ಜೀವ ರೂಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನದಿಗಳ ಒಡಲಲ್ಲಿಂದು ವಿಷ ತುಂಬಿದವರ್ಯಾರು?

ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಒಂದು ತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನದಿ ದಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತುಕೊಂಡು ಒಬ್ಬ ಭಕ್ತನಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಒಬ್ಬ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಆಗಿ ಆ ನದಿಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಹತ್ತಾರು ಜನ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇರ್ತಾರೆ, ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲವರು ಆ ನೀರನ್ನು ತಲೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರೋಕ್ಷಣೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ತಾ ಇರ್ತಾರೆ. ಅದೇ ನದೀಪಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋದರೆ ಮುಂದಿನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯವರು ಆ ನೀರನ್ನು ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗ್ತಾ ಇರ್ತಾರೆ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋದರೆ ಒಂದು ಫ್ಯಾಕ್ಟರಿಯಿಂದ ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಿಸದ ಕೊಳಚೆ ನೀರು ಆ ನದಿಗೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಹರೀತಾ ಇರೋ ನೀರಿಗೆ ಮೈಲಿಗೆ ಇಲ್ವಂತೆ. ಹಾಗಂತ ನಮ್ಮ ಜನ ಶತಮಾನಗಳಿಂದ ನಂಬಿಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅದನ್ನೇ ತಪ್ಪದೆ ಪಾಲಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಬರ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಬೇರೆ ದೇಶದಿಂದ ಬಂದ ಯಾತ್ರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಡಿಯೋಕೆ ಬಾಟಲ್ ನೀರೇ ಬೇಕು. ಹೋಗಲಿ ಅವರು ವಿದೇಶೀಯರು. ಆದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ’ಫಾರಿನ್ ರಿಟರ್ನ್ಡ್’ ಭಾರತೀಯರು ವಿದೇಶೀಯರಿಗಿಂತ ಒಂದು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಮುಂದೆ, ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬರುವಾಗಲೇ ಇರುವಷ್ಟು ದಿನಕ್ಕಾಗುವಷ್ಟು ನೀರನ್ನು ಬಾಟಲ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊತ್ತು ತರ್ತಾರೆ. ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಹುಟ್ಟಿ, ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಬೆಳೆಯುವವರೆಗೆ ಈ ನೀರು ವರ್ಜ್ಯ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗಿ ಎರಡು ವರ್ಷ ಇದ್ದ ಕೂಡಲೆ ಭಾರತ ಕೊಳಕರ ದೇಶ ಆಯಿತಾ ಅನ್ನಿಸ್ತಾ ಇತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಈಗ ಅವರೆಲ್ಲ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಿದ್ರಲ್ಲಿ ತಪ್ಪೆನು ಇಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. ಅವರು ಅವರವರ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಷ್ಟೆ.
ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವಷ್ಟು ನದಿಗಳು ಬೇರೆಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ನಾಗರಿಕತೆಗಳು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದೆಲ್ಲ ನದಿತೀರಗಳಲ್ಲೆ-- ಅಂತೆಲ್ಲ ಈಗಲೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಓದ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಯಾರೂ ಹೇಳದೆ ಇರೋ ಸತ್ಯಗಳು ತುಂಬಾ ಇವೆ. ಈಗ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾಗಿರೋದು ಬದುಕು ಕೊಡೋ ನದಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಸಾಯ್ತಾ ಇರೋ, ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಸತ್ತಿರೋ ನದಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ; ಆ ನದಿಗಳನ್ನು ನಂಬಿಕೊಂಡು ಬದುಕಿದ ಜನರನ್ನು ಸಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಇರೋ ನದಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ.
ಯಮುನಾ ನದಿಗೆ ದೆಹಲಿಯೊಂದರಲ್ಲೇ ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನ ೩.೬ ಬಿಲಿಯನ್ ಟನ್ ಕೊಳಚೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. ಯಮುನೆಯ ಕಥೆಯೇ ಹೀಗಾದರೆ ಇನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮ ಪೂಜ್ಯ ಗಂಗೆಯ ಮಡಿಲಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂದು ಬೀಳುವ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯಗಳ ಕಥೆ ಹೇಳದಿರುವುದೇ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು. ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಹೋಗುವುದೇ ಬೇಡ. ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ನದಿ ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ? ನಮ್ಮ ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿಯ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ರೈತರ ಹೋರಾಟದ ಕಥೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ದುರಂತಮಯ. ನದಿ ನೀರನ್ನೇ ನಂಬಿಕೊಂಡು ವ್ಯವಸಾಯ ಮಾಡಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಯಾಕೆಂದರೆ ನೀರು ಗದ್ದೆಗೆ ಬಿಡದಿದ್ದರೆ ಪೈರು ನಾಶವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ, ಈ ನದಿಯ ನೀರು ಬಿಟ್ಟರೂ ಪೈರು ಸಾಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ನೂರಾರು ಎಕರೆ ಫಲವತ್ತಾದ ಜಮೀನು ಈಗ ಬರಡು ಭೂಮಿ. ಈಗ ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿಯ ನೀರನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿರದ ದಾಂಡೇಲಿಯಲ್ಲೂ ಯಾರೂ ಕುಡಿಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಕುಡಿಯುವ ನೀರು ಬೇರೆ ಕಡೆಯಿಂದ ತರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತ ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಮೀನುಗಾರಿಕೆ, ಹೈನುಗಾರಿಕೆ ಯಾವುದೂ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೇರೆಡೆಯಿಂದ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ತಂದ ಆಕಳು ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ರೋಗಗಳಿಗೆ ಈಡಾಗಿ ಸಾಯುತ್ತವೆ, ಹುಟ್ಟಲಿರುವ ಮಗು, ಅದರ ತಾಯಿ, ದನ-ಕರುಗಳು, ಪೈರು, ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿಯ ನೀರಿನ ಸಂಪರ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜೀವಿಗಳಿಗೂ ಅಪಾಯ ಕಟ್ಟಿಟ್ಟ ಬುತ್ತಿ. ಈ ಕಥೆ ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಕೇಳಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ಇದೆಯಾ? ಹೌದು. ಭೋಪಾಲ್ ಅನಿಲ ದುರಂತಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಲುಕಿಕೊಂಡ ಜನ ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ಕಷ್ಟಗಳನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಇನ್ನೂ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳಿಗೂ ಮೂಲ ಕಾರಣ ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿ ದಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ West Coast Paper Mills ಮತ್ತು caustic soda ಕಾರ್ಖಾನೆಗಳು, ಅವು ರಾಜಾರೋಷವಾಗಿ ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಿಸದೆ ನದಿಗೆ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ರಾಸಾಯನಿಕಗಳು. ಮೂಲಗಳ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, Paper Mills ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನ 64,800 kilolitres ರಾಸಾಯನಿಕಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿಗೆ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಇವಕ್ಕೆಲ್ಲ ಕಲಶ ಇಟ್ಟ ಹಾಗೆ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಲ್ಲೆ ಏಕೈಕ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ದಟ್ಟ ಕಾಡಿನ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಕೈಗಾ ಅಣು ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ಸ್ಥಾವರ. ಸುಪ್ರೀಂ ಕೋರ್ಟ್ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯವನ್ನೂ ತಳ್ಳಿ ಹಾಕಿ ಆ ಸ್ಥಾವರ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ; ಕಾರಣ, ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಅದಕ್ಕೋಸ್ಕರ ಕೋಟಿಗಟ್ಟಲೆ ಹಣ ಖರ್ಚು ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಣು ಸ್ಥಾವರಗಳ ೩ ಕಿ.ಮೀ. ಸುತ್ತಳತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದೇ ಜನ ವಸತಿ ಇರಬಾರದು. ಆದರೆ, ೧.೫ ಕಿ.ಮೀಯಿಂದಲೇ ಜನ ವಸತಿ ಶುರುವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಕೇಳುವವರು ಯಾರು?
"ಪ್ರವಾಹದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಈಜಿದವರಿಗೆ, ಸತ್ಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಹೋರಾಡಿದವರಿಗೆ, ಸಿಗೋದು ಇವು ನಾಲ್ಕು ಮಾತ್ರ: ವ್ಯಂಗ್ಯ, ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಶ್ಯ, ಏಕಾಂಗಿತನ ಮತ್ತು ಅವಮಾನ," ಇದು ೪೦ ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೂ ಮೇಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಪರಿಸರವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡಿರುವ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಇಳಿ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲೂ ಹೋರಾಡುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರುವ ಚಿಪ್ಕೋ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಹರಿಕಾರ ಸುಂದರ್ ಲಾಲ್ ಬಹುಗುಣ ಹೇಳಿದ ಮಾತು. ಕಾಳಿ ಬಚಾವೋ ಆಂದೋಲನದ ರೂವಾರಿ ಕೂಡ ಅವರೇ. ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿಯನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿದ್ದರೆ ಅದು ಜನರಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಧ್ಯ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ ಬಹುಗುಣ. ಗಂಗಾ ನದಿಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದ ತೆಹ್ರಿ ಅಣೆಕಟ್ಟು ಹಿಮಾಲಯದ ಪರಿಸರಕ್ಕೆ, ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ತಪ್ಪಲಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ ಅನ್ನುವ ಬಹುಗುಣರ ಹೋರಾಟಕ್ಕೆ ಜಯ ಸಿಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆ ಅಣೆಕಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ ನೀರನ್ನು ದೆಹಲಿಯ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳ ಮನೆಗೆ, five star ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ಗಳಿಗೆ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ೫೦೦-೧೦೦೦ ಲೀಟರ್ ಕೊಡ್ತಾರೆ, ಆದರೆ ನೀರಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಸಂಕಟ ಪಡುತ್ತಿರೋ ಹಿಮಾಲಯ ತಪ್ಪಲಿನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಿಗೆ ೫ ಲೀಟರ್ ಕೂಡ ಸಿಗ್ತಾ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಇಂಥ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಕಾಳಿ ತೀರದ ರೈತರಿಗೆ ಬರದೆ ಇರಲಿ.
ಸುಂದರ್ ಲಾಲ್ ಬಹುಗುಣ ಹುಟ್ಟು ಹಾಕಿದ ಕಾಳಿ ಬಚಾವೊ ಆಂದೋಲನವನ್ನು ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪರಿಸರ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಪರಿಸರವಾದಿಗಳು, ಆದಿವಾಸಿಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಕೆಲವು ಸಂಘ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳು ಮುಂದುವರೆಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿಯಾಗಲಿ, ಚಾಮಲಾಪುರ ಉಷ್ಣ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ಸ್ಥಾವರವಾಗಲಿ, ಇನ್ಯಾವ ಪರಿಸರ ಸಂಬಂದಿ ವಿಷಯಗಳೇ ಆಗಲಿ, ಅದ್ಯಾಕೆ ಬರೀ ಆ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಜನ ಮಾತ್ರ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ?
ಯಾವುದೇ ಸರಕಾರ ಬರಲಿ ಅವರು ಪಠಿಸುವ ಮಂತ್ರ ಒಂದೇ- ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ, ಅದೂ ಹೇಗೆ? ರಸ್ತೆ, ಅಣೆಕಟ್ಟು ಕಟ್ಟಿದರೆ ಅದು ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ, ಫಲವತ್ತಾದ ಗದ್ದೆ, ತೋಟಗಳನ್ನು ಕಸಿದುಕೊಂಡು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಚೆಂದದ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದರೆ ಸರಕಾರದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಅದು ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ. ಸರಕಾರಗಳು, ಅವುಗಳ ಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳು ಪರಿಸರಕ್ಕೆ ತೀರಾ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಬರುವುದು ಗಿಡ ನೆಡುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ. ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯ, ಪರಿಸರವಾದಿಗಳ, ರೈತರ ಕೂಗು, ಹೋರಾಟ ಬರೀ ಮಾಡಲು ಕೆಲಸ ಇಲ್ಲದವರು ನಮ್ಮ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯದ ಆಗುಹೋಗುಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಾಡುವ ತೊಂದರೆ ಅಂತ ಸರಕಾರ ಮಾತ್ರ ತಳ್ಳಿಹಾಕುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ, ನಾವೂ ಕೂಡ ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ ಮಾತಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆ, ಹಾಗೇ ದಿವ್ಯ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯದಿಂದ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ, ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿ ಅಮೇರಿಕಾದ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕೊಲೊರಾಡೊ, ನೀರೇ ಖಾಲಿಯಾಗಿ ಬತ್ತಿ ಹೋದ ಅರಾಲ್ ನದಿ ಆಗುವುದೂ ಬೇಡ. ಕಾಳಿ ನದಿ ತೀರದ ರೈತರ ಬಾಳು ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಭೋಪಾಲ್ ದುರಂತ ಆಗುವುದೂ ಬೆಡ. ಅದೆಲ್ಲ ನಮ್ಮ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲೆ ಇದೆ.

