Ek sapna jo mujhe raaton main aata hai,
Har subha apni yaadon ke saath mujhe bandh jata hai.
Shayad kabhi pura na ho,
Ya shayad kabhi pura na karun,
Par har raat uske saath mera ek rishta ban jata hai.
Ek sapna jo mujhe raaton main aata hai,
Har subha apni yaadon ke saath mujhe bandh jata hai.
Jane kuyn isse bhula nahi pate hum,
Har baar iss hi gunguna jate hain hum,
Aab sapna nahi dost ban chukka hai yeh,
Haton main lakeeron ki tarah zehan main bas chukka hai yeh,
Ek sapna jo mujhe raaton main aata hai,
Har subha apni yaadon ke saath mujhe bandh jata hai.
Kuch sochti hai par kuch bolti hai yeh zaban,
Dil ke har raaz ko dil main rakhakar
Awaz main jhoth gholti hai yeh zaban.
Rooti hai aankhein raat main,
Kuynki har waqt khud ki tareef sunnane ke liye
Har shabd bolti hai yeh zubaan.
Jise nafarat se mehsus karti hai har waqt,
Ussi ko mukurate dekhane ke liye bolti hai yeh zabaan.
Kuch sochti hai par kuch bolti hai yeh zaban,
Dil ke har raaz ko dil main rakhakar
Awaz main jhoth gholti hai yeh zaban.
Dassti hai yeh logon ki aawazain
Aur gumname meri dil ki khamosh baatein.
Jo kehti hai ki chod de saare bemaiyne rishte
Aur tode har khwahishon ki buniyadon par bane naate,
Par inhain chupakar har baar ek naya bematalab rishta aage badhati hai yeh zuban.
Kuch sochti hai par kuch bolti hai yeh zaban,
Dil ke har raaz ko dil main rakhakar
Awaz main jhoth gholti hai yeh zaban.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Welcome Kosovo.
The world witnessed birth of a new state on Sunday. Kosovo after demanding independence for nearly three decades will now celebrate its independence day on 17th February. Created out of the ashes of Austria-Hungary's defeat in World War 1 the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - changed to Yugoslavia in 1929 - was in theory a single autonomous state, but ethnic tensions were not far from the surface. After invasion and a series of overlapping civil wars in WWII, a lid was kept on national aspirations by the creation of a federation of six nominally equal republics. In Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina were given autonomous status. But from 1991 Yugoslavia fell apart.
A series of splits saw the bloodiest fighting in Croatia and Bosnia. Kosovo become a UN protectorate after inter-ethnic fighting and Nato bombardment in 1999. In 2003 Yugoslavia disappeared from the map of Europe. Replaced for a short time by the looser union of Serbia and Montenegro, the latter broke away in 2006. Two years later, Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians declared independence from Serbia.
However the international community did not recognize its independent state. On 17th February 2008 the international community accepted the autonomous status of Kosovo. According to a report in BBC, Serbs and ethnic Albanians had vied for control in the region throughout the 20th Century.
While Serbs latterly only made up about 10% of the population, the historic and emotional importance of the province for them was enormous. Serbs consider Kosovo the cradle of their culture, religion and national identity. Another report in Washington Post says that, when Milosevic the Yugoslav President, harnessed resentment over Kosovan influence within the Yugoslav federation. At the same time, Serbs were complaining about persecution by the majority Albanians.
The ethnic clashes between Albanians and Kosovian Serbs, during the Kosovo war, made the intervention of Nato inevitable. The fight for independence in this state that has a majority of Albanians in it was continuing till the 17th of this year.
BBC reports that although the Serbians are upset about Kosovo’s moves any major variance between the two countries is not on the cards. However local conflicts are unavoidable.
Germany, Italy, France, UK, Austria, US, Turkey, Albania, Afghanistan have all recognized Kosovo as an independent state. Russia has warned that the move endangers international stability, while China has expressed its deep concern. Apart from Russia and China, Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus are some of the countries who have refused to recognize it. UN is still confused about its view in this matter.
According to AFP, Russia also says that recognition of the province's independence could spark violent separatism elsewhere in the world, including in the Caucasus, where several conflicts simmer. Some European Union countries, including Spain, have expressed similar concerns.
Russian-backed separatist leaders of two enclaves in Georgia -- Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- released statements Sunday saying that they would soon seek recognition of their independence, citing Kosovo as a precedent.
According to Antoaneta Bezlova a analyst working with Inter Press Service (IPS), What Beijing fears is that the immediate recognition granted to Kosovo by major European countries and the U.S. may lead to Chinese minorities such as the Tibetans and the Uighurs in Xinjiang province pressing for greater autonomy. By casting a controversial vote to secede from Serbia, Kosovo is threatening to set up a precedent for China’s 56 recognised national minorities that occupy more than half of the country’s territory. In addition, there are special administrative regions as Hong Kong and Macao and the territory of Taiwan, which in theory have the same relationship to Beijing as Kosovo has to Belgrade.
Serbia on the other hand is very upset over this new development and still considers Kosovo a part of it. It has also declared that it will make it impossible for Kosovo to be a part of the UN council or any other international organization.
