GvSparx

How the system fails every 15-year-old girl of the country

noreply@blogger.com (Gaurav Arora) — Sun, 6 Sep 2020 16:00:00 +0530

15-year-old Kusum was returning home after taking tuition when she was attacked by snatchers on a bike. A man tried to snatch her mobile in the middle of the road on Sunday afternoon. Kusum fought back and not only wrested her mobile but also nabbed him with the help of passers-by. She is currently recuperating after wrist surgery. She wants to be a policewoman. Her father who is a daily wager in an iron gave her his mobile so that she could attend online classes. Of late she has also been learning Taekwondo on it. Deputy Commissioner announced an award of Rs 51,000. Jalandhar police have also recommended her name for the national bravery award.

Sounds like a happy story, right?

A crime happened there, which probably could have been avoided. If you read the new clip, there is not even an iota of concern forget about accountability. The obvious reaction to that is police can't be there in every nook and corner of the country. It is not about the police. It is about processes!

The police said that the man she fought off was a hardened criminal who was facing seven cases but was out on bail due to pandemic. So pandemic has become a legit reason for hardened criminals to be out. Indeed. According to a CHRI analysis of NCRB prison data, India’s overall jail occupancy rate is 118.5%. In 8 states & UTs, this figure is over 150%. The problem existed before coronavirus. The process should ensure that prisons maintain a limit on occupancy. The Govt should focus on creating prison space as much as they do on central vista because believe it or not, some of them are going to end up in one soon.

Due to Covid-19, the Supreme Court had directed states to release prisoners, facing up to seven years of jail terms on parole. Uttar Pradesh government had released nearly 18,000 prisoners on parole by June 25 (IE). In April, the Tihar jail authorities released around 2,800 prisoners in Delhi(HT). How many times Police Personnels would have risked their lives! What does this do to their morale and belief in the system?

At the end of 2019, there were 4,78,600 prisoners in 1,350 prisons, of which 3,30,487 — or 69%— were under-trial prisoners (Print). So, 3 lac people are in prison where we don't know if they committed the crime. But it is logical because well, they might have. 3.7 million cases are pending in courts for over 10 years (HT). How much time one ends up spending in prison without committing a crime depends on the process. What does a month in jail do to the morale and belief in the system for someone who didn't commit a crime?

MHA has expressed concern over crimes committed by prisoners on parole and those released prematurely and advised states, "release on parole is not an absolute right and is a concession". It further added that a balance is essential between the rights of inmates and protecting society from further harm".

Guidelines only work when adequate resources and processes are in place, otherwise-

Sources:

15-year-old who fought off snatchers

Prisoners freed to decongest Tihar

Nearly 18000 prisoners released on parole amid a pandemic

Mumbai central jail releasing prisoners

Delhi has 75% more prisoners than the capacity

Decongesting prisons

Why did I do MA Clinical Psychology after B.Tech.?

noreply@blogger.com (Gaurav Arora) — Sat, 7 Mar 2020 19:50:00 +0530

Gaurav Arora at Manekshaw Center

I completed my MA Clinical Psychology. It is a picture of my convocation. Whenever I used to tell people about pursuing it, I got a response that followed a standard template - "Wow" followed by "but why?".

I would then find myself scrambling for an answer that sounded acceptable -
- It would help me become a better leader in my career
- It would help me write better poems
- I want to pursue academic research in the future

Sometimes, I would make a joke.
- I want to read the minds of hot ladies who find me cute.
- When the economy goes into recession and you go to depression, I will come to rescue ...and charge you a hefty fee.
- I have an engineering degree to pay bills. So, I want a degree that doesn't pay bills. Variety!

(I said make a joke, not necessarily a funny one.)

None of those is a real answer. They are either untrue or at best just manifestations of a bigger cause which I find difficult to explain to people. The real cause lies in powerful words like kindness, empathy, understanding, empowering, helping, treating, solving which we dismiss as emotional talk.

(And reading minds of hot ladies who find me cute)

I have seen companies treat employees like vending machines where you put in money to get a product. I have come to know about people who committed suicide in the same society I lived in. I have seen people live-in toxic relationships, families, jobs, schools, colleges. Won't deny, sometimes that person has been me. I learned through the course that most people don't realize that they are in a ditch. We believe the life we live is the reality of the entire world. We feel that's how the world operates. Insight doesn't come naturally. We need someone else to give us a bird's eye view of our lives. I am not saying you are a damsel in distress and only a Superman can save you. But some point in our lives we all are. Taking help doesn't hurt. When the Superman is succumbing to Kryptonite, you could be the Wonder Woman that saves him.

Amazon CEO Jezz Bezos could not sustain his marriage. Elon Musk once said he would "rather stick a fork in my hand than write about my personal life". We all are in our own respective ditches. The only way we all can come out is when we simply help each other.

I again made it sound like a profit-loss situation to make it more appealing. The real reason is much simpler.

It is good to be nice to each other.

(It is even better to be informed and educated about how to be nice.)

Are women being leveraged? | Sabrimala Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Gaurav Arora) — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 13:10:00 +0530

There is a thick line between empowering one and leveraging one which the person being leveraged rarely sees.

Sabrimala is a classic case of leveraging women. Long story short, Sabarimala is the temple of deity Ayappa who was celibate and hence, women(aged 10-50) are not allowed to enter the Sabarimala.

- The purpose of going to a temple is seeking blessings from the deity. This deity does not want to see women. Why would a woman go there then?

- Because it is the oppression of women, right?
So now, oppression is defined as not being allowed to enter 1 out of 1092839328 temples in the country. Like really?

- Kerala women show the highest literacy rate in the country, dominate healthcare industry, do both blue collar and white collar jobs, and even run shops which the liberated states of the country only dream of.

- All the three parties are leveraging the situation identifying their target segment and sponsoring their protests. You cannot divide Kerala based on Hindu-Muslim and castes because they are not illiterates and dumb like North Indian states.

- Media and the center leverage it by airing this 24x7 because it helps avoid debates on jobs, petrol, Sensex, and rupee-dollar tussle.

- The feminist brigade is leveraging this in the name of equal rights while asking for separate queues for women. They are going to discuss how Kerala women are oppressed while in their own states and countries women might only be in white collar jobs. Fun fact, it is the case of the deity, "a man" not giving "consent". But by their logic, consent is given to a man, not sought.