ದೇಶ ಕಾಯೋರ ಹಿತ ಕಾಯೋದಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾರಿದ್ದಾರೆ?

ವೀಕೆಂಡ್ ಬಂತೆಂದರೆ ವಾರ ಇಡೀ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೀವಿ, ಎರಡು ದಿನ ಪಾರ್ಟಿ, ಶಾಪಿಂಗ್ ಅಂತ ರಿಲಾಕ್ಸ್ ಆಗೋಣ ಅಂದುಕೊಳ್ತೀವಿ. ಹೋಗಲಿ ನಾವು ಕಷ್ಟ ಪಟ್ಟು ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾದ್ರೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ದಿನ? ಐದು ಅಥವಾ ಆರು. ಇನ್ನು ಎರಡು ವಾರ ರಜೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳದೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿಬಿಟ್ಟರಂತೂ ಕೇಳೋದೇ ಬೇಡ, ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಭಾರ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನಮ್ಮ ತಲೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡ ಹಾಗೆ ಆಡ್ತೀವಿ. ಆದರೆ ಅಡುಗೆ ಮಾಡೋರಿಗೆ, ದನ ಕಾಯೋರಿಗೆ ರಜೆ ಇಲ್ವಂತೆ, ಹಾಗೇನೇ ದೇಶ ಕಾಯೋರಿಗೆ. ನಾವು ಯೋಚನೆ ಮಾಡದೇ ಇರೋ, taken for granted ಯೋಧರು, ತಿಂಗಳುಗಟ್ಟಲೆ ಮನೆ ಮುಖ ನೋಡದೆ, ಯಾವಾಗ ಮೈಮರೆತರೆ ಶತ್ರುಗಳು ಕಣ್ಣು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿ ಒಳನುಗ್ಗುತ್ತಾರೋ ಅಂತ ಕಣ್ಣು ಮುಚ್ಚದೆ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಕಾಯೋ ಸೈನಿಕರು, ಅವರನ್ನು ನಾವು ನೆನಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು ನಮಗೆ ಕಷ್ಟ ಬಂದಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ.
ದೇಶದ ಯಾವ ಯಾವುದೋ ಮೂಲೆಗಳಿಂದ, ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಿಂದ ಯಾವುದೋ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆಗಳಿಗೆ, ಆದರ್ಶಗಳಿಗೆ, ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ತಲೆಬಾಗಿ ಸೇನೆಗೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಾರೆ ಯುವಕರು. ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನಕ್ಕೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿದೆ ಗಡಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಎಷ್ಟು ಯೋಧರು ದಿನಾ ಪ್ರಾಣ ಬಿಡ್ತಾ ಇದಾರೆ ಅಂತ? ನಾವೆಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಆ ಸುದ್ದಿಗಳು ಬಂದಾಗ ಟಿವಿ ಚಾನಲ್ ಬದಲಾಯಿಸದೆ ಇರ್ತೀವಿ? ದಿನಾ ಸಾಯೋರಿಗೆ ಅಳೋರ್ಯಾರು ಅಂತ ಜನ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು ಸರಕಾರದ ತನಕ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ತೋರುವ ದಿವ್ಯ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಶ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಗಾಗಿರುವವರು ಬಹುಶ ನಮ್ಮ ಸೈನಿಕರು ಮಾತ್ರ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಸಚಿನ್ ತೆಂಡುಲ್ಕರ್ ೨೦ ವರ್ಷ ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್ ಜೀವನ ಪೂರೈಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಶಂಸೆಗಳ ಸುರಿಮಳೆ ಆಯಿತು, ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ ರೈ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಮುಂಬೈ ದಾಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆರೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಉಗ್ರಗಾಮಿ ಅಜ್ಮಲ್ ಕಸಬ್ ಜೈಲ್ ಒಳಗೆ ಮಟನ್ ಬಿರಿಯಾನಿ ಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಅದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಬಿರಿಯಾನಿ ಕೊಡದೆ ಇದ್ರೆ ಆಗುವ ’ಮಾನವ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳ ಉಲ್ಲಂಘನೆ’ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದವು. ಆದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಸೈನಿಕರು ಕಳೆದ ೬೦ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ಷಣ ಹೋರಾಡ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ, ಬರೀ ಗಡಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಅಲ್ಲ, ದೇಶದ ಒಳಗೆ ನುಗ್ಗುವ ಉಗ್ರಗಾಮಿಗಳ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಕೂಡ. ಅವರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಅವರು ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇರೋ ಕೆಲಸಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಲ್ಲ? ಯುದ್ಧ ಗೆದ್ದು ಬಂದಾಗ ಯಾವ ಪಕ್ಷ ಅಧಿಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿರುತ್ತೋ ಅದು ತನ್ನ ಬೆನ್ನು ತಾನೇ ತಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೆ, ಬದುಕಿ ಉಳಿದ ಸೈನಿಕರನ್ನು ಯಾರೂ ಸನ್ಮಾನ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೋಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, ಸತ್ತ ಸೈನಿಕರನ್ನು ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ ಮಾಡಿ ತಮ್ಮ ದೇಶಪ್ರೇಮ ತೋರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ.
ಹೀಗೆಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಸತತವಾಗಿ ಬರುತ್ತಿರುವ ವರದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಓದಿ. ಸೈನ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಯುವಕರು ಸೇರೋದು ತುಂಬಾ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಸೇನಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಕೊರತೆ ೧೧,೦೦೦ ದಾಟಿದೆ. ಹೋದ ವರ್ಷ ೧೫೦೦ ಜನ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಭರ್ತಿಯಾದರೆ, ೧೮೦೦ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಸೇನೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಹೋಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಯಾರಿಗಾದ್ರೂ ಅಷ್ಟೇ. ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತುಂಬಾ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಶ್ಯ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದಾಗ, ನಮ್ಮ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಬೆಲೆ ಕೊಡ್ತಾ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದಾಗ ಆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡೋದಕ್ಕೆ ಇರೋ ಉತ್ಸಾಹ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಆಗುತ್ತೆ ಅಲ್ವಾ? ನಮ್ಮ ಸೇನೆಯ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗ್ತಾ ಇರೋದು ಅದೇ. ಸೇನೆಯಿಂದ ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಬೇರೆ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಾ ಇರುವವರ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಕೂಡ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಆಗ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರದೇನೂ ತಪ್ಪಿಲ್ಲ. ಈಗ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ರೆ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಸಂಪಾದನೆ ಮಾಡಬಹುದು. ಹೇಗಾದ್ರೂ ಬದುಕಬಹುದು. ಆದ್ರೆ ಸೇನೆಯಲಿದ್ದವರು ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿ, ಸೇನೆ ಸೇರೋಕೆ ಮುಂಚೆ ಯಾವ ಡಿಗ್ರೀನಾದ್ರೂ ಓದಿರಿ, ಒಂದು ಸಲ ಸೇನೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಮಗೆ ಸೆಕ್ಯುರಿಟಿ ಗಾರ್ಡ್ ಕೆಲಸ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬೇರೆ ಸಿಗೋದು ಕಷ್ಟ. ಇದು ನೂರಾರು ಸೈನಿಕರ ಅನುಭವ.
ಇರುವ ಸೇನಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಕೊರತೆಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿಸಲು ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರಕಾರ, ಸೇನೆ ಸತತ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇವೆ. ಸೇನೆಗೆ ಸೇರಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ದೇಶಪ್ರೇಮ ತೋರಿಸಿ ಅಂತ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ನಾಯಕರು ಭಾಷಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿ ಚಪ್ಪಾಳೆ ಗಿಟ್ಟಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ಸಾಲದು. ಯುವಕರು ಸೇನೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಸೇರಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಒಂದು valid reason ಕೊಡಬೇಕು. ಆದರ್ಶಗಳು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ ತುಂಬಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಸೇನೆ ಸೇರಿ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಭ್ರಮನಿರಸನಗೊಂಡು ಹೊರಬಂದ ಸೈನಿಕರಿಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಸರಕಾರ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕೊಡೋ ಸಂಬಳ, ಆಮೇಲೆ ಕೊಡೋ ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ ಹಣ ಯಾವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಸಾಲದು. ಸರಕಾರ ತುಂಬಾ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ನಂತರ 6th Pay Commission ಶಿಫಾರಸಿನ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಸೈನಿಕರಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಳ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಆ ಸಂಬಳಕ್ಕು, ಚಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸೈನಿಕರಿಗೆ ಬಟ್ಟೆ, ಆಹಾರ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕಳುಹಿಸಲೂ ಸೇನಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು bureaucrats ಹತ್ರ ಕೈಚಾಚಬೇಕು. ಸಂಬಳ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಂತ ವರ್ಷ ವರ್ಷ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ಮಾಡದೆ ಇರೋ ಸರಕಾರಿ ನೌಕರರು ಅಂದರೆ ಮಿಲಿಟರಿಯವರು ಮಾತ್ರ ಅಲ್ವಾ? ಈಗ ಸೇನೆ ಸೇರುವವರು ಅಂದರೆ ತೀರಾ ಬಡವರು, ಬದುಕಲು ಇನ್ಯಾವ ದಾರಿಯು ಕಾಣದೆ ಇರುವವರು ಅನ್ನುವ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಯಕರು, ಶ್ರಿಇಮಂತರೆಲ್ಲ ಅವರವರ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ವಿದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿ ಓದಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರು ಯಾಕೆ ಸೇನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದು ಬಂದವರು ಕೂಡ ನಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಅಲ್ಲಿದ್ದು ಅನುಭವಿಸುವುದು ಬೇಡ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗ ಇರುವವರಾದರೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ? ಇರುವ ಒಬ್ಬರು, ಇಬ್ಬರು ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಯಾವ ತಂದೆ-ತಾಯಿಯೂ ಸಿದ್ದವಿಲ್ಲ. ೈನ್ನು ಬೇರೆ ದೇಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರತಿ 18 ವರ್ಷ ತುಂಬಿದ ಯುವಕ ಅಥವಾ ಯುವತಿ ಸೇನೆ ಸೇರುವುದು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯ ಮಾಡುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ,ಯಾಕೆಂದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲೂ ದುಡ್ಡಿರುವವರು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಯಥಾಪ್ರಕಾರ ಬಡವರು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತರೆ.
ಸೇನೆ ಸೇರಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನೋ ಇಚ್ಛೆ ಇರುವ ಯುವಕರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇನಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಆರಂಭಿಸಬೇಕು, ಸೇನೆಯ ನಿಜವಾದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯುವಕರಿಗೆ ಅರಿವು ಮೂಡಿಸಲು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇನೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಬೇಕು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋದವರೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸಾಯುತ್ತಾರೆ ಅನ್ನುವ ನಂಬಿಕೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ ಮೂಡಿಸಬೇಕು. ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮೊದಲು ಹುತಾತ್ಮರಾದ ಸೈನಿಕರ ಮನೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಪಿಂಚಣಿ ಹಣ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ತಲುಪುತ್ತದೆ, ಅವರಿಗೆ ಅನ್ಯಾಯ ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನುವ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಇದ್ದರೆ ಯುವಕರು ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಸೇನೆಗೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಯುವಕರಲ್ಲಿ ದೇಶಭಕ್ತಿ ಕಮ್ಮಿಯಾಗಿಲ್ಲ, ಅದನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಬರುವುದು ಸರಕಾರದ, ಸಮಾಜದ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಅವರು ಶೌರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಡೋ ಮೆಡಲುಗಳು, ಹೊಗಳಿಕೆ, ಸತ್ತಮೇಲೆ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ಸುರಿಸೋ ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕಣ್ಣೀರು, ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳ ಮುಂದೆ ಕೊಡೋ ತಾತ್ಕಾಲಿಕ ಚೆಕ್ಕುಗಳಲ್ಲ ನಮ್ಮ ಸೈನಿಕರಿಗೆ ಬೇಕಾಗಿರೋದು. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಬೇಕಾಗಿರೋದು ಮೂರು ಹೊತ್ತು ಅನ್ನ, ನಿವೃತ್ತಿಯ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ ಬಾಳಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ಅವಕಾಶ. ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು, ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಕಾಯೋರಿಗೆ ಅದೂ ಜಾಸ್ತೀನಾ?