US on the other hand is supporting Kosovo and is looking forward to increasing its ties with the country, reports Washington Post. EU is going to send its troop in Kososvo to ensure stable situation in the country. It is also going to help it decide its constitution and help sun the country for some time. EU has in fact said that it may even consider offering Kosovo a European union membership.
Everyone is supporting or turning hostile towards the new independent state for its own personal interest. The world is divided in its view of this new country. Whether this opposition will sound the death knell for this country or the support help it in emerging as a strong economy remains to be seen. Kosovo meanwhile is moving ahead by the philosophy that "The past should not be forgotten, but it belongs to the past and should be forgiven," as reported by the newspaper Koha Ditore.
A series of splits saw the bloodiest fighting in Croatia and Bosnia. Kosovo become a UN protectorate after inter-ethnic fighting and Nato bombardment in 1999. In 2003 Yugoslavia disappeared from the map of Europe. Replaced for a short time by the looser union of Serbia and Montenegro, the latter broke away in 2006. Two years later, Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians declared independence from Serbia.
However the international community did not recognize its independent state. On 17th February 2008 the international community accepted the autonomous status of Kosovo. According to a report in BBC, Serbs and ethnic Albanians had vied for control in the region throughout the 20th Century.
While Serbs latterly only made up about 10% of the population, the historic and emotional importance of the province for them was enormous. Serbs consider Kosovo the cradle of their culture, religion and national identity. Another report in Washington Post says that, when Milosevic the Yugoslav President, harnessed resentment over Kosovan influence within the Yugoslav federation. At the same time, Serbs were complaining about persecution by the majority Albanians.
The ethnic clashes between Albanians and Kosovian Serbs, during the Kosovo war, made the intervention of Nato inevitable. The fight for independence in this state that has a majority of Albanians in it was continuing till the 17th of this year.
BBC reports that although the Serbians are upset about Kosovo’s moves any major variance between the two countries is not on the cards. However local conflicts are unavoidable.
Germany, Italy, France, UK, Austria, US, Turkey, Albania, Afghanistan have all recognized Kosovo as an independent state. Russia has warned that the move endangers international stability, while China has expressed its deep concern. Apart from Russia and China, Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus are some of the countries who have refused to recognize it. UN is still confused about its view in this matter.
According to AFP, Russia also says that recognition of the province's independence could spark violent separatism elsewhere in the world, including in the Caucasus, where several conflicts simmer. Some European Union countries, including Spain, have expressed similar concerns.
Russian-backed separatist leaders of two enclaves in Georgia -- Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- released statements Sunday saying that they would soon seek recognition of their independence, citing Kosovo as a precedent.
According to Antoaneta Bezlova a analyst working with Inter Press Service (IPS), What Beijing fears is that the immediate recognition granted to Kosovo by major European countries and the U.S. may lead to Chinese minorities such as the Tibetans and the Uighurs in Xinjiang province pressing for greater autonomy. By casting a controversial vote to secede from Serbia, Kosovo is threatening to set up a precedent for China’s 56 recognised national minorities that occupy more than half of the country’s territory. In addition, there are special administrative regions as Hong Kong and Macao and the territory of Taiwan, which in theory have the same relationship to Beijing as Kosovo has to Belgrade.
Serbia on the other hand is very upset over this new development and still considers Kosovo a part of it. It has also declared that it will make it impossible for Kosovo to be a part of the UN council or any other international organization.
US on the other hand is supporting Kosovo and is looking forward to increasing its ties with the country, reports Washington Post. EU is going to send its troop in Kososvo to ensure stable situation in the country. It is also going to help it decide its constitution and help sun the country for some time. EU has in fact said that it may even consider offering Kosovo a European union membership.
Everyone is supporting or turning hostile towards the new independent state for its own personal interest. The world is divided in its view of this new country. Whether this opposition will sound the death knell for this country or the support help it in emerging as a strong economy remains to be seen. Kosovo meanwhile is moving ahead by the philosophy that "The past should not be forgotten, but it belongs to the past and should be forgiven," as reported by the newspaper Koha Ditore.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Women at War
When we hear the words domestic violence, we automatically assume it refers to women being abused by their husbands, brothers or fathers. After all, men are considered the stronger sex. But if recent data are to be believed, the boot is increasingly on the other foot.
Says V. N. Sarasvati, an advocate and president of Bangalore-based domestic violence support group Asha Kiran, "Violence against men is rampant. More than half of the cases in the high court are dowry cases. Most of them are false, and are filed to harass the man's family. They file cases under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cruelty against women and provides for the issue of a non-bailable arrest warrants without even investigation of the charge.”
Asha Kiran and Save India Family Foundation (SIFF) are two organizations that help men in such dire predicaments. SIFF was founded in Bangalore in 2003 in response to the growing incidence violence against men by their partners. The organization has branches all over India as well as in cities like New York and San Francisco and as well as the Middle East. SIFF provides legal help to men who are harassed by their wives and in-laws. They also provide marital counseling if there is any prospect of saving the marriage.
