Posts
Must check this link out. CFR is pretty awesome! Thanks Jayshree.
http://www.cfr.org/interactives/CG_Pakistan/index.html
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Honor Killings - Bringing dishonor to India.
We have traditionally been a society that's obsessed with caste, religion and class. But for people to get away with murder under the guise of 'Honor Killings' in the 21st century, in the world's largest democracy, makes one cringe and seethe with anger. Lest you think that this is only prevalent in the "lower classes" or in villages, I recently came across this news article about a murder in New Friends Colony in New Delhi in what appears to be a middle class educated family!
And dont even get me started on the Khap Panchayats that have the audacity to issue the death penalty to couples who are caught bringing dishonor to their caste or gotra. Instead of distancing themselves from these idiotic self appointed kangaroo courts of supposed virtue, our politicians (young ones included) are siding with them and actually taking their case to the PM. Where is the conviction to stand up for what is right? Why are these politicians in public service if their only concern is to enrich themselves with lucrative government contracts? And why isnt the public angrier or demand answers?
The PM and his cabinet are slow as always in making decisions. A recent proposal to amend the Indian Penal Code to punish these Khap Panchayats with the death penalty if they ever encourage such killings has been shelved by putting the amendments "under review". Swift action is warranted but as always our politicians have to worry about potentially alienating this criminal voter base.
At the end of the day, the message going out to the public is that a mob can get away with anything! That's why any small group can go and attack a TV channel for supposed derogatory remarks against their leader, even if those remarks are true. The police are controlled by their political masters and have no independence despite the PM's repeated assurances that reforms are coming. I am a big fan of Mr. Manmohan Singh. I think he is the right man for the job and is a true patriot. But his pace of bureaucratic and police reforms, his inability to fire corrupt ministers and his constant setting up of a committee to review every potential action is beginning to frustrate everyone. And I havent even gone into the CWG mess!
So what do we do? Get the laws in place that make such a crime punishable by death, get the police cracking down hard on perpetrators, improve the general situation of law and order, give the police more independence, better pay and better equipment! Its really not rocket science. Everyone knows the solution. We just fail to act on it and the public just accepts the pace of change as - this is India, we are like this only.
Well - we are not like this! We deserve better. We are better!
And dont even get me started on the Khap Panchayats that have the audacity to issue the death penalty to couples who are caught bringing dishonor to their caste or gotra. Instead of distancing themselves from these idiotic self appointed kangaroo courts of supposed virtue, our politicians (young ones included) are siding with them and actually taking their case to the PM. Where is the conviction to stand up for what is right? Why are these politicians in public service if their only concern is to enrich themselves with lucrative government contracts? And why isnt the public angrier or demand answers?
The PM and his cabinet are slow as always in making decisions. A recent proposal to amend the Indian Penal Code to punish these Khap Panchayats with the death penalty if they ever encourage such killings has been shelved by putting the amendments "under review". Swift action is warranted but as always our politicians have to worry about potentially alienating this criminal voter base.
At the end of the day, the message going out to the public is that a mob can get away with anything! That's why any small group can go and attack a TV channel for supposed derogatory remarks against their leader, even if those remarks are true. The police are controlled by their political masters and have no independence despite the PM's repeated assurances that reforms are coming. I am a big fan of Mr. Manmohan Singh. I think he is the right man for the job and is a true patriot. But his pace of bureaucratic and police reforms, his inability to fire corrupt ministers and his constant setting up of a committee to review every potential action is beginning to frustrate everyone. And I havent even gone into the CWG mess!
So what do we do? Get the laws in place that make such a crime punishable by death, get the police cracking down hard on perpetrators, improve the general situation of law and order, give the police more independence, better pay and better equipment! Its really not rocket science. Everyone knows the solution. We just fail to act on it and the public just accepts the pace of change as - this is India, we are like this only.
Well - we are not like this! We deserve better. We are better!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Europe's new obsession with the Burqa and why you cant beat oppression by being oppressive!
Recently the lower house of the French Parliament passed a ban on any veils that cover the face (including the burqa) in any public place in France. The legislation passed 335 - 1. Yes, you read that right. Only 1 lawmaker voted against the bill which makes wearing a veil punishable with a 150 euro fine. It doesn't matter if its your own choice to wear it, as someone who wants the freedom to practice one's own religion would want to. Belgium already has a similar law and Spain, Austria and Italy are thinking of enacting something on the same lines.
