Thursday, April 05, 2007
Nandigram : A story about story-writers
What happened in Nandigram was extremely brutal and unjust. But another brutality that many of us did not notice is the way the mainstream media has diluted and repackaged the issue to the extent of stripping away its fundamental meaning. The resistance of thousands of farmers and villagers against displacement and loss of livelihood has been projected as a battle among political parties.
Bhumi Uchhed Protirodh Committee, the banner under which the Nandigram villagers have organised themselves, has been variously called "Trinamool-led" or "Trinamool-supported" by different newspapers. The fact is that Nandigram was a CPI(M) dominated area with hardly any Trinamool presence. Mamata Banerjee has only voiced her support for the people's movement and has promptly stolen the "leadership", according to the media. In fact, it was the CPI(M) that began this trend of making TMC the symbol of the resistance at Nandigram, even at the cost of letting them earn political mileage. That is because the parties are much more scared of ordinary, non-political citizens than their political adversaries. And that is why the mainstream media gives us every political party's perspective, while first-hand reports by non-political activists are conveniently ignored.
When the CBI arrested 10 people in connection with Nandigram violence, most newspapers chose to partially carry the news, pointing at the involvement of "outsiders". What was not reported was the fact that they were arrested with CPI(M) flags. Readers were left to speculate on the involvement of "anti-social" elements like Naxalites, Maoists, and whoever dares to oppose the powers that be.
From Soumitra Basu, editor of Anyaswar, a Bengali periodical:-
"Dainik Statesman (the Bengali Statesman) put the number to 31. The TV channels [private] displayed 18. The sole BBC correspondent Amit Bhattashali first stated 32 and then declared that as per the instruction from the Government to BBC, they are bound to quote only the Government version and therefore he was putting the number as 11. TARATV correspondent Gourango, who was apprehended by the police and was handed over to CPM goons and then (on live TV) was thrashed and foul-mouthed by CPM, puts it off the record as 100+ and on the record as "could not count"."
Even more interesting is the coverage by the Hindu, which has covered the agricultural crisis in the country very sensitively, thanks to P. Sainath being on the editorial team. However, a comparison of Hindu reports on Nandigram and the CPI(M)'s press statements reveals distinct similarities."...even as Nandigram erupted and the Communists stood exposed without their customary cloak of sanctimony, the Hindu was bowing and scraping.", writes Darius Nakhoonwala of The Hoot, a media watch organisation. The chief editor of the Hindu, N. Ram, is known for his strong allegiance towards the CPI(M) and other Marxist parties.
This systemised mis-representation of facts and distortion of perspectives goes well beyond specific issues and incidents. Over a period of time, it begins to dictate our religious, philosophical and political beliefs. Such is the power (or danger?) of propaganda. This situation is dangerous not only for the victims of injustice in places like Nandigram, but also ourselves. It is therefore extremely important for all of us to understand how the mainstream media works.
Albert Camus famously said that the true freedom of the press lies in being neither in the control of the state nor money. While this may sound utopian, it is not really out of reach. With the advent of the internet, censorship has become unfeasible and it has become much easier for ordinary individuals to publish their experiences and perspectives. I can feel it all the more when I look back at those days when I used to spend a good one hour every day reading each and every article on the Telegraph. Now I read commentaries on misinformation by the Telegraph and other english dailies. In a way, the internet has made mass-media quite democratic.
A bigger danger today, however, is the epidemic of meaningless trivia and mindless "entertainment" spreading through the television, and even the internet to an extent. Media and marketing define the beliefs and ideologies of us "consumers" just like the priests did for devotees in the past. Among other things, it makes us believe that we are not good enough being who we are and that we need to be someone else and somewhere else in order to be considered "successful".
It requires only common sense to understand that passively ingesting information that is thrown at us is much more superficial than a search for truth. In fact, it doesn't take any special qualities to attain a deeper understanding of reality. All we need to do is to give importance to the natural curiosities and countless questions that we all have.
I believe that the best sources of information are our own first-hand experiences and those of the ordinary but trustworthy people around us. But these forms of community-based media are much suppressed in urban environments where importance is given to the "formal" sources of information, and the words of the powerful ones get precedence over the words of wisdom.
A lot of what we see around us appears unsettling and at times unacceptable, and we often ask ourselves, what can we do?, what we cannot do?, what should we do?, what should we not do? These, I feel, are extremely important questions with no ready answers. These are the kinds of questions that define the way we perceive power and our role in the world around us. In order to attain wiser and deeper understandings of the contexts we exist in, we need to live through our questions and processes rather than looking for ready answers and end-results.
Links to online resources on Nandigram:-
- www.sanhati.com -- latest and exhaustive information
- kafila.org -- Comprehensive, politically-unbiased reports.
- bengalresistance.blogspot.com -- Collection of facts and links compiled by me
- sacredmediacow.com -- very frequent updates
- Vir Sanghvi's editorial in Hindustan Times: a pleasant surprise, as it gives an unbiased and relatively accurate representation of the situation in Bengal.
For more information on media control and it's impact on democracy, read Noam Chomsky's writings.
Questions, discussions, debates... all are welcome.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Understanding rapists
Got this in a forwarded email: Through a Rapist's Eyes (No Joke)
This is important information for females of ALL ages. Guys - please
forward to the female members of your family and all your female friends and
associates.
A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on
what
they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting
facts:
1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle.They
are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or
other
hairstyle that can easily be grabbed . They are also likely to go after
a
woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.
2) The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look forwomen
who's clothing is easy to remove quickly . Many of them carry scissors
around specifically to cut clothing.
3) They also look for women on their cell phone , searching through
their
purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off
guard
and
can be easily overpowered.
4) Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning,
between
5: 00a.m. and 8:30a.m.
5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery
store
parking lots. Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number three
is
public restrooms.
6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a
woman and
quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry
about
getting caught.
7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5
year
sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.
8) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get
discouragedbecause
it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you
isn't
worth it because it will be time-consuming.
9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas,
or
other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.
Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to
the
attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these
guys
you're not worth it.
10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is
following
behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or
stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what
time
is
it, or make general small talk: "I can't believe it is so cold out
here",
"we're in for a bad winte r" Now you've seen their face and could
identify
them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target.
11) If someone is coming toward you , hold out your hands in front
of you
and yell STOP or STAY BACK ! Most of the rapists this man talked to
said
they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not
be
afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate
of it
and carries it with him wherever he goes,) ! yell I HAVE PEPPER
SPRAYand
holding it out will be a deterrent.
13) If someone grabs you , you can't beat them with strength but
you can
by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind,
pinch
the attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and
armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD . One woman in a
class
this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was
trying
to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore
out
muscle strands - the guy needed stitches.
Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it;
it
hurts.
14) After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN I know from a
particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it
is
extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and!
make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our
instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of
trouble.
Start causing trouble, and he's out of there.
15) When the guy puts his hands up to you , grab his first two fingers
and
bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on
them
as possible . The instructor did it to me without using much pressure,
and I
ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
16) Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware
of
your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any
odd
behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts
guy really was trouble.
PLEASE READ THEN FORWARD THIS TO EVERY WOMAN YOU KNOW, IT'S SIMPLE
STUFF
BUT IT COULD SAVE HER LIFE.....
Labels: eve-teasing, gender, rape, safety, women
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Book review: Sophie's world
It is good for beginners like me to get oriented to the history of western philosophical thought. I read half of it from a paperback and the rest off the ebook version. Leave a comment if you want a copy of the ebook.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Dam problem
even better... (Taken from an email that has been doing the rounds lately)
The Dam
This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of
Pennsylvania . This guy's response is hilarious, but read the State's
letter before you get to the response letter.
SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023 ; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County
Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental
Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above
referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal
landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized
activity:
Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet
stream of Spring Pond.
A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A
review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been
issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is
in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural
Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts
of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania
Compiled Laws, annotated.
The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams
partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and
flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are
inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department
therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this
location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by
removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel.
All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31,
2006.
Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so
that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff.
Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized
activity on the site may result in this case being referred for
elevated enforcement action..
We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this
matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.
Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:
Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County
Dear Mr. Price,
Your certified letter dated 12/17/02 has been handed to me to respond
to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget
Lane, Trout Run, Pennsylvania.
A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of
constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams across the outlet
stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor
supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended
that you call their skillful use of natures building materials
"debris." I would like to challenge your department to attempt to
emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I
believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their
dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam
persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.
As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they
must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of
dam activity.
My first dam question to you is:
(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or
(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to
said dam request?
If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers,
through the Freedom of
Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other
applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. Perhaps we will
see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and
Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act
451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113
of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.
I have several concerns. My first concern is, aren't the beavers
entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are
financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation --
so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The
Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed
during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a
natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In
other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than
harassing them and calling their dam names.
If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please
contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they
obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being
unable to read English.
In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build
their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green
and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to
live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect
the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).
So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be
referred for more elevated
enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2006? The Spring
Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way
for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then.
In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real
environmental quality, health,
problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in
our woods. I definitely
believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the
beavers alone.
If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The
bears are not careful where they dump!
Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to
contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response
to your dam office.
THANK YOU.
RYAN DEVRIES & THE DAM BEAVERS
Friday, October 07, 2005
IIT director pitches in for plastic bags
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: The plastic industry has found a heavyweight defender against the state ban in IIT-Powai director and technocrat Ashok Misra. “Polyethylene per se is not harmful to the environment, the way it has been made out to be. In fact, the discovery of plastic has been one of the greatest gifts that chemistry has offered to mankind in the 20th century,’’ Misra said.
The IIT director said banning of plastic bags will not serve a purpose, as in the long run, this would cause greater destruction of natural resources in the country. “Other options, like depending on paper bags, will definitely destroy forest cover.’’
‘We cannot do away with plastic’
Mumbai: IIT-Powai director Ashok Misra has pointed out that banning thin plastic bags will not even solve the garbage problem. “The thin bags are economically more viable and it can carry more weight compared to any other bag of the same size and cost,’’ said Mishra, a chemical engineer.
However, he said the manner in which garbage is disposed of in plastic bags should be stopped. “People staying in flats dump leftover food items in plastic bags and throw them into garbage bins. This practice should be stopped. Like in the west, we should have two dustbins, one for dry garbage and another for wet garbage.’’
And what about the huge mounds of plastic that dot the landscape? “The polyethylene bags are lighter and hence they seem to be everywhere, flying around. There are also bottles beneath the lakes which has not come to the notice of authorities. People throw away bags as these bags do not fetch any value,’’ he rationalised.
Plastic, Misra, points out plays a major role in daily life. “Even if we ban plastic bags, what about the hundreds of other plastic items like toothbrushes, combs, bottles, computer spare parts, shoes with plastic soles that we throw out without much care,’’ he asked. Misra even dispelled the popular notion that carrying food in polyethylene bags was harmful and toxic. “The plastic bags that come in the food grade category do not pose any health risk. Even if your plastic bottle used for drinking shrinks a little bit when hot water is poured in it, it does not pose a health hazard,’’ he said. Members of the Indian Centre for Plastic in the Environment, who had organised the seminar, said plastic constitutes just 0.75 per cent of solid waste generated in the city.
“Strict implementation of existing laws like banning bags below the stipulated microns and introducing the printing of the manufacturer’s name with declaration of the thickness and recycling mark are ways to deal with the problem,’’ said Mahesh Shah, PlastIndia Foundation. TNN
My views on this:-
The IIT Powai director's comments essentially reflect reality in the sense that plastic is an integral part of our lives and it is extremely difficult to stop using it.
But at the same time the impact of polyethene bags on the environment and on human health has to be acknowledged.
What is surprising about this are the stray remarks like "polyethylene is not harmful to the environment per se" and "depending upon paper bags will destroy forest cover". I'm sure even scienific data goes against this. Polyethene bags are toxic and extremely harmful to the environment. The following study proves the toxicity of HDPE:- http://www.ecologycenter.org/iptf/plastic_types/HDPESCIENCE.html
The good part about his comments is that he acknowledges that plastic is a problem, at least the way it is handled now.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Undeserved Knighthood
Well, professors are a respected lot, like doctors, “elders”, or is it more like politicians?
The customary “Good Afternoon” where the entire class stands up, the yes sir, no sir, sorry sir?
Your guru for academic salvation, your guide supposedly... is also the examiner, the grade-awarder, the fail-grade-giver , the attendance-taker... unfortunately, an instrument of oppression.
Lets face it, most of us have slept during classes as back-benchers. A particularly illustrious friend dared to embrace slumber sitting right in the first bench. Now this is supposed to be a great disrespect to a person of high stature like our "sir", so our prof expectedly asks this guy to leave.
On second thoughts, however, this slumber is a silent question, a repudiation, an expression of discontent, where the body expresses itself when the mind cant.
Does the prof really deserve the pedestal in the classroom he is entitled to. Or rather, does anyone deserve to be placed higher than others? Should respect be enforced, regulated?
Did you ever wonder why Gandhi is never called sir? Why Rabindranath Tagore gave up knighthood?
These people never demanded respect. We respect them because we appreciate them. And appreciation is always deeply felt.
Well look around and you will come across with a class of people who are “supposed” to be high on respect, although the very “supposedness” makes them all the more hated. Some examples are our politicians, government officers, the high-nosed, high-flying corporate and the list goes on...
I feel the person who is elevated is not an oppressor, but a victim rather. A victim of disrespect, of hatred, all in the name of a respected profession.
Our professors are, unfortunately, victims of an oppressive reality, where they don’t even know what hit them. They really don’t deserve the disrespect that they get as a consequence of the unrealistic expectations placed upon them.
Neither the professor, nor the student is really responsible for this sad state of affairs, but rather the classroom environment, the academic pressures of “curriculum”, which allows neither the freedom to teach nor to learn. Which makes it extremely difficult for a teacher to connect with his students.
There is an ego-factor, induced by the design of the classroom which doesn’t allow the teacher to share a honest relationship with his students.
Students view their professor as someone who will, by some miracle, cast learnings on them. It is true that there are a few gifted communicators who can perform this magic, but it is unreasonable to expect this of anyone.
True learning is what happens within the individual, as a result of reflections arising from practical experience. This is not to say that workshop and labs should be included in our curriculum. They actually make life more difficult, as you spend more time doing things that don’t have any perceptible purpose.
It is this culture of factory-schooling which discourages questioning, and turns a sincere student, in pursuit of truth through his chosen stream, into an economic unit, a slave of the “system”.
Questioning, revolting and complete rejection of blind faith, is a prerequisite to learning. Making mistakes is an inseparable part of it.
This system of education, by the way, was conceived by a German philosopher named Fichte in order to create obedient soldiers and voiceless workers. A major objective was to build a national consensus accepting the views of the elite families and the “leaders” of the society. The motive was to serve the interests of warfare.
In today's scenario, the warlord has been replaced by the corporate imperialist, who uses money as a currency of control. After all, democracy creates the need for innovative ways to fool people.
And what would be better than using money as a tool? Such a fantastic method of making people dependent without their realising it.
Oppression is always cyclic, where the victim is quite often the perpetuator as well. The only way to break this cycle is to start questioning, not just the system, but ourselves. Our own values. To rebel against the dependence on blind faith.
No one can force me. It is me who forces myself.
We don't need no education We don't need no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teachers leave them kids alone Hey teacher leave them kids alone All in all it's just another brick in the wall All in all you're just another brick in the wall
--Pink Floyd
Further Reading:-
Ivan Ilich--”Deschooling society”
John Taylor Gatto(Just do a google)-- His article, “the public school nightmare” unearths the conspiracy behind “national education”
Krishnamurti
John Holt--“Why children fail”
