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Accepting the differently-abled

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When we come across a kid who is slightly different from us, who is perhaps in a wheelchair, most of us feel sorry for them. We express our sorrow and regret and we behave with them differently. Does that kid really need that? Spending an hour or two with them will be an eye-opener. They are actually better than us in many ways. Here's an incident- This was some 15 years back. Our school had many differently-abled kids, most of them were taught in normal classrooms and were not treated differently. One of them went in the same school bus as I did. She used to sit just behind me. Once, on the day of an exam, I forgot my book on the bus-seat in the morning. That afternoon, when I met her again, she didn't say a word, took out my book from her bag, and returned it to me. She had seen me with the book, and when I was irresponsible about it, she took notice. This hit me hard. Very few would have been even bothered about it.  There was another girl. I used to give her my
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Science beyond Medical & Engineering

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Man is condemned to be free. Condemned because he did not create himself, yet is nevertheless at liberty, and from the moment he is thrown into this world he is responsible for everything he does - Jean Paul Sartre A 16-17 year old child declares he is interested in Science and wants to pursue the same. A million dollar question is hurled on him- "Medical or engineering?" An epoch-old tradition- he is even accustomed to it now. He knows he might even be forced to choose one of the two "only" options. Why? Why do most people think a term as broad as Science is confined only to medical and engineering? Why is the education system in India becoming more and more of a routine and a formality? A child is not even born and parents dream of making him or her an engineer or a doctor. Is our horizon that narrow? Or are we merely ignoring the plethora of opportunities that exist.  There are irrefutable advantages in medical and engineering, no doubt, b
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Mobocracy?

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It was the year 2018. Two young men had gone for a trip to Kangthilango, Karbi Anglong. On their way back they were stopped by some villagers and were thrashed brutally- apparently there were speculations that they were child-lifters. Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath , were killed mercilessly only because of a rumour and not one soul cared enough to justify it first. A battle for justice followed all over and an example was set. Apparently. Two years later, a vegetable vendor hit a vehicle with his bicycle. It was totally an accident but Sanatan Deka  had to pay for the minor dent with his life. Two of the five accused were arrested. But the question is- till when? It won't be long before another innocent soul loses his/her life. Protests will follow. There'll be candlelit vigil. It will take years to deliver total justice and by then, everyone will forget everything. Everyone apart from the family the victim left behind, crippled for life. Such swarm of people think
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Understanding Feminism

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The term feminism  is used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement to establish equal rights for women. It is concerned with gender inequality.  Simone de Beauvoir , you all must have definitely heard about her, wrote- The first time we see a woman take up her pen in defense of her sex was Christine de Pizan who wrote Epistre au dieu d'amours,  in the 15th century. "Feminism" came in waves. The first wave was mainly concerned with women's right to vote. The second one was associated with women's liberation movement in the 1960s. The third wave is the continuation and a reaction to the failures of the second wave. Feminism, as a concept, is understood by all educated men, but as it seems now, they are hanging by a very thin thread. One thing goes wrong, even by accident, and "pseudo-feminists" come to play.  Before starting, I'll be very clear- I am not against feminism. The real problem starts when people begin to misuse th
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What if the British never invaded India?

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The British raj , also known as Crown Rule in India, was the rule of the British in India during the period 1858-1947. Before 1858, India was ruled by the British East India Company, who came for trade. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny and the Great Rebellion), power was transferred from the Company to the British crown. The subsequent developments since then, formation of the Indian National Congress , arrival of great leaders and the befall of the Raj- we all have known it and studied about it in school.  Have you ever pondered, "what if the British never invaded India"? Would India have been more developed or was it a blessing in disguise? The Hypothesis We are now living in the post-independence era. What if India was never colonized by the British in the first place? Will the scenario be same? It is a hypothetical question and each of us may have a different answer. Is it even possible? This is not an impossibl
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Responding to a crisis

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Life can be downright difficult at times, as it is now, and it is not going to get easy so soon. I am not going to sugarcoat anything or write about "happily ever afters", I am starting with the blatant truth. I won't offend anyone by saying I know what they are going through, because I don't. Everyone is fighting their own fights, everyone is struggling in one way or the other and nobody in the world can exactly feel what somebody else is going through. We might be dealing in the same hell, but we are dealing with different demons.  The biggest demon for a greater number of people right now is the COVID-19 pandemic. It has impacted all of us in some way and it is going to impact us more. It is a landscape scale crisis: owing to its massive scale and sheer unpredictability. Things are not going to be the same and if we don't plan for it, we are planning to fail. The first step towards dealing with any crisis, big or small, is recognition . We have to r
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Keeping calm

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"Chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balavad drisham tasyaham nigraham manye vayor ina sudushkaram" "The mind is very restless and turbulent, O Krishna. It is more difficult to control than the wind" Have you ever found yourself in a deep thought? How long does a single thought last before being interrupted by the ping of your cell phone or before your mind wanders off to a new direction, a new thought? Studies say our minds get distracted every three minutes. We find ourselves imagining situations, imagining the future or a different past. We find ourselves constantly fretting over little things.  Our minds makes up stories and a million "what ifs", mostly based on a past experience or an observation. We then decide our course of action or reaction. We claim to foresee our future recurling the past. Yes, the past may influence the future but it doesn't control it. Why are our thoughts constantly fiddling over the past and future, neglecti
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