In the last couple of weeks, some drastic changes happened in the biggest democracies of the world. The United States of America has selected Donald Trump as its new President which was very shocking for the rest of the world. Another big change the largest democracy of the world, India, witnessed. It was the demonetization of its currency. ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes will not be considered legal currency anymore. In turn, ₹ 2000 notes will come into effect. People of India have 50 days since the announcement (until the end of 2016) to deposit their ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes to the banks and to adjust to the change.

On November 8, when Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi made the biggest announcement related to the Indian economy, it seemed that this would be the best ever move by any Government so far to combat corruption and tax cheating. The demonetization policy, that too, in such a short notice, would force tax cheaters and people who inherit "Black Money" in India as cash to come to banks to deposit their ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes. Once they deposit such a large amount of cash, they will be scrutinized automatically if they won't be able to produce the proof for source of such a large amount of money.

Take a look at the chart below if you are unclear about the tax you'll be paying depending upon the amount you are going to deposit in the bank.




The Government of India is calling this policy of demonetization a complimentary campaign to their "Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan" (Clean India Campaign) where they want to sweep out corruption from India as well.

CONS

Inconvenience

55 - Total number of people who lost their lives amidst the chaos while exchanging money in the long queues of the banks. The shocking element of this exchanging money process is that no rich person is ever seen in those long tiring queues. There are numerous cases which come into light every day when someone's wedding is delayed, someone's treatment in the hospital is delayed and the worst I've heard is someone is delayed blood transfusion and basic access to food because of the unavailability of the cash as one is allowed to withdraw not more than ₹ 10,000 a day.

Since the whole demonetization process was a swift one in order to not give enough time to black money or unaccounted money holders to "whiten" their money, the banks were also not given heads up to prepare themselves for the upcoming chaos. It has been 2 weeks but people are still struggling to get their hard earned money deposited and withdrawn in banks because banks are still not equipped to accommodate such large deposits and withdrawals.

Loss of manhours

Many remote villages or small towns in India do not have access to any banks nearby. Most of the residents of all those places have never been to a bank and don't have an account in banks. With the demonetization policy in effect, all those people will be forced to have a bank account so that their money which they have saved all their lives to be considered legit money and call it their own money. Those people are traveling far and wide to stand in the bank queues early in the morning so that they don't lose their daily wages by not showing up to their work. This may destabilize the rural economy.

Vulnerability in financial crisis

Indian economy is mostly constituted of cash. People use cash for their daily transactions. The Government of India is forcing everyone to use banks and in turn, withdraw less money and use cheques (like MnRega). Is our system too strong to check the authenticity of cheques? Can small businesses rely on cheques for their daily transactions? Unfortunately, these habits of using cash cannot be changed overnight.

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), ₹ 16, 415 billion is in circulation (as of March 2016). 47.8% of this huge amount is constituted by ₹ 500 notes while ₹ 1000 notes make 38.6% of it. Thus, demonetization policy is going to freeze a whopping amount of money.

Ineffective in eradicating corruption

Corruption has little to do with this new policy because all the black money or illegal money is not necessarily in cash as the assets can be held in other forms. According to the estimates, only 20% of the black money is held in cash. The appearance of ₹ 2000 note in Indian economy will also resurface the corruption because corruption does not need the choice of notes, it needs the conscience to do something against the system.

The man is a social animal, as we all know. This social animal has his own state of mind which sometimes is encompassed by certain emotions. These emotions are not always pleasant. Some of them are categorized as "fearful emotions" or "phobias". Fear is one of the emotions which tells us that something is potentially dangerous for us which can cause threat or pain. These fearful emotions may get worse over the course of time but if we don't let them control our lives, we can ignore their presence. I have controlled 2 such fears in my life over the course of time - Monophobia and Anthropophobia.

MONOPHOBIA

Being emotionally attached to one's parents is very common in our culture. Monophobia is the name of such a fear when you are afraid of getting separated from someone to whom you are emotionally attached. I couldn't imagine myself separated from my parents when I went to university which was about 70 kilometers away from where we lived. Instead of living in a dormitory, I chose to travel every day for almost 2 hours so that I could see my family every day. It continued for 4 years till I finished my undergraduate studies.

I could have never overcome this fear of separation from the family if I stayed the way I was. I chose to come to Canada for my further studies all by myself, knowing that I'd never let my fear control my life goals. Making frequent trips to India, family visiting me in Canada, and connected via the internet, somehow, solved my homesickness and separation phobia to some extent. By owning my phobia, I believe that I have taken a bold step towards gaining control over my life goals as best I could.

