Suicide is the most destructive behavior of human. Usually, there is no single reason for the people to take their own life. Several factors can increase the risk of suicide, such as having a mental health disorder, depression, bipolar, disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, and personality disorder. Some are psychosocial that lack of social support and sense of isolation also increase the risk of suicide.
These factors are significant in why people have suicidal behaviour. For example, the recent heart ranching case taking place in Mehrauli, South Delhi, wherein a 33-year-old man namely Upendra Shukla murdered his sleeping wife and three kids including a two-month-old girl by slitting their throat with a knife, shook the entire nation from within. The accused also tried to take his own life but survived and got arrested.
This man has been reported to be a science teacher and was apparently depressed over his and his spouse’s deteriorating health. He was not financially stable to afford all the expenditures. For he committed this heinous crime while the actual reason yet to be disclosed. His crime, however, cannot be justified and convicted deserves capital punishment.
Financial backwardness also is the big cause behind the suicide occurrence not only in India but also all around the world as according to the data published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 79 per cent of suicide occurred in low and middle-economic countries in 2016. Failure in education or any examination leads to a large number of students to commit suicide every year in the country. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in its 2015 data made a shocking exposure that in India; one student commits suicide every hour.
So, there is a desperate need in India for a major change concerning suicide cases as India accounts for a growing share of the world’s suicide rate. Rakhi Dandona, a researcher at the Public Health Foundation of India, and her colleagues estimated suicide rates for both sexes in each state of India from 1990 to 2016 based on multiple sources, including official sample registration and vital registration surveys, medically certified causes of death, and verbal autopsy studies.
The research by Rakhi Dandona and colleagues reported in The Lancet Public Health in September 2018, using data from the Global Burden of Disease, estimated the national age-standardized suicide death rate (SDR) for 2016 to be 17.9 per 100 000 population (14.7 per 100 000 among women and 21.2 per 100 000 among).
We need to start working on social norms to make a large-scale impact as suicide is considered a taboo topic in some societies to discuss in the public sphere. We always blame the government for everything but sometimes the responsibility lies on our own shoulders to battle with the problems and issues.
We need to commence such suicide prevention campaigns and policies that encourage the people to discuss the suicide openly that, it is a major public health problem and destructive for the society with far-reaching socioeconomic, political and emotional consequences. Suicide prevention must be a subject matter in our daily discussions, let it be TV debates, public speeches or personal communication.
– By Faheem Usmani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Water is precious and for the first time the city is feeling the heat and finding shortage of monsoon rains. From nearly 20 per cent at the same time last year, we are feeling the shortage with just 6 per cent in the month of June. The intensity of rainfall ought to have increased by now, but since the monsoon arrived late in Kerala and the Cyclone Vayu swept away monsoon clouds we are not getting sustained rainfall. In actual terms, every year by June the city has recorded sufficient rainfall, but this year only six per cent has been recorded and which means it is 14 per cent shortage and we hope that the city may receive good rainfall to compensate the shortage in a big way.
Subramonia Swamy
Don’t make mockery of religious festivals!
Hindu festivals follow one after another after ‘Vata-Pournima’. Greetings and messages giving information on festivals and also messages making mockery of festivals are posted on social media on these occasions. There is ‘Dharma-Shastra’ for celebrating every Hindu festival and our Sages and Seers has written down, hundreds of years ago, such knowledge in detail about ways of celebrating festivals. Changes taking place in Universe as per times and true stories given in Holy Scriptures are the base for celebrating such religious and other festivals. Everything in this world is form of God and all animate and inanimate things also have God’s existence in them; therefore, we are taught to pay respect to everything through medium of these festivals. Banyan tree i.e. a tree is worshipped on the day of ‘Vata-Pournima’. Serpent is worshipped on the day of ‘Nag-Panchami’ while bulls are worshipped on the occasion of ‘Pola’ festival. All weapons and things used during the year are worshipped on the day of ‘Dussehra’. Food is offered to crows during ‘Pitru-paksha’ as if feeding our departed ancestors. Thus, festivals celebrated in Hindu Dharma teach us to worship animate and inanimate things. The present generation under influence of western culture, however, doesn’t hesitate in making mockery of Hindus festivals or to forward such messages since they lack in ‘sanskars’ as importance of religious things is not taught to them at home. However, those, who have respect towards our festivals, should explain science to these ‘jokers’, rather than forwarding such messages / posts to others.
