Saturday, January 30th, 2010
huh?! uh!
…er.. writers block…..
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Indian students and the Racism debate
The criminal attacks on Indian students in Melbourne is deplorable, must be condemned by every law abiding, free spirited Australian. However, the issue appears to have been blown out of proportion by the Australian and Indian Media as well as student groups in Australia.
Firstly, to protest is fine; but when you overdo it, people get irritated and you loose sympathy. Melbourne and Sydney got a taste of how students and others protest in India – occupy a busy intersection and make everyone’s life miserable. This is simply not on. Australia appeals to many skilled migrants because of what it is, because of the hard work of people who have lived here for many hundreds of years and worked hard to achieve. Australia is also appealing because there is a level of predictability about life in general, life is orderly, everyone minds their own business and more importantly everyone respects each others’ space. One’s freedom ends where the other’s freedom begins – and I have found ample evidence of this in how many Australians have dealt with me. Everyone gets a ‘fair go’. This to me epitomises the ‘Australian Way’ of life, not some jingoistic rhetoric about meat pies, southern cross and beer.
I read incredulously Simon Overland’s and Victoria Police’s initial calls to the Indian student community to pull their heads in! Jeepers, this sounds like blaming the victim to me. I cannot support this mode of action.
Whether the attacks have a racial connotation? I think there will be some level of racism. There are racists and racism everywhere, be it Australia, Indian, Timbuktoo or any place. I don’t believe that Australia as a country is racist – its no more or no less racist than India. This has been my personal experience in my few years in Australia. And, yes, I have felt racism sometimes – again no more or no less than anywhere else.
What worries me the media attention to these incidents have given a free reign to misguided narcissists to come up with hate websites like the one in Facebook. What worries me is that it gives latent racism an expression. These racists forget that many immigrants contribute significantly to the society, community and treasury greatly. These racists also forget an important part of history that includes the small matter of marginalization of a certain aboriginal group. These racists are also nimble minded nitwits who have no sense of population and economic needs of a country: if the population of Australia does not grow to a particular level, the economy will collapse and the much cherised way of life will become history. Already, there is nothing to write home about as far as the manufacturing industry in Australia goes. Immigration programmes are necessary to sustain this country. Countries like USA, UK and Australia can pick and choose whom they allow to immigrate – I think this is plain eugenics and ridiculous. Having said that, I can understand that a country may not be able to simply cope with providing services to people, when there is not enough people to work and churn the economy, so that enough is earned in the first place.
I suspect that the Italians and Greeks, reasonably integrated into the greater Oz culture, would have been treated similarly when they arrived in Australia all those years ago. Of course, we know of how generations of Australian-Italian and Australian-Greek kids were bullied at school and called ‘Wogs’. When a certain group arrives in a country in large numbers in a short space of time, it is a no brainer that locals will feel the changing landscape as on assault on their way of life.
What is important and what determines the maturity of a country though is the ability to tolerate someone who does not look, talk or eat like the majority community and look beyond these attributes to the very fact that this a person with their very own story and life, trials and tribulations, triumphs and victories in this world.
If we are unable to tolerate someone who does not look like, talk or eat like us, then, no doubt, we are clearly racists. No doubts about that.
Monday, June 8th, 2009
A story of two PMs
I don’t know this guy Gordon Brown, from a bar of soap. I still feel bad at what is happening to him. Every leader’s nightmare is to be undermined by his own colleauges and then start loosing seats to all and sundry. Gordon is presiding over a Labour that is loosing not only to the tories, but to the BNP (ultra national right wing British National Party) as well as anti Europe UK Independence Party (UKIP).
There was lot of discussion in Australia before the last national elections as to whether the Liberals would have won if John Howard had stepped aside and let Peter Costello run the government for the last 2 years (as promised, as Peter Costello allegedly claimed)? Well, Gordon Brown got a chance after Tony Blair did his bit and stepped aside – but look what has happened!
Well, we need to wait and watch – overnight is a long time in politics…
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Parochialism, thy name is Australian Media!
Look at this headline in ABC online yesterday!
‘Untouchable’ becomes India’s first female speaker. Wow! I usually respect ABC for their content and editorial punctiliousness, but, man, have they been shooting themselves on their feet of late? Is it ABC or is it me that is unnecessarily sensitive, since I hail from India and am quite aware of caste politics up there?
Tell you what – India has had an ‘untouchable’ President way back in 1997 and a woman as a PM way back in 1966, symbolism be damned. They ruled because of their abilities, not because of their denomination.
And pray when will an elder from Arnhem land occupy Kirribilli house?
The report is superficial, asinine, disrespectful and simply an exercise in playing to the gallery. I listen to the ABC everyday, read online ABC everyday and watch the ABC news everyday. Whilst the biggest democracy in the world was at work, trying to elect its governement, ABC was missing in action, unable to cover this event of the decade. It was preoccupied with petty squabbles in the local councils (important, no doubt, but where is your image of being a balanced commentator on international affairs?), reporting sexual escapades of footballers and publishing photos of Ben Cousins’ middle finger salute.
It singularly lacked erudition and appeared like a little boy getting puerile pleasure out of someone else’s shame (of the fact that the caste system still exists).
They are obviously more concerned with China, because if China did not buy Australia’s mineral ores, then we won’t be celebrating missing recessionary figures by a whisker, would we?
The superciliousness with which the cat fight that the Rubina Ali’s (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) mother indulged in was gleefully reported, not only in written format, but also in video format!
Wonder if ABC only caters to the bogans who find such fare relishing and not to the sensitive and intelligent people of Australia and makes you wonder if they find nothing of importance in countries they don’t care about?
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
2 frozen eggs please….
It was interesting to read this bit of news. Apparently, several young women who are unable to pursue maternal instincts due to a range of issues, now have the opportunity to freeze their ova in advance and perhaps latter, attempt to conceive. This will have two broad groups in various states of emotions: the women’s support groups and the ethicists.
Obviously, this is a huge development in terms of choice for women. Let’s face it, the world is an unequal place. Gender equality is still a long way off, despite women often leading the world in several domains and dimensions. True, the likes of Indira Nooyi have worked their way to the top, but when a Meira Kumar becomes the first woman to be speaker of the Indian Parliament, it is seen as more ‘bestowed’ than earned.
In such a situation, where when it comes to the crunch (of for eg, looking after the child), its often the woman who has to go part time or quit or put her career in the backburner – haven’t we seen it happen in our own homes, families and immediate society.
Will the ability to be able to have children at a time when the woman is ‘ready’ (in all other terms except perhaps biologically) set the woman free to pursue other interests with the passion that they really want to? Only time will tell.
Then there will be the Church of Scientologists, ethicists and religious groups that will have a different take on this subject, including perhaps if this is in some way an ‘interference’ in the natural way things are ought to be? I don’t buy that argument – we interefere in the natural scheme of things even for everyday living – starting with exploiting the earth for coal and water to the Space for minerals.
It will be interesting to hear what women themselves have to say, given that I will never be able to exactly feel or imagine how they would feel about this issue.