New Delhi : The war against dengue could soon get a new weapon. Scientists at the New Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) are in the final stages of developing a new antiviral that promises to tackle all the four types of dengue virus.

Disclosing this, Naveen Khanna senior scientist at ICGEB, said the drug has been validated in animals and is ready to undergo all the mandated safety and toxicity tests as per existing regulations. “Human trials have to take place and we are confident that the new drug would be available in the market in a few years.” 

The new drug is derived from a plant called Cissampelos pareira Linn (Cipa).  It has been patented in 17 countries across the world. 

The drug is the result of an exhaustive search of ayurvedic texts, triggered by a talk delivered by former President of Indian National Science Academy, Prof. M.S.Valiathan at the institute.

“A chance talk by Prof. Valiathan on the theme of ‘Ayurveda and modern medicine’ set us thinking. We thought why not examine ancient texts to find if any of the herbs mentioned there could be a fit cure for dengue. We established collaboration with Ayurvedic practitioners and tested many of the herbs mentioned in texts.”

The task was, however, not simple. Ayurvedic and Sanskrit literature often describe herbs with therapeutic utility rather than botanical source. At times variation in the language causes confusion in the nomenclature of different plants having similar name. All these could lead to identifying a wrong plant as the one mentioned in the text. The researchers selected a set of nineteen plants including neem, aloe and basil, which were said to provide relief to symptoms similar to dengue. Their extracts were prepared and tested against dengue virus. 

After years of trial and error, researchers were able to identify Cissampelos pareira Linn as a potential candidate. “We have signed an agreement with Sun Pharma to produce world’s first botanical drug against dengue,” said Dr. Khanna. 

He noted that the drug could be of great help in terms of preventing development of drug resistance as botanical drugs are a mixture of molecules and it is harder for pathogens to develop resistance against all of them. 

The ICGEB, he said, has also developed a tetravalent vaccine that promises to act against dengue, with support from Wellcome Trust, Department of Biotechnology and the Indo-US Vaccine Programme. The vaccine has been patented internationally. Clinical trials are awaited. “It has a virus like immunogenetic material, which attacks business end of the virus that can give immunity.” 

Presently, just one vaccine is available in the market. But it can be used only in the age of group of 9-45 and has some side effects. The Word Health Organisation has called for development of a next generation vaccine. 

In addition, the lab has developed a diagnostic kit for the disease. Called ‘Dengue Day 1’, it can detect the infection right on day one. 

A major problem with dengue is that as it has four types — DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4 and it is quite possible that a person may get infected with one type first and later have a secondary infection with another type. Also, the first time infection might have been silent and the patient may not even know that he or she was affected. This creates an issue as the secondary virus infection is fraught with high risk. The patient could suffer hemorrhage, dengue shock syndrome, and trauma, leading to even death. That’s why it is important to not only know if the patient is afflicted with dengue or not, but also whether it was a primary or a secondary infection. The Dengue Day 1 kit helps in figuring this out. 

Blood serum of an infected person would have small pieces of the virus called NS1 from day one and immunity response of the body would release two types of antibodies IgM and IgG. While IgM remains in the blood for a month or so, IgG persists for life time. The kit can detect all of them – NS1, IgM and IgG. Consequently, it is able to not only diagnosis but also discriminate whether it is a primary or secondary infection. 

Recalling how the kit was developed, Dr. Khanna noted that it was an arduous task as there was no well characterised dengue affected and dengue free serum samples in the country. Sri Lanka had such an arrangement. But biomaterials like serum are not allowed to be taken from one country to another.  Fortunately, as ICGEB was an international organisation, it had some PhD and postdoctoral students. The students would develop a protein and take it to Sri Lanka and test it on the serum samples, come back with the result, improve and develop a new one. After several shuttle trips, they finally could develop the necessary recombinant protein detectors. 

Dr. Khanna recalled that ICGEB’s dengue saga began with a letter from former President of India, Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam. “Dr. Kalam wrote to our then Director that the soldiers of Indian army are severely affected by dengue and we should develop a kit at an affordable cost on priority basis.”

