Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won accolades and appreciation for his lobbying efforts for India to enter the NSG and rightly so for his passionate efforts beginning from the visit to the United States. From Prime Minister’s visit to the United States to the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Seoul, Indian media reported with high optimism about the potential of India breaking NSG gridlock and securing a membership into the same. Looking at the history of NSG, the members of NSG and the political dynamics with the countries who are part of the NSG, India’s intense lobbying to enter the NSG was heading to an obvious conclusion.
Why was NSG created?
The Nuclear Supplier Group is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by preventing the export of materials, equipment and technology which could potentially be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. NSG was found in the aftermath of India’s 1974 nuclear test, as countries felt the NPT (of which India is not a signatory of along with Pakistan, Israel, and North Sudan) had to be strengthened to ensure foolproof non-proliferation. By nature, NSG is a body which seeks to prevent proliferation and it was formed in response to India’s nuclear program.
Is NSG lobbying worth the effort?
Certainly not, given the foundations of NSG. Not only that, at a time when many countries are scaling down or abandoning Nuclear energy and looking towards solar, wind and other forms of renewable, India is merely regarded as a lucrative market for few countries with questionable technologies and designs. The question of nuclear liability is also weighed against India. India has its good share of nuclear reactors to complement other forms of energy and also has nuclear warheads as a deterrent. To get the consensus of other countries to enter NSG could put India in a situation of strategic compromise.
Kudos to the PM
There are no second thoughts about the efforts of our Prime Minister to get India into the NSG. His intense lobbying did open a few windows for India despite the doors being shut. On the effort front, Prime Minister deserves all the credit. Could the efforts have been channelised for some other purpose of India in the international stage ? Share your thoughts.
Women empowerment is one of the most important words of the present times. It is not a mere phrase but it rather represents a movement, which has been pending for the longest time. However, many have a misconception that educating women, “letting” them work, etc. is all that women empowerment is all about. However, the concept of women empowerment is more of an umbrella term. It intends to involve society as a whole, including men.
We always encourage and applaud a woman who successfully balances both work life and her household. But won’t it be easy for that woman if the load of the work is shared? We see that in our society a woman’s primary role is seen as that of a homemaker. At the same time, her personal likes, aspirations, and dreams are forced to be put on the backburner because of the undue expectation that she has to single handedly manage the household while balancing her career. To give credit where it is due, the times are changing. Men and women of the house are increasingly sharing the workload. However, one can also not turn a blind to the fact that a lot more still needs to be done.
Driving home the same concept, popular brand Ariel has come up with brilliant communication.
The video shows a mother speaking to her married daughter over the phone, all whilst cleaning the mess her son has created. She is absolutely heartbroken when her daughter says that she plans to quit her job since juggling both a demanding job and her household has become too overwhelming. It is during this time that she realises that while she and her husband as parents left no stone unturned to give an all-round upbringing to their daughter, they somewhere forgot to teach their son some basic life skills like cooking and doing laundry so that they grow out to be equally responsible in doing household chores. This is not a story of just one family, but of families across the country. These are some things which everyone must know, not for any other reason, but simply because these are basic tasks which are absolutely essential to survive. And, they make you capable to be equal partners tomorrow!
As Ariel raises an important question-is household work only a woman’s job? We need to ask ourselves the same question. A recent study revealed that the unpaid work done by women around the world amounted to 43 times the annual turnover of Apple Inc. It is high time we share the load and change the narrative that household work is the “duty” of a woman. As the video shows, contributing to the household work is not only a daughter’s work, but the son must contribute his bit too. It is also important for the parents to instil a sense of responsibility in their children, irrespective of their gender so that at any juncture of their lives, they are not completely dependent on another person for basic tasks like these. Ariel has been consistently driving this message and addressing the inequality within households since 2015. The Logical Indian applauds Ariel for coming up with such a brilliant video for depicting such an important concept.
Share your thoughts..