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Yes, she has to if he has a concern about it and she wishes to marry him. Same applies for guys. Because hiding any details/lying to partner is the worst idea, coz it would make them feel betrayed on knowing the truth, no matter how truthfulbnd loyal you had been to them.It's weird to read some of the answers below declaring their own beliefs as universal like “ virginity is important “ or “ past doesn't matter “ . Who are we to impose our beliefs on others ?When a person marries, he/she can have many expectations about his/her life partner. And that varies from person to person . It can be on job, looks , physique , humour sense , financial planning , religion ..lots n lost. Past is just one among numerous preferences. Recently metro feminists have made it such a bug issue, that men get stereotyped as orthdox mcp or old fashioned if they ask a girl's past before marriage ( Even though people are double keen in investigating the past of prospective bride/grooms than the 90s ).There is always an option to reject the person : if someone is not comfortable in sharing their past with a partner , he/she can tell that and break from the relationship as early as possible if past is such a big concern.It can be confidential : Past relationships are ones personal experiences and it need not be shared to family / humiliated. Before sharing the past one can make sure that their partner would keep it confidential even in case of rejection.Not all men want virgins : Even though majority of Indian men want virgin brides ( it's strictly a personal choice), not everyone who asks the past wants to check your virginity status. They may need to know whether you are a casual / hippie style dater, whether you are sensitive to breakups , whether you are still in love with someone , whether you get deeply involved with people etc etc. It's indeed necessary to know the character of your partner after all right ? They may need to know what kinda expectations you have when it comes to marriage .Past is never a matter of gender equality : Even though practices like white bedsheet tests are humiliating and inhuman, we can't force someone to accept us as a partner just because the he/she is no different from me. One can't ask a short girl to marry him just because they have the same height . A jobless guy can't ask why a jobless girl doesn't marry him . It's all a matter of personal choice. Just as Being a virgin/losing virginity is a personal choice for both men nd women, finding a virgin partner is also a personal choice for both men and women .Being judgemental is different from being selective : Our society indeed has got many double standards which judges women more for being sexually active than men. It is indeed wrong and is changing with time. But choosing a partner of their choice can be done without being judgemental. There are women who refuses to marry soldiers and cops fearing their risky jobs and widowhood. But that never meant they judge or disrespect those Noble professions . Similarly preferring a virgin partner doesn't mean you are disrespecting non - virgins.Past is not just for women : Enquiries on ones past is not just for women, it's done equally for men . Just as the groom’s family enquires about the bride's past relationships , conduct etc, the bride's parents too conduct similar inspections more on his work, financial responsibilities .etcSo it's always good to respect each other's choice and be straightforward.

Anti Homosexuality Law - PDFTHE ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL. 2009.MEMORANDUM1.1. The principleThe object of this Bill is to establish a comprehensive consolidated legislation to protect thetraditional family by prohibiting (i) any form of sexual relations between persons of the samesex; and (ii) the promotion or recognition of such sexual relations in public institutions and otherplaces through or with the support of any Government entity in Uganda or any non governmentalorganization inside or outside the country.This Bill aims at strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and externalthreats to the traditional heterosexual family.This legislation further recognizes the fact that same sex attraction is not an innate andimmutable characteristic.The Bill further aims at providing a comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect thecherished culture of the people of Uganda. legal, religious, and traditional family values of thepeople of Uganda against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values ofsexual promiscuity on the people of Uganda.There is also need to protect the children and youths of Uganda who are made vulnerable tosexual abuse and deviation as a result of cultural changes, uncensored information technologies,parentless child developmental settings and increasing attempts by homosexuals to raise childrenin homosexual relationships through adoption, foster care, or otherwise.2.1. Defects In existing law.This proposed legislation is designed to fill the gaps in the provisions of other laws in Ugandae.g. the Penal Code Act Cap. 120.The Penal Code Act (CapI20) has no comprehensive provision catering for anti homosexuality. Itfocuses on unnatural offences under section 145 and lacks provisions for penalizing theprocurement, promoting, disseminating literature and other pornographic materials concerningthe offences of homosexuality hence the need for legislation to provide for charging,investigating, prosecuting, convicting and sentencing of offenders.This legislation comes to complement and supplement the provisions of the Constitution ofUganda and the Penal Code Act Cap 120 by not only criminalizing same sex marriages but alsosame-sex sexual acts and other related acts.3.0. The objectives of the BillThe objectives of the Bill are to:(a) provide for marriage in Uganda as that contracted only between a man and a woman; (b) prohibit and penalize homosexual behavior and related practices in Uganda as they constitutea threat to the traditional family;(e) prohibit ratification of any international treaties, conventions, protocols, agreements anddeclarations which are contrary or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act;(d) prohibit the licensing of organizations which promote homosexuality.3.1. Part I of the Bill incorporating clause 1 provides for preliminary mailers relating tointerpretation of the words and phrases used in the Bill.3.2. Part II of the Bill incorporating clause 2 to 6 prohibits homosexuality and related practicesby introducing the offences of engaging In homosexuality, and the penalties of imprisonmentupon conviction. This pan also provides for protection, assistance and support for victims ofhomosexuality.3.3. Part III of the Bill incorporating clause 7 to clause 14 creates offences and penalties foracts that promote homosexuality, failure to report the offence and impose a duty on thecommunity to report suspected cases of homosexuality.3.4. Part IV of the Bill incorporating clause 15 to clause 17 provides for the jurisdiction ofUganda Courts in case of Homosexuality, including extra territorial jurisdiction.3.5. Part V of the Bill incorporating clauses 18 and 19 provides for miscellaneous provisionson International Treaties, Protocols. Declarations and conventions and the Minister to makeregulations to give effect to the Act.Schedule of the Bill gives the value of the currency point.HON DAVID BAHATI,Member of Parliament, Ndorwa County West Kabale.THE ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, 2009.ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES.PART I — PRELIMINARYClauseI. Interpretation.PART ll-PROHIBITION OF HOMOSEXUALITY.2. The offence of homosexuality3. Aggravated homosexuality.4. Attempt to commit homosexuality.5. Protection, assistance and payment of compensation to victims of homoseuxality6. Confidentiality. PART Ill — RELATED OFFENCES AND PENALTIES.7. Aiding and abating homosexuality.8. Conspiracy to engage in homosexuality.9. Procuring homosexuality. by threats, etc.10. Detention with intent to commit homosexuality.11. Brothels.12. Same sex marriage.13. Promotion of homosexuality.14. Failure to disclose the offence.PART IV — JURISDICTION.15. Jurisdiction.16. Extra-territorial Jurisdiction.17. Extradition.PART V — MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS18. International treaties.19. Regulations.ScheduleCurrency point.——A BILL FOR AN ACTENTITLEDTHE ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY ACT, 2009.An Act to prohibit any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; prohibitthe promotion or recognition of such relations and to provide for other related matters.BE IT ENACTED by Parliament as follows:PART I — PRELIMINARY.I. Interpretation.In this Act. unless the context otherwise requires – “authority” means having power and control over other people because of your knowledge andofficial position; and shall include a person who exercises religious. political, economic or socialauthority;“bisexual” means a person who is sexually attracted to both males and females;“child” means a person below the age of 18 years:“currency point” has the value assigned to it in the Schedule to this Act;“disability” means a substantial limitation of daily life activities caused by physical. mental orsensory impairment and environment barriers resulting in limited participation;“felony” means an offence which is declared by law to be a felony or if not declared to be amisdemeanor is punishable without proof of previous conviction, with death or withimprisonment for 3 years or more.;“gay”" means a male person who engages in sexual intimacy with another person of the samesex;“‘gender”" means male or female;“HIV” means the Human Immunodeficiency Virus;“homosexual”‘ means a person who engages or attempts to engage in same gender sexualactivity;“homosexuality”’ means same gender or same sex sexual acts;“lesbian” means a female who engages in sexual intimacy with another female;“Minister’” means the Minister responsible for ethics and integrity;“misdemeanor” means an offence which is not a felony;“serial offender” means a person who has previous convictions of the offence of homosexualityor related offences;“sexual act” includes –(a) physical sexual activity that docs not necessarily culminate in intercourse and may includethe touching of another’s breast, vagina, penis or anus:(b) stimulation or penetration of a vagina or mouth or anus or any part of the body of any person,however slight by a sexual organ; (c) the unlawful use of any object or organ by a person on another person’s sexual organ or anusor mouth;“sexual organ” means a vagina, penis or any artificial sexual contraption;“touching” includes touching—(a) with any part of the body;(b) with anything else;(c) through anything;and in particular includes touching amounting to penetration of any sexual organ. anus or mouth.“victim” includes a person who is involved in homosexual activities against his or her will.PART II — HOMOSEXUALITY AND RELATED PRACTICES.2. The offence of homosexuality.(1) A person commits the offence of homosexuality if-(a) he penetrates the anus or mouth of another person of the same sex with his penis or any othersexual contraption;(b) he or she uses any object or sexual contraption to penetrate or stimulate sexual organ of aperson of the same sex;(e) he or she touches another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.(2) A person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable on conviction toimprisonment for life.3. Aggravated homosexuality.(1) A person commits the offense of aggravated homosexuality where the(a) person against whom the offence is committed is below the age of 18 years;(b) offender is a person living with HIV;(c) offender is a parent or guardian of the person against whom the offence is committed;(d) offender is a person in authority over the person against whom the offence is committed;(e) victim of the offence is a person with disability; (f) offender is a serial offender, or(g) offender applies, administers or causes to be used by any man or woman any drug, matter orthing with intent to stupefy overpower him or her so as to there by enable any person to haveunlawful carnal connection with any person of the same sex,(2) A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on convictionto suffer death.(3) Where a person is charged with the offence under this section, that person shall undergo amedical examination to ascertain his or her HIV status.4, Attempt to commit homosexuality.(1) A person who attempts to commit the offence of homosexuality commits a felony and isliable on conviction to imprisonment seven years.(2) A person who attempts to commit the offence of aggravated homosexuality commits anoffence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.5. Protection, assistance and payment of compensation to victims of homosexuality.(1 ) A victim of homosexuality shall not be penalized for any crime commuted as a direct resultof his or her involvement in homosexuality.(2) A victim of homosexuality shall be assisted to enable his or her views and concerns to bepresented and considered at the appropriate stages of the criminal proceedings.(3) Where a person is convicted of homosexuality or aggravated homosexuality under sections 2and 3 of this Act, the court may, in addition to any sentence imposed on the offender, order thatthe victim of the offence be paid compensation by the offender for any physical, sexual orpsychological harm caused to the victim by the offence.(4) The amount of compensation shall be determined by the court and the court shall take intoaccount the extent of harm suffered by the victim of the offence. the degree of force used by theoffender and medical and other expenses incurred by the victim as a result of the offence.6. Confidentiality.(1) At any stage of the Investigation or trial of an offence under this Act, law enforcementofficers, prosecutors, judicial officers and medical practitioners, as well as parties to the case,shall recognize the right to privacy of the victim.