He emphasised the need to ensure that all measures are taken to prevent Dengue. “While the mosquito that spreads malaria prefers dirty water and can travel large distances, the Aedes, the primary vector of dengue is lazy. It lives in clean water and can fly only up to 100 or 150 meters. Therefore if someone is infected with dengue virus it is clear that mosquitoes were thriving in clean water inside their house or office space. Ensuing that no clean stagnant water near our environment is a must to prevent dengue” he added. (India Science Wire)

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off a run in New Delhi, called the ‘Run for Unity’, on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in New Delhi today. The Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (I/C) and Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and other dignitaries are also seen. 

On the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We salute Sardar Patel on his Jayanti. His momentous service and monumental contribution to India can never be forgotten.” PM Modi is flagging of a marathon in New Delhi called the ‘Run for Unity’.

“The youth of India respects him (Sardar Patel) and his contribution toward the building of our nation,” PM Modi said. “Till the time we don’t respect that diversity (unity in diversity), diversity will only be a term and won’t be of use in nation-building,” the Prime Minister said.

“India is a country full of diversity. Unity in diversity is our speciality,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said before flagging of the Run for Unity in New Delhi on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary. 

“Sardar Patel not just saved India from the challenges we faced, but he united Indians also. But his name has been sidelined. Whether a government shows acceptance or not, this country will not forget him. We are happy that people are participating in the Run for Unity,” PM Modi said.

Mr Modi said India will be always proud of Sardar Patel’s contributions and it would also continue to inspire thousands of countrymen to serve the country.

The well-known Scottish historian and writer William Dalrymple says that ‘history can be changed and rewritten on the solid building blocks of facts’, but the attempt to rewrite the history according to a political party’s convenience can be dangerous for the generation to come. The controversy rose around one of the seven wonders in the world, the Taj Mahal, has been stirred by Sangeet Som, an MLA of the Bharatiya Janta Party from Uttar Pradesh, whose speech ignited the debate of whether the Taj is a ‘blot’ on Indian culture or a symbol of love. The debate on the Taj later changed from culture to religion as the right-wing pushed the theory of Taj-Tejo Mahalaya, a narrative constructed back in the year 1966 in the books, ‘Some Blunders of Indian Historical Research’ and ‘True Story of The Taj’ written by Purushottam Nagesh Oak. Today, after five decades, a parallel narrative on the Taj Mahal, which was built in the 17th century, has suddenly become an apple of discord. The right wing is escalating Oak’s theory in order to gain political mileage and attention in the next elections.
PN Oak’s Theory
PN Oak in his book wrote that the Taj Mahal is not the Mumtaz Mahal’s (wife of Mughal emperor Shahjahan) mausoleum but a Hindu temple of lord Shiva known as ‘Tejo Mahalaya’. In his research PN Oak discovered that the tomb of Taj was actually gifted by the Maharaja of Jaipur, Maharaja Jai Singh. He also claimed that no any historian of the Mughal era has confirmed the much-celebrated love story of the Mughal emperor Shahajahan and Mumtaz Mahal which marked the construction of one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing monuments in the world. PN oak also presented many other outrageous ideas through his books taking a jibe on some other historical monuments of India and the world as well, where he supported his ‘findings’ based on rhyming and rhetoric. He said that Jesus Christ formed Christianity after learning ‘Krishna-Neeti’, Argentina is named after the mighty Pandav archer, Arjun, as ‘ArjunTina’, a Shivalinga is situated inside Kabba, Islam is Ishalayam, the Westminster Abbey is a Hindu structure, Vatican City was a ‘Vaatika (the hermitage)’ and many other outrageous idea which he cited without any reference and evidences. It becomes very difficult to rely on the texts by the writer as he lacks lot of fundamental conviction to support his argument. The book embraces some more bizarre arguments like the basement of the Taj is filled with the Hindu temple structures as the monument is situated on the banks of the river Yamuna. Taking a cue from this notion, a petition was filed in the court to demolish the basement of the Taj Mahal and do a check, but the court declined it saying that the new theory lacks proper conviction and logic. 
Historians say that history is written on the basis of findings, logic and evidences but PN oak expressed his shallow theories driven by his Hindu sentiments in his book without citing any solid reference or blocks of facts.
What does the ASI say?
In a response to the petition filed by six Indian lawyers in April 2015, claiming that the iconic Taj Mahal was in reality a Hindu temple, the Archeological Survey of India refuted the contention that the UNESCO world heritage is a Hindu temple. At that time, the lawyers demanded that followers of Shiva should be allowed to perform puja or prayers inside the Taj Mahal. (The day before yesterday a group of Hindu Yuva Vahini entered the premises of the Taj and recited Shiva Chalisa. Later on, the CISF personnel moved them out.)  The ASI and the historians have time and again raised doubts over the PN Oak’s theories of Tejo Mahalaya.
Yogi Calls it ‘Gem of India’
Had it not been the speech made in a public gathering by Sangeet Som, the controversy on the Taj might not have stirred at this level. The MLA said that the Taj Mahal is a ‘blot on Indian culture’ and the ‘tyrants’ made this. The leader committed a historical blunder by saying that Shahjahan ‘captivated his father’, however the Mughal emperor was himself captured his son Aurangzeb. The controversial BJP leader’s statement encouraged many other right wingers to speak up against the Taj and support the theory of PN Oak’s Tejo Mahalaya. 
Ironically, the historical monument has been eliminated recently from the Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet and the reactions on this issue are mixed within the party. On the one side, some party leaders and spokespersons of the BJP say that it is a blot on Indian culture and must be treated as Hindu temple, the other top brass visits the Taj and tries to broom out the controversy after the damage is done. Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi visited the historical monument with his entourage and launched a cleanliness drive in its premises. He referred the Taj Mahal as the ‘Gem of India’ and also called it an integral part of Indian culture. But his colleagues in the government are leaving no stone unturned to malign the white marbles of the Taj and coating it saffron. There is a clear difference in the versions on the Taj issue by the lower and higher deck of the party.
Is Taj another Babri?
Since the formation of the BJP government in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the saffron brigade is gradually inching towards the establishment of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The well-known spiritual guru and the founder of The Art of Living Sri Sri Ravishankar met the imams of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), and the Hindu religious leaders of Nirmohi Akhara in order to reach on a consensus on the construction of the Ramlala temple on the disputed lands of Ayodhya, taking a cue from the Allahabad High court for out of court settlement on the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir issue. He is trying to find an amicable solution as a mediator. He has also praised the UP CM Yogi that the former Mahant of the Gorakhnath temple is putting diligent efforts towards the establishment of the mandir at the disputed land. Now the fresh controversy on the Taj by the Lotus party seems to be another agenda in the similar lines of Ayodhya dispute. Does the saffron brigade attempt to drive the Hindu sentiments for the next Loksabha elections in 2019 by hitting one more Mandir-Masjid issue in the form of Taj-Tejo Mahalaya? This is a matter of debate which cannot be rejected sooner or later. There is an attempt to re’right’ the Indian history for some political benefits. 
William Delrymple believes that neither of the political parties, BJP and Congress, has put efforts to preserve the pride of Indian historical monuments. In a talk show he said that Agra was so clean and beautiful that the travelers used to travel by boats from one place to another, enjoying the scenic beauty of the Mughal era, but due to lack of will and money, we are losing on the charm and pride of Indian historical heritage. Our grandchildren will be deprived as they will encounter complete different history in their textbooks.   
(Views are personal.)

