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Cracking Whip on Corrupt

June 18, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun his second term in the office with a bang. His Government has sent some 12 officers of the Income Tax Department on Compulsory retirement. The government under rule 56 of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms forced them to retire before superannuation. They will not be entitled to get the post-retirement benefit of pension. The officers who were punished were of the rank of Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner, and Commissioner belonging to the Indian Revenue Service. Officers were charged with corrupt practice, amassing wealth disproportionate to their known source of income and sexual harassment. The message is loud and clear. There will be no escape to corrupt and incompetent officers under the Modi Government. There will strong vigil on working of the officers. They will not be able to indulge in merrymaking and enjoying at the cost of public exchequer.

Although the rules to punish corrupt and inefficient officers are there from years, this is for the first time that the rule has been invoked to show the door to the corrupt ones. This is high time that the corrupt officers should mend their ways else they will lose their jobs. Who does not know how common man is harassed at the hands of these ‘babus’. Right from getting birth and death certificate to the settlement of power and water bills, the babus don’t work till they are paid a bribe. Their conscious is dead. I wonder how they face the members of their family at home. In a nutshell, the Modi Government is clear in telling the corrupt officers that if they don’t stop their corrupt practice, they will have to go. What position they occupy in the government will not be considered while awarding punishment to the guilty. In the latest action, senior rank officers of Income Tax Department were caught and punished.

There are two major benefits of this action of the government. First, young and honest men and women looking for employment will get the opportunity to work. Secondly, only those who deliver and work will survive in the government job.

If you are keeping a track of the performance of the Modi Government, you will recall that in its first term in office, the government had dismissed two officers of IPS (Indian Police Service) rank in Chhattisgarh. The officers concerned too faced serious charges. That meant inquiry was going on against the suspect officers.

Some 11828 officers of group A category and 19,714 officers of group B category were shortlisted for corrupt practices. The corrupt and inefficient officers are going through a bad time. However, such officers are hard to mend their ways. They alone can’t be blamed for this situation. This class of officers had field day before 2014. They worked with immunity to intimidate public and extort bribe for legitimate and illegitimate work. There are many who have sacrificed their self- interest for work.

Here I must say that there are good and honest officers also in government offices. It is not that all are corrupt. The government has started rewarding those officers who perform their duty with honesty and integrity in implementing various schemes and programmes of the government for the welfare of the people. It is a sad commentary that fellow officers don’t learn any lesson from honest and hardworking officers.

Officers should take a lesson or two from Neha Shourie, an officer associated with Zonal Licensing Authority near Chandigarh, Satyendra Dubey of National Highway and Manju Nath of Petroleum Department. These officers laid down their lives while doing their duty with honesty. They were murdered.

This is a fact, to follow the path of honesty and truth is difficult. But it is necessary to do this for the sake of the country. Honest officers must get support and protection from the government. The sword of ‘transfer’ should not dangle over their head. It has been seen that corrupt officers have always been harassing and torturing honest officers who were not allowed to work honestly. They were transferred frequently and faced hardship in life.

After seeing the bunch of incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats it must be said that officers like K Subramaniam (father of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar), T N Chaturvedi, J N Dixit, Jagmohan, Rajdev Singh, P N Haksar, and T. N. Seshan are remembered today with great esteem. They belonged to that class of bureaucrats who were honest and impartial. They never had an image of being sycophant or stooge of politicians. They worked hard not for any personal gain but worked for the nation. The present-day officers who are in service should follow the example laid by the above-mentioned officers while doing their job.

In recent past few years, it was seen that some officers while in service used to establish proximity with powerful leaders. Their objective was clear. They eyed post-retirement jobs to continue to reap the benefit of office. Some other officers get close to or identify themselves with a political party to get the ticket of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, or State Assembly.

There is an urgent need to introduce administrative reforms in service to streamline the working of officials in line with laid down terms. The reforms should clearly send a message to the bureaucracy that good work will be rewarded and bad work will be punished. The perception of officers being ‘damad’ of the government must end.

(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.)

Modi’s ‘Kurta-Jacket’ combo now the latest craze

Vinod Dixit

June 18, 2019

modi jacket — Image Courtesy: indianexpress.com

Although politicians have for long tried to reproduce the people they represent in the clothes they wear, our PM Narendra Modi has also managed to create an everlasting image with his Kurtas. His sartorial taste is not something he acquired suddenly as the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister. He is a total style icon and has an individual style of his own.

He believes in the Gujarati proverb that says a man’s worth is determined by what he wears. He dresses differently when in India and when travelling abroad. Modi’s love for Khadi is not new. It is reported that “When he was the Gujarat Chief Minister, he used to visit Khadi outlets in Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar every year in October to buy the fabric and apparels for himself. He was always followed by his cabinet colleagues and top officials.” Modi’s usual attire is a Kurta and vest, and his unusual half-sleeve Kurta is known as the Modi Kurta. The Prime Minister’s clothes are made of silk or cotton, are crisply ironed and are handmade in Gujarat.

Modi’s ‘Kurta-Jacket’ combo has now become the latest craze among youngsters with around 1,500 pieces being sold daily in Khadi outlets. It was Jawaharlal Nehru who used to wear these jackets and perhaps Modi made it more famous. According to the Managing director of JadeBlue Lifestyle India Ltd, Modi has popularised it and taken it to the masses. Nehru used to largely wear white and off-white jackets. He never wore colours. Modi ji brought in colours and a new design. It has become a style statement even among the corporates. This Nehru coat or jacket is named after India’s first Prime Minister ‘Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who used to wear Western-style Achkan in his routine. During the 10th century, the jacket was not actually a jacket but a short shirt worn over a longer Kurta and under a certain kind of coat, only worn by men. The basic structure of the Nehru jacket, however, has remained the same throughout time.

