---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 1:53 PM
Subject: Change: The 5th Pillar Newsletter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 1:53 PM
Subject: Change: The 5th Pillar Newsletter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
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| October 5th, 2010 | 5th Pillar Homepage Donate Now! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appeal for Donations We need your help! 5th Pillar has met with tremendous success in the last year. We have been covered by major National and International media channels, including CNN and BBC. We have also been invited to International Forums such as the UNDAC conference in Doha and the Summer University for Democracy in France. However, despite all of our achievements, we are in urgent need of funds to carry on with our projects. If you would like to donate, please click here or visit the 5th Pillar website. | Upcoming Events Calendar . 04.10.2010: Colleges in Palayamkottai. 9:00 AM: Ignatius B.Ed. 2:30-4:00 PM: Xavier College 5:30-7:00 PM Johns College . 06.10.2010: Colleges in Dharmapuri. Varuvan Vadivelan College. Pachamuthu Arts & Sciences College. Vijay Vidhyalaya Arts & Sci. College Timings will be announced soon. . RTI Training at Chennai Office. 09.10.2010 and 16.10.2010 at 4 PM. All are welcome. To register your names for the FREE training, call 9445164555 or 044 6527 3056 or email info@5thpillar.org. . RTI Training at Coimbatore Office. 03.10.2010 and 10.10.2010 at 4:30 PM. All are welcome. To register your names for the FREE training, call 94438 41602 or email cbe@5thpillar.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Awareness campaign at Vallipuram, Kancheepuram District on 26.09.2010 Twenty IITians of Madras conducted a camp at Vallipuram, a remote village, 20 kms from Chengalpet in Kancheepuram District. The students of IIT conducted this camp to educate the public in this area about overall adaptation to trending society. They invited 5th Pillar on 6th September to conduct an awareness campaign on anti-corruption. Mr. Subramani, Director of Operations, 5th Pillar participated in this program and addressed the villagers on various aspects. He spoke to them about the services in health, sanitation, education and other infrastructures that are in place to uplift their life. In most cases the rural people are unaware of the services that they are entitled to and so they suffer. Mr. Subramani spoke to them about the various schemes and projects that are formulated for the rural society and also explained in detail about the procedures to follow to avail the opportunity. He also encou raged them to approach our organization for guidance and help in availing their rights and services from the government. His detailed account of all the services provided by us to the public was very much appreciated by the villagers. He gave examples of successes achieved by filing RTI petitions and by handing the Zero Rupee Note to the corrupt official demanding bribe. Zero Rupee Note and 5th Pillar flier with relevant information was distributed to all the participants. He emphasized on the duties of each citizen to dissociate from the corruptive practices in order to develop a strong powerful stress free society. | Tolerating Corruption Is Accepting It In an astonishing revelation a few weeks ago, India's Central Vigilance Commissioner, Pratyush Sinha said that more than 30% of Indians are totally corrupt and a whopping 50% border lining on corrupt activities. Few days ago, A GFI (Global Financial Integrity) calculation (TOI, September 14th 2010) indicated that more than USD 125 billion worth of illicit money flowed out of the country between 2000-2008. While this may not sound new to many citizens in India, it calls for a desperate need to question how our rights are being threatened in a democratic system. Why is there a growing acceptance of corruption rather than a increase in interest in tackling the problem? The reason that many cite, sadly, is 'that's the way it is, and no one can change it'. This apathetic claim, however, in made in the light of the fact that not many citizens think that corruption hinders them in their day to day lives or affects them both directly and indirectly. Of course, ask a common man in India and he would be happy to tell you that all it takes is a small bribe to the police or an educational institution to get what he wants. Certainly, this bypasses normal requirements and materializes his need or want, but does he really know how this might affect another citizen's life? No he doesn't. Let me paint a clearer picture of this for you by highlighting just five points. 1) Over eighty thousand people die by road accidents every year and around half of those are who have paid a bride to the RTA offices for licenses without passing their tests. A Harvard university study (2008) revealed that an average of 71% avail their licenses through agents and bypass their driving tests. How many of us know people who have owned a fake license? 