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Video of Minor Himachali Schoolgirls, Boys Smoking Making Rounds on Social Media: It’s Time We Realise Reasons, Law & Ethics
Shimla-A video showing some boys and girls of a school experimenting with tobacco appeared on social media platforms WhatsApp and Facebook on Monday, March 4, 2019. All the students were in school uniform, though it is not confirmed yet whether students were of a government or private school. From the dialect used by these students in conversation with each other, it can be guessed that the video is recorded in some part of lower Himachal.
For the public, it is an OMG moment, which they are not able to resist sharing on social media.
Apparently, the video went viral in no time, raising questions over the productivity of school campaigns organized by the State Police and Government to create awareness among studentsabout ill habits like smoking and substance and drug abuse.
Local media also got its hands on the video and uploaded it with disregard to the fact that it contains visual of minors. It is pertinent to mention that the Juvenile Justice Board legally prohibits making any such content public which violates a minor’s right to privacy and causing embarrassment or humiliation.
The person who recorded it was heard telling students that he has filmed them smoking and that he would go to their school with it. Speaking in the same local dialect, he appears to be someone who is unaware of laws related to minors. His sharing this clip on WhatsApp could be attributed to this lack of awareness.
However, media persons are expected to be aware of the laws. Opposed to it, the regional news portals hardly compromise viewership in effort to upholdethics of journalism.The regional media portals compete with online editions of national Hindi dailies for viewership. They want to be faster than these dallies, which makes it difficult to accommodate ethics while reporting.
Himachal Watcher tried to confirm if the video was old or morphed. HW searched the web and consulted some journalists working with Hindi dailies and online portals. Though the police could not confirm anything about the school or the authenticity of it, the video did not appear tobe old or edited.
There are two major reasons why the public should refrain from sharing such videos of minors on social media platforms.
It’s an Offence
First, it’s a legal offence and there is a punishment for it.
Himachal Watcher talked to legal consultant Deven Khanna about the laws strictly prohibiting exposing such visual content containing minors to the public.
Right to privacy of a child under article 21 of the Constitution is violated when such images are spread without his consent and against his interest, it can lead to harassment and abuse. Right to privacy as (stated by Supreme Court) with its attendant values assures “dignity” to the individual, and it is only when life can be enjoyed with dignity can liberty be of true substance. Privacy ensures the fulfilment of dignity.
said Deven Khanna.
He guided us to The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act that lays down:
The media should not disclose the names, addresses or schools of juveniles in conflict with the law or that of a child in need of care and protection, which would lead to their identification. The exception, to the identification of a juvenile or child in need of care and protection, is when it is in the interest of the child. The media is prohibited from disclosing the identity of the child in such situations.
Similarly, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) stipulates that:
No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks, said Deven.
Article 40 of the Convention, states that the privacy of a child accused of infringing penal law should be protected at all stages of the proceedings, he said.
Second, it could prove to be a disaster that may push these tender victims deeper into drug/substance abuse.
It Would Do More Harm Than Good
If we take a careful look at the video and hear their conversation, then there is a very crucial perspective, which is being neglected completely.
From their conversation, it is not hard to figure out that most of these students were newly introduced to tobacco, suggesting they were in still the experimentation phase. Adolescents are the most vulnerable population to initiate tobacco use. There are piles of scientific research studies to establish this fact. Adolescence tobacco use is a global issue and researchers have worked on several aspects in hope to determine what makes adolescence most vulnerable to tobacco use.
In the video, one of the girls is showing her friends she can exhale smoke through the nostrils. Some of them do not even know how to take a puff.
Why you smoke it? What do you experience; one of the girls can be heard asking her friends curiously.
A boy and a girl can be heard inviting another girl to try a smoke. They encourage her to inhale it properly.
“It’s ok, inhale it,” a boy tells a girl while handing her a smoke.
The girl tries it and ends up coughing and leaves the smoke. Only two of them appeared to be smoking for a while.
Their conversation and body language suggested the usual reason for an inclination towards this bad habit – a sense of adventure and peer influence. By the time children reach adolescence, their sense of exploration and self-identity also intensify, which is a natural process.
What Does Psychologists Say
HW talked to Ranjana Sharma, who has worked as a school counselor for over five years and is also perusing her PhD in Psychology from Himachal Pradesh University.
