നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്തിന് കൃഷിക്കാരെ വേണ്ടെന്നാണോ? | കൃഷിയും കർഷകരും രാജ്യത്തിൻ്റെ കേന്ദ്ര ബിന്ദു

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ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ജനസംഖ്യ ദിനം പ്രതി വർദ്ധിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിയ്ക്കുമ്പോഴും, അതിനൊപ്പം ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷയ്ക്കുള്ള ആവശ്യകതയും ഉയരുന്നു. ഇതിൻ്റെ പശ്ചാത്തലത്തിൽ കൃഷിയും കർഷകരും കേന്ദ്ര ബിന്ദുവായി മാറുന്നു.

പരിസ്ഥിതിയുടെ നിലനില്പിനായി വന്യജീവികളെയും സംരക്ഷിക്കേണ്ടത് അത്യാവശ്യമാണ്. ഈ രണ്ട് മേഖലകളും പരസ്പര വിരുദ്ധങ്ങളാകാതെ, പരസ്പരം യോജിപ്പിച്ച് രാജ്യവികസനത്തിനായി മുന്നേറേണ്ടതാണ്.

കൃഷിയുടെയും കർഷകരുടെയും അനിവാര്യത

ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷയ്ക്കും രാജ്യത്തിൻ്റെ വികസനത്തിനും അടിസ്ഥാനഘടകമാണ് കൃഷി. രാജ്യത്തിൻ്റെ 50%ൽ അധികം ജനങ്ങൾ കാർഷിക മേഖലയുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടാണ് ജീവിക്കുന്നത്. കൃഷിയുടെ ഉപേക്ഷ ഗ്രാമീണ സാമ്പത്തിക വ്യവസ്ഥ തകർക്കും. കൃഷിക്ഷേമം ഉയരുന്ന പക്ഷം നഗരങ്ങൾക്കുള്ള സമ്മർദ്ദം കുറയും, കുടിയേറ്റം കുറയും.

വന്യമൃഗങ്ങളും പരിസ്ഥിതിയും

വന്യമൃഗങ്ങൾ ഒരുകൂട്ടായ സുസ്ഥിര പരിസ്ഥിതിയുടെയും ജൈവവൈവിധ്യത്തിൻ്റെയും ഭാഗമാണ്. വനങ്ങൾ ജലസേചനത്തിനും മണ്ണ് സംരക്ഷണത്തിനും കാലാവസ്ഥ നിയന്ത്രണത്തിനും സഹായിക്കുന്നു. വനങ്ങൾ ഇല്ലാതെ കൃഷിക്ക് അനുകൂലമായ കാലാവസ്ഥ നിലനിൽക്കില്ല.

വന്യജീവി സംരക്ഷണം, ടൂറിസം, ശാസ്ത്രീയ ഗവേഷണ മേഖലകൾ എന്നിവയുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

വ്യവസ്ഥിതമായ സംരക്ഷണവും കർഷകസംരക്ഷണവും

ഇതൊരു വന്യമൃഗങ്ങൾക്കെതിരായോ കർഷകരെതിരായോ ഉള്ള പോരാട്ടമല്ല. മറിച്ച്, ഏകോപിതമായ വികസനം ലക്ഷ്യമാക്കുന്ന സമതുലിത സമീപനം ആവശ്യമാണ്. വനമേഖലകളുടെ പുനരുദ്ധാരണം എന്നതിനു പുറമേ, കർഷക ഭൂമികളുടെയും അവകാശങ്ങളുടെയും സംരക്ഷണം ആവശ്യമാണ്.

മനുഷ്യ-വന്യമൃഗ സംഘർഷം ഒഴിവാക്കാൻ സാങ്കേതിക വിദ്യകളും, അനുയോജ്യമായ നയങ്ങളും ഉപയോഗിക്കണം. കൃഷിക്ക് അനുയോജ്യമായ ഭൂമിക്ക് അതിൻ്റെ അവകാശം ഉറപ്പാക്കുമ്പോൾ, വനങ്ങൾക്ക് അതിൻ്റെതായ പരിധിയും നിലനില്ക്കണം.

അടിക്കുപ്പ്

നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്തിന് ആവശ്യമുള്ളത് വന്യമൃഗങ്ങളെയും കൃഷിക്കാരെയും സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്ന സമവായനയം ആണ്. രണ്ടും നമ്മുടേതായ ഭാവിയെ രൂപപ്പെടുത്തുന്ന അനിവാര്യ ഘടകങ്ങളാണ്. പ്രകൃതിയും മനുഷ്യനും കൈകോർത്തുനിൽക്കുന്ന നാളെയാണ് നമ്മുടെ ലക്ഷ്യം

The City Built Around the Church: A Reflection with Rev. Fr. Clifford Fernandez | Global TV

NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044

In a quiet, contemplative corner of Mangalore city, the heart nestled within the sacred precincts of Kulshekar Church, I had the proud privilege of conversing with Rev. Fr Clifford Fernandes; Parish Priest, scholar, and thinker whose words carry the weight of lived experience and spiritual wisdom.

