World Human Rights Day – Are we humans anymore? Is there any humanity left?

Insaaniyat kahan chali gaye hai? Kya insaanyaat so rahi hai? Today marks the International Day of Human Rights – celebrated every year on the 10th of December. We talk about empathy, human-ness, being kind, being better people and then we constantly talk about human rights as well. Obviously, that means that there is something wrong with society at large that we have to focus on this subject repeatedly.
Humans tend to be sympathetic and empathetic by nature. Emotions might take you away from the broader perspective that you might want to achieve but humans without emotions are nothing more than just a body structure. Technological advancements have made us closer across the globe but has it changed our collective human behavior towards each other? The hunger for supremacy and power takes it all away. Driven by ulterior motives, we need to survive in societies that are made to exist as a single entity. Every human has dignity and would like to be addressed in a dignified manner. Violating basic human rights results in animosity, which might cause chaos at a societal level.

With the of technology, we are losing basic human emotions resulting in clashes of egos. In recent years, we have witnessed a lot of human rights violations on a very basic level. It has affected the basic core of the society, jolting the foundations on which the society stands. The gravity of such incidents has raised a question: Has downfall of the humanity started? Are we leaving humanity behind?
Emotions tend to shape our beliefs and moral values. Human will is as important and should be exercised in full freedom. To be forced will demean the human spirit. They govern the action and influence. We see aggression, intolerance for the past few years. This has resulted in human rights abuses affecting all levels of society. They have been used for the mobilization of rights. They have been behind the social movements that we see in history.
If we as individuals should take care of the fact that we need to channelize our emotions towards the betterment of humanity. In a depressing world, letting go of the negative emotions will help stir the societies to work for the collective efforts.
For this cause especially, there have been many scholars who have written on this subject, here are a few:

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom
– Maya Angelou

aaj aisā nahīñ aisā nahīñ hone denā
ai mire soḳhta-jāno mire piyāre logo
ab ke gar zalzale aa.e to qayāmat hogī
mere dil-gīr mire dard ke maare logo
kisī ġhāsib kisī zālim kisī qātil ke liye
ḳhud ko taqsīm na karnā mire saare logo
– Ahmed Faraz

tund haiñ sholay, surḳh hai aahan
khulne lage qufloñ ke dahāne
phaila har ik zanjir ka daman
bol ye thora waqt bahut hai
jism o zabañ kī maut se pehle
bol kay sach zinda hai ab tak
bol jo kuch kahnā hai kah le
– Faiz

And for this noble cause we have written something special to add to the list;

Zulm ho ga rokay tou koi,
Jo haath uthain hain unhien rokay tou koi.
Jo saansien tooti hain is bheer mein,
Un zindagion ko jany say rokay tou koi.
Laboon ko seenay ka hukam hai khudaya!!!
Inhein hamesha khaamosh honay se rokay tou koi!
– Ozma Mushtaque

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