Mind your language

At my agriculture college, I was some sort of a mini-celebrity, the reason being that I am fluent in English. My classmates, most of them from rural Maharashta, never seemed to realize that there are thousands like me, who speak the language of our former colonial rulers very well, in fact better than me. People would always seek my advice to improve their command of English. Honestly, most of them were horrible when it came to speaking the Queen's language. Being no teacher of English myself, I was often clueless about the guidance to give. My general counsel would be to listen to English news on TV and to watch English cartoons (unfortunately Cartoon Network doesn’t air cartoons in English anymore). They did not think it would help them. People on TV speak English too fast they would complain. I didn’t know what to say beyond that. But now I do know what to tell people when they ask me that question about English improvement. Watch movies on HBO, Star Movies or Zee Studios as they have English sub-titles for their English dialogues as that way people can improve their English listening and reading skills. Gradually they well start speaking well too. I feel like screaming this out from the rooftops. I so wish all people in our country become fluent in English. The Indian industry won’t face shortages related to employees who can’t communicate properly in English. Job seekers will find better employment. One more step towards development

Bipolar

I called up a friend at my university. I spoke to him after a very long time. He had a lot of things to talk about as usual. Power cuts, hampered work at his factory, English movies (he has a tough time understanding American and British accents), etc. I asked him about a professor who once worked at my college and who now works at the university. He almost immediately sounded agitated. He told me that this professor got married last November and is now allegedly dating one of his students at the university! His wife doesn’t live with him as she is at his native village. This professor had a similar record at my college although he wasn’t exactly dating any of my batch mates; he was flirting with at least 3 of them. This guy is an out and out hypocrite and a pervert who clearly has no idea regarding the utilization of his sexual energy. He had once admonished a whole bunch of girls including myself for wearing western clothes (read: a pair of denims and a T-shirt) and would constantly rant about the need to preserve Indian culture and Indian values. Bullshit! He was thrown out from our college for demanding bribes from his students for increasing their marks. Indian culture and Indian values, my foot! He was dating one professor at my college too. She was fortunate to have decided against marrying this bastard. Her parents, it seems, were opposed to the idea of accepting a non-Konkani man for their son-in-law. She is so very well settled today and ended up marrying a person much better than this asshole. I hate this man and I so wish I could skin him alive. But unfortunately, that’s unconstitutional.

Fair trial no matter what!

I've been reading people writing things like the arrested terrorist Qasab does not deserve trial and that he must be executed immediately. I partially agree with them. With due respect to our constitution, he does deserve to be executed but not without a legal trial. So must Pragya Singh and Colonel Purohit be executed. They are all equals. Hang them in public. Or even better. Burn them at stakes. Unfortunately, that's not in accordance with our Constitution. These idiots may make a mockery of it. But we must respect it.

Ban on Google Earth? Are we missing the point?

People have been talking about the use of Google Earth in the planning and execution of the terror attacks of the 26th of November 2008. A ban on Google Earth will prove completely pointless. Consider this: Google Earth was launched on 28th of June 2005, much after other terrorist attacks like the one at the Olympic village in Munich in 1972 were Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestine fidayeen, the hijack of the IC 814 in Kathmandu in December 1999, the hijack of the Indian Airlines flight 182 Kanishka by Khalistani terrorists in June 1985. Did the terrorists have access to Google Earth back then? The recent attacks in Mumbai took place because our security agencies failed to act on intelligence reports. Terrorists exploit loopholes in security and the callous attitude of administrative personnel at all levels. Troublemakers and terrorists will cause mayhem unless and until we become vigilant.

My Fair Lady

A fine morning on national highway .
I was in a ST bus on my way to college.
The bus halted at the toll counter on the way to Rasayani.
A man’s voice called out, “Natalia Hule.”
Nothing more.
Wondering who it was, I looked out of the bus window.
It was a stranger, who was smiling lecherously in my direction accompanied by his cronies.
It was the first time I saw him.
I was irked and worried.
I am no movie or TV star for strangers to call out my name on the roads.
Nor am I Osama Bin Laden for someone to have difficulties finding out details about myself.
I asked a friend at college if he had any idea about someone asking for me.
I gave him the description of that stranger.
He responded saying that it could be anyone. (I knew that)
He said that people in that area (Rasayani and neighbouring places) were crazy about fair girls.
The moment they spot one, they go to insane lengths to find out her antecedents. Never mind if the girl is ugly, it’s the pale skin that counts.
It’s a disease there.
I was shocked.
I understood why Fair & Lovely sells in this country.
We are congenital racists.

PlanetRead::Spread the Word

PlanetRead::Spread the Word: "[...] More: PlanetRead::Spread the Word"

We all live in a big poultry house.

Men are or have cocks.
Girls are chicks.
Hence, the world is a poultry house.
You were wrong Shakespeare!
This isn’t a stage.

The Awakening.

The massacre of the 26th of November in Bombay has scarred all of us in some manner or the other. It scares me till this day to think that I escaped that bloodbath. I left VT station at 8:30 pm. The atrocities at VT started at 9:30 pm. The killers were planning to open fire at 7 pm. It could have happened any time that evening. My friend was at the station at 9 pm. My classmates from my French class were bang opposite Leopold Café when the bomb went off there. They could not return to Thane that night. They spent the night at a friend’s place at Peddar Road. I slept that night thinking that the mayhem would end by the following morning. I was foolishly mistaken. What happened next was witnessed by the world. The Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi Trident, Nariman House and VT station had turned into scenes of carnage. I was simply numbed by the thought that it was a marine invasion. What were our Navy and Coast Guard guys doing? My brother’s classmate lost his father in the Taj. His father was the Head Chef at the Taj, the captain as they call them. An acquaintance lost seven of her colleagues in the Taj. She did not sleep for 3 nights after hearing the news and had to finally be put to sleep like an infant. My friend escaped a blast at the Trident. She was right inside the building. My French teacher lost two of her neighbors in the Taj. The Director of my former workplace lives in the building right next to the Nariman House. He witnessed the tragedy up-close. Radio France International called me up for my testimonial. So were my French teachers and many French expatriates. But I finally lost it when I saw the funerals of Hemant Karkare and Major Sandip Unnikrishanan. I cried till the point that I looked diseased. That happened to a whole lot of other people too. The city is angry and united. This time our anger won’t die down. We won’t let it. We are going to use it a positive force against the enemies outside and the enemies within. We will come up will solutions and get them implemented too.

Lexically correct.

My mom has a curious affinity for dictionaries.

