Dalai Lama a “subjugator”-ridiculous! March 31, 2008

It is absolutely ridiculous that the Chinese government has accused the Dalai Lama of “using” the upcoming Olympics to give light to the Tibet issue. The Dalai Lama is one of the most zen and peace-loving people left in the world. It is a disgrace to his intelligence and stature that he is even accused of using such a huge event for selfish purposes.

“Talking to journalists in New Delhi, the Dalai Lama called the accusations baseless-going on to say that he fully supports the Beijing Olympics. China has accused the Dalai Lama of planning bloodshed in Tibet.”

I think in this “wave of democracy”, it is high time that Tibet acheives freedom from China. They should be seen as subjugators as they have been controlling Tibet for decades now.

Another bomb. March 23, 2008

A rebel group set off a bomb in Srinagar on Wedenesday, which left 25 people wounded. An explosion is shocking, but it is not new to Srinagar,even though it is the first one in five months. Throughout my childhood in Western India, I read about and saw stories on bombings in Srinagar. It was disheartening for me to see how Srinagar had become from what it used to be before. An explosion in the United States or any part of the Western world makes news headlines, but not many people know that there are certain parts of the world that live with the fear of being bombed constantly. I cannot even imagine how people continue to live there, especially young children. Their childhood is passed in constant fear that their life might end someday. I hope the situation in Kashmir can come to a peaceful end, at least for the sake of the next generation. The two nations should be concerned in helping to rebuild the area, and tracking down militants.

Gorkhaland March 23, 2008

Nepali inhabitants in West Bengal want their own land. They have been fighting for ‘Gorkhaland’ for years now. I find it very disheartening that groups who come to seek solace and security in India start fighting for their own land from a country that granted it shelter in the first place. Bangladeshis, Burmese, and Nepalese flee to India for a better life, and then they start revolts against Indians. They had might as well stay in their home country and ask for a seperate land. India should just grant the Nepalis their own land, but the question is how long will they survive? Nepalese do not have substantial revenue to keep their economy and government flourishing.

Progressivism by Women March 19, 2008

“We want a piece of the pie”, say Indian women in a southern state of India. They are campaigning to the Indian government “to put unused land into productive hands”. They are demanding land that they have a right to.

Land is their source of livelihood, but unfortunately, the aristocrats and government officials are controlling the ownership of these properties because they want power in the hands of the rich. However, they fail to realize that all sections of a society need equal empowerment in order to succeed. Women realize this and are demanding their rights as residents of the state.

There have been 25,000 applications so far, and the aim is to make it to 1,00,000. This is a positive step as empowerment is very important for progress.

“Aswathamma, 42, a widow and mother of two, explains how owning land would change her life. Land means social prestige. If I get land it will mean respect from my community as a whole and a better future. Access to land will help us cultivate crops to sell in the market and feed our families, she adds”.

“Dalit women and men across rural India work as agricultural laborers but only few have land they can call their own.” At least now, they can own the land that they work on.

Man-handling of Tibetan Marchers March 14, 2008

Indian police break-up a march by Tibetan exiles in the Northern state of Himachal Pradesh. The protesters were planning on marching to Tibet’s border in order to protest China’s rule over the country. What infuriates me about the situation is that the police used force on a group of protesters who were peaceful in their approach. A democracy is supposed to allow people freedom of expression. This includes protests. Maybe, the Indian government cared less about the protesters because they were not Indian. There have been instances before when the Indian police used coercive methods against Bangladeshi refugees.

I cannot believe the insensitivity of the Indian governement. They even used force against women by dragging them to their vans! It is depressing that India, the world’s largest democracy, cannot give people the right to express their viewpoints. India is the nation of the principle of non-violence. We need to follow our own principle.

As for China, they need to give up control and improve human rights.”A U.S. State Department report released Tuesday characterized China’s human rights records as one of the most repressive in the world.” The US should put pressure on the Chinese government to become a democracy. But this is highly unlikely because China is America’s largest trader. So, the US will continue to focus on the Middle-East where oil supply is high.

