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By:

Asha Tripathi

14 April 2025 at 1:35:28 pm

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along...

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along with growth has come another silent challenge — the tendency to constantly observe, compare, and sometimes even compete with the journeys of others. But a crucial question arises: Is it necessary to track the growth of others in order to grow ourselves? From my personal experience of more than two decades as an entrepreneur, I have realised something very powerful — true growth begins the moment we stop looking sideways and start looking within. A Small Beginning I had a flourishing career of teaching abroad, but when I restarted my career after moving back to India, my beginning was extremely small. My very first assignment was a simple home tuition for a single student, and the amount I earned was meagre. There was nothing glamorous about it. No recognition, no large batches, no big earnings. Just one student and one opportunity. But instead of worrying about how others were doing, how many students they had, or how much they were earning, I made a conscious decision—my only focus would be on improving myself. I focused on teaching better, preparing better, and becoming more disciplined and consistent. And slowly, without even realising it, things began to grow. One student became two, two became a small group, and gradually, over the years, the work expanded beyond what I had initially imagined. Looking back today, I can confidently say that the growth did not happen because I competed with others. It happened because I competed with myself yesterday. Comparison Creates Noise When we keep watching others' journeys too closely, we unknowingly divert our own energy. Comparison creates unnecessary noise in our minds. It brings doubts, insecurities, and sometimes even negativity. Instead of walking our own path with clarity, we start questioning our speed, our direction, and our worth. True success grows through focus, not comparison. Every woman has her own story, her own pace, and her own struggles that others may never see. The path of one person can never be identical to another's. So comparing journeys is like comparing two different rivers flowing towards the same ocean — each with its own route, its own curves, and its own rhythm. As women, we already carry many responsibilities. We balance emotions, relationships, work, and society's expectations. In such a life, the last thing we need is the burden of comparison with one another. Instead, what we truly need is support for each other. When women encourage women, something extraordinary happens. Confidence grows. Opportunities multiply. Strength becomes collective rather than individual. There is enough space in the world for every woman to create her own identity. Each of us can build our own niche without stepping on someone else's path. Choose Encouragement Envy weakens us, but encouragement empowers us. Rather than questioning how someone else is progressing, we can ask a more meaningful question: "How can I grow a little better than I was yesterday?" Lift As You Rise Today, after twenty years of experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is simple yet profound — focus on your own work with honesty and dedication, and success will quietly follow you. We, women, are capable, resilient, and creative. We do not need to pull each other down or compete in unhealthy ways. Instead, we can lift each other up while building our own dreams. Because when one woman rises, she does not rise alone. She inspires many others to believe that they can rise, too. And perhaps that is the most beautiful form of success. (The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

Judicial Restraint

Updated: Mar 6, 2025

In a country where hurt sentiments have often dictated the course of legal proceedings, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, discharging a man accused of hurting religious sentiments with remarks deemed in “poor taste,” offers a refreshing dose of judicial restraint. By this, the Court has sent a clear signal that not every offensive statement warrants a criminal trial. For far too long, past Congress regimes have bent backwards in appeasing every sentiment of the minorities, weaponizing such sensitivities for political mileage. This ruling helps in restoring a semblance of balance in how the state treats questions of free speech and public order.


The case in question revolved around Hari Nandan Singh, who had sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Bokaro district administration in Jharkhand. Dissatisfied with the response, he filed an appeal. During a follow-up visit by an Urdu translator and acting clerk assigned to hand over documents, Singh allegedly referred to the official as “miyan-tiyan” and “Pakistani” - terms with communal undertones but hardly incendiary in a legal sense. The official took offence, prompting an FIR and a subsequent police chargesheet invoking multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to religious hurt.


The lower courts, from the Magistrate to the High Court, refused to quash the case. But the Supreme Court took a more measured approach. While acknowledging the distasteful nature of the remarks, it rightly concluded that they did not amount to a criminal offence under Section 298 of the IPC, which penalizes words or gestures made with the deliberate intent to wound religious feelings. The Court also struck down charges under Section 504 (intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace) and Section 353 (assault on a public servant), finding no credible evidence of force or provocation This ruling is a victory for common sense. In a pluralistic democracy like India, where political and religious identities are deeply intertwined, a degree of verbal intemperance is unavoidable. If every offensive remark were to be criminalized, the courts would be inundated with cases of perceived slights.


The SC’s intervention prevented an unnecessary escalation of a relatively trivial matter. It also upholds the fundamental principle that criminal law should be invoked only when genuine harm is inflicted, not as a tool for enforcing an imagined moral order.


Critics may argue that such remarks, if left unchecked, encourage the normalization of communal rhetoric. There is some merit to that concern, but the remedy lies in societal censure rather than legal punishment. Political discourse and public shaming are far more effective deterrents against bigotry than dragging individuals through the criminal justice system. The excessive reliance on legal provisions to police speech only fosters an illiberal culture where the state becomes the final arbiter of what can or cannot be said.


The SC’s judgment, therefore, is not just about one man’s acquittal but about reaffirming a broader legal principle that resists the growing impulse to criminalize speech on the flimsiest of grounds. By not blowing things out of proportion, the Court has upheld both the letter and the spirit of free expression.

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