The menace of ‘mobile phone zombies’ is for real! People cross roads with their eyes glued to their phones, with no regard to their safety or the safety of others. This lackadaisical attitude has become a global menace. And it’s even more frightening in a wolrd losing its humanity bit by bit on a daily basis. But some are taking note, and not just thinking — but implementing — preventive measures. For example, last month, Honolulu became the first state in the US to pass a law to fine people who text-walk. India can take a cue, and while we are on this topic, let’s talk about a few other issues that should be declared illegal and implemented strictly. Read on...
Risky selfies
Smartphones, especially its front camera, has made us leaving our sensesa little too frequently. India has topped the list of most number of selfie deaths! Since the situation isn’t getting better without any restrictions posed, why not make it illegal to click dangerous selfies or selfies at dangerous places?
Between March 2014 and September 2016, 60 per cent of “selfie deaths” in the world happened in India
Smoking
You cannot smoke in public... but why should you smoke at all? That’s a more pertinent question. Smoking kills roughly a million people in India every year. This means every year, we lose 10 times the number of people staying in Gangtok (population is a lakh) because of this killer addiction.
63% of world smokers stay in India, and that 5500 youngsters start consuming tobacco every day! And that’s 35 per cent off Indian adult consume tobacco in some form or the other! That’s not it! 25% of Indian female start smoking before 15 years of age. Now what more do we need to know to make smoking illegal!
Swearing
When did something, once considered insulting, spiteful, even destructive, become ‘oh-so-cool’? Since we can’t tame our tongue, we should be obligated to pay a fine when the line of decency has been crossed. Let’s go for some cuss control!
Political funding by corporates
It would be foolish to believe that corporate funding doesn’t corrupt political parties. It’s human nature to return favours, isn’t it? Also, why would a businessman invest in anything without expecting profitable returns?
In India, a company can donate to a party 7.5% of the average profit of the last three years
Religion-based politics
Caste, class and religion form the Holy Trinity of the Indian political system. Voters vote for the parties that will take care of their religious/caste/class interests; and the leaders are more involved in appeasement than development. If we can get rid of this vicious give-and-take system entrenched in our country’s roots, then we can get rid of the flawed political system too. What say?
Harming our environment
We simply can’t afford to destroy nature anymore. We are at the brink of an enviromental disaster. If we want the human race to survive, and thrive, here, we all have to become constructive. Get, set, go!
More than two crore people have been displaced since 2008 because of global warming
Sexism
No matter how much we tell ourselves we’ve come a long way, sexism is still ingrained in our minds. We will not stop practicing it. And remember, equality of gender is not about women being superior to men or men being superior to women, it’s about them being equal! And if we can’t get it in our heads, then it has to be imposed through a law.
Littering
It’s a punishable offence, but have you ever seen someone being fined for littering? Look around you – everything from our stations, tracks, roads and drains to monuments and colonies, is littered. Had the punishment been harsher and implemented regularly, we would not have treated our surroundings as trash bins. India would be a clean country.
As per Rules-2012 a fine up to the limit of Rs 500 can imposed on anyone littering the railway stations
Littering, risky selfies, smoking, swearing, sexism, racism, political funding by corporates, religion based politics, harming environment in any manner — what according to you should be made illegal. Register now to post your comments