2) Did you think that the bribe of Rs. 100 that you paid to the traffic police or that the small bribe of Rs.50 that you paid the water supply department doesn't really count as a corruption? Transparency International (India) recorded that Indians pay a total sum of around Rs.26,728 crore (Rs.267 billion)in exchange for services they get. That is a half of our country's annual defense budget. Even a small sum of Rs.50 adds to this dismal number. 3) Do you think that a small education 'donation' that you paid to reserve your child a seat in a reputed educational institution did not count in the long run? Think again. Not only are you indulging in malpractice and letting those in an honorary field get away with corruption, you are also depriving able, credit-worthy children a fair entrance to colleges because of their lack of funds. This also makes education non-standardized, directionless and unregulated. Every year there are multiple crores being tossed around in the name of 'capitation fees'. 4) Do you pay a small bribe to avail basic services like food schemes and electricity? Every small amount that you put accelerates the inequality between the rich and poor and widens the gap. Because you pay the bribe and encourage malpractice, people who live below poverty line (BPL) have to pay nearly 9 billion rupees ($195 million) as bribe money annually for services they are supposed to get free (Reuters, 1 July, 2010). 5) Every small bribe we pay, and every small initiative we take to evade the law results culminates into large scale corruption. Did you think that that smart way you have found to evade tax to save for your family or other interests did not matter because you are the only one fighting the unfair system? Five years ago, TI (Transparency International) reported that 2 Lakh crores is lost annually due to tax evasion. Today this figure has doubled. By being silent to corruption, we are all indirectly accepting it and acknowledging consent. We are trading influence. Unless we begin trading goodwill and bring an end to the parasite that corruption is, we are, though our small actions, threatening the democratic system of our country. So next time you want to pay or accept a bribe, think twice, think thrice and think a hundred times. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RTI Awareness camp in Dharmapuri 5th Pillar organized a comprehensive RTI Awareness camp in Dharmapuri on 18th September, 2010. The event was organized at Puvidham Education Center in Nagarkudal Village, Dharmapuri -- 636803. The speakers of the event were Mr.Rajamanickam (Coordinator, Salem) , Mr. Gunasekaran (Lawyer, Dharmapuri Chapter Member) , and N. Vinoth (Coordinator, Dharmapuri). A few other volunteers also added their experiences with the village administration. Over 150 people from the surrounding villages of Nagarkoodal, Kalanikatoor,Balajangamanahalli and a few more participated in the camp. The RTI brought to limelight the plethora of bribes demanded by the village administration. We also scheduled a grievance camp scheduled the nest day in the same campus. Eight school teachers and ten volunteers helped us in organizing the camp. Petitions were received on Patta problems, Ration Card and civil supplies issues, Old Age pension issues, Widow Certificate Disbursal Delays, Birth/Death Certificate problems, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recent Activities
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| Stamping out Corruption in Education For the first time, a set of guidelines that will force private higher education institutions to make their accounts public is being prepared by India's education ministry. According to official statistics, India has 504 universities, 22,000 colleges and several thousand technical education institutions. Of the total number of higher education institutes, at least 60% are controlled by the private sector. The new guidelines are being issued after the ministry received several complaints from parents and students that private education institutions were engaging in malpractices such as handing out seats and degrees in exchange for money. According to the guidelines, there will need to be clarity on the source of income and various expenditure heads of educational institutions whether private or public. All state funded higher educational institutes will send their accounts to the government and are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India before being tabled in parliament. Non-governmental institutes will have the freedom to name their own auditor. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher and Editor in Chief: Vijay Anand Managing Editor: Anita Roychowdhury Contributing Authors: Meera, Anitha Ramalingam, Puneet Anand, Srimathi Sridhar, A. Subramani, and Shobila Kali Copyright © 2010 by 5th Pillar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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