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Intolerance on campus Female seclusion |
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Haryana ahead of other states?
Search for suitable synonyms
This Queen will rule your heart
An unimpressive gang
It’s all Greek
Time to wail
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Intolerance on campus It
is amazing that a university, which is supposed to inculcate such human values as tolerance, fairness and liberalism among students, should display a high degree of ineptitude and bigotry in handling a simple situation. If the communal harmony on its campus can be threatened by the cheering of a team in a cricket match by a small group of enthusiasts, what kind of education is it providing to its students? If there was a buildup of tension, the university authorities could have alerted the police for intervention if the situation so warranted. Where was the need to lodge an FIR? The Vice-Chancellor of this private university named after Vivekanand justifies the students' expulsion from their hostels on the ground that this was done for their own safety. Common sense says that those who violate, or threaten to violate, any rules or laws should be taken to task, and not the possible victims of an attack. The police in Uttar Pradesh have, once again, lived up to their reputation for incompetence in handling ordinary law and order issues. They first registered a case as serious as sedition against as innocent persons as students - selected under the Prime Minister's special scholarship scheme -- and then had to be told that cheering for a rival Pakistani cricket team constituted no offence. Even there is a dispute about who lodged the FIR. The Meerut SSP, the state Home Secretary and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who have been justly slammed for administrative insensitivity and overreach, should now try to redeem themselves by apologising to the Kashmiri students and punishing the real mischief-makers, if any, regardless of their community, religion or state. Though these appear to be trivial, such incidents harm the concerted efforts made over the years to win over the hearts and minds of the Kashmiri people and alleviate their sense of alienation from the national mainstream. The message must go out that India is a liberal society where those who play or perform well in their given roles are appreciated, no matter to which caste, class or country they belong.
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Female seclusion While
urban women of the 21 century India enjoy discounts on diamond jewellery, cosmetics and designer wear on the International Women's Day, women in parts of Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan watch this "tamasha" being staged in the name of their empowerment from behind their veils. This faceless community, forced to remain hidden behind a "ghunghat" in the name of showing respect for tradition, is feeling restless to join the liberal world, a world where they have the liberty to get recognised by the basic identity accorded to all - a face. A survey conducted by the Search State Resource Centre and the Volunteers of Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti has found that 90 per cent women in the state living in Karnal, Jind, Hisar and Kaithal districts want to get rid of the veil, but wear it under societal and family pressure. More than 80 per cent men surveyed in 70 villages of these districts want women to observe "ghunghat". "Purdah", a relic of the Mughal period of history, has survived, while many customs from that period have been discarded to create a liberal society. While the feudal world kept its women behind "purdah" as a statement of prestige, women in Haryana undertake physical labour that would put men to shame. Yet in their faceless existence they are denied the right to equality. Physical segregation is maintained judiciously by "purdah" to keep women out of the social and political decision-making process. Studies conducted in Bangladesh on women's use of contraceptives showed that with the decreased observance of "purdah", women increased their mobility, were more likely to use contraceptives and also had a greater involvement in political decision-making. Under the 73rd and 74th amendments the government has given 50 per cent reservation to rural women in panchayats. Should the same institution not raise a voice against this inhuman tradition which is a violation of human rights to spread awareness against its ill-effects? The practice only strengthens patriarchy by keeping women on a lower rung.
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Thought for the Day
Middle age is when a guy keeps turning off lights for economical rather than romantic reasons. —Lillian Gordy Carter
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REPLYING to a question put by the Hon. Rai Sita Nath, Rai Bahadur, on the importation of used clothes from Europe, the Hon. Clark said that no separate account was kept prior to 1912-13, but in that year the total value of such clothes imported amounted to £99,204. It was not known whether such clothes were disinfected before shipment to India. “It is possible,” the Hon'ble Member for Commerce went on to say, "that such imported clothes may contain germs of infectious diseases; but all the diseases likely to be imported in this manner are already prevalent in India. There is a general custom in India whereby the used and unused clothes of any one deceased are given away to be used or sold without disinfection. Compared with the danger from this source, the danger from possibly infected imported clothes is infinitesimal. In view of these considerations, and of the fact that no epidemic has ever been traced in India to imported clothes, the Government of India do not think that there is any real necessity for the adoption of either of the measures suggested." It is to regretted that it did not occur to the Hon. Member for Commerce and Industry that the existence of one form of danger in this country does not justify the importation of fresh dangers. Free primary education HIS HONOUR the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab paid a high compliment to His Highness the Maharaja of Kapurthala for his liberal scheme of education in the State-on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of the new high school on the 4th instant. The State of Kapurthala, said His Honour, could stand comparison with that of any part of British India; and in some respects, it had even made greater advance. For the State had remitted all fees in primary schools since 1911, an aim which the Punjab Government has long had in view but which as yet has not be carried out.
