings consist of an illustrative exemplification of Emperor Jahangir`s biography -Jahangirnama.

Mughal Paintings during Shahjahan

Elegance and sophistication of Mughal painting reached its pinnacle during the reign of Shahjahan. Themes of paintings during this period centered around lovers in musical parties, on terraces and gardens, gathering of ascetics around fire and the like.

Artists of Mughal Painting

Persian artists Abdus Samad and Mir Sayid Ali were in charge of the regal atelier during the early influential stages of Mughal painting. Various artists worked on great commission, most of them were possible Hindu, as recorded names suggest. Mughal painting touched new heights during late 16th and early 17th centuries with impressive art works by master artists like Basawan, Lal, Kesu Das, Daswanth and Miskin. Abu al-Hasan was a renowned painter and the Mughal ruler of that time was Jahangir. Govardhan was a well-known painter during the time of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The sub-imperial school of Mughal painting integrated artists like Kamal, Mushfiq, and Fazl.

Modern Artists of Mughal Painting

Mughal miniature paintings are being fashioned even today by some artists in Rajasthan mainly concentrated in Jaipur. Though many of these miniatures are dexterous copies of the originals, modern works with classic methods have been created by some artists.

Among the modern Mughal painting experts whom India recognized, the most outstanding is Rafi Uddin. His younger brother Saif Uddin, has also become the most accepted modern Mughal painter.

Some other artists in Rajasthan are Ram Gopal Vijayvargiya, Kishan Mali Sharma, Gopal Kamawat, Kaluram Panchal, Tilak Gitai, Mohammed Usman and Mohammed Luqman, Ved Pal Sharma, Kailash Raj and the Joshi family.

Mughal painting in India is a meticulous style of South Asian painting, usually confined to miniatures as book images or as individual works to be kept in albums, emerged from Persian miniature painting. Padshahnama is the most famed book of Mughal miniature painting. This painting is eminent for its brilliance and excellence. 

India’s Defence and Security Policies: Need to Learn Lessons from the Past

Have we learned any lessons from our experiences during the Nehru era and in subsequent years? Anyone looking dispassionately at our defence and security policies over the decades would respond only in the negative.

India frittered away its militarily advantageous position towards the end of Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 when we failed to exploit the operational situation in the Western Front that could have given us back our territory. This was much like towards the end of 1947-48 Indo-Pak conflict when Indian forces were ordered to stop operations. After the cessation of hostilities in 1971, we allowed Pakistan a victory on the negotiating table when India could have at least forced Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the Simla Agreement of 1972, to convert the cease fire line into a permanent border as we had over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in our custody.

Some specious response from Bhutto as to what face will he show to Pakistani public was accepted as a justified explanation. Our politico-bureaucratic psyche apparently is averse to following hard policy choices in pursuit of our well cherished and identifiable national interests. Leeway given to Bhutto then and his single minded pursuit of building an Islamic bomb that was successful has created more obstacles for settling the Kashmir issue favourably from the Indian point of view.

Like Nehru allowed Sheikh Abdullah and his cohorts to travel to Pakistan and exchange views with the Pakistani leadership, we continue to show irrational leniency to the separatist Hurriyat leadership and other hostile and anti-national elements to not only confer with officials of Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi but also to travel to Pakistan, obviously for purposes that would be contrary to India’s national interests.

It is a well known fact that such Kashmiri leaders have met those very leaders who sponsor terrorism both in Kashmir and all over India. It needs to be remembered that Sheikh Abdullah, in what is known as Kashmir Conspiracy case, was charged with treason for arranging to supply arms and explosives sourced from Pakistan as part of a conspiracy against the State. Despite the proof presented to Nehru about the involvement of Sheikh Abdullah in the conspiracy, he got him released and allowed him to Pakistan under the mistaken belief that something good might come out of the visit.

Currently, the present government is again inclined to follow soft policies towards Pakistan based on professions of peace by the newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif knowing very well that Pakistan’s India and Afghanistan policies are dictated by the military and security establishment. Plans by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan based on the invitation extended by Nawaz Sharif have not been entirely discarded even as India has been waiting for Islamabad to deliver on the masterminds of 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks. It is quite evident that there has been no fundamental change in perceptions of Pakistani establishment that it is only cross-border terrorism that moves India to engage with Pakistan and possibly give some concessions to them especially on Kashmir.