Modi’s wardrobe has gained a huge amount of attention. Though Modi is a big fan of brand names, his outfits tend to reflect a connection to his roots. He is very particular about his look and has “shunned the shabby and crumpled Kurtas and Dhotis/Pyjamas — the staple political costume of the traditional Indian politician. There are a number of outlets across the country where Modi-wear is being sold. In Ahmedabad, a shop sells jackets and Kurtas reportedly manufactured with ‘Modi’s blessings’. According to The New York Times, known for his attire, Modi is inspired what is known as the Modi Kurta, “a revisionist version of the classic Indian tunic shirt with half-length sleeves.” In the recent few years, the Modi Kurta has become famous world over. Fashion experts also endorse the fact that Modi jacket has darts at the pockets that give a slimming effect to Modi.

The Modi Kurta has a legendary following among people but this widely acclaimed ‘style statement’ that it has become very simple origins. On the origins of the ‘Modi Kurta’, Modi says, “My work with the RSS and BJP not only meant excessive travelling, but also uncertain and punishing schedules. And, as someone who always washed his own clothes, I realised that washing a full sleeved Kurta was tougher and more time consuming so I decided to cut his Kurtas into half sleeved ones.” Thus, Modi Kurta was born! It is clear that apart from being a dynamic leader, he has with his stunning styling sense has shown that with big powers do come big responsibilities and it even respect his style.

In fact, his fondness for bright colours and well-cut jackets reflect a distinct sartorial taste. It’s interesting to know why the world is convinced that Modi is the new style icon of India. During his years as an emerging leader he used to cut the sleeves of the Kurtas short to serve the dual purpose: he had to wash little and the Kurtas occupied less space in his bag.

Don’t we think that Modi, whose appearance began to display signs of finesse about a decade back, clearly recognises the role of dressing in creating a personality cult all over the world?

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

100 Lives Lost: Bihar govt Clueless

Suraj Chandran

June 17, 2019

The Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) have claimed around 100 children’s lives in Muzaffarpur district in Bihar. The Nitish Kumar government has failed to check the spread of the disease in the state. The patients’ relatives are protesting at government hospitals and blamed the government and hospital administration for its failure to prevent the disease. They chanted slogans against the hospital administration. Relatives are demanding the resignation of Nitish Kumar. They asked that why the Nitish Kumar government is silent over children’s death! According to local residents, the death toll may be much higher as many from remote villages failed to make into hospitals in the district headquarters. According to the experts, the government continues to remain clueless about the real cause of the disease. At least five districts of the state namely, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, and East Champaran are reported to have the disease outbreak (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome) since June 1, 2019.

Dr. Prof Bikash Kumar said, “The government is doing its job. Doctors are working round the clock to bring this disease under control. We are searching for the causes of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome like high temperature, low nutrition, and genetic control.”

In 2012, 120 children had died of the disease while the death toll was 90 in 2014. The preliminary symptoms of the disease include high fever and convulsions – an ailment locally known as ‘chamki fever’. Children mostly in the group between 1 to 10 are affected by the syndrome. Even though locals and administrators are on high alert, the death toll keeps on increasing. Meanwhile, the state government in an official statement mentioned the reason to be hypoglycemia – low blood pressure. After the reporting of AES from several districts, the Nitish government and administration started responding but that effort was not enough to tackle the outbreak. Affected children are undergoing treatment in Muzaffarpur’s Shri Krishna Medical College and Kejriwal Matri Sadan.

BJP MLA Raghav Sharan Pandey said, “The government is doing its work but it should have taken action against the errant officials for doing substandard work. I have already called for a probe into this matter. It is unfortunate that these incidents are happening every year. Steps must be taken to avert such incidents in the future as many children have lost their lives.”

On Sunday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan visited the Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur. One of the death occurred under the presence of Harsh Vardhan. A maximum number of casualties due to the syndrome were reported in SKMCH. “My five-year-old daughter Nisha died due to Encephalitis fever. She was admitted to the hospital on Saturday,” said the mother of the deceased.

Harsh Vardhan took stock of the situation arising out of a sudden surge in the number of deaths for four hours in the hospital. He said, “The doctors in the hospital are doing their best under such a difficult situation in treating the children. A multi-disciplinary institute will be established in the next year to examine the reason behind this disease.” Harsh Vardhan’s visit was met with black flags by opposition parties who claimed that the government’s inaction has exacerbated the situation.

A similar AES outbreak had claimed 379 lives in 2014. Harsh Vardhan who was the Union Health Minister at the centre then had visited the hospital and declared several measures to contain the crisis. However, despite the passage of five years, the situation has not changed. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the children. He also issued directions to the health department, district administration, and the doctors to take necessary measures to fight the disease. Earlier, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey stated that the government is doing its best to save the lives of children. He said, “We are trying everything and anything that can save our children’s lives. Everything is being made available from medicines to doctors. We have even called doctors and nurses from AIIMS in Patna.”

Bihar should emulate Yogi’s policies to tackle Japanese Encephalitis

Vaidehi Taman

June 17, 2019

On one hand, the Indian Medical Association announced that the doctors would go on strike nationwide in solidarity with their counterparts in West Bengal, all non-essential services will be withdrawn and only emergency and casualty services will be offered. This is an irony of our nation; the doctors too are making it a politicised publicity. On the other hand, around 100 children have died of Japanese Encephalitis in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. These all are reported deaths while the locals claim that the actual toll could be higher as many from the remote villages fail to make it to the hospitals in the district headquarters.

The Nitish Kumar government looks clueless in checking the death toll and the spread of Japanese Encephalitis in this North Bihar district and its neighbourhood.

Currently, Muzaffarpur is at the epicentre of Japanