India is a democratic nation, with every individual given the right to stand for his/her rights. But, it rather comes as a shock to us when we see the growing injustice, communalism, corruption and imbalance in the society. After 67 years of independence, today India still stands far behind in terms of Human Rights. With Life, may it be a small fetus, a child, a woman, man, underprivileged or old parents, given very less importance, you will see many suffering a miserable life, only because they have no bone, no voice to fight for their Human Rights. Today, while the world honors India’s Kailash Satyarthi with Nobel Peace Prize along with Malala Yousafzai, the Taliban attack survivor, let’s actually look deep into our hearts, our system, our society around us to check if India is really qualified to celebrate the Human Rights Day.

Fetus Sex Discrimination

We worship Goddesses Durga, Kali, Ambe, Saraswati and mostly Lakshmi every single day. But what happens to people when they give birth to a baby girl? Why the discrimination between a boy and a girl? The numbers may have improved in the past few years, but fetus sex discrimination still remains a very serious matter in our country.

Child Labor

Let’s talk about Kailash Satyarthi, and his work for child labor. He started his fight against child Labor when he was just 26. Today, when he is 60, he receives a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. But, overall the matter hasn’t been eradicated from the country completely. You still see children working in tea stalls, construction sites, homes and also a few small factories. In fact, I see people asking for young girls as maids whom they can train well and keep them in their huge 4 BHK houses as servants in metropolitan cities as well. Really??? In such a case, all I can think is how much did Kailash Satyarthi really make a difference? In reality, we need 100’s of Kailash Satyarthi to eradicate child labor from the country.

Human Trafficking

Who said only girls and women are abducted for sex? Today, little boys and even young men are not safe in the country. You never know when you may get abducted and fall prey to a human trafficking racket. The only way you can save yourself and the life of at least hundreds if not millions, is by raising your voice against any injustice or crime you may witness.

Human Safety

Murders, rapes, abductions, domestic violence and more… just name it and you will see the figures increasing every minute in our country. May it be a girl, boy, man, woman or even older people, safety is just a word of no meaning in India today. How can you make a difference? It was just the other day when 2 girls beat up two boys for eve-teasing and harassing them in a crowded bus. There were many passengers around, but none had the balls to stand and support the girls. Is this what we call safety? Is this the same country where girls tie rakhi to their brothers, who in return pledge to protect their sisters all their life?

Its time we stop blaming the corrupt officers and take action against them. If we don’t stand today we have no right to fight for our rights ever.

Physical And Mental Disability

When we talk about the rights of people, do we include the rights for mentally or physically disabled people? In most cases no. They are considered special and need to be treated differently. Wrong! What we need to remember here is that they are humans as well, and they have just the same rights as us. So, the day we stop discriminating people for the disabilities, it is only then that India will in real sense be a Strong Democratic Nation and not a disabled nation.

These may be just a few basic issues that we face every day. The real list is long… really long and may take an entire day to talk about, especially with topics like right to education, right to freedom, right to speak and more. So, on this Human Rights Day, how many of us actually think we can make a difference in the society by fighting for our basic human rights? Do you see a Kailash Satyarthi in you today, with the passion to fight for our Rights? If Yes, then…and only then India has the right to celebrate the Human Rights Day.

Image Courtesy: unasd.org