While India has somehow managed to handle military and security threats from Pakistan, it is the ever expanding Pakistan-China nexus that presents an invidious and most dangerous threat to India’s security. It is only a few years back that the Indian Army started propagating a military doctrine to meet the threat of two front war. In a throwback to the Nehruvian policies, the government was more inclined to handle such threats diplomatically rather than spend additional defence funds for arising and equipping of requisite military formations and necessary air support.

The report ‘Non Alignment 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic Policy for India in Twenty First Century’ authored by a group of eminent experts, that included a member from National Security Advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon’s staff and where NSA also attended some of the deliberations of the group, while talking about military capabilities has opined that “we need to be clear about what kinds of offensive capabilities will be useful. The prevailing assumption that we should raise and deploy a 'mountain strike corps' against China is problematic. For it simply risks replicating all the problems with our existing strike corps under worse geographic and logistic conditions.” 1 In short, it is not only the economic burden of raising such forces but the mindset about provoking China redolent of Nehru era persists. The report also talks of instigating an insurgency in our areas after they have been captured by the Chinese forces which conveys a defeatist attitude.

Further, what needs to be noticed is that since 2008 not only PLA has improved its posture in Tibet it has undertaken a number of incursions across the Line of Actual Control. This stance of assertive PLA in Tibet has been made possible by the massive build up of logistic structure in Tibet to include extensive railway network and over 58,000 kilometres of roads. The roads have been built up to Indian borders and have also penetrated Nepal. This would ensure smooth induction of the PLA troops in any contingency. This contrasts with our poor civil and military structure even after a lapse of over six decades. No doubt India has recently embarked on activating its old airfields along Sino-Indian border and the MOD has chalked out a plan for building extensive road net work and other infrastructure facilities but our record in implementing plans and projects has so far been very tardy. Thus the asymmetrical situation with China that existed in past during Nehruvian times and thereafter has not been rectified.

Recent incursions by the PLA in Depsang and Chumar areas of Ladakh sector also reveals the government’s disinclination to reveal such incidents along the border to the public which conforms to its past practice of withholding such information from the public lest it may embarrass the government in some manner or the other. Apparently, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and later Defence Minister Mr. AK Antony have visited Beijing subsequent to these incidents in April and June 2013 which seemed from all angles as conciliatory gestures to China’s aggressive policies in line with appeasement policies of Nehru.

The deficiencies in terms of both military capabilities and defence equipment continue to plague our forces. Shortage of basic wherewithal like ammunition deficiencies, need for improvement of ammunition dumps et al as brought out by the current and previous Army Chiefs, continue to persist. There are large scale voids which have also been described as ‘critical hollowness’ in the army that includes tanks running out of ammunition, obsolete air defence systems and lack of essential weaponry, and lack of critical surveillance and night-fighting capabilities for infantry and special forces. There is an inadequate HUMINT in the border areas and depth and breadth of ELINT, COMINT and satellite cover for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs to be enhanced.

There have been some improvements in defence organization, structures and processes but the civil-military relations leave lot to be desired. Similarly, there is a lack of integration and jointness in our armed forces. Even though Naresh Chandra’s Task Force in their report recommended the institution of the post of a Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, the government has shot down that proposal which in any case was a climb down from the Chief of Defence Staff recommended earlier by a Group of Ministers in 2001. HQ Integrated Defence Staff created for enhancing jointness and integration does not have adequate powers or wherewithal to enforce it. Even NAM 2.0 report has recommended many relevant structural changes in the Ministry of Defence to improve civil-military relations but there seems to be lack of political will to implement such recommendations; the shibboleths of past that military might somehow establish ascendancy over the civil or political set up fail to go away.

There is a strong sense of déjà vu that is palpable in the current political approach to defence and security policies which leaves India vulnerable to China’s rising military capabilities and its assertive policies across the Line of Actual Control. While China has been single mindedly pursuing its long term objectives in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh sectors, Indian response to China’s strategy remains confused and subdued. Further, Pakistan would be too happy to join China in any adventure against India. While diplomatic approach would be of some help, the government needs to take an urgent action to mitigate the gap in military capabilities along the Indo-Tibetan borders that is becoming wider with the passage of time. 

