Why homemakers don't get employment benefits?

Household management is not an easy task. It takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication. Apart from a regular and stable income to support various needs and activities, a family also needs a person who can take care of many other day-to-day responsibilities. The management of these things can test a person's limits as these tasks vary in their nature and difficulties, tasks like cooking, house cleaning, making sure everything is in its place, and taking care of guests, not only require various skills but are also physically exhausting and time-consuming. Anyone who has tried their hand at this work will agree with me when I say that it is not easy to manage an entire household single-handedly. But this work doesn't generate any official income, no one gets paid for taking care of their own family members. Household work, no matter how important it is doesn't generate any official salary or other benefits for the person who does it for their own family. Official income tax returns of all families where only one partner is officially employed and the other partner is a homemaker contain income details of that 'employed' person even if that return is filed jointly by both partners. I always wondered why the work of a person who is a full-time homemaker is not valued in monetary terms as much as other types of work? Why there is no mechanism to attach a monetary value to the work of countless housewives and househusbands? In most countries, including many developed countries this workforce mostly consists of women who tirelessly work towards the welfare of their families. Some of them even sacrifice their careers to take care of their family. Some of them have to do this work even after doing a full-time regular job. It is good to see that there is a growing trend where both partners try to share equal responsibilities towards the housework, especially in cases where both have a full-time job. If the same work is performed by someone outside the family like a maid or nanny they get paid but this work has no monetary value if it is performed by a family member. Women get a lot of praise, they are hailed as epitomes of sacrifice, kindness, dedication, and love for taking care of their families but beyond such emotional lip service, this very important work doesn't receive any recognition. It is not enough to say that this is a great service to their family or value of this type of work can not be measured in monetary terms because these workers also should get rights and benefits like other workers, at least within their own families. Someone needs to speak for their rights like they speak for all other workers. They are not organized that doesn't mean they don't have a voice. There is no retirement benefit or social security or any other benefit offered to these people that comes with most full or part-time jobs, why? If we don't see this as a problem then we should reexamine our understanding of value-added work and try to change its definition if necessary. We have neglected these people for a very long time, and just because they don't complain about this discrimination we should not allow this malpractice to go on. This work needs some official recognition to empower millions of homemakers. Homemakers and their work are critical for the betterment of our society, it is equally important as any other type of work therefore should be entitled to compensation and benefits like any other type of work.

I understand that this can introduce a lot of technical and legal difficulties but our society has dealt with more complicated and sensitive issues successfully. So, I don't think that this issue is so complicated that we can't come up with some practical solution for this. Why don't these women (as well as men) claim half or some percent of their family income amount as their own wages in joint income tax returns? Why can't they get half a share of the Social Security and Medicaid tax so that they can generate their own benefits rather than depending on benefits as a spouse? It is unfair for them to depend on their spouse's social security benefits when they also work equally hard to support the spouse who generates the income. These people offer a great amount of support to their partners so that they can work out of home.

One may ask, why it is necessary to attach a monetary value to housework? A very short and quick answer to this can be, simply because it is also a work, a very important work that requires a lot of effort, time, and energy, therefore, it should be treated as any other type of value-generating work. The lack of any monetary value has generated a very wrong perception of this work, so wrong that this work is not at all considered value-generating work. If someone says that his or her partner is a homemaker, then it is assumed that they don't work or are not employed or they are a stay-at-home parent, which is a very wrong perception. The main reason for this perception is the lack of any monetary value attached to this work. We need to change this perception and attaching some monetary value to this work might help in changing it. The statement, "I am a stay-at-home parent" doesn't actually reflect the amount of effort that person takes to maintain that home. I request all concerned agencies to look into this matter with all sincerity and try to come up with some practical way to remove this shortcoming. For centuries this work did not get its deserved due and if we can do something to change, it will be a great achievement. It will definitely strengthen our social fabric, and this will also bring dignity and respect for all these dedicated homemakers which they totally deserve.  

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

[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.

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/Aruna_Shanbaug_case

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?