(2) For the purpose of subsection (I), in cases involving children and other cases where the courtconsiders it appropriate. proceedings of the court shall be conducted in camera, outside thepresence of the media.(3) Any editor or publisher, reporter or columnist in case of printed materials. announcer orproducer in case of television and radio, producer or director of a film to case of the movie industry. or any person utilizing trimedia facilities or information technology who publishes orcauses the publicity of the names and personal circumstances or any other information tending toestablish the victim’s identity without authority of court commits an offence and is liable onconviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty currency points.7. Aiding and abating homosexualityA person who aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage in acts of homosexualitycommits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years.8. Conspiracy to engage in homosexuality.A person who conspires with another to induce another person of the same sex by any means offalse pretence or other fraudulent means to permit any person of the same sex to haveunlawful carnal knowledge of him or her commits an offence and is liable on conviction toimprisonment for seven years.9. Procuring homosexuality by threats, etc.(1) A person who–(a) by threats or intimidation procures or attempts to procure any woman or man to have anyunlawful carnal knowledge with any person of the same sex, either in Uganda or elsewhere;(b) by false pretences or false representations procures any woman or man to have any unlawfulcarnal connection with any person of the same sex, either in Uganda or elsewhere; or(2) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this section upon the evidence of onewitness only, unless that witness is corroborated in some material particular by evidenceimplicating the accused.10. Detention with intent to commit homosexuality.A person who detains another person with the intention to commit acts of homosexuality withhim or herself or with any other person commits an offence and is liable on conviction for sevenyears.11. Brothels.(1) A person who keeps a house, room,set of rooms or place of any kind for the purposes ofhomosexuality commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years.2) A person being the owner or occupier of premises or having or acting or assisting in themanagement or control of the premises, induces or knowingly suffers any man or woman toresort to or be upon such premises for the purpose of being unlawfully and carnally known byany man or woman of the same sex whether such carnal knowledge is intended to be with anyparticular man or woman generally, commits a felony and is liable on conviction toimprisonment for five years. 12. Same sex marriage.A person who purports to contract a marriage with another person of the same sex commits theoffence of homosexuality and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.13. Promotion of homosexuality.(1) A person who –(a) participates in production. procuring, marketing, broadcasting, disseminating, publishingpornographic materials for purposes of promoting homosexuality;(b) funds or sponsors homosexuality or other related activities;(c) offers premises and other related fixed or movable assets for purposes of homosexuality orpromoting homosexuality;(d) uses electronic devices which include internet, films, mobile phones for purposes ofhomosexuality or promoting homosexuality and;(e) who acts as an accomplice or attempts to promote or in any way abets homosexuality andrelated practices;commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a line of live thousand currency points orimprisonment of a minimum of five years and a maximum of seven years or both fine andimprisonment.(2) Where the offender is a corporate body or a business or an association or a non-governmentalorganization, on conviction its certificate of registration shall be cancelled and the director orproprietor or promoter shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years.14. Failure to disclose the offence.A person in authority, who being aware of the commission of any offence under this Act, omitsto report the offence to the relevant authorities within twenty-four hours of having first had thatknowledge, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundredand fifty currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three years.PART IV — JURISDICTION15. Jurisdiction.Save for aggravated homosexuality that shall be tried by the High Court, the magistrates courtshall have jurisdiction to try the other offences under this Act.16. Extra- Territorial Jurisdiction.This Act shall apply to offenses committed outside Uganda where – (a) a person who, while being a citizen of or permanently residing in Uganda, commits an actoutside Uganda, which act would constitute an offence under this Act had it been committed inUganda; or(b) the offence was committed partly outside and or partly in Uganda.17. Extradition.A person charged with an offence under this Act shall be liable to extradition under the existingextradition laws.PART V — MISCELLANEOUS.18. Nullification of inconsistent international treaties, protocols, declarations andconventions.(1) Any International legal instrument whose provisions are contradictory to thespirit and provisions enshrined in this Act, are null and void to the extent of their inconsistency.(2) Definitions of “sexual orientation”, “sexual rights”, “sexual minorities”, “gender identity”shall not be used in anyway to legitimize homosexuality, gender identity disorders and relatedpractices in Uganda.19. Regulations.The Minister may, by statutory instrument. make regulations generally for better carrying out theprovisions of this Act.SCHEDULEOne currency point in equivalent to twenty thousand shillings.

