You don't have to become doctor or engineer, sports life is a beautiful life: Manu tells students
Chennai, Aug 20: Crisscrossing the country since returning from Paris with two historic Olympic medals, ace shooter Manu Bhaker was in the southern metropolis on Tuesday, exhorting students to try making a career out of sports as it offers "a beautiful life".
Manu, 22, scripted history in Paris by becoming the first Indian athlete post Independence to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics, more than making up for her forgettable games debut in Tokyo three years ago.
"My journey, coming from the Tokyo Olympics, it was very difficult for me to be confident again. I was world number two, but I did not do good in it," a garlanded Manu said after being felicitated by the Velammal Nexus School here.
"I know the taste of losing and then winning. It's the beauty of sports. One competition you lose, and you can win the other. But, it would only happen if you put in hard work."
Urging young students to take up sports as career options, Manu emphasised on "dreaming big" and "hard work".
"To achieve the goal, we must put in a lot of hard work and effort. It doesn't always start with aiming for something big, you also have to work to achieve it.
"If you can dream big, you can achieve big. So, always start by dreaming big.
"I always tell myself that no matter if I win or lose in any competition, I'll always be very confident and hold myself high and together, and be very confident.
"We have many career options. You don't have to become a doctor or an engineer. Sports life is a beautiful life. From financial support to any kind of it, you get everything in sports," she asserted.
Manu, who won a bronze each in the women's 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event -- where she had paired with Sarabjot Singh -- weighed in on the role of her parents in inspiring her.
"My inspiration came from my mother. She made me the way I am today. She told me to take inspiration, but not to become like anyone else. Without parents' support, a child cannot do much," Manu said.
"My shooting career and journey started at my school. In any sporting career, the beginning happens first from home, and then from school. All the parents and teachers play a very significant role in what you become and what you do with your life."
In her career so far, Manu has won innumerable medals in top competitions across the world.
Reflecting on her journey, the champion shooter said she has learnt a lot in the last few years and urged the youngsters to never shy away from learning new things.
"I have had eight and a half years in my shooting career. I have travelled almost half of the world. I have seen different kinds of people and cultures, their backgrounds and struggles, and also known their journeys.
"We should never be ashamed of where we come from -- the cultural background. You should carry it with pride, and you should be proud of yourself, how far you have come, and you have a long way to go.
"I never knew English, how to talk to people, and many other things I never knew. But, I taught myself.
"People helped me to learn different things. You can always approach a teacher or your parents to learn something new. You can always ask somebody to teach you."
Manu also asked the students to not give up after facing setbacks.
"Do not give up on any small setbacks that you face. If you do not win a competition or do not perform well in an exam, do not give up, but hold yourself together, get back up and keep going on," she signed off.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