Mokshada Ghanekar
Hotels charging compulsory service charges from customers
It refers to highly irresponsible Guidelines dated April 21, 2017 issued by Department of Consumer Affairs (Government of India) wherein consumers going to hotels and restaurants for enjoying food are advised to approach Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum against malpractice of certain restaurants and hotels charging compulsory service-charge in their invoices instead of the Department imposing ban on such levying of service-charges or even providing column for tip. Guidelines doubt of some under-the-table deal with associations of hotels and restaurants, because everyone knows that consumers go to hotels and restaurants for enjoyment and relaxation rather than fighting for their rights through cumbersome court-procedures.
If eateries are really sincere for staff-welfare, they can increase their wages at their own. Also since there is no limit on served food-prices, they can increase prices rather than adopting back-door route to fool consumers through unfair service-charge. Law must be tightened for incorporating prison-provision for eatery-owners levying service-charge in bills. Rather paying and accepting tips otherwise also may be made an offence since gifts and tips are polished form of bribes. Even provision of writing tip-amount on credit-card pay-slips must be abolished.
Central government should go ahead with its proposal to reduce GST on services provided by restaurants including also by air-conditioned ones to 12-per cent slab by abolishing corruption-generating provision of Input-Tax-Credit (ITC) of raw material. Any objection by restaurant-owners against abolition of ITC must not be entertained.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The entire Maharashtra is facing severe drought. So, water has become burning issue for the residents of the state. Amid this water crisis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has increased the trouble of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The BMC has declared Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’s ‘Varsha’ bungalow as a defaulter for not paying water bills. 18 other ministers of the state have also been named in the list of defaulters. Maharashtra state government official residences owe Rs 8 crore to the BMC for different services.
On being asked about the issue, the RTI activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikhtold Afternoon Voice, “I filed RTI application on June 11 and got reply after 7-8 days. I have demanded the BMC to recover money or disconnect water supply. It must take action against defaulters. But the matter is related to the head of the state government. So, there is pressure over the civic body. It is the responsibility the Chief Minister and the Public Works Department to pay all dues to the BMC as early as possible. Only then the BMC can spend public’s money on its well-being and development works.”
He said, “If the bills of Chief Minister’s and other State Minister’s bungalows are not paid in time, then how can anybody expect a common man to do it? If the common public fails to pay the bills, their water connection is disconnected. The same should be done to all the defaulters including Chief Minister’s official bungalow.”
According to a reply to an RTI query, the BMC has said that the Chief Minister’s official bungalow is yet to pay water bills worth Rs 7,44,981. The RTI report further revealed that the official bungalows of state ministers, including CM Devendra Fadnavis, haven’t paid bills worth Rs 45 lakh. This RTI query was filed by activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh from the NGO Adhikar Foundation. He hit out at the authorities over their failure to take action.
D. P. Tripathi, General Secretary, NCP said, “We condemn defaulter ministers of Devendra Fadnavis government for not paying water bills of the BMC. It is dereliction of the ministers. They should pay water bills soon. Either Chief Minister or the PWD cannot escape from their responsibilities. The NCP will raise this issue in the state Assembly.”
It is worth mentioning that Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in October this year. The Bharatiya Janata Party will fight Assembly elections under the leadership of Fadnavis. Therefore, the issue of the pending bills will definitely give the opposition ammunition to take on the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine in the state. The BMC charges Rs 5.22 per thousand litres of water while people living in slums pay only Rs 4.33 per thousand litres.
On the other hand, the BJP spokesperson Avadhut Wagh said, “All these bungalows belong to the PWD, not to any particular person. The PWD receives water bills. As far as the BMC and the PWD is concerned, whatever difference is there we will settle it. It is a government to government issue, not a private issue which will be sorted out.”
As per RTI reply, the municipal corporation in the list named 19 Maharashtra ministers. The list includes Pankaja Munde, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Diwakar Raote and others. The list includes Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s ‘Devgari’ bungalow that has defaulted on Rs 4,45,055 in water bills, Transport Minister Diwakar Raote’s ‘Meghdoot’ bungalow that failed to pay bills worth Rs. 1,61,719 and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde’s bungalow that defaulted on bills worth Rs 35,033. Names of Vinod Tawde, Ramdas Kadam, Ashish Shelar, Subhash Desai, Eknath Shinde, Chandrashekhar Bavankule and Mahadev Jankar was also mentioned in the list of defaulters. Apart from the minister’s official residences, the state government’s official guest house ‘Sahyadri’ also has pending bills amounting to Rs 12,04,390. Most of these bills have been pending since 2018.
