YEH MERA INDIA
300 inmates write on Mahatma
Nashik: Over 300 prisoners of Nashik Road Central jail appeared for a written examination on the life of the Father of the Nation – Mahatma Gandhi. The examination was conducted by Mumbai-based ‘Sarvodaya Mandal’ and ‘Gandhi Research Centre’ in Jalgaon. The intention behind the move was to inspire the jail inmates with the teachings of the Mahatma. “The prisoners were provided with various kinds of material on the life of Mahatma Gandhi a month back and the exam that carried 60 marks, was conducted at the prison,” Dr Nilesh Jagdale, state convener told reporters.
Govts to blame for Naxalism: Ramesh
New Delhi: Holding successive governments both at the Centre and in the states responsible for spread of Naxalism, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said India’s polity should put aside political differences and work “concertedly” to restore people’s faith in the administration.
“Simply put, we need to rise above partisan political considerations and set aside old centre-vs-state arguments and work concertedly to restore people’s faith in the administration…only then will the tide of Naxalism be stemmed,” he said.
Delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture here, Rameh said it was not the Naxals who have created the ground conditions ripe for acceptance of their ideology.
“It is the singular failure of successive governments both in states and central governments to protect the dignity and constitutional rights of the poor and the disadvantaged that has created a fertile breeding ground for violence and given the Naxals the space to speak the language of social welfare”.
However, in the name of welfare, Ramesh said, Naxals have created guerrilla bases and recruited “most tragically women and children in large number”.
Pointing out that Naxal cadres have been able to get a foothold by giving “instant justice” to displaced tribals, be proposed the setting up of ‘para-legal assistance centres’ in all left wing extremism-affected districts which could work on cases of land alienation and rightful owners. “It is the one single initiative of both the Centre and the states that can immediately help resolve the problem of mistrust, alienation, deprivation….it has to do with restoration of land,” he said.
MPs are ‘very lazy’, says Aruna Roy
New Delhi: NAC member Aruna Roy said Parliamentarians in the country are ‘very lazy’ and pitched for making Parliament “more transparent, accountable and hard working”.
Roy, who was at the forefront of the fight for Right to Information Act, said the government is “very reluctant” to bring a prelegislative process in the country to discuss laws before they are drafted. “I would personally fight for making Parliament more transparent, accountable and more hard working. I am quite surprised how intelligent our members of Parliament really are. But they don’t want to work. The problem with them is not that they are unintelligent, but they are very lazy,” she said.
She was delivering a lecture on ‘Fault Lines of Participatory Democracy’ organised by CMS Media Lab here.
Punjab jails officially sell bidis, cigarettes
New Delhi: Smoking is banned in public places but not in the Punjab jails where the authorities are selling bidis and cigarettes to generate revenue and spend it on the welfare of the inmates, throwing to winds drive against drug abuse.
Tobacco products are totally banned in jails across the country, though they are easily available at a high price because of the smuggling racket and hence the Punjab jail authorities chose to better sell them officially than to allow the illegal smuggling.
They took advantage of a circular sent out by the Home Ministry to the state governments, starting that the jails are prohibited areas and not public place and hence they were free to decide on the sale of the tobacco products in jails.
Home dept creates hurdles for IPS’s promotion
Mumbai: Despite Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan clearing senior Indian Police service (IPS) Sanjay Pandey’s promotion recently, the file has been kept aside in the Home department headed by his cabinet colleague R R Patil. In fact the Home department has challenged the central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order in the Bombay High court, where CAT had directed the state government to post and promote Pandey, around four months back.
Mumbai bench of CAT on May 9, last, pulled up the government for putting Pandey an upright and honest officer on compulsory waiting for more than three years and denying him not only a posting but even promotions, but the government allegedly failed to take cognisance of CATs order. Therefore, in the last week of July, Pandey filed a contempt of court petition against the government in CAT.
In its reply to the contempt of court notice served by CAT the state government admitted before the CAT bench that the Chief Minister had cleared Pandey, 1986 IPS batch officer’s file on promotion and posting.
However, the state Home Department had proceeded ahead and filed an application for staying the CAT order before the Bombay High Court. On the state government’s plea to defer the contempt of court hearing till the HC hears the stay order application of the government on Oct. 5, Cat adjourned its hearing till October 17.
On May 9, CAT had directed the government to immediately consider Pandey, an IPS officer of the 1986 batch for promotion to the rank of Deputy inspector General of Police (DIG) and give him a suitable posting within a month.
