St. Joseph’s College of Commerce (autonomous)
End Semester Examination – MARCH / APRIL 2015
B.Com – IV Semester
C1 14 4 ge: GENERAL ENGLISH AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Duration: 3 hours Max. Marks: 100
Section – A
- Answer the following questions. Each carries 15 marks. (2 x 15=30)
- “The Seven Ages of Man” is an excerpt from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. The poem begins with a phrase, ‘All the world’s a stage’ which is famous all over the world. In this poem, Shakespeare compares life to a stage and has divided life into seven stages each having its own varied traits and features. Describe these stages keeping its relevance to the present time.
- ‘To be or not to be is probably the best-known line from all drama or literature. Certainly, if anyone is asked to quote a line of Shakespeare this is the one that first comes to mind for most people. The question for Hamlet was whether to continue to exist or not – whether it was nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of an unbearable situation, or to declare war on the sea of troubles that afflict one, and by opposing them, end them’.
Why do you think that Hamlet is in dilemma? Have you come across such situations in your life? Narrate one such situation, how did you handle the same.
Section – B
- Read the passage and answer the questions given below
An inspiring victory for tribal people around the world’
The DongriaKondh tribal people of India have successfully stopped a mine from opening up on their traditional lands. DW speaks to Sophie Grig from Survival International, who supported the protests for a decade.
DW: After ten years of protests, the Indian environment ministry has now rejected a huge bauxite mining project by the multinational company Vedanta. Survival International has called this a ‘sensational victory’. How likely is it that a small group like the DongriaKondh win a case for their rights, when they are pitched against a huge multinational like Vedanta?
Sophie Grig: It’s fantastic news; it’s a real David and Goliath story. There’s only about 8000 Dongria people. One of the main reasons why they have had this great success is their incredible tenacity and courage and the fact that they are so united and so proud of their way of life. They are so determined to protect their sacred hills that they have done everything they can to campaign against the mine. That has also been supported by Survival International and a number of other organizations both on the ground and internationally.
In this battle that the Dongria fought for such a long time, the group were confronted with many obstacles. Can you give us an idea of what they experienced?
Their leaders have been arrested, there have been a lot of threats against them, there has been a lot of pressure and harassment for the community. There’s also been a lot of pressure from the company who have tried to buy them off by claiming that they will bring development. The Dongria have rightly said ‘We don’t want development’, ‘What sort of development is it, if you destroy our hills?’
The Dongria have a wonderful agricultural system where they have huge numbers of plants that they cultivate or collect from the forest that enable them to live well and very happily in their hills, as they have done for generations. They say ‘Development for us is being able to live here and make our own choices’.
Defenders of this mining project have always said that the Dongria, like other tribal people, are among the most impoverished in the country and they need economic development. Isn’t that also the case?
They certainly don’t see themselves as poor and in fact they told us ‘We live like kings’. They feel like they live a very wealthy and happy existence in the hills. They themselves look at people in the plains and in the cities and they feel sorry for them. They say, ‘You have to pay for your water’, ‘You have to pay for everything, we get it for free in the hills, why would we want to leave’. What they want is to be able to live their own way of life on their own land.
And, of course, this land is also sacred to them.
Yes, it is. They worship the hills they live in which would have been destroyed by the mining company. That’s also played a huge part in their rejection of the mines.
Apart from the determination of the DongriaKondh, how important was the international campaigning on their behalf? What was the tipping point that made this victory possible?
I think that the international and national campaigns were extremely important. The Dongria on their own, however determined they were, would not have been able to generate the awareness in the government of what was happening to them on the ground. That’s the danger when tribal people’s voices are just ignored. They needed the national and the international pressure to make the government sit up and listen.
Survival’s campaign involved us making a film which allowed them to speak out themselves. We know that 600,000 people viewed that film. Thousands of letters were sent to the Indian government, protests were held, we lobbied the British government and they condemned the mining there and the Church of England disinvested from Vedanta mining. Then, the Supreme Court said that the Dongria should be allowed to make the decision. This last weekend, the news has finally come that the [Indian environment] ministry has said no. So, it’s been a culmination of all that hard work.
What repercussions will this news have for other tribal people in Asia and around the world?
We know that the news of the Dongria is being listened to. And the big meetings they had last August, and the way that they rejected the mine back then, has already had repercussions. I have spoken to Sami reindeer herders in Sweden who said that they were inspired by the Dongria’s rejection of the mine and that it galvanized them in their cause.
Vedanta will have looked at the Dongria and thought, ‘Here are 8000 people living in a really remote part of Odisha’. They didn’t think that these people were going to be able to stop them. They didn’t think people were going to be able to find out about it. This can really send a strong message to mining companies and governments that they cannot go ahead with mines like this or other development projects on the lands of tribal people without getting the consent of those tribal people. And, if they don’t want it, that has to be listened to and it can’t go ahead.
But, bauxite is in high demand. Even though new places are being explored, there might be no real alternatives to the place that Vedanta wanted to mine in. Do you think there will be a new attempt to gain access to the sacred hills of the DongriaKondh?
I would love to say no, but who knows. There is an election coming up in India and it is always possible that the decision might be overturned. I think at the moment though there’s so much public attention that has gone into this case, it would be extremely difficult for it to be overturned. But it’s definitely something that the Dongria will be watching.
There’s a refinery that has been built at the base of their hills, which was supposed to be processing the bauxite mined in the area. While that is still there, the Dongria will be nervous about further attempts to mine. But, I think as things stand, it’s a huge victory and we have to hope that it will be maintained.
Sophie Grig is an Asia Expert for Survival International and is based in London.
Answer the following questions in about 150 words. Each carries 10 marks. (2×10=20)
- How do you relate the problem of the Dongria tribes with the limitations of globalization? Do you consider globalization as threat especially to under developed nations?
- How do you relate contemporary politics in terms of globalization? Comment on the present scenario connecting India and the world, giving special reference to US role in the global market.
Section – C
- Answer the question in about 150 words (10 marks)
- Can we say that Anna and Gurov’s relationship is a case of bad timing or destiny? What does the short story “The Lady with the Dog” say about relationship?
Section – D
- Answer the following questions. (40 marks)
- A Committee consisting of the Factory Manager, Marketing Manager, and Executive head has been asked to look into the possibility of opening a new branch in Bangalore. Draft the report to be made after completing the survey, giving recommendations. (5 marks)
- Write a report on the Annual Cultural Day/ Annual College Day. (5 marks)
- Create an attractive print advertisement with the salient feature for New Year Offer for product of your choice. Draft a sales letter for the same. (10 marks)
- (a)List the points to keep in mind while drafting circular for the meetings.
(b)Draft a notice calling a meeting of the Finance Committee of your company to plan for annual budget. (5+5)
- (a)Draft a public notice informing the public in general the Mr. Santhosh is no longer an employee of your company.
(b) Draft a notice about announcing the change of the venue of an entrance test for the medical students. (5+5)
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