It is remarkable that monsoon has already been delayed in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The situation in drought hit Maharashtra is very severe. The state has 355 talukas. Out of these, 182 talukas have been declared drought-prone. According to data available for June 13-14, Maharashtra has only 6.8 per cent water of total storage capacity in its dams. The situation is particularly grim in the Marathwada region where water level in reservoirs has dipped to an all-time low. Total capacity of Maharashtra’s dams is 40,604,000 million litres and at present water level is at 6.8% of its total capacity i.e. 2,802,000 million litres, compared to 17% at the same time last year.
The rift between Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) has widened in the aftermath of alliance’s loss in Lok Sabha polls. BSP chief Mayawati posted three tweets on Monday targeting Samajwadi Party. She stated that SP government has sidelined the interest of Dalits. It is not possible to defeat BJP by having an alliance with Samajwadi Party stated Mayawati. Earlier Mayawati had announced about severing ties with SP. Both SP and BSP formed an alliance for challenging the BJP in the run up to Lok Sabha polls. However, it failed to stop the BJP as the party won 62 seats out of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats. BSP already had planned to contest the upcoming assembly by-polls alone.
Mayawati posted, “Therefore, in the interest of the party and the movement, now BSP will contest all future elections, big and small, on its own,”
Thus the Mahagathbandhan experiment which commenced at the start of the year could barely last for seven months. The SP-BSP and RLD alliance could manage to win only 15 seats in Uttar Pradesh. She also asked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to set his house in order first. She also added that SP was unable to get Yadav votes and even Dimple Yadav lost the election.
Despite (i) Crippling economic US sanctions against Iran after withdrawal of USA from Iran nuclear deal
(ii) Six tankers explosion in that region in the last one month including two on June 13, which crippled the Japanese Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian Front Altair, forcing their crews to abandon ship which the U.S. the Saudis and UK said that Iran was behind the attacks (which Iran vociferously denied) and
(iii) On June 20 Iran shooting down a US military drone which the US claimed was in international airspace (while Iran said was over Iranian territory) with the result a military operation to strike Iran over the downing of a US drone was set to begin that night when the President called it off 10 minutes before strike, as US President said in public statement.
The war between USA and its allies and supporters v/s Iran and its allies and supporters has not started so-far for the simple reason that Iran can’t afford it and President Trump does not want it because he will otherwise face electoral problems (as Trump during 2016 campaign told to his support base that what to talk of fresh war rather he will pull out all troops from foreign countries) and also due to the fact that Democrats are telling the Americans that Republican Trump pulled-out unilaterally and arbitrarily of Iran nuclear deal (which was signed by Democrat President Obama) and that is the root cause of the US-Iran problem with its adverse international ramifications.
This stalemate will not remain permanent because Iran is under tremendous economic pressure due to said US economic sanctions hence Iranian leaders are openly threatening that if they can’t export their oil, neither will anyone else from that region. In a nutshell, the Iranians have their backs against the wall, and there is very little they can lose because they are already in a state of absolute loss after said US economic sanctions. Moreover, even if the new President comes in White House (if at all), it will take another one and a half years which Iran cannot afford to wait! Hence, this tanker war (due to some unintended and unexpected untoward incident) is bound to escalate into a US-Iran war and which is highly likely to culminate into World War III.
The people normally think that only military-industrial conflict between powerful adversaries triggers World War but it is not enough unless some country or human group is prepared to offer most of the blood for it. In the 20th century World Wars, it was Russia/USSR which supplied most of the blood. In this World War III there is not only military-industrial conflict between USA and allies v/s China, Russia, Iran, North Korea group but for World War III most of the blood will be supplied by Muslims (both Shias and Sunnis from not only Central Asia-AF-Pak to NAME region but even from Muslim countries Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia etc). Hence, World War III is highly likely if not inevitable and this will hugely and adversely impact India (if India does not wake-up) as given below:-
In any US-Iran military flare-up, India will stop getting most of the oil from the Gulf and Middle East region. Presently Indian economy is heavily dependent on oil and 70 per cent of oil consumption in India is out of imports which means that in case of a huge reduction of oil imports the Indian economy (with rural distress) will become unviable and unsustainable to a large extent. As far 30 per cent of India’s consumption of oil which India produces, the substantial part of it will be given to Indian Military which will need it urgently due to exacerbated Kashmir problem (in addition to homegrown terrorism after Killing of Burhan Wani in 2016) also instigated by Pakistan, an adversary supported all-out by China.
