Shame! Another rape in Haryana

               

Haryana shocks the nation yet again by another horrendous rape incident in Rewari.  This time the victim is a teenager- a CBSE topper. And look at the apathy and ineptitude. The perpetrators had been roaming free after committing the crime. They even had the gall to visit the family of the victim the day after and threaten them. The police was not just callous but even rude to those who went to report and file an FIR. Even after 3 or more days the main accused had been still at large. Did you see the attitude of the CM when he was asked uncomfortable questions by a reporter? He lost his cool, chided the reporter for skirting the main and more pressing matter. And what was that more pressing matter? PM’s swachh bharat yojna on which then the worthy CM began to wax eloquent! Aghast, I squirmed in my seat when I saw the footage on India Today news channel on the 17^th evening.  How on earth could a CM of a state be so evasive, so casual, so flippant, so off-hand and so diversionary while the whole nation was numb with shock and horror?

Friends, where are we headed? What has gone wrong with our society? Where are our social and moral values? Is this the same very land of Buddha and Gandhi? What is it that has turned us from cultured, civilized human beings to abominable monsters? Why is a girl child always discriminated against in our families? Is gender bias too deep-rooted in our collective psyche to be put right? Is it all the fall-out of our senseless rush towards crass materialism? Our blind greed for money? Lack of wholesome education? Are we failing as parents? Is our school education in utter mess? Is it the ever growing menace of drug addiction spreading among our youth – Himachal included – that is turning them into rogues and criminals? Or, are we simply a failed democracy unable to get its act together? Why our law-enforcing machinery is so inefficient and inept? Why regime change after regime change, it is the same type of mis-governance that is served out to the common man? Why in our politics, we mostly have men and women of straw and clay  – many of them uncouth illiterates not even fit to teach in a primary school - uttering nonsense and mouthing absurd, silly, disgusting statements every now and then; and so few with vision, integrity, idealism and intellectual robustness to ably guide the destiny of the nation?

Myriad questions rage and storm the mind when such dastardly crimes happen and make our heads hang in shame. How can we keep a straight face in the world, sound credible and add gravitas on international issues in big halls and large conferences when back home incident after incident makes us hang our heads in shame?

I think time has come when we as a nation must put our heads together and look seriously into this unbearable cycle of violence and crime and evolve comprehensive holistic solutions to bring our misguided youth back on track.

And in regard to the present incident, no sir; mere transfer (not even the belated suspension of the ASI) of the SP of the area is not enough… it is a humourless joke instead.  Chief Minster Khattar ji, it is of course a chhota muhn badi baat but if your conscience answers to the calls of morality and accountability in our (rotten) political system, you’d have done well to put in your papers at once, and the Haryana’s DGP even before you.

                                          

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                     Cheers and good luck LGBT friends

                  

Our  LGBT friends are celebrating. And justifiably so. A historic wrong festering for 158 years has finally been righted- thanks to the Supreme Court. Our colonial masters had inflicted it on us: the nasty section 377 to put curbs on free individual sexual (consensual) expression according to his/her natural orientation. The orthodox Christian Church diktats and the Victorian sense of pseudo morality – which sound all the more ridiculous now in the present context – were the guiding force behind this imposition. It is “against the order of nature” was the clinching argument to back it up. What a clever, cryptic, self-contradictory and authoritarian play of words to stifle and enslave free spirit of the ruled and to dehumanize them! What exactly is the “order of nature”- would any one enlighten me please? On the contrary, all kinds of (diverse) sexual orientations are very much a part of manifestations of the complex “order of nature”.  Further, if a vast majority of us are straight and the LGBT community a small minority, does that mean that we should ridicule them, treat them with contempt, ostracize them? Every single individual’s liberty and freedom is sacrosanct. Every single human being has a right to live with dignity- so the judges have opined. And wait. There is more in the offing. One more gender-biased, skewed and flawed law (Section 497 on adultery) enforced by the British to suit their own interests and Christian morality is now under the Supreme Court’s gaze, awaiting review. I am sure the SC will annul it too. Thus another historic wrong would be set right.

Well, an appalling violation of human rights that it has been, the scrapping of Section 377 was long overdue. Pity, it took so long. But as the Hindi phrase goes: der ayast, durust ayast. By this single judgement the Supreme Court has done India proud. Now the scrapping of this law will help us go a notch or two up in our ranking   as a modern, progressive, vibrant society in sync with the changing times, sensitive about human rights violations; and can rub shoulders with other forward-looking countries in the world.

