Science doesn't answer all the questions - because it is not supposed to

Very often I hear people criticizing science by arguing that it doesn't solve all the problems or answer all the questions. This point is regularly raised during the discussions where science and religion are discussed together and pitched against each other. Science vs. religion is a very common and popular debate topic. They are pitched against each other often and people try to evaluate both disciplines based on their own perceptions, knowledge, likes, and dislikes. I want to discuss specifically science and its impact on our society, especially the pointless accusations that science has not solved any major problems for humankind or science claims to know everything but then, doesn't answer all the questions. Some religious people say these things in a tone as if religion does solve all the problems or have all the answers. First of all, one should understand that science doesn't claim that it can answer all the questions or solve all the problems. People who think like this are either ignorant or are purposely saying this to mislead people or just saying this to malign science. First, problem-solving and knowledge generation is a continuous and never-ending process in science, so, it cannot claim to know everything or solve all the problems, it is always a work in progress. Secondly, science is not just an academic discipline or a subject of school curriculum, it is a way of thinking. It is a logical and systematic way of handling any question or problem. Any person can have a scientific aptitude, they can follow scientific methods to generate the same results that scientists generate, they don't need any formal education or degree to be called a scientist. I have seen many uneducated people making brilliant discoveries using their own logical and rational thinking, they are all scientists according to me. One can definitely become a scientist by profession by having proper training and education but this is not the only way to learn and practice science. I am a very lucky person that I came across many people from different disciplines who instilled a scientific aptitude in me.

I clearly remember one lecture from my college days where one of our chemistry professors who was also a very good poet asked question to our class, what is science? Many students tried to answer this question and finally, all of us agreed that "anything which we study systematically is science." Now what do we mean by "systematically"? It simply means using verifiable and reproducible methods. If things are not reproducible or if data is not verifiable independently, then it doesn't have any scientific significance. The evidence can be direct or indirect but it has to be there and the onus is always on the claimant to prove their claim. The biggest quality of science that attracted me to it is that it only believes in data, it doesn't care who produced that data, who proposed theories, or who carried out the experiments. The data has to be verifiable and reproducible for any scientific experiment to be successful. Even the data from unsuccessful experiments is very valuable in science as it provides important insight to others working in that field. My experiment or Einstein's experiment are judged with the same skepticism and open-mindedness by the scientific community, we both can be proven right or wrong by any person who can produce the data to prove our experiments wrong. It doesn't really matter that Einstein is a Nobel laureate, his theories are open to challenge like any other scientist's theories. This is another interesting point, there is no absolute authority who is unquestionable in science. Everything is open for debate and anyone can raise any question about anything. All one needs is verifiable and reproducible experimental data to challenge any hypothesis. This is a very reliable method to proceed forward and generate reliable knowledge, this prevents getting stuck in a particular mindset and avoids stagnation of knowledge. This is also one of the reasons why science has managed to solve so many problems and answer many questions that were considered mysteries just a few decades back. Let it be a problem related to water purification, vaccination, some disease management, related to transport, or even clothing or entertainment, scientific communities all over the world are busy tirelessly solving many problems from many diverse areas. They will continue to do so as long as they keep on asking questions. Asking questions and challenging the status quo are integral parts of scientific thinking. Please keep on questioning science and throwing new challenges towards scientists all over the world, constructive criticism will make it only better and stronger. 

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

Mr. PM, I am sorry but I never felt ashamed for being Indian in my life so far

During one of many foreign tours, Indian Prime Minister Mr. Modi said that before his government came into power Indians used to feel ashamed about their Indian nationality but now they feel proud. I really don't know why he said this and what was his intention behind it apart from scoring some brownie points against the main opposition party Congress, which ruled the country most of the time since independence or maybe he is still in election campaign mode. These types of things are said very frequently during election campaigns where various political parties try to take potshots at each other and try to score brownie points against each other. Most political leaders do this during their campaign speeches but I don't understand the purpose of saying something like this on an official foreign tour as a PM of the country. When he said this, he was not speaking as a BJP leader there but as a PM of India. Mr. Modi loves to deliver speeches with a lot of rhetoric, he loves positive responses from the audience, and as a performer, he gets encouraged by all this. We saw on multiple occasions how much he enjoys delivering his speeches with a supportive audience, he can say anything to please his audience. I think in these cases also he got carried away due to a very supportive audience. I am sure people close to him know this but no one is going to apologize for this mess up, this is not how Indian politics works, top leaders never apologize or say sorry, no matter what. 

