Inquiry sought over star tortoises death in Srikurmam temple
Andhra Pradesh Sadhu Parishad President Swami Srinivasananda Saraswati on Monday urged the government to conduct an inquiry into the incident.
Devotees expressed concern and alleged that the tortoises' deaths occurred due to the extreme heat conditions this summer. The private organisation responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the exclusive tortoise enclosure claimed that only two tortoises died recently.
Endowments Assistant Commissioner (in-charge) Bhadraji said: 'The issue has come to our notice and an inquiry will be conducted into the issue. ' Temple authorities are taking all precautions for the proper maintenance of star tortoises, he added.
Swami Saraswati explaining the significance of the tortoise, in the Hindu religion said: 'For Hindus, the tortoise is 'Kurmavatara' — God incarnated. The government should verify the exact reason for the mass death of tortoises in the temple premises and ensure the remaining can be saved with proper care under expert supervision.'
Srikakulam District Forest Officer S. Venkatesh assured that adequate care would be taken to protect the remaining tortoises. He said: 'The enclosure established a few years ago with 200 star tortoises was being maintained in accordance with the wildlife acts.'
The star tortoise is listed as 'vulnerable' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In India, the species falls under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, a category that offers minimal protection.
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The Hindu
8 hours ago
- The Hindu
PM-POSHAN vs reality: How India's midday meal programme struggles on the ground
A hundred years after the Madras Municipal Corporation first introduced the midday meal scheme, every Indian State and Union Territory today runs the programme—some, like Kerala, serving modern additions such as egg fried rice and micro greens. Yet, inefficiencies persist across the country, with funding remaining a major concern for a scheme that has consistently improved students enrolment and retention in schools. In early 2025, the Maharashtra government mulled scrapping eggs from the mid-day meal citing funding constraints. But following widespread criticism, it reversed the move—reinstating eggs and bananas weekly and doubling the scheme's budget, though critics raised concerns over the dilution of the programme's nutritional value. The Hindu takes a deep dive into various meal programmes in the country, tracing the origins and examining the effectiveness of the implementation. A century-old journey Midday mealsin schools have a long history in India. In 1925, India's first-ever midday meal scheme was introduced for disadvantaged children in the Madras Municipal Corporation. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and the UT of Pondicherry had universalised a cooked midday meal programme with their resources for primary students by the 1980s. The Union government launched the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, a nationwide mid-day meal scheme, on August 15, 1995, to ensure enrollment, retention, and attendance, as well as improve nutritional levels among children across India. 'In Tamil Nadu, M Singaravelar, a member of the erstwhile Madras Municipal Corporation in the 1920s, took the initiative to introduce the first ever Midday Meal Scheme for marginalised children under the Corporation limits. Later, it was transformed into a fully-funded government scheme along with the inclusion of vegetables, fruits and pulses into the menu,' said P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN). The Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN), which was introduced for an initial five-year period (2021–22 to 2025–26), aimed to provide one cooked meal to students up to Class 8 in Government and Government-aided schools. It replaced the earlier midday meal scheme, launched in 1995, which focused on universalising primary education. PM-POSHAN's cost is shared by the Centre and States on a 60:40 basis, with the Centre supplying foodgrains. Taking the vision to the next level, Tamil Nadu launched the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme on September 15, 2022. Initially rolled out in 1,545 government schools, the programme covered over 1.14 lakh primary school students from Classes 1 to 5. The scheme, designed to eradicate hunger, malnutrition, anaemia, vitamin B12 deficiency and underweight conditions, has already shown measurable impact. According to the State Planning Commission, attendance rose in 1,319 participating schools so far. Building on this momentum, the State government has announced that from July 15, 2025, the scheme will be expanded to include all government-aided schools in urban areas, thereby bringing all government and aided schools under its ambit. As of now, more than 17.53 lakh students across 34,987 government and aided schools are receiving breakfast under the scheme. Undeniable results A 2024 systematic review of 31 studies on the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme in India found that regular access to MDM consistently improved enrolment, attendance, retention, and even learning outcomes, though nutritional improvements varied. Educationalist Ms. Aruna Ratnam, who previously worked with the UNICEF, said primary school attendance improved after the introduction of the midday meal scheme. 