Taslima Nasrin's Blog, page 32

Obama has authorized the use of military force to punish Syria for a chemical weapons attack that killed more than a thousand people. Protracted and expensive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have left Americans reluctant to get involved in Middle Eastern conflicts. A poll showed that 80% Americans do not want the US to intervene in Syria. But Obama, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, wants war. He doesn’t mind if hundreds of thousands of people get killed because of his WMD, weapons of mass destruction.

Study says: Men secretly want their wives or girlfriends to be less successful than them because it boosts their self-esteem!

Although they may pretend to celebrate their partners’ achievements, men prefer to see their wives and girlfriends take a nose dive at work and in their private life.

Unlike women, whose self-esteem is unaffected by their husbands’ and boyfriends’ successes and failures, men’s sense of self-worth takes a bruising when their partner excels in social or intellectual situations.

This is especially true when women shine at a task or in a situation where their husband or boyfriend has previously failed, researchers said.

But even in situations where the two are not competing with one another, men’s self-esteem still plunges when their partners do well at something because they feel it reflects badly on them.

So true! I know this too well. All my husbands and boyfriends were so jealous whenever I got success. They tried their best to suppress me. I had to leave them because they started abusing me out of jealousy. They were successful in their fields, but my success made them furious.

Men felt worse about themselves after recalling their partner’s achievements than their failures, and their self-esteem was most damaged if their partner had succeeded in a situation where they had not.

Poor men and their poor self-esteem! I feel sorry for them!

India is celebrating the birth anniversary of Krishna, the god.

Monotheistic religions dominate the world. The only influential polytheistic religion in the world today is Hinduism. Krishna is a mythical Hindu God. The holy book of Hinduism is Bhagavad Gita which is all about the conversation between the warrior Arjuna and the God Krishna. The life of Krishna is a wonderful fairy tale. It has lots of miracles, a river saved Krishna’s father from sinking and a snake protected Krishna from rains, a voice from the sky told the fate of the king of Krishna’s village. A fetus from Krishna’s mother’s womb transferred to his step mother’s womb. Krishna opened his mouth, and a whole universe was seen in his mouth. Krishna lifted up a mountain on his small finger to save the villagers from torrential rains, Krishna killed many demons and he made Draupadi’s clothes endless when she asked for his help from being unclothed by some goons.

All Gods are fictitious. But millions of people seriously believe that holy books of Gods are facts, not fictions. A place in India has been kept which was believed as the birthplace of Krishna, the God. Hindus go to that holy place everyday to show their love and respect for Krishna. Beliefs are contagious. Beliefs are dangerous too.

Thousands of years ago there was probably a man called Krishna who had good qualities, and people in Mathura called him God, and then a God-story was made.

India is a country of religion and spirituality. It has a law against blasphemy.

Section 295A, Indian Penal Code: Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.— Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise], insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

The Indian Penal Code embodied some relics of English medieval ecclesiastical law.

It is high time India changes its penal code as it does not have many safeguards to freedom of speech and expression.

Today The Times Of India, the most prestigious, popular, and the most circulated newspaper in India published my tweet about blasphemy : Everybody has the right to blaspheme.

I believe the editors of The Times of India believe that everybody has the right to blaspheme. I believe they will do everything possible to make India abolish the law against blasphemy. If India abolished it, Bangladesh and Pakistan would be inspired to abolish their anti-blasphemy laws. The subcontinent would be a sane place.

Five men brutally gangraped a photojournalist in Mumbai.

After nationwide protests against Delhi gang rape, many children, girls and women were brutally raped and murdered. Now a photojournalist has been gang raped in the middle of Mumbai, an important city in India.

Women get raped because women are treated as pieces of shit in misogynistic society.

Most people are angry with rapists, they do not like to call them ‘men’, they think rapists are mentally ill. They want rapists to be hanged to death or to be castrated.

But the truth is, rapists are men and they are not mentally ill. And no punishment for rapists is a deterrent. And however much you try to make rape disappear, rape and other violence against women will never go away until patriarchy and misogyny go away.