Adolescents are always online for the fear of `missing out’—a phenomenon described as FOMO.
An overwhelming 92% of adolescents in the USA are online every day, with 24% constantly online. Social media provides them a fertile ground for development by way of experience, independence and identity, said Dr Michael Rich, `Mediatrician’, Centre on Media and Child Health (CMCH).
Data from a 2015 research in USA has found that tweens (8-12 years) used social media under 6 hours daily primarily led by TV and games, while teens (13-18 years) used social media for almost nine hours daily led by TV and music, and yet others were exposed to media for close to 11.45 hours. 
Speaking during a plenary at the 11th World Congress on Adolescent Health, Dr Michael Rich, `Mediatrician’, Centre on Media and Child Health (CMCH) “Social Media, Sexting, Addition, Oh My,’’ half of the teenagers surveyed by Dr Rich felt they were `addicted’ to social media and 30% of the parents also felt the same.
Adolescents spend 16 minutes on homework, 1.03 hours on watching videos and music and 1.29 hours on social media and games. As many as 42% of 10-17 years-old end up on pornographic sites with 4% having been asked for sexual pictures of themselves by strangers while 21% of females and 8.5% males were victims of cyber-bullying in high school. More than half-58%- have received and 53% sent hurtful messages.         
Dr Rich spoke about a `Media Abstinence Experiment’ conducted in 1,000 college students across 5 continents wherein they were kept off media for 24 hours. Initially some said `they did not know what to do with themselves all night’, `I felt dead’, and  `I can’t live without media’, after the experiment the reflections were very different with the participants saying: `It was an unpleasant surprise to realize that I am in a constant state of distraction’, `When you really get off the media, you realize how many quality things you can do,’ and `I interacted with my parents more than usual.’
According to Dr Rich, 66% suffered from sleepiness, 90% had emotional problems and 67% felt they were distracted which affected their academics.
“The way media has evolved radically. It is important for them to know what they are exposing themselves to and how it influences their lives.  If they are busy texting, they are not talking to them. The connectivity is not the same as connectiveness,’’ Dr Rich said.We need to understand that technology and social media can to great good but a lot of harm also if used mindlessly, he said adding that telecom companies should educate and empower their consumers on how to use their product. 
In his session on “Gender and Health: Are we Missing Anything,’’ Dr Ravi Verma of the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) said focus across the world continues to be on sexual and reproductive health and girls and women, with very few governments – 22%– globally prioritizing equality and norms and male engagement.
“Rigid masculinity norms are not changing. On the contrary they may be becoming rigid with negative implications for both women and men,’’ he said while quote his research data which suggested that 80% men in India believed a man should have the final word about decisions in his home while 75% in US, 65% in UK and 60% in Mexico believed that guys should act strong even if they feel scared or nervous inside.
 Dr Verma pointed out smoking among women and girls in India has doubled from 1.4% to 2.9% during 2005-2010 though smoking among men has come down. Girls’ mobility is extremely restricted compared to boys, but girls are often rewarded for taking on `masculine’ traits of being good at math, science, assertiveness, stepping into `male’ professions, whereas boys are strictly criticized if they step into traditionally `female’ spaces – particularly care-giving, Dr Verma said.

