Battling homophobia in India

The Delhi High court has said, show proof, not religious text to continue criminalisation of homosexuality.

First thoughts are that finally, someone is at least willing to go beyond the taboo.  It may not be a major achievement in itself, but it is a start. 

I'm confident that sodomy laws are something India inherited from the original British Constitution. Unfortunately a more updated set of human rights propogated by the UN have never been totally digested by India. From first hand experience I can vouch that there is wide spread homophobia in India. 

Its time to move on and be open minded. I'm puzzled by the societal conservatism of a group of people who could fathom such a thing as Kamasutra or the sculptures of Ajanta/Ellora in the days gone by. 

Influence is not a bad thing. The onus is open the peoples to take what's good and leave what's not so much. Nothing that has the potential to discriminate is good.

The Burden of Ancestry

pride
-a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

-a group of lions

"I'm proud to be an Indian"
"I'm proud of my choice to become an Australian citizen"

While I'm guilty of making such statements and feeling them genuinely, I often wonder , how can one be proud of something that, in varying degrees has been merely coincidental. For instance, starting with the pride about being Indian. Me being Indian, isn't a conscious choice. It's just there and I'm it. Although becoming an Australian citizen was more of a choice, coming to Australia was not. And the latter is just a consequence of the former.

Similarly, a feeling of shame, sorrow or regret for belonging to a nationality/race/religion/caste is equally without any merit. Dealing with it comes down to one of the best lessons a Mother teaches a child: "There's good and bad in everything. It is upon us to take what's good and change what's bad."

Now that is a lesson that deserves Pride. Those who differentiate between the right and wrong or better yet, develop a conscience deserve to be proud of it. Right, wrong and conscience are extremely relative and they may not mean the same to everyone. This where I draw inspiration from the founding fathers of great nations. Right, to me, is respecting diversity, accepting shortcomings and acting to make changes, without prejudice and being judgmental.

The title, "Burden of Ancestry", is what every one of us has in them, some good, some bad. Some were the oppressed, some were the oppressors and some were unaffected. The oppressed, as survivors, carry with them, the burden of all the insecurities of the oppressors. Whether with awareness or not, the oppressors carry forward the burden of guilt.

Each one of us in passing generations have the power to change that in little ways. At the very least, that chain that is being passed on can be severed by trying to learn from the past and by trying to understand, what was previously assumed.

Of democracy, nuclear weapons and progress

The current situation in South Asia, sparks the age old issue of asserting a sense of superiority over each other, particularly for India and Pakistan, the two nuclear stats in the region.

Instead of the Governments, people or Military taking swipes individually, it'll be productive to focus on common good. And yes as exciting as bombing each other sounds, it is barely the means to end the suffering of millions of people in the sub-continent. You only have to live in the sub-continent to know the suffering. We live in contradiction. With the slums outside the malls and the barely standing roads connecting our hi-tech cities.

People have a right to self determination, be it Pakistan or India. All south asian countries are at present in the process of discovering, or rather, making for themselves a gourmet democracy, a democracy that they can live with. Sometimes it's built on ideals such as "secularism" or "islamic republic", without the general populace completely understanding what it means or what the rammifications could be for the generations to come.

Both countries have a lot to boast about, the recent economic growth, the military prowess and such. When it comes to some of the basics like Literacy, Sanitation and Internal Security, they have failed miserably from time to time.

The machinery surrounding the politicians and the military of both countries have thrived on demonizing each other. For instance, I don't see why border dispute is the biggest threat to India, at a time when wealth inequalities run the risk of alienating a good 30% of the people. I don't have the statistics for Pakistan, but I'm sure the illiteracy rate is somwehere similar, which is rather unfortunate.

India has had a stable democracy on paper, and as many nations would vouch, there is no such thing as "perfect" democracy. But it is to be believed in, because its the only way forward. The scorecard for Pakistan isn't quite impressive, at least for an outsider due to the constant intervention of the Military in the affairs of the Judiciary and an elected Legislature.

I will hope that the people of Pakistan determine what is best for them and usher in a future, where both countries, will claim Literacy and Economic prosperity as their biggest achievement and not the means to "wipe each other off the face of this planet"

state of affairs

1. a general disillusionment with mass and populist media
2. seeking a deeper understanding of world affairs and conflicts that is independent of any prisms

the voice of my conscience

vik(as')-conscience
are my expressions/rants about politics, human rights issues, media and other things, not including the following:

Myself
Eloping with the breeze
Internet/Technology
My Cult (Pun intended)