She loves them. She can’t seem to purchase enough of them. We have an English, Marathi, Hindi, French and even an Urdu dictionary at our place.

She taught me how to read a dictionary when I was 6 years old.

So when some months, when my sister asked my mom for some cash to watch the movie ‘Tashan’, my mother responded in the negative straight away! Taken aback, my sis demanded to know the reason for her refusal.

Our mom said that the word ‘Tashan’ is definitely not Marathi. She explained that she tried to find its meaning in the Hindi AND Urdu dictionaries and her efforts came to zilch. Hence, given that the word ‘Tashan’ is meaningless, mom reasoned that the movie is bound to be meaningless. She staunchly refused let one rupee of her money to be wasted on idiotic ‘scenes after scenes’!

My sister never got to watch the movie. Her friends went for it. They called her in the evening to say they wasted their time and money on ‘Tashan’ and my sister was fortunate to have escaped the ordeal. My sister prompted reported their views to our mom. Mom patted herself on the back for her lexical logic.

Bio! Bio! Bio!

Back when I completed class 12, there was a big mania for pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology / microbiology / life sciences and in that order. I bet half the people who jumped into these streams did know what they where getting into. For example, I have a friend who did her BSc in Biotechnology and is now completed disappointed about her decision. She did not like. She is now trying do an MBA and says that she didn’t like one single day of her biotech studies! There is a boy who also followed the same course of studies and is now pursuing perfumery. But at least his post-graduate studies have something to do with his Bachelors! I know another two girls who did their BSc in microbiology and are know studying management saying that microbiology was useless. Well there is nothing wrong about people studying management, but I completely disagree with them when they say that their studies related to the biological sciences were useless. Their reasons for choosing their Bachelors were wrong. We do not do our Bachelors just because newspapers like ‘The Education Times’ scream that the future holds great ‘scope’ for these fields. We choose our careers based on what we like. If you don’t like anything, you are bound to be in a mess.

Anyway, what I’ve found out over the last 4 years is that Bachelors degrees in Agriculture, Horticulture, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Biotechnology, Microbiology and Life sciences have nearly the same standing in the job market. It is only if you pursue a masters in one of these fields does it make sense for your careers. Now since I am in a studies councilor mood, let me tell those confused souls out there pursing one of the above fields what to do. If you can’t move abroad, it pretty difficult and expensive to make good careers related to the biological sciences. However, there are education options in France and Germany which provide good education at relatively affordable costs.

Learn German and/or French people. That will prove to be a good career move.

Then look through:

1. DAAD http://campus-germany.org for courses like food processing, environnement protection, masters in beer brewing, wine etc.
2. CAMPUSFRANCE http://campusfrance.org/en Search for courses related to the same fields. You will come across good courses.

Don’t worry. Your career decision is a good one. Just sculpt it properly

DELF B2!

My DELF B2 exam got over yesterday. What a relief! I slept peacefully. I desperately need that certificate and I think its coming. The hard work of the last 4 months seems to be paying off. I was just eating, drinking and sleeping French for the last 4 months. I have lost count of the number of magazines I read, the number of websites I used for French audios and the number of French movies I watched in the past 4 months. My fear of not being able to talk for the 20 minutes session of ‘Speaking’ section had nearly driven me out of my mind in August. But I did speak for 20 minutes and how! The decision to pursue DFA 1 and B2 part 1 together was a good gamble. I was advised it would prove tough but it has worked in my favor! The writing section turned out to be very easy; thanks to the exercises we did during DFA 1.

Finally my thanks to all the resources materials that helped me in my preparation for the big day:

1. Le Français dans le Monde. The magazine and the accompanying audio cds are a must for any French language student. More information on http://www.fdlm.org/
2. Radio France Internationale. The daily news broadcasts and interviews with authors, film-makers, politicians and people from diverse fields immensely help you to acquire the requisite listening skills for level B2. More on http://rfi.fr, the radio http://www.rfi.fr/radiofr/pages/001/accueil.asp and French language http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/statiques/accueil_apprendre.asp
3. At the B2 level you are also expected to understand the Canadian accent very well, in that case Radio-Canada, http://radio-canada.ca.
4. France 1, for all the information about all that goes on in France. http://www.tf1.fr/
5. TV5 Monde. For the help needed related to French exercises similar to the questions of the DELF exams http://www.tv5.org/
6. Alliance Française de Bombay. http://afindia.org/bombay
7. Alter Ego 4, Campus 4 and Café Crème 4. The best textbooks possible!

I am so happy! Vive la Francophonie!

French Language Exams

There are exactly four examinations of French that are recognized all over the world. They are:

1. DELF-DALF
2. TCF
3. TEF
4. TFI

DELF-DALF

The DELF-DALF exams are conducted by the CIEP, Centre International d’études pédagogique and awarded by the Ministry of National Education of France. DELF stands for Diplôme d'études en langue Française and DALF stand for Diplôme approfondi de langue Française. DELF and DALF have been consistent with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages since 1 September 2005

The DELF-DALF diplomas are 6 in number, DELF A1, DELF A2, DELF B1, DELF B2, DALF C1 and DALF C2, each corresponding to the respective level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

These tests are meant for non-French people who would like their French language skills recognized either for education, employment or for personal reasons. The DELF and DALF diplomas are independent, so you can appear for the examination you choose. You can also attempt the examinations for multiple diplomas during the same examination session. Contact the Alliance Française in your country to find out the examination centers in your country or click here. Have a look at the sample papers here. For information on fees, contact the examination centre where you would like to take the diploma(s). Address your queries to delfdalf@ciep.fr

TCF - Test de connaissance du français

The TCF are conducted by the CIEP, Centre International d’études pédagogique and awarded by the Ministry of National Education of France. Like the DELF-DALF every non-French person can appear for the TCF. All candidates obtain a certificate of results that grades them at one of six levels (from A1 to C2) on the competency scale defined by the Council of Europe (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). This means that it is not possible to fail the TCF. There are 4 types of TCF depending on your reason for appearing for the TCF.

1. General TCF
2. TCF for Future students who plan to do their studies in France or in any French speaking country. TCF DAP for Bachelors courses and TCF for Masters.
3. TCF for International Bodies (International Relations)
4. TCF for Quebec: For those who wish to immigrate to Quebec, Canada

Contact the Alliance Française in your country to find out the examination centers in your country and the cost of the exam or click here. It is also advisable to contact the Embassy of Canada in your country if you plan to appear for TCF Quebec. Address your queries to delfdalf@ciep.fr

TEF - Test d'Evaluation de Français

The Test d'Evaluation du Français is awarded by the CCIP (Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris/Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris) This certificate is valid for one year from the date the exam was taken. The TEF can be attempted for the following reasons:

1. Higher studies in France or Canada
2. Emigration to Canada
3. Emigration to Quebec

To find out the exam centers for TEF in your country and the exam fees, click here. To attempt the TEF in India or just for more detailed information, click here. Address your queries here.

TFI – Test de français international

The Test de Français international evaluates the French level of non-francophones. This multiple choice test assesses a candidate's ability to understand, speak, read and write French as it is used in the international workplace. It is conducted by ETS Canada, the same body that conducts the GRE and TOEFL.

This exam can be attempted for educational, professional and personal purposes. The score obtained on the TFI can be used on the resume to indicate your French language proficiency. Look here to see what the scores mean. Contact the following offices to know the centers in your country or contact the TOEFL centers in your city to know if they conduct the TFI also. In case if you plan to give the TFI in Europe, click here.

Head Office/Siège Social Educational Testing Service Canada Inc. 212-133 Princess Street Kingston, Ontario K7L 1A8 Tel: (613) 542-3368 Toll Free: 1-800-615-8666 (Canada & U.S.)

Québec Office/Bureau du Québec Educational Testing Service Canada Inc. C. P. 69044 Laval, Québec H7X 3M2 Tél: (450) 689-3151 / 1-888-689-3151 Téléc: (450) 689-2790

The scores obtained on the DELF-DALF, TCF and TEF correspond to each other. Have a look at the following website to find the equivalences in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

http://www.alliancefrmarseille.org/en_cours_cadre_europeen.html

It is best to prepare for these exams by pursuing French courses at the Alliance Francaises in your country.

All the best!

Caste? Indian. Thank you very much.

Towards the end of November 2001, we were nearly into the final days of school, class10 i.e. S.S.C. we had to fill out our application forms for the Secondary School certificate examination. Before filling out the final form, we were given a dummy form to fill. The dummies were supposed to be checked by checked by the administrative staff of the school to rule out idiotic errors. Once, a boy supposedly filled in the name of his father as Reverend Father Ivan Mascharenas instead of his own father’s name! Can you beat that? At the age of 15? Anyway, the poor soul must have been confused or simply absent-minded. So we got along the business of filling our forms and submitted them. Some students were summoned to the office of the administration for errors in their forms. I was one of them. I was baffled. Errors? In my form? Impossible! I went to the office. I was handed over my form. Not a single problem. Most of my schoolmates standing there were called for the verification of their caste status. It was my turn. I asked the officer what was wrong. She said I had not entered my caste. Indeed I had not and on purpose. I had left it blank. I told her that I was not interested in filling that detail. I didn’t even know my caste to fill it in the first place. She said it was mandatory as incase if I belonged to some backward caste I would be eligible for government benefits. I said I was not interested. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon and my mom has studied law. I was more than privileged. Thank you very much. Moreover, I continued my tirade by stating that throughout our school days we had been ingrained with the idea that we were Indians first and Indians last. Nothing in between. She refused to accept my form. I argued that the form stated (in very fine print) that the candidate should have be an Indian national and must be born before 30th of December, 1986. I fulfilled the criteria. No success. She refused to accept the form. Instead she gave me a file of our admission forms that we had submitted at the time of taking admission into school. I was told to find out the caste entered in my form. I grudgingly did that but I did have my revenge because I got to joke about my schoolmates looks in their photos as 4 year olds. I reached my form in that file. I recognized Dad’s handwriting. He had entered both religion and caste as Hindu. I saw no problem with that. I filled in that stupid detail.

High Time We Start Disrespecting Our Elders

OK, I do not advocate retorting every few sentences, but we need to realize that respect is like money. You have to earn it to receive it. Your age or social status does not automatically grant you access to money or respect. I sickens me every time people talk down to us youngsters about the importance of respecting elders. What for? I completely understand and agree with the fact that our are far more wider than us due to their experience and the knowledge they have gained over the decades. After all, they have already committed and learned from many mistakes that all of us do all the time. We must profit from their experience. That's exactly what they wish too. But what about those who have remained stupid despite their years? What about their egoistic bastards who refuse to learn? What about those sclerotic morons who refuse to look at newer, different point of views? Should we respect them too? Or will it be better to ask them to shut up? I prefer they latter. I have seen endless number of geriatric entities going around sermoning young people to respect them without caring two hoots for the fact that respect is to be commanded and not demanded. Beggars, fuck off! I do not care a damn about those who are liked by many senior people (including our parents' generation, not just our grand-parents' generation) for being very respectful towards their elders as respecting elders says nothing about your intentions and character. You may be doing that out of sycophancy just to earn brownie points. Or just for giving the impression that you are well-bred. I prefer people who respect everybody impartially. Someone who respects their elders and juniors equally is someone who truly has class. It is easy to respect people who are elder to you, who have a elevated social or economic status as compared to yours or those who are simply seem stronger than you in terms of sheer physical strength. But what is seriously cool is respecting those younger than you, those less economically / socially privileged as compared to yourself or simply those smaller in size than you. That's strong character! That's cool! I won't go around faking respect for people if they do not deserve it just because they were born before me. You haven't done me a favor.

"Indian Women can't divorce." - Yeah right, Madam I.A.S!

There are sometimes when I wonder if education really brings about a change in our attitudes towards our self and towards life and society. One would normally expect highly educated people to being more sensitive and informed about socio-economic and political issues and evils. It is however these very people who seem to repeat sins of thousands of years and ensure that they are not eradicated. Look at this for example. I spoke to my English professor from junior college recently. She narrated an incident about her friend (female), an I.A.S officer, who is also married to an I.A.S officer. This lady’s husband is an alcoholic and a wife beater. This lady I.A.S officer puts up with abuse 24/7! Her friends, including my professor, advised her to divorce her husband, as it is the only solution to her problem. Her response to this counsel left them scandalized. She said that she could never do something like that as she is an Indian woman and that she will end up losing her face if she is divorced!!!!!!!

My heart goes out to those women who are trapped with dangerous husbands due to financial constraints or simply due to being ignorant about the fact that they can legally get a divorce, but this idiot just makes me nauseous. Education has not made any difference in neither her husband’s attitude nor her own.