What began as a casual recollection soon unfolded into a profound reflection on the unseen, yet deeply transformative, influence of the Church on the landscape of communities and cities. The story he shared was deceptively simple. It took place during his tenure as Asst. Parish Priest at the historic Mother of Sorrows Church in Udupi, a vibrant parish situated in the heart of the city.

One afternoon, a Tahsildar; a Hindu by faith, came visiting. The two exchanged pleasantries, and as they conversed, the priest pointed out on to the surrounding noise, characteristic of a busy urban center. “I told him the church is in the middle of the city,” Rev. Fr Clifford Fernandes recounted. “Immediately, he corrected me. ‘No, Father,’ he said. ‘What are you saying? The church is not in the middle of the city. The city is built around the church.’”

That reply struck like a chord resounding with forgotten truths. The Tahsildar’s statement was not just a poetic comment; it was a profound sociological observation. He went on to explain how the presence of the church had triggered a ripple of growth around it. “When a church comes up,” he said, “it brings along a small tailoring school, a dispensary. Because Christians are a community that worships together, people gather. One vendor comes to sell vegetables.

Next day onions, garlic, then pork, cheese. Slowly, a tea stall appears. Then someone starts making Goli Bajje and Ambade. And so, the city grows; not just with buildings, but with life, community, commerce, and care.”

The Tahsildar’s insight reframed not just urban geography, but our understanding of how civilization itself sprouts; around spaces of faith, of congregation, of shared hope. More Than a Building: The Church as a Living Root

Rev. Fr Clifford Fernandes reflected deeply on the Tahsildar’s words. “That day I understood something important,” he said. “We often underestimate the impact of the Church. But when the Church takes root, everything around it begins to change. There is a transformation of the entire environment.”

This is not merely about bricks and mortar. The Church, he explained, acts like a living root system. Silent and hidden beneath the surface, its presence nourishes, connects, and ultimately reshapes everything above ground.

Indeed, history has shown us that towns and cities across the world have grown around places of worship; be it temples, mosques, synagogues, or churches. But in the Christian context, especially in the Konkan region of Karnataka, churches often came not only with spiritual intent but also with a mission of education, healthcare, skill-building, and community development.

Rev. Fr Clifford Fernandes illustrated this further. “Even in remote places,” he noted, “when a congregation purchases a small piece of land to build a chapel, the land value shoots up. Local people know: soon a school might come, a clinic, maybe a small charity kitchen. Development follows the chapel.”

This organic development is not driven by profit, but by presence; the presence of people who live by service, prayer, and social responsibility.

The Invisible Infrastructure

What is striking in Rev. Fr Clifford Fernandes’ story is the recognition of an invisible infrastructure; moral, emotional and spiritual architecture that underpins physical development. In today’s discourse on urban planning and sustainable growth, this dimension is often overlooked.

Churches, especially in India’s coastal regions, have long functioned as anchors of stability. They become meeting points, cultural hubs, educational centers, and places where the elderly and the poor find dignity. While governments invest in schemes and institutions, churches quietly invest in human beings.

“The quality of the Church,” Rev. Fr Clifford mused, “is not just in how many benches it has, or how big the building is. It is in the lives it touches. The service it renders. The value it silently adds.” There’s a sacred ease to this transformation: not through slogans or mega projects, but through small, consistent acts of love.

A woman receives free medicine at a dispensary. A child learns at a school. A young boy is mentored by the parish priest. A lonely widow finds community during Sunday Mass. This, too, is infrastructure. This, too, is nation building.

A Lesson for Today

The world increasingly fragmented by consumerism and urban isolation. The Church offers a counter-model; a community centric ecosystem that thrives not on accumulation, but on communion. Rev. Fr. Clifford’s encounter with the Tahsildar reveals how those outside the Church often see its value more clearly than those within. “Sometimes we don’t realize the worth of the service we are doing,” he said. “But others do. We should look around to see them.”

There is a quiet challenge in those words: to rediscover the value of the Church, not only as a spiritual home, but as a catalyst for wholeness in society. The story invites not just Catholics, but citizens of all faiths to reconsider the true markers of progress. In the eyes of one humble government officer, the church was not merely a building in the middle of a busy city. It was the heart around which the city found its rhythm. What a monologue to celebrate the vibrance!

Epilogue: The Ripple Effect of Faith

Rev. Fr. Clifford’s anecdote may be a singular memory, but it speaks a universal truth. The presence of faith; authentic, grounded, and community-minded, creates ripples that change the world. Cities may grow skyward, but their soul still rises from humble places, like a pious church on a noisy street, where service, faith, and silent transformation take root. The city is not the center. The Church is.

