In Other Trivial News : 03rd June, 2015

News is never in dearth. Often, reading news becomes an exercise in tickling or in engaging our minds, as if newspapers existed to help us in mental exercises. Today’s post is a response to some news reports.

Probably these reports and this blog post will be forgotten by the time you go to bed tonight, but we do tend to trivialize news that is not trivial- we make it trivial because we are getting desensitized to wrongs happening to others around us.

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The right kind of news should demand not just our attention, but at the very least, a readiness to embrace changes that these reports point to and by God’s grace, the willingness to take action against problems or conditions that we tell ourselves, are status quo.

1. Ram Temple Row: Vinay Katiyar, Rajya Sabha MP and founder-president of the Bajrang Dal, warns that no government can ignore the Ram Temple issue. If ignored, Ram Bhakts might erupt like a volcano.

An unexpected but not too suprising statement for an honourable Member of Parliament to make, this comes loaded with the volatile history of the Babri Masjid demolition and the demands of a Ram temple to be built there instead. While raking up controversies is nothing new for members of the Sangh Parivar, Shri Katiyar’s statement seems to rely on the volcanic anger of Ram Bhakts, not on the current BJP-led national government. What can’t be fathomed is how this statement can be seen as right or helpful to bring resolution to a highly sensitive matter. The manner of stating this, rather reminds me of Section 503 of the Indian Penal Code.
Interestingly, Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi seems intent on avoiding communally sensitive matters. He has just announced that the Muslim community can approach him even at midnight, and their knock shall be answered. That is a great statement- may it come true in all reality for the secular core of India to thrive.

2. The scary statements molestation-accused Uber cabbie allegedly made

Acting quickly on the complaint of a 21-year old woman who was allegedly harassed and molested on 30th May 2015, Uber has suspended Vinod, the cab driver under question. Here are his alleged statements –

“I respect women a lot, unlike the driver who was jailed for raping a woman in his cab around six months ago. He did a detestable thing and he was an obnoxious man.”

Those lines gave me the creeps.

Here is why – if you were a cab-driver with all good intentions and you wanted to calm the nerves of a woman who had warily stepped into your cab, would you not say something similar to what this man said to his victim?

To use a woman’s trust to exploit her, to treat her like she existed to endure whatever he wanted and pleased, is as though he was king. With the rate of rapes and molestation in our cities and villages, have you wondered how many women and children hear that statement of false assurance right before they are sexually violated forever?

By someone they trusted?! By a family member?!

We might celebrate many good things about our nation, but we need to recognise this truth about us – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

3. Muslim Organisations Object To Compulsory Yoga Day in Mumbai Schools.

I have placed the Uber molestation story between a Ram Mandir demand and a Yoga dispute to show that we need to move on to matters of pressing importance.

Maharashtra government asks schools to observe compulsory Yoga day.

Imagine this hypothetical situation – the Kerala government asks all men living in Kerala to wear the lungis to work because a committee of ministers are certain it is more comfortable than other clothing options.

Too extreme an example?

The root problem is the same: Governments exist as servants of all kinds of citizens in a state, and to impose a cultural preference like Yoga (or for that matter, Koran reading, or banning Hijab or lighting candles in a convent) on other communities that beg to differ, will actually prove to be disservice to our Constitutional right of freedom in practicing religion.

Maybe the Education minister for Maharashtra State thinks Yoga is good for the children, but we all know the religious connotation Yoga has. Not everyone can be expected to agree to the honourable Minister’s opinion. Let not a representative of all the people behave like he represents one religious majority. Should not the minister probe first the level of comfort all minorities have with such a decision?

Lest cracks be found in the face of good governance;

Lest cracks be found in the face of protection and trust.

What is your take on these news reports? Please share your comments on “Trivial News”.

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