Hashimpura Massacre case - Justice delayed as well as denied

I read about this gruesome incident very recently when the court verdict on this case was delivered after a long agonizing wait of 27 years. The Hashimpura massacre happened on 22nd May 1987, when 42 Muslims were brutally massacred by police during communal riots. It was the Congress party government in power back then, that government and all the subsequent governments did nothing to pursue this case seriously so that the culprits are punished. Rather, they all tried each and every method to protect the culprits and the ultimate result of all this was that the court acquitted all sixteen Uttar Pradesh police officers who were accused in this case. So even after a long agonizing and painful wait for justice relatives of victims and survivors received a tight slap on their face from our judiciary, investigating agencies, and all political parties who claim to care about these victims. It seems no one killed those 42 people, that massacre happened on its own. If this is not a sad and pathetic state of affairs, then I wonder what it is? And please make no mistake of assuming that there is some particular political party that is to blame for this shameful episode, all of them are equally involved in sabotaging this investigation and protecting the culprits.

The scariest part of any riot is when police start taking sides based on the identities of the people involved in it. Police are supposed to be impartial and perform their duties of protecting citizens of their state. It is always dangerous for any state when its police force or investigating agencies become communal or racial. When they start taking sides then one side is bound to face some dire consequences irrespective of what they have done, and this is what we see in this case. Police turned their guns on those innocent people whom they were supposed to protect. The justice system should have been more diligent when one of its departments is accused of committing a serious crime like murder, but it failed miserably. Also, this is not the only case that failed to deliver justice to victims, there are quite a few cases like this some of them were not even reached to court, and they were not even reported in the media. This is such a horrible record of human rights violations. When political parties (in power as well as in opposition) and investigating agencies form an illegitimate alliance then no court can punish culprits as it won't have enough evidence to punish the culprits. In this particular case, no political party whether in power or in opposition bothered to pursue this matter seriously. Most of India was not even aware that any such massacre happened, it was ignored to that extent.

There is no point in playing the blame game here, it is a useless exercise, and it only benefits political parties. They just love to play the blame game, it happened in the 1984 riots case and the 2002 Godhra riots case both were covered widely by national and international media. Most culprits, especially state employees (policemen and politicians) accused in such cases are released for the lack of evidence. This is terribly sad and shameful but this is the bitter reality. Even after so many people get killed for no fault of theirs no one gets punished for these heinous acts. Where is the justice and where is the law? I don't think there will be huge public outrage like it was in the case of Jessica Lal murder case. Unfortunately, such massacres fail to generate widespread public sympathy as people react based on who got killed by whom. Nowadays, people choose their sides based on their own religion and this really makes me feel sick. Many also justify such killings directly or indirectly just because people who got killed didn't belong to their own religion. I hope someday we all learn to respect every human life irrespective of their age, gender, race, or religion. Until that day, we have to bear the pain and frustrations of reading about such incidents and the failure of our entire political class to do something to control such incidents. I hope families of victims and all survivors of such tragedies get some type of closure so that they can forget these horrific incidents and move on with their lives.

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. क्यों हार गया हाशिमपुरा?
2. A Young Muslim's Take On Hashimpura, The Forgotten Massacre
3. Hashimpura killings: 10 of those freed still in UP Police

Verdict against Jayalalithaa - justice delayed, denied or just misplaced?

Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) leader Jayalalithaa was finally convicted in a disproportionate asset case. It was an 18-year-long battle. The FIR was filed in 1996 for the financial irregularities she and her aids committed during her first stint as CM of Tamilnadu (1991-96). For the last few decades, misuse of public money has become a norm in the Indian political class. Corruption is very rampant at all levels in every state and at the center, no matter which government is in power. Therefore, these recent judgments especially this one and the one about the former Bihar CM Laloo Prasad Yadav can be considered landmark judgments in the political history of India, if this trend continues. I am sure that no one can deny the importance and need of strict vigilance and robust mechanisms to catch and punish corrupt politicians and other administrators. This can help to tame the rampant corruption which has become a norm in India.