Says Aashish (name changed) 33, a hardware engineer with a multinational corporation in Bangalore, "Mine was an arranged marriage. I used to live with my brother here. After marriage my wife told me to move in with her family. I told her that my office was very far from her house. But as she insisted I had to comply. While living together, she never used to take care of me. I was diagnosed with tuberculosis and she told me to get admitted in a hospital. But even then she did not take care of me and left me on my own.”
“She used to take all my money from me and demand more,” Aashish continues. “She used to make me do the cooking as she also worked. Her job was in the morning and mine was a night shift so she used to tell me, ‘you slept all morning so now before going to office cook food’. She used to also beat me, to slap me and sometimes throw kitchen utensils at me.”
“A few months ago, her father started demanding money from me. When I refused, they filed a false case against my father and sent him to jail, saying he was demanding dowry. I didn't know what to do. Later we got divorced but I am still paying maintenance to her, for what reasons I can't understand."
Aashish’s story is not uncommon. According to a United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) report, 4.4% of Indian husbands are assaulted by their wives each year. UNPF also estimates that women are directly or indirectly responsible for the death of 50% of their spouses. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics, the ratio of suicides among men and women was 63: 37, that is, men account for almost two-thirds of suicides in India. More pertinent, according to the NCRB, nearly 44.7% of suicide victims were married men while only 25% were married women.
According to Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting or RADAR, which is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence, throughout the world women in dating relationships are twice as likely as men to be perpetrators of serious domestic violence. In India, for example, in 200X, women instigated 23% of all cases of physical aggression while men instigated 15% of cases; while the rest were considered indeterminate.
Says Adip, 25, a software engineer at TESCO, "My wife's father used to demand money from me. There was no such misunderstanding between my wife and me. But one day she went to her father’s place and did not come back. It was nine months ago. From then her father started asking for 40,000 rupees. He said either pay the money or I will file a dowry case against you. I also got threatening calls from a goon called Badshah Khan, saying he will kill me if I don't pay up.”
“Later I found out that my wife had got back together with her former lover, whom she couldn't marry because her father didn't allow her to. I knew about the lover before our marriage. I had told her to tell her father that he does not have to spend anything on our wedding. To this she replied that her father did not let her study because of financial constraints and because it was more important for her brothers to be educated. He also never gave her anything. So she said let him spends money at least on the wedding.”
“Luckily for me, I recorded our conversations. She knew about this. Her father is now planning to file a case saying I took dowry during the marriage. He is going to show the expenses that he incurred. They think that I have deleted the recordings of our conversations. They don't know but that I have a back up of those recordings. "
A. Kumar, a project manager with SIFF says, "We have more than 5 lakh men coming to us with such problems. They are mostly framed with dowry charges. This act has empowered women, but has taken away the basic human right of a man to defend him. To get money from their husbands women misuse the act. These men are not even allowed to meet with their children by the in-laws. Men who come to us have lost faith in the institution of marriage.”
Says SIFF chairman Pandurang Katti, "We have a weekly meeting on Saturday, to know the progress that the cases are making and how our members are coping with the problems. Every time there are three to four new men who join us. This will tell you how extensive this problem is. Mostly all these cases are found in the urban areas. But recently we have been having cases from semi-rural and rural areas as well. Bellary is one area that we get calls and people from frequently. The number cases are also increasing in Raichur district".
“This problem is widespread in the lower and upper middle class, as well as in high society,” says A. Kumar. We have stars like Prashant, who is a big name in the Tamil movie industry coming to us. His wife filed a false dowry case against him. But it was later found out that the charges were false and that she was already married before, and had never got divorced. The police really harassed him.” (Ends)
Says V. N. Sarasvati, an advocate and president of Bangalore-based domestic violence support group Asha Kiran, "Violence against men is rampant. More than half of the cases in the high court are dowry cases. Most of them are false, and are filed to harass the man's family. They file cases under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cruelty against women and provides for the issue of a non-bailable arrest warrants without even investigation of the charge.”
Asha Kiran and Save India Family Foundation (SIFF) are two organizations that help men in such dire predicaments. SIFF was founded in Bangalore in 2003 in response to the growing incidence violence against men by their partners. The organization has branches all over India as well as in cities like New York and San Francisco and as well as the Middle East. SIFF provides legal help to men who are harassed by their wives and in-laws. They also provide marital counseling if there is any prospect of saving the marriage.
Says Aashish (name changed) 33, a hardware engineer with a multinational corporation in Bangalore, "Mine was an arranged marriage. I used to live with my brother here. After marriage my wife told me to move in with her family. I told her that my office was very far from her house. But as she insisted I had to comply. While living together, she never used to take care of me. I was diagnosed with tuberculosis and she told me to get admitted in a hospital. But even then she did not take care of me and left me on my own.”
“She used to take all my money from me and demand more,” Aashish continues. “She used to make me do the cooking as she also worked. Her job was in the morning and mine was a night shift so she used to tell me, ‘you slept all morning so now before going to office cook food’. She used to also beat me, to slap me and sometimes throw kitchen utensils at me.”
