Grown up? Really?

A few months ago, an old acquaintance of mine interned at the CRY foundation. For those who don't know about it, CRY stands for Child Rights and You. Now while that person is not a very close friend of mine nowadays, I know her to be an extremely sincere and passionate person in her work, and everyone notices if your Facebook wall is full of posts about working among the poor children of Kolkata.

Now right now in India, it is the political season in full swing. With Vidhan Sabha elections in four states coming soon, and the Lok Sabha elections within a year, the political iron is hot, and every party wants to strike it right now.

Curing the Incurable

This and many such cartoons are seen daily in the press. Of course,huge debates are on- who amongst these is the most sincere candidate? Who can run this country best? Or, my personal favourite, which of them has the interests of the people in mind, more than his own pocket?

And the politicians are not far behind, from ensuring minorities will "be protected", to (re)constructing old temples, or shouting from rooftops about "progress", the Indian politician is an expert in the art of make-believe, and even the most unbiased and eclectic among us fall for their promises. They're just that good.

However, seeing those pictures of my acquaintance sparked a thought, and I realized something- never, even once, does a politician mention anything about children and child rights. I first thought it was a coincidence. But I researched it, and this seems a norm. Check out any YouTube video of a speech by an Indian politician, given anywhere except orphanages, or on Children's  Day, and you will agree. How did it come about that 446.96 million people, 37.83% of the total population, escape the notice of a politician looking to consolidate every vote he can. This is a veritable winning "vote-bank", a number so huge that if tapped into properly, it can almost single-handedly ensure a candidate's victory.

But then I realized something else. This is not a set overlooked by chance. No, This is done by choice. For all the ad campaigns on TV highlighting education and charity, nobody who actually makes policies and drafts India's future gives a damn about these children. And why? Simple enough- they're not old enough to vote.

The ground realities of child rights and welfare in India are startling. As per a 2011 UNICEF report, 1.83 million Indian children die before their fifth birthday annually. Anemia and other such weakness has a 71.5% occurrence in rural and 63% in urban areas, as per a 2012 Government of India report. This is just the beginning. For more details, you can view both these reports at 2012 Government of India report and 2011 UNICEF report.

• CIF in 2006 estimated 40% of Children are marginalized due to poverty, labour, abuse, disability, malnutrition, conflicts, disasters , displacement, illiteracy, abandoned, etc. That means 178.784 million children.
• The Indian embassy estimated 314,700 street children in cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Kanpur, Bangalore and Hyderabad and around 100,000 street children in Delhi.
• According to the 2001 census there are 1.5 million girls, in India, under the age of 15 already married. Of these, 20% or approximately 300,000 are mothers to at least one child.
•  In 2008, CHILDLINE India Foundation published a study on Mentally Challenged Children in Sholapur District, Maharashtra. The study looks at information at all three levels: village, taluka and district. Key findings of the study were that in 24% of the mentally challenged children, one of the parents were mentally retarded. 11% of mothers of mentally challenged children were below eighteen years. 36% of mothers reported complications during pregnancy while 41.2% reported stress. Only 8% of mentally challenged children attended school past II grade pr up to VII grade in normal schools. 33% of parent didn't allow their children to interact with other children due to fear of them being teased, accidents, aggressive behaviour, etc.
• In 2000 the ILO estimated 5.5 million children had been forced in labour in Asia, while the Bonded Labour Liberation Front placed 10 million bonded children in India alone.
• In 2007, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) released a study report on child abuse. The report discusses incidence of child abuse nationwide. It is estimated that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 have been subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence.
• UNICEF estimates that there are 25 million orphaned children in India in 2007. Another study estimates there are about 44 million destitute children and over 12 million orphan and abandoned children in India, yet there are only 5000 (0.04%) adoptions every year. The institutions for children in conflict with the law host about 40,000 children.

(Above data is taken from Childline India, an NGO supported by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS))

This is not the state of a country looking to develop. Not the data for a country aiming to be a future superpower. Hell, this data is shameful even for a Zimbabwe or Kenya. Most of all, is this really the state of a country that cares after its young ones. The one's that ostensibly are its future?

NO!

And here we are, building nuclear missiles, and launching satellites, while our young ones are dying daily in our backyard for want of food and water.

I do not expect anything from this post. I know, many people will shoot me down. "There are many more pressing issues", they'll say. "Why don't you do something about it?", they'll ask. I can only reply, "I don't know." When the numbers are this bad, everyone needs to take a long hard look. We need to realize that a new nuclear power plant is less important than the lives of so many innocents being destroyed. And I don't even know where to start. If you do, tell me. I'll do my best. And I really hope even one reader actually thinks about this the next time he decides whom to vote for. 

