The Observer Vol 18 Edition 24

Happy Holi

An IIJNM Publication

Vol 18 Issue 24

Thursday, March 21, 2019

PUBG game addiction prevents youngsters from concentrating on their studies| P3

Folk dances in Karnataka suffer lack of exposure as youngsters prefer western forms | P2

High H-1B visa rejections put techies in a fix

Trump’s stance makes it hard to get onsite jobs Shrabona Ghosh

A

reduction in H-1B visas available for Indian IT companies is giving its employees a tough time to apply for onsite jobs. It has forced these employees to avoiding applying for onsite jobs in the US market.

Krishnendu Paul, a Wipro employee, said: “The rejection rate is so high that it is difficult to secure an onsite job. I have been trying for an onsite location for two years but my application is always rejected.”

Randeep K, an IT professional from a leading IT services company, said: “People generally opt for IT firms because they provide great scope for going abroad. The best remuneration packages are available for onsite relations, but due to the restrictions in the visa application process, I have not been selected. It is a tough time.”

Employers who want to send their employees for on-site positions face difficulties due to the changes brought in the H-1B visa application process and a hardened stance by the US administration in accepting applications.

According to a report on Forbes.com, the ‘Buy American,

Hire American’ executive order signed by President Trump in April 2018 directed the Department of Homeland Security to issue H-1B visas to only the most-skilled foreigners or highest-paid beneficiaries. According to new data acquired by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun to increase H-1B visa denials and the number of Requests for Evidence issued to H-1B visa applicants.

The report quotes an NFAP source as saying: “Employers report the time lost due to the increase in denials and Requests for Evidence has cost millions of dollars in project delays and contract penalties, while aiding competitors that operate exclusively outside the United States.”

The H1B visa is a popular nonimmigrant work visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialist roles.

American technology companies have long depended on it to hire highly skilled employees from countries like India and China.

Bengaluru-based Infosys had 2,042 rejections, followed by TCS at 1,744. Cognizant, a company headquartered in the US but which has a majority of its workforce in India, saw 3,548 rejections. The numbers were put out by the Centre for Immigration Studies.

Continued on Page 3

The festival is celebrated as a symbol of friendship where even enemies forgive each other and enjoy together | Credit: Ileena Dutta

Some Bengalureans love to splurge at Holi parties Ileena Dutta

T

he Festival of Colours witnessed several parties, including pool and lounge parties, at Bengaluru’s malls and hotels. Organizers reportedly spent up to Rs 10 lakh on an average on such events.

“We have arranged music and DJ along with Holi celebration.

Gujias, bhaang, colour balls and rainbow colours are there. This time we have kept a pool splash session for our guests for half an hour keeping water conservation in mind,” said Mukesh Punia at Royal Orchid Suites, a luxury hotel.

Holi signifies the start of spring and the harvesting season for farmers.

Nowadays Bengalureans play

Holi irrespective of caste, creed and culture. Bengaluru has a large number of migrants from other parts of the country. Marwaris, Gujaratis and Bengalis spend huge amounts on celebration.

“We organize events and people spend money to come to such parties and enjoy the day,” said Rahul Sharma, a member of the event management team at Hyatt, a five-star hotel People dig into sumptuous food and beverages on this day with their friends and families.

This boosts food and beverages businesses.

“We prepare special juices and shakes which are colourful and attractive for the guests on this day,” said Rasif, owner of Rainbow Juices and Shakes.

Holi celebrates the death of Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu.

According to Hindu mythology, Hiranyakashipu’s son was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu’s enemy. He decided to kill his son by making him sit on Holika’s lap, who was resistant to fire. When they sat on a pyre of fire, the son was saved but Holika died, signifying the victory of good over evil.

The use of colours came from the mythology of Lord Krishna.

He is said to have celebrated Holi with colours.

The festival is also celebrated as a symbol of friendship where even enemies forgive each other and celebrate the festival together. ileena.d@iijnm.org

CITY

2

The Observer Thursday, March 21, 2019

Karnataka’s folk dances Remove pictorial struggle to stay afloat questions in exams, say blind students

Young people prefer to learn western forms

Abbinaya Kuzhanthaivel

V

Oisika Dev

A

lack of exposure to folk dances of Karnataka like Dolu Kunitha, Ata Kunitha and Pata Kunitha has resulted in few people participating in them.