ನಿನ್ನೆ ಅಫ್ಘಾನಿಸ್ತಾನ, ಇವತ್ತು ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನ, ನಾಳೆ ಹಿಂದುಸ್ತಾನವೇ?

ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಹುಡುಗಿ ಆಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದವರೆಲ್ಲ "ನಿಮಗೆ ಇಬ್ರೂ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರೆನಾ ?" ಅಂತ ಅಮ್ಮನ ಹತ್ರ ಕೇಳುವಾಗ ಸಿಟ್ಟು ಬರ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಅಮ್ಮ "ಅವ್ರೆಲ್ಲ ಹಾಗೇ ಬಿಡು" ಅಂತ ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು. ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರು ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೀಳಾಗಿ ಮಾತಾಡಿದ್ರೂ ಸಿಟ್ಟು ಬರ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಆದ್ರೆ ನಾನು feminist ಆಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ, ನನಗೆ feminism ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಕೂಡ ಇರ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಕಾರಣ, feminism ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡು ತಿರುಗುವವರೆಲ್ಲ ದಿನದ ಅನ್ನಕ್ಕೆ ದುಡಿಯೊ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಇರೋ ಹಾಗೇ ಕಷ್ಟದ ಅರಿವೂ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಇರೋ ಶ್ರೀಮಂತ, glamorous ಹೆಂಗಸರು. ಅವರಿಗೆ ನಿಜವಾಗಲೂ ಬಡ ಸ್ತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಬದುಕೊ ಹೆಂಗಸರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದ್ರೆ feminismನ ಅಗತ್ಯ, ಅದರ ಪರವಾಗಿ ಯಾರಾದ್ರೂ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡಲಿ, ನಿಜವಾಗ್ಲೂ ಇದೆ ಅಂತ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಅಫಘಾನಿಸ್ತಾನದ ಹೆಣ್ಣನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ. ಪ್ರಾಯಶಃ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಅತಿ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮಾನವ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳ ಉಲ್ಲಂಘನೆ ಎಂದು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಲಾಗಿರುವ ಅವರ ಮೇಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ. ಬಯಲಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬಳು ಹೆಣ್ಣನ್ನು ೫ ಜನ ಸುತ್ತುವರಿದು ಚಾಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಡೆದು ಸಾಯಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ನನಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಅಲ್ಲ ಯಾರಿಗದ್ರು ಕರುಳು ಚುರ್ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತೆ ಅಲ್ವಾ? ಅವಳು ಮಾಡಿದ ತಪ್ಪೇನು? ಮನೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಅಷ್ಟೇನಾ? ಹೆಸರಿಗೆ ತಾಲಿಬಾನ್ ಆಡಳಿತ ಹೋಗಿ ೮ ವರ್ಷಗಳಾಯಿತು. ಹೆಸರಿಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯವರದೇ ಆಡಳಿತ. ಅವರ ಸಾಧನೆಗಳ ವಿವರಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ದಿನಾ ಓದ್ತೀವಿ. ೭೦,೦೦,೦೦೦ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೊಗ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ, ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಶೇಕಡಾ ೪೦ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರು, ನೋಡಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಾಧನೆ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಹೊರಬಂದ ಅಫ್ಗಾನಿಗಳು.
ಹೊರ ಪ್ರಪಂಚಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಣೋದು ಸಾಧನೆಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಜನ ಯಾವಾಗ ತಾಲಿಬಾನಿಗಳು ತಿರುಗಿ ಬರುತ್ತಾರೋ, ಯಾವಾಗ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಆ ಉಸಿರುಗಟ್ಟಿಸುವ ವಾತಾವರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಮರಳುತ್ತೀವೋ ಅಂತ ಹೆದರಿಕೊಂಡೇ ಬದುಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. So-called "ಮಾನವತಾವಾದಿಗಳು" ಸುಮ್ಮನಿದ್ದುದೇಕೆ? ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಯಾವುದೋ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯೋ ಘಟನೆಗಳಿಗೂ, ನಮಗೂ ಸಂಬಂಧವಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತಾನಾ? ಯಾಕೆ ಅವರು ಮನುಷ್ಯರಲ್ವಾ? ಅಥವಾ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಾ ಇರೊದಕ್ಕೆ ತೋರಿಸೋ ಕನಿಕರಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಗೋ ಪ್ರಚಾರ, ಹೆಸರು, ಬುದ್ಧಿಜೀವಿಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟ, ಅಷ್ಟು ದೂರದ ದೇಶದ ನೊಂದವರಿಗೆ ತೋರಿಸಿದ್ರೆ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತಾನಾ? ಅಥವಾ ತಾಲಿಬಾನಿಗಳು ಹಿಂದೂ ಜನರ ತರ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದೆಲ್ಲ ಕೇಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಹೆದರಿಕೆನಾ?
ಅಫ್ಘಾನಿಸ್ತಾನದವರೆಗೆ ಹೋಗೋದೇ ಬೇಡ. ನಮ್ಮ ನೆರೆಯ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಲಿಟ್ಟು ೪೦೦ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಶಾಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಸಿ, ೫೦,೦೦೦ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹುಡುಗಿಯರನ್ನು ಹೆದರಿಸಿ, ಶಾಲೆ ಬಿಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ತಾಲಿಬಾನಿಗಳು. "ಒಬ್ಬ ಮಗಳು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದರೆ, ಅವಳ ತಂದೆ ಅವಳನ್ನು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಸಾಕಿದರೆ, ವಿದ್ಯೆ ಕಲಿಸಿದರೆ, ಜೀವನ ಕಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಳನ್ನು ಪರಿಣಿತಳನ್ನಾಗಿಸಿದರೆ, ಆ ತಂದೆಯ ಮತ್ತು ನರಕದ ಬೆಂಕಿಯ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ನಾನೇ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತೇನೆ." ಈ ವಾಕ್ಯಗಳು ಇರುವುದು ಯಾವ radical ದೇಶದ radical ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಕನ್ಝ್ ಅಲ್-ಉಮ್ಮರ್ ಅನ್ನುವ ಇಸ್ಲಾಮಿಕ್ ಹದಿತ್ ಸಂಕಲನದಲ್ಲಿ. ಅದು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಧರ್ಮಗಳ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಬುದ್ದಿಮಾತುಗಳ ಹಾಗೆ ಪುಸ್ತಕಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸೀಮಿತವಾಗಿದೆ.
Anyway, ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ಮೇಲಿನ ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ತಾಲಿಬಾನಿಗಳೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಬೇಕು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ? ನಮ್ಮದೇ ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್ ಗಳು ದುಡ್ಡು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡ್ತಾರೆ. ಕೆಲವು ತಿಂಗಳುಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರು ಮಾರುವೇಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗ್ರಾದ ಒಬ್ಬ ವೈದ್ಯರ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಸತ್ತ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಭ್ರೂಣವನ್ನು ಏನು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ, ಆ ವೈದ್ಯ "ಒಂದು ರಿಕ್ಷಾದಲ್ಲಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಿ ಯಮುನಾ ನದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಸಾಡಿ" ಅಂದನಂತೆ. ರಾಜಸ್ತಾನದ ಧೋಲ್ ಪುರದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬ ವೈದ್ಯೆಯ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಗದ್ದೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅನಾಮಿಕ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಭ್ರೂಣಗಳ ಸಮಾಧಿಗಳು ಬೇಕಾದಷ್ಟಿವೆ. "ನಿಮ್ಮ ಭ್ರೂಣ ಬಿಸಾಡಲು ಆಗದೆ ಇರುವಷ್ಟು ದೊಡ್ಡದಿದ್ದರೆ, ರಸ್ತೆ ಗುಡಿಸುವ ಮಾಲಿಗೆ ಕೊಡಿ, ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದುಡ್ಡು ಕೊಡಿ, ಅವರು ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ತಾರೆ," ಅಂದಳಂತೆ ಆ ವೈದ್ಯೆ.
ನಿನ್ನೆ ಅಫ್ಘಾನಿಸ್ತಾನ, ಇವತ್ತು ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನ, ನಾಳೆ ತಾಲಿಬಾನಿಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಕದ ತಟ್ಟಿ, ನಾವು, ನಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಬದುಕುತ್ತಿರೊ ಈ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ, ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ಬದುಕಿಗೆ ಬೇಲಿ ಹಾಕೋ ಮುಂಚೆ ನಾವು ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ನಮಗೇ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು. ಆದರೆ, ಅಫ್ಘಾನಿಸ್ತಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಂಗಸರು, ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಬೂದಿ ಮುಚ್ಚಿದ ಕೆಂಡದಂತೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಇರೋ ಯಾತನೆಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಪರಿಚಯದ ಒಬ್ಬಳು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮ್ ಹುಡುಗಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದಾಗ ನನಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಉತ್ತರ ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗಿಂತ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸುವಂತೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಡೋ ಚಿತ್ರಹಿಂಸೆಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅವಳ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯೆ, " ಅವರೆಲ್ಲಾ ಏನೋ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿರ್ತಾರೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಾಂದ್ರೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ಕೊಡ್ತಾರೆ?" ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ಒಬ್ಬರಾ? ನೂರು ಜನ? ಅಥವಾ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಜನ?
ಇಲ್ಲೇ feminismನ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಇರೋದು. ಅನ್ಯಾಯಗಳ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ಮಾಡೋದು ಮಾತ್ರ feminism ಅಲ್ಲ, ಎರಡು ತಿಂಗಳು ಬಿಸಿ ಆರೋವರೆಗೆ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ಕೊಡೋದು, ಸಂಘ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಭಾಷಣ ಬಿಗಿಯೋದು ಕೂಡ feministsಗಳು ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದ ಅತ್ಯಗತ್ಯ ಕೆಲಸ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದುದು ಇಷ್ಟೆ: ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾಗ್ರತಿ ಮೂಡಿಸಬೇಕು, ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ ಅನ್ನೋ ನೆಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಥವಿಲ್ಲದ, ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಒಡ್ಡಿದರೆ ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸುವ ಹಕ್ಕು ನಮಗೆ ಇದೆ ಅಂತ ಅರಿವು ಮೂಡಿಸಿದರೆ ಸಾಕು, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವ ಸಮಾಜ ದ್ರೋಹಿ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಬೇಕಾದರೂ ಹರಡದಂತೆ ತಡೆಯಬಹುದು. ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾತಿ, ಮತ ಬೇಧವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾರಿಗೂ ಇರೋ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಅನುಭವಿಸಿದವರಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಎಷ್ಟು ಬೈದರೂ, ಎಷ್ಟು ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ, ಹಾಗೆ ಬೈಯ್ಯಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ನಿಜವಾದ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಇರುವುದು. It is a sin to be a free person in Afghanistan, an intellectual individual in Pakistan. ಈ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶಕ್ಕೂ ಬರದೇ ಇರಲಿ. --ಶ್ವೇತಾ ಪಾಂಗಣ್ಣಾಯ