'A study by economist Jean Dreze found that primary school attendance improved in the 1990s following the universalisation of the midday meal scheme. It was achieved way before the introduction of schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, introduced in 2001,' she said. Dipa Sinha, an independent development economist and researcher associated with the Right to Food Campaign—an informal network of organisations and individuals working to ensure food is recognised as a fundamental right—said midday meals have helped bring children to schools and retain them there, particularly those from backward communities. 'It also addresses the issue of classroom hunger as many children, who come to school without having breakfast, can have a meal. That, in turn, improves their learning,' she said. 'We take loans to fund the meals' Vasudha (name changed), a headteacher at a government-aided school of Kerala's Kozhikode district, gets barely enough time to juggle between academic duties and regular administrative responsibilities as the new decision by the State's education department to introduce new dishes like Egg Fried Rice has caused immense pressure on her to find sponsors for each day. 'My school has nearly 650 students and all of them take meals from the school. I have to spend more than half a day to ensure that all are being fed on time. It severely affects my academic duties,' said Vasudha. She claimed that the delay in disbursing funds has forced teachers to spend more than ₹ 50,000 from their pockets to manage their weekly requirements. The Kerala government currently allocates ₹ 6.78 and ₹ 10.17 for midday meals per child a day in lower primary and upper primary classes respectively, less than half of what schools actually spend. 'We have been struggling to get funds from the government for midday meal schemes for the last 4-5 years. Some teachers had to take loans to meet these expenses last year,' she said. Vasudha pointed out that even when payments are cleared, they often arrive after a delay of three to four months, and usually in instalments. 'We won't receive the amount of vegetables, eggs, and milk together, and we have to visit the offices multiple times to complete the process. But we have to settle the expenses with shopkeepers and milkmen every week. With this new menu, we will have to find at least ₹ 40 per child. Besides, we will have to spend ₹ 7 for an egg, ₹ 60 for milk twice a week, ₹ 12,000 for LPG for a month, and transportation charges for foodgrains. Be it the regular rice and grain or the new dishes, we are permitted to appoint only one cook to prepare for 500 students. We could only use LPG for cooking as the government has mandated it to promote a sense of environmental protection among the students. We are clueless about how to manage these skyrocketing expenses,' she said. Other Indian States are no exception. Schools across India are grappling with the lack of support through the PM-POSHAN scheme despite statistics revealing that the midday meal scheme has shown significant progress in student retention rates. 'We receive only ₹ 4 and ₹ 6.19 per child for lower and upper primary classes. ₹ 4 is allocated to provide fruits for each child every Monday. Apart from this, the government provides wheat and rice of 100 grams for each child from the government ration shop, but we have to bear the transportation cost of bringing grains from the outlet to the school. Besides, we aren't receiving any separate funds for grinding the wheat,' said a headmaster from Azamgarh of Uttar Pradesh. He pointed out that, of late, funds are being disbursed late. 'With the current inflation, these funds were never sufficient. We are providing 100 grams of milk every Wednesday by spending from our pockets. We are not receiving the funds for the mid-day meal scheme every month. The grant is often given after 3 months or 6 months without any specific timelines. With the current grant, we won't be able to feed everyone. The government believes that only 80% of the children require food and the remaining 20% of children bring tiffin from home. But in reality, the majority of the children aren't able to afford such luxuries and all of them eat their lunch from the school,' he added. Educationist Anil Sadgopal claims that universalised midday meals are still a distant dream in States like Bihar. Sadgopal, who was part of Bihar's Common School System Commission in 2007, recommended universalising school education until Class 10 to provide equitable quality for all students through initiatives like the midday meal scheme. 'There is a complete mismanagement in midday meal schemes in Bihar. Back in 2007, our Commission submitted a set of recommendations calling for universalised nutritious mid-day meals cooked by trained staff. But the proposals were shelved. Six years later, in 2013, 23 children lost their lives and over 100 were hospitalised after consuming contaminated food in a school meal. More than a decade on, nothing has changed and there are various areas in the State where the scheme is blatantly absent,' said Sadgopal. Caste-based discrimination Caste-based discrimination has been reported in serving and consuming mid-day meals. Discriminatory practices, such as separate seating arrangements or denial of meals based on caste, have been reported in both Northern and Southern States, breaching the principles of equality and inclusion. Students from marginalised communities often face social exclusion in accessing mid-day meals. Madhu Prasad, a former philosophy professor at Delhi University and a veteran activist working for equitable access to quality education for all children, claimed that caste-based discrimination is very prevalent across public schools in the Delhi NCR region. 