SAVE OUR TIGER

Are we doing enough? Our tigers are in danger. They are falling prey to poaching and man-tiger conflict. Inviolate spaces for tigers are shrinking. Villagers living near core and buffer areas of tiger reserves poison them in revenge for killing their cattle. The government agencies have failed miserably in relocating the reluctant villagers; as in the last 40 years they have been able to relocate only 105 villages out of 1700 in protected tiger reserves. [...]

Now, Noida MMS Sex Scandal

A 23-year old MBA student of Noida is another victim of MMS sex scandal. She was filmed by her boyfriend when she was stripping off her clothes on music. Her boyfriend circulated the MMS because she refused to marry him. This is not the first case of that kind. It is happening in the country from the last few years. [...]

Pyaar Ka Punchnama

Love is about sacrifice. Is it? I have seen in the Bollywood movies of the late 60s and 70s actors profess that love is all about giving and not gaining. Their dialogues are only appropriate for reel life and not practical in real life[...]

If you are going [...]

Share your thoughts, in short

Micro-blogging is all about posting small digital contents—text, pictures, video and links—on the Internet. In short, it is a combination of blogging and instant messaging. Micro-blogging websites allow users to share a message of 140 or less character, a video of 12 seconds or less duration, short links or individual images with online followers[...]

Express your love, but is it that simple?

No. It’s not. The three-word expression I Love You is perhaps the most difficult one to express. People may be headstrong but go weak at the knees when it comes to proposing to someone special. For one and all, the expression of love requires perfect timing, ideal setting and right approach[...]

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A struggle for justice by wrong means

Posted by Abhishek Pandey on 16:36:00 in , ,
By Abhishek Pandey

Villupillai Prabhakaran started the violent movement against Sri Lankan government for demanding equal rights for the Tamilians in 1972 by founding LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). He would have not thought that his efforts would not bring any fruit for Tamilians. As we all know, LTTE is on the verge of dying. V. Prabhakaran, the chief of LTTE is trying to escape from the No Fire Zone (NFZ). A 30 year old war seems to be ending in Sri Lanka with the death of LTTE militants and thousands of civilians. If sources are to be believed then 300,000 Tamils are sandwiched between the LTTE and Sri Lankan Armed forces.

The matter of concern is that civilians are on the chopping bloc in the war between government and LTTE. Many innocent civilians are forced to live in the camps and many are starving and genocide is waiting to take place. Why, we Indians should care about it. Indian should care about them as it is happening in our neighbor country. Indians should care because it is inhuman atrocities. Sri Lankan Government is not in the mood to step back and also mocked on the call of LTTE’s demand of cease fire. It is expected that with in few days, the war against LTTE would be over.

According to the filtered news coming from Sri Lanka, the political headquarter of LTTE, Kilionchchi, is not in control of the organisation. And the organization has been limited to 8 square kilometer area or less. Anytime, the chief of LTTE can be arrested or killed. Indian supports the cause of LTTE but not the method. Even, the Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in suicide bomb attack orchestrated by LTTE, understands the problems of Tamils in Sri Lanka but she is against any type of killings.

The issues of Tamilians have been politicized in Tamilnadu to earn votes in the elections. Tamil Politicians love LTTE’s cause but not its methodology. But they have done nothing to negotiate with the LTTE or Sri Lankan government to solve the issue. As one saying in Hindi goes, ‘Saanp bhi mar jaye aur Lathi bhi na tute’ (Get the advantage without paying anything). It is true in the case of Tamil politicians. In this election also, Jayalaita, Muthuvel Karunanidhi and Vaiko have extended their support for the Tamil Cause through lip service and demanded for a ceasefire to save innocent Tamil Civilians in Sri Lanka from the army attacks.

A Website supporting Tamil cause, Tamil Guardian writes, it is often forgotten that the demand for an independent Tamil Eelam emerged and was democratically endorsed by the Tamils several years before the LTTE's first major attack. After the independence from the British Rule in Feb 4 1948, Sri Lanka - then known as Ceylon - had majority of Sinhala speaking people with more than 70% of population. But during the British rule Tamils, which constituted about 15% of the population were on most of the civil posts because of their command over English. After the independence Tamil speaking populace were deprived of their basic rights in the island. ‘Sinhala only’ act also caused a stir in the nation for implementing Singhalese as national and official language of the country. Many Tamil officials in the administration had to resign because of their unawareness to the Singhalese language. Tamilians can not forget the Galoya riots of 1956 when several Tamilians were killed by the Sinhala hoodlums.

According to an article ‘A struggle for Justice’ published by a LTTE publication in 1997, in the early sixties, many Tamilians adopted Gandhi’s Ahimsa formula to raise their voice against the state. The Sinhala Government crushed the non-violent peaceful campaigns of the Tamils by using military power. Article further explains that the event that broke the limits of the state oppression against the Tamils was the new Republican constitution of 1972 which was a deliberate attempt to legalize and institutionalize Sinhala chauvinism at the cost of alienating the minorities from the politics. And, this was the time when the political struggle of Tamilians took a u-turn and started violent movement under the umbrella of militant organisation named LTTE.

