Is the presence of the United States in the Middle East justified?

An American drone struck North Waziristan located on the Pak-Afghan border at dawn break. Somewhere in the killing fields of the Levant, an Iraqi suicide bomber blew himself up, killing fourteen. And that too before breakfast. Is it a bloodbath today? No, just another Sunday morning.

That is exactly how things are at this moment. These occurrences have become so common that we regard such incidents with a very vocal expression that is a cacophonic medley of abhorrence, disdain and anger. But then let us examine such incidences a bit more closely. Let us ask ourselves a question that is long overdue. Where did it all begin?

Now the Middle East has always been a hotbed of political turbulence. Trying to oversimplify this enormous labyrinth of political ideologies would be tantamount to insulting the intelligence of countless men who have gone before me. Men, whose eminence, charisma and power I cannot even hope to match in this life or the next. All I can do is offer my humble, and very normative (due to the nature of this piece) opinion on this issue.

I see this conflict as a sea which is calm with the pallor of death. And along sails this huge oil tanker, causing ripples in the water. Because this is one word that it all comes down to -oil. The oil must come through, and lives must be traded for it. The only thing I blame Europe for as far as this aspect of the war is concerned is,let’s see, developing the internal combustion engine in the first place. 

Now, I do recognize that all the belligerents in the present war are to blame, and some of the powers opposed to the United States even more so. But as a liberal, I feel that the NATO, as a responsible power has a responsibility to quit acting with such petulant childish anger at every small occurrence in the world. The world has already seen the inefficacy of such devices as sanctions that NATO employs. We have seen how the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions plan against Israel, however uncalled for, backfired. No amount of sanctions could deter Russia from invading Ukraine or Crimea. On the other side of the fence, the American war efforts in Vietnam and Afghanistan proved to be debacles that that cannot be repaired ever even by a generous application of the political antihistamine that is apologetics.

It is time for NATO to come out of its false supremacist ideologue that the world is Eurocentric, and that it must be involved in every little incident that goes on round the globe. They have to come to terms with the fact that they cannot do much if North Korea or Iran develops nuclear weapons. Or the Taliban starts massacring innocents in Afghanistan. They must allow ‘nature’, for lack of a better word, to take its course and carry out timely purges against such elements in the form of civil war.

Events in the contemporary world have conclusively proved that any interference may tip the balance of a war in the short run. But if you stay involved in the long run, or 'camp', such wars end up to be much more disastrous than they would have otherwise been. I can give you detailed analyses of such wars, but as I mentioned, this piece is intended to be normative in nature, and more importantly, short.

The bottom line is that the NATO must now realize that every country must go through certain stages of political significance, before it blossoms into a peace-loving and responsible world power. Sometimes this is attained in a matter of years, while sometimes it takes decades, even centuries to come about. Interference if it is at all required, must, therefore be limited to a point till which it is conducive to the political maturing of the country AS WELL AS popular aspiration. It must evaluate the opportunity cost of military expenditure over economic growth at every stage of the war, and should care more about the popular aspirations of the countries they have a presence in.

Vibhor Kashmira
Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Being Her

In most men, here I don’t quantify how big, but there lies a chauvinist, which dictates his conscience how he is better of the two genders. It’s not a general implication that I am placing most men in this category but just an instinct I am drawing attention to.

It’s a male dominated society whose perceptions and strength have forced a view of womanhood to be nothing, but a curse. So many years of evolution, so many years of independence but this country still possess an age old “suppress women” psyche. Here when she puts a question mark on her security, they put an exclamation mark or rather a full stop on her liberty. On her liberty to clothe herself, to move around, I am surprised they let her breathe without restriction.

It is the woman who gives birth. She is the one responsible for the continuation of the species. Without her, the newborn cannot hope to survive. How easily is this fact overlooked nowadays? What she is capable of feeling, both emotionally and physically, can’t be understood by men. She is made strong enough to endure the most painful task of giving birth.

But she is still quoted as the weaker of the two genders, why? Because she sheds tears? Or basically, because she is in a position to feel something so profound that Mr. I-Never-Cry can’t?

In India, the glorifying personification of womanhood, the Goddesses, are worshipped but the significance in existence of women, demeaned. Why the double standards? The partiality done between a baby in pink and the one in blue is known to us all. Determination of the gender of the foetus is a crime here while in western world it’s a ritual to know. Throughout history, women have fought for their rights in different societies of the world. But in India we are still fighting.

Since ages fairy tales have been passed down which portray beauty of womanhood. It has always been our culture, human culture, to respect women. It’s just been forgotten today, deliberately or inadvertently is not an issue, that it needs to be imbibed into everyone’s heart and soul is.