Home for prisoners’ kids

Millions of fortunate children in India celebrate Children's Day today, the birthday of India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, fondly called as Chacha Nehru. But there are millions of children who have no idea of the existence of the Day dedicated to them.
Nearly seven million children in India under the age of 14 do not have access to quality education. Children from social and religious minorities, children with disabilities, working children, those living on the streets, children affected by conflict and disasters are prone to neglect. Over two million children in India die every year before they reach their fifth birthday. The United Nations General Assembly, in 1954, recommended all countries to dedicate a day to the celebration of the spirit of children and their talent. But their spirit and talent are getting wasted under physical labour and inaccessibility to education.
As a step to help such children, the Foundation for Restoring Human Dignity (FORHD), Mysore Chapter, is running 'Makkala Mane' in Kuvempunagar giving shelter and education to the destitute children of the prisoners. The Weekend Star Supplement also touches on the sensitive matter of child labour.
Imagine living without parents; especially bearing the tag of being the children of criminals. The society will call the child a future criminal, despite the nature of the child. The parents of other children will shun the child, avoid their children from mingling with the child and the relatives of the children refuse to support them fearing that he or she would become like their parents. Most such children become vagrants and beggars. Some resort to violence to fill their empty stomach and in turn become what the society feared they would become — criminals. To avoid this and to give a home to such children, FORHD Home for children [Makkala Mane] was started by former Police Chief L.Revannasiddaiah under the auspices of his Foundation for Restoring Human Dignity (FORHD) in September 2004 at #1795, K Block, Udayaravi Road, Kuvempunagar, Mysore.
When both the parents go to jail or when the mother goes to jail, they are allowed to take children below 7 years to the prison along with them. Prisoners are counseled by FORHD regarding value of education or undesirable nature of keeping children in prison along with them. Such children who do not live in prison along with parents and have no other home outside are housed in Makkala Mane; at present there are 23 children. They are given food, shelter, clothing and education free of cost.
Makkala Mane is being looked after by former Deputy Commissioner of Police Rangappa, Chairman of FORHD, Mysore Chapter, Warden Shambaiah and cook Mayamma.
When SOM visited Makkala Mane, the children were home after school and were busy studying. Rangappa was busy admonishing a boy about his wrongdoings.
Rangappa, later speaking about the home, said the children are brought here from villages and towns all over the State, as far as North Karnataka. The FORHD sends appeals to all prisons in the State to send any children who are orphaned because of their parents' conviction, poverty or death. If they come to know the whereabouts of such children, they go to them and bring them here with the consent of either their parents in jail or the relatives. Almost all the kids are very poor, with no means of sustenance if left outside. Some children remain here even if their parents are released from the jail. The children are fed, clothed and sent to various schools in city.
"When they first came here, some children were in a very bad physical and mental condition as there was no guardian to look after their needs. They were dirty, with tangled hair and mentally depressed. It took some time to bring them to normalcy,” says Shambaiah.
When asked about the tuition and counselling for the kids, Rangappa said that no teacher was willing to come and teach them and most of them who did come, asked for exorbitant prices; it is being contemplated to seek the help of psychiatrists for periodic counselling of the children and to start computer classes. But the only problem is dearth of funds. Children aged from 3 years to 15 years live here.
There is a ghastly story of violence behind every child in Makkala Mane. Warden Shambaiah reveals the stories of some of them. Mangala from Hinkal is 10 years old and is studying in 5th std. She came here after her mother died and father Subramani, who was a car driver in profession, was sent to jail in a murder case. He still has to complete 7 years out of the life term awarded to him by the court.
Sisters Ramya and Jyothi are studying in I PUC and 8th std. respectively. Their father, who was in jail, was released two years ago and mother works as a daily wage labourer. As they are very poor and cannot afford to educate their children, the girls still live in Makkala Mane. Shambaiah says the children will be looked after only till they attain 14 years and hence, both sisters were sent to a girls' hostel to continue education. But the girls came running back to Makkala Mane in 6 months. Ramya is studying Commerce in PUC and says happily that she wishes to join BBM.
Here is a case of a child suffering the results of the misdoings of the parents. Vinod Raj's whole family was arrested in a dowry case when his father's sister-in-law lodged a complaint against the whole family that they tortured her for dowry. When the elders in the family were arrested, there was no one to look after the child. He joined Mane in 2004 and is now studying in 9th std. There are numerous such stories behind the children here.
These children have forgotten their homes and think Makkala Mane as their real home. They visit their parents, if alive, either in jail or outside, regularly. But they all come back to the Mane willingly.
However, some children who are adamant and do not adjust themselves to the atmosphere at the Mane are sent out. Siddaraju, 17, and his sister Nagamani were sent out of the Mane for their rude behaviour and reluctance to adjust with other children. Rangappa and Shambaiah say they could not correct the kids’ behaviour even after many attempts. Their father is still in jail serving life term.
The youngest among the inmates are sisters Akshata and Ashwini who are 7-year-old and 5-year-old respectively. Their father Kuppendrayi is in Gulbarga jail serving term for murder. The girls joined Makkala Mane this year and are the cutest of the lot.
They may be the children of criminals but they are just that: children. They are innocent and know nothing of the deeds of their parents. Most of them are not even fully aware of their positions in society. Their minds too are not aggressive like their parents, as often misjudged by the society. They are just destitutes left alone and uncared-for by the society.
Makkala Mane is doing a commendable job in maintaining that innocence. Or else, the very children would now be beggars, thieves and young anti-social elements instead of normal school-going children that they are now. --By Shwetha Pangannaya

India and the Copenhagen deal

What happens when the rich blame the poor for everything that goes wrong? The poor stoop more unable to carry their increasing psychological and physical burden. This is happening now in the case of the 'developing' Asian and 'developed' Western countries. The 'developing' countries like India, though not exactly 'poor' in monetary sense, look like one in front of the Western countries, being made the scapegoat for anything that goes wrong under the sun.

The common visions of India that come to anybody's mind are the dirty environment and poverty, with young and the old begging for food with ragged clothes and dirty face. This vision of India as a weak nation with less efficient human resource has cost it the seat of influence in major organisations like the permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council many a time. It has been considered a weak voice even in solving internal issues like the Kashmir, terrorism, insurgency by Naxals and such rebellion groups.

Now, the Western countries are mounting pressure on India and China to sign the Copenhagen treaty to reduce carbon emissions in a bid to save the planet from a temperature increase of 2 degree or higher, which is considered dangerous. When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India in July, she too pressurised the Indian government into agreeing to a time-bound and mandatory emission reduction protocol. This is highly unjustifiable. As it is very clear, it is a case of an obese person advising an emaciated one not to eat much in a famine situation, forgetting that his own gluttony was the cause of famine.

The United State emits an annual per capita carbon at an alarming rate of 24.3 tons, way above the global average of 1.9 tons and India's nearly 1.4 tons. And the current stock of green house gases in the atmosphere is the result of emissions over 150 to 200 years for which the developed countries like the US and the European countries are entirely responsible because then, India was a land of major forests and villages, without the dangerous, highly polluting industrial emissions. Nearly 1.3 billion of the India's population still lives in villages, with no access to continuous electricity, commercial activities and hence less emission of carbon and other byproducts. Yet we are being targeted for lack of strong commitments towards decreasing global pollution. Let alone the Copenhagen deal coming up in December, the US has not even bothered to ratify the Kyoto Protocol which would have brought pressure on it (US) to reduce its emissions to a fixed percentage. In short, the US wants to profit economically at the cost of the environment and global health.

However, India's major concern with regard to signing the Copenhagen deal is that it may result in retarding the economic development due to restrictions on industrial development. Signing the deal is a small but positive step towards environment-friendly governance and living. But once the deal is signed, countries like India and China will become easy martyrs on the altar of blame-game; most of the uncontrolled carbon emissions and environmental hazards will be attributed to us, the sitting targets, by the countries who have refrained from signing the deal. To contradict the statements that India is contributing more to the pollution, the Indian government has called for a National Action Plan (NAP) on Climate Change for focused energy and climate policy interventions: solar energy, energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, Himalayan ecosystem sustainable agriculture, strategic knowledge for climate change and a “Green India”.

The government has also called for boosting solar power production; reforestation so that a third of the country is forested, up from 23%; providing financial incentives for energy efficiency; research on glacier melt; and development of sustainable agriculture.