Note: This answer (to another question) was collapsed by the Quora moderation on account of plagiarism. I was alleged of plagiarism despite having mentioned and linked all the sources and block quoting them. The worst part is that collapsed answers due to “plagiarism” can’t be uncollapsed by Quora. I contacted Quora support but I am yet to get a reply. Meanwhile, I have added some more points to the original answer.Before you start reading this, you need to have two things - time (6000+ words) and tolerance.(A) EVERYONE IS SELFISHThe word “selfish” is derived from “self”. Generally, the word selfish is perceived as a derogatory term, meaning lack of consideration for others. I beg to differ. I think selfish means putting your self-interests above others’. Putting your self-interests above others’ does not necessarily mean that you have a complete lack of consideration for others. And I will explain why isn’t a bad thing to be selfish.Everyone is selfish. Most of us won’t admit that we are selfish. Almost all of us see it as a bad trait in one’s personality. Believe it or not, even the world’s greatest philanthropists are selfish too. They may have donated billions to charity, but by keeping their self-interests above others’. You may be wondering, what can be person’s self-interest who donates most of his money to charity! Happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment. He wouldn’t have donated a single penny, had his action didn’t award him with happiness and content. Does being selfish make him a bad person? No. Does his being selfish meant lack of consideration for others? No. Unfortunately, our society likes to measure self-interests in terms of money and materials, while neglecting feelings like happiness, love, and content, which are actually the core ingredients of a successful life.The above example also disrupts the common notion that someone needs to lose if you want to gain. Being selfish can be a win-win situation for everyone. You get pleasure by helping an old lady with her groceries, by teaching a poor child for free, by randomly smiling at a stranger. In all these situations, you are keeping your self-interests.I have a theory about selfishness, which I call “The cake theory”. There is only one slice of cake, which can’t be split. And there are two people- my mother and me. She wants me to have the slice, and I want her to take it. Naturally, she derives more happiness if I have the cake, and unnaturally, in this case, I derive more happiness if she eats the cake. Finally, she eats the cake. You know who is more selfish? It’s me. You know who sacrificed? My mother. She has the cake, but she would have been happier, had I took that slice. The society, generally, would call my mother more selfish than me. This is another clear example that the society values materials more than happiness.Selfish isn’t a good word either. People kill and cheat others over their self-interests. Other than the commonly perceived meaning of the word, the word itself carry a little significance. Every action that man takes is governed by his self-interests. This makes every person a selfish person.(B) IT IS MORE RACIST TO CALL BLACK PEOPLE “PEOPLE OF COLOUR” THAN CALLING THEM BLACKIf you are refraining from using the term “black” and are searching for alternatives, you are silently asserting that something is wrong with the term “black”. If white people can be called “white”, I don’t see any reason to hide “black” behind a veil, if you truly believe in equality.(C) I DON’T THINK OF ANY REASON TO MOURN OVER RANDOM DEATHS, VIOLENCE AND ASSAULTWhy do people get sad when they hear about the death of their school classmate whom they never talked to? 151,600 people die every day and there is no reason why the death of my old neighbour should bother or surprise me (I dislike him anyway).I don’t understand why news about rape, assault and murder of a random person makes people sad. Just because you don’t get to know similar crimes happening all the time, it doesn’t mean the news you are reading/watching is special in any form. Most people move on with their usual life anyway, after pretending to have felt bad about the victim for 10 minutes.I get it when the number of victims is large, the incident is abnormal or the victim is someone close. I get it when it moves you so much that you take actions (sharing on social media doesn’t count) to stop similar incidents or help the victims. But if you just care, then your care and my indifference- both have practically equal effect in the real world.(D) EVERYONE IS PREJUDICED, RACIST, AGEIST, AND SEXISTHe is such an accomplished scientist for an African.For a white, you are an excellent athlete.Are you from middle-east? You must be very conservative.Look at her dress. She is asking for it.You are a lot younger than me. What do you know about life!He is a Buddhist. He must be peace-loving.Drugs? Mexican? Colombian?See the tattoos and piercings? He must be a junkie.Long before I have time to think about a person, long before I dip in rationality, I am always ready with a preconceived notion about that person. This is an automated response from my brain. I don’t feel ashamed about it. These thoughts don’t represent me. They represent the culture I have been raised in. They represent the conditioning by the society I have lived in, books I have read, movies and television I have watched, and the internet I have been exposed to.Everyone is a bit racist, ageist, and sexist. Prejudice is actually necessary for humans. Our brain works as a feedback mechanism. It accumulates our prior experiences and uses them to make fast and efficient decisions in our daily life. Prejudice is the product of this feedback mechanism.We may all be racist and sexist and ageist at heart, but this is not our doing—we have merely internalized what we have been hearing and reading and seeing our whole life, that is, we are thirsty sponges, and we pick up the patterns that culture happily spoonfeeds us, and we haplessly store it all in our thirsty memory banks, gladly retrieving the connection and filling in the blanks.One conclusion from this study is clear. For most of us, the racist/sexist/ageist inside us may not be a monster of our own making; s/he is not a reflection of who we are, but a reflection of where we've been. Being faster to associate ‘black' with ‘violence' doesn't imply that you are a hardcore racist, it sadly just means you're American.Source: Prime and Prejudice: Why We Are All a Little Bit Racist"One of the things these findings suggest is that for those of us who, like me, very often feel guilty about these gut reactions you have and you're not supposed to have is those gut reactions are normal and they have very little to do with you. They have more to do with the culture around you," said Verhaeghen. "What is more important is your behavior, rather than your gut reaction."Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/rel...The only way by which we can overcome the effects of prejudice is by acknowledging it. Let that gut-feeling come, and let that gut-feeling pass, and let your rationality take you from there.