The Indian Agriculture Sector

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. It accounts for nearly 20 percent of the aggregate output. To be specific, nearly half of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihood (Government of India, 2010, p. 6). Contribution of the agricultural sector to the economy is declining, however other sectors thrive.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Indian Agriculture Sector specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, approximately 45 percent of the total output was obtained from the agricultural sector in the early 70s,. The figure has dropped to less than 20 percent in the last decade. Nonetheless, agriculture still remains a significant source of employment for many Indians. It provides jobs to over half of the country’s population (Government of India, 2010, p. 12). The dwindling agricultural production has led to a decrease in agricultural exports and an increase in agricultural import s. The ratio of agricultural exports to the total exports dropped to 10 percent in 2010 compared to 20 percent in the early ’90s. On the other hand, the ratio of agricultural imports to the aggregate imports grew by approximately 6.6 percent in the last three decades (Government of India, 2010, p. 13). The decrease in agricultural production and the increase in agricultural imports have been a cause of major concern. Hot debates didn’t provide any solution to the problem, as well as small reforms. situation deteriorated which led to introduction of the next five-year plan. As a result, the government came up with a five-year plan, which solely targets the agricultural sector. The five-year plan is aimed at reversing the disturbing trend in the sector. The five-year plan puts emphasis on the country’s self-sufficiency and self-reliance in the food production (Vaidyanathan, 2010, p. 9; Government of India, 2013, p. 5). This paper explores the impact of the 11th fi ve-year plan on India’s agricultural sector, particularly in promoting local food production and economy stability. 11TH  Five Year Plans (2007-2011) As the country’s population keeps growing, the nation needed to enhance its food production to take care of the ever-increasing demand. Given the significance of the agricultural sector to the economy, the government introduced the 11th five-year plan to provide support and incentives to farmers and other stakeholders in order to enhance production of food (Government of India, 2013, p. 5).Advertising Looking for essay on agriculture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are four principal elements of this policy. The first element is enhancement of viability of agricultural operations by increasing market access, availing insurance cover, and monitoring agricultural commodity prices (IBEF, 2013, p. 7). The second element is provision of suitable technologies thr ough research and training. The third element is increase of budgetary allocation for agriculture and its infrastructure so as to improve efficient use of natural resources and of agricultural commodity markets functioning. Last but not least is provision of better delivery of services, for instance, loans to farmers, veterinary services and general farm inputs. In a nutshell, the 11th five-year plan was aimed at increasing food production by providing special programs and building agricultural infrastructure (IBEF, 2013, p. 7). The Impact of the 11th Five-Year Plan on the economy and local food production Figure 1 below shows India’s GDP growth rate over the last ten years. It is clear that between 1997 and 2007 the real agricultural output was decreasing, whereas the non-agricultural output was increasing. The ratio of agricultural GDP to the total GDP was very low during that period. This forced the government to reconsider its policy on food production, hence to introduce the 11th five-year plan (Central Statistics Office, 2011, p. 44). The 11th five-year program introduced the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), which significantly increased production of cereals in the country. The principal goal of the National Food Security Mission was to establish scientific elements which incorporate mechanization, soil supplements and crop security measures (Government of India, 2013, p. 6). The 11th five-year plan helped to attain 3.2 percent agricultural GDP growth. Even though the figure was below the projected value of 4 percent, it was significantly better than the figures under the previous policies (Central Statistics Office, 2011, p. 45). Figure 1: Agriculture and Non-Agriculture GDP Growth Rate in India in the Last DecadeAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Indian Agriculture Sector specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Source: (Central Statistics Office, 2011) Before the introduc tion of the 11th five-year plan, the share of acreage of agricultural lands decreased by approximately 20 million hectares. Similarly, the area under food grains shrank by 10 percent. The lowest production was recorded in 2008. However, the introduction of new technologies under the 11th five-year plan led to 80 percent increase in acreage of agricultural lands. The production of rice, wheat and maize increased significantly, followed by pulses on the second place. Under the 11th five-year plan, food grain output increased by 2.3 percent (Central Statistics Office, 2011, p. 45). Generally, Indian agribusiness is characterized by diminutive and divided area holdings. There are around 130 million active holdings in the country. On average, each active holding possesses approximately 1.2 hectares. Less than 1 percent own more than 10 hectares (Sharma, 2011, p. 6). Before the introduction of the 11th five-year plan, the overall productivity among the smallholder producers was exceedingl y low. Their participation in the market was poor because of such reasons as high transaction costs, low yields, inadequate information and small market consumption. In addition, increased land fragmentation led to big losses on farmlands. As a result, many farmers opted to lease their lands or seek