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PM unleashes
reforms Ignore the film |
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Woman lawyer in
thana
Economic woes of
South Asia
The wailing beauty
The
London Paralympics offered a positive platform to disabled people and
was a befitting finale to the season of Olympics Paralympics
spectacular success
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Ignore the film
No
one can say with certainty what was the exact idea behind the outrageous film, “Innocence of Muslims”, produced by Nakoula Basseley of southern California. He is on probation after having been convicted of financial crimes. He used numerous aliases to open many bank accounts to make money through fraudulent means. One can easily believe that his film project might have been aimed at inflaming passions to earn it instant popularity and help him make billions of dollars. Such a person cannot be expected to respect the religious sentiments of a community, already feeling victimised at the hands of today’s dominant powers led by the US. If some people lose their lives in incidents of violence caused by his bogus film, it is not his problem. There could not have been a worse time for the film, blasphemous to Prophet Mohammed, to be made available to the viewing public through the Internet and other means. The angry people who stormed the US Consulate in Libyan city of Benghazi, killing American Ambassador Chris Stevens and some other persons, and those who held violent protests elsewhere in the Arab world had been nursing grievances against the US. The strong anti-US sentiment needed only a spark to cause a big fire that can be seen in different parts of the world today. It is not only the Muslims in the Arab countries who feel outraged. Muslims in India’s Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu, too, have expressed their revulsion over the controversial film. The Government of India is trying to get the video link on Internet site YouTube blocked to maintain peace in the country, but it is not that easy. Even the mighty US is bewildered. It is paying with the loss of human lives and property for something in which it had no role to play. But it feels powerless to act decisively because of its laws which allow unfettered freedom of expression to every individual. The Muslims who are terribly upset because of the film should think coolly. They are indirectly helping Nakoula by expressing their anger through violence. They can thwart his ugly designs by simply ignoring his film. However, the crisis that has erupted demands a serious debate to ensure that the world does not face such a volatile situation again.
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Woman lawyer in thana
India
was reported to be the 4th most dangerous country for women in 2011. Only Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan were rated worse, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters’ Trustlaw Women. The survey report was stamped as biased by a few, but the data collected by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) substantiated what Thomson Reuters’ report had suggested. The increasing intolerance towards women, according to the NCRB, has resulted in an 873 per cent rise in crime against women in the last 40 years. The bureau arrived at this figure after comparing the data on a number of cases registered in 1971 (2,487) with those in 2011 (24,206). One needs to juxtapose these figures with another data. Delhi and NCR top the chart containing a list of 53 mega cities, by accounting for 13.3 per cent of crime committed against women which comes to 4,489 cases of crime against women of the total 33,789 cases reported. The numbers clearly demonstrate the fact that increasing affluence, better education and exposure to modern values have had little sobering effect on the male psyche in the urban areas. Compare this with the poor 34 per cent of the conviction rate and a new reality emerges. Courts have been forced to acquit the accused because of flawed first information reports (FIRs), erroneous procedures in collating medical evidence and shoddy investigation. Lawyers and women rights activists have been voicing concern over the deep prejudice prevalent in the police against women in general and rape victims in particular, as the single biggest reason for the repeated failure of justice. Now this seems to be addressed at least in Gurgaon where the presence of a woman lawyer has been made mandatory for filing of an FIR by a woman complainant. The step will instil confidence in women complainants in Gurgaon, where women don’t feel safe anymore, but to address the nationwide trend of police apathy towards victimised women of sexual crimes, a comprehensive police sensitising programme needs to be put in place, and soon.
