If Ram was king today, he would take care of people of all faiths, not just Hindus: Justice Katju
Former SC judge slams "bigoted people" who compel minorities to say 'Jai Shri Ram'
New Delhi: Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Markandey Katju in an article published on Indicanews.com has slammed the fringe right-wing groups and people who compel minorities to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in India.
In the article titled “Lord Ram treated all citizens as his children” which was published on the website on Wednesday, Justice Katju has termed people “bigoted” who try to compel persons of the minorities to say Jai Shri Ram, a Hindu war cry.
“Some bigoted people try to forcibly compel persons of the minority community in India to say ‘Jai Shri Ram.' But do such people really know about Ram?” Justice Katju has questioned in the article.
“If Ram had been the king of India today, he would have taken care of not only Hindus, but also Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and others, and he would have severely punished those who oppressed or committed atrocities on minorities.” Justice Katju’s article read.
“Recently, some bigoted people have forced some members of the minority community to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and often beaten those who do not. These people have defamed Ram, who would never have approved of their actions, and would instead have punished them.” He further added.
“The misfortune is that most of these votaries of Lord Ram have not even read the original Ramayan of Valmiki, and they know little of his great qualities.”
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He has also recounted a part of Valmiki’s Ramayan when the King of Ayodhya Dashrath intended to hand over his throne to his eldest son Ram when he himself became old. “Before doing so, he invited Ayodhya’s citizens to weigh in on Ram being fit to be their next king.” It added.
“The citizens replied: “Oh king! We shall tell you the various virtues of your wise son, listen to them. His qualities are excellent. He is liked by all. He gives happiness to all.”
“Thus, far from being an oppressor, Ram was like a father to the people. A good father takes care of all his children. He is not selective. He does not take care of only some while oppressing others.” The article further added along with several other qualities of Ram the citizens counted before King Dashrath.
The original article can be read by clicking here.
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India sees improvement in maternal, child health indicators, says 2021 SRS report
New Delhi, May 10 (PTI): India has witnessed a significant improvement in key maternal and child health indicators between 2014 and 2021, according to a Health Ministry statement.
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has declined by 37 points from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 93 in 2019-21, the statement mentioned, citing the Sample Registration System (SRS) Report 2021 released by the Registrar General of India (RGI) on Wednesday.
Similarly, the downward trend of child mortality indicators continued.
The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has dropped from 39 per 1000 live births in 2014 to 27 per 1000 live births in 2021.
The Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) has declined from 26 per 1000 live births in 2014 to 19 per 1000 live births in 2021. Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) has also improved, dropping from 45 in 2014 to 31 per 1000 live births in 2021.
The Sex Ratio at Birth also improved between 2014 and 2031, getting better from 899 to 913, respectively. Total Fertility Rate is consistent at 2.0 in 2021, which is a notable progress from 2.3 in 2014.
According to the SRS 2021 Report, eight states have already attained the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target of MMR (less than or equal to 70 by 2030). Kerala (20), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (45), Andhra Pradesh (46), Tamil Nadu (49), Jharkhand (51), Gujarat (53), and Karnataka (63) are among the top performers.
The Ministry also said that 12 states and UT have already attained SDG target of U5MR (less than 25 by 2030): Kerala (8), Delhi (14), Tamil Nadu (14), Jammu & Kashmir (16), Maharashtra (16), West Bengal (20), Karnataka (21), Punjab (22), Telangana (22), Himachal Pradesh (23), Andhra Pradesh (24) and Gujarat (24).
Besides, six states and one UT have already attained the SDG target of NMR (less than 12 by 2030): Kerala (4), Delhi (8), Tamil Nadu (9), Maharashtra (11), Jammu & Kashmir (12) and Himachal Pradesh (12).
Further, India's progress in the reduction of maternal and child mortality indicators has outpaced global averages, the Ministry said in its statement.
As per the current United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-agency Group (UN-MMEIG) Report 2000-2023, India's MMR has reduced by 23 points from 2020 to 2023.
By this achievement, MMR of India has now declined by 86 per cent compared to the global reduction of 48 per cent over the past 33 years from 1990 to 2023, the statement said.
Significant achievement has been highlighted in the reduction of Child Mortality in India in the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN-IGME) Report 2024.
The UN-IGME report said India achieved a 78 per cent decline in the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR), surpassing the global reduction of 61 per cent; 70 per cent decline in the Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) compared to 54% globally, and 71 per cent decline in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) compared to 58 per cent globally, over the past 33 years from 1990 to 2023.
