NEW ADDITION TO UP'S ENCOUNTER LIST

"Agar apradh karenge toh thok diye jayenge"

This statement of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath drew lot of attention and grabbed prime time debate slot, back in 2017.

Two years later, Yogi Adityanath government sent a communique to all district magistrates, asking them to publicise over 3,200 encounters and 79 killings as achievement in the first 16 months of the government.

Today, after 40 teams, 150 raids, 100 hours of search............one new name added to the list, Vikas Dubey.

Gangster Vikas Dubey's death has once again put the spotlight on the steep rise in encounters in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's tenure.  Dubey was killed in an encounter on July 10 after a police vehicle carrying him from Ujjain to Kanpur had met with an accident and he tried to escape from the spot in Bhauti area. Its hard to believe that Vikas was killed by police in 'self-defence' while he fired at them in an attempt to flee. At the same time UP police can go ahead with this much dramatic and Dabangg style of banal script. Attesting to the farce is the killing of Dubey's aide Prabhat in an 'encounter' in exactly the same manner a day earlier.

It's completely wrong to blame the UP police for not taking the action, what more could they have done apart from registering 62 cases against Vikas Dubey and also they razed his house in Kanpur in an attempt to find him. Is razing Dubey's house is justified, under what law? Let alone the brazenness involved in demolishing the house, the administration might have committed the crime of destroying crucial evidence.

This is not to justify that he was innocent, but it seems that now it has become a public fantasy to display such action prohibiting authorities to bring guilty/culprits before court. This all has become a complete theaterisation of a constitutional democracy, where the culprit symbolizes as Villain in the public consciousness. Then comes the Uttar Pradesh Police in Singham/dabbang style demonstrating their super powers under the command of the concerned government, reaps abundant praise. Meanwhile, the law has been asked to take a stroll.

These kind of worrisome action is the growing consensus by-passing the due process of law. It hurts both society and democracy. Precisely because of this, people might mobilise against this perverse tendency for instant justice.

हमने खुद को lock किया
तो nature ने खुद को खुल के unlock किया,

मानो घर की चार दीवारों में सांस हमारी घुट रही थी
पर बाहर अनछुई हवा खुल कर बह रही थी,

पेड़, पक्षी, नदी, पहाड़
स्वतंत्रता से जी रही है nature आज,

Kitchen में नई-नई recipes का आविष्कार हुआ
तो insta story पर flamingo, नीलगाय और हिरण का चर्चा छाया रहा,

कभी ना छत पर रखे पौधो को ऐसे निहारा था
कभी न आसमान में चांद लगा इतना प्यारा था,

Nature ने लिया ये वादा है
उसे मिटने ना देगी जिसे बरसों उसने सवारा है,

वायरस ने हमें दी ये सीख जिसे हमने फिर ना भुलाना है
वहीं हमे वापस मिला जिसे हमनें मिलकर बिगाड़ा है,

अब रखना हमें ध्यान है
जिंदगी की दौड़ में nature को रखना साथ है।।।।

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

It's #WorldMentalHealthDay  
As per WHO Close to 800 000 people die by suicide every year.
800 000 lives lost.
800 000 families suffering.

Mental health issues are real and need to be addressed. Young people are most vulnerable to stress, anxiety. Issues related to career, health, marital etc always surround us and sometime it has its own ups and down. That is the moment when we need a helping hand or a shoulder to bend on. But, in our country people suffering from illness are not open to communicate. I find it the other way, because 'Mental health' most favourable talked about yet the least understood subject. Talking about Mental health is still a taboo in the country. A study reported in WHO, conducted for the NCMH (National Care Of Medical Health), states that at least 6.5% of the Indian population suffers from some form of the serious mental disorder. Sometime, people suffering from the illness secluded by the kin and peer group. Several campaigns have been organised at all levels trying to bust myths about the issues but it seems we have a long way to go. Majority today is still unable to grasp what Mental health is all about, nor we realize the people suffering from it goes through. We let alone discerning the needs of the ones living with it. When it comes to countries,  according to the World Health Organisation, India is the most depressed country in the world. In most of the cases depression leads to addiction of drugs or suicide. Suicides and suicide attempts have a ripple effect that impacts on families, friends, colleagues, communities and societies. it's time to catch the signs and help prevent suicides in the world.

मौसम

कभी सोचा है कि बाहर का मौसम आपको सुख देता है या दुख?

यह तो इस पर निर्भर करता है कि आपके भीतर का मौसम कैसा है.....
आप भीतर से सुखी हैं या दुखी
आप किसी के पास हैं या दूर
आपके अंदर शांति है या बेचैनी...

