Women Trafficking - Is it a trade or a tradition ?

Since ages, the brothels have prospered. Be it in the form of dancers in Rajah’s time, or the ‘Kothas’ in the 19^th century, women trafficking in the slave system or the trend of call girls today. Women have always been sacrificed at the altar. This evil has grown not only upon the mighty and wealthy, but has also spread its branches in small villages as well. 200 kilometers from Delhi, Alwar district of Rajasthan houses an intense and widespread network of prostitution since as long as 1947. If not for the case of abducted young girls in the neighboring towns and villages it might not have been chanced upon for yet many years to come.

Is it not ironic that we have always cried out for the cause of girl child? We have always wanted that they should be loved, cared for and well fed? And when it is actually happening in the villages of Sodavas and Girvas of Alwar district, it is all for the demonic reasons. The Bedia and Nutt communities there have traded girls since generations. All the abducted girls, even as small as few months old, are raised there as well as their own and even better, only to be sent away to brothels or the gulf countries. Is it not similar to feeding an innocent lamb before beheading it for a sacrificial ceremony? Hardly does the lamb know that its happy days are short-lived.

And as if this was not enough. Impatience has always been in human nature, to wish for quicker results. These small girls are injected with Oxytocin injections on a regular basis to attain premature puberty. These injections, popularly known as “Goli no. 10”, are the same ones as used for cattle to increase their lactation and are available for even less than a rupee in cattle less region as theirs. It induces the feelings of love, care, bonding and a craving for sex in these infants and makes them grow at an immense rate, such that a 10 year old looks 16 and is ready to be sold off in the roaring market of prostitution. And then it is time for the next batch of girls to be reared and the cycle continues.

In a country like ours, where the sex ratio of women is declining at such an alarming rate, it is no wonder that these communities are doing well. This tradition of theirs has fetched them all houses, air conditioners and dish antennas, in all a very comfortable life but at what expense? To rear and sold away our own daughters? Is it what our religion has taught us? Where we have always worshipped women, and still women have suffered so many atrocities at our own hands? Where we claim to be the first to give women their voting rights, we have snatched away their civic rights at the same time? Where we are the only people who call our country as our “motherland”, we have sold off our mothers and sisters to feed our own hunger? A soulless, sightless and a selfish monster is that what we have become? It is high time for us to stop being callous and start respecting our own kin. Girls have long lost their rights to mankind, but now is the time to restore them. We have to start digging around and wash away our own dirt to root out this evil and awaken in a fresh morning where we shall all be happy and where we shall all be respected. That is how life should be and that is how it shall be. I believe.

Honor Killing - A Plague

She had always been the favourite kid. Always buoyant, she would spread cheer and joys everywhere she went. Her parents loved her and her brothers adored her. Life was just perfect until the cruel destiny took its toll. She was stabbed to death by her own brothers, while she kept crying for help. Her crime, she was hopelessly in love. And what proved to be the harbinger of her death was her courage she showed to accept and marry the guy she had chosen for herself. This is the story of not just one but many girls who row the dangerous tide of love. Be it Reena and Shyam’s sad demise on Jul 4^th or Monica and Kuldeep’s cold blooded murder on June 22^nd, these stories never differ from the same punch line – “We saved our honour”.

Honour killings have increased dramatically over the past few years. Especially in the euphemistic societies of northern India, to be young and in love has proved to be a bane for many couples. The caste system prevalent in this region is so strict, that it is banned to marry beneath your caste. Such a mistake on the part of Geeta and Jasveer resulted in a death sentence for them. Geeta’s relatives were furious enough how Jasveer even dared to marry one of their own that they didn’t think twice before taking his life. In other cases of honour killings, the reason strips down to sheer chauvinism thriving in the area. Where the boys have the authority to do whatever they want, the sole responsibility to protect the family’s honour and morality comes down upon the girls of the family. The right to their lives is conditional upon their obeying the rules and laws set down upon them by their parents and the society. Brought up in such surroundings, even the women themselves become so stringent that they are bent upon killing their own kin. In yet another case, Geeta strangled her own daughter Rekha to death and had no remorse for committing such a horrendous act. I wonder how it never dawns upon such women that they themselves had gone through a similar phase, and if they do not protect their daughters from the clutches of this society then who else will. And above all these murders are permitted by “Khap panchayats” and are rarely tracked down. Khap panchayats are a group of the village elders that lay down the stringent rules whose non compliance leads to punishments or deaths. Strangely enough, these law bodies never include women in the decision makers. However, it’s ironic that “Khap” also means spreading disturbance or anarchy and that is what these law bodies are doing.

