Empowering Women - The less privileged gender

Women, in India and all over the world have long fought for their identity and dignity in the social scenario. With relentless media coverage and outspoken social websites, attention has finally shifted to the other half in an otherwise male dominated society.

Hollywood and Bollywood, which have been largely responsible for portraying women as mere sex objects and crowd pullers are now routing to show them on a higher pedestal; a place of respect, a place where they have roles more than just a helpless homemaker, a servile mother or an eye candy in a useless item song! Recently, I saw the movie Mardaani featuring Rani Mukherjee as a brave IPS officer who  fights against child trafficking and the prejudice of women being the weaker sex. On the likes of Bollywood films like 'No one killed Jessica', 'Chak De' and the upcoming Mary Kom biopic, various roles of women have been displayed which aim at overthrowing the orthodoxy of India's patriarchal culture.

In reference to my article on Gang rapes, we have observed that when women start making a mark in the society, it is envied by many and the male ego's first stance is to suppress their voice. When that practice fails they try to express their superiority by taunting and harassment. Although attempts like reservation of office posts to maintain gender ratio and bring out equality are made, gender bias, unfortunately is still seen in many corporate and government offices. Unequal wages, bias in promotions, lack of recognition to the female staff and much more.

This is not problem of a single country or a certain class and not just a fight of the women. These thoughts were reflected in the speech by the Harry Potter fame Emma Watson at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, "If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled. Feminism does not equal man-hating. It stands for equality It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes."

A daily news reader must have surely come across the much debated Deepika Padukone -Times of India conflict. I respect Deepika for taking a stand against the print daily for publishing sleazy candid pictures as entertainment. Surely, the paper had no business focusing into a celebrity's cleavage and making a headline out of it. But at the same time the hypocrisy of the actor comes into question. Promoting her new film Happy New Year with Shahrukh Khan, in which she plays a bar dancer, voluntarily being half-naked, I was amazed as to why an year old headline itched her so much. It's a different story from a different perspective. What I personally feel is that celebrated actors like her need not go flaunting their bodies for box-office collections and crowd pulling. Doing this in reel life maybe justified for them, but in reality it's blatant objectification of women.

This problem can only be solved by a collective effort. Blaming males for being aggressive or females for their dressing style is just circling around. Men need to start respecting a woman's freedom and women too need to practice healthy feminism. After all, Men aren't from Mars neither the Women from Venus. We were born together on this very planet and must learn to embrace each other!

From Ghent, with love.

A typical sunset in the city of Ghent

Hallo! A sabbatical of packing and prepping for the Belgium visa to finally settling here, I write back  from the cockpit of Europe (mostly for the fear of becoming the owner of a dead blog).

Been here two weeks, there are many stories to tell from the beautiful memories exploring the city, meeting new people, lip-smacking street food and of course the Belgian beer and chocolates.

I landed in Brussels, with some 60 kgs of luggage (a typical Indian carrying all homely food and spices) and thankfully to my rescue was my colleague Kyle who landed a day before and came to receive me at the airport. Ghent, 60 kms from Brussels, a city in the Flemish region of Belgium is also the capital of the East Flanders province. The city is known for it's historical architecture, beautiful churches and the University. The 60,000 students enrolled in Ghent University alone make up for one-fourth of the city's population.

Panoramic shot of the Ghent City Center

Travel fatigue could not deter us from stepping out in the beautiful neighborhood the moment we kept our bags in the hostel. Seeing a lot of Frituur (Fries) outlets in the streets we couldn't stop wondering, and to our surprise we learnt that French fries actually originated from Belgium. Yes you read it correct! History says that when British and American soldiers came to Belgium during World War I and tasted their fries, they called them 'French' because French was the official language of the Belgian army at that time. Beers can be found in any shop or grocery store! That too for just 1 euro/liter if you are looking for locally brewed canned beers. Crunchy waffles with nutella, strawberry and whipped cream is the most common dessert here. Well, too many calories for even a foodie like me to handle. Contrary to high calorie diet of fries and beer people consume here, obesity is not at all an issue here. You would find majority of people cycling their way between home and work.

Well, coming to language part, the northern part speaks Dutch and the southern French given the borders they share with Netherlands and France respectively. Initially we students had problems in pronouncing and even street names but the mandatory Dutch language classes were a boon for our survival here. Two weeks of intensive three hour classes was a lot of fun. Learning a new language gives you that extra confidence to strike a conversation with the locals and helps a great deal in basic shopping and travelling. Although the local people are bilingual and are very friendly with English speaking people, they are very proud about their culture and language. Festivals and music shows happen almost every weekend around the city center. Nightlife is crazy with pubs and bars open till sunrise even though everything from banks, offices and shops close by 5 pm.