The Indian government’s other steps to control climate change include grassroots measures like increasing energy efficiency at the level of individual consumers, including a major drive to popularise energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps in households. The government hopes to increase sales of these bulbs by making them available for less than the market price, using the sale of carbon credits to fund this subsidy.

And now, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has reiterated that the rich countries have to take up the tab when developing countries like India rise to meet the economic aspirations of the nation. His viable alternative is that the technology companies worldwide should join hands and produce the technology necessary to beat carbon emission increase and also rise the economy of the countries. What happens at the Copenhagen summit is to be waited and watched. with bated breath because India's decision to sign or not sign the deal will have direct impact on its industrial development and economic growth.

Nobel Peace Prize: Controversial Nominations

Sir,

I agree with Vikram Muthanna's column "Yes you can... say NO" where he says that the Nobel Peace Prize has lost its prestige due to the award of Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama. But it is not the first time the Committee took controversial and unexplainable decisions in selecting the nominees for the Peace Prize.

The first such decision was taken in 1994 when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Yasser Arafat who was the Chairman of Palestinian Liberalisation Organisation (PLO) and known as an 'unrepentant terrorist'. He later declared that the PLO renounced terrorism and supported "the right of all parties concerned in the Middle East conflict to live in peace and security, including the State of Palestine, Israel and other neighbours".

Rabbi Shmuley, who wrote in Jerusalem Post, remarked that Arafat's 'lasting legacy is not lasting peace with Israel but the army of suicide bombers he launched against the Jewish State to dismember pregnant women and disembowel helpless children.'

Kaare Kristiansen, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee member, resigned from the Committee after it awarded the Peace Prize to Arafat.

The controversy again rose after the Peace Prize was awarded to Mohamed El Baradei in 2005, the Director of United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, who was famously called both the 'nuclear Policeman and salesman.' He was also criticised for being 'soft' on Iran's nuclear policies.

There are many such controversial nominations which has made the public worldwide lose their earlier reverence towards the Nobel Peace Prize. And now, by honouring Obama, who is yet to deserve the prize, the Committee has again baffled the world. Its reason for the award can only be known after 50 years and by that time, no one really cares. Were there no deserving candidate among the 205 nominations received?

— Shwetha Pangannaya

Century-old Cheluvamba Hospital: This is no way to treat pregnant women and new-born babies

Have you visited the Maternity Ward at the century-old Cheluvamba Hospital in city? If you haven't, here we give you a peek into the way the pregnant women and the new-born babies are treated by the hospital ayahs and nurses. No pregnant woman, who once gets admitted to this hospital, will ever want to visit it again, come what may.

Pregnant women and those who have just delivered a baby need special attention and proper care as their physical and psychological conditions are fragile, particularly after the intense labour pain they undergo during the delivery.

However, at home, they are given proper care with good nutritious food, warm clothing, rest and care. Those poor women, who have to be admitted to hospitals, naturally go to government hospitals hoping that the admission and treatment are free or at best, minimum. Unfortunately, as the old adage goes, nothing is free in this world. Government hospitals are the living examples of that adage. They have turned out to be holes in the already empty pockets of the poor.

Cheluvamba Hospital, earlier known as Vanivilas Hospital, was setup in 1880, that is 129 years ago to provide medical services to poor and needy women. Here too nothing is free. Not even the bed you sleep on or for that matter even the floor you get to sleep, when there are no beds. Apart from beds, to avail even medicines and other facilities at the Hospital after admission, one has to pay bribe. A few patients, who have spent a couple of days at the hospital and since discharged, narrated their harrowing experiences thus:

Pushpalatha, who was two months into her pregnancy, had come to the hospital for a routine check-up but was advised to get admitted in the hospital as her child had to be aborted due to some complications. She revealed the scenes she saw at the hospital. It was a common practice for the ayahs and nurses to beat women in labour pain, when they start crying in pain. They are told to shut their mouth and stop crying by asking them what could be the most humiliating remark in public: "Did it hurt when you enjoyed sex? Why cry now?!"

Pushpalatha's neighbour, who too had been admitted to the hospital for her delivery, recoun-ted her experience. She had lost three children due to blood sugar complications at very young age. When she came here for the delivery of her fourth child, the 40-year-old pregnant woman was harassed because of her poverty, as she was unable to pay money to the ayahs and nurses as and when they demanded. The couple had to even sell the woman's mangalasutra to pay bribe to the ayahs and nurses.

It is only money that gets things done here. Greed for money is so rampant that immediately after delivery, the family members have to cough up money just to know the gender of the baby — Rs. 150 for the girl child and Rs. 200 for boy child ! Patients have to start paying them the moment they step in to the hospital until they get discharged. Entry to the hospital for the relatives of the patient is restricted from 6 am to 8 am and 4 pm to 6 pm. The person guarding the entry door demands Rs.10 every time a relative enters the hospital after visiting hours.

The problems of patients and their poor families are not restricted to money matters alone. The renowned Cheluvamba Hospital lacks even beds, cots, bedsheets not to mention medicines and trained staff. On entering the ward, the first scene one encounters is utter chaos. Women who have just delivered are made to sleep on the floors along with their new-born babies, on a thin bedsheet. Those who can afford to pay money are provided with a bed and cot while others have to sleep on the unclean floor. Sometimes, space will not be available even to sleep on the floors in spite of being admitted.

The most pathetic sight is that of the babies, which have not yet opened their eyes to the world. They too are made to sleep on the damp floor, with the possibility of contracting infections. The other common sight is the women’s relatives running around frantically for hours trying get a bed for the pregnant women or mother and the new-born baby.

One relative of a patient, speaking to SOM on condition of anonymity, said that when women are admitted to the hospital and are required to undergo laboratory tests, they are asked to go to private labs in city, in spite of the facility being available within the hospital. There are many instances of pregnant women being sent out to diagnostic centres at 1 am in the night, in spite of the fact that labs and blood banks are located right inside the hospital premises. Imagine the suffering of these pregnant women going through excruciating labour pain even in the middle of the night.

Inside the hospital, the corridors reek of DDT powder. While investigating the cause for this, we saw patients vomiting right in an open area between the corridor and what appeared to be a garden at the centre. As the toilets were not cleaned and were always overflowing with filth and garbage, and sometimes too crowded, these women had no other option but to use these open spaces. DDT powder was just sprayed on top of it all to cover up the mess. Toilets are not cleaned regularly and their number is quite inadequate considering the number of patients who are admitted.

On the ground floor, an empty room with a board 'Ward No.4' was dumped with discarded cots and used beds. It is surprising that the concerned authorities never thought of cleaning this room and making it available for the patients, in spite of the fact that so many women lie on bare floors for lack of adequate space.

The patients and their relatives too are responsible in a way for the mismanagement and the filth surrounding the hospital. They spit and throw garbage everywhere, unaware that it is a hospital and should be kept clean as many who come here are illiterate and are from rural background. Adequate dustbins could be provided by the hospital authorities with signboards advising them to use the same.

The hospital administration too seems to be blind to all these things. When will Cheluvamba Hospital get a rebirth and become patient-friendly?

Unseen hands behind Ganesha idols

Once upon a time, Ganesha Chaturthi was just a festival like any other in Indian households celebrated with enthusiasm and reverence. Then freedom fighter and social reformer Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the festival a patriotic and mass flavour by giving a call to celebrate it in public. Thus Ganesha Chaturthi became the most widely celebrated festival where people of all castes participated without cultural and traditional restrictions.

Every year we see Gowri and Ganesha idols of various hues, sizes and themes. Every year we expect to see new designs in the idols. But we seldom think about the hands behind the creation of such artistic, intricate idols. Clay Ganesha idol was first introduced in Mysore during 1936 by sculptor late D. Puttaswamy. Even now his family makes only clay Ganesha idols without adding any chemical colours.

Some of the traditional artistes of Mysore city have shared their toils and joys in this Weekend Star Supplement. Artist and sculptor Shivalingappa, famous for his rare creation — sand idols — has also spoken to us about the significance of his artifacts.

Buy clay Ganesha idols: City artisans

Mysore is a city of cultures and traditions and has its own significance in every field of art. Similarly, it has its own tradition of making Gowri-Ganesha idols.

In the lanes of Kumbarageri, off Irwin Road in city, first starts the festive season of Gowri-Ganesha festival every year. The artisans of Kumbarageri start the long and tedious process of making Ganesha and Gowri from clay six months before the festival in their houses. They live in tiny houses, at the most one or two rooms making the whole house in which they have to eat, sleep, live and make pottery. They even prepare hundreds of idols and Dasara dolls in their tiny dwellings (see pictures). There are about 20 families of artisans left in Kumbarageri who are still continuing their tradition with confidence and reverence.

The clay Ganesha idols were first introduced to Mysore in 1936 by sculptor late D. Puttaswamy who was famous as Ganapathi Puttas-wamy. Now his grandson Raghavendra (9945441914) is following the tradition by making only clay idols of Ganesha without adding any chemical colours in his Evergreen Model Works company.

It is a joy and wonder to see the idols taking shape at the hands of skillful artisans, men and women alike; to see the making of intricate designs in clay or mud with hand without learning in art institutions or under renowned teachers. Their teachers are their ancestors and themselves. They give birth to new designs and ideas everyday through their creativity.

When SOM spoke to a few artistes in Kumbarageri, they expressed their joy of making the idols and sadness in being left destitute by the administration.

Sculptor D. Revanna, who is a resident of Kumbarageri in city, is a BA (Sclupture & Painting) graduate from CAVA. He has been making Ganesha idols for the past 35 years. He says he inherited the occupation from his forefathers.

Every year he creates something new; Sarvajna and Thiruvalluvar statues this time, celebrating the end of the 18-year-long projects of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Revanna adds that he does not sale his creative works but only the traditional art works.

“I create new designs in idols as people want change. They prefer Ganesha idols which look attractive with new designs. Our market is flooding with Ganesha idols from other places like Chennai, Kerala, Bangalore’s Krishnagiri, Alsoor, Bombay and Mangalore, which decreases the demand for idols created by city artisans. Mysore style Ganesha (with a unique style of face sculpting) has its own significance. It is also created only in clay. But the more popular idols nowadays are made from Plaster of Paris and paper pulp which are harmful to our environment,” Revanna said.

“We bring clay from nearby lakes and separate the sand or small stones from the clay which takes 4 to 5 months. After that, we start making Ganesha idols. We also make Dasara dolls for Navaratri festival,” added Revanna.

Revanna appealed to the government to help local artistes who sell clay idols by banning the sale of Ganesha idols brought from other States like 'Bombay Ganesh' which are popular as they are rich in colour, large in size with different shapes.

“The clay idols we make are eco-friendly and some of the idols are sold without paints. But the demand for colourful idols has forced us to compete with the outsiders by using chemical colours. Not many people buy the unpainted idols or those painted with water colour as they do not shine, ” he added.

Everyone in Revanna's family makes the idols for their livelihood. They create up to 10 feet high idols. They do not market their idols. People go to their houses to buy them or order them.

Most of today's youth avoid jobs with low income and less fame like pottery and handicrafts making, even if it is a family business, for fear of ridicule from their peers. But here is a girl who finishes her college and joins her family in the evenings to make Ganesha idols. Rekha, a II year B.Com student of Maharani's College, is a model for other youth. She makes small Ganapa idols by using mould. “Ganesha is the lord of knowledge. I feel happy to do this job because I believe he improves our knowledge. I work till night 12.30 and I will not study for these 15 days as it is the festival season. My friends also come here to see how Ganesha idols are made and express their happiness. I don't feel inferior doing my family's work. In fact I feel proud because making the idols needs a lot of skill and talent.” she says.