'Dalit children are still made to sit separately in dining areas and teachers are putting down food into their bowls without bending down. There are instances of parents avoiding school meals if the cook was a Dalit. Following complaints from parents, many schools in the NCR region had removed these cooks as well,' she said. South India is also facing a similar challenge and experts feel that the midday meal scheme brings in an aspect of social dining amidst the issues of caste-based discrimination. 'Caste is indeed a major issue in this scheme in Tamil Nadu. There are places where dominant caste groups won't consume lunch prepared by female cooks from non-dominant or marginalised castes. However, teachers are making an effort to ensure that children do eat their midday meals. With the introduction of breakfast in schools, the situation has improved a lot these days,' said Ms. Ratnam. Is PM-POSHAN effective on the ground? The PM-POSHAN scheme, on the other hand, introduced as a solution for classroom hunger, has its own lapses. The scheme covers about 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh schools across the country. In 2020–21, the Centre spent more than ₹24,400 crore on the scheme, with nearly ₹11,500 crore earmarked for food grains. The total approved outlay stands at ₹54,061.73 crore from the Central Government and ₹31,733.17 crore from States and Union Territories. However, activists point out that the scheme has a 'one size fits all' approach that is unsuitable for several states with unique challenges. 'The PM-POSHAN scheme, in its current form, falls far short of its intended goals. Proposals like setting up nutrition gardens in schools or implementing IT-based monitoring systems are largely tokenistic and disconnected from on-ground realities, especially in rural or under-resourced areas. Other than the cosmetic rebranding of the old Midday Meal Scheme, the initiative offers nothing in terms of meaningful nutritional innovation. What's urgently needed is a serious overhaul incorporating a scientifically designed meal plan and the inclusion of breakfast and nutritional snacks to address classroom hunger and malnutrition,' said Ms. Prasad. Echoing a similar view, Ms. Sinha opined that the PM-POSHAN scheme has always had a disparity in terms of fund allocation. 'Many States in the South are receiving only the basic minimum required resources as per norms while several North Indian states are getting more than what the norm requires them to provide. Financial assistance to procure items like eggs are not provided to all the States. The scheme isn't bridging the gap of state-level disparities, but providing only basic minimum resources across all States,' she said. Tamil Nadu appears to be at the forefront of bridging critical nutritional and implementation gaps in the midday meal scheme with its proactive initiatives, outperforming many other States. Ms. Ratnam attributes this to the Dravidian model of investment in education and health. This approach is said to have ensured that all schools are seamlessly implementing these schemes. 'Awareness among the general public and elected officials plays a crucial role in the wide reach and success of these schemes. Around 97% of Tamil Nadu has definitely been covered in the scheme and is showing huge results on the ground. Although teachers are burdened with statistical duties connected with the midday meal scheme, they do see the reasoning behind it. In Tamil Nadu, schools have started assessing the BMIs of students. Meanwhile, Anganwadis have turned into a crucial feeding centre for kids along with duties like immunisation. All these initiatives help ensure that the effect of malnutrition at such a young age is eliminated,' said Ms Ratnam. 'The school dropout rate, particularly for girls, has drastically reduced up to Class 12 and more girls are showing interest in education,' she said. Way forward Experts point out that States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha offer successful models that can be replicated across the country by adapting to the local requirements. 'Even States like Tamil Nadu aren't able to handle exceptional cases as issues that come outside the purview of department-driven programmes become a problem. They won't be able to deal psychosocial areas related to these schemes. This is where NGOs can play a crucial role as they have funding and expertise to address them without involvement of the State,' Ms Ratnam said. Ms. Sinha has called for better financial assistance from the Centre for the scheme. 'The resource-generating capacity of the State governments has become limited and the funding must come from the Centre as the majority of taxes are collected by the Union government and some of these initiatives are centrally-sponsored schemes. It is the children who ultimately suffer due to these shortages in the end. While States continue to manage these schemes amidst the shortage in resources, the fiscal space to bring innovative measures has also become limited. The norms and structures of the scheme were created with the expectation that these funds and resources would be provided. There are numerous cases of funds being withheld with claims that some norms are not followed,' said Ms. Sinha. Experts pointed out that customising midday meals for a specific population has been a weakness in almost all States. 'The more local these schemes are, the better it is for the general population. Kerala has a good model with grassroots level participation to provide nutrition, childcare and child rights. It ensures a community-level approach,' said Ms Ratnam.