More unemployment for women March 13, 2008

” The Asia-Pacific region loses 42-47 billion U.S. dollars annually due to women’s marginalisation from employment, and another 16-30 billion U.S. dollars per year because of gender gaps in education”. Indonesia suffers from this, as does many South-East Asian countries. Women are considered a part of the disposible income because their earnings is considered secondary to that of men. A lot of South-East Asian economies are conservative in nature. Thus, employees often hire males over females when a decision has to be made between the two. It does not matter if the female is more qualified. The entire matter of not hiring women harms the economy of the country because women form a major part of the work force, especially in the informal sector. But, what can you do. Men do rule the society, especially in South-East Asia.
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Update on mass execution of dogs March 11, 2008

Human rights activists were on their toes when the Indian government planned the execution of about a 100,000 dogs. ” But city officals now say that they will try a programme to sterilise the animals chemically instead.” This move has not exactly excited the activists either. It’s hard to pinpoint a solution to such a problem because on one hand, I don’t want humans to die, but on the other I don’t want dogs to be killed in mass numbers.

Poisoning dogs March 8, 2008

“Authorities in Indian Kashmir have begun poisoning stray dogs in an anti-rabies program that aims to kill about 100,000 dogs in the region’s main city, officials said Thursday”. The poisoining of dogs does not come as a surprise as much as the rabies statistics.

Bombay has been executing dogs for more than a couple of years now, but I have not heard about cases of rabies since I was a kid. That is why I am surprised that India continues to have the highest fatality rate for rabies. Maybe, it is because of the large number of unvaccinated and uncared for dogs.

I sympathize with the sheer magnitude of poisoning, however I disagree with the human rights activists about stopping the execution. I do think it is inhuman to kill animals, however, if they are a danger to human beings, something must be done. I guess in this case, poisoning seems like a better choice. I’d rather know that I’m safe in a city than be concerned about being bitten by a rabid dog.

I wonder where the authorities plan on disposing off the bodies of 100,000 dogs? I doubt Srinagar has a ground to accomodate the burial of stray dogs, especially when human-beings are dying every day. Maybe they will be cremated.

It seems like a very complicated issue. I love dogs and would be deeply disturbed by the sight of a poisoned dog, much like a lot of animal rights activists. But, is saving them more important than saving human-beings? This world is “ruled” by man after all.

A Happy reunion March 6, 2008

An Indian prisoner is free to go home after spending 35 years in a jail in Pakistan. ” The Pakistani government has released from jail an Indian man who had spent 35 years on death row”. This is a good enough reason to smile(which is contrary to his picture in the article).

Hats off to Ansar Burney! This would not be possible if it wasn’t for his efforts, persuasion, and hard-work. “Mr. Burney is currently the government’s caretaker for human rights. He first heard of Mr. Singh during a radio call-in show some years ago.”

Mr. Singh definitely has an angel looking after him as his death sentence was revoked my Musharraf. Maybe this is Musharraf’s way of trying to bridge gaps between India and Pakistan. After all, 1973 was four decades ago, and a lot has changed since then, especially persistent negotiations.

I’m sure his wife must be the most excited as she has anxiously awaited his return. I admire her belief and conviction. I am not sure I would have stayed that long had I been in her place.

“Mr. SIngh told Mr. Burney that he had a love marriage rather than an arranged marriage. His wife confirmed this to the minister when he called her. Why else would I have waited 35 years for him, she asked? She has been waiting at the border since she first heard the news that her husband had been pardoned.” It seems like the perfect end to a love story.

However, I have to say that the sentence “India and Pakistan frequently arrest each other’s citizens often accusing them of straying across the border” sounds rather whimsical. As if both the governments have nothing better to do than to fill their jails with each others’ citizens without good reason. I agree that some years back this was true, but it is definitely not so prominent anymore, especially with the recent attemts at peace talks.

First woman PM and first minority PM? March 3, 2008

Congress gave India its first Woman Prime-minister, and now there are talks about a Prime-minister from the Dalit community. For all the people who keep asking about the caste system in India, Dalits are those from the lower castes. It is a progressive step, but if it does happen, I have to wonder what would happen to the fate of the middle-class.

Ever since India’s independence and the abolition of the caste-system, people of the middle-class have had to pay for the actions of people decades ago.Even today,40 percent reservations exist in most Indian schools and colleges, provided you have a low-caste certificate. In some states, this is as high as 60 percent.

This means that a person from a middle-class family has to get at least a 90 percent to get into a college of their choice, whereas a person from the lower caste can get in with a 40. I have had to face this problem myself. It does get frustrating, especially when people who are born into a lower caste group earn wel, butl abuse their status and certificate so that they do not have to work as hard.

I think that a Prime-minister from the lower-caste would increase the reservation quotas in schools, and probably add them in jobs. Competition would become much higher as the remaning students would have to vie for open seats. Maybe that is what happens when you are middle class- you cannot use minority rights nor are you rich enough to not care about reservation.