(E) THERE IS NOTHING WRONG AND THERE IS NOTHING RIGHTMorality is a human invention and is applicable only to humans. It is a guided set of rules aimed at making humans more civilised. Just because humans have objectively classified things into right and wrong doesn’t necessarily mean that these classifications actually exist in nature.These guidelines, and thus the perception of right and wrong keep on changing with time as the opinions of the majority of humans change. There is a statement delivered by Brad Pitt in the movie, 12 Monkeys, "There's no right, there's no wrong, there's only popular opinion." Once there was a popular opinion was that Earth was flat and that notion was considered "right". Then, there were times when the sun revolving the Earth was a common opinion, and the ones opposing that, were considered crazy. While cannibalism, public torture, and blood fights were widely accepted in many societies in the past, these are now considered heinous acts. Until recently, or even today, homosexuality and atheism were/are considered wrong. Today, marijuana and prostitution are illegal(in most parts of the world). Who knows, tomorrow the "popular opinion" changes and what is considered wrong today would be considered right tomorrow.Humans are subjected to cultural conditioning. Children often throw their food, scream, and blatantly talk to others before they are conditioned to the “right” and “wrong”. After the stage when children start to develop the ability to process conditioning, throughout their lives, morality is continuously shoved into them through parents, teachers, society, religion, and education. This conditioning, in one way, is essential to keep humans within the bounds. But this means that morality is something which is taught to humans since childhood, and not something which is inherently present in them.Morality is to humans what geographical coordinate system is to world geography.Now, maybe you are thinking that murder, rape, and violence are outright “wrong”. I would ask you to have a good look at nature. Animals often kill each other over territory or for mates. We don’t call it wrong, we call it the “survival of the fittest”. There have been instances of rape among animals, many times when it doesn’t even seem to be one, and yet it seems perfectly natural. Animals often don’t allow members of different clans in their group. This is what we call “racial discrimination” today. Nature often strikes with earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes, which we would call “violence”. If murder, rape, racism, violence are “wrong”, shouldn’t that “wrong” be applicable to all the species and nature as well. If humans didn’t exist, would morality hold any significance at all? As humans grew intelligent, they invented morality to keep themselves civilised, and as humans grew arrogant, they started believing that morality is a universal thing.For further reads:Morality is a Culturally Conditioned ResponseKant: Morality(F) KARMA DOESN’T WORKKarma goes wrong on so many levels.Karma refers to the the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.Source: karma - definition of karma in English | Oxford DictionariesThe core idea of Karma is based on the idea of reincarnation and the human soul. To have a fair evaluation of an idea and to reach a conclusion, we can only use information that we already know, rather than an unproven hypothesis. There is no firm base of reason and logic by which we can say that reincarnation and soul work. If we base our reason on the things that may work, there are infinite number of other possibilities that may also work. So we can dismiss a part of the core idea of Karma that that is cause-effect relationship that transcends from one life to another.Karma also fails miserably if we dismiss the reincarnation part and limit it to this life. Often people who believe in Karma support it by citing isolated examples of how something “bad” happened to a “bad” person, and something “good” happened to a “good” person. If you really think that this is how it works, you should have a closer look at your world.Source: Nick Ut / The Associated PressHow does Karma know what is right and what is wrong; what is good and what is evil? If morality itself is a human construct, so is Karma.You can believe in whatever you like, but don’t pretend that it is anywhere close to truth.(G) A CRIME LOSES ITS INTENSITY AFTER YOU KNOW THE REASON BEHIND ITLet’s take an example.Sarah killed the 70-year old owner of a small departmental store while he resisted robbery.You hate her, don’t you?Now read the full story: Sarah was abandoned by her alcoholic husband a year ago while she was 8-month pregnant. She worked harder as a waitress as she not only had to carry herself but also her baby, post delivery. Working overtime, she was slowly getting a hold on her life. But three months back, the restaurant caught fire and had to be shut down. Sarah lost her job. She started hunting for a new job. Meanwhile, her rent was overdue but she had already spent her savings on her child’s vaccines. She borrowed some money from her friend to pay the rent. After three months of losing her job, Sarah was penniless, without a job, with a debt and with the homeowner pestering her to pay the rent. Finally, she had exhausted her mental and physical strength when she decided to rob that departmental store. When she entered the store, she thought that the old man would be an easy target and a kitchen knife would suffice. Little did she know that he had a gun in his drawer. When the old man realised he was being robbed, he took out the gun to point at her. Sarah instantly knew he was reaching for the gun, and in the heat of the moment, slammed the vase kept on the table on the old man’s head.Do you still hate Sarah?Okay, you may be thinking this story was specially crafted to prove my point. Let’s take another example- an extreme one.Jimmy raped a girl.You must hate Jimmy.Now let’s try to understand the root cause of the incident. Imagine there’s an island with 100 males and 1 female. Now the best possible scenario to take the race forward would be to produce as many babies one by one. If the female desires to mate with more males at a time, that would be disastrous for the baby and for the race.Now imagine an island with 100 females and 1 male. The best possible way that the race is carried further is when 1 male mates with as many females as he can.This explains why males are more sexually active and aggressive than females. This also explains why there are more rapes against females than against males.It has also been observed that rapes are common in some species of animals with males being the perpetrators in almost every case. So in a way, rape is a natural phenomenon.But this doesn’t justify Jimmy to rape that girl, does it? After all, there are such a large number of “civilised” men. So what caused him to do that apart from natural reasons?A big reason for his act goes to his upbringing. Jimmy grew up in a society where it was considered normal to consider women inferior to men. He saw his father thrashing his mom, his brother passing lewd comments to girls on the streets, and his mom bitching and judging other women. The environment he was brought up in, saw women as objects made to satisfy the needs of men.This reflected in his act. Still, there are many men who grow up in similar environments and don’t go around raping and abusing women. What exactly made Jimmy rape that girl?Jimmy’s nature met nurture, and when those mixed up with his inability to control himself, he ended up committing a crime. But he couldn’t have done anything about it. He couldn’t control himself even when he was a kid. It was a kind of disease which was inherently present in him. He was helpless- like a maniac, like a person with cancer tumour who didn’t invite the tumour to his body. He didn’t realise when the tumour got developed and started engulfing him.You still hate Jimmy, but somehow, when you know the root causes of a crime, you start to hate the causes and the circumstances more than the person himself. You don’t see the individual as an isolated, independent entity, where you can lump all your blame and angst upon. The causes seem to go deeper than the person and even transcends him. And your hatred gets dissolved in a sea of linked causes.