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| | Crime continues to grow despite tough games | | | | There is no fear of the law left, it seems. Open a newspaper in the morning and you will find at least one report about a woman stalked, molested or raped. Despite a stringent law in place, a result of the Nirbhaya rape case, crimes against women have been on the rise.
According to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau, the crime rate rose from 41.7 per cent to 53.9 per cent, between 2011 and 2015. In 2015 alone, as many as 3,27,394 cases were reported, including 34,651 cases of rape, 4,437 cases of attempted rape, and 59,277 kidnappings and abductions. Cut to 2017 and there are reports galore in newspapers and news channel of sexual assault on women, day in and day out.
As one go through these reports, one sees the cruel and remorseless working of a human mind, and w... |  | |
| | | World Humanitarian Day | | | | "Uncle."
"Yes dear."
"19 August: World Humanitarian Day."
"Yes, this year it is the ninth such Day."
"But how come the Day?"
"Yes, listen please. In 2003, UN Headquarters in Baghdad was bombed and Sérgio Vieira de Mello, a national of Brazil and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Iraq, and his 21 colleagues were killed. Mello served for over 30 years in the United Nations in some challenging humanitarian situations throughout the world. And so in 2006, the Mello Foundation was founded. This worked closely with the Ambassadors of France, Switzerland, Japan, and Brazil in Geneva and New York and steered a draft Resolution through the UN General Assembly. And in December 2008 that General Assembly established the World Humanitarian Day. August 19 - date of ... | | |
| | | What is RSS agenda in Education? | | | | In its recommendation to NCERT, Shiksha Sanskriti Uthan Nyas, an RSS affiliate asks for removal of English, Urdu and Arabic words, the thoughts of Rabindranath Tagore; extracts from painter M F Husain's autobiography; references to the Mughal emperors as benevolent, to the BJP as a "Hindu" party., an apology tendered by former prime minister Manmohan Singh over the 1984 riots; and a sentence that "nearly 2,000 Muslims were killed in Gujarat in 2002". (25th July 2017) As such these recent recommendations to NCERT are continuation of the same agenda which is working for its goal of Hindu Rashtra.
Education has been the major area of work for RSS all through. Since it has a view of Nationalism which is opposed to the concept of Indian Nationalism, it already had made lot of efforts to promo... | | |
| | | Saraha: When vanity consents to stalking | | | | Trolls are a nefarious breed, using cyberspace to attack, intimidate and stalk. People are threatened with murder, rape, assault, abused over their faith, views, clothes and social lives without consequence via hundreds of comments, morphed photos and videos which can be unleashed like an unending barrage. The Troll's identity is no more than an electronic profile which can be created, deleted and re-created in seconds, making partial anonymity a major strength. There's no face or person harassing you directly, yet the message is loud and clear, as the internet minimises the identity of sinister individuals.
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can take action against such people as you have to register to dish out your brand of venom. Saraha on the other hand has declared open season for tro... | | |
| | | Article 35-A: Some Myths And Misconceptions | | | | In the cacophony of high decibel debate, Indian media presents article 35A as something which bestows various rights, privileges & favors on people of Kashmir. There can be nothing further from truth when it is repeatedly said & fed to Indian public that article 35A of Indian constitution grants property & employment right to people of Kashmir to the exclusion of other Indians. Unfortunately our own media, uses a language at times, which lends credence to this impression.
Let it be made very clear that article 35A of Indian constitution, as such, does not grant or accord any right to people of Kashmir either with regard to ownership of property or to employment in state services etc.. They had such rights even before the India of today came into existence in 1947. Precisely from 1927... | | |
| | SIGNS OF THE TIMES | | Is Yogi Adityanath not responsible for deaths in Gorakhpur | | | | Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, should step down. In fact, he should be asked if not forced and compelled to resign. Let's not overlook the fact that last week over 70 children died in less than 6 days in the BRD Medical College situated in his constituency, Gorakhpur. A constituency he has been representing for the last nearly 20 years. Also, not to be overlooked is the fact that encephalitis didn't strike overnight. Eastern Uttar Pradesh districts which include Gorakhpur have been reporting hundreds of encephalitis cases every year; in fact, if I am correct the first case was reported way back in 1978.
What has Yogi Adityanath done for his Gorakhpur constituency all these years when he has been representing it? And now, what has he done, after becoming chief minister ... | | |
| | | BJP under Modi-Shah gets battle ready for 2019 | | | | Now that important constitutional posts are occupied by persons with active RSS background, the BJP has sounded the bugle for the electoral battles beginning from assembly election in Gujarat later this year to the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
Leading from the front Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ruling party chief Amit Shah are firing on all cylinders and are gunning for the opposition both within the BJP as well as outside in the country. Agenda of the battle or should we call it a war is ready. Goals are defined and enemies have been identified.