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Haryana ahead of other states? During
the previous Haryana Assembly elections there was a publicity jingle of the ruling party -- "Number one Haryana" -- portraying Haryana as the top achiever on development indicators. Now the latest publicity slogan "Sabse Aage Haryana", portraying the state as ahead of others, has been put into service for the coming Lok Sabha elections. The claim needs to be examined dispassionately. The skewed development model has been accompanied by a total neglect of culture. Harmony between material growth and cultural advancement is a prerequisite for a healthy society. However, there has been dissonance between the two in Haryana. The instruments that enrich social life like good newspapers and journals, theatre, film industry, cultural and literary organisations are just missing. There is not a single arts gallery in the state where an up and coming artist can display his or her works. Various academies dealing with culture, language and literature set up by the state government are just apologia. This cultural cretinism and deformation in Haryana has bred numerous distortions in its society. The claim of the ruling set-up portraying Haryana as ahead of other states in matter of development indicators has to be adjudged in the light of the historical backdrop. The publicity blitz hides more than it reveals. The publicity budget for Haryana for 2013-14 was pegged at Rs 1.14 crore. The advertisement issued by the government claimed that the state witnessed an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore and 20 lakh youth had got employment since 2005 when the present government came to power. However, according to information furnished by the Investment Promotion Centre, a wing of the Industries and Commerce Department, Haryana, attracted an investment of only Rs. 3,179 crore and only 35,859 persons had got employment from 2005 to December 2012. The Haryana Lokayukta has initiated a probe involving the Chief Minister on charges of cheating, misinformation and misusing official position while spending crores on the government's flagship media blitzkrieg "Sab se Aage Haryana" on a complaint filed by an RTI activist PP Kapoor. Haryana is ahead of others in several unsavoury fields which negate its claim as a progressive state. Shortly after it came into existence in 1966 as a separate state, horse-trading to buy legislators began. A confidential report to the President of India from the then Governor, the late B.N. Chakarvarty, said: "In an assembly with an effective strength of 79, some 30 members have defected one way or the other, some members have defected not once but three or four times…. Members of the legislature are being seduced from one party to the other by devious means and the entire political life of the state has been polluted". So the phrase 'Aaya Rams and Gaya Rams' was added to the political lexicon of the country. When Indira Gandhi came to power at the Centre in 1980, there was Janata Party rule in Haryana. The then Chief Minister performed the incredible feat of converting 40 legislators of his party along with himself into Indira Gandhi loyalists over night. It is difficult to come across this kind of example anywhere else in the country. Even the present government in Haryana is surviving with the help of defectors. Haryana is notorious in the matter of recruitment of government employees. It is a known secret now that every post carries a price tag. Since the state is treated as a fiefdom of the ruling clan, recruitment is sometimes made by fabricating a select list. One former Chief Minister and his elder son have been sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for forgery and cheating in the recruitment of JBT teachers. It is a singular case of its kind in the country. Haryana tops in rape cases in northern India. There have been more than 71,000 rape cases in India during the last three years. There have been 2,121 registered cases of rape in Haryana during 2010-12. Many such cases do not see the light of the day. Female insecurity is a major law and order hazard in Haryana society today. Patriarchy has been the dominant reality to define the nature of gender relations in society. Haryana provides a grotesque example of this. The child sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 is an important indicator of gender relations. According to the 2012 census, there are 830 girl children against 1,000 boys. This record is the worst in India. Even sub-Saharan African countries, bedevilled by poverty, epidemics and civil wars, have a better record. The highly adverse sex ratio is creating a serious problem for matrimonial alliance in Haryana society. To meet the deficit girls are bought from distant places, making Haryana a flourishing market for purchase and sale of brides. There is an urgent need for a gender-specific development paradigm to correct the pervasive gender inequity in Haryana society. No society can acquire dynamism