“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” – United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
October 2nd was an eagerly awaited day for me. Personally, I supported the move taken by our Health Minister to ban smoking in specific areas.
More so, I supported the reason why he was so keen to ban smoking. He is of the view that non-smokers shouldnt suffer because of something they havent done. In other words, whats the point if I dont smoke to lead a healthy life, but my lungs are damaged because I stand next to a person who is smoking?
Something about passive smoking:
The risk of a non-smoker developing a heart disease is around 25–30% and lung cancer around 20–30%. The smoke also causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory problems, ear infections, and asthma attacks in children. Read more about Passive Smoking.
Yeah sure! You would be ready to pounce back on me to say, “Thats a ridiculous law then. Why didnt the health minister ban cigarettes?”. Though the motive behind not banning cigarettes varies between “the revenue loss to the government by means of cigarettes” to “what would happen to addicts who cant do without cigarettes”, I am of the view that cigarettes shouldnt be banned because deciding whether to smoke or not is each individuals choice(read “human right”).
However outrageous my comment might sound, no one can disagree that “human rights policies” have been constantly challenged as our world has been evolving. Some of the recent debates include:
1. Water – whether to count it as a commodity to be bought and sold or human right? You can take the recent example of Pakistan and India deciding to resolve the Chenab water issue.
2. Foetus - Since human rights only applies to individuals, who has the right to decide whether a foetus lives or is killed? and when can we count a foetus as an individual? Yeah! The famous Niketa episode of abortion.
3. Gay rights - whether gays should be allowed to marry and adopt? Remember the recent parades in prominent Indian cities.
4. Environment – to live in a healthy environment is our right but granting of certain rights might damage our ecosystem. You can take the example of people from Kerala challenging the Mighty Cocacola.
Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Costa Rica were listed in a 2004 Human Rights Violations report as the “least” Human Rights violating nations. Some of you might have gone, “Yeah! These westerners never praise India. They will never put us on the list”. India is no doubt a free country when you compare her to other countries and King Ashoka was one of the firsts who coined the concept of Human Rights back then(it is believed Cyrus the Great was the first), but liberal laws have a different meaning in the above mentioned countries.
The Dutch Drug Policy is quite unique. The Dutch say if a problem proves to be unsolvable, it is better to try controlling it. They felt it didnt make sense to send offenders to prison for peronal possession and use and so a policy was created to first tolerate and later regulate the sales. The Netherlands is one of the top countries in Europe to spend on drug prevention programmes and rehabilitation centers for the addicted. It is said that the Dutch today have less drug use and abuse than the US which has more tougher anit-drug laws.
The Netherlands has also legalized Euthanasia and physician assisted suicides in specific cases.
Prostitution here is defined as a legal profession.
I feel, people are mature enough to understand what they want and what they dont. Each person has a right on everything that has been provided by earth, until he crosses the limit and affects another individuals right. Thats why human beings without rules would be animals and thats why we need rules. Smoking in private which doesnt affect another individual is in no way a matter to be interfered by others like us. Similarly I feel drug use as long as it is private shouldnt be anyone’s problem either. Drug use is banned in India. But taking the example of the rave party incident that recently happened in Mumbai, do you think banning cigarette production/supply will decrease the number of smokers?
A law is like a sock. One size cannot fit all. I feel, these laws are in themselves made for people with open minds. Many of us might disagree with these laws, but I feel the “seedhi-ungli-tedhi-ungli” theory to remove “ghee” doesnt work in reality.
Prostitution in Indian society is not a myth and thousands of girls and women are trafficked each year. Why not legalise prostitution then? This will not only help in reducing sex trafficking but also HIV infections and ofcourse population.
I will conclude with the favourite line often said by a liberal lecturer in my school,
“People are like springs. The more you press them, the more they will jump”.
#1 by Pravina - October 14th, 2008 at 18:35
Well mike i feel the reason ppl make rules cause they are not open and comfortable with such issues. Like right from our childhood we are taught that a prostitute is a bad word and so is the person going for it. Same with the gay concept.
Drug is not acceptable in the middle class families as it is taught and conveyed by the society to be a crime. Even the media point of view abt the drugs is only one sided.
Smoking is permitted and acceptable now a days but it wasn’t around 20 to 25 year back (when i was small). Smoking and drinking were called bad habbits.
It was always considered that a guy who smokes or drink is “vaayaa gelela mulga” (in marathi) which means incurable, total waste.
But today its quite normal to smoke and drink. Not a big deal. Attitude has changed.
I think everything will move in its own pace. It take time to realize, learn and change…… MAY BE…….
#2 by Michael Fernando - October 14th, 2008 at 19:08
yeah agreed pravina.. it is a conservative world..