[Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red...

[swathi shivanand]

while agreeing with a large number of issues raised in the two emails,
namely that of the class nature of the media, the horrific incidents of
ragging demeaning human dignity, the under-reportage of atrocities against
dalits.....

but to priviliege one kind of oppression over the other, to say that one is
more important than the other is doing a disservice to understanding the
nature and operation of powerful, oppressive forces. it is also to say that
one's oppression is worse than the other's... and one definitely cannot
hierarchise oppression, can we?

so while calling for support, perhaps we ask for support based on the
historicity and nature of the incident involved, rather than demeaning other
forms of protest?

swathi

On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 12:14 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>wrote:

> http://mohan-sinha.blogspot.com/
>
> Here are two issues, both equally relevant when it comes to our fundamental
> rights - but see how we perceive them. The first is the ‘pink chaddi’
> campaign against Muthalik and the Ram Sene. The second is a campaign to end
> ragging, by the family of Aman Kachroo, the student who was beaten to death
> by his seniors at a medical school in Himachal Pradesh.
>
> The ‘Pink Chaddi’ group was started on Facebook and had 50,000+ members in
> less than a week. The second, ‘Justice for Aman
> Kachroo<
> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56564914348#/group.php?gid=57342453306
> >’
> has just 1607 and quite a few Facebook members, including your truly have
> been asking members to join the campaign but with little response. So, why
> is there empathy for pink chaddi and apathy for Aman Kachroo? Was the ‘pink
> chaddi’ campaign more up-market than the reason for which a 19-year-old had
> to give up his life? Is human life worth so little to us.
>
> Children don’t deserve such a death – hell, no one deserves such a death.
> But time and again, children die or attempt suicide unable to bear the
> ragging at their institutions, and the authorities first attempt a
> cover-up;
> then try to taint the victim’s character, and accept the crime only when
> the
> shit hits the fan.
>
> A cousin, who studied at one of the premier technology institutes in the
> country in the 1980s, told me how juniors were put through the grind when
> they joined. When seniors were playing cards in one of the rooms, and
> wanted
> to smoke, the juniors were ordered to become ‘ashtrays’ – they were
> supposed
> to sit on their haunches next to the seniors, with their MOUTHS OPEN so
> that
> ash could be tipped in their mouth. Ouch! To those with a morbid sense of
> fun and fair play, this may be much better than being beaten to death, but
> that’s no consolation.
>
> Now of course, premier institutions like the one referred to above have
> clamped down on ragging and students who indulge in it are told to drop a
> year and come back next year to continue the curriculum. Freshers are now
> given right of way and seniors usually keep a safe distance from them for
> fear of being reprimanded. Now it’s the freshers who are rude with the
> seniors! And this was conveyed to me by a student at IIT Powai. Sadly, in
> all this what is lost is the spirit of camaraderie and friendship. But I
> guess, to avoid incidents like the one that happened with Aman Kachroo and,
> just yesterday, with the girl in Andhra Pradesh who tried to commit suicide
> because she couldn’t take the ragging, these steps are necessary.
>
> So maybe it's time to see beyond pink chaddis and pub going loose women,
> and
> take up the fight for Aman Kachroo’s family and also ensure that no kids,
> whether yours or mine, lose their lives?
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