Shooting of Michael Brown - a murder, a police encounter, or a self defense?

There is no doubt that the police have a very hard job to do. The kinds of situations and challenges they face every day are so unpredictable and dangerous that it is very difficult to apply normal logic under some of these situations. But at the same time, many of these situations deal directly with human life and death, even a very small mistake can kill an innocent person or allow a dangerous criminal to get away. So, police officers need to be vigilant, careful, and attentive all the time. This all needs a lot of training along with a lot of physical and mental strength. That is why people from the police force or military are respected and honored for their service because they risk their own lives to save others every day. But when you read about the incidents like the shooting of Michael Brown then you doubt whether everyone in the police department is honest and dedicated towards their job. Under the circumstances Michael was shot raises many uncomfortable questions for which there are no easy answers.

Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager was shot dead by Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. I don't think after reading the full story one can deny that Michael might have made some mistakes on that day (like stealing a pack of cigars from a store, getting into an argument with a police officer, or trying to resist the arrest). However, the question is, were his mistakes serious enough to fatally shoot him? Did he pose such a serious danger to Officer Darren Wilson's life that he shot Michael multiple times with the clear intention of killing him? If Michael committed some criminal offense then Officer Darren should have tried to arrest him, if at all he was required to use a weapon he should have tried to use it in a nonfatal way. Many teenagers do a lot of stupid things, many of these things they do without knowing the real consequences of their actions. There is no doubt that kids who make these types of mistakes should be punished if the mistake breaks any law or harms anyone to make sure that they don't repeat the same mistakes. But there are nonviolent ways to deal with such unpleasant situations, one needs to show a lot of patience while dealing with them. Brutal force should be used only when it is absolutely required. Every effort should be made by law enforcement officers to handle the matter without causing any serious injury when they are dealing with common people. This is because one can recover the lost or stolen items, one can chase or hunt criminals but one can not bring back lost lives and that is why this restraint and caution is necessary. 

This issue becomes more serious because of the racial angle involved in it. The victim Michael Brown was Black and Darren Wilson was white. One can understand why there is so much anger and protest against the grand jury's decision to acquit Officer Wilson. It is not only about the death but about the real intention behind the act of fatal shooting. Unfortunately, many protests are turning out to be very violent with a lot of destruction of public property. These kinds of violent protests rarely help the cause, but they do shift the focus away from the real problem as serious law and order situation is created due to violence and public property destruction. So, if people wanted to register their protest against the decision of the grand jury they should protest in a civilized and peaceful manner to register their protest, violence is not going to help. Also, this incident should be investigated by an unbiased and diverse jury so that people also believe that any decision taken is an unbiased decision. It is the job of investigating agencies to conduct a transparent investigation.

Some available statistics indicate that black teens are 21 times more likely to be killed by cops, this data is worrisome and concerning. If it is true then this problem needs urgent attention. Because of the many complexities involved, it is often difficult to decide whether such shootings are really a result of self-defense (where an officer shoots a person to save their own life) or potential murder. Police should try to show some restraint and caution while dealing with teenagers, if required they should be given special training for this. At the same time, teens also should be made aware of the role of police in their society and their own responsibilities as citizens of society. Spreading awareness among police and teens about their rights as well as responsibilities can be a first step in this direction. Michael is gone and I hope there is a proper investigation in this case to reveal the truth. The main focus should be on how can we avoid these types of incidents in the future. Let's try to accept first that there is a problem and then only we can find a solution for this. Unless both sides (society and law enforcement) which are part of this problem are actively involved in solving it I don't think there will be any viable solution for this. We all are part of this problem so we all have to be part of the solution also.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Michael_Brown
2. Ferguson’s Grand Jury Bought Darren Wilson’s Story
3. Deadly Force, in Black and White

