Murders of free thinkers

I was shocked to read the horrible news about the murder of blogger Avijit Roy by a few Islamic fanatics in Bangladesh. Avijit was a writer and a blogger, what subjects he used to write or whether he was anti-Islamic or not is immaterial, the point here is he was killed for expressing his thoughts. This is another example of religious intolerance shown by fanatic groups. Such groups are present everywhere, they are part of every religion, culture, and country. In some places, they are more aggressive and active because of the political and social environment of that place and in some places, they are dormant as they don't have much support from the establishment and people, but the truth is that they are present everywhere. 

The Internet has given an open forum for many people like me to express our thoughts fearlessly. Avijit was one of many bloggers who used this forum every day to express their ideas and thoughts, without the internet it was difficult to share our thoughts so openly and with a large audience. One can disagree with these thoughts or argue against them but to physically harm a person is a sign of primitive and intolerant mindset. Such acts should not go unpunished otherwise we will see many Avijits getting killed on a regular basis. Asking questions is a basic right of any human in any civilized society. A society that doesn't encourage open questioning is not yet completely civilized according to me. Humans have differentiated ourselves from other animals on this planet not only because of our ability to imagine but also our ability to question things. Our ability to question is one of the major reasons for our continuous progress in every area. But this ability to question has come under attack many times, even today we suffer from intolerance. Religious intolerance is one of the major factors which results in such violent attacks and such murders are the result of such intolerance.

The recent murder of veteran communist leader Mr. Govind Pansare was another example of such intolerant attitude of some groups towards people who dare to speak against fanatics of any religion. It would be terribly wrong to assume that such fanatics are part of only selected religions, they are part of every culture and community. It is very difficult for many to understand that some people don't subscribe to any particular ideology, some people question everything, and they dare to take a stand and be very assertive about it without being aggressive. Such people believe in freedom of expression, what is wrong with it? Why such people are attacked regularly? I don't mind intellectual attacks or questions, but such physical threats and hostile social attitudes don't make things easy for such people. It is not easy for everyone to be fearless and express their thoughts when there is a danger of losing your life because of it. Very few are brave enough not to care about such threats and I really salute their courage and conviction. Dr. Dabholkar, Mr. Pansare, Mr. Roy, and others like them, they died while fighting for what they believed was right. They didn't hurt anyone physically and were fighting their ideological battles by using peaceful methods but people who don't believe in peace or dialogue murdered them. These cowards didn't like the courage of people like Dr. Dabholkar. These groups were scared of the power and conviction of these people and that's why they took the route of physical attacks. As they could not fight their ideas they resorted to cowardice acts of murder to eliminate such brave people.

Such cowardly acts are a blot on humanity no matter where they happen. Someone getting killed for expressing their thoughts shows the primitive level of thinking in that society. These things need to stop, we can not keep on saying every time that it is easy to kill a person but not easy to kill their thoughts. If these things keep on happening regularly, there will not be enough people to express such thoughts. But getting bullied by them is not an option. We all need to stand united against such barbaric acts then only such groups will be forced to abandon such ways. The only way to fight them is to keep on expressing our thoughts fearlessly on every forum. We have to stand united against such barbarism to eliminate it from our society.

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. Anti-Islamist US blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh
2. Kolhapur bids farewell to Pansare

Am I important?

At some point in our lives, we all get frustrated, feel dejected or depressed, and ask this question to ourselves, am I important to anyone? This question is then followed by many other related questions like, what is the purpose of my life? Why am I here? Why am I doing this? What's the purpose of doing all this hard work? Does anyone care about what I think or what I do? Is this all going to change anything? Questions like these are many but there is no single or easy answer to all these questions. Depending on the situation or phase of life one might think about any one of these questions more than others, but they all are somewhat related to each other. Once these questions dominate our minds, we start doubting ourselves, we question our abilities, we sometimes feel helpless, and we wonder why people don't understand us? Some people also feel dejected or depressed in such situations. Most of the time, these questions are the result of some not-so-favorable incidents happening around us. When our best efforts don't produce the desired results, we doubt our capabilities. When we face unwarranted personal criticism just for expressing our opinion, we doubt whether it is worth expressing them. Sometimes consistent personal attacks and inability to connect with others make people wonder about their self-worth. Such situations are not easy to handle for everyone, some people face so much trauma and agony that they take the extreme step like committing suicide because of such depressing feelings. Some could handle these feelings considering them as a part and parcel of daily life but for some, they get really serious and complicated, which is why it is necessary to address these questions seriously.

