The whole universe is being run by only one feeling – Love. It’s a feeling so tender and soft like a skin of a new born baby. I don’t think I need to explain more about love b’coz its there in each and every one of us. Only thing that we need to discuss is the origin of this feeling and that’s Krishna. It might sound slightly illogical, but love is beyond logic and Krishna is LOVE himself. Let me explain.
If one gets deep in Krishna, we then understand that His love is in reciprocator form i.e if you give him a pinch of love you get oceans of love in return and the chain starts thereafter and the learning of Krishna madness starts which is like a golden ticket to eternal happiness. It is very natural that if someone smiles at you, howsoever filthy you are, you will bound to smile back and that’s what exactly happens at the beginning phase of falling in love with Krishna. He actually seeks you out from wherever you are.
Krishna has always been depicted in pictures as blue in colour which is again a colour of infinity like the sky or the ocean which has no limits. This symbolizes that Krishna’s love also has no volume or boundaries, its eternal, everlasting and even the pain that comes in his love is a blissful experience. I know that no one has ever seen Krishna so the pictures that we see are purely the outcome of the love that the devotees have for him, but if the imagination of the devotees can be so beautiful and charming what will he be in real? You see from any angle (whether a man or God) he is a totality. It was he who taught us in Bhagwat Gita that love is superior to Wisdom as a path to reach him. Who can forget the story of Blessings of Krishna in the form of Jewels and gold in exchange of some mangoes. When Krishna was going to the fruit vendor so hurriedly, most of the grain he was holding fell and he could give only few of them but it was the pure love of the fruit vendor that she still gave Krishna the mangoes and that is the kind of love which holds the peak in Krishna’s heart.
All of us know that Radharani was not a wife to Krishna, even then, from ages Radha and Krishna fits the definition of Twin souls. They wanted to set an example that love persists not only in the Lilas but also in the separation and that is why Radha refused to impound herself to the boundaries of social relationships and took the pain of separation with pride. This gives us a learning that it is the pain of separation that actually serves as a fire which always gives us a push to get nearer to our beloved lord. Vrindavan, where Krishna gave a new meaning to love, had so much of love that even today when anybody visits can feel Krishna in every particle. One can feel the supreme charm of loving intimacy that Krishna shares equally with all his devotees.
It’s not only that we see Krishna’s love only in epics with Radha and the Gopis but the love can be seen also in the modern time in the form of Krishna – Meera. Meera was so immensely in love with Krishna that he had to come to her many time to show his love. It was when Meera was given poison to drink, when she was made to walk on fire and similar occasions. Being a princess to a royal family she had all responsibilities but her love for Krishna made her leave everything and wander the streets in search of her beloved. This was the impact of love of Krishna..
If one searches the corner of his heart one can only find love in it and that’s why even being a God he has showed us the path of pure and spontaneous love discarding all religious rituals. This ever charming, ever loving, dark and handsome supreme power gave one strong message in Bhagwat Gita that when we love him completely we should forget everything, even his position as God and simply love him as a true lover. Somebody rightly said Love him for the sake of love with no calculation….
Hare Krishna !!!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Can youth of today take politics as their career? The need of the hour...
These day’s students are running madly after the tag of MBA so that they can have some good jobs in their pocket either through the Institutes placement services or of their own. Whatever the source of jobs are, the ultimate goal is to make money as well as status, so be it the large corporate of any vertical like the IT, Food sector or power sector etc. Then why is the youth not considering politics as a career. To my mind politics is a very profitable venture wrapped with power, money and status. So let’s discuss this in today’s forum....
When we visualize a political leader we often imagine somebody at an age of 60+ with Kurta Pyjama, mostly uneducated and criminal records etc. and very fondly we elect them and start criticizing with the way our country is being governed on all possible occasion, let it be a social get together, or our blogs or even some talk shows and so on, forgetting that we are the one to be blamed for electing them. As a matter of fact we actually should think that at age when rest of the profession takes retirement, this profession actually comes to age and becomes eligible to govern.
I think it’s high time that the best and the brightest among the youth to join politics and serve the nation. Youth politics may translate to better politics. Though no one can deny that India has progressed but the pace could have been faster if youth participation in policy making and legislation would have been there. During the time of Independence young leaders like Nehru came to politics but then they never paved the way for the young leaders to take their role other than their own family members. The trend is still the same as we see few young leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sachin pilot etc who belong to the prominent political background but none from any independent trendsetters.
Isn’t it strange that today’s youth are forced to elect majority of people above 60 years, but it’s because we do not have choice. To my understanding it should be just the other way round, it should be the old people handing over the nation to the youth who represent vigor, passion for the nation, ethics and integrity. There are two ways that we can bring the youth to this field for the nations development, one by making politics lucrative career option ( without the corruption element in it) and second giving the opportunity to the youth by making laws like retirement age for old politicians , essential education qualification, clean past record etc.
Since we do not have any institution which makes good administrator to run the nation so it would be better if we make it as a stream in our education forum to teach how to run the country and like any corporate has divisions the course can also have various departments in the curriculum for them to stand for election on the basis of their specialization during the course. Actually politics should be treated as a noble profession with a mission in mind to run the nation. I strongly believe in the notion that “be in the system to change the system”.
I completely agree with someone saying that there should be an overhaul of the Indian political scene by nourishing potential talented youths. With due respect to the current youth leaders, lets welcome more and more youth in the system and not leave the country just in the mercy of dynasty politics. I know it’s easy said than done but at least we can look for a start….
When we visualize a political leader we often imagine somebody at an age of 60+ with Kurta Pyjama, mostly uneducated and criminal records etc. and very fondly we elect them and start criticizing with the way our country is being governed on all possible occasion, let it be a social get together, or our blogs or even some talk shows and so on, forgetting that we are the one to be blamed for electing them. As a matter of fact we actually should think that at age when rest of the profession takes retirement, this profession actually comes to age and becomes eligible to govern.
I think it’s high time that the best and the brightest among the youth to join politics and serve the nation. Youth politics may translate to better politics. Though no one can deny that India has progressed but the pace could have been faster if youth participation in policy making and legislation would have been there. During the time of Independence young leaders like Nehru came to politics but then they never paved the way for the young leaders to take their role other than their own family members. The trend is still the same as we see few young leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sachin pilot etc who belong to the prominent political background but none from any independent trendsetters.
Isn’t it strange that today’s youth are forced to elect majority of people above 60 years, but it’s because we do not have choice. To my understanding it should be just the other way round, it should be the old people handing over the nation to the youth who represent vigor, passion for the nation, ethics and integrity. There are two ways that we can bring the youth to this field for the nations development, one by making politics lucrative career option ( without the corruption element in it) and second giving the opportunity to the youth by making laws like retirement age for old politicians , essential education qualification, clean past record etc.
Since we do not have any institution which makes good administrator to run the nation so it would be better if we make it as a stream in our education forum to teach how to run the country and like any corporate has divisions the course can also have various departments in the curriculum for them to stand for election on the basis of their specialization during the course. Actually politics should be treated as a noble profession with a mission in mind to run the nation. I strongly believe in the notion that “be in the system to change the system”.
I completely agree with someone saying that there should be an overhaul of the Indian political scene by nourishing potential talented youths. With due respect to the current youth leaders, lets welcome more and more youth in the system and not leave the country just in the mercy of dynasty politics. I know it’s easy said than done but at least we can look for a start….
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Is Happiness a mirage and more so for a homosexual?
Life is a struggle and especially if you are different. I too had doubts on this notion as I believed that you can be more successful if you are different but I was proved wrong. When one day one of my friend told me that she is lesbian it came to me as a shock of life and then even I could not relate myself to her though I was supposed to be knowing her better than anybody else in the group and then she explained me how difficult life will be when she opens out to the society of her orientation. I agreed…
The Supreme court on 2nd July 2009 legalized homosexuality in India by striking down section 377 of the Indian penal code. Though India was slightly late in legalizing homosexuality when compared to their western counterparts who did it in 1980’s and 1990’s , but is still ahead off than some countries of middle east, Africa, south pacific etc.. Surprisingly, in six countries even now homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment and in ten other countries it carries death penalty. But on humanity ground can we think why such penalty, just to be in love? How can a love be different if it happens with the same sex or the opposite one? One cannot decide who you fall in love with because the heart knows no limits. Otherwise, there is no scientific basis for distinguishing between homosexual and heterosexual couples with respect to the legal rights, obligations and benefits by civil marriage act, other than the social stigma.
The question is, are they born like that way? I feel that an individual develops a homosexual orientation for the reason genetic or environmental or likely a combination of both. But, homosexuality is not a disability or deformity though homophobia is, which dangerously invades the hearts and minds of everyone. Regardless of how they feel and why they are like that, I think everyone of us can vouch that 100% homosexual couples are happy but then how many of us can vouch that even 50% heterosexual couples are happy? As I wrote in my earlier blog that most of the marriages are just compromise and life is all about being happy, so why can’t we let these people be happy and not force them to adjust. Why again this so called social guardian comes on their way of happiness and why can’t they be made free from thinking that homosexuality is a sin?