What's their logic? In the NYT piece, entitled “Tearing Away the Veil” the leader of the French National Assembly, Jean-François Copé, puts forth his arguments as to why such a ban is necessary. Let's discuss a couple of his arguments:
"This face covering poses a serious safety problem at a time when security cameras play an important role in the protection of public order. An armed robbery recently committed in the Paris suburbs by criminals dressed in burqas provided an unfortunate confirmation of this fact."
Hmmm... One armed robbery. Mr. Cope - How many armed robberies have occurred where the criminals had ski masks on? Or some sort of other disguise like a wig or even a Darth Vader costume (as this recent NY robbery). Should we ban all ski masks, wigs and Halloween costumes because they can be used as disguises?
Here's another one:
"Let’s take one example: The fact that people are prohibited from strolling down Fifth Avenue in the nude does not constitute an attack on the fundamental rights of nudists. Likewise, wearing headgear that fully covers the face does not constitute a fundamental liberty. To the contrary, it is an insurmountable obstacle to the affirmation of a political community that unites citizens without regard to differences in sex, origin or religious faith."
Wow! Seriously? Did he just compare the right to practice one's religion with strolling nude down 5th avenue? Let's make this clear Mr. Cope - no one is saying that the freedom of expression and the right to practice one's religion gives a person the right to break the law. In fact, it is well settled law that someone's religion does not give that person the right to violate societal norms and laws but at the same time enacting a law aimed specifically at banning one religious community's beliefs and customs on no real public safety or law and order issue violates basic human rights!
The main reason that advocates for the ban generally state is that they are trying to liberate women from oppression. That by passing this law, fathers and husbands will no longer be able to force women to go out in a veil. But have these lawmakers considered that now perhaps these same fathers and husbands will no longer allow "their women" to go out except when absolutely necessary? Isn't that oppressing these same women a LOT more? And what about women who want to wear the veil of their own volition? Their fundamental right to practice their religion should be denied because these lawmakers think they're being human rights champions? John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination in Europe said this about the ban - "A complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab in public as an expression of their identity or beliefs."
Obviously, I am against anyone forcing their views and beliefs on another and I am all for prosecuting men who force women to wear the burqa or suppress them in any other way. But a blanket ban like this sends the wrong message. You are empowering fundamentalists who will use this ban to flame resentment in the community. Perhaps a better alternative is to fund organizations who work towards empowering women in these communities? A better government sponsored outreach program that provides education and jobs to women so they are independent and can stand up against oppression?
C'mon Europe - you cant beat oppression by being oppressive!
What's their logic? In the NYT piece, entitled “Tearing Away the Veil” the leader of the French National Assembly, Jean-François Copé, puts forth his arguments as to why such a ban is necessary. Let's discuss a couple of his arguments:
"This face covering poses a serious safety problem at a time when security cameras play an important role in the protection of public order. An armed robbery recently committed in the Paris suburbs by criminals dressed in burqas provided an unfortunate confirmation of this fact."
Hmmm... One armed robbery. Mr. Cope - How many armed robberies have occurred where the criminals had ski masks on? Or some sort of other disguise like a wig or even a Darth Vader costume (as this recent NY robbery). Should we ban all ski masks, wigs and Halloween costumes because they can be used as disguises?
"Let’s take one example: The fact that people are prohibited from strolling down Fifth Avenue in the nude does not constitute an attack on the fundamental rights of nudists. Likewise, wearing headgear that fully covers the face does not constitute a fundamental liberty. To the contrary, it is an insurmountable obstacle to the affirmation of a political community that unites citizens without regard to differences in sex, origin or religious faith."
Wow! Seriously? Did he just compare the right to practice one's religion with strolling nude down 5th avenue? Let's make this clear Mr. Cope - no one is saying that the freedom of expression and the right to practice one's religion gives a person the right to break the law. In fact, it is well settled law that someone's religion does not give that person the right to violate societal norms and laws but at the same time enacting a law aimed specifically at banning one religious community's beliefs and customs on no real public safety or law and order issue violates basic human rights!
