The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Jamiat to provide legal aid to 13/7 accused
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, January 28
The Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind which played a major role in the acquittals of those accused in the Malegaon blasts case has announced that it would provide assistance to the two young men arrested in connection with the bomb blasts at Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar on July 13 last year.

The decision to take up the cases of Naqi Ahmed and Nadeem Shaikh was taken at a meeting held here earlier this week, according to JUIH. "We feel that the Anti-Terror Squad of the Mumbai police has falsely implicated the two youths after the National Commission of Minorities sent a query about allegations of their arrest and torture in custody," Gulzar Azmi who heads the legal aid cell of the organisation said.

He added that the body's representatives met with relatives of the two youth and they were convinced that the boys were actually helping the Central intelligence agencies in the Mumbai blasts case. Azmi added that the body will hire senior lawyers to defend the two boys in court.

The JUIH had earlier defended and got nine men arrested in connection with the Malegaon bomb blasts released on bail. Then a radical Hindu leader Swami Aseemanand had confessed to the plot to Malegaon bomb blasts.

Caught in surrogacy tangle, US woman looks for a way out
Suresh Dharur/TNS

Hyderabad, January 28
An American woman has been running from pillar to post to secure travel documents for her seven-week old surrogate baby caught in a procedural quagmire and a complex web of surrogacy laws.

The curious case of J Pearllinda Vanburen and her son Emperor Kaioyus Vanburen, born to a surrogate mother through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at a private fertility clinic here, has raised several questions over the efficacy of the country’s surrogacy laws.

In the normal course, it should not be a problem for a foreign national to take home his or her surrogate child since commercial surrogacy is allowed in India. What made the matters complicated for Vanburen (40) is that she is married to a Jamaican national Eric Dalton Green whose semen sample was used in the IVF process.

The eggs were donated by a woman from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. The baby was delivered on December 7 by a Hyderabadi woman whose womb was rented.

The passport officials were confused when Vanburen sought passport for her son. A maze of bureaucratic procedures made the things difficult for the officials to issue travel documents. Firstly, Vanburen has no biological link with the child as she had carried her husband's semen samples to India and the baby was born through IVF.

Secondly, Eric Dalton Green was not physically present for “genetic verification” before issuing the passport to the child. As per the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act of 2008, the presence of one of the parents having “biological link” with the surrogate baby was mandatory.

Thirdly, Vanburen wants to return to Jamaica where her husband lives. She could not secure a Jamaican passport for the baby as there is no Jamaican embassy either in Hyderabad or in Delhi. The woman approached the honorary consul of the Jamaican government in Delhi but was asked to meet the Passport Officer in Hyderabad.

Vanburen explained that her husband had developed a fear of flying as a child after his father died in an air crash, and could not here.

“It would have been easy for us to assist her to get the necessary paper work done if her husband could come down to India. We do not have a Jamaican consular office here and that has compounded the problem,” said PSN Prasad, an advocate of International Law helping the private fertility clinic in legal issues related to surrogacy.

The Regional Passport Officer (RPO) here has referred the documents to the Ministry of External Affairs, explaining the situation and seeking advice on issuing an identity certificate and travel documents. As per the Passport Act, a separate application is required for the identity certificate for infants.

“We have sent the details to the MEA and are waiting for the ministry’s advice. Van Buren has not submitted a separate application for identity certificate for the baby, so we have asked her to submit it,” RPO K Srikar Reddy said,

“I wish that the things will be cleared soon,” Vanburen said. “I cannot stay here any longer as my financial situation is worsening. It was my dream, not only to get a surrogate baby, but also to get one from India, which has a good culture. Besides, the expenses involved here are considerably low,” she said.

Troubling Times

The curious case of J Pearllinda Vanburen and her son Emperor Kaioyus Vanburen, born to a surrogate mother through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at a private fertility clinic in Hyderabad, has raised several questions over the efficacy of the country’s surrogacy laws

In the normal course, it should not be a problem for a foreign national to take home his or her surrogate child since commercial surrogacy is allowed in India

What complicated matters for Vanburen is that she is married to a Jamaican national Eric Dalton Green whose semen sample was used in the IVF process

The eggs were donated by a Andhra woman. The baby was delivered by another woman whose womb was rented

The passport officials were confused when Vanburen sought passport for her son. A maze of bureaucratic procedures made the things difficult for the officials to issue travel documents

Delhi art feast gets bigger, better
Nonika Singh/TNS

New Delhi, January 28
The India Art Fair that opened at the NSIC exhibition grounds on Thursday, bringing together the works of nearly 1,000 artists, continues to evince a keen response. If the visitors that included eminent personalities from the political world like Maneka Gandhi, celebrities like Malini Ramani continued to stream in, the who’s who of the art world too could be seen in good measure.

