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A question that must have been running in many people’s mind that why social evils like honor killing persist in the society and especially in countries like India, where people talk about democracy and freedom of speech and expression. The most saddening fact about such offense is that it is supported by the heads of councils and communities.Honor killing is not a new concept as it is being practiced from long period of time. But in recent time the issue has glorified more. It is the murder of usually female member by one or more fellow mostly male family members, in which the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonor upon the family, clan, or community.Meanwhile, there is a misconception among people that honor killings is confided to north in India including states like, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. But this is a reality check time.The evil concept of honor killing is not only confided to north India but it is highly followed in south India as well. Although, initially a series of incidents were reported from the northern parts of India but now it has spread to south. A recent study revealed that the reports of such grubby incidents are coming from all over the country.This is a high time when serious steps should be taken by the government to tackle honor killings.

Indians love grandeur! Be it the big-fat Indian wedding, or the legacy of joint-mega-family, or the bollywood flick with half a dozen songs, each one of them, at times picturing over 100 dancers- all choreographed to loud and pomp music. So well, in India size does matter- the bigger the better! India is a big country, it is ranked 7th in the world in terms of land area. And well, to fill this vast land, we got enough people- over 1.20 billion of them. Now that’s a XXXL crowd of people! So we got the first check-box ticked for a ‘super-power’? - the size and the fondness for it. (after all US and the resurging China have exemplified that a large piece of land is a good start-point to become a rising superpower!) So what does ‘Superpower’ mean? For a nation, it indicates global clout – a voice of power in matters of world trade, international affairs, and of course a strong economy! But how would, if our country does attain this position help you and me, or to a daily wage earning laborer from one of our interior villages, or the countless service class people in metro cities? Ironic, isn’t it? I think this is where the word ‘superpower’ gets misplaced. A common man wouldn’t care a damn if, even after India becomes a world super-power, there is no substantial improvement in the daily ordeal for him. He would rather prefer an improved public transport (an additional local train or two to ease the peak hour rush a couple more buses plying on the busy routes)…affordable housing, effective policing and security, regular power supply, better hospitals, convenience in securing the basic amenities food, equitable social development and a happy life, than attaining the dream of a super-power nation. I understand that this is not a new topic, and it will be an endless list of things that each one of us will be able to provide of things we think need urgent fixing, but shall we just put a top 3 of things that we think can imminently ease the common man’s life! (lets uphold public spirit and mention things that will benefit maximum) J

Politics And Politicians Of India The present state of the politics as a whole and politicians in particular of India, which has stooped into a degenerated level that the independent India has ever witnessed, is a cause of concern for the all Indians. The present state of the politics in India, when compared with that was existing during the pre-independence era and also during the period immediately after the acquisition of independence, is rather poor and pathetic. During the pre-independence era we had politicians of the stature of Mahatma Gandhi, Gokhale, Maulana Azad, Sardar Patel, Nehru etc, who all were regarded as politicians with a deep rooted concern for the well being of the Nation and possessed an attitude of putting the Nation before Self. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for the cause of Independence, which was the prime concern for them during that period. They never compromised on anything that would deviate them from achieving their prime goal – the Independence. And, they did achieved it. Of course, the ‘freedom at midnight’, as it is famously known as, was not achieved without its share of blood, tears and sweat. It did took its share of all that. And those politicians, who were sincere to their backbones, paid their due share towards achieving it. The present day politicians are nothing but a shadow of those great ones who were once at the helm of the political scenario of this land of pristine purity. Even calling the present day politicians a shadow of the old ones may not even be justified since they don’t qualify even for that. Of course, there are some among the present lot of politicians who would still like to upkeep the standard of the politics on a par with the olden days, but due to the brute majority of the other category of politicians, they are unable to do so. Today you have scams and scams and scams. Scams of all categories in the political arena are the norm of the day. The exchequer is fed up of getting up every day and reading in the newspapers or listening to news broadcasts announcing about yet another scam whereby the National has been taken for a ride by the powers that be. The politicians of the day are not interested in the time tested watch words of the Indian Politics such as ethics, honesty, upbringing of the poor and the downtrodden etc. Instead they are interested only in adding more to their bank accounts by resorting to any mode to loot the Treasury. You have Rajas, Kanmozhis, Kamadis in place of Mahatmas, Nehrus, Azads. And, with them are the invisible multinationals of indigenous and foreign origin who controls these so called politicians. They control the three supposed to be sacred wings of the Government Legislature, Judiciary and Executive. The control is almost complete and has reached a very dangerous level. One may call it a point of no return. The so called ‘left’ wing politicians, who were looked upon as the saviours of the downtrodden have also joined this bandwagon of the ‘right’ wingers in the recent times. In fact the policies of the left wing politicians have undergone a sea change and presently agrees with the policies of the right wingers which they used to oppose very vehemently once upon a time. Who is to blame? It is the question now-a-days going around in the country without any hope of finding any viable answer to it. According to me, you may blame it on the mindless acceptance of the western culture as the way of living in a land which is the birth place of the civilization of the world. The mindless treading of that rich culture with that of a degenerated culture of the west, where everything is measured in dollars, has dealt a severe blow to the well defined and cultured way of living of our great nation where everything ‘used to be’ measured by divinity, ethics, honesty, purity, etc. The deliberate lose of such a rich heritage resulted in degeneration of the politics in India. While we may hold the politicians wholly responsible for it, the fact remains that we the citizens cannot exonerate ourselves from taking a fare share of it, as we too are guilty of being party to bringing the state of affairs in today’s politics to such a stand. We are guilty of being silent or mute spectators to the political dramas that were being enacted by the politicians during the past two decades or so.