There is nothing wrong with these questions or feelings but none of this should result in chronic negativity, depression, or self-doubt. Many of us face this problem of self-worth sometime in our lives. Whatever work we do, no matter how small or big, it has some relevance and meaning. We all contribute towards our society in some way and every contribution is meaningful and important. When we realize that we all may not be the same, but we all are equal, then we learn to respect each other, and once we respect others, we also receive respect in return. None of us have answers to all the questions, therefore we all are here to learn from each other, and we should understand and acknowledge this fact. Accepting that we could be wrong helps us to listen to others. Once we start listening, we realize that there are many like us who face similar problems and doubts and we can help each other. Any problem we try to solve alone might look impossible to solve, but collectively we may be able to find some answers. Polarization and intolerance towards each other are major concerns today. When they cross certain limits, they take the form of racism, communal riots, wars, genocides, or some other form of violence. Our mind can be our best friend or worst enemy. It is not always possible to control or avoid negative feelings altogether, they are bound to come in some form, and we need to deal with them. We don't need anyone's validation to prove our self-worth, our own belief in ourselves is enough.

According to me, the correct answer to the question "Am I important" is; yes, I am important and I am significant and so is everyone else. We all are important so none of us should underestimate our powers and the significance of our role in this world. Sometimes we see the results of our efforts immediately and sometimes it takes time to see them. There are examples of many great people from history where their efforts showed desired results much later after their death but this didn't stop them from giving their best towards their goal. Things like self-respect, the ability to honor others, listen to other's views, and kindness automatically come to us once we realize that we all are equally important. The question "Am I important" doesn't intend to display the feeling that others are not important, rather this question arises in mind when we somehow start feeling that we are less important than others. So, it may not be easy to avoid such questions coming to our mind but we can try not to get affected negatively by it. This blog is just a small effort to provide a simple answer to this complicated question.

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

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

Is it necessary to know GOOD English?

I came across this discussion with Indian author Chetan Bhagat on NDTV. One of the topics they discussed was whether is it necessary to know English or good English to make a mark in your professional and personal life? English an important language in India for decades. This might be mainly because of our colonial history, but English commands a special status in Indian society. A person able to speak and write English fluently is often considered a scholar and intelligent. Many people from India assume an English-speaking person is an intellectual. I learned to speak and write English very late in my life, my entire primary education was in Marathi, and even though in college the medium of instruction was English no one really spoke in English. I was first exposed to spoken English when I joined for my PhD at the National Chemical Laboratory where people from all over India were there so Marathi was not an option as a language of communication with everyone, and from there onward I am constantly surrounded by people speaking in English. One can easily understand by reading my blog posts, comments, tweets, or Facebook posts that English is not my native language, but I am very comfortable with communicating in English as it allows me to connect with people all over the world. At the same time, I am also aware that my English skills are not that GOOD in a conventional sense, but the question is, is it necessary to know GOOD English?

Having a command of any language is great, I really admire everyone who has an impressive command of any language. This skill gives that person the power to put their thoughts in a very articulative way, they become masters in the craft of playing with words. Reading wonderfully worded articles and books is an amazing experience. A beautiful combination of words mesmerizes us, it leaves a deep impact on our minds. That is why there are not many successful professional writers. But is it necessary to know good English or any other language to express your thoughts in that language? I personally don't think so, we need some medium to express our ideas and thoughts, and language is one of those mediums. The purpose of any language is to allow us to express our thoughts in a manner that others can understand. If we can do that, then we all are smart and effective users of that language. I admire the talent of people who are masters of expressing their thoughts in beautiful manure, I will keep on trying to learn that craft but not being a master in that shouldn't stop me from sharing my views. As it is not only the right of people with a great voice to sing a song, it is not a rule that only people with good command of that language should write in it. We all can express our thoughts in whatever language we feel comfortable with. I see many people hesitate to communicate with others just because they think their language skills are not good enough, I always encourage them to at least give it a try and see how easy it is to express and connect with people, you just have to get over that hesitation and be honest with your expression. Just get over that initial hesitation and start communicating in whatever language you are comfortable with, after all, thoughts and ideas matter not the language in which they are communicated. If you want to say something, say it, the language doesn't matter, people will relate to it if the thought is genuine. Good luck.  

