How could ANY mother do this to her daughter?

I simply cannot understand why some women behave the way they do.It completely baffles me.Women have been abused,exploited and made to feel inferior to men since time immemorial.All in the name of “culture”.They have been so completely brainwashed into believing that “culture” is so sacrosanct that no one should question the great “culture” that they belong to.Obviously they seem to think that “culture” however inhuman,barbaric and uncivilised it may be,must be protected against the onslaught of modernity and progress just because the concepts of modernity,progress and human rights(including women’s rights) have originated in the West.And they think that Western culture is inferior to their own culture that they want to stick on to some inhuman and shocking practices that will even make a man feel ashamed.

This post is all about one of the most shocking practices that I have heard of women being subjected to.It is called female genital mutilation or female genital cutting.

I cannot describe this horrible practice in my own words.Take a look at this wikipedia article for the whole story about this obnoxious practice.

Ofcourse,that article is scientific in nature,so it is not going to describe this practice in an artistic way.Art can describe inhuman and shocking practices better than science.Click on  this article from the Daily Mail to get a good artistic view about this “great cultural practice”.

Well,I have always suspected that one half of the female population is the greatest enemy of the other half and men are usually tools to be used by one half or the other.The more I read about such things,the more they reinforce that view.

All I can say is that if women want to harm themselves and other women,no power on heaven or Earth can save them.

Rabindranath Tagore said,”Into that heaven of freedom,my Father,let my country awake!”

I wish he had said,”Into that heaven of freedom of thought,my Father,let the women of the world awake!”

STOP the war in West Asia NOW !

Though I cannot completely imagine how mothers feel about their children,I think I know the truth about motherly love.It is supposed to be the greatest bond on Earth,a bond that no power on heaven or Earth can break,however hard they may try.

The most touching letter I have come across is this one from one affected mother to another on the two sides of a conflict zone.I am pasting what is a now a common letter on the internet below:

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Najwa Sheikh writing from occupied Gaza Strip

I spoke with him a little, but when he sees me he begins to cry … the situation in Sderot in general is very difficult, and I do not know how we can continue, how we can stay in the city.
- Sderot resident Rima Haimov, whose ten-year-old son Yossi was wounded by a Qassam rocket. (”Doctors save hand of Sderot boy hurt by Qassam; 4 Palestinians killed in Gaza,” Haaretz, 26 February)

Dear Rima Haimov,

When I read your words the only thing I can say is that I feel sorry for your son, and that I can understand you as a mother and the traumatic events that your child is experiencing. I cannot deny the fact that life becomes very difficult in such circumstances when you realize that you and your family are in danger at any moment; I fully understand your worries, your feelings and concerns. I am addressing this letter to you with the hope that you will understand my pain too.

Like I feel sorry for your son, I feel sorry for my Palestinian children who are born and will die in Gaza, unable to have the chance of seeing other worlds, and who have to face F-16s, Apache helicopters and the Israeli army’s brutal invasions into Gaza. However, my children are not fortunate enough to have the excellent medical care that your son has. My children do not have the chance to run to a shelter and there is no alarm to tell them that there is a strike coming. My children cannot be guaranteed the love and care that your son found because all of their family might be killed in one strike, they might witness the death of their parents, or any of their dear family members as the Palestinians are targeted everywhere, even in their homes and among their children.

My children cannot find the counseling that your child will have to help him deal with his appalling experience. They have to keep their pain inside them, and recall it day after day. Even in their dreams they suffer from remembering the things they have witnessed.

My children are not children anymore; they lost their innocence and are forced to act like adults so they can protect themselves. They no longer cry to their parents because they realize that even adults are scared and also need comfort and security. Instead they swallow their pain and deal with it on their own.

When your child is sick or injured he has the chance to go to the best hospitals to receive treatment while my children have to live with their pain and injuries because they cannot go to a good hospital like you have in Israel. In Gaza, they can only wait for the pain to pass or count the days waiting for the end. They have learned how to face death fearlessly, because they hope to find justice and a better life in heaven.

While your child enjoys his new schoolbooks, my children have to use old, disreputable books because the borders are closed and even schoolbooks cannot be brought in.

My children have to face the extreme temperatures because of the electricity cuts. They cannot enjoy sitting in front of the electric heater in winter or the fan in summer. While you as a mother can plan for your child’s future, I cannot because my child is locked in a prison called Gaza, and he cannot dream of having the chance to receive a better education and work outside of Gaza.

While you as a mother can give your child all the promises of a better life, I can not give my child these guarantees, simply because we are both eligible to die in any moment by an Israeli strike, without any plans, dreams, nothing.

