The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Jain case hearing on May 31
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 27 — The bail application of former UT Home Secretary, N.K. Jain, will come up before the Additional District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge for the Central Bureau of Investigation cases, Mr Lakhbir Singh, on May 31.

Jain, booked in a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act along with Superintendent K.B. Goel, was arrested by the premier investigating agency after he surrendered before it on May 9.

It was alleged in the first information Report that Jain was operating in tandem with Goel to receive money from parties interested in the settlement of their cases pending before the Administration. Jain, it was also alleged, had dropped a charge sheet against Goel who had paid him Rs 25,000 for the purpose.

Jain had allegedly also asked Goel to get in touch with people interested in the settlement of their cases. He had also allegedly passed favourable orders in all such cases, which indicated that the parties concerned were accommodated by breaking rules. The FIR also stated that as per the evidence, Goel was collecting money from people.

About Rs 2 lakh was allegedly collected from one Mr Baljit Singh, who was promoted from the rank of a Sectional Officer to that of Assistant Secretary, State Transport Authority. One Mr Amarjit Singh, driver in the Weights and Supplies Department, had also paid money for being promoted as inspector in the Weights and Measures Department, it was alleged.

CULTURE

Need to curb unhealthy cultural practices

As elsewhere in the country, the modern city of Chandigarh and its countryside is not free from the unhealthy cultural and traditional practices. Take, for instance, the birth of a child which is a potential asset in womanhood. Wihtout childbirth almost all would say that womanhood is incomplete. A great deal of social satisfaction is attached to the act of childbirth. Children are seen as a social security for parents in their old age, and parents with more and better-cared-for children are respected and thought to have better and happier lives as they grow older. Even though education and urbanisation have had some influence on this situation, children are not only the pride of the family, but are also considered to be an asset.

Because of the importance attached to childbirth, many cultural beliefs and practices have a bearing on everything concerned with conception, childbirth and child-rearing. Various traditional practices are intended to protect both mother and child from adversity, including harm that might be brought about by withcraft. However, some beliefs and practices can damage the health of both child and mother in various ways. Female genital mutilation, for instance, leads to scarification and later complications in childbirth; dietary taboos and restrictions can lead to nutritional deficiencies and anaemia; and other beliefs and practices restrict the woman’s choice about issues that affect her health. Traditions such as these remain deeply entrenched despite educational, religious, community and caste differences.

Almost in all communities, a rest of 40 days after delivery is considered essential for the convalescence of the mother and the development of the infant. A birth is regarded as successful if the child survives the first 40 days. The mother is expected to take special care of herself during this period and is relieved of all household responsibilities except that of nursing her baby. She is given highly nourishing meals which contain herbs to expel blood clots. She does not leave her home. She is surrounded by her family who care for her.

If a woman dies during pregnancy or during the 40-day period after delivery she is given a quiet and low-profile cremation because her death is considered a bad omen. Destiny or fate may often be perceived as the reason why women die from childbirth. Adultery and rebellion against traditional norms are considered to be other causes.

In most communities the child must be named on the eighth day and after separation of the cord. Herbs are, therefore, applied to speed up the separation of the cord, but this poses a danger from infections such as tetanus. Certain other groups do the naming on the 40th day, which is regarded as the end of the danger period for both mother and child. A special ceremony is then held for the mother and child. They are dressed well and their bodies are decorated with white clay. Traditional dishes are prepared for friends, relatives, husband and family. Some of these traditions have now been modified by the influence of other culture. Although there has been a sea-change in our social fabric, it is sad to note that we are still caught in the bottlenecks of the unhealthy cultural practices. For instance, the birth of a female is not welcomed to a large extent with the result that the mother of a baby girl is meted out bad treatment by her in-laws. This tendency requires to be curbed for the betterment of our society.

It is critically important to educate women and bring them to a better understanding of the harmful effects of certain prevailing customs and practices. They must learn to appreciate the potential of women’s role in society, since women themselves have been conditioned to accept these practices as necessary and they are often the ones who perpetuate traditions of this kind.

To achieve this objective, elderly women, husbands, village chiefs and community leaders need to be persuaded about the adverse impact of unwise or unhealthy social and cultural practices in order to put an end to them.

This helps to explain why most marriages without children tend to be unhappy or unsuccessful. Parents of married couples, and especially the mother-in-law, often do not approve of marriages that last for more than two years without a child and would frown on the use of modern contraceptives.

When the country’s population is heading towards a figure of 100 crore it is sad to note that in our society the couples with many children are considered lucky. Such tendencies are indeed unfortunate for the healthy growth of our society. Today the city of Chandigarh is over-populated due to which its residents have to face many problems, including shortage of water, insanitary surroundings marked by heaps of garbage, causing the spread of contagious diseases. The planners of the city could never imagine that the city will be thrown open to the labourers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who have been responsible for the rapid increase in population. The need of the hour is, therefore, to keep a tab on the baby boom, besides curbing the orthodox cultural practices of producing an army of children.

— By J.S. Bedi

Bhatti on the prowl... looking for talent
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 27 — While Jaspal Bhatti, who virtually single-handedly brought Chandigarh on the small screen productions map of the country, is yet to begin shooting of his new Punjabi and Hindi serials , the city is agog with activity as more than one serials are already under production here.

After “Tutan Wala Khu” and “Apne Begane”, shooting of yet another serial based on the famous folklore “Mirza Sahibaan” got under way at Ramgarh village, near Panchkula today. While these new serials will take some time to complete, a “pure” Chandigarh team’s production “Saher”, a six-episode serial on plight of Kashmiri people, is being telecast by Doordarshan-II these days.

Though Jaspal Bhatti has been busy in finalising last minute details of his new serials, one of which he has named Mr Moneyplant, he is all set to scout local talent for his new productions.

“Chandigarh, of late has earned a niche for itself, both in the world of glamour and celluloid,” he says maintaining that it has become the major joint or centre for art, culture, music and now films and serials.

“Mirza-Sahibaan” will have 13 episodes and the shooting of the first episode got underway this morning. It is being directed by Sunil Babbar whose earlier venture, “Chandigarh - the City Beautiful”, was highly appreciated by the public. The serial is being produced by Ajitabh Chandel, the executive director of Castle Films. Most of the artistes are from this region only and include Ashutosh Singh, Madhu, Aditi Tiwari, Bhagwan Chand, Anita and Bharati.

While “Mirza-Sahibaan” will portray this famous folklore of the land of five rivers, Gurcharan Singh Channi, another city-based producer-director, has taken up cud gels to portray the plight of Kashmiri people who want an end to the onsluaght of terrorism, oppression and violence. Says Channi a decade of brutal violence has left people with misery, pain, wounds, scars, and irreparable mental, emotional and psyche loss. They want to get out of this rut at any cost.

The city artistes dominate the cast in the leading roles. Kashmiris settled here and the migrant labour and their families have also performed well in the serial.

Its cast includes Preeti Sakhuja, Hardeep Singh Anant, Madhvi Kataria, Jainendra Singh, Parvesh Sethi, Kapil Kalyan, Rajesh Pawar, Madan Gupta Spatu, Atulvir Aroa, Kuldeep Bhatti, Jatinder Kaul, JK Raina, RC Girdhar, Raja Jaikrishen and Usha Moza.GS Channi is the producer and has jointly done the script with Munna Dhiman who is also the casting Director of the serial. HS Kohli is the executive producer.

Channi agrees with Jaspal Bhatti over emergence of Chandigarh as the major centre for small and big screen productions.