KITE FLYING: THE CUTTING EDGE

 

 

 

KITE-FLYING: THE CUTTING EDGE

- Fr.  Cedric  Prakash  sj *

 

Its Makar Sankranti once again! The skies are dotted with every possible colour, shape and size.  It is festival time indeed!  However, the festival also provides us with ample opportunities to chalk out a road map for the days ahead.

 

Kite-flying is spiritual!  It is a simple and effective way of allowing our prayers and supplications to soar to the Almighty.  Historically, it is a prayer of thanksgiving for the long wintry nights just gone by and a prayer of hope for the longer days from now onwards.  It is about allowing ourselves to feel the tug of the string even when the kite is not visible.  It is perhaps, for many, one way of connecting with the Divine or the Unknown.

 

Kite-flying is harmony!  We need to be grateful to the Nawabs of yesteryears who propagated kite-flying as a source of entertainment and amusement.  Perhaps they never realized that it would become a 'key element' of Makar Sankranti in Gujarat and in some other parts of India.  Then there are the skilled artisans, mainly Muslims from Uttar Pradesh who deftly use their fingers in splicing the bamboo, dexterously sticking them onto coloured tissue, to fabricate something fascinating for all to enjoy.

 

Kite-flying is diversity! There is perhaps no other festival which literally brings out everyone: the old and the young, irrespective of gender, caste, creed, ethnicity.  There, are the professionals but the under belly also plays its role effectively.  The 'kite runners' of the city who dangerously avoid speeding traffic, just to catch a kite which had attained its freedom!  A true celebration of diversity!

 

Kite-flying is team work!  Synchronization and synergy is also important for real fun.  A kind of togetherness is on the anvil: the way one holds the 'firki' or perhaps helps in the "hoist"; there is the competitive element involved but it is the spirit of co-operation which is uppermost.

 

Kite-flying is, above all, the cutting edge! To relegate this festival to 'undhiyu and jalebi', to cries of "Kaapiyo chhe" and "lapeting the manjaa" or political gimmicks, is basically to have missed the totality of the festival.  The fact is that so much good can stem from it, if we could live the spirit of the festival for the rest of the year.  The greatest challenge is for each one of us, therefore, is to ensure that kite-flying truly becomes the cutting edge!

 

 

 

(* Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is the Director of PRASHANT, the Ahmedabad based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.)

 

 

14^th January, 2010

Justice for Ruchika...Do join in!!!

Ruchika.Girhotra: Justice for Ruchika

Ruchika.Girhotra's Notes

Justice for Ruchika

Share

 Mon at 06:44

Prime Minter of India
New Delhi, India.

Dear Sir:

This is an petition to serve Justice in the case of victim 14 year old girl Ruchika Girhotra who was molested and forced to commit suicide by Indian Police in 1990. http://www.facebook.com/Ruchika.Girhotra
This is to bring to your attention in which a Fourteen-year-old aspiring female tennis star Ruchika Girhotra was molested Aug 12, 1990 by Haryana Police S.P.S. Rathore. Ruchika Girhotra complained in 1990 that she was assaulted by SPS Rathore. But Mr. Rathore successfully used his influence to harass the Ruchika Girhotra's brother and father. Unable to cope with harassment imposed on her and her family, Ruchika committed suicide by consuming poison.

Shockingly, Police Inspector S.P.S. Rathore rose to become Haryana's police chief. After repeated complaints, Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court convicted Rathore in the molestation case and sentenced Rathore to just six months' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.1,000 ($25). Rathore was immediately granted bail by the court. Television footage shows a laughing and unrepentant Mr. Rathore following the court order.

This is a total abuse of power by Haryana Police Department along with some Politicians of the State. As the victims Ruchika's father Subhas Chander Girhotra said "This six-month punishment is not enough, it has hurt us, what kind of justice is this? We want exemplary punishment for him so that Indian children can be safe in future. My daughter is dead, but at least no other girl should meet the same fate,"

The delay of 19 years by the judiciary is outrageous. We request you to take immediate action and put this Criminal Police Chief S.P.S Rathore behind bars for the rest of his life.


Signed

Greetings from Fr. Cedric Prakash and ALL at PRASHANT

Statement of the International Coalition of NGO for an OP-ICESCR on the Occasion of the First Anniversary of the Adoption of the Optional Protocol

 

 

One Year After the Adoption of the Optional Protocol: Demand Justice NOW! Ratify to Protect all Human Rights

 

 "With the adoption of the Optional Protocol, the United Nations has now been able to come full circle on the normative architecture envisaged by the Universal Declaration. I call on all States to promptly sign and ratify this crucial new human rights instrument."

