Are we still human?!!

What prompted me to write is the news that an Indian house maid's hand was cut off by an employer in Saudi Arabia. Those who know about Saudi's human rights record knows that this is not an isolated incident. Such incidents are part and parcel of life in Saudi Arabia. 

Let us now go back to 20th September 2015 (Incidentally, it is my date of birth !!) and look at another news which did not hit headlines, but shook the minds of those who read and understood what it meant. Saudi Arabia was elected as head of UN human rights Council Panel!! They will take over from Germany on 1st January 2016. This inter -governmental body of  47 member states are responsible for promoting and protecting

human rights around the world!! Can you believe that all the countries who keep trumpeting about human rights stood silent spectators to this appalling event.


This pictures of this Indian maid's horrific experience and the glee on the face of the Saudi Ambassador in the above picture when juxtaposed brings to light the double speak of the countries when it comes to issues of human rights.

Saudi Arabia's appointment as head of UNHRC means that they would interview and short-list experts, from among whom successful candidates would then be nominated to examine specific human rights challenges! These challenges may include the human rights record of a particular country or a specific theme, and those themes can include violence against women, the rights of migrants, religious freedom, or sexual orientation.

Now let us go back to another incident which hit the media headlines a month back for a week and then vanished into thin air. A Saudi diplomat accused of holding captive, beating and repeatedly raping two Nepali women hired as domestic servants in his luxury apartment near New Delhi has left India under diplomatic immunity. An Indian foreign ministry spokesman issued a statement saying the diplomat “who is allegedly accused of abusing two Nepali maids has left India”. The diplomat was protected by the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, the spokesperson said, giving no further details. What a shame!!

We the people of India having solemnly resolved to secure to all citizens justice, liberty and equality stood silent witness to the gruesome injustice meted out to the these women. Oh I was wrong, they are not Indian citizens!!

They define racism as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Then what is Vienna convention on diplomatic immunity? It is a racist convention which comes out from the belief that the race diplomats are superior and they can get away by violating any law of the land where they are serving. This convention was created to ensure free and fearless functioning of a diplomat in a guest country , but how can you misuse the provisions of such a convention to violate the human rights of the people of the host country. 

A country which has such horrific human rights record heads the top global organization to protect human rights and it is sandwiched by two horrific human rights violations in our own country. Is there still reason to believe that we are human?

Additional reading

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34483504

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/22/why-is-saudi-arabia-heading-the-u-n-human-rights-council.html

http://www.cracked.com/article_19591_6-most-ridiculous-abuses-diplomatic-immunity.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/saudi-diplomat-accused-of-raping-two-maids-uses-immunity-to-leave-india

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_Days

Narendra Modi, Christopher Columbus and the Boiled egg

I am not trying to evaluate the performance of the Prime Minister through this blog. I am just trying to bring out some of the aspects of his leadership which stand out. He brought in a lot of energy to the job along with style and strategy.

It may not be an exaggeration if I say that the country was governed by  the Congress for the past 60 years. This is the first time people are seeing a different style from the Prime Minister of the country. The perception of energy the PMs brought to the job ranged from negative in Manmohan Singh to neutral in Narasimha Rao to Positive in Indira Gandhi.The interaction with the leaders was only limited to the pre-election rallies

Narendra Modi did some new things which surprised the people and the politicians. He created a flutter when he invited all SAARC leaders including Nawaz Sherif. Was he trying to improve the diplomatic relationship with these countries? No. He was just announcing his arrival, Did he achieve it? Absolutely.

He went on to visit many countries which were ignored by his predecessors. His critics were quick to point out that he was spending too much money without getting anything in return! Modi did not respond and quietly went on building Brand Modi. Without getting too much into his foreign trips, I would like to talk about somethings which he did which were frowned upon by his opponents.

He interacted with the children of the country directly on Teachers day. His critics were quick to say "What is the big deal?"and dissect his words and allude to"Sangh Parivar Agenda"in what he said. They alleged that the whole show was choreographed. Modi was quietly building a connection with the next generation voters and building an image of a strong and caring Prime Minister in the minds of the children most of whom will be voters in the next elections.