ANTHROPOPHOBIA

Being a bookworm all my teenaged life, I had never been to any parties or social gatherings. I had always been afraid of meeting new people at any social places and would only feel comfortable if surrounded by people whom I knew. I was always afraid that people are judging me for everything including my style of dress and my choice of words. It is a form of social phobia. It could have worsened over the time.

I chose Anthropophobia to not overcome my beautiful and blessed life. In my last 9 years of life in Canada, I have been blessed to meet so many people in my life whom I never knew before. Being independent, I pushed myself through and started meeting people with confidence. With patience and fearlessness, I realized that social contact is one of the basic human needs. Consequently, I am the most the most social person in my family and is never afraid to strike a conversation with a stranger. It took some time and efforts from being an introvert to extrovert but the rewards are beyond beautiful.

Being afraid is a natural human behavior, but overcoming a fear makes us feel proud, empowered, and courageous.

After writing about heroes, it is time to write about Zero. An element from which all the heroes evolve. Zéro (French), Zefiro (Italian), Sifr (Arabic), Sunya (Sanskrit) - they all represent a term "empty" and in the modern world we know it as "Zero". Zero is a foundation and a fundamental start for all of us.

"Nothing" can be "Something"

Imagine the world without zero. Without zero, there will be no decimal system in place. The distance between planets, their orbits, their shapes and other heavenly bodies existing in the universe would not have been found out by humans. No algebra, financial accounting, calculus or arithmetic calculations are possible without zero, hence, no real mathematics. On a humorous note, we would have less to study and women wouldn't stress to get their figure size zero.

Every hero whom we idolize must have started from a zero. The concept of null, empty and nothingness emerged from zero. We all strived from a starting point which is always a zero and we calculate our success or failure based on this starting point which is defined by zero.

Power of Zero 

Zero is supposed to be nothing, but works wonders if on the right side.
Anonymous

When being asked who do you consider your hero or superhero, I have always answered "my father". For almost every girl, her father is her first superhero. I am no different. We see our fathers performing supernatural and next to impossible activities for us to keep us happy so we tend to compare them with superheroes. In my humble opinion, every individual who takes pride in serving his country and countrymen, is a hero.

My another reason to call my papa "superhero" is - he made my country proud. Yes, he served in Indian Army. Married to a daughter of another army soldier, my papa has been a pride for his country and his family. He had been a part of three wars during his service to the country - two with Pakistan (1965 & 1971) and one with China (1962).

On being selected in Indian Army and going through his months-long strenuous training, he was ready to accept all the challenges his life was about to throw at him. His life, while at service, had never been a bed of roses but he never complained about it. He could have worked in offices like some of his friends but he always says that the feeling to make your country proud will never match any other feeling even when you make the six-figure salary.

Having posted at the coldest place in India at Siachen to the hottest place in Rajasthan, we had never seen his mental and physical stamina being shaken. We didn't see him for months unless we all lived in army quarters together.

It has been 26 years since he retired from the Indian Defence Services but the soldier inside him is still in action. Like every other Indian, his blood boils too when he hears the blood being shed at the border. He is still ready to go and fight for the country if called by the services.

When being asked what is his biggest asset, his answer is always his "Uniform and medallions" which are precious to him. They are his pride and honour. We have grown up listening to his stories during his service life. Needless to say, when the head of the family is in Army, discipline is instilled in the family as well.

I am one of those lucky daughters of army personnel who loves her father to be at a phone call's distance away. Life never gives another chance to a soldier and there are no runners-up in war. Yes, my father is my "superhero".

Be the change you want to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Duties of a common man

Nathan Hope. Does anyone know who this person is?

Well, all the selfie lovers must thank him because Nathan Hope, an Australian, is believed to have used the word "selfie" for the first time by sharing an image of his busted lip. In the year 2016, when all the leading phone companies are launching their best mobile phones enhanced with the best cameras, we are so busy documenting our life and cannot afford a moment to be lost.

A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.
- Eudora Welty

In the good old days, when taking a photograph was not a daily affair and the limited photo collection we had was very precious to us. Be it a childhood photograph or a wedding photograph, it is always so close to one's heart which reminds us of our special time spans in our life. In the age when no facebook, instagram, or pinterest existed and the development of photographs took more than extra effort, we always ensured that we should make memories of our special occasions.