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Although prepared for martyrdom. I preferred that it be postponed. — Winston Churchill
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Economic woes of South Asia THE South Asian countries — India, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal — are going through a turbulent phase. All are struggling to raise their growth rate which is in declining mode. From 9 per cent India's GDP growth rate has come down to 5.5 per cent. Except for Sri Lanka (8 per cent), all others' growth rates are at or below 6 per cent. All countries are going through a problematic phase of raising their level of infrastructure and competitiveness. According to the World Economic Forum's Competitive Index, India's rank has got sunk to 59th. Most of the countries in the region are not very competitive. Doing business is a problem in South Asia. The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index places India at the 132nd position. Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are placed higher. Though there is corruption in all the South Asian countries, India's corruption level is probably higher. The race for resources is also one of the highest in the world mainly because of South Asia's huge 1.5 billion population. It is the biggest net importer of oil, metals and food. The basic problems of health, education and delivery of essential services have not been solved though compared to India, some neighbours are faring better in improving their human development indicators. Political instability is also a problem in South Asia. From Nepal to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan, all have problems of instability. All the countries also have a serious problem of terrorism gaining ground. Though one of the most populous regions of the world, it has much poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. Women's status is also much lower in South Asia than in other regions. Women's literacy rate remains low, maternal mortality rate is high and female foeticide is a major problem in some of these countries. Their economic participation is also low. Most importantly, it is the least integrated region, and intra-regional trade plays a small part. The trade among these countries is only 5 per cent of the total trade of South Asia though extensive informal trade or smuggling takes place across the borders. The region has high tariff walls and non-tariff barriers that include long 'negative' lists of banned imported items. All countries export to Western countries and that is why when the West faced a downturn after the global financial crisis, South Asian exports plunged. There is very little complementarity among the different countries' production pattern. All are mostly producing garments, light engineering goods, raw materials and primary agricultural goods. India's neighbours are constantly complaining about the trade surplus that India has with them. The reason is that India exports to them much higher value products than what it buys from them. Yet when the Western markets are not expanding, there should be more regional cooperation in the production and consumption of goods like the recent move by India for setting up manufacturing hubs and SEZs in Sri Lanka for export and also sale in that country. All the countries have a young population which needs jobs. There has to be a rapid expansion of the manufacturing and service sectors to absorb these job-seekers. Yet manufacturing growth is slowing down in all these countries as a result of the global slowdown. More investment is needed in manufacturing in India. Investment between the countries has also not taken off, though India is an important investor in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Many Indian companies are interested in investing in Bangladesh and Pakistan provided there is full investment guarantee. Each country, on the other hand, competes with one another in attracting Western FDI. Though savings rates are high, there is a need for foreign investment and technology for rapid development. Tourism is a sector which is growing and can employ a large proportion of the young population. Yet visa restrictions bog down easy travel. Easier travel between India and Pakistan is in the offing, but there is suspicion on both sides. No other region has such acrimonious relations among neighbours. It has much to do with the colonial past and the way the subcontinent was divided. Though there are strong cultural ties, there is much tension involving all these countries with India taking the brunt of being the 'Big Brother'! All countries have growing inequalities and huge income disparities within each country. Though all are basically agricultural countries, due to lack of innovation, technology and governance, agricultural productivity has remained low. Often due to population pressure, there has been rapid urbanisation within each country in the region. There has been a constant flow of cross-border migrants to India also. In recent times, this temporary and often permanent migration has created serious problems in India. Though in every country, there is income inequality, the kind of deprivation and abject poverty that is evident in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh is hard to find in other regions of the world. Yet, by all standards, the region is a huge market for Western products. Though it is perhaps only 1 per cent of the population which can buy luxury branded products, it is a huge market. All the famous Paris, London and New York brands and the luxury car industry from Germany are present in the South Asian region cashing in on the elite's penchant for world-famous brands. As long as this glaring inequality in income and consumption persists, which is also fuelling corruption, there is going to be conflict in the region and more and more deprived people will band together to form insurgent groups and create havoc. China is present in the region in a big way and is a serious competitor with local brands. The US is present in a different way because the top echelons' children are very often studying in the US or they have relatives there. The top policy-makers and businessmen have US degrees and their thoughts are moulded by US neoliberal policies. All the countries send a large chunk of their labour force to the Middle East, the UK, Europe and the US. The inflow of remittances is important and the region does not depend so much on foreign institutional investment inflows (FIIs) as other regions which is one of the reasons why the financial crisis did not have a severe impact on the region. People in South Asia are tradition-bound and family-oriented as well as religious. That is what makes them typically South Asian and different from the Westerners. But only when they are abroad they realise their regional identity as all are bunched together and called South
Asians!
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The wailing beauty MY beloved was craving to
meet me. So was I yearning to date her, but I somehow decided to evade
the bait to preserve the matrimonial rhythm at home. Last Sunday,
however, when she revealed in my dream that she was dehydrating to
death, I was rattled. She was literally shaken at the duality of those
who, despite having robbed her sensuality, drove her to extinction.
