The recent carnage at Dantewada that saw more than 30 innocent people lose their lives exposes the Naxals. I always sympathized with the Naxals to certain extent for their cause, even though I did never approve of their violence. I thought these are people who have been left out of the India growth story. When India is growing to become one of the most influential nations of the world, both economically and politically, a huge number of these people languish in abject poverty throughout India. Hence I thought their anger against the state is a natural outcome of their desperation. But the latest mayhem has left me asking me two questions:
- Do these Naxals really care for the people they say they are fighting for? If so, how come they can kill the same people!
- Have their political ambitions got bigger than their so-called fight against injustice?
It seems that the Naxals have lost sight of their vision. They need to quit the path of violence and fight for their cause peacefully. There are a lot of people and organizations who support their cause.
Development is a slow process; whatever the Government is doing would take some time to reflect on the field. Besides, 'Development' is a complex process; even with best of endeavours, one finds it difficult to achieve it. The Government is trying to push forward the ‘Development’ agenda in the Naxal affected regions. But the Naxals seem to be non-cooperative and desperate.
The Government must now adopt a two prong strategy: (i) Establish the rule of law in these places; the Naxals can not be allowed to dictate terms to the state. It is one of the primary duties of the state to protect its citizens (ii) Accelerate the development process.The efforts of development must be immediate and on a war footing. Better education, health facilities, public distribution system, employment opportunities, etc will go a long way in solving the problem.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Behind the veil of honour and culture !
A few days back, I got an sms from a friend which read like this: "Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived together. One day, there was a storm in the sea and the island was about to drown. All the feelings were scared; but 'love' built a boat to escape. All the feelings boarded the boat except 'ego'. 'Love' tried and tried, but 'ego' did not move. Everyone asked 'love' to leave him back and move. But 'love' was meant to 'love'; she remained with 'ego' and drowned! 'Love' died because of 'Ego'".
I remembered this message when I heard the incident of Manoj and Babli being ordered to be killed by the 'Khap Panchayat' for same 'gotra' marriage in Haryana.
It is disgraceful that in a democratic country like India this can happen. This is barbaric and ruthless killing in the name of honour. There is no honour in killing innocent people just because they loved each other and wanted to marry. The civil society must condemn this act in the strictest terms and not allow this medieval practice to continue.
It questions strength of our liberal values as a nation and as a society. India has emerged from one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Gandhi is revered the world over for his teachings of nonviolence. Buddha was born this very land. Today, we boast ourselves as one of the very few liberal democratic countries! We must carry on the tradition.
We should respect people's and community's wisdom and culture, but things which are not acceptable in a civilized society must go. Traditions like 'Sati' and 'child marriage' were in vogue at a point of time, but people like Raja Rammohan Roy fought against these crusades and they are no more accepted. The same way, this must go now.
It is shameful that some of the leaders are sympathizing with the Khap's cause. This politics of vote banks is disgusting, to say the least. The leaders are supposed to lead the people in the forward direction and not backwards. They must not bow down to the pressures from some sections of the society. The same holds true for the judges who decide these matters. Recently, after deciding against the 'Khap Panchayat', the judge got a threat call and requested a transfer. It only encourages the perpetrators of such heinous crime. The judges too should not show their fear in public like this. We must resist these forces at any cost. The Chief Justice of India was right when he appealed for the need for showing greater tolerance and acceptance for lovers (He actually said that one do not check out the other's 'gotra' before falling in love).
Thousands of young people become victims of honour killing every year through out the world; India is among the top countries in this list. In India, it is not anything new. It's very much prevalent in different parts of the country, mostly in Bihar, U.P., Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. What is more perplexing is that it's prevalent among the middle class and so-called educated section too. In 2001, a middle class family from Punjab settled in Canada did the same to their daughter for falling in love with a Kabaddi player from Punjab and marrying. In this case, the mother herself ordered the killing of her daughter!!!
It's beyond comprehension how can a mother murder her daughter! The big 'EGO' of false honour and prestige does it. It's high time the society realizes this.