As the supporters of the Tamil cause say that the birth of the LTTE is the result of injustice with the minority Tamilians in the region. As the saying goes, One man’s terrorists is another man’s freedom fighter’ may be justified in this case also. Sri Lankan government and Indian government have banned LTTE for its terrorist activities.

Whatever, the way LTTE choose to bring peace for the Tamilians who are living in north-eastern provinces of the island has been proved a catastrophe for the common people. Thousands of them, including women and children, have been killed in the ending combat. Will this war would end with the arrest of Prabhakaran or demise of the LTTE. It is doubtable because any community or group can not be suppressed for long. Sri Lankan government must take this in consideration and should give the minority population a platform to raise their voice in the democracy. It is up to government that they don’t leave any stone unturned to give birth to any other Prabhakaran. Justice should be done to the Tamilians.

The death of LTTE is not the solution to bring peace among the Singhalese and Tamilians. It would erect a wall of hatred and divide the two groups unless justice is done to the both parties. Killing of the people can not be justified whether it is done by the Sri Lankan Army men or by the LTTE. The struggler for justice started by LTTE and then retaliated by Sri Lankan government has not done justice to common people and humanity. Justice must be done but with non-violent and democratic means. The end of the LTTE is not the end of the war in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan government must give fundamental rights to all the citizens of the country. If it is done then there would be no Prabhakaran in the coming future because the militants would not be supported by the common people by invoking ethnic sentiments. This is the right time to welcome the Tamilians in the Sri Lanka to the mainstream. This move would bring long-awaited peace in the region. Not only Indian government but also International community should interfere to stop the killings of innocent people.

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New media brings new power

Posted by Abhishek Pandey on 18:28:00 in , ,

By Abhishek Pandey

New media helped Barack Obama to be the president of United States of America. Now, it’s the time for Indian politicians and electorate to get the benefits of the digital media.

Information is the power and technology has enabled this power to be shared with the common people. And, Internet is one of the finest tools in the hands of the people these days. There are many websites which are encouraging electorates to use their voting power to decide the fate of the nation. Jaagore – one billion votes - is one of the initiatives. This website has Narayana Murthy, Chairmen Infosys Technologies ltd, Rakeysh Mehra, Film Maker, TS Krishna Murthy, former chief election commissioner and Tariq Ansari, MD Mid-Day Multimedia on the advisory board for expertise suggestions.

Voters from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur and Pune can search their names in the voter lists of their constituencies on its website. Website also clarifies voting related myths among the voters. ‘Jaagore’ website also gives details on eligibility of registration in voting lists, correction in the list and other important information. Electon commission websites also provides this facility to the voters of many states on state specific websites.

There is another website ‘Vote India’, which is started by bureaucrat turned political scientist, Dr JP Narayan. This website asks people to not vote for politicians with criminal background and encourages people to make their vote count in this general elections. There are many similar websites and blogs on cyberspace to encourage and inform people about the importance of ballot power. ‘Votedeindia’, ‘Mission Jagruti and ‘Vote to Change’ are some of the prominent initiative on the web to update and persuade people for voting in this election season.

This time technology is playing a wonderful role in campaigning and informing people. Technology has been used by the political parties, social activists and also by election commission of India for different purposes. Now, the days are gone when booth capturing and looting of ballot boxes in remote areas go unheard. This is the first time that the voice of normal voters from the far lung areas can reach to the masses. There is a very unique website called ‘Vote Report’ on Internet to inform people about the wrong doings in the election. This is a collaborative citizen-driven election monitoring platform for 15th general elections.

Any citizen of India can report an incident related to general election on the website. ‘Vote Report’ accepts reports on different categories vary from forged voting, voter bribing, violence in elections, voting machine problems and other election related problems. Engage voters is another website with lot of interesting features. It is also having vote in and vote out widgets to scale the popularity of the leader in coming elections. Profiles of many eminent leaders are also can be accessed on the same website to judge their competence.

Many websites are specially designed to explain the election history of India including voters turn out from 1952 to 2004 and seats won by different political parties. If any electorate is interested to fin out the details, he/she can go to Indipepl.com. There is no dearth of information on any information and detailed information of contesting candidates, their agenda and for that matter, any thing related to elections are just a click away.

All the aforementioned initiatives are made to bring a 180 degree change in the national politics. We hope, Indian voters will turn out in large numbers this time. And every Indians should vote because their future would lie on their decision to push a particular button of an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Indian voters would decide the fate of the politicians in five phases from April 16 to May 13. Until the elections results are out on May 16, the outlook of the election result will keep haunting the politicians. Here, new media can hardly help them.