(H) I DON’T THINK THESE SHOULD BE ILLEGALDrug use and possession: What a sound-minded adult does with himself/herself shouldn’t be the state’s business. You can counsel them, send them to rehab, stop them from distributing drugs but shouldn’t put them in jail, especially when your jails aren’t competent enough to keep them away from drugs.Suicide: Again, what a sound-minded adult does with himself/herself shouldn’t be the state’s business. If only you tried to find the reason behind suicides and counsel the survivors instead of making it illegal[1], you would have done a better job lowering the overall suicide rates.Prostitution: What two sound-minded consenting adults do behind their doors shouldn’t be the state’s business. You can, however, make sure that no one is pushed into prostitution against one’s will.Homosexuality and same-sex marriage: Again, what two sound-minded consenting adults do behind their doors shouldn’t be the state’s business.Incest: However repulsive it may seem to you and me, what two sound-minded consenting adults do behind their doors shouldn’t be our business. They shouldn’t definitely be sent to jail.Polygamy: When all the partners are in agreement, it’s none of our business what two or more sound-minded consenting adults do behind their doors.Consumption and possession of any substance prohibited based on religious lines (alcohol, beef, pork): Keep your dogma to yourself. Don’t force it on others.Books, films, cartoons, paintings (as long as they don’t violate someone’s privacy): If you don’t like something, don’t indulge in it. Let people’s conscience guide them to what’s truth and what’s not, what’s acceptable and what’s not.Whistleblowing on the government: It’s illegal to expose the misdeeds of your government. Just label the evidence as “confidential” and when someone brings them to the public, they are charged for “releasing the nation’s confidential information to public”. How does that make you different from a dictator?[1] Suicide legislation - Wikipedia(I) I THINK “THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE” IS A BULLSHIT STORYSure, the tortoise won the race. But the hare enjoyed a nice nap. How important is it in life to live in the moment; to live for oneself than to run in a race chasing materialistic trophies.The story is a failure even if you see the win as something more meaningful, like success or contentment. Life is not a one-on-one race. Imagine a lot of tortoises racing against a lot of hares. Now, the probability of all the hares falling asleep during the race is so slim that it is almost impossible for a tortoise to win the race.By teaching the tortoise to race with a hare, you are suggesting the tortoise to rely on luck- a slim probability that the hare will fall asleep during the race. Even if the tortoise is “slow and steady” and show full determination and perseverance, would it be enough to beat the hare in normal circumstances?Why not suggest the tortoise to participate in a different competition where its strength lies- like crack-my-back competition or walk-and-swim competition? If the tortoise has to run that race, better ask it to get a nice jet-pack first.Picture Source: [1]“The hare and the tortoise” is a bullshit story which demotivates kids to find and pursue their strengths and excel in them irrespective of the expectations of the society while teaching them that only perseverance and determination can win them the races of their lives.Either don’t let them take life as a competition or if you let them, make sure they have fair chances of winning it.(J) WE NEED RELIGION (UNPOPULAR OPINION ON QUORA)A few days ago, I was talking to a kid. During our conversation, he told me that he would never steal from anyone because God is seeing him.Hindus don’t consume beef and Muslims don’t consume bacon. There are countless examples where people act or don’t act in a certain way not because they think it is immoral or unethical, but primarily because their religion says so.Although we have seen a large number of critics of religion lately, we definitely need religion.Religion is a set of beliefs, ideas, and rules followed by a sufficiently large group of people. Animals don’t have any religion. Primitive humans didn’t have any religion. It’s only after humans started civilising that the societal rules began taking shape and religions evolved. Religion became necessary to keep humans civilised.We need religion because the majority of the human population is intellectually incapable of thinking for themselves and develop their moral and ethical boundaries. In several cultures, an imaginary creature who was omnipresent and omnipotent was introduced to induce fear in people. A creature who is watching you every second, taking a log of your sins, and deciding which place to send you after you die. Apparently, people would not kill other people not because it is wrong, but because they fear that they would be sent to hell or just because their religion says so.Religion is also a great tool to socialising and preserving your tradition and culture.Almost every religion teaches numerous good things - like you shouldn’t harm anyone (generally, speaking), you shouldn’t steal, you should treat each other with kindness, etc. But religion has its own set of problems. The problems arise when people start taking it too seriously. They start taking their ancient texts literally rather than metaphorically, and give meanings which weren’t intended. The second major problem with religion is that it can’t be revised and updated. The rules of all the religions were written for a different demographic and at a different time frame. With the changing times, the boundaries of morality and ethics change. Science and technology advances, society transforms, and people’s lifestyle changes. So clinging on to the centuries old moral, societal, and cultural norms cause a great imbalance. You can criticise religion but you can’t deny its worthiness.