Moral Policing – India isn’t Taliban yet!!!

The other day while watching news I came across a news report in which some 40 goons barged into a Pub in Mangalore and started beating the hell out of young men and women present in the pub. They justified the action by telling that in India women should restrain from going to pubs and follow Indian culture. This is the point wherein I disagree with them and would like to ask these people “Is it an Indian culture that you infringe upon someone’s personal life and property”? I would just like to ask these people who have made them the moral police to decide what to be done. We are a great nation because we are a democratic country and give respect to each other’s personal life. I am also of the opinion that some moral policing is required in this country but it needs to be proper and not for some silly reason like this. We should be happy that ours is not Taliban ruled country where some silly organisation can come and decide, on behalf of others, what needs to be done. And we should discourage these kinds of actions. Because these small things can take serious turns for which we will repent in future. 

Award Nights – How much is too much?

Last night I watched the Star Screen Award night. It has been a long time since I watched one of these awards shows as I was at home and on the Republic Day eve, I did not have anything better to do. So I thought let’s give this award shows one more chance. There are quite a few reasons for not watching these shows. First, I feel these awards shows are all fixed. One can easily make out by seeing that some of the well deserved people never get the awards and all the stars (yes I m not talking of actors here) get the award not for their acting but for being popular. Second reason being, over the past few years the standard of the jokes in these awards ceremony has gone from bad to worse. And yesterday I was appalled to see the standard of the jokes. Sajid, Farha and Shreyas co-hosted the evening. The whole evening the trio made fun of movies like Dostana and Fashion. It’s not that I liked these movies but then there is a limit upto which you can take any jokes. And most of the time the jokes were below the belt. Finally Ashutosh Gowarikar got chance and he spoke his mind condemning the way the award ceremony was being hosted. I feel that only those people have right to make fun of others who have the courage to face the criticism. The response from Sajid after the backlash of Ashutosh was uncalled for. It showed he couldn’t take the criticism.

But it’s not that all the non-deserving people received the award. Some of the excellent performances did not go unnoticed. A special mention to the movie “A Wednesday” should be given. This is the kind of movie which you normally won’t except to take any award because Indian awards shows are not for talent but for popular. Still it managed to receive some of the better awards offered during the night. But one thing I could still connect to my rationality of not seeing the awards ceremony for the above mentioned reasons. And after seeing the ceremony I have decided I would not see these awards ceremony again (Until or unless I am bored to death and have nothing else to do).

Search Engines – Are they doing more harm than good???

Krish: “Hey Gaurav!!! We need to do our assignment and the deadline is tomorrow”

Gaurav: “Why do you worry Krish? We have Google na. We can finish it anytime”.

 

Ram: “Arre yaar 10 questions aaj raat tak submit karne hain. Pata nahin kaise honge”.

Shyam: “Abe Yahoo hai na. Itni chinta kyun karta hai. 5 min mein saare answer mil jayenge. Chill maar yaar”

 

Teacher: “All you people have to submit a write up on Latest Development in Financial Market in the next class”

Students among themselves: “Not a big deal. It hardly takes 10 min to search a project or write-ups from net and then copy paste”

"What do all the above mentioned scenarios in common?" It’s the search engines courtesy latest technology. But seriously speaking have we ever wondered what they are doing to the current generation and what could be its implications in the future. It’s so easy to flow with the technology and go for the easiest route, not knowing about its implications. Search engines – undoubtedly one of the greatest inventions of our generations (It can be gauged from the number of hits in a day they generate). It has been such a revolution that one can get any data with a click of the mouse. But with it we tend to neglect its implications on us. Have we ever wondered how much harm it is doing to the current generation? We all are becoming so much dependent on search engines that we have stopped working hard to get our results. Earlier there were times when we would refer all the books for any assignments or run or grey cells everywhere to come out with some projects. But nowadays as soon as we get anything we go for the simplest route. We are not even bothered to come out with new ideas or refer a book. There are so many of the examples but I would like to quote a few of them:

1. When we get any project or assignment, we search for them in the net and then directly copy paste them.
2. Whenever we get any code error or system error, then instead of solving them we look out for answer on the net.
3. Infact we have become so much reliant on the search engines, that many a times we are not even bothered to type the correct spelling. We leave it to the search engines to get the correct spellings.

