A Toronto city police constable during a campus safety session with students at York University’s Osgoode Hall on January 24 this year suggested that girls can avoid sexual assaults by not dressing like a slut. This remark has resulted in a “Slut Walk” in Toronto on April 3 where women and men have registered their protest against it. Similar sentiments have been echoed by many others both in the print and the electronic media suggesting as if a woman’s way of dressing could be an invitation to rape. It is shocking to read newspaper reports or see television reports… Continue Reading
Today is the World Water Day. On this day I wanted to write something about water and environment. And then I realized that I could not write better than what my wife – Jyoti – had written on environmental protection sometime back on her NGO’s website – she works in the area of water conservation and runs a NGO called FORCE – Forum For Organised Resource Conservation & Enhancement. So I have flicked this article from her blog and published here. I don’t know about the Google wrath, but I know that this is what I feel and would like to… Continue Reading 
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that it would be legal to withdraw life-support system to those in a permanently vegetative state. This ruling came in the judgement delivered by the court which turned down the petition seeking mercy killing of Aruna Shaunbagh, who has spent 37 years in a Mumbai hospital bed in a vegetative state. While permitting the process, known as passive euthanasia, the court however held that active euthanasia, or actively ending a terminally ill person’s life by administering lethal injections or other means, would be illegal. I find that a large majority of people… Continue Reading 
Today when the International Women’s Day has just passed, I want to talk about the most retrograde judgement given by the Supreme Court of India in a case involving a woman. The shocker of judgment came in the case of a woman from Punjab where the Supreme Court let off three gang rapists after they claimed a “compromise formula” with the victim and agreed to pay her a fine of Rs. 50,000 (or just about USD 1100) each for their offence! A bench of justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra reduced to three and half years the 10-year sentence awarded… Continue Reading 
All my life, I have heard the advice – “you are known by the company you keep.” It is a standard advice given by parents to their children that they should always make “good” friends. Good being defined as intelligent, studious, courteous, polite, knowledgeable etc. And I had always wondered why it is important to have good friends. As if in answer to this question, about 35 year ago I came across a story in Chandamama –a children’s magazine, which went something like this… Once upon a time, long ago, Sage Narad went to meet Lord Vishnu to understand… Continue Reading 
A few days back I said that the corruption of the every day kind is more dangerous because it destroys the character of a nation, its people and sows the seeds of a powerless, frustrated, impotent people who can only get angry but do nothing. The effort that it takes to remove the cancer of such corruption is huge and the entire population has to stand up against it. It persists because we humans are very competitive and do not want to be left behind our next door neighbour. We believe that money can buy everything and hence are… Continue Reading 
I keep reading comparisons between the progress of China and India. Some say it is quite telling. It has been said that for all the advice of the ‘west’ it is the world’s largest democracy that has lagged. The recent release of health statistics makes for uncomfortable reading. Per 10,000 of population India has 6 doctors and 9 hospitable beds; China has 14 and 30 respectively. Indian GDP per capita is US$2800 and China US$5970 (OECD, 2008). Maybe democracy does have a price – but is it one worth paying? Let me first discuss about the conclusion that a… Continue Reading |
| ||||