gainful employment outside the agricultural sector (IBEF, 2013, p. 5). The introduction of the 11th five-year plan brought some positive results. The 11th five-year plan supported the formation of cooperatives and self-help groups. The cooperatives and self-help groups not only helped farmers to access credit facilities, but also to market their products. The government increased access to loan facilities by providing interest-free loans and subsidized inputs.Advertising Looking for essay on agriculture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For this reason, many Indians went back to farming (IBEF, 2013, p. 6). By the end of 2012, cultivation areas had increased by 8 million hectares. The government also introduced other support programs through the 11th five-year plan, such as water for canal irrigation, power for groundwater pumping, retention price subsidy scheme for fertilizers, and access to the international market (IBEF, 2013, p. 7). According to the IBEF (2013, p. 7), the main objective of the 11th five-year plan was to increase the production of food grains by 20 million tons. The government allocated roughly 900 million U.S. dollars for the project. There are four main achievements of the 11th five-year plan for the first year according to the National Food Security Mission (NFSM). The first achievement was a 70 million tons to over 90 million tons increase of wheat production. The second achievement was a 90 million tons to over 110 million tons increase of rice production. The third achievement was an 80 mil lion tons to over 100 million tons increase of maize production. And the last was a 13 million tons to over 15 million tons increase of pulse production (IBEF, 2013, p. 7). Figure 2 below highlights the growth rate of land, labor and capital output based on the agricultural GDP index. Even though the productivity growth rate in the agricultural sector has always been low, averaging 2 percent per year, during the 11th five-year plan it reached 5 percent. This was the highest figure recorded in the country’s history. The closest was 3 percent, which was recorded in 1981. As a matter of fact, the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) estimated the growth rate of real wages in the agricultural sector at 8 percent per annum during the period (Government of India, 2013, p. 9). Figure 2: Growth Rate of Land, Labor and Capital Output Source: (Government of India, 2013, p. 9) The introduction of the scientific elements, for instance, labor saving mechanization led to the rapid increase of private investment in the agricultural sector. This is attributed to the country’s rigid labor laws and the ever-increasing wages (Shiva, 2013, p. 2). Although mechanization helped farmers to deal with labor challenges, it caused a sharp decline in capital productivity. Even though moderated by gains from trade deals and debt cancellation, long-term investment in the agricultural sector may be unsustainable due to deteriorating capital productivity (Shiva, 2013, p. 3). The 12th five-year plan (2012-2017), which is basically a continuation of the 11th five-year plan also emphasizes increase of food grains production. The two plans (11th and 12th five-year plans) recognize the fact that self-sufficiency in food production can only be attained by increasing the production of staple foods. In India, food security is inextricably linked to food grains. Therefore, the debates on food shortages are concentrated on rice, wheat, maize and pulses (Sharma Dinesh, 201 1, p. 30). 12th five-year plan is also expected to produce high results and solve a lot of food problems in India. The 11th five-year plan helped substantially to make India a food sufficient country, despite the rapid growth of population. In other words, India is currently food secure due to the 11th five-year plan (IBEF, 2013, p. 9). Conclusion Agriculture in India is both a source of food and livelihood. In addition, the sector is very important to the country’s economy. However, the period between 1997 and 2007 was characterized by low agricultural productivity and high levels of food shortage. This forced the Indian government to spend a large amount of money on food import. On the other hand, the ratio of agricultural imports to the aggregate imports grew by approximately 6.6 percent in the last three decades regardless of the initiated key reforms in the agricultural sector. However, the reform programs were ineffective. This led to the introduction of the 11th five-y ear plan, which was aimed at making India a food-secure country through the production of food grains. The plan significantly helped reverse the situation. As a matter of fact, the 12th five-year plan, which runs up to 2017, is just a continuation of the 11th five-year plan. The 12th five-year plan also aims at increasing the production of food grains, which are staples in India. References Central Statistics Office 2011, Revised Estimates of Annual National Income 2010-11 and Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product, 2010-11, Central Statistics Office, New Delhi. Government of India 2010, Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2010. Web. Government of India 2013, Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017): Economic Sectors, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi. IBEF 2013, The Indian Agriculture Sector: Investments, Growth and Prospects, India Brand Equity Foundation, New Delhi. Sharma, VP Dinesh, J 2011, High Value Agriculture in India: past Trends and Future P rospects. Web. Sharma, VP 2011, India’s Agricultural Development under the New Economic Regime: Policy Perspective and Strategy for the 12th Five Year Plan, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Shiva, V 2013, Agricultural Sector in India. Web. Vaidyanathan, A 2010, Agriculture Growth in India: Role of Technology, Incentives and  Institutions, Oxford University Press, New York. This essay on The Indian Agriculture Sector was written and submitted by user Lilia Ramos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Capital punishment -Criminals Need the Death Penalty essays