These are examples that our generation is becoming dependent on technology without knowing the consequences. It’s always advised not to become so much reliant on something but look what we have done to us. I am not telling that search engines are not useful but look what implications it can have in the new future. I would just propose that next time you want something then just try all the alternatives before using these tools. Let you control them than being controlled by them. 

Should India take lessons from Israel?

Past few days people like me have looked in amazement the way Israel has retaliated to the Hamas^* actions. Israel has virtually taken the attack to the Gaza^€ and have bombarded with flurry of rockets resulting in death of over 500 people (90% of them being Hamas militant). The question which came to everyone’s mind was: Did India blunder in not attacking militant’s camp in Pakistan?

Like every other patriotic Indian I would have loved to see India flushing out militants from Pakistani camps across the border. But I also know from India’s past history and political establishment that such kind of action would not take place.

But what could be the reasons that India isn’t Israel or Pakistan isn’t another Gaza? If a small state like Israel is able to hold its fortress against its big rich neighbours, then why a large state like India can’t replicate the same against a smaller country like Pakistan?

There might be so many parallels between  

1. Israel and India
2. Gaza and Pakistan &
3. Hamas and Lashkae-e-Taiba

but that doesn’t mean that actions can also be the same. There are other reasons also which determine a country’s actions.

Reason 1: Pakistan isn’t Gaza

In terms of military might between Israel and Gaza, it is the story of David vs Goliath. The military might of Pakistan is no way inferior to India the same way is that of Gaza against Israel. If India chooses to go for attack against Pakistan, then in retaliation Pakistan can go for nuclear attack against India (which is the last thing world needs).

Reason 2: Targets

It has been more than a month since the Mumbai attack, the militant would have shifted base by now. With whole of ISI backing the militants it’s not a tall order for them to move the base of the militants in the whole of Pakistan. The militants get their main support from the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and after every such attack in India it has been a norm that militants shift their base.

Reason 3: It isn’t first for Israel

This isn’t the first time that Israel has orchestrated attacks against the militant camps across the border. Israel has been surrounded by its enemies and knows that in order to survive it needs to be proactive than just being reactive. Over so many years whenever the militants have intensified attack against Israeli citizens, Israel has reacted with such stern actions. This time also it has been of over two months of rocket barrages in Israeli territory, so the writing was clear that Israel would react.

Reason 4: US Approval

The whole world knows that the audacity of Israel while dealing with its neighbours is all due to the support it gets from US. The same kind of support India can’t hope to achieve from US. Furthermore, India can’t get the backing of US the way US extends to Israel. It is also no secret that Pakistan has got the backing of China which is another threat in India’s neighbour. So a full escalation war might result in the proxy support to Pakistan from China.

Reason 5: Political will

The most important reason that India won’t attack Pakistan is that India doesn’t have political will. The political bosses, for reasons known to them, won’t take action which might put them in bad light. This can be gauged from the fact that for the past few days there has been only war of words between Pakistan and India but no action from India’s side.

Conclusion:

One may feel very much agitated against the 26/11 attack but the truth is that India isn’t Israel and Pakistan isn’t Gaza. So military action is ruled out and diplomacy is to be adopted. But how long can this go? This has to end someday. And for that India needs to act tough. By tough one need not replicate Israel but then one need to show if such attacks don’t stop, then we might take action like Israeli’s do. And that day people like me would be proud of our country.

^* Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni paramilitary organization and political party which holds a majority of seats in the elected legislative council of the Palestinian National Authority. Hamas was created in 1987. It is notorious for its numerous suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces.

^€ Gaza Strip is about 41 km in length and 6-12 Km wide. It houses over 1.4 million Palestinians. The area is not recognized internationally as part of any sovereign country but is claimed by the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Palestinian territories. Israel governed the Gaza Strip from 1967-2005. Pursuant to the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel maintains control of the strip's airspace, territorial waters, and offshore maritime access, as well as its side of the Gaza-Israel border.