Money is the common denominator

What a true statement that is. Certainly, money is the common denominator. But the way I look at it is different. What does a denominator do? It divides. Yes, that is what money does. It divides. It divides rich from the poor. It divides influential from uninfluential. It divides people that can access better health facilities from that cannot. It divides today's good friends into tomorrow's enemies. It divides the tax evaders from those employees whose tax is deducted right at the sourse. It divides everything into things that were not meant to be divided at first place. I could go on dividing things. I am sure money was invented to be a facilitator, as a tool to get away from the messy bartering system. Messy?? I think atleast in the bartering system you learn to respect what you are capable of producing and also what your neighbour with whom you will trade is producing thereby leading to a harmonious living. I make what I am good at, you produce what you are good at and we share both the good things. Over centuries, money has become a dicatator than just being a facilitator. Anyway, the point is what is the solution. When you have such a powerful denominator that divides everything, what do you do. You look for an equally powerful numerator. Well, before you start counting on Love, culture, family values etc., to play that role, I am not going to preach them as solutions. As an Indian, I stronly believe that we have those things more than we need. What we indeed lack is a stronly uniting strict laws. Oh well, you might argue that we do have laws. Ours is the strongest constitution in the world, biggest democracy in the universe blah blah blah. But are they being applied? In fact the very denominator I am talking about, the money divides the way law is being applied in our country. Developed countries like US are developed countries not because they dont have crimes, but because they dont waste time recognizing that there are crimes and try to enforce law as much as they can and ofcourse as less divided by money as it can get. So, as a strong solution, I suggest LAW (the ones that will be applied no matter one has more money or not) as the most powerful numerator. LAW must be above everything. After all, numerator is above everything, including the denominator...you know what i am talking about.

Fight for those who cannot fight for themselves

Recent noida killings has really shocked the whole nation and without doubt I am moved. But what is appalling to me is that this act is still widely being referred to as gross murders than as an extreme case of child abuse. Civilizations have risen and fallen, wars have been won and lost, super powers have come and gone, but the child abuse in many forms have always been haunting many countries. While countries like US have at least tried to recognize the fact that CA is a disease to the society and try to sensitize their people about it by providing knowledge about it and ways to fight it, our country does not even seem to recognize it as another or the only worst crime, let alone sensitizing its people. Our culture suggests close knit families and strong bonds among the people yet stands right in the way of fighting against CA by placing the family pride much higher than the CA. Can you imagine a case of child abuse by family members being reported? Somehow the culture and religion on which the whole nation is rooted seem to stand in our way of doing good. I wonder about the purpose of the culture and religion then. I would ask the power that be--If the culture and religion cannot protect its people at all levels, especially the children, then what is it for? 15 million children are subjected to abuse in India as some statistics say. A country where the First citizen meets the children on a daily basis at one end placing biggest hopes on them to take the country forward and on the other end being subjected to abuse--worst being that the children don't even can understand that they are victims. Caste, unemployment, poverty and other issues of national importance stand no chance when compared to CA except to find its place in political manifestos with a very short life span. Aren't we ashamed? I am. Alas! 5000 years of culture only seem to have left us with no face in the context of CA. The more I find about it from the world wide web, the more I feel being drawn into it. This blog is just to mark my promise to myself that I will fight someday for those cannot fight for themselves.

ps: more information/related links on the child abuse :

http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/dec/chi-abuse.htm
http://www.sawnet.org/orgns/child_abuse.html

I will post more information and links as I find them.