I personally have several objections to many things happening in India. I hate casteism and discrimination against women, and corruption is still very rampant but these and many other problems are not only India specific, they can be found in various other parts of the world in various forms, one can debate about the intensity of them but they are present everywhere. But none of these issues made me feel ashamed of my nationality. This thought never came to my mind either now or in the past. I don't think anyone is ashamed of their nationality, most people love the country they come from. I proudly say that I am Indian but yes at the same time, I also acknowledge that, like many other countries my country also has some problems along with some good things. Many of my friends went back to India from the USA leaving comfortable jobs and they didn't go back just in the last year but most of them went back before this government came into power. They all went back for several reasons, some went back for personal reasons, some for professional, and some for visa problems but they all loved their country of birth and also got opportunities that matched with their interest. For all of them, it didn't matter who was the PM or which party was ruling India. I know people who even after renunciation of their Indian citizenship love India and feel proud of their Indian heritage. We all have our favorite political parties, we feel closer to some particular political ideology, and we even debate very passionately against or in favor of some political party but if our choice doesn't win the election, we don't feel ashamed of our country or hate it. People can love their country even if they may not like the government of that country. How does Mr. Modi feel if his opponents say that they are ashamed of being Indian because he is the PM of India? Wouldn't it sound disgusting and pathetic if someone said such things? This particular statement from him was totally avoidable and I hope in the future person of his stature will choose their words carefully.

As far as I see so far his government is sincerely trying to change a few things, they are really trying to improve certain sectors, only time will tell how much success they get in all these efforts but definitely such comments and many other statements made by PM or his colleagues are not helping this cause. It is too early to say anything about their performance, but I see that they are trying. They should focus on their work rather than making such stupid comments, I am sure they have a lot on their plate that they need to take care of. Taking political gibes is easy, politicians do this all the time but sometimes on some platforms it is good to show some restraint and control your emotions. There is no doubt that this was a serious lapse of judgment from the PM. He went a little too far to project a positive image of his government. He is new to this job so I think we can ignore and forgive this time but if this continues then maybe even all the good work may not save this government from escaping the perception that they are only interested in winning elections and nothing else.

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

Aruna died once again, this time it is official

After 42 years of living in a state of coma in ward number four of KEM Hospital in Mumbai Aruna Shanbaug officially died on May 18th, 2015. People die every day so why this particular death is so important and mentioned specifically by the media in India. First, she was a rape survivor, she was brutally raped by a ward boy on 27th November 1973, during this brutal sexual assault the rapist used a dog chain to choke her which resulted in cutting off of oxygen supply to her brain. This brutal assault left Aruna in a coma from which she never recovered till her death. She was not declared dead just because her hospital and nursing staff stepped up and took the responsibility of her total care, they did this job with complete devotion for 42 long years. Even Supreme Court of India termed this care and commitment as "iconic" in their judgement where they rejected the plea to withdraw her life support. Only the total commitment and sincere dedication of KEM management and staff towards Aruna kept her body alive. Technically she was alive but was in a vegetative state where a person's body is incapable of giving any response. Actually, that rapist killed that active and full-of-life nurse on that very fateful night, he should have been tried for a charge of murder not just an attempt of murder. Technically or according to the law the rapist didn't kill Aruna on that day but in reality, he took away all life from her body and just left a body devoid of any life and emotions. There was practically a murder. I can't even imagine what pain or suffering Aruna must have gone through during and after that incident, no one can imagine or understand her suffering as she didn't get a chance to express her feelings either in words or with emotions.

Law couldn't punish that perpetrator for murder because Aruna's heart was still pumping blood, her lungs were still breathing the air but most part of her brain was dead. The worst part is that they didn't punish him for rape also as it was not vaginal rape, such a shameful lapse in judging this case. She existed as a body but not as a person because her personality was brutally murdered and the law failed to acknowledge that. I was not even born when this crime happened. I salute the commitment and dedication of all the staff of KEM Hospital who took care of her like their own family member for 42 long years. Even family members find it difficult to take care of people in such a state for so long. Finally, her body gave up, and her long and painful battle with life ended on Monday. She officially died on May 18th but she was dead as a person 42 years back, on that very fateful night when her brain was irreversibly damaged. There should be severe punishment in law for anyone who inflicts such suffering on any person. Aruna's case is an example for any justice system to consider all possibilities where sexual and physical assault are involved. Killing a person is not the only worst thing an abuser can do, leaving that person in a state where they don't even know they are alive is also a very serious crime and such crimes should be dealt with that seriousness. Acid attacks or serious mental injuries are a few examples of this type of crime. When I first time read the book about Aruna's story, it shook me to the core, for many days I was very disturbed and was thinking about her pain and trauma. No amount of sympathy and anger was enough to do any justice to Aruna, finally, death only made her free of all this pain and suffering. I hope we don't hear about such tragedies any more. Aruna, you were a brave person, you gave us so much to think and debate about, I hope you forgive everyone who couldn't help you, goodbye.