if almost half of its population is kept in a state of servitude. Haryana tops in northern India in the matter of murders. During 2010-12 there were 3,058 murder cases in the state. A cursory look at the statistics provided by the state government reveal that Haryana is fast becoming a crime-prone state. To list the spurt in only a few serious crimes in the state from 1966 to 2010, the cases of murder, dacoity, robbery and kidnapping rose from 183 to 1005, from 6 to 146, from 19 to 712 and from 134 to 971, respectively. The number of total cognizable crimes rose from 20,748 to 59,179 during the same period. The Statistical Abstract of Haryana is mysteriously silent on the rape cases. The civil society in Haryana is very fragile. Authoritarianism operates at every level -- from the family to the state government. A state in such a milieu ends up as a fief of an individual surrounded by a pack of fixers and quislings. Haryana badly needs a cultural renaissance, a battle of ideas to come to terms with its historical backlog in terms of identity and culture and do a mapping for the future. In its absence there can be neither a healthy society nor a purposive polity as mere change in the political complexion of the state after elections will not make any qualitative difference. The writer is a retired academic from Delhi University and an activist of the Aam Aadmi Party
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Search for suitable synonyms The
renowned philosopher's words show how synonyms can have different connotations or implied meanings. Denotative meanings of words found in dictionaries are their clear and direct definitions. As compared to them, connotative meanings live in the realms of human experience, depicting emotions and cultural beliefs and practices. Some synonyms may seem interchangeable but in reality they have distinct identities, as is illustrated below: 1. Though quite junior in the organization, Tim decided to “refuse” the MD's invitation to the Christmas Ball. Options: decline/ refuse/ turn down Tim could have “declined” the invitation, which amounts to requesting to be excused from attending an event. The word “refuse” carries an element of power and should be avoided in this context. To “turn down” in any case is better suited in reference to a proposal. In social space, the use of such synonyms is determined by the inter-personal relationship the individuals concerned share. The sentence can be reworded as “... Tim decided to decline ...” 2. Chinese “emigration” to the US in the early 1800s was largely voluntary. Options: immigration/ migration/ emigration The user should choose the prefix im- and not em- in the context, as it is migration into the US which is emphasized, not migration from China. To immigrate is to move into a new home and to emigrate means to leave one’s home. The prefix im- placed before the word migration modifies the word to suit its functional requirement in the sentence. So the sentence should read as “Chinese immigration to the US ...” 3. The new Mayor is “judgemental” and will take quick decisions to meet public demands. Options: judgemental/ opinionated/ strong-minded It is less likely for someone “judgemental” to arrive at decisions favouring the public. People such as these are critical of other people’s ideas. And those “opinionated” are prejudiced; they may not do things in the interest of other people. The sentence will make more sense if in this situation it is reworded as “The new Mayor is strong-minded ...” meaning one determined and with clear thinking. 4. Anna is so “proud” of her looks; she is forever craving for compliments. Options: arrogant/ proud/ vain/ conceited The error in this case is at the lexical level. Pride reflects our opinion of ourselves. Whereas, it is vanity which makes people feel hollow and look for other people's praise. So the sentence should be “Anna is so vain about her looks ...” Subjective use of synonyms has favourable and unfavourable connotations and therefore users have to be cautious in their use. Arrogance is unfavourable, conceited, worse still, is extreme arrogance. Meanings of synonyms can usually have one of the three connotations: positive, negative or neutral. Our thoughts search for suitable synonyms, their apt selection ensures the thoughts develop further. The higher our awareness of shades of meanings, the greater is our ability to create. As someone has rightly said, “Jahan naa jaaye ravi, wahan jaaye kavi.” Director, Regional Institute of English, Chandigarh
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This Queen will rule your heart life
is a honeymoon with or without a man. This is exactly what our heroine discovers after the love of her life jilts her at the altar. En route a honeymoon on her own, in alien lands she comes face to face with the real person within her, the one who doesn’t need male appendage to be complete. Hurray! Now, many a film has been made to depict women’s empowerment and the infinite reservoir of power within her.
Yet, rare is a film that brings a tear and a smile simultaneously that says it all so subtly and beautifully. Here is one such film that is as forceful as entertaining, as insightful as breezy warming up the
cockles of your heart with almost each frame. Right from the moment the camera freezes on the wedding festivities in a typical middle class household, the film enraptures you with its many layers and nuances. And remains a pure joy all through not to forget the last bit when credits roll. The film not only has its heart in the right place, it’s a heart that beats strong and fast with Amit Trivedi’s music lending ample rhythm. Bahl’s directorial flourish deserves more than plaudits. With uncanny discerning power and unfailing sensitivity he takes you into Rani’s (Kangana Ranaut) world of simple joys and pain, makes you a partner in her odyssey. The way he has handled her interaction first with part Indian, part foreigner Vijaylakshmi (Lisa Haydon) in Paris and later with three male friends in Amsterdam, deserves special kudos too. He knocks out clichés on how the west behaves and underlines how humanity enjoins us never mind which part of the continent we hail from. Actually the film dispenses with cardboard stereotypes of all kinds. So when the marriage is called off, the middle class father’s only concern is for his daughter as is expected of any normal feeling human being. Of course, in small indirect ways he also provides a peep into their value system. How the younger brother is made to constantly chaperon the older sister for instance is a pointer to the protected lives of many a young woman in India. Above all, he scores in making all his characters come alive. Kangana’s transformation from a girl unsure of herself to the self-assured one who knows her mind is remarkable. Strange are the ways of Hindi cinema as it has taken many years and films to introduce us to the real actor in her. Without doubt Kangana is a revelation. Be it as a self-conscious daughter of a halwai whose ultimate dream is to go to Paris for her honeymoon or when she cracks Santa Banta jokes with men of the world she is too good to be true, Especially remarkable is her bonding with a Japanese, Russian and a French man as human beings minus the sexual baggage. Raj Kumar Rao, of Kai Po Che fame, once again finds his metier and imbues his character of a shallow, insensitive fiancée Vijay with right degree of emotions. All other actors, especially Lisa Hyadon, hit the right notes to make this delightful tale transform into an emphatic statement. A woman does not really need a man to make her feel like a queen. She is queen forever… Now what better thought than this on the International Women’s day? A must see for all women who have forgotten that they are complete in themselves. Drag your men too for here is a subtle reckoner on how they ought to make better lovers/ husbands and a reminder of how many of them already are good fathers.
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An unimpressive gang if this was Hollywood, Sampat Pal’s crusade would have garnered a befitting tribute it deserved, and with proud acknowledgement too. But in Bollywood, all you can expect is a showy, glitzy reel fantasy cobbled together as a real life incident. Soumik Sen, the storywriter, screenplay, music director and director of the film wears one too many hats and it shows in the treatment and depiction. The narrative is unevenly paced, the plot jumps around from song and dance to drama and vice versa without quite managing any attention grab. Madhuri has to justify her presence with dance moves that could well have been done away with. Her laathi and sickle wielding dominance over the men folk was distraction enough. The chief villains here are all women, so it’s not exactly an unequal fight. But the action is as usual superficial. It’s more a flight of fancy. Madhuri, as the protagonist has the lion’s share in terms of screen time but her role is not written with any depth — so her assay suffers despite an all-out effort on her part. On the opposing side, Juhi’s Sumitra Madam, is wonderfully nuanced and rendered with supreme relish. She in fact does more for the character, with aplomb worthy expressiveness that helps keep you interested and surprised for as long as her role lasts. It’s a fantastic turn- one that is likely to redefine her career in Bollywood. Divya Jagdale (as Mahi), Priyanka Bose (as Sandhya) and Tanishta Chatterjee also contribute generously to the interest. Cinematography by Alphonse ( Aamir) Roy and background score by John Stewart manage to engineer ritualistic fervor and menace but it’s only skin deep. |
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It’s all Greek Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) of Athens takes it upon himself to challenge warrior Queen Arthemesia (Eva Green) of Caria and enlists the support of Queen Gorgo (Lena Heady). King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santora) of Persia is also in the theatre of war which seems endless. If only the key characters were imbued with psychological overtones it would have given the fare a different dimension and also dramatic relief. Shot in 3D, one has an overdose of action, especially the naval engagement of Arthemesium and Thermopylae, and hand-to-hand skirmishes are grist for the mill with heads rolling. Acting is secondary to the action and the spunky Eva Green manages to top the list with Sullivan Stapleton a distant second. Lena Heady and Rodrigo Santoro provide nominal support in this overkill entertainer. For dishum-dishum fans only.
