Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Criminal Or Victim
Thanks to Rahul Mahajan and his friends, these days, drug abuse is the new hot topic of discussion. It’s the first news that many people look for as soon as they get their newspapers. It’s the cover story of almost all the magazines. Now that most of the story is out, we all know Rahul Mahajan and his friends are guilty. We all look down on them and we all want them to be punished. But I have started asking myself – why are we being so harsh to them? Many of us drink tea. Don’t we? We do. We all know it has got Nicotine and we can’t live normally if we don’t get our cup of tea at the right time. This is also addiction. And Nicotine is harmful than Ganja. But we all buy it, consume it and even distribute it-all the things that Rahul Mahajan has been charged for!!
They are sick people. They may be mad people but they are not bad people for sure. They are people like us who, probably, didn’t have as good friends as we have in our hard times. In the past five years, young entrepreneurs and business scions have literally usurped the lead on the snorting circuit, indulging in it as a necessary social lubricant. Many young people go for it under peer pressure. They might have started it as every other addict, to end their curiosity thinking they can control themselves. But then, as everybody, they also got hooked to it. And now it has become a necessity. They can’t live without it, even if they want to. Rich young people do drugs as a fashion statement and then find it a euphoric way to party till late. They need help. They need to be hospitalized and they need to be treated like any other sick person. But there’s no point in putting them behind bars.
I have heard and read the stories of child molesters and murderers who've put their families in horrible conditions due to their drug use. I've never known anyone like that. At least, not to my knowledge. I believe that if you don't have evil tendencies already, then drugs won't make you evil. If you are violent by nature, then yes, drugs will exploit that. But if you are good hearted, then chances are, you will probably be one that gets taken advantage of, not the one taking advantage.What I want to say is-don't believe the hype. We've all got skeletons and most of us should look in our own closets before rifling through someone else’s. So before commenting the way Promod Mahajan has brought up his children we should think about how are we bringing up our children.
My point? Don't assume you know. Be smart, don’t start.
They are sick people. They may be mad people but they are not bad people for sure. They are people like us who, probably, didn’t have as good friends as we have in our hard times. In the past five years, young entrepreneurs and business scions have literally usurped the lead on the snorting circuit, indulging in it as a necessary social lubricant. Many young people go for it under peer pressure. They might have started it as every other addict, to end their curiosity thinking they can control themselves. But then, as everybody, they also got hooked to it. And now it has become a necessity. They can’t live without it, even if they want to. Rich young people do drugs as a fashion statement and then find it a euphoric way to party till late. They need help. They need to be hospitalized and they need to be treated like any other sick person. But there’s no point in putting them behind bars.
I have heard and read the stories of child molesters and murderers who've put their families in horrible conditions due to their drug use. I've never known anyone like that. At least, not to my knowledge. I believe that if you don't have evil tendencies already, then drugs won't make you evil. If you are violent by nature, then yes, drugs will exploit that. But if you are good hearted, then chances are, you will probably be one that gets taken advantage of, not the one taking advantage.What I want to say is-don't believe the hype. We've all got skeletons and most of us should look in our own closets before rifling through someone else’s. So before commenting the way Promod Mahajan has brought up his children we should think about how are we bringing up our children.
My point? Don't assume you know. Be smart, don’t start.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Celebrity Activism
Suddenly Amir Khan is a busy man today. First he made his guest appearance during Medha Patkar's hunger strike and now he is there in all the talk shows, debates, everywhere. Even when he is not there, the discussions are about him. He has even grown bigger than Medha Patkar. And the question that whether he should say sorry to Narendra Modi’s government has grown bigger than the question that whether government should do something to rehabilitate the villagers affected by rising of the dam. BJP government banned his movie, Fanaa, in Gujrat and still the movie made Rs30-crore-plus in its first week. Ironic isn’t it!
I totally agree with what Amir Khan is saying and I also fully support him. What he did for an afternoon is much more than any of us have done for those poor people. But I just have one question to ask. If he cares so much about people how can he justify endorsing Coke in the commercials? It is a known fact that these aerated drinks are bad for health. It was even proved that they contained more than permissible amount of fatal pesticides in them. If he can care about the few families that will be without roof then why can’t he care about the lakhs of people who are getting affected by drinking Coke?
Maybe because he can’t afford that………….
He is getting paid in lakhs and crores for doing those commercials so he can’t afford to stand against them. But with Narmada Bachao Andolan he is getting paid neither to stand against it nor to stand for it. So he took his stand and went with what his heart says. He is all over the media showing off his patriotism and challenging the claim of democracy. But is this not Double Standard????
But why just Amir Khan??
Suddenly Amir Khan is a busy man today. First he made his guest appearance during Medha Patkar's hunger strike and now he is there in all the talk shows, debates, everywhere. Even when he is not there, the discussions are about him. He has even grown bigger than Medha Patkar. And the question that whether he should say sorry to Narendra Modi’s government has grown bigger than the question that whether government should do something to rehabilitate the villagers affected by rising of the dam. BJP government banned his movie, Fanaa, in Gujrat and still the movie made Rs30-crore-plus in its first week. Ironic isn’t it!
I totally agree with what Amir Khan is saying and I also fully support him. What he did for an afternoon is much more than any of us have done for those poor people. But I just have one question to ask. If he cares so much about people how can he justify endorsing Coke in the commercials? It is a known fact that these aerated drinks are bad for health. It was even proved that they contained more than permissible amount of fatal pesticides in them. If he can care about the few families that will be without roof then why can’t he care about the lakhs of people who are getting affected by drinking Coke?
Maybe because he can’t afford that………….
He is getting paid in lakhs and crores for doing those commercials so he can’t afford to stand against them. But with Narmada Bachao Andolan he is getting paid neither to stand against it nor to stand for it. So he took his stand and went with what his heart says. He is all over the media showing off his patriotism and challenging the claim of democracy. But is this not Double Standard????
But why just Amir Khan??
We can shoot the same question towards BJP. When they don't have problem with any actor, worth getting an add, doing Coke and Pepsi commertial, setting trends with "thanda matlab Coca Cola" and "Pepsi tv", which is more harmful for our 'country's development', then why do they have problem with Amir Khan standing for poor villagers on the brink of loosing their homes. Is this not Double Standard????
What we learn from this is that be it Amir Khan, Narendra Modi, you or me, we all are humans.
True Humans. We stand up and sit down on our convineance.
