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On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states "All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms". This Declaration holds true more than ever today.

As we celebrate this special day, may be it`s time to think of all the words associated with this day.

Human

We are human. Or are we? Were they human who destroyed the WTC towers without a care? Are we human when we lay landmines that cripple and crush lives? When we know that there is famine in one part of the country and we throw food and money around in another? When we watch Ethiopian children with distended bellies and gleefully waste food at weddings? When we pass the suffering by without a moment of concern? When....? The idea is not to be harsh on ourselves, but to think. Think beyond us. Either as a matter of routine or at least once in a way.

We have heard of heroic dogs and loyal parrots, animals displaying "human" emotions.

So is being Human all about being a Homo sapiens? Or something more.

Rights

Rights. What are rights? The license to do what we please? A blanket permits for self-centredness? What are your rights? What are mine? Where do they merge, overlap, grate and trespass?

My rights end right under my nose. Anything that intrudes into the privacy or comfort level of a fellow being cannot be constituted as right. Neither the legal nor the moral kind.

The flip side of rights no, not wrongs. But duties. These are the fundamentals of civilised society. The basics of decency. Rights without a sense of duty would amount to anarchy.

Do we need laws to enforce such basics? Days to commemorate? Declarations to regulate? Or can we be truly human. Surely we are capable of that.

Let us celebrate Human Rights day with a toast to the day we need no reminders.