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

Links:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruna_Shanbaug_case

Politics is a game of perception

I am a keen observer of politics, it amuses and surprises me and many unpredictable things associated with it keep me interested in it. Whether we take an active interest in politics or not, politics affects our lives directly or indirectly. I think there are very few among us who can claim to be immune from politics and the political environment around us. One can see the effect of this most during any major election, like the presidential election in the US or general elections in India. One noticeable difference in the style of election recent election campaigns is that nowadays they use a lot of data and statistics to push their agenda. They still use a lot of rhetoric during their election speeches, still, various leaders promise whatever they can think of without even bothering to check if they can fulfill them or not. I think during an election campaign the main focus is to win the election by making whatever promises and statements it takes to win it. Whoever is successful in making people believe in their agenda wins the votes and hence the elections. It becomes very important for candidates and their political parties to create a perception in voter's minds that they can deliver better than their opponents. They all claim that only they can deliver and their opponents are either with bad plans or won't deliver any of their good promises. In the end, any election is a game of perception.

One very good example of this was the recent general election of 2014 in India. BJP and its PM candidate Mr. Narendra Modi successfully managed to create a perception that the Gujarat model of development is an immensely successful model and can be easily replicated in the rest of India. They started really early and carried out a very aggressive PR campaign to spread this message with the use of selected data that suited their argument and people really believed in it. Other parties fighting elections against them including UPA which was in power tried to challenge this by using some data but it was too late by that time perception of the successful Gujarat model was already created in people's minds and it was difficult to break it. Many corruption cases which were discovered during the UPA-2 rule are still going on in court, so far no one has been charged or convicted in any of them, but there is a perception that UPA-2 was the most corrupt government India ever had and no one is interested in real data to confirm if this is true or not, people just believe that it was the most corrupt government based on media coverage and political rhetoric. This time the UPA is trying to use the issue of the land acquisition bill against the current NDA government and Mr. Modi. They want to paint the image of this government as "anti-farmer." I think they are somewhat successful in this attempt and their aggressive stand on this issue has put this government on a back foot. Now, whether Congress and its leaders are right in accusing this government as anti-farmer and whether they have any data to prove their claims or not, these things are not important. No one is even asking these questions, the government is trying hard to put some data to show that it is not their fault that farmers are committing suicide but it seems a perception has been already created that this government is pro-corporate and anti-farmer.

Actually, this game of perception is very good for political parties to win elections, but it is very bad for voters. While playing this game political parties try to take advantage of certain scandals or issues to build a positive image of themselves and a negative image of their opponents, there is no follow-up about various accusations and no one really gets convicted only voters are fooled. Once the game of perceptions is won, parties don't have to do much to win the elections, they don't even have to propose any concrete plan to resolve the issues, just hollow election promises and grand speeches by their star leaders are enough. In this whole game, voters are the ultimate losers as they only change the ruling parties without any substantial change in their own fortunes. I hope slowly voters understand this trick used by all political parties to fool and misguide them and educate themselves with real facts using various resources available to them. Once they start making choices based on fact-based information rather than perceptions, then I am sure these political leaders and parties will also be forced to change their campaign style. Then we might expect to have more meaningful political debates and discussions, but until then let's keep on fighting against this game of perceptions with the hope that we can minimize the effect of false perceptions during election campaigns.

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

Why there is a need for special days like Mother's day in today's world?

Recently Mother's Day was celebrated in the US and surprisingly also in India (at least on Facebook). There was no such concept of any such day when I was growing up as a kid in India. But now this tradition is spreading fast all over the world. Many of these days are commercialized events, many businesses and local shops depend on these days for bumper business. There is nothing wrong with celebrating any of these days, rather I believe that these days are becoming so popular because there is a genuine need and demand for them in today's market. The very hectic, busy, and stressful lifestyle in today's world leaves very little time for many people to spend with their loved ones, somewhere they feel guilty for not being able to do justice to their various relationships. For all these people such days provide an opportunity to make up for lost time and also give them a chance to acknowledge the presence and importance of that particular person in their lives. Most people's day-to-day life is getting incredibly busy, they are constantly connected to something on the internet all the time, then there is TV, work, and other distractions. Many times some relationships get lost among all this business, especially if we live apart from those people. These special days are like an opportunity to pause and recognize the contribution of some of these people in our lives, this is the positive side of these events. But there is a negative side also, many these days are heavily commercialized, so heavily that chances are there that if people find that you don't celebrate them they might consider you as a heartless or emotionless person!

Personally, I don't celebrate any of these days (Father's or Mothers' or Valentine's, etc.) not because I don't like them or I don't believe in them, but because I don't feel the need to celebrate them. So far, I always tried to give enough time to all my friends and relatives whenever they are around me. For the last decade or so I have been staying away from my parents. The first time I left my house and city was to come to the US, so one can imagine how hard it would have been for both of us, me and my parents. Like everyone else I also think that I have a very special relationship with my parents and it has definitely evolved over time. If they are in Pune (my birth city in India, where my family resides) we talk every weekend for at least for couple of hours. For me, all those weekends are like Father's and Mother's Day combined (let's call it Parent's Day). I celebrate parent's day with them every time I talk with them, we talk about various issues, and incidents from the past, and we even gossip about various things. Occasionally there are some heated discussions also, but I think that's the part of any relationship. Because of all this so far I never felt any need to wait for some special day to express my feelings towards my parents. I try to do it on a regular basis, but I do understand the need for people to have special occasions to celebrate every relationship in a special way. This is a need created by super-intelligent market in people's minds. It is impressive the way marketing tricks work on people's minds (including my own). It is interesting to see how a market captures a certain emotion and then develops some product or event around it and uses a very sophisticated and intelligent campaign to create a feeling of genuine need for that product or event. It is amazing to see how this all works and how they use various human emotions to target their customers. If we can ignore the heavy commercialization aspect of many of these special days, then we have to acknowledge that these days do mean something special for many people and I respect that. Yes, motherhood and mother's love need to be celebrated, so is father's love, so are friendships, so is the love and presence of your grandparents, and so is your partner's love and dedication. The list is not comprehensive but all these relationships are important and should be celebrated. If these days give this opportunity, there is nothing wrong with it, just grab it and do your best to express your feelings in whatever way you can. But let's also be genuine in our expressions, nowadays people focus so much on dramatization that it looks and sounds fake. Remember that forced obligation to express love and commitment is indication of brittle relationships. I have seen very strong and committed relationships between two people where they don't even feel the need to express their love or commitment. In the end, having genuine feelings is important, but how we express them depends on the people involved in thatrelationship, there is not one size fits all way to express our feelings. We don't have to subscribe to the ways that commercials related to these events recommend, we all can have our own ways to express our love and respect. Let's celebrate each and every relationship in whatever way we like, let's spread more love and kindness and make this world a better place.

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

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

Public trial of media, is not a solution Mr. Kejriwal

In one of his recent interviews Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Mr. Arvind Kejriwal who doesn't seem to be very happy with the negative media coverage his party and some of its top leaders are receiving nowadays advocated about conducting a public trial of media. One can interpret this statement in various ways, his supporters will obviously justify this statement and point out to some channels that are clearly hostile towards this party whereas opponents of AAP will question this statement and even call it a hypocritic stance because it is coming from a party which is largely perceived as a creation of media. There is no doubt that the media gave disproportional coverage to AAP and its leaders, especially to Mr. Kejriwal in the beginning. Maybe this was because of the novelty aspect associated with the approach of AAP towards Indian politics and the issues they raised. At that time, most of the media was perceived as AAP's friend, and other political parties were complaining about unfair attention to AAP. Because of some recent happenings in AAP and even after their emphatic win in the Delhi assembly elections, they are getting a lot of negative press and now many people are saying that it is not much different than all other political parties. This has resulted in a very hostile attitude towards media from many AAP leaders. It is now no secret that after becoming CM of Delhi Mr. Kejriwal doesn't like public scrutiny or any criticism about himself or his party from any quarters of his own party or from media. It seems he doesn't like the taste of his own medicine.

So, what is wrong with advocating a public trial of media (or for that matter public trial of anyone)? We all know that mob mentality or public trials are dangerous as they are not based on facts and evidence but are based on perceptions. These perceptions can be right or wrong and it is easy to manipulate perceptions. That is why we have courts and judiciary so that there can be an unbiased and fair justice system. Even though this system many times fails to live up to its expectations, most of us will agree that we can not depend on public sentiments to deliver judgments in criminal or other cases. If a public trial becomes a norm, then people with a large fan following will never be convicted as there will be always a huge section of the public who will support their idol no matter what they do. Does Mr. Kejriwal want to go back to this stone age justice system? Is he trying to incite people to take the law into their own hands and deliver judgment based on their own opinions and perceptions rather than going to the courts to get justice? I fail to understand what he even means by a public trial of media and how he wants to conduct it? There is no doubt that media has its own issues and problems. There are many questions about transparency, conflict of interest, and accountability that various media houses need to answer, but definitely public trial is not the solution to resolve any of these issues. Let's also be clear that he was not talking about public debate and discussion, these things go on all the time on news channels, the public trial that he is recommending is something altogether different.