Rev. Fr. Clifford Fernandes, hailing from Kelarai, was ordained a priest on April 21, 2005. He began his priestly ministry as Assistant Parish Priest at Mother of Sorrows Church in Udupi (2005–2007). Prior to ordination, he completed his priestly formation at St. Joseph’s Interdiocesan Seminary, Jeppu, where he studied philosophy and theology as part of the formal academic and spiritual preparation for the priesthood.

Following his initial pastoral assignment, he pursued his post-graduate theological studies at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bangalore (2007–2009), further deepening his understanding of Catholic theology and pastoral ministry.

He then served as Spiritual Director at Jeppu Seminary (2009–2018), nurturing seminarians’ spiritual growth. Subsequently, he became Parish Priest at Jeppu (2018–2021), and since 2021, he has been serving as Parish Priest at Holy Cross Church, Cordel, Kulshekar. A serene nature where you are illuminated inside.

Fr. Clifford is renowned for his compelling homilies and active engagement in diocesan events. Notably, he delivered an inspiring sermon during the Relic Feast of St. Anthony of Padua at Milagres Shrine, emphasizing the importance of proclaiming God’s glory through our gifts. His leadership and spiritual guidance continue to enrich the faith community in Mangalore.

Continuing from my post on Op Sindoor yesterday:

Wing. Cdr. Arijit Ghosh Writes

Posted on May 19

This conflict has shown us the capability of modern standoff Precision Guided Munitions, fired from distant delivery platforms, sometimes from as far as 400 kms away. With both sides claiming to have shot down enemy aircraft in their own airspace, from across the border with Air Defence Systems that have a range of upto 400 kms, in the case of the Russian S-400s.

The incoming drone and missile attacks have replaced the night time air raids of earlier wars when attacking aircraft would actually come over their targets in enemy airspace, to release their bombs in daring low level bomb runs, amidst wailing air raid sirens and blackouts. Even in the 2019 Balakot raid, our aircraft had to cross over, but today they can do all that from the safety, if it can be called that, of their own airspace.

And it has almost done away with another fact of life from previous wars…the POWs, the Prisoners of War. We released 93000 of them after the 1971 war, but in the wars of today and of the future, there won’t be any because no one would be crossing over, in most scenarios.

A lot of the erstwhile anti aircraft gunfire has now been replaced by SAMs, the surface to Air missiles fired by the Air Defence batteries, which are routinely taking down enemy drones and missiles, even when the response time is sometimes counted in a few heartbeats.

That is the biggest change that this conflict has showcased, from traditional warfare as we have known it till now. With its overwhelming reliance on advanced technology and AI, much of it homegrown in the DRDO and ISRO labs in our case, it has been fought by both adversaries from their own side of the lines.

And that is how it is always going to be, in the days to come!

So it’s out in the open now! The answer to the question everyone has been asking, on whether the IAF lost a fighter jet , or more, in Op Sindoor.

Posted on June 1

With the CDS apparently admitting to one such loss , in an interview to an overseas anchor yesterday.

The fact is, the IAF had never denied it in the first place.

The DG Air Operations, Air Marshal Bharti had earlier stated at a Press Briefing, that losses were intrinsic to military operations and were therefore, by implication , not a big deal, so long as the objectives were achieved.

The CDS in his interview on Saturday, said much the same thing, adding that what is important is, did we learn our lessons from the loss, did we amend and adapt our strategies according to the battle scenario, and did we then go on to hit the enemy hard and bring him down to his knees, begging for a cessation of hostilities?

The world already knows the answer to those questions!

And I am reminded of a similar scenario from an earlier conflict, almost exactly twenty six years ago in the skies over Kargil, when the IAF lost two fighter aircraft, a MiG-27 and a MiG-21, and a Mi-17 helicopter in the first two days of Air Operations.

Leading to much jubilation in the enemy camp, who thought they had knocked out the Indian Air Force!

Similar to Pakistani claims this time too.

And then came the blasting to smithereens, of their prime logistics support base at Muntho Dalo and the Command Centre at Tiger Hill, which was hit with pinpoint accuracy by Mirages, using the first ever precision guided bomb fired by the IAF!

And that was the beginning of the end of THAT incursion, which the Pakistan establishment still denies it had any hand in!

Just as it stays deafeningly quiet on what really prompted them to beg for a ceasefire in less than four days this time!

Bright Products. Dark Intentions: Unmasking the Tobacco Industry’s Appeal  Global TV

By Dr. Srinivas Ramaka, MD, DM

• Chairman, Srinivasa Heart Foundation, Hanumakonda, Telangana, India
• Consultant Cardiologist, Srinivasa Heart Centre

Each year, World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) reminds us that behind every tobacco product lies a calculated strategy to addict, deceive, and profit. In 2025, the theme “Bright Products. Dark Intentions. Unmasking the Appeal” draws urgent attention to how the tobacco industry is targeting children and youth through flavoured, attractively packaged, and deceptively marketed products. The campaign, spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), demands collective action to expose and counter these tactics before another generation falls victim to addiction.