Huge bloodshed of Shias and Sunnis in World War III is bound to create huge political and law and order problems in India as it will create bad-blood & ill feelings not only between Sunnis and Shais of India (200 million) but also between Muslims and non-Muslims of India.
During World War III, India will not be able to remain non-aligned (strategically independent) which will bring Indo-US tension to the fore on two counts (i) ‘Indo-Pacific doctrine’ which USA is trying to thrust on India when it says that “India is a crucial partner in the Trump administration’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region” and (ii) ‘US-India military cooperation and interoperability doctrine’ being pushed by the USA under which USA is asking India to give-up S-400 missile defense system deal with Russia.
In order to avoid all these problems, India (and its Muslim population) should take active interest for solving US-Iran problem by offering to provide manpower for carrying out elections under UN in NAME region (first in Syria), by demanding one-State solution for Israel–Palestine problem and by demanding de-nuclearisation.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
In India, women are the main target for eve-teasing, molestation, rape, acid throwing, ragging, and honour killing and that is unbecoming of a country where women are most respected in society. A new study has found that nine in 10 women have suffered some form of sexual discrimination at the workplace, which is alarming and India is not an exception to this. The researchers at Michigan University found that 10 per cent of the women surveyed had experienced the most severe form of harassment, in which they were promised promotion or better treatment.
The purpose of this article is not to dampen women spirit. The society is not saying that you stop celebrating this special day. All we are saying is that this Women’s Day, look around you. Do you see or know someone who needs help? A woman, who is probably not as lucky as you? Lend her a hand, help her out. If that’s not feasible, because you know a lot of such women are just not ready to come out of the situation, then lend them a shoulder or an ear.
NGOs and Women Welfare Wings are working hard to provide the safety of women in this country. Police team work round the clock to bring the culprits to books. However, women are scared of complaining and that gives the miscreants more freedom to act in an indecent manner. Police play a pivotal role and women sufferers should not scare to report as the matter needs to be attended on a priority basis. If you dial number 100, police respond to your call and the help reaches within the next 10 to 15 minutes and that is normal. An app is created to make genuine complaints on offences made against women and it is time to tap this facility to avoid future embarrassment.
The Indian film industry should play a punitive role in making India crime free against women. The contents of the film carry weight and to make a film a box office hit such filthy contents are added to make the films successful.
Women safety is of utmost importance as we face a regular case of rape and molestation. Even the influx of foreigners coming to India is reduced due to such untoward incidents taking place in the tourist spots like Goa and Srinagar. The press should play a proper role in projecting such cases in a better way rather making it just a breaking use. Handle them with discussions and debates and bring out the truth and play a Samaritan role rather than just make use of the same for TRP. Instead of going by perception, look into each case as a unique one and bring out the truth and not through sensational journalism just as a publicity stunt. Do not generalise the case and make a sincere try to bring out the facts and give cover to women in rape cases through proper editing.
Parental role plays a big part in bringing out a girl to womanhood. Instead of spending time on clubs and kitty parties, mothers need to play a perfect parent role in inculcating sex education in a phased manner and to know about in and out when an attack is made. Keeping a pepper spray or a soap solution may serve the cause to a certain extent. Knowing martial art for protection is yet another option.
However, generally speaking, women should have ways of wearing decent clothes to avoid instant attacks on the roadside. Sex education in schools saves the day to impart knowledge and to know the vagaries in a women’s life. Women’s Wings are coming out in open to oppose in most of the cases coming to their knowledge. Even the victim should also come in open to raise their voice to give the much needed focus on the real subject and not to deviate on other trivial issues related to the crime.
