equal to murder....

The decision of khap panchyat and mahapanchayats, following a gang rape case in Haryana, is very disheartening. Child Marriage is a sin against females  Early marriage could never be solution for it. They failed to realize that rape victims are not only unmarried girls and the criminals are not always single men. If they think child marriage is the good option then the day is not far, when they will issue orders for female foeticide and infanticide.... or better to call it as FEMINICIDE (killing of females). 

UnNoticed,,,,,,

While reading some article on condition of women, I at once looked at my mother who was busy in kitchen. I am sure, while cooking she must be thinking of other pending household works. This is really thankless job on name of  "care" and "nurturing". This job of HOMEMAKER is without retirement age, without holiday and leave, definite and BEGAR. Even then, her work is of no value and smoked by tagging it as her DUTY. 

          

          Some organisations have debated to turn it into an economic activity by transferring certain amount of husband's income to account of his wife, for satisfying her basic needs. But I think this will make women more dependent on men. Instead of it, State should provide different ways by providing subsidies, gainful employment, special funding etc. Of course, there is no repayment of the services provided by a woman, still an attempt could be made......

secularism in disguise??

~Days back, I was looking for a room to stay as paying guest. The owner asked for my name. She was bit hesitant to lend me her room as she was doubtful about my religion. Then I told her about my full name. She replied "AWW!! so u r hindu... I thought u are muslim,,,, blah blah blah.."
  For time being I was dumbstruck. Anyways, i got the room after telling her my full name...
On my way to home, I gave a thought about SECULARISM prevailing in our country. Few days back, I read in some newspaper that MUSLIMS are being denied home in Delhi. That didnt pinch me much until it happened with me.
Our constitution provides secular nation, BUT our society herself is not willing to opt this word. The worst enemy of humanity is human itself. Legislatures can only formulate the laws. But ultimately, it is the people on whom laws are to be enforced. 

~how not to get raped~

                                   India is turning into world capital for unsecured women. Whenever you go through newspapers, you will find at least one news on every page about molestation, child sex abuse, stripping or anything that would make us stand in vegetative state. The recent case in Guwahati is ofcourse a national shame. This is not crime only against the victim woman but against the whole female community and of course sin against humanity.

All this ends up with a vicious cycle. Increasing crime against women leave a sense of insecurity among parents for their female child and either they end up with female foeticide or keep their girl inside jail turned home. further decreasing sex ratio is direct cause of prostitution and molestation like cases. And uneducated female community will explode this nation. I think it would be of no use to mention here that a strict action should be taken, or government should do something etc. Law makers know exactly what should be done and what to be undone.

                          In our society, females are considered to be the honour of the family. Any crime against their own girl wreak havoc on the family. Keeping the fear of insecurity in their mind, Baghpat Panchayat of U.P. have issued a diktat against unescorted women visiting the marketplace, entering into love marriage or even carrying mobiles. Although these are for protecting women, but they are highly undemocratic in nature. why cannot the same be issued for men? Anyways our society teaches us "HOW NOT TO GET RAPED" rather than "NOT TO RAPE"

female foetcide

Decreasing sex ratio due to female foeticide is a 

serious problem. To remove the severe evil, we need 

to search out root causes that why people don't want 

a female child. I think sexual insecurity to women 

and dowry system are the worse demons that is 

fueling female foeticide. 

Everyone at every level of societial pyramid need to 

be awakened. Law making bodies shall take strict 

actions against misuse of AMNIOCENTESIS, the 

process being used to detect chromosomal disorders. 

Famous personalities should come forward through 

various programmes like recently Amir Khan has 

done through a TV programme.

JAI HIND, SATYAMEV JAYATE... 

poverty of measurement

Just finding a problem and not finding solution is as bad as not finding the problem. Even worse is when we know the problem and still pretend to be finding it. Govt of India seems to be doing the same. It is trying to be skeptic and appointing committees one after another for measurement of poverty. Also, spending on Foreign trips of Montek S. Ahluwalia exposed by an RTI, examples are endless, shows that scales for measurement of poverty line are inadequate.

child marriage.....