Mythology is not science

Birth of Karna (my favorite character from Mahabharat) was a marvel of genetic engineering in ancient India, Ganesha's head replacement was an example of plastic surgery; these are meanings that students might derive from some of the statements that India's PM Mr. Narendra Modi made recently. There are already people who believe that whatever great discoveries are made in the area of science are already described in ancient Indian scriptures, and such statements only validate such unscientific thinking. It is a different issue that such people fail to explain if those discoveries were already mentioned in those books then how come Indians failed to report it to the rest of the world and how come only when someone else reported them then only these people suddenly realize that it was already mentioned in their holy books. The only agenda these people have is to push their own ideology and religion as a superior force and claim credit for others' hard work. Anyone who really studied science and with a real scientific temperament would feel amazed by the sheer ignorance of these people. These people fail to understand the difference between mythology (which is fiction) and science (which is based on reproducible data and verifiable evidence). 

Mythology is full of very interesting and inspiring stories. Among these stories, Mahabharat is my favorite one. Many stories from this great epic are full of interesting characters and incidents. To make them entertaining authors have included many fictitious incidents like they do in all fiction books like Harry Potter. It is to the credit of the author's great imagination that these books are so entertaining and popular. Many of the incidents mentioned in fiction books are also inspired by some real-life incidents, they make use of real city names or dates just to make these stories sound real. But at the same time, we all know that no one can fly on a broomstick, people can not defy gravity without any external help, unicorns don't exist, and animals don't talk in any human spoken language, but we all love to read these stories and watch these things on the screen. However, if scientists discover some invention, for example, a touch screen or the wireless phone, already mentioned in some story or movie like Star Wars after a lot of hard work and research, we don't give credit to that book or movie for inventing it. Maybe scientists or inventors get some idea from these movies but to make these things a reality is an altogether different ball game. It requires a lot of study, planning, hard work, and many experiments (most of which fail), to make any invention work. It is not easy to bring fiction into reality but the hard work of many scientists makes some of these things possible. Flying was considered impossible just a few centuries ago but now we have so many devices which one can use to fly in group or solo. This was possible due to the hard work of many people who worked tirelessly to develop this technology. These are the people who should get the credit for this invention, not someone who might have mentioned in some story that humans can fly without any technical details about how can they defy gravity and fly.

Such statements coming from a person like Mr. Modi who is the prime minister of India are very surprising if not shocking. He can have his personal opinion about any issue but as a prominent public figure, he should know that his statements are going to have a huge impact on many impressionable minds who follow him. Mythology is not science. They are different and one should not try to mix them as none of them will get any benefit from such mixing, it will only breed ignorance and stupidity.  

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. PM Modi takes leaf from Batra book: Mahabharat genetics, Lord Ganesha surgery
2. Indian prime minister claims genetic science existed in ancient times

Reviving Sanskrit - Forcing it on students is not a solution

The main purpose of any language is to act as a mode of communication between people. Language also helps in preserving historical records and transmitting knowledge from one generation to another. No one can deny the use and importance of language in our society. The need for communication is very essential part of human existence and different languages serve this very important purpose. I don't know the exact count of world languages, but I am sure there are hundreds of them. Some ancient languages like Heabrue are even spoken today and some like Sanskrit are not. The languages that are not spoken in today's world are also studied as there is a vast amount of literature that can be useful even today. Sanskrit is one such language. It is not a spoken language anymore, but there exists a vast amount of literature in Sanskrit. Most of that literature is translated into many other languages and available for everyone to read, so, not knowing Sanskrit is not at all a hindrance in today's world to studying the literature that was available only in Sanskrit a couple of hundred years back.