As for me, I only have one conclusion. Everyone has issues and concerns. Now, this is mine. Till a candidate actually convinces me he'll work for this, I am only going to press the "No Candidate" button on the EVM. Till then, I'll try. To teach even kid to read. To give, even one single child, a good meal a week. Wish me luck, all of you!

Just a little love

The relevance debates- relevant or irrelevant?

Not so happy now, are we?

Now, today morning, I was chatting with an old friend on Facebook. Mid-chat, she tells me, "I don't like Gandhi, and don't believe in his teachings."

Some years ago, when I was in school, this was an evergreen topic in debate competitions. Back then, I never really thought about it- just gave a piece from a magazine and stuff I found on the net. But today, this statement set me thinking. After all, when you're at home for the vacations, with nothing to do all day long, you'll do just about anything to keep you from getting bored. So yeah, I just gave it some thought.

And then, I realized two things. First, its become rather "cool", to say you dislike Gandhi, and make fun of him. I don't say everyone who disagrees with him has this same reason, like this friend of mine who actually set me considering this, who I know doesn't give a damn about being "cool", and is rather passionate about her ideas and opinions. but the majority of young India's opinion of Gandhi can be seen in this meme I found on the net.

Seriously, the "Father of the Nation" title notwithstanding, those white politician caps you see Anna Hazare or the guys from the Aam Aadmi Party notwithstanding, those pictures on the currency notes notwithstanding, and the National Holiday on the 2nd of October notwithstanding, how many times in our life do we even spare a thought for what the man really wanted. Frankly speaking, that man's legacy is unbreakable and unforgettable. Love him or hate him, the man's personal history is too much to ignore for any historian. But does that mean what he said is still relevant today?

And it was then that i realized something else- Gandhi never said anything new or unique. And he never claimed to do so. He just gave us a simple formula- told us what he thought was right. And it was just simply what our Moral Science teachers taught us at school- don't fight, don't practice violence. Live and let live. Be truthful, be honest. And these are things that never go out of fashion. They never become irrelevant. They never become stale. There may seem a time when they seem pointless, but we all know, in the end, it is these little things which allow us a peaceful night's sleep.

So lets stop these silly debates. We cannot, ever, gauge Gandhi's work or his persona in our times, and criticize him on today's scales. But what he spoke of, what he taught us, is what everyone from Jesus Christ to Mandela to every self-styled guru has told us. Let us follow these things, and time alone will tell if he still remains relevant, or even these debates become irrelevant.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

Capital Punishment- a not so capital idea?

In the past few weeks, India has seen two high-profile executions taking place. Those of 26-11 convict Kasab and the mastermind of the attack on the Parliament- Afzal Guru. Also, with the increasing cases of rape in the nation, particularly in its northern parts, we've had an outcry demanding death sentence for those convicted in such cases. It seems as if modern India's motto is, "don't kill the crime, kill the criminals."

And yes, I understand. I understand how it feels to have a group of self-righteous idiots try to take your decisions. When they try to kill you, or those near you, for the sake of remote concepts that don't really matter to you. When you have to take time of your daily bread-and-butter because your daughter and sister don't feel safe walking on the road alone. It rankles, the injustice of it all. The fact that you are denied security at your very own home. You want to kill those responsible for it.



But is this right?

Is it the only way out?

Is it a solution?

The answer is a resounding "NO."

Now, it may seem like I am being the Devil's advocate by saying this, but I firmly believe that killing someone is not a solution for a crime, and even more importantly, not the State's domain of jurisdiction.

What is a country? What is it that exactly constitutes a nation? Whatever it is, nothing justifies the State 

depriving a man of life. Simply put, that which cannot give life cannot withdraw it. Whatever the counter-argument, whatever the objection, however extreme the provocation may be, you simply cannot deprive a man of his life. And as for the fact that it acts as a deterrent for crime, I still see crimes happening, in-spite of the death penalty. And our moral system must be extremely shallow if the death penalty is the only thing stopping everyone from becoming rapists, murderers and terrorists.

Let me post a question here. Does the correct way to honor the memory of those killed by someone involve more killing? That seems rather paradoxical to me. The death penalty is just making killers of us all. And whatever my faults, I do not wish to be known as a killer.

I understand that any nation wishes to portray a strong impression by giving strong punishments to wrongdoers. But it must do that within its limits. The death penalty is irreversible, and as we all know, miscarriages of justice are unfortunately too common in our country.


And finally, it all winds down to one simple question-what is the difference? What is the difference between the culprits and us if we too resort to medieval methods for our "revenge", as it is? What is the difference between us and animals if both of us believe in the law of the jungle? None. And so let us show all those who think that just because they can kill, does not mean they should. As Gandhi has said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." It may sound cliche, but let us show them that we are better humans than them.

And in the process, give humanity a chance.