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Indian Express
Elephants as symbol of wealth and power in Indian culture
We cannot imagine India without elephants. Elephants have been a powerful symbol of wealth and power since ancient times. Elephants are found on Harappan seals, but they were probably wild elephants or baby elephants kept in zoos and parks. Some argue that Harappan elephants were used to collect timber, but that remains speculative. In early Vedic texts, the elephant is referred to as hasti-mriga or wild elephant with a hand. It was domesticated in the late Vedic period, as the king of Anga, in the Brahmana texts, gifts elephants to those who perform rituals for him. Images of elephants appear on the gateway of the Barabar caves in Bihar, gifted by Mauryan kings to Ajivika ascetics. On the railings at the Buddhist stupas of Sanchi and Bharhut, we find the earliest images of Lakshmi, flanked by elephants who pour water on her as she sits on a lotus pond. Elephants were popular with merchants as they were sure-footed, large animals who could carry a lot of goods and simultaneously create highways as they made their way through dense jungles, across rivers in spate, and over mountain slopes. In Buddhist mythology, Buddha tames a wild elephant sent to kill him. In Hindu mythology, Krishna kills the royal elephant of Kamsa, who blocked his path. Shiva is called Gajantaka, and is depicted dancing on the head of the elephant-demon, flaying its skin alive. Shiva then drapes the elephant-hide, Gaja-charma, around him. Elephants are linked with wealth, power and sensuality. So, killing an elephant was seen as an act of defiance against royal authority and a rejection of uncontrolled sexual energy, like an elephant in musth (unstoppable sexual arousal). When aroused, elephants secrete a fluid from the temples on their forehead. This is called mada, from which comes words like mada (intoxication, uncontrolled passion) and madira (wine). In the Udayagiri caves of Odisha (dating from 100 BC), we find images of elephant herds, and elephant hunts. This was the land of Gajapatis, kings with elephant armies, who fought Ashvapatis, kings with cavalry. In Chanakya's Arthashastra, kings were encouraged to keep forests where elephants could breed before they were captured. Killing elephants was frowned upon in ancient India, but collecting tusks of dead elephants was rewarded. A great hero of ancient folklore was one Udayana, whose music could ensnare elephants. A king decided to capture the skilled Udayana. So, his soldiers hid themselves inside an artificial elephant made of wood and managed to get close to Udayana. The story reminds us of the Greek myth of the Trojan horse. While in the Greek story, the horse was used to get the army into the city of Troy, in the story of Udayana, an artificial elephant is used to capture the elephant's whisperer. Later in the Hindu tradition, elephants are linked to Indra. In the Vedic scriptures, Indra is described as riding a horse-drawn, spoked wheel chariot. In later literature, he is shown as riding a white colored elephant with multiple trunks and multiple tusks said to have been churned out of the ocean of milk. This Indra, known as Sakra in Buddhist Indian literature, bows to the Buddha and dances when the Jain Tirthankaras are born. This celestial white elephant is called Airavata. There are such elephants in the cardinal and ordinal directions of Hindu cosmogony. They are called Dig-gaja, or elephants of the directions. They hold up the sky. As per one lore, the head of Airavata was cut and used to revive Shiva's son. That is why the elephant headed god Ganesha has a white head, especially in the eastern part of India, but the lower part is red in colour, linking him to his mother Parvati. Elephants are native to India, unlike horses. It is the access to elephants that enabled the kings of Magadha to establish the earliest empire. In the Mahabharata, kings who ride horses typically come from northwest India, particularly from the Punjab side, while the kings who ride elephants come from Magadha