General Elections : India (2014)

Next year, 2014, our country, is headed to one of its most important periods of its democratic timeline since its independence in 1947-the general elections to choose its leader to head the country of more than 1.2 billion dreams for the next 5 years. As always, unless something dramatic happens, India is most likely to choose one from its two major political parties, the Congress or the Bharitiya Janata party (BJP). The Congress which is the current government is stained with enormous corruption and for increasing social problems& chaos in the country, while the BJP which is formed on the religious foundations of Hindtuva principle is no greater in morality. The one thing that stands out about the coming elections is that it is presumed by the “entire country and media” as a battle between two people, rather than two political parties, the two prime ministerial candidates, namely Rahul Gandhi-un-officially claimed candidate of congress and Narendrea Modi the current Gujarat chief minister from BJP.  

                      
                             A unique aspect about the BJP candidate is that there are always equal doses of praise and criticism for him in the society and media. He is hated by many for his alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots but is also praised equally for his efforts of development that he claims to have achieved. To quote exactly in terms of development perspective, even though Modi’s state holds #2 in the country in terms of power generation and it is indeed the industrial hub of India. However, states like and including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab etc. have all reported to be doing better in terms of GDP, human development index, and child nourishment, conditions for women and education sector and so on-in the recent years. In fact a lot of praise can be given to states like Bihar or Odisha which have shown improvements given all odds of circumstances against them. It can be said that the entire nation itself is trying to develop and every state needs each other to do so. However, I see no problem for BJP in choosing him as their candidate since it’s their own choice but the only thing that worries me most are his projections as a strong believer of religion in politics and- inclination for religious views. This is something to be fearful and watchful about. Just as times are changing and world is on the path of moving forward into advances of life and sciences, our country seems to head backwards by mixing religion with politics. I see a lot of propaganda from the young generation of our nation in social media and outside supporting Narendra Modi for his strong pro hindtuva agenda- and often feeling proud about their religion. Since India is a secular country with right to practice ones religion of choice, feeling proud is acceptable but to put it as the main agenda for the elections ahead of other important socio-economic problems is unacceptable. In democracy, mixing religion with politics is a signal of exponential decline of the state.
                  
                       Most importantly, It is upsetting to observe from all the political speeches given by both prime ministerial candidates of Congress and BJP at their respective rallies held thus far in view of forth coming elections- no one has till date proposed their understanding, insights or ideas about combating the major problems faced by our country today, such as – safety for women & children, corruption, the agricultural farmer’s suicides, the AFSPA or social other problems from north east, the naxal issue from the east coast belt of India, the problems of tribal populations, the issues of ever growing poverty, the forever rising prices of fuel or other common commodities like food inflation, the agenda on nuclear power, FDI, states bifurcation demands, unemployment, the rupee decline, foreign relations, health related problems – to name a few and the list is ever increasing.  There are numerous socio-economic problems that we face today as a country that need immediate answers with concrete long term solutions to which the politicians need to focus. The existing problems cannot be color coated by saffron/green or with any religion since hunger knows no religions. 

                      India is a country that has its roots from religious tolerance, equality, secularism and peaceful co-existence of people from different religions/communities which makes our country very special on the globe and we should put efforts to sustain our greatness and achieve development. 

It all Started With Ram. . .

The recent protests against worst crimes on women is a sign showing that the society is getting together to fight and repeal these evil crimes-which have been occurring since ages. This is a result of India’s younger generation’s courage to fight the system and their will power to bring justice into the society. The increase in awareness via growth in communication amongst the citizen via Internet is also helping everybody to get together and fight. This should give a strong warning to those crooked minds who think they can get away or even think of committing crimes against women.  Indeed there should be strict laws to protect women, but we all know that laws alone cannot solve the problem. The minds of these pathetic perverts should change.  It is the responsibility of parents, teachers and elders to teach children of today to respect women so that these crimes can come to a complete end in another ten years.

