Monday, January 17, 2011

Illegal Religious sites: Law v/s Politics


Following the order od the Delhi High Court, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished an illegal temple and a mosque. Wasting no time, the ‘religious-senti’ people of both communities mobilized protests. The Shahi Imam Syed Ahmad Bhukari led people to the disputed site to offer the Friday prayer. Bajrang Dal and VHP held a dharna on Friday.
Appeasing them was our ‘deeply-concerned’ CM Shiela Dikshit. She started her blame-game “It is very unfair of DDA. They should have asked the waqf board before taking such a step. I will talk to the PM.” The opposition also did not lose out on this golden opportunity. Samajwadi Leader Mulayam Singh Yadav highlighted the importance of Mosques – “Mosque is the identity of a Muslim. By demolishing them, the Govt is trying to oppress the community.” LJP and RJD leaders have also offered their support for the reconstruction of mosque and the ‘Muslim identity’. The Shahi Imam notorious for his violent streak also harped on this opportunity to bring in the Babri Masjid dispute again.
Now if the Congress which is also called “the appeaser of Minority” gives in to the demand of the Muslim fundamentalists, there will be anti-Muslim riots. But if it does not then there will be anti-Hindu riots.
But the question is.. Was this a religious issue? This is the state of secularism in India. We are secular but the moment the word “Hindu” or “Muslim” comes up, the state intervenes. From a case of illegal encroachments, this is now a political issue which will remain unresolved forever. It will now become a new point on the agenda for the next elections. In this case, the court is determined to uphold law and restrict illegal structures to come up in the name of religion but the politics is exploiting the case for its own interests. It is now a case of law v/s politics in which the common people will, ultimately be dragged in.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Ab kaha hai "dharma ke rakshak"?


The above image is a scene from a popular reality show "Truth, Love and Cash", Channel V. The show tries to test which is more powerful- love(lust) or money? There are many 'temptation tasks'. One of the tasks was this - the female contestants had to pour chocolate on any part of their body and the guy had to lick it off. But this show is just one of the many popular shows objectifying men and women. The Youth channels(MTV, Channel V,Bindaas) are full of women in bikinis, semi-nude men and tutorials on seduction. Ofcourse, its all for money. But the shows sell this obscenity as "entertainment". They can sell anything for TRPs. The need to be the temptation is being absorbed by the adults(those in their 20s), the teenagers and the pre-teens. "The channel does not support or promote any view". It, infact, creates it. These shows sell a mentality. Money and Sex are the two things that rule. And these two are inter-connected. A sex appeal can give you money and fame. This mentality is accepted by people consciously or unconsciously. They will argue that people always have the option of not watching them so they have no social responsibility. The pre-teens and Teenagers only have the ability to grasp. They are too immature to reflect on this. Many people watch these shows because they make a good 'time-pass'. But eventually this 'timepass' will influence their mindsets.
These shows try selling obscenity in the name of being 'liberal'. But our society is not becoming 'open' or 'liberal'. The word is disgusting.