When I started taking interest in the homosexual subject and found out to my surprise that there are people who wants to join the clan even if they are not homosexual themselves because they think that it is the modern age fashion to be called so, as many of the celebrity as well as the western culture are in it. Here I agree, that it is unfair to do so in the name of fashion, because it should not be followed by choice, instead it is a matter of destiny. When I wanted to know from my friend the preference of same sex she clearly said that it is the symmetry of tenderness, consideration and understanding of feelings, like a women understands a women better and the same with men. And probably that is the secret of their everlasting happiness.
When the Delhi high court gave this historical verdict, India became the 127th country to legalize homosexuality, but being a country which gives immense importance to its culture and religion, it became a shock to many people and they voiced their objections too along with some influential groups and parties, but don’t we see traditions changing with times. From pardha system to women going to space, from father’s responsiblity to earn for the family to a single father parenting his child, we all have seen the cultural change in our society, then why can’t we just leave them alone. And if religion is the objection then I strongly believe that god is so powerful that he himself can correct the value system and so these social guardian need not try to act like god themselves and treat the homosexual as 5th class citizen though, I strongly believe that god has given its consent to homosexuality as it has also been seen in animals too, only difference is animals do not have judgmental society to put a stamp on it.
To my opinion, these people are not doing any harm to anyone so how do we get the right to interfere in their lives and happiness. This is a natural problem and let the nature decide its course of action, and the social judges can just relax as this can never be a cultural threat because our culture is so rich that it cannot be dented by any action of fraction of people’s behavior.
It is really strange, when I see each topic of my blogs, I wonder how we look for reasons to divest people of their basic rights to be happy and live life the way they want….
The Supreme court on 2nd July 2009 legalized homosexuality in India by striking down section 377 of the Indian penal code. Though India was slightly late in legalizing homosexuality when compared to their western counterparts who did it in 1980’s and 1990’s , but is still ahead off than some countries of middle east, Africa, south pacific etc.. Surprisingly, in six countries even now homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment and in ten other countries it carries death penalty. But on humanity ground can we think why such penalty, just to be in love? How can a love be different if it happens with the same sex or the opposite one? One cannot decide who you fall in love with because the heart knows no limits. Otherwise, there is no scientific basis for distinguishing between homosexual and heterosexual couples with respect to the legal rights, obligations and benefits by civil marriage act, other than the social stigma.
The question is, are they born like that way? I feel that an individual develops a homosexual orientation for the reason genetic or environmental or likely a combination of both. But, homosexuality is not a disability or deformity though homophobia is, which dangerously invades the hearts and minds of everyone. Regardless of how they feel and why they are like that, I think everyone of us can vouch that 100% homosexual couples are happy but then how many of us can vouch that even 50% heterosexual couples are happy? As I wrote in my earlier blog that most of the marriages are just compromise and life is all about being happy, so why can’t we let these people be happy and not force them to adjust. Why again this so called social guardian comes on their way of happiness and why can’t they be made free from thinking that homosexuality is a sin?
When I started taking interest in the homosexual subject and found out to my surprise that there are people who wants to join the clan even if they are not homosexual themselves because they think that it is the modern age fashion to be called so, as many of the celebrity as well as the western culture are in it. Here I agree, that it is unfair to do so in the name of fashion, because it should not be followed by choice, instead it is a matter of destiny. When I wanted to know from my friend the preference of same sex she clearly said that it is the symmetry of tenderness, consideration and understanding of feelings, like a women understands a women better and the same with men. And probably that is the secret of their everlasting happiness.
When the Delhi high court gave this historical verdict, India became the 127th country to legalize homosexuality, but being a country which gives immense importance to its culture and religion, it became a shock to many people and they voiced their objections too along with some influential groups and parties, but don’t we see traditions changing with times. From pardha system to women going to space, from father’s responsiblity to earn for the family to a single father parenting his child, we all have seen the cultural change in our society, then why can’t we just leave them alone. And if religion is the objection then I strongly believe that god is so powerful that he himself can correct the value system and so these social guardian need not try to act like god themselves and treat the homosexual as 5th class citizen though, I strongly believe that god has given its consent to homosexuality as it has also been seen in animals too, only difference is animals do not have judgmental society to put a stamp on it.
To my opinion, these people are not doing any harm to anyone so how do we get the right to interfere in their lives and happiness. This is a natural problem and let the nature decide its course of action, and the social judges can just relax as this can never be a cultural threat because our culture is so rich that it cannot be dented by any action of fraction of people’s behavior.
It is really strange, when I see each topic of my blogs, I wonder how we look for reasons to divest people of their basic rights to be happy and live life the way they want….
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Marriages are made in heaven and divorces are???
India is changing at different pace and you don’t need to be a scholar to see the change. Though, in some aspects the depth of our value systems still remains unmoved like the caste system but there are some issues wherein we are getting very close to the western culture. The current rate of divorces in India is one of the yardstick by which we can measure our closeness with our western counter parts. As always, we will not discuss the statistics, but the fact whether divorce is healthy or not.
With all its technological advancement of 21st century and in this gadget age we are actually depended on materialistic world. The pressure to fulfill these requirements of modern times forces us to spend more time on work which is blocking our connection with our family, be it husband or wife. It’s proven that breakups are more in educated and carrier oriented couples than in the primitive ones. Relationship these days have become performance oriented. Couples are judged not with their love for each other but with their respective achievements.
I personally don’t see anything wrong in this. Though, it is not good for the society as a whole, but finally the society is paying the price for being so male dominated and female suppression since time immemorial. The society care takers, like always, blame the female financial independence for high rate of divorce. Just can’t agree…Lets see a situation where the female is not financially independent and at the same time is not happy in the marriage, she is forced to keep the marriage intact with all sorts of depression. Is the situation not worst than divorce?
According to me, all that a marriage requires is love element in it, without which it’s only a compromise, a social tag and a suffering relationship. In such a case is divorce a bad option? Divorce, even at this age is not looked upon high in our culture, but culture again has been twisted in all sphere of life for convenience sake. Otherwise, Indian culture is so rich that it has accommodated even the most odd situation possible, which no culture or society of modern times can even think off – remember Draupadi sharing 5 husbands at a time? So why culture being induced as a hindrance to freedom from the suffering marriages?
Many a times, people get married before evaluating the partners properly or in worst case even knowing themselves very well, and when the reality hits, either they land up with a bad marriage for life or divorce. Marriage is actually the biggest commitment of life and that should be taken very seriously. For that matter even live-in- relationship is a better platform for successful marriages. After knowing the shortcomings of the partner, if love still persists one should go ahead with the marriage commitment or else one will keep marrying and divorcing endlessly.
India has the lowest rate of divorce for many reasons like financial independence of women, difficult and time consuming divorce procedures, social stigma etc but now the rate is slightly increasing which looks like a respite for women. With the latest amendment in the Hindu marriage act, divorce has been made easier by making ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ as a ground. It’s really an irony that even judges of family courts are often insensitive towards women and advice them to be more adjusting ( mind you, here the word adjusting and surrendering to in-laws has a very thin line between them). Though some counselors argue that by making divorce so easy, couples will not even try to reconcile, but still I see it as an easy end to unhappy marriages. After all life is to be happy…..
With all its technological advancement of 21st century and in this gadget age we are actually depended on materialistic world. The pressure to fulfill these requirements of modern times forces us to spend more time on work which is blocking our connection with our family, be it husband or wife. It’s proven that breakups are more in educated and carrier oriented couples than in the primitive ones. Relationship these days have become performance oriented. Couples are judged not with their love for each other but with their respective achievements.
I personally don’t see anything wrong in this. Though, it is not good for the society as a whole, but finally the society is paying the price for being so male dominated and female suppression since time immemorial. The society care takers, like always, blame the female financial independence for high rate of divorce. Just can’t agree…Lets see a situation where the female is not financially independent and at the same time is not happy in the marriage, she is forced to keep the marriage intact with all sorts of depression. Is the situation not worst than divorce?
According to me, all that a marriage requires is love element in it, without which it’s only a compromise, a social tag and a suffering relationship. In such a case is divorce a bad option? Divorce, even at this age is not looked upon high in our culture, but culture again has been twisted in all sphere of life for convenience sake. Otherwise, Indian culture is so rich that it has accommodated even the most odd situation possible, which no culture or society of modern times can even think off – remember Draupadi sharing 5 husbands at a time? So why culture being induced as a hindrance to freedom from the suffering marriages?
Many a times, people get married before evaluating the partners properly or in worst case even knowing themselves very well, and when the reality hits, either they land up with a bad marriage for life or divorce. Marriage is actually the biggest commitment of life and that should be taken very seriously. For that matter even live-in- relationship is a better platform for successful marriages. After knowing the shortcomings of the partner, if love still persists one should go ahead with the marriage commitment or else one will keep marrying and divorcing endlessly.