The main reason that advocates for the ban generally state is that they are trying to liberate women from oppression. That by passing this law, fathers and husbands will no longer be able to force women to go out in a veil. But have these lawmakers considered that now perhaps these same fathers and husbands will no longer allow "their women" to go out except when absolutely necessary? Isn't that oppressing these same women a LOT more? And what about women who want to wear the veil of their own volition? Their fundamental right to practice their religion should be denied because these lawmakers think they're being human rights champions? John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination in Europe said this about the ban - "A complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab in public as an expression of their identity or beliefs."
Obviously, I am against anyone forcing their views and beliefs on another and I am all for prosecuting men who force women to wear the burqa or suppress them in any other way. But a blanket ban like this sends the wrong message. You are empowering fundamentalists who will use this ban to flame resentment in the community. Perhaps a better alternative is to fund organizations who work towards empowering women in these communities? A better government sponsored outreach program that provides education and jobs to women so they are independent and can stand up against oppression?
C'mon Europe - you cant beat oppression by being oppressive!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Time for India to flex its muscles?
We’ve always known that India is a soft state. We have never attacked or invaded another country and as the former Deputy National Security Adviser Satish Chandra says “India’s problem is that we have never imposed a price on any nation for action taken against us. We keep silent and accept whatever comes our way.” While our restraint and deliberate response to events are mostly praiseworthy, every so often I feel our country is letting its people down by being too soft.
A lot has already been written about David Headley, formerly known as Daood Gilani who was primarily responsible for scouting the locations and providing intelligence to the 26/11 Mumbai attackers. He has accepted his role in the attacks and is currently in a Chicago prison as part of a plea deal that the US struck with him that guarantees that he will never be extradited to India. The deal itself was shocking to most Indians. Here was a country waging a global “war against terror” striking a bargain with someone responsible for killing almost 200 people in Mumbai.
If you dig in to the saga of David Headley, you realize there is a distinct possibility that this guy was a CIA double agent. To give you a little background, Daood Gilani as he was called then, was arrested for smuggling heroin into the US in 1997. He was sentenced to 15 months jail and 5 years of supervised release. But 2 months after 9/11, the US attorney’s office applied to have him discharged! He then made several trips to Pakistan supposedly to assist the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), changed his name to David Headley and started travelling to India. This constant travel between the US, Pakistan and India by someone who has prior drug ties apparently did not raise any suspicions. Also, lets not forget that the US had warned India specifically of imminent attacks via the sea and attacks on 5-star hotels and other locations. Since the warnings were part of a series of other warnings, this one was not given adequate attention. Skeptical? Then just think about this – why give him a plea deal when there is so much evidence against him that any jury would have found him guilty?
Which brings me to another question - would such a plea deal ever be offered to the people currently being investigated as part of the attempted Times Square bombing in New York (where no one actually died)? In fact, the US has put so much pressure on Pakistan that they have made arrests (including the arrest of a Major in the Pakistani Army) within a few days! Compare that to Haafiz Saeed (the chief architect of the Mumbai attacks against whom the evidence is unquestionable) who is scot free despite repeated “requests” from India to hand him over. Of course, no one is taking India seriously because of our past record. Our plane was hijacked and we negotiated, our parliament was attacked and we sat quiet, bombs keep going off on our streets, in our trains and we just sit there and do nothing! In fact, we’ve all become so accustomed to being screened and frisked every time we go to the movies, the mall, hotels etc., that being constantly scared of an attack seems like a natural state to us.
Compare this to Israel’s response and attitude. If you followed the news recently, you’d have heard of the James Bond style assassination carried out by a Mossad team of hitmen of a Palestinian terror suspect in Dubai. It sent a clear message – DON’T MESS WITH US OR WE’LL COME AND GET YOU! It was similar to their deadly retaliation against the group that killed Israeli athletes in Munich (the movie Munich goes into the details of this retaliation). They called it Operation Wrath of God! Isn’t it time that the Indian state sends this message to our enemies? Isn’t it time for us to flex our muscles?
A lot has already been written about David Headley, formerly known as Daood Gilani who was primarily responsible for scouting the locations and providing intelligence to the 26/11 Mumbai attackers. He has accepted his role in the attacks and is currently in a Chicago prison as part of a plea deal that the US struck with him that guarantees that he will never be extradited to India. The deal itself was shocking to most Indians. Here was a country waging a global “war against terror” striking a bargain with someone responsible for killing almost 200 people in Mumbai.