“With moulds, we can make nearly a thousand small idols per day. But we make medium and large size idols by hand,” she adds.

When asked if they get any financial aid from the State government for their pottery work or help in marketing, she said they don't get any aid from the government and there is no recognition from any government bodies. “It is difficult to maintain our livelihood from pottery alone. We manage with difficulty because it is our 'kula kasubu' (family trade),” says Rekha ruefully.

V. Srinivas, who is the third-generation artisan, started his profession of making idols when he was a youngster. He creates the idols, whatever the size, with his hands. He says their family does not use the moulds. His wife, son Shyam Sundar and all other members of his family have involved themselves in this work. When asked about education, he replied saying what was the need of education? They all do the same ancestral occupation; that is, idol making. Thus even his children have followed in his footsteps. He says they need a minimum of six months to prepare for the idol-making process.

Nowadays, even the clay, which used to be so cheap earlier, has become costlier due to the increase in the wages of labourers who bring the clay from rural places. The artiste says his Gowri-Ganesha idols have adorned many temples like Chamudeshwari temple atop Chamundi Hill, Srirangapatna Temple and Mysore Palace when Krishnaraja Wadiyar was the King, during Ganesha festival. He proudly recalls the admiration of singer Yesudas who called the Ganesha idol created by him as 'Chinmayamurthi' for its aesthetic and spiritual look.

When asked if they give training to those interested in the art, Srinivas said that there are not many people interested in the art now and they cannot teach unless there are at least 7-8 students. With the limited space available, it is also difficult to accommodate many students.

Another artisan Raghu, also a resident of Kumbarageri, is in this profession for the past 10-15 years. He expressed his sad-ness over the conse-quences of rece-ssion and dwind-ling sale of the tra-ditional idols. Ash-wath and his wife have been making the idols for the past 60 years.

When the artistes were asked if it is possible to use eco-friendly colours for painting the idols, all artistes said that though the government calls for making the festival eco-friendly by using biode-gradable vegetable colours, it has not provided any appropriate equipment for preparing the colours, nor any method. They asked how they can use vegetable colours when it is not available in the market and they have no means of obtaining it.

The traditional artistes of Mysore use mostly water colour and oil paint on clay idols. They also say that as oil paint gives more glaze or shine to the idols and makes them more attractive, customers mostly opt for oil paint-based idols than water colour-based which are more eco-friendly. Most of the city artistes don't make idols using Plaster of Paris, which is a mixture of chemicals harmful to the water body and the aquatic animals in which the idols are immersed.

Plaster of Paris does not dissolve easily in water and the idol floats on water after immersion.

Here is what some spiritual persons say about worshipping Ganesha idols made from clay or mud. They say that as there are references in the Puranas (mythological texts) that Ganapati was created from grime, it is appropriate to use a Ganesh idol made of mud for ritualistic worship. The pure spiritual particles (pavitraks) of Ganapati get attracted to a greater extent towards an idol made of mud than to that of Plaster of Paris.

All said and done, the traditional idol makers of Mysore are dwindling fast with rapid commercialisation of the fes-tival and the entry of PoP and paper pulp idols from other States. With the lessening interest in the general public about the beauty of plain clay Gowri & Ganesha idols and the unique Mysore style, there is not much time left for the extinction of both our style and the arti-stes who have the knowledge to make them. It is imminent that the artistes turn to other professions soon, after all, the artistes too have to make a living.

Sand idols, a rare art by city sculptor

Artisans make Ganesha idols of different shapes, sizes and ideas depicting even current events in them. But here are some interesting idols of Ganesha.

The idols, the exemplary examples of creativity of city-based artist L. Shivalingappa, are made of sand and thermocol. They each portray a different theme.

The artist, who is also a sculptor and writer, says the art of sand-sculpting is not very common among artistes. The sand is mixed with chemicals for bonding. It will not dissolve easily in water unlike regular sand sculptures. He creates idols with new themes every year. People like his innovative ideas, he adds.

Explaining to SOM about the three idols of Ganesha he created this year, Shivalingappa said the Ganesha's idol with books (see picture left) depicts knowledge. His Ganesha has books in the place of face, veena and trumpet (kahale) and as should be on a God’s idol, the Abhaya hasta, assuring the devotees of his benevolence.

The sand scupture of Ganesha (see picture on right) depicts severe famine in the land. As can be seen in the idol, Ganesha's huge stomach has shrunk into a hole due to hunger and non-availability of food. And most interestingly, Ganesha's snake, which is usually tied around his plump stomach has come down and is chasing the rat, his vehicle, unable to bear the hunger. The artist very effectively portrays the situaton of the people and the country where there is less food, less water and less survival rate.

Some stray thoughts on I-Day

When I was young, I would reverently watch the Independence Day parade at New Delhi every year. I thought it was blasphemous and utterly unpatriotic to avoid watching it and I got angry with anyone who dared not to. But the same display of the traditional dances, art forms, temples, tourist spots, etc. of every State, the military force, each year, bored me to tears. The unvaried patriotic and promising speeches of the Prime Ministers too did not change with years. I guess once you get into the Prime Ministerial office, you also get into the spirit and speaking mode of the office. Now, like thousands of young Indians, I too have stopped watching the parade despite my pride towards everything Indian. When our heart is not with something, our spirit too disappears with it.

While thus thinking about the Indian psyche, after many years, I remembered what Pearl S. Buck, that celebrated author who wrote Good Earth and won Nobel Prize for it, wrote on India after her visit to the country during the British rule. She very rightly summarised the Indianness when she said the worst result, perhaps, of the colonial system was to provide the subject people with an infinite excuse against work and so against helping themselves. 'You are responsible for me, you have undertaken to feed me and clothe me and govern me. If I die, it is your fault,' is the subject's attitude towards a ruler. Then, there were always the British to blame for our follies and sloth and now, we have the government, our own democratic government selected by ourselves, to do our work for us, and thus, we need just depend on government machinery for everything. After all, we selected them so that we can rest assured we need not break our back working hard to improve the society or at least our own immediate surroundings.

I have seen people who refuse to clean the area in front of their own house saying it is the work of the Corporation or Municipality. But try telling them not to park their vehicles on roads haphazardly or litter the public space, they will remind you zealously that it is a public road and it belongs to them too and they have a right to do what they want. This is just the so-called tip of the iceberg and it has penetrated deep into the 'national attitudinal psyche.'

Do we, with this kind of attitude, need absolute leaders or absolute citizens? My vote is for the latter because citizens are future leaders, not vice-versa. But then we need to be free, in mind and in heart, to be able to choose such leaders or become one ourselves. We choose carefully when choosing our leaders, we see their caste, their previous vote record, if any, how much they can spend to win an election, how much we can scrape out of it, their charm and convincing abilities. But never what they can do to help us, for free. And speaking of freedom, I cannot afford to assume we are because we are not. We are not free to choose our path in this country because all paths are decided not by our liking or interest, but by how much we can afford to spend to reach our goal. We flaunt a few success stories which cloak the countless failures.

All that is said and done, I believe in democracy, which is so much better even if it allows for moral, societal depravity and hunger and in a way increases them. I believe in it because it allows us to be free, free even to make the wrong decisions and not learn from them, free enough to be our own censure.

And coming back to the Independence Day, it is ridiculous for us to go on parading ourselves in front of the world like a peacock flaunting its feathers to attract a peahen. We are proud, I am proud that we are very near to becoming a world power in economics, intelligence and man power. But it is imperative that we work hard silently like the Japanese do and let our deeds speak for themselves instead of living in the aura of the past.

TREE TRANSPLANTING NOT FEASIBLE

Transplanting trees has been suggested as a possible solution to felling trees (SOM dated June 23). It may be feasible in other areas or in other countries like the US. But transplanting trees on Lalitha Mahal road is only detrimental to the delicate ecological balance found there. The trees surrounding Karanji Lake is home to thousands of migratory birds which visit the area during different seasons for breeding. This area provides an optimum atmosphere for those birds which cannot sur- vive in the drastic conditions of their home land. They travel thousands of miles just to breed or escape from severe cold or heat of their native place. If we uproot the trees, they will have nowhere to go as they do not move with the transplanted trees. We humans may build roads anywhere but the rare birds cannot transfer their homes for our sake, they are highly specific in their behaviour.

This is my letter published in Star of Mysore dated 25.6.2009 in Voice of the Reader column.

TREE-FELLING IS NO SOLUTION TO EASE TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Sir,

I have been reading many write-ups for and against the felling of 123 trees on Lalitha Mahal Road and Race Course Road in Mysore. Some citizens and the administration say it is for widening the road to ease the traffic on the stretch. The solution to traffic congestion is not cutting trees, but lessening the use of private vehicles.

Now the road may be widened by cutting down a few trees, but after a few years that widened road will again be congested with traffic. Cutting the trees is only a temporary solution, also one with large-scale environmental effects. We see cutting of trees as bad because we are taught that trees provide oxygen, maintain a clean atmosphere, provide greenery and are the homes to birds. Our arguments are mainly based on these points.

Some of us support cutting the trees in the name of development. But development cannot and should not be seen in terms of wide roads, more buildings, more facilities for humans like regular water, power supply and a good administration. It is thinking of development in terms of human benefits. It will be a true development if it is sustainable, where upto the tiniest of insects, all living beings co-exist. If it dosen't, ultimately, we are the ones to be affected badly.

I would like to cite an example here. Fig trees are abundant in our State. A small insect enters the fig fruit, pollinates there, multiplies and reproduces inside the fruit. This is the way the fig tree multiplies in number. If fig trees are cut, then the fig wasps will be extinct, the fruit bats and birds will decrease in number. Because animals cannot change their habitats and food like us humans. They are highly specific.

When a species becomes extinct, other animals dependent on them disappear. All these processes take many years and hence may not be taken seriously by those in charge of taking decisions.

When trees are cut, we can see only the superficial facts associated with them, not the unseen consequences. We do not care much about our own tomorrows, then how can we care for the tomorrows of our children and other living beings?

I request the authorities to please think twice before cutting any tree, doesn't matter how old, because old trees too sustain ecological balance till they die.

---Shwetha

This is my letter published in Star Of Mysore dated 05.06.2009

Our own 'Tryst with destiny'

Jawaharlal Nehru, addressing the Constituent Assembly of India on Aug. 14, 1947, gave his speech 'Tryst with destiny' expressing his dreams towards the country with surgical precision. He said, among others, "...The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity...The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman." Is his vision a mere potpourri of Utopian thoughts? It has been proven so all along the 62 years of liberty. We have proven to the world that we are an apology to its ideals of power and liberty which are resting in too many hands in the absence of a restraining power.

India is changing. Our economy is one of the fastest growing in the world. Our incomes are growing and the lifestyle changed accordingly. Yet, there is a need to secernate ourselves in other areas than just competency. We need to make a mark by leading not only in business, but also in politics. We need youth to lead the country. As part of a research programme at the London School of Economics on Greece, Europe and the US and how they occupied global dominance and leadership, it was found that they denoted a major part of their efforts towards building institutions that support and encourage leadership in various realms. We too have built institutions, high both in quality and quantity. They have spun out both men of intellect who empty their intelligence brandishing each other and experts who have ameliorated their respective fields. But we have not produced leaders 'who do not guide others into following them but who inculcate in the mass an awareness to take independent decisions on the basis of truth and knowledge.'

