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Towards uniform civil code Qualitative shift |
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Defence policy in a strategic void
Functional shift in word accent I did not object to the object. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. I was content to know the content of the message. The Blessed Virgin blessed her.” —Anonymous
Road worth taking
Nothing scary about this one
History well captured
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Towards uniform civil code THE landmark judgment of the Supreme Court that paves the way for a legal adoption of a child under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 ensures any Indian citizen, irrespective of his religion and personal law, can adopt a child. The judgment, seen as a move towards a uniform civil code, came in response to a petition filed by Shabnam Hashmi, who had approached the apex court in 2005 after being refused permission to adopt a girl child. Thus far this privilege has been enjoyed only by the Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. Now it will be extended to the Muslims, Christians, Parsis and all other communities. The court has said the right to adoption has been conferred by a law and the operation of this cannot be stultified by a personal law. The ruling assumes significance for over 12 million orphaned children in India waiting to find a home. On an average only 4,000 children get adopted every year due to the restrictions of various personal laws that allow only a legal guardianship of the adopted child. This means the rights of a biological parent to intervene or take away the child till the child gains adulthood remain intact. Under the new law all adoptive parents will be treated as natural parents. The adopted child will also get all rights akin to a natural born child that include the right to inherit property. While the judgment has been welcomed as a historic step by the majority of people, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has registered its protest against the petition, terming it a covert attempt to slip in a uniform civil code by the backdoor and an infringement on the Shariat laws. The controversial maintenance lawsuit of Shah Bano is still fresh in public memory. In this case though the Supreme Court had given a verdict in her favour, she was still denied alimony because Parliament nullified the judgment under pressure from Islamic orthodoxy. One hopes, this time the judgement would be respected and allowed to be implemented to pave the way for more progressive laws.
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Qualitative shift IT is indeed ironic that in a country where knowledge is a
time-honoured value, where much premium is placed on education, especially higher education, its quality leaves a lot to be desired. Not surprising then the President of India, Mr Pranab
Mukherjee, has to emphasise time and again how poor standards of education, faculty shortage and mediocrity in institutions remain major concerns. Some time ago even the Prime Minster, Dr Manmohan Singh, had expressed concern over Indian institutions not figuring among the world's best. Indeed, though post-Independence the Indian education system has expanded vastly, quality has not kept pace with quantity. While the entry of the private sector and the mushrooming of teaching shops have made matters worse, the fact that none of the Indian educational institutions figured among top 200 in the world rankings proves that the private sector alone can't be blamed. Many ills such as faculty crunch ail public universities too. Politics in academics and under-equipped libraries and laboratories also affect higher education adversely. Though there might be some inconsistency in world rankings, the fact remains that in the Indian way of teaching research is often not given the attention it deserves and an overwhelming majority of the PhD theses are nowhere close to the world standards of innovation. Though India has taken great comfort in the qualitative strides made in the sector of higher education, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), up from the past, is still way below the world average. Even countries like South Korea have a 100 per cent GER. Whether new initiatives such as Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), which aim to promote access, equity and excellence in the state higher education system, bring in the much-needed paradigm shift remain to be tested, excellence cannot be an accident. In a world where knowledge is power, India has to take a cue from nations like Singapore and China, which have succeeded in upgrading higher education.
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Thought for the Day
You reclaim your power by loving what you were once taught to hate.
—Bryant H. McGill
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Patiala Maharaja’s address
THE speech which His Highness the Maharaja Sahib delivered on the occasion of the State banquet on Wednesday would be read with peculiar interest by students of political history in India. It was in the time of Lord Minto after the extensive conquests of Lord Cornwallis that Patiala and other Cis-Sutlej States were brought under British protection along with
Budelkhund, and it was accomplished through the instrumentality of Mr. Metcalfe who had first to prevent Maharaja Ranjit Singh's progress both across the Sutlej and southwards to Sind to gain access to the sea. Patiala played the same part in seeking British protection at this time as Mysore did in the South against Tippoo Sultan; and Patiala in the North and Mysore in the South are two States which laid the foundation of the system of protectorates which we now have. Both these are States which owe their very existence to the British Government. But they have been immense help to the Government of India in political and diplomatic transactions. Sir Edward Holden on Indian finance
IN his recent address to the shareholders of the City of London and Midland Bank, Ltd., Sir Edward H. Holden, Bart., called attention to two or three points. One of them was the absorption of gold of India. In the year ending 31st March, 1913, also this country took the same amount of gold. In the former year the balance of Indian exports of merchandise over imports were about 50 millions sterling, but in the latter year it was only 54 millions sterling, the difference being due to the imports having risen by 5 millions. The import of gold itself continued unaffected by this variation, and this would seem to have arrested the attention of the London money market. For the seven months, April to October, 1913, the imports of merchandise exceeded those of the previous year for the same period by about 10 millions sterling while the exports continued to maintain their former level.