She chided me for my infidelity while she was suffocating, having
contracted progeria in the prime of her youth. She never declined
whenever I plunged to fathom her serenity. But now she was longing only
for one big hug before her itinerary finally terminated into the
oblivion, she pleaded. My inner conscience pricked me for being numb
despite her being so palpable to me. I eventually agreed to visit her in
the wee hours before the sun could rise to interrupt our privacy. She,
however, advised to come after the sunset so that no one could infringe
their reunion witnessed only by the moon hovering in the sky. As I
stealthily slipped out in the dark, I recapitulated my maiden dive
exploring her enormity. I was excited but nervous, like a hesitant
adolescent approaching a beautiful maiden. Ecstatic as I was, I thanked
the Almighty for granting my wish to stay afloat in her lap who was
often hyped to be as stunning as Helen of Troy. I must concede I had a
crush at first sight. As I was pacing forward, my mental clock was
pulling me backward, flashing the moments of rarity spent in her bosom.
I found it difficult to soak it as the final tryst with the one who had
always ruled my life. How would I justify such a long spell of silence,
I posed myself? I neared, I saw, I was traumatised. She was not, what
she used to be, not long ago. Her beautiful curves forging into ripples,
which I cherished to ride, had deserted her. Her gorgeous beauty had
been ravished and lungs completely choked. Echoing with Christopher
Marlowe in "Dr Faustus", I kept wondering, "Was
this the face…" that prompted all her admirers scream: "Helen,
come, here will I dwell." I could not resist blasting John
Keats for weaving an illogical verse: "A thing of beauty is a
joy for ever." As I rolled onto her, the angular silt in her
bed bruised me badly. My "blood mingled" in the water
body of Sukhna Lake. Similar to what John Donne painted in "The
Flea", I too fantasised her bed of silt as "Our
marriage bed, and marriage temple…" It was indeed hurting
that my own Sukhna was no more a Shivalik-delight, with her refreshing
setting having been consumed by the demons of mindless deforestation and
unstoppable silt. Her arteries were crying for angioplasty whereas the
planners, snoring in a perpetual state of inertia, were content with the
installation of mere stents. An agitated Corbusier, sitting in a
pensive mood at the estuary of the lake, thundered for emergent
therapeutic intervention to re-hydrate her waning contours and
rejuvenate the wailing beauty. As I stretched over her to wet my
parched lips, she drenched me with her tears. My wife, who also arrived
there shadowing me, was touched by the intensity of our mutuality. She
joined me to campaign for her revival. We love you, Sukhna.
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The London Paralympics offered a positive platform to disabled people and was a befitting finale to the season of Olympics
No
one can tell you what your life means. But in the case of a 'disabled' life, they try. It is a tragedy, they say. A life better described as an existence. One that sits in the corner as the quiet gratitude is uttered: thank God that isn't me. It could be said the Paralympics changed that, it could be hoped this is the legacy it left behind. One where disability is not pitied and ignorable, but strong and screaming to life. There was a shift in perception as the athletes took to the centre, a shift that couldn't be avoided. After all, there is no helplessness in elite competition or vulnerability in pain barriers being pushed for the win. There is no passivity in raging as four years of training crumbles before your eyes. What was merely 'existing' became strangely like living. They - the ones who last month were the weakest - were suddenly the strongest, the fittest, the best. It could be said that the term 'disability' is moot in light of this. Indeed, it was what Paralympic committee President Philip Craven said on the eve of the Games. We should, he argued, drop the word 'disabled' from coverage altogether. How could these athletes be viewed as anything other than 'able'? If the legacy of the Paralympics is to remove the word disabled, then it's a legacy that has gone badly wrong. The problem is not the term 'disabled' but what, by those on the outside, it is said to mean. That 'disabled' is thought to be an unsuitable way to describe people displaying world class achievement points, not to progress, but the prejudice that remains: a person with a disability is not thought to be 'able'. The word 'disability' is not disabling. The meaning that's attached to it is. That meaning that defines a person singly by one aspect, an aspect that is often said to be frail and tragic. It is a view that is engrained to such a degree, it even plagued the Paralympians; those 'superhumans' said to have reached a level of ability that meant they should no longer be called disabled. They were said to be "suffering" from their disability - a word that conjures images of distress and misery. This, despite the gold medal of