NEW DELHI:  A survey of young adolescents in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has indicated that close to 2.4 million adolescents in these two States inflicted self-harm, 1.9 million showed symptoms of depression and 0.4 million had even considered suicide though many had worrying mental health condition.
The survey on `Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) done by The Population Council on young adolescents (10-14 years) in Uttar Pradesh (1,961 boys and girls) and Bihar (1,776 boys and girls) suggests that only 1% of boys and girls knew about Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram, only one-third of the girls knew about sanitary napkins programme though only 10% received benefits. Only 22-24 % of boys and girls received health services/information at school but almost all knew about anganwadi worker and 56-66% knew about ASHA. Only 4-7% of boys and girls received health services provided by ASHA and anganwadi.
Most girls reported using pieces of cloth during menstruation, while half of those who did not use sanitary napkins could not afford and a quarter was not aware of sanitary napkins.
A significant minority reported sexual and reproductive health problems with more boys than girls reporting a problem – one in 6 vs one in 10. Boys are three times likely compared to girls to seek treatment with private facility being the preferred choice for seeking treatment.
The burden of nutrition is heavy in these two States with about 6.6 and 12.0 million very young boys and girls being anemic and 1.2 million and 2.8 million being severely anemic respectively in these two States.
Injury was reported by a large number of early adolescents – one-third boys and one-fifth girls. Half of the boys and slightly less proportion of girls were beaten by their parents. Similar proportion was involved in physical fight with another boy/girl. Substance use was high among boys than girls.
Meanwhile, with a view to strengthen adolescent health in the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is all set to bring about changes in its ambitious Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) to focus on anemia control and prevention of diseases.
These decisions were taken following a review of the RKSK programme which showed that the anemia prevention strategy had not shown much success with the burden of anemia being very high across the country. Keeping this in mind, the Ministry decided to launch an intensive demand generation campaign to create awareness among people on anemia, particularly the adolescents. 
Speaking on the sidelines of the third day of the 11th World Congress on Adolescent Health being organized by the International Association for Adolescent Health (IAAH) here, Dr Ajay Khera, Deputy Commissioner (Adolescent Health), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said one reason identified for less-than expected outcome of the anemia strategy was that this programme was not being monitored,’’ he said.
The Ministry will now monitor its Weekly Iron Folic Supplementation (WIFS) programme on IT-platforms to see how successful it was. Importantly, the Ministry will soon launch a big demand generation programme to help create awareness among the people which not only adversely impacts their physical growth but their cognitive growth as well.
Also, the focus of the Intensified School Health Activity (ISHA) under the RKSK programme will now be on prevention and promotion rather than clinical treatment at present. These decisions were taken during a review meeting on RKSK, where it was decided that schools should be made the platforms for implementing adolescent health programmes since 60% of the adolescents in the country were now in schools and the percentage was increasing, Dr Khera said.
The RKSK is implemented at the facility, school and community level. At the facility level, Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), Resource Centres at the district levels and Adolescent Health Counselors at the Block level are the core components.At the school level, Intensified School Health Programme (ISHA), WIFS, health screening and menstrual hygiene are focused while Peer Education Programme, Adolescent Health Days, Adolescent Friendly Clubs and WIFS and MHS (for out of school beneficiaries) are being implemented.   

NEW DELHI: In a landmark move to operationalise the strategically important Chabahar port, India on Sunday sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through this route which bypasses Pakistan. 
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj flagged off the consignment from the Kandla port in Gujarat. Her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani joined through video conferencing.
“The shipment of wheat is a landmark moment as it will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an alternate, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan,” External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. 
Three months ago India and Afghanistan had started an air freight corridor to promote  trade as Pakistan had refused land transit access. .
“I am extremely delighted that today we have joined on a momentous occasion for the people of our three countries and the region,” Ms. Swaraj said. She described the move as an important step in realising the shared aspiration to carve out “new routes” of peace and prosperity. The consignment will be transported to Afghanistan from Chabahar through land route.
She reaffirmed India’s commitment to support reconstruction, capacity building and socio-economic development of Afghanistan, including under the framework of the New Development Partnership which was announced last month.
“The wheat that is leaving the Indian shores today, is a gift from the people of India to our Afghan brethren. It is testament to the continued commitment of the government and the people of India to support our Afghan brethren in building a normal, peaceful, prosperous, secure and bright future for themselves,” she said.
The Chabahar port in Iran is likely to throw open new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan and enhance trade and commerce between the three countries as well as benefit the region. 
“The people of India, Afghanistan and Iran have been connected through centuries; shared commonalities of art and culture, ideas and knowledge; language and traditions. Today, we are rejuvenating these connects and commonalities. I believe that this is the starting point of our journey to realise the full spectrum of connectivity,” Ms. Swaraj said.
The two Foreign Ministers welcomed the fact that this is the first shipment that would be going to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port after trilateral agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May last year, External Affairs Ministry said. .
At least six more wheat shipments will be sent to Afghanistan over the next few months, it said. After the Modi government took over, the progress of the work on the Chabahar port was reviewed with the Iranian government and it was speeded up. Both the countries have committed themselves towards early completion of the project. 

