Stained

For those of you who don't know the Graham Staines story, here's the short version of it:
  
  On January, 1999, Graham Staines, an Australian Christian missionary working in Orissa was burnt to death in his car along with his two young sons by Dara Singh, a political activist. Apparently, the crime was committed because they believed that Staines was trying to convert people to Christianity.

Here's why we should feel ashamed:

• A whole mob of people stood by and watched while Graham and his sons were burnt alive. Phillip, the elder son was 10 and his younger brother Timothy was 7.

• The race to capture and convict Dara Singh turned into a political 'blame-game'.

• Even as his widow, Gladys, denied allegations of conversion, this what our haloed Supreme Court had to say : "In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity". It is providing justification for the murders!

A very meaningful quote I found about the case -

                                           The Staines' murder will remain a collective blot on the conscience of India for a long time to come. It has made a great country look small. And ugly.

P.S - The white part of an egg is called the albumen.

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F**k, Yeah!

Ok, no obscenities on this blog. Unless they have weird signs and stars instead of actual letters. But seriously, don’t think teenagers have become a little loose with swear-words? I use them a lot myself! And sometimes they seem perfect to exactly express how I’m feeling.

Almost everyone of my age you encounter will be armed with words unimaginable to you. And a whole arsenal of double entendres.  Personally I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. If you’re talking to your friends and you say it, then they’ll take no offence (since you’re probably referring to someone else, anyway) and if you’re angry, then you’ll want them to take offence. So, it’s fine right?

No, it’s not fine with our parents. My mom went to the Comedy Store recently and came back horrified because all jokes consisted of “fu*k” a minimum of 5 times in a sentence! Of course, that’s how we all speak now, but the end result is that now I have to sneak out if I ever want to go to the Comedy Store. Her main grouse is that we shouldn’t be using foul language. I don’t know, I think it’s fine as long its not directed towards a complete stranger. Depends on my mood, really.

F**k! 20 days left for the Delhi entrance exam!

P.S – Alexander the Great died in 333 BC.

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Sauce for the Goose is Sauce for the Gander

Nobody told that to the people of India. Going by statistics, India has the lowest sex ratio since a decade. Instances of sex-selective abortion and female foeticide are on the rise. In 1991, not a single district in India had been recorded with a child sex ratio of less than 800. In 2001, there were 14.

India's economy is on the rise. We have 4 Indians in the Forbes list of 10 richest people. We have a seat on the UN Security Council. Our global presence is being felt.

But we have yet to realise gender equality. We have one of the lowest sex-ratios in the world. The awareness and condemn of this pracice is not actively present. It is limited to rants by a few and the occasional editorial in a newspaper. The target audience of studies, research and the negative effect of a skewed ratio should be the rural and uneducated populace (although I'm sure it not just confined to them).

It makes me sick to read such articles. I wonder how the doctor and the nurse, who are supposed to be the 'healers' of the world, can sleep at night knowing they have assisited in murder? How can the mother, who is woman herself, can condemn her own daughter to death? Is having a family name so important that one can detach ourselves from what makes us essentially human, our morality? We easily condemn the terrorists killing innocent people but what about parents who kill their very own children? Isn't that by far a greater evil?


P.S - The fetal period begins at the end of the 10th week of gestation

Sources:
 http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/sexratio.htm
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2004/08/29/stories/2004082900130100.htm


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Social Net-Awakening?

Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Mumbai and New Delhi. What  exactly do they have in common?  Social media. That's what. And age on their side.
Never before has the power of social media been more apparent and intimidating.

The 'Jasmine Revolution' was sparked when a 26-year old Tunisian set himself on fire to protest the oppressive regime of Ben Ali. In no time, people were calling for Ali to step down. The intensity of the Tunisians affected the oppressed and desolate (and also the opportunity-grabbers) in other parts of the world, and a modern revolution was born. Without going into the debatable areas of the revolution, one can easily say that 'social networking' played an immense role in rousing the people. The young 'uns showed that they cared and it brought diverse  groups together and allowed them to set-up and plan.

The Anna Hazare phenomenon proves the point. Before him, people were vague about what exactly 'LokPal' meant. Now everyone is spouting the word 'Ombudsman'. And what really changed is not the concern of the people but the interest, which was fostered by pages created on Twitter, Facebook and chain messages. It is now 'cool' to sport Anna Hazare caps (I'm not doubting the intentions of the protesters).

But I'm glad that citizens are aware of corruption and know that there is something they can do about it. To the power of networking! And its rightful use! Let's hope the fire spreads.....


P.S - There's a nerve called the 'pathetic nerve' in our body. It rotates the eyeball.


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No Extra Time

First off, my reasons for having a blog. Sorry it's nothing new, it's the same old, same old. I feel like the world will benefit from reading my thoughts among other random thousands. No, really.

Also, I have no extra time on my hands since I have a major exam coming up, so, of course, I have spend my time in constructive ways.

And now the name. Did you know that figs are pollinated by wasps? The female wasp burrows into a fig, and if it a female fig, then it lays its eggs inside it. And the wasp is ingested, so to speak, by the fig.
Since, I'm a trove of such weird, useless facts, I think the name suits me. :)

I'll write about whatever moves me, whenever it does. Mostly relating to the international scene, movies, books and music. And my opinions, which are a lot and don't change even in the face of adversity.

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