India has the lowest rate of divorce for many reasons like financial independence of women, difficult and time consuming divorce procedures, social stigma etc but now the rate is slightly increasing which looks like a respite for women. With the latest amendment in the Hindu marriage act, divorce has been made easier by making ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ as a ground. It’s really an irony that even judges of family courts are often insensitive towards women and advice them to be more adjusting ( mind you, here the word adjusting and surrendering to in-laws has a very thin line between them). Though some counselors argue that by making divorce so easy, couples will not even try to reconcile, but still I see it as an easy end to unhappy marriages. After all life is to be happy…..
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Honour killings or Murder????
To be born a Hindu in India is actually a passport to enter the caste system, one of the world’s longest surviving Social Stigma. Want proof ? Look for the current Honour Killings which are flooded everyday in the news paper with much of its pride. As if the rest of the social evil like female foeticide, dowry deaths, unreported Sati pratha etc were not enough that we have come up with a modern terminology called Honour Killing.
First of all, I object the term “Honour Killing” as I don’t see any honour in such killings. To me it is the media who has named it as honour killing which actually should be called as pure murder so that society do not take a pride on this path. Our media has always posed themselves as the guardian of the society and we see what they show us. So my humble request to the media is please call a murder a murder instead of coining it in a new phrase of honour killing.
Though I agree that this is not a new evil to the society, it prevailed even in early days also, just that, they were unreported and now suddenly it came into hype. But Indian law should tackle this situation also in the same manner as was done for other social evil like sati etc. No clan or politician can justify these murders in the name of culture in the 21st century. It is a real shame that at the time when we talk about India’s development in global scenario we are still facing such dark age social crime.
Another notable point here is that, when our so called social judges are deciding against the freedom of the choice of the life partners they are forgetting that there are other issues also which needs more attention than this barbarism. Just think over how many of us have heard of killing a family member for raping a minor girl within the family. We often hear of father raping the daughter and when exposed the matter is curbed and when the same girl goes out of the caste and marries a boy of her choice the mother takes the initiative to kill the girl in the name of family honour. Where does the social justice falls in the case of father raping the daughter..Such a hypocrite society we have in the name of Indian culture.
The irony is the Khap panchayats don’t order the Honour killings, instead they create such an atmosphere that the mother , father and the brother are forced to kill their own child just to save the honour of the family. Many politicians are supporting the Khap though they do not agree with the principal personally, but they do support just to gain the sympathy of the common man. This is purely politics of convenience with negative consequences.
At times I feel that these honour killings are worse than murders as murders do take place on the spur of the moment and the killer do regret at times but in the case of honour killings it is not so, in fact, they take pride in killing those people who have been grown up by or with them. It is extremely surprising that just to prove a point some people can go to any extent and be so inhuman.
Actually, what are these children asking for? Freedom to choose their life partner? which anyways is their fundamental right. And parents are anyways expected to look forward to the happiness of their children, so where is the gap in the thinking? Why are we becoming so judgmental and blood thirsty? It’s high time the parents stop assuming the child as their property and stop behaving like a dictator. They should treat them as an individual who does have their own mind and heart to take the most important decision of their lives. At the most the parents have the right to abandon and isolate the children from their social circle but Killing! No way!!!
I wonder that at a age when we have so much of starvation, and other basic problems like drinking water, medical care, sanitation etc do we have the mind frame and time to crib on this baseless issue?
Is it not the time we come out of the dark age which we left behind long back and move ahead for a better future to “live and let live” which is the basis of our culture…..
First of all, I object the term “Honour Killing” as I don’t see any honour in such killings. To me it is the media who has named it as honour killing which actually should be called as pure murder so that society do not take a pride on this path. Our media has always posed themselves as the guardian of the society and we see what they show us. So my humble request to the media is please call a murder a murder instead of coining it in a new phrase of honour killing.
Though I agree that this is not a new evil to the society, it prevailed even in early days also, just that, they were unreported and now suddenly it came into hype. But Indian law should tackle this situation also in the same manner as was done for other social evil like sati etc. No clan or politician can justify these murders in the name of culture in the 21st century. It is a real shame that at the time when we talk about India’s development in global scenario we are still facing such dark age social crime.
Another notable point here is that, when our so called social judges are deciding against the freedom of the choice of the life partners they are forgetting that there are other issues also which needs more attention than this barbarism. Just think over how many of us have heard of killing a family member for raping a minor girl within the family. We often hear of father raping the daughter and when exposed the matter is curbed and when the same girl goes out of the caste and marries a boy of her choice the mother takes the initiative to kill the girl in the name of family honour. Where does the social justice falls in the case of father raping the daughter..Such a hypocrite society we have in the name of Indian culture.
The irony is the Khap panchayats don’t order the Honour killings, instead they create such an atmosphere that the mother , father and the brother are forced to kill their own child just to save the honour of the family. Many politicians are supporting the Khap though they do not agree with the principal personally, but they do support just to gain the sympathy of the common man. This is purely politics of convenience with negative consequences.
At times I feel that these honour killings are worse than murders as murders do take place on the spur of the moment and the killer do regret at times but in the case of honour killings it is not so, in fact, they take pride in killing those people who have been grown up by or with them. It is extremely surprising that just to prove a point some people can go to any extent and be so inhuman.
Actually, what are these children asking for? Freedom to choose their life partner? which anyways is their fundamental right. And parents are anyways expected to look forward to the happiness of their children, so where is the gap in the thinking? Why are we becoming so judgmental and blood thirsty? It’s high time the parents stop assuming the child as their property and stop behaving like a dictator. They should treat them as an individual who does have their own mind and heart to take the most important decision of their lives. At the most the parents have the right to abandon and isolate the children from their social circle but Killing! No way!!!
I wonder that at a age when we have so much of starvation, and other basic problems like drinking water, medical care, sanitation etc do we have the mind frame and time to crib on this baseless issue?
Is it not the time we come out of the dark age which we left behind long back and move ahead for a better future to “live and let live” which is the basis of our culture…..
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Poverty – Curse or Blessings for India!!!
Let’s not discuss about the statistics of poverty in India b’coz even today the government does not have a factual count of people living below poverty line and these statistics are being manipulated at the convenience of the political parties during elections. Though, poverty had been one of the most significant issues of India since independence and it’s eradication has been one of common agendas for all the political parties in every elections, but the fact still remains that perpetuating poverty is a lucrative business for all the politicians.
We talk high about India’s economic growth and also India gradually becoming the super power, if not on the international stage but at least in the South east region, but still the poverty remains as a black spot on the face. I truly see this as an irony that in spite of all the promises and assurances the party when comes in power do work on the poverty issue but certainly the priority focus changes like more importance are given to other issues. For instance, you must have noticed that the whole nation was taken by the storm by the differences in the Ambani brothers and even the Prime minister did not hesitate to interfere to gap the difference, but how much personal interest does he takes to gap the rich and the poor of the nation. Hardly… And this is due to the fact that the Ambani brothers joining hands will make a major difference to the GDP of the nation.
Corruption is another major roadblock for eradication of poverty. Guess where will the soft loans, donations etc from the International organizations like IMF, World Bank which comes in the name of poverty come? And we all know how these donations are filtered and then reach the hands of which it is actually meant for. In plain words if poverty is removed how will the money meant for poor be diverted to other pockets. So, poverty is curse for the poor and blessings for the politicians. Actually we should have special department to monitor the money utilization but the problem remains the same, how to trust those department’s integrity?
Again one cannot forget the role of population in creating the poverty at the first place. Initially government did focus on this aspect but it was forgotten with the time. Also, the illegal migrants from Bangladesh and other neighboring countries need to be checked as they are not only responsible for the population increase but also sharing the employment opportunities that are not sufficient even for our own citizens. We are gaga with the pride that Indians are making entry in the list of riches but at the same platform we also need to address the gap between the haves and haves not. To me, that will be the real yardstick to measure the economic prosperity of India.
Now let’s assume that the government has the will to remove the poverty then this should be taken as a project. For instance, take one slum and start working for the betterment of them, like give basic facilities, provide free vocational training to the youth, reserve some quota in the local industrial organization for placement of deserving candidate etc and then proceed to the next slum. Who doesn’t want a better standard of living? So I am sure it’s going to work. Again we need to emphasis on the traditional industry which is mainly labor intensive. Hence, the wealth generation and employment opportunities should go parallel so that the actual result can be achieved.
Lastly, all of us blame the government, advice some measures, write columns on that and then close our PC and feel free from our responsibility. Is there we can do something more to it. I know few people who are silently working on these issue, we should identify them and extend our hand towards them to contribute something to the society. Not just a section of people but, the day when the majority of us can feel the pain of the starving death, we will be able to conquer this menace.
So let’s cut the ice together…
We talk high about India’s economic growth and also India gradually becoming the super power, if not on the international stage but at least in the South east region, but still the poverty remains as a black spot on the face. I truly see this as an irony that in spite of all the promises and assurances the party when comes in power do work on the poverty issue but certainly the priority focus changes like more importance are given to other issues. For instance, you must have noticed that the whole nation was taken by the storm by the differences in the Ambani brothers and even the Prime minister did not hesitate to interfere to gap the difference, but how much personal interest does he takes to gap the rich and the poor of the nation. Hardly… And this is due to the fact that the Ambani brothers joining hands will make a major difference to the GDP of the nation.