The government should give the women the much-wanted protection so that women can walk on the roads much freely. Policing has improved a lot to find out even Cyber crimes on women and that makes more sense. In cases of rape, FIR is to be lodged providing all the facts to make the issue more clear. The roles of the Gynaecologists, Lawyers, Police, and NGOs all play a stellar role in screening the real crime in a rape case. Hiding facts will not help out the cause. Women suffer forever and it is time to pay attention to women’s woes.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Team India learned the art of winning and the last over thriller was the right example for the team’s tenacity to win when the chips are down. It was a team work indeed in the end. Even though the team did not fair well batting first, skipper Virat Kohli and later on Kedar Jadhav picked up momentum to give respectability to Indian team’s total. Rahul, Shankar and Dhoni made useful contribution with the bat. When Afghanistan started batting a first wicket stand of 57 runs put them back on rails. The momentum was well and truly maintained by later order batsman. At 200 for seven there was high hope and the top scorer Mohammed Nabi (52) was at the crease. But he lost his cool in the third ball of Shami’s final fling and the rest was history. He became the 10th bowler to complete a hat-trick in the World Cup history and India finally pulled off a 11 runs win and remained unbeaten in the Championship. Kudos to Team India for maintaining the winning streak.
Nickhil Mani
When will there be ‘Jan ki Baat’?
There was a little hope that Narendra Modi, on taking charge as PM, would take important steps for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and would prove faith showed by 100 crores Hindus by voting for him, as right decision. However by expressing wish to win over minority population, Modi has disappointed all by making various declarations one after another, in their favour. People have therefore, started feeling that Modi has still not come out of election campaigning mode even though elections are over. Everyone feels that Modi has always been better in his dedication towards nation, his urge for development of this country and his clean character. However, Modi should take care that majority population of Hindus of this country are looking at him with hopes, would not be disappointed. Declaration of facilities for minority and only paying visit to temple, for Hindus is not acceptable equation. Ordinary citizens of this country feel that Modi should pass an Ordinance and solve legal complications related to construction of Ram-Mandir; but Modi is not ready to talk about the same. In fact, popularity of Modi would go up if he tried to know what people want (Jan ki baat) along with talking about his own wish (mann ki baat).
Naresh Gharat
Plastic ban not working
BMC’s claim of ‘successful ban’ on plastic seems misplaced. Even tea in Mumbai is packed in plastic by roadside tea stalls apart from banned plastics bags used across all segments daily. Cigarette packets come with warnings that their consumption is injurious to health but those addicted still smoke even though it causes cancer. Warnings and fines won’t ever work in a nation where even the highly educated are indifferent to government regulations.
The government should not be penny wise and pound foolish. What is preventing them to stop plastic manufacture or for that matter cigarettes. Also charge Rs.100 for a single cigarette or a bag of plastic to discourage people from its use as a mere 10-15 rupees won’t work. Also, education than fines is the need of the hour. Make people aware of the consequences both on the environment and health to discourage its use.
S.N. Kabra
No logic in opposing simultaneous election
It refers to Prime Minister calling all-party meeting to discuss much-needed aspect of simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and all state-assemblies. There is absolutely no logic in opposing the idea which will not only save huge money for public-exchequer and political parties, but also will avoid interruption in routine work due to frequently applied conduct-codes and diversion of public-attention from normal work. It is significant that such simultaneous elections were there till the year 1967 without any opposition.
The big question is how simultaneous elections once started can be ensured permanently in case of hung assemblies and unstable governments. This can be well avoided by holding simultaneous elections of Chief Minister (or Prime Minister), Speaker and Deputy Speaker by secret and compulsory elections through EVMs equipped with VVPAT on nominations signed by at least 34-per cent members with abstaining members losing right to vote in the House though retaining its membership. Such elected incumbents may be removed only through same process but with compulsion to name alternate leader in the same motion.
Other simple but necessary poll-reforms of not allowing contesting from more than one constituency or for both Lok Sabha and state assembly, resigning from membership of the other House before filing nomination for the other and auto-cancellation of membership of Lok Sabha on taking oath as minister in the state and vice-versa should also be implemented.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Even though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned to impose Rs 10,000 fine for illegal parking, questions are being raised whether this policy will be implemented effectively. The fines will be ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 for car owners for parking their vehicles in non-parking areas of the city. The civic body will also tow away illegally parked vehicles. BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi has asked wards to implement the rule by July 7.
The traffic police too want to levy a fine of Rs 10,000 on illegally parked vehicles. The traffic police have planned to write to the state government requesting amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act which will enable them to impose fine on wrongly parked vehicles in the city. At present, the penalty amount is only Rs 200.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said,“People sometimes are not aware of the parking rules. Hence, they park their vehicles anywhere. On the other hand, strict action must be taken against those who deliberately park their vehicles in no parking area. Strict law is required for habitual offenders. Parking rules are necessary from the security point of view. The BMC has taken the right step by framing new parking rules but it should not be misused.”