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Defence policy in a strategic void Inaugurating Defexpo India 2014 last week, Defence Minister A.K. Antony underlined the commitment of his government “to modernise the armed forces so that they are well-equipped with the best equipment, weapon systems and technology.” Speaking at the Land, Naval and Internal, Homeland Security Systems Exhibition in Delhi, he suggested that “efforts are being made to accelerate the pace of indigenisation in the defence sector” and that “the government is encouraging joint public-private participation in the defence sector, while thrust is also being given to the private sector to make a far more meaningful and substantive contribution.”
Defexpo India 2014, the eighth in the series of biennial Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems Exhibition and the largest-ever defence exposition in Asia, was held in Delhi last week underscoring India's emergence as an attractive destination for investment in the defence sector and providing a platform for collaborations and joint ventures in the defence industry. India has been one of the world's major defence spenders over the last few years, making more than US $35 billion of arms purchases over the past two to three years. Accordingly, India has asserted its military profile in the past decade, setting up bases abroad and patrolling the Indian Ocean to counter piracy and protect lines of communication. As its strategic horizons become broader, military acquisition is shifting from land-based systems to airborne refuelling systems, long-range missiles and other means of power projection. When it comes to military defence aspirations, all eyes are on - and wallets open to - India, as big defence players vie for the Indian defence market. India has been the world's second-largest arms buyer over the past five years, importing 7 per cent of the world's arms exports. With the world's fourth largest military and one of its biggest defence budgets, India has been in the midst of a huge defence modernisation programme for more than a decade now; one that has seen billions of dollars spent on the latest high-tech military technology. According to various estimates, India will be spending around $100 billion on defence purchases over the next decade. This liberal spending on military equipment has attracted the interest of western industry and governments alike and is changing the scope of the global defence market. Yet fundamental vulnerabilities continue to ail Indian defence policy. So while the Indian Army has been suggesting that it is 50 per cent short of attaining full capability and will need 20 years to gain full defence preparedness, naval analysts are pointing out that India's naval power is actually declining. During the 1999 Kargil conflict, operations were hampered by lack of adequate equipment. Only because the conflict remained largely confined to the 150-km front in the Kargil sector did India manage to get the upper hand, ejecting Pakistani forces from its side of the line-of-control (LoC). India lacked the ability to impose significant military costs during Operation Parakram because of the unavailability of suitable weaponry and night vision equipment needed to carry out swift surgical strikes. Few states face the kind of security challenges that confront India. Yet since Independence, the military has never been seen as central to achieving Indian national priorities. India ignored the defence sector after Independence and paid inadequate attention to its security needs. Indeed, it was not until the Sino-Indian War of 1962 that the Indian military was given a role in the formulation of defence policy. Divorcing foreign policy from military power was a recipe for disaster as India realised in 1962 when even Nehru was forced to concede that India's military weakness had indeed been a temptation for the Chinese. This trend continues even today as was exemplified by the policy paralysis in New Delhi after the Mumbai terror attacks when Indians found out that due to the blatant politicisation of military acquisitions India no longer enjoyed conventional military superiority vis-à-vis Pakistan, throwing India's military posture into complete disarray and resulting in a serious loss of credibility. When the UPA government came to power in 2004, it ordered investigations into several of the arms acquisition deals of the NDA. A series of defence procurement scandals since the late 1980s have also made the bureaucracy risk-averse, thereby delaying the acquisition process. Meanwhile, India’s defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been declining and a large part of the money is surrendered by the defence forces every year, given their inability to spend due to labyrinthine bureaucratic procedures involved in the procurement process. Pakistan has rapidly acquired US technology under the garb of fighting the “war on terror” while the modernisation of the Indian Army has slipped behind a decade. The higher defence organisational set-up in India continues to exhibit serious weaknesses with its ability to prosecute wars in the contemporary strategic context under serious doubt. The institutional structures, as they stand today, are not effective enough to provide single-point military advice to the government or