क्योंकि सड़क पर गुज़रती ज़िंदगी को
मौसम का क्या होश।।।।।।

मां मुझे बहुत याद आती है

घुटनों से रेंगते रेंगते
जब उंगली थाम मां ने चलना सिखाया
वो अहसास याद आता है

सुबह सवेरे जब मुझे उठाती
घर से निकलते ही काला टीका वो मुझे लगाती
उसका वो स्पर्श मुझे याद आता है

स्कूल से थककर जब मैं घर लौटती
मेरी गलती पर मुझे समझाती
वो डांट मुझे याद आती है

परीक्षा पर जाने से पहले दही खिलाना
कॉलेज की कहानियां सुनने बैठी
वो दोस्त जैसी मां मुझे याद आती है

ऑफिस के लिए भरे खाने के डिब्बे
देर रात खाने की प्लेट लेकर इंतजार करना
वो हाथों का स्वाद मुझे याद आता है

एक वक्त ऐसा आया जब मां को मैने समझाया
उसके आंचल में छिपकर दुनिया से लड़ना चाहा
और उसने अपना हाथ मेरे सिर से उठाया
मुझे अपना कहने से उसने ठुकराया

पर

फिर भी मां मुझे तेरा स्नेह, प्यार, दुलार और फटकार याद आती है

किराए का मकान

किराए का मकान तो पराया होता है
फिर क्यों हर बार ये अपना सा लगता है

जब भी सोचा कि इस बार दिल ना लगाउंगी
अबकी बार प्यार ना जताउंगी
तभी दीवार पर लटकी जिंदगी की तस्वीर ने पुकारा

जब भी चाहा कि इस बार घर ना चमकाउंगी
अबकी बार पड़ोस से आंखे चुराउंगी
तभी बालकनी से झांकती धूप ने सहलाया

जब सोचा कि अब कमरे में चुपके से आंसू न बहाउंगी
अबकी बार किसी कि बात को दिल से न लगाउंगी
तभी बाहर से झांकती तुलसी ने मां कि तरह पुचकारा

जब सोचा कि किराए के घर में मंदिर ना बैठाउंगी
अबकी बार नींद से रिश्ता ना बनाउंगी
तभी बैडरुम में लेटे सपने ने जगाया

जब भी दफ्तर से घर लौटी तो
खिड़की पर लगे पौधे और रसोई में रखे चुल्हे ने बुलाया
केतली में रखी चाय और बालकनी से आती ढलते सूरज की चमक ने समझाया


किराए का घर तो पराया होता है
पर हर घर को अपना बनाने का तरीका होता है

MURKIER HOMES

The Supreme Court's order for the removal of all videos and photographs of minors in rape cases from social media. Patna High Court's order restraining the media from reporting on the probe into the shelter homes horror. Prompted politicians and public figures who cites plenty of implausible reasons (short skirts, bad stars, chow mein) for rapes. Does discussions were held on these issues and not on why rape happens and why men brutalise women.

The disgraceful news of "mass sexual abuse" of minor girls at government-funded and NGO-run shelter homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has shaken the nation and drawn attention once again to the issue of safety and protection of residents in those institutions. The term shelter home is self explanatory. It's a home. It's supposed to give shelter. A shelter home is supposed to be a safe house. They were supposed to be a place where women in distress could live a life of dignity, can rehabilitate themselves economically and emotionally, but instead shelter homes for women are turning out to be brothels.

Young girls being sexually abused in shelter homes is something we had heard about. However, this revelation really proves that whatever is said about these places is actually true. Our experiences say that traffickers and brothel managers conduct their business in secrecy and fear because they know that they might get punished if they are caught, but the people who were arrested for the Muzaffarnagar or the Deoria shelter home were doing their business without any fear of retribution or shame. This gives an impression that the owners/managers of the shelter homes enjoy a certain degree of impunity – they probably thought they could get away with the crime – so brutal and gruesome!

One must ask the government questions regarding its role in the entire affair. On the other hand, it also raises questions about the civil society. How "civil" is our society. Did no one living in Muzaffarpur know what was going on inside the shelter home? Many people who lived nearby and were interviewed later had suspicions, but they did not report the matter because the person who ran it was a powerful figure.

The state and the civil society needs to introspect and assure that these girls are protected, that they get safe spaces to live, that they get the opportunity to become empowered individuals and not just victims who are forgotten in a week's news cycle. The task is huge and one that needs sensitisation and therein lies the challenge.