As expected, all rational, thinking, liberal Indians have lauded the judgement. Only the bigots, dogmatists, religious zealots, babas, mullahs and padris are peeved and jittery at it.  Well, they love to live in their safe, cosy realms of self-deception perpetuating their half-baked religious beliefs among the gullible masses to fool and exploit them. But they can’t stop the march of times and the sunshine of reason and scientific temper that is gradually lighting up the dark corridors of human mind and clearing the cobwebs of superstition. And about the politicians the less said the better. Though they should have done away with the law decades ago, but they will not look beyond what fetches them votes; to hell with society and the ills that pervade it.  Post judgement, Mr Justice D Y Chandrchud rightly wondered: “Why do politicians sometimes hand over power to the judges and leave sensitive matters to the 'wisdom of the court'?” Well, the reasons are obvious: Votes first; country be damned.

“History owes an apology to the members of the LGBT community,” said Ms. Justice Indu Malhotra who was in the bench too.

Well said... And very true. 

But it is just a battle won, several more need to be fought before the war is over. So good luck LBGT friends and activists!
To me the mantra of life and a happy world is beautifully encapsuled in these 4 simple words: "Live and let live". And if one is able to replace the 'i's with 'o's in the word 'live', so much the better.

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                               Death strikes my parivar again

                     

How  does it feel on losing a beloved member of a family? Pain. Sense of loss. Remorse. Regrets... You turn philosophical overwhelmed with thoughts of sheer meaninglessness of life. Hollowness of the hubris: “I am alive and kicking, I am rich, I am this and I am that…I am infallible,” strikes hard at the core of your being. A kaleidoscope of images of days spent together, days of fun and frolic, of joys and sorrows shared, unreels itself in slow motion in your mind’s eye in flashback. And this whole complex mixture of emotions translates itself into sobs and tears or a blank distant stare far into the dark, unfathomable abyss.

I am in the throes of this very state of mind at this juncture: I lost my 77-year-old  brother, Shanti Swaroop - ‘Shanti’ for many, ‘Sarup’ or ‘Sarupo’ for his close and childhood pals  -  on 28 August after his protracted fight with a respiratory ailment called ‘chronic pulmonary disorder’.

How do I describe him for you? A difficult thing to do in a state of emotional turmoil. But some defining, unmistakable features of him I can spell out. He was a simple, easy-going person - a bohemian perhaps - brimming with zest for life, and quite fond of good things in life that we, the members of the ‘Shastri’ parivar, admittedly are. He was very soft-spoken, full of humour, loved listening to jokes and funny or amusing anecdotes and wouldn’t mind some of his favourite ones being recounted to him time and time again. “Bhaso, please, will you, narrate that one about the old patient in the hospital, one more time?” he would implore me often when we sat together at some family gathering. (It was about  an interesting ongoing war of words in chaste, earthy Pahari between an old man on hospital bed defying doctor’s diktat and his doughty wife bent on making him follow it, that I had seen and heard.)  He himself enjoyed recounting jokes and funny incidents– his version departing from the original one on every repetition with his fresh new fanciful inputs- throwing us into fits of laughter. He had a great love for music, had a sweet voice and enjoyed playing on his harmonium as he sang out his favourite songs and bhajans. He kept sadness at bay and even his favourite songs were those that were light, vibrant and sparkling with gaiety...with joie de vivre. He was fond of reading religious and inspirational books and also tried his hand at writing though with limited success. He loved company, gupshup, fun and laughter a lot. Even during the last moments of his life in the ICU, that characteristic, benevolent smile of his never left his handsome though frail face- an image that now comes to haunt us again and again with singeing sadness. He had a soft, kind, loving heart- too good for this overly practical, matter-of-fact world, and good enough only to spoil and pamper and indulge everyone intimate with him- his family more so.

He had his fads and eccentricities too. He abhorred taking medicines and would often chuck them away without completing the prescribed course. He often ignored medical advice and necessary safeguards. If he fancied having a cold water bath even in inclement weather, no one could deter him having his way, his poor health notwithstanding.  He could often be reckless, casual and carefree even in regard to important matters that needed to be addressed with utmost care and attention. Perhaps that stemmed from naiveté that he possessed in good measure– another typical trait of the ‘Shastri’ parivar!
All in all, a gentle soul at times at odds with the harsh realities of life.

Adieu dear brother. I am sure you must be singing bhajans and playing on harmonium and recounting your favourite jokes to the amusement of gods above. Have a good time. Cheers!
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