to facilitate the definition of defence objectives. Coordinated and synergised joint operations need integrated theatre commands, yet India hasn't found it necessary to appoint even a Chief of Defence Staff yet. In recent years the government has decided to fast-track the acquisition process by compressing the timeline necessary to finalise a defence contract. It is hoped that this will allow the services to spend their unutilised budgets quickly. The focus of the recent Defence Procurement Procedures (DPPs) has been to promote private sector participation in the defence sector, giving them incentives to establish joint ventures and production arrangements with any foreign manufacturer. In the latest Defence Procurement Procedures approved in 2013, stress has been on to the Indian defence industry, both in the public and private sector by according preference to the 'Buy' (Indian), Buy and Make (Indian) categories of acquisitions. Delhi is accelerating its programme of arms purchases, but has yet to broach the reforms necessary for these to translate into improved strategic options. There is no substitute for strategic planning in defence. Without it, India will never acquire the military muscle that would enhance its leverage, regionally as well as globally.
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“The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. I did not object to the object. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. I was content to know the content of the message. The Blessed Virgin blessed her.” —Anonymous The mismatch between the spelling and the sound system makes pronunciation of English complex, occasionally inviting amusement. Yet, amidst confusion patterns exist like those guiding word accent. Words can be divided into syllables by identifying their vowel sounds. For instance, "simplification" has five vowel sounds, therefore five syllables: sim-pli-fi-CA-tion" with -CA-, shown in upper case (dictionaries show accent differently), receiving the accent. The accented syllable is heard as the loudest part of the word. When the word changes its function, the accent shifts from one syllable to another, as discussed below: 1. I did not OBject to the OBbject. The speaker does not make any distinction between the first "object", a verb and the second "object", a noun. "Object" has two syllables, ob-ject. As a verb, -JECT gets accented and as a noun, OB- is accented. So the phrase is "... obJECT to the OBject". The "o" of the verb gives the sound of "u" as in “focus” and the “o” of the noun, with a fuller vowel quality, gives the sound of “o” as in “hot”. The verb form and the noun form of “content” behave the same way. 2. The dump was so full that it had to reFUSE more reFUSE. Once again, the speaker makes no difference between “refuse” as a verb and a noun. The corrected version of the phrase is “... reFUSE more REfuse”. The accent shift also influences the vowel quality of “e” in “re” in the two functions. In the verb, “e” is articulated as “i” as in “pin” but in the noun as “e” as in “pen”. In the verb “s” is pronounced as “z” as in “zip” but in the noun as “s” as in “sip”. 3. The insurance was inVAlid for the inVAlid. The speaker pronounces “invalid” the same way which is incorrect. The word “invalid” has three syllables, in-va-lid and it plays two different roles here; the first of an adjective, the second of a noun. The correct form is “... inVAlid for the INvalid”. The “a” in the adjective is pronounced as “a” as in “pan” but in the noun as “u” as in “focus”. 4. The BLESsed Virgin BLESSED her. The first “Blessed” in the sentence functions as an adjective, the second as a verb. “Blessed” as a verb is a one-syllable word, always accented. The first “Blessed” here has a unique usage with allusion to religion. Therefore, it is articulated as two syllables, BLES-sed (the first “s” is silent), with the accent on the first syllable. The “e” in “sed” in the adjective is pronounced as “i” as in “sip” but it is silent in the verb. Word accent is pivotal to the rhythm of English. Native speakers comprehend spoken English more by its rhythm than by following each and every sound in it. Director, Regional Institute of English, Chandigarh
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SHE is a free spirit, he is a petty criminal. Circumstances throw them together. Cupid strikes and they live happily ever after! Well, well, there is nothing so simplistic in the beautiful and emotive journey of the heart. Rather as the abductor and the abductee find themselves en route a journey on the highway, they discover beauty and joy for themselves and for you too. Sure there is love in the air. But not love as the lust-ridden world understands. Call it the Stockholm Syndrome
(positivefeelings of the kidnapped for the kidnapper) or ways of the heart or simply humanity, the highpoint of the film is the sublime relationship the two characters, drawn from diametrically opposite worlds, come to share. Here is a truck-driver Mahabir Bhatti (Randeep Hooda), angst-ridden, full of hatred for the rich and well-heeled. No wonder he plans to sell the girl he has accidentally kidnapped to a brothel, after picking up the ransom money. She Veera (Alia Bhatt) is the perfect counterfoil to the hideous and ugly, symbolising much that is right with the world.