I am writing this post on this issue because I have first-hand experience about being forced to learn Sanskrit. I was forced to study this language in 10th grade because Sanskrit was considered as a "scoring subject." During my school days, we had three language curricula, Marathi (regional language) and English were compulsory and one could choose the third language. We had Hindi and Sanskrit as options as the third language. I chose 50% Hindi and 50% Sanskrit. My favorite language was Marathi, but between Hindi and Sanskrit, I always liked Hindi better than Sanskrit and found it much easier to understand and study because I was more familiar with that language because of Hindi movies. But in 10th grade, I was part of so so-called scholar batch which was specially trained by our school to score better in the board exams and that is why everyone in that batch was forced to take only Sanskrit as the third language as it was supposed to boost our overall score. Our Sanskrit teacher was really nice, she was a calm and polite lady with a lot of patience, she tried her best to train everyone by taking extra classes at her own home but I struggled to understand even the basics of Sanskrit. I was not at all happy that I was forced to study it. I knew that it was not going to help me to boost my score but it would reduce my score, and that's what happened. I managed to somehow pass that subject by scoring 53 out of 100. I really hated the fact that I was forced to study Sanskrit. I was too weak or scared to register my protest in school. Neither my parents nor I had any clue about this language, they felt bad for my struggle but beyond that they couldn't do much. It took a lot of time and effort from my side to overcome my dislike for Sanskrit due to this bitter experience. The point here is forcing any language on students is not going to make them like or popularize that language. The same story was with English, many of my friends struggled in English because there was no connection with English, and we did not know how to read or speak English. Many of my friends struggled to pass English, it was the second lethal subject after maths that students used to fear. they studied it because it was compulsory and even after studying it for 5 years (from 5th to 10th) most of them didn't like or have any clue about it. 

I am not against teaching any particular language in schools as some of my friends got this impression when I was debating with them about this issue. In Indian schools two languages are compulsory (the regional language and English), so they already teach two languages to students. The third language is for academic purposes, so let students choose which one they want to study. Students should get a choice, let them choose which Indian or foreign language they want to learn as a third language. If they opt for Sanskrit then by all means teach it to them. I am sure it is a wonderful language like many others. Even though I studied that language for 3 years I am in no position to comment about that language as my opinion will be very biased. Sanskrit or any other language can not be revived by forcing people to learn it, this is not a correct method to revive any language. Spread awareness about the merits and demerits of learning Sanskrit, create enough job opportunities that will require people to know that language, and then people will learn it on their own. Forcing it on students might create more students like me who dislike that language just because they were forced to learn it. I hope school authorities offer Sanskrit as an option for a third language rather than making it a mandatory subject. Every language deserves to be taught in school but proper platforms should be developed and methods should be used so that students don't suffer. I hope the interest of all students is taken into consideration before implementing any such decision. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Make Sanskrit compulsory: Singhal
2. German row: parents move court

Crook Rampal and his goons should be punished

The recent drama that happened in Haryana during the process of following the High Court's order to arrest a self-styled godman Rampal has raised some serious questions about some of these religious organizations and their work. This fella Rampal and his supporters dared to stop the entire police force from following the court order to arrest Rampal and present him in court as he failed to appear before the court even after repeated summons issued in his name. The resistance shown by his supporters to stop his arrest was shocking. It was a blatant show of contempt for the law. They believed that their guru Rampal was someone above the law, they also expected state and law enforcement should treat him differently than they treat common people. This type of unreasonable expectation is not uncommon, in India politicians, celebrities, and such babas expect this type of treatment and many times they get it. So, it was not unreasonable for this baba who has a couple of million followers to expect the same special treatment. This mentality is created and perpetrated by people in India, they think that politicians and babas or gurus are above the law. These supporters think that all these are special people who should be treated differently no matter what crime or mistake they commit.