According to some memory researchers, photographs have an impact on the memory. Although this impact is not always encouraging, it helps in improving memory. If it is a family photograph, it helps in reviving the relationships.

Having thought about any such photograph which I cherish forever is my childhood picture with my father when I was a few months old. This picture brings back the memories of my childhood. This picture has been so close to my heart because my father and I shot a similar picture 29 years later and we were totally unaware of the fact that we were creating another version of it. In all those years, smiles haven't changed and so is the bond between father and daughter, the only thing that has changed is our geographic location.

1984 (Punjab, India):
It is the wonder of the old photographs which makes me think that how much I miss being a child. I am sure that the photographs I take today will also make a memory which I can cherish with my next generation.

India won 6 medals in 2016 Olympics held in Brazil. Out of these 6 medals, 4 came from Paralympics. India's Paralympic athletes won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze at Rio. Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu, the only ladies who won medals in 2016 Olympics received so much love and blessings from all the Indians living in India and abroad. Do they know about Deepa Malik who is also a woman athlete who won silver for India in Paralympics? How many of them know about the Paralympic athletes who won laurels for India? Did you hear any news or advertising campaigns where all these athletes are featured?

India sent 19 Paralympic athletes to Rio to compete in 5 sports. It is India's best ever performance in Paralympics winning 4 medals (2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze). India's national anthem was played twice in 2016 Paralympics when Devendra Jhajharia and Mariyappan Thangavelu won gold in their respective games which India couldn't get it played in Olympics 2016.

Devendra Jhajharia, 35, who won gold in Javelin throw, becomes the only Indian Paralympic athlete to win 2 gold medals for his country in 2 Paralympics (2004 Athens and 2016 Rio). He also did better than his last throw and set the new Olympic record in Javelin throw.

Mariyappan Thangavelu, 21, won gold for India in high jump competition. He received 2 crores ($US 300,000) from Tamil Nadu government. He donated 30 lacs out of this prize money to the government school in which he studied to improve the facilities.

Deepa Malik, 45, the silver medalist for India in 2016 Paralympics, is the first Indian woman to win any medal for India in Paralympics. Her silver medal in shot put is no less shiny than PV Sindhu's silver medal, yet her name is not so much popular in media.

Varun Singh Bhati, 21, is another high jumper from India who won bronze and stood on the podium with Mariyappan in Rio 2016 Paralympics. He made us proud as much as Sakshi Malik did while winning the bronze for the country. Sadly, I haven't heard any news or media mentions about him receiving any awards or prizes.

All the above-mentioned athletes are more brave and courageous because it takes a lot to deal with the physical challenges and come out as a winner in sports especially in a country fantasized with cricket. Nobody has gifted any BMWs to them (rather they have the heart to donate their prize as Mariyappan did) but they will always be our true heroes who will continue to inspire many other able-bodied people in our country.

I got teary-eyed when I received a message from a friend on WhatsApp. It was in Hindi but what it all talked about is a story of how a man lived all his life away from his parents in the US and when he went back to India in his final years of life, he realizes that what he earned all his life is just an extra room than what his father has inherited him, at a cost of all the years living separated from his beloved parents. He couldn't even see them on their death beds as he was busy earning money for himself. Did he achieve what he wanted?

Life is all about rat race as they say. Is it really worth it?

Just finished reading Shobhan Bantwal's "The Forbidden Daughter" and I couldn't stop thinking about the menace of "aborting girls" which is, unfortunately, still gripping our society. The cultural preference for boys is skewing India's sex ratio. It is, indeed, an another form of gender violence against women.

Pre-natal sex determination test is illegal in India but that could not save up to 12 million girls (from 1980 - 2010) from not coming into this world. Every two hours in India, a woman dies of unsafe abortion but that did not affect the 620, 472 reported abortions in 2012. In such an abortion, not only foetus loses her life(can't call foetus "it", she is breathing already and is alive), mother's life is at high risk as well. Everyday around 2000 girls are killed in the womb or immediately after birth as told by India's Minister of Women and Child Welfare, Menaka Gandhi, though UN report says it is actually 7000 in number. This unethical sex determination and selective abortion of female infants is $224 million US industry in India. Ultrasounds and other sex-determining services have been readily available at cheaper rates these days and everyone can afford them.

Worst-Hit Areas

Why female foeticide?