Capital punishment -Criminals Need the Death Penalty essays Is the death penalty fair?. It is a very controversial subject discussed by the experts. Has any one of these individuals listened to the rest of us? The answer in many cases is no. Australia and Americas Governments represent the people, their wishes, beliefs and ideals. That means, through elections, we decide what policies are to be passed. In the case of capital punishment, various polls report that seventy percent of Americans are in favour of the death sentence. That is a clear majority. So called experts are free to appeal this is wrong and speak freely. But the fact of the matter is seven out of ten Americans have calculated the problem of capital punishment according to their own values and beliefs. Their conclusion was favourable to the death penalty. The question of it being fair was answered by the majority - and the majority rules. Many experts who speak against the death penalty refer to it as barbaric. The definition of murder, is "the unlawful killing of a human being with hatred ." This is true but that is what a killer has done. Everyone should know that if you kill or rape then the death penalty is the punishment for the crime. If the person willingly committed the terrible act of taking a life, he would know that he would be subject to this penalty. Therefore, he decided to gamble on not being caught, or thought that he was above the law. In either case he willingly gave up his life with the taking of another. Critics argue that an innocent person may be put to death, and most agree this may happen. However, we must protect the people of this country from killers, and we have tried all other options. The trial court imposes death only after a post-conviction hearing, during which circumstances of the crime are reviewed. The accused may also appeal the decision or request a stay of execution as he sees fit. Although the risk of an accidental death is there, the legal actions are i ...

Portraits from 1480-1560 - Beauty and Power Essay

Portraits from 1480-1560 - Beauty and Power - Essay Example On looking at the precision and detail Leonardo and other artists afforded his portraits, it is evident that what they were drawing was not merely portraits but ‘reality’ as it were. The artist’s attention to detail shows the modern person how life was during the time (Tinagli88). At the point, the portraits were supposed to be three-quarter so that the sitter could lock their eyes with the painter in a way that signified dialogue. It was believed that the eyes were the instrument through which love was communicated yet a few of the most celebrated portraits did not lock eyes with the viewer. Portrait Ginevra de’ Benci did not lock eyes with the beholder in spite of her being a renowned poet and hailed for her work which preached love. In his documentation, Leonardo wrote that he understood the conventions of beauty as depicted in poetry and believed that a painter yields, even more, power over men’s mind as in his work, he could draw a portrait that a man can fall in love too. The painting may not even depict a living person. In his argument, Leonardo is right to state that the paintings had power over the mind of men. Mostly, the eyes were believed to communicate love. In such a case, if the person received a portrait of a woman whose eyes were locked to those of the beholder, then there is no doubt the beholder would have translated the images to mean that the person loved them. In conclusion, there are many changes that have occurred in artistry since the Renaissance.

Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management Assignment - 2

Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management - Assignment Example When choices increases, shaping and monitoring investment portfolios becomes more complicated and it is more exposed to excessive risks. To succeed in portfolio market, it requires one to make more research in order to learn how to evaluate fundamental issue and manage related risk. This increases effectiveness to clients and organization leading to more productivity. In order to succeed in investment environment, Nelly company they should have proper management of cash. They should always have knowledge of cash they receive from regular contribution of their members made and how much the fund grows. This will enable them to know the amount of money they will use to finance education (Kendrick, 2009).Later the company management should discus and make decisions on how to finance the education and how much they should have for the company to profit which will be available for contributor to make the withdraw. They should also come up with rules which should be favourable for the company and the contributor to minimize the amount they should withdraw than the amount they contribute (Elton & Gruber, 1995). The success of Nelly Company can be brought by setting complicated and favourable rules for members who would like to withdraw their funds and which can bring the member core benefits in future. The members who have more than four years and would like to withdraw their funds can be given a portion, say, 20 percent of their net contributions. The remainder should be used for funds creation at an interest which then and be allocated to these members on a residual basis. This ensures that the company remains a going concern and may not necessarily liquidate (Aiken, 2008). The company can also borrow quickly from other financing institution under a line of credit agreement, which permits company to have up to a specified maximum amount. The company will be able to buy marketable

DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A Essay

DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A REMOTEJRURAL COMMUNITY - Essay Example Sewage systems that are poorly maintained or virtually non-existent, untreated animal wastes, landfills that are poorly regulated and rising levels of industrial effluents are some of the reasons and issues behind contamination and wastewater generation. In fact, untreated sewage often tends to flow into the streets in rural areas (especially in developing countries) and can run into agricultural fields contaminating the clean water and food sources. This paper will describe two distinct conceptual models for wastewater management and evaluate relevant issues such as water conservation, reuse and sustainability. Thereafter, the best model among the two shall be elaborated further and include a detailed description of the inherent wastewater management scheme. The paper also includes a detailed stakeholder analysis to ascertain the various issues affecting and influencing each stakeholder who is either involved or affected due to the prescribed wastewater management scheme. The first model for wastewater management consists of a pilot plant system made up of an ASB (up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket), a CW (constructed wetland), SF (Intermittent sand filter) and AVB (Passively aerated vertical bed). This treatment model is highly flexible and can accommodate various wastewater treatment combinations. Each of these components is described below (Henze, 2005): Anaerobic sludge blanket (ASB): the reactor segment of the plant is conical in shape and does not contain any gas separators for any initial treatment upon preliminary sedimentation. The average working volume of the reactor is 7.5 m3 and has a surface area of 8 m2. The ASB concept has been devised, developed and applied in many parts of the world, especially in the rural regions of developing nations such as China and Brazil (Rofe, 2004). Aerated vertical bed (AVB): For the current consumption levels of 200 L/d per house, a passive aeration system consisting of four vertical beds can be