Rampal and this incident is just an example of to what extent this human worship mentality can push people. People are willing to die to defend their idol who they think can do nothing wrong. This is worrisome as well as pathetic. I used to get angry at the foolishness of these people but now I only feel pity for such people. Failure of government and administration to stop these types of incidents from happening is another serious issue here. Very often political parties and politicians make use of these babas and imams for their own political benefit. This nexus between politics and religion is beneficial for both as they try to help each other whenever possible. This nexus makes both of them powerful and allows them to control people's minds. It is difficult to bring any law to stop such things, only proper education and mass awareness might put an end to such blind following but that is also not guaranteed. Even so-called educated people fall for such babas and corrupt politicians. The basic principle that everyone must be treated as equal in front of the law is not followed when the culprit is some politician, religious leader, or celebrity. But at the same time, many common people suffer at the hands of the law just because they don't have the proper knowledge or resources. If the government claims that the law is the same for all then they walk the talk and demonstrate it. "Justice for all" and "everyone is equal to law" should not just remain slogans. I hope in the future such incidents are avoided and no politician or any influential person is given any special treatment in front of the law. 

News reports say that at least six people died inside the ashram during this whole standoff. If people died because they were held hostage and didn't receive proper medical treatment then this should be considered a murder. This crook Rampal and his goons should be booked for obstructing the justice and murder of these innocents, no one involved in this incident should escape the clutches of law. Even people who made the mistake of risking the lives of their own children by bringing them to the site of conflict should be tried for negligent parenting. Strict action taken against all of them, this might stop others from repeating the same in the future. If the administration for any reason fails to take any strict action against people involved in this episode, including the police who were involved in beating the journalists who were trying to cover this incident then it will set a bad precedent and encourage others to repeat this blatant disregard for the law. Let's see what choice the administration makes.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. 'Very tough operation' under way in Rampal's ashram, over 100 injured
2. प्राइम टाइम : हिसार में सरकार का सरेंडर!
3. Rampal Lives in 12-Acre Ashram, Owns BMWs, Mercs

We need to stop objectification of human body

During one of the panel discussions on one of NDTV programs social scientist Kamla Bhasin raised a very interesting point, she called nakedness a natural phenomenon but objected to nudity which in commercial media tries to objectify the female body. Kamla Bhasin made very interesting argument against the widespread nudity in advertising and movies which objectifies male and female (especially female) bodies and presents them as a consumer product. She also took a strong objection to derogatory lyrics of some Hindi movie songs which clearly present the female body as some object for male enjoyment. She raised similar concerns during the episode related to domestic violence and gender sensitivity on Amir Khan's show Satyamev Jayate. She insisted that nakedness is natural, and there is nothing wrong in it but nudity is purposeful, and especially female nudity which directly results in the objectification of female body (especially in movies) is also the result of age-old patriarchal culture.

One can argue that what type of clothes to wear or how much to expose one's body is entirely a personal choice, and what is shown in movies is a matter of artistic freedom. But I guess she wants to question whether this is done because of individual choice or because of pressure to present oneself in particular form because of the prevalence of patriarchal culture. One can clearly see this when men are all dressed up in suits and on the same stage one can see women wearing revealing clothes and high heels that too in nicely air-conditioned rooms, which must make them feel chilly and uncomfortable. If all this is because of individual choice then no one should object to it but is it really like this? No one can question an individual's right to choose what dress they want to wear on any occasion but whenever I talk to people it doesn't seem like like there is a choice. I see many women and men complaining that they can not wear same dress on two different occasions because people will taunt them or pass some adverse comments about their dress. I always wonder whether people dress up out of choice or out of compulsion or pressure to fit in? I never used to feel comfortable in suits and many traditional Indian dresses and on many occasions, in functions like marriage or festival celebrations, I refused to wear them and faced a lot of criticism for doing that. I didn't care what people thought about me when they saw me like that but it seems many do care and they care a lot about what people will say about their external appearance. They care so much that many dress to fit into that image of real men and real women at the cost of their own comfort and choice.

