Aesop's Fables are a collection of short, classic moral tales attributed to Aesop, an ancient Greek storyteller, featuring animals and inanimate objects with human traits to teach lessons about life, ethics, and wisdom, with famous examples including "The Tortoise and the Hare" (slow and steady wins) and "The Lion and the Mouse" (kindness is rewarded). These stories, known as the Aesopica, have been passed down orally and through writing for centuries, influencing culture globally. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key Characteristics
Animal Characters: Animals (foxes, lions, mice, etc.) embody human virtues (cunning, bravery) and flaws (greed, vanity).
Moral Lessons: Each fable ends with a clear moral, often stated directly, about human behavior and consequences.
Ancient Origins: Credited to Aesop, a slave in ancient Greece (6th century BCE), though stories likely predate him.
Enduring Popularity: Translated into countless languages and adapted into various media (books, films, cartoons). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
This video illustrates the story of the Lion and the Mouse:
Famous Examples & Morals
The Tortoise and the Hare: Slow and steady wins the race (perseverance).
The Fox and the Grapes: Sour grapes (pretending to dislike what you can't have).
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Deception can hide malicious intent.
The Crow and the Pitcher: Ingenuity and persistence overcome obstacles.
The Dog and the Shadow: Don't be greedy and lose what you have. [2, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Watch this video to learn about the story of the Fox and the Grapes:
Examples of Morals in Action
The Lion and the Mouse: A small mouse repays a lion's kindness, showing even the weak can help the strong.
The Traveler and the Purse: You should share good fortune if you expect others to share your misfortune.
The North Wind and the Sun: Kindness and gentleness are more persuasive than force. [2, 7, 8]
Every year on December 10, people around the world celebrate Human Rights Day. It is distinguished by rights-based organisations, elected governments, and, most significantly, the United Nations. The Day's purpose is to raise public awareness of their rights.
Human rights encompass all of the fundamental liberties that people require to maintain their social and economic well-being, including the right to think freely. Social and economic rights are a vital component of human rights. These include the right to work, form associations, access social security, and enjoy an adequate standard of living with essentials like food, clothing, and shelter, as well as the right to health and education. Moreover, human rights aim at equality of all races, castes and creeds.
Human rights are the basic rights every person is born with. Women's and children's rights are both regarded as fundamental human rights.
The first modern exponent of human rights was John Locke, who stressed on natural rights in Two Treaties of Governments (1688), followed by Immanuel Kant whose ideals of equality and moral autonomy originated from human reasoning, not the Divine Will. In the 18th century, the world witnessed two revolutionary movements, the American Independence Movement (1776) and the French Revolution (1789), inspired by the ideals of human rights to over through tyrannical regimes. Rousseau, the French ideologue, made us remember – “Man is born free and is everywhere in chains”. In the last century, after the Second World War, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledged the need to safeguard human rights world over. On December10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted and proclaimed this Declaration as a common goal, realizing them for all people, all nations and every individuals and every group in society. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity in rights”, it stated in Article1. The recognition of women’s rights as human rights became international law when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1976. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, laid down binding standards of protection covering every aspect of children’s human rights.
India adopted the essence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the basis of the Directive Principles of State Policy, the union government enacted a number of Acts related to human rights, such as the Abolition of Untouchability Act, Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act and Dowry Prohibition Act. Moreover, to ensure human rights of minorities and weaker sections of the community it created some independent bodies. To protect the children of our nation, the Union Government enacted the Juvenile Justice Act (1986), the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act (1986), the Parental Diagnostic Technique (Regulation, Prevention & Misuse) Act (1992), etc. Provisions against trafficking and abuse of children were included in various personal laws.
The 1990s had seen the enactment of human rights legislation in India. The National Commission for Women Act (1990) provided for a National Commission for Women. In 1992, the National Commission For Minorities Act was passed by the central legislature. The Protection of Human Rights Act (1993) provided for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission, state human rights commission in individual states and a human rights court. And recently, a Bill has been passed empowering concerned ministry to constitute child rights panels in the center as well as in the states.
In spite of all these rights being on paper and accepted at least in theory, there has been an apparent failure to enforce human rights. Violation of rights happens throughout the year. It happens in war fields as well as in home front. There are so many organizations functioning as watchdogs in national and international level, still violation graph is upward. It is a world phenomenon. In our country, even after formation of several Commissions, violation of rights of women and children in particular, is very common. Reports prove that the month of December is not spared, too.
His works include more than a dozen novels, around 300 short stories, several essays and translations of a number of Indian and foreign literary works into Hindi.
Born and raised in a Hindu family in coastal Gujarat, Gandhi was trained in the law at the Inner Temple in London and was called to the bar at the age of 22. After two uncertain years in India, where he was unable to start a successful law practice, Gandhi moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. He went on to live in South Africa for the next 21 years. Here, Gandhi raised a family and first employed nonviolent resistance in a campaign for civil rights. In 1915, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban laborers to protest against discrimination and excessive land tax.
Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, and, above all, achieving swaraj, or self-rule. Gandhi adopted the short dhoti woven with hand-spun yarn as a mark of identification with India's rural poor. He began to live in a self-sufficient residential community, eating simple food and undertaking long fasts as a means of both introspection and political protest. Bringing anti-colonial nationalism to the common Indians, Gandhi led them in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930 and in calling for the British to quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned many times and for many years in both South Africa and India.
Gandhi's vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged in the early 1940s by a Muslim nationalism which demanded a separate homeland for Muslims within British India. In August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab and Bengal. Abstaining from the official celebration of independence, Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to alleviate distress. In the months following, he undertook several hunger strikes to stop the religious violence. The last of these was begun in Delhi on 12 January 1948, when Gandhi was 78. The belief that Gandhi had been too resolute in his defence of both Pakistan and Indian Muslims spread among some Hindus in India. Among these was Nathuram Godse, a militant Hindu nationalist from Pune, western India, who assassinated Gandhi by firing three bullets into his chest at an interfaith prayer meeting in Delhi on 30 January 1948.
Gandhi's birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Nonviolence. Gandhi is considered to be the Father of the Nation in post-colonial India. During India's nationalist movement and in the several decades immediately after, he was also commonly called Bapu, an endearment roughly meaning "father".
When, where and when was Gandhi assassinated? What was the reason for this assassination?
There are several controversial pieces of information that have come to our attention while browsing the net and on YouTube. We have not documented them here for now.
Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, was a visionary statesman, intellectual, and freedom fighter. Born in 1889, he played a key role in India's struggle for independence from British colonial rule. Educated at Harrow, Eton, and Cambridge, Nehru was deeply influenced by Western ideas, but he remained rooted in India's rich cultural heritage. His leadership in the Indian National Congress and his close association with Mahatma Gandhi were pivotal in shaping India's nationalist movement. "The Discovery of India" is a profound and reflective account of India's rich history, culture, and civilization, written by Jawaharlal Nehru during his imprisonment in 1942. The book spans thousands of years, tracing the development of India from ancient times to its struggle for independence under British rule. Nehru explores the philosophical, religious, and cultural dimensions of Indian civilisation, discussing its significant contributions to the world in fields such as science, art, and spirituality. He delves into the development of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religious movements that have shaped India's identity. "The Discovery of India" is both an intellectual and emotional journey, offering readers valuable insights into the soul of India and its path toward freedom.
Ans. Did you know that there are at least fourteen million blind people in the world? There are many degrees of blindness, making it challenging to define blindness. Some people cannot even see light. Others can only tell light from dark. Still others have a small amount of vision.
Of all the blind people in the world, only a small percentage were born blind. Blindness at birth is called congenital blindness. The causes of it are not all known.
Blindness that occurs after birth is caused mainly by diseases of the eyes. A general disease of the body, such as diabetes or meningitis, rather than a disease of the eye itself, may also cause blindness. Accidents and explosions are two other causes of blindness.
In countries where people live longer because of good medical care and a high standard of living, old age often brings on certain eye conditions. Two of these eye conditions are cataracts and glaucoma. Cataracts are among the leading causes of blindness.
A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye. The lens, the transparent part of the eye through which light rays pass, becomes cloudy, and only strong light rays can pass through it. There is consequently a loss of vision. Cataracts can be removed by surgery.
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov(Russian: Алексей Максимович Пешков; 28 March 1868 – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (Максим Горький), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an author, he travelled widely across the Russian Empire, changing jobs frequently; these experiences would later influence his writing. He associated with fellow Russian writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov, both mentioned by Gorky in his memoirs.
The Great Depression was a severe, worldwide economic downturn that lasted from 1929 to 1939, beginning in the United States with the stock market crash of 1929. It was characterised by widespread unemployment, bank failures, sharp drops in industrial production and trade, and extreme poverty. The global impact was profound, leading to a drastic decline in economic output and significant social and political changes.
Timeline:
The period is generally considered to have started with the US stock market crash in October 1929, and the worst years were the early 1930s, with recovery beginning in the late 1930s.
Causes:
Contributing factors included a decline in consumer spending, the stock market crash, monetary contraction, and problems within the banking industry.
Impact of the Great Depression on the working masses
The "working mass" (labour force) during the Great Depression faced mass unemployment, drastic pay cuts, and widespread poverty. Unemployment in the United States peaked at an astonishing 25% by 1933, meaning one in every four workers was jobless.
Impact on the Working Mass
Mass Unemployment: Millions of people lost their jobs as businesses failed or significantly scaled back production due to falling demand and a weak banking system. In industrial nations like Germany, the rate was even higher.
Wage Reductions: For those who managed to keep their jobs, significant pay cuts were common, sometimes by a third or more, drastically reducing household income.
Poverty and Social Distress: The loss of income led to widespread poverty, homelessness, and social dislocation. The rise of shantytowns, known as "Hoovervilles" in the US, became a symbol of the era's suffering.
Agricultural Crisis: Farmers were hit hard by a sharp decline in crop prices and environmental disasters like the Dust Bowl in the American Midwest, leading many to lose their land and become migrant workers.
Global Impact: The effects were global, with international trade plummeting and the crisis contributing to political instability and the rise of extremist movements in countries like Germany.
