I’m confused. As a parent in the world’s fastest growing economy, I don’t know what to tell my children when they come to me for career advice. My children are bright and intelligent, and are among the 15 million youngsters who enter the workforce every year. But there is no data on the sunrise sectors that are ready to employ them in the next 2 years in India. I did a Google search in desperation and found that the NSSO, India’s prime employment data collection body has not released its annual survey report on job generation since 2011-12. Sign my petition asking all political parties to commit to releasing sector-wise employment data for the past 6 years, if and when voted to power in 2019.This data will enable the youth to make informed career choices and find gainful employment. The economy will benefit as well. It will be a win-win for all! Recently, I read in The Times Of India, "an independent think-tank called the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy estimated that 11 million jobs in the country were lost in 2018, with the rural sector being the worst hit. Furthermore, the same article reported that our Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that the government has helped create "crores of employment opportunities" across sectors in the past four-and-a-half years. If the government releases accurate data on employment, it will put an end to this confusion thereby incentivising my family and lakhs of others to invest in education and encourage them to be a part of the meaningful workforce in India. Sign my petition so that data on visible employment opportunities becomes accessible to every Indian in 2019. Image courtesy: Zeebiz.com

बचपन में हम और आप ने ‘नमक की मिठास’ कहानी पढ़ी थी, जिसमें जीवन में नमक की कीमत को समझाया गया था। नमक ना सिर्फ हमारी कहानियों का हिस्सा है बल्कि देश की आज़ादी की कहानी का भी हिस्सा है। जब अंग्रेज़ों ने नमक पर टैक्स लगाया तो सारे भारतीय एकजुट हो गए और आंदोलन किया। नमक के महत्व की कहानियां तो हम तक पहुँची पर नमक को हमारे घरों तक पहुँचाने वाले मज़दूरों की कहानी हमतक नहीं पहुँची। मज़दूरों की ऐसी कहानियाँ जो आपकी आँखों को नम कर देंगी। कहानियाँ जो बताएंगी कि कैसे नमक बनाने वाले मज़दूरों को मशीन की तरह समझा जाता है। ये मज़दूर तपती धूप में हमारे लिए काम करते हैं, ताकि हम नमक का स्वाद ले सकें। पर इन मज़दूरों का जिवन बिना नमक के खाने की तरह बुरा है। ये मज़दूर बिना किसी सुरक्षा उपकरण या नियम के घंटों काम करते हैं। ये चमकते सफेद नमक का अंधकारमय पहलू है। इसलिए मैंने पेटीशन शुरू की है ताकि हमारे इन नमक के मज़दूरों को उनका अधिकार मिले। मेरी पेटीशन पर हस्ताक्षर करें ताकि नमक के मज़दूरों को संगठित किया जाए और उन्हें निजी सुरक्षा उपकरण प्रदान किए जाएं। नमक की खेती में कड़ी मेहनत लगती है। मज़दूर तपती धूप में बिना खाना-पानी के घंटों काम करते हैं। गर्मी इतनी ज्यादा होती है कि कुछ मज़दूरों को चक्कर भी आ जाता है। वो गिरते हैं और फिर उठकर छांव में नहीं, वापस उसी धूप में काम करने लगते हैं। शरीर में पानी की कमी होने के बावजूद लंबे समय तक धूप में काम करने से मज़दूरों की किडनी में भी समस्याएं आ सकती हैं। बिना किसी सुरक्षा उपकरण के सूरज की हानिकारक यूवी किरणों का सामना करने से आँखों की रोशनी भी जा सकती है। इसके साथ ही मज़दूरों के शरीर पर छाले भी पड़ जाते हैं, फिर भी वो इन छालों के साथ नमक को छूते हैं। एकबार सोचिए कि अगर आपकी चोट पर नमक लग जाए तो कैसा लगता होगा। ये सब इसलिए क्योंकि से सारे मज़दूर कॉन्ट्रैक्ट पर काम करते हैं इसलिए ना तो इनके पास स्वास्थ्य बीमा होता है और ना सुरक्षा की और कोई गारंटी। कानून कहता है कि नमक की इकाइयाँ को कारखाना अधिनियम (Factories Act) के अंतर्गत दिए गए प्रावधानों के तहत काम करना चाहिए। पर सुरक्षा, बचाव और प्रबंधन के मौजूदा नियमों में सुधार की आवश्यकता है। निगरानी और नियमों को बेहतर तरीके से लागू करने की ज़रूरत है। काम के दौरान होने वाले हादसों को कम किया जा सकता है अगर मज़दूरों के पास बेहतर सुरक्षा उपकरण हों। वक्त आ गया है कि हम इन मज़दूरों के लिए आवाज़ उठाएं, जिनके लिए कोई शायद ही आवाज़ उठाता होगा। मैं डीएमके पार्टी से मांग करती हूँ कि वो अपने मैनिफेस्टो में निम्नलिखित बातों को शामिल करें: 1. मज़दूरों को सूर्य की हानिकारक यूवी किरणों से बचाने के लिए चश्मे दिए जाएं साथ ही दास्ताने और जूते भी।2. कमर में पानी की बोटल बांधने के लिए बेल्ट मुहैया कराए जाएं।3. हर तिमाही मज़दूरों का हेल्थ चेकअप हो।4. मज़दूरों को सुरक्षा उपकरणों के इस्तेमाल की ज़रूरत, उसके रख-रखाव के विषय में शिक्षित किया जाए।5. इन मज़दूरों को संगठित क्षेत्र में लाया जाए और खेतों में काम करने वाले मज़दूरों का एक रजिस्टर हो।6. मज़दूरी को बढ़ाया जाए साथ ही ऑफ सीज़न में मज़दूरों को दूसरे रोज़गार मुहैया कराएं ताकि उनकी जीविका पर असर ना पड़े।पिछले 4 दशकों से शायद ही इन मज़दूरों की सुध ली गई हो। मैं उनकी भलाई के लिए डीएमके से अनुरोध करती हूँ कि वो मेरी माँगों को अपने मैनिफेस्टो में शामिल कर इन मज़दूरों के हाथों के छालों पर मरहम लगाए। मेरा साथ दें ताकि हमारे घरों के डिब्बो में नमक हो, मज़दूरों की दर्दभरी कहानियां नहीं। #NamakKiMithas #Darksideofwhitesalt Photo Courtesy : Kamala Thiagarajan (The Wire)