Right from our very own celebrated artist SH Raza to renowned British artist Marc Quinn, who has been making waves ever since he created a sculpture of the self with his own blood, were present.

On a serious note

The morning session of the Speakers Forum on Friday saw interesting deliberations on the subject of “European Reception of Contemporary Indian Art”. Holly Brackenbury Director, Indian Art Sotheby’s, London, while giving an overview of the auction market remarked that the auction market which has seen a correction in 2007 is today far more healthy. The focus she felt has now moved to the real collector as against those who were looking for art as an investment.

Thus the interest in Indian art she felt was not market driven but genuine. Ranjit Hoskote, cultural theorist and an independent curator, however, shared his misgivings over the use of the word reception itself. He observed that often guest countries exhibiting their works abroad try to work in a fashion as to make the works both hospitable and palatable for the host country.

The emphasis should be on dialogue and active collaborations between works of art and artists between different countries, observed the panel comprising Sophie Duplaix, chief curator, Centre Pompidou, France, among others.

Overwhelming response

At the fair, nevertheless, the dialogue between viewers and art works, irrespective of the countries these came from, remained vibrant. By and large international galleries were overwhelmed by the response. Even Neha Kirpal the young visionary, whose brainchild the fair is and who has conceived it as an Indian art affair first and foremost, talked of the tremendous appetite of the Indian buyer and the viewer for international art. She shared that the works of British artist Damien Hirst and Pakistani artist Rashid Rana had been lapped up by collectors. Why Damien’s work represented at his own gallery “Other Criterion”, London, sold within five minutes of the opening of the show. The mid-segment buyers had shown great interest in works of galleries from Spain.

Cynosure of all eyes

Indeed, in a fair that boasts of brand names like Marc Quinn and Tracy Emin who have created a stir in the art world by treading unconventional paths, both the buyers and the art lovers were equally engaged by other artists. Be it the unusually figurative works of Iranian artist Pooya Aryanpour or of incredibly alive realistic sculptures from Australia by Sam Jinks, the gallery owners were pleasantly surprised by the interest generated among the buyers as they received many feelers. The owners of Karen Woodbury Gallery from Australia were effusive about the buzz that the fair has generated being seen as the new exciting ground in Asia.

Three-dimensional photographs better known as lenticular photography by Jeff Robbs too were the toast of the fair. Created through the images of women defying laws of gravity captured underwater and in different positions tickled the imagination of the average viewer. At the same time it also impelled the buyer to dig dip into their pockets to shell out Rs 11 lakh for his limited edition photographs. Artist Marina Abramovic’s photographs from her Kitchen series where the artist is the subject of her concept and her video too stopped viewers in their tracks. The video lounge saw a fair share of viewers. Of course, masters will be masters and Delhi Art Gallery representing the progressives like Hussain and Raza too seemed to be doing rather well. Not surprising, the experts feel that whatever may be the focus of media attention, the market remains strongly with paintings.

Andhra witnesses row over statues of politicians
Suresh Dharur/TNS

Hyderabad, January 28
After Uttar Pradesh, it is now the turn of Andhra Pradesh to witness a bitter row over the statues of political leaders of various hues.

The life-size statues of popular politicians have come to symbolise a new sense of assertion on the part of political parties. The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress Party are locked in a war of words over installation of statues of their respective heroes. It is turning out to be NTR versus YSR now. While NTR, the matinee idol of Telugu cinema, founded the TDP, YSR was the most charismatic Congress leader in the state who steered the party to power for two successive terms.

Realising that the statues could provide an ideal platform to perpetuate the political legacy, YSR’s ambitious son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his supporters have been installing former’s statues across the state at a frantic pace.

In what has now become a customary practice, Jagan, who is the president of YSR Congress Party, starts his road shows with the installation of YSR’s statue at village corners. The unveiling of statues has been an integral part of Jagan’s “Odarpu” Yatra during the last two years. The yatra is ostensibly meant to console the families of those who died out of shock or committed suicide following the death of YSR in a helicopter crash in September 2009. According to rough estimates, over 10,000 statues of YSR have sprouted across the state in the past two years.

The mushrooming of YSR’s statues has apparently unnerved the TDP and its president N Chandrababu Naidu, who threatened to “demolish” them after coming to power in the 2014 Assembly elections.

“The YSR Congress Party is bulldozing its way and erecting the statues right in the middle of the roads causing severe inconvenience to people. This is illegal and unacceptable,” said Naidu, who was the Chief Minister between 1995 and 2004.

The TDP supremo went a step further and said his party would not hesitate to install over “one lakh statues” of NTR across the state.

Taking a strong objection to his remarks, YSR Congress Party spokesperson V Padma said all the statues of YSR were erected by the people by pooling contributions and necessary permissions were taken from the local authorities.

