Honesty and Truth

Honesty is the quality of being fair and upright, the practice of adhering to the truth in thought, word and deed. it is thus a quality of character, a virtue, a matter of practice, a habit. When we are fair in our dealings, true to our words, truthful in our expression and just in our actions, we are described as honest. Honesty has always been recognized as one of the basic virtues - one of the pillars on which the structure of human society must rest for without it mutual trust is impossible.

When we think rightly, follow moral commands, obey the voice of conscience, rive at correct judgments and reflect impartially, we are honest in our thought. What we say and what we do depends on what we think. If our thinking is crooked and premises are false, they will, inevitably, lead to faulty and distorted views. If modern civilization finds itself on the brink of a precipice, the causes are not far to seek. We refuse to reveal or acknowledgment our true intentions. Selfish motives and calculated greed shape our ideas and become the main cause of our discontentment. If we are honest in our thinking in all walks of life the world would be a much happier place to live in.

Indisipline in our educational institutions

Discipline implies maintenance of order a group through mental and moral training in obedience and self-control. It is the key to the orderly life of an individual, a group, a community and a nation. No society can survive and no nation can protect its independence, i fit fails to instill the values of discipline among its members.

The causes of indiscipline in our educational institutions are various and varied. They have a background. After the partition of India there was a universal reversal of values.They were challenged and scoffed at. The independence brought with it new opportunities - evacuee properties, import licences, sanctions for establishing new factories, etc - for grabbing and earning, by fair means or foul, money and accumulating wealth. This new scenario transformed the society and its values overnight. Contentment gave place to greed and avarice. Men lost all sense of grace, finesse and decorum. Te spirit of fellow-felling, accomodation and self-sacrifice was forgotten. Selfishness and self-interest became the order of hte day.

The United Nations

During the last two hundred years or so the world has seen a rapid increase in the spirit of internationalism. Though the national outlook has not wanted much, but it is gradually being qualified by international outlook. The fast means of transport and communication, radio, television, books, magazines and newspapers, have all helped in creating and sustaining this outlook.

Also, the large-scale devastation caused by the continental and World Wars has made man yearn for peace and helped him to grow out of narrow national grooves. This international outlook and desire for peace expressed themselves in the formation of international peace sustaining organizations. The Congress of Vienna grew out of the Napoleonic wars,the league of nations from the havoc of the World War 1 and the United Nations out of ruins of World War 2.

The United Nations has its headquarters in New York City. It is the direct descendant of the league of Nations and resulted from the deliberations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill at Dumbarton Oaks, an estate near Washington D.C. It was formally set up in a Conference of fifty countries at San Francesco in 1945 and it began to operate in January, 1946.