What's worse?

           

   Home to a booming tech industry, home to the youth looked upon with great hopes, INDIA, home to the highest number of malnourished children in the world, the very same country, ranked 100^th out of 119 on the Global Health Index.

               The death of Santoshi Kumari, from the Karimati village of Simdega district of Jharkhand on the 28^th of September 2017 is undoubtedly a painful reminder to every citizen of India, that there are a lot of families who can’t afford to have 1 straight meal a day. Unlike most of us, who yearn for the holidays, to escape from the burden of teachers and schoolwork, for her, being at school would have provided her with at least the midday meal.

                 Santoshi, a 11 year old was at home for the Durga Puja holidays. In the absence of school, it had been about a week without a proper meal for her. Local news reports as well as independent investigations by different organisations suggest that the ration dealer of the same locality had denied them rations for the past 6 months, since their ration card had not been linked to their Aadhar number. Reports state how activists raised the issue of deleted ration cards, but as usual the proceedings were delayed, the reason being improper working of the online portal. This only highlights the fact how despite having a lot of schemes for the betterment of the people many still suffer due to minor glitches in the implementation of such schemes which result in major negative consequences. This is not child’s play. Perhaps these schemes will be useful when we realize the fact that one cannot afford to be careless here.

                Santoshi’s family is just one example of the thousands of families, who do not have property, jobs or even a stable income. Despite the locality having food in the ration shops, a girl died of starvation only because her Aadhaar number was not linked to the ration card. Would, linking her Aadhaar, have made her deserve the ration more than she did at the time of death?

          What was worse?

        Dying from hunger when there was no food available?

        Or dying knowing that thousands waste food while millions don’t have a single meal a week?

Live Together

“Freedom, as its definition states, implies ‘the power to act, think, or speak as one wants’ ”. The Indian constitution is known for its perfect design, apart from being the longest in the world, and the Article 19 guarantees the Freedom of Speech and Expression. While I wholeheartedly agree that hurting or being disrespectful to a particular community while exercising one’s right to freedom of expression is not appreciated, there must be space to accommodate the thoughts of every individual. And the truth must not be hidden from the citizens of the greatest democracy in the world.

                  These days, many people tend to exaggerate the least harmful things and neglect the actual harm they cause to the people of India, in the riots and killings that follow. Nobody in the world has the right to take over another’s life. When a set of people take the rule of law into their own hands, the complete essence of living in a democratic republic dies down. There is a judiciary to resolve conflicts and punish the deserving. When a set of people decide to control what other people think, speak or write, and by the power of their number, when the others have to give in, freedom is plainly denied. Living in the very country that protected them for so long, now poses a threat to each and every one who has different views. Many who were brave enough to voice their opinions out loud, often had a brutal end.

                   The callous attitude of people these days, the narrow mind-sets and the blindness caused by utter selfishness have all contributed in creating a miserable place to live in. The many cultures, languages, and rich traditions we were once proud of, the most praised unity in diversity, how our forefathers fought the enemy together, hand in hand, and won over the “Divide and rule” policy made by the British, apparently seem forgotten now. For a better place to live in, one must learn to accommodate the views and opinions of the other. The country does not belong to a set of people, it belongs to one as much as it belongs to the other. After 70 years of independence, the 90 years of struggle that led to this must not be neglected. As citizens of a multicultural country, one must learn to live in harmony with the other giving sufficient space to accommodate the interests of both the communities. The beauty of our country resembles a vibrant fabric, in all it's colours. A close knit brotherhood, the feeling of oneness, the knowledge that we’re members of the same family, and thus deserve each other’s love and respect, should overshadow the little fights that may otherwise rise. Let our unity set an example to the world for the years to come.

Really felt the need to write this article. I posted this earlier on Youth Ki Awaaz,

Click to read more of my posts there, Farha Salim on YKA .

Permanence

Is there an elixir to all troubles in life? Something that can keep man immortal?

Why run this rat race and hope for permanence when the truth is crystal clear?

In this world, 'eternal' continues to remain a myth, a period just slightly longer than temporary. But the inhabitants of this planet, blinded by the journey ahead as well as the stories of the past, it takes them far longer than usual, to realize the truth. That every scribbling on the rock, every word written on sand, are washed away, does not last.

If only they would gaze up from their phones for once, if only they would be silent, and listen. rather than party loudly on the seashore, they would see. They would see that they were all running the wrong race. Besides, to be immortal would mean, to stay forever in a world that evolves, changes every single second. With time that stops for none, man finds it hard to keep up. Permanence, is thus, to an extent. terrifying. 

Who knows.. One fine day serenity alone may settle down here forever. One fine day when the wind has blown off every last trace of our footprints..

Photo Courtesy: SleepySociopath

Sailing through books

                           The love to travel , to explore , is nested deep in the minds of most human beings . Tracing our roots to our ancestors , who spent most of their lives wandering before the era of 'settling down' began . Probably , it's in the blood .  Interests differ from person to person , From one field or another we are somehow connected to this common love , our love to travel .

                             Unfortunately , for many , crossing the borders of their home is a far cry . So when it comes to living our dream , sometimes , it just has to be limited , to living our dream via what we do . For a reader , the millions of words that cross her mind , each provides a beautiful vision of the 'unseen' . She travels across the Himalayan ranges , the lush green Amazon forests , or sails across the aqua blue Atlantic through the books she reads . For a reader , that's how she lives her "Around the World" dream . 

- Farha Salim