THE OTHER SIDE: March 2018

Protect Privacy!

The breach of user data by Facebook appears a mere pass out news but if you think about it you can shock yourselves with revelations. You spend your time on Facebook posting things related to you and your lifestyle, your thinking, your ideology and sometimes it also denotes your financial status and position in society. Reactions on your post can be judged as people influenced by you and now think if these things are used by strategists/ analysis firms to create a strategy to manipulate or influence you without your knowledge. Is this shocking? If not than think about the apps you connect through Facebook, in some of them you have used your bank details, personal identity details and now think if they can be used to create your parallel identity or did a bank fraud with you. Is it shocks now?

Some will be judged it as a science fiction movie plot but that is actually happened according to a London based data mining and analysis firm Cambridge Analytica. They stated that they helped influenced 2014 Indian general elections by utilizing data of many Indians. Ravi Shankar Prasad confirmed it in the Parliament house and said that they can summon Mark Zukerberg to India if that news of data breach by Facebook appears to be true but we can laugh it out because Government of India if can summon people of other countries than they must summon those absconding Indians who are taking refuge there after doing big billion frauds.

About 6 million user's data was breached or compromised through Facebook and the founder Mark Zukerberg has apologized for the same but the process can't be undone. So think twice before posting anything on social media and link only those apps with social sites which are necessary. Delink/Logout from the apps which you think are useless. Use appropriate security in mobile wallets and bank apps and avoid opening any irrelevant message or link in mails. Like Right to life, right to privacy is also a basic human right which must be protected by every government and for which every citizen must stand to fight. What are you if you lose your identity? What if someone stole yourself from you? These things in Indian context appears somewhat sci-fi but when we are getting subsidies in our name the scams related to it can become reality. People doing crimes by posing as you can be a truth in such scenario. We have heard about dead people giving vote. Isn’t it possible that somebody is also enjoying benefits in the name of dead people?

The data thing is too complicated but just remembers to share minimum of you online and connect more with people offline. It doesn’t imply that you avoid technology but use it wisely. Consult others on things you don’t know in cyber world. Till next post Live and Let Live.

Delhi Darshan - Sunder Nursery

Sunder Nursery is situated adjacent to Humanyun's Tomb in Nizamuddin Area of Delhi. The nursery was built by Britishers alongside the many Mughal era structures situated in the area. The nursery,monuments and area withered away with time giving this a ruined jungle look but the restoration work done by The Agha Khan Trust and CPWD has completely transformed the area into a beautiful garden with ponds,pathways and bridges.

The restoration work started in 2008-09 is still not completed but major part of the area is now accessible to the public. The monuments has been restored and area around them is developed in a way that it becomes a soothing relaxing area in the hullabaloo of Delhi. I also visited it after reading about its inauguration in newspaper. I was able to spot peacock and many other birds which are unknown to me and I have read that there are many species of butterflies, birds and plants which are unique to the area. Since the development work is still undergoing I can't see butterflies or different bird species around perhaps they were preserved somewhere else during reconstruction period of the area. Although monuments are restored and can be seen by the people.

The entry is free till now and hope it remains free until people started noticing it and it is open for public from morning 9 AM to 4 PM in the evening. The place lacks drinking water and washroom facility which I think is necessary to make this place popular so that families can spend quality time there in the lap of the nature. Overall the place is nice, the fresh air it gives is rare for someone living or coming in Delhi. So everyone must visit it once.

Ruined State - Syria

Indifference of the world communities, the power hungry government, Shia-Sunni rivals and international Islamophobic population has ruined an entire nation. The peaceful demonstration which started almost seven years ago against President Bashar-Al-Assad of Syria for criticizing high unemployment, corruption and lack of political freedom turned into a fully fledged civil war with the intervention of foreign nations which resulted in mass killing of innocent civilians including children.

The Russian government is supporting President Assad and bombarding the rebel areas since 2015. Their attacks they say are targeted towards armed rebel but destroying civilian colonies, hospitals and schools. A recent attack has killed 53 civilians including 21 children. While Russia is supporting President Assad for its interest in the area, USA is supporting the rebel forces. Since Assad is Shia and Sunni is the dominant community in Syria countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia has arrived in the conflict to support their side. Iran supports Shia ruler and Saudi Arabia supports Sunni rebels. Islamic State also grew in the area giving opportunity to these countries to freely attack Syria in pretense to kill IS forces.

The UN says at least 250,000 people have been killed. However, the organization stopped updating its figures in August 2015 but those who are dying are adding to the tally on daily.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported in December 2017 that it had documented the deaths of more than 346,600 people, including 103,000 civilians. But it noted that the figure did not include 56,900 people who were missing and presumed dead. In February 2016, a think-tank estimated that the conflict had caused 470,000 deaths, either directly or indirectly.

Currently no solution to Syrian crisis is visible because UN lead peace talks has failed several times. Most of the Syrians have become refuges seeking shelter in Europe and neighboring countries of Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Some locals in these countries are against Syrian refugees which again has added to their miseries. Russia don’t want President Assad to step down from his post which is the prerequisite at the moment to control the war and bringing all involved parties to the talking table. The world should come together to end this war for the sake of innocent men, women and children getting killed in this war daily.