Corruption is another major roadblock for eradication of poverty. Guess where will the soft loans, donations etc from the International organizations like IMF, World Bank which comes in the name of poverty come? And we all know how these donations are filtered and then reach the hands of which it is actually meant for. In plain words if poverty is removed how will the money meant for poor be diverted to other pockets. So, poverty is curse for the poor and blessings for the politicians. Actually we should have special department to monitor the money utilization but the problem remains the same, how to trust those department’s integrity?
Again one cannot forget the role of population in creating the poverty at the first place. Initially government did focus on this aspect but it was forgotten with the time. Also, the illegal migrants from Bangladesh and other neighboring countries need to be checked as they are not only responsible for the population increase but also sharing the employment opportunities that are not sufficient even for our own citizens. We are gaga with the pride that Indians are making entry in the list of riches but at the same platform we also need to address the gap between the haves and haves not. To me, that will be the real yardstick to measure the economic prosperity of India.
Now let’s assume that the government has the will to remove the poverty then this should be taken as a project. For instance, take one slum and start working for the betterment of them, like give basic facilities, provide free vocational training to the youth, reserve some quota in the local industrial organization for placement of deserving candidate etc and then proceed to the next slum. Who doesn’t want a better standard of living? So I am sure it’s going to work. Again we need to emphasis on the traditional industry which is mainly labor intensive. Hence, the wealth generation and employment opportunities should go parallel so that the actual result can be achieved.
Lastly, all of us blame the government, advice some measures, write columns on that and then close our PC and feel free from our responsibility. Is there we can do something more to it. I know few people who are silently working on these issue, we should identify them and extend our hand towards them to contribute something to the society. Not just a section of people but, the day when the majority of us can feel the pain of the starving death, we will be able to conquer this menace.
So let’s cut the ice together…
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Is Doctor’s strike ethical on humanitarian perspective?
Peaceful strike is a common weapon to fight the unjust treatment in any democratic country but does the same rule applies to Doctors also? Or are they risking some human lives to get the justification. Hence, though a strike is realistic as well as ethical, but it is important to analyze the cost- benefit angle also and more so, when the question is for the most sacred profession i.e Medical.
Today the headlines in the newspaper talks about the Safdarjung hospital doctors on strike which in turn is effecting the patients waiting for treatment. Though this time the issue is too small like drinking water, working lifts, A/c’s in Hostel rooms etc. and the management can very well take care of these issues because it’s very natural that in these miserable conditions, sooner or later, their work is bound to get effected and at the end the patients are going to suffer. So it’s really shame that management cannot take care of these small issues for those people who are almost life savers of common man. On the other hand can the doctors allow the patient suffer due to such petty issues ( in this case the strike becomes in-ethical) or is there any other way that these issues can be addressed.
Considering the other issues of strike – if any strike has a long run benefit for the masses then the current small sufferings are justified. For instance, in 1984 MARD went on strike against the establishment of private medical colleges as they were of the opinion that with these colleges coming in existence can become factory of non competent doctors. With the admission becoming easier by paying huge fees to these colleges not only the less academic student gets into medical profession but also after passing out, they would try to recover the amount of fees from the society and thereby the very basic purpose of this profession will then get defeated. Hence, such strikes which are done for the benefit of the whole society, are definitely ethical. Though the strike of MARD was justified but did not have fruitful results, however, it did succeed in getting some guidelines for these private medical colleges to follow, like reservation of some seats for poorer students etc.
Another issue that leads to strike by doctors is on economic grounds. Demand of increase in salary is justified but there is another angle to it, instead of getting higher salary they might land up in getting none by losing their registrations, if MCI starts taking disciplinary actions for violation of medical laws (Via their code of Ethics and Regulations).The rules framed by MCI, forbid the doctors to go on strike and that is why they are being given Hippocratic Oath before they finally go for practice to serve the humanity. Seems most of the doctors very quickly forget it.
Now, finally it’s time to draw a line in the sand! Forget about law, in a civilized society, morally also no one from the essential services like medical, Fire brigade, Police, should ever think of strike. It’s really a disgusting way of putting across the demands, however legitimate it may be, they should remember that they are different from the society, in a way above all, and hence should be compassionate. How can they forget that people do not come to them in time of happiness instead, come in distress, in pain, in tears and to refuse them of treatment is the most horrendous crime in humanity… Wake up and think about it!
Today the headlines in the newspaper talks about the Safdarjung hospital doctors on strike which in turn is effecting the patients waiting for treatment. Though this time the issue is too small like drinking water, working lifts, A/c’s in Hostel rooms etc. and the management can very well take care of these issues because it’s very natural that in these miserable conditions, sooner or later, their work is bound to get effected and at the end the patients are going to suffer. So it’s really shame that management cannot take care of these small issues for those people who are almost life savers of common man. On the other hand can the doctors allow the patient suffer due to such petty issues ( in this case the strike becomes in-ethical) or is there any other way that these issues can be addressed.
Considering the other issues of strike – if any strike has a long run benefit for the masses then the current small sufferings are justified. For instance, in 1984 MARD went on strike against the establishment of private medical colleges as they were of the opinion that with these colleges coming in existence can become factory of non competent doctors. With the admission becoming easier by paying huge fees to these colleges not only the less academic student gets into medical profession but also after passing out, they would try to recover the amount of fees from the society and thereby the very basic purpose of this profession will then get defeated. Hence, such strikes which are done for the benefit of the whole society, are definitely ethical. Though the strike of MARD was justified but did not have fruitful results, however, it did succeed in getting some guidelines for these private medical colleges to follow, like reservation of some seats for poorer students etc.
Another issue that leads to strike by doctors is on economic grounds. Demand of increase in salary is justified but there is another angle to it, instead of getting higher salary they might land up in getting none by losing their registrations, if MCI starts taking disciplinary actions for violation of medical laws (Via their code of Ethics and Regulations).The rules framed by MCI, forbid the doctors to go on strike and that is why they are being given Hippocratic Oath before they finally go for practice to serve the humanity. Seems most of the doctors very quickly forget it.
Now, finally it’s time to draw a line in the sand! Forget about law, in a civilized society, morally also no one from the essential services like medical, Fire brigade, Police, should ever think of strike. It’s really a disgusting way of putting across the demands, however legitimate it may be, they should remember that they are different from the society, in a way above all, and hence should be compassionate. How can they forget that people do not come to them in time of happiness instead, come in distress, in pain, in tears and to refuse them of treatment is the most horrendous crime in humanity… Wake up and think about it!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Bangladesh- A good friend-Lets conclude with that!
I read somewhere that Begum Khalida said “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sold Bangladesh to India through MOU signed in February 2010 “To me these statements will encourage hatred among people of both side and the need of the hour is spreading love and peace not hatred. How can a country be sold by a prime minister and how can Islam be in danger in a country with 90% muslim population?
In this regard, hats off to sheikh Hasina who has left no stone unturned in building this relation not only with the assurance in fighting terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking but also have put it in paper in the form of MOU. She also assured India that she would not allow Bangladesh to be used as a base for terrorist activities against India. And she did prove that in action also, by handing over the ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa to the BSF in Tripura. By this it gave a crippled blow to the banned organization. These organizations cross over into Bangladesh to plan and carry out their operations against the North Eastern states of India.
The MOU in question has advantage to both the countries like for India it is the access to Chittagong and other ports for economical movement of goods, a clear understanding that any anti terrorist activity will not be encouraged in Bangladesh, train services will also be started between the two countries for easy movement of goods. And for Bangladesh the gains are, it will be the first country to receive a billion dollar credit from India for its infrastructure development,250 MW power supply from India, the proposed Tipaimukh Dam to be made without harming Bangladesh’s interest. Though, Bangladeshi’s remain grateful to India for creation of their country, but still there are sections of people who believe that India has some selfish motive in extending the friendship hand towards them. But, India’s growing economy, large and vibrant strategies, and its friendly foreign policies has given us more allies than enemies and Bangladesh is no exceptional. In fact, India is the fourth largest economy in the world and its growth rate also ranks second in the world, so Bangladesh being the immediate neighbor should take the utmost advantage to share this success and by joining hands can create thousands of job and can make it a pillar for their economic growth also.
Having said the above advantages on both the sides we are still having baseless ill-feelings against each other and have named them certain issues like the problematic Farakka Barage, the proposed Tipaimukh Dam, the disputed Talpatty Island and the corridor for Bangladesh in India. But the surprising fact is even the educated and enlightened people are also prejudiced, though we should always remember that Initially we were one country and hence by and large the culture, way of thinking, practices etc are all same between us , so how can we be different just by the boundaries ? People of both the sides should remember that it is for the betterment that we stay friends forever and we sincerely hope and pray that Bangladesh does not become another Pakistan…
Apart from being sentimental reasons to be together we can also see the practical reasons : Whether it is Debt assistance, electricity supply or infrastructure development of Bangladesh, India is taking a proactive step to build beneficial long term relationship because for India it is matter of safeguarding its Eastern Border…..