“The young generation prefers western dance to folk dance. Indian folk dance or even classical dance requires a lot of patience and time, whereas western dance can be learned in a short span of time. Folk dance has lost its significance among youngsters because it does not receive any exposure as compared to western dance. It is almost on the verge of extinction,” V. Rajalakshmi, who has taught Dolu Kunitha and Pata Kunitha to young girls for 20 years, informed The Observer.

Poor attendance at folk dance shows is another reason for youngsters not willing to learn any folk dances anymore. There are hardly any people at folk dance performances as against the thousands that attend western dance shows.

“I find folk dances very boring and rhetorical. Bharatnatyam is a rhetorical dance form. On the other hand, almost all western

News Briefs National lIndian businessman Nirav Modi, accused in the Rs. 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, was denied bail on Wednesday, despite offering the court assurances. lA special National Investigation Agency court on Wednesday acquitted four people, including main accused Swami Aseemanand, in the 2007 Samjhauta train bombing case International lBritain’s political crisis continued to unfold on Wednesday as European Council President Donald Tusk said that a “short extension” to Article 50 would be conditional on a “positive vote in the House of Commons.

Poor attendance at folk dance shows is another reason for youngsters not willing to learn any folk dances anymore |Courtesy: Aditi Dutta dance forms are very interesting.

Hip-hop, freestyle, etc. are experimented with new concepts, moves and musical instruments.

I like western dance forms as compared to folk dances,” said Rubina Haque, a 21-year-old college student who has learnt hip-hop for six years.

Aditi Shree, a class 10 student, said: “Folk dances showcase the daily life of people, their customs, beliefs and rituals. I think after a time all these things become very boring and maybe this is the reason the youngsters don’t have any interest in these dance forms anymore. Folk dances should be revived and should be experimented with like the other popular dance forms.”

Thankamani Kutti, a folk dancer and teacher, said: “The

main obstacle for folk dances is the lack of exposure. Compared to other dance forms, they get less publicity and media attention. The folk dance is now confined to rural areas. Awareness must be created about these dance forms, and they should be brought to big cities. We need to teach the impact and significance of these dance forms. Only then can folk dances survive and become popular among youngsters.”

According to Wikipedia, a folk dance reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances, and ritual dances are not considered folk dances.

Nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. oisika.d@iijnm.org

E-catalogue to preserve ancient science and technology knowledge Shrabona Ghosh

S

anskriti Foundation, of Bangalore has created an e-catalogue of 8,500 manuscripts that deal with 40 different domains of Science and Tech. The e-catalogue was created because of the perishable nature of manuscripts.

For the manuscripts to be transcribed into readable form it needs the involvement of domain experts with expertise in preserving manuscripts, script specialists and experts.

Professor M A Lakshmi Thathachar of the Sanskriti Foundation said, “ The entire process of extracting information

from manuscripts is a tedious and painstaking job because of the language it is written in.

These have to be transcribed into readable form and then it is sent to domain experts.”

The information in the manuscripts can be used to create cost effective, sustainable, indigenous technology which can provide solution to various problems.

“These concepts in the manuscripts should be applied in a contemporary relevant manner,” the professor added. More than one lakh obscure manuscripts in science and technology domainhave not been explored. shrabona.g@iijnm.org

isually impaired people and their trainers suggest the government eliminate pictorial questions in competitive exams.

“Elimination of pictorial questions in competitive exams would be a dream for many of us like me. We have exemption for 15 syllogism questions. But that doesn’t help us much as there are other pictorial questions.

I appeared for an SBI banking exam in 2016 and cleared the prelims. But I couldn’t get through the finals as it had a lot of pictorial questions,” Isai Arasan R, a visually impaired professional working in a call centre, informed The Observer.

While visually impaired people get education through Braille books and audio recordings, it is a challenge for them to get jobs. Most of them prefer taking courses in arts and aim for government jobs and banking jobs where they are expected to take competitive exams. Any competitive exam has various sections including pictorial questions and it is difficult for the scribes to translate pictorial questions.

“It is not necessary to have pictorial questions. The government should consider our request and eliminate them. I depend on my scribe to answer those questions,” said Neelan Gowda, a visually impaired person who is a hostel warden in a private institution.

Sucheendra Nath, a trainer in Samarthanam Trust, an NGO for the disabled, said: “The questions should be customized. I would recommend the replacement of pictorial questions. It is similar to asking a hearingimpaired person to answer a question after hearing an audio.

When the government can grant reservations for the disabled, what is the challenge in customizing the question pattern?”

