ARE WE A NATION WITH MISPLACED PRIORITIES

The national response to the brutal sexual offence committed to Delhi survivor and other issues in recent past compels one to ask the above question. Let us view the response in hindsight and try to make sense out of it.

The outrage can largely be credited to media taking up the issue which else like hundreds of sexual offences might well have gone unnoticed. Much of the noise that was doing the rounds was more about the penalty that the perpetrators should get. My facebook wall for once was filled with requests for online petitions demanding death penalty for the offenders. Similarly petitions to change the law to include death penalty for sexual offences, including for retrospective cases (such as this Delhi case) was doing the rounds. This brings forth the very question that I asked in the beginning.

Quantum of punishment for any crime has two facets to it. One is that it must act as a deterrent and secondly the punishment must be commensurate with the crime. Interestingly an additional dimension is getting appended in our society. That dimension is of VENDETTA and it is this dimension which I believe emotionally charged the people to demand amendments to the constitution. Instead of focus being on how to best reform and implement the law so that such instances do not take place in future, the whole noise was on how to hang the perpetrators. Anybody with a contrary opinion was looked down upon and ridiculed for going too soft on barbarians.

Also let us look at the role media is playing in this regard. The recent trend has been that the media takes up mostly emotionally charged issues, be it this Delhi case , the beheading of two of our soldiers (issue loaded with nationalism) or be it the case of Owaisi/Togadia speech(issue loaded with religious sentiments). Issues such as farmer suicides (more than a million in last 2-3 decades) are conveniently brushed under the carpet. Since our media believes in doing all this self adulation, it is high time that they start taking brickbats along with the bouquets.

The Tunisian Domino Effect

     It all basically started when an unemployed Tunisian post grad immolated himself after he was refused to set  a vegetable selling counter….since  then the so called “Jasmine Sweep” has transformed the Arab World shaking the roots of autocratic governance in many countries.

     But the notable feature of these revolutions has been the prudence of the masses. These are emerging countries with raving lunatics at their fringes. The Arab world for once seems to have raised  a Jihad against “real” and not “surreal” demons . People weary of high unemployment rate,deep rooted corruption, neopatism and oligarchic nature of Ben’s government raised their voice whose reverberations are being echoed in whole of middle east and most prominently in Egypt, Jordan and Yemen.

     The youth has taken the lead with social networking sites forming  its lethal weaponry. They have been shrewdly using pious Friday as a day for mass gathering and to spur the multitude to protests. Media also on its part has done a tremendous job by highlighting the protests and has forced the international intellectuals to act who previously had remained adamant to the audacities and atrocities of these autocrats for decades.

     Along with the domestic  stress, international pressure has also been mounting. India though has been not as blatant and vociferous as some others, yet it has still made it adequately clear to Mubarak and others that its high time for transition. U.S. has been doing what its best in….exploiting the situation for its own vested interests.  As much as it would have loved Mubarak to continue, it can no longer afford its 2 billion dollar annual aid to Egypt, thus it has been trying its best to break a deal between protesters and Mubarak .

     But U.S. is not the only problem for the protesters, there is a high probability that power may ultimately fall to certain jingoistic and fanatic Islamists occupying high positions in opposition parties. If this happens the region may turn into another haven for malicious elements. Also the revolution lacks a charismatic and pragmatic leader who has his reach amongst the masses and ability to provide direction to the movement.

     But what next?? This is a billion dollar question whose answer each and every country awaits. Since the region is one of the main exporters of oil, this revolt has already caused crude oil prices floating above hundred dollars per barrel, leading to inflation worries throughout the world including India. The adverse impacts has also been witnessed in the bourses. The opposition parties need to come together in order to fulfil the void of an efficient leader.  Also post transfer of regime, U.N. and international community must aid in the construction of an egalitarian,peaceful and economically sustainable region.  I.M.F. and world bank must assist in its economic development and strive to bring the unemployment rate within single digits.

The Innocuous "IF"

                

                                                      

"IF"  Pandora had not opened the box…  Slavery, poverty , hunger, injustice, extremism, malnutrition and fanaticism would not have been so ubiquitous and the world would still have been a Shangri-la .

A simple naïve two lettered  word IF, though innocuous and transparent it may appear, is  harbingered by certain peculiar characteristics …..optimism,  creativity,and  is coupled with certain amount of admonition. It more or less forms and is reminiscent of the Butterfly Theory.

Another examply to amplify this theory, a relatively fresh one,  can be cited from the last decade. IF the dot com bubble (marking the advent of 21^st century)  had coincided with the recession of 2008, it could well  have left the world’s economy in shambles.

IF boundaries hadn’t been drawn between India and Pakistan, I could well  have been writing this blog lying inside Room No. G-134 of Indian Institute Of Technology,Karachi !! (though I think Karachi would still have been a better place than Roorkee).

Another dimension which this innocent word carries along with itself is innovations and inventions. People say “Necessity is the mother of all Inventions”…..but I somehow cannot pay adequate reverence to this generalised adage. I feel it was the aspiration (and not necessity) of Wright Brothers which motivated them towards their indefatigable efforts .”IF men could fly” …..it was this dream of theirs which acted as a Vigour Stream and they overcame plethora of hindrances to provide intellect to their  so called “Doltish Dream”.

It is this “creative dimension “ of “IF”  which has resulted in innumerable inventions, thus even though it may be a naïve fellow it has definitely made “us” more sophisticated . Not only has it made us more sophisticated but it has also added the concept of “caution” to our character. Any intellectual person can speculate the consequences and repercussions  of his actions “IF” he chooses to use his intellect.

But all is not good about this fellow…..it can also lead a person to a state of dejection, isolation and perturbation. The dusk of many a person is marked with mid-life crisis. They realise that IF they had listened to their heart life could have been much better for them or IF they grabbed the opportunities they could have climbed the ladder of success . As we see supra….we can easily establish that this “IF” is certainly a root son of a gun, a rogue and a Blackguard. It beguiles, it deceives and morphises a sane person to morbid one….

 But is it really if’s fault “IF” one  prefers to see the glass as half empty…??