In the midst of these protests, it was disheartening and shameful to see politicians and spiritual leaders those preaching religion projecting women, yet again, to be the wrong doers.  They also put the blame on the influence of western culture instead of blaming the actual wrong doers- the perverted people. This made me think as to what could possibly have lead the so called sage-wise men, occupying highest positions in the society, to think so narrowly-going against those women who have suffered the brutality. I was sure that it takes a much more brutal and narrow mind to think on those low lines. These acts and comments were at the heights of stupidity. It put a thought to me that there should be a foundational flaw which shapes the mentality of these sadists who sexually attack women or project women to be on the wrong side after they were attacked.

It struck to me that these crimes against women happening now are a result of cascade of events. They are in a way the result of the Indian culture that teaches men to be the dominant gender and their actions, no matter what, as justified/appropriate if they feel they are right. Men seek their lessons from the stories they learn and lay strong impression in them from the mythology.

It all started with Ram. . .

There was a king who was considered to be ideal. He obeyed his elders and did everything right. One day, his wife got abducted by the wrong guy of the story when he left her in forest and went to hunt for an animal. He later kills the wrong guy but abandons his wife after his laundry guy puts a hint of a doubt over her integrity while she was hostage of the kidnapper. This came even after she passed the test of fire- as asked by her loving husband- the ideal man. This is one of the first incidents about Indian mythology that children in India learn but it is obviously sugar coated with the moral of the story being that the ideal man sacrificed his love life for the society, not for its well-being but being a king his stature will take a blow if his wife is suspected in the society he rules. This is one of the first atrocities against women that were carved into the culture of India.

Then there is a famous story in which a woman was married to five men who put her on gambling and lose her to the opposition who later molest her. Of course she was heroically saved by her super star brother lord but even after this discriminating act, the five men are praised in Indian culture as the best and their eldest brother is considered the symbol of Dharma and his action of gambling on  his wife is portrayed as a duty to protect this Dharma. Then there are numerous other incidents to follow in the culture like, to name a few, the practice of Sati, where the widow is burnt on the pyre of her husband, alive. The practice of Kanyasulkam, where young girls were sold to old widowed men for money. These two practices are now outdated and are almost nonexistent. The practice of Deva dasi, the prostitutes of Temples is another horrifying example another example of atrocities against women via religion and culture.  The practice of accepting dowry is still prevalent all over the country.

I feel that what we are seeing today in the society is a result of practices that have been followed in the country since ages.  These are few of the countless incidents written and celebrated as dominance of one sex over the other all through Indian culture and our children- from all communities and creeds are exposed to it. The India traditional culture has always been on the side of displaying the dominance of male over the female. It is no doubt that the two great epics of India are the most wonderful stories ever written or told in India but the way they are taught should be changed. There are those hidden subtle imbalances inherently casted into the system. This is true with most of the religions and cultures across the world. These need to be cleared out before any change could substantially take place. If an incident is a wrong doing, they should be taught as one and everyone should be advised not to do so.

Education is the only weapon to end all evil in the system.

Sleep Early to Stay Safe "Kolkata"

 

After the recent news reports, that showcased the various incidents of torture, assault, rape and murder of women on the streets of Kolkata in the past few weeks, the chief minister of west Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, issued a notice to all night clubs to shut down businesses in town by midnight -as an immediate measure to curb the horrific incidents happened against women. 

 According to me, this is not the right move. The act of not attacking the problem directly and instead playing around it-is showcasing her lack of responsibility towards citizens and is not something expected by someone who is bestowed upon the trust and responsibility by the people of the state in belief of a colorful future.

Restricting a certain population from hanging around the streets of the city after a certain time doesn't solve the actual problem- the social evil.The problem should be solved from the roots. The problem is not the night clubs or the people going to them but the problems  are the anti-social – frustrated –mentally sick– minds that take opportunity of helpless women.  Instead of just closing down night clubs, which is also restricting the freedom of the people of a democracy, there could be measures taken in terms of setting up safety measures. Like more surveillance cameras, more police personnel, many more measures for protecting the suppressed that need to be thought of by the government by keeping in mind various factors that limit/guide them in making the decisions.