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. Dialogues with Chetan Bhagat

Mr. Prime Minister please don't mess it up this time

When the BJP won a decisive majority on its own in the general elections of 2014, I was a little surprised. I wasn't surprised that NDA won the elections, it was quite clear that the government of that time had no chance to come back to power, but many didn't expect a clear majority for BJP as a single party. They won 282 seats on their own (with ~31% vote share) and NDA in total won 339 seats with ~39% vote share. Actually, it was good to see that a single party won the majority so the excuse of coalition dharma to justify any decision or lack of decision must disappear now. Many governments from 1989 suffered decision paralysis because of this coalition politics. There was one person largely responsible for BJP's impressive success, it was Mr. Narendra Modi. His presence made all the difference as other parties did not have anyone to counter the challenge posed by him, he rode on a wave of his popularity with enormous resources at his disposal to execute a very well-planned campaign to secure an absolute majority for his party. It must be noted that this has happened for the first time since 1984. In the 1984-85 general elections Congress won the election with an absolute majority under the leadership of the Late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. It was a landslide victory, they won 414 seats with ~49% of the vote share, it was the biggest victory margin for any party to date. I don't think that record is easy to break in the near future. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had the majority which no one enjoyed ever in the Indian parliament, many expected that he would bring much-needed changes in the style and functioning of Indian politics. But sadly, it didn't happen, a golden opportunity was missed. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi started on a very positive note and made very impressive speeches about bringing changes at the beginning of his tenure but somehow lost his way somewhere in between and ended his tenure with corruption charges (Bofors scandal), the Shah Bano case disaster, and Ram mandir issue. Rather than Rajiv changing Indian politics, Indian politics changed him. This was really sad, I really feel bad whenever I look back to this part of Indian history, it is not that his government didn't do any good work but the expectations that people had were not fulfilled. The defeat of the Congress party in the 1989 general elections started a new era of coalition politics, which resulted in many weak and unstable governments. So, after 30 years now we have another prime minister and party with an absolute majority in parliament. Like Rajiv, Modi also started his tenure on a very positive note, his speeches include all the right things, and people have a lot of expectations from him and his government. I hope he is serious about changing the ways politics and political parties work in India. I believe he wants to create a bipartisan style of political decision-making, bring more transparency to political funding, and reduce corruption.

Mr. Modi has a very unique opportunity in his hands, the same opportunity that Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had and missed 30 years ago. Indians have waited almost three decades to get a government with decisive mandate. Hopefully, he remembers whatever promises he made during his election campaign. One thing that I am looking forward this government to implementing is a uniform civil code (not a Hindu civil code which RSS wants). India calls itself a secular country but there is a very complicated system of personal laws. Each religion has its own set of personal laws, especially in cases of marriage, divorce, and adoption. BJP has been talking about a uniform civil code for a long, and I think it is time now for them to implement it. I am sure the youth of the country across the party lines will support this. Mr. Modi has the majority on his side at least in one house of parliament and it is just a matter of time his party gets the majority in the other house as well. He should initiate this process to show his commitment to his party's promises. This one change can initiate a big social change. This is also a unique opportunity to change the long tradition of politicization of different institutions and government bodies. If the NDA or BJP keeps repeating the same mistakes that the UPA or Congress did in the past then what is the use of changing the government? If the current government behaves in the same way as previous governments then it is just a change of name not a change of governance style. Initial signs don't look that promising but may be they need some time to adjust and will get their acts together soon after initial hiccups.

I don't expect these changes to happen overnight or even during the first year of this government, but they have enough time to prove themselves. This opportunity came after 30 long years and if it is missed this time then I don't know how many more years Indian people have to wait to see this happen again. Delhi assembly elections showed that voters don't have the patience to wait, they want results and I hope Mr. Modi doesn't mess up this unique opportunity that history has offered to him. They are not going to get 60 years like Congress. Congress has already done its work to establish a strong democratic foundation for India, let's see not how the BJP builds on it. India's secular fabric has always been weak and I hope the BJP remains careful about not destroying it, after all, progress without equality and equity is not progress at all. 

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/Uniform_civil_code_of_India
2. Uniform civil code: will it work in India?

If it's not your cup of tea, then don't drink it

This tweet by Indian filmmaker Karan Johar grabbed my attention, he tweeted this in response to all tweets that criticized his participation in a controversial episode of AIB knockout roast. While I enjoy watching some stand-ups I am not a very big fan of them. I think most of them focus more on the negative aspects of life and use insults and vulgarity as major elements to create comedy. But these shows and such types of comedy are very popular and I recognize why it is so popular. These comedians also push the limit to the extent that it sounds sometimes offensive or derogatory but that's how it is. These shows are not part of any TV channels that are meant for family audiences and they give proper disclaimers before the show for people who don't know what are they getting into. This particular AIB roast also comes with a disclaimer about its adult content, so, people who are not comfortable with such things should not watch it, it is as simple as that. 

Everybody claims to have a sense of humor as it is a cool thing to have but very few actually have it. It is easy to laugh at others and pass comments about others but it is very difficult to laugh at yourself, very few people dare to do that. Comedy forms like satire and most stand-up shows are not for people who don't can't withstand ridicule and insult. In India, this form is relatively recent, it is not that we didn't have comedy shows but their format was different and the focus was always on so-called clean comedy, so, I am sure many will find it difficult to adjust to this new style of comedy. I was stumped when I saw the first stand-up on YouTube when I came to the US, I was surprised to see how people could tolerate and laugh at such racist, sexist, and insulting comments. But then I realized that this form of comedy is not everybody's cup of tea, I can't watch some of these shows as I don't enjoy the contents of them but that doesn't mean that I can stop others from watching them. 

I managed to watch this show when it was still there on YouTube. It is funny, I enjoyed most of it and yes, it is really vulgar and filthy at times but the show puts this warning right in the beginning so you know what to expect. I have no complaints about the contents of this show, I didn't like some things about it, but that's my problem. I can't demand an apology from participants for using abusive language towards each other, that will be the stupidest thing to do. There are many things that we see around or watch on TV or in movies that don't suit our taste, we are free to reject them and even to register our protest in the strongest possible words. But to question a person's right to express their thoughts is a sign of a regressive mindset. I hope this controversy is settled soon, this is such a waste of time. India has much bigger problems to deal with than worrying about the contents of some comedy roast. I even found some parts of a very popular comedy show from one of India's TV channels "Comedy Nights with Kapil" very sexiest and insulting to women, so I stopped watching it and if I watch it I do it at my own risk, I can't demand an apology and ban just because I don't like it. I hope adults learn to behave like adults and stop wasting time on such petty issues. Like Karan Johar tweeted, if it's not your cup of tea, then don't drink it. If you drink it by mistake, then don't cry foul or abuse the makers, just laugh at your own stupidity and move on and be careful next time.

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

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

Internet and religion

Various religions ruled this world for many centuries unanimously and without any serious threat or challenge (apart from conflicts between each other). The empire of religion grew as it became more and more organized. As it became organized, it also became very powerful, it associated itself with rulers and legitimized its prosecuting powers. It became so powerful that it was very easy for them to crush any opposition in the name of blasphemy. It became a big enterprise, more like today's cell phone market. As everyone needed this gadget called religion different versions of it became available depending on the time and needs of that particular place. Some survived and some perished as they couldn't compete. Very few philosophies survived who dared to challenge the concept of religion and God. The empire of religion has ruled the world unanimously for so many centuries. But it seems there is one thing that is threatening the empire of religion like no one ever did before, it is not any organization or any new philosophy but it is an open and free information source called the "internet." The Internet is a recent discovery but in the last 20 years or so it has changed the way people collect information and the way they communicate with each other. It has changed the way information is generated and shared. This has provided access to a vast amount of information to almost anyone with an internet connection on any electronic device. Ignorance and lack of access to reliable and verifiable information were the major reasons for the stronghold of all religions on people's minds. People had many questions but no answers and religion easily filled that vacuum by providing them some explanations that people couldn't verify but believed as there was no other alternative.

Today people can get answers to most of their queries by using any search engine on the internet. They can find different views and opinions about any given topic. Readers can choose how much information they want, they are no longer limited to only one-sided views or arguments about any topic. This has challenged the propaganda run by different religions for centuries. Many people with open minds and a lot of questions use the internet as a more reliable source of information. Before it was very difficult to get hold of a book or a person who could provide some reliable information about many questions because of limited resources in many parts of the world but now it is not that difficult to access reliable and verifiable information. I can say these things based on my own personal experience. I started questioning religious practices and concept of god when I was in college, but no one bothered to answer those questions rather I was told that it was wrong and insulting to ask such bad questions. But fortunately, I had access to libraries and I started reading books based on such subjects during my college days. I was lucky to have access to the library and I am glad that I utilized that, but not everyone is that lucky. Those books challenged my beliefs, questioned my faith, and forced me to rethink, they forced me to raise questions even though no one was willing to answer them. I found some of the answers in those books and others during my journey as a scientist. The next level was attained when I came across the phenomenon called the "internet." It gave me access to a lot of information and connected with many individuals. I used to think I was the only one who found many problems with the way religion is practiced but I realized that many are raising these types of questions. The Internet helped me to educate myself without help from anyone. I was able to read a lot and collect a lot of information, some was useful and some wasn't but it was my choice what to accept and what to reject. That information cleared a lot of my doubts and also provided me a platform to share that information with others, this blog is a result of that effort. In this amazing journey on the internet, I also got connected with many people whom I would not have met otherwise. It was a really great experience to interact with them and get to know their views. It enriched my thinking.

I have no doubt that the internet is going to be a major force to challenge the authority of all religions. After realizing its potential and reach all religions are also using the internet as a tool to propagate their faith and many of them are doing it very effectively but at the same time, it has provided a platform to all who always faced threats and intimidation from powerful religious institutes. Religions can't execute people on the internet for blasphemy, and they can't intimidate them like they used to do in the past, this is still not a level playing field, but at least there is a field for others to challenge religion, such a field never existed before. Many people are getting more vocal and assertive with their views against bad customs and rituals from every religion which was not possible without risking their own life just a few decades ago. I am glad to see that slowly but steadily this alternate voice is forcing religion to change its attitude and modify its stance on many issues. I am sure this is just the beginning and we are going to see more tolerant forms of religion in the coming years. Destruction of faith or religion should not be a motto but to make it more tolerant and flexible should be the purpose of challenging it. Religion has to realize that it has to change its intolerant attitude or perish slowly. I am sure it will prefer to change rather than to perish, after all, who would like to destroy such a vast empire built over centuries at the cost of defending a few lines from some ancient books. Thank you internet, for giving us the space to raise our voices.

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. Why the Internet is slowly strangling religion

Living in unauthorized colonies - my own experience

While watching this report on prime time by Ravish on NDTV I went back in my memory lane when we used to live in a similar colony. Our colony was also unauthorized, which means it was constructed without proper permission and paperwork from the municipal authority which is necessary to have an authorized construction to pay a property tax. Authorized construction is also registered under the owner's name in government records and one can sell it legally and government can't demolish it just like that. As ours was an unauthorized colony government didn't provide necessary infrastructure like water, sewage, proper roads, etc. Our only hope was our corporator Mr. Shashikant Sutar who used to help us get some of these things from the municipal corporation and he also used to take care of all the legal notices of demolition sent to all of us by the municipal corporation. During the initial days, water was supplied by water tankers. It used to be literally a war-like situation to get a bucket of water. People used to fight hard to reach the tanker tap first to make sure that they got enough water for them until the next visit of the tanker. Normally, women and kids of the family used to do this water fetching business as men used to be at work. My mom hated this ordeal because first of all, as she was a recent immigrant from another state she could not speak the local language (Marathi) very well, and by nature, she doesn't like to argue or confront anyone so she used to hate this, but there was no other way to get water. All homes in such colonies shared common walls on both sides, and only homes at the end of the lane had the luxury of having windows on side walls otherwise only option was to have windows on the front wall or on the back wall. Normally these colonies grow over time as people construct their own houses depending on their financial capacity so some homes can be two-storied and some can be just one storey and they both stand side by side. Local politicians play a key role in keeping things in order in such colonies as everyone goes to them to solve their disputes and for any legal trouble from the municipal corporations.

Life in these places is not that easy but it is not like that people living there don't enjoy or have fun. I had a pretty good time during my childhood. I agree that our parents were under constant threat of losing their home constructed with hard-earned money but we also had a very supportive politician to help us. In return for this protection, we elected him as our corporator and MLA until he retired from active politics. Our colony stood on private land, every family bought a piece of privately owned land and constructed their home. We just didn't have proper approvals to build homes on that land. This was due to a lack of knowledge, a lack of money to get this approval, and a very corrupt approval process where it was impossible to get approval without paying bribes. The colony was not on some government land, so, there was no issue of land encroachment and still, it took more than two decades to get it authorized. So whenever these political parties make promises like authorizing illegal colonies, they sound unreal and they do it only to fool those residents for their votes. Now, our colony is authorized with all the required paperwork and we all pay property tax on it but it took almost 20-30 years to get this done and still it is very unsafe with narrow lanes and no space for parking. So, making them authorized does solve a few problems, the threat of demolition is gone, and you get water and electricity, but issues about safety still remain. This is a very lucrative topic for vote bank politics as all voters living in these colonies entirely depend on political leaders to protect their homes from the clutches of law. The issue is very complicated and deeply political, many political parties want such issues to last forever so that they can reap benefit from these vote banks in every election. I guess the time has come for people living in such colonies to unite and then negotiate with the government some proper plan that can improve living conditions in such places. They deserve better treatment from the government. 

I have very fond memories from the time I spent living in an unauthorized colony, but I know that there was a lot of uncertainty and stress for my parents to protect their home. I really hope that this issue can be resolved and our political parties care for the well-being of people living in such colonies.

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. प्राइम टाइम : अनियमित कॉलोनियों का ये है हाल

Parental leave - right or privilege?

The topic of parental leave is very sensitive, it is debated in many political and professional forums, and even President Obama mentioned it during his State of the Union address on January 20th. People always debate whether it is a right or a privilege? People argue very passionately either in favor or against these things, and there is also a disagreement about how much parental leave is enough; 2 weeks, 2 months, 6 months, or one year? One might find some of these numbers irrational or ridiculous but if we accept that parenting is a full-time job then it is often difficult to decide how much time is required for parents to leave their kid with someone else and come back to work. I personally believe that parenting is a personal responsibility of respective parents, after all, they decide to become parents based on their own priorities. Once they decide to become a parent, it is their job to figure out how to take care of their child. There is no doubt that any help from their employer or government is going to definitely help them to go through the initial demanding days of parenting and that is where this issue runs into rough waters. How much help is enough? Is this one of the reasons many small businesses (or even big ones) hesitate to hire women? Can this gap due to maternity leave be harmful to the progress of any woman's professional career? Can this policy of mandatory parental leave affect the productivity of small businesses? There are many questions related to this issue that are up for debate. I think policymakers need to take into consideration these questions before making any law regarding this issue.

