This story is even hard to imagine. ” In a ritual that would terrify most mothers, Indian villagers have cheered as screaming babies were dropped from a 50-foot temple tower.” I have lived in India for 17 years, and yet I’ve never heard of it, but I’m niot surprised. People go through great lenghts to “bless” their babies. Villagers still hold onto tradtions that are “rooted in religion”, but clearly is ridiculous to anyone who is educated. However, that is the problem. Most of the people in villages are not educated and don’t have enough money or time to get one. They are more interested in earning money inb order to survive. This particular ritual is harlful to a child’s safety and it must be banned by the Indian governement. I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of it before. Maybe it’s one of those things the government does not want you to hear.
Update to Sri-Lanka May 14, 2008
The Tamil tigers kill 100 Sri-Lankan troops. Thousands of Sri-Lankan troops have been killed so far. The Tigers are fighting for their own seperate state in the North-East portion of the country. The conflict started because the Tamils demanded equal rights as the Sri-Lankans. They were marginalized, and thus sought to violence in order to gain attention to their cause.
Since then, it has been a bloody affair. Violence is not the solution, but this contention will take more decades to reduce. I do not think the Tigers will stop at anything less than a new state, even though the Sri-Lankan government vows to eliminate them by 2009. I do not understand rebels who move to a new country and expect a new state. They should have stayed with their home country.