side. As early as 500 BC, elephants were exported to Persia from where horses were imported. We know that 500 horses were given by Chandragupta to the Greek king Seleucus. Even when the Mughals came to India, they found the elephants fascinating. Although horses are more disciplined and easier to manage on a battlefield and elephants can run amok, elephants have always been preferred by Indian royalty. They were used as mobile battering rams to break a fort before cannons came to India 500 years ago, after which the elephant's role became ceremonial. What is most interesting is that although elephants did exist in ancient China, especially in the south and southwestern parts, Chinese emperors did not like them too much as they were wild and undisciplined. They were hunted to extinction to make room for farmlands. This shows the cultural differences between China and India. Elephants are native to India, unlike horses. It is the access to elephants that enabled the kings of Magadha to establish the earliest empire. Comment. How did the symbolic meanings of elephants evolve across Vedic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions? Why were elephants more culturally significant in India than in ancient China and what might this reveal about their respective civilizations? What role did elephants play in warfare before the introduction of cannons in India? In what ways did elephants influence the political power of kingdoms like Magadha? (Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned mythologist who writes on art, culture and heritage.) Share your thoughts and ideas on UPSC Special articles with Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
India Today
15 hours ago
- India Today
Guru Purnima 2025: Date, shubh muhurat, and how to do ritual at home
Guru Purnima 2025 is set to be celebrated on Thursday, 10 July, across India and other parts of the world. This full moon day (Purnima) in the Hindu month of Ashadha is dedicated to honouring teachers and gurus those who show the path of knowledge, learning, and observe the day by paying tribute to their spiritual teachers, family elders, or academic mentors through rituals, fasting, or simply expressing gratitude. It's also widely observed by followers of yoga and spiritual TIME IS GURU PURNIMA PUJA IN 2025?Acoording to Drig Panchang, the Purnima tithi (full moon phase) begins at 2:05 PM on 9 July and ends at 4:00 PM on 10 means Guru Purnima will be celebrated on 10 July since the full moon is visible on this day. People usually perform the Guru Purnima puja in the morning hours of 10 DO WE CELEBRATE GURU PURNIMA?The day honours Guru Vyas, the author of the Mahabharata, who is believed to have been born on this day. Many also mark the occasion as a time to remember all those who've guided or taught them in said in the scriptures, Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh the ultimate one who leads you to spiritual communities, Guru Purnima is also a day for silence, introspection, and starting or renewing spiritual practices. Devotees often visit ashrams, offer flowers, sweets, and perform paduka puja (worship of the guru's sandals).SIMPLE PUJA VISHI YOU CAN DO AT HOMEYou don't need an elaborate setup to celebrate Guru Purnima. Here's a simple way to perform the puja at home:Wake up early and take a bathClean the puja area and place a photo or symbol of your guru or teacherOffer yellow or white flowers, incense, and sweetsRecite the 'Guru Stotra' or 'Guru Gita' if you know itLight a diya and meditate or sit in silence for a few minutesSome people also fast or follow a simple satvik diet through the OBSERVES GURU PURNIMA?From Hindus to Buddhists and Jains, many Indian religions observe this day in different Buddhism, it is believed Lord Buddha gave his first sermon on this day at Hindu tradition, it's linked with Ved Vyasa and is one of the most auspicious days to start spiritual Jainism, Lord Mahavira is said to have made Gautam Swami his first disciple on this you're spiritual or not, it's a beautiful time to thank the people who've helped shape your life.- Ends