In this regard, hats off to sheikh Hasina who has left no stone unturned in building this relation not only with the assurance in fighting terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking but also have put it in paper in the form of MOU. She also assured India that she would not allow Bangladesh to be used as a base for terrorist activities against India. And she did prove that in action also, by handing over the ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa to the BSF in Tripura. By this it gave a crippled blow to the banned organization. These organizations cross over into Bangladesh to plan and carry out their operations against the North Eastern states of India.
The MOU in question has advantage to both the countries like for India it is the access to Chittagong and other ports for economical movement of goods, a clear understanding that any anti terrorist activity will not be encouraged in Bangladesh, train services will also be started between the two countries for easy movement of goods. And for Bangladesh the gains are, it will be the first country to receive a billion dollar credit from India for its infrastructure development,250 MW power supply from India, the proposed Tipaimukh Dam to be made without harming Bangladesh’s interest. Though, Bangladeshi’s remain grateful to India for creation of their country, but still there are sections of people who believe that India has some selfish motive in extending the friendship hand towards them. But, India’s growing economy, large and vibrant strategies, and its friendly foreign policies has given us more allies than enemies and Bangladesh is no exceptional. In fact, India is the fourth largest economy in the world and its growth rate also ranks second in the world, so Bangladesh being the immediate neighbor should take the utmost advantage to share this success and by joining hands can create thousands of job and can make it a pillar for their economic growth also.
Having said the above advantages on both the sides we are still having baseless ill-feelings against each other and have named them certain issues like the problematic Farakka Barage, the proposed Tipaimukh Dam, the disputed Talpatty Island and the corridor for Bangladesh in India. But the surprising fact is even the educated and enlightened people are also prejudiced, though we should always remember that Initially we were one country and hence by and large the culture, way of thinking, practices etc are all same between us , so how can we be different just by the boundaries ? People of both the sides should remember that it is for the betterment that we stay friends forever and we sincerely hope and pray that Bangladesh does not become another Pakistan…
Apart from being sentimental reasons to be together we can also see the practical reasons : Whether it is Debt assistance, electricity supply or infrastructure development of Bangladesh, India is taking a proactive step to build beneficial long term relationship because for India it is matter of safeguarding its Eastern Border…..
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Is water war with Pakistan for real or shield to terrorism?
The flow of Chenab, after entering Pakistan, had dipped from 48,242 cusecs in 1999 to 22,991 cusecs in 2008.This fact has put Pakistan in real worries and out of panic Pakistan started blaming India for Violating the IWT (Indus water Treaty between India and Pakistan signed on April 1960 ).Pakistani media claims that India is waging a water war on Pakistan and so is full of anti India articles on IWT violation. This is not true and we have enough proof to support our claim. Then what it is? Is Pakistan trying to justify the ongoing terror campaign with such artificial controversies? The treaty actually has fully safeguarded Pakistan’s water requirements and also has served both the countries to tackle the water related disputes, and moreover the treaty does not have any exit clause. We, India, despite having an upper hand on the issue never misused it in spite of two major wars and our subsequent tribulations. Pakistan should bear in mind that if the treaty is revoked, Pakistan stands to lose its lifeline.
The dipping of water has 2 reasons: melting of snow and quantum of rains, and even a kid these days knows pretty well that due to global warming both the factors are affected. It’s a well known fact that not only that the rainfall has dropped by 20% but also most of the Indian states are facing severe drought from last few years. Can we phrase this environment problem as Indian strategy? We India cannot keep taking the blame for everything, like if tomorrow it doesn’t rain in Pakistan they would claim India has started a cloud war…enough is enough.
Actually, the responsibility of water crisis in Pakistan is purely due to their mismanagement of water, for instance, Pakistan uses approximately 90% of water for agriculture and their canals, which carry the irrigation water to the fields, were designed in 1860’s. Imagine what kind of water is getting wasted in the form of seepage and evaporation. There are other wastages also of similar kinds and it’s high time that Pakistan should address this, otherwise, blaming will take them nowhere and ultimately the country will suffer.
The construction of Kishanganga Hydro Electric dam which is the main objection factor for Pakistan is well within the norms of IW treaty and is taken up to take care of the domestic power related issues and also to improve the economy of J&K which is long overdue. Hence, if Pakistan is sincerely looking for Kashmiri’s welfare (as they always claims to be) they should never object to this project. Whilst the debate is on, Pakistan should bear in mind that it is due to the treaty that Pakistan is benefiting the water availability, what it is denying today, though Pakistan can still address the problem by improving the management of water resources and developing new projects.
To my mind this treaty has a vicious cycle effect, i.e more and more the gap between water requirement and its availability widens in Pakistan, the lack of trust between the two countries also goes big. Also, due to less water supply agriculture development will get affected and which in turn will result in more unemployment and thereby giving room for more terrorism. Hence, Pakistan government should focus their energy and efforts on the long term development of the country through new projects , as suggested above, instead of creating artificial controversies against India which will not only make people of both side prosperous but also a good name for Pakistan in Global scenario…..
And if it is a shield to terrorism, then it’s high time that Pakistanis should realize that no terrorism can be justified and they should accept the fact that it is a lethal cancer and irrespective of who is being targeted at ,it is ultimately self destructive. Violence can never be an answer to any amount of injustices whatsoever….
The dipping of water has 2 reasons: melting of snow and quantum of rains, and even a kid these days knows pretty well that due to global warming both the factors are affected. It’s a well known fact that not only that the rainfall has dropped by 20% but also most of the Indian states are facing severe drought from last few years. Can we phrase this environment problem as Indian strategy? We India cannot keep taking the blame for everything, like if tomorrow it doesn’t rain in Pakistan they would claim India has started a cloud war…enough is enough.
Actually, the responsibility of water crisis in Pakistan is purely due to their mismanagement of water, for instance, Pakistan uses approximately 90% of water for agriculture and their canals, which carry the irrigation water to the fields, were designed in 1860’s. Imagine what kind of water is getting wasted in the form of seepage and evaporation. There are other wastages also of similar kinds and it’s high time that Pakistan should address this, otherwise, blaming will take them nowhere and ultimately the country will suffer.
The construction of Kishanganga Hydro Electric dam which is the main objection factor for Pakistan is well within the norms of IW treaty and is taken up to take care of the domestic power related issues and also to improve the economy of J&K which is long overdue. Hence, if Pakistan is sincerely looking for Kashmiri’s welfare (as they always claims to be) they should never object to this project. Whilst the debate is on, Pakistan should bear in mind that it is due to the treaty that Pakistan is benefiting the water availability, what it is denying today, though Pakistan can still address the problem by improving the management of water resources and developing new projects.
To my mind this treaty has a vicious cycle effect, i.e more and more the gap between water requirement and its availability widens in Pakistan, the lack of trust between the two countries also goes big. Also, due to less water supply agriculture development will get affected and which in turn will result in more unemployment and thereby giving room for more terrorism. Hence, Pakistan government should focus their energy and efforts on the long term development of the country through new projects , as suggested above, instead of creating artificial controversies against India which will not only make people of both side prosperous but also a good name for Pakistan in Global scenario…..
And if it is a shield to terrorism, then it’s high time that Pakistanis should realize that no terrorism can be justified and they should accept the fact that it is a lethal cancer and irrespective of who is being targeted at ,it is ultimately self destructive. Violence can never be an answer to any amount of injustices whatsoever….
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Is Death penalty a lawful Murder ?
Pak terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab has been awarded the Death sentence. Soon after this news hit the headline of all the news papers we were forced to look down the memory lane in the case of Dhananjay Chatterjee who was hanged till death for his crime of raping and murdering a 14 year old in the year 2004. It was then also a point of debate whether death penalty should be allowed or not ( Many human rights activists did take up the matter) because more than 130 countries have banned Death penalty.
I would definitely not get into the discussion of the statistics or history of Death penalty in all over the world, instead the point is, should killing be allowed even if it is done by the government. There are sections of people who believe that the government has the right to kill its worst citizens to protect the society from further crimes, but we should also see that one cannot atone from death but one can make a difference alive in the form of betterment.
Killing can be in 3 forms : murder done by any individual, Killing in the war, and killing as punishment. In the first instance the victim is not aware and hence does not go through the trauma, in the second case he is duty bound so takes the death, as ,more or less by pride but in the third case he is penalized and hence is unacceptable to him but at the same time he has to wait for his death to come. He goes through tremendous mental trauma, so he is not killed once but repeatedly. But we are all responsible for such penalty , as we have agreed mutually to give the government conditional power to kill with our permission( through our elected representatives ).