To pressurize or force anyone to expose their body is equally bad as to force them to cover it. Surprisingly most people don't believe that because of aggressive advertising, there is tremendous pressure on men and women, especially on women to dress and look in a particular way. Specially women are considered modern, liberal, or progressive only if they wear certain type of clothes, this stereotype is very common all over the world. I see many people talking against the burqa or ghoonghat where women are forced to cover their bodies, this system is part of some cultures or religion but not many people raise their voice against pressure on women in today's world to expose their body or dress in a certain way. I always wonder why only one of these things is considered regressive and forceful? It seems many believe that wearing a burqa is more oppressive than a bikini walk which is mandatory during many beauty contests. It also seems that people find it hard to believe that women can choose by their own will to wear burqa, sari, or ghoonghat but they easily believe that all women choose to wear revealing clothes out of their own choice. Actually, in both cases, if it is done under any direct or indirect pressure, there is no individual choice. The human body is treated as an physical object in both cases. If forcing women to wear a burqa is wrong them forcing them to walk on a ramp in a bikini is also wrong. The male body is also objectified heavily in movies which is again a very serious issue. I agree that it is a very recent phenomena compared to female body objectification but we can see that it has also started. One can see many products in the market and aggressive ad campaigns which strongly advocate of certain body types and shapes for men and women both. 

We need to stop this human body objectification. I don't think it is easy to stop this process because this objectification is so seamlessly done that many times people don't even notice that they are being objectified. They follow it as a fashion trend or a way of looking beautiful or just to fit in the image of an ideal man and woman created by this seamless objectification process. With examples from my own family and friends I can see how seriously it affects the minds of people. I was so surprised by this phenomenon that I started thinking that it is a myth that people choose their own dress, my observation says that most people choose their dress based on what others think about their choices, and very few dare to choose what they want. One can give different names to that force, one can call it peer pressure, gender stereotype, fashion trend, culture, or some other name but I found very few who were willing to go against the popular norm and dare to think differently. I know it is a tough battle, and it is not easy to stand alone from a crowd, I know how it feels. But still, I hope I see some more people who are willing to take this path, who are willing to question this objectification, challenge the stereotypes, and defy these unjust norms. After all, progress depends on all unreasonable people who challenge the status quo and demonstrate that it is possible to change things.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. हम लोग : आगे बढ़ती लड़कियां, पीछे खींचता समाज
2. http://www.onebillionrising.org/249/kamla-bhasin-south-asia/

Who owns Jawaharlal Nehru?

The ugly spat between Congress and BJP, the two largest national parties of India over the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru during the celebration of his 125th birth anniversary has generated a lot of political drama. The issue was really a trivia. The Congress party organized an international symposium to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. They invited leaders from various political parties (like Mamta Banerjee from Trinamool) to take part in the symposium but not the current prime minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi. This has created a political storm and wrestling match between the BJP and Congress over who owns the legacy of Nehru. Who can appropriate Nehru and who can't. This controversy is totally unnecessary and displays the primitive and shallow nature of politics which both national parties are trying to play just to score some brownie points. One can agree or disagree with Nehru's policies, one can analyze or criticize his tenure as first prime minister of India, but one can not deny his contribution to India's freedom struggle and his role in establishing a democratic system in India. One also can not ignore his role in recognizing the importance of science and scientific aptitude for a young country like India. He took an active interest and all the necessary steps to establish some of the major scientific institutes which we cherish even today. No leader is perfect, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and that is why we debate and discuss them, and Nohru or Gandhi were no different. But it is really unfortunate to see such a pathetic tug-of-war between two major political parties over the legacy of a national icon.

