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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Apr 30, 2016, 08:13 AM IST
Our patriotism has reached stratospheric heights. The Indian flag will soon be hoisted atop a 350-feet pole near the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (JCP). At that unprecedented altitude, the giant tricolour can be spotted from Lahore in Pakistan. There are manifold challenges in maintaining the flag and the mast in an area which often experiences strong winds. The mast will rest on a platform for stability and the fabric of the flag will be decided keeping in mind inclement weather conditions. Apparently, nothing grabs eyeballs more than a grand spectacle. The JCP is already a favourite among tourists from both the countries for its high-voltage Retreat ceremony. In a surcharged patriotic atmospheric, the flag will be a major attraction — and of course a matter of pride for Indians. Our masts keep getting taller. Currently, the tallest one is at Ranchi where the flag flutters from a height of 293 feet. The size of the flag is a whopping 66feet x 99 feet. In January this year, Ranchi pipped Faridabad to the post which earlier held the record with a 250-feet pole. One is forced to wonder why it is important to erect such giant posts, unless the authorities are keen on putting India’s name in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The discontent is palpable; a storm is brewing. And when that storm will batter centuries’ old traditions, patriarchy will be blown away like straws. Shani Shingnapur and Trimbakeshwar have opened their doors for women; it should now be a matter of time before Haji Ali Dargah authorities mend their ways. They can’t keep women away from the shrine. Rights activist Trupti Desai, credited with getting the ban lifted in the two Hindu temples, has now taken up the challenge on behalf of Muslim women to fight the restriction at the dargah. She had failed to enter the shrine on Thursday and later in the day staged a dharna to protest gender-based discrimination. There is little that Haji Ali trustees can do because their opposition infringes on the Right to Equality, which is a Fundamental Right. The trustees are taking refuge under religious diktats to keep women away but Islamic scholars have repeatedly pointed out that the Quran doesn’t prohibit women from entering dargahs — the graves of Muslim saints. It is time the trust wakes up and smells the coffee so to speak, and allow winds of change sweep through the holy shrine.
While boots on the ground and superior military power have forced the Islamic State to beat a retreat, it's clearly winning the online war. The battle of ideologies on the world wide web is a different ballgame altogether where it may not be enough only to block online platforms featuring stuff on terror. The radicalisation of youth through the Internet is a burning problem and given the vast and complex nature of the web, the European Union is finding it extremely difficult to contain the scourge. The EU has made significant progress in the last year and a half, but there is still a lot more to do. A referral unit set up in July last year has scanned about 4700 pieces of material across 45 platforms. In December discussions were held between EU Commission for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship and the Internet industry. On the ground, a raft of proposals to battle terrorism are yet to be adopted by the European Parliament. The 28 member states need to come together on a common platform to crack down on terror online as well.
