Its been a long time since I have posted anything in the blog and thought that I would end the year with a couple of posts from me and make an effort to update the site with my thoughts more regularly in the new year.
It has been a very happening year with a lot of changes that have gone on at home ranging from the sealing of un-authorized commercial establishments in Delhi, the subsequent traders strike, the supreme court taking a tough stand on important issues of public interest like RTI to justice finally given to the families of Priyadarshini Mattoo and Jessica Lall, death penalty being awarded to ACP Tyagi for deaths in his custody. Also notable are a) the declarations made by the President of Pakistan to end the conflict with India over Kashmir which has lasted almost 50 years now; b) the Mumbai film industry churning more hits than misses and the national debate on validity of Gandhigiri, the ideologies of Bhagat Singh vis a vis that of Gandhi and the International Award bagged by a small budget film called Khosla ka Ghosla; c) India’s show in the Doha Asiad and the attached notoriety it gained with the sex change scam; d) the ever changing dynamics of the Indian Cricket Team with the spotlight on Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Greg Chappel and the South African tour under Dravid’s captaincy; e) the reservation issues; f) the changing face of many cities like Delhi (turning into a world class city), Hyderabad (farmers selling their agricultural lands at astronomical prices to construction giants and the subsequent rise in vegetable price), the proliferation of ‘cemetery tourism’ in state of Himachal Pradesh, the sky rocketing land prices of the National Capital region for reasons similar to that of Hyderabad, concern over the fall in occupation in tsunami affected areas because of overabundance of financial aid, facing some hard facts like the state of West Bengal is in dire need of industrialization and the attached controversy of Signur; f) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie making a tour of India for their film, the national furor it caused and the biting article by Shobha De in Outlook magazine titled India Bachao.
Lots of social concerns came to the foreground and the middle class of India finally showed this year that they have a back bone and can raise their voices loud and clear against in-justice with the help of all types of media channels like the TOI, NDTV, Radio Mirchi. The judiciary also flexed its muscles raising the hopes of the common man in India for its own judicial system. This prompted many more questions to be asked which have been summarized very well by NDTV correspondent Barkha Dutt in her column ‘Sitting in Judgement’.
So the year has ended in a very positive note with the future looking a little brighter this year. Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year (2007).
Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
CRY's take on the Child Labor Law
This is in continuation with my previous post on the subject of child labor. CRY needs no introduction. I happened to chance upon CRY's take on the implementation of the law and this is what I liked about it:
Even within the notification's limited ambit, there are gaps:
The prohibition is restricted to servants at home, hotels, dhabas and other recreation centres. It is not clear whether this applies to the household manufacturing sector, where a vast number of children are employed in similar working conditions.
The conviction rate for the already existing Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 is abysmally low - so low, that it is hardly a deterrent for employers. Without strengthening both enforcement mechanisms and provisions for rehabilitation, this step has little meaning.
The notification is premised on the belief that that child labour needs to be prohibited in hazardous occupations only. This totally ignores children's right to safe and facilitating environment for development, including health, nutrition and education needs.
Combined with the failure to table and pass legislation enabling the fundamental right to education and the likelihood that this notification is no more than an attempt to pre-empt the anticipated Supreme Court move to prohibit all forms of child labour, it is hard to imagine that this move will achieve significant impact.
The National Sample Survey 2000, reported 16.4 million Indian children aged 5-14 years were 'engaged in economic activities and domestic or non-remunerative work'. Another 46 million children of school-going age are unaccounted for, neither enrolled in school nor officially working.
Giving India at least one reason to be Number 1- home to the largest number of child labourers on the planet.
27 years of CRY's work with 2,500 marginalised communities across 20 states across India , has shown that the piece-meal, scheme-based, relief-oriented approach adopted by both governmental and NGOs has limited impact and practically no sustainability. This is because they fail to address the underlying causes of deprivation. Causes related to gender, caste, ethnicity, religion and class keep over 100 million Indian children hungry, unschooled and vulnerable to the worst forms of abuse and exploitation imaginable.
To read the entire article click here.