The Futility of Penalizing the 3rd child

There are talks in the Kerala government circles these days regarding the imposition of the ‘two-child’ norm for couples failing which they will be penalized Rs. 10000 per ‘extra’ child and disqualification of the 3rd child for of free healthcare and education. This rule might be forced to bring down the birth rate further. Kerala already has the lowest birth-rate in India. I sincerely appreciate and approve of their intentions but sadly, they have missed the point. I wish to know whether beggars, commercial sex workers and slum dwellers will be made to shell out the fine for it is always this category of people who seem to have a gaggle of kids with them. Making something compulsory will make people resent it. Moreover, it will add to the workload of our sufficiently stressed law enforcement agencies. Instead, there should be higher emphasis on sex education so that people started making educated choices in their sex lives. We must adopt a sensitive approach towards educating the masses about safe sex and use of birth-prevention methods. Experiments in Uttar Pradesh are already bearing fruit. In Lucknow, a youth-oriented initiative, called Saathiya, is working closely with chemists to educate clients, especially those from weak economic sections of the array of birth control measures available and even reducing the awkwardness associated with the sales of condoms. This has lead to an increase in condom sales, some areas even reporting a 300% jump in the sales of condoms. This project was launched by Private Sector Partnerships for Better Health and USAID, the development funding arm of the US government. A 2006 project called "Condom bindaas bol" was intended to tackle a fall in condom sales in 8 Indian states that represent 45% of the Indian condom market. The more recent launch of the "Condom Condom" ringtone to popularize condoms in These states – Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal - constitute 40% of India's populace of more than 1 billion. The Kerala government can take a leaf out of these initiatives and promote them instead of cooking up stupid money-minting schemes. The more recent launch of the "Condom Condom" ringtone to popularize the word 'condom' hits bull'e eye. It will undoubtedly help deflate the shame associated with the word in popular usage.

We cannot blindly imitate China and impose a ceiling on the number of children couples can have. China is slowly confronting problems related to an ageing population and low number of youngsters. The one child norm created a preference for boys, which in another 10 to 20 years may translate into higher crime rates by testosterone charged single males unable to find partners. The situation is also grave in countries like Japan, Russia and Germany where employment might take a hit if there aren’t sufficient numbers of young men and women to replace those who retire from active work life. The Japanese Health minister, Hakuo Yanagisawa, went overboard by saying that he wants 'birth-giving machines', aka women, to have more babies. It is easy to imagine the outrage he managed to cause! Germany is concerned about 30% of its adult women being childless by choice; the figure touches 40% in case of female who have completed graduation. The Germans have also debated compensating working parents with €3,000 annually for childcare costs against tax, urging women to have more children. A number of other countries facing declining birthrates have offered similar incentives. Australia offers a $4,000 additional benefit for each child and in recent times has proposed to reimburse all child care expenses for women who desire to work. Numerous European nations, with France, Italy and Poland, have offered some arrangement of bonuses and monthly compensation to families. Closer home, Singapore has a principally bountiful plan: $3,000 for the first child, $9,000 in cash and savings for the second; and up to $18,000 each for the third and fourth. Several Japanese regions, in the face of almost calamitous population loss, are offering rich incentives. Yamatsuri, a 7000 strong municipality, north of Tokyo, offers parents $4,600 for the birth of a child and $460 a year for a decade. In a throwback to the Stalin era, the Duma intends to tax childless couples either to encourage Russians to have more children, or make childless Russians help absorb the costs of the government’s maternal capital program, which gives 250,000 rubles (9,200USD) to mothers for the birth of another child. In fact, for every sixteen Russian deaths, only 10 Russian tots join the population. All the mentioned countries are now confronting the challenge of supporting the retirement of its seniors who are turning into an unproductive, economic burden in the absence of youth.

These nations mentioned here are naturally at the other extreme of the demographic spectrum, their problem being the antithesis of our problem. The irony of demographics across different continents should teach everyone some lessons. Undeniably, we do need to stop our people from breeding like vermin but that does not imply that we start imposing fines. The countries with low birth rates also have 97 to 99% literacy amongst their women. The government can do much good by improving sanitation and other facilities in schools so as to keep girls in school. The lack of toilets is often cited as a reason for girls dropping out early from schools. According to a survey conducted by National University of Educational Planning and Administration, only 37.42 per cent of the 11,24,033 schools in 604 districts had toilets for girl students. The absence of toilets can be a major disincentive for pubescent girls to pursue schooling. If local governance bodies like Gram Parishads and Zilla Parishads start ensuring that the local schools have separate functional toilets for girls and boys, that may help keep girl longer in schools, thereby increasing literacy and decreasing the chances of early marriage, often responsible for high fertility. All Indian states should adopt the scheme in Bihar, Mukhya Mantri Balika Cycle Yojana (Chief Minister’s Cycle for Girls Scheme), and provide cycles to girls for going to school so that transport between their residences and schools does not prove to be a hindrance for education. The Indo German Watershed Development Programme in Maharashtra has shown that watershed development in villages leads to reduction in migration due to lack of employment and leads to women’s empowerment. This also leads to improvement in literacy levels as children get to go to one school for an academic year and do not have to miss out on school due to their parents’ search for employment form town to town. The IGWDP has successfully shown that within 2-3 years of the implementation to a watershed management program, the demand for education amongst women rises. Higher levels of education do transform fertility rates as well as income levels. Better facilities for women will encourage more women to pursue careers. Dividing time between work and family, inevitably calls for a small family. That will predictably cause people to have just one or two children. Even if some families opt for bigger sizes that should not pose a problem.

Improvement in literacy levels cannot certainly be the only solution to high levels of fertility. There must be adequate efforts to improve the perception of the girl child. If people continue to consider daughters as liabilities, then early marriage to get rid of the ‘burden’ will be inescapable. The preference for sons also leads people to keep having more girl children in order to beget a boy. There also lies one cause of high fertility. But urbanization of semi-rural and rural areas may help curb such extremist reproductive behaviour over the coming decades although it may not reduce the bias against girls. Affluent areas of Bombay, Bangalore and New Delhi continue to have some of the worst sex ratios in the country, but at least the families remain small. There must exist efforts at the grassroots levels to convince people that educated women are beneficial to the family. Very often, people favour less educated girls for a daughter-in-law as they believe that better learned girls are disobedient and headstrong. This is far from the truth. Educated women take better care of their families as compared to uneducated women.

Keeping in mind the myriad problems of gender and perception of education that we have in this country, a fine to bring down the birth rate with prove futile. Those living below, on and slightly above the poverty line will be de facto exempted from such fine. People will not be treated equally when it comes to imposition of such fines. The attempts to reduce the birth rate should be sustainable and must be implemented in such a manner that we do not end up like China, Germany, Japan and Australia in about 40 years. Otherwise, it is our generation that might become a burden for our children who may not be sufficient in number to support an ageing population.