The question people are asking is, who owns Nehru? Is he Congress party's personal property as he belonged and represented Congress for his entire political career? Is he the personal property of the Nehru-Gandhi family which is still a major player in Indian politics? Do India and its people own him as he was their first prime minister? According to me, no single political party or family owns the legacy of a leader like Nehru. Of course, the family in which such individuals are born and parties or people with whom they were directly or indirectly associated might feel more strongly for them, but any public figure is open to praise or criticism by anyone. Saying that only Congress can appropriate Nehru and no one else should dare to honor him or celebrate his birth anniversary is a sign of extreme narrow-mindedness. National icons belong to the entire country irrespective of any party or group. It is not easy to become a national icon, winning an election is fine, becoming prime minister or chief minister is also okay but not every PM or CM becomes a national icon and Jawaharlal Nehru has the status of an international icon. He belongs to everyone. Any praise and criticism about his policies or actions should not be considered a direct attack on his legacy or personality. People who don't believe in Nehru's ideology or his policies are free to disagree with him or criticize him. Of course, people will feel odd if the group or party that continuously insults and discredits Nehru or Gandhi suddenly tries to claim their legacy. At the same time, one also should understand that people may change their opinion and if now suddenly they feel that Gandhi or Nehru's policies or ideas were right, and they should respect them, then this opportunity should be given to them. Only time will tell us what the real purpose behind the sudden change of hearts of these groups is. One should not doubt anyone's intentions without any evidence, a chance must be given to prove that their feelings and intentions are honest.

I feel this drama was totally avoidable and unnecessary. Unfortunately, political parties are making personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, or Sardar Patel tools of political tug-of-war between them (especially Congress and BJP). Both parties are actually insulting these people by engaging in such public spats. The whole of India is proud of these people and everyone who is influenced by their work should celebrate their legacy, at the same time, any constructive criticism should also be welcomed. No particular party should claim ownership of these national icons. I hope this controversy settles down soon and we get to celebrate the real legacy of these people. Let's hope that people remember them for the work they have done for India not just because of the party they represented.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Chhattisgarh incident - if it is not an eyeopener then we are already a dead society

The unfortunate tragedy which unfolded in Chhattisgarh has shocked me deeply. It's not that I don't know how these government camps are conducted and what is the situation of sanitation in government-run clinics but I was still shocked by this incident. At least 13 women lost their lives and many more are in critical condition after getting sterilization operations performed in one of the government-run camps. This is not the first time any such mishap happened in government-run camps but I think the loss of lives on such a large scale never happened before. The public health system is in very bad shape in India, a lot of corruption, and lack of accountability plagues this system so much that it is almost dysfunctional. The population control program is part of the health ministry of the central government as well as the state government. Every state sets some targets that it needs to complete to get the required funding which is allocated for that specific purpose and pressure to fulfill those targets can result in horrible incidents like this one where people lose their lives. Lack of transparency, poor follow-up, and inquiry into such incidents allows most culprits to roam free. The system has failed to put any check on the occurrence of such unwanted incidents. Along with people who actually conduct these camps (doctors and medical officers) government machinery and health ministers are equally responsible for these mishaps. Unless all directly and indirectly concerned people are held accountable and punished appropriately I don't think these types of instances will stop.

This is a cruel joke on people and their lives (especially poor and uneducated), they are dragged to these camps with the lure of money or some holiday from their work and doctors casually play with these people's health. Any medical procedure like surgery, especially something like a sterilization operation should not be performed without informed consent. Here word "informed" is more important than consent, it is very easy to get consent from these uneducated poor people who sign any form just in exchange for a few bucks or just because some "educated" person like a doctor is telling them to do so. They think that if some doctor or some respected politician or educated person from their village is telling them to do this thing then it must be good. We can call it consent but it is not informed consent which is a must for any medical procedure like this. The government or any agency can not hide behind the technical rules that we did our job according to rule books and it is people's fault that they go to such camps and die.

Lack of transparency and accountability at every level is a major reason why such incidents keep on happening. This is the same state where ~100 people lost their eyesight after a cataract operation in government camps, and there was no news about what happened to those culprits involved in that incident. These incidents create headlines for few days, and there are attempts to politicize these issues to score some political points but slowly some other issue takes over and people forget about it, in the end nothing substantial happens to put an end to these tragic events. Politicizing any event like this is bad but some political accountability is needed for such incidents. After all, politicians are an important part of the administration that plans and executes such events. They are the people who get the credit for any successful implementation of government schemes, so, they should also get the blame and punishment for such disasters. Normally, only poor and uneducated people are the victims of such events. These are the people who are not active on Facebook, Twitter, or WhatsApp, they are not going to flood social media with their protest posts but they are equally important citizens of India and they need the same treatment that is offered to any citizen from any metro city.