Even within the notification's limited ambit, there are gaps:
The prohibition is restricted to servants at home, hotels, dhabas and other recreation centres. It is not clear whether this applies to the household manufacturing sector, where a vast number of children are employed in similar working conditions.
The conviction rate for the already existing Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 is abysmally low - so low, that it is hardly a deterrent for employers. Without strengthening both enforcement mechanisms and provisions for rehabilitation, this step has little meaning.
The notification is premised on the belief that that child labour needs to be prohibited in hazardous occupations only. This totally ignores children's right to safe and facilitating environment for development, including health, nutrition and education needs.
Combined with the failure to table and pass legislation enabling the fundamental right to education and the likelihood that this notification is no more than an attempt to pre-empt the anticipated Supreme Court move to prohibit all forms of child labour, it is hard to imagine that this move will achieve significant impact.
The National Sample Survey 2000, reported 16.4 million Indian children aged 5-14 years were 'engaged in economic activities and domestic or non-remunerative work'. Another 46 million children of school-going age are unaccounted for, neither enrolled in school nor officially working.
Giving India at least one reason to be Number 1- home to the largest number of child labourers on the planet.
27 years of CRY's work with 2,500 marginalised communities across 20 states across India , has shown that the piece-meal, scheme-based, relief-oriented approach adopted by both governmental and NGOs has limited impact and practically no sustainability. This is because they fail to address the underlying causes of deprivation. Causes related to gender, caste, ethnicity, religion and class keep over 100 million Indian children hungry, unschooled and vulnerable to the worst forms of abuse and exploitation imaginable.
To read the entire article click here.
Musings on varied subjects
Its been a long time since I have posted anything on this blog. The only excuse that I have is the festive season has kept me very busy playing and enjoying life. One needs a break once in a while from the things that are going around in the world. ;-)
Too many things have happened in the past few weeks that my mind has been in a state of inertia. Verdict on Priyadarshini Mattoo's case has been declared, the traders have raised their voice against the Delhi sealings, the Jessica Lall case has come up for hearing again and so on n so forth.
Various blogs are full of topics of death penalty, corrupt mcd officials, mcd sealings, child labor rights and various people from around the world have raised their voices against and for the subject.
My take on these things can be viewed on the various posts that I have made on the various blog threads on ndtv's message board. To summarise I would like to state here that the death penalty should be retained as the highest form of punishment that can be offered to the guilty. With the known incidents of circumventing the law in India by the powerful and the mighty people of the country, a life term might just defeat the purpose. A death penalty is very final and very justified in these cases which drives home the point that no one is above law.
But then if no one is above the law, then why should religious practices be considered above the law. Recently there have been a couple of cases reported on the Jain practice of Santhara. With the practice of Euthanasia being considered as illegal in this country, does this Jain religious practice be encouraged? On one hand is the law and a lot of controversies and debates that are surrounding it and on the other hand is a religious practice that openly flounts the law. Being a law abiding citizen of India I would like to conform to the law and thereby not support Santhara as well. But circumstances in life drive a lot of things and what is right or wrong, legal or il-legal are all a matter of perception. Today I take a softer stance on the subject since an editorial in the TOI moved me deeply...... 'Dying with Dignity'.
Where dignity is concerned, even children are entitled to lead a dignified life. The child labor law has been made functional but only for a select section of children. As I see it, the laws have already been there for ages but it lacked proper implementation. Although I dont give my trust to the implementors of the law even today but looking at the radical actions that the present government is undertaking against un-lawfulness my hopes have been raised. If my hopes are fulfilled then probably I would dream that the same privilege will also be extended to the other children in the society as well. Life lives on hope.
A lot of things to write about and a lot of things to ponder on..... and on a wide variety of topics too. Watch out for my next post on this blog for some more of my take on other social causes.
Too many things have happened in the past few weeks that my mind has been in a state of inertia. Verdict on Priyadarshini Mattoo's case has been declared, the traders have raised their voice against the Delhi sealings, the Jessica Lall case has come up for hearing again and so on n so forth.
Various blogs are full of topics of death penalty, corrupt mcd officials, mcd sealings, child labor rights and various people from around the world have raised their voices against and for the subject.
My take on these things can be viewed on the various posts that I have made on the various blog threads on ndtv's message board. To summarise I would like to state here that the death penalty should be retained as the highest form of punishment that can be offered to the guilty. With the known incidents of circumventing the law in India by the powerful and the mighty people of the country, a life term might just defeat the purpose. A death penalty is very final and very justified in these cases which drives home the point that no one is above law.
But then if no one is above the law, then why should religious practices be considered above the law. Recently there have been a couple of cases reported on the Jain practice of Santhara. With the practice of Euthanasia being considered as illegal in this country, does this Jain religious practice be encouraged? On one hand is the law and a lot of controversies and debates that are surrounding it and on the other hand is a religious practice that openly flounts the law. Being a law abiding citizen of India I would like to conform to the law and thereby not support Santhara as well. But circumstances in life drive a lot of things and what is right or wrong, legal or il-legal are all a matter of perception. Today I take a softer stance on the subject since an editorial in the TOI moved me deeply...... 'Dying with Dignity'.
Where dignity is concerned, even children are entitled to lead a dignified life. The child labor law has been made functional but only for a select section of children. As I see it, the laws have already been there for ages but it lacked proper implementation. Although I dont give my trust to the implementors of the law even today but looking at the radical actions that the present government is undertaking against un-lawfulness my hopes have been raised. If my hopes are fulfilled then probably I would dream that the same privilege will also be extended to the other children in the society as well. Life lives on hope.
A lot of things to write about and a lot of things to ponder on..... and on a wide variety of topics too. Watch out for my next post on this blog for some more of my take on other social causes.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Right to 'Not to Vote'
Seldom are we aware of the section that is a part of our constitution - the 49-O. This gives the citizen the right to decide and VOTE FOR NOBODY. By registering the fact that he does not want to vote with the Election Officer the following things can be acheived:
1) He ensures that his vote is not mis-used.
2) If the number of 49-O's is greater than the number of votes cast then it would force a re-election.
3) The political parties would have to assign new candidates for the region since they have already given their decision regarding the present candidates who are contesting the elections.
This is the power that Indians have as responsible citizens of the country. We have the ultimate power to choose the kind of leaders that he have... but do we? Is'nt the lack of knowledge of such things just harming us.
For more information you can read this article and/or visit the homepage of the Election Commission of India
1) He ensures that his vote is not mis-used.
2) If the number of 49-O's is greater than the number of votes cast then it would force a re-election.
3) The political parties would have to assign new candidates for the region since they have already given their decision regarding the present candidates who are contesting the elections.
This is the power that Indians have as responsible citizens of the country. We have the ultimate power to choose the kind of leaders that he have... but do we? Is'nt the lack of knowledge of such things just harming us.
For more information you can read this article and/or visit the homepage of the Election Commission of India
Ban on Child Labor
On October 10, 2006 the ban on child labor came into effect. There is a lot to cheer about. Right? ..... No, wrong.
My reasons for saying so is based on the certain facts that none of us will be able to contradict nor ignore. Firstly, the law is restricted to only children working in places like dhabas and homes. Children working on farms are exempted from this law. One wonders why? Are'nt they children or are'nt they entitled to the same priviliges as other children?
Maybe some people would try to justify this kind of a restriction by saying that children working in the farms help in fulfilling the basic necessties that life demands. Without them it would be impossible to keep some families above the poverty line. The age old reasoning .. more hands means more work and more work means better income.
As I see it, its a vicious circle. There is no gaurantee on the minimum wages that the adults in the family can earn. This leads to mass exploitation... economical, social, sexual. And the children are also brought into the mess. And it is much easier to exploit children. Plus, according to Maslow's theory of needs, until and unless the basic needs of food, clothes and shelter are not met the family does not think about its other needs. And the child's right to education and a playful childhood is higher up in the pyramid provided by Maslow.
It is difficult to convince a family that is struggling to gather together the basic necessities in life that educating their children will elevate their social and financial conditions beacuse the child will be equipped to get a better paying job. But the point remains that the family will only get returns 15-20 years down the line. Immediate affects of providing a child with a childhood that he deserves will not be visible to the family. Therefore, it is so difficult to convince them.