New Delhi : Stroke is considered rare among the paediatric age group, it is common in children below three. The possible reason for the low reported incidence is difficult diagnosis or missed diagnosis of the condition in young age group.  A unique reason for children suffering from stroke is trauma or injury caused by, say, a fall. Reported incidence of paediatric stroke ranges from 1.2 to 13 cases per 100,000 children under 18 years of age. Children usually recover better from strokes than adults do because the human body is still in developing stages. However, children can experience permanent complications from stroke, such as seizures, weakness, and vision problems.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) stroke is caused by the interruption of blood supply to the brain. This usually occurs because a blood vessel bursts or is blocked by a clot, as this cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients, causing damage to the brain tissue. The two main types of stroke are ischemic (due to lack of blood flow) and hemorrhagic (due to bleeding). Both lead to impaired functioning of the affected area of the brain i.e a stroke.  

The first four hours, considered ‘golden’ for best treatment outcome, of suffering a stroke. As an example, we cite the story of Bhopal residents, Yasha Dave and Amit Dave who had a normal child, Purvasha Dave, with no history of distress before, during or after birth. However, they started noticing delayed milestones in Purvasha after the 3rd month along with recurring fever. They consulted many doctors and Purvasha underwent a battery of tests, however she was never diagnosed with any abnormality. At 11 months of age she suddenly fell down and suffered a stroke. She was diagnosed with cerebral infarct, which means that there was a clot in her brain that led to left sided paralysis. 

Although routine physiotherapy helped improve her muscle function; two months prior to her 2nd birthday, Purvasha sustained yet another fall from her bed and fell on her head. This time she was completely bed ridden and was hospitalized immediately. She has been on regular physiotherapy for 3 hours every day ever since. Some improvement was noticed in her overall condition, however, Purvasha failed to recover completely.

Initially grasping objects was possible only with her right hand, though her grasp was not strong. Mild intellectual disability was noticed. Slow learning and similar writing speed was observed. Muscle wasting was noticed in lower limbs making it difficult for her to stand as she would lose balance. Purvasha also found it difficult to sit for long periods of time.

Purvasha’s parents searched on the internet for newer treatments and came across Dr. Mahajan’s work on neurological conditions. After consultation, they decided to go ahead with cell based therapy for Purvasha and she underwent 2 sessions over a period of 20 days. Purvasha is also under intensive rehabilitation programme comprising of physiotherapy and allied therapeutic modalities.

Post therapy Purvasha is now able to stand with support of splint without buckling of knees. Improvement in hand grasp is noticed. She is now able to speak 5-6 sentences clearly at a time and does not stammer much. Reduced spasticity and improved muscle strength is also noticed.

Cell based therapy has been shown to reduce the size of infarcts and improve functional outcomes in victims with cerebral infarcts. “New treatment strategies focus on neurodegenerative approaches, among which the application of progenitor cells from bone marrow/adipose tissue has gained increasing attention. These cells have the capacity of self-renewal giving rise to differentiated cells from various lineages. Recovery after cellular therapy occurs through angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity,” said Dr. Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative medicine Researcher.

NEW DELHI: The battle lines have been drawn clearly and decisively. The elections to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly are being termed as prestigious for both BJP and Congress and they are leaving no stone unturned to make it a war of nerves. 

While opinion polls giving a clear edge to BJP in wresting power in the Congress ruled state, the Congress party campaign, mainly led by Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, is not giving up so easily and it plans to take the fight till the end. In fact, with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is leading the BJP campaign in the state but the Congress party is still to decide about is star campaigners. However, the contest in the state is being a direct fight between a beleaguered Chief Minister, who is facing corruption charges and the Prime Minister. Mr. Modi has already hinted that focus of his campaign would be corruption charges against the Chief Minister and his family members.