“A few months ago, her father started demanding money from me. When I refused, they filed a false case against my father and sent him to jail, saying he was demanding dowry. I didn't know what to do. Later we got divorced but I am still paying maintenance to her, for what reasons I can't understand."
Aashish’s story is not uncommon. According to a United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) report, 4.4% of Indian husbands are assaulted by their wives each year. UNPF also estimates that women are directly or indirectly responsible for the death of 50% of their spouses. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics, the ratio of suicides among men and women was 63: 37, that is, men account for almost two-thirds of suicides in India. More pertinent, according to the NCRB, nearly 44.7% of suicide victims were married men while only 25% were married women.
According to Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting or RADAR, which is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence, throughout the world women in dating relationships are twice as likely as men to be perpetrators of serious domestic violence. In India, for example, in 200X, women instigated 23% of all cases of physical aggression while men instigated 15% of cases; while the rest were considered indeterminate.
Says Adip, 25, a software engineer at TESCO, "My wife's father used to demand money from me. There was no such misunderstanding between my wife and me. But one day she went to her father’s place and did not come back. It was nine months ago. From then her father started asking for 40,000 rupees. He said either pay the money or I will file a dowry case against you. I also got threatening calls from a goon called Badshah Khan, saying he will kill me if I don't pay up.”
“Later I found out that my wife had got back together with her former lover, whom she couldn't marry because her father didn't allow her to. I knew about the lover before our marriage. I had told her to tell her father that he does not have to spend anything on our wedding. To this she replied that her father did not let her study because of financial constraints and because it was more important for her brothers to be educated. He also never gave her anything. So she said let him spends money at least on the wedding.”
“Luckily for me, I recorded our conversations. She knew about this. Her father is now planning to file a case saying I took dowry during the marriage. He is going to show the expenses that he incurred. They think that I have deleted the recordings of our conversations. They don't know but that I have a back up of those recordings. "
A. Kumar, a project manager with SIFF says, "We have more than 5 lakh men coming to us with such problems. They are mostly framed with dowry charges. This act has empowered women, but has taken away the basic human right of a man to defend him. To get money from their husbands women misuse the act. These men are not even allowed to meet with their children by the in-laws. Men who come to us have lost faith in the institution of marriage.”
Says SIFF chairman Pandurang Katti, "We have a weekly meeting on Saturday, to know the progress that the cases are making and how our members are coping with the problems. Every time there are three to four new men who join us. This will tell you how extensive this problem is. Mostly all these cases are found in the urban areas. But recently we have been having cases from semi-rural and rural areas as well. Bellary is one area that we get calls and people from frequently. The number cases are also increasing in Raichur district".
“This problem is widespread in the lower and upper middle class, as well as in high society,” says A. Kumar. We have stars like Prashant, who is a big name in the Tamil movie industry coming to us. His wife filed a false dowry case against him. But it was later found out that the charges were false and that she was already married before, and had never got divorced. The police really harassed him.” (Ends)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Democracy in Thailand?
A place known for its exotic scenic beauty, economic development and sex workers, Thailand has seen it all. An alliance, led by People’s Power Party was floated in Bangkok on January 19th to share power in a “democracy-restoring” government in Thailand. There was no immediate reaction from the junta leaders to the PPP’s latest move. And, if the ruling junta does not stop the coalition, Surayud Chulanont, the now prime minister of Thailand, from King Bhumibol Adulyadej privy council, may soon have to return his seat to Thaksin Shinawatra. With that, Thailand will come a full circle, from being a constitutional monarchy to a military regime in 2006, and now back to being a democracy.
Military took over the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, in a bloodless military coup in 2006. The media was censored, people lost their freedom of speech, protest went unheard and its protectors abrogated the constitution and destroyed the laws of the country.
The Administrative Reform Council (ARC) justified its seizure of power, on the grounds that the Thaksin’s actions had frequently bordered on "lese majeste”. Lese majeste is being critical of the King or going against him in any way, which is punishable by the law. For example, when Thaksin ordered in 2001 the sidelining of Kasem Watanachai and Palakorn Suwannarat, two well-known royalist bureaucratic officials, the King within hours appointed both of them to his Privy Council.
He was also said to have created "social division like never before". The council also indicated that Thaksin had "politically meddled" with state units and independent organizations. Charges of corruption were also made against the government.
Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin explained on Thailand TV the military coup, saying that it was necessary to end intense conflicts in Thailand's society that Thaksin had created.
Thailand has seen a series of military rule, finally having a democratic form of government in 1997, with the dawn of its constitution. The coup of 1991 in Thailand ended when the masses took to the streets with demonstrations against the coup and in favor of restoration of democracy. King Bhumibol did not give his support overtly to the coup, the fact that he didn’t do anything against it as well as that the acting Prime Minister of the country is from his privy council, says it all.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Thaksin’s government was a civilian autocracy. It did not respect human rights, the rule of law or democratic principles.
However, AHRC argues that a civilian autocracy is better than a military one as at least it does not and cannot take away the basic civil rights of the masses, where as the military one annihilates that as well, along with everything else.