I regret to say, we have not come across many persons in the country who, like the unknown rebel who stood unflinchingly before a column of more than 50 advancing military tanks at Tiananmen Square in China during the mass protests by students, dares to stand up to lead in adversity.

As to the crucial question which ought to bother every citizen now, on the eve of 15th Lok Sabha elections, into spending sleepless nights — Is youth necessary for leading the country or experience? I am young and more prone to see issues in hot blood. As a citizen of India who is going to vote shortly, I am worried that I see no solution to my dilemma. 

"Intellectual exercises, not balanced by experience, lead to intellectual inflation... Just like monetary inflation caused by currency circulation not supported by hard gold bullion," an intellectual once said to me. But of course, experience is a pre-requisite for politicians. You are not allowed to ask ‘experience in what? Leading the country, or grabbing a seat?’ Most veteran political leaders rely on 'experience quota' to win the hearts of voters, young and old alike. Young voters form nearly two-thirds of the electorate in India. The 'Age-voter pulse model,' so called by a think-tank Imagindia Institute, assumes the ability of a candidate to connect with the pulse of the voters depending upon the age difference with the electorate.

Statistics apart, young (less than 40 years of age) MPs, on whom we keep our aspirations, were the most infrequent participants in the 14th Lok Sabha proceedings. They accounted for 11 percent of seats but participated in only 7 percent of debates in LS. Contrarily, MPs over 70 years of age accounted for 9 percent of total debates, even if most end up in tussles, with fewer outcomes. We cannot blame them however. Most youth brigade in politics- Rahul Gandhi, Jiten Prasada, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Manvendra Singh, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Naveen Jindal and Varun Gandhi are plucking the fruits from the trees grown by their parents. May be we could keep our hopes pinned on them if they tried to be responsible both in act and thought. It is time they learnt to be leaders, not just political. They may have the charisma to draw a large crowd, but it ends there. People flock to political rallies either because they are paid for it, or to boast that they have seen the celebrity 'up close.' 

These young leaders cannot follow the footsteps of their immediate predecessors because not many have left behind a path free of stones and thorns of corruption to follow. The youth cannot look forward because most of them lack the vision much needed for the country. Leadership too, as was aristocracy, has been inherited by them, not through their cherished dreams for the society. Still, people who have initiated and propagated great changes are seldom there due to birthright. 

There are hundreds of visionary youth in the country, but they rightly hesitate to join politics. And in trying to eke out a living, they move away from their dreams of making a difference and become haggard citizens whose sole responsibility remains in voting in the elections. Concisely, there are very few youth in the country's political scenario, who at least dare to say, as Bruce Willis said in Die Hard 4.0 movie, "I do it because no one else is there to do it." 

Now, I rest the case in front of voters.

Pen folio: We r like this only...

We spit on the road, we relieve ourselves in public, especially below the signboard saying the contrary, we haggle over prices with our daily vegetable vendor but spend thousands in a mega mall, we sit chatting in buses till our stop comes and then push and shove everyone to climb down, we go on the wrong side of the road and speed away as the Policeman comes running, we hoard and hoard till we have no place left in our own homes, we climb up the fence and jump to the other side instead of crossing the road at junctions, we share — a seat for three will have at least five, with kids too, we clean our houses and dump the garbage to an em-pty site when nobody is looking.

This is how we Indians live, and paradoxically, happily too. 

I travel in bus daily and see a variety of people. It is an excellent opportunity to study human behaviour under various conditions. Travelling in bus also gives me ample time to think over many things. Here are some of the habits unique to us Indians which came to my mind when I studied the people in city buses.

Hoarding

When I was in college, we had a lecturer for Chemistry. He was the first graduate to obtain PhD from our University. He came to the lab even in the dead of the night and experimented. His intelligence was superb, but he had one flaw; that of hoarding. He collected books and papers. It was not just collection, it was obsession. Books of all subjects filled his home to the ceiling. And they were not kept orderly; they were just piled. After some years, one couldn’t step inside his house without stepping over papers and books. He just couldn’t part with them.  Mothers are best at hoarding. They keep everything from milk cover to the butter paper inside a saree folding, saying that it will be needed in future; and they are, as usual, true.

No one in our country is exempt from the strange habit of hoarding. When we had a sharp increase in domestic prices in the late 1990s, farmers responded and we got a mountain of food — at one point, India alone hoarded food stocks of 65 million tons in 2000 and at great loss we exported all this.

The great saving scheme

When we buy TV, we buy the machine, the bubble wrappings, the cardboard box and the thermocol that props it up and use them all. We use clothes till they get threadbare, and even after, we use them for swabbing floors and wiping kitchen utensils. Our grandmothers save old cotton sarees and use them for bedcovering and for a new born baby to sleep on. I remember I used to remove bedspreads and use a cotton saree as it was very smooth and I felt like sleeping on my mother’s lap. We re-sole our shoes, water bottles are used till they break or get lost. Water bottles are especially useful in storing water, juice, petrol, oil, kerosene... anything that is in liquid form. We even convert paint tins and beer tins to flower pots. 

The greatest saving scheme of Indians starts with a girl child. Right from her birth, the parents start preparing for her marriage. From utensils, sarees to gold, silver and whatnot…

For God’s sake Adjust

‘Swalpa adjust maadkolli,’ is what we hear on buses, trains, in parks, temples and everywhere here. Three will adjust on a seat meant for two. This adjusting mania is very much evident in trains; people adjust on seats (nearly 8-10 on seats meant for four), between the seats, on the corridor and near the door without any leg space.

A person keeps one foot inside the bus, tells all those near him to adjust a little, and then keeps both feet in. 'Adjusting' is the solution to any problem; from the long queues in front of govt. offices to a daughter’s complain on her parents-in-law. 

Ironically, a girl even adjusts with a hand coming from behind, touching her body, caressing, intruding her privacy. Our peaceful Mysore’s roads, especially in the center of the city, is full of men who deliberately jostle, hit women rudely when they fail to touch them as they like and the women simply adjust and move on. 

It’s ok, we have another face

We don’t like to be called Indians. It’s insulting. We are proud to be called ‘foreign-returned.’ Everything ‘foreign’ is fascinating with us. We boast our son/dau-ghter is abroad, even if they don’t call us once a year. We are full of faces — one face for relatives, one for friends, one for collea-gues… the list goes on and on.

The most interesting nature of Indians is, we never lose our face. We are experts in fighting with our milkman, vegetable vendor and bus conductor for 50p but if the shop is classy, we just pay-up and come home; happily mulling over the quality (!) of the material we just bought. We have two conflicting faces for every little thing we deal with. At home, we talk of improving the country and outside, we give and receive 'something.' Etiquettes don’t bother us. But after all, why should they? Etiquettes are too artificial, we are natural. 

Matchmaking

Someone once said a horoscope is a better substitute for a birth certificate here. Our elders start matchmaking the minute they see a girl/boy above 20. I have an uncle. His first greeting to me when he sees me is not "How are you?" but "When is your marriage?" People are too curious to see who marries whom, how much money they spend on the wedding and the dowry received/given in a marriage. Unofficial matchmakers among relatives and friends wait for an opportunity to pounce upon the innocent youth unawares.

They just don’t leave it at that, they’ll persist till the boy/girl marries so that they can boast of the 'match that was possible because of them.' If the marriage succeeds, it’s because of 'their efforts' and if the marriage fails, 'they had always tried to dissuade everyone from that marriage.'

Verbal patriotism

Indians are unsurpassed in their verbal patriotism. They open their morning paper with a cup of hot coffee, read the paper and say 'there is no future for this country,' 'we have to line up these politicians and shoot them…' ad nauseam. Groups of men idling on a katte (harate-katte) can still be seen in villages. The harate-katte is unique to India. No stone remains unturned there.

Patriotism reaches a high while watching cricket or a movie and comes down as they forget it very easily and move on. Urbane youth are showing less interest in joining the army as there is very less money in the army. Those who join the army are youth from villages who are badly in need of money and do not have the necessary qualifications to work and survive in city.

Lingua pura

'Hate English in debates, but send our children to English medium only' is the rule followed by not only common people, but also by some 'intellectuals.' According to most Kannadigas, Kannada is for the poor and only good-for-nothings study in Kannada medium schools. But they don’t say so loudly for fear of being branded ‘unpatriotic’. A child is taught English from the day it starts speaking. A person I knew even beat her child for speaking in her language. Parents send their child to English medium schools even when they have less than three square meals a day. It seems, Indians contribute more to the language than English-speaking countries because, India is the third largest English book producing country in the world. English has a funny metamorphosis in India and we are proud of the various regional forms of it. Even old women who cannot speak their language properly, speak Kanglish (Kannada+English) with relish. I read that Railways have a popular opening line in their correspondence letters "Dear Sir, with reference to your above, see my below." India is the second largest English-speaking country in the world after United States with 90,000,000 people delighting in the language.

Singapore is posh, everyone thinks going there is prestigious. But I was surprised when I found out that except the highly educated and the rich, most of the common people, especially the Chinese I talked to didn’t even know basic English. Their only known language was Mandarin and they were content with that. Even being in a developed country, they said they just didn’t see the necessity of giving much importance to English for their overall development.

Take it easy

One attitude unique to us Indians is taking it easy. In our country, sab chalta hai. Offices are opened when they please, employees come and go as they please. In a government office, the officer is either out for coffee or for lunch. Works get done not in minutes or days, but in months. Buses, trains come and go whenever they want to, people work only when it is inevitable; or else they just loiter, taking life easy. May be this feature is what is necessary for a world suffering from the excesses of stress and work. 

When I had been to a temple in Singapore, a Chinese man came with a secretary to inspect the temple. He came and asked me why we put kumkum on the forehead, why we take theertha and prasad. After hearing my explanation, he went round the temple, inspected all facilities and left. Later, we came to know that he was the Minister in-charge of that area. Even President S. R. Nathan comes to the temple, prays and goes away without Z-level security and with just one person with him.

Our public servants are, after all, the mirror image of our own selves. They know for sure that we are not very much interested in the country's welfare and they too don’t much bother about it.

Majority 

We are too individualistic to be ruled. No one can rule us effectively. India is the only country in the world where anybody can do whatever he feels and get away with it. It’s a country ruled not by rules, but by the wishes of a majority. The decisions of the majority need not be right, but it’s legal since it’s approved by majority. People turn roads into spittoons, use walls and road sides as public lavatories, leave garbage on the street. J.K. Gal-braith, the Canadian American Economist, called it 'private affluence and public squalor.' 

The majority, the so-called middle class, are also the weakest and biggest link that is holding together the country’s two opposites — the piteously poor and the stinking rich. They are also the ones most worthy of studying with extremely paradoxical practices. They need ‘connections’ to get a job done, to borrow, and even to visit the deity in a temple directly giving triumphant glances to those withering in the ever-present serpentine queues. It is the ‘majority’ who decide the character of a girl seen talking to a boy at the corner of a street, whatever the topic. The only duty that the majority fail to carry out with unequivocal agreement is their duty towards the country, be it voting or voicing their opinion strongly against a corrupt decision.