The judgment which was delivered a few days back took almost 18 years to come, and this is a session court, now the convict can appeal to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court. It took 18 years for one court to deliver the judgment so imagine how much time it will take for this case to go through all three courts. Such a long delay in delivering judgments is a serious problem of the Indian judiciary system. Jayalalithaa was doing a very good job as a Tamil Nadu CM when this judgment came. If one takes a look at central government data her state is a leading state based on many indicators that measure the progress of Indian states. The hysterical reaction of her supporters after her arrest was also a real shocker for me, some of them even took the extreme step of taking their own life as they could not tolerate the news of their beloved leader's arrest. Such delayed delivery of justice does create unique situations like this and at the same time raises some serious questions. What is the real purpose of punishing any convict? Is it just to hurt them? Is it to make them realize their mistake and then give them an opportunity to reform themselves by correcting those mistakes? Is it to set an example for others so that they don't dare to commit the same mistake? Is it to eliminate them from society (in the case of capital punishment)?

It all comes down to what is the purpose of punishment and does such delayed delivery of justice serve that purpose? Are we punishing the same corrupt Jayalalithaa who committed this crime? Was she already a reformed person when she finally got punished? If she has already realized her mistake and is a reformed person then what purpose does this delayed punishment will serve? Due to the nature of the legal structure in India, she will now apply to a higher court and then come out of jail on bail so there is a doubt if this example will act as a deterrent to other politicians? She was relatively new to politics when she made this mistake and that's why it might have been easy to convict her. Otherwise, these politicians and corrupt bureaucrats are so clever that they rarely leave any evidence of their corruption, which is why it is difficult to convict them in any criminal case as there is no direct evidence to prove their crime. There is no doubt that it is good to see that such judgments are finally coming, but the judiciary has to make these decisions fast. Justice delivered in time can have the desired impact on the perpetrator and victims. If it is not timely, then one wonders if delayed justice is justice at all. I have no sympathy for Jayalalithaa for the crimes she did but I feel bad for the people of Tamil Nadu who were getting good governance and now feel cheated by this judgment as they feel that the system unfairly targeted only their leader. The judiciary needs to remove this doubt from people's minds by delivering verdicts promptly. Also, targeting politicians only from certain political parties is a political prosecution as you are at risk only when you are not with the ruling party, either in the state or in the center. There are thousands of people waiting in jails for their trials and this is a very serious problem. Government and judiciary should work together to resolve this problem.

So in this case, it is not clear whether justice is delayed, denied, or misplaced (delivered at the wrong time). I don't think it is denied as she got punished for her crimes but the other two scenarios are also equally disturbing. I ask this question because I am really concerned about the delay in delivering justice. I think that it defeats the whole purpose behind it. These types of incidents remind me of a poem in Marathi, I can’t recall the exact poem as it is, don't remember its poet but I think it was something like this,

A lawyer meets a 65-year-old lady outside the court after the judgment was delivered in her favor punishing all 10 people involved in a gang rape against her. He congratulates her and says that she must be happy that finally justice is delivered, she won the case, and all culprits are finally punished. She says, "Son, I am happy if you say so. But really I don’t know whether to be happy or sad, this gang rape was done on a 16-year-old girl, 5 of the guilty lived a normal life and are already dead, 3 of them are so old that they can’t do anything on their own, this punishment doesn't mean anything to them, remaining two are doting grandfathers for their grandkids, now I am feeling bad that they will go to jail and those kids will miss them, and as far as that girl is concerned she already suffered enough because of this crime, lived her adolescent life in guilt, shame, and trauma, she waited for this justice too long but she is now a grown-up woman who learned to live her life with this scar, but if you say so I am happy as I won this case and finally justice is delivered"

Justice delayed is justice denied. Only time will tell if this is a new beginning to end corruption or just an arbitrary incident that will be only used as a tool to intimidate political opponents.

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. Jayalalithaa sentenced to four years in jail, fined Rs. 100 crore

2. Jayalalithaa conviction: 16 persons commitsuicide

Justice or revenge - What is it?