(K) MONOPOLIES CAN BE GOODMonopolies are bad only when they have unethical business models or biased support of the government, or both.Monopolies are widely looked down upon in our society.The term monopoly, however, has taken on bad connotations to the point where goodness is rarely, if ever, associated with it. The one-sided evil ascribed to monopoly is so pronounced in most people’s thinking that one is tempted to coin a new term to convey the idea of monopoly in its good sense.Source: Good and Bad Monopoly | Leonard E. ReadHowever, monopolies are not as bad as they appear on the outside. Here’s what people say about monopolies which are not completely true.Monopolies are bad because the monopolists have no incentive to innovate or invest in R&D of new technologies.I believe, monopolies actually foster innovation and new technologies. When companies are not involved in a cut-throat competition, they have one less thing to worry about. Companies in very competitive markets fight so hard for survival and making profits, that they can hardly allot time and resources for innovation in their product and technology, and for research and development. Take Google for example. Do you think Google could have invested in newer technologies (self-driving cars, wearable computers, mobile phones) if it faced fierce competition from Yahoo and Bing?Monopolies strangle budding companies and stop competition.A company becomes a monopoly by merit by offering a service or product which is so good that it is way above its substitutes. In a free-exposure market, a new company entering the market with the same business model has no other option than to compete against the years of experience, expertise, and trust.“It’s easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But every time we create something new, we go from 0 to 1. Tomorrow’s champions will not win by competing ruthlessly in today’s marketplace; they will escape competition altogether, because their businesses will be unique.”- Peter TheilThis again explains how monopolies help in innovation in the long run. If you are merely copying the giants to become a giant, you will go nowhere. You have to create something new to dominate the market. There’s no reason to think that new innovations can’t stand against monopolies. AT&T dominated the US telecom market throughout the 20th century. This is how the near-present scenario looks like:With the technology and market changing so fast, the biggest mistake monopolies can do is not to adapt themselves and invest in innovation. Remember the times when Internet Explorer was the only reliable web browser you knew? Well, what are you using now! It would be too limiting to think that you can’t compete and overturn the monopolies.Monopolies can control prices and qualityIt may make sense theoretically that a dominating company, being the sole supplier of a product or a service can control the prices and quality. While it may be true to some extent, it does not paint the whole picture. History has shown that monopolies can be overturned and no company in the present scenario would take things to an extent so as to jeopardize its dominance. With the advent of the internet and diversification of other monopolies, other companies are lined up to grab any opportunity resulting from even a minor goof.(L) INDIA NEEDS RESERVATION (AFFIRMATIVE ACTION).First, let us dive into history why there was a need for reservation in the first place. The caste system in India dates back to the pre-Vedic era, when the society was classified among certain classes - Brahmins (the priests and teachers), Kshatriya (the ruling and military elites), Vaishyas (the farmers and cattle-bearers who eventually became landowners, traders, and money-lenders), and Shudras (who served the three classes). The Dalits were at the bottom of the social pyramid, who were considered “untouchables”. They were not even included in the caste system. Over 3000 years of discrimination and oppression by the higher classes on those at the bottom of the pyramid broke the back of societal structure of India. Along with the independence struggle came the widespread protests against caste-based discrimination and the need for social reforms. After the independence, when the constitution was constituted, reservation in government jobs and in admission in government schools was formalized for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes (the “untouchables”), Other backward Classes (economically backward Shudra castes). This was the only way to alleviate the social stature of the misrepresented sections of the society.Is cased-based discrimination still prevalent?Now, much of urban upper-class Indian youth think that caste-based discrimination is not much prevalent in modern India. Unfortunately, statistics tell a different story.Source: Study shows NCR homeowners turn away Dalits and MuslimsSource: Just 5% of Indian marriages are inter-caste: surveyI have personally been asked my caste multiple times while searching for a rental property. And note that this is my experience in a metropolitan city while interacting with educated people. Needless to say, the situation is much, much worse in rural areas. In most of the rural areas, the Dalits still live in a separate area, they are still not allowed to enter temples, and they still remain untouchable.Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are still stuck in poverty much deeper than other classes.Source:http://tribal.nic.in/WriteReadDa...These so-called backward classes are heavily misrepresented in private schools and coaching centers, and in higher job posts.Source: ::Welcome to School Report CardsDespite constituting of around 70% of the total population, number of students belonging to ST, SC, and OBC constitutes no less than 5% of the total students enrolled in DPS. While I think that this data is a bit skewed since most students don’t declare their caste in schools, the reality in still not good.Source: Higher Education is Still a Bar Too High for Muslims, DalitsIs reservation fair?Almost every upper class Indian youth might have complained, at some point, about someone getting half his marks, and still making into an institution while s/he can’t. Is it fair for you? Definitely, not. You may be wondering why should you be facing the consequences of the sins your forefathers committed. This is not a fair system, but still, this can be the fairest a system can be. Imagine a student belonging to the lower social strata. Not your rich SC/ST classmate. The ones who are still living in rural areas, the ones who still can’t afford quality education, the ones who still have to face discrimination on a daily basis. Since your forefathers were privileged, your grandfather, and your father had opportunities. On the other hand, the other kid’s grandfather was still forced to work in his low-key occupation, resulting in lesser opportunities for his father, and then him. If you are getting lesser opportunities due to your financial status, remember that it is your forefathers who might have went wrong somewhere. No one forced you to your present economic conditions. The other kid has lesser opportunities not because of economic reasons, but due to social reasons. And if you and that kid are given equal opportunities, that would be an injustice.So even if you think that the system is not fair for you, it would have been more unfair otherwise.Furthermore, this system not just limited to India. Most of the Indians live with the flawed notion that these