I remembered this message when I heard the incident of Manoj and Babli being ordered to be killed by the 'Khap Panchayat' for same 'gotra' marriage in Haryana.
It is disgraceful that in a democratic country like India this can happen. This is barbaric and ruthless killing in the name of honour. There is no honour in killing innocent people just because they loved each other and wanted to marry. The civil society must condemn this act in the strictest terms and not allow this medieval practice to continue.
It questions strength of our liberal values as a nation and as a society. India has emerged from one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Gandhi is revered the world over for his teachings of nonviolence. Buddha was born this very land. Today, we boast ourselves as one of the very few liberal democratic countries! We must carry on the tradition.
We should respect people's and community's wisdom and culture, but things which are not acceptable in a civilized society must go. Traditions like 'Sati' and 'child marriage' were in vogue at a point of time, but people like Raja Rammohan Roy fought against these crusades and they are no more accepted. The same way, this must go now.
It is shameful that some of the leaders are sympathizing with the Khap's cause. This politics of vote banks is disgusting, to say the least. The leaders are supposed to lead the people in the forward direction and not backwards. They must not bow down to the pressures from some sections of the society. The same holds true for the judges who decide these matters. Recently, after deciding against the 'Khap Panchayat', the judge got a threat call and requested a transfer. It only encourages the perpetrators of such heinous crime. The judges too should not show their fear in public like this. We must resist these forces at any cost. The Chief Justice of India was right when he appealed for the need for showing greater tolerance and acceptance for lovers (He actually said that one do not check out the other's 'gotra' before falling in love).
Thousands of young people become victims of honour killing every year through out the world; India is among the top countries in this list. In India, it is not anything new. It's very much prevalent in different parts of the country, mostly in Bihar, U.P., Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. What is more perplexing is that it's prevalent among the middle class and so-called educated section too. In 2001, a middle class family from Punjab settled in Canada did the same to their daughter for falling in love with a Kabaddi player from Punjab and marrying. In this case, the mother herself ordered the killing of her daughter!!!
It's beyond comprehension how can a mother murder her daughter! The big 'EGO' of false honour and prestige does it. It's high time the society realizes this.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Kasab story: A lot remains to be answered
It was an important day for India as millions of people awaited the judgement of the special court on the Mumbai terror attack accused. There were three accused: Ajmal Amir Kasab- 86 charges including murder of 72 people, Faheem Ansari- Mapped targets, and Sabauddin Shaikh- delivered Ansari’s maps to the LeT men in Nepal.
The court has finally given its judgement that the terrorist Kasab was found guilty on all accounts. But the other two were acquitted of the charges of criminal conspiracy because of lack of sufficient evidence.
It is a matter of happiness that (1) the terrorist has been found guilty and will be punished accordingly (decision pending), (2) it proves the independence of Indian judicial system (no one is punished until credible evidence beyond doubt is produced).
However, it has created new questions: How did the two conspirators escape scot free? Why the investigators could not produce enough evidence for a case running for more than a year? Is this the efficiency of our premiere investigating agency? Has the investigating agency deliberately hidden evidence against the two to clear Indian hand in the event and push the ball to Pakistan’s court squarely (as the Pakistanis allege now)? Is there going to be another round of legal battle? When is the saga going to end?
The court has finally given its judgement that the terrorist Kasab was found guilty on all accounts. But the other two were acquitted of the charges of criminal conspiracy because of lack of sufficient evidence.
It is a matter of happiness that (1) the terrorist has been found guilty and will be punished accordingly (decision pending), (2) it proves the independence of Indian judicial system (no one is punished until credible evidence beyond doubt is produced).
However, it has created new questions: How did the two conspirators escape scot free? Why the investigators could not produce enough evidence for a case running for more than a year? Is this the efficiency of our premiere investigating agency? Has the investigating agency deliberately hidden evidence against the two to clear Indian hand in the event and push the ball to Pakistan’s court squarely (as the Pakistanis allege now)? Is there going to be another round of legal battle? When is the saga going to end?
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