Volume 12 | Issue 2 | February-2024

 Abstract

The controversial, but to a great extent understudied, "Nellie Massacre" stands as a dark reminder of the deep-seated ethnic and communal tensions that plagued, and continue to affect, the socio-political setting of Assam. The present study delves into the systemic factors surrounding this tragic episode, highlighting the complex socio-political landscape that culminated in unparalleled violence during the height of the Assam Agitation. The massacre, which occurred on February 18, 1983, across several villages in the Nellie region, resulted in the brutal deaths of thousands, primarily from the minority East Bengal origin Muslim community. Factors such as historical grievances over land alienations, shifting demographic profiles, immigration fears, and deliberate political manipulation contributed to the sudden eruption of the violence. The aftermath saw a distinct lack of judicial accountability for the victims, with the provisions of subsequent political accords granting effective amnesty to perpetrators. This paper aims to provide a critical overview of the massacre, shedding light on a historically complex problem of genocide in the post-colonial history of the state that continues to resonate with the contemporary issues of legal identity, communal harmony, and human rights in Northeast India.

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 Keywords

Assam Agitation, Nellie Massacre, Communal Violence, Ethnic Identity, Political Marginalization, Land Alienation.

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The present study was conducted to examine the effect of cyberbullying on psychological abnormality among school students. In the digital age, school students are increasingly exposed to online communication through smartphones, social media, messaging applications, online games and digital learning platforms. Cyberbullying in the form of abusive messages, threatening comments, fake accounts, online exclusion, trolling, spreading rumours, body shaming and digital humiliation has emerged as a serious psychological and educational problem. The study was based on descriptive survey research design and included a sample of 600 secondary and senior secondary school students from Dehradun district. Cyberbullying was taken as the independent variable, while psychological abnormality was taken as the dependent variable. Gender, locality and school type were considered as demographic variables. Data were collected with the help of the Cyberbullying Scale, Psychological Abnormality Scale and Personal Information Schedule developed for the study. The data were analysed through percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, Pearson product moment correlation and regression analysis. The findings revealed that the majority of school students were found at the moderate level of cyberbullying and psychological abnormality. Boys showed significantly higher cyberbullying than girls, whereas girls showed significantly higher psychological abnormality than boys. Urban students and private school students showed higher cyberbullying and psychological abnormality than rural and government school students. A significant positive relationship was found between cyberbullying and psychological abnormality, with a correlation value of 0.68. Regression analysis further showed that cyberbullying explained 46.2% variance in psychological abnormality, indicating that cyberbullying is an important predictor of psychological abnormality among school students. The study concludes that cyberbullying is a serious risk factor for anxiety, depression, stress, aggression, withdrawal, low self-esteem and poor adjustment among students. Therefore, cyber-safety education, digital citizenship, parental monitoring, teacher awareness, school counselling and strong anti-cyberbullying policies are urgently required to protect the psychological health of school students.

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 Keywords

Cyberbullying, Psychological Abnormality, School Students, Digital Safety, Mental Health

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Indian painting has historically maintained a profound relationship with mythology, functioning as a visual language through which religious, philosophical, and cultural ideas are communicated. Mythological elements--derived from texts such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas--have been continuously interpreted and reinterpreted across different periods of Indian art. This paper examines the transformation of mythological imagery in Indian painting from ancient mural traditions to contemporary artistic practices. It analyses stylistic, iconographic, and conceptual changes while situating them within broader socio-cultural, political, and aesthetic contexts. The study argues that mythological elements in Indian painting are not static but dynamic constructs that evolve in response to changing historical conditions, artistic innovations, and ideological shifts.

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 Keywords

mythological elements, Indian Painting, symbolic, visual representation, metaphysical, painting traditions,

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Today, the whole world has become like a small box, each and every corner of the world is well known to all. Sea had a main role to connect the places and the people around the world from primitive days. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS) constitutes the foundational legal framework governing the use and division of maritime spaces. Often described as the "Constitution of the Oceans," the Convention establishes a comprehensive zoning system that balances coastal State sovereignty with the principle of freedom of the seas. This article examines the legal division of the sea as codified under UNCLOS, focusing on the nature, extent, and legal consequences of each maritime zone. It further analyses maritime boundary delimitation, dispute settlement mechanisms, and the contemporary relevance of UNCLOS in addressing emerging challenges in ocean governance.

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 Keywords

Law of the Sea; UNCLOS 1982; Maritime Zones; Territorial Sea; Exclusive Economic Zone; Continental Shelf; High Seas

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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A government budget is an instrument for fulfilling the state's obligations and a political statement of the priorities set by the government in allocating resources. It is generally perceived as gender neutral. However, the budgetary policies have differential impacts on men and women, and more often than not, the resource allocation tends to be partial. Despite the numerous attempts at narrowing the gender disparity, women continue to experience continuous vulnerabilities, and their opportunity gaps endure in all spheres. It is anticipated that gender budgeting would provide the mechanism to close the gender gap. The paper provides an overview of the concept of gender budgeting, its historical development and its current status in Mizoram. It is descriptive and is based on secondary sources. It explores the issues and posits that capacity building, leadership commitment, access to gender-disaggregated data and the participation of the civil society, among others, would facilitate the institutionalisation of gender budgeting in the state.