Mihika Naik
Y14 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

बेबसी

दिल को खलता है ये शुष्क-कोरा कागज,

पर इसे अल्फाज़ो में भिगौना अच्छा नहीं लगता | 

हर लम्हे को फुरसत से जीना चाहता हुँ | 

पर इस जहाँ में इक पल बिताना अब अच्छा नहीं लगता | 

लफ्ज़, लबों से बाहर निकलने की मशक्कत करते है,

पर उन्हें आवाज़ में पिरौना अब अच्छा नहीं लगता | 

मय से इक रूहानी सुकूं मिलता है,

पर न जाने क्यों मैख़ाने में जाना अब अच्छा नहीं लगता | 

उसे अपलक निहारने की अज़ीब सी दिल्लगी रहती है,

पर उन तंग गलियों में जाना अब अच्छा नहीं लगता | 

उनके खयालो में खोया रहना चाहता हुँ,

पर यूं बेवजह रात-रात भर रोना अब अच्छा नहीं लगता | 

Aniruddh Nandwana
Y13 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

The Curious Case Of Human Curiosity

Curiosity has haunted mankind since time immemorial and still continues to. In fact, human civilisation is a living example of this. If our ancestors were not curious about the bounties of nature we now know how to exploit so well, we would not be living a life like we do. It doesn’t just include technological advancements but also includes metamorphosis in way of life, social and behavioural traits. And this transformation hasn’t ceased yet. Man is still exploring the nature, newspapers full of stories of inventions taking place in some or the other part of the world is a proof of this. This quest to know more encompasses all domains, be it food, technology, beauty, health, conservation of resources and a host of other disciplines. The likes of Einstein, Aryabhatta, and Darwin threw light on this curious nature of humans. Curiosity is ageless. It never diminishes, there is always something that fascinates you, makes you wonder, makes you ponder over and stays till the last breath. I’m no exception this.

I have this weird curiosity about how the world looks from someone else’s eyes. Of course, it is a well-known fact that every individual has a perception of their own, which is governed by their society, culture, upbringing, circumstances, life experiences among a plethora of other factors, and this perception decides to some extent our future and the choices we make in life. But let’s scrutinize it at physiological level about how the world seems from someone else’s eyes, literally. It’s inexplicable but it’s something like this: if ten people were made to sit in a room and shown a bunch of grapes, they would all report green colour. Even though their interpreted colours can be different but still everyone reports ‘green’ colour because they have learnt to call their interpreted colours ‘green’. This can be explained by the fact that since everyone is unique and wired uniquely, the interplay between eyes and brain that enables vision might be a unique characteristic of an individual too, just like fingerprints are.

But just as intriguing as this idea is, it’s difficult to validate it. As practically it is not possible to swap our eyes with someone else’s. Even if it were possible we wouldn’t get a true picture because it’s not just the eyes but also how the brain interprets what our eyes see, that constitutes vision. And obviously if we swapped our brains with someone else our existence itself becomes an ambiguity!

I have reflected upon this for a very long time now and I have failed to find a resolve, even if I did, it’s not practically possible to exercise it.

Thus my curiosity remains un-satiated and unsettled like many others. 

Shreya Agrawal

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

जलवायु परिवर्तन

जलवायु मे हो रहा परिवर्तन

क्या मनुष्यों को प्रकृति के सामने करना पड़ेगा आत्मसमर्पण

दूषित हुईनदियाँ कट गए पेड़

मनुष्यों ने अपने फायदे के लिए प्रकृति से खेला खेल

जब खेला है खेल तो प्रकृति कैसे रहती पीछे

उसने भी चली चाल पीछे पीछे

मनुष्यों के प्रहार से प्रकृति ने बदला व्यव्हार

इस व्हाय्व्हार से मनुष्य हुआ बेहाल

तापमान बदला मौसम बदले

प्राकृतिक आपदाओं की हुई भरमार

जलवायु मे हो रहा परिवर्तन

क्या मनुष्यों को प्रकृति के सामने करना पड़ेगा आत्मसमर्पण

अब भी समय है जाग जा मनुष्य

प्रकृति के सामने हार जा मनुष्य

प्रकृति कर देगी तेरा बुरा हाल

समझौता करके रह खुशहाल

पेड़ लगा, प्रदुषण रोक

प्रकृति को मत करने दे तेरा भोग

अपनी धरती माँ को बचा

प्रकृति को तू ना सता

जलवायु मे हो रहा परिवर्तन

क्या मनुष्यों को प्रकृति के सामने करना पड़ेगा आत्मसमर्पण

Gaurav Hans
Y14 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

 

Acid Attack

ACID ATTACK. There is no need to explain its meaning to anybody. It has become so common these days that it just looks like another slang. Are you angry? Do you want to take revenge? Do you just want an easy and effective weapon? Go for acid. Is it how you would describe it??

Many of us would explain that it’s a social evil, a curse on the society and some more of the well read and said phrases like these. But, seldom have we given it a deep thought. Acid is not just another liquid. It’s a fire. A fire that burns the body of the victim, the soul of the victim and the dreams of the person are turned into ashes. It spreads to the victim’s family and all the happiness goes into the state of oblivion.

I agree that the true beauty is of the mind and thoughts, and not physical. But none of us we can deny the fact that our personality contributes towards building our self confidence. We live in a society where our appearance matters a lot. Or else how would you justify people using plastic surgeries to either fix their slightly crooked nose or get a clearer skin. But the acid attack victims live with the pain and the humiliation they feel. Do we see the lucky surviving victims of acid attacks around us everyday living a normal life? The answer is no. Either they stop stepping outside into the open world due to fear of judgment or use a veil to cover themselves. They are just pushed into a life full of darkness. Don’t we all use a mirror at least once in a day to check if we look good? Of course, we do. This is normal human behavior. We all want to look beautiful. But for them, mirror is another medium to bring back the dark memories.

The fact is that that there are many people who help acid attacked victims monetarily and even give them moral support. The more important question here is, FOR HOW LONG. For how long will we keep ignoring the problem? It’s not about what we do later. WE HAVE TO STOP THIS. We need to grow as human beings. You, me and all of us. No sane reason can ever justify a sin like this.

Sonali Gupta

Y14 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT