It is such a cliche that we often say – ” Failure is part of Success”, but it is true.If it is true, then how so ?
Prelims results are out.While we sincerely congratulate those who qualified,at the same time we are with you if you could not make it this time.
Come to think of it , one often wonders what the author tried to imply when he wrote :-
“Ever Tried, Ever failed, Try again, Fail again, Fail better !!!”
Does it glorify failure or does it have any deeper meaning.To contemplate it, is to contemplate the reality and abstract at the same time.No matter what we perceive and what we conclude, at the end of it we will never know on what context , and especially what chain of thoughts led the author to write so.
The quote has profound meaning , yet we can not fathom everything about it, we can not know depth of it, we can not know the subtle implications of it, in its entirety.
And So is failure, sometime we know how it happened, yet we will never be sure why it happened.We keep on trying to find reasons , we find some, we don’t find some.
The real difficulty is introspection, how can we judge ourselves and judge objectively and judge in every step of the way.
Introspection has and always will be the most difficult one.Buddha took more than a decade, and so is everyone else who tried to find the answer to the questions such as- “What is the meaning of life ?” or “Who am I ?” or “What is my purpose in this life ?” or “What am I doing on this earth ?” or the more entertaining one – “What everyone else is doing on this earth ?
Eating, Sleeping,Doing things,Making love, Chasing Money , Trying to find god,Getting angry etc, etc and endless etc .
Most of the time and most of us, doing meaningless things for meaningless purposes.But when one tries to enter civil services , in some part of our subconscious, all of us are trying to find better purpose in life and lead a meaningful life.
That is why it is often so difficult to answer the question – “Why do you want to become a civil servant ?” .All the answers we have or we give to this question are manufactured, partially or completely.
A deeper contemplation reveals that ,there is some part of us which still has some attributes of “humane” in it. It is that “humane” part of our personalities, that compels us to find a better job where we can do some good for the society , get some honor and lead a life of dignity so that, at the sunset days of our life , when we look-back , we should be able to exit this world with a smile on our face and a satisfied soul.
Of course, everyone has their different versions and different settings about the above reality.
Those who succeeded this year , might have endured failure at some part of their life.It is part of parcel of life, again a cliche, but true.
Failure , is the sun set of hope and it is the sun rise at the same time.It is a contradiction in itself.
It is raw,it is brutal,it is enervating,it is disgusting, it is depressing, it is the nastiest of all.
It has a dark , depressing and nasty aura about it.It is indeed sunset of a ray hope.
It makes us bare, puts a mirror before us, and mocks us.
Yet
It has some raw energy about it, it pushes one to do better, it makes one to be down-to-earth, it makes one stronger, it puts faith in us , it is the sunrise of another beginning, it gives us a new day, it turns a new page in life, and yet again -in its trademark signature of nastiness , mocks at us asking – “What are you going to do about it ? “
In that , it exposes our fragility and frailties about us, it makes us humane.
The question is not what did happen and why it did it happen, the question is what are we going to do about it ?
A toddler fails a thousand time before he/she can walk.If we did it as toddlers, we can sure do it now.It is inherent in us.
Failure does not know the resilience of human species.It has always mocked us and we kicked it each time.
Failure is always there and success is always around the corner.Thus never lose hope.
So “What we are going to do about it ?” is the real question that should bother you now.
The days ahead are going to be dark, the sunlight is going to be dim, the cold will get to your nerves.Yet , you have to put your guard on, polish your armor and sharpen your weapon, becasue PRELIMS is coming.
Failure will fail this time to fail you.Thats should be your conviction.
We leave you with this poem that kept Mandela alive in his 27 yrs of imprisonment.We hope this gives you some kind of hope and makes your day, becasue tomorrow will be another day.
We conducted Prelims 2016 last year, albeit little late , however we saw some positive results.
The success is not ours at all and it would be wrong to steal someone’s hardwork and make it ours.Every candidate who cleared is due to his/her hardwork and perseverance, we were just the carpet on your steps to success – to smoothen your way and push you to the cliff. But it is the candidates who successfully jumps the cliff , not us.
We will soon be launching our Prelims Program-2017.We are not yet very good at promotion or self-praise , so if you really think we will be of help ,kindly spread the word and help us help you.
The details and the approach and question setting philosophy will be revealed in our next communication.
The Poem:-
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
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Recent Posts
- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.