God-men system should be abolished. Most God-men exploit people. Many God-men rape. They also rape minor girls. Most rapes are not reported.

Devadasi system has been abolished. God-men system can be abolished.

God-men system should be abolished. Most God-men exploit people. Many God-men rape. They also rape minor girls. Most rapes are not reported.

Devadasi system has been abolished. God-men system can be abolished.

God men system should be abolished. Most God men exploit people. Many God men rape. They also rape minor girls. Most rapes are not reported.

Devadasi system has been abolished. God men system can be abolished.

A cleric cut his wife into pieces for refusing to wear a veil and sending their children to school.

The woman ‘challenged god’s orders’, because she didn’t want to become a walking coffin or a garbage bag. So, she has to die.

Anti-Superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar is shot dead in superstitious India. He was killed because he committed a crime, his crime was he fought against superstitions. he wanted to eradicate deep rooted superstition in India.

Narendra Dabholkar, leading anti-superstition campaigner, social worker and journalist, was gunned down in Pune by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants, police said.

The attack took place around 7.30 a.m. near Omkareshwar Temple, when Dabholkar, in his 60s, was on his morning walk.The two gunmen fired indiscriminately at Dabholkar and sped away, leaving him in a pool of blood.The victim was rushed by other co-walkers to Sassoon Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Dabholkar, a doctor, was at the forefront of a campaign to persuade the Maharashtra Government to pass an anti-superstition and black magic bill called the anti-JaduTona bill. Right wing Hindu groups, including certain sections of the Warkari Sect and political parties had been opposing to the bill.

A rationalist known for his bold views and sustained campaign against superstitions for over three decades, Dabholkar had rubbed many people the wrong way.In his 60s, he was largely instrumental in pushing the state government to frame an anti-superstition law which is in the final stages of legislative approval.

In 1989, he founded the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS)– the Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith –, along with a few like-minded people and raised cudgels against all types of superstitions, irrational practices, blind faith and beliefs, confronting dubious tantriks and babas who preyed on the gullible masses.

He also led agitations against superstitions, animal sacrifices and even water pollution, wrote columns and articles on his favourite topics and was editor of a couple of journals dedicated to the cause.

A look at the website antisuperstition.org showed how passionate he was about the cause and showcased the depth of his research about the topic. The site explains many superstitions like ghosts, black magic, witchcraft and provides scientific arguments against them.It also lists down many activities that one can undertake to dispel such superstitions and support the cause.

Dabholkar, known for his campaigns to promote progressive and scientific thought, had for several years been lobbying for Maharashtra state’s parliament to pass legislation banning superstition and black magic.

Two years ago, in an interview with AFP, he rejected critics’ charges that the bill was anti-religion.

“In the whole of the bill, there’s not a single word about God or religion. Nothing like that. The Indian constitution allows freedom of worship and nobody can take that away,” he said.

“This is about fraudulent and exploitative practices,” he said.

Over the years, Dabholkar had also challenged some of India’s “godmen,” self-styled Hindu ascetics who have huge followings, over their claims of “miracles” performed. He has also campaigned against animal sacrifices sometimes used during religious rituals.

Dabholkar, who Indian media said was aged 71, was editor of a magazine called “Sadhana” or spiritual practice, devoted to the propagation of progressive thought.

Dabholkar’s killing has been widely condemned by people from all sections of society and political parties alike. But if our netas truly want to honour his life, they should give the Anti-Superstition bill, for which he fought so fervently, a serious thought , rather than engaging in mere lip service.

What a loss!

Let’s all shed tears for this loss. Let’s salute the brave Narendra Dabholkar for his great struggle. Let’s bow to him.

Someone told me today, ‘you should be careful’.

He asks me to be careful because I am doing the same work Narendra Dabholkar was doing. I am fighting against religion and superstitions and trying to encourage people to have scientific outlook.

Probably I will be killed one day exactly the way he was killed today. He got four bullets. I will get ten bullets. Two bullets for fighting religion, two bullets for fighting superstitions, six bullets for fighting misogyny.

No, I am not worried for me. I am sad today for losing a great man. India needs people like Narendra Dabholkar more than India needs anything.