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The Nanjing Massacre

In the depth of human history, there are certain incidents which stand out as haunting reminders of the essence of human cruelty as well as the importance of preserving the memory of the victims. Rape of Nanking or the Nanjing rape massacre is one such chapter which continues to resonate with immense significance. Let's delve into this dark event of human existence and explore its impact on humanity and history in my blogs.

The Horrors

The rape of Nanking or Nanjing massacre happened during the early stages of the Sino-Japanese war. In 1937, after Japan captured Nanjing (the capital of China at that time), the Imperial Army of Japan initiated a campaign of persecution against the civilian population as well as surrendered soldiers. The city became an epitome of suffering, violence and unimaginable atrocities.

The Atrocities Unleashed

It is extremely difficult to scale the nature of atrocities being committed in Nanjing. Systematic rape, mass killing, torture, arson as well as looting became routine acts of cruelty against defenceless civilian population. An estimation shows hundreds of thousands of disarmed soldiers and unarmed civilians lost their lives during this dark period of history in Nanjing. In addition to that tens of thousands of women were subjected to sexual violence and assaults.

The Historical Significance

The rape massacre of Nanjing holds profound historical significance for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the massacre represents one of the most severe war crimes of the twentieth century, leaving a scar on the collective memory of the Chinese population. The scale of brutality shook the world, exposing the depth of human depravity.

Secondly, the massacre played a crucial role in shaping the narrative of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The event was responsible for highlighting the cruelty and aggression of the invading Imperial forces,which galvanised into international condemnation of Japan's invasionist approach. The documentation, testimonies, photographs as well as historical records became extremely crucial in ensuring the fact to see the light of the day.

The Rememberance

Remembering the victims of the Nanjing massacre is of paramount importance. Several lives were cut short, dignities shattered as well as voice silenced. Honoring the memory of the victims is extremely essential as a reminder of the importance of peace, respect for human rights and justice. It also emphasizes on the need for historical truths, ensuring such incidents doesn't get repeated in the future.

The Nanjing massacre portrays itself as a stark testament to the horrors that can be unleashed during war times. It is a painful reminder of the fragility of human lifeand the profound importance of preserving historical memory. By remembering and acknowledging the victims , we honour their lives along with creating a world where such persecution has no place.

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"The Forgotten'

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"Propaganda or profits?"

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The forgotten massacre of Iran

Iran, the land of pistachios, saffron and one of the most hospitable Islamic regions in the world has a dark secret whose stain still haunts the authorities of Iran after more than three decades. Those were the days of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the final days of the subsequent Iran-Iraq War when the massacre happened.

It was 1979 when the Iranian Government was overthrown by the Islamic Revolutionaries and a Shiite known as Khomeini was made the supreme leader of the country. Iran was not a part of the Arab world but was a nascent state ruled by Islamic Fundamentalists led by “Ayatollah Khomeini”. As Iran was at the embryonic stage as a nation, Saddam Hussein launched an offensive against it in 1980. This was followed by eight long years of conflict until a cease-fire was mediated by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in August of 1988 through UN Resolution 598.

When the UNSC was pushing for a ceasefire between Iraq and Iran, in July 1988, the National Liberation Army (NLA), a faction under the affiliation of PMOI (People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran) launched an armed invasion into the western fronts of Iran. These armed incursions were efficiently repulsed by the Iranian Military and political prisoners were taken into detention. What followed next was a massive human rights violation in the West Asian Region.

These political prisoners were eliminated in two waves. At re-trials, the political prisoners were asked about their political affiliations. If they showed any affiliations towards PMOI, they were executed. On the other hand, they were inquired about their religious faith, if they showed any deviation they were executed as well. Human Rights organisations estimate the death toll to be 4,000-5,000 men and women including children, killed in the summer of 1988.

"Whoever at any stage continues to belong to the PMOI must be executed. Annihilate the enemies of Islam immediately!”-Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran on July 1988.

No data on actual casualties of the massacre ever came to lights. Even today, the Iranian government denies their involvement in the massacre. The incident was neither mentioned nor investigated in these three decades. Bodies of the terminated prisoners were buried in mass graves without any epitaph or inscription. The mass graves can still be found in Khavaran Cemetery in Southern Iran. Authorities still persecute and harass the families of the victims by detaining as well as dispersing them on Commemoration Day held on the last Friday before September 1 in Khavaran Cemetery.

