Role of Women in Riot Torn Noakhali in 1946: An Extraordinary Journey for Peace, Stability and humanity. (Published)
In the 1940s when India was at its final stage of anti-colonial struggle, communal politics had spread its tentacles in the Indian political scene. In 1946 the communal balance of the Bengal Presidency, on the eastern part of India became delicate. Calcutta first witnessed a scene of horrific communal violence in the month of August. This was followed by the devastating communal riot in Noakhali, in the erstwhile Eastern Bengal (now in Bangladesh) where the Muslim majority community unleashed a reign of terror upon the Hindu minority community. But the most horrific part of the riot was that women of the Hindu community were abducted, molested and forcibly married to Muslims. The British government was, however, very indifferent to this situation and did little to calm the situation. It was in this situation that Mahatma Gandhi became the sole source of hope when he undertook a peace-keeping mission in Noakhali to restore communal harmony. More importantly he inspired a number of women to come forward in support of riot affected people. They went into remote villages, stationed themselves there and worked hard to restore harmony between the two communities, to convince the terrified Hindus to stay back and rebuild their social life. As women, the workers were especially empathetic towards the plight of women as there were number of cases of violence, molestation, abduction and forcible marriage. However, despite their best efforts, women achieved limited success. The communal mistrust was so deep that stray incidents of violence continued to happen. The effort to give molested women a new life also came to a naught because very few women were ready to admit that they were raped or molested. However, in those days of gloom the efforts the women made to bring about a positive change cannot be ignored.
Keywords: Conversion, Violence, Women, abduction, communal riots
Periscoping the Economic Basis of Electoral Violence in Nigeria, 1999-2019 (Published)
Elections are the hallmarks of democracy; they also serve the purposes of peaceful change in the government and confer political legitimacy on the government. Viewed from this prism, elections represent the expression of the sovereign will of the people. However, the conduct of elections in plural society like Nigeria is often fraught with animosities and violence. This paper, therefore, aimed at examining the economic implications of electoral violence on Nigeria’s democratic trajectory. The paper makes use of qualitative and quantitative sources of historical data. It also employs and applies frustration aggression and systemic theory in discussing the economic basis of electoral violence in Nigeria. The study establishes the fact that elections in Nigeria since the return of democracy in Nigeria are hardly free and fair. They are manipulated and characterized with violence with grave implications on the country’s economic development. The paper concludes that in order to do away with the teething challenges that usually translate to electoral violence in Nigeria certain things need to be done. In this connection, the paper recommends granting of full autonomy to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); this would engender administrative efficiency and professionalism of the body. It also recommends among others, the reduction in wages and allowances of political office holders. The idea is to make politics less financially attractive so that leaders will see themselves as agents of development than money mongers.
Keywords: Elections, Violence, manipulations and economy
Role of Women in Riot Torn Noakhali in 1946: An Extraordinary Journey for Peace, Stability and humanity. (Published)
In the 1940s when India was at its final stage of anti-colonial struggle, communal politics had spread its tentacles in the Indian political scene. In 1946 the communal balance of the Bengal Presidency, on the eastern part of India became delicate. Calcutta first witnessed a scene of horrific communal violence in the month of August. This was followed by the devastating communal riot in Noakhali, in the erstwhile Eastern Bengal (now in Bangladesh) where the Muslim majority community unleashed a reign of terror upon the Hindu minority community. But the most horrific part of the riot was that women of the Hindu community were abducted, molested and forcibly married to Muslims. The British government was, however, very indifferent to this situation and did little to calm the situation. It was in this situation that Mahatma Gandhi became the sole source of hope when he undertook a peace-keeping mission in Noakhali to restore communal harmony. More importantly he inspired a number of women to come forward in support of riot affected people. They went into remote villages, stationed themselves there and worked hard to restore harmony between the two communities, to convince the terrified Hindus to stay back and rebuild their social life. As women, the workers were especially empathetic towards the plight of women as there were number of cases of violence, molestation, abduction and forcible marriage. However, despite their best efforts, women achieved limited success. The communal mistrust was so deep that stray incidents of violence continued to happen. The effort to give molested women a new life also came to a naught because very few women were ready to admit that they were raped or molested. However, in those days of gloom the efforts the women made to bring about a positive change cannot be ignored.
Keywords: Violence, Women, abduction, communal riots, comversion.
Analysis of the impact of Television Programme on Primary School Children Learning Behaviour in Awka Urban (Published)
Television viewing among young children has been an on-going issue as it is found to affect their development in various areas. This problem is getting more worrisome as the percentage and amount of hours of television exposure among young children is increasing especially with the growing production of children’s television programs. The paper therefore analyzes the impact of these television programmers’ on primary school children learning behaviour. The study is guided by Albert Bandura’s, social learning theory which distinguishes between enactive and vicarious learning by doing and experiencing the consequences of your actions. Vicarious learning is learning by observing others. Primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed qualitatively. It is important for your children as the people of tomorrow to be media literate, educative programmes enhance the intellectual ability of the children. Hence academic level of these children understudy is highly discouraging. Parents should set limits discuss with their young children about what is right and what is wrong especially on aggressive behaviours.
Keywords: Parents, School Children, Television, Violence, learning behaviour
Philosophy of authentic humanism: the only way of curbing conflict and violence (Published)
The ultimate goal of Humanism is human flourishing; making life better for all humans, and as the most conscious species, also promoting concern for the welfare of other sentient beings and the planet as a whole. The focus is on doing good and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world a better place for those who come after. This paper aims at presenting Humanism and its policies if well applied as a way of not only curbing violence, terrorism, genocide and all forms of social ills associated with our contemporary and global world of today, but also a way to bring about the much needed peace, harmony and progress in this era that has been battered by these ills.
Keywords: Genocide, Harmony, Humanism, Peace, Terrorism, Violence