After all of this do you think that my children deserve their pain only because they are born to Palestinian parents? Do you think it is fair that they are treated in this way? Is it fair to be subjected to the sanctions that your government has imposed on us? I hope you can understand my pain too.

Sincerely,
Najwa Sheikh

Najwa Sheikh is a Palestinian refugee from al-Majdal located just north of the Gaza Strip. Shiekh has lived in refugee camps in Gaza her entire life where she is married and has three children.

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I have no words of my own to express what those two mothers are going through.

I would rather put a bullet in my head than subject mothers and their children to so much pain.

But why do we support war? Why do we think war is necessary? Why do we ignore the perils and pains of war? Why do we not condemn war and genocide in the strongest terms? Why do we not wish that all kinds of oppression would stop so that there would be no wars but the whole of humanity can enjoy peace and prosperity and happiness? What on Earth is greater than the concepts of Liberty,Equality,Fraternity and Human Rights?

Questions . . . questions . . . questions . . . but no answers !

Are we so accustomed to the reality of life that we have given up on hope for civilisation? Can we all not join hands together to pull humanity back from the brink of disaster? Can we not put our brilliant minds together to find solutions to save our beautiful planet from total destruction?

There is no need to unite as one people representing humankind at all.We can still have our differences,our beliefs,our nations,our cultures,our systems and so on.We have to make the small effort to unite in thought to save our planet and ourselves ! That is all we need to do ! I simply cannot understand why we fail to do this simple thing though !

Orhan Pamuk: a true hero of our times!

The first Turkish national who comes to my mind is Orhan Pamuk. I think he is the greatest Turk of the present age and one of the greatest Turks of all time!

Yes, this post is about Ferit Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize winning Turkish novelist and professor of literature. He is one of Turkey’s foremost novelists whose work has been translated into more than fifty languages. He has won numerous national and international literary awards and is the first Turk to receive a Nobel Prize. He studied architecture briefly but went on to graduate from the Institute of Journalism at the University of Istanbul. I have not read any of his books so far, but I greatly admire him for another reason. Read more about this great man on this wikipedia article.

Orhan Pamuk-Photo: Wikipedia

So we would expect such a wonderful human being and a patriotic Turk to be treated as a hero in his own motherland, wouldn’t we? Afterall, here is a man who loves his country but more importantly, is a good human being who prefers to look at the truth.

But the reality is different from the truth! Very different indeed!

Orhan was treated like a criminal! A hate campaign was started and criminal charges were brought against him and he was forced to flee his country! But he made the most courageous decision to return to his beloved motherland and face the false charges against him! Due to an international outcry, the criminal charges against him were dropped! But some scoundrels did not stop with that! There was a group of criminal assassins who even plotted to kill Orhan and others!

But why was he treated like this? The only reason is because he chose to speak the truth!

In an interview, Orhan had stated, “Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody dares to talk about it“. In another interview, he said that he wanted to defend the freedom of speech, which was Turkey’s only hope for coming to terms with its history, “What happened to the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 was a major thing that was hidden from the Turkish nation; it was a taboo. But we have to be able to talk about the past.“

Now, that is a courageous decision to stand up for the freedom of speech and for the truth by a man who is admired by many for his contribution to Turkey and the world!

But he was treated like a common criminal! Orhan is no killer or liar or cheat or anti-national! He is the exact opposite of those evil types!

It does not surprise me in the least, though. I know why he was treated like that by some of his own fellow citizens. This is the sad reality that honest people have to go through! Why do we do this to such wonderful people? Why do we ask them to shut up, abuse them, ill-treat them, batter them, hurt them, offend them, call them names, put them in prison, torture them emotionally and even try to kill them?

What wrong have they done? What crime have they committed? Why the hell should they be treated like that for daring to speak the truth? Why the hell should they be treated like that by people who don’t want to come to terms with the truth? Why on Earth should they be treated like that for speaking out against oppression? Is it such a great crime for a patriotic citizen to suggest that his fellow citizens should come to terms with the truth so that everyone in that country can have a bright future?

I always admire such great men and women! They are the only hope for our planet! They are the only hope for civilisation! When war, genocide, crime, corruption, greed and pollution are destroying our beautiful planet and all her sons and daughters, it is people like the brave and courageous Orhan who will save Mother Earth from the brink of disaster! They are the greatest heroes of our times! They are the greatest sons and daughters of their countries and of Mother Earth and Father Time!

Orhan, don’t worry about those people who have treated you the way they have! For every such person, there is another person who is more patriotic and more human who will defend you! Turkey is indeed blessed to have a son like you, Orhan! People like you are the last hope for their countries and for our planet!

