A salute to the real bravehearts!

Not sure how to start .. but seems like blogging it down might help.
Saw Manjunath Movie yesterday .. we have been seeing similar stories in contemporary cinema also .. (satyagraha e.t.c ) but the fact that this one was based on a true story hits your more!
Shanmughan Manjunath really gave his life for what he believed caused an unspeakable sadness in my heart. 
And then i could not stop reading .. on all the others .. who have faced the same fate because of the same root cause "courage to speak up and fight corruption hoping it will make a difference"
Its really heart wrenching to read their stories ...
its heart wrenching to read that people are being killed/exploited for religion , out of poverty, lack of food and shelter, education , or out of hatred and politics (ghaza , ukraine, roits e.t.c.)
but it hits you to all new level when you find out people are being killed .. for trying to save the innocent lives ..

Shanmughan Manjunath   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanmughan_Manjunath 
Satyendra Dubey   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyendra_Dubey 
Narendra Kumar  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narendra_Kumar
SP Mahantesh  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Whistleblower-SP-Mahantesh-was-attacked-thrice-before/articleshow/13326694.cms
Manorama Thangjam http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/india0908/3.htm
Soni Suri http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soni_Sori

Their stories have one thing in common :- Smart folks, humble beginnings and courageous achievers who can not look away .. they need to change things and fight corruption .. for the sake of others ( the common man of India) and Injustice to their great sacrifice. There are 2 types of people and i feel it has something to do with upbringing ..One who can lie in your face, who can hide and keep things in their heart and keep looking out for their respective interests. and the second types are who can not lie, can not hide , can not stop themselves from speaking out honestly even if their own interests are compromised. .Those who choose to live with dignity since ultimately the only one you are answerable to is yourself ( I dislike when people say in the name of god .. fear of god .. why don't you fear yourself ?) .

These are real Heros who need to be worshiped and protected and copied..but instead folks worship protect and follow celebrities or temple idols. I am sure there are many more who are not listed on internet .. not covered by media .. who have been troubled by the power of corrupt folks for standing up against them ..

With BJP  I have no hope of any of this changing .. i pray the act passed soon .. before more such cases happen ..  Whistleblower_protection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower_protection_in_India
but then will the act passing really make any difference ?

the letter written by Satyandre dubey was  clearly confidential and his identity was exposed intentionally. am sure the act itself will have many loopholes if it gets passed .. but can we even trust the basic implementation of the act once it passes ?

Why is the state of governance in India like this ? I have to admit I had high hopes from AAP .. I was hoping for once .. we might have some light that in a decade or 2 .. these things will not be acceptable .. these cases ( and all the rape and molestation cases along with corruption cases)  will cease to exist because of better governance and better "acceptable standards" . AAP was raising the bar , selecting candidates similar to these folks ..who have struggled and felt the pain and wanted to bring a change ( medha patkar,Rachna Dheengra, Dr. Dhanada Kanta Mishra  to name a few there were many more).
I think that would be the firs step ..to get these people in power and then next step would be to let them do their work and empower and protect them.

But will things really change ? the hope I had was lost .. my hopes, donations, dreams are went in vein.
I wish I am wrong and the so called NAMO juggernaut proves me wrong .. but will it really ? so far i don't see anything supporting that .. rather  what i see reinforces that things will continue or rather get worse .I fear corruption in the name of "development" will breed fatter and stronger.. There will be many more golden triangle projects ..marginalizing poor and there will be more mafias (oil, cement e.t.c) ready to breed and feed greedily into these projects .. and in the end it will all end like the commenwealthgames fiasco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over_the_2010_Commonwealth_Games 

200 crores for statues in budget  and less for women security .. indicates the direction! :(  :( :(


http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/budget-2014-200-cr-for-pm-modi-s-sardar-patel-statue-vs-150-cr-for-women-s-safety-556156

so am back to the the sad state of heart ..that fears that nothing might change no matter how many people sacrifice  :-



was this how people felt in british raj? was this helplessness and anger that charismatic leaders were able to tap in during the freedom movement ? or was it just that time was up for the queen to give up? so when the time comes ..reasons emerge .and causes align  and things change?


if you like the post .. do watch :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nPY6O8XDv8

if its any consolation something good came out of it ( though totally not at par on what he deserved)
http://www.manjunathshanmugamtrust.org/

Sexual Harassment at workplace(circus), Riddance from hell 2001

Sexual Harassment at workplace, Riddance from hell 2001
10. 19 y.o. Chandrika and 16 y.o. Shareena: Both these teenager resided in Kerala. Due to extreme poverty, their parents handed them over to a local circus owner. During the day, these girls used to perform astonishing maneuvers, only to fall victims to the sexual violence at the hands of other circus performers. These girls' family members were so consumed in their economic struggle, that they completely neglected them. The circus owner used to send a fixed amount to their families, but never
gave the money to these girls, out of fear that they may leave the circus and return to their village. The stories of atrocities they suffered at such a young age would shake one's faith in humanity.
One day when the circus was performing at a small village in Bhilwara, both these girls, hungry and thirsty, were asking for food from neighbors, and told their story to those women. So some of the villagers took this matter to Tara Ahluwalia of BMCS. The circus owner already knew of the matter when we reached the village, and had already packed his stuff to leave from there. We were shocked to know that, the villagers knew about this for a week and had already reported the matter to police. Police did not bother to talk to these girls, as their hands were tied by bribe given to them by the owner. Villagers had gathered to stop the truck from leaving, when we reached there. With my efforts, police registered the FIR and those girls openly said that they do not want to work in the circus, and want to go back to their parents. Police handed them over to Tara Ahluwalia. It was an independence day for those girls. They stayed at my place for almost a month. Neither they remembered their home address nor the faces of their parents. It was challenging for us to find their address. Finally after finding the address, our trusted associates from Bhilwara handed them over to their parents. It was an emotional moment when they left my place to go back home, but were happy to finally meet their families.