Child marriages kill aspirations and aims of a girl and put her under acute agony. This is an indirect cause of female foeticide and, because she thinks that what had happened to her could also befall her daughter. 

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Everyone is familiar with the phrase “united we stand divided we fall”. It is a simple phrase, as a counter to Divide and Conquer mantra. This phrase was used by Patrick Henry in his last public speech in 1799. This phrase proved to be so pragmatic to be doubted upon.

 When there is oneness there is likely to be more strength in opinion, more strength in action, and more strength in character. This is a very simple and obvious fact that, if one person tries his hands on some job, he will manage much less than what a group effort will achieve. This, in all simplicity what unity is all about. But over the last few decades, it seems that the importance has been long forgotten in the gluttony of high lifestyles, fancy cars and big TV’s. We have unknowingly been socially organized into different groups, with different mindsets. This has created a divide which is rowing strong and even hateful in some cases.

 If we peep into different spheres of our existence and we can adjudge the truth of this statement. Conquest of happiness has meant different facets to different generations. Our forefathers took pride in scholarship, a spirit of sacrifice and solicitude for the welfare of others. Gone are those days. Today, we only are for ourselves. We are jealous of the advancement of our neighbours. We end up tense and unhappy.

The structural framework of our forefathers' families was different from ours. They lived in a cohesive joint family structure where they were happier than us. They cared for each other. The siblings grew up with their cousins. The siblings that grew in a joint family know the importance of sharing, love, respect, tolerance, responsibility and integrity. But today we have nuclear families. The bond of love could not be easily found among nuclear families. Cousins do not recognise each other when they happen to meet after long time. Life has become very self-centred. Disputes in the family may lead to divisions. This finally destroys the family psyche. Today to satisfy his demands, man can sacrifice his integrity and sense of sincerity in this manner, he may be materially "happy", but his guilty mind always pricks his conscience.

From this smallest unit, we go to the bigger horizon of society. Where is our society today? It is broken into fragments, and each segment, that is, an individual family just looking after itself, as if we sternly believe in the adage, “everyone for himself, and God for all.“ This has become the motto of the society at large. This has lead to the loosening of the ties of the society and this is the cause of the growth of so many social evils. When there is no strong bond in different segments of a society, it is bound to break into factions, and thus lose its strength, both moral and social. 

Everyone must have heard the story of farmers and his four sons in very childhood days. Farmer taught his sons a lesson of unity with a pile of sticks, which did not break when together. We should take lesson from that saga. Even animals know the importance of unity. Small fishes always travel in groups to protect themselves from predators. Even predators prefer to attack prey in groups.

From the society, let us move on to the position of the country. This is the saddest side of our appearance, a complete lack of unity in the country, thereby the creeping in of evils in the very fabric of the system. The country is, to day seen crumbling under its weight of separatism, each state is desirous of a new younger cousin, so instead of getting together, we are continuously moving on the path of disintegration and thus weakening our system.               

The best example of unity that India has ever portrayed has been during its struggle for independence. Even though the struggle lasted for almost a century, the Indians clung together as one single unit unmoved and what happened to the great British Empire is for all of us to see. British Empire knew that people can’t be ruled if they are united, so they opted for “divide and rule.” But gradually and slowly Indians realised importance of unity and ousted out British and freed their country from colonisers.  This is all what unity is about, and this is the magic that unity can play on a country. I am sure that, if India had not depicted its great unity in this war, our History would have been different. India has undoubtedly got an inbuilt strength of unity, which it shows off and on. Then why can it not always stand as one entity, and become a power to reckon with.

The spirit of unity is now-a-days manifested in different forms. We find trade union congress, teacher’s federation, Mill owner’s association, NATO and SEATO etc. this are all the different expressions of unity. Different countries join hands together and form associations. They raise mutual funds, sign agreements and promise each other to help in the hour of need.

