“It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!”
Almost a month has passed since the mass abduction of about 276 young schoolgirls on April 14 in Nigeria. They were just aged 12-15 years! The militant Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. In a video message, a leader of the group threatened to sell the schoolgirls and force them to marry.
The demands for reducing the age of juvenility from 18 to 16 and to remove minors involved in heinous crimes from the ambit of juvenile justice act purely on the basis of the Delhi gang-rape case is a “knee-jerk reaction”. It would be “counter-productive” and “not a deterrent”. Such amendments under public pressure based on one incident will have long-term dangerous consequences on the plight of lakhs of other juveniles.
Arguably one of the oldest victims of the digital age, telegrams were the fastest and most reliable communication method from the 19th century until the end of the 20th century. More than the Internet and email, it is the mobile phone that has led to the demise of the original character-constrained mode of communication.
Throughout the history, couples have expressed their undying love in handwritten letters. Few people take the trouble to write by hand today, but if anything is preserved at the back of a desk drawer, it is likely to be the handwritten love letter that once upon a time sent someone’s heart shuddering. Letters reveal raw emotions such as joyous or unrequited love; a letter bares the soul to just one other person.
The same sites that allowed groups for communal harmony, also allowed groups that fostered communal hate. It is a free domain – and there are no rules on content. But, the society, the governments, the industry will have to take steps to curb the spread of hate messages, fake news without compromising the right to freedom of speech of the netizens. With rights, come duties.
While returning today from Ranchi to Baghdad, I just walked across the great Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan at the Indira Gandhi International airport, Delhi. He is a renowned Indian classical musician. He has been awarded the second highest civilian honour – Padma Vibhushan in India.
It looks like a natural miracle. It is called as 22° halo. It is formed around the Sun or the Moon. It was a white circle around the moon. That breathtaking vision in the night sky is the result of ice crystals refracting the light of the moon. The halo rings the moon when high, thin cirrus clouds made up of millions of these crystals cover the sky.
One month ago, we encountered twin-car bomb attack on our office building. The Incident is still fresh in my mind and I feel sad for those poor families, who lost their near and dear ones. I fail to understand the purpose, the logic of terrorists, who kill innocent people in the name of their faith. They’re cowards. Do they think that they will reach the Heaven? NEVER! They will never find peace.
Indrosphere 