Straight but not Narrow

The High court of Delhi recently declared a verdict that brought great despair and disappointment for thousands of LGBT people in India. Act 377 of the Indian Constitution now makes homosexuality illegal. Protest rallies against the unfair decision are going on in various cities. It is high time that such barbaric and irrational laws are removed to make sure there is an egalitarian society in place where individual choices are respected. Just because majority people in the country are straight does not mean that LGBT rights can be neglected.

It is a basic human right to have whatever sexual orientation you prefer. Originally the Article 377 of the constitution dates back to 1860. So why should such a law even exist in the 21^st century?

Homosexuality is not something that has suddenly risen from the ashes. It has existed from times immemorial. Even the sculptures in the Konark temple at Puri are clear evidences of it. It is deeply absurd that a huge chunk of the older generation in India and numerous politicians of the country tout homosexuality as unnatural and disgusting.

The first time I heard about homosexuality was when I was probably in class 9^th or 10^th and it appalled me. It seemed weird to me. I thought one becomes gay or lesbian depending on the circumstances that he or she is exposed to but as I grew up and got to know the hard core facts, my understanding of the term completely changed. Today I empathize with the LGBT community absolutely and sincerely hope that as soon as possible they should get the rights they deserve. To comprehend their situation let us keep ourselves in their shoes for once. What if there was a parallel universe where homosexuality is the socially accepted sexual orientation? Straight people like us would be told to get married to a person of the same sex irrespective of our personal preferences. Would we be able to do it? No, we wouldn’t. Then how can we expect the same from the LGBT community?

Even without a law that criminalizes gay sex it was hard enough for any person to convince his parents about his or her homosexual orientation but with “377” in place it is the final nail in the coffin. Earlier parents cited societal norms and prejudices as reasons for not accepting their children but now they can simply cite the law and rub off any argument on this issue with their kids. This law is inhuman in more ways than one.

It has not only crushed the hopes of the LGBT community but also of all those NGOs and social activists who have been working for this cause for several years. It has taken India 153 years back. At a time when India is developing at a fast pace and is making its mark at the global level a decision like this is a huge setback for the entire nation.

Fixing......fixing and more fixing!!!

Recently when S.Shreesanth was arrested on charges of spot fixing it came as a huge shock to the cricketing world.Two other players were also arrested Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.All three of them were part of the teams that are currently playing for the IPL 2013.Personally I have never had much interest in cricket but still it was disheartening to see something like this happen.In India cricket is treated as a religion and that is why people have huge respect for cricketers.To see the same people play for money has come as a blow for all the cricket fanatics.But didn't everybody see this coming already with the onset of IPL. A game that is played at such a huge financial level that things are almost bound to go wrong.Anyways,hope things do not go from being bad to worse in the future for Indian cricket.

   Govt. humours MPs-may ban all text toons

          A humble letter from a teenager

Dear politicians,

I write this letter as an 18 year old teenager who has read those Civics books in school that have stirred a hornet’s nest in the parliament. Civics is a subject which is far from favourite for a large number of students. The vast amount of theory that has to be mugged up makes it a very dreadful subject. But thanks to the NCERT advisors who came up with the innovative idea of introducing cartoons in textbooks to make them more interactive.

I remember whenever I got bored of reading a chapter I used to flip through the pages, glance at those cartoons and have a chuckle. Contrary to politicians who scrutinized and analyzed a cartoon, as if it was India’s foreign policy and tried figuring out who exactly is being whipped in the cartoon-the snail or Dr.Ambedkar.

Yogendra Yadav, one of the NCERT advisors of these textbooks said in a news show that there was an article in the New York Times which mentioned that these books were a symbol of the fact that Indian democracy has gained a level of maturity. I am sorry to say but thanks to our politicians, now it’s been proved all wrong.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, “Cartoons are for mature minds: not for children”. This brings me to a question-If these children are not being considered mature enough to understand even simple political cartoons at the age of 16 or 17,how exactly are they expected to vote at the age of 18 and decide which politicians should lead the country.

Seems like  Mamta Banerjee had set an ideal precedent for all politicians by reacting fiercely to an innocuous cartoon.If this is the kind of ‘poriborton’ that India is moving forward to, I would say-God bless our country!

Anyway, cartoons or no cartoons today teenagers in India do not think very highly of politicians. Not to mention the rampant corruption and viewing of pornographic videos inside the parliament. Stopping the distribution of these textbooks has erased even those residual hopes that one day teenagers in India will look up to the politicians and say, “I feel proud that people like these lead India”.

Yours sincerely,

A student

P.S.-I wish when this letter finds you, you will be debating over serious issues like the 70,000 tons of wheat rotting in the open(even as millions go hungry to sleep)and not over petty cartoons.

The Norway kids come back to India

                     

Few days ago my brother had come home for a week's holiday from his college.As he packed his stuff on the last day,my mother started loading his bag with as much eatables as she could.She had this desperate look of concern on her face as if her son was going to a famine struck city.After she was done with the home-made items she moved on to the ready-made ones.That's when my brother had to remind her that he could buy those things from shops too.

He helplessly tried to explain her that he was not being malnourished at his hostel,but to no avail.I was busy laughing at the whole 'typical Indian mom' scene when a thought faded  away my smile.

If my mother was so anxious about her 23 year old son going away(despite knowing that he will be back again in two months)how harrowing it must have been for the Bhattacharya parents in Norway who have been away from 1 year old Aishwarya and 3 year old Abhigyan for such a long time.

When the toddlers arrived with their uncle and Norwegian foster parents on 24 April there was an atmosphere of euphoria all around.The trauma and ordeals that Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya have gone through for almost a year are every parent's worst nightmares.

I don't  know what it feels like to be a parent but this episode reminded me of a few past incidents.

Last year when I went to pathology,among the several people who had come there for various kinds of tests was a 3 year old girl who had just been injected for a blood test.She now sat on her mother's lap wailing with all her might.After a while her plight and cries not only brought tears to her mother's eyes but to a few others sitting in the room too.

My 'Mama'(mother's brother)is one of the most emotionally strong people I have ever known.When his 2 year old son accidentally got his thumb pressed between a door and got gravely injured,that was the first time I saw tears in my Mama's eyes.

As I gear up for entrance examinations of colleges in cities other than the one in which my parents live,I can sense their anxiety.They have always tried to keep me safe and secure in the cocoon that they have created around me.And now the thought of sending their daughter to an unknown city is beginning to frighten them.But till then I  am just glad that I live in India and not Norway and I thank God for reuniting those kids with their family again.