Pallavi Acharya, a social activist and scribe coordinator, agreed that pictorial questions should be eliminated. “Pictorial reasoning questions should be avoided.

Candidates are forced to depend on their scribe’s knowledge to

Blind people get education through audio recordings | Credit: Priyanka Srinivasan attempt pictorial and diagram questions,” she said.

“Their demand is correct and valid. There should be a description of the picture, or pictorial questions should be replaced with something else. The government should consider their request,” Muralidharan V, assistant convener of National Platform for the rights of the disabled, said.

However, trainer Sucheendra Nath said there are various methods to help them learn and imagine pictures, which may not be helpful in exam hall. They teach maps and other picture elements using tactiles. A tactile is a board with embedded threads to help a person feel the picture by following the thread with hands.

Kaaviya A, founder of the Yesabled app – developed to meet the educational needs of the visually impaired – informed The Observer that the way of teaching visually challenged candidates should be changed different rather eliminating pictorial questions.

“Practically it is impossible to avoid pictorial or diagram questions. The knowledge of certain things is mandatory for the job and hence such questions would help them. We should improve the method of sharing knowledge with them through special teachers. Scribes can help them in attending those questions,” Kaaviya said.

According to a report in Bangalore Times, Karnataka has 9.38 lakh blind people, and ranks fourth in India in visual disability. abbinaya.s@iijnm.org

CITY

The Observer Thursday, March 21, 2019

3

Youngsters addicted to PUBG are

withdrawn, have mood swings

Addiction is dangerous, says psychiatrist Sahana S

T

he online video game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) has gained the attention of young Bengalureans. Government-imposed bans on the game have not deterred them.

Dr Ashwini D , a psychiatrist, informed The Observer: “Any addiction is dangerous to people.

They get addicted due to loneliness, mood swings and limited exposure to society. Video games like PUBG have an adverse effect on their brain, affecting concentration and memory.”

According to a New Indian Express report, a young boy failed in his first year pre-university Exams after he wrote about how to play PUBG in his economics paper. He had secured a distinction in his SSLC exams, but got addicted to PUBG recently.

City Speaks lJagdish N Garbage from Hotels, Marriage/ Party Halls & Meat Shops make their way to vacant land/roads at night. It’s a common problem across Blore. Unless the Ppl who dump are not penalized, they will continue dumping. Take help from BBMP Special Commissioner Mr.Randeep @Randeep_Dev. l Wilma Rodrigues Many of us have been inspired

by Mr. Musthafa the founder of @IDFreshFood. We hope this acts as a catalyst for him to demonstrate environment leadership & move towards holistic waste management in line with the best interests of the city. lVikas Akalwadi At Bommanahalli junction, Hosur Road. Sw. Vivekananda statue is 10 mtr away. BBMP office is about 50 mtr. MLA commutes on road daily. Shame on people who throw garbage and officials who don’t get it cleaned.

Parents are worried about their children’s addiction to the game. They feel an excess of it will prevent the youngsters from concentrating on their studies and networking with other people |Credit : Abbinaya Many players agree that playing video games leads to addiction. So they should be banned.

Ponnanaa G, a student of Kumaran’s PU College, said: “I play PUBG as shooting games are my favourite. I never get bored while playing. It is addictive because we don’t play with computers but with different people who come online to play.”

Somaiah S, who has played PUBG for seven months, said: “I

play the game as it is very easy to access through the mobile and has excellent graphics.” He admitted he is addicted to the game as it is “a comfortable way to kill time”.

Meghana S, an undergraduate student, said: “I like to play PUBG as it is a stress reliever and it also helps me feel relaxed after a hectic day at college.

Moreover, it is more exciting than other video games.” But she

agrees that “we should be able to manage time as these games affect our health and eyesight”.

On the other hand, parents are worried about their children’s addiction to the game. They feel an excess of it will prevent the youngsters from concentrating on their studies and networking with other people.

Sunanda N, a resident of JP Nagar, said: “I always hear my children shout ‘Kill him! Kill him! Shoot’. Initially, I thought they were playing for fun, but nowadays, they get angry over minor issues and never go out play with other children in the neighbourhood.”

PUBG was developed by the South Korean firm BlueHole and released in 2017. The game has been criticized for its depiction of brutality.

According to The News Minute website, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Gir, Somnath and Aravalli have banned the game.

