Social Mirror

OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, the nation has witnessed a bizarre issue. We have been battling with the question of whether a film should be allowed to screen or not. It is definitely a matter of concern if a movie is not allowed to be showcased, and even more if the makers and artists receive threats. But, don't you think we gave it more importance than what it really deserved? It certainly was not worthy of the space for prime time debates every single day as if it is the “only” thing India is concerned about. From the beginning, I was appalled by the duration of time Padmavati remain in the news. After the news, they do a stupid TV debate about the same. We then also saw TV anchors giving a "no-objection certificate" to the movie happily. It was at a time when the film had not been even sent to the CBFC.  But, there was a journalist/anchor who was showing the educational crisis in the country instead of a frivolous debate of whether Padmavati to be allowed to rel...

WAKING UP on a winter morning takes courage. It is a sort of sacrifice only a few people are able to make, those having a remarkable will-power. Unless you have a strong reason to get something done, making this sacrifice is a herculean task, almost impossible. In winter, there is a joy in oversleeping, in cuddling up under a nice warm and cosy blanket. What most people do is— they wake up, see the time, and get back to sleep again. Even when being awake, it becomes extremely difficult to actually get up and resume our work or study. What happens is that our mind succumbs to the bodily comfort of enjoying a great peaceful sleep underneath a blanket. I, too, belong to this group, the group that is not ready to give up morning sleep easily on any day; and when it comes to giving up the sleep of a winter morning, we just cannot. However, one day, on a fairly cold winter morning, when I supposed to be in the sleep mode, I not only got up early but went for a walk too. Dressed up ...

Indian television has been doing great with serials like Bhabhiji ghar par hai (Sister-In-Law Is At Home), May I come in Madam, and the latest in the fray, Jijaji chhat par hai (Brother-In-Law Is At The Terrace). However gross these may sound, but it seems to be the reality of Indian television.  But, why are such indecent and depraved shows on the rise? Is it really the people interested? There must be a significant number of people watching such shows to make it viable  as it is not easy to sustain a failed show , especially on TV, where. I won't comment whether these kinds of serials should air on TV or not. It’d be intruding to an artist's freedom of expression, his right to express an idea, be it in form of non-fiction speech, or with some fictional characters telling a story. These shows are just harmless entertainment meant for making you laugh, right? However, if you ask me, my opinion would be that, in the name of comedy, the makers of such sitcoms are either fo...

  Pixabay I’ve written a post earlier on the issue of triple talaq in June last year when the government opposed that in the Supreme Court. The SC held that talaq-e-biddat or instant triple talaq is unconstitutional, arbitrary and thus declared it void. Now, the legislation is being done with the continuation of the judicial declaration, with a triple talaq bill already been passed in the Lok Sabha and waiting to be passed in the Rajya Sabha. The bill shall provide a legal right to the Muslim women against this practice and make it a "criminal and non-bailable offence". But, some Islamic scholars and ‘secular’ politicians are questioning the authority of the Parliament. Isn’t it the Legislature that is formally authorised to initiate and bring reform in the society? Triple talaq is an unjust practice that has been carried out in independent India which is shameful. This practice has been even discontinued in many sharia abiding countries. The parliament has only ini...

Sachin In Rajya Sabha First, what the Congress party did to Sachin was utterly disgusting. Sachin was speaking for the first time in his journey as a Parliamentarian, which is about to end this year. he is one of the most decorated cricketers in the world and what Congress did amounts to an insult to a legendary player who devoted his life to Cricket and made the nation proud with his miraculous innings. Sachin was not there to participate in legislation. He just wanted to use the forum to reach out to the countrymen. He could have done that very easily with the help of media and social media. But, at the very first time, he probably wanted to discharge his duty as an MP— by not just showing his presence in the parliament but speaking there as well. I think, our politicians have justified the reason behind Sachin’s disappearance in the Parliament. What Sachin said— Sachin did use social media to reach out to the people to convey his message that he wished to do earlier in the Up...

Before Prime Minister Modi's US visit and the first ever Modi-Trump meeting, several global media houses have analyzed the three years of Modi's government. They are doing their best to highlight the failure of the Modi government, downplaying all the achievements of India during three years. Of all those, the Economist magazine's analysis, I think, is the one that deserves good attention. According to the Economist, prime minister Narendra Modi is not much as a big reformer as he seems . In the beginning, the article gives some credit to Modi for boosting the economic growth of India. It says, before the arrival of Modi, India was growing at a relatively slower rate of 6.4% than after the 2014 election. In 2015, India became the world's fastest growing economy with a growth rate of 7.9%. It also mentioned the economic reforms like GST and Bankruptcy law which have been successfully passed by the legislature. But, then, it says "These facts are decei...

Despite every government efforts, demonetisation has turned out to be a failure. Not just because its implementation was disastrous, but because a black market has evolved to convert black money into white ridiculing this ‘bold’ and ‘historic’ move. I have summarized in my previous post why just demonetisation cannot end corruption or even black money. It must be noted that demonetisation has been implemented before it could leak out to the media sources. There must have been a large workforce for printing a huge number of notes in such a small time and for other preparations to enforce this plan smoothly. The new ₹2000 note had already begun leaking on social media as everyone could not remain silent for a long time. That probably explains why this decision has been taken in some haste and the government and RBI of not being ‘fully prepared’ for this move resulting in a cash crunch. But, it's good that what began as demonetisation has now been transformed into a cashless...

It was November 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a dramatic announcement, decided to scrap or demonetise two high-value Indian currency of the denomination of ₹500 and ₹1000. It means 85% of currency in circulation will no longer be a legal tender. All that precious notes have been converted into wastepaper overnight. It became the biggest talking point in every Indian household  —  from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Kutch to Arunachal Pradesh. After all, in a country where 98% of all transactions are conducted in cash, it was a big jolt. Demonetisation is usually associated with degrading economies and hyperinflation and often done by military dictatorships. It was surprising that a popular and democratically elected prime minister of a booming economy has resorted to demonetisation. Black money is the money held by people that have evaded taxation. It is illegal hoarding of unaccounted money which tends to exacerbate inequality because the biggest evas...

Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons or its technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament. The biggest incentive of NPT, due to which a large number of countries have signed it, is the agreement that the nuclear countries would share "peaceful nuclear technology" with the non-nuclear countries so that they can be able to produce nuclear energy domestically and use nuclear material for other peaceful purposes. This treaty was formalised in 1968 and those states that have detonated nuclear weapon before that were recognised as nuclear weapon state. As only five countries at that time have formally detonated their nuclear weapon successfully, this treaty recognizes these five countries - United States, Soviet Union (Russia), France, United Kingdom and China - as nuclear power. India conducted its first...