"The choking game" and pranayama

An adolescent died last week in Mumbai. Initially ruled as a suicide, the parents had the courage to come out and say it was actually "the choking game" that killed the child. Children - typically between the ages of 9 and 16 - deprive their brain of Oxygen for a momentary high they get.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA3LzEyLzE5I0FyMDAxMDA=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

You can see more on this at
http://www.stop-the-choking-game.com/en/home.asp
including a video going through the scenario.

Some yoga practices too require the holding of energy inside the body through various locks - e.g. Mahabandh. The net effect of some of them is a reduction in the amount of Oxygen going to the brain. Is that too harmful - at what point does one draw the boundary. The video referred to above says that at 3 minutes of Oxygen deprivation, brain cells start dying irreversibly. At 5 minutes, the brain may stop functioning. Are yoga practices that involve bandhs for a minute or two OK, or are they harmful. Everyone needs to make this decision themselves. The takeaway is - when in doubt, do less, rather than more.

One final thought - may be it is time to teach yoga to children for more reasons. Yes, they can get what they want, but in an environment that is not dangerous to them.

The Wild West called Gujarat

In its December 8, 2007 edition, San Jose Mercury News has an article titled "Hindu official's re-election push alarms muslims."

It is an article on Narendra Mody, the CM of Gujarat, who is running for re-election. The article implies that he had a hand in the massacre of Muslims in the period after Godhra.

But, they neglect to mention the real events going on in India, which have spurred discussions in the media. When I started reading this SJMN article, I expected to read about the same controversy - but did not get it.

Last week, at a campaign rally, he incited the crowd by justifying a fake-encounter killing of someone called Sohrabuddin - an alleged terrorist. He asked the audience - "so what do you do when you find someone like this." The crowd chanted "kill-him." Modi then accepted credit. (http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/dec/05gujpoll5.htm). The fact that it was a fake encounter is proven. The government itself has agreed. The IPS officer who led that encounter is now in jail.

Different media articles mention that when this particular IPS officer was around, lots of terrorist plots to kill Modi were discovered, arms caches were found, and terrorists dealt with, extra-judically. Since this person was sent to jail, those things have reduced drastically. Everyone can draw their own conclusions about it - maybe other officers are not as vigilant, or that this officer was driving a political agenda.

Comments from readers on these articles, on the other hand, are overwhelmingly supportive of Modi. Supportive of this stance, not of his ability to govern the state, the economic miracle he has crated, and his clean image (corruption-wise).

What these writers don't realize is that once they legitimize the monster of fake-encounter killings, they are handing over executive, legislative and judicial power to the same people. How can we be sure that this power won't be used against other individuals and communities in the future. Are we converting a part of India into the Wild West?

Population Growth in India

In the 70's, India's growing population was an issue of concern everywhere, including India. Over time, this concern has disappeared, to be replaced by excitement about the growing population. India has successfully converted its population from a liability to an asset. Greater population means more consumers, and more workers. India is pointed out as having a greater potential for success compared to its fellow emerging economy - China. The reason is that India's population is younger, and many more people in India will enter the workforce in the next few years.

There is no evidence, however, that population is not going to be a problem. There is a little more on this at:
http://sai-os.blogspot.com/2007/06/is-population-growth-on-planet-no.html

Today's Financial Times carried on OpEd piece by Victor Mallet. It is available on many websites, including this one.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2007/dec/06utop.htm


Here are important points:

1. "The population surge that will increase the workforce to 800m by 2016 and make India the world's most populous nation - may turn out to be more of a threat than an opportunity."
2. "Who will create the jobs to absorb the net increase of 71m young people of working age over the next five years? Most are poorly educated and only a fraction will find regular work.
3. It questions about their impact on the supply of water and fuel.
4. Eventually, these people will retire; who will take care of them

The OpEd piece correctly concludes that the optimists have taken over, failing to do anything about this issue. It is time that the authorities and the people in India start taking the issue seriously again.

Spousal violence against men

A survey of women in Ahmedabad, mentioned 58 percent of women in Ahmedabad suffered significant mental distress, with marital disharmony being the leading cause. The causes found in the survey are covered in
http://isai-os.blogspot.com/2007/10/marriage-makes-wrecks-of-58-percent-of.html

Interesting, if you look at the survey, a number of items in the list apply to women's abuse of men too. If men doing it to women is considered violence, then certainly women doing it to men should also be considered violence. (Magenta colored text is from the original post - some of the items that were listed under violence by men against women)

Sexual violence

56% were deprived of sex [if deprivation of sex is considered violence by women, then I would like to see who is the perpetrator of more violence - women, or men]


Emotional violence

70% report verbal abuse, threats [women may not resort to verbal abuse, but it would be interesting to contrast threats from the two genders against each other, in marriage]
62% report lack of support and appreciation [both genders probably complain about the same thing - is this really violence?]

Intellectual violence

69% excluded from decision-making [what do you do, when someone absolutely refuses from participating in decision-making. That may not be violence, but it certainly is not in the spirit of a marriage.]

Marriage makes wrecks of 58 percent of women in Ahmedabad

A previous post talked about a survey of women in India, where over half said that it was OK for husbands to beat wives.
http://isai-os.blogspot.com/2007/10/womens-survey-in-india.html

Here is another survey released at about the same time. I don't remember the date, but the colored portions are direct quotes from Time of India, Ahemdabad edition - around October 20, 2007.

Marital blows

One in every two married women in Ahmedabad is subjected to torture everyday by her husband, the man with whom she took the seven vows till death parted them. But men seem to have broken these vows. A survey of 1,500 women in Ahmedabad revealed the following.

Acts of physical violence

33% admitted to being victims of domestic violence. [I assume that the statistics in this section are from this 33%, but the TOI article does not make it clear.]

Slapping 68%
Kicking 62%
Punching - 53%
Hitting with hard objects - 49 %
Biting - 37%
Choking - 29%
Bramdomg wotj cogarettes butts - 22%

Sexual violence

50% were subject to forcible sex (rape)
56% were deprived of sex

Social violence

76% abused before family
69% before neighbors
60% before friends
67% in public places

Emotional violence

70% report verbal abuse, threats
62% report lack of support and appreciation

Intellectual violence

69% excluded from decision-making


Horrifying statistics. Amazing that a society known for its external tolerance can be so violent at home. Is there anything being done in the society to address this?

The Women's survey in India

A recent survey in India collected opinions from a lot of women. One of the surprising findings was that 54% of the women thought it was OK for husbands to beat wives. A revealing fact about the society! Obviously, some attitude-setting is in order.

Another side issue that came up, was the kind of question that were asked. There were fairly frank about sex, sexual partners, extra/pre-marital affairs, and vices. The media made a big deal about how these questions were shaming women. However, unless such surveys are conducted, dark deeds of society lay hidden - these needs to be exposed.

Clearly, the 54% number proves the point.

Where do temple donations go?

When you donate to a temple in India, do you know where the money goes? You think you are donating money to a religious cause, when in reality, you may be giving money to support the temple owner's lavish lifestyle. And, this lifestyle may not have anything to do with religion. We are familiar with one aspect of it, where money raised in religious places has supported terrorists.

Yes, there are temples run by trusts, which put the money to good use. And, there are temples administered by the Government - which ensure that much of the money is put to good use. But there are also temples that are either entirely privately owned, or are joint ventures with the Government, and operate on a revenue-sharing arrangement.

Would you donate to a temple, if you knew that money was going to someone's pocket? If yes, do you try to find out before you donate?