So unity is the password which heals all bruises big and small. It is this that helps us enjoy few happy moments of life. In the good moments of a marriage, in the sad moments of sickness and death, it is the unity of the well wishers that makes the pleasure great and despair less. This is the unique power of unity. A lone individual or community can achieve nothing and neither can they enjoy the fruits of any achievement. The secret power of unity is strength, which is built up by mutual trust and faith and love for each other, and the oneness of a single well formulated goal.

To achieve or even to destroy, we need unity, for example, if the terrorists had no unity even they would not have been able to cause as much destruction as they have succeeded in achieving. From Kashmir, lakhs of people have migrated just because the terrorists have their unity in action, thought and spirit and so they are able to destroy as per their target. Thus in order to make any significant achievement, the most necessary ingredient is unity. Your targets may be good or bad, but success is assured if you have a united consolidated group to work up to the goal.

Time And Tide Wait For None

Time And Tide Wait For None

To know the value of one year, ask the student who failed.

To know the value of one month, ask the mother of a premature baby.

To know the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly.

To know the value of one day, ask the daily wage worker.

To know the value of one minute, ask the passenger who missed the train.

To know the value of one second, ask the person who escaped an accident.

 “Time and tide wait for no man.” The essence of the proverb is that opportunities do not wait for anyone. No one can command or foretell their occurrence or recurrence. One should be alert and cautious because they occur without any notice. Time and tide are natural phenomena. Like other agents of nature, they too have no consideration and regard for any individual.

In ancient times there were no steamships. There were huge boats equipped with sails, called ships. Their launching in the sea was a difficult affair, which depended on the tide. The sailors had to wait for long time, because their ships could not sail without the help of a tide. As soon as the tide came, they sailed their ships away with it. If they missed the chance, they had to wait for the next tide about which there could be no certainty. A tide never waits for any sailor. This is a lesson to all of us. It lays emphasis on the desirability of our preparedness to make the best use of an opportu­nity that presents itself to us. We should, therefore, remain vigilant, because even the slightest carelessness on our part may result in missing a great opportunity in life resulting in colossal loss. It also implies that opportunities are rare. No one can create them. They come of their own. Those who are ready are able to take advantage of them, but indolent people let them slip.

How many times in our life have we desired that time was something we could capture in our hands and never let go. When we look back into our past, we gather a lot of memorable moments which we never want to get over, especially, those cheerful childhood days where we were pampered by one and all in our families. Those were the golden days of our lives. In the school days, we thought homework and exams were the hardest things one can ever face. Little did we know that with time, more hardships are bound to come.

In college days deciding on a career was another Herculean task. Advices came when they are hardly required. Everybody had a say on our decision making process and they got the better of us. Then we took a plunge into the vast ocean called career. For some of us, there will be a phase when we want to change that one decision. Alas! The realization will sink in deep that it’s too late to change our decision. We will realize that there is no rewind option in the life’s clock. 

One of the many weaknesses of which man must be warned is procrastination or putting off things that can be done today till a later date. There is some natural inertia in man which makes him lethargic. He knows he must work but he doesn't want to unless he is goaded, very often leaves things where they are. If it doesn't affect him personally he doesn't act immediately. He would rather bask in idleness. To make him work and act many incentives are offered. Thus we see in business, what is called an incentive bonus. In regular services they are offered increments.

In olden days there were no watches and people used to do their working following the direction of the Sun, even though people were sincere and punctual at those days. But today even after innumerable inventions and a lot developments people used to complain that they don't have time. Is it that the time in olden days was long and today it is short? Then where is the problem? Actually problem exists in time management. As time wasted never returns and today people are wasting a lot of time wandering they are experiencing the time short, so the complaint. For instance when the students have the time, they waste it in unnecessary discussions, love and student politics etc. but when examination comes nearer they start studying and complain for time short as they could not use the time left in a proper manner. Here a saying comes to mind, "Time is short, not for rest, think your aim and do your best"

Man knows that putting off till tomorrow what one can do today is bad. So there are many maxims like 'time and tide wait for no man', 'Take time by the forelock', 'Make hay while the sun shines' and many more. These idioms go to show how society realizes the value of time and doing thing in time. For time lost is a loss forever and it cannot be brought back. Hence we rightly say 'procrastination is a thief of time.'

 Missing an oppor­tunity means missing the chance for ever, because one does not know whether the opportunity will recur or not. No amount of repentance would compensate the loss caused by such a failure. Nature is impersonal. It does not matter to it if a certain indi­vidual fails to make use of an opportunity offered by it. It is because of this aspect of the matter that wise men are always prepared to act with full vigour when time comes. They never postpone things.

There is another aspect of the matter. Time and tide are immune to sentiments of loss or gain to individuals, communities and nations. In total disregard of loss or gain to individuals they follow their schedules. There can be no appeal against them.

In every field time has its own importance. If a farmer had not sown the seeds in proper season he would not get the paddy as thought. Similarly, the game of football one extra minute may also make a difference as during that one minute a player could score a goal against the opponent tem and the game would be over with a 1:0 score in spite of simple draw. To add another example, if a doctor would not reach at the right time the patient’s life will not be saved. Thus, time is very important for every work to be completed as required.

Time is a factor which is very important, the more so nowadays. In the jet-age or the 'Supersonic-age' everything takes place at a speed which the ancients would never have dreamed of. In order to keep pace with the speed with which things move, man also must know how to act quickly. A delay of even five minutes in any program could lead to a lot of chain reactions. Suppose a man fails to turn up at the hour he has fixed for an engagement he would not only lose his face but it may also tell on his future with which his whole life is tied up. Work falls in arrears, means he has to work harder and even faster the next day. The more complex and technological the society grows; the value of time grows equally acute.

There is a sense of fulfilment for those people who are punctual and regular in their work. They enjoy a guilt-free conscience. When one is regular and punctual it adds to his dignity and brings him peace at heart.

It requires principles, discipline and will power to do one's duty on hand at once. If only one were to keep a record of idle hours it would be astounding to see the sum total of the time. One must develop the philosophy of life quoted in the 'Village Blacksmith', 'Something attempted, something done, earned him a night's repose'.

One should realize the importance of taking the right decision at the right time. In that way, one will never regret any decision that we make in life. Procrastination will not help anyone to achieve the best things in life. So wake up before it is too late. Time might keep dodging us, but one should not get intimidated by it. All we need to do is, become excellent time managers. Be more organized in life and most importantly, be time-bound. Lead your life is such a way that you run in pace with time. Success will follow suit.

The Role Of Media In Our Society

The Role Of Media In Our Society

 “By its very nature the media cannot be like an ordinary business, the role of media should be playing”

                                                                                                         Justice Markandey Katju, 

Every time I think about the term media, an image of watchdog comes across my mind. A watchdog has to protect his owner, give him security and react to possible outside interference with the rights of his owner. Therefore, the watchdog has to know his loyalties.

In today’s world, media has made a very special place for itself in our lives. If I say that today, media has become as important as food and clothing, then I don t think so that I am over exaggerating anything. There is no denial that media is playing a very significant role in making the world smaller. Through various mediums of media whether it is radio, television, newspaper or internet, we are able to connect with large number of people around us. Especially internet has truly become the need of every individual both for our work and to connect with our friends and well wishers. Facebook, Orkut and Twitter have occupied such special place in our lives that if we are not a part of it, then there is something really important that we are missing.

Media acts as conduit between society and the world, Government and the lawmakers. For a long time, media has been one of the methods of controlling people and leisure. The media is expected to inform mass audience, educate them, entertain the people and mobilise them towards the desired goal. The flow of information is important for the development of communities and the media facilitates this. Without a wide array of information, people’s opinions and views would be limited, and their impressions and the conclusions of the world around them stunted.