Indeed, the plot is skeletal. A young girl about to get married forces her would-be-husband to take her on a drive on the highway and is whisked off by goons led by Mahabir. But nothing about the film is wafer thin. Rather, it works at many levels without going off tangent. If at one level the film pays an ode to nature, at another it challenges the hypocrisy of the civilised society. Characters too have depth and substance. Yes the epilogue, the final confrontation with the demons of her childhood could have been done away with or at least abridged. For the anti-climax does take away the magic that Imtiaz builds in the climactic moments. But make no mistake, this kidnapping drama will hold you captive for most parts. Not only do you fall in love with its principal characters but also the picturesque locales of several North Indian states through which the plot moves. Like the film of course the beauty of these places comes on its own in the second half. And then it touches a zenith when the narrative moves to Jammu and Kashmir. The setting here is truly meditative and serene, at one with nature and with the flow of the film unobtrusive to the plot. Same goes for the music by AR Rahman with wondrous lyrics by Irshad Kamil. Without trespassing on the main discourse it adds just the right soul-stirring notes. Undeniably, the film is not an entertainer 'entertainer' as India deems, slightly slow-paced in tenor as well. However, if you are looking for more than commercial razzmatazz and for cinema that will tug at your heartstrings as well as stay with you, hit this highway. In case the politically correct in you is wondering as we did, since its tagline reads "in bondage she found freedom" it in no way romanticises kidnapping. All it does is underline subtly yet surely how human beings can bond beyond class divide.
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Nothing scary about this one Pawan Kripalani impressed us with Ekta Kapoor's Ragini MMS but Darr @ The Mall does not have the same gravitating force. Designed to be a horror film, this one lacks scares. It's basically a revenge drama set around a land-grab issue and the generic moments come off quite neatly but the audience is never affected by it.
Amity Mall has been plagued by inexplicable accidents. The promoters though are all set to have a big re-opening party, item dance et al to imbue confidence in potential visitors. But concomitant deaths make the going difficult and when the new chief of security Vishnu (Jimmy Shergill) takes guard. Aneja (Arif Zakaria), Khan (Asif Basra), their friends, children and supporting staff are all in for some horrifyingly gory treatment. No prizes for guessing who the real culprits are here. The body count keeps increasing as the narrative progresses.
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History well captured SO, its back to those Roman times when slaves and gladiators ruled the screens and slaves rebelled, when sword-fencing was in and so Pompeii has given the GenNext a chance to witness the old spectacle with oodles of fight sequences to keep the viewer awake only to realize towards the end that it could be too much of a good thing.In this setting enter, slave/gladiator Milo (Kit Harrington) who'd love to spit on the Romans for butchering his family. But princess Cassia (Emily Browning) takes an instant fancy to the handsome slave who on his white steed sweeps her off her feet, though only momentarily.
For, Milo has to face the wrath of Roman Senator Corvis (Kiefer Sutherland) who is also vying for her hand in marriage. What follows is the usual tug-of-war and surprisingly enough, director Paul WS Anderson, whose earlier efforts, including Resident Evil, does not inspire much confidence, comes off a tad better to keep the pot boiling even though the 105 minute duration seems much, much longer.