My colleagues at UGent 

The best part about studying here is the diversity we are exposed to. The language class has 22 students from 20 different countries. Albania, Syria, Serbia, Australia, USA, Russia, Mexico, Ukraine, Canada, Czech, Taiwan, Indonesia, Norway, Venezuela, Spain, Colombia, Nigeria, Nepal and more. The national boundaries and the tensions between the world's superpowers and the so called third world countries play no role in the friends we make here. Music, football and food unite everyone. So much to learn, so much to explore, so many languages and cultures to absorb, one would never miss home! This academic voyage in Europe is bound to be a memorable one. Tot ziens!

Impounding GAZA

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."- Martin Luther King

The Parliament of India and powerful African-European nations may be hesitant to debate on Gaza and pick sides between Israel and Palestine; pensive minds would not keep their itchy fingers simply crossed. Millions of people have come forward on social networking sites and many have staged public protests all over the world to demand complete ceasefire and indefinite truce in the land of Gaza.

Preaching "Save Gaza" does not mean taking side of the Hamas and justifying their actions. Acts of violence should be condemned irrespective of the religious beliefs and the country one belongs to. While over 1600 Palestinian lives are lost in Gaza as compared to a handful in Israel, global sympathy is bound to swing in Gaza's direction. And these lives are not of the so called militants of Hamas, they are civilian casualties. Israel may accuse Hamas of operating in densely populated areas and using Human shields but that is no excuse for mass slaughter of women and children. I am reminded of a famous quote by Bertrand Russell, British philosopher and political activist, "War does not determine who is right - only who is left."

My opinion is largely based on the content international news media provides. But the Gaza civilian death toll raises severe questions about Israeli tactics and military training. Whilst their aim is to cleanse out the bunkers and tunnels allegedly made by Hamas militants, firing air to land missiles over residential areas is highly questionable and scorn-worthy. Thousands of rockets launched from the pro-Palestine militants have caused minimal damage thanks to Iron Domes and bomb shelters in Israel. On the contrary, when Israeli missiles head towards Gaza, Hamas tells civilians to stay in their homes and face them.

The popular explanation for this is that Hamas is poor and lacks the resources to protect its people like Israel does. The real reason, however, seems to have more to do with disordered priorities than deficient resources. This is about will, not ability. All those rockets, missiles, and tunnels aren't cheap to build or acquire. But they are priorities. And it's not like Palestinians don't have a handful of oil-rich neighbors to help them the way Israel has the US.

The problem is, if civilian casualties in Gaza drop, Hamas loses the only weapon it has in its incredibly effective PR war. It is in Israel's national interest to protect its civilians and minimize the deaths of those in Gaza. It is in Hamas' interest to do exactly the opposite on both fronts.

It is highly irrational that Jews must support Israel and Muslims must support Palestine. To write it off by terming it as a tribal conflict would mean taking a step back in a free thinking world. 

So you really don't have to choose between being "pro-Israel" or "pro-Palestine." If you support secularism, democracy, and a two-state solution -- and you oppose Hamas, settlement expansion, and the occupation -- you can be both.

Gang rapes - and the failure to stop them

RAPE. CASTE KILLS. MUTILATES. GANG RAPES. 

Picture taken from hinduhumanrights.info

And add to it the callous political statements made by the state ombudsmen. Lately, social, print and the broadcasting media are brimming with fresh cases of violence against women and rising anger of the masses against it.

Our country is being hit by such nerve chilling incidents on a daily basis now. In the past four decades, the number of reported rape cases in India shot tenfold from 2500 to 24,923 in 2012, according to the statistics from National Crime Records Bureau. Since many rapes go unreported, the problem may be worse. There’s family pressure to keep quiet about the crime, and it’s difficult to know whether the increase means more rapes have occurred or shows a growing willingness among victims to come forward.

Barely had the nation recovered from the brutality of Delhi gang rape before 2013 New years eve, we heard about the Shakti mills gangrape in Mumbai in August 2013. Even after implementation of stricter laws and harsher punishments to the accused, Badaun rape case in the remote village of Uttar Pradesh shocked us again. Incidents like these are like mealtime news for the state of UP where 60 million out of the 200 million inhabitants survive on less than a dollar per day. Clearly the problem lies in unemployment and poverty. As men from these patriarchal backgrounds are unable to make a mark in their society they turn to misogyny and sexual violence for inflicting their dominance over the weaker sex. Upper caste men suppressing the lower caste women; in a country already marred by caste and gender discrimination, a woman Dalit becomes a double Dalit. Mostly the rape victims are minors from lower castes.