He started speaking directly to his people through "Mann Ki Baat"using common man's medium Radio. He established a one to one connection with his people. His rivals were again saying what is new and anybody could do it. In Malayalam, there is a saying "പുത്തനച്ചി പുരപ്പുറം തൂക്കും" (The new bride will sweep the roof). Most of the people thought that all these initiatives will die down with time in line with this saying. But to his critics'dismay, Modi continued with his new initiatives.

Recently, Modi visited UAE which is currently the largest trading partner of India and became the first PM to do so in 34 years!! He made it a point to visit a labor camp which represents the majority of Indians in UAE. His rivals could not find a reason to criticize the visit, but they said PM could not do anything to solve the problems of the people in UAE!. This visit was heavily criticized in Kerala which is ironic as there are more than 1 million Keralites in UAE. This visit was well received by the rulers of UAE and they reciprocated with concrete measures.

You must be wondering by now what all this has to do with Columbus. I am coming to that. Christopher Columbus was given Lordship after he discovered America. The Spanish Lords were quite unhappy that a common man was accorded Lordship.

    

Columbus was dining with many Spanish nobles when one of them said: 'Sir Christopher, even if your lordship had not discovered the Indies, there would have been, here in Spain, which is a country abundant with great men knowledgeable in cosmography and literature, one who would have started a similar adventure with the same result.' Columbus did not respond to these words but asked for a whole egg to be brought to him. He placed it on the table and said: 'My lords, I will lay a wager (bet) with any of you that you are unable to make this egg stand on its end like I will do without any kind of help or aid.' They all tried without success and when the egg returned to Columbus, he tapped it gently on the table breaking it slightly and, with this, the egg stood on its end. All those present were confounded and understood what he meant: that once the feat has been done, anyone knows how to do it.

Narendra Modi's opponents like the Lords keep asking the question"What is new"and Modi keeps quietly executing his strategy. I hope the Prime Minister is aware that style and strategy is only one part of the whole and he has promises to deliver. Only time will tell whether Modi is able to keep this diverse country together and goes on to become a successful Prime Minister while delivering his promises. Putting a country with more than one billion people on the track of progress and prosperity is not an overnight task, but he has a billion impatient Indians waiting for the change.

A first time voter's dilemma

I am 47 years old, but I have never exercised my franchise. It is not that I have chosen not to vote, but circumstances were such that I never got an opportunity to vote. When my vote was in Kerala, I was in Agartala, when my vote was in Agartala, I was in Chennai. By the time I got enrolled in Chennai, I was transferred to Mumbai. Advantages of working for ONGC which keeps sending you packing every 4 to 5 years!!

When my next turn for transfer to Assam came in 2001, I got a job with an oil company in Abu Dhabi and end this game of hide and seek. I never wanted to become and NRI, but there I was in the desert jungle losing my franchise forever. 

With the recent discussions to allow NRIs to vote, came the new dilemma for me. Whom to vote?. 

Throughout my school and college days, I was a left supporter mainly because I was the nephew of NE Balaram!. As I grew up, I tried to rationalize my belief by observing the party and finding good in whatever they did. I believed that they will do something for the state and the country. With passage of time, my hope evaporated and most of the communist and marxist leaders changed their avtaars and became neo communists(intolerant, irresponsible and power hungry.......). A party which has been in existence for more than 75 years could not capture the imagination of the people and they got restricted to a few pockets in Kerala and Tripura, that too just  because of blind faith of millions of people like me! . They never connected with people, but kept repeating age old theories which the common man never understood or cared for. They got alienated and destroyed themselves.The dream of the selfless leaders who toild day and night to bring up the party went in vain. I salute them. 

Less said about the Congress, the better. 

I was always against discriminating people based on caste religion. I could never support the BJP's ideologies. When Narendra Modi was selected as Prime ministerial candidate, I never thought that he could take BJP to such a dramatic victory. Since then I have been following what Modi has been doing. He has been making the right noises. I think the politicians and media of Kerala have been overly critical about Modi. 

Even today if I get an opportunity to vote, I will struggle to vote for BJP and may end up voting for communists. But I have started asking myself the question ""If  you could blindly support  party and try to rationalize it by non existent positives which were creations of imagination, why you should not support  a party which at least is talking the right things?"

I hope to decide by the time my turn to vote comes up!!