Dear Umesh,
You accused me that
Himendra-da, Jihad -as understood by Muslims is an act of reform
to cleanse the system- not of violence. I think you misinterpreted the meaning
of Jihad.
Please be aware of the fact that I
did not misinterpret --- I understood the meaning of jihad as defined in
THE AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE as Jihad --- A Moslem holy war
against infidels . I did not describe what Jihad means,
and I did not talk about any violence ---- that was NOT the topic of my
letter. I only commented that, by coining the term "Jihad against doctors",
you committed a
tremendous disservice to the doctors.
The main topic of my letter was
to request the netters to discuss/find the root causes of Son-Preference that
pushes people to go for selective female-feticide.
The Government enacted the PNDT law
as a punishment against selective female feticide, but if the desire of
Son-Preference was not eradicated from the mind of people, law alone
would not stop selective female feticide, as per the opinion of the Supreme
Court of India on October 10, 2003.
However, you have got to divert the
issue to the meaning of the word Jihad. Now you are trying to divert the issue
further by bringing up more discussions against doctors. I have noticed
this unproductive tendency of diverting the issue before.
For example, I wrote about
eradicating hereditary caste system, and some netters diverted the discussion
into the definition of Hinduism --- whether it is Varnashrama Dharma, or
Sanatana Dhama, etc., etc., and the main issue to eradicate hereditary caste
system was lost in that imbroglio.
I once again request the netters to
find/discuss the root cause of Son-Preference --- To get started, let me point
to the following as the cause of Son-Preference :
(1) DOWRY: In the dowry infested
areas of India, a son
enriches the family by dowry money brought by his bride, whereas a daughter
drains out the family who will have to pay a hefty dowry when she will be
married. No wonder people prefer a son, and abort a female fetus. The number of
female babies in the age group of 0-6 has fallen to a dangerously low level in
these areas.
(2) FINAL RITES: Hindus have a
wrongly perceived belief that only a son can do final rites at the cremation
grounds.
(3) DYNASTY NAME: After marriage, a
daughter must change her last name. For the continuation of the Dynasty Name,
one must have a son.
(4) AGRICULTURAL WORK: In rural
India, a farmer must have a son who
will be able to control the bullocks while tilling the land.
There maybe more reasons. I urge the
netters to think about all the possible reasons of Son-Preference and what can
be done to eradicate this harmful attitude. Let us have a positive,
result-oriented discussion.
With the best wishes,
Himendra
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, April 01, 2006 4:58
PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Son-Preference: How
to stop this attitude?
Pl. also see what great service majority of doctors in India are doing -
by being absent for govt jobs (which pays them salary) and building up their
privvate practice. I mentioned this link in an earlier post.
Himendra-da,
Jihad -as understood by Muslims is an act of reform to cleanse the
system- not of violence. I think you misinterpreted the meaning of
Jihad.
Umesh
Himendra Thakur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Dear Umesh,
We need medical doctors and psychologists to
come forward with the solution of the problem. To use titles like "Jihad against doctors" is a great
disservice to the cause. There are exceptions, but most of the doctors are
wonderful people --- they save our lives. One must avoid stereotyping and
insinuating people, which appears to be a widespread misbehaviour at the
net.
However, I thank you for the link in the
Internet about a medical doctor being punished under the PNDT Act for
selective female feticide. I most sincerely congratulate Dr. B.S. Dahiya,
Haryana's former Health Chief for his fight. If possible, please give me
his telephone number so that I may talk with him and invite him to the
"Eighth International Conference Against Dowry, Female Feticide &
Son-Preference" to be held in Kanyakumari on December 27,28 & 29,
2006.
PNDT is a punitive law which cannot really
stop the menace unless there is a "Change of Mind-Set" in the country as
adjudicated by the Supreme Court of India on October 10, 2003.
To "Change the Mind-set", we must work at the
root of the attitude called "Son-Preference". I request the netters to
discuss about the causes of "Son-Preference" and the actions needed to
reform this wrong notion.
With the best wishes,
Himendra
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 9:23
PM
Subject: [Assam] IE: Jihad against
doctors in Haryana??
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/1501.html
Umesh
Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD
20740
1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International
Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard
University,
Class of 2005
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Umesh
Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740
1-202-215-4328
[Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard
Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
Umesh
Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740
1-202-215-4328
[Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate
School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
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