From Witch to Bitch

In the middle ages, any woman who annoyed any one around herself was branded a 'witch'.

That got outlawed.

So today, she is simply called a 'bitch'.

Over the centuries only one consonant has changed but the usage is always in the same context.

Four reasons why I will never have an arranged marriage!

Well, I have nothing against being introduced to suitable boy by my parents just as I don’t mind going on a date with someone my friends suggest, I might meet the love of my life in both the cases, but I do have certain problems with the manner in which arranged marriages work in this country.

1. My first problem is that why can’t a guy find a girl for himself for keeps? Why does he need his parents to do that for him? Is he a man or a joke? (Ok, that’s directly translated from Hindi into English!)
2. Next, How would I know if he is not some homosexual getting married to a girl just to please his parents? I have no intentions of being stuck in a loveless or a sexless marriage! Yuck! In case of a love marriage scenario, you can be assured of the fact that your boyfriend has the ‘hots’ for you!
3. I am fair. Not like the Caucasians, but by regular Indian standards. In India, many men and their parents are obsessed about having a fair wife/ daughter-in-law to ensure that their future generations are good looking. (In India, you are good-looking if you are fair, that suffices.) I refuse to let my children being subjected to racism even before they are conceived or even before their parents had the chance to sleep with each other!
4. Most importantly, I want to get married at my own risk, for my own sake and at my responsibility. No one other than my husband and myself shall be responsible for what happens between the two of us, even if we get a divorce! (I hope that never happens) I have a few friends who said that they will opt for an arranged marriage as in case of a divorce, it is their parents who are to be blamed and not them as they had, like good children, obeyed their parents wishes, and hence it is the parents who had made a wrong decision. What spineless, heartless creeps! Don’t get married if you can’t shoulder responsibilities! I don’t ever want to meet or worse marry a guy who thinks in this manner. Never!

Same Language Subtitling for higher levels of literacy

Literacy is roughly defined as the ability to read and write for a person who is 15 years of age and above. The literacy rate of India stands at an abysmal 61% as reported by the 2001 census. Furthermore for males it is 73.4% and that for females is 47.8%. Dr. Brij Kothari has developed an ingenious method to counter this problem. He has set up PlanetRead that uses “Same Language Subtitling (SLS)” on popular film songs all over the country on TV in the same language as the audio. PlanetRead’s “karaoke” approach to literacy provides recurring and habitual reading practice to over 200 million early-literates in India. In addition, nearly 270 million illiterate people are motivated to become literate. Currently, “Same Language Subtitling (SLS)” is used only on DD shows like Chayageet and Chitrahaar. HBO, STAR Movies and Zee Studios also use them for their movies. If all TV channels in India start employing this method, we will reach our goal of 100% literacy faster. Our hindrances will only be the lack of access to television in many parts of the country and absence of electricity in many areas. Consider this, according to the article In India, the Golden Age of Television Is Now of Vikas Bajaj in the New York Times, there are roughly 105 million homes with televisions in India , up from 88 million in 2000. The current number of television households is about the same as in the United States , though for India that amounts to only about half of the country’s households, compared with 98 percent in the United States . Look at the potential effect Same Language Subtitling will have on our population. It will also prove good for young school going children who will progress faster in school. The other group that stands to benefit is people who cannot hear and those who are hard at hearing. India is a very populous country (estimated 1 billion plus population) so the number of deaf people can not be definitely estimated. It is known to be in the millions - some estimates are as high as 60 million. Same Language Subtitling helps deaf people (with an access to television) to benefit from TV programs. Although India is rapidly developing, there is still plenty of poverty, and thus a high rate of deafness. Improving rates of literacy will help reduce poverty and a whole lot of other problems. Join hands against illiteracy. Tell your friends about it. Forward this email to them as well as your favorite TV channels. Some email addresses are colorstv@viacom18.com, sales@indya.com, zeemarathi@zeenetwork.com, zeetelevision@zeenetwork.com.

We have to ask our TV channels to support Dr. Brij Kothari’s initiative. For more information http://planetread.org/home.php

The Great Indian Parental Dream

Day and time: Early Monday morning

Place: Panvel rickshaw stand

Destination: Rasayani

Heading to college as usual after the weekend spent at home, I was waiting for the mandatory 10 people to fill into the ‘tum-tum’ or the 10-seater Vikram rickshaw, which is the second line of transport in Indian towns and villages, after the ubiquitous ST buses. The ‘tum-tum’ leaves only when it is filled to capacity. A lady seated herself on the seat facing me. She was a typical sari-clad, bony, Maharastrian, village domiciled, married young woman. She was accompanied by her 5 year old daughter. She was observing me with curiosity. She finally inquired about the place I was heading to. I replied that I was going to Rasayani. She wanted to know whether I lived there. I answered that I was a student at S. S. Patil College of Agricultural Business Management in Rasayani, the local MLA, Vivekananda Patil’s college, and that I stayed at the hostel there. She seemed awestruck by my large travel bag and by the fact that I was living away from family. She exclaimed that it is amazing how a girl like me was living away from home for the sake of education. I responded by saying that I was not alone. There are plenty of girls and boys who do the same. She then started a monologue about the educational status of her family and the virtues of education.

“Education is so important. No one can succeed without it. It is only after we educate ourselves that we can improve in life. We women should be very particular about our education. My husband has studied up till class 12. I have completed my Bachelor of Arts in Marathi literature. (She had an air of pride at this point). We have enrolled our daughter in an English medium school. Only English medium schooling makes sense in this day. (Pointing at her daughter) But she has no interest in her studies. (Can you) talk to her about it.”

I asked her the class in which her girl was currently. I frankly saw no point in explaining the necessity of regular studies to a child so young that she had no concern about the state of her clothes (While playing, her frock had come up right to her belly) The lady said that the girl was in Upper Kindergarten. I replied that the child was too young to take studies seriously and must play to her heart’s content at this age. My chatty co-passenger’s next response left me speechless.

“Oh no, she must start studying hard. The girl must at least become a doctor.”

God Almighty! "Child must become a doctor" - The Great Indian Parental Dream.

I struggled to keep myself from laughing but controlled myself by thinking that the woman was wonderful. Despite of living in a locality where child marriage is still rife, she has big dreams for her daughter. Whether her girl enters medical school, we will never know, but she will ensure that her daughter completes her formal education. Amen.

See original photo here.

I hate you , but I wanna touch you!

The infamous Indian caste system has brought us enough ignominy which we could have done without. This caste system had leaded us to ostracize and to brand certain members of our society as untouchables. This has confined them, till this day, to the fringes of the social order, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. But yet, I wonder why we keep hearing about cases of Dalit women being raped by ‘upper caste men’? If these ‘upper caste’ people do not even want the shadows of a Dalit to fall on them, what gets them to the point of forcefully having intercourse with a Dalit woman? Does that happen without touching the woman? Doesn’t this type of physical contact ‘contaminate’ those ‘upper caste’ rapists? When I would read about such cases, this question would pop up in my head like those irritating pop-ups which keep hampering our web-surfing activities. But I was reminded of a song that I had heard a few years ago. Someone had come out with this unimpressive and incomprehensive song whose lyrics went like “Mallika, I hate you, I hate you. But I wanna touch you, but I wanna touch you.” Those lyrics simply went over my head at that time but I never imagined that they would help me understand a social issue which continues to irritate and infuriate me. The acts of rape and abuse are a way of asserting that the rapist is superior to the victim and therefore more powerful whereas the victim cannot save herself/himself and hence is powerless, inferior. These acts just help the villain to reassure his own insecurities and to feel better about himself. The hatred towards the victim helps to justify the act of rape saying that she deserved it, whereas the rapist also finds an outlet for suppressed sexual desires. The lower caste tag makes this justification easier. Convenient isn’t it?

Communication and confusion

Our class 9 English professor Madam Gonzalez had arrived in Thane for the first time. She was hunting for a house. She was told about a flat in K. Villa. She reached the place with her son and asked a neighborhood shopkeeper for the owner of that place.

Shopkeeper replied, “Aap unse nahi mil payenge, who aadmi Gujarat gaya hai.”

On hearing this Madam Gonzalez demanded, “Thik hai, woh vapas kab aaye ga? Hume unka ghar kiraye pe chahiye.”

The shopkeeper looked scandalized. He shopkeeper responded, “Madam aap kaisi baat kar rahi ho? Aadmi Gujarat gaya hai. Aadmi Gujarat jaane ke baad vapas kaisa aaye ga?”

It was Madam’s turn to be scandalized. She answered, “Kyun vapas nahi aaye gaa? Uska ghar hai idhar! Thik hai, agar woh vapas nahi aane waala toh koi contact number hoga naa uska. Hume usse baat karni hai.”

The shopkeeper was perplexed.

He retorted, “Aap samajhti nahi hai kya? Idhar ghar hai toh kya hua? Gujarat jaane ke baad koi aadmi vapas nahi aata.”

Madam was about to snap back at him when her son interrupted, “Mamma, he did not say ‘Gujarat’ gaaya, he said ‘Gujar’ gaya.”

She narrated this incidence in class while she was teaching us the importance of accurate pronunciation and active listening.

Royally Obsessed

Circa 1949 We, the nation of India accepted and decided to be a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC when we adopted our constitution on 26th of November, 1949. The Iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel spent a good amount of his time knowledge and astute statesmanship to unify India as we know it today by convincing a hoard of princely states to blend in and give up their titles.

Circa 2008 The Board of Control for Cricket in India launches the Indian Premier League, the biggest and most spectacular cricketing event in cricketing history. The team names were announced and I couldn't help but notice that they were just reeking of monarchy. 8 teams announced and 4 were indisputably monarchical in nomenclature. The Bangalore Royal Challengers, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and King's XI Punjab. The last two being the most ludicrous. The name Chennai Super Kings immediately suggests that every member of the team is a King. I just couldn't help but wonder how can 11 Kings peacefully co-exist on the same turf? The Wadia & Zinta owned team is even sillier. King's XI Punjab! Pray, tell me, which king rules Punjab? Is the Indian Government listening? Just kidding!!! Vijay Mallya's team's name is comprehensible as it is a brand promotion and reinforcement exercise. Smart way to get around the juvenile legislation that prohibits liquor advertisements. The Rajasthan Royals clearly draw a reference to the former Royal family of Jaipur which still own palaces in Rajasthan. We simply can't give up our fascination for monarchy. However, the funniest and silliest title is undoubtedly that of Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla's (yes Juhi also) Kolkata Knight Riders. Knights existed in Medieval Europe, never in India! And most definitely, no Knights in Kolkata! Then why Knight Riders? I guess it's still a long time before we become passionate about Democracy just as much as the Americans and the French but I am not complaining.

The Niveau 3 Batch at Alliance Francaise

Education Abroad

So want to fly oversees huh? Dreaming about exploring another continent? Meeting different people? Very good. You could have given very tough competition to Christopher Columbus himself! Talking about great explorers, if the land discovered by Abel Jansoon Tasman seduces you, use the website http://newzealandeducated.com Yes my dear friend, New Zealand was discovered by Mr. Tasman on 13th December 1642. Use the website well!

Now, lets move to the former Terra Australis Incognita, yes Australia, the land found by Captain James Cook and a few adventurous souls before himself. All of them sponsored by the East India Trading Company offcourse!! http://www.india.idp.com/ is their website to help out confused souls like yourself. Help yourself and find courses that shall prove of interest to you.

But I must say the most fascinating and successful discovery was made by Senor Amerigo Vespucci a few weeks before Christopher Columbus did on the 12th October 1492. Yes people , The Land of the Free, the United States of America. This discovery continues to fascinate us till this day and if you are equally fascinated, attracted to its everlasting charm http://educationusa.state.gov is the thing for you. As we are in India, it would be wise to consult http://fulbright-india.org

And finally if you would like to study in the land of our former colonial rulers, http://britishcouncil.org/india is the website to look out. Moreover, the United Kingdom has this site http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php to know the rankings of colleges.

In 1497 an Italian named John Cabot sailed west from Bristol, England, intent on finding a new trade route to the Orient for his patron, King Henry VII of England. This particular heroic gentleman ended up finding, Canada. If you dream of the North pole for your neighbourhood, head straight for this country. The Governement provides a website called http://aucc.ca and choose the English version.

Finally, when you choose colleges, make sure you find ou the email address of their head of international relations and send them your queries and do not forget to attach your CV. All the best!

An Evening of a lifetime with Azouz Begag

Now, that was an evening to last a lifetime!

It was an extraordinary day which started on a rather ordinary note. I had come from college after completing nearly 4 hours of train travel (2 hours Thane – Panvel, 2 hours Panvel – Churchgate). On reaching the Alliance Française de Bombay, I found out they were not working due to the press conference for the French Touch Festival. It was 1 ‘o’clock in the afternoon. I didn’t know what to do. The French Words conference with Azouz Begag was to begin at 5 pm at the Cercle Littéraire, near Max Mueller Bhavan. Having no place to go, I had reached G. D. Somani School to use the Self Learning Centre for killing time. I met my French class batch mates, leaving from the Concours “Plume d’Or”. The studies plan at the Self Learning Centre was abandoned. Next stop was Kamath restaurant near the World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade. After lunch, we finally left for the Cercle Littéraire. All this incessant traveling had left me exhausted and sleepy or rather hypoxic.

The Cercle Littéraire is an aged, attractive but barely discernible structure. On entering it, we went through an old-fashioned, English style staircase which had the allure of an abandoned or to put it better, a barely visited place. It was slightly gloomy. I was contemplating returning home. I shall remain eternally grateful to myself for deciding against it. We assembled ourselves in the chairs in the small room where the conference was supposed to take place.

5:30 p.m. Mr. Begag arrived with the French Consulate General officials. Mr. Azouz Begag is a French politician (I discovered that after the conference!), writer and researcher in social sciences and economics. He is of an Algerian descent. He was at the Cercle Littéraire to speak about political and immigration issues. The conference began and this is how he opened it. “I do not speak French.” Bam! We had all been given extracts from his various books (all French) to familiarize us with his works and here the man jokes about not knowing the language. He spoke a mélange of French and English for the opening 2-3 minutes, called Franglais. The French do not appreciate that. Anyway, more about that later.

He spoke about the life of his parents in Algeria, a life of hardship with no water, electricity and work. Hunger and disease was routine. Illiteracy was rife. Footwear, not shoes, was cut out of Goodyear tyres. Democracy existed in Algeria. The victorious candidates won nearly 99% of the votes cast. Votes were in accordance with the decision of the entire community. Only a few ‘freaks’ would vote in keeping with their individual opinion. He narrated this in a highly animated style with very vivid gestures. He actually kept his foot on the table pointing at his shoes to say that shoes didn’t exist in Algeria! He might just have been speaking about the slums of Bombay or the remote villages of India. He acknowledged that as well.

Azouz Begag was born in Lyon, France in a slum of North African immigrants. He spent his entire childhood, with 8 siblings (the average for Algerian families), in a minuscule 2 room, wooden hutment. His relatives, who had arrived in France after Azouz Begag’s father, had similar family sizes and dwelling spaces in their vicinity. His father had arrived in France in 1956 with just a small piece of paper mentioning the name and address of the factory owner who had promised him employment. He went around with his friends, asking for directions to the place. None of them spoke French, only English. It was nothing less then a miracle that they reached the place they were supposed to reach.

At the factory, workers were just numbers. They were non-entities who had no faces, no names. It was always number so and so who was supposed to complete this and that on a given day. Job security was unheard of. Despite of his economic hardships and being illiterate himself, Mr. Begag senior was extremely particular about his children’s education. He told the young Azouz that books can make a man fly. He would demonstrate this by holding an open book and making it flap like a bird. He would tell his children that with books they could fly over and away from the slums. He was tremendously proud of his Algerian roots and always spoke of returning back to his village in Algeria. He never learnt French as he did not consider it to be his language. He died in France with his dream of returning to Algeria remaining unfulfilled. His, was the story of all blue collar immigrants, all over the world.

After having spoken at length about his childhood and life in Lyon, Azouz Begag started conversing with us. He wanted us to ask him questions. Thinking about an extract from his book Le Gone du Chaâba, I asked him about him about his relations with his peers and teachers in school. He narrated his school life filled with perseverance and dedication towards his education and the consequent dislike, both his French and North African immigrant, classmates felt for him. The French had an aversion for him as they could not accept an Algerian, an outsider surpassing them in studies. The Algerians were abhorrent of him for his ‘attempts’ to become like the French. His French teachers made sure that the Algerian students never said “The capital of ‘our’ country France is Paris.” while studying Geography. It was always “The capital of ‘your’ country France is Paris.” Segregation was the norm.

Conditions at home were more conflicting. The day the young Azouz learnt that the Earth rotates around the Sun and not the other way round, he described that to his father. He was slapped. He was awakened forcefully at 5 a.m. the next morning by his father. With his ear being squeezed, he was dragged to the window. His father forced him to look at the Sun during the subsequent sunrise.

His father asked him, “What is moving, us or the Sun?”

The young Azouz had to answer, “The Sun”.

“Your teacher does not know anything. Don’t listen to him. Believe what you see”, said his father.

His teachers at school would say, “Don’t believe what you see. Don’t listen to your parents. They don’t know anything.”

Young Azouz was of the view that both of them were right in their respective places.

Later, he spoke of his relations with his relatives, his beliefs about his religion and the importance of immigration. On being asked whether he practiced Islam, he answered no. He cited that his parents possessed tolerance that measured 360˚. He never managed to complete reading the Koran and his parents simply asserted that only if Allah wishes would he (Azouz Begag) read the Koran. If it is not Allah’s wish that he read the Koran, so be it.

The evening helped me understand my own childhood experiences better. The Algerians are much like us Indians when it comes to family values and lifestyles. Hospitality is the most preferred value. They never refuse or mistreat a guest. That is the key reason behind Begag senior’s relatives following him to France and his efforts to accommodate them. Mr. Azouz Begag’s first contact with India was through Hindi movies. The Algerians loved Hindi films. They never understood a word of it. The rationale behind the popularity of Hindi cinema amongst the Arabs is that Hindi movies are clean and suited for family viewing. The lead actor and actress will just dance and sing in the rain and go home. Nothing beyond that! So perfect for families! I understood why my family would always be requested by Egyptians to provide photos of Amitabh Bachchan during our stay in the Middle East and Egypt.

The subject of immigration is closest to Mr. Begag’s heart. He emphasized that in the next decade the countries of the European Union would be competing for attracting immigrants to run their economies. He highlighted the reality that immigrants always stimulate growth. Systematic integration of immigrants into the mainstream society actually helps economic expansion and it is their isolation which leads to crime and social problems. Most of us were already thinking of the recent clashes between the MNS and North Indian workers in Bombay (Strange, ‘North’ Africans are considered a problem in France). Mr. Begag pointed out that majority of the French football team members were black and no one bats an eyelid. Zinedine Zidane is of an Algerian origin and nobody considers him an outsider. He is a Frenchman. A little trivia, Zinedine Zidane and Azouz Begag belong to the same village in Algeria. Mr. Begag is of the opinion that the notion of identity is changeable. We can change an identity just as mush as we can cultivate it.