  Navanethem Pillay

 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

  December 10th is a renowned date in human rights' history, marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, December 10th will also be commemorated as the first anniversary of the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The adoption of the Optional Protocol finally fulfills the Universal Declaration's aspirations for universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, after 60 years of historical imbalance in their recognition and protection. The Optional Protocol has created the possibility for millions of people whose social and economic rights have been violated to seek redress at the international level by filing complaints before the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the United Nations' body of experts responsible for supervising the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Covenant). In addition, it will serve as an incentive to increase States' domestic compliance with ESCR obligations and expand the national adjudication of cases that involve violation of ESC rights.

 The Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 10, 2008, and was opened for signature in September 24, 2009. It requires 10 ratifications, to enter into force.  We commend the 30 countries that have so far signed the Optional Protocol:  Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Chile, Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Montenegro, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Timor-Leste, Togo, Ukraine and Uruguay.  We now urge these countries to move expeditiously towards ratification.  We call upon all other countries to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol as soon as possible and exhort those who have not yet ratified the Covenant to do so expeditiously.

 We also make a call to the international community, including civil society and States, to ensure this important mechanism achieves widespread global support; is promptly signed and ratified by all States; and implemented in a manner that ensures full protection to victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights.

 In order for the Optional Protocol to be meaningful to those facing these violations, it is also critical that it becomes accessible and known to civil society.  With these goals in mind the International NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol has launched the Campaign for the Ratification and Implementation of the Optional Protocol:  "JUSTICE NOW! RATIFY TO PROTECT ALL HUMAN RIGHTS".  We invite civil society and other committed partners to join and support this Campaign.

 The right to food, water, housing, health, education, and work are central to human dignity: they are human rights that must be secured.  Often those most vulnerable to violations of these rights are individuals and communities that face other forms of discrimination such as women, indigenous peoples, migrants, ethnic minorities and others. The Optional Protocol is an essential tool towards the protection and fulfillment of the economic, social and cultural rights of all people and as such a cornerstone on the "foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world".  

 **********************************************************************************************************************

 * The NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol is formed by more than 300 organizations and individuals from more than 60 countries working for social justice worldwide.

 *Members of the Steering Committee of the Coalition:

Amnesty International; Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Switzerland; Community Law Centre, South Africa; FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN), Germany; Inter-American Platform of Human Rights, Democracy and Development (PIDHDD), Paraguay; International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Switzerland; International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), France; International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net),United States; International Women's Rights Action Watch – Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific), Malaysia; Social Rights Advocacy Center (SRAC),  Canada

 

*Join the Campaign for Ratification to support the protection of economic, social and cultural rights worldwide!  http://www.escr-net.org/actions/actions_show.htm?doc_id=940624

 

Human Rights for All..by Fr Cedric Prakash sj

 

Human Rights For All

Fr. Cedric Prakash, sj*

Two significant 25^th anniversaries have just come and gone: the massacre of the Sikhs (in the wake of the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi), and the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which killed thousands and decimated many more. One common factor stands out in both these tragedies: those responsible have been allowed to get away with murder.

Several other incidents have continued to wound the Indian psyche, these include: the Nellie bloodbath, the Bhagalpur blindings, the cold-blooded demolition of the Babri Masjid, the Gujarat genocide, the Nandigram killings. ….All dark and sordid chapters of our country's history…The list though is endless…

In each one of these, there is a definite pattern: those at the receiving end are always the poor and the marginalized, the minorities and the powerless, the adivasis and the dalits, women and children. The situation of the Dalits in Gujarat is on our front pages. The inference is obvious: a fairly significant section of our society is at the mercy of others. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that there are large sections in society who prefer to remain silent and who would rather not get involved, either due to fear or sheer selfishness.

Until the 'human rights of all' are respected and nurtured, no society can call itself developed. The benchmark of any progress is not the material prosperity of some, but rather if all are able to live in an environment where justice, peace and the common good flourish. The 'cosmeticization' of Ahmedabad should never be at the cost of the slum-dwellers of the city.

The world's focus is just now on Copenhagen, where several have gathered to grapple with key issues related to climatic change. However, unless we realize and act on overconsumption and the wanton destruction of our natural resources, we cannot expect dramatic changes. Besides, in countries such as ours, the growing concentration of wealth among a few is directly related to the escalating impoverishment of the many. The challenge then, is to address the needs of the majority and to prevent the greed of a few from increasing.

It is yet another anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The choices ahead are becoming fewer. We all need to live in a society which is more just, peaceful, equitable and humane. Respecting the rights of all, defending them and nurturing them, is perhaps the only way out.