The month of candies, cards, roses and hearts, saw an upsurge in violence on women, in Bangalore. Bangalore is the capital city of Karnataka and considered to be one of the most developed cities in India.
Perpetrators of the attack are Ram Sainiks.
Apparently, the New Indian Woman is against the Old Indian Culture, and must be dealt with by beating her, groping her, dragging her along the ground by her hair, kidnapping her, along with several other remedies, in broad day light, in public view.
I can give you links to the articles on the internet, but instead Im giving you links to websites of 2 campaigns, which should tell you more, about what happened and what the people of Karnataka decided to do about it.
One is called 'The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women'. They launched an all-India Pink Chaddi Campaign. Innovation, non violence and sarcasm at its best.
When I first heard about the Earth Hour 2 years ago, I thought it was something that had probably been around for years, and I had simply not heard about it. It’s a brilliant idea. I just didn’t think it could be a new one. However, I was surprised to learn that it’s only been around for 2 years.
To tell you a little about the event,
“ Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.
In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.“
The idea is simple. Switch of all electrical appliances for one hour, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, wherever you are, at your local time.
People I know have been talking about it for about a week now. And since I have initiated a lot of environmental activities in my community, people asked me specifically about it and if I was taking part. Even thought I did my best to publicize the event, I felt that I didn’t need to really take part in it and endure the discomfort of having no electricity for an hour, since I was already enlightened. I felt that the event was more for other people, to whom the good news hadn’t yet reached.
The goal of the programme is not so much to save an enormous amount of electricity on that one day of the year, but to instill in people, a lifelong value, to conserve as much as they can and protect the environment. And this is why I self righteously didn’t think I needed to participate.
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I’ve just gotten back home from an Earth Hour event organized at a local school. It was organized and sponsored by Coca Cola.
From 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm, some of my friends performed a string of popular alternative rock tracks. They had musicians playing the saxophone, the tabla, the bongos, along with electric and acoustic guitars.
And from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, the Earth Hour, the lights were dimmed and bits of The Inconvenient Truth were screened. It was followed by a choreography to Michael Jackson’s ‘Heal The World’, and ‘We Are The World’ and ended with a lucky-draw of people who had calculated their carbon footprints beforehand, and had submitted it.
I’m definitely going to organize a community event next year just like this, and would like to encourage you to do the same too.
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As much as I may have felt that I was already doing things right and didn’t need to participate, I have a confession to make.
I sleep with my lights on, almost everyday.
I’m usually reading or writing and just fall asleep over my work. But most of the time, being tired, I get under covers thinking I’ll shut the eye for 15 minutes, only to wake up the next morning with my lights still on. Of course I use CFL lights. But that’s beside the point. The point is, I am as guilty as anyone else. I must change. I must. So if it means taking the comfortable quilt off to switch of the lights, or being more disciplined when the alarm rings to tell me my 15 minutes is over, I must do it. I know that I’m not the problem, but I know that I am contributing to it. So it’s going to be different for me from today.
We claim that unity in diversity is our specialty. Up until today, I saw many examples of diversity, but few of unity.
What this attack in Mumbai has done though, is to bring unity in adversity, as the people of Chennai are calling it. It is grief that united.
Did you see how local Mumbaikars, cheered with every truckload of army men that came in? Every time they shouted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai,’ I got goose bumps. India has never been an aggressor. We have been at war only a few times in the last 60 years: The ones with Pakistan in ’65 and ’71 and then Kargil. This is why we have never given a thought to our troops. Thousands of young men and women sign themselves up to the army, in times of peace, with no guarantee that the future will remain the same, prepared for any circumstance.
Unlike the USA where their troops are in much use every day all over the world, India never got to see action out of hers. In the US not supporting their troops is considered an offence. Not legally. But the troops go into war confident that they have their whole country behind them and their country is grateful to them.
But today, these men and women who we never regarded, today we learnt how indispensible they are. We suddenly became aware of their presence.
It took terrorists to make us aware.
In times of peace, when a pacifist preaches his message, no one wants to hear it. Today, when one gets up onto his soapbox to preach peace, he has an audience. The audience knows that he either accepts to follow the path of peace and still maintain some hope for tomorrow. Or he accepts that violence is the order of the day and nothing can change it. And I think more of us want to see the victory of peace today than ever before.
What this attack in Mumbai has done is that it has brought the urgency of seeing the success of peace to the top of everybody’s mind and wish list. There is nothing more anybody wants.
It took violence to make us aware of peace.
Initially, the fear was that communal riots would break out.
It did not happen. At least not so far.
This time, those who dare make discriminatory comments are being hounded down.
Instead, all anger is being channelized towards a new target. I never thought this would happen, but it has. We have taken our politicians to task.This is how, this times attack, was different.
Politicians usually manipulate every situation to their convenience.
This time we didn’t allow it.
Scour the internet. Remember I said that’s where the youth of India lives? Every young person is suddenly demanding answers out of them. They are not all sitting back and complaining.
Suddenly every young person is aware of their rights. Their right to information.
Every young person today is resolving to go and vote at the next elections.
Suddenly every young person is aware of their duty. Their duty to vote.
NOW we have finally agreed, that ‘Enough is Enough.’
It took terrorists to make this happen.
Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar and all the other police and army personnelwho died fighting for our security.
It appears to me, that India would not have been so shaken up if their deaths hadn’t happen. This reminds me of the movie Rang De Basanti. Talking about the movie later with a friend, I complained that the ending should have been happier. He said, “It just wouldn’t have been as good if they hadn’t all died in the end.”
So thick headed India required 102 deaths, along with 12 police and army men and 300 injured, to actually feel and be affected.
Why did it take an attack in our own country to get united? We see terrorism all over the world. But we had to wait for this to happen, to be affected?
If we continue on this path of reconstruction, those 102 deaths would not have been in vain. Or else, they will remain as wasted unfulfilled lives. They will remain statistics. And their blood, and the blood of more to come, will be on our hands.
I don’t think those 40 men anticipated that they would actually stir up the people like this. They dug their own graves. 1.13 billion people(according to the latest estimate made, in March this year) and more, are waiting to throw mud on it.
As one man said on NDTV, “The fire is not on in the burning buildings, and the many funeral pyres being lit. Now it is on in our hearts.”
Ask me again, what good could possibly come out of what happened in Mumbai.
102 people have lost their lives. 300 have been injured.
It is said that 40 terrorists were involved in this attack. 8 terrorists died. 1 is alive. 31 are still to be accounted for.
We cry about the loss of the 102 innocent. Nobody is crying about the 8 terrorists who also died. I am not either.
But do we realize that those 8 young men, all between the ages of 8 and 28, are also a loss to the world? There are many other things they could have been other than terrorists. But they chose to be terrorists.
Is it just these 8? No it isn’t. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, in the grips of various terrorist organizations, being trained in body and mind for future attacks, at this very moment. And they are going to train thousands more. Thousands more of eight-to-twenty eight’s.
Is that not a loss to the world?
And are they not going to bring greater losses when they carry out their next attack?
Is it not a loss and failure when evil wins over good?
Like I asked before- who is it that failed? Was it their upbringing? Was it religion? Or was it us?
Here's another thing I had always wanted to do (along with becoming the 1st female president of my country), but somebody got there before me. Not that I'm grudging him.
I was disillusioned for a while. Maybe I'm returning.
I know theres lots of people who are going to think this is sappy.. There's a lot of people who are going to remark about how One Man is making money and getting fame and what not from this. It did enter my mind too.
But hey we could all do with free hugs! So come here come here you! Shut up and hug me!