Although US did condemn the military coup, it did nothing in support of its so-called support for democracy. But Thailand is an ally of US post- world war two, and US has a military base in Thailand as well, so it really didn’t have a problem with the coup. Before the coup, US aid to Thailand was around $35 billion. Whereas after the coup it saw a decline of jus $1 billion, making it $34 billion. Other than that, the fact that Thaksin was so keen on increasing his ties with China didn’t really make him a favorite with US as well.
Similarly, China brushed off the coup as an internal matter of the country. Thailand is newly industrialized market and a growing one at that, which no country wants to antagonize.
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, a Muslim, claimed that the military coup would help improve the situation in the Southern parts of Thailand. Militants in the South regions of Thailand claims that the government is trying to destroy or dilute Malay culture and Islam. According to him Thaksin’s government has aggravated the problem rather than solving it. According to the International crisis group, the coup opened the way for improved management of the conflict in the Muslim South.
Surayud made an historic apology to southern Muslims for past abuses, announced an end to blacklisting of suspected insurgents leading to a significant decrease in arbitrary arrests, and revived key conflict management institutions disbanded by Thaksin Shinawatra in May 2002. Insurgent groups have responded to the government’s new approach by stepping up violence and propaganda aimed at undermining conciliation efforts. The insurgents’ village-level political organization has improved significantly in the last eighteen months but it is not clear how much this reflects an increase in local support. Many villagers fear both the insurgents and the security forces and are caught between the two.
Thailand has not seen any major economic depression or faced any problems from the international community as such, after the coup. If anything it has tried to improve the situation in its southern state. But the fact that the military coup did compromise with the basic foundation of a country’s progress, the freedom of its people is not justifiable in any case. How successful was this coup, and how strong is the desire of the masses of Thailand to have a democracy will be seen in days to come.
Military took over the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, in a bloodless military coup in 2006. The media was censored, people lost their freedom of speech, protest went unheard and its protectors abrogated the constitution and destroyed the laws of the country.
The Administrative Reform Council (ARC) justified its seizure of power, on the grounds that the Thaksin’s actions had frequently bordered on "lese majeste”. Lese majeste is being critical of the King or going against him in any way, which is punishable by the law. For example, when Thaksin ordered in 2001 the sidelining of Kasem Watanachai and Palakorn Suwannarat, two well-known royalist bureaucratic officials, the King within hours appointed both of them to his Privy Council.
He was also said to have created "social division like never before". The council also indicated that Thaksin had "politically meddled" with state units and independent organizations. Charges of corruption were also made against the government.
Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin explained on Thailand TV the military coup, saying that it was necessary to end intense conflicts in Thailand's society that Thaksin had created.
Thailand has seen a series of military rule, finally having a democratic form of government in 1997, with the dawn of its constitution. The coup of 1991 in Thailand ended when the masses took to the streets with demonstrations against the coup and in favor of restoration of democracy. King Bhumibol did not give his support overtly to the coup, the fact that he didn’t do anything against it as well as that the acting Prime Minister of the country is from his privy council, says it all.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Thaksin’s government was a civilian autocracy. It did not respect human rights, the rule of law or democratic principles.
However, AHRC argues that a civilian autocracy is better than a military one as at least it does not and cannot take away the basic civil rights of the masses, where as the military one annihilates that as well, along with everything else.
Although US did condemn the military coup, it did nothing in support of its so-called support for democracy. But Thailand is an ally of US post- world war two, and US has a military base in Thailand as well, so it really didn’t have a problem with the coup. Before the coup, US aid to Thailand was around $35 billion. Whereas after the coup it saw a decline of jus $1 billion, making it $34 billion. Other than that, the fact that Thaksin was so keen on increasing his ties with China didn’t really make him a favorite with US as well.
Similarly, China brushed off the coup as an internal matter of the country. Thailand is newly industrialized market and a growing one at that, which no country wants to antagonize.
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, a Muslim, claimed that the military coup would help improve the situation in the Southern parts of Thailand. Militants in the South regions of Thailand claims that the government is trying to destroy or dilute Malay culture and Islam. According to him Thaksin’s government has aggravated the problem rather than solving it. According to the International crisis group, the coup opened the way for improved management of the conflict in the Muslim South.
Surayud made an historic apology to southern Muslims for past abuses, announced an end to blacklisting of suspected insurgents leading to a significant decrease in arbitrary arrests, and revived key conflict management institutions disbanded by Thaksin Shinawatra in May 2002. Insurgent groups have responded to the government’s new approach by stepping up violence and propaganda aimed at undermining conciliation efforts. The insurgents’ village-level political organization has improved significantly in the last eighteen months but it is not clear how much this reflects an increase in local support. Many villagers fear both the insurgents and the security forces and are caught between the two.
Thailand has not seen any major economic depression or faced any problems from the international community as such, after the coup. If anything it has tried to improve the situation in its southern state. But the fact that the military coup did compromise with the basic foundation of a country’s progress, the freedom of its people is not justifiable in any case. How successful was this coup, and how strong is the desire of the masses of Thailand to have a democracy will be seen in days to come.