It is believed that some of the officials who were responsible for the prison massacre still holds some of the highest positions in the Iranian bureaucracy. The newly elected president of Iran which is one of the top bureaucratic positions in the country, Ebrahim Raisi (an ultra-conservative) is believed to have significant involvement in the massive political assassinations during this period. The former president of Iran, a moderate, Hassan Rouhani, was the Deputy Commander in Chief of the Iranian Army during the executions of 1988 and was a member of the Supreme Defence Council of Iran since 1982, hence was completely aware of the crime but did nothing to stop it.

Iran, a country with dual characteristics in the political structure having democracy on one hand and religious ideology on the other, still denies its involvement and tries to suppress it from international recognition. With the country struggling between strengthening democracy while giving primacy to a religious ideology, which in turn ruins democratic institutions, it is extremely important to see how long these conservatives can carry on with their hegemonic ambitions in the West Asian region. Even if they attain what they seek, it’ll be achieved on a stack of dead bodies which will haunt the regime for eternity and beyond.

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Rape culture in Roman civilisation

When talking about erotic relationships and love, the role of eroticism in love and love in eroticism is inseparable from either of the concepts. This is the most appropriate contradiction to the Platonic form of love, which is used in the modern phraseology to justify the absence of erotic relationships in the concept of true love.

The Rape culture that is now considered a pathogenic behaviour in the modern society was surprisingly one of the true catalyst for the growth of “Roman Civilisation”. When Romulus founded the city of Rome in 753 BCE, the Roman society was patriarchal in nature where men (the head of the family) had complete control over the household consisting children, women as well as slaves. Shortly after laying the foundation of the civilisation by Romulus, the Romans invaded the tribal communities neighbouring it, taking away their women and impregnating them which is famously known as the “Famous Rape of the Sabine women”. The tribal communities retaliated back but was suppressed by the powerful Romans.

Though some of these tribal women vehemently opposed the rape culture of the Romans, but some of them submitted, as they saw this obedience to be the only way to end the deaths of hundreds and thousands of their tribesmen. One of the famous examples of this was Hersila (Romulus’s wife) who encouraged other women to submit to the Romans in order to terminate the violence.

From the Roman side, this move was justifiable as they sought a complete demographic re-engineering of the region. The Roman society saw men as the most powerful who can flaunt their sexuality whereas women’s role in the society was restricted to child bearing, preferably boys to carry on their lineage. This concept was backed by religion as they dictated that men should make the rules and women had to follow them, men held the power and women are meant to respond to them accordingly.

When scrutinising the concept of love in Ancient Rome, it is important to analyse the contemporary literature of that period. In numerous poems, there has been evidences of adultery in Ancient Rome. While romantic relationships between married couple is attested to letters, epitaphs as well as inscriptions, a bigger picture of romantic as well as erotic relationships comes from literary works such as poems in which poets were seen complimenting women or boys with whom they were romantically or sexually intimate, usually an extramarital affair on one part or both.

Marriage in Roman society was highly regulative in nature where parents took the final decision without consulting or taking consent from their children. This led to a flawed social institution in the name of marriage. Divorce, on the other hand was present but was regulated strictly by patriarchal rules and social order. The social norms for divorce included infertility on wife’s part or neglect and abuse on the husband’s. Adultery could be a reason for divorce but it couldn’t be brought by a woman engaged in extramarital affair. In a nutshell, Adultery was a sin and an illegal activity but was rampant in the period.

Therefore, Roman civilisation provided a rationale, not only for the prevailing rape culture in that period but also a patriarchal social structure in which women neither had a free will nor freedom to act justly opposing to the subjugation. The social order was extremely stringent and women never left the chain of oppression in Roman society.

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The Iron Dobbin,

Invented in Italy in 1933, the Iron Dobbin was a mechanical horse originally developed to train young children how to ride.  Powered by a gasoline engine, the Iron Dobbin was essentially a four legged walker, its legs being made from steel pipes.  The Iron Dobbin was supposed to mimic the movement of a horse, and supposedly was able to traverse rough terrain.  Originally the Iron Dobbin was intended to train children of the Italian Fascist Youth Movement to ride, and the Italian Army considered the machine to replace draft horses and donkeys.  However the Italian Army deemed the design impractical.  The German Army also developed their own version called the “Panzerpferd”, or Armored Horse, but it too was found to be an impractical design.  The Iron Dobbin was featured in the April, 1933 edition of Popular Science.

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(Source)

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The Space Station Crosses a Spotless Sun via NASA https://ift.tt/2JHcGsB

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Space Shuttle Endeavor Photographed from the International Space Station

via reddit

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Apt 🙂

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no matter how much you want to, you can’t save everyone.

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What if we live in a simulation?