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Time to wail siyapaa is a Punjabi word that means ‘wailing’. This film, which was earlier titled Aman ki Asha, swings so dramatically between farce and pathos that the audience is bound to wail!
A Muslim Pakistani singer (Ali Zafar as Aman) and a Hindu Indian television personality (Yami Gautam-Asha), both living in London, want to get married. On an ill-fated day, when Asha invites Aman to meet her family, everything goes wrong, including Aman being hauled up by an over-zealous British cop as a suspected terrorist and her family’s shock at the nationality of their daughter’s boyfriend. |
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ZEE CINEMA 11:17AM Ajooba 5:30PM Joker 7:30PM Zee Cine Awards 2014 8:00PM Zee Cine Awards 2014 MOVIES NOW 11:45AM The Karate Kid 4:45PM Ip Man 2 6:55PM X-Men 9:00PM Batman Begins ZEE STUDIO 11:00AM 101 Dalmatians (1961) 1:00PM Mars Needs Moms 2:45PM Love and Other Impossible Pursuits 4:50PM The Woman in the Fifth 6:20PM The Frighteners MOVIES OK 10:45AM Jo Jeeta Wohi Baazigar 1:55PM Humraaz 4:50PM Ziddi 8:00PM Indian 11:25PM Maut Ki Zanjeer STAR GOLD 8:35AM Hero Hindustani 11:50AM Son of Sardaar 2:50PM Yamraj Ek Faulad 8:00PM Golimaar 10:45PM Vijaypath ZEE ACTION 10:30AM Ichhadhari Sarp 5:30PM Dilwaala 8:30PM Platform SONY PIX 11:38AM Iron Man 2 7:17PM Wild Things: Foursome 9:00PM Into the Blue 2: The Reef 11:25PM Species II ZEE CLASSIC 12:02PM Hum Paanch 6:30PM Flashback 7:00PM Lakhon Ki Baat 10:06PM Jeevan Mrityu
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The formation of the state has been highly skewed and flawed. The development model followed by the Haryana government has created serious imbalances. Gurgaon, with its majestic malls, high-rises and swanky residential complexes resembles Singapore or New York. However, at a small distance from it, people in Mewat are living in primitive conditions. There are palatal houses in HUDA colonies in some towns but the village at a stone's throw is a veritable hell with its streets clogged with mud and sludge, swarms of flies and mosquitoes on heaps of garbage all around and human beings and animals living cheek by jowl.
“I am firm.
Indeed, if you are on a fault-finding mission, you are likely to draw a parallel with yet another film English Vinglsh in which, too, the woman comes on her own, far away from her cocooned existence in her homeland. But despite a few similarities—here too the heroine has tremendous culinary skills—it would be unfair to both directors to compare the two films as each one has its own flavour and resonance.
Madhuri is made to do what Ajay Devgan, Sunjay Dutt and a whole posse of Bollywood heroes engineer in their action avatars. And therefore it’s doubly hard to take her character seriously. It’s in fact an addled spectacle of ritualistic violence heavy on symbolism that belittles the women’s lib movement. 
the
Neeraj Pandey is the producer and co-writer of this movie. Ali Zafar (Tere Bin Laden, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan) has a naturalness about him that is endearing, but the role provides few challenges. His music score, as always, is pleasing. Yami Gautam (Vicky Donor) is exuberant and bubbly. Kirron Kher fits the profile, perhaps too predictably. 
Saturday March 8
Sunday March 9