Is it The Anna Team or The K-Team?

By Sanjay Basak

New Delhi, Aug 25 : Anna Hazare, the nation’s latest face against corruption, is being viewed by a section as merely a 'tool' used by Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and the father-son duo of Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan.

Sources disclosed that sensing the campaign against corruption, which hit the government with a series of 2G exposes, the team of four started to look around for a credible face.

Speaking to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, a member of India Against Corruption (IAC) disclosed that when the Kejriwal team failed to make any impact on the corruption issue and get Ms Kiran Bedi posted as CIC chief, it zeroed in on Mr Hazare to plan the next move.

“Kejriwal met Anna at his village in Maharashtra and convinced him to join their movement against corruption,” the member claimed.

Earlier, Mr Hazare had been a part of K-Team only to endorse their move to install Ms Bedi as CIC chief following the retirement of Mr Wajahat Habibullah, sources said.

Mr Kejriwal and other civil society activists, including Ms Aruna Roy, have been working for a strong Lokpal Bill. Sources disclosed that differences cropped up after Ms Roy was appointed a NAC member. It was for the first time that Ms Roy and Mr Kejriwal stood on opposite sides. Mr Kejriwal had worked extensively with Ms Roy in the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. “In fact, he was tutored by Aruna Roy,” sources said.

The IAC member said Mr Kejriwal, Ms Bedi and the Bhushans decided to make the Lokpal Bill the main weapon to fight corruption and emerge into the limelight. Mr Hazare’s clean image made Mr Kejriwal pick him as the movement’s mascot. Before Ms Roy and other civil society members realised it, Mr Kejriwal had “stolen the thunder”, the IAC member said.

via Asian Age

Procession in Mizoram Demanding Resumption Of Peace Talks

Aizawl, Aug 25 : People belonging to different political parties in Mizoram today took out ''peace processions'' in Hmar villages in the north eastern part of Mizoram adjoining Manipur demanding resumption of peace talks between the Mizoram state government and the Hmar People's Convention - Democrats (HPC-D) militants to find a lasting solution to Hmar problem.

Police said that the procession, organized by all the political parties in the Hmar inhabited area at Sakawrdai, Suangpuilawn and Saiphai villages, all in Aizawl district.

Earlier the talks held on November 11 last year culminated into signing of bilateral Suspension of Operations (SoO) for six months, but the SoO was never extended as both the Mizoram government and the HPC-D began accusing each other on different issues.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, on July 27 had informed the state assembly that the outfit has already signed SoO with the Centre and it was no longer fit for the state government to resume peace talks with the Hmar group.

Mizoram Embarks On Checking Fake Ration Cards

Aizawl, Aug 25 : In its gigantic step to check gross anomalies in family ration cards in Mizoram, the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs has unearthed 4,559 fake ration cards in Champhai district alone.

The task of checking fake ration cards involved making photocopies all ration cards in the district and scrutiny with the assistance of village vigilance and monitoring committee in each locality and village.

There were 36,821 persons in the 4,559 fake ration cards, department sources said.

Department director M Zohmingthangi said all the other district civil supplies offices have been instructed to conduct the same in their respective districts.

It has also been learnt that there are a number of families, who have triple ration cards of BPL, AAY and APL. It is understood that the number of people in ration cards is much higher than the actual population of the state.

According to official sources, there are 2,49,445 including 46,000 BPL ration cards and 24,000 AAY ration cards.

Assuming that there were five members in each family, the state s population, according to the ration cards, would be more than 12 lakhs, while the actual population, according to the provisional report of the Census 2011, was a little over 10 lakhs.

Informing that the department has stocked rice in all government godowns in Mizoram to last till the end of September, the director said steps are being taken to issue family ration cards based on the Census 2011.

The department director said once the Food Security Act is passed by the Parliament, ration cards would be broadly divided into priority and general. In priority ration card, each person will be allotted seven kilograms of rice per month while in general ration card, each person would get four kgs of rice per month.

The Comptroller Auditor General of India, in its report for the year ended March 31, 2010, stated that the state s food, civil supplies and consumer affairs issued excess ration cards ranging between 66,746 to 1,23,570 during 2007-2010.

As a result, Mizoram had an excess number of population ranging between 1,07,708 to 3,70,414 during the period. According to the report, the department issued 315838 ration cards against the projected 249092 number of households in 2009-2010.