It is quite hard to identify the culprits of honour killings as these murders are committed by a mob of perpetrators and the eyewitnesses rarely come forth. Is it not exasperating that these families disown their own blood just to gain acceptance in a morality based society? How they kill their own daughters and sons brutally whom once they loved? And how they justify their moral-less acts as a conniving act to protect the morals of their family and society? Let me ask a very basic question, when in trouble or hard times, who stand by your side and whom do you rely upon, your family or the stringy society who doesn’t even know that you exist until it profits from you? No wonder India is still backward, as such an orthodox environment prevents free thinking. A friend of mine suggested that honour killings should be termed as “Dis (h) onour” killings as people disown their kin and their values. We are taught to love since the day we are born, to love our parents, to love our siblings, to love the plants and even to love animals. Then why are we forsaken to love another human being whom god created as equal? We are told that love is divine, and still we have to pay dearly for it with our lives at the whim of some weirdoes who term themselves as the moral law makers. It’s time for our country to expect a new renaissance where love and freedom shall win over the orthodox dishonourable rules that plague our society. It is time to strike back upon the emotionless cold hearted murderers who are not even ashamed of themselves and roam around freely calling themselves as the “Real Men”. One such moron was heard boasting about his double murders the other day claiming that “We have removed the blot”, he may be right if only all such blots of innocent love could be removed by a much darker smear of gore. If that be the case my friends, the world would be an abyss with no ray of hope or light to guide our lives. All we have to do to prevent that from happening is to take a stand and fight back, for our rights, for our homes, for our families and for LOVE....

The Importance of words

“A word is not the same for one writer as it is with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.” Aptly said by William Wordsworth. I, however, am not discussing about the famous writer and poet Wordsworth here. Rather, the undeniable value of words in our lives. It is believed that God created this world by words and still upholds it by a few incantations beneath his breath. Since time immemorial, words and the manner in which they are spoken have always played an important role in our lives. From Vedic times till date, priests and yogis chant hymns and prayers, perform yagnas, and their word holds the power to change the laws of nature. In ancient times during wars, kings would win huge battles by speaking words of encouragement to their battered armies. Did Mother Sita not pry open the earth’s surface by a few words of prayer? Did Jesus not revive the dead spirits by just praying for them? Let alone the Gods, did Surdaas not free a leper of his diseases by just uttering the name of god in his ear? Or did tansen’s music not have the power to bring down fire and rain from the heavens to the earth? All these examples are proof enough to show the lexical influence upon our lives.

It is amazing isn’t it that how a single word of praise can put a smile on anybody’s lips, or a single word of love can make a girl blush, and how words can make you cry when you are least willing to, or how one wrong word can get you all worked up and angry. An actor’s words can have us spellbound in no time whereas a politician’s speech can gather a mob in a jiffy. Words have such great power upon us that we might have to bend our will in compliance with the words once spoken. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Quoted in (Proverbs 18:21). A few simple words can have such influence over our spirits that they can change the course of our lives forever. By the very own words that we speak, we could cleanse our spirit and being and lead a holy life, but by using filthy words we could lead a life no better than a dead end. And these are not just words this time. The effect of words on our lives, even the food we eat, has been proved scientifically by Mr. Emoto Masaru in his water crystal experiments. With his efforts, we today have factual evidence that thoughts, words, ideas and music do affect the molecular structure of water and everything around us. Every particle and every cell of us and our surroundings are susceptible to the very words we speak. Like in the water crystal experiment, pure and loving words when spoken over water, gave pristine crystals upon freezing. While there were random and distorted crystals as a result of bad and filthy words. Are these crystals also not a symbol of the human being we might be from within? The words we speak also reflect themselves on our souls.

We can make or mar our lives just by the choice of our words. Whether we bless or curse somebody, whether we love or hate somebody, whether we encourage or discourage, these have a direct impact on ourselves and those who surround us. It is the word of love that gives us the strength to bear hatred. It is the word of joy that lightens up our disheartened spirits. It is the word of encouragement that gives us the power to bear the hardest times in life. Do not underestimate yourself or the power of your words. Every human being has the potential to accomplish anything, we just have to accept that potential and believe in ourselves. Every person is a warrior whose thoughts act as his armor, whose will acts as his strength and whose words act as his sword. And it is up to us how we would fight the battle of life, whether we would win by using apt words or whether we would lose. As they say that every good deed spawns a good deed. So do the good words. Every good word brings forth a fruit that sweetens our life ahead. You just have to choose them wisely, and you can see the changes in your life are eminent. After all it is all for the better or the verse….!!

Twitter Away !

