curent news july 24, 2008

i hate to say it, but i've been rather out of the loop with world news lately. but last week i somehow found myself indirectly entangled in local news here in chandigarh...
i spent the other night at my friend megha's house (oh, to be spoiled by a home!), and in the am i took a peek at the paper.
last wednesday, we were supposed to go to ramdarbar to meet with more teachers for the survey. but my boss called us last minute, literally minutes before i was going to leave the house, and told us to meet her in a different sector for a presentation. my co-worker and i were rather surprised to show up, and to find ourselves in the midst of a political rally.

my boss recently joined the BJP party, the opposite party to the dominant one, the Congress. BJP is a religious conservative political organisation and sees itself as rising to the defense of Indian culture, and Indian religious systems which include Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. Most of my friends and their families belong to the Congress, so all i know about the BJP is more negative than positive. But it does sound like the BJP is hoping to rise up in the near future, and gain control of the Indian government in the next round of elections. (i'm cautious to make comments about the politics of a country I barely know...but this seems like a reasonable statement to make about any political party anywhere) the photo above shows the end of the rally's march, as the police had blocked off the street with that bus. it was pretty amusing to see so many photojournalists perched on top, trying to get the best shot.

anyways, i was frustrated by the fact that our work day had been interrupted due to my boss' personal political leanings. it would have been one thing if she informed me about it, and offered it as a cultural experience (later, that's how she justified it--that it was for me to "see an indian rally")--i'm sure i would have been more than eager to go. but i felt misled and used, for her to utilize her leverage as a leader in an organization to increase attendance numbers for her rally. in general, i had qualms about marching with a group when i knew nothing about what it stood for and what they were fighting. the brief explanation i got from my boss was biased, to say the least, and summarized as "the current government is corrupt." so informative.
it was peaceable, though they did burn an effigy of the prime minister in protest of how the Congress has been running, the rise in inflation, money laundering, and vote scams. (you can clearly see my boss in this photo in the paper)

lower on the same page, there was an announcement about the opening day of our AGP camp! the mayor rolled up in his jeep at the ceremony and stayed for a bit. i think it's funny how casual these events are, but made to be such a big deal. as in, he and the chairwoman of the social welfare board both showed up late, but everyone interrupted the speakers mid-sentence at that moment to welcome the officials. they were then offered coke and strings of marigolds (i think...orange?) for respect...even though they had casually sauntered in 30, 45 minutes late. which is totally acceptable here.

and lastly, this article was front and center, as you can see, on the first page. a tragic story, but not uncommon. a father and brother of a 17 year old murdered their daughter and sister for being pregnant, after she refused to name the father of the baby (the family planned to marry them). it's heartbreaking and unbelievable that a family member could do this--they first hit her with a rock before strangling her with her dupatta, the scarf that women wear with their suits. they then tried to throw acid on her face to conceal the crime and tried to give the impression of rape by untying her pants. the police filed it as an "honor killing."

the father gave the statement, "Why should I repent? I killed her to save my family's honor. I deliberately drank heavily on the night of the incident to ensure that I did not hesitate while committing the murder."

again, think about the us--the extreme, extreme differences. think about juno, how popular and socially accepted that movie was, showcasing a young, sassy teenage girl making her way through her out-of-wedlock pregnancy with the love and guidance of her parents and friends. it's an entirely different world here, where the roles and expectations of girls still hold to strict and fast rules. where one mistake could not only ruin your life, but end it.