Two recent incidents, one in Pakistan and one in India, where a prisoner was attacked and seriously injured. Out of them Sarabjit Singh succumbed to injuries and died on May 2nd, and the second one Sanaullah is battling for his life in hospital. The attack and death of Sarabjit has created furious reactions among people in India and even the Indian government registered its protest in very strong words. Because of so much public outrage and the sensitive nature of this issue, Sarabjit's body was brought to India and was cremated with full state honors. Both these incidents and the reactions of people and governments of respective countries (India and Pakistan) clearly show the kind of difficulties both these countries face in dealing with each other. Recently I wrote a post about many similarities and differences between them and if you read about these two incidents one can clearly see how similar people from both countries feel and react.

The uproar in the general public over the attack and death of Sarabjit is perfectly understandable. It was sad that he was held in prison for more than 20 years. But before demanding his release and getting emotional Indians also should take a note that he was tried, and convicted by the supreme court of Pakistan for bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad which killed 16 people in 1990. All his mercy petitions were rejected and he was on death row. None of this justifies the attack on him and his subsequent death but I am giving this information to show the complete picture of this complex problem. Whether Sarabjit actually carried out those bomb blasts or not can be argued and discussed endlessly but courts in Pakistan found him guilty and we don't have any option other than to respect their decision. Imagine a similar convict in an Indian prison with a similar charge (a Pakistani national accused of bombing and killing people in some Indian city), I don't know how many people who are shouting or protesting for Sarabjit's release would entertian a demand for a similar Pakistani person's release. I am pretty sure they will demand execution of his death sentence immediately and would label anyone protesting for his release a traitor and enemy of India.

So in one case people really feel injustice has been done by not releasing that prisoner and rejecting his mercy petitions and in another case the same treatment is deemed as fair and considered proper justice. This is just because of their respective nationalities and the place of crime they committed. Any Pakistani killing Indians is hailed as a hero in Pakistan and Indians promptly reciprocate these feelings and actions. Both countries feel they are doing justice by punishing the accused. No doubt, a person who commits any terrorist activities deserves harsh punishment but this is the job of the judiciary of respective countries. Actually, by displaying such an attitude people from both countries are trying to take revenge on each other and revenge is an endless process. It keeps on going from generation to generation because no one is willing to forgive and forget. Indians and Pakistanis are trapped in this endless vicious cycle and now I see the same thing happening between the USA and some other Islamic countries.

It's the job of respective courts to decide whether Sarabjit or Sanaullah is guilty of the charges put on them or not, but it seems people in their respective countries have already decided that they are national heroes. In fact just because of this attitude some terrorists are treated as national heroes or hold position of power and influence in both  countries. So, one can understand the level of hatred for each other among people of these countries. This all is the result of a lack of proper understanding and interaction between them and also the use of people's emotions for political benefit by a few people with vested interests. There are some groups in both countries who benefit from this type of rift and hatred between people. They survive on these types of feelings and don't want them to go away and they are pretty successful in this, their strategy is really working.

I don't see any easy solution for this because as I said the main problem is no one is willing to forgive and forget and unless anyone of them takes some initiative in this direction peace is not possible. Unfortunately the sufferers in all this are the common people, politicians and other wasted interests who keep this fire of hatred burning only reap benefits, but common people are too busy in fighting with each other to understand all this. They all think they are fighting either for their country or religion but in reality most of the time they all are fighting to fulfill some political or personal agenda of some organization. I hope we all will take a break from this endless fight that has been going on for decades, relax, and think about what is going on around us. Then only we will understand that we are being tricked into all this and used as prawns. It is our choice whether to continue to be prawns of this endless game and play for those who just want to use us, or behave like humans, use our own conscious to decide good and bad. The choice is ours.

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

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)

Justice is delivered?