privileges are limited to India. The system is called Affirmative actionin US and Canada, positive discrimination in the UK, and reservations in India.US and Canada have been giving special privileges to the Blacks and Hispanics for decades.In South Africa, blacks are privileged despite being the majority.In Australia and New Zealand, Aborigines and Maori are privileged.There have been reservations in parliaments of many countries.Source:The Politics of Group Representation - Quotas for Women and Minorities Worldwide, Mona Lena Krook and Diana Z. O’BrienProspective modifications in current reservation structure in IndiaWhile I believe that India definitely needs reservations, the reservation structure in India is marred by political motivations. There are certain things that should be changed to make this system more effective:While this policy was being included in the constitution, it was proposed that with time, as certain communities move out of backwardness, they should be excluded from privileges. On the contrary, every political party, to increase its vote bank, has kept on adding new groups to the SC, ST, and OBC. This system should be changed, but I don’t think anyone can do anything about this.Just providing reservations is not sufficient. There is a large number of SC/ST students who drop out of the schools or who don’t receive a quality education. If more effort is made by the government in elementary education, there would be a lesser gap in the performance of a reserved category student and an open category student in competitive exams.Families who have already been enjoying reservations since 2–3 generations and/or who are wealthy enough to provide quality education to their children should be exempted from reservation. Creamy and non-creamy layer restrictions have been applied for OBSs, but that needs to be extended to STs and SCs as well.Many people argue about income-basis reservations. The social discrimination and oppression in the past and now is not income-based, it’s caste based. So, it would make little sense to replace caste based reservation with income based reservation. However, I do believe that there should an income based reservation ALONG with caste-based reservation. I don’t know how successful that would be, as it is quite easy in India to manipulate income certificates. And also for political reasons, it seems too far.For me, the ideal system would be to analyze each candidate’s profile and evaluate the difficulties faced by the candidates, similar to the admission application process in top global universities. But, I guess it would be impractical for a country like India.The internet is rife with ignorant Indian youth who are adamant on shaming the reserved category through memes, jokes, terribly analogous stories like Ant and the Grasshopper story. First, it is not their mistake that they were born into a particular family and are provided privileges. Anyone would readily accept any privilege being provided. Second, these ignorant people don’t bother to know the cause of present existing system. It may sound astonishing, but many upper class parents still teach their children to remain away from “lower caste” people. Many of them still dwell in the belief that they are somehow superior to others just because the were randomly born in a particular family but refute the idea of reservation. What a hypocrisy! This is not going to help either of the classes.In a society with different sections, it is the responsibility of the strong to pull the weaker ones up, because the weak are too weak to pull themselves up. Unless the weak become strong, they will and should continue getting privileges. Because the weak were made weak by the strong in the past. Unfortunately, if the strong continue to distance itself from the weak, it would be no good either for the weak or the strong.Fortunately, albeit with a slow pace, India is changing. India needs more people like Bindeshwar Pathak who went against the society after seeing the plight of manual scavengers to establish Sulabh International. I hope that one day, there would be no reservation system because there would be no NEED for a reservation system.Conclusion: India needs caste-based reservation, but the present reservation system needs some solid modifications to make sure the right people are benefited from it.(M) I AM NOT PROUD OF MY NATION.pride: A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of one's close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.Source: pride - definition of pride in English | Oxford DictionariesThere are two reasons one should be proud of her/his country:Your personal achievement: If you have contributed something significant for your country- for example, a soldier.Your country’s achievement: When you derive pleasure from an achievement of your country- for example, your country topping the Olympics medal tally.For the first case, I don’t think I have contributed anything significant for my country. I am not entitled to pride.The second case is more personal and may vary from person to person. I was escalated when my country won an Olympic medal. I support my national team in sports. I derived great pleasure from ISRO’s Mars mission. Since I derived pleasure from these incidents, by definition, I was proud of my country during those events. I am proud of my country during certain events. But I am not inherently proud to be an Indian. I am not proud of being born in this country, as my birth has been just a matter of chance. There is same probability of being born in India as there is for being born in Somalia.The idea to feel proud as an Indian is shoved down our throat since childhood. Take our pledge (India is my country and I am proud of its…) and other patriotic songs (Saare jahaan se achha, Hindustan hamaara). What is intended to induce the nationalist feeling in people ends up inducing jingoism in certain cases.Pride is an emotion, and emotions are not based on logic and rationality. People are driven by emotions which may make them proud of their family/region/religion/country/gender. This is perfectly fine. If everyone goes by logic without feelings or emotions, our society would break into pieces. Pride is something which creates a bonding among the people. I am driven more by logic, than emotion. I find it difficult to find pleasure in the fact that I was born in this country. As we are all entitled to find pleasure from anything, I have nothing against people who are proud of their country. I expect the same from them.P.S: I have removed some parts of the original answer because of my limitations in understanding of certain subjects as pointed out by some people.Many of you may not find some of my opinions unpopular. It’s fine. Many of you may have been offended by now and would be approaching the downvote button. Go ahead. I’m all prepared to have this answer collapsed like many of my other answers for stupid reasons like plagiarism, improper formatting and violating BNBR.