Unique, not Different

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Every topic I write here has an inspiration. I believe it to be the same with almost all writers. Certain incidents arouse a strong feeling to write. Today I read a story about a girl and her differently-abled brother in a website. It was a touching story and it brought about a flush of thoughts into me. 

The way we treat every different person. We as a society have defined a particular way to look at and judge a person. It has been invisibly taught to us by our parents, teachers, friends and the people around us. The first thing we do when we meet a person is, try to know as much about him/her as possible even if the meeting is just a casual one and the chances of meeting that person again are bleak. But we ask all sorts of questions and through their answers, we build an image of that person and then compare that image to the image that is imbibed in our computer brain and check if they fit that image. If they don't then we get uncomfortable. 

We cannot accept anything that we cannot understand. That is the crux of the whole problem. We want to understand everything. We like to believe that we can understand everything. We understand that there are man and woman. We understand that a man behaves in a certain way and a woman behaves in a certain way. We understand when they each dress in a certain way. We understand that they get educated. We understand that they do the job and earn. We understand that a man and woman fall in love and get married (or) get married and then fall in love. We understand that a man and woman have children biologically. We understand that they build a house. We also understand that they are civilised, well-behaved, well earning and well settled. These are what we understand. This is what we have seen from our childhood. This is what has been happening for ages since this world was created.

What we do not understand is that a human being need not always be a man or a woman. What we don't understand is that a man need not always behave like we know him to be and a woman need not always be like we know her to be. We do not understand that a man need not dress always like we know him and a woman need not always dress the way we know her. We do not understand that all human beings are not the same. A man need not always fall in love with a woman and a woman need not always fall in love with a man. Not all human beings have the same abilities. Not all like the same things. Not all can understand the same rules. We don't understand that some human beings are born differently. Some cannot walk, some cannot talk, some cannot see. We do not understand that some human beings cannot think, like others. Some do not have the abilities like others. 

As I said we are afraid of what we do not understand, and hence, we are afraid of all those human beings and their abilities which we do not understand. And when we are afraid what do we do ? We stay away from them, we avoid them, we curse them, we hate them and sometimes we try to harm them. Just because we cannot understand their existence referring to an image that we have created about a human.

A human being is just a human being with or without hands/legs/eyes/nose/skin/face. Human is a human whether it is a man/woman/straight/lesbian/gay/Bi-sexual/Transgender/Queer. Like you were born with a head, 2 hands, 2 legs, a brain that thinks in a particular way, a body that appears in a particular way, ability to talk, laugh, cry, think, analyse, somebody else is born with 1 leg/2 heads/4 hands/hollow eyes/ability not to think, ability not to laugh, ability not to understand, ability not to analyse. That person is a human being too. Simple. We are all made from the same atom - just the formations and permutations and combinations are different. We are all created by the same God who you believe created this whole universe - just that he created you with a specific structure and created the other in a different structure.

It is inhuman to sideline them, ostracise them, insult them or torture them just because they don't fit into the common mould. Every living thing has the same amount of right to live in this world. Accept each one a unique creation/formation. No one person is same as the other. What we need to learn is to accept the uniqueness and stop trying to fit everyone into the image that we know of. Stop calling them different. Just call them by their name and nothing else. Just address them by their name and nothing else. Respect them for what they are because they are unique like you. If you can help, do it, else just leave it. Is it so difficult?

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WED - What we can do

Yesterday was "WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY". This has been trending in the social media. My recent interest in social, political and economic news prompted me to google the significance of this day. As a matter of fact, till this year, this special day has never grabbed my attention. Thanks to my active lingering on social media, I got to read some inspiring posts about the deteriorating status of the environment. I was taken aback by the awareness that the social media has been able to generate among the general public about the importance of a healthy environment. While it feels good to see some serious discussions about the environment, there are some things that go unnoticed.

Planting trees has become a rage among people. This is great as forests are a great wealth to the well being of our environment. Trees control temperature, help in purifying air, play an important role in holding the wealth of the soil, contribute to increasing the water bed of the soil and so on. But does planting trees alone make us an environment friendly person? There are few other small but significant practices that we follow which has contributed to the deterioration of the environment all through the years.

The most important environmental issue is one that is rarely mentioned, and that is the lack of a conservation ethic in our culture. – Gaylord Nelson, former U.S. Senator

Uncontrolled use of Vehicles:

On one side we speak about preserving the environment and on the other side people go about buying cars and other vehicles without any control. It is not a new information that air pollution is one big factor for global warming. The exhaust from vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate. In a larger picture the pollution caused by vehicles may seem very small, but over a period of time this keeps increasing and blot starts looking bigger than we thought. As of 2009 India was the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China and the United States. And 9% of India's emission were from transportation. 9% may seem small but this can be reduced by taking some serious measures. Controlling number of vehicles per family, making car pooling compulsory (On Chennai roads 80% of the cars that ply between 8 AM to 11 Am has a single passenger - this is my data) , phasing out old vehicles, ban inferior technologies and diesel, impose heavy duties/taxes to curb huge number of vehicles, improving public transport. These measures can control this type of pollution.