Unless they establish proper mechanisms at every level to make sure that SOP (standard operating procedures) are followed wherever people's health issues are in question we will keep on witnessing such events. Just a resignation or arrest of one doctor or officer is not a solution to this serious problem. We need systematic and administrative reforms if we want to put an end to such incidents. If this incident is not an eye-opener for the people and politicians of India then I am afraid that we are a dead society that doesn't care about the lives of the poor of our society. I hope this incident is the last such incident and necessary steps are taken to avoid such tragedy in the future.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:

1. Chhattisgarh sterilisation tragedy: Directors of drug company arrested; doctor blames govt

2. Chhattisgarh Sterilisation Deaths: My Resignation Won't Solve the Problem, Says Raman Singh

Kiss of love - protest against attack on individual freedom not against any culture

Recently protest movement against moral policing, "Kiss of Love" was in the news. This protest was given this name because people decided to kiss each other as a form of protest against moral policing. Interestingly, this protest started in the state of Kerala and rapidly spread to other parts of India. As expected many organizations associated with Hinduism and Islam opposed these protests calling them against Indian culture and a violation of the civic code of conduct. Moral policing is not a new phenomenon in any country, some fanatic, self-declared culture protectors try to impose moral or cultural values which they think are right. These organizations don't care whether it is legal or illegal to impose these things on other people against their will, they do it in the name of protecting ancient culture or traditions. Very often protests like Kiss of Love are blamed on the influence of Western culture, however, ironically India is the country that has produced works of Khajuraho and texts like Kamasutra. The extreme response of these organizations to these protests is not surprising to me but their violent reactions and justifications offered for such violent attacks are major concerns.

Actually, protests like Kiss of Love are not in any way an attack on any culture. These protests are not meant to insult anyone or hurt anyone but this is a way of protesting against unjust moral policing. This protest is a simple way of conveying the message that you can't force your values on others. If someone is breaking the law arrest them and punish them legally, torturing them or harassing them in public is not the solution or a way to protect any culture. Moral values differ from person to person, for some eating non-vegetarian food can be an immoral thing to do, but that doesn't mean they go and beat all people who choose to eat non-vegetarian food. They have the right to propagate the benefits of vegetarian food and the drawbacks of non-vegetarian food but they don't have any right to force their dietary choices on others. In the same way, someone might think females not wearing a burqa is an immoral thing, or drinking alcohol is a sin, or eating beef or pork is a sin, these people are entitled to have whatever beliefs they want but they have no right to force it on others. There is a machinery and system in every state and country to take care of things that are against the law and let them do their job. In a democracy, people even have the right to protest peacefully against any law if they feel it is an unjust law. Peaceful protests, debates, and discussions are signs of a healthy and inclusive society. Moral policing is not a sign of a progressive, tolerant, and open society rather it is a sign of a regressive, intolerant, and backward society. India claims itself to be a very tolerant and progressive country so people should be ashamed of such attacks on the personal liberty of people in their own country.

Indian culture or for that matter any culture is not so weak that it can be threatened by people kissing in public. It is the same culture that has produced Khajuraho temples and books like Kamasutra, so why such a violent stand against a mere protest? And if any culture has some bad elements or repressive traditions then what is wrong in changing those traditions? What is wrong in protesting against any regressive practices that are still practiced? Such protests should be welcomed rather than condemning them, and any attack on personal liberty should be opposed. I hope these types of protests are taken in the right spirit rather than considering them as an attack on any culture. Individual liberty is a very important aspect of any society. I hope individual liberty and fundamental rights are respected and protected, if not then as a society we should be ready to witness many more such protests. Let's see how many attempts are made to crush such protests and what is the ultimate result of such bold protests.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

City on steroids - is this a real development?

