Overloading students
I want to highlight how school curriculums have become a burden to students, like myself. The number of textbooks and notebooks have increased enormously. The bags of students are becoming heavier and bigger every year. The burden of carrying books has become a crucial problem and it needs to be addressed immediately.
Overfeeding always leads to indigestion. Similarly, overloading students with textbooks and notebooks crushes their natural love for learning. It is quite a torture to see students staggering under the weight of books. School curricula need to be unified across all schools. The number of books needs to be reduced to the bare minimum. School bags must be made smaller and lighter. The aim of education is not to make students mere bookworms, they must have some leisure and they need more time for playing or indulging in some constructive hobbies and activities.
The burden of carrying books needs to be addressed immediately. Our aim should be for a well-rounded development of our personality. Let us not crush students under the weight of books and notebooks. Let education be made a learning pleasure and not a punishment for young students.
From Mr Cirimulla Anthra Devi
UAE
London failed to find
Mohammad Emwazi, known as ‘Jihadi John’, has sent shock waves across the country by his cold, sadistic and merciless killing (‘Unmasking of ‘Jihadi John’ as a London lad shocks Britain’, Gulf News, March 1). He is apparently responsible for beheading of Western hostages. Emwazi was named on Thursday as a Kuwaiti-born and a London computer programmer by experts and the media. But the London Metropolitan Police would not confirm a report that first appeared in The Washington Post, which identified the suspect as Emwazi, who grew up in West London after moving to Britain at the age of six. He is described as being quiet and polite with a passion for football and stylish clothes. Cage, a civil rights group that was in contact with Emwazi for two years over his alleged harassment by British security services, says the man bore striking similarities to the hooded militant. He apparently became radicalised after being detained by authorities following a flight to Tanzania and being accused by British intelligence officers of trying to make his way to Somalia, where they believed he had links to a man with connections to the jihadist militant group Al Shabab. It is a mistake of the London police department that they could not identify him as the Daesh butcher.
From Mr Sunny Joseph Mala
Kerala, India
Need to find resolution
The Muslim world must do a serious rethink on certain concepts to prevent these pockets of violence. Areas of the Middle East are constantly at war over territory and the residents seem incapable of resolving the sectarian fights. Those who rely on violence and revenge to spread their message are just using religion as an excuse.
From Mr Anwar Bashir
UAE
Facebook comment
Understanding emotions
In response to the Facebook debate, I think that human emotion is a phenomenon so intangible that it defies all understanding, technological advancements and scientific study (‘Facebook debate: The fascinating world of animal cognition’, Gulf News, March 1). Humans themselves are baffled by emotions - very often of their own!
In an era where plant perception is being debated, there is not much room to question animal cognition. While sociopathic human beings remain untouched by emotion, anybody who has had pets or closely interacted with animals has experienced them perceiving and responding to humans with touching gestures of their own. Thus, emotions run much deeper, rising from a deeper spiritual connection.
When all of humanity experiences such an emotional and spiritual connection with animals, we will recoil from inflicting pain on these creatures for any purpose whatsoever. The world will go vegan!
From Ms Priyavrata Rajasubramanya
Sharjah
Expected of pets
Animals are very intelligent. They have a sharp sense of, not just interpreting human emotions, but also danger, disaster and paranormal phenomenon. Animals, especially pets, can make out the mood of their owner and what they feel. It is commonly witnessed that cats and dogs cuddle with their owner or pat them with their paws when they are upset or unhappy. This is more so because animals are living beings and have emotions, too. They cry just as we humans do, which makes it easier for them to comprehend what an individual is going through. But, this reasoning is only specific to pets that have lived with humans. We definitely cannot expect this out of wild animals that are not familiar to us.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
Facebook comment
They know more
I believe animals can interpret human emotion. This is based on the personal experiences that I had with my pet dog and cats in my hometown when I was a child. My dog, Bruno, could sense my moods and he would act accordingly. He used to bounce into my bed and wake me up every morning and when he senses I need to sleep more he would quietly slide away from my room, but would again come back after a few minutes. He snuggled closely when he sensed that I am feeling down - a regular feature after my examinations and at the time of getting the report card. He shared my joys and sorrows, and it was evident in the way he used to play with me. The cats in my home were no different. They could gauge the mood of my mum who used to feed them and they always made a point not to disturb her. Even today, my mum tells me that the cats are capable of interpreting her tone of voice and they act accordingly. Sometimes I feel our pets understand us much more than our friends and relatives!
From Mr C. Sunil Roy
UAE
The fugitive prince
The article on the possible rift between Sonia and Rahul Gandhi brings into the limelight the fights that are going on in the Congress party of India (‘Fugitive prince: Is there a rift between Sonia and Rahul?’, Gulf News, March 1). At present, the party is infested with self-serving turncoats and other corrupt elements. This was the basic reason for the decline and fall of the Congress empire. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is catching on all over India. People have no more patience for corruption. Nobody ever thinks that Sonia and her cronies will learn any lesson from their past mistakes and follies. Now the masses want to know where Rahul has gone to escape the wrath of the people. The mother and the prince owe an answer to the people of India regarding the farcical sabbatical of the fugitive prince.
From Mr Thomas Matthew Parackel
Kerala, India
A cornered tiger?
In the history of Indian politics, only very few can match the quality of integrity that comrade V.S. Achuthanandan holds with his unrelenting activism against corruption and an image of being an untainted leader without vested interests all through his political career. As one of the founding members of Communist Party of India (CPM) he wielded much power because of the support he commanded from the masses. Achuthanandan has always been a popular leader known for his spotless ideological stance even under challenging circumstances. The recent development during the all India party meeting somehow seems to have marred his reputation as a seasoned politician when he decided to walk out of the venue expressing his displeasure after he was forced to listen to the allegations raised against him by several party members.
The CPM leadership only knows too well that anything they do to provoke Achuthanandan would result in losing their vote bank as he has mass support in Kerala. The recent incidents have made the situation in the party become much worse, especially with the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) waiting for an opportunity to pounce on the CPM. The status quo is likely to continue since both Achuthanandan and other party leaders have a lot to lose in the event of a drastic measure.
From Mr V. I. Mohammad Sageer
UAE
Told not to panic
On March 1, 2015, a fireball streaked across the sky over the Indian state of Kerala and it triggered panic in several districts of southern India (‘Mystery fireballs light up Kerala sky’, Gulf News, March 1). A preliminary examination by scientists has revealed that the fireball, causing all the worry, could be a meteor.
Officials of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, who collected samples from a plot in Karimalloor village in central Kerala, where the object was believed to have fallen, said preliminary assessments pointed to the possibility of it being a meteor. A scientist from the authorities said that the objects that had brilliant streaks due to iron-nickle presence had the peculiarity of a meteor. There were speculations that the fireball could be celestial debris, a rocket or satellite debris. Scientists assure the government and people of Kerala not to panic about the event.
From Dr Abdul Ruff Colachal
UAE
Defence preparations
I think that the fireball incident sheds light into the poor preparation of the Indian defence system. This is what is worrying. Even if a missile shot into Indian territory, the administration will wake up only after getting alerts from laymen.
From Mr Girish R. Edathitta
Dubai
Website comment
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