#DarkSideOfWhiteSalt Imagine a kitchen without salt? Impossible. Salt is such an important part of life - that when the British began to tax it, we actually rose up and marched in protest! The importance of salt cannot be denied and yet are we treating the people who make it like machines. Machines who don’t need basic human necessities to stay alive. The people who make the salt we eat are India’s unsung heroes. They do heavy manual labour in the harsh sun without protective equipment or safety precautions. This is the Dark Side of the White Salt.  That’s why I have started this campaign to ensure that our salt pan workers are treated better. Sign my petition to bring our salt pan workers under the organised set up and provide them personal protection equipment.   Work in the salt pans involves hard physical labor. Many workers suffer acute dehydration and dizziness. The thirst gets unbearable due to extreme heat.Prolonged exposure to dehydration also results in kidney and renal issues. Constant exposure to the sun’s UV rays without protection is known to cause irreparable damage to the optic nerve and eventual loss of vision. In addition, they suffer from  painful skin ulcers caused by constant exposure to sharp salt crystals, especially on their hands and legs. All of this happens because salt workers are employed as casual labor on contract basis and are therefore not covered by health insurance or other safety schemes. As per our laws, salt units are expected to comply with a number of different standards and statutes laid down in the Factories Act. However, the existing safety prevention and management practices themselves need to be improved. Better monitoring of implementation is needed. Where exposure to hazards cannot be avoided, workers need to be given personal protection equipment. It’s time we raise our voices for them. That is why I am asking the DMK to include the following measures to protect our salt workers in their election manifesto. Provide them with: User friendly Protective sunglasses with adequate UV filtering and a pair of user-friendly gloves and boots. A waist support belt to hold a water bottle. The government must conduct health check-ups for salt workers on a quarterly basis. Workers should be educated about the need to use safety gear, its proper usage, and maintenance. Bring them under organised set-up by maintaining employee registers at all salt pans. Revised wages, proper toilets in every pan and alternate employment opportunities during lean season.to improve their livelihood options. For the sake of their wellbeing, I urge the DMK to add these 6-point welfare measures to their election Manifesto and bring them out of their 4-decades-long misery. Let’s make our salt whiter in its true sense. Let’s make the industry no1 not just economic figures but in holistic, humane development. Picture courtesy:Kamala Thiagarajan (The Wire)

#Understanding mental health #Mentalhealth at schools To effectively and sustain-ably enhance mental health literacy of students and educators and to help increase access to care. An embedded curriculum resource delivered to students by trained teachers.  The news of students committing suicide, rape, killings, caste discrimination etc. don't let me sleep well. I feel sad reading about these news items. What makes the children vulnerable to all these? When post problem is a matter of concern, I strongly feel that the cause of problem should be rooted out. Then comes the question of what’s the cause? Simple answer is lack of awareness and sensitization on what, who, why and how. We don’t give importance to enhance their thinking capability, which would equip them to face day to day problems. Then comes the question of how to bring awareness? Who is responsible for bringing awareness? After intense analysis and discussions with friends, family and teacher community. I realized that only schools can bring in such awareness as the students spend most of their childhood life in schools and parents get less time to interact, and not every parent has the knowledge or moment to teach their children about the importance of life skills. But every teacher whom we believe to have the requisite knowledge and have direct access to students and no lesser their problems too. Best example is Mr. Bhagwan a government school teacher from our state who won millions of heart on June 2018, just because of the fact that he took extra care for his students. https://www.ndtv.com/tamil-nadu-news/we-love-bhagwan-sir-tale-of-a-school-which-fought-a-teachers-transfer-1873727 Choosing the educators play a very crucial role here. Let’s search for pearls like Mr. Bhagwan encourage teachers and volunteers who are interested in committing for bringing this wonderful thought a reality. I would kindly request you to add mental health literacy at school levels to your election manifesto on the best interest of our state and its student population. Today’s students are tomorrow’s future. Let’s together join hands to make the coming generations Happier and Healthier. And it's time for us to take our education system to next level. Note : Sir, Kindly have a look at my mental health literacy petition with 3000+ supporters. https://www.change.org/p/introduce-effective-mental-health-module-for-students-teachers-in-200-govt-schools-of-pudukkottai-on-pilot-basis #WonderfulTamilnadu #TamilnaduI wish for #loveTamilnadu PC: The Hindu