According to me, more than this, there should be awareness about these acts should spread across all communities. There should be awareness made to children .Thoughts should spread amongst children-of today- as to- not to commit these social crimes. A permanent change can be anticipated by these acts. 

The major problem with these incidents is that, those committing these crimes are definitely not first timers, as most of these incidents go unreported. There should be awareness made to make women and children who are subjected to sexual harassments or domestic violence, in or near their community or college or work place or anywhere to come out and express the horror so that action can be taken against those committing them. There should be enough confidence built by the system regarding confidentiality of the reporters or assurance of action against the committers, so that people come forward and report the incidents. The government and NGO’s should work together in bringing about awareness and courage to face the incidents. Then there will be many persons brought under the law and the punishment for those committing these crimes should me made the highest and culprits should be made accounted for their crimes. 

The system and the law should be changed in such a manner that people who even imagine committing the crime should fear of being reported and also the gravity of punishment after. His sheer thoughts of pleasure via greedy evil crimes should be suppressed, quenched and impounded by the fear of mammoth suffering via punishment for the crime. 

Here are a few highlights about current law that generally prevents women from reporting the incidents and definitely separate them from justice. They need to be addressed to chop the wings of those uncivilized infected birds of the society. 

    a)    Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines rape “Rape (from Latin rapio, to carry off, to overcome) means an unlawful intercourse done by a man with a woman without her valid consent” Here the “Consent” is defined in six situations and is definitely a tricky term where most cases in the court are ruled against the victims and lets free the accused. 
    b)   According to Section 376 of IPC, the minimum imprisonment for a rape accused in 7-10 years but they are NOT NON-BAILABLE. A crime doer can escape with influence or other means at any time of the punishment tenure. 
   c)    The biased nature of the Indian law, Section 155 of Indian evidence act “When a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be shown that the victim was of generally immoral character." Section 54 of Indian Evidence Act says, "In criminal proceedings (including rape) the fact that the accused person has a bad character is irrelevant, unless evidence has been given (by him) that he has a good character, in which case it becomes relevant."  This is sheer injustice to the women 
section of the society. This is clearly not what we claim “equal before the court of law”

Likewise, there are many more loopholes in the law that prevents the prosecution of the guilt. The proceedings in the court should be made very rapid for these cases so that all cases can be addressed quickly and efficiently and so there should be fear of punishment rooted into these rotten minds. Hence, there is certainly room for improvement in the Law for better society.

But, as we all know power and fear can never change the minds and thoughts of humans. The change should come from the minds. Within these Trojan infected minds a medicine- realization should rise to permanently end these social crimes. Then these persons will learn to behave like humans and not like- animals. They will realize the importance of feelings and try to understand the horror the victims face due to the tragedy. 

I am not quite sure how to end this article but I am going to end it by quoting the panacea, “awareness is the key to all social problems” 

Legalized Bribery ? :-/

"Why, for a Class of Bribes, the Act of Giving a Bribe should be Treated as Legal" is an article written by The Chief Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Government of India,Kaushik Basu..According to the article, Dr.Basu thinks that the corrupt practice of bribery can be reduced by legalizing "Giving a bribe" and double penalizing taking one. There have also been various articles in news media supporting this idea.

But I think, If we legalize "Giving a bribe" , then the law will give all legal rights and protection to all those people who have enough money-to let some cash flow out into officer's pockets-for escaping from the legal punishments when they are caught in -illegal/rules breaking- incidents. They will be allowed legally to cash out of violation of rules without any hesitation or fear, while trying to offer money. The article also talks about breaking the trust between the bribe givers and bribe takers and the scenario describing a bribe giver using secret camera and this rule to record the officer accepting the bribe, which seems very unrealistic to me, for the fact that for a common man to gain access to such technology ( like a secret cam ? ) is first of all economically not viable for everyone to use and learning to use it is another constrain and certainly appears to be a cinema scenario rather than-one happening in day-to-day life. It will be really great if such expertise training is offered to one and all and certainly this idea might work perfect.