Unscrupulous construction:

This is indeed a direct contributor to environmental destruction. People have this thought that only big dams or factories have adverse effect on the environment, which is not correct. Though these biggies contribute a largely, we individuals are contributing our bit by buying/building houses on reclaimed farm lands, water bodies, environmentally important marshlands etc. And how many of us own more than one house? This is a question we need to ask ourselves. A house is made of sand which is mined from river beds, bricks that are made from soil, cement whose production and consumption is a bane to this earth, steel which is again mined and which in turn has contributed to huge destruction of forests and killing its inhabitants, Wood - yes this directly points to the trees cut. So as the number of houses to build or buy increases, your contribution to environmental destruction directly shoots up. Oh, how much is 2 or 3 of my houses going to destroy nature? Let me tell you , that destruction is not calculated on a one to one basis, it is always exponential. 

Consumerism:

We have become a consumerist crowd. We like to indulge in all the latest technologies,pamper ourselves with the most expensive items one can buy. The consumerist culture has made us buy things that we don't want or never use and also to buy more than we want. Mobile phones, Television, Refrigerator, Laptops, Air coolers - all these we buy and keep changing models every year to satiate our indulging self. But what happens to all the items that we discard? Where do all these items go? Do we have any idea the kind of damage that e-waste is doing to the earth. I would request each one to read a little about it. Then comes eating food - oh yes we love to order food more than we need and we waste it just because we can afford it, no matter it is meat or vegetables - we don't know or don't care for the fact the food we eat also contributes to deforestation and greater emissions. It is all linked. Forests across the world are being destroyed so that they can be converted into grazing land for animals so that we can eat more meat which in turn is ultimately going to make us live a unhealthy life. How sad that we can't see this. Deforestation kills the natural habitat of wild animals and will lead to many more extinct species on this earth.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. – Mahatma Gandhi, Father of India.

These are small things that as individuals we can be aware of in our life. Does this mean we should live a pathetic life without any facilities or advancements ? No, it just means that we need to live a simpler life. Buy/Use only what we really need. Why is it so difficult? What is needed is awareness of what we are doing and little bit of determination.

The theme of this year's World Environment Day is "Zero tolerance for the illegal Wildlife trade". For many of us this earth and its resources were created for the usage of mankind. We don't consider animals and plants a part of it. But when we trade these flora and fauna for money and better sophistication we forget that they are not dependent on us, we are dependent on them. If animals go extinct it will disturb the food chain and the impacts can be terrible for the man kind. This is as simple as i can say it. If Bees go extinct, we will all start scrambling for food. And as per studies bees are disappearing faster than we can imagine. We should start taking environment much seriously. It is the duty of each homo sapien to leave this earth a better place for the future generation. 

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Educate, Equip, Elevate every Girl

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There is something i want to tell myself - I am a feminist. But not the type who jumps into all issues related to woman without trying to understand or study the details of the issue. I believe in equality in every aspect of life: political, economical and social. I believe education is a must for every girl child. Freedom to move around, mingle with people and learn from experiences is also a very important aspect for the growth of a girl into a strong and independent woman. I also believe that a girl should be brought up with conviction to take any decision without fear and guilt. She should also be given the strength to live by her decision and change it whenever she wants.

When i beleive in all these, i also have to acknowledge the fact that it is not easy and it is not going to happen over night. It will take years for something as basic as education, which we take for granted to reach some girls in our country. There are many girls for whom school is a dream.

Every girl is born into a unique environment. The environment consists of her family, neighbours,community, religion, geography of her location, economy of her community, so forth and so on. Every aspect plays an important part in shaping her as a person. No common rule is going to be suitable for the whole girl child population of a country. Because the effect they are going to have on a child will also vary according to her environment and the impact of her environment. This has to be accepted. The environment and needs of a girl born in a remote village of Rajasthan is not the same as a girl born in Mumbai or a girl born in Delhi or even in a remote village of Tamilnadu or Kerala.

But one fact can never be denied, that education can create a common platform for all the girls from various background, religion and communities to mingle with each other, learn and share. This is the first step to growth that many like me dream about. Education might not give them complete freedom like we dream, as most of the girls are bound by the rules of the family, community and religion, but it definitely empowers them to think differently and fight for a change. That is the need of the hour. Education is the window to the world. For some girls it might open the gates to great opportunities, but to many it will be a weapon to fight against oppression at the basic level like their home. Quality education can equip them to question baseless practices and norms in a society with confidence. Knowledge is powerful as it raises voice against beliefs. Education also gives strength to women to organize, take control and lead. Education has the capacity to liberate a woman socially and economically.

To achieve this i believe education has to be made holistic. Education should be designed in such a way that it fosters good reading skills. Along with a curriculum, it should provide them an opportunity to read works of great authors. As part of education, every school should be provided with a good library which should be well stocked. Also every school should have an active forum where these girls can read, discuss, analyse and debate about various topics. Making education compulsory till higher secondary level for girls is a must if the government has a strong opinion about changing the lives of girls in our country. Public education system should provide for the education of girls till higher secondary. It also should provide enabling facilities like time to time counselling and guidance to girls in schools which will help them deal with the stigma they face regarding various issues in their day to day life. I understand it is difficult for a government to counsel each parent in this country, hence it is imperative that strict action be taken against parents who do not send their girls to schools. Also by giving free education to girls till their higher secondary, a great burden it alleviated from the shoulders of parents who are poor and cannot afford to send their kids to schools.

Girls should grow into woman of substance. In a patriarchal society like ours education is the only key that can slowly liberate women from the deep rooted dogma. If men need to be educated on how to respect a woman, women need education so that they will start respecting themselves and will start questioning boundaries with the backup of a strong ideology.

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