But inspite of all this the question still remains ... how right is it to exclude the farm child labor from the purview of this law. Should'nt the goverment really do something about them too?
The second reason why I dont think that the law will bring cheer is that the society has invented another proverb based on the proverb 'Where there is a will there is a way' - 'Where there is a law there is a workaround around it'. As long as the menatlity of the people who actively employ child laborers still remain intact fighting for a child's rights is really fruitless. There is a strong need to change their point of view and that would take some very bold and very drastic steps.
And I would probably choke this blog site if I start writing about the law and child sex workers. So I will simply point out that they are also on my mind when I say that this law is not something to cheer about.
It is great that the government is considering the issues ... but the laws were there and are still pending implementation. So if a strong group of people really come foward and enforce the implementation of the law then it really would be something to cheer about. Maybe.... just maybe then it can be extended to the other type of child laborers.
My reasons for saying so is based on the certain facts that none of us will be able to contradict nor ignore. Firstly, the law is restricted to only children working in places like dhabas and homes. Children working on farms are exempted from this law. One wonders why? Are'nt they children or are'nt they entitled to the same priviliges as other children?
Maybe some people would try to justify this kind of a restriction by saying that children working in the farms help in fulfilling the basic necessties that life demands. Without them it would be impossible to keep some families above the poverty line. The age old reasoning .. more hands means more work and more work means better income.
As I see it, its a vicious circle. There is no gaurantee on the minimum wages that the adults in the family can earn. This leads to mass exploitation... economical, social, sexual. And the children are also brought into the mess. And it is much easier to exploit children. Plus, according to Maslow's theory of needs, until and unless the basic needs of food, clothes and shelter are not met the family does not think about its other needs. And the child's right to education and a playful childhood is higher up in the pyramid provided by Maslow.
It is difficult to convince a family that is struggling to gather together the basic necessities in life that educating their children will elevate their social and financial conditions beacuse the child will be equipped to get a better paying job. But the point remains that the family will only get returns 15-20 years down the line. Immediate affects of providing a child with a childhood that he deserves will not be visible to the family. Therefore, it is so difficult to convince them.
But inspite of all this the question still remains ... how right is it to exclude the farm child labor from the purview of this law. Should'nt the goverment really do something about them too?
The second reason why I dont think that the law will bring cheer is that the society has invented another proverb based on the proverb 'Where there is a will there is a way' - 'Where there is a law there is a workaround around it'. As long as the menatlity of the people who actively employ child laborers still remain intact fighting for a child's rights is really fruitless. There is a strong need to change their point of view and that would take some very bold and very drastic steps.
And I would probably choke this blog site if I start writing about the law and child sex workers. So I will simply point out that they are also on my mind when I say that this law is not something to cheer about.
It is great that the government is considering the issues ... but the laws were there and are still pending implementation. So if a strong group of people really come foward and enforce the implementation of the law then it really would be something to cheer about. Maybe.... just maybe then it can be extended to the other type of child laborers.
Guys and Gays
One of the things that is dictated by nature is that people grow and evolve - physiologically and socially. As we grow physiologically then we become aware of the choices that society places before us. In today's society, exercising your choice of a life partner has become very acceptable. I would now like to raise a question - will the society also be liberal if I want to make a choice about the 'gender' of my life partner? Probably not.
Lets ponder on this. Love takes many shapes and forms. Some people say that love is one of the purest form of emotion. But I am going to narrow down my vision for the sake of this article to the 'girl-guy' type of love. The society accepts and cherishes this kind of love. This kind of love (or should I say love relationships) would culminate in extending the existance of the home sapiens on this earth. This truth is as old as Adam and Eve.
The definations of 'girl-guy' love has evolved over time to incude 'girl-girl' love and 'guy-guy' love. If you want historical evidence of the existance of such love then let me wisper the names of Alexander, the great and Hitler. Two very famous men...but did your viewpoint about them change when I told you that they were gays. Probably yes...you would have definately got a little 'start' if you were not aware of this fact already.
