FATHER TOO CAN HAVE LOVE AND CONCERN
Two incidents concerning two high profile
fathers are being written about, discussed in TV Channels and also in other
media. Daughters of two rich families have married individuals from relatively ordinary
families against the wishes of their fathers, might be also of their other
family members. In one of the cases the father does not even know that the
marriage is taking place.
Normally most people will be sympathizing with
the youth. But who will sympathize with the fathers? It will be interesting,
surprising and not possible when one says that father can not have dreams about
the future life of his daughter. Or father has to adjust to the convictions of
the youth, the conviction being based on youthful emotion.
Love is the term used to sympathize with
the youth. But what is love? Falling in love and falling for the attraction are
two entirely different things. Who knows and is sure to definitely say what
love is and what infatuation is? Infatuation is transient but love is more deep
rooted. Are the fathers at fault when they desire their daughters should have a
comfortable life? Matters of heart if
decide about life, the hard realities of actual living may not necessarily be
bearable. And fathers thinking so are right and cannot be pictured as .villains.
We normally allow our emotions to give
judgment on issues based on our likes and dislikes. But justness and justice
may be something entirely different.
In one of the cases, the son-in-law was
found dead near a railway track and CBI is investigating the case. In the same
case the death is rumored to be suicide.
In
the other case the girl started loving at her 15th year! She married
her dream boy (man) but has fled after marriage and asked court to give them
protection from their family members because they perceive threat for life from
them.
We individuals are part of the family.
Family is the basic unit of society. And in society we have families having
different dispositions. Earlier individuals were sacrificing their love for
family sake. Current mood of the society is families must sacrifice for the
sake of the individuals. But who is sure that the selection of the teenage or
youthful attraction is not transient and the harsh realities of the life makes
its further brittle. And other members of families are also individuals
designed to play respective roles and have their own likes, dislikes,
ambitions, dreams etc., about their siblings.
I request the readers not to misunderstand
me as against love-marriages by reading this piece. But aren’t rights and
responsibilities mutual and must be exercised together? Individuals have rights
in family and also have responsibilities for the family. Is it not?
The fathers in both the cases are shattered
and despite their riches and success in life feel helpless and cheated. This
piece is written only to point out that there will be two sides to any issue as
we know and the fathers have also to be sympathized. Fathers too can have love,
dreams and concern.
ARTISTES OF TERROR AND THEIR SUPPORTERS
Modern India’s independence has dawned
while human blood was overflowing in Punjab, Sindh, Bengal and the regions that
were bisected. The blood bath has not ceased. Our inept political handling and
double standards, hypocrisy and self-centered policies of the so called
developed countries are responsible for our suffering and continuous agony. Three
decades of perpetual killing of our citizens in the name of freedom movements
and jihad culture has been tormenting our nation unendingly. The 26/11/08
Mumbai massacre is the continuation of that bloody state of affairs. We heard
the same statements from the corridors of power. This time the attacks have
also been on elite citizens of India, the UK, the USA and other such countries.
That is why American Secretary of State rushed to India. It is also to prevent
India from declaring a war against our “cousin country”.
The usual drama has been enacted this time
too, our cousin denying any of governmental involvement and dismissing the
ghastly attack on Indian soil as an act of non-state actors. But why the
non-state actors are able to reside in their territory and are allowed to act
the way they planned and executed with the direct help of our cousin’s
intelligence agency have no answers. Many of us have forgotten that on this day
(December 13th) our parliament was attacked by the same non-state
actors. Our memory is short and we forgot everything about it including the
non-execution of a convicted criminal. After the attack on our parliament, many
blasts have taken place in many important cities of our country and many
innocent lives were lost to the non-state actors from our cousin’s territory.
We are also magnanimously showing sympathy to our cousin that their country is
also a victim of terrorism.
But who nurtured and nourished this
terrorism? When Punjab and Kashmir have been and are burning, they supported
the terrorists dubbing them as freedom fighters. The same USA and Pakistan have
created and sustained Taliban to fight Russians in Afghanistan. Al-queda is an
off shoot of Taliban culture. And when 11/9 happened the USA has awakened to
the reality and blundered by invading Iraq instead of fighting terrorism. And
created more hostile and cruel terrorists and helped terror situation take
roots in the whole world. Now no country or region is free from terrorist acts.
Even now half-hearted attempts are initiated
so that our cousin country does not withdraw their armed forces from their
western border to our border on the pretext of our attacking our cousin. The
USA does not want to lose its ally in fight against terrorism to slip from its
iron grip. The USA is with army and air strikes daily killing terrorists and
innocent civilians in the north-west region of our cousin’s country.
Our political set up knows only to divide
us by our divisions of religion, caste, region etc., and win elections through
vote banks thus created. They seem to be insufficient to tackle terrorism
sponsored by our cousin and safe guard our lives. Because disintegration is
easy but consolidation and integration are the result of hard work and love for nation which
our politicians lack in abundant measures.
Our country or the world is not safe from
terrorists if hypocrisy, double standards and lenience are practiced by the USA
and or our politicians. We all know how the USA and the UK have insulated their
countries from terrorists by invoking and passing and implementing laws which
not necessarily are in tune with human rights which the western countries
preach us day in and day out. The western countries’ air ports were used by the
USA for rendition of suspects who have to be tortured in other European
countries. As long as we are soft against terrorists by making statements that
terrorism has no religion and like that, we may not be able to fight terrorism
effectively. Law and order, crime against nation and safety of Indian citizens,
are different from exploiting and or pampering Indian citizens for vote bank
reasons, and should be given top priority.
The latest drawing by the famous artist Mr.
M. F. Hussain depicting 26/11 Mumbai massacre as “rape” of India is in poor
taste. What happened is slashing of heart of our mother India. None of us like
to compare and say that our mother is “raped”. This is highly atrocious and
insensitive comparison by Mr. Hussain. He is already in trouble for drawing
Goddess Saraswati in nude.
The truth and reality
is, unless we are strong and stern in dealing terrorists, our lives a
THE VAGARIES OF THE NEO-RICH
The news paper reports and coverage in news
channels are giving us food for thought. The New Year which dawns in the
midnight of 31st December does not start throughout our globe at the
same instant. From Australian continent to American continents it starts at
different moments. Thus the New Year continues dawning for almost more than 20
hours. This variety and diversity of beginning of New Year informs that
starting of New Year is not a physical happening but a mental conjecture and is
not uniform. If it is a physical happening, it must happen simultaneously
everywhere on earth.
Coming to the “celebrations” associated
with it, the less said about it the better it is. We show all our “richness”
during these celebrations. A new culture has dawned and has grown to
uncontrollable proportions. The “celebrations” are reduced to partying and
drinking throughout the night of December 31st. The neo-rich and the
marketing managers of star hotels are vulgarly exhibiting the culture which is
not the culture of every Indian. It is highly objectionable to equate such
“drunkard” culture as the culture of India. There are a vast majority of people
who celebrate the event more soberly.
A software engineer so young becomes a
drunkard and of course dies in a mishap. But the acceptance of drinking by men
and women as a normal thing is surprising. An elite person is one who reads
books that enlighten and not merely the books that just entertain. Listens to
music and appreciates fine-arts that bloom our aesthetic sense. Women or men
drinking and partying and then want to stroll at 1 am with companions expect
equally drunk mob to behave “properly”. Whatever we do, proper or improper,
should be confined to our private places. But once you enter the public places
in such an imbalanced state anything
can happen because there are many people around like you.
It is astonishing and surprising that the
individuals denounce Indian culture, which professes to respect and look at
women as mothers and such similar things, as backward expect such a culture to
be followed when others behave with them. We must not forget that we
human-beings are animal first and last. We almost throughout our lives behave guided
by animal instincts. The instincts are hormonal and in-built in us. The
education and culture we adopt are expected to fine-tune these instincts. But
who and where these “values” are taught? Schools , colleges and other educational
institutions have abdicated themselves from this responsibility and turned out
to be big commercial enterprises. Parents too became irresponsible or
incapable. From where and how our children get proper instructions? Other
animals have seasons for copulation. But humans are always ready. All our
societal structures must be built around this reality.
Humans learn and behave by imitating. I
have been observing the “celebrations” of New Year since my childhood. It has
been a calm affair. Only government officials were getting some greetings from
their subordinates. The rest of us were confining to sending cards. These new
celebrations and their coverage has become a fashion and big news to
news-persons for reporting. We are aping a culture to which we are not yet mentally
tuned. It has been alright for people who have different view of life, but not
still necessarily for India. We have been also celebrating the Ugadi, the New
Year according to our counting of time. We still continue to do so. We
celebrate it aesthetically.
How is this English New Year which counts
the passage of time in a particular way is superior to other ways of counting
time? Every one of us knows how durations of months and names are changed at
will in this calendar following no rule or rhyme.
Dawning of New Year is secondary. It is a
pretext to show vulgarity in neo-rich among us. We have more disposable money
does not mean that we are cultured. Culture is more profound and enlightening
system of thoughts, dos and don’ts. Not
following any of them but merely expecting a civilized behavior from others
equally “civilized” as us is either innocence or ignorance or arrogance. This
type of new-rich people’s culture is not the culture of majority of Indians. As
you sow so you reap.
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