I heard this line so many times while I was following the news related to the hunt and arrest of Boston bombing suspects. Finally, the police department successfully arrested one of the suspects and the other one died during the encounter with police. The news channels said that as both the suspects were either arrested or killed justice was delivered and all those who suffered or got affected by this bomb blast must feel satisfied. A simple and straightforward definition of justice, get an eye for an eye and be happy, feel safe.

But is it that simple? Will this stop any further attacks like this? Do we know why those two people acted like this? Is our definition of justice so subjective? Do we adopt different standards with different countries or people? Many questions like this come to my mind when I hear this line "Justice is delivered." I was really horrified to see some people celebrating with joy when the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened in the USA. Those people were celebrating with the same feeling that justice is delivered. Were they correct in their assessment? Whenever any terrorist activity happens in the USA it gets covered all over the world, print and electronic media coverage is very aggressive. People from many parts of the world want to know what happened, how it happened, and who did it? Curiosity about these things is huge. One reason for this curiosity is that the US has such a strong system to track culprits and has the best-equipped security forces in the world so to breach this system is not that easy, that's why people want to know who did it. Another reason is that the US has its interests involved in so many countries and regions that there are many who feel that the US is somehow directly or indirectly responsible for their hardships and problems and they watch these incidents with the feeling "Now they must know what we feel and experience every day because of them." These things create a very complex relationship between the US and the rest of the world (especially people from developing and third-world countries). So in today's world, the term justice might be interpreted totally differently for the same incident in different parts of the world.

Any bomb blast or terrorist attack anywhere in the world is a tragic event. Many innocent people die for no fault of theirs, and it creates a lot of anger and restlessness among the people of that region. Victims want answers, they want revenge, and they also want justice. Whenever the culprits behind these attacks (mentally sick or religious fanatics, extremists, etc.) get arrested or killed then people feel that justice is delivered, which actually is a sort of revenge, not the actual justice but something that looks and feels like justice. No doubt these culprits need to be punished. They need to face trial and proper punishment should be awarded to them. However, if we ignore the reasons behind the crime then it's just a matter of time before the next incident occurs. The names and places might change but it will keep on happening because we only treated the symptom but not the actual cause of the disease. Most countries have functioning judiciary and offer very severe punishment for acts of terrorism or gruesome violence but still, these things keep on happening on a regular basis. So, one thing is clear, these criminals are not afraid of that punishment, there is something that overrides their fear of punishment and we need to tackle that 'something' to stop or minimize these incidents.

Radicalization of society based on religious beliefs and the propagating use of violence for the sake of protecting religion is one of the major causes of these terrorist activities. We need to confront these types of narratives. They all start as some benign movement or some conservative groups that claim to protect sacredness or the original form of that particular religion which they think our modern civilization or the developing world is trying to destroy and slowly these movements become radical, sectarian, and violent. They particularly target youths, because it's easy to misguide them and incite them for violence. We need to stop this. All religions are guilty of this crime, they all used this tactic sometime or other in history. Just punishing culprits of such heinous crimes is only a part of the solution. We need to go beyond that and attack the root of the problem otherwise it will keep on resurfacing in some form or other. We need to change the way society looks at religion, sexual orientation, and gender discrimination and educate all so that we understand each other's choices and differences and learn to respect them and live with them. We need a more tolerant and flexible belief system that makes society more inclusive and peaceful. The justice system needs to be uniform so people won't feel cheated and discriminated against. These things are not easy to bring into practice but we must try otherwise we will find ourselves mourning for many more tragic incidents like this and each time wondering what went wrong. 

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

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)

Sanjay Dutt: A victim, a criminal or a naive offender?

The Supreme Court of India finally declared its verdict in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case. It took almost 20 years after the incident to complete all legal formalities and deliver the judgment. Sanjay Dutt was one of the accused in the long list of people accused of doing something that was related to the occurrence of those blasts. He was not convicted for involvement in the actual terror plot of bomb blasts but was found guilty of possession of illegal arms and the TADA court sentenced him 6 years in prison. Supreme Court upheld that verdict but reduced the sentence to 5 years (minimum in such cases). He already spent 18 months in jail so if the situation remains as it is then he is supposed to go back to jail for three and a half years more. Since the verdict about Sanjay was declared there have been a lot of reactions from the film fraternity and other eminent people about this sentence and whether he deserves this harsh punishment or not.

