A “chirping bird” who ran like a “deer” which made her the darling of the community ,is how

her mother
describes her.

What are we becoming as humans?

The faith in humanity is all but lost. Have we lost the basic sense of humanity in the name of religion?

“Sometimes I wonder, will God ever forgive us for what we’ve done to each other? Then I look around
and realize …..God left this place a long time ago—Blood Diamond”

The gory details of the loss of a daughter of India shook me to the core. An eight-year-old girl going
through such unfathomable violence is unpardonable. Asifa Bano was just another kid in the pink of her
innocent life. Why was she subjected to such violence? Just to weed out a community from the area. In a
country as secular as it claims to be, such incidents prove that such differences still exist. The
mastermind behind this crime is supposedly the caretaker in the abode of God. This brings out the evil
and raw state of human society that we live in. An eight-year-old daughter who went to graze horses,
raped in the place of god by the caretaker, his friend, his nephew. The cousin of the juvenile was invited
from Meerut to satisfy his “Lust”. The baby girl was raped continuously over three days by continuously
drugging and starving her. Even when planning to end the girl’s life Khajuria (a police personnel) wanted
to rape her for one last time. She was mutilated to the extent that her uterus was damaged. The apathy
doesn’t end there as the kid was strangled with bare hands and then with her dupatta and then hit on
head with stone to ensure that she was dead.

Reading about the incident has outraged the entire nation and really raised questions about the mindset
of humans. The most appalling thing is this has come to light so late in April when the violence occurred
in January.

The most outrageous thing was when Hindutva groups protested the arrest of alleged rapists. The right-
wing Hindu Ekta Manch along with BJP’s state secretary were part of the protest demanding release of
the rapists. Do remember BJP is a part of ruling coalition in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Leave out all
these facts and details aside, just think of what that eight-year-old girl must’ve gone through. She had
lived through all those drugging, raping and what not the perpetrators inflicted.We are not even able to
read through without having a visceral reaction to it. Think about the state of mind of the little girl.
Imagine the psychological effect it would’ve had on her. Imagine the condition of the parents while
burying their child. The worst punishment a parent can go through is the funeral of their own child. The
father and mother were not even able to accept the fact and were even terrified to name the accused
fearing eviction from the society.
Asifa’s ghastly death has highlighted the diminishing conscience and humanitarian quotient of public. We
must accept the fact that we as an individual are equally responsible for creating such an ecosystem
where in rapes are becoming a daily habit. We don’t react to every case the same way. Its shameful that
we even need a victim to raise voice against such issues. Have we become so small minded that to satisfy
lust we would rape our own sister, friends and mothers?

Arun Jaitley terming loss of millions by tourism due to agitations for Asifa is the just the peak of it. Is this
really how we want India to be known as? The country of rapists? If we really can’t stand up for Asifa
irrespective of caste creed religion and nationality, we don’t deserve to even exist. Just as I’m finishing
up this article another horrific news of an 11-year-old girl from Surat being raped trickles down to me.
We have betrayed her over and over, it’s time we stood up to this -For your mother, daughter, best friend
and girlfriend. Let’s keep them safe.

-T Surya Kandhaswamy

"The Princess of Southern Hill Stations"

Nestled among the Palani Hills, Kodaikanal, is rightly named as the "Princess of Southern Hill Station".It
provides what any other hill station would provide, a lake with boating, waterfalls, viewpoints, gardens,
parks and of course a temple.For your average Joe-traveler, it has more than enough to offer, ranging
from small home-stays to star hotels where you can sit and while away your time by the fireplace with a
cuppa coffee and that novel which you've been meaning to read for a long time now.Common
perceptions of purposes to visit Kodaikanal includes enjoying the climate, lazing around with your better
half and going on walks late into the morning while dew still hangs onto leaves.But for the people who
want to push themselves to their physical limits and have a soft spot for wilderness, listen carefully.

Not long back in 2008, Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park came into existence.According to
locals with the sanctuary came the government officials.They migrated many a lot of leopards into the
sanctuary according to say so. This forced large herds of bison to wander into places not meant for
them.Thus locals stopped their activities and tourism after 4:30 pm strictly.

On one occasion I got stuck between two forest check posts.The sun had just set behind the Palani Hills
at 5.15 pm and the mist was starting to settle down, and that's when the Great Indian Bison chose to
show itself. You've to remember that, bison which seems harmless in zoos and other controlled
environments are supposed to be majestic and fearless in their habitat.This was my first chance to
experience the imposing Wild Bison at close quarters.The shimmering coat of thick fur, rippling muscles,
menacing horns and those baleful eyes are a sight to behold.The herd I met was travelling with a calf and
locals warned me to maintain a steady gap with them while photographing, as an angry mother bison is
as good as The Lord Shiva himself. We gave the herd a wide berth and keenly watched the herd go about
it business serenely.These herds practically need to maintain a wide berth from humans on one side,
carnivores on the second side and the fatal Electric fences.

It made me wonder if we humans have given a taste of our human life to our five sensed counterparts by
bringing about the restriction to every part of its life.Does the concept of human-animal conflict really
raise eyebrows at the higher level? Is the tribe's cry while facing the wrath of these animals because of
the triangulation it had to face, audible to the appropriate people?

-T Surya Kandhaswamy