Tower of Silence

                        Many of us are aware of only two methods of funerals - Cremation or Burial. But, there is another tradition in Parsi (Zoroastrian) culture known as 'Dakhma'., which means 'Tower of Silence'. Zoroastrians avoid both burial and cremation as methods of disposal of human body because they believe that the body desecrates earth in which it is buried or the fire used to immolate it. It is believed that the body contaminates everything it comes in contact with. As a part of their culture, when a person dies, no one is allowed to touch the body and the deceased will be washed with bull's urine, covered with new clean clothes and will be taken to the so called towers of silence to perform the rituals.

The Towers of Silence:

                        The towers of silence is known as Dakhma. These are tower-like structures that are built atop hills or low mountains in desert locations distant from the towns and cities. These structures are open-top and have high exposure to sunlight. The priests bring the corpses to this place, perform prayers and place the body at the top of the tower. The body will not be placed on the ground. It is believed that any direct contact with the ground is contamination. It will be placed on a stone platform and left as such to be picked by vultures, a process which only takes few hours to complete. Meanwhile, sunlight allows the body to decompose naturally. The leftover bones are later deposited in a pit at the base of the tower. No one will be allowed to enter the house for 10 days where the body rested and a lamp is left burning during this time.

 The present day problem:

                           India and Pakistan have a significant Parsi population in Mumbai and Karachi, both being fast-developing cities. In the past several decades, the population of birds in the Indian subcontinent has declined by greatly 99.9%. The few surviving birds are unable to fully consume the bodies.

                           So, Parsi communities in India are currently breeding vultures and are using solar concentrators that are large mirrors to accelerate decomposition. In many parts of the world, due to lack of Dakhmas, some have been forced to resort to burial, as the solar collectors work only in clear weather. In Mumbai, we have Dakhma at the Malabar Hill.

The only nation which does'nt have an NRI...

                             The ministry of overseas - Indian affairs has done some survey in 2009-10 and registered the presence of non-resident Indians (NRIs) around the globe. It reported that NRI population is found in 180 of the 183 countries of the world.  

The largest number are in 

• Saudi Arabia (17 lakh)
• United Arab Emirates (14 lakh) 
• US and Canada

The least number is in 

• Slovenia (10)
• Montserrat (10)
• Iceland (21)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (30) 
• Lebanon (02) 

Now, what are those three nations where there in no NRI?

                              It is only in North Korea, Pakistan and Bhutan that not a single NRI is to be found. Among these nations, both Pakistan and Bhutan have people of Indian origin (PIOs). So, We can say that it is only in North Korea, where there is no NRI and PIO population.

Let us see why this is the only country where there is no NRI population...

 

                             In North Korea, it is very difficult for foreigners to enter the country. Foreigners are strictly monitored. There will not be any access to many areas in the country. Moreover, people in that nation are not supposed to speak openly. The nation is totally isolated from rest of the world. 

 

The following points as stated by those people who came out of that world clearly prove that human rights are totally violated:

• One cannot speak against the law and cannot share their ideas in social networking sites.
• Civilians need to have a uniform when they come out of their homes.
• Almost till 2005, just listening to South Korean radio could result in capital punishment
• North Koreans should never communicate with South Koreans... If this rule is violated, public execution by firing squad could take place.
• All the violators would be sent to jails along with their families. The jails are better known as 'prison camps' where the prisoners along with their families are supposed to work, grow their own food and cannot communicate with rest of the world. 
• Moreover, it is very sad that , 1,50,000 to 2,00,000 inmates in these prison camps are subjected to torture, starvation, medical experimentation (testing various dangerous drugs on these human beings), forced labour, and forced abortions.

                           It is even more interesting that, there is no proof for the same as the press and media are totally under government control and hence UNO is unable to take any action. It is only by those ex-prisoners who are out of that nation, these facts came to the world's notice. Of course, these days as a result of the protests by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, it is believed that things are changing slightly.

                           When things change, we can expect an NRI in North Korea...

Why Sardar Patel is the iron man of India?

                          Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first Home Minister of India. He is better known  as 'The Iron man'. Let us now see why he is known as 'The Iron man'.

The scenario in 1946-47:

                        There were 565 princely states in India. Some of the Maharajas and Nawabs were patriotic. They have agreed to join the Indian union. But most of them had interest to become independent rulers. Some of them went to the extent of planning to send their representatives to the United Nations Organization. Patel asked all of them to join in the freedom of their nation and act as responsible rulers who cared about the future of their people. He made them understand the impossibility of independence from the Indian republic, especially in the presence of growing opposition from their subjects. He made them join the Indian Union. Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Junagarh initially did not want to join India. Hyderabad nizam prefered to be with Pakistan. Sardar Patel's military operations and untiring efforts towards the unity of the country brought the success.

Interesting thing about Lakshadweep:

                          The people of Lakshadweep islands are isolated from the mainstream of the country and they have learnt about Indian independence after many days. The majority of population in Lakshadweep was muslim and Patel realised that Pakistan could lay claim to these islands on the grounds of Muslim majority.
                         

                          The islands were very far away from Pakistan. So, Patel has sent an Indian Navy ship to Lakshadweep Islands to hoist the national flag. A similar ship was sent by Pakistan from Karachi.After India hoisting its flag, vessels belonging to the Pakistan Navy were spotted near the islands.These vessels however went back to Karachi after seeing the Indian flag flying over the Lakshadweep. Else, the regions of Hyderabad, Lakshadweep would have been a disputed territory.

                           Gandhiji believed that, this aggressive attitude of  Patel is not suited for a PM post and hence, he was made Home minister and deputy to the PM. Many believe that, the Kashmir problem and the China war would never have arised if he was in the place of Nehru.

                           Patel united a scattered nation. Due to the achievement of this massive task, Sardar Patel got the title of 'Iron Man'. After almost four decades, his services to the nation were recognized and Sardar Patel was conferred with Bharat Ratna in 1991. While, Indira gandhi, being the then incumbent prime minister, took a Bharata Ratna for herself in 1971.