Sanjay Dutt's entire life has been like a roller coaster ride. There are so many ups and downs in his life that I think there may not be any other celebrity who has experienced so many ups and downs in their life. Starting from his drug addiction, the death of his mother (actress Nargis), his failed relationships, his successful career as an actor, his conviction in a terror plot, then his short jail term, back in movies while on bail, delivering two most successful and admired movies of Hindi cinema (Munnabhai series), getting married again, getting back family life which he dreamed of his entire life, and now the possibility of going back to jail. His life itself is like some thriller movie where you never know what might happen next. But this post is not about him or his life but about the reactions generated from various quarters after the Supreme Court delivered this verdict about him.

From those reactions it's very clear that there are two sets of laws in any country or at least the same law is interpreted in two different ways depending on the convict. I am not talking only about India but about any country, one law for the rich and famous and one for the poor or common people. I am not saying that rich and famous can get away with anything they do because of their money and fame. NO. This is not true and this is not what I mean. Rather, sometimes they get punished just to set an example and get in trouble because of their celebrity stature. This is again wrong and should not happen. But even keeping that in mind, if one looks at Sanjay's case one can clearly see the sympathy generated for him and the large outcry for punishment being too hard and the request for his pardon from various quarters of society is clearly because of his image as a rusty but gold-hearted man. I also like some of his movies, especially the Munnabhai series, those are my all-time favorite movies. But I am not a blind follower or a crazy fan of anyone. So, even though I feel bad for him I can not claim that the judiciary has been unfair to him.

Every convicted person has a family, many of them have kids, and many terribly regret the crime they committed. In many cases, the convicted person is the sole earning member of that family, and the entire family depends on him/her for their survival. Sometimes their crime is trivial but they lack the resources and money to fight for justice and are left with no option but to face the punishment. All these incidents happen daily in countries like India and everyone including me, all these celebrities, politicians, and stars know about this. Especially the film industry clearly knows about these types of incidents because they make movies based on some of these stories but even after all this they still feel that only Sanjay should be pardoned. What about many others like him? I can understand if they are speaking as his friend, well-wisher, or relative they have full right to show their support and sympathy to him even after knowing that he violated the law. Actually, convicts need support from their loved ones to get reformed, friends and family members of most convicted persons behave like this. So, they are not doing anything radically different as everyone likes to support their closed ones. But they should at least have the courage to say that he made a mistake but we are going to support him because he is our friend and we love him no matter what. But, please don't try to paint him as a "victim" because he is not a victim. At the same time, Sanjay should not get harsher treatment just because he is a big star. He should have the right to explore all legal options that are available to any convict to defend himself. Making his case a special case because of his celebrity status would be a cruel joke on people who lack these resources just because they are not rich and famous.

I am not writing this to suggest what should be done and what shouldn't, whether Sanjay Dutt is guilty or not, or what is a proper punishment for his crime, this is not my job to decide. I am sure law will take its own course, in fact, it did, it was a long, 20 years long, process to deliver this judgment. We need to do something to make this process faster. 20 years is a very long period, many things can change in this long time and it can add complications to the case. It will be interesting to see in which direction things proceed in his case. I am sure he is strong enough to deal with these setbacks in his life but at the same time, we need to think about many people who are not as lucky as him to get so much support but also deserve a second chance in their lives. Can we be supportive of them also? if yes then let's do it and let's have a proper mechanism to do that. If not, then why not? Why Sanjay's case is special then? Let this incident be an opportunity to improve some things in our criminal justice system and not an opportunity to take sides, show loyalty, or play politics.

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

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)

References:

1. “Why are people talking only about Sanjay?”-The Hindu

2. Charges against Sanjay serious, says Supreme Court- The Hindu

3. Timeline: 1993 Mumbai blasts and after