The BJP is all set to unleash its high-powered campaign under Mr. Modi and has decided to field Union Minister, Raj Nath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Smriti Irani, Uma Bharti, Vijay Sampla and V.K. Singh as main speakers for the November 9 polls.  Prominent local leaders are former Chief Ministers, Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, Hamirpur MP, Anurag Thakur, national BJP spokesperson, Sambit Patra who will descend on the state.

Sources in the BJP said that Prime Minister would hold four rallies in all the four parliamentary constituencies of the State in support of the party candidates. Mr. Modi’s schedule is being worked out along with that of party president, Mr. Amit Shah who will undertake an extensive tour of the state. One of the reasons being cited for Mr. Modi to address a rally at Shimla is that Mr. Virbhdara Singh’s son, Vikramaditya Singh is contesting from Shimla rural constituency, which was earlier represented in the assembly by his father who has now shifted to Arki assembly segment.

BJP chief ministers led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana, Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Raman Singh Chhattisgarh are among those who are expected to campaign in the state.

For the Congress, the main campaigner is Mr Singh himself who is leading from the front. Mr. Singh is also the chairman of the campaign committee of the party and is at loggerheads with the State Congress president, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh who is now contesting from Nadaun Assembly constituency. Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi during his October 7 rally at Mandi, had announced that Mr. Singh will be the Chief Minister of the State if Congress comes back to power.

However, BJP has refused to be drawn into the controversy of the Chief Minister candidate and has decided to go into the polls without a Chief Minister face. Although, Mr. Dhumal is contesting from Sujanpur assembly segment, the party has refused to back him or name him as the Chief Minister candidate raising speculation about the race being open. The other important contender for the post is Union Health Minister, J. P Nadda who has maintained a low profile and is quietly campaigning in the state.

The Congress has already suffered a setback as the nomination papers of its senior leader and Minister in the Virbhadra Singh Government, Vidya Stokes have been rejected from the Theog assembly segment showing the party in poor light. The party has also faced rebellion within the ranks as Mr. Singh’s loyalist, Harish Janartha, who was denied the party ticket from Shimla constituency, deciding to contest independently.

The BJP is no less impacted by the infighting. Party leaders including Mr. Shanta Kumar and Mr. Nadda have joined hands against Mr. Dhumal and have managed to get their loyalists party tickets. Despite repeated pleas by the party workers and leaders at the local level to declare a Chief Minister face, the BJP high command has refused to give in. In fact, this time it is very clear in the BJP campaign that there are only two leaders who matter – Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah.

Rajasthan Ordinance seeks to shield the corrupt, threatens  media and whistle blowers. Demand to roll back the Rajasthan Ordinance and its unacceptable gag order.  

Instead of enacting laws for the welfare of the people, the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan promulgated an Ordinance seeking to muzzle the media and shield judges and government servants from investigation into any wrong doing. 

With the central leadership of the BJP taking exception to it amid intense criticism from various quarters, the bizarre measure has fallen by the wayside. It was in violation of Constitutional provisions upholding press freedom. 

The proposed gag legislation — The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2017 — was tabled in the state assembly last Monday. Under pressure from the Centre, the Raje government had no option but to send it to the Select Committee in a jiffy in a bid to end the controversy. 

The immediate repercussions of the measure targeting the Fourth Estate while seeking to protect politicians and civil servants would have had its inevitable repercussions in Himachal Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat where assembly elections are scheduled for next month. 

The Lotus party brass maintained putting curbs on the media is not constitutionally sustainable as the Raje government in Jaipur had far exceeded the reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution. The Ordinance promulgated on the seventh of September  sought to impose prior restraint on the investigation of the state’s judicial and government officials along with barring their identification in brazen contravention of the  freedom of the press. 

The curbs encompass not only corruption charges but the whole gamut of crime. The danger of such a measure providing insulation from law can result in impunity. Expectedly the Ordinance has been challenged in the High Court.   

The Rajasthan Government’s attempt at tweaking laws is an unabashed attempt in partially rolling back the hard won fight for the ‘Right to Information’ about public servants. The proposed Bill seeks to amend two sections of the CrPC as it applies to Rajasthan. 

The role of a democratic state is not merely limited to sustaining law and order. Without a minimum of social security, citizens will not be able to participate in social and political processes in an independent manner. Having adopted a mix of liberalism and pluralism, it is incumbent on the state to guard the rights of deprived groups. 

Under the proposed changes no magistrate can order an investigation nor can it be carried out against any current or former public servant without the sanction of  the government. More over anyone who writes about or reveals the identity of a person for whose prosecution permission has been sought will be fined and jailed. Also no magistrate can order an investigation into the misconduct of any kind by a public servant. 

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had twice struck down the blanket requirement of prior approval from the government for moving against officials above the rank of joint secretary. Three years back the Apex court had observed that seniority of rank should not be the reason for differential treatment of civil servants. 

The Ordinance violates all norms of democracy and public accountability. That a BJP government should even attempt bringing such a regressive law has dangerous portends leading to a democratic backlash. Political parties, the media, intellectuals and others are categoric that the Rajasthan government’s gag order is unacceptable and must be rolled back. 

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

New Delhi : Home to 253 million adolescents at present, India is expected to have 297 million adolescents by 2050 presenting an opportunity to reap the benefits of demographic dividend. However, nutritional deficiencies and injuries, including self-harm are emerging as major challenges, as are mental and substance abuse.

While there has been a 50% decline in early marriages and teenage pregnancies, more than 26% girls are still married before 18-years of age and teenage pregnancy continues to be 7.9% with a high unmet need for contraception among married adolescents. One-third of young women experience physical/emotional/social violence and 20% experience mental health problems. Over 12% tobacco users in the country are in the age group 15-24 years and one-fourth in this age group use alcohol. 

Additionally there are more issues associated with adolescents. Inadequate data on adolescent behavior and health risk particularly for young adolescents, lack of perceived benefit of adolescent health among programme implementers, says Mr Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

Adolescent health has linkages with various sectors and multi-sector actions are required to achieve desired outcomes.

From a one-day orientation programme for teachers at district levels under the 8^th Five-Year-Plan in 1992-1997, to the ambitious Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) which is being implemented currently, India has achieved many milestones in adolescent health. 

The RKSK was launched in 2014 to address the health and development needs of the adolescents in India. Based on continuum of care for adolescent health and development needs through the three-tier public health system with a multi-component intervention targeting both determinants of health problems and their consequences, RKSK adopts a facility-based approach, school-based approach and community-based approach for expected outcomes by including immunization and iron –folic acid tablets programmes to improve health and deal with anemia.  

India now has more than 7,000 Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics with a case load of 73 people each month, 11.2 crore children have been administered Weekly Iron-Folic Acids tablets and 22205 Health Days held so far. The Menstrual Hygiene Scheme has been launched across the districts. Under the Peer Education Programme 1.96 lakh Peer educators have already been selected of which 28% have been trained. 

Pointing out that investing in adolescent health would pay dividends, Dr Sunil Mehra, Executive Director Mamta—Health Institute for Mother and Child said there is a need to enhance core competencies in health care functionaries to deliver on adolescent health (both in clinical and public health) in addition to increased financial and human resource allocation to adolescent health.

“We need age (and sex) disaggregated data and rigorous and transparent evaluations of our adolescent programmes. It is important to intervene early and continue with age-specific programming and importantly it is time to question ourselves that “are we reaching high risk adolescents through our existing programming,” Dr Mehra said.

On the National Health Policy released earlier this year, Dr Mehra said it envisages engagement of private sector for creating awareness about adolescent health, commitment to pre-emptive care to achieve optimum levels of adolescent health and making school health programmes as a major focus area as well as making health and hygiene as part of the school curriculum targeting adolescents.