When John Oliver made fun of India about its colonial past not many took the humour lightly. In the issue of Kohinoor diamond, worn by the Queen of Britain at present, which was taken from India when British ruled the country, John Oliver mocked the nation for wanting it back and indirectly said, "finders keepers, go f*** yourself".
The reaction to the comedy has provocated many Indians who took Youtube to show their anger. One poster wrote, "It's funny how the british can demand reparations from Germany, but refuse to give to India for crimes that make the nazis blush. Remember killing 5 million in the Bengal famine? Or the many massacres your army waged? Well remember history repeats itself. India is rising, so maybe one day big ben will be in Mumbai."
John Oliver who is a renowned comedian, regularly makes such humorous jokes which some people find offensive. In spite of all the hate and swearing at him it is important to note that he often makes offensive remarks towards his own country. Therefore it is safe to say that the comedian did not necessarily intended to offend one specific community.
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Mother Teresa officially became a saint today after Roman Catholic Church canonised her today at Vatican City 19 years after her death. In the wake of this event anyone would like to know who Mother Teresa really was. Mostly she is depicted as an ideal nurse who looks after poor and needy without expecting anything in return but do we really know who she was? Lets try to put things in perspective.
Mother Teresa received a calling to work with the poor in the slums of Calcutta. There are significant number of controversies surrounding her life. In 1952 her Missionaries of Charity organisation started her Kalighat Home for the Dying – a place where people could come to die in dignity and comfort. She wanted to make it possible for ‘people who lived like animals to die like angels – loved and wanted’.
In reality Mother Teresa had no formal medical or nursing training, she got into the field because some voice told her to. In fact when qualified doctors visited the home, however they found that the medical care provided was very poor. Most of the volunteers had no medical knowledge and yet had to make medical decisions because there were no doctors available. There was no distinction made between those who were suffering from curable and incurable illnesses so people who might have survived had they been given access to treatment were left to die. Needles were re-used so many times that they became blunt and they were not sterilised between uses. In 1981 when the state of care in her facilities was challenged she said ‘There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their lot, to suffer it like Christ’s Passion. The world gains much from their suffering.
Mother Teresa's primary and only goal was to spread christianity. Helping the needy was a facade. In her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech she said she helped 36,000 people in Calcutta but the facts suggest her charity only helped 5,700 people. There are many discrepancies in the organisation's finances and she seemed to accept donations from almost anyone. The amount of money she received was more than enough to care for the dying in the most sanitary and scientific way but she was more interested in the suffering.
Mother Teresa spent most of her times travelling to various places like USA, Japan and Ireland pushing for her agenda of anti-divorce and anti-abortion. She was hardly found in Calcutta. The most startling thing is Teresa who believed in sufferings as a way to be in touch with Jesus, spend her old age days in a modern, high class facility where she got the first class treatment.
In spite of all these facts, the intention of this article isn't to defame Mother Teresa or her practices. It is entirely possible and highly likely that she thought she was doing good to the humanity by preaching Christian values and baptising dying adults. However, in the end all that counts is the objective goodness that has been harnessed. Now it is for all of us to decide who Mother Teresa really was.
A day after late king Birendra Shah’s statue was removed and attempts were made to reinstall it in Nepalgunj city, the police yesterday sounded a high alert across the country to avoid clashes between supporters and opponents of the king.
The bust of Shah installed at Dhambojhi Chowk in Nepalgunj was pulled down by security personnel on Thursday night as it led to an altercation between the police and the erstwhile monarch’s supporters, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Earlier on Thursday, a group of youths reinstalled the statue which was pulled down during the People’s Movement-II in 2006.
Some demonstrators, including cadres of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, gathered again yesterday morning to reinstall the king’s bust. But this could not be done as the police force was deployed at the site, The Himalayan Times reported.
Many areas in the city were cordoned off by the police to avert any possible clashes between the supporters and opponents of the monarchy and the police forces.
“No one should carry out activities that give rise to conflict and hampers the peace and security,” said a senior police official.
A statue of Birendra Shah installed at Dhambojhi Chowk in Nepalgunj was pulled down by protesters during People’s Movement-II in 2006. The political parties
could not reach a consensus over whose statue should be erected there.
Source: Gulf Times