The predicament of Indian Malaysians
A few days ago, Malaysia was nothing more than a tourist destination, for most of us. A place where one can find tranquility and peace. ‘Malaysia truly Asia’. Everything has changed in a span of the last few days however. Malaysians of Indian origin are protesting against the government. Malaysia is being accused of ethnic cleansing. It seems all hell broke lose on Malaysia recently.
Lets try and gauge the reason for all this. Indians have contributed to Malaysian population, for the past 150 years. “They are the third largest population in the country. They make- up for 11% of the total population, of which 8% are Tamils”, says P Uthayakumar one of the main leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). "We were removed by duplicity and force from our villages (in India) and taken to the then Malaya and put to work to clear the forests, plant and harvest rubber and make billions of pounds for British owners," said Malaysian lawyer Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy. P Uthayakumar. Who alongwith Waytha Moorthy and Rao is one of the three main leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
The political and economic importance of some of the ethnic and religious groups from India far exceeded their numerical strength, in Malaysia. Two important business communities were the Chettiars, a money lending caste from Madras, and the South Indian Muslims (Moplahs and Marakkayars) who were mainly wholesalers. The third groups were the Ceylonese Tamils who were employed principally in the lower levels of the Civil Service and in the professions.
Because of this the economic and social status of the local Malay’s was reduced. They were marginalized in their own country. People belonging to other counties took the top positions, as well as the low- profile ones. Namely these people belonged from India and China. Although the Malay’s, also known as Bumiputra, have always been the largest racial segment of the Malaysian population (about 65%), their economic position has always tended to be precarious.
As late as 1970, 13 years after the drafting of the constitution, they controlled only 4% of the economy, with much of the rest being held by Chinese and foreign interests. Because of which Article 153 was drafted, to address this economic imbalance. To make sure that the locals reaped the benefits of the economic boom, more than anyone else. Its common knowledge that Bumiputra were given preference over people belonging from any other caste or relegion. In the 1970s, substantial economic reforms were enacted to address the economic imbalance. In the 1980s and 1990s, more affirmative action were also implemented to create a Malay class of entrepreneurs.
Seemed fair enough at that time. After all , we will all think about our family members first than we will about the guests. And Indians were guests in the country, who were not even invited to the house. Britishers, who were unwelcome visitors themselves, brought them in.
A majority of the Malays during that time believed that the Chinese and the Indians came to Malaya for economic purposes only,under work permits during the British rule. And they were promised that the immigrants were to return to their countries once their work permits expired.Many Chinese and Indians also felt unfairly treated since some of them had been there for generations, since the mid 1800s. And they were still treated as second-class citizens.
Things got out of hand when these feelings against ndians turned into fanaticm. Lack of opportunities, destruction of Hindu temples, right to education in their mother tongue and lack of avenues for advancement. Indians began to feel they were being colonized once again.
That is when the Hindu Rights Action Force or Hindraf, a Hindu grassroots movement that has won wide support from ethnic Indians in Malaysia, filed an unusual lawsuit. This lawsuit blames the British government for the plight that the Indians are in Malaysia. They took out a rally on 25th November, in which around 10,000 people from the community took part. They wanted to march to the British High Commission and hand over a memorandum complaining of marginalisation of Indians from the time their ancestors were bought to the then Malaya as indentured laborers.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstration, declared as "illegal" by the government.This incident carried on by the Indians, brought in sharp focus the class inequality in Malaysia more than anything. It showed us the problems that the underprivileged are facing in the country.
The only possible solution to this issue is to address to the problems of the poor in the country. And when I say poor, I mean deprived citizens, not categorized as Indians or Chinese. Economic development for all the communities. It is not that only Indians are poor in Malaysia. They are in great number, yes. But the fact remains that the richest man in Malaysia is an Indian as well. This shows that there is a class disparity more than a religious one.
The government of Malaysia must now make sure that this episode does not get marked as violence against a particular minority community. But as a problem that they have to solve for the poor of their country, who cut across all the religious borders.
Lets try and gauge the reason for all this. Indians have contributed to Malaysian population, for the past 150 years. “They are the third largest population in the country. They make- up for 11% of the total population, of which 8% are Tamils”, says P Uthayakumar one of the main leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). "We were removed by duplicity and force from our villages (in India) and taken to the then Malaya and put to work to clear the forests, plant and harvest rubber and make billions of pounds for British owners," said Malaysian lawyer Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy. P Uthayakumar. Who alongwith Waytha Moorthy and Rao is one of the three main leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
The political and economic importance of some of the ethnic and religious groups from India far exceeded their numerical strength, in Malaysia. Two important business communities were the Chettiars, a money lending caste from Madras, and the South Indian Muslims (Moplahs and Marakkayars) who were mainly wholesalers. The third groups were the Ceylonese Tamils who were employed principally in the lower levels of the Civil Service and in the professions.
Because of this the economic and social status of the local Malay’s was reduced. They were marginalized in their own country. People belonging to other counties took the top positions, as well as the low- profile ones. Namely these people belonged from India and China. Although the Malay’s, also known as Bumiputra, have always been the largest racial segment of the Malaysian population (about 65%), their economic position has always tended to be precarious.
As late as 1970, 13 years after the drafting of the constitution, they controlled only 4% of the economy, with much of the rest being held by Chinese and foreign interests. Because of which Article 153 was drafted, to address this economic imbalance. To make sure that the locals reaped the benefits of the economic boom, more than anyone else. Its common knowledge that Bumiputra were given preference over people belonging from any other caste or relegion. In the 1970s, substantial economic reforms were enacted to address the economic imbalance. In the 1980s and 1990s, more affirmative action were also implemented to create a Malay class of entrepreneurs.
Seemed fair enough at that time. After all , we will all think about our family members first than we will about the guests. And Indians were guests in the country, who were not even invited to the house. Britishers, who were unwelcome visitors themselves, brought them in.
A majority of the Malays during that time believed that the Chinese and the Indians came to Malaya for economic purposes only,under work permits during the British rule. And they were promised that the immigrants were to return to their countries once their work permits expired.Many Chinese and Indians also felt unfairly treated since some of them had been there for generations, since the mid 1800s. And they were still treated as second-class citizens.
Things got out of hand when these feelings against ndians turned into fanaticm. Lack of opportunities, destruction of Hindu temples, right to education in their mother tongue and lack of avenues for advancement. Indians began to feel they were being colonized once again.
That is when the Hindu Rights Action Force or Hindraf, a Hindu grassroots movement that has won wide support from ethnic Indians in Malaysia, filed an unusual lawsuit. This lawsuit blames the British government for the plight that the Indians are in Malaysia. They took out a rally on 25th November, in which around 10,000 people from the community took part. They wanted to march to the British High Commission and hand over a memorandum complaining of marginalisation of Indians from the time their ancestors were bought to the then Malaya as indentured laborers.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstration, declared as "illegal" by the government.This incident carried on by the Indians, brought in sharp focus the class inequality in Malaysia more than anything. It showed us the problems that the underprivileged are facing in the country.
The only possible solution to this issue is to address to the problems of the poor in the country. And when I say poor, I mean deprived citizens, not categorized as Indians or Chinese. Economic development for all the communities. It is not that only Indians are poor in Malaysia. They are in great number, yes. But the fact remains that the richest man in Malaysia is an Indian as well. This shows that there is a class disparity more than a religious one.
The government of Malaysia must now make sure that this episode does not get marked as violence against a particular minority community. But as a problem that they have to solve for the poor of their country, who cut across all the religious borders.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Controversy over Obama's relegious bent
The controversy over the religious bent of Senator Barack Obama, one of the candidates for the post of the U.S president, has come under the line of fire recently. The question whether he is a follower of Islam or Christianity, has taken the country by a storm. Obama on the other hand is trying to assure, anyone who listens, that he is a staunch follower of Christianity and although he belongs to a Muslim background, has got nothing to do with that faith.
In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Barack Obama's biography that gets the most attention is not his race but his connections to the Muslim world, according to a report in Washington Post.
During his contention for presidential seat in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address claims that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10.
His paternal grandfather, a Kenyan farmer, was a Muslim. The son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, Obama was born and spent much of his childhood in Hawaii, and he talks more about his multicultural background than he does about the possibility of being the first African American president. "A lot of my knowledge about foreign affairs is not what I just studied in school. It's actually having the knowledge of how ordinary people in these other countries live," he said earlier this month in Clarion, Iowa.
"The day I'm inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently, but the world also looks at America differently," he told another Iowa crowd. "Because I've got a grandmother who lives in a little village in Africa without running water or electricity; because I grew up for part of my formative years in Southeast Asia in the largest Muslim country on Earth."
Obama aides sharply disputed the initial stories suggesting that he was a Muslim, and in Iowa, the campaign keeps a letter at its offices, signed by five members of the local clergy, vouching for the candidate's Christian faith, according to the Washington post.
Obama for many of us represents not only the hope to see the first ever African- American candidate in the white house, but also to have a man that understands the world- politics and US role in it, in a positive way. Obama’s strong opposition to the Iraq war and his policies towards those parts of the world where the United States is not popular makes him a tough competitor and a better politician.
However, this issue about his religious followings has highlighted a lot of other problems in the country. It has brought out the mentality that works in US. The mind-set that is yet to accept a person from a Muslim background as their own. Because of which, the US claim to be a democratic as well as a developed country is at stake. It also proves that the blemish that was left by the incident of 9/11 is still fresh. People are yet to start trusting the community, which was alleged to have committed the biggest crime in the history of US. In an August poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 45 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for any office who is Muslim, compared with 25 percent who said that about a Mormon candidate and with 16 percent who said the same for someone who is an evangelical Christian.
Conservative talk-show hosts have occasionally repeated the rumor, with Michael Savage noting Obama's "background" in a "Muslim madrassa in Indonesia" in June, and Rush Limbaugh saying in September that he occasionally got "confused" between Obama and Osama bin Laden. Others repeatedly use the senator's middle name, Hussein.