Every parent needs some assistance during the initial days after childbirth as the work is both physically and mentally challenging. Women also need time to recover physically so there is no doubt that they need maternity leave before they come back to work. Parenting is the responsibility of both parents so the father also needs to have an option of paternity leave so that he can take care of his responsibility as a parent during those initial days. I am sure policymakers must have done research before deciding on the duration of parental leave. There are also professional childcare options available for parents who don't want to take any leave. It should be entirely their choice. If parents, especially mothers chose not to take their entire maternity leave and join work much before then they should not be looked upon as insensitive parents (recent controversy related to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is an example of this). Everyone should be free to use or not to use the option of parental leave based on their own needs and priorities. There is no gold standard that everyone should follow, we should respect every parent's style of parenting without being judgmental. It is okay to offer recommendations and suggestions but it is up to the respective parents to accept or reject them. Every parent has a right to develop and follow their own style of parenting. I have seen personally some parents inventing new ways to deal with some of the problems they faced during parenting and it helped them to reduce the stress of parenting.

I personally believe that parental leave should be a part of every professional package so that prospective parents (especially mothers) don't have to choose between parenthood and career.  It should be considered as a right but even if for some reason it is not then it can be offered as a special privilege, especially by big organizations who can afford to implement this policy. Doesn't matter how it is offered; a right or a special privilege it will help organizations to keep talented people in their workforce. It will help women to plan their careers without worrying about the effect of their pregnancy on their professional life. Parents also need to use this option responsibly. They need to plan in such a way that it doesn't hurt their company's productivity. If both parties involved behave responsibly then I think parental leave can benefit both, organizations as well as parents equally.  

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

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

Can there ever be absolute freedom of expression?

The recent attack on people associated with the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris has initiated discussions about whether there can be absolute freedom of expression? Terrorists killed people associated with this magazine to take revenge for publishing a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad. Many Muslim people found these cartoons offensive and insulting to their faith. This was not the first time any publication, book, picture, or article came under attack for insulting any religion. India is very well known for banning books, attacking authors, or making their lives difficult just for publishing something that hurts people's religious sentiments. So, the question is can there be an absolute right of freedom of expression? If not, then who decides where to draw the line and on what basis? Can there be a general consensus on what should be allowed and what shouldn't?

Every country claims to give the right of freedom of expression to their citizens, but if we check carefully there are some ifs and buts attached to this right. These ifs and buts differ from country to country. I can understand that anyone is not allowed to preach violence, child pornography, or obscenity under the name of freedom of expression. One can very well understand this type of restriction but apart from that why put so many other restrictions. Many people agree that there should be freedom of expression but they also say that in the case of religious sentiments, there should be some limit that should not be crossed. But the problem with this argument is who will decide that limit? Everybody's religious sensitivities are different, whatever is considered blasphemous in one religion is perfectly fine in another, so, in any diverse society how can one draw a line, and how many lines does one need to draw to cover each and every religion and sect so that nobody's religious feelings are hurt? People's sentiments are going to get hurt by something or other as each artist presents their work in different forms and styles. Art in some forms such as satire, paintings, or cartoons can be sometimes offensive, and not everyone can digest them but that doesn't mean that form should be banned or censored. We can not depend on people's level of sensitivities to design any policy related to freedom of expression as sensitivities keep on changing. It will be good to have complete freedom of expression or at least as much as people have in countries like the USA, it should be very clear what is allowed and what is not.

In today's world with so much connectivity and resources to verify any information we should be becoming more broad-minded and tolerant, but it seems our civilization is going in the reverse direction as far as tolerance and liberty are concerned, people are becoming more narrow-minded and less tolerant. They get offended by trivial things like a book, movie, or cartoon and react in a very violent way. To protest or express disagreement with anything is perfectly fine, but it should be done in a lawful and peaceful manner. Whenever people try to question freedom of expression after such a violent attack on a publication for publishing something objectionable then actually they indirectly justify such violent acts. Freedom of expression is not an easy thing to handle. People who feel offended also have the right to express their feelings, people who dislike anything can openly say that, and they can insult or say offensive things but in any case, violence can not be a part of freedom of expression. As Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Said, "Your liberty to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins." To threaten someone with physical harm is not freedom of expression but an act of violence. We are far away from achieving absolute freedom of expression, and since India has a very poor record in this area (still it is better than most of its neighbors), it needs to improve a lot. The USA has a much better record in this area and I think it is one of the best countries as far as the right of freedom of expression is concerned. Other countries like India should try to follow their example. 

I support the absolute right of freedom of expression except freedom to propagate violence. This will allow societies to become more tolerant and exchange their ideas more freely. Banning something only increases people's curiosity about those things and makes them more popular. Let's not ban any book, movie, article, or magazine just because some people find it offensive. This is a difficult task to achieve but at least let's try to work towards it, maybe one day we will have a society where there is absolute freedom of expression and everyone is using it with great care and responsibility. 

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. Faith vs Freedom: Is Right to Free Speech Absolute?

Baba Amte - My superhero

In a post about my visit to Snehalaya and other similar institutions during my last India trip, I briefly mentioned Baba Amte. These institutions are doing some great humanitarian work in various areas and they all consider Baba Amte as their inspiration. He is one of the people who always impressed me and inspired me since my college days. Unfortunately, his name is not very popular outside Maharashtra and I don't know why. I am still trying to figure out how such a great personality can not be known to the entire India, his work is so inspiring that each and every Indian can take immense pride and inspiration from it. I have read about many people who were inspired to do some social work for religious or political purposes but this was the man who dedicated all his life just to humanitarian purposes, not to get any salvation or place in heaven or any sainthood or any government award or any election victory. He served people because he felt their pain and really loved them as just humans irrespective of their age, caste, religion, or nationality. His project Anandwan (which means garden of happiness) is an ideal example of his vision and dedication towards humanitarian work. Amazingly not only did he and his wife dedicate their lives to this work, but he was lucky enough to have kids who carried forward his work with equal sincerity and dedication. Dr. Prakash Amte, his younger son's work at Hemalkasa (Lok Biradari Prakalp) is well known. Dr. Vikas Amte, his elder son, takes care of Anandwan. It is really amazing to see how this whole family is involved in helping people in need and distress.

I am not going to go into details about the work done by these people, I request readers to read more about them on the internet or from books published about them and read more about Anandwan and other projects to know about their work. The best way to know about their work is to visit these places and interact with the people who are living there and working there. I also understand that it may not be possible for everyone to find time and resources to visit many of these places which is why the internet is a great place to know as much as possible and then if possible grab any opportunity that allows you to visit these places. I feel extremely lucky and privileged to know a few people who are very closely involved in helping these projects, they keep me aware of what is going on and I am really thankful to them for all their efforts to educate me about the work done by such amazing people. 

But for some reason, the work of Baba Amte and his sons didn't get much recognition in India. People know about their work but they don't know like they know about the work of Mother Teresa or the work of some political organizations like RSS or the work of some cult movements like ISKON or Art of Living. Maybe because Baba Amte never sided with any particular religion or political party, rather at times he stood against the state government like in the case of Narmada Bachao Andolan. I think all this might have made him a not-so-attractive option for any political party and media as they can not use his name to attract any vote bank. He did not even get Bharat Ratna, actually, people like Baba Amte don't need that award but I think that award needs people like him so that its dignity and honor are elevated. But I am glad that he is not on that list of Bharat Ratna awardees, even Mahatma Gandhi is not on that list so I think it's fair that even they didn't consider Baba for this award.

He didn't even claim to be a superhuman or incarnation of some god or messenger of some god who landed on this earth or was sent by God to serve his people. Many so-called babas or gurus use these tactics to get money and power. He stayed away from all these gimmicks that many political and religious groups use to popularize themselves, he just did his work silently with dedication and selflessness. I respect him for this. He showed me the path that you don't need any religious, political, or any other affiliation or support to do any good work. I may not believe in any god or religion, and I may not also subscribe to any political ideology or cult but still can help my fellow humans as I really don't need any affiliations to feel compassion and love for my fellow humans. I can feel their pain and help them just because I love them and respect them as humans. We all know this but very few dare to set an example for others as it is not an easy thing to do. Baba Amte was one such person who proved it with an example of his own work. Baba Amte is my real-life superhero he did something that was considered impossible for normal humans. Thank you sir for showing us the path. Sadly he is no more but his work and legacy will live forever and keep on inspiring many people to carry out selfless service to humans in distress.

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

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