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Diapers don’t disappear. They are changed!

Brian's Subtle Humor 28122021
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Do we all desire change? or do we accept change when it is thrust upon us? Do we actively seek to change what we are uncomfortable with, or live with it until change happens? Do we change because we perceive that the grass is greener on the other side, or is shown to us to be greener, or do we change because it is in our DNA, given that nothing remains the same from our birth to our death? our shape, our size (we grow to our full size and then become smaller and frailer as we age), our thoughts, our behavior, our dependency, our activities, and activism –  everything we know changes because of the biological changes within us – something we can’t really stop except with death. Is change then logical? or illogical? Inevitable or should we make it happen? In modern parlance, change is like the diaper I guess – it has to be changed once you feel uncomfortable. Its change is both inevitable and willed into happening.

There is also climate change which is the antithesis of the changes we experience – It changed it because of our activities and activism, and now we want to change it back to its original. Remember the Bell Bottom and long hair fashion we had? Well, its slowly coming back! We have a number of conferences in which climate abuse is justified because we are doing is for the greater and long-term good of mankind – to debate how far back we want to go to change what we ourselves changed by our actions. So, either way, change is the name of the game. if you can’t play by its rules, change the rules!

Speaking of Climate Change, according to a BBC report, Plane spotters at the Prestwick and Edinburgh airports spotted a total of 182 cargo aircraft carrying helicopters and vehicles for motorcades, private jets ferrying world leaders and passengers from and to the Prestwick and Edinburgh airports. ‘Flights produce greenhouse gases – mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) – from burning fuel. These contribute to global warming. Emissions per kilometer traveled are known to be significantly worse than any other form of transport. The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) says 2.52kg of carbon dioxide is emitted for every liter of aviation turbine fuel burned. The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) says 2.52kg of carbon dioxide is emitted for every liter of aviation turbine fuel burned. Therefore, this flight would produce 5.9 tons of CO2. However, BEIS recommends that to “capture the maximum climate impact” of flights, CO2 emissions figures should be multiplied by 1.9 to reflect the effect of non-CO2 emissions released by planes at high altitudes, which, scientists say, increase the warming effect. Therefore, the total emissions for this flight would be 11.3 tons of CO2 equivalent, and with a capacity of nine, each passenger would be responsible for 1.2 tons on their journey’.

Now do the math, and if you are mathematically challenged, but not spatially, just imagine the scale. Then they debated in huge airconditioned halls for 5 to 6 days whether to phase down or phase out coal usage, all the while not aware that they were phasing up the climate change! These are the contradictions we live with and learn to enjoy because they bring a smile to our face and to the Oh!-zone layer above us!

There are also things that we may want to change because of one or all of the above reasons? Things given to us at birth, because we could not read the fine print? I’m not sure how many of us realize, all that we claim to be ours and defend with all our might against perceived or real invasions – our name, our nationality, our religious persuasion, our community, our family and even our birth location and birth date were given to us by others. We have no control over any of them. They are given to us, and we accept them as our own because we have no choice – at the time. In time we grow comfortable with them – if we don’t face any adversity from them, and then later, we don’t want to change it at all – that goes against our natural DNA; either that or we are not allowed to by a variety of obstacles, not the least of which are the fringes of society – on the outside looking in –  being trolled, killed or because of legislation and its hassles.

But temptations will always be there to evaluate the strength of the fence on which we set. It requires a steely resolve our part or somebody else’s part to ensure we don’t cross it to see if the other side of the fence has more pros than cons than our side of the fence. It would involve getting out of our comfort zones and doing what the world frowns on – like migration, conversion, a change of name affidavit, abdication, and disownment; is it because it affects their sense of orderliness, of sameness, of mundanity and the fact that we are disrespecting what we were given at our birth by our elders and they begin to fear the impact upon them. We were warned against change, but we couldn’t read the fine print of the agreement. it was right at the bottom of this huge agreement we signed at birth!

So, we are right to change, and we have the right to change – we can and yet we can’t in some things, because the government wants to protect our inherent freedoms via a notice board. Great Idea. If the bored notice, then they will protect our freedom to change, by changing our freedom to change.