I would argue that to a certain extent legalizing might seem reasonable if both giving and accepting bribes-were legalized , Like how "betting" is legalized in some countries, whereas, it is illegal in India. But this article talks about legalizing the act of giving the bribe. I can only see this option of legalizing of giving a bribe, doing more harm - than the good it might do for the country. For a problem like corruption-bribery, it should be treated from the roots.

According to my opinion, the way to move forward is to make people aware of their rights. What they can do-to get their work done. With the RTI now in action, No officer can delay the process of documentation in any government agency and at any time, one can exercise their right to know the status of their work and can go to higher authorities if the work is being delayed for the reason of not offering a bribe. For example, you can always file an RTI to know the status of your passport application. This is just one of the means that comes into my mind and the even more realistic step according to me is to expect a change in ten years from now, and can only be achieved if we made sure that all the "children of today" know /realize/ understand that the act of bribery is not a legitimate practice and that money should be earned and not sucked from other people's hard work and blood.

The right way is education.” Educate to eradicate bribery & Educate to eradicate poverty"

Legalized :Bribery ? :-/ is my response to an article that I read today.
Here is the link to the article :  http://finmin.nic.in/WorkingPaper/Act_Giving_Bribe_Legal.pdf

An appeal to all the Protesters: "India Against Corruption"

This blog entry is an appeal to all the protesters on the roads of India who are fighting for a change.

As I decided to write this appeal to all the people protesting on the roads of India at this moment, I began to think about how to start my appeal letter. Whether it is supposed to be addressed as “to all Anna Hazare supporters” or “to all Anti corruption movement volunteers” or “to all supporters of Jan lok pal bill”. The Anti corruption protest volunteers  is very apt right now for a reason that the people of India have become frustrated and are desperate for a change and wish to see a corruption free India for which they have taken to the roads demanding a change and not exactly for the bill. they assume "the bill" is a path to their destination,A panacea.As I look at the news about the things happening around India, The Team Anna Hazare has support of the public who want corruption to end but these supporters are not exactly for the bill they are putting forth. It is indeed a misconception if anyone feels that the people on the roads are actually protesting for the bill, instead they are out there for a corruption free India. And the Team Anna Hazare has to be applauded for being successfully able to channelize the anger and patriotism of the public into a form of support for their bill.  I am confident enough to quote that not more than 10 % of people protesting on the roads even know the broad sense of the bill they are marching for , leave alone being aware about the minute details that could have a deep affect on their daily lives. They just want corruption to end. That is their motto and that is their ultimate goal, to have a better life in India. But, one must understand that, mere forming of a bill doesn’t end the age long culture of corruption. Let’s consider for example the problems of Traffic or problems relating to society which should have ceased long ago, had mere forming of rules and bills had profound effect on the way of thinking of people. It’s more about traffic sense and social responsibilities when it comes to curbing the problems I mentioned above, and Courage and willingness to take our country forward as an entire nation is what is required to fight corruption. I strongly believe in our country's democracy and have faith in our parliament. I know we have faced charges of corruption but parliament is something that is sacred to our nation. For, it is the place where decisions regarding our nation’s development are taken and the people whom we elect participate in with our hopes and goals. I agree that in a democracy, a citizen has a right to give his opinions about the proceedings in the country and has a right to express his views but to compel parliament to pass a bill formulated by Anna Hazare with in a stipulated amount of time is senseless when there are in fact various versions of lokpal prepared by other social anti corruption activists. Well at the end of the day, it is the parliament whom we will end up blaming, if anything goes wrong to us and our nation through this bill after it is passed in haste, as demanded right now, as they are responsible and answerable to us.

Hence, here goes my letter.

My fellow Indians and Anti corruption protest volunteers,

For now, we the people should first realize the difference between supporting Anti corruption movement and Supporting Jan Lokpal bill & Team Anna Hazare . Understand the direction in which we are moving by these protests , insist the government to consider the bills prepared by Anna Hazare’s team, Aruna Roy’s team and formulate a bill that is suitable for our nation and that which will not put our constitutionally guaranteed rights at stake.  

We don’t need a second Independence, India is already an independent country. We want independence from social problems and poverty in our country. We want democracy to sustain in our nation. We don’t want or need Anarchy.

Kindly “Save Democracy”  

Thank you & Have a safe & Peaceful protest.

Independence day : ReAliTy ChEcK

When the countries of the world were choosing sides between the two major super powers, a nation in the Southeast Asia was taking shape. With Peaceful and non violent protests as her weapons she marched towards her destiny, The Independence. 15^th of August 1947, India won her Independence from the colonial rule. Hence formed a nation which during the course of time overcomes various hurdles to reach the place where she is today, a nation that can influence the world in all aspects of society, from economy to culture. India  which was predicted to be down & broken within no time after her Independence by the who’s and who of the world  , showed its  strong willpower and courage to stand by her principles  by not aligning into either of the two super powers at that time and continued its journey towards development as an Independent nation. India took the path of democracy and is celebrated today around the world as the largest democracy and an example to many other nations around the world.

Each year, Independence Day is celebrated all over the country and the heroes of the struggle are remembered and paid respect for their sacrifices to the country. Independence Day celebrations compel me to think  how independent we really are of the problems that have been tied to India since years. Let’s take this auspicious occasion to also remember the challenges and problems we face this day as a nation and recollect the dream our freedom fighters had for the nation and where we are in the course of fighting these problems. 64 years into Independence, India still faces challenges, some of which have been with her since 15^th of august 1947 and some fresh new ones. I decided to name a few in this blog post.

1)    Food, Fuel & Population: The food inflation today is high, close to double figures again, which with the ever rising prices of food make the life of the common man difficult in these days. The reasons for this may be attributed mainly to a high population growth rate and also a downfall in agricultural production.  The downfall in agricultural production may be attributed to the little use of technology and minimum awareness amongst the farmers and little support from the government to farmers. Added to this is the heavy rise in fuel prices which also contribute to the food prices hike. Awareness about population control and its effects is one of the possible solutions to these problems.

2)   Women & Society: This day,we have women holding the top ranks in various government & private institutions but simultaneously on the other hand , we still have women being subjected to oppression & crimes .The fact that the practices like dowry system and other caste related social crimes are  still persistent in India makes me wonder how backward as a society we have become after 64 years of Independence. Nation is regarded as our Mother and Respect to women is the essence of our culture. We should let there be equality and let everyone live peacefully. The other major drawback in the society is the exploitation of the common man in the name of god and  then establishment of groups of religious wings which is not a practice prescribed for a secular country like India. There should certainly be awareness about this aspect and we should come out of this practice of blind faith for a better nation .

 3)   Security:  The most important aspect for a prosperous country is security. Internal and international. The border issues with Pakistan and China are certainly one of those issues which should be solved sooner than later for good to the world & our contry. Added to this is the cross border infiltration of Anti social activists and security lapses which results in chaos,explosions & destruction every now and then that disrupt the peace & harmony in the nation. Added to this are the in state self trained military, anti-government naxalites, (who are fighting for the cause of liberating the tribes and poor farmers from the oppression and lead lives of extreme poverty and forgotten even after years of Independence), have  a strong foothold all along the entire east coast of the nation. All these are  woes to the nation. There is a constant war between the Police and Naxalites in these areas which is a bother to public who is caught in between this violence exchange.

4)   Culture Corruption: India has picked up a culture of corruption. In recent times there have been various instances where various crowds from the government servants to civil servants to defense personnel to media have been involved in acts of greed. The resultant distrust on the government servants amongst the citizens of the nation gave rise to supporters of Anti Corruption law throughout the country. At present, the disagreement between these civil society representatives and the public elected representatives to reach to a common decision point seems to result nothing but disruption of the everyday life of the common man.