But the dormant volcano Vesuvius has the last say and Pompeii (remember The Last Days f Ponpeii starring Steve Reeves?) and history is well captured. May be the revival of those 1950s classics like Quo Vadis and Ben Hur give it an edge over the more weighty Monuments Men. |
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Saturday February 22 Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a romantic comedy action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The original music score was composed by John Powell. The film stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. ZEE CINEMA 11:17AM Humse Badhkar Kaun 2:32PM Shahenshah 5:54PM Judaai 9:00PM Chennai Express MOVIES NOW 12:55PM Mr. & Mrs. Smith 3:10PM Tai Chi Hero 5:05PM Fantastic Four 7:05PM X-Men: The Last Stand 9:00PM Troy MOVIES OK 8:00AM Patiala House 11:00AM Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham 3:25PM Ghar Ho To Aisa 6:10PM Dhamkee 8:00PM Golimaar 10:45PM Deewar: Man of Power ZEE CLASSIC 9:02AM Andaz 12:15PM Padosan 3:26PM Kalicharan 6:30PM Flashback 7:00PM Pasand Apni Apni 9:42PM Kohra STAR GOLD 1:20PM Jo Jeeta Wohi Baazigar 4:30PM De Dana Dan 8:00PM Bullett Raja 10:50PM Soldier ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Khauf ki Raat 10:30AM Jaanbaaz Dil 5:30PM Fateh 8:30PM Cheetah SONY PIX 10:56AM Rogue Assassin 12:58PM The Tourist 3:12PM The Tuxedo 5:15PM Hancock 9:00PM After Earth 11:21PM Resident Evil: Retribution Sunday
February 23 12:15pm STAR gold ZEE CINEMA 11:38AM Aan: Men at Work 2:42PM Mera Badla: Revenge 5:38PM Ishq 9:00PM Dhamaal INDIA TALKIES 9:30AM Chalte Chalte 1:00PM Ra.One 4:30PM Mela 8:00PM Partner MOVIES OK 12:00PM Fukrey 3:00PM Return of Kaalia 5:35PM Amrit 8:00PM Singham 11:00PM Ragada ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Fateh 10:30AM Sahhas 1:30PM Military Raaj 5:30PM Izzatdaar 8:30PM Betaaj Badshah STAR GOLD 12:00PM Bullett Raja 2:50PM Bagawat Ek Jung 8:00PM Dabangg 10:40PM Ghayal ZEE CLASSIC 9:04AM Bandhan 12:15PM Love in Bombay 3:23PM Karz 6:30PM Flashback 7:00PM Do Jasoos 9:42PM Banarasi Babu STAR MOVIES 10:00AM The Mummy Returns 12:30PM Les Misérables 4:00PM Life of Pi 6:30PM You Pick the Flick 9:00PM Prometheus
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With fleeting background scenes Imtiaz lends them flesh, blood and heart. Randeep Hooda is first-rate, understated yet abrasive and the moment in which overcome by his feelings for this wisp of a girl he breaks down, he takes your heart away. As for Alia as Veera, it's hard to imagine the girl is only one-film old. In her second outing she proves how Bhatt genes run in her blood, strong and robust. Be it when she breaks into a gig on the highway on a Western tune or when she tries to strike a friendship with Bhatti—she is effortless in more than one sequence. And when the camera pans over her against the gushing torrent of water she truly epitomises the untouched, pure and innocent face of humanity. Never mind that there are ghosts lurking in her past.
There are not many surprises here and neither are the effects exactly believable. There even comes a point, post interval where a character is resurrected and put through the grind again. Ahana (Nushrat Bharucha) is supposedly in love with her boyfriend, yet when called aside for a cozy moment with him, she refuses. Soon enough he meets a gory death. Jimmy Shergill who gets lumped with an ineffectual role ( even though he is both Vishnu and Arjun in the film), is the only one who stays on the credit side of things. The film bears close resemblance to The Conjuring. The item number is shabby and the production design quite sub-standard. 
Both the lead stars Kit Harrington and Emily Browning are equally ordinary as they plod through a thistle-strewn path. Kiefer Sutherland makes a good villain for a change but neither he nor the others, except the black slave who does not figure in the credits, catch the eye.
12:55am movies now
Ra.One is a science fiction superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha, and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma, Shahana Goswami and Tom Wu in pivotal roles.