The order also directed the government to subsequently within two months convene a review DPC meeting to consider his promotion to the rank of Special Inspector General of Police. However, the state government is alleged to have failed to abide by the CAT order.
Pandey, had earlier earned political wrath as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing) during the Shiv Sena-BJP combine rein in the state for initiating criminal action against senior politicians across political parties, in 1997.
He later also invited the ire of political powers when he cracked down on milk adulteration rackets as Joint Commissioner (Vigilance) of Food and Drugs Administration in 2007 during the Democratic Front government’s earlier rein.Since then he has been kept on compulsory waiting without a posting and promotion.
Plan India report: Child abuse high in India
New Delhi: The future of children in India appears bleak, riddled by verbal and physical abuse and controlled by gender stereotypes. A recent study by child rights organization Plan India has found that one-fifth of the children are reported facing abuse, only 20% women had bank accounts and only 16% owned an asset like land or vehicle.
Of the children that reported abuse, 67% were victims of physical abuse, 44% verbal and emotional abuse. The issues of child protection are severe at home and in educational institutions and ironically, just as home and school top the places where abuse happens, these are also the two places that children feel most secure. The survey interviewed 6,000 respondents from all ages and gender.
Young women hold less bank accounts, property or vehicles as compared to young men. One-fifth of the young women (20%) reported having a bank account as compared to 37% of young men. Of which, only 55% women reported they could withdraw money without permission as compared to 78% young men.
Among men and women contracted, 18% reported ownership of any asset (21% young men and 16% young women). “Over 70% children in the age group of 10-14 years reported their father as the main decision maker in the family,” the study said. It was carried out across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Karnataka. The study said 80% girls in the age group 10-14 years were groomed at an early age for household chores such as cleaning and washing clothes. “The mindset to leave the onus of certain things on girls is deep routed,” Plan India executive director Bhagyashri Dengle said.
The report highlighted the attitudes and awareness of men and boys on gender equality and recommended strategies to engage men and boys in achieving this.
Speaking on the occasion, Surina Narula, Plan India patron, said, “Across the country, girls face double the discrimination because of their gender and age, leaving them at the bottom of the social ladder. Plan India’s focus on the engagement of men and boys in achieving gender equality is aimed at bringing positive impact on society and economy.
Nashik: Over 300 prisoners of Nashik Road Central jail appeared for a written examination on the life of the Father of the Nation – Mahatma Gandhi. The examination was conducted by Mumbai-based ‘Sarvodaya Mandal’ and ‘Gandhi Research Centre’ in Jalgaon. The intention behind the move was to inspire the jail inmates with the teachings of the Mahatma. “The prisoners were provided with various kinds of material on the life of Mahatma Gandhi a month back and the exam that carried 60 marks, was conducted at the prison,” Dr Nilesh Jagdale, state convener told reporters.
Govts to blame for Naxalism: Ramesh
New Delhi: Holding successive governments both at the Centre and in the states responsible for spread of Naxalism, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said India’s polity should put aside political differences and work “concertedly” to restore people’s faith in the administration.
“Simply put, we need to rise above partisan political considerations and set aside old centre-vs-state arguments and work concertedly to restore people’s faith in the administration…only then will the tide of Naxalism be stemmed,” he said.
Delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture here, Rameh said it was not the Naxals who have created the ground conditions ripe for acceptance of their ideology.
“It is the singular failure of successive governments both in states and central governments to protect the dignity and constitutional rights of the poor and the disadvantaged that has created a fertile breeding ground for violence and given the Naxals the space to speak the language of social welfare”.
However, in the name of welfare, Ramesh said, Naxals have created guerrilla bases and recruited “most tragically women and children in large number”.
Pointing out that Naxal cadres have been able to get a foothold by giving “instant justice” to displaced tribals, be proposed the setting up of ‘para-legal assistance centres’ in all left wing extremism-affected districts which could work on cases of land alienation and rightful owners. “It is the one single initiative of both the Centre and the states that can immediately help resolve the problem of mistrust, alienation, deprivation….it has to do with restoration of land,” he said.
MPs are ‘very lazy’, says Aruna Roy
New Delhi: NAC member Aruna Roy said Parliamentarians in the country are ‘very lazy’ and pitched for making Parliament “more transparent, accountable and hard working”.
