Jotting It My Way

We all had at-least once came across that pre-movie ad featuring Mukesh, who suffers and dies because of his chewing addiction. Every packet of cigarette and chewing tobacco comes with statutory warning signs, but it is indeed an unfortunate affair that India accounts for more than 12% of the world’s smokers.  Smoking cannabis has been in existence in India since 2000 B.C. Tobacco was introduced in India in 17th century and this mingled up with the existing habit of cannabis smoking. Since then, numbers of smokers and tobacco chewers in India have increased with leaps and bounds. More than 10 million people are dying each year due to tobacco related illnesses. More than 36,000 men died in the year 2012 due to oral cancer of which a major portion was due to consumption of tobacco products.  There are many factors promoting the consumption of tobacco. One among them is the film industry. They often showcase the good guys consuming tobacco products (mostly cigars). As per...

Masood Azhar, the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack, has finally been designated a global terrorist by the United Nations. Earlier attempts to blacklist him were unsuccessful, owing to China blocking the proposals. However, in what is seen as a diplomatic victory for India, the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief is now a global terrorist, a culmination of efforts by a number of countries viz., India, France, US, UK among others. So, what does it mean for India? More importantly, what does it mean for Masood Azhar and Pakistan? When someone is identified as a global terrorist by the sanctions committee in the UN, a number of restrictions are imposed on the said entity. The measures include: Asset freeze: All or any of the assets of the designated individuals or entities are required to be frozen by the member states of UN. The basic idea is to dry out the funds that sponsor terrorism. Travel ban: The UN member states are required to deny passage to the designated entities through the...