User talk:Strawberry 18in

Slander, Scandal or the most common word, backbiting are all forms of gossip. Gossip has been the object of all malicious talk. It is often considered as a typical virtue possessed by women in all societies. But, I perceive it more as an attempt of the weak against people with more conventional power. With so much competition for striving to achieve public dominance or acceptance, many of us are misusing our power of knowledge.

For instance, when Doordarshan used to broadcast its daily news, from the young to the elderly used to watch it closely for its informative content. On the contrary, with numerous news channels beginning to prop up, we have to search for the informative content from all the gossip.

The industry, I belong to is aviation. There too, like all the other fields, gossip is the most defined form of entertainment. Whether, it is achieved by exposing vices or by ridiculing their low-class behavior, the very fact that it is obtained at somebody’s expense is always far-forgotten. I, often remember my times in college, when we all used to gather around at our very famous “katta”, sip “chai” or bug the sandwichwalla and discuss our lectures or the on goings in college or even who’s “seeing” whom at times. But there always were times, when we had enough of the gossip and decided to curb it then and there and talk about something else. But, what I have observed in my work place is that the appetite for gossip here is insatiable!! People never get exhausted.. Without trying to sound philosophical, it makes me believe all the more that moral values have lost their worth in times today.

Gossip is no longer restricted to loose mouths, but has also reached its greatest height, the friendly internet. A few days ago, while surfing, I came across an article about my colleague’s mother which left me dumbfounded. It accused her of committing adultery and “stealing” some other women’s husband. Whether a husband can be stolen or not still remains a mystery to me and how much ever I would be delighted to get a satisfying answer, I was shocked at the vindictive nature of the writer. The personal details were displayed including the phone number and address and the writer appealed for justice. I do not wish to get into the ethics or conclude who is right or wrong in this case. But what can we do if the same thing happens to us tomorrow? Like one of my friends rightfully said one day, everybody has skeletons in their closet.

In the Constitution of India, the fundamental rights section, under Right to Freedom article 21 says “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” The right to privacy can be exercised only if the violator is the State and not a private individual or institution. When Maneka Gandhi sued Khushwant Singh over certain references to her in his autobiography "Truth, Love and a Little Malice" saying that it was a violation of her privacy, she lost the case. The Delhi High Court observed that right to privacy that flows from Art 21 couldn’t be invoked against private entities. This case held weight and the issue were brought to light because of the involvement of two big personalities. But what happens when it comes to people like you and me? The Apex court in a case by People’s Union for Civil Liberties against The Central Government for violation of privacy in the form of tapping phone calls said “The right to privacy by itself has not been identified under the Constitution. As a concept it may be too wide and moralistic to define it judicially." Here, against whom the case was filed was not a private entity, the Court did not agree with the petitioner and the violator was granted relief.

Does this mean that anyone can violate an individual right to privacy and go unpunished? Just as the human mind is creative enough to devise new ways for easy living, human ingenuity needs to be channelised in more productive ways. The more technically advanced we get; the simpler it becomes to peep into the bedroom of others. These are some questions which have not yet been addressed by any of our written laws and require a lot of thinking to be done by the legislators of our country as has already been done by other countries.