Mr. Azouz Begag is a lover of the Arts. He explained how literature and cinema are a reflection of the society and how they help us understand ourselves better and to reach out to fellow beings. One of his best loved movies is “Pané et Chocolat”, 1973 by the Italian film-maker Franco Brusati. It is about an immigrant’s life and Mr. Begag realized, after viewing the film, that he was not alone. There were many others who faced segregation like him. Amongst his favorite authors, he lists Ernest Hemmingway and Amitav Ghosh. He appeared awestruck by the approach in which Ernest Hemmingway shot himself. “Fantastic!” he exclaimed. Azouz Begag calls Albert Camus his brother. Such striking parallels in both of their lives! Azouz Begag and Albert Camus (separately) topped their class at school, were children of illiterate parents, had exceptional writing skills and faced problems blending into the French society. Azouz Begag was an Algerain immigrant living in France. Albert Camus was a French immigrant living in Algeria.

I was amazed at how much I discovered that evening, about the world and myself. I had never imagined that life can be so similar in different countries, in different time periods. Azouz Begag’s style of speech is highly conversational and animated. He immediately puts the listeners at ease and yes, his talks drive away fatigue too. The imagination and attention of the audience is instantaneously captivated by his talks and vivid gestures. His frequent use of Franglais was later explained by my professor as some form of personal vengeance against the French society that had subjected him to separation and isolation. He still has to affirm that he is French. He is absolutely an astute diplomat. He wrapped up the evening by saying that after the wonderful time he spent with students of Bombay, he will be settling down in Bombay! Anyway, I found myself scrambling for his autograph and photograph right after the end. I don’t know what I might have lost had I not attended the conference. I appreciated for the first time what a wonderful decision it was to join Alliance Française de Bombay. I shall remain eternally grateful to them for that wonderful evening with Azouz Begag.

Sex Education in India

Elizabeth Taylor once said, “It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.” That pretty much summarizes the need for sex education. Most opponents of sex education vociferously argue that children and the entire community at large do not need sex education as our ancestors did not have it. Most people, who challenge the need for sex education, miss the point that HIV /AIDS did not exist at that point of time. Earlier, HIV/AIDS was known as GRID, Gay Related Immune Deficiency, as it was mistakenly believed that this condition exits only amongst homosexuals. It was only in the year 1981 that the first case of HIV/AIDS was confirmed in the USA and not until 1986 was it found for the first time in India. So from the year 1986 to 2008, it has been just 22 years that this disease has been known to exist in India. It is not really astonishing that it is incurable as of yet. Consider this. Every century has been witness to a certain killer disease that has claimed millions of lives before the human race eventually found a remedy for it. The 19th century had no other option other than to be a silent onlooker to the recurrent Bubonic plague epidemics or the Black Death that had wiped out more than 1/3^rd of Europe’s population. Tuberculosis has beleaguered mankind for centuries. The history of Influenza testifies that it is more deadly than the 1^st World War. The 21^st century will have to fight against HIV/AIDS. What distinguishes HIV/AIDS from the above diseases is that it is not contagious and its modes of transmission can be avoided. The greater the numbers of people who are educated about and report the disease, the better the chance researchers stand of curing it sooner.

An additional issue that has to be seriously dealt with during sex education is abortion. “The USA legalized abortion in the year 1973. The period from 1973 to 2004 has seen nothing less than 37 million abortions. The genocide in Hitler’s concentration camps exterminated 6 million Jews. Therefore, one might argue that the number of fetuses aborted in the USA is greater the 6 times the number of Jews killed during the 2^nd World War hence amounting to state sponsored genocide.” – Freakonomics .Actually, it has helped keep America’s population from exploding. In India, more than 5 million female fetuses are illegally aborted every year, amounting to virtually 50 million girls not being permitted to take birth in the past decade itself. That is so much more horrible as compared to the USA. Sex education can be effectively employed to raise awareness regarding the use of abortions and to sensitize people to the importance of balanced sex ratio in nature so as to prevent its abuse. It can also be utilized to highlight the relation between skewed sex ratios and human trafficking.

Sex education should ideally be started at the primary level than during high school. When we talk about sex education during the primary school years, it doesn’t imply that we need to educate our 6-7 year olds regarding childbirth, pregnancy, contraception and HIV/AIDS. What it does mean is that we have to make our children aware of the fact their bodies are sacred, that they have a right to privacy and that no one can violate them. So in case of the tragedy that a child does fall victim to a paedophile, he/she knows that it should be reported to a trusted family member so that the criminal is brought to the book, the crime is further prevented and that the child receives appropriate medical treatment for any physical or psychological damage that may have been caused.

Sensitization of the sexes to each others need is an issue that can and must be addressed during the course of sex education. Such a topic is ideal for people over the age of 15 when they are better equipped to understand sexual relations and intimacy. Of course only psychiatrists, teachers, child psychologists and other experts are capable of determining whether it should be taken up earlier. Men and women need to be made aware of the fact that even within a marriage or an intimate relationship, consent to sex is relevant and necessary and that consent cannot be taken for granted. Both genders need to understand that marital rape does happen and that it should be punished. At the same time, we need to realize that even a man can be harassed and tormented in a relationship, may be not sexually but in other ways. Their problem should be appropriately redressed.

The legal facet of sexual relations and sexual issues should be identified and adequately dealt with. Sex education should comprise of legislation apropos to concerns such as human trafficking, prostitution, child marriage, dowry, child abuse and drug abuse. The path breaking Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill, 2001 must also be inculcated in the education curricula. This shall help make people aware of their legal rights, impress upon their minds the legal implications of sexual violence and hopefully start a fruitful tradition of public discussions and participation in legislation and their better implementation.

When Bill Gates donated $100 million for HIV/AIDS prevention in India, many commented that 100 million was disproportionately large given the nature and the extent of the problem in India. We have the highest number of People Living with HIV/AIDS. It is worth keeping in mind that the only country in Asia that has successfully tackled the problem of HIV/AIDS is Thailand. It has demonstrated that the number of new cases can be slowed or even halted with an intensive education program reaching out to the whole community. Thailand, a country the size of Maharashtra, was spending $100 million per annum on its

As a nation facing severe problems with regards to child marriage, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, gender discrimination and skewed sex ratios, it is high time we tackle these issues head on and solve minimize them to the maximum possible degree. We must stop being foolish and say that “Indian culture” does not permit sex education. The above mentioned problems harm India, sex education will save India. It is only by sex education and not by moralistic sermons that we can preserve and allow Indian culture to flourish, for Prevention is better than cure.