The winds of change are blowing across Pakistan!

After plenty of depressing news, one finally gets to hear that things are changing in Pakistan for the better. This is good news for the whole world.

The people of Pakistan overwhelmingly voted in favour of democracy in the elections to the National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies held last month. The Pakistan People’s Party[PPP] and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz[PML(N)] are forming a coalition government with the help of other parties and the Vice-President of the PPP, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has been sworn in as the Prime Minister. There are rumours that he is a stand-in Prime Minister till Asif Ali Zardari of the PPP takes over the reins. Another good news is that Pakistan’s National Assembly gets a woman Speaker for the first time in its history. Dr. Fehmida Mirza was elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly by the newly elected deputies of the Lower House. It is very interesting to note that she was not elected from a seat reserved for women, but from a general constituency.

The most heartening news was that immediately after being sworn in as the Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani ordered the deposed judges of Pakistan’s Supreme Court to be freed from house arrest. The newly formed coalition government has also pledged to reinstate all the judges of the Supreme Court within a month of assuming office. This is a great victory for democracy, freedom and the rule of law in South Asia’s second largest country.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is a very courageous man indeed. He and the other deposed judges of the Supreme Court have taken some very important decisions. The most courageous decision of them all was the decision to order the release of hundreds of people who were detained for being suspected terrorists. Many people have been “disappearing” in Pakistan in what is a gross violation of human rights. Their case has been taken up by two courageous people, Fakhruddin Ebrahim and Asma Jahangir from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. I wish them all success in their endeavours to stand up for human rights and justice and truth.

Pakistan is a country with plenty of problems. Strained relations between the Army and the government, judiciary and the civil society, strained relations between the federal and provincial governments, suicide bombings that have become a regular feature, parts of the North-West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan that are not exactly under the control of the government, widespread poverty in the rural areas that is a result of the feudal system and illegal practices that go against human rights can make one believe that Pakistan is a state that is failing.

As the events of the past few weeks show, things are indeed changing for the better in Pakistan. The people of Pakistan have reposed their faith in the democratic process and an independent and free judiciary that is willing to uphold human rights and justice even at a great cost to itself. In a nuclear armed country that holds the key to peace, prosperity, democracy and stability of the entire region, these are very good signs indeed!

The Ambassador is on the way out!

This post is not about any diplomat but the Hindustan Ambassador car.I heard that the Ambassador may be discontinued in the future as it does not meet the next generation safety norms.I am not a fan of the Ambassador as I have seen her somewhat poor performance in real life crash situations.The structure of the car usually does not get damaged badly but the occupants are at a greater risk than in other cars.However,I do have a few memories of travelling in this car.

You can read more about the car on this link.For several years,only three cars (and their variants) were sold in India.They were the Hindustan Ambassador(derived from the Morris Oxford),the Premier Padmini(derived from the Fiat 1100 D) and the Standard Herald/Gazel(derived from the Triumph Herald).Ofcourse,all that changed in the eighties.The Standard Herald and the Premier Padmini are long gone now,but the Ambassador(Amby) continues to be sold to this day.The car is mainly used as the official car of bureaucrats and politicians apart from being used as cabs and taxis in almost all the cities across the country.I have also seen a few people who love the car so much that they have a carefully maintained example(usually their first car) in their garage,even if they have a different car for everyday use.I do not fall under any of the above categories,so my views about the car are quite neutral.

I will narrate two incidences that I simply cannot forget when I think about this car.Both of them are about Ambys that were used as cabs.The first one is a somewhat scary one that is etched permanently in my mind.Six of us(including the chauffeur-some variants of the car seat six people,others seat five) were travelling in the car along a fairly deserted two-lane highway at night.We were cruising along at about 80 k.m.p.h.,enjoying the cool night air and some film and pop music,when from nowhere,like a bolt out of the blue,two cows ran onto the road a few metres infront of the car.(This is not a rare occurrence at all on Indian roads and one should watch out for these highway cows).I braced myself for a terrible collision of the four-wheeled creature with the four-legged creatures,when the chauffeur performed the perfect ‘elk test’.(Read about the elk test on this link).Maybe I should use the word ‘cow test’ in the Indian context.In a car that steered like a ship and had weak brakes,the guy managed to slam the brakes to slow down the car but not enough to lock the wheels,drifted the car into the wrong lane(momentarily we all thought we were headed for the ditch) but somehow managed to bring her back into the correct lane just in time to avoid a collision with an oncoming truck.(We were lucky that the truck driver too slowed down in time).I am sure that any professional race or test driver would have been proud of that manoeuvre even if it was not performed in an Ambassador.The guy was regarded as the best of the lot in the company and we found out why.

The second one is about the only occasion when I got behind the wheel of an Amby.I had never driven an Amby before and was waiting for one such occasion.Again,it was a cab.I used to travel fairly long distances for two or three days in a week.I became a friend of the cab driver as we used to stop at small roadside cafes for a quick bite and some hot milk tea.

On one such occasion,I asked him,”Why don’t you take a break and let me drive for some time?I have never driven an Amby before and would like to do so”.

The guy said,”Oh!Have you never driven her before?You may try it as you have been missing something”.

I got behind the wheel of the car.It was a well maintained diesel engined Amby.At first,I found it a bit difficult to get comfortable in the driver’s seat as the wheel and the pedals were placed at a small angle from the perpendicular.I had to sit at a corresponding angle to make myself comfortable.The engine roared to life with an unmistakable clatter.I could feel the vibrations through the steering and the gear lever.It took me some time to get used to the gears.The less said about the brakes,the better.The acceleration was not up to the mark and the turning radius was greater than it should have been.But I did enjoy the experience very much !

When we reached home,I thanked him.

“How was it?”,he asked me as I got down.

“It is a unique car”,I told him,”very unique indeed”.

“There is no need to be diplomatic”,he replied with a smile,”I have driven several cars over the years and I know how it feels when compared to the others.But this car has been the only source of livelihood for me and my family over the last few years and we love her”.

“Yes,very true indeed”,I replied truthfully,”Whatever her flaws,the Amby has been a part of life in India for so long but sometimes,we do not give the old lady the respect that she deserves”.

It is because of guys like that hardworking chauffeur that the Amby has managed to live for so long.And it is because of guys like him that we have enjoyed the comfortable back seat of the Amby in our everyday lives.The front seat is not that comfortable.But the back seat is in a class of its own.

By the way,though the example I drove was the one with the old diesel engine,Ambys also come with more modern and more powerful diesel and petrol/CNG engines.Modern Ambys are also equipped with much better brakes,power steering and air-conditioning apart from other additional features and options.

But yes,we must let go of the dear old Amby.Our safety standards must be gradually brought on par with those of the E.U.It is good to see modern cars and multi-utility vehicles replacing Ambys as taxis.A few state governments are helping autorickshaw drivers replace their autorickshaws with taxis by providing them with loans at low interest rates.Rickety old buses are being replaced by much more comfortable ones.Air-conditioned low-floor city buses(with a special device for differentially-abled persons) are a fairly common sight in the metros.

India is becoming a global hub for small car production.Indian companies like Tata Motors are taking the lead in bringing safe,fuel-efficient and environment friendly cars like the Nano into the market at a price that is very affordable for many families.Families that had to use a motorcycle or a scooter till now will be able to travel safely.Pothole strewn highways are giving way to slick four-lane and six-lane expressways.Metro lines and Mass Rapid Transit Systems are being constructed in many cities.India is not a developed country by any stretch of the imagination but we are a country on the move ! We have just shifted into the second gear i.e. “inclusive development”.We need to make sure that everybody is treated equally and that no region gets left out of this development.India must shine for everyone before we can claim our rightful place in the international community.We should not turn a blind eye to our fellow citizens who are less fortunate than us.The day we find no alms-seekers or homeless people on our streets,the day when farmers are given a fair deal,the day when tribals get their fair share of development and modernity on their own terms,we can all say that India is shining !

A nightmare or a dream?

 

At an unspecified location,at an unspecified time,a great battle was raging.The two sides were equally balanced in terms of skill and numbers.One would not have been able to differentiate the combatants of the opposing camps by just looking at their faces.One could tell that only by looking at their armour.Even that was similar except the fact that the colours were different.The fighters of one side wore blue and silver while their opponents were decked in green and yellow.

The battlefield though was crimson.Blood red.Blood was flowing like water into the earth.The great river that flowed nearby exhibited no sign of the violence though.It was as calm as a lake but continued gently on its onward journey to join the sea.

Nothing was calm about the battle by any stretch of the imagination.The clash of swords and the battle cries of the warriors could have been heard from a kilometre away.Poisoned arrows flew thick and fast into the mass of swordsmen.Spears were thrown at opponents with deadly precision.There would have been no victor in this battle.The men did not fight to win the battle.They fought to kill each other.To kill as many as possible before being killed themselves by someone else.So the battle would have ended only when everyone was killed except maybe one man.And even he would have been drained so completely by that time that he would have had only a few seconds to raise his sword in triumph.He would have dropped down dead soon after that.It was a senseless battle being fought over nothing.

But it was certainly being fought.There was no doubt about that at all.Swords slit throats,spears punctured lungs and arrows pierced hearts.It was the same everywhere on the field.Warriors from both sides were dropping down in equal numbers.

In one corner of the field,two men were engaged in a fierce duel.They were equally matched.Their swords struck the opposing shields,were taken back,only to be thrust at the opponent again.It went on and on and on . . . until a spear from somewhere pierced the neck of one man.He dropped down with a sickening cry.His opponent let out a loud cry of triumph,maybe relief.But at the very next moment,a poison tipped arrow flew right into his shoulder.He knew that this was it.He was finished.He managed to pull the arrow out of his shoulder but could do no more.He slumped down with his killer still held in his hand.It was getting dark by now.The poison was acting fast.He could feel life slowly ebbing out of him.He could not hear the sounds of the battle anymore.He could only manage to hear his own heart thumping wildly as if it knew it had to finish its allotted number of beats before it ceased to pump blood and life to the other parts of his body.His feet went numb first,then his legs,then his arms and then his heart.He just about managed to close his eyes in time and mumble something . . .

. . . It was completely dark now.Everything was still.Not a sound could be heard.Then,as if it was a bolt out of the blue,a torch was shone into his eyes.He could feel the warmth,but could not open his eyes.Someone shook him as if to see if there was any sign of life left in him.He could do nothing.

“Hey,wake up!”It was the voice of a woman.

“Whaaa . . . ?”

“I heard you screaming and mumbling something in your sleep”,she said.

“Oh!Well,I never thought . . .”,his voice trailed off.He could now see the sun shining brightly through the window,right into his face.He squinted and turned away from the window.He looked at the woman.

“Had a nightmare,I believe?”,she could not help smiling.

“More of a dream . . . a nightmarish dream.And I don’t know if it is over or if it has just begun”

“Have you not woken up yet?It’s already late”,she said,looking at the clock.

“I know . . . I think I’ve missed the bus . . . or the train . . . or the boat . . . or the plane . . . whatever.I will have to take the next one”

“Missed the bus or the train or the boat or the plane?What do you mean?There is still plenty of time left.It’s only six”

“Hmmm . . . yes . . . and there seems to be another left”

“What?There is hardly half-an-hour left!”

“Yes,yes,I know . . . I meant something else though . . . my dream . . . or nightmare . . . or nightmarish dream . . .”,he said as he stood up slowly.

“Are you still out of your mind?”,she looked at him with a puzzled look.

“Maybe . . . or maybe out of my body”,he made sure she could not hear this.

“Hope you make it in time”,she smiled and walked away,looking a bit confused.

“I think ‘into time’ would have been a better choice”,again to himself.He looked out of the window and into the sky . . .

A great future for Ubuntu?

I think Mother Earth and Father Time have ganged up against this alien ,so some of my unfinished posts will have to wait for some more time.

Can the penguin make us throw Microsoft out of the window?

This one is about open source software in general and the Linux operating system in particular.I actually like proprietary software like the Windows operating system for the ease of use factor.However,different versions of Windows have let me down very badly when I needed them the most,so I took a look at some versions of Linux some time ago and was hooked so completely that I use both Windows and Linux side-by-side these days.When it comes to other software,I usually prefer the open source ones.Read more about the battle between open source and proprietary software on this link.

I hope Linux distros (vendors’ versions of the Linux operating system) marginalise Windows in the future,but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.I say this because I took a look at one of the most promising Linux distros for beginners,Ubuntu,and I liked it so much that I immediately downloaded it and burned it on a CD.It was a very smooth journey till then,but my problems began when I tried to install the operating system.It seems that I use a rare video card on my home computer and what is worse is that Ubuntu has got several issues with my video card.I tried my best and also made use of the online forums but I simply could not succeed in installing Ubuntu.Ofcourse,there is a limit to the amount of time one can spend on installing an operating system and so I gave up

While I think that open source software is a wonderful idea,the average home computer user will have to wait.Linux is making serious inroads into Microsoft territory in the work and educational environments.Offering Linux distros bundled with personal computers is a great idea to popularise Linux.But Linux distributors will have to think of widening their driver database (a device driver is a software component that interacts with a hardware device) if they even want to think of challenging Microsoft.

That is the sad part,because I would prefer friendly penguins that are full of life to windows that are made of dead wood or metal.Ofcourse that may be because I am the kind of person who,if asked to choose between a dog and a diamond,would always choose the dog