Dignity is an absolute Non-Negotiable

One day my daughter came home from her coaching class & started crying. I thought it was one of those hard drill days. When the coach pushes and yells at the girls for not pushing themselves. After a quick shower I served breakfast and both of us sat to eat. My daughter has an habit of sharing everything but today she was rather quite. So I decided to nudge her and ask. She got up hugged me and started crying bitterly. This was rather unusual & I knew it was something big. So I asked her what happened. Before she could share the door bell rang & her entire football team was home. They all shared how the new coach had thrown a girl out of class today for no reason at all. I heard them all and then smiled. All knew what was coming. I started the story One morning in a Law lecture during my graduation days a new teacher had come to our class for "Introduction to Rights". The first thing he did was to ask the name of a student who was seated on the first bench: "What is your name?" "My name is Rahul, Sir." "Leave the classroom and I don't want to ever see your face in my class ever!" screamed the unpleasant teacher. Rohit was bewildered. When he got hold of his senses, he got up quickly, collected his belongings and left the classroom. All .were scared and angry; however nobody spoke anything. "Well, let's start the class," said the new teacher. "What purpose do the enacted laws serve?" We were afraid, but slowly gained confidence and we began to answer his questions. "So that there is order in our society." "No!" the teacher shouted "So that people pay for their wrong actions?"

"No! Doesn't anybody here have enough brains to know the answer to this question?!" asked the teacher, sarcastically.

"So that there is justice," I slowly said. "At last! One person who is not a complete moron! That's correct, so that there is justice. And now, what is the use of justice?" All of us were extremely uneasy with his rude attitude. However, we continued trying to answer. "To safeguard human rights." "Well, what more?" asked the teacher. "To differentiate right from wrong and to reward the good." "Ok, that's not ba However, answer this question: Did I act correctly when expelling Rahul from the classroom?" All were quiet, nobody answered. "I want a decisive & unanimous answer!" he shouted. "No!" we all replied in unison. "Then could you say I committed an injustice?" "Yes!" Then his voice softened & he asked, "And why did nobody do anything in that respect? So why do we need rules and laws if we don't have the necessary will to practice them? Each one of you has an obligation to do something when you witness an injustice. Do not stay quiet, never again! Go and call Rahul," he said staring at me. On that day, I received the most practical lesson in my course of Law. All the girls were clear and they video called the head coach and complained about this new coaches behaviour. Ofcythe put come was the new coach didn't come for there trainings ever again.?

Reflection by Dr Anjana?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/anjanavinod

Reflect in life when have you given up your right to stand against injustice just because its not about you? Remember when we don't defend our rights, we lose our dignity & dignity is not negotiable. We have two choices either keep running and hiding & blaming the world for our problems, or to stand up for ourselves Our self-worth comes from us alone, never from the opinion of others. When someone treats us like an option, help them narrow their choices by removing yourself from the equation.?The Irony of life is the world suffers not because of the violence of bad people but the silence of good people No one can take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them. There is a very thin line between ego and self respect. "Why should I call first" - is ego but "Why should I always call first" - is self respect. Lets go ahead in life & stand for whats right even if it means standing alone Self-love, self-respect, self-worth, there is a reason they all start with self one cannot find them in anyone else. Our value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see our worth. Just be you, the world will adjust.