There was actually a huge hue and cry during the case of Dhanjaya’s hanging, but why do we support such death when we know for sure that this death is in lieu of the life they themselves have taken of some innocent human. We know that criminals are repeat offenders and death penalty can reduce this, and we don’t need a PhD to understand this.
In the case of Ajmal Amir Kasab, I know most of the mumbaikars has welcomed this verdict but if we think deeply will this death sentence solve the problem of terrorism ? I doubt, it is a much broader problem and cannot be tackled with one death sentence, instead , it should be addressed differently, because there are hundreds of Kasabs who has been brainwashed by their handlers and so by killing Kasab a new Kasab will come. The need of the hour is to identify those handlers and punish them so that no Kasab is brainwashed.
Both the abolitionists and the retentionists have some convincing views for and against the capital punishment. For abolitionists it is the right of life and the mental trauma that the criminal faces, for the retentionists it is the psychological and emotional relief for the murder victim’s survivors for causing them such a grievous loss and most importantly the harsh message to the society to curb some brutal crimes.
My personal convictions are that though I am OK with the principle, I oppose the death penalty for the reason that the mental trauma by which the offender suffers through, but again if clear messages are not passed on to the society there will be no end to such crimes like Koli case.. So I am not sure whether I am for or against capital punishment…..
I would definitely not get into the discussion of the statistics or history of Death penalty in all over the world, instead the point is, should killing be allowed even if it is done by the government. There are sections of people who believe that the government has the right to kill its worst citizens to protect the society from further crimes, but we should also see that one cannot atone from death but one can make a difference alive in the form of betterment.
Killing can be in 3 forms : murder done by any individual, Killing in the war, and killing as punishment. In the first instance the victim is not aware and hence does not go through the trauma, in the second case he is duty bound so takes the death, as ,more or less by pride but in the third case he is penalized and hence is unacceptable to him but at the same time he has to wait for his death to come. He goes through tremendous mental trauma, so he is not killed once but repeatedly. But we are all responsible for such penalty , as we have agreed mutually to give the government conditional power to kill with our permission( through our elected representatives ).
There was actually a huge hue and cry during the case of Dhanjaya’s hanging, but why do we support such death when we know for sure that this death is in lieu of the life they themselves have taken of some innocent human. We know that criminals are repeat offenders and death penalty can reduce this, and we don’t need a PhD to understand this.
In the case of Ajmal Amir Kasab, I know most of the mumbaikars has welcomed this verdict but if we think deeply will this death sentence solve the problem of terrorism ? I doubt, it is a much broader problem and cannot be tackled with one death sentence, instead , it should be addressed differently, because there are hundreds of Kasabs who has been brainwashed by their handlers and so by killing Kasab a new Kasab will come. The need of the hour is to identify those handlers and punish them so that no Kasab is brainwashed.
Both the abolitionists and the retentionists have some convincing views for and against the capital punishment. For abolitionists it is the right of life and the mental trauma that the criminal faces, for the retentionists it is the psychological and emotional relief for the murder victim’s survivors for causing them such a grievous loss and most importantly the harsh message to the society to curb some brutal crimes.
My personal convictions are that though I am OK with the principle, I oppose the death penalty for the reason that the mental trauma by which the offender suffers through, but again if clear messages are not passed on to the society there will be no end to such crimes like Koli case.. So I am not sure whether I am for or against capital punishment…..
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Child labor is a shame to nation with so much of youth unemployed !
It is really surprising that we have 5 cr ( though official declaration is only 90 lacs )of unemployed youth in the country but still child labor persists in the same proportion… Can’t we balance it ? This will address two of our major issues of economic development – unemployment and child labor.
Widely, any child below the specified age by law ,who is engaged in some work in exchange of remuneration to feed self or his family is referred to as ‘Child Labor’. Truly speaking, child labor is detrimental to his mental, social, physical, and emotional development. Though International Labor organization allows a child to work for light hours wherein he can continue to pursue his education and at the same time can learn some craft and skills which will help him in future but the law has been bent and twisted to suit everybody’s requirement.
Industrial revolution has encouraged child labor in a broad way. Child labor can be in both the form – self employment or work for others. Child labor could be what we see in our everyday life in the form of rag pickers, organized beggars, street sellers, child prostitute etc are basically the victim of some or the other gangsters who exploit them for their own benefit and they are the worst type of child labors. The other type is the one who are sent to work in some factories or farms or similar occupation by their parents for enhancing the income of the family, but here also the hazardous working condition etc are not being considered. The most pathetic situation according to me is , when the parents sell their own child to the thugs for small amount of money. What a shame….
India is a glaring example of a nation hounded by the evil of child labor. Though child labor problem prevails in rich and industrialized countries also, but the figures are too less compared to us. On one hand the developed countries took the matter very seriously as human rights violation but at the same time the poor nations are accepting this issue in the name of living necessity though all sorts of laws are there to protect them from such callous situations.
The root cause for child labor is poverty, illiteracy of the parents, improper education facilities, social requirements etc. and the reason for the employers to hire them is less pay, more work and no union threats. Due to these benefits of child labor the parents do not get jobs and in order to run the family they are forced to send the child to work. Another major reason ( which is also age old practice in India )is the debt reconciliation, wherein the child is sold to the loaner in lieu of the loan that the parents have taken, and so the child becomes a bonded labor to the loaner. They are then exploited by the loaner against the small amount of debt. Greed overtakes where there should be humanity..
I would like to quote an example, Nike uses a plant that employs children but they also provide education as part of their day work, I see this as an opportunity for education to those children who otherwise would have never had the education, and at the same time they also learn the skill of the trade.
Apart from what government is doing to control child labor, to my opinion, government should also formulate some policies to tackle the root cause of Child labor and the corporate can help them doing this. For e.g all the premier medical institutes should have regulation that at least 15 % of their business should be spent to give free medical facilities to the under-privileged people, similarly the premier educational institutes should give free education facility to the under-privileged children, corporate should reserve some quota to enroll poorer people in their workforce so the parents don’t send their child for work, and so on.. We can’t depend on the government alone , to take up all the issues without the support of people. But, what is expected from them is that they adhere to the laws more strictly with enforcement etc..
Government has initiated the process of eradication but this goal cannot be achieved in one stroke, they have taken measures like- For the Ninth Plan Period (1997-98 to 2001-02), an allocation of Rs. 2,610 million has been made for the National Child Labor Projects. Industry specific projects have also been undertaken for the prevention of employment of children and the withdrawal and rehabilitation of children. Eradication of poverty, giving education and employment to the parents are the priority to face the child labor problem. The support of various Ministries has been enlisted with a view to adopting a multi-dimensional strategy to ensure that the benefit of development programs percolates to this group.
Though such a issue can never be summed up, but still , I would say that child labor is both, a bad economic practice and a social evil…because without an educated youth we cannot have a developed nation so education and development opportunity should be given to all the children. We should always keep in mind that industrialization, economic development, Green revolution etc can afford to wait but youth cannot be captured .So, Government as well as the people of the nation please wake up and take it as a personal agenda to eradicate child labor. Government with the implementation of its policies with authorities and enforcement agencies, and people with the pledge not to recruit and send their little ones to this menace, and also by raising voice and awareness…
Widely, any child below the specified age by law ,who is engaged in some work in exchange of remuneration to feed self or his family is referred to as ‘Child Labor’. Truly speaking, child labor is detrimental to his mental, social, physical, and emotional development. Though International Labor organization allows a child to work for light hours wherein he can continue to pursue his education and at the same time can learn some craft and skills which will help him in future but the law has been bent and twisted to suit everybody’s requirement.
Industrial revolution has encouraged child labor in a broad way. Child labor can be in both the form – self employment or work for others. Child labor could be what we see in our everyday life in the form of rag pickers, organized beggars, street sellers, child prostitute etc are basically the victim of some or the other gangsters who exploit them for their own benefit and they are the worst type of child labors. The other type is the one who are sent to work in some factories or farms or similar occupation by their parents for enhancing the income of the family, but here also the hazardous working condition etc are not being considered. The most pathetic situation according to me is , when the parents sell their own child to the thugs for small amount of money. What a shame….
India is a glaring example of a nation hounded by the evil of child labor. Though child labor problem prevails in rich and industrialized countries also, but the figures are too less compared to us. On one hand the developed countries took the matter very seriously as human rights violation but at the same time the poor nations are accepting this issue in the name of living necessity though all sorts of laws are there to protect them from such callous situations.
The root cause for child labor is poverty, illiteracy of the parents, improper education facilities, social requirements etc. and the reason for the employers to hire them is less pay, more work and no union threats. Due to these benefits of child labor the parents do not get jobs and in order to run the family they are forced to send the child to work. Another major reason ( which is also age old practice in India )is the debt reconciliation, wherein the child is sold to the loaner in lieu of the loan that the parents have taken, and so the child becomes a bonded labor to the loaner. They are then exploited by the loaner against the small amount of debt. Greed overtakes where there should be humanity..
I would like to quote an example, Nike uses a plant that employs children but they also provide education as part of their day work, I see this as an opportunity for education to those children who otherwise would have never had the education, and at the same time they also learn the skill of the trade.