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 Keywords

Gender, gender disparity, women, gender budgeting, equality.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Section 113 of India's new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) embeds the definition of "terrorist act" directly into the ordinary criminal code, shifting it from special laws like the UAPA. This integration normalizes terrorism charges, making them appear routine alongside common crimes. Critics argue this perilous embedding carries severe risks: the overbroad definition (including acts threatening security, unity, or causing disruption "by any means") and harsh penalties enable potential misuse against dissent, protests, minorities, and journalists. It blurs crucial distinctions between ordinary crime and national security threats, erodes due process, creates a chilling effect on fundamental freedoms, and risks mainstreaming controversial anti-terror frameworks. This article mainly critically analyses the newly inserted provision. The Paper briefly analyses the historical development of counter terrorism laws in India from TADA to POTA to the current primary counter terrorism statute, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Further the possible perils of normalization of terrorism law under section 113 BNS is also analyzed. Furthermore a comparative analysis of the Indian law with the international legal standard is also discussed briefly. And lastly the actions in order to mitigate the profound perils posed by section 113 are also discussed as suggestions.

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 Keywords

Terrorism, Counter Terrorism laws, Section 113 BNS.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Chhau dance of Purulia has had the history of performing arts based on traditional culture of Bengal. It is a popular dance culture performed on traditional Hindu religious themes. It is originated in ancient time and developed on Hindu cultural values and religious traditions. The tradition of Chhau dance was evolved through different stages. However wearing mask at the time of performance is quite normal and it is the tradition which has separated them from other dance culture. From time immemorial Chhau dance has got importance in rural Bengal but in contemporary society it becomes a popular folk culture which attracts people of different regions. In the present study I have tried to find out problems and challenges of Chhau dancer of rural Chhau artists of Purulia and their socio-economic conditions. Qualitative methodology has been applied in the study for in-depth understanding of the subject. Various tools and techniques of qualitative research have been applied throughout the research as and when necessary. Study reveals that Chhau dancers are coming from lower stratum of the society and struggling as artists due to their economic conditions, illiteracy and backwardness.

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 Keywords

Chhau Dancer, Hindu religion, Folk Culture, Social Backwardness, Art, Primitive culture, Agility, Indigenous, Tribal Dance.

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The central, state, and municipal governments in India each have different rights under the country's complicated, three-tiered federal tax system, which mostly depends on direct taxes like income tax and indirect taxes like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to raise money. The GST is one of the most recent reforms that aims to streamline the system, increase revenue production, and remove the inefficiencies brought about by cascading taxes. However, issues like tax evasion and the requirement for a broad-based system still exist. The intricate structure of India's tax system is intended to generate income for the federal and state governments. It is subject to a number of rules and regulations and comprises both direct and indirect taxes

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Income tax, GST.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Solar energy is very large, in exhaustible source of energy. The use of renewable energy is receiving growing interest worldwide. Cooking is the measure necessity for people all over the world. This paper presents the fabrication details and on-field experimental studies of a novel hybrid box type solar cookers, suitable for cooking requirements of small family. The objective of the study is to enhance the heat transfer rate and to reduce the cooking timings by consumption of minimum heat energy. Small size, high thermal performance, light weight, low-cost and short payback periods are some important features of these cookers. The values of some essential thermal performance parameters, first figure of merit (F1), second figure of merit (F2) and standard cooking power suggested by Bureau of Indian Standards and International Standard for box-type solar cookers, have been evaluated by experimental studies. A comparative analysis of the thermal performances of the hybrid solar cookers, developed by many authors, has also been presented here with proper analysis. Main objective of experiment is to enhance the heat transfer rate and to reduce the cooking timing by consumption of minimum energy. Small size, high thermal performance, light weight, low cost are the important features of the cooker. It can be use any time day and night with electrical back up.

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Hybrid solar cooker, Heat transfer, Heat loss, Electrical back-up, Figure of merit, Thermal performance, copper and aluminium finned cooking pot.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an educational approach that emphasizes the development of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes essential for fostering a sustainable future. The primary objective of ESD is to empower learners to take action and make informed decisions that promote sustainability and address critical global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality. ESD weaves sustainability themes across various subjects, disciplines, and educational levels, from early childhood education to higher education and beyond. It aims to cultivate critical thinking, creativity, innovation, lifelong learning, and civic engagement. ESD operates on the principle that education is crucial in shaping both individual and collective actions, thereby fostering a culture of sustainability. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic issues and the necessity for interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to tackle these challenges. Various international initiatives and frameworks, including the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, support ESD. It is regarded as a vital strategy for achieving the SDGs and promoting a more sustainable and equitable future for all. This article will specifically focus on SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education. The author has reviewed existing literature on sustainable development and education, shared personal experiences in relation to current theories and models, and discussed the challenges faced by educational institutions. Additionally, the paper will highlight best practices that schools, universities, and other educational institutions can adopt to integrate education for sustainable development effectively.

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 Keywords

Planned Education for Sustainable Development in India

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition