Written By: Falakdipti An election is a process by which a population, usually of a democratic country, choose individuals and political parties that would represent them and hold a public office. Although the concept of election is quite ancient, elections in the contemporary world emerged at the beginning of the 17th century in Europe and North America. The first general election in India was held from October of 1951 to February of 1952. The type of election process we follow in India is called the First Past The Post system, better known as the FPTP system or the majority system. The candidate who has the highest number of votes is declared the winner. This system is used in the Lok Sabha and the State legislative assembly elections. The Rajya Sabha follows the Proportional Representation system. This system is pretty complicated which is why the countries that follow this system usually only have a few constituencies. It may work in small countries but in India where m...
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Written By: Falakdipti Aayaa Ram Gayaa Ram (Ram has come, Ram has gone) is an expression used commonly in Indian politics to refer to political horse-trading, frequently turn coating and floor crossing. The term originated when in 1967, when Gaya Lal, a Member of the Legislative Assembly, from Pataudi Vidhan Sabha Constituency of Haryana. He won the election as an independent candidate and joined the Indian National Congress (INC) and thereafter changed his political allegiance thrice in a single day. Even after this incident, Gaya Lal, a frequent floor-crosser frequently came switching parties and contested elections under different parties such as the Akhil Bhartiya Arya Sabha in 1972, joined the Bhartiya Lok Dal under Chaudhary Charan Singh in 1974 and became the source of the coining of the term Aayaa Ram Gayaa Ram. [i] The Anti Defection Law of 1985 was passed to prevent defections. It was included in the constitution under Rajiv Gandhi’s rule as the tenth schedule of the Co...
Written By: Falakdipti Rape is a type of sexual assault that involves sexual intercourse against the will of the victim with the use of force or threat, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent because of reasons such as intoxication, age of minority, unsound mind, etc. [i] Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines rape as a gender-specific crime, that is, a non-consensual sexual intercourse would be considered as rape when the perpetrator is a male and the victim is a female. Moreover, if the victim is married to the offender and is not under fifteen years of age, then the act does not amount to rape. [ii] Although Indian society can still be considered conservative, there has been an increase in discussions and debates surrounding the topic of rape. Awareness on the topic of gender-neutrality and marital rape has become more widespread, especially after decriminalisation of homosexuality and the ‘#metoo’ movement. 1. Gender Neutralit...
Written By: Falakdipti The word ‘abortion’ derives from Latin words ab, which means ‘away’ and orior which means ‘to grow’. Hence, the term refers to the expulsion of the foetus from the mother’s womb before it reaches the stage of subsistence. [1] The word first emerged in the English language in the 16 th century and was used to define both intentional and unintentional miscarriages. However, in the 19 th century, the word got associated solely with intentionally induced termination of pregnancy. [2] To what extent abortion should be permitted has always been a subject of debate on ethical, moral, medical, social and religious grounds. According to Scribonius Largus and Soranus, the Hippocratic oath forbade physicians from performing abortions. [3] However, it was in 1588 when abortion was declared an act of homicide by Pope Sixtus V and was hence banned. Ever since then the topic of abortion has become more controversial. It was in 1920 when the Soviet Union became the fi...
Written By: Falakdipti ABSTRACT Everyone wants to retreat from society and the world sometimes. However, some people find themselves isolated in their room for months, sometimes even years, only ever slipping out once in a blue moon. This phenomenon is known as Hikikomori, or Acute Social Withdrawal. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of the world to go into lockdown, the term found itself in the spotlight again. This research aims to define Hikikomori and its relation to the pandemic. Keywords: isolation, hikikomori, social, pandemic, withdrawal INTRODUCTION Japanese is a language that has multifarious beautiful words. ‘ Wabi Sabi ’ means incomplete or imperfect beauty. ‘ Komorebi’ refers to the light that filters through trees and falls on the forest floor. There is another word however, that was coined by renowned psychologist Tamaki Saito in the year 1998 to describe the rising number of cases of social isolation amongst the youth in Japan, known as ‘ Hikikomori ’....