Aesop's Fables are a collection of short, classic moral tales attributed to Aesop, an ancient Greek storyteller, featuring animals and inanimate objects with human traits to teach lessons about life, ethics, and wisdom, with famous examples including "The Tortoise and the Hare" (slow and steady wins) and "The Lion and the Mouse" (kindness is rewarded). These stories, known as the Aesopica, have been passed down orally and through writing for centuries, influencing culture globally. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key Characteristics
Animal Characters: Animals (foxes, lions, mice, etc.) embody human virtues (cunning, bravery) and flaws (greed, vanity).
Moral Lessons: Each fable ends with a clear moral, often stated directly, about human behavior and consequences.
Ancient Origins: Credited to Aesop, a slave in ancient Greece (6th century BCE), though stories likely predate him.
Enduring Popularity: Translated into countless languages and adapted into various media (books, films, cartoons). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
This video illustrates the story of the Lion and the Mouse:
Famous Examples & Morals
The Tortoise and the Hare: Slow and steady wins the race (perseverance).
The Fox and the Grapes: Sour grapes (pretending to dislike what you can't have).
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Deception can hide malicious intent.
The Crow and the Pitcher: Ingenuity and persistence overcome obstacles.
The Dog and the Shadow: Don't be greedy and lose what you have. [2, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Watch this video to learn about the story of the Fox and the Grapes:
Examples of Morals in Action
The Lion and the Mouse: A small mouse repays a lion's kindness, showing even the weak can help the strong.
The Traveler and the Purse: You should share good fortune if you expect others to share your misfortune.
The North Wind and the Sun: Kindness and gentleness are more persuasive than force. [2, 7, 8]
Every year on December 10, people around the world celebrate Human Rights Day. It is distinguished by rights-based organisations, elected governments, and, most significantly, the United Nations. The Day's purpose is to raise public awareness of their rights.
Human rights encompass all of the fundamental liberties that people require to maintain their social and economic well-being, including the right to think freely. Social and economic rights are a vital component of human rights. These include the right to work, form associations, access social security, and enjoy an adequate standard of living with essentials like food, clothing, and shelter, as well as the right to health and education. Moreover, human rights aim at equality of all races, castes and creeds.
Human rights are the basic rights every person is born with. Women's and children's rights are both regarded as fundamental human rights.
The first modern exponent of human rights was John Locke, who stressed on natural rights in Two Treaties of Governments (1688), followed by Immanuel Kant whose ideals of equality and moral autonomy originated from human reasoning, not the Divine Will. In the 18th century, the world witnessed two revolutionary movements, the American Independence Movement (1776) and the French Revolution (1789), inspired by the ideals of human rights to over through tyrannical regimes. Rousseau, the French ideologue, made us remember – “Man is born free and is everywhere in chains”. In the last century, after the Second World War, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledged the need to safeguard human rights world over. On December10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted and proclaimed this Declaration as a common goal, realizing them for all people, all nations and every individuals and every group in society. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity in rights”, it stated in Article1. The recognition of women’s rights as human rights became international law when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1976. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, laid down binding standards of protection covering every aspect of children’s human rights.
India adopted the essence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the basis of the Directive Principles of State Policy, the union government enacted a number of Acts related to human rights, such as the Abolition of Untouchability Act, Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act and Dowry Prohibition Act. Moreover, to ensure human rights of minorities and weaker sections of the community it created some independent bodies. To protect the children of our nation, the Union Government enacted the Juvenile Justice Act (1986), the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act (1986), the Parental Diagnostic Technique (Regulation, Prevention & Misuse) Act (1992), etc. Provisions against trafficking and abuse of children were included in various personal laws.
The 1990s had seen the enactment of human rights legislation in India. The National Commission for Women Act (1990) provided for a National Commission for Women. In 1992, the National Commission For Minorities Act was passed by the central legislature. The Protection of Human Rights Act (1993) provided for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission, state human rights commission in individual states and a human rights court. And recently, a Bill has been passed empowering concerned ministry to constitute child rights panels in the center as well as in the states.
In spite of all these rights being on paper and accepted at least in theory, there has been an apparent failure to enforce human rights. Violation of rights happens throughout the year. It happens in war fields as well as in home front. There are so many organizations functioning as watchdogs in national and international level, still violation graph is upward. It is a world phenomenon. In our country, even after formation of several Commissions, violation of rights of women and children in particular, is very common. Reports prove that the month of December is not spared, too.