“Hm. I have cut my leg on a metal box. Crew is insisting I get a tetanus shot. I am not happy” tweeted Imran Khan just after he got hurt while shooting for a movie. Quick, precise and an easy way to express yourself and reach over a vast number of friends and fans in the shortest time possible. This practice is common not just amongst the stars though; a huge number of people from all age groups and social standings are also catching up. The phenomenon of social networking is on the sky high today. And why not, after all it provides us such an interesting means to stay connected with all our friends and the other likeminded people thriving on the internet. Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, MySpace, LinkedIn are just a few big names of the booming social networking industry. And out of these, Facebook alone claims 150 million people hooked to the site. If the number crosses 300 million in another year, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Just the other day, my sister chirped “If you are not on facebook, you don’t exist” on being confronted for making an account so young. More kids and teenagers are taking these social networking sites as a part of their daily routines. Call it peer pressure, or a means of entertainment, or even a style statement, but it is being followed blindly all over the world.  Addiction would perhaps be a more appropriate word to define it. Look at Twitter for example, essentially a micro blogging “What are you doing at the moment” site, it is going great amongst people who want to stay in touch for every single moment. LinkedIn for one has taken widely over the working class and is a huge hit amongst them. Orkut, the eyes and ears of all the students waiting to make new friends and meet them once, has gone down low a bit, but is still popular. Facebook, however, has taken the socializing world two steps ahead. It’s not just about making contacts anymore. With the contribution of gaming sites like zynga, zapak, all the gamers are also getting engrossed with it. Easy chatting, messaging, and micro blogging, it has them all. But the easy handling of all its features and applications is what contributes the most to its success.

I know, many people, especially the concerned parents disapprove of this socializing trend, terming it dangerous. What about hacking or phishing, they could steal your personal data and entity, or how can you trust someone over the internet so easily when you haven’t met them in the real life, or you are wasting so much of time chatting when you should be studying and the best one: do not share your photographs over these sites, there are monsters lurking out there who are waiting to pounce on your pictures and grab them as soon as you upload them. Partially it’s true, yeah, there are a few dangers associated with such networking sites. Hacking and phishing does take place, but these sites also provide you with privacy restrictions where you can specify who all can view your profile or pictures. The responsibility lies directly with the users, take care that you visit only the trusted sites, do not reveal your passwords and do not share all your personal information with everybody by terming it public. These measures are good enough to keep your online identity safe and protected. As per the making contacts online is dangerous statement, isn’t it similar to meeting strangers at clubs, school, or even work for that instant. The risk factor is equal in both the cases. But it’s not only the dangers that count.

Looking on the bright side, such sites are giving us a chance to open up ourselves to the sea of people and find out the ones with similar hobbies or interests or even a similar cause. People get to speak out their views about any or every topic they might believe in. And the prospect of making good potential contacts - immense. No doubt that every coin has two sides, and these sites have good and bad in them both, though I personally rely on a heavier good side, but the people, especially the students are getting addicted to it and are wasting a lot of their precious time. As they say “Life is 10% of what you make it and 90% of how you take it”, these sites are also like a toy in our hands and it’s up to us that how much good we can take out of it. However, until and unless the next technology comes to replace the internet, I guess these networking sites would keep thriving and there is nothing to stop them from growing upon you….watch out!

SPIRITUALITY-THE LATEST BUZZ

The word spirituality brings to our mind saffron cloth, rudraksh beads and the half naked sages and saints chanting in delirium while braving the cold and heights of Himalayas. But on the second thought, doesn’t it seem a bit too farfetched?? The dictionary defines spirituality as “the quality of being concerned with religion or human spirit.” I guess we need to take a look around and ponder upon the given definition. Spirituality in today’s world has taken a completely new dimension. Especially the youth these days may or may not follow religion, but they do believe and indulge in spirituality. To them, spirituality is not about religion, rather it is an essence of mind, where they tend to open up, discover and accept newer thoughts and facts about themselves, their surroundings and their very own spirit.

People today are getting increasingly more aware of themselves inside and outside their body. The quest for soul which earlier used to be the undisputed arena of saints and yogis is now being adopted by an elitist and a commoner on a similar basis. The knowledge of their ‘Karma’ and faith in the same gives them strength and peace of mind. People have become the makers of their own present and are gaining respect by relying more on themselves and their spirit. They are also more conscious and aware of their thoughts. Their thought process is evolving, expanding and is continuously levelling up.

However, did anybody even wonder that why such a drastic change in the process occur? Or how spirituality became a tool to help people banish their fears and come out more in the open? Or even, if spirituality is for real? These questions tickle our brains and set us thinking. Maybe the world had drowned into too much cynicism that the people needed a lifeboat to tug onto. Or maybe the cyber space lives had become too fuzzy that they needed a cyborg to rescue them. Or maybe being spiritual is just the latest brand of fashion symbol amongst the teenagers today. Or even maybe their own vulnerability and frugality had hit them in the eye, and spirituality came to their rescue where they could forget all their troubles and experience a moment of peace.

Whatever the reason be, more and more people are bending towards spirituality as their saviour and opening up their minds and arms wide to welcome it. Come what may now, spirituality is here to stay....

Welcome

Hello everybody and anybody who visits this blog. I welcome you all and thank you for acknowledging my efforts by visiting this blog. I hope you would find it interesting and captivating, and you are always welcome to leave comments on any post or article. It would be an honor.
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Rachayeta Singla