“In some cases, private lands were donated by the owners due to love and affection they have for YSR,” she said. “The bravado of Naidu that they will erect one lakh statues of NTR will not go well, given his background,” she added. Naidu had dethroned NTR, his father-in-law, in a political coup in August 1995 and took over the reins of the party.

It is estimated that each life-size statue made of bronze would cost anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh and the cost may go up to Rs 3 lakh if the statue is above 20 ft. A cement statue will cost Rs 30,000 and a bust will cost around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.

The idol story

Over 10,000 statues of YSR have sprouted across the state in the past two years, according to estimates

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu has threatened to “demolish” them after coming to power in the 2014 Assembly elections

Each life-size statue made of bronze would cost anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh and the cost may go up to Rs 3 lakh if the statue is above 20 ft

Panel: Give consular access to those languishing in India, Pak jails
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, January 28
The India-Pakistan judicial committee on prisoners today suggested to the governments in the two countries to evolve a mechanism to give compassionate and humanitarian consideration to women, juvenile, mentally challenged, old aged and all those prisoners suffering from serious illness or permanent physical disability.

The members of the committee, during their five-day meeting in India that concluded yesterday, also recommended that consular access must be provided immediately to all those prisoners who have not been provided the facility so far and the process of nationality confirmation should start immediately.

The members of the committee - Justice (retd) AS Gill and Justice (retd) MA Khan from the Indian side and Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid and Justice (retd) Milan Muhammad Ajmal from Pakistan - also visited some jails in India.

A total of 46 Pakistani prisoners at the Central Jail in New Delhi, 98 at the Central Jail, Jaipur, and 45 Pakistani prisoners at the Central jail in Amritsar were presented before the panel.

The committee suggested that the Consular Access Agreement of May 2008 between the two governments must be implemented fully. Consular access must be provided within three months of the arrest and repatriation must take place within one month of confirmation of national status and completion of sentences.

It also recommended that serious/terminally ill and mentally challenged prisoners must be kept in hospitals irrespective of confirmation of their national status and offence.

Prisoners involved in minor offences like violation of the Foreigners’ Act, visa violation and inadvertent border crossing deserve compassion from both the sides. The committee noted that the respective courts must be requested for expeditious trial of all under-trial prisoners. Provision of legal aid/attorneys to prisoners must be ensured at all stages of their cases.

The committee also endorsed the recommendations of the Home/Interior Secretary-level talks held in March 2011 in New Delhi to task the Pakistani Maritime Security Agency and Coast Guard of India to work on setting up a mechanism for release of inadvertent crossers (fishermen) and their boats on the same lines as the inadvertent crossers on land. It was recommended that the fishermen should be repatriated by sea lanes along with their boats.

The next visit of the committee to Pakistani jails will be arranged during the second half of April.

Every year, hundreds of citizens, including fishermen, are arrested by security forces of both countries and imprisoned for straying across territorial waters and land borders. The committee was formed in January 2007 to look into the cases of these prisoners.

Nair thrown out like garbage: CNR Rao

G Madhavan Nair

Bangalore, January 28
Former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and three fellow space scientists against whom the government has taken damning action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal were "thrown out like garbage", said Prof C N R Rao, Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

Mincing no words, an angry Rao while putting his weight behind Nair also slammed V Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, for his stand on the ISRO row.

"People who have served the country, served the organisation for long, you cannot throw them like garbage. That's what they have done. They have literally thrown them out of the window like garbage", Rao told PTI today, voicing outrage at the action.

"They have not treated corrupt persons in politics, in public life like that. Why only scientists have been picked up?", asked Rao, also honorary president of Bangalore-based Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.

"Is this the way to treat anybody? Nobody will work for these (government) organisations if this is the way they are treated", Rao, a renowned scientist, said.

Nair said he appreciated Rao and other scientists for their support to him and was happy they voiced their concern over the developments in public.

"I really appreciate persons like Prof C N R Rao....they have understood the issue and I appreciate their concern," he added.

Prof Rao targeted Narayanasamy for his reported comments that the government decision was taken to send a strong message to the scientific community that no wrongdoing would be tolerated. The minister's comments came while he defending the action against Nair and three others. — PTI

Poll code goes for a toss; 6 lakh violations in UP
Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service

Lucknow, January 28
While the election campaign in the state is yet to pick up momentum the state election commission has already registered around 6 lakh cases of violation of the model code of conduct making it clear that the candidates and political parties plainly do not care for such niceties. In around 2,500 cases, the election commission has got FIRs registered.

According to Chief Election Officer Umesh Sinha, “These FIRs may prove costly for the candidates. They can be punished”. But by the multiplying number of cases it appears that the candidates really do not bother about all this.

The inducement of voters by offering cash and gifts has also started. Despite strict attitude of the state election commission, candidates are daring to take the risk. In 108 such cases FIRs have already been lodged.