Pahari Painting In India

Pahari painting in India largely dwelt on the symbols and themes from mythology and literature. Pahari painting is an umbrella term. It is used for the form of Indian painting which originated from Himalayan kingdoms of North India during 17th-19th century. Remarkably several schools of Pahari painting were mostly done in miniature forms. A characteristic composition of Pahari painting of India embraces numerous figures grouped dexterously and full of movement. Each and every painting is unique in terms of hairstyle, clothing and even pigmentation. Pigmentation may be white, blue, grey or pink.

Origin of Pahari Paintings in India

The Pahari School of painting flourished during 17th-19th centuries. The region of this painting stretched from Jammu to Almora and Garhwal, in sub-Himalayan India, through Himachal Pradesh. Each creates deserted variations within the genre and ranges from bold and passionate Basohli Painting of Jammu and Kashmir to the delicate and poetic Kangra paintings. It turned tantamount to the style prior to other schools of paintings developed which attained its peak with paintings of Radha and Krishna, motivated by Jayadev's Gita Govinda. It dawned a new-fangled idiom in Indian painting and turned out of the Mughal painting, though it was mostly patronized by Rajput kings who ruled scores of parts of the region.

Themes and Motifs in Pahari Paintings

Pahari paintings showcase the subjects of love and dedication. They are distinct from Rajasthani Paintings. As they bloomed around the same time as the Bhakti Movement, both the themes frequently interlinked. Therefore, a lot of Kangra Paintings portrayed the life and times of Krishna and Rama. As a matter of fact, they were instrumental in augmenting people’s consideration of the religious texts such as Ramayana and Puranans. Evergreen themes were also offered by Gita Govinda (the heavenly Love Song) and the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana (having the stories of Krishna).

Schools of Pahari Paintings

There are several schools of Pahari paintings in India. These schools are-

Basohli School

Bashohli (Basoli) is an area committee in Kathua district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Basohli Paintings are considered to be the first school of Pahari paintings. This school developed into the much creative Kangra paintings school by mid-eighteenth century. These paintings are metaphor for a dynamic, bold and ingenious artistic style. They are stylish, rich and exceptional. This is a style of painting which is characterized by enthusiastic use of primary colors and an unusual facial formula prevailed in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The style extended to the Hill States of Nurpur, Mankot, Mandi, Kulu, Bilaspur, Suket, Chamba, Nalagarh, Kangra and Guler.

Guler School

Around the mid part of the 18th century some Hindu artists of Mughal style painting required the benefaction of Rajas of Guler in Kangra Valley. They developed a painting style which possesses a delicacy and a holiness of feeling. Guler artists painted the colors of morning and rainbow on their palette. Colors highlight cool blues and greens. Guler has the highest tradition in the art of painting among the hill states. Delicacy and liquid grace marks Guler school of painting. The drawing is precise and delicate.

Kangra School

The crucial theme of Kangra painting is Shringar. The style is naturalistic. Details are given great attention. The Kangra paintings showcase blossoming plants and creepers, brooks, rivulets and leafless trees.

The Kangra painting artists adopted diverse hues of primary colors and employed delicate and fresher shades. Later, Kangra paintings exhibited night-time scenes, lightning and storms. Often, the paintings were huge and had compound compositions of countless figures and convoluted landscapes. Time and again, towns and house clusters were represented at a distance. The Kangra painters made use of colors that were made of mineral and vegetable extracts. They used fresh and cool colors. Kangra paintings are celebrated for the expressive blending of form and color.

Other schools of Pahari painting in India include Chamba, Mankot, Garhwal, Nurpur and Mandi.

Artists of Pahari Painting

Pandit Seu of Guler and his son Manaku and Nainsukh were among the greatest of Pahari painting artists.

Pahari Paintings in India differ from other kinds of Indian Folk Paintings. The reason is that Pahari paintings extensively use shading. It provides them a sense of profundity which the majority other folk paintings are deficient in. you can find one of the most widespread and discriminating collections of Pahari miniatures in the Bhuri Singh Musuem in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. In a nutshell, it can be said that Pahari paintings have won laurels to the name of Indian art.