Physics of the Bottle Flip Challenge

Physics of the Bottle Flip Challenge One of the biggest trends of 2016 was the water bottle flip challenge, and almost everyone was trying their hand at it. But, there is much more to it than just skill and luck, and-even though the trend seriously died out-Ill be teaching you a few cheats that are going make you flip! Or at the very least give you the ability to become the mic-dropping finale at your schools talent show. But in all seriousness, of all the trends to hit big in 2016, bottle flipping was perhaps the most surprising. Sure, we expect the collective mind of the internet to dredge up long forgotten childhood shows, ironically appreciate terrible movies, or recreate popular dance moves; but flipping bottles of water so that they can land correctly? Its something almost anyone can do, watch, and appreciate. You see it happen and you understand it regardless of how old you are or what language you speak. But, for those of you who many not be familiar, here is a quick summary. Bottle flipping entails taking a bot tle and tossing it so that it twirls through the air like a gymnast, and sticks a 10/10 landing. Now, despite what Know Your Meme-a website that dedicates itself to documenting online phenomena and memes-might say, the origins go back as far as 2007 to a video released by a skateboarder named Ben Daleman. However, it was Michael Senatores epic flip during his school talent show last year that really caused people to flip out over the flip. As elegantly simple as bottle flipping might be, scientifically, its a completely different story. Involving everything from elasticity of collisions, to fluid dynamics, to momentum, to laws of gravity, the science behind the bottle flip is quite amazing. But, once you understand that science, youll actually have an unfair advantage in your next bottle flipping tournament, at your next school talent show, your next visit to grandmas house, or whenever you might just want to impress someone. Now, without further ado: The Scientific Cheat Code Thatll Get You the Upper Hand in the World of Bottle Ballistics. Before you start pitching your old plastic around, your flip can either be made or lost by the very first choice that you make-the bottle. There are hundreds, if not thousands of different brands of bottled water on the market. As well, almost all of them have different bottle shapes, heights, even thicknesses of plastic, and picking the right one can make the difference between becoming a flipping champ, or a flipping chump. So if you think of bottle flipping as a video game, then think of your choice of bottle as the difficulty level. The typical bottle most people are using rounded bottle, thin plastic, like Poland Springs, those are effectively the normal setting. Not too hard, not to easy, just a good sweet spot to judge other bottles. But what in particular makes this one the ideal, middle candidate? Well, lets take two other bottles and itll all become clear. A water cooler jug, and a bottle of Coca-Cola. Now, the Coca-Cola bottle is the bottle flipping equivalent of hard mode, and the reason for that is surface area. Notice that the bottom isnt round like the other two, but rather has multiple prongs that give the bottle added stability. Now, under normal usage, thats a great shape, but when flipping bottles, it is a completely different story. Â   Â   You see, in physics, the energy of being in motion is called kinetic energy, and the word elasticity is a measure of how much kinetic energy remains as kinetic energy after two objects combine. To give you an example, lets look at anime. Goku punches Krillin in the face. Gokus fist has a bunch of kinetic, or movement energy. That then is transferred into Krillins face and body launching him off for miles. So, one would say that the elasticity of that collision of fist to face is really high. The kinetic energy of Gokus fist stays as movement energy as Krillin flies through the air. So thats an elastic collision. Alternatively, there are inelastic collisions, where the kinetic energy is transformed into deforming the material, or where energy is lost in other ways, like heat and sound. The Goku punch example isnt perfectly elastic, because some of his punch energy is lost deforming Krillins face. A good example of an inelastic collision is two balls of clay thrown together. They stick , there is no bounce, all the kinetic energy of the two balls moving is lost as they deform into one larger ball. Now, knowing all that, look at our bottle flip. Its plastic hitting a table, so the collision would be mostly elastic, where the kinetic energy of the bottle falling is preserved. But, the table isnt going to move so that movement energy has to go somewhere, and thats back into the bottle-which is causing it to bounce. The plastic of the bottle compresses ever so slightly, and then springs back into position, causing it to rebound from the table and potentially costing you your glorious moment at the talent show. Yet, as that may be, the force isnt going to cause a ton of bounce when its spread out over a wide surface such as the rounded bottom of your average water bottle. But what about the prongs of the Coca-Cola bottle? That force is moved to the very small area thats actually hitting the table, causing the bottle to rebound higher and thus making it harder to get th at perfect landing. Whereas on the other end of the spectrum are the large jugs of water-which are the equivalent of flipping easy mode. Part of it is the huge surface area of the base, but to see why these are the clear choice for any inexperienced flippers we need to talk about the other elephant in the room-finding the perfect water level. Empty water bottles weigh practically nothing, averaging in at 10 grams, and if you have an empty water bottle just sitting on a table, its center of mass-the point on the bottle where all the mass averages out-is right around the middle. But water is a lot heavier than plastic, and when you put something like water into a bottle, the center of mass is going to move. In this case it moves downward. Theres more mass on the bottom of the bottle than on the top, and thus the place where the mass averages out is going to end up a lower. Now, why is that important? Because the center of mass sometimes goes by another name, the center of gravity, and gravity-as the largest obstacle between you and that perfect bottle flip-pulls from the center of gravity. Therefore, the lower the center of gravity is, the less likely that bottle is going to tip over when you flip it. Thus, allowing you to walk off the high school stage head held high. But if you overfill the bottle with water now the cente r of gravity is much higher, the point at which all the mass has averaged out has crept back upwards. When that happens and its tipped to the left, the center of mass is now to the left of the tipping point, and gravity will pull the bottle down, causing it to fall, and causing you to take the walk of shame, or move to another school district. This is why getting just the right amount of water is tricky and essential. You need to put in enough water in the bottle so that the center of mass goes about as far down as it can get without inadvertently allowing that center of gravity to creep back upwards by overfilling. So mathematically the ideal sweet spot is going to be filling up that bottle to the one-third mark. Its there that the center of mass is going to be about as low as it can go. Those wide, short squat, water cooler bottles are the easiest ones to flip because theyre the ones where keeping the center of gravity low is a cinch. It doesnt take a lot of water to weigh them do wn-getting their center of mass low-and all in all these jugs are just super stable. Now obviously youre not going to shove a water cooler jug in your backpack to pull out during lunch hour bottle flipping tournaments. So what bottle do you choose? Well, in between these jugs and our standard round-bottomed ones is everything from Smart Water-being tall and narrow-to Fiji water-being made from a firmer plastic and with a wider base, and shorter height. The fact that Fiji water is short means that youre going to have to be a lot more precise in your water level measurements making it much harder to land the flip; therefore, making Smart Water a little more incentivizing. Lastly, and arguably the most important part of each flip: the throw. Now, before we talk about throwing bottles, lets talk hammers. Grab a hammer and toss it in the air! Eh, actually, no. Its dangerous and youll put a hole in the floor. Instead, lets visit historys most famous hammer tossers-The Hammer Bros. Notice how the hammer twirls all lopsided? Well, its because of our old friend-the center of mass. Objects in free fall that have any rotation will always rotate around their center of mass. Hammers, which traditionally have wooden handles and steel heads, have a hugely lopsided center of mass and rotate around that. But the cool part is, for as chaotic as that movement looks, if you trace the trajectory of the center of mass it will always follow a perfect arc. But heres the thing, for as complicated as throwing a hammer may look, a water bottle is even more complicated because of fluid dynamics. When you flip the bottle into the air, the center of mass is shifting as the mass of the water moves around in the bottle. As it does this, the water robs the bottle of angular momentum-or spin. This becomes most dramatic just after the bottle flips, when the water sloshes around and goes from being in the bottom of the bottle to the top. It adjusts to gravity, which simultaneously helps push the bottle down, allowing for that signature straight-up landing. How this knowledge helps you is that most newbie bottle flippers include too much horizontal velocity. You see, if the bottle is moving forward too fast when it lands, the bottles movement is suddenly stopped, but the water inside the bottle still wants to move forward. And it does, which takes all the mass with it. So instead of acting like a stabilizing force inside the bottle, the water actually helps knock the bottle over. The key here is to try to use as much force upward while also putting that spin on the bottle. The best way to do this is to make sure the bottle is parallel with the ground when you rel ease it. This sends the center of mass straight upward, and since youre holding onto the other end, the bottle with naturally rotates as you let go. So, there you have it, the steps to a prefect flip. Choose a bottle with a firmer plastic and a wide base like a Fiji bottle, fill that bottle to about a third full, double-checking the exact level by doing that 45 degree fall test to measure where the center of gravity is at, and then practice your toss so that you release it in parallel with the ground, and try to minimize its forward momentum. But if you want even more of an edge, consider swapping out the water in the bottle for Mercury. As the heaviest liquid at room temperature, that should lower the center of mass to amazing depths while still maintaining all the benefits of fluid dynamics. Just, fair warnings, dont drink it, or touch it, or do anything with it really because its toxic. Between Mercury and hammer tossing, explaining the science behind bottle flipping can be filled with bad ideas.