We are all aware of Kamasutra and the temples and paintings like Ajanta and Ellora. These things give us Indian historical evidence that 'girl-girl' and 'guy-guy' relationship had existed and was accepted in ancient times too.
On a more contemporary note, Karan Johar is fabled to be a gay too. It was amusing to the reaction of some people when he comes on the screen - their voices drop to a wisper and attitude is snikering when they mention this rumor to their friends. Vikram Seth, a writer, is heterosexual - he enjoyed a 10 year relationship with another guy. Deepa Mehta's film 'Fire' drew people into drawing room discussions on these facts. Fire is a very toned down version. The movie, Philadelphia deals with this topic to its fullest extent.
Why can not we accept gayism or lesbianism? Why do we attatch social stigma to this kind of love - its another form of human emotion after all? Are we aware of the fact that our non-acceptance of these people make them prone to diseases like AIDS?
In India, the situation is worse. There is a law againstat people who will depict such behaviour, IPC 377. In his interview, Vikram Seth said that he did not want to come back to India to be jailed. Statistics say that there are more gays and lesbians in the Indian society than are recorded. We are a very tolerant society. We tolerate rape, extra-marital affairs, even shoot-outs. But we have difficulty in coming to terms with the broadining or should I say already broadened horizons of love.
Live and let live? Can we join our hands together to help fight Vikram Seth in his crusade to modify the attitude of people and also modify the IPC 377? Can we stand up and stand together?
PS: Guys and Gays have a rhyming quality to it. Girls and Lesbians, Gays and Lesbians hardly have the same thing. I choose it simply because I wanted it to be catchy. If any of you have any objections about the title, please mention it wth your comments on the article.
Lets ponder on this. Love takes many shapes and forms. Some people say that love is one of the purest form of emotion. But I am going to narrow down my vision for the sake of this article to the 'girl-guy' type of love. The society accepts and cherishes this kind of love. This kind of love (or should I say love relationships) would culminate in extending the existance of the home sapiens on this earth. This truth is as old as Adam and Eve.
The definations of 'girl-guy' love has evolved over time to incude 'girl-girl' love and 'guy-guy' love. If you want historical evidence of the existance of such love then let me wisper the names of Alexander, the great and Hitler. Two very famous men...but did your viewpoint about them change when I told you that they were gays. Probably yes...you would have definately got a little 'start' if you were not aware of this fact already.
We are all aware of Kamasutra and the temples and paintings like Ajanta and Ellora. These things give us Indian historical evidence that 'girl-girl' and 'guy-guy' relationship had existed and was accepted in ancient times too.
On a more contemporary note, Karan Johar is fabled to be a gay too. It was amusing to the reaction of some people when he comes on the screen - their voices drop to a wisper and attitude is snikering when they mention this rumor to their friends. Vikram Seth, a writer, is heterosexual - he enjoyed a 10 year relationship with another guy. Deepa Mehta's film 'Fire' drew people into drawing room discussions on these facts. Fire is a very toned down version. The movie, Philadelphia deals with this topic to its fullest extent.
Why can not we accept gayism or lesbianism? Why do we attatch social stigma to this kind of love - its another form of human emotion after all? Are we aware of the fact that our non-acceptance of these people make them prone to diseases like AIDS?
In India, the situation is worse. There is a law againstat people who will depict such behaviour, IPC 377. In his interview, Vikram Seth said that he did not want to come back to India to be jailed. Statistics say that there are more gays and lesbians in the Indian society than are recorded. We are a very tolerant society. We tolerate rape, extra-marital affairs, even shoot-outs. But we have difficulty in coming to terms with the broadining or should I say already broadened horizons of love.
Live and let live? Can we join our hands together to help fight Vikram Seth in his crusade to modify the attitude of people and also modify the IPC 377? Can we stand up and stand together?
PS: Guys and Gays have a rhyming quality to it. Girls and Lesbians, Gays and Lesbians hardly have the same thing. I choose it simply because I wanted it to be catchy. If any of you have any objections about the title, please mention it wth your comments on the article.
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