Roy, who was at the forefront of the fight for Right to Information Act, said the government is “very reluctant” to bring a prelegislative process in the country to discuss laws before they are drafted. “I would personally fight for making Parliament more transparent, accountable and more hard working. I am quite surprised how intelligent our members of Parliament really are. But they don’t want to work. The problem with them is not that they are unintelligent, but they are very lazy,” she said.
She was delivering a lecture on ‘Fault Lines of Participatory Democracy’ organised by CMS Media Lab here.
Punjab jails officially sell bidis, cigarettes
New Delhi: Smoking is banned in public places but not in the Punjab jails where the authorities are selling bidis and cigarettes to generate revenue and spend it on the welfare of the inmates, throwing to winds drive against drug abuse.
Tobacco products are totally banned in jails across the country, though they are easily available at a high price because of the smuggling racket and hence the Punjab jail authorities chose to better sell them officially than to allow the illegal smuggling.
They took advantage of a circular sent out by the Home Ministry to the state governments, starting that the jails are prohibited areas and not public place and hence they were free to decide on the sale of the tobacco products in jails.
Home dept creates hurdles for IPS’s promotion
Mumbai: Despite Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan clearing senior Indian Police service (IPS) Sanjay Pandey’s promotion recently, the file has been kept aside in the Home department headed by his cabinet colleague R R Patil. In fact the Home department has challenged the central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order in the Bombay High court, where CAT had directed the state government to post and promote Pandey, around four months back.
Mumbai bench of CAT on May 9, last, pulled up the government for putting Pandey an upright and honest officer on compulsory waiting for more than three years and denying him not only a posting but even promotions, but the government allegedly failed to take cognisance of CATs order. Therefore, in the last week of July, Pandey filed a contempt of court petition against the government in CAT.
In its reply to the contempt of court notice served by CAT the state government admitted before the CAT bench that the Chief Minister had cleared Pandey, 1986 IPS batch officer’s file on promotion and posting.
However, the state Home Department had proceeded ahead and filed an application for staying the CAT order before the Bombay High Court. On the state government’s plea to defer the contempt of court hearing till the HC hears the stay order application of the government on Oct. 5, Cat adjourned its hearing till October 17.
On May 9, CAT had directed the government to immediately consider Pandey, an IPS officer of the 1986 batch for promotion to the rank of Deputy inspector General of Police (DIG) and give him a suitable posting within a month.
The order also directed the government to subsequently within two months convene a review DPC meeting to consider his promotion to the rank of Special Inspector General of Police. However, the state government is alleged to have failed to abide by the CAT order.
Pandey, had earlier earned political wrath as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing) during the Shiv Sena-BJP combine rein in the state for initiating criminal action against senior politicians across political parties, in 1997.
He later also invited the ire of political powers when he cracked down on milk adulteration rackets as Joint Commissioner (Vigilance) of Food and Drugs Administration in 2007 during the Democratic Front government’s earlier rein.Since then he has been kept on compulsory waiting without a posting and promotion.
Plan India report: Child abuse high in India
New Delhi: The future of children in India appears bleak, riddled by verbal and physical abuse and controlled by gender stereotypes. A recent study by child rights organization Plan India has found that one-fifth of the children are reported facing abuse, only 20% women had bank accounts and only 16% owned an asset like land or vehicle.
Of the children that reported abuse, 67% were victims of physical abuse, 44% verbal and emotional abuse. The issues of child protection are severe at home and in educational institutions and ironically, just as home and school top the places where abuse happens, these are also the two places that children feel most secure. The survey interviewed 6,000 respondents from all ages and gender.
Young women hold less bank accounts, property or vehicles as compared to young men. One-fifth of the young women (20%) reported having a bank account as compared to 37% of young men. Of which, only 55% women reported they could withdraw money without permission as compared to 78% young men.
Among men and women contracted, 18% reported ownership of any asset (21% young men and 16% young women). “Over 70% children in the age group of 10-14 years reported their father as the main decision maker in the family,” the study said. It was carried out across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Karnataka. The study said 80% girls in the age group 10-14 years were groomed at an early age for household chores such as cleaning and washing clothes. “The mindset to leave the onus of certain things on girls is deep routed,” Plan India executive director Bhagyashri Dengle said.
The report highlighted the attitudes and awareness of men and boys on gender equality and recommended strategies to engage men and boys in achieving this.
Speaking on the occasion, Surina Narula, Plan India patron, said, “Across the country, girls face double the discrimination because of their gender and age, leaving them at the bottom of the social ladder. Plan India’s focus on the engagement of men and boys in achieving gender equality is aimed at bringing positive impact on society and economy.
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