We all know someone who has lost a baby. To some it didn't matter how many weeks into the pregnancy they were, it was still a baby, still loved and still wanted.  Miscarriage happens to 1 in 4 women. Every mother and father should have the right to give their baby the farewell they deserve. It is protocol of most hospitals to send remains to pathology, and parents should be asked what they would like to do to say their goodbyes and receive their closure. It is their baby. In that moment of heartbreak parents don't ask, Our Story. "Baby A" "December 18th  2018 We lost our little bub. After the miscarriage I still wasn't doing the best and was taken to Surgery to have part of the placenta removed. Once I got out, I asked the ward Doctor for the remains of my baby. I knew I had to have a social worker come to see me before signing the pathology release form. I was told after I miscarried about the hospitals protocol and all fetal remains were sent to pathology. I also knew about the remembrance rock wall in Toowoomba, where all the lost babies are cremated together and sent there for burial and a plaque is added to the wall. So parents had a place to go and say goodbye. A kind nurse gave me this information. And I wanted our baby to go there. The ward Doctor contact the Emergency department and pathology and came back to me to inform me that they couldn't find my baby. Only the placenta removed during surgery was there, but not my baby. Every women deals differently with a miscarriage. I took it especially hard. Even though I have had a miscarriage before. This hit me 50 times harder. The thought of my little baby in a bin with medical waste haunted me for weeks, months, nearly a year. I even went back to the hospital on the 29th of December looking for bins, I went to the emergency department looking for my baby weeks later. My mental health suffered. I wasn't showering, brushing my hair, or looking after myself. I ended up highly medicated and spent time in the mental health unit. My legal team ended my case because apparently prior mental health issues means I was suffering before hand. Before hand I was working, not medicated, Not put in the mental health unit, I was showering and brushing my hair. My long black hair was so matted it had to be cut off. I didn't get my closure. Some "people" from the Toowoomba Base Hospital called to say sorry about my experience. But I received no formal apology. Due to miscommunication and broken protocol, my little baby was thrown in the bin. Not having closure is damaging not matter the circumstances or the trauma. Everyone needs closure. I just didn't get mine" We ask that a Bill be passed to give all parents the right to say goodbye if they choose too. leave it up to the parents to decide. All babies no matter the gestation should be kept (1 Week minimum) until the parents are ready to state their wishes. A Bill that requires health care professionals to ask the question that a grieving parent can't. It doesn't matter if the baby was 3 weeks, 10 weeks or 16 weeks gestation. A baby is still a baby. We hear the horror stories. And we hear the what if's? But yet, another lost baby is thrown in the bin. This needs to change, Parents should have the right to place their little baby in a memorial garden or have their own personal memorial. Many parents leave the hospital wondering what happens now? Where is my baby going? This doesn't help the grieving process. Many parents wished they had asked for their baby, but assume it is to late. Give the grieving parents a chance to know what their options are.  Our unborn babies mattered.  Please help by signing and sharing this petition to help create this bill for all families to give their lost babies a voice. And to give the families closure   

Dear Sir, Thousands of students across India have availed the Education loan for their professional degree courses. As per IBA norms Student's parents income or Family Income up to Rs 4.50 Lacs p.a. is eligible for full interest subsidy towards the course period plus one year i.e. moratorium period. But,only a part of the interest subsidy amount have so far been credited by the bankers,not full subsidy. Students have to repay the loan with the principal loan amount along with the horrible rate of Interest @12.95%. This is not only the the case and issue of few students .It is an issue of thousands of students and their parents. Please address this issue to the Government of India, all state governments, IBA ,Nodal Banks and other concerned government bodies in order to free the students community from the education loan liability. Please represent the given below demands of our students community. 1.Waiver of the education loan principal and  interest amount.Refund of the amount remitted by the students with effective from 2008 onwards. 2. Or Waiver of the education loan interest amount and the repayment amount remitted by the students should be adjusted towards the  Principal loan amount with effective from 2008 onwards. 3.Or at least the full interest subsidy as per IBA norms should be credited immediately and the interest amount debited on the interest subsidy not given sofar should be reversed. Thanks and Regards, A.Ashraf Ali Chennai Mobile:9442817088