Earlier, two people were killed in Maharashtra while playing near railway tracks. sahana.s@iijnm.org

Work hit because of visa restrictions

Continued from Page 1

A

report published in The Times of India quoted R. Chandrasekhar, president of Nasscom, an umbrella organization of Indian IT companies, as saying: “The implication of this is there will be a lot more paperwork. A series of executive orders have been coming out. Each one by itself may not be much, but they have cumulatively added up to making it much more difficult and onerous for companies to use the H-1B route. A 50% dip is recorded in the number of Indian visa applicants.”

According to an Economic Times article, these companies have seen the maximum number of rejections of requests for extension of H-1B visas during 2018 as the Trump administration tightened procedures for applicants.

An IT professional who did not

wished to be named said: “These rejections are too tiring. I am planning to quit my job.“ Anand Srinivasan, a former Infosys employee, said: “I used to work for Infosys, but since my progress in work was hindered due to the visa restrictions, I decided to quit my job.”

However, an employee of a reputable IT company working in New Jersey said: “This restriction is for a greater good. Indians are paid less for the same IT work that Americans do here.

This move can also be viewed as a step by the Trump administration to prevent exploitation of Indian workers.”

Running for the presidency in March 2016, Trump said: “I will end forever the use of H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers for every visa and immigration program.

No exceptions.”

Earlier, a foreign worker hold-

ing an H-1B visa could remain in the US for up to six years. The visa was initially issued for three years but could be extended for another three years. A person who had a pending permanent residency application used to get extension of the H-1B visa until the applicant’s Green Card processing was completed. According to Business Today, under new laws, a foreign worker must exit the US until the processing of Green Card application is completed. The move could stop hundreds of thousands of foreign workers from keeping their H-1B visas while their Green Card applications are pending. This proposal, being shared between the Department of Homeland Security Department heads, is part of Trump’s `Buy American, Hire American’ initiative promised during his 2016 campaign, US news agency McClatchys DC Bureau reported. shrabona.g@iijnm.org

City Speaks India’s chances in the World Cup With the recent loss in the ODI series against Australia, the Indian cricket team has come under a cloud of doubt whether they will be able to perform well in the upcoming World Cup. The Australia series was played in India, where our players are familiar with the pitches and conditions. India will find it difficult to play on English pitches, which are unpredictable and faster. A slight reshuffle in the middle order and in the bowling attack might give us a fighting chance. Ardent fans of Team India will find it hard to digest a debacle in the World Cup. They do not have the patience to wait for four years.

Webley Prabodh

Water woes Water shortage in Bengaluru is increasing. People in many areas suffer a scarcity. BBMP and BWSSB have planned to supply free water to areas suffering a shortage. But how long will such measures work? With weather reports predicting a hotter-thanusual summer, the water problem will only get worse. The gov should come up with a comprehensive plan to make Bengaluru water-sufficient.

Kanika Chamlegi

WEATHER Mainly Clear sky Minimum Temperature: 22 degree Celsius Maximum Temperature: 34 degree Celsius Tomorrow: Mainly clear sky with 34 degree Celsius.

OBSERVER TEAM Editor- Abbinaya Kuzhanthaivel Page Layout: Oisika Dev, Abbinaya Kuzhanthaivel, Pranay Prakash Masthead: Yohanjali R Reporters: Shrabona Ghosh, Ileena Dutta, S Sahana, Pranay Prakash, Oisika Dev

Education

The Observer 4 Thrusday, March 21, 2019

SUPPLEMENT

Condemned to Mediocrity?

A

Investing in education is the only way for India to become a middle-income country, says Pranay Prakash

re we making a virtue out of necessity in hoping for a ‘demographic dividend’fromIndia’s large young population?

Where will the anticipated boost in economic productivity come from if the millions of our young people don’t find work?

These questionsarise in the light of an education system that is unable to create the skills required for the jobs of tomorrow.

When former vice president Hamid Ansari was asked how India plans to use its ‘spare manpower’ of over 40 million by 2020 to offset the labour shortages that China and the developed world will face, he hinted that India’s working agepopulation is not equipped for the challenge.

“It doesn’t mean if thousand workers are going to retire in China or 10,000 workers retire in Germany, that Indians will automatically take over,” he remarked.

India’s education sector has est from the government. been starved of resources.

The Annual Status of India allocated a meagre Education Report (ASER) 3.5-4% of GDP to education 2018 released recently over the last decade. In com- points out the huge deficienparison, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa spent 5.3%, 4.4%, 4.3% and 6.9% of their GDPrespectively on education in the same period.

