chroma thoughts...:)

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan ( Education for All Movement ) was an intervention programme by the Indian Government to universalize elementary education in a time-bound manner, which became operational since 2000-01. SSA proposed provisions such as free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14, by observing right to education as a fundamental right of the child. The fact being that SSA had no legal backing and on finding that proposals as under SSA will play a major role in shaping India’s future, 'The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act', commonly known as the ‘ RTE Act  2009 ’ came into existence on 4 th August 2009. The act entitled free and compulsory education to every child in India between the ages of six and fourteen, as proposed by SSA. With the enaction of the Act, India became one among the 135 nations of the world to make education a fundamental right to all children. Few of the provisions as under the RTE Act 2009 a...

Leadership Curriculum: Influence Without Authority 12 Angry Men is a 1957 courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose and directed by Sidney Lumet. According to the American Constitution, the verdict is passed on the basis of whether there is a ‘reasonable doubt’ in the guilt of the accused. In the movie, we see an 18 year old boy from a slum who has allegedly stabbed his father to death. The court proceedings are over and the 12 member jury is now to decide by discussions based on reasons, whether he is guilty or not. Also, the jury’s decision is to be unanimous. In case of a hung jury, a new jury would be called for. An initial voting is done to know how many members feel whether the boy is guilty and how many members not. 11 members vote “guilty” and one member “not guilty” saying that he is not sure of it. He proposes to discuss further, saying that it is the life of a person that they are dealing with and that they owes him some time. To this, many members disagree and w...

“ The Stoning of Soraya M ” is an Iranian movie I watched with my zonemates as part of our ‘Leadership Curriculum’ on Social Injustice. The 2008 movie is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh , inspired by a French journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s 1990 book La Femme Lapidée , based on a true event that happened in Iran in 1986. The film portrays the violation of Human Rights in Iran. As a matter of fact, the Iranian legislation does not accord same rights to the women as to its men. It is stated in legislation itself that the value of a woman’s life is half that of a man, that the testimony of a male witness is equivalent to that of two female witnesses, etc. It was the book that garnered the world’s attention to the gender issues and blatant violation of human rights in Iran. The film portrays the true story of the murder of an Iranian mother and homemaker Soraya , who is falsely accused of adultery and thereby stoned to death. The depiction of a patriarchal society is hard hitting...