The gravity of the situation lies in realizing the root cause of these gang rapes. Men with similar criminal instincts at same place, same time making them hunt like a pack of dogs. These incessant incests are brought up in our less privileged neighborhood itself. Put yourselves in their shoes; living in a small tattered hut with 8 plus people where domestic violence is so prevalent that it seems totally normal. Drunken husband and father beating up his wife and kids. Forced sexual intercourse infront of their kids, molestation, is a day-to-day affair. Education needs to be given from the grass-root level with sex education and law awareness. Better environments will only bring up better individuals.

Even after relentless media coverage and public outrage to such incidents, the rape of a six year old girl in Bangalore added to the horror and shame of the citizens of India. The accused may have been caught and will prosecuted too but will a death penalty to them end the rapist mentality epidemic? Personally, I feel the death penalty is an easy escape for the criminal from the crime he committed. While, the victim, if survives, is mentally and physically scarred for life why hang the guilty and let him escape his deeds. Punishments like Physical/Chemical castrations with life imprisonment need to be put in ordinances and law awareness must be spread to the remotest of the villages and cities. Only then shall the better halves of India breathe freely and lead a life of peace and dignity.

Also, we need to sensitize the political class to refrain from passing irresponsible comments on the national platform. Comments like "Boys will be boys", "Uttar Pradesh has least number of rape cases in India" by the state Chief Minister are deterrents to our society and also paint a sorry picture of India in the world. Karnataka CM also faced heavy criticism after he snapped back at the reporters saying, "Except that, don't you have any other issue? Is this the only news you have?". This justifies that the mindset of the common and ruling class needs to be changed exigently or Indian women will keep paying the price!

Education system of India: What has gone wrong ?

After clearing the 10^th board exams the immediate worry of every student is to choose the stream that would decide his future. Having done that they recklessly start preparing for IIT-JEE, AIPMT, CA exams without even being sure of where their interest actually lies. This article addresses that student and questions the impetuous college admission rat race.

Completing my Undergraduate education from an IIT, I have experienced that 80% of my colleagues including me were unsure of what we would be doing after graduation. Rather we were uncertain to even our areas of interest. This happens when one jumps into studying for a competitive exams just because they got good grades in the 10^th boards. Moreover, their parents consider that their child conquered Mt. Everest by achieving the magic figure of 99/100 in Maths and Science.

Will achieving a cent percent in these insignificant exams keep you happy for life?

The answer is certainly NO.

Most students jump for a college education just because that is the easiest option they see. While their parents slog days and nights to furnish those hefty tuition fees the student enjoys a life oblivious to the daily hassles of life unperturbed to the idea of survival in the world. If Indians are so much in awe of the western culture, why can’t we adopt some of their principles of financial freedom of teenagers stepping into adolescence rather than blindly following their consumer base of branded clothing and electronic gadgets?

One doesn’t need the stamp of an IIT or IIM to be a writer, politician or an IAS officer. Yes, you better know the people I am talking about here! Motto should be to strive for originality rather than banality; simply clearing competitive exams for piling up degrees in your name.

If you really want to start a business, beginning after your high school is not a bad idea. What’s the point of enrolling yourself in an engineering college? Kids graduate college with an atrophied idea muscle. Starting a business forces you to exercise that muscle every day! Entrepreneuring teaches you how to do business, not an MBA degree!

Like travelling? Go explore the world after your high school! Taking a drop year after failing to clear the JEE’s can be very frustrating. Instead meet new people. You will learn how important the education you crave for is actually worth? You will learn the value of how to stretch a dollar!

Like arts or sports? Spend a year in professional painting or photography or simply learn a musical instrument. Creation does not happen from inspiration. It happens from perspiration, discipline and passion. Mastering a game teaches you sportsmanship, socializing, helps develop that killing instinct obviously without having to kill anyone! A pair of footballing shoes or a DSLR would cost you much less than a college education. Dare to think beyond IIT’s and IIM’s!!

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However, a counterview would say these things can’t be applied to an Indian scenario. As social and financial security cannot be granted by the govt. of a population of 125 crores unlike the US, parents invest a great deal of money and effort into college admission of their kids. This may apply to the lower middle class but what about the wealthy ones? Govt. invests thousands of crores into IIT’s, NIT’s and IIM’s only to see that more than half go abroad to study further and settle there. Hardly 20 percent of the remaining actually get a job in core industries of their discipline. Eventually the tax payer’s money is only wasted. So why not us, the middle and upper class think before what we really want to do before rushing for easier options and let the poor and deserving benefit from these govt. institutions and funds.

Inertia

I may be a Physics geek to many but this piece is certainly not about Newton’s first law of motion. In layman terms, Inertia is the tendency of a body to resist change. In a truly Indian scenario inertia can be seen as the huge pile of files in government offices, dug-up roads and open potholes with garbage all around (waiting for the stray dogs and monsoon to clean it up) or even the cow sitting in the middle of a busy road. Inertia is the reason we need change in age-old constitutional govt. policies, amends in laws for dealing crime and rape cases. And inertia is the reason people like me just write and do not work on such matters.

Nevertheless, I needed to get my college certificates attested for visa purposes. So, I went to the District Magistrates office for his signature and stamp. I was directed to his clerk for completing the required paperwork. When I asked him to make a file for my work, the babu looked furiously at me for disrupting his untimely chai session. As usual, I was told to wait until further notification. I realized my naiveness when another clerk came forward and signaled me to offer some moolah. Hence, I learned ‘Gandhi’ was the external driving force to set a babu in motion. I did the needful. In between he slipped out saying “Saab se mil ke aata hun”. I was stranded for two hours with only half the work done. Later, I also learned that the speed of his working was directly proportional to the weight I laid on the file. With a lot of persuasion and obviously a hundred bucks more to break his Inertia I was barely able to get my work done before the Magistrate left. 

Well, this was inertia of rest. Bikers and car drivers reluctant to pause on a red light signal around busy crossings is inertia of motion; traffic violations being the most common reasons for accidents. Inertia for us humans is, therefore, our mentality and approach towards life. The habits we don’t want to change. The routine we don’t want to break apart from. Everyone wants change to happen around them. But very few actually want to be the change! 

IIT ROORKEE - The Nostalgia

Main Building of IITR

The news of my selection at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee came as a surprise to my family members they never expected a positive result in an exam (JEE) which has a cruel selection ratio of just 1% (among 5 lakh candidates)!

Roorkee, a small yet congested town in Haridwar district, juxtaposed beside the Ganga canal (built by the British in 1800's) lies in the foothills of Himalayas. Also famous for one of the oldest Army Cantonment in country with headquarters of the Bengal Engineer group (remnants of British Indian Bengal Army) Roorkee hasn't grown much around the IIT despite harboring almost 10,000 students in the small green campus.

Spanned across 450 acres the clean and green campus of IIT Roorkee is protected from city pollution and highway traffic. Previously known as Thomason College of Civil Engineering (founded in 1845 to help train engineers for the construction of the Ganges Canal) and then University of Roorkee, this main building dates back to the British era.

My first steps in the city were on a sweltering summer afternoon. Admission procedures ate up the whole day due to unnecessary paperwork. Even after a decade gone by converting into an IIT, the antediluvian standards of University functioning still prevails.

Sacrificing my afternoon naps and attending classes in those 45 degrees days of July August were equally excruciating as getting up those foggy 4 degrees bone chilling winters in December January. 

Situated in a small town, we students wandered a lot in the food streets Uttarakhand to satisfy our taste buds and quench the homesickness. Sipping cheap awful beers (realization after coming to Belgium) near the Solani river Ghats watching the serene sunsets, lip-smacking chai pakoras at Alpahar and University Canteen whilst bunking classes were some of the best moments I remember.

Lectures, assignments, tests, practicals, facing neurotic professors was a daily affair but all that never became a defining venture during my college life. The cycling trips besides the canal, evening jogs around campus, afternoon football with friends in hostel lobbies or gardens, the late-night hunger hunger driven trips to the Bus-T, the unforgettable exclusive cheese-maggi of Govind Bhawan were the things that kept me sane for the 5 whole years.

Having explored all nuances around the R-land, be it River rafting and Bungee jumping at Rishikesh, snow escapades in Auli and Shimla, hiking around the ethereal woods or trekking in the lush green mountains of Mussorie, time flew by with ease.

5 years, 10, semesters, 72 courses, 198 exams and innumerable night-outs for those mundane procrastinated assignments were a journey I would not have completed without my friends. In a nutshell, this campus gave me much more practical life lessons than my course on Physics, leaving me with a constant desire to excel among the best.

With this note, I bid adieu to my Alma Mater with high regards and respect for everyone and everything that shaped and influenced me in this chapter of life.

(currently pursuing my Masters in Nuclear Fusion at Ghent University, you can reach me via Gaurav.Shroff@UGent.be)