5)   States of uncertainty: Jammu Kashmir is one place which has been under unrest ever since Independence. The constant clash between the separatists and their counterparts has left the beautiful valley in chaos.  Added to this is the rise of protests in states like Andhra Pradesh demanding a bifurcation of the state and the demand for Ghorkaland etc etc is making the government struggle to maintain peace in these places. And this has been hampering the development in these places and India as a country.

6)   Crisis, Ruling Crisis: The problems mentioned above and various others which have been building up on our nation have left the ruling government without any answers and have been deprived of trust of the public. The inefficiency to control protests & lack of ability to give a credible answer to the public is a negative for democracy. Also, the lack of a strong opposition party in the nation also adds to the woes of the situation. There isn’t any credible, able, party visible in the near future to take up the office. This is definitely unhealthy for democracy and something that fears me along with other citizens of the country.

These are a few of various things that trouble our nation. Yet, our nation stands strong. It stands as an example of the secular nation, celebrating various cultures and religions in one place. The unity when it comes to dealing problems or celebrating festivals and occasions makes the India a special place.

The solution to all these problems is education of the masses-which is not a solution that can be done over a week’s time or lesser but the education of masses will give the masses a voice. This gives an advantage through awareness while they say their voice during the democratic practice of elections. This will make sure the right one takes the office and makes right decisions for the nation. For now, those in the office should take a thought and help make our country a better one than it already is. Let us take this holiday to think about these problems once again which have been troubling us since a long time. The government and public should act together for solving these issues. A mere blog post can never solve the problems that are decades old. But a though about them before a loud celebration may help in solving them.

It is true that no nation in this world is a perfect one but desiring to be perfect is the first step towards achieving the dream “utopia” and Let me Wish you a happy Independence Day because we should definitely celebrate Independence Day and also strive for independence from the problems of our nation.

Save "Democracy" !

Fast for a cause-Article 19 of the Indian constitution gives its citizens, the right to freedom of expression and speech, the right to go on a hunger strike as a mode of expressing their dissent over unlawful acts or injustice in the country.

India has witnessed numerous incidents protests via fast for, a purpose, achieving democracy and independence pre independence, to stand against various instances of unruly actions of the government since independence.

Recent developments in the country, needless to mention about the shameful acts, like the looting of public funds and vandalizing the hopes of people, have made the people restless and desperate for a change to see a clean society. This gave the social activists fighting for lokpal bill, a bill that is designed to attack anyone who is guilty of corruption irrespective of their wealth/power and other virtues which make the law disabled to bring them to justice, a chance to put forward their movement into limelight in hope to get the long awaited lokpal bill passed-which one the flip side is a bit over reaching than it is supposed to and also undemocratic in some ways  and loosely flawed  which could be corrected to match and benefit a democratic country like ours. In this scenario to start debates for setting up lokpal bill a fast-unto death-protest was under taken by Shri Anna Hazare during early 2011 which was welcomed with huge reception by the Indian crowd including over the internet. The talks began and ended in despair as the two teams, government & social activists, failed to come to a conclusion over the bill.

Now what Anna Hazare has done unknowingly in this process of protesting is that he has sparked off a trend in the society. Trends which like a medicine can turn harmful when taken without a prescription and even poisonous when in overdoses. Immediately after the talks broke for Lokpal raised into limelight the yoga guru of India, Baba Ramdev and sparked a controversy when he narrated his plans to build an army against the Indian state. Then the infamous fast by Tinku urging the government to give him admission into IITs.

The support to fasts by Anna Hazares and Ramdevs may be attributed largely to the lost hopes of people over the government and partly to the media. The media on the same lines can be blamed for being biased, not many people are even aware of the 10 year old -still ongoing- fast by Irom Sharmila fighting for removal of arms act from Manipur or about the 115 day old fast which ended in death of the protester for saving river Ganga,Swami Nigamananda.