Apart from what government is doing to control child labor, to my opinion, government should also formulate some policies to tackle the root cause of Child labor and the corporate can help them doing this. For e.g all the premier medical institutes should have regulation that at least 15 % of their business should be spent to give free medical facilities to the under-privileged people, similarly the premier educational institutes should give free education facility to the under-privileged children, corporate should reserve some quota to enroll poorer people in their workforce so the parents don’t send their child for work, and so on.. We can’t depend on the government alone , to take up all the issues without the support of people. But, what is expected from them is that they adhere to the laws more strictly with enforcement etc..
Government has initiated the process of eradication but this goal cannot be achieved in one stroke, they have taken measures like- For the Ninth Plan Period (1997-98 to 2001-02), an allocation of Rs. 2,610 million has been made for the National Child Labor Projects. Industry specific projects have also been undertaken for the prevention of employment of children and the withdrawal and rehabilitation of children. Eradication of poverty, giving education and employment to the parents are the priority to face the child labor problem. The support of various Ministries has been enlisted with a view to adopting a multi-dimensional strategy to ensure that the benefit of development programs percolates to this group.
Though such a issue can never be summed up, but still , I would say that child labor is both, a bad economic practice and a social evil…because without an educated youth we cannot have a developed nation so education and development opportunity should be given to all the children. We should always keep in mind that industrialization, economic development, Green revolution etc can afford to wait but youth cannot be captured .So, Government as well as the people of the nation please wake up and take it as a personal agenda to eradicate child labor. Government with the implementation of its policies with authorities and enforcement agencies, and people with the pledge not to recruit and send their little ones to this menace, and also by raising voice and awareness…
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Vicious circle of underdevelopment and Extremism – Maoists
Is it the lack of will of the government to fight Maoists or the local support which seems to be so powerful that such terrible organization exist or is it due to the underdevelopment of any region that gives birth to these extremist ? The questions are several and the answers are with us only. It’s only we need to address them more seriously.
If the violence reaches beyond a limit, the government should not think twice to assert its power even if it means force against its own people. Ironically, Maoist are losing popularity because of their own activities. Killing innocent people can create an atmosphere of terror but the gain is very little by this so called revolutionaries. Initially it sounds impossible to tackle the problem and the common man suffers, though the local sympathies are always with these revolutionaries but gradually this endless violence give way to the sentiments against such militants and the government knows this pretty well. So, in the long run it is worth waiting. History ( take the case of Punjab) has proved this formula but we need to pay a price for such wait.
Maoists( term took its birth in china ) and Naxalist ( term took birth in India) meaning of which in lay man term is same ‘Violence’. It has its presence in 20 out of 28 states in India with goal to throw the government of India out of power. They claim to be fighting for the rights of the tribals in the forest belt of Central India, but we all know that the main conflict is due to the fact that this area is mineral rich and so everybody( let it be extremists or the corporate biggies) seems to be eyeing on the area ,though, the main focus has been neglected since long i.e there have been numerous human rights violation of the tribals in these areas.
It is a fact that hunger and similar issues do provoke people in picking up arms and when the question comes to chose between the hunger and militancy the decision ends in creating a situation where he is torn between conscience and survival. But I feel that every individual, as part of their social responsibility also needs to educate such ignorant people that the solution of hunger does not lie in violence. What is worrying, that now they are showing strategy in attacking the security forces and involving the local populations in their so called people’s war. We read very often that government is coming up with policies of socio-economic measures to defuse the grievances that fuel the maoist cause but we all know that these things goes in very slow pace and like, these extremist cannot operate without the support /sympathy of the locals, similarly, government also need our support to make its operation successful.
Experts are of the opinion that our police are neither equipped nor trained in the art of jungle warfare and they are simply send to the dense forest to face the Maoists who are well trained as well as have sophisticated weapons. It is real surprise that wherein 76 police were killed, only 8 maoists got killed in the counter attack which proves that our Jawans are not trained enough
If the violence reaches beyond a limit, the government should not think twice to assert its power even if it means force against its own people. Ironically, Maoist are losing popularity because of their own activities. Killing innocent people can create an atmosphere of terror but the gain is very little by this so called revolutionaries. Initially it sounds impossible to tackle the problem and the common man suffers, though the local sympathies are always with these revolutionaries but gradually this endless violence give way to the sentiments against such militants and the government knows this pretty well. So, in the long run it is worth waiting. History ( take the case of Punjab) has proved this formula but we need to pay a price for such wait.
Maoists( term took its birth in china ) and Naxalist ( term took birth in India) meaning of which in lay man term is same ‘Violence’. It has its presence in 20 out of 28 states in India with goal to throw the government of India out of power. They claim to be fighting for the rights of the tribals in the forest belt of Central India, but we all know that the main conflict is due to the fact that this area is mineral rich and so everybody( let it be extremists or the corporate biggies) seems to be eyeing on the area ,though, the main focus has been neglected since long i.e there have been numerous human rights violation of the tribals in these areas.
It is a fact that hunger and similar issues do provoke people in picking up arms and when the question comes to chose between the hunger and militancy the decision ends in creating a situation where he is torn between conscience and survival. But I feel that every individual, as part of their social responsibility also needs to educate such ignorant people that the solution of hunger does not lie in violence. What is worrying, that now they are showing strategy in attacking the security forces and involving the local populations in their so called people’s war. We read very often that government is coming up with policies of socio-economic measures to defuse the grievances that fuel the maoist cause but we all know that these things goes in very slow pace and like, these extremist cannot operate without the support /sympathy of the locals, similarly, government also need our support to make its operation successful.
Experts are of the opinion that our police are neither equipped nor trained in the art of jungle warfare and they are simply send to the dense forest to face the Maoists who are well trained as well as have sophisticated weapons. It is real surprise that wherein 76 police were killed, only 8 maoists got killed in the counter attack which proves that our Jawans are not trained enough
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Enjoy the luxury at the cost of catastrophe
Fatal Earthquakes ….Destructive landslides…Deadliest floods... devastating Tsunami... Is this what we have in store for us from the nature in the recent times? From centuries we have been exploiting the earth for our own benefits and the mother earth without complaining kept on ushering everything we wanted. But how long?? And another question which hunts my mind always-Is nature biased against unprivileged people and Economical poorer nations? We all know that the economically stronger countries have more power to withstand these calamities but be it their luck or smart communication tools (in the form of Broadcasting etc) the scale of loss is much lesser.
Though late, but few of us have realized that to make our lives easier and luxurious we have created a situation where our planet is getting progressively hotter. We have deliberately ignored the negative effects which our environment is facing due to cycle of harmful processes that now seems to be adding on to increase the damage to our ecosystem. On the other hand, some fraction of people believe that these disasters are due to the natural climatic adjustments, but can we so easily discount our responsibilities towards the hazards that we are causing to the earth in name of industrial growth and other development ?
Tsunami- (2006) Earthquake- Haiti (Jan 2010) Chile (Feb 2010) China (April 2010) Keep observing and the list of recent calamities are increasing by every passing months. After any natural calamity the life changes instantly, but it is so short term for many of us that till the time media prefers to remind us we do remember but the moment media wants us to close our eyes on these issues we tend to forget, because it’s the media gatekeepers who makes the decision about ‘what subjects to cover’ and ‘its time frame’. And we the people follow them. We sleep better with some fringe of information. Can we afford to be so light hearted when it’s the question of lives of several thousands and lakhs of people? Instead of depending on the media to make us aware, let’s make our social consciousness alive and march ahead to those unfortunate people whom nature chose to victimize this time, next could be us.
On the administration front also more attention needs to be paid to the fact that, after any mishap a huge amount of money gets spent but if even half of the same amount is being spent in drilling some policies to prevent the calamity the figure could be less in terms of loss of life and property. It's also time that we accept our role in joining hands with the administration in financial, personnel and infra-structure rebuilding/support efforts to reduce the chance of such calamities. The administration should take the most popular mode to reach out the general public for the complete cycle of any disaster in planning, preparedness, response and recovery activities, for instance in the case of earthquake the Government should educate the people after identifying the most seismically active regions, safety norms for the buildings for earthquake resistance, Earthquake evacuation drills etc.
Lastly I want to add that as if natural disaster were not enough that human beings have themselves entered the race to finish their own species by killing their fellow innocent humans in the form of terrorism.
All said and done in my opinion we have a vital role to play in regard to save the earth. Hence let’s pledge to sacrifice some of our luxuries and save whatever possible by us in the form of electricity, water, mountains, natural resources, etc so that the burden on the earth is lesser and we can pass on a safer future to our next generation. So, let’s be considerate to the earth and the mankind….
Though late, but few of us have realized that to make our lives easier and luxurious we have created a situation where our planet is getting progressively hotter. We have deliberately ignored the negative effects which our environment is facing due to cycle of harmful processes that now seems to be adding on to increase the damage to our ecosystem. On the other hand, some fraction of people believe that these disasters are due to the natural climatic adjustments, but can we so easily discount our responsibilities towards the hazards that we are causing to the earth in name of industrial growth and other development ?