Government liberalises FDI sector

In order to give a push to the slow moving economy, government has introduced a major reform. It has  decided to liberalise and hike foreign direct investment (FDI) limits in insurance, retail, telecom, defence and a host of other sectors. The decision was taken during a meeting of senior cabinet ministers chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The major changes are:

1. In the insurance sector, it was decided to raise the sectoral FDI cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent under automatic route under which companies investing do not require prior government approval.

2. It was decided to allow 49 per cent FDI in single brand retail under the automatic route and beyond through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

3. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap for civil aviation was, however, left unchanged at 49 per cent.

4.  FDI cap in defence sector remained unchanged at 26 per cent but higher limits of foreign investments in 'state-of-the-art' technology manufacturing will be considered by the Cabinet Committee on Security.

5. In case of PSU oil refineries, commodity bourses, power exchanges, stock exchanges and clearing corporations, FDI will be allowed up to 49 per cent under automatic route as against current routing of the investment through FIPB.

6. In basic and cellular services, FDI was raised to 100 per cent from current 74 per cent. Of this, up to 49 per cent will be allowed under automatic route and the remaining through FIPB approval.

7. FDI of up to 100 per cent was allowed in courier services under automatic route.

8. In credit information firms 74 per cent FDI under automatic route would be allowed.

The decisions taken by the high level committee were based on recommendations of Mayaram Committee which had suggested relaxing investment caps in about 20 sectors. 

Madhubani Paintings In India

Art has been an essential part of Indian heritage since ancient times. Folk art is as important as classical art forms. Folk art is inspired by Indian mythology. Madhubani painting is one of these celebrated folk art forms. This painting is also referred to as Mithila Art. This art form is distinguished by line drawings filled in by vivid colors and contrasts/ patterns. Traditionally, this style of painting has been done by the women of the region. Success of Madhubani paintings has stimulated even men folk to join to meet the growing demand. Tribal motifs and use of dazzling earthy colors have made these paintings famous. These paintings are fashioned with mineral pigments that artists prepare. It is done on newly plastered or a mud wall.

History of Madhubani Paintings

Madhubani painting originated in a little village known as Maithili, in the State of Bihar. Initially, the womenfolk drew the paintings on walls of their home, as design of their thoughts, dreams and hopes. With the course of time, these paintings gained importance of being a part of celebrations and special events, such as wedding. Bit by bit the Madhubani paintings in India crossed the fixed boundaries and began reaching specialists of art. They enjoy popularity both at the national andsthe international level.

Themes of Madhubani Paintings

Madhubani paintings are two-dimensional and linear works having mostly sacred but secular themes. Madhubani paintings have wide-ranging themes. Even though scenes from Hindu mythology still rule these paintings. Amongst the most commonly executed themes in the Madhubani paintings are the events from Ramayana and life of Krishna. Other deities as well reappear in the paintings repeatedly. The Ardhanariswar is an area of expertise of Mithila paintings of India. Madhubani paintings of India also esteem the sun and moon and treat them as subjects of holiness.

Some exceptionally delightful Madhubani paintings are those of the figurative and the secular types. Although less plentiful than the religious paintings, they are unrivaled in artlessness and elegance.

Often, scenes of rural life are also depicted in these paintings. Women indulged in various village activities such as carrying baskets on their heads, drawing water from a well, or a village hobo playing a flute are general themes of these types. A number of symbolic paintings also flourish, the tree telling life and vivacity and the fish symptomatic of fertility are the most common symbols of Madhubani art.

Materials Used in Madhubani Paintings

The women don’t use camel hair brushes to create their works of art, but use only plain, slatted bamboo sticks with wads of cotton to apply the paint. “The colours are made from vegetable dyes or are of natural origin and are prepared by the women themselves. Black is made by mixing soot with cow dung, yellow from turmeric, blue from indigo, red from red sandalwood, green from leaves and white from rice paste. The black outlines are drawn first and then the colour is filled into the spaces.

During the period 1966-68, a prolonged drought struck Madhubani and the neighboring region of Mithila. A new source of non-agricultural income had to be found to keep these people away from the pangs of hunger. The All India Handicrafts Board encouraged the women artists to create their paintings on handmade paper for commercial purposes. For the market, the work is done on handmade paper or cloth treated with cow dung to give it its distinctive look and identity.