Jewish Perceptions of Jesus Christ Essay -- Judaism Christianity Chris

Jewish Perceptions of Jesus Christ Christianity and Judaism are major world religions which, though they worship the same God, have marked differences which have caused two thousand years of strife and animosity between the two religions. In his book We Jews and Jesus, Samuel Sandmel likens the link between Judaism and Christianity to a type of parent-child relationship, saying, â€Å"Early Christianity was a Judaism; within a century after the death of Jesus it was a separate religion. It was critical of its parent, and hostile to it, and elicited from its parent reciprocal criticism and hostility.†1 Opposing views of Jesus Christ caused the initial rift between Judaism and Christianity and is the primary source of the tension between the two religions which has continued for the last two millennia. Therefore, in order to understand how Judaism and Christianity relate to one another, it is essential to understand the way Jesus is perceived in each religion. The way that Christians view Jesus is quite well known, but Judaism’s view of him is much lesser known, so it is important to explore Judaism’s perceptions of Jesus, beginning with New Testament times, and to examine the ways in which these feelings and opinions have changed over time. Although the New Testament is the main source of information regarding Jesus’ life, Jews often disregard it as a reliable source of information. It was not written until two to three generations after Jesus, hence it cannot be considered a primary source. Also, from a Jewish perspective, the aim of the Gospels is not to give an accurate account of Jesus’ life and teachings; the Gospels served as missionary documents containing accounts recorded by biased evangelists. They reflect the aims of the church rather than actual facts, and their writers were more concerned with the advancement of Christianity than the transmission of factual historical information. For these reasons, it is impossible to separate the historical Jesus from the divine Christ presented in the Gospels, and Judaism regards the Gospels as unreliable and irrational. It is not known exactly when Jesus was born, but according to the Christian calender, his birth year was circa 4 B.C. Christmas, the day of Christ’s birth, is celebrated by Christians on December 25, but the actual day and month of his birth are unknown. Rachel Zurer, a followe... ...-40. 42. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 102. 43. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 102. 44. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 115. 45. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 106. 46. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 106. 47. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 117. 48. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 109-110. 49. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 102. 50. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 110-111. 51. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 110, 112. 52. Votaw, C.W., "The Modern Jewish View of Jesus." The Biblical World, 1905. 26(2): p. 102, 114. 53. Sandmel, S., in We Jews and Jesus. 1965, Oxford University Press: New York. p. 47.