On April 15, 2014 a landmark judgement was passed by the Supreme Court of India. It finally recognised transgender rights as human rights and was doing so while hearing a case filed by National Legal Services Authority. Now instead of us telling you about it, here are the important points that the court made:
- "It is the right of every human being to choose their gender"
- "Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue"
- "Transgenders are also citizens of India" and they must be "provided equal opportunity to grow"
Beauty from the past
Notre-Dame de Paris in France burned on April 15, 2019 and people across the globe cried. Ironic that when the cathedral was being restored, it caught fire. Probably you don't feel much while reading the aforementioned sentence and to feel, you need to understand why Notre-Dame de Paris is important.
Notre-Dame de Paris (meaning Our Lady in Paris) is a medieval gothic Catholic cathedral. It's rose-coloured windows, sculptural beauties, its large iconic organ and the bells! These are what make the Notre-Dame, apart from many other things. It is a symbol of Paris, of France even.
But when this cathedral's wooden roof caught fire, the flames engulfed the stone vault ceiling. While many called for modernising the design itself, the French National Assembly enacted a very important law. That the restoration must preserve what the cathedral, which was built in the Middle Ages, stood for, its history and culture as well. It's good to know that this is not the first time it has caught fire and survived.
This beautiful cathedral, where French statesman Napoléon Bonaparte famously crowned himself, has 13 million visitors every year. And if you are ever in Paris, it'll do you good to pay it a visit.