During my recent visit to India, I saw great enthusiasm among people about the issue of development. One reason for this can be the issue of development was also debated during the recent general election for parliament. This also had a backdrop of phenomenal economic development in the last decade or so, people in India have experienced phenomenal economic growth in the last few decades and this has created a lot of enthusiasm about more economic development. I don't think anyone will disagree that economic development is necessary for India to generate more jobs for its youth. This is the reason many cities in India are growing very fast, but the main question is are they growing in the right direction? 

My home town Pune just a couple of decades back a small city with a beautiful climate and was surrounded by beautiful hills. Since the last decade or so it has grown very fast, so fast that if someone who visited this city 8-9 years back visits it now they may not recognize that it is the same Pune. It hosts a large number of software and other companies, industrial and economic growth of this city in the last decade or so has been phenomenal. This growth has also resulted in a real estate boom in this city, prices of properties and lands are skyrocketing, and there is some type of construction work going on on every empty land. This has resulted in a lot of unplanned growth in Pune. Even the hills are not spared from the construction. Many hills are now occupied by some sort of construction (legal or illegal). It is hard to imagine that the place on which these structures are standing was a beautiful hill just a few years back. Development as such comes with some side effects which are manageable if handled properly but unplanned and uncontrolled development comes with many serious side effects. These side effects can have serious consequences like flash floods, and they affect the lives of the people who live in them. As expected, pollution levels are going up in each and every city in India, and there is no proper mechanism to monitor this or any serious efforts made to handle these issues. The unplanned growth of cities is putting a lot of stress on the already overburdened infrastructure of those cities. Traffic conditions are horrible in many places which causes a lot of inconvenience to travelers, and people's habit of not following any traffic rules makes it worse. 

Currently, Pune looks like a city on steroids, growing uncontrollably in all directions wherever it can find empty space. Definitely, economic growth is happening and people are getting richer, one can see economic prosperity coming in families but at the same time, quality of life in terms of proper infrastructure, school system, and government services, is not improving for everyone. Government offices are still very crowded with rampant corruption, and economic development has not been able to check corruption. The public school system is still in horrible condition and it is a tough task to get your kid admitted to any good private school without any political influence or paying heavy donations. There is an upper middle class who can afford to do all these things as they earn enough money to support this type of lifestyle. But at the same time, there is no change in the lives of many lower-middle-class people who are somehow stuck in the same vicious cycle of poverty and lack of proper education. Stress on the city's infrastructure is immense. Pune really needs a properly planned metro, monorail, or some reliable public transport system that can reduce the number of vehicles on its roads. The current public transport system is not able to satisfy the requirements of the growing population which needs a reliable alternative to commute in the city. I think this is the story of more or less all growing cities in India. Some cities like Delhi and Mumbai managed to modernize their public transport system but even there also still there is huge gap between demand and supply.

I wish that concerned authorities take into consideration the consequences of this unplanned growth very seriously and take appropriate steps. Once the city grows with many illegal and unorganized constructions it is really difficult to get rid of them just because so many people occupy these places and it is impossible to take any action against them. This has happened in the past and it seems the administration has not learned any lesson from these incidents. I only hope that economic or real estate growth happens with proper planning and according to available resources in that city. This will allow people to enjoy a comfortable life without being worried about whether they can reach the hospital in time during any medical emergency because of heavy and undisciplined traffic on the roads of the city. People of Pune also should play an important role in this, they need to follow traffic rules and try to keep their city clean. If Pune can show that a growing city can be disciplined and well-organized, it can become an example for all other cities to follow. A city on steroids will grow for sure but that growth is not healthy and natural and I think the people of Pune prefer their beloved city to grow naturally retaining its beauty and natural climate. Let's see if people choose planned and organized growth or if they are fine with this unorganized rampant growth which might create more problems than solutions.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]