Modi-Shah has silenced the opposition in the BJP into submission by conveying message to MLA's in states and to MPs in New Delhi that their political future is going to be determined by the leader. Shah has been touring states and has been tell... | | |
| | | Violence in the name of faith | | | | In his 70th Independence day speech the Prime Minister of India has touched many points which are most welcome provided they are implemented in letter and spirit and do not remain consigned in the office record or just for public consumption. He has averred that in our nation no one is big or small and everybody is equal. He has also claimed that the country has been transformed from the corrupt nation to honest nation.
Concerning Kashmir the PM has asserted that Kashmir's problems can only be solved by embracing Kashmiris and that bullet or abuses will not help restore Kashmir issue. That is what all the established and reputed personalities of the country have been advocating for the last so many years.
If now Modi, apparently, is serious about the burning problems of Kashmir what... | | |
| | | Trump: The Reagan Gambit? | | | | Last Sunday I wrote a piece on the political crisis in Venezuela. Then on Wednesday I wrote an article on Donald Trump's hyperbolic language about North Korea. But it never occurred to me that the next article would be about Trump, North Korea AND Venezuela. I forgot about the Reagan Gambit.
In October, 1983, US President Ronald Reagan had a little problem. A massive truck-bomb had killed 241 American Marines in their barracks at Beirut airport. That was more than a quarter of the total American force deployed as "peacekeepers" to Lebanon - a deployment that had already become controversial in the United States. So Reagan had some explaining to do.
In another part of the world entirely, the tiny Caribbean island nation of Grenada, pop. 90,000, had another military coup - a coup within t... | | |
| | | In defence of Hamid Ansari | | | | The erudite Hamid Ansari, who has served as vice chancellor of a national university, can be expected to defend himself. His delectable drubbing of the Hindutvavadis over their term at the helm of India indicates as much. The crescendo in their attacks on him today shows that they have not really been listening all through. They seem to have woken only last week when while demitting office, the former vice president Hamid Ansari referred to the (in)security of India's Muslims.
Way back in February in his K. Subrahmanyam memorial lecture he had warned against 'religious majoritariansm'. Perhaps that was a bit cerebral for our Hindutva brethren to catch on to. They sugarcoat their ideology under the term 'cultural nationalism'. He should perhaps have said out loud that it is Hindu suprema... | | |
| | | Those who fought talk about freedom | | Everyone has exploited sacrifices of patriots: Moti Ram Baigra | | | As, India completes 70th year of independence, it is important to recall the views of those who fought for it. We are reproducing two interviews from our archives (August 15, 1997). Their anguish and pain at how political leaders of the day had let them down by perpetuating corruption and inequalities remain more than relevant even today.
—Editor
Standing a witness to "India's Independence", achieved on August 15, 1947 after a great struggle and sacrifices, Moti Ram Baigra, a former parliamentarian and Jammu and Kashmir state legislator has mixed reactions of happiness and sadness on seeing it entering its 50th year. He still breaks down while narrating the tales of freedom struggle and the torture to which Indians were subjected to by the Britishers fifty years ago.
"I..I..... | | |
| | | We have nothing to celebrate: Balram Bhasin | | | | Known for his committed role during the Quit India movement and independence movement, Balram Bhasin died on April 5, 2017 in Delhi. Even though he quit active politics a little after independence, he was known for his humanism, secular values and philanthropy.
"Nothing but pain and anguish" that is how Balram Bhasin, a freedom fighter and veteran social activist chose to explain his feelings as India hurtles headlong towards independence day celebrations.
For one who decided to join the Quit India Movement much against the wishes of the family, who wanted him to make a career in law, the all pervading chaos is something that he finds hard to adjust to and live with.
Talking to KTNS, Bhasin said: given the present state of affairs we should not have been celebrat... | | |
| | | Challenging Article 35(A): A sinister plot | | | By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal | |
| | The Article 35 (A), thus, defines and qualifies the permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir as well as guarantees fundamental rights and right to equality to these citizens as per the Indian constitution. Its silence on the rights of women marrying outside the side is settled by the clause that upholds the citizens' constitutional rights which make no distinction on basis of caste, creed, religion or gender.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti claimed has she had got "100 percent assurance" from prime minister Narendra Modi on the issue of Article 35(A). Is she bluffing or is she gullible? Such assurances have been claimed in the past on flood relief, on initiating dialogue in Kashmir and on many other issues. It is not known what exactly was said and discussed inside the meeting roo... | | |
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