The excess population, therefore, came to 370414 against the projected population of 1126067. In 2007-2008, 311203 ration cards were issued against the projected 187633, making an excess population of 107708. Even though the projected number of households remained the same in 2008-2009, the ration cards came down to 305997.

However, the population according the FRC’s jumped to 1552009 in 2008-2009. The excess of ration cards came down to 66746 in 209-2010 from 118364 in 2008-2009 and that of population to 370414 from 529637.

Whereas the Mizoram’s population, according to the FRC’s issued in 2009-2010, was 1496418, the actual population as per the Census 2011 stands at 10,91,014.

Mizoram Population Nears 11 Lakh

Aizawl, Aug 25 : Mizoram has a population of 10,91,014 including 5,38,675 women, according to the final figure of the Census 2011 released by State chief secretary Van Hela Pachuau.

According to the Census figure, the sex ratio was 975 females per 1,000 males and there are 1,65,536 children below the age of six in which the sex ratio was 971 girls per 1,000 boys.

The sex ratio of children below the age of six showed that there were no female foeticide in the State, Pachuau said. The decadal growth rate since 2001 Census was 22.78 per cent while that of children below the age of six was 15.17 per cent during the same period.

Among the eight districts in the State, Aizawl was the most populous district having a population of 4,04,054 and the population of Saiha, the southernmost district was lowest at 56,366 population.

The density of population in the State was 52 per square kilometre.

At 91.6 per cent, Mizoram has the third highest literacy percentage in the country while Serchhip district at 98.8 per cent was the highest in literacy in the State.

'Northeast Issues Finally Heard After Decades'

By Sanjib Kr Baruah

Akhil Gogoi (right) with Anna Hazare

New Delhi, Aug 25 : For RTI activist from Assam and core member of Team Anna, Ramlila Ground, the Ground Zero of Anna Hazare's epic fast, is turning out to be a platform and an unprecedented opportunity to highlight the issues of the Northeast region.

"For the first time since the 1942 movement, problems facing the Northeast region are finding an audience here," said Akhil Gogoi, who has also been at the forefront of an ongoing campaign against the setting up of more than 160 hydroelectricity projects across Arunachal Pradesh.

"When the floods take place with alarming regularity, it is Assam's problem, but when the water is required for hydroelectricity generation, it belongs to the entire Nation," he said.

Indicating that issues relating to the Northeast will find increasing focus at Ramlila Ground, Gogoi said: "Two issues are being laid bare before the public here. One is the devastation that the floods create every year and the other being the culture of all-pervasive corruption in the NE states as is exemplified by the Rs 1,000 crore scam in Assam's North Cachar Hills."

Asked about the support the 74-year-Old's fast has generated in the Northeast, Gogoi said: "Support is growing by the day. All the states of the Northeast have joined in."

Manipur's 'Iron Lady' Irom Sharmila who has been fasting for the last decade demanding removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (AFSPA), had expressed her inability to join the fast at Ramlila as she was still in judicial custody in Imphal. Interestingly, she has extended an invite to Anna Hazare to come to Manipur 'the most corruption-affected region in the world'.

The AFSPA allows security forces personnel the power to arrest, search, and destroy property bereft of a warrant and to shoot, and even kill, on mere suspicion.

University Launches New Degree Courses to Empower Northeast India Leaders

By Shiji James

MSW Students with the dignitaries on the first day

Guwahati, Aug 25 : In an effort to offer higher education in socially relevant studies accessible in northeast India the Assam Don Bosco University launched 3 new Masters level courses as well as a post graduate diploma course. The new courses introduced this year include Master of Social Work (MSW), M. Tech. in Electronics and Communication (Opto-electronics and Optical Communication) and M. Tech. in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence).

Post Graduate Diploma in Child Rights and Development (PGDCRD) is another DBU new sector of specialized Human Rights studies introduced in the region.

The new courses were formally launched at the DBU Campus at Azara, near Guwahati airport, 23 August 2011, marking the commencement of fourth academic year.

``The focus on Master of Social Work is to train leaders in social responsibility who will impact their society for the better and bring about professional management of NGOs (non-governmental organizations),`` said DBU Vice-Chancellor Dr Stephen Mavely.

The four-semester postgraduate programme in Social Work leading to the degree of Master of Social Work (MSW) has an innovative blend of theory, fieldwork and research. It provides students with a variety of skills to enable them to be active social workers in the field themselves, to set up and manage social work organizations of their own, or to find employment with various national and international agencies.

In pursuance of these goals, great emphasis is placed on exposing the students to the philosophy and methodology of social work, its sociological and psychological underpinnings, and practical experience in scientific research in this field.

Instead, the aim of M Tech Programme Dr Mavely said, ``is for in-service teachers to create a well-prepared pool of staff for the professional colleges.``

The University has M. Tech. Programmes in three disciplines - Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering & Communications Engineering, and Computer Science Engineering. The specific areas of specialization - Optoelectronics and Optical Communication, and Artificial Intelligence - are areas where cutting edge technology meets the demands of industry.

These programmes seek to address the acute shortage of qualified professionals in these areas of engineering in North-East India by providing an opportunity to aspiring candidates to ground themselves in their disciplines of choice with specialized knowledge, hands-on projects and an introduction to research methodology.

Convenient class timings have been scheduled to enable lecturers and working professionals to use this opportunity to enhance their qualification and skills.

The PG Diploma Programme, Dr Mavely explained, ``will prepare professionals in the area of Child welfare, Child protection, Child legislation, and NGO Management.``

The PG Diploma Programme in `Child Rights and Development` brings children`s rights to life as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the context of development using innovative research, education and capacity building that draws on the strengths of children, their families, communities and culture. It aims to enhance the capacity of individuals, organizations, and governments, to effectively use the existing legal provisions, insights from developmental psychology and the findings of contemporary research to transform systems and create peace and dignity for children and our world - moving child rights from rhetoric to reality.

This Programme, spread over two semesters (1 year), deals with topics of vital interest to Social Workers, NGOs, Lawyers, Human Rights Advocates, members of Religious Orders and Dioceses. The course will concentrate on a wide spectrum of child related issues and topics such as Child Rights, Child Psychology, Child Counseling, Child Care Services, Child Protection Issues, Child-related Legislation, and NGO Formation.

There are seven online degree programs started earlier this year. They include Executive MBA (18 Months), MBA in Technology Management (2 years), MBA in Entrepreneurship (2 years), MBA with Specialization (2 years), MS (Information Technology) (2 years), Bachelor of Business Administration (3 years), and Bachelor of Computer Application (3 years).

 

source: donboscoindia.com

Bhaichung Bids Goodbye To International Football

Former India captain Baichung Bhutia during a practice session, at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati.

New Delhi, Aug 24 : The 'Sikkimese Sniper' had 16 years of international football. He was plagued by injuries the past year and has now decided to continue to play only for his club United Sikkim FC which he founded

Former captain and the face of Indian football for major part of the last two decades, star striker Bhaichung Bhutia today announced his international retirement, drawing curtains on an illustrious 16-year career.

The 34-year-old, known as the ‘Sikkimese Sniper’ for his shooting skills, announced his decision during a press meet at the All India Football Federation headquarters here.

“I had fantastic 16 years of international football. I enjoyed every moment to have represented the country, to have contributed to the game,” Bhaichung said.

Speculation had been rife on the imminent retirement of the talismanic striker, who pulled out of India Under-23 side’s tour of England where they will play against Pakistan and England Under-23 next month.

He was struggling with injuries in the past one year and could play for just 15 minutes in the Asian Cup in Qatar in January, the most prestigious event India has ever taken part in the last 27 years.

“Winning the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008, to qualify for the Asian Cup were the best moments of my career and I thought of retiring after playing in that tournament,” he said.

“But I could play only 15 minutes in the Asian Cup and I thought it was not the right way to retire. I wanted to continue playing but the last 7-8 months have been frustrating due to lot of injuries. So I have decided to quit,” he added.

He was dropped from the Indian squad selected for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and the preparatory matches.

Bhaichung, however, will continue to play for his club United Sikkim FC which he founded.

“Lots of things in life do not happen the way we wish so I am quitting from international football but will continue playing for my club,” he said.

“My commitment and contribution to Indian football will not diminish and I am ready to help the AIFF in whatever way they want me,” he said.

Are Indians obsessed with fair skin?

Indian fashion's white skin obsession

The White fetish is not just limited to the Indian household. Even the fashion industry has been alleged of being racist off late.

Indian models have accused their own industry of racism over the increased use of foreign white models over darker-skinned local girls.

Many top models have spoken out about prejudice and discrimination due to which they lose out on a lot of assignments or are paid less as compared to their foreign counterparts. They say India has an obsession with pale skin that dates back to British colonial rule.

The Indian fashion industry is currently enjoying a boom. Many Indian designers such as Manish Arora and Rohit Bal are enjoying success in Europe and the United States. Indian fashion events have now become major media events.

While Russians, Brazilians and some other European models are cashing in, some of our top models have complained they are losing out on the jobs and are being paid much less than their European rivals. These models claim that the fashion industry is in denial of this phenomenon and it would take many years for the prejudice to fade. Supermodel Carol Gracias said the most successful Indian models were paid between £500 and £600 per show, a tiny fraction of the rates paid to their western counterparts, while lucrative Indian television commercial jobs mostly went to western models.

Indians have been obsessed with the White skin ever since the British established their domination on this ‘brown’ country. Although the British went away, the obsession still remains. The fashion industry doesn’t openly agree to this partiality, but the fact that most designers want to prove that their designs and garments will suit the foreign markets as well makes them prefer foreign models.

Supermodel and actor Deepanita Sharma pointed out that, "One could have understood, if it was about getting supermodels of international fame or to work in India but that's not happening, it's just that they want fairer skin on the Indian ramps."

As Indians we have had an inferiority complex, we have had a hangover about fair skin. The idea of fairness is an Indian concept. However, with Indian faces now endorsing foreign brands like Loreal, Longines, etc. it seems it is time we give up such shallow notions and think about giving our models more opportunities.

The perfect woman

Picture these advertisements common in Indian media today -

Ad 1 - A woman who wants to get fairer skin because she wants to attract that one man she likes

Ad 2 - Women are concerned about their skin colour, rashes or sun burns in hot weather

Ad 3 - A woman is busy thinking what she will cook tonight

Ad 4 - A woman is liberated, reason being a sanitary napkin which keeps her free from the trouble of the "Undino ke problems" (problems of those difficult days)

Ad 5 - A woman gets tired of meeting all the requirements of her family - husband, kids, in-laws - at the end suffers from a head/back ache. Finally, she gets some attention and then is provided with a massage or medicine.

Media decides the context in which a woman should be placed, and reinforces it constantly.

Media tries to establish a woman's feminine side, especially if she is a successful woman. It seems the Indian media loves to see women first as successful home-makers. The ideal picture is the femme fatale, the supermom, the sex kitten, the nasty corporate climber. Television, film and popular magazines are full of images of women and girls who are typically white, desperately thin, and made up to the hilt.

It is not that the portrayal has not changed with time at all. Earlier women either added the glam quotient of an ad or were busy looking good. Today, at least they are shown working in some ads. And today, even men are shown using creams and face wash to get that fair skin. However, when men do it, it is because they want to look macho. When women use such creams, it is because they want to attract men or to be accepted in the society which looks down upon dark women.

Although the media wants to project the modern, liberated woman, it is actually endorsing women as consumers. Not only is this derogatory to the image of women, it is also linked with their real concerns. They have better things to do than to look good and think about what the dinner menu will be. In fact many women today do not cook at all.

Have you ever noticed that interviews of men in newspapers hardly ever mention their marital status or their dress sense? The focus is on their work. However, the moment it's a woman, all such details are provided. What she likes to do apart from work, does she do all the household chores, etc.

While the women in Bollywood may no longer be portrayed as self-sacrificing door-mats, they still have to look sizzling hot most of the times. Although men have also started doing item numbers, the number is still less.

Media probably ignored the fact that the last few decades have seen tremendous changes in the lifestyles of men and women in India, all thanks to globalization, market economics and above all, fast strides in technology. Media, itself has also undergone a sea of change.

Another image of women in India that has grown in the recent years is the portrayal of the woman as a showpiece or an icon of glamour. We hardly come across an advertisement these days where we don't see a pretty model beaming at us, be it the advertisement of a new model car or that of a cold drink.

Thus, it won't be wrong to say that the portrayal of women in the Indian media oscillates between these two extremes: the "mother India" and the "glamour girl."

What the media ignores to see and project is the image of woman as a serious partner in decision-making, a serious contender as a professional: doctor, engineer, teacher or a computer specialist, a serious politician or leader. India today has a lot of successful women who have other roles as well and are not just home makers or pretty empty-headed bimbos. What is worse is the fact that this portrayal comes when the media industry is said to be dominated by women.

Sad huh!