victory hanging around their neck. Simultaneously, Paralympians were heralded as escaping the term 'disabled' while being weighed down by the caricatures that go with it; the caricature that paints disability as a tragic trial that only the bravest can endure. The word disability is not disabling. The meaning that's attached to it is. It's a weight that should not be underestimated, as a post-Paralympic climate scrambles to claim what we've learnt. The first lesson, it seems, must be re-defining disability to include 'ability'. This is a hard task to tackle, one ironically made harder by the Paralympic shadow. It means admitting, despite the best intentions, perhaps we've been getting this wrong. Perhaps we aren't celebrating 'disabled success' if we have to view it as either overcoming tragedy, or cancelling out disability all together. No one decided what it was to be disabled. But it's time the question was asked. Before we applaud our new enlightened vision of disability, we should listen to the people having it prescribed to their lives and declaring it to be foreign. As any group used to be told what to think is aware, a life cannot be defined by those looking in but the one who is living it. Those who live it know there is no benefit in being described as 'suffering', no compliment in the idea a part of you needs to be overcome. To see this definition of disability as society making progress will only entrench the problem, perpetuating the myth that disability and ability simply don't go together. The Paralympics neither showed us 'suffering' nor that success means a person is not disabled. It showed us people displaying 'disabled ability' were no less disabled for it. No Paralympian's spinal injury or lack of vision disappeared as they crossed the winning line. They were simply achieving; achieving while being disabled. If we hope to have learnt something from the Paralympics, this truth has to be it. Only when the word disability is seen as including 'ability' will society have understood what it means.
— The Independent
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Paralympics spectacular success
Britain's
spectacular summer of sport ended with the Paralympic Games closing ceremony on Sunday when the 11-day festival of sport concluded. China finished top of the medal table, bagging 95 golds in their 231-medal haul with Russia (36 golds, 102 overall) and hosts Britain (34 golds, 120 overall) in second and third respectively. "We've shared some wonderful days haven't we?," London Olympics chairman Sebastian Coe said to the packed stadium who gave a roar
of approval. "Days where incredible people have performed feats we hardly thought possible. The Paralympians have lifted the cloud of limitation." The London Paralympics sold 2.7 million tickets in total, almost 9,00,000 more tickets than Beijing four years ago and the unprecedented sales brought in nearly £ 45 million, exceeding organisers' original target of £ 35 million. The ramped-up coverage and interest was felt everywhere, Alan Oliveira's shock defeat of Oscar Pistorius in the 200 metres final even "knocked out" all the football coverage in Brazil, said IPC chief executive Xavi Gonzalez. Pistorius said after his 400 metres win on Saturday that the Olympics and Paralympics in London had been "the biggest highlight" of his life. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Philip Craven could barely believe the amount of coverage. "I'm floating on cloud nine, sometimes cloud 10 or 11," he said. "When you get everything in alignment you get a damn big bang and that's what we've had here," he told a news conference earlier on Sunday. Coe shared a story of his own at the conclusion of the British festival of sport that started on July 27 with the Olympic Games opening ceremony. The twice gold medallist recalled a meeting on a tube train during the Olympics with a volunteer who was on duty as a doctor during the July 7 bombings in 2005 that claimed the lives of 52 people the day after London was awarded the Games. "For me this is closure," said the doctor, named Andrew, to Coe. "I wasn't sure whether I should come or whether I could face it. I'm so glad I did, for I've seen the worst of mankind and now I've seen the best of mankind." Coldplay's music dominated the ceremony supported by singer Rihanna and rapper Jay-Z and there was a big sigh as Craven declared the Games closed, only for Brazilian dancers to follow the mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes on to the stage and whet the appetite for the next Olympics in South America. Paralympic athletes have been quick to give thanks to viewers and supporters over the course of the Games, including Australia's Evan O'Hanlon, who won the 100 and 200 metres in the T38 class for cerebral palsy sufferers. "You have massive profiles over here," he said. "Hopefully London and Britain have set an example and the rest of the world can follow. Thanks to everyone for watching. Even just flicking on the TV is bringing our profile
up."
— Reuters
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