It is also clearly evident that politicians are more media friendly when they are in opposition but the time they get in power they start seeing media as a hostile opponent and nuisance. The same questions that they love to ask when in opposition, they try to avoid once they come into power. This was not expected from Mr. Kejriwal and his party as they claimed to be different and also claimed that they were in politics to change the way it functions but it seems that the politics changed them. I hope he was not serious when he talked about the public trial of media, the role of media is very important in any democracy. Questions about the media's accountability and transparency should be raised, the media can not run away from these questions. I hope Mr. Kejriwal will raise some relevant questions rather than being in a hurry to deliver a verdict against the media.

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

Marital rape is also a RAPE - these victims also need justice

While listening to a discussion on NDTV about the criminalization of marital rape, I was appalled to listen to the stories of two women who had suffered tremendous physical and mental torture at the hands of their so-called husbands. The worst part is that sexual abuse within marriage is not a criminal offense. Only the cruelty involved in it can be challenged in court. So, nonconsensual marital sex (marital rape) cannot be challenged, but if there is some physical abuse or torture then it can be challenged in court. So, rapes happening in the bedrooms of married couples are not considered a criminal offense, rather, it is considered an internal matter between husband and wife, they need to sort it out among themselves together or with the help of someone else but not the court. This might sound stupid, ironical, backward, and highly patriarchal but this is what it is, and many men and women have to deal with this legal sexual abuse and exploitation. So, if a husband forces his wife to have sex with him against her will (or vice versa) it is not considered rape, because society as well as the current law thinks that in a sacred marriage, the husband, as a man, has the right to demand sexual services from his wife, and she must provide it willingly or unwillingly. Marriage is considered sacred or holy in many societies and India is also one of them, so, everything associated with it also becomes sacred and holy, even rape, therefore, marital rape is not a criminal offense as it is sacred. What an amazing logic our lawmakers have to justify this nonsense. I think we should be happy that at least the cruelty is criminalized. These abusive partners can be booked at least for physical abuse even though conveniently sexual abuse is excluded. Surprisingly this is all happening even after the presence of staggering data to prove that marital rapes are very common. The strange thing is that no one is even denying that they don't happen, but we just can't criminalize it because it is part of the sacred marriage system.

Many people also argue that if we criminalize marital rape then that law can be misused like anti-dowry law. This objection is reasonable, as there are many cases where anti-dowry law has been misused to trouble and torture families for a variety of reasons. However, this is true with any other law, almost every law is being misused. Even well-intended laws like the Protection of civil rights act, defamation act, and Harijan Act are also misused by many people for selfish purposes. Also, many policies like reservation are misused by many people, but this doesn't mean that we should not have any laws or policies to tackle problems like dowry, social justice, or rape. The data also shows that these laws and policies also benefited many people who would not have gotten justice in the absence of such laws. So, there is no doubt that these laws had a positive effect on our societies, but at the same time, more work is needed to stop their misuse. Getting rid of them completely is not an option. Marriage does not mean that a person has the right to exploit their partner sexually, there should be freedom to say yes and no like we have in any other relationship. Marriage is a human-made institution, there is nothing sacred or holy in it. It is a legal bond between two people that can be terminated by law. Forceful sexual act against any person's consent is a rape no matter if it is within or outside the realm of marriage. 

Abuse, injustice, or suppression in the name of culture, tradition, or religion is not new in our society. Our civilization has witnessed various autocracies committed under these names for ages and the same thing is happening even today. This is why statements like "marriage is sacred in India, so marital rape does not apply in India" are being made. They show the patriarchal mindset of society, the mindset that assumes that demanding sex within marriage is the right of a man, and if he doesn't get it then he has the right to forcefully get it. 

I am glad to see that these things are at least being discussed in Indian society. Marriage is not a license for nonconsensual sex. Sex is indeed an important part of married life but rape is not part of it. If partners are not happy with their sexual life then they should go for counseling or get separated if they can not match each other's expectations. As women will get more empowered in society they are bound to demand fair treatment from the law and marital rape will be criminalized today or tomorrow. This lame justification of marriages being made in heaven or being sacred won't stand its ground for long, whatever is criminal is criminal no matter who does it, rape is rape whether in a bedroom of a married couple or on the bus it doesn't matter. 

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. Marriage Sacred in India, So 'Marital Rape' Does Not Apply: Government
2. Marital Rape: Eyes Wide Shut?