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Children soft targets of sexual abuse

Posted by Abhishek Pandey on 08:45:00 in , ,

By Abhishek Pandey

Are children safe in this world from atrocities? The answer is no. They are not safe from sexual abuse from their neighbors, teachers, and even from their guardians in some cases.

Recent shocking news stories have painted the stark picture of the children conditions. A villainous Josef Fritzl of Australia kept his daughter hostage for 24 years in the basement of his house and fathered 7 children with her. It is one of the dreadful cases appeared in the newspapers in recent days. Traditionally, Indians believe that sexual abuse with the children is not our problem. These things exist in west but not in our country. This is a wrong notion altogether. This is because sex is considered a taboo in our society. Even in the families, it is not a worthy topic to be discussed among children. And we don’t know what is happening behind us with the children.

The atrocity against a daughter is also repeated in India in a slightly different form. Kishor Chauhan, a business man was arrested in Mumbai for raping his own daughter for nine years. He has been doing such a heinous crime when she was just 12 years old. His astrologer Hasmukh Rathod had suggested him to do so for getting richer quickly. The daughter opened her mouth when astrologer forced her younger sister also. The same kind of case appeared in the Singapore court few years back in which, a father was accused of raping her five teenaged daughters with the help of his multiple wives.

There are some incidents which have defeated even shame. A 2-year old girl was raped by her neigbour in one of the Mumbai suburban areas. In a similar case, a drunken father raped her four year old daughter in Delhi when no one was at home. A 14 year old girl was raped and strangled to death by her home tutor in Delhi. Teacher lured his student and killed after raping at his residence. A step-father of two girls used to rape his daughters in the absence of the mother. And, who can forget the Nithari killings of children? Nithari case was one of the worst reported cases of child abuse. These are the few examples of reported cases in the media. There could be thousand unheard cases in the society. There is no end to such terrible cases in our country.

The definition given by Ministry of women and child welfare in a report, Sexual abuse is inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. It includes fondling a child's genitals, making the child fondle the adult's genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism and sexual exploitation. To be considered ‘child abuse’, these acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a baby-sitter, a parent, or a daycare provider), or related to the child. If a stranger commits these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and handled solely by the police and criminal courts.

According to the 2007 report on child abuse tells that more than 53% children are sexually abused. And more than 70% children did not report the incident to any one. Report also reveals that 50% of the abusers were known to the child. Children are sexually abused by their neighbours, teachers, and relatives and now, even by parents in few cases. Where are children safe?

These atrocities with the children are not limited to particular social strata of the society. It is happening in low, middle and high class society. Children are vulnerable everywhere. Children often remain silent because of fear. Even if he/she speaks then it is not taken seriously or ignored to avoid ‘bad name’ to the family and child.

If the parents are silent then who would speak for the poor child? This moral question can annoy and worry any civilized person. Parents, especially mother, can not be silent on the issue of child abuse unless she is remorseless and heartless. Parents must encourage the children to speak to them for anything, they feel uncomfortable. And, if child trusts the parents to share his/her problem then parents must help him/her by extending positive support.

According to a report prepared by NDTV team of doctors, in the case of child abuse the physical force is rarely necessary because children, who seek for love and approval from elders, believe that they are always right and thus become vulnerable at the hands of such people.

Parents or guardians must be vigilant towards their children since there are certain general behaviour changes that may occur in children if they are experiencing such a problem.

The behavioural change may include sleep disturbances, withdrawal from usual activities, displaying sexual knowledge, unexplained pain, swelling, urinary infections and sexually transmitted diseases. An abused child may avoid to be left alone with a particular individual. A sexually abused child may feel different emotions like fear of the abuser or of being different; anger at other adults around her who did not protect her; isolation, sadness, guilt, confusion and shame.

Parents should be vigilant and must tell the child about the difference between the ‘safe touch’ and ‘unsafe touch’. If parents can teach them societal behaviour, manners and other necessary things so why not educate them about their safety. Individuals should also take initiative against child abuse. It does not matter that child is from your family or from your neigbour. It is the moral responsibility of every citizen to save the vulnerable children from the hands of perpetrators.

Government should also make a separate act to execute the convicts of child sexual abuse. In present context, child abuse cases are handled under various section of India penal code which are meant for adults like Section 376, and 377. The Offences against Children Bill, 2005, is a good initiative by the government. We should make all efforts to make the protective environment for the children. As the saying goes, children are the form of God on earth. So, it is the need of the hour to save the God on earth.

[Note: This article is not written to create unnecessary threat among the parents and guardians about the safety of their children. But this is to create awareness among parents to take better care of the children and save them from these heinous criminals around them in disguise of their closed relatives. The symptoms of the victim children have been taken from the authentic sources which are checked by professional doctors. Sometimes, these above symptoms could be because of other reasons also.]


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