The BMC’s proposal to impose fines for illegally parked vehicles has come at a time when the city is facing space crunch for parking vehicles. Many housing societies especially the old buildings don’t have parking space for vehicles. Hence, residents have to park their vehicles on the road. Even visitors visiting these buildings have no option besides parking their vehicles outside the building. Mumbaikars want the civic body to create adequate parking spaces in the city before implementing the new parking policy.
Writer Raju Parulekar said,“So many rules are existing and one more rule is being added to it. The BMC has not been able to effectively implement the rules. The Pune Municipal Corporation has framed a rule to curb illegal parking. If you park your vehicle outside malls and are charged for parking then a case of extortion will be filed in the Pune Municipal Corporation. This is the right step.”
According to citizens, implementing the rule in the current form will only lead to more corruption in the city as offenders will pay a small amount as fine and get away with it. It will also give another option for the civic body to impose fines from motorists. Already offenders flout parking rules and get away by paying a small amount as fine. The civic body also has urged the traffic police to make changes in the Motor Vehicles Act.
MNS leader Prakash Pawar said,“BMC won’t be able to implement this new rule. Parking contractors and Traffic Police will loot the people by charging fines from them. The civic body is charging exorbitant amount as fine from the offenders. Whether the civic body is planning to start parking spaces or earn money through fines? The BMC must deploy its staff at no parking zones and take stringent action against the offenders. Why are they charging fines?”
The BMC had framed laws to deter spitting and littering in the city. Marshals were appointed by the civic body to keep an eye on offenders flouting the rules. This plan failed to work as marshals were seen harassing the people by asking them to pay penalty. Even fake marshals were seen collecting fine of Rs 11,000 from citizens at Ghatkopar. Citizens then filed a complaint with the BMC about field marshals not doing their job effectively. Later on, the fake clean-up marshals were arrested by the police and the fine amount was recovered from them. Subsequently, the civic body withdrew the services of clean-up marshals from the city.
BJP corporator Neil Somaiya said,“Right now I can’t say anything about it. When this issue is presented before the house and discussion will be held, only then I can comment about it.”
Last year, the BMC had come forward with a policy to ban plastic bags in the city. Initially, the ban worked as the officials raided shopkeepers and hawkers using plastic bags and levied fine amount of Rs 5,000 from them. However, the campaign lost its sheen after the state government had given three months time to shopkeepers to dispose of their stock of plastic bags. The ban remained restricted on paper due to ineffective implementation. Today, we can see hawkers and shops easily giving away plastic bags to the consumers. The BMC has been unable to effectively implement the plastic ban due to a lack of manpower for monitoring the offenders using plastic.
After the Elphinstone stampede tragedy, the BMC started a crackdown against hawkers. Many hawkers were asked to remove their stalls which were operating outside railway stations and bus stands. However, after a few months, hawkers returned and started doing their business outside railway stations and bus stops. The anti-hawking policy failed as BMC had failed to create adequate space for hawkers to carry out their business in the city. Today, we can see hawkers carrying out their business by flouting rules and paying money to civic body officials as fine.
Asia’s biggest model hunt programme Mr, Miss and Mrs. Asia 2019 was organised by Star Bellezza Production on June 18 in Goa. The host Aman Verma announced Mr, Miss and Mrs. Asia Season 2 of Star Bellezza Production under the direction of Sikander Raja Hassan on this occasion. National General Secretary of Newspapers Association of India and Editor in Chief Country and Politics Newspaper Vipin Gaur and Afternoon Voice Editor-in-Chief and NBC Group Editor Vaidehi Taman graced the event as the judges and applauded the contestants. They appreciated the potential of all the participants, wished them good luck for their future endeavours, and congratulated the team for success.
Stating that the next show will be bigger, better, bolder than the previous one and the biggest show of Asia, Hassan said that there will be over 50 auditions in and outside India both online and offline.