WHO: Leading the Global Fight

The World Health Organization (WHO) plays a pivotal role in global tobacco control. Through the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC); the world’s first public health treaty, WHO provides clear guidelines for member countries to reduce tobacco use. For WNTD 2025, WHO highlights the urgent need to ban flavours, regulate misleading product designs, eliminate tobacco advertising, and enforce smoke- and nicotine-free environments. According to WHO, “flavours hide the truth,” and the appealing design of tobacco products masks the real, lethal risks these products pose; particularly to children.

WHO’s research has shown that flavoured products, misleading descriptors, and aggressive digital marketing all contribute to the global youth tobacco epidemic, making it more difficult for users to quit and easier to get hooked. WHO calls for governments to act now, not only to protect individual health but to uphold the right of every citizen to live in a tobacco-free environment

The Seductive Packaging of Poison

Modern tobacco and nicotine products are meticulously designed to lure young users. Bright colours, toy-like shapes, cartoon characters, and candy flavours like bubble gum or mango are not coincidences; they are psychological triggers. E-cigarettes disguised as pens or cosmetics, nicotine pouches in mint tins, and cigarettes with crushable flavour capsules all speak to a disturbing reality: these products are designed to look harmless while delivering addiction.

As WHO warns, this deceptive design undermines smoke-free policies and exploits regulatory gaps. Over 37 million children aged 13–15 years worldwide already use tobacco, and in several countries, youth use of e-cigarettes surpasses adult rates. On social media alone, tobacco marketing has been viewed over 3.4 billion times by young people

The Sweet Trap of Flavours

Flavours are not harmless. Menthol, vanilla, cotton candy, and thousands of other flavours are designed to mask the bitterness of nicotine and ease inhalation; creating a smoother path to addiction. WHO underscores that more than 16,000 unique flavours exist in tobacco and nicotine products, with flavours often cited as the number one reason for initiation among youth

These additives are often toxic when inhaled, and many have been associated with respiratory illnesses and long-term harm. Even flavour accessories; such as flavour cards or beads, help users circumvent flavour bans and continue usage under the radar of regulation.

Filters, Design, and Deception

Cigarette filters, once marketed as a health “improvement,” have proven to be nothing but a tool of deception. WHO confirms that filters do not reduce health risks. Instead, they make it easier for young users to start smoking and harder to quit. New devices also include customization features, such as adjustable nicotine levels, app connectivity, and even music playback, falsely portraying tobacco use as modern, sleek, and socially acceptable

This strategic manipulation conceals the danger, promotes deeper inhalation, and increases both addictiveness and exposure to harmful toxins; a reality far from the clean, futuristic image projected by these products.

The Digital Battlefield: Marketing to Youth

Tobacco companies have moved from billboards to feeds. Social media influencers, product placements in entertainment, and interactive content have replaced conventional advertisements. WHO has identified that these industries use covert and unregulated marketing tactics online, particularly targeting platforms like TikTok and Instagram. These posts are often free of age restrictions or health warnings, flooding young users with pro-nicotine messages.

What makes this more dangerous is that many “nicotine-free” products were found to contain nicotine upon independent testing. Meanwhile, descriptors like “smooth,” “organic,” or “clean” are used to mislead consumers into believing they are choosing a safer option, further eroding public awareness

What Must Be Done — A WHO-Backed Roadmap

In response, WHO recommends a comprehensive regulatory approach:

• Ban flavours to eliminate the key driver of youth initiation.
• Enforce plain packaging to remove visual appeal.
• Regulate product design to minimize addiction and toxicity.
• Ban advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, particularly online.
• Impose higher taxes to reduce affordability.
• Create tobacco- and nicotine-free public spaces to safeguard clean air.
• Invest in quitting support programs and evidence-based cessation tools.

More than 50 countries have banned flavoured tobacco, over 40 countries ban e-cigarettes, and yet flavour accessories remain dangerously under-regulated. WHO calls on all countries to close these loopholes and adopt strong enforcement mechanisms to protect the most vulnerable.

As a cardiologist deeply concerned with the rising incidence of heart and lung disease tied to tobacco, I echo WHO’s call. We must educate our youth, empower our communities, and expose the industry’s lies. It’s not just about tobacco control; it’s about reclaiming health, dignity, and truth.

This World No Tobacco Day, let us pledge to unmask the appeal and dismantle the machinery of manipulation. With WHO’s leadership and collective will, we can break the cycle of addiction; and build a tobacco-free future for all.