His integrity does not get questioned whether he is a Muslim guy, following another religion. It gets questioned when he is so adamant to prove that his alliance with Islam is just fate and not by personal choice.
In the past few months, Obama has actively touted his Christianity, particularly in South Carolina, where his campaign hosted a gospel tour to appeal to black voters. He describes his movement from a "reluctant skeptic" to a believer during his 20s while he was working with black churches in Chicago as a community organizer, according to Perry Bacon Jr. a journalist working in Washington post. The title of his second book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," comes from a sermon by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.
The fact that, in making people believe that he follows Christianity, he has unknowingly shooed away the other faith. This attitude by the Senator has put a doubt in the minds of many, about the integrity of his intentions and claims to various foreign and internal policies, proposed by him during his presidential campaign.
In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Barack Obama's biography that gets the most attention is not his race but his connections to the Muslim world, according to a report in Washington Post.
During his contention for presidential seat in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address claims that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10.
His paternal grandfather, a Kenyan farmer, was a Muslim. The son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, Obama was born and spent much of his childhood in Hawaii, and he talks more about his multicultural background than he does about the possibility of being the first African American president. "A lot of my knowledge about foreign affairs is not what I just studied in school. It's actually having the knowledge of how ordinary people in these other countries live," he said earlier this month in Clarion, Iowa.
"The day I'm inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently, but the world also looks at America differently," he told another Iowa crowd. "Because I've got a grandmother who lives in a little village in Africa without running water or electricity; because I grew up for part of my formative years in Southeast Asia in the largest Muslim country on Earth."
Obama aides sharply disputed the initial stories suggesting that he was a Muslim, and in Iowa, the campaign keeps a letter at its offices, signed by five members of the local clergy, vouching for the candidate's Christian faith, according to the Washington post.
Obama for many of us represents not only the hope to see the first ever African- American candidate in the white house, but also to have a man that understands the world- politics and US role in it, in a positive way. Obama’s strong opposition to the Iraq war and his policies towards those parts of the world where the United States is not popular makes him a tough competitor and a better politician.
However, this issue about his religious followings has highlighted a lot of other problems in the country. It has brought out the mentality that works in US. The mind-set that is yet to accept a person from a Muslim background as their own. Because of which, the US claim to be a democratic as well as a developed country is at stake. It also proves that the blemish that was left by the incident of 9/11 is still fresh. People are yet to start trusting the community, which was alleged to have committed the biggest crime in the history of US. In an August poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 45 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for any office who is Muslim, compared with 25 percent who said that about a Mormon candidate and with 16 percent who said the same for someone who is an evangelical Christian.
Conservative talk-show hosts have occasionally repeated the rumor, with Michael Savage noting Obama's "background" in a "Muslim madrassa in Indonesia" in June, and Rush Limbaugh saying in September that he occasionally got "confused" between Obama and Osama bin Laden. Others repeatedly use the senator's middle name, Hussein.
His integrity does not get questioned whether he is a Muslim guy, following another religion. It gets questioned when he is so adamant to prove that his alliance with Islam is just fate and not by personal choice.
In the past few months, Obama has actively touted his Christianity, particularly in South Carolina, where his campaign hosted a gospel tour to appeal to black voters. He describes his movement from a "reluctant skeptic" to a believer during his 20s while he was working with black churches in Chicago as a community organizer, according to Perry Bacon Jr. a journalist working in Washington post. The title of his second book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," comes from a sermon by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.
The fact that, in making people believe that he follows Christianity, he has unknowingly shooed away the other faith. This attitude by the Senator has put a doubt in the minds of many, about the integrity of his intentions and claims to various foreign and internal policies, proposed by him during his presidential campaign.
My philosophy
Sometimes when I look around me,
I cannot believe that I am where I am.
The people who surround me all the time,
Used to be strangers, whose existence was not known to me.
Now they are my best friends.
And my best friends,
I do not know their continuation anymore.
Is it how life works?
With new people, new situations and new places?
Where you don’t know about your past anymore, in order to know your present.
I am trying to strike a balance so badly.
But sometimes I feel detached,
Sometimes unconcerned,
Sometimes I fear that my present will become my past,
And I don’t know what my future is.
This is a circle in which your life moves and there is no holding it.
One thing although that I have learnt from all this is,
It doesn’t take time for you’re present to become your past,
So before it becomes just another memory, try and live it to its fullest.
Live your life on your on terms, because you never know when it ends.
I cannot believe that I am where I am.
The people who surround me all the time,
Used to be strangers, whose existence was not known to me.
Now they are my best friends.
And my best friends,
I do not know their continuation anymore.
Is it how life works?
With new people, new situations and new places?
Where you don’t know about your past anymore, in order to know your present.
I am trying to strike a balance so badly.
But sometimes I feel detached,
Sometimes unconcerned,
Sometimes I fear that my present will become my past,
And I don’t know what my future is.
This is a circle in which your life moves and there is no holding it.
One thing although that I have learnt from all this is,
It doesn’t take time for you’re present to become your past,
So before it becomes just another memory, try and live it to its fullest.
Live your life on your on terms, because you never know when it ends.
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