Now what I fear from the most is that this phenomenon of picking up fasts for every desire on mind and expecting positive results in return may actually demean the respect protest via fast has earned till date. Even more than this, the wide range of unrest that is created by these fasts have an impact on the life of a common man. As I quote “a common middle class man may afford losing money from his pocket without his knowledge but cannot tolerate losing his daily bread. Even worse the government may rule out protests like these as attempting to committing suicide as mandated under the Indian Penal Code and cease them permanently which is again undemocratic and leads to unrest .

With continued protests and threats like these which results in building unrest amongst the people ,halt the progress of the nation and destabilize the society and may actually lead to downfall of democracy and state which is totally unnecessary for a country like India. Instead I would recommend the protesters for Lokpal to either build a bill that is feasible and ready to adapt to Indian democracy or to contest in the coming elections and lead a party to change the society in a more democratic manner rather than what is happening now. And for the government I urge them to open their eyes to work efficiently and effectively to curb any further corruption. Overall it is a vicious circle.

March 8th views

March 8^th, 2011 made into the history for its news of assassination of a female student Radhika near her college in Delhi, India, and another incident in Australia where a woman was subjected to attempted harassment & other similar crimes against women elsewhere in the world. While this was a regular affair in daily news, the day also marked the celebrations of international women’s day all over the world. While the entire world celebrated to honour every woman in this world, I decided to talk to the women themselves-to find out about their views, to find out what they think that is wrong institutionally for such incidents to be occurring day and again every day, to find out what changes they wish to see in the society or have anything they like or dislike about the current proceedings in the society.
This entry of my blog is a synopsis of my conversations with them.
While all of the interviews given to me were by women from India, one friend of mine, Nahed from Saudi, spoke about the need for equality for women in their country and said to have set goals in her life for bringing about a change to the situation in her nation and dreams to see women equal participants in all aspects of life, be it from education to politics.
The Indian friends of mine on the other hand spoke about problems that are still been prevailing in the country since decades ,even though forcefully banned by enforcement of various laws for protection of women , for example the dowry system regarding which Prateeksha from Kerala narrated on how she always wonders about the impact education has-on minds of people when she hears her well educated friends conversing about the amount of dowry they would expect once they decide to get married and also told me about complaints made by her female friends to her about the issues pertaining to dowry during their marriage. She urged for an end to the issue and questioned the ability of law for complete eradication of social evils like the dowry system. Well there certainly has to be an end to all social evils in the society and mere 'law' alone cannot solve the worries of women, the change should start from the minds and mindset of educated people themselves and should be carried upon to everyone else in the country. Added to these comments were lines from Indu from Hyderabad, who insisted that women should come to support of every other women in this world and proposed that every mother in the society should educate their children to respect all women and urge them to avoid dowry and refrain from being involved in other anti social crimes against women and creating problems in the society.
While I was questioning how mere making laws are ineffective in bringing a permanent change to the problems in lives of women- without change in the state of minds of people, Sowmya from Visakhapatnam urged for a government run rehabilitation home or a support home for women who are subjected to domestic violence. As most of the women in India are dependent on their married partner’s income, they have no choice but to face the violence at home, hence if there exists a support that is guaranteed by government, then there lies a confidence in women to either fight back or willingly and safely leave home for peace to these rehabilitation homes. Every woman all over India and world should be made aware of their rights and laws which they can exercise when required and education is an important tool for spreading awareness about laws and rights, and another friend of mine told me about the important role education plays in instilling confidence in women and make them stronger and independent, and also strongly recommended quality and compulsory education for every girl child in India.
Well due to various reasons and time constraints, I got to interview only a few women but they pretty much covered all the crucial-important needs and aspects of the society.
1) Better, improved & more supportive laws , 2) education for all women , 3)unity amongst one and all and above all,4)change in attitude & mindset of people are the solutions for all problems all over the world - one has to realize all human beings are equal and that each & everyone of them deserves as much from life as the other one gets.
References: 1) //Wikipedia: International Women's Day (IWD), originally calledInternational Working Women’s Day, and is marked on March 8th every year. Nowadays this is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements. //