Did you know that books of laws existed in ancient India too?

The concept of Democracy and republics are often considered as Western imports.

To understand, let’s recollect a known story, Once upon a time there lived a king called raja Bhoj. He found a Throne that belongs Raja Vikramaditya; it was made up of Gold with 32 wooden statues. The king wanted to sit on the throne but he couldn’t, every time he tried, a statue from that 32 came into live and stops him to listen to a story about the glory of the king Vikramaditya. Every statue told a different story but ended with the same question, “ARE YOU WORTHY ENOUGH TO SIT ON THE THRONE OF THE GREAT KING Vikramaditya?” and Raja Bhoj’s answer was, “NO, I AM NOT WORTHY ENOUGH OF SITTING ON THIS THRONE. Finally the statues got impressed by the humility of Raja Bhoj and blessed him and let him sit on that throne.

This story might be familiar for almost all of us. The book of these 32 stories wasn’t just a story book, is a book of guide lines, a book of laws.

Very recently we have celebrated our Republic Day – the day our constitution came into force. Being Indians it is very important to know that books of laws or the constitution existed in ancient India. But many of us are in this misconception that Constitution is a western concept.

Our history infact full of such stories and texts. Centuries ago the concept of Democracy existed in India.

Our honourable Prime minister, Mr.Narendra Modi calls India as the mother of Democracy.

Here I would like to recall the books of laws and constitutions from our ancient India.

Since the Vedic period we had institutions like central Assemblies to check the power of the king. Books like Rigved and Chandogya Upanishad, talks about those rules. Those assemblies are of two, the Samiti, representing the whole tribe and the Sabha, with distinguished members are just like the Upper and the Lower houses of the Parliament of today.

The Mahabharat represents GANA rajya – the meaning of Republic.

We usually think that Grease is the birth place of Democracy. But the Greek records talk about the republics in ancient India.

Be proud being an Indian especially when we are living under the influence of western culture. Let’s educate our young generation about the values of our ancient culture so that they would prefer to settle in Indian rather than flying away from Indian. Let us save our intellectual young generation from falling a pray to western world.

Physical activity is not only essential for healthy growth and development, it’s also important to learning. Increasing physical activity and physical fitness may improve academic performance and that time in the school day dedicated to recess, physical education class, and physical activity in the classroom may also facilitate academic performance.

Although academic performance stems from a complex interaction between intellect and contextual variables, health is a vital moderating factor in a child’s ability to learn. The idea that healthy children learn better is empirically supported and well accepted, and multiple studies have confirmed that health benefits are associated with physical activity, including cardiovascular and muscular fitness, bone health, psychosocial outcomes, and cognitive and brain health. The relationship of physical activity and physical fitness to cognitive and brain health and to academic performance is a proven fact.

Research shows that physical activity – whether it’s team sports, bike riding, swimming at the beach or playground games – has positive effects on the brain and on school performance.

The positive effects of Games or physical activity on the brain:

Physical activity has a direct impact on the behavior and development of the brain. 

The flow of oxygen to the brain is increased

The number of brain neurotransmitters is increased, which assists your ability to focus, concentrate, learn, remember and handle stress

The number of brain-derived neurotrophies is increased, which assures the survival of neurons in areas of the brain that are responsible for learning, memory and higher thinking

Physical activity linked to higher learning grades:

Physical activity has an impact on cognitive skills such as concentration and attention, and it also enhances classroom attitudes and behaviors, all of which are important components of improved academic performance and better language skills. The more physically fit children were not only better at reading, but they were also better at reading passages.

Physical activity has a relationship to parts of the brain that support complex cognitive processes during laboratory tasks. It also showed that physical activity is important for growth, development and general health. Physical activity was also found to boost brain power and academic performance, among other benefits.

Building their cognitive functioning:

Executive function and brain health underlie academic performance. Basic cognitive functions related to attention and memory facilitates learning, and these functions are enhanced by physical activity and higher aerobic fitness.

• Just one session of moderate physical activity instantly boosts kids’ brain function, cognition and academic performance.
• Mastering fundamental movement skills boosts brain power and academic performance.
• Time away from lessons in favour of physical activity doesn’t come at the cost of good grades.

Nurturing their engagement, motivation and psychological well-being:

• Physical activity boosts children’s self-esteem.
• It nurtures relationships with peers, parents and teachers.
• A caring environment that supports autonomy enhances kids’ motivation, their behaviour relating to physical activity and their general well-being.
• Regular and organized physical activity training promotes life skills (interpersonal, self-regulation) and core values like respect and social responsibility.

Supporting a culture of inclusiveness:

Culture- and context-sensitive activities promote social inclusion.