If you dig in to the saga of David Headley, you realize there is a distinct possibility that this guy was a CIA double agent. To give you a little background, Daood Gilani as he was called then, was arrested for smuggling heroin into the US in 1997. He was sentenced to 15 months jail and 5 years of supervised release. But 2 months after 9/11, the US attorney’s office applied to have him discharged! He then made several trips to Pakistan supposedly to assist the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), changed his name to David Headley and started travelling to India. This constant travel between the US, Pakistan and India by someone who has prior drug ties apparently did not raise any suspicions. Also, lets not forget that the US had warned India specifically of imminent attacks via the sea and attacks on 5-star hotels and other locations. Since the warnings were part of a series of other warnings, this one was not given adequate attention. Skeptical? Then just think about this – why give him a plea deal when there is so much evidence against him that any jury would have found him guilty?
Which brings me to another question - would such a plea deal ever be offered to the people currently being investigated as part of the attempted Times Square bombing in New York (where no one actually died)? In fact, the US has put so much pressure on Pakistan that they have made arrests (including the arrest of a Major in the Pakistani Army) within a few days! Compare that to Haafiz Saeed (the chief architect of the Mumbai attacks against whom the evidence is unquestionable) who is scot free despite repeated “requests” from India to hand him over. Of course, no one is taking India seriously because of our past record. Our plane was hijacked and we negotiated, our parliament was attacked and we sat quiet, bombs keep going off on our streets, in our trains and we just sit there and do nothing! In fact, we’ve all become so accustomed to being screened and frisked every time we go to the movies, the mall, hotels etc., that being constantly scared of an attack seems like a natural state to us.
Compare this to Israel’s response and attitude. If you followed the news recently, you’d have heard of the James Bond style assassination carried out by a Mossad team of hitmen of a Palestinian terror suspect in Dubai. It sent a clear message – DON’T MESS WITH US OR WE’LL COME AND GET YOU! It was similar to their deadly retaliation against the group that killed Israeli athletes in Munich (the movie Munich goes into the details of this retaliation). They called it Operation Wrath of God! Isn’t it time that the Indian state sends this message to our enemies? Isn’t it time for us to flex our muscles?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sikhism, its growing distance with the youth and the story of outrage over a tattoo
I didn’t intend for my first post on this blog to be about religion. After all the blog is all about politics in
Mandira's tattoo leaves Akal Takht fuming
This tattoo has created so much controversy that the Sikh leaders at the Akal Takht have threatened to excommunicate her from the community unless she gets it removed.
Which brings me to why I felt I had to write on this issue. When I look at my fellow Sikh youth today, I see more and more of them not understanding the tenets of Sikhism and feeling ashamed to stand out in a crowd by displaying the 5K's. Most have grown up with no teaching of Sikh history and therefore don’t understand the essence that makes Sikhism such a great religion and way of life.
Even a brief look at our history will tell you that Sikhism has been one of the most progressive and liberal religions of modern times. It was our gurus that first said that all men are equal and completely set aside the caste system. They introduced a community kitchen (langar) so everyone, irrespective of their caste, religion or social background would eat together. This at a time when Brahmins would not even eat food made in the same utensils that were used to make food for the lower castes. Our gurus spoke openly against sati, idol worship and equality of women - all really controversial topics of their times. They were true social reformers and as Sikhs our commitment to their cause of social reform and justice is represented by our outward symbols of faith - the turban, the kara etc.
But it seems our Sikh leaders of today are out of sync with what our religion represents. Every other day we read reports of fights breaking out in the streets of
The world, being as divided as it is today, needs to hear about our values more than ever. And Sikh leaders need to ask themselves - what would our gurus do? They were some of the most progressive people of their times with radical views on equality and social justice. So really, should you focus on a tattoo that a celebrity gets on her back or on the alarming rate of male to female ratio in regions most densely populated by Sikhs? I have a Khanda Sahib tattooed on my arm. It was not out of disrespect but out of love for my religion that I got it. I suspect Mandira Bedi's reasons were similar to mine.
So lets get our acts together! And my fellow progressive Sikhs - lets stand by Mandira Bedi and tell her that she need not get that tattoo removed. Our guru's certainly would have advocated for personal freedom of expression!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mandiras-tattoo-leaves-Akal-Takht-fuming/articleshow/5932856.cms
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