Tsunami- (2006) Earthquake- Haiti (Jan 2010) Chile (Feb 2010) China (April 2010) Keep observing and the list of recent calamities are increasing by every passing months. After any natural calamity the life changes instantly, but it is so short term for many of us that till the time media prefers to remind us we do remember but the moment media wants us to close our eyes on these issues we tend to forget, because it’s the media gatekeepers who makes the decision about ‘what subjects to cover’ and ‘its time frame’. And we the people follow them. We sleep better with some fringe of information. Can we afford to be so light hearted when it’s the question of lives of several thousands and lakhs of people? Instead of depending on the media to make us aware, let’s make our social consciousness alive and march ahead to those unfortunate people whom nature chose to victimize this time, next could be us.
On the administration front also more attention needs to be paid to the fact that, after any mishap a huge amount of money gets spent but if even half of the same amount is being spent in drilling some policies to prevent the calamity the figure could be less in terms of loss of life and property. It's also time that we accept our role in joining hands with the administration in financial, personnel and infra-structure rebuilding/support efforts to reduce the chance of such calamities. The administration should take the most popular mode to reach out the general public for the complete cycle of any disaster in planning, preparedness, response and recovery activities, for instance in the case of earthquake the Government should educate the people after identifying the most seismically active regions, safety norms for the buildings for earthquake resistance, Earthquake evacuation drills etc.
Lastly I want to add that as if natural disaster were not enough that human beings have themselves entered the race to finish their own species by killing their fellow innocent humans in the form of terrorism.
All said and done in my opinion we have a vital role to play in regard to save the earth. Hence let’s pledge to sacrifice some of our luxuries and save whatever possible by us in the form of electricity, water, mountains, natural resources, etc so that the burden on the earth is lesser and we can pass on a safer future to our next generation. So, let’s be considerate to the earth and the mankind….
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Let’s not market Love – Sania-shoaib
Recession is on the verge of its end and so the market is picking up, and we all are coming up with our own products to market them, but still, can we spare some elementary things of our lives like love from commercialization?
Love is the basic of life and though many things has been said and written about it by authors, poets etc, it still remains an arena where scope prevails. But now the era has come where love has come out of the boundaries of human feelings and is being marketed by elite people for their own benefit. Surely this is a suicide of human cult. Take for instance Sania-shoaib episode, are they not marketing their love, which actually is supposed to be very personal.
It is not only the media or they themselves who are involved in this episode, but, now the whole nation getting involved which is actually none of anybody’s business and adding value to this much hyped peel of the fruit. Lets consider who is gaining out of it, according to me both i.e. media as well as Saina-shoaib, as we, the common man are buying it so they are selling it.
Media is making it more spicy and newsy, Politicians are making a meal of her choice, Sports fraternity is making it a business affair, Sania-Shoaib is fantasizing with the inherent cheap publicity and all this at the cost of common man’s interest in this whole episode. It’s really painful to see such a waste of time and cost involved in it. Don’t we have some better issues to take up? Its time that media matures to judge the importance of any issue.
It will be an interesting thing to quote some common reactions of people:
IPL rejected the complete pakis and Sania rejected the whole of Indian grooms.
Sania and shoaib at the end of their career are trying to be in news with the help of media.
It can be next realty show called “Kaun Banega Mera pati” with so called facts of this love triangle (Sania-shoaib-Ayesha)
Actually human beings are so obsessed with each other’s personal lives and think it to be our right to have worthless opinion about everything under the sun, but this is only a marriage and when we have no objections for anybody marrying any other national then why now? They are getting married for whatever reason, its full stop.
But in my opinion let’s not market love, it is a pure feeling and we should respect the feeling from our innermost heart even if it is the love of sania-shoaib or anybody else, just leave it to them without any controversies and let’s not give it an ugly twist…
Love is the basic of life and though many things has been said and written about it by authors, poets etc, it still remains an arena where scope prevails. But now the era has come where love has come out of the boundaries of human feelings and is being marketed by elite people for their own benefit. Surely this is a suicide of human cult. Take for instance Sania-shoaib episode, are they not marketing their love, which actually is supposed to be very personal.
It is not only the media or they themselves who are involved in this episode, but, now the whole nation getting involved which is actually none of anybody’s business and adding value to this much hyped peel of the fruit. Lets consider who is gaining out of it, according to me both i.e. media as well as Saina-shoaib, as we, the common man are buying it so they are selling it.
Media is making it more spicy and newsy, Politicians are making a meal of her choice, Sports fraternity is making it a business affair, Sania-Shoaib is fantasizing with the inherent cheap publicity and all this at the cost of common man’s interest in this whole episode. It’s really painful to see such a waste of time and cost involved in it. Don’t we have some better issues to take up? Its time that media matures to judge the importance of any issue.
It will be an interesting thing to quote some common reactions of people:
IPL rejected the complete pakis and Sania rejected the whole of Indian grooms.
Sania and shoaib at the end of their career are trying to be in news with the help of media.
It can be next realty show called “Kaun Banega Mera pati” with so called facts of this love triangle (Sania-shoaib-Ayesha)
Actually human beings are so obsessed with each other’s personal lives and think it to be our right to have worthless opinion about everything under the sun, but this is only a marriage and when we have no objections for anybody marrying any other national then why now? They are getting married for whatever reason, its full stop.
But in my opinion let’s not market love, it is a pure feeling and we should respect the feeling from our innermost heart even if it is the love of sania-shoaib or anybody else, just leave it to them without any controversies and let’s not give it an ugly twist…
Friday, April 9, 2010
“Society to be left themselves for correction” Lets defy this conventional belief
As we all know that man is a social animal and are hence depended on each other for survival which means that we have a give and take relationship with the society , but we all will agree with our conscious alive that we only take from society and give nothing in return. It should be a responsibility sharing and just not one sided responsibility. Its real painful to see that how reluctant we are even to face the hideous truth of the society. One such instance which we come across in our everyday life is the hidden pain at the traffic signals.
Each day at the traffic signals we come across the big problems of our society in a very casual way and we hardly have time to evaluate these problems. Even if we take one individual in the signal have we ever noticed that how many problems she is undergoing through like forced disability, prostitute, begging ,malnutrition , and early child birth etc. We give some money and try to shed our responsibility towards the society. Is it a correct attitude ? I really wonder sometime whether by giving that small token of money are we helping them or are we encouraging these bad practices of the mafia.
There are even some NGO’s who are working on these areas but are they really focusing on these issues or they are again doing it for some of their selfish motives like fund gatheration, propaganda etc. Nevertheless we need to seek for some of these solutions rather urgently as time is really passing out and we are concentrating more on the broader aspects like global warming, revival of Economic recession etc. but forgetting the basics of human life. We claim to be culturally rich, we also claim that we in India faced the recession in the best possible way when compared to rest of the world but if we see the mirror through our society we really tend to ask ourselves can we really boost off on such issues where we could not even handle the basic dirts of the society ?
Trust me, when we have an indifferent attitude towards these so called small issues and we do not feel the pain within inside and can afford to live a lavish life, that is the greatest loss of life even worst than a death itself. Because death comes to life only once and these pain approaches us most frequently.
So lets do something and to start with lets feel the pain at the outset so that we can think from our heart as to what can be done…. If we all start thinking I am sure we can come to some route to success, like may be we stop paying them at all so that the profitability of the mafia goes down and they look to this business as a non profit one and discourage it altogether and so on…..
Each day at the traffic signals we come across the big problems of our society in a very casual way and we hardly have time to evaluate these problems. Even if we take one individual in the signal have we ever noticed that how many problems she is undergoing through like forced disability, prostitute, begging ,malnutrition , and early child birth etc. We give some money and try to shed our responsibility towards the society. Is it a correct attitude ? I really wonder sometime whether by giving that small token of money are we helping them or are we encouraging these bad practices of the mafia.
There are even some NGO’s who are working on these areas but are they really focusing on these issues or they are again doing it for some of their selfish motives like fund gatheration, propaganda etc. Nevertheless we need to seek for some of these solutions rather urgently as time is really passing out and we are concentrating more on the broader aspects like global warming, revival of Economic recession etc. but forgetting the basics of human life. We claim to be culturally rich, we also claim that we in India faced the recession in the best possible way when compared to rest of the world but if we see the mirror through our society we really tend to ask ourselves can we really boost off on such issues where we could not even handle the basic dirts of the society ?
Trust me, when we have an indifferent attitude towards these so called small issues and we do not feel the pain within inside and can afford to live a lavish life, that is the greatest loss of life even worst than a death itself. Because death comes to life only once and these pain approaches us most frequently.
So lets do something and to start with lets feel the pain at the outset so that we can think from our heart as to what can be done…. If we all start thinking I am sure we can come to some route to success, like may be we stop paying them at all so that the profitability of the mafia goes down and they look to this business as a non profit one and discourage it altogether and so on…..
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