A website of a foreign university which is offering India Semester courses to foreigners to enable them to understand Indian culture, has also given the students a few guidelines on the proper ways to behave in India— the visitors should always use right hand for eating, they should politely avert their eyes when they see a person urinating in public, they should not enter the kitchen at a home as entry to kitchen is restricted for people of same caste, etc. It advises the them to respect the customs and traditions of India. But they needn’t fear, because we have lost much of both.

These unique Indian habits, or shall I say, obsessions, cannot be altered. After all, we are like this only…  

— Shwetha

Pen folio: Blurred Boundaries

Mother’s Day has come and gone. Many asked me why we should celebrate this Day when we have always revered our mothers in various forms or any such Days of western origin for that matter. I asked them why we should celebrate festivals of Gods when they are being worshipped everyday.

Editorial: GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Food crops with modified characteristics through insertion of desirable genes have entered the coun-try in the midst of large scale protests from environmentalists and farmers. These bio-technologically  modified food crops have opened the proverbial Pandora's box of debates with one section arguing that such food crops cause new diseases in those who consume them and the other contending that they are the new world's answer to poverty.

Amidst such controversy, Bt brinjal seeds will be entering the Indian market shortly, that is, if approved by the Centre's regulatory body, the Genetic Engineering Approval Commission (GEAC). The vegetable would be the first genetically modified food crop to be consumed directly by Indians. Researchers say the vegetable, one of the most commonly used in the country, has the inserted gene Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to save the crop from Fruit and Shoot Borer, a destructive insect pest. Its insertion into brinjal is said to give the crop the 'built-in' resistance to the insect, reducing the usage of pesticides. Brinjal is grown in 5, 50,000 hectares in the country with a yield of 30 tonnes per hectare. Around 40 to 65 per cent of the crop is destroyed due to pests. The scientists say that growing Bt brinjal needs 70 percent less pesticide usage and a 116 per cent increase in crop yield. But the same argument was once presented during the introduction of controversial Bt cotton in the country. 

 Research on soil fertility demonstrated that Bt cotton cultivation definitely affects soil health, especially beneficial microorganisms and enzymes. The shocking revelation was, for three years after Bt cotton was grown, no other crop could be grown in the area due to soil infertility. Producing better yield and thus getting a higher profit seems to be the aim of the researchers more than making the food crop edible and beneficial to the consumers. What about sustained soil fertility?

Golden rice, yet another 'hope for the poor souls of Third World countries,' was banned for some months in India because of the argument that genetically modified foods were bad for human health. The golden rice, genetically enginee-red to be rich in beta carotene which the human body converts into vitamin A, is still not available in Indian markets.

It must be ensured that the insertion of beneficial genes do not alter the basic characteristics of food crops thus making them harmful. It must also not render the soil useless to grow other crops. The field trials of Bt brinjal were however harmful to the rats which suffered from loss of weight, diarrhoea and increased water consumption. It is yet to be seen if the trials on humans prove beneficial or harmful. 

Editorial: SAVING COUPLES FROM DIVORCE

Marriages are sacrosanct in our land and expected to last a life-time. The most-trusted institution recently came under a nation-wide survey conducted across 10 metro cities of India. Around 69% of women, questioned as part of the poll, agreed that they marry for stability and security in life. They also agreed that once divorced, the life of women becomes more difficult than that of men.
Yet, women in the country are facing a new set of challenges with new-found financial self-dependence. They are increasingly dissolving the once-considered indissoluble union, defying physical, mental and psychological abuses inflicted on them. Delhi has been considered the Divorce capital of the country with a whopping nearly 10,000 divorce cases fought each year, with a shocking average 10 cases per day. The reason being not only a desire to come out of a soured marriage, which is true only in some cases, but also the new-found desire to be free economically and live in dignity, without restrictions.
A few decades ago, the grounds for divorce were very limited, both for men and women, and divorce was sought only under extremely compelling circumstances. Now, with the rise in the number of cases, the laws of divorce have been made simple, yet with more clauses added. But until now, there was no provision for divorce under the grounds of emotional breakdown of marriage.
The Law Commission has recommended to the Centre that 'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' be incorporated as an additional ground for the grant of divorce under Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955. The Commission, headed by A.R. Lakshmana, has said: "The foundations of a marriage are tolerance, adjustment and respecting each other." The present generation marriage, built mostly on the foundation of economic strength of either side, is lacking in the very ingredient, tolerance. Most marriages now are crumbling not due to physical or mental abuse, but because of the 'breakdown' of regard to each other. Children are the eventual victims.
Setting up a helpline for couples heading for divorce, a Women's Police Station in Ranchi has started counselling services by providing doctors, lawyers and counsellors to the couple opting for divorce, giving them yet another chance to reconcile. Our State's Police Stations could do well to adopt it. At the end, it is in the couple's hand to save their marriages. As Nietzsche says, "It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages" and building that friendship seems to be the ambrosia that could save marriages.
The entire debate on divorce in the land is heavily biased towards the urban scenario. The issue of breakdown of marriages in villages seems to have been sidelined. The victims of soured marriages in rural parts, being unlettered, are worse-off.

Editorial: CHILD LABOUR

Mysore city recently saw the first ever case of Juvenile Justice Act being enforced in the State. A woman was arrested for illegal detention of a 14 -year-old girl as a bonded labourer and ill-treating her. The girl had been working under strenuous conditions for over a year, according to Mysore District Child Welfare Committee which rescued her. This, unfortunately, has not been a singular case of child labour in the State. A 12-year-old girl was rescued in the recent past in Heggadadevana Kote taluk. Such cases which come to light are however very few. Karnataka, a State known for intellectuals and thinkers, has more than 8,23,000 child workers, according to a government census. Those children who escape the census are mostly the children who work in homes as domestic workers — unseen, unheard and undervalued. It is appalling to know that India is thriving on 90 million child labourers, 20% of whom are below 14 years. It is said, poverty is the primary cause for a parent to push a child to bonded labour. But it does not end there. The not-caring attitude of the poor parents towards education, that it is a luxury rather than a necessity in terms of economy, has added to the basket of woes. It is saddening that though according to Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, the period of work should not exceed beyond 41/2hours a day, most child labourers and other domestic workers are put to a gruelling 12 to 14 hours work per day, abused psychologically and physically. It should not, however, be the only option of the governmental and non-Governmental organisations to rescue and liberate them. Their rescue will just put them from the frying pan into the fire. Being uneducated and unskilled in other works except what they had been doing, most children go back to working as before albeit in a different place and a different condition. Chennai's Child Labour Elimination Programme (CLEP), which rehabilitated 6,050 children, was forced to wind up owing to paucity of funds. A large chunk of the cake called rehabilitation should be topped with education. Providing self-employment to the parents with enough profit to sustain themselves should be the priority. After all, parents who cannot help themselves, will be in no position to help their children.

Women, the other sex

The world is engrossed in Obamas, bomb blasts and high profile people whose modus operandi is to make news. In fact I too was, comfortable in my cocoon of imaginary comfort, until I happened to see some disturbing news in the media. Some years ago, I thought of feminism as a waste of time and feminists as people who had nothing better to do in their life, people who had enough to eat and had no idea of hard work. But now I agree for a need for some strong voices to be raised against what is happening to a seemingly small number of women in a small part of a large world who are being apportioned their just share, as some would like to say.
The Taliban, once rulers of Afghanistan for 6 years, and dethroned later by the Northern Alliance and NATO forces, have now resurfaced in Pakistan with new dictums. The parents are being directed to marry their daughters to the militants. If the girls refused, they would be forcibly married off to militants. The Taliban have also closed about 400 schools depriving over 40,000 girls of their right to education. Education is the least of all their worries in a place where it is a sin to be an intellectual individual. They are not allowed to even speak of the 'rights' to live a happy and free life which all of us in India take for granted. "If a daughter is born to a person and he brings her up, gives her good education and trains her in the arts of life, I shall myself stand between him and hell-fire." says Kanz al-Ummal, an 8-volume set of Islamic hadith collection. Whatever a religion teaches, I don't argue with it because a religion is always personal, but as human beings we all, irrespective of our sexes are free to live happily, and that is the ultimate intention of all religions.
I, like many girls of my age, girls of India who belong to all religions, cannot swallow any rule which hinders my freedom of expression and living. I cannot imagine living in a world where I am deprived of even something as seemingly insignificant as enjoying a quiet walk or feeling the cool breeze on my face. I cannot imagine a world where someone tells me not to read books or go out alone, to marry someone I have never seen, to come near to death because I cannot go to a hospital and get treated by male doctors, cannot get treated at all because there are no women doctors. Here, I am not thinking of all these as a religious practice to be condemned but just as a human being thinks of another who wishes to live, facing and crossing all odds, yet never gets a chance to live because someone dictates them not to.
Afghanistan is a trampled country, and now Pakistan is en route to become one. My concern is that one day India too may become one. "Do you have both girls?" is the question my mother answered, and is still answering with some despair. I would shut my mouth and go away before I retorted something disrespectful. British writer George Orwell once said that while all animals are equal, some are more equal than others. In my country, men and women are equal, and men are more equal. "Take a rickshaw and throw it in the river" - a doctor in Agra advised the media reporters who went in disguise to throw the dead girl foetus in Yamuna. In Dholpur, a town in Rajasthan, a female medic
said the fields were pitted with the unmarked graves of unborn girls. She told the undercover couple that if their foetus was too big to easily be disposed of, they should pay a street sweeper to get rid of the body. I will not speak of estimates and ratio of men to women in India. I am not bothered if men do not get enough women to marry and increase their pedigree. I am just concerned about women as individuals who can hurt just like us. And I am concerned even about men who too are helpless to prevent it.
But here we are seen not as people who can think or feel, just as objects for ogling, groping and sex. My friend was one day reading ‘The Second Sex,’ one of the best known works of French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir. It is a work on the treatment of women throughout history and often regarded as a major work of feminist literature. The front cover of the book has the picture of a nude woman’s back. A person in the bus asked her for the book. She gave it to him and he eagerly started searching the book, presumably thinking it was a book on eroticism. When he could not find any such pictures or matter in the book after frantic searching for a few minutes, he reluctantly gave it back to her saying his young daughter had asked for that book. A young girl asking for a book on feminism acclaimed to be read by intellectuals. Such is the thinking of the men of my country. They see flesh, they think of sex. And what is the use of being a feminist in such a country, only to be the butt of ridicule.
My country also has a section of society where the top priorities of women include modeling in a fashion show where the dresses showcased are not wearable by 99% of women. And the 1% who wear them don't travel in crowded public buses, don't have to put in a 10-hour grind in office, don’t have to worry about EMIs or about money running out before the 15th of every month. Why blame men when women who can make a difference too don’t bother and are busy living their privileged life. But as voiceless, unseen women, how does one escape the honour killings now found in every religion, the unconnected crimes committed in the name of religion?
When we live in a 'global village,' any problem in any part of the village is our problem, because once it enters the village, it will enter our home too. And that is the problem we should now be worrying about. The Taliban may or may not come to India, but their practices sure will in the form of moral policing. Moral policing can be tolerated up to a limit if it does not take away the freedom of a section of society, the weaker section. After all, no one dares to police the wealthier and the powerful. I am saying this because I told a girl I know of the shocking treatment of women by the Taliban and her immediate response was that the women must have done something to deserve it. What have thousands of women done to ‘deserve’ the treatment? We need not be feminists to degrade it, we just have to be human.
---Shwetha