This is the essence of the newly passed legislative bill, the LA Bill No. 50 of 2021 – The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021. It is brought into the legislative domain because its “expedient” to do so – Para 2 of the intro to the bill reads as follows: “A Bill to provide for the protection of the right to freedom of religion and prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means. Whereas it is expedient to provide for the protection of the right to freedom of religion and prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.

And this is what the Collins dictionary says about the word ‘expedient’. It’s a COUNTABLE NOUN [usually singular] “An expedient is an action that achieves a particular purpose but may not be morally right”. But it may well achieve its purpose hopefully, of arresting change or the change-makers – more likely the latter!

Nevertheless, the wording of the Bill is really impressive. A lot of demanding work and thought (not statistics though) must have gone into it. Given our pre poll and post poll scenarios, I was wondering whether we would have a more mature democracy if a similar bill were brought forth with the words religion substituted by voting – this  is not a freedom we get at our birth, but something we get at age 18, or the birth of our constitution (whichever is earlier) even before we are old enough to choose a life partner! That’s the reason perhaps why governments don’t last long unlike marriages! The younger you are, the wiser you are, but not in all matters.

Anyway, the first part will possibly read like this! Seems relevant!

Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Voting Act, 2021.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

  1. Definitions.- (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) “Allurement” means and includes offer of any temptation in form of ,-

(i) any gift, gratification, easy money, or material benefit either in cash or kind.

(ii) employment, free education in school or college run by anybody; or

(iii) omitted; or

(iv) better lifestyle, governmental displeasure or otherwise; or

(v) portraying another political persuasion in a detrimental way; or

(vi) glorifying one political persuasion or leader against another.

(b) “Coercion” means compelling an individual to act against his will by the use of psychological pressure or physical force causing bodily injury or threat thereof.

(c) “Conversion” means renouncing one’s political persuasion ( to which one was affiliated in letter or spirit) and adopting another one.

(d) “Force” includes a show of force or a threat of injury of any kind to the person converted or sought to be converted.

(e) “Fraudulent” means and includes impersonation of any kind by false name, surname, religious symbol or otherwise.

(f) “Form” means a form appended to this Act.

(g) “Institutions” means and includes all legal entities, including political missionaries, Govt. agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, and such other organizations.

(h)“Mass Conversion” means where two or more persons are converted.

(i) omitted

(j) “Original Political Persuasion” means political persuasion to which a person had an affinity before conversion.

(k)“politics” means any organized system of election and voting or political organization, as prevailing in India or any part of it, and defined under any law or custom for the time being in force.

(l)“Political Convertor” means a person of any political persuasion who performs any act of conversion from one political persuasion to another. and by whatever name he is called such as Leader etc. ,

(m)“Undue Influence” means the unconscientious use by one person of his power or influence over another in order to persuade the other to act in accordance with the will of the person exercising such influence.

  1. Prohibition of conversion from one political persuasion to another political persuasion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, allurement.- No person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any other person from one political persuasion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by any of these means or by the promise of marriage, nor shall any person abet or conspire such conversion

You could do the rest yourself! The bill is available for viewing on the website That way it wouldn’t be a conversion to my illogical way of thinking. You could then choose to put it on the Notice Board!!

Enjoy your week and the weekend. That freedom is yours, definitely!


Disclaimer

This Article is written in the lighter vein. It hopes to bring a smile to your face, and you must not ascribe motives to its contents or take its contents as a serious treatise on any subject. There is no connection to events and characters in real life and if perchance you find a connect with any such real-life event or character, rest assured its purely coincidental.

Image by Clker & Merio  

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Brian Fernandes

Brian is an alumnus of Roshni Nilaya’s Post Graduate School of Social Work, HR Department and has 30 years of local and international HR and General Management experience. Journalism, poetry, and feature writing is a passion which he is now able to pursue at will. Additionally, he loves compering and hosting talk shows. He loves learning and imparting it; so, when time permits, he provides leadership facilitation and soft skills training to Postgraduate students and Corporates in Mangaluru and Bengaluru. Besides, he is an accomplished Toastmaster under the aegis of Toastamasters.org and a designated Distinguished Toast Master.

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