This is an unethical and unlawful way to deal with school students in their adolescence. It could bring a lot of embarrassment for these tender minds and cast long-term adverse effects on the personality of these students. That’s the reason the Juvenile Justice Board has prohibited the publishing of any content that violates the privacy of the minors,
Ranjana said
She explained that the circulation of this video would lead to the identification of these school students, at least in their respective localities. Within no time, the entire school staff and other students would be spotting these students out.It would lead to their branding as bad students. These, like in most cases where students are caught in such situations, would become a topic of staff-room gossip.
They would be facing regular teasing from other students and their social circle. They would become vulnerable to bullying. It would be too much for adolescent minds to cope with. A continuous negative reinforcement could push them deeper into substance/drug abuse, she said.
Instead of uploading this video directly on social media, the person who shot it should have approached the principal of their respective school and shares this video with him/her. In an ideal situation, the principal would have identified the students and with the help of staff members could have referred them to the school
So, here, in the lack of a counselor, the school should summon the parents and make them aware of the instance. The principal must ensure that the identity of these students remains confidential and the staff must be advised to do the same.
In case, it is not possible to elicit the name of the school from students, then one can go to the local police station and provide them with a copy of the video for investigation.
Again, the police would have to ensure confidentiality regarding the identity of the students.
This matter is more complicated than it would appear to a layman. It is now well established that most of the adult users of tobacco start tobacco use in childhood or adolescence. Researchers also suggest the age at first use of tobacco has been reduced considerably. Moreover, this section is the prime targets of the tobacco industry.
There are several factors leading to the initiation of tobacco use in adolescence. It’s a complex amalgam of factors like risk-taking behaviors, easy access, advertising and exposure to tobacco products at the point of sale, personality factors, the macho feeling, underlying emotional and psychological problems, peer influence etc.
Researches On Early Adoloscence Tobacco Use
Poor school performance, truancy, school dropout, and low aspiration for the future are found related to early use of tobacco.
As per 2003 study titled “Tobacco use by Indian adolescents” published in a research journal,
Adolescents typically become addicted to nicotine while still being teenagers. Usual interval between the first cigarette consumption and daily smoking is 1–2 year(s). More than half of the adolescent smokers try to quit smoking every year with fewer than 20% being able to quit for a month.
Smoking by a close relative (father, mother, sister/brother) or friends isalso associated with smoking by the adolescent.
As per a 2018 Indian cross-section study on tobacco consumption practice in school going adolescent of a Gujarat city,
Adolescent generally aspire for tobacco consumption from their parents or any family member. Prevalence of tobacco consumption was higher in adolescents of the family having any tobacco consuming member (81.91%). Family problems led adolescents to use tobacco. Prevalence of tobacco consumption was significantly higher (64.78%) in adolescents coming from families where family problems were very common.
As per a study titled “Longitudinal study of adolescent tobacco use and tobacco control policies in India”,
Exposure to tobacco advertisements and products at the point-of-sale has been linked to adolescent tobacco use, increased brand recognition in students, impulse purchases of tobacco in smokers, and exposures are concentrated in low-income neighbourhoods.
Working status of the mother plays a crucial part in the development of their children. Adolescents of working mothers were more prone to tobacco consumption in comparison to adolescents whose mothers were housewives. The difference related to the working status of mother and tobacco consumption by their adolescents was statistically significant
A 2019 study tries to assess the association between socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, the area of residence, father’s education, and standard of living and the likelihood of tobacco use in adolescence.
The Indian Government is officially running several programs like National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), National Adolescents Health Programme (NAHP) and National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancers, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS.)
However, the situation is not getting any better.
The government needs to understand that this situation can be best handled with a scientific approach.
As a
counselor , over plain lectures, I develop actual activities to create awareness about the ill effects of tobacco use of drug/substance abuse. The students take part in these activities with more interest,
Ranjana said.
At the same time, to deter the public from uploading such content on social media, the Cyber Cell of the State Police and the Government need to take steps to create awareness regarding laws related to minors.
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PIL Filed in HP High Court Re-Ignites Quest for Recognizing Pahari (Himachali) as Hill State’s Official Language
Shimla- November 10, 2021, Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday passed an order concerning a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to recognize Pahari (Himachali) as an official language of the state. The petition also sought effective steps on the part of the government to preserve and promote the Pahari language in the State as its culture and language give it a distinct identity.
The Public Interest Litigation was filed by Arsh Dhanotia with a prayer that the state be directed to declare Pahari (Himachali) as one of the official languages in the State of Himachal Pradesh in any script and also promote further research towards a long-term formal Pahari (Himachali) nuclear language structure and nuclear Tankri script.
Bhawani Pratap Singh Kutlahria, the advocate for the petitioner, argued in the court that the State Government be directed to promote Pahari (Himachali) and other local languages as the medium of instruction in primary and middle-level schools as per the New Education Policy, 2020. On behalf of the petitioner, he also prayed the court to direct the state government to include Pahari (Himachali) language as a separate category for the 2021 Census and simultaneously undertake an awareness campaign to create awareness amongst the masses, especially the youth of the State who speak Pahari (Himachali), to get it marked as their mother tongue in the upcoming Census.
A bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Sabina while disposing off the PIL stated,
“The direction as has been prayed for, cannot be issued to the State Government until and unless it is established on record that the Pahari (Himachali) language has its own script and that a common Pahari dialect is spoken throughout the State of Himachal Pradesh. We, however, set the petitioner at liberty to approach the Department of Language Art & Culture to the Government of Himachal Pradesh with his demand for undertaking research to promote a common Pahari (Himachali) nuclear language structure and nuclear Tankri script. If the petitioner approaches the respondents-State through its Additional Chief Secretary (Language Art & Culture) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh) for the prayer made in the Civil Writ Public Interest Litigation, it would be for the said authority to consider the same in accordance with the law.”
Additionally, the petition had emphasised that Sanskrit, which is the second official language of the state, had only 936 speakers according to the 2011 census and Pahari (Himachali) dialect chain which is spoken by more than 40 lakh people was being neglected and has not been made an official language even after having so many speakers.
The petition also highlighted works of Former Chief Minister Late YS Parmar and Former Education Minister Late Narain Chand Parashar towards the promotion of the Pahari (Himachali) language.
What’s Pahari (Himachali) Language, How Many Districts It Covers
It is to be noted that according to the petitioner, Pahari (Himachali) is a combined term used for the Western Pahari dialect chain spoken in Himachal Pradesh and majorly includes Kangri, Mandeali, Chambeali, Kulvi, Mahasu Pahari and Sirmauri. According to him ever since the creation of Himachal Pradesh, there has been a demand for recognition of Pahari (Himachali) under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and it is also officially listed with 37 more languages as a language which is in significant demand to be included in the scheduled languages category.
In his plea, he also stated that the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in 1970 and 2010 have also passed resolutions concerning the promotion and development of Pahari (Himachali).
Environment
Himachal’s Snow Covered Area Has Decreased, Poses Big Threat to State Economy’s Lifelines: Report
Shimla-The area under snow cover in Himachal Pradesh has declined by 18.5% according to a recent report published by State Centre on Climate Change (SCCC) and Space Application Center (ISRO) Ahmedabad. The report revealed this decreasing trend for the five major river basins in the State.
As the report points out, the high altitude regions of Himachal Pradesh receive precipitation mainly in the form of snow during the winter season. One-third of the geographical area of the state is covered by a thick blanket of snow during the winter season. Rivers like Chenab, Beas, Parvati, Baspa, Spiti, Ravi, Sutlej and its tributaries flowing through Himachal are dependent on snowfall in winter. These rivers mainly feed into the Indus water system and a decline at this rate rings a death knell for water and also food security for millions of people from Himachal to Kashmir, the plains of Punjab, the food bowl of the country.
Using images and data received from satellites, the report states, that the winter precipitation was mapped in all the basins from October 2020 to May 2021 (a period of two years). The findings indicate that there has been an average decrease of 8.92 percent in Chenab basin, 18.54 percent in Beas basin, 23.16 percent in Ravi basin, 23.49 percent in Sutlej basin compared to last year. The ice covered area of Chenab basin was 7154.11 sq km in 2019-20, which has come down to 6515.91 sq km in 2020-21. Similarly, Beas basin was reduced from 2457.68 to 2002.03 square kilometer, Ravi basin from 2108.13 square kilometer to 1619.82 square kilometer and Sutlej from 11823.1 square kilometer to 9045 square kilometers. Overall, the snow covered area was reduced from 23542 square kilometer to 19183 square kilometer in the entire Himachal.
Figure Source: Hindustan Times
Sutlej Basin covers 45 per cent of the total geographical area of Himachal and it is the longest river of the state. It flows for around 320 kms here, passing through Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Solan and Bilaspur districts, along its course. The above study shows that the maximum reduction in snow cover has occurred in the Sutlej basin. An area of 4359 square kilometers under snow cover has decreased for the whole state, of which more than half of the Sutlej Basin.
Just two years ago another study had indicated that more than half of glaciers in Sutlej Basin are set to vanish by 2050. Yet another study also showed that the Sutlej basin has the highest 562 number of glacial lakes. These lakes stand the risk of sudden outbursts, which then causes flash floods downstream as the valley has already experienced. So, while the crisis that is unfolding, be it deglaciation, lake formation or reduction in area under snow cover, it seems that the Sutlej river basin is more vulnerable to these changes.
Prakash Bhandari, an environmental researcher and activist and member of Himdhara Collective expressing his concern states that the situation in the Sutlej river basin is certainly indicative of a serious climate emergency and it is critical to look into the drivers of this both local and global.
“The Sutlej basin catchment is the largest and so the changes visible here are more significant. Many factors have worked together to create this crisis which should be studied closely. There is no doubt that global warming is contributing to these changes. But the local conditions also play a role in reducing or increasing its impact”, he says.
The upper reaches of the Sutlej Valley, especially areas like Kinnaur are geologically fragile, with sharp gradients and loose soil strata. Vegetation is in a very small area so the proneness to erosion. We have seen the catastrophic impacts of flashfloods and landslides over the last decade and a half, where crores worth of property has been damaged. This year saw a spate of landslides where lives were lost. “In such a sensitive and also strategically important area, changes in the landscape will have far reaching and irreversible impacts. More construction activities will lead to more deforestation, more erosion”.
Construction of dams has been rampant in the Sutlej valley, a phenomena that started post independence and continues today. If all of the planned dams are built the Sutlej will be cho-a-cloc with more then 150, large and small projects. At the bottom of the valley in Bilaspur is the Bhakra Dam, built almost 6 decades ago, which has a size of 168 sq km and a storage capacity of 9.340 cubic km. Is. This is followed by the Kol Dam which extends for 42 km up to Sunni, which has a total storage capacity of 90 million cubic metres. Nathpa Jhakri Project which is 27.394 kms. is long. When a dam is built, a huge amount of water is stored. The debris of many villages, trees etc. also gets absorbed inside the dam. When water is stagnant, it receives heat from the Sun to form mist in the surrounding area by evaporation and simultaneously generates methane gas. The experience of the lake formed by the Kol dam at Tattapani in Mandi district shows that the area is experiencing heavy haze which was not there earlier.
“In the 30s and 40s, Shikari Devi and Kamrunag used to have snow on the peaks for about 6 months, which now could barely stop for only 2 months. The air route distance of Shikari Devi and Kamrunag is only 26 to 30 kms from Tattapani lake. At the same time, their distance is not much from the cement factories of Darlaghat, Sundernagar”, the elders in the area say. “Today, fog is prevalent and this has also made the area warmer”.
Due to the warming of the weather due to the clouds formed from the mist, the snow has started melting quickly. Apart from this the local crop patterns are affected. Post the 1990s, the Sutlej became a site for run of the river hydroelectric projects using extensive underground tunneling. This involves massive use of explosives for blasting through the mountains. Of the 23,000 MW worth of projects to be constructed in Himachal more than 10,000, a third are from this valley alone. Kinnaur continues to be a hydel powerhouse with 10 run of the river projects in progress and 30 more to be set up including two mega projects of 1500 MW and 1000 MW each. This paints a scary picture.
Interactive Sutlej River-Basin Map indicate Hydropower Station location
It is not just the hydro-electric dams but unplanned tourism and other development activities like mining, cement plants, road expansion and mindless construction across the high Himalayan regions have also add to the shift in local weather patterns, land use changes and thus the ecological crisis. But the reason why we should put the limelight on hydropower is that this is being pushed as “Green Energy”, in the name of climate change mitigation. As opposed to other forms of generating power, hydropower projects are said to cause lesser carbon emissions, which is why there has been a global push to shift to renewable resources. But the climate emergency in the Himalayas has put a question mark on ‘water’ as a renewable resource.
The question then arises that with all this data indicating a steady decline in river discharge and snow cover have our planners and policy makers not considered what will happen to these projects? Will they be able to generate the power they propose to? The people of Himalaya have to wake up to this wastage of public resources. Scarce funds should be diverted to better planning for securing local livelihoods by protecting the forest ecosystems and water sources for the future.
Author: Gagandeep Singh-From Himdhara (Environment Research and Action Collective)
Feature Images: unsplash/@raimondklavins
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Himachal: Warnings of Delta Plus Virulence Fall on Deaf Ears, No Restriction on Visitors from Affected States
Shimla-Yesterday, the Centre government directed the state governments to take immediate measure in wake of the spread of more infectious Delta Plus variant. As the Delta Plus variant is posing a threat of the third wave, the states were told to take steps like preventing crowds, increase testing, more focus on surveillance, contact tracing and put boosting vaccine coverage on a priority basis. Following it, Himachal Pradesh Government might have announced an alert over Delta plus variant, but there wasn’t any follow up on instructions passed by scientists and health experts to take strict restrictive measures ahead of the impending third wave.
To make it worse, high rank officials and political leaders were seen flouting Covid-19 SOPs on several occasion, which sent wrong messages to the masses. The pictures and videos showing flouting of Covid appropriate behavior by Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and Directorial General of Police, Sanjay Kundu, alongwith other staff for Anupam Kher is the most recent to mention. A group photograph and video of the same were widely circulated on social media and invited huge criticism from the people.
So far, the state has not reported any case of the Delta Plus variant. But the neighboring states – Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir – reported their first cases yesterday. This puts the boarding areas, like in Una district, at a higher risk. Chief Secretary to HP Government, Anil Khachi, yesterday said samples have been sent for genome sequencing.
Despite repeated warnings of Delta plus variant (B.1.617.2.1.), Himachal Pradesh has thrown its borders open to all and lifted all restrictions for inter-state travel in just one go. From June 23 onwards, the state government removed the condition for registering on the e-pass portal for visitors intending to enter the state. In the Cabinet meeting held on June 22, 201, the government first decided that e-pass restrictions would be removed from July 1, but later it changed the decision and instead implemented it immediately.
This haphazard decision is said to have come under huge pressure from the hospitality industry – the worst-hit sector, leading to financial crisis and mass unemployment among its stakeholders. Related associations had been approaching Chief Minister Jairam Thakur with their pleas to provide relief, but mostly faced disappointment. The stakeholders say the state government didn’t provide any significant relief, which is making the survival of the industry difficult.
Also Read: Read Eight Reliefs That Himachal’s Devastated Tourism Industry Seeks from HP Govt
Also, stakeholder of the industry, especially hoteliers, had been demanding the removal of restrictions and conditions on the entry of tourists to Himachal so that they could fetch the remaining peak tourist season.
With its inability to offer relief, the HP Government took the chance to waive off restrictions in a haste.
At the same time, the state government has decided to conduct offline examinations for the undergraduate classes starting from July. A section of the students had been condemning the HP government for scheduling exams without vaccinating students. Some student bodies had been asking the government as to why online classes were possible but not online exams.
The state government also waived off restrictions on timings for the opening of markets/shops.
As scientists and health experts warn of the virulence of the new variant and with neighboring states already on alert after reporting cases of the new variant, the HP government hasn’t even mentioned any intention to at least put a check on the visitor from the states where cases of Delta Plus are being reported. Carrying an RT-PCR negative report for visitors from such states/cities would have been a wiser step.
Officially, the state is on alert, but no measures have been announced to check the entry and spread of the variant into the state. The state government does speak of preparing for the anticipated third wave, but there is hardly any long-term preventive strategy. The Covid appropriate behavior is hard to adopt when markets and tourist places are crowded with visitors.
Why Delta Plus is a Big Concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) has labelled the Delta variant as ‘Variant of Concern’.
The Centre and scientific/medical institutes in India also agree with that Delta Plus as a variant of concern and could be the cause of impending third wave. Last Tuesday, based on the findings of INSACOG, the Union Health Ministry had alerted and advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh regarding the Delta Plus variant of COVID19.
INSACOG had warned that the Delta Plus variant has increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.
“Delta variant is more resistant to medication, treatment and vaccination. Therefore, people who have been vaccinated can still be affected by this variant and can go on to get a clinical illness, Archana Dhawan Bajaj, director, Nurture IVF, told a national English Daily.
“Neutralising antibodies against this variant post-vaccination seem to be nearly five times lower in people who have already been vaccinated than the other variants,” she said.
Further, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, ex-Head Scientist of Epidemiology and communicable diseases, ICMR, has also expressed concern over the reports that Delta Plus has reported pathophysiologic change and affecting different organs. Dr Raman says that it could transfer from cell to cell and would more likely produce neurological symptoms as a common manifestation.
So far India has reported 51 cases of the Delta Plus variant.
Delta Plus variant is a variant of Delta with an additional mutation -B.1.617.2.1.
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