The Managing Director of the event, Sikander Raja Hassan is a famous singer and actor who was very proud of the success of this programme. He said, “It was the team’s hard work which paid off such a fruitful result.” Sikander Raja Hassan and other directors of this show DP Gautam, Arifa Hassan, and Mamta Patel S Tomar always focused on promoting the potential of the candidates who wanted to pursue Modelling or acting as their career options. They not only provide them a platform to showcase their potential but also boost their profile by giving them work in feature films, ad films, brand shoots and many more.” DP Gautam said that this journey of talent hunt would continue to a new era. The show was choreographed by renowned Babla Kathuria.
Famous TV actor Aman Verma was the official host of this show which made the show more entertaining and intended during the finale. He was amazed by the talent and professionalism shown by the contestants.
The contestants gave the credit to the grooming provided by expert groomers of Star Bellezza Production such as Rita Gangwani, Varun Katyal, Dr. Tushar, Dr. Anjali, Zenobia Khodaiji and many more experts of the modelling industry.
The show was also judged by Mr. India 2015 and Mr. World 2016 Rohit Khandelwal who also admired the efforts of the whole team. He appreciated the spirit of every contestant.
Famous actors and personalities of the industry Kashish Khan, Myra Sareen, Rafi Malik, Dimple Vig, Ashwani Kapoor, Abhishek Malik, Namrata Thakker were also present at the event. This event was managed by the marketing and Management team of Sea Lord Entertainment and was headed by Manjul Nagar and Shubham Saxena.
In an annual report on international religious freedom, the United State has criticised Narendra Modi government for mob lynching, cow vigilante violence, hate speech, religious conversion, the legal status of minorities and government policies related to these. India has rejected this US report. The ruling BJP accused the U.S. State Department of a clear bias against the government of PM Modi. The US criticism is being seen as a result of white supremacy.
Ministry of External Affairs’ official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “India is proud of its secular credentials, its status as the largest democracy and a pluralistic society with a longstanding commitment to tolerance and inclusion. The Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities.”
It is remarkable that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has released the report just before his visit to India. He will arrive in Delhi on June 25 for talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The visit is expected to prepare the ground for a proposed meeting between President Donald Trump and PM Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka on June 27 and 28.
The US has no moral right to criticise India when there are attacks on blacks and Non-Christians in the country. White supremacists and US President Donald Trump have an endless and varied supply of insults and taunts to African Americans.
According to an analysis of the Trump Twitter Archive website, the US president has used the words “dumb” or “dummy” 236 times since 2011, and on 14 occasions since becoming the president. He is accused of being racist. Trump makes the same criticism of black athletes, black journalists and black Members of Congress. He attacks their intelligence. Analysis shows Trump consistently targeted African Americans with ‘dumb’ and ‘low IQ’ jibes.
In the past eight years, across continents, white supremacists have repeatedly chosen the same targets for shootings, stabbings, bombings and car attacks. Mosques, Synagogues, Black churches and Leftwing politicians were attacked. The mass shootings in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing over 50 people, appear to be the latest attack motivated by the belief that the white race is endangered. The perceived threats include Jews, Muslims, immigrants, refugees, feminists and leftist politicians. The attackers have not been part of a single white supremacist group. But they are steeped in the same global racist propaganda and fluent in the same memes and conspiracies. In less than a decade, these attacks have included:
July 2011
77 people killed in attacks on Utøya Island and in Oslo, Norway
A bomb attack, followed by a shooting that targeted the island summer youth camp of Norway’s Labour party. The shooter, Anders Breivik, wanted to prevent an “invasion of Muslims” and deliberately targeted politically active young people who he saw as “cultural Marxists” and proponents of multiculturalism. More than half of the dead were teenagers.
August 2012
Six worshippers killed in a shooting targeting a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, US
The dead included the temple president, Satwant Singh Kaleka. The shooter, a “frustrated neo-Nazi” who had played in white power bands, was a regular on racist websites. He had previously talked to one colleague in the US military about a “racial holy war that was coming” and told another he was a “race traitor” for dating a Latina woman.
September 2013
Rapper and anti-fascist activist Pavlos Fyssas stabbed to death in Piraeus, Greece
A senior member of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party was imprisoned after confessing to the killing.
April 2014
Three killed at Jewish centre and retirement home in Overland Park, Kansas, US
A former Ku Klux Klan leader shot and killed three people, one of them just 14 years old. He said he believed Jews were destroying the white race, and that diversity was a kind of genocide. None of his victims were Jewish, but he said he considered two of them to be accomplices to Jewish people.