 The Press in India is regarded as fourth pillar of democracy and it is an institution made for the welfare of the country and its people. The media in India is one of the freest in the world in terms of legal constraints. The freedom of Expression guaranteed under Fundamental Rights in our country remains an important facilitator for widespread engagement within democratic atmosphere. The first prime minister of independent India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru remarked, “I would rather have a completely free press, with all dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom, than a suppressed or regulated press.” But this liberty should not be absolute and unlimited as it has tendency to become a licence which would lead to disorder and anarchy.

Power of the media can transform the whole society, especially in the developing countries it can be used to educate the people about the basic human rights. The dilemma of the developing countries is that people are not fully aware of their basic rights and if they know, they don't know about what to do and where to go. They don't know their collective strength. The media do not merely have an instrumental function in society; they also shape norms, beliefs and fields of interest in matters such as identity-building, ‘regionalization’, the formation of the multicultural society. Media men have access to people and they have an audience. The media brings awareness to the people, and I believe that awareness triggers thinking. Once the people are more aware, it will automatically make them think of good and better ways to create a good and better functional democracy.

It supplies good content to the people via a good communication infrastructure. In other words, there are two requirements: creating content so that people can understand it, and crating the infrastructure so that people can access the content. It is about bringing information to the people, bringing people to the information, getting them to think, and getting them to realize their responsibilities towards the nation. This change cannot occur overnight, but it can be initiated overnight for sure. The initiation is through your own hearts and minds, to understand what is missing, and take a determined step towards the belief of a better land, and to learn to dream and media has the power to turn a dream into reality.

The impact of media is really noteworthy. Excessive coverage or hype and exaggeration of sensitive news has led to communal riots at times. The illiterates are more prone to provocations than the literates. Constant repetition of the news, especially sensational news, breeds apathy and insensitivity. For instance, in Dhananjoy Chatterjee’s case, the overloaded hype led to death of quite a few children who imitated the hanging procedure, which was repeatedly shown on most of the T.V. news channels. There is plethora of such negative impacts. Recently, Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman of press council of India, said that much of the media is of very poor intellectual level. Many cases have emerged which shows that media has been baised. They are projecting what they want instead of projecting the reality.

Commercialisation has created a stiff competition in media. In order to outdo each other, print media has often gone one step further in publishing articles, cover stories etc on sex. Media has now reincarnated itself into a ‘janta adalat’ or public court and has started interfering into court proceedings. It completely overlooks the vital gap between an accused and a convict, keeping at stake the golden principles of ‘presumption of innocence until proven guilty’ and ‘guilt beyond reasonable doubt’. Now, what we observe is media trial where media itself does a separate investigation, builds a public opinion against the accused even before the court or the person who will eventually preside over the trial takes cognisance of the case. In this way, the accused is presumed as criminal, leaving all his rights and liberty unredressed. Unfortunately, the rules designed to regulate journalistic conduct are inadequate to prevent the encroachment of civil rights.

The print and the electronic media have gone into such fierce and ruthless competition that a multitude of cameras are flashed at suspects and the police are not even allowed to take the suspects from their transport vehicles to courts and vice versa. The press council of India issues guidelines from time to time to check such aggressive journalism and in some cases it does take action. Now, Justice M. Katju has opined for regulation of media. He said in democracy everyone is responsible to people, so should be the media. But simultaneously it is also true that this fourth pillar of society works best when free. While the freedom of the press must remain to help the people discharge their participatory role in governance, the media should use its vast strengths to protect and not harm someone. Media has got immense role in moulding minds of the next generation. It has got its own good aspects like providing more knowledge, information and opportunities, but its bad aspects overdo these.

They have to play crucial rule in educating the people and to provide them clear picture of what’s going on in the world because ignorance is a major problem. They should not over proportionate. Factual reporting is the essence of journalism and if the press starts reporting facts there would be a lot of betterment in the society.

Finally, one of the most powerful strengths the media has in any society is the ability to effect change, both social and governmental level. While my focus has been on the role of media in the society, it is also important to acknowledge the responsibility of the media in society.