Similarly, in 89 places candidates and their supporters have held meetings without seeking permission. Around 502 cases of campaigning through loudspeakers without permission have been lodged.

Officials of the commission admit that despite all publicity, the candidates ignore the rules and regulations. For instance, wall writing is rampant. When it is removed from one place it re-appears at another place, points out deputy election officer Anita Meshram.

The commission has already taken action in 55,000 such cases. Around 665 FIRs have already been lodged in such cases, of which 280 FIRs are regarding wall writing in private buildings alone, points out Meshram.

A veteran politician from Lucknow admits that such cases of violation of the model code of conduct last only till the elections. “Who bothers about such cases once the elections are over”, he asked.

Gay tag drives brothers to suicide, 1 dead
Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS

Bangalore, January 28
A suicide pact between two brothers, who are newcomers to the city, has confounded the Bangalore police. The city has the dubious distinction of recording the highest number of suicides in the country. But the suicide pact between the two brothers is something unprecedented even in Bangalore.

The two brothers were reportedly driven to take the extreme step after being suspected of having homosexual relationship with each other.

“We have come across incidents of suicide pact among sisters suffering from depression. Family suicides are also not uncommon and generally take place due to financial problems. But the suicide pact between two brothers is quite new,” said Arif Ali, DSP of the police unit manning the Bangalore City railway station.

The brothers (their names are being withheld to protect their identity), hailing from Assam, tried to jointly commit suicide last Saturday night leading to the death of one of them.

“He told us that the people living in the hotel room next door were planning to beat them up. So they ran away from the hotel and ran into all sorts of difficulties, leading them to try taking their own lives,” Arif Ali said after the conversation he had with the youth who survived the tragedy.

The boy who survived is 23 years old while the one who died was 28.

Pawar not to contest next general elections

New Delhi, January 28
Having lost not even one election in the 45 years of his political career so far, Union minister Sharad Pawar has said he wants to bid adieu to politics to make way for the younger generation. “It’s enough. It is the responsibility of the people like me to encourage younger people and younger leadership to continue to work in the party,” Pawar, Union Agriculture Minister, said.

Having won the Lok Sabha elections eight times since he first entered Parliament in March 1985, the Nationalist Congress Party chief said, “I don’t want to contest the next Lok Sabha elections scheduled for 2014 because this year I will complete 45 years. I entered politics in 1967. Since then, I am getting elected continuously. Fortunately, I never lost the elections,” he said. — IANS

CPM to expand base outside Bengal, Kerala, Tripura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 28
Having lost its bastions in West Bengal and Kerala, the CPM has decided to expand its presence in the rest of India with general secretary Prakash Karat saying today that it had become imperative for the CPM to align with non-Congress, secular forces to give the country a new Left and democratic alternative.

Releasing party’s Draft Political Resolution this evening, Karat said in the wake of Left’s electoral reverses, party’s independent role and its strengthening at the national level had become the central focus.

Quoting the resolution to be debated in the CPM before the party’s 20th congress in April, Karat said: “Since the Left has suffered serious electoral reverses and West Bengal, its strongest, is under attack; it is important to expand the influence and the base of the party in other states.” The CPM is contesting independently in Punjab and UP this time.

Politically, the CPM said, it would continue to fight the Congress and the BJP as both the parties represent the big bourgeois landlord order which perpetuates class exploitation. “They both pursue neo-liberal policies and advocate a pro-US foreign policy. Defeating the Congress is imperative given the crushing burden of price rise, unemployment, suffering of the farmers and workers on the one hand and the brazen corruption and big sops to corporates and wealthy sections,” Karat said.

Battered baby still critical

New Delhi, January 28
Doctors attending on the battered two-year-old girl child at AIIMS today ruled out her sexual abuse and her condition showed no signs of improvement.

Dr Deepak Aggarwal, a neurosurgeon attending on the girl, said the bite marks on her body seem that of a human being but forensic experts at the hospital would ascertain and give a final report.

He said the possibility of sexual abuse of the child has been ruled out after a gynaecologist carried out test on her for the same yesterday.

"The marks on her body seem like that of human bite. To verify this, we called in our forensic experts. They will analyse and let us now," Agarwal said.

Even as she entered the 11th day of her admission to the Intensive Care Unit of Jai Prakash Narayan AIIMS Trauma Centre, the baby has shown no change in physical condition since yesterday and continues to remain critical, Agarwal said. — PTI

142 Tihar jail inmates get jobs

New Delhi, January 28
A total of 142 Tihar inmates yesterday landed jobs in the prison's first placement drive this year, giving them hope of leading a better life after serving their respective terms. Out of 175 inmates interviewed by five companies, 142 candidates were selected, including 13 women. The interviews were conducted today on the jail premises. The monthly salary packages ranged from Rs 7,000 to Rs 30,000, with Sunil Gupta getting the highest package offered by Frontline Securities. — IANS