June 2015
Nine people killed during Bible study at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, US
The nine victims included elderly longtime church members at the Mother Emanuel AME church, and Clementa Pinckney, a state senator. The shooter, a self-avowed white supremacist, said he wanted to start a race war, and that he was concerned about “black-on-white crime”.
October 2015
Three killed in attack on school in Trollhättan, Sweden
The attacker targeted a local high school with a high percentage of immigrant students. He stabbed students and teachers, targeting those with darker skin, police said. Three died, including 15-year-old Ahmed Hassan, who was born in Somalia and had recently moved to Sweden.
June 2016
Labour MP Jo Cox shot and stabbed to death, UK
Cox was a supporter of Britain staying in the EU. She was attacked a week before the EU referendum vote in 2016. The man convicted of killing her, Thomas Mair, a white supremacist obsessed with the Nazis and apartheid-era South Africa, shouted: “This is for Britain,” “Keep Britain independent” and “Britain first” as he killed her.
January 2017
Six people killed during evening prayers at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada
One of the victims, Azzeddine Soufiane, was killed as he attempted to tackle the gunman. Nineteen people were also injured in the shooting, which the gunman said was prompted by Justin Trudeau’s tweet that refugees were welcome in Canada, and that “diversity is strength”, a response to Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries. The shooter, who said he feared refugees would kill his family, had previously been known as an aggressive online troll with anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-feminist views.
March 2017
Timothy Caughman stalked and killed by a white supremacist with a sword, New York, US
Caughman, a 66-year-old “can and bottle recycler”, had lively social media accounts full of photographs with celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey. His killer, an American military veteran, said he targeted a random black man on the street in New York City as a “practice run” for a bigger attack, and as part of a campaign to persuade white women not to enter into interracial relationships. He urged one female journalist who interviewed him to have children: “Good white women should have as many children as possible.”
May 2017
Two men stabbed to death after intervening in an anti-Muslim rant, Portland, Oregon, US
Two men were killed and one injured after they tried to intervene to protect young women on a public train who were being targeted with an anti-Muslim tirade. Their alleged killer shouted “Free speech or die” in the courtroom, and “Death to Antifa! You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism!”
June 2017
Makram Ali killed and 12 people injured after a van ploughed into worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, United Kingdom
The killer, Darren Osborne, shouted “I want to kill all Muslims – I did my bit” after the van attack, according to witnesses. He had been radicalised online and over Twitter, a judge concluded, and avidly consumed anti-Muslim propaganda from prominent rightwing figures.
August 2017
Heather Heyer killed and dozens injured after a car ploughed into anti-Nazi protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, US
After authorities shut down a violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, one of the men who had been photographed with a white supremacist group drove his car into a crowded street full of counter-protesters. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed. Dozens more were injured, many seriously. The killer had been obsessed with Hitler as a teenager, according to a former teacher. In phone calls from jail, he was recorded criticising Heyer’s mother as a “communist” and “one of those anti-white supremacists”.
October 2018
Man attempted to enter black church before allegedly killing two black people in a supermarket in Kentucky, US
A witness said that during the attack, the alleged shooter said: “Whites don’t kill whites.” His two victims, Maurice Stallard, 69, and Vickie Lee Jones, 67, were both black. Shortly before the shooting he had attempted to enter a nearby, predominantly black church, which was locked.
November 2018
11 killed in a mass shooting targeting the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
The alleged shooter had an active profile on an extremist social media site, where he accused Jewish people of trying to bring “evil” Muslims into the US, and wrote that a refugee aid organisation “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people”. In his online posts, Robert Bowers allegedly referenced internal debates within white supremacist groups, and egged on the harassment of an anti-fascist activist from Charlottesville. He has pleaded not guilty.
March 2019
The Christchurch mosque shootings were two consecutive terrorist attacks at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday Prayer on 15 March 2019. The attacks began at the Al Noor Mosque in the suburb of Riccarton at 1:40 pm and continued at the Linwood Islamic Centre at about 1:55 pm. The gunman live-streamed the first attack on Facebook Live. The attacks killed 51 people and 49 people were injured. A 28-year-old Australian man, described in media reports as a white supremacist and part of the alt-right, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and errorism. The attacks have been linked to an increase in white supremacism and alt-right extremism globally observed since the mid-2010s.
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In India, women are the main target for eve-teasing, molestation, 