A simple comparison of these countries’ population and GDP with India’s brings out the stark reality of state funding for education in India. China, More than higher education, primary with a larger population than India, spends institutions need more resources. vastly more per capita on education at 4.4% of GDP cy in learning of children in considering its economy is Indian schools. According to five times the size of ours. the report, among children While big numbers about in the 14-18 age group, 57% budgets and allocation are cannot do simple divisions, one measure of the woeful 25% cannot read basic text condition of education sector in their own language, and in India, the ground reality nearly 47% of 14-year-olds paints a picture of prevalent could not read a simple seninadequacies and little inter- tence in English.

Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Indian government, responded to ASER-2018 report saying, “The findings are disappointing and point to a larger problem.” The condition of schools imparting education from primary to the higher secondary level is woefully inadequate in terms of qualified teachers, proper infrastructure, outdated curriculum and high drop-out rates while the higher-education institutions are grappling with a problem of quantity over quality.

W

ith the huge number of central, state and private universities, along with the IITs, IIMs, across the country, industry still complains about the lack of qualityskilled workers. Tech Mahindra CEO C P Gurnani last year in an interview said that 94% of IT gradu-

ates are not fit to hire. While the prominent colleges and universities produce quality graduates, most of them are hired by foreign companies.

Compounding this problem is the lack of funds allocated to the institutes, which impedes them from taking up research in areas which are vital to the country’s growth.

The higher-education sector needs a more dynamic approach from government.

Improvements in two key areas can be made with small investments and in the shortest possible time The quality of teaching at every level can be raised by rewarding teachers for better results and curricula can by completely overhauled. It is paramount that the government, irrespective of which political party is at the helm, invests heavily in education with an aim to revamp the sector to produce quality professionals who can take the country forward.

Primary Concerns

I

The government worries about opportunities for the poor, language activists fear for the loss of culture, writes Ajay Biradar

n the coming academic year, the Karnataka government will introduce English as the medium of instruction in 1,000 government primary schools. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy (HDK) announced that students will be taught English from class onealong with the local language, Kannada.

The aim of the new policy, the chief minister later explained during the 84th anniversary celebrations of the Akhil Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelana (ABKSS), was to prevent handicapping the poor who depend on public schools and have to compete against richer students who tend to study in English-medium, private schools. English education would in fact make government schools more attractive, he said,and encourage more children to enrol in them.Unsurprisingly his comments generated

a backlash. Kannada activexpect them to learn the ists say that HDK is trying language well? How can they to destroy Kannada culture. know the importance of their While they accept that mother tongue?” government primary schools But many people have are not functioning well and welcomed the government’s many are shutting down for decisionas ordinary people lack of students, they say too dream of an English eduintroducing English as the cation. Says Dr Kripa Alva, mechairperdium of son of the educaKarnataka tion is State Comnot a mission for soluProtection tion. of Children Says Rights, “In Amar this competKodge, itive world, a memfluency in English today is not just the language of the ber English elite but also a basic necessity for jobs. of the is a must.

Credit: The Hindu KanThen,there nada are those Rakshna Vedike and a who support the move but Kannada scholar, “A child’s say that the government is learning power is more when not yet ready to make the he/she is under the age of change. There is a short11. If we don’t teach them age of an estimated 28,000 Kannada then, how can we teachers in government

schools. Says Kiran Swamy, a pre-university professor, “Karnataka is currently facing a scarcity of teachers.

How will the government meet the sudden increase in demand for English teachers?”

F

ormer chief minister Siddaramaiah, who chairs the coalition government’s coordination committee, thinks that the question of instruction in the mother tongue is a question for the whole nation. The chief minister’s announcement ruffled feathers within his its own coalition government with some ministers insisting on the continued use of Kannada at primaryschool level. The Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP), who also advocate promotion of the local language, has called for the nationalisation of primary education and urged the government to

allow candidates to have the option to take exams in Kannada as well as English.

Kannadigas are very sensitive about their language.

They always complain about how outsiders come to Bengaluru and destroy their language and culture. For them, it is still Kannada and Kannadigas first. Understanding the sensitivity of the subject, HDK has toned down his remarks and now says it’s the Right to Education Act that reserves places in private schools for the underprivileged that is the root cause of problems plaguing the education sector in Karnataka. But both Kannada activists and the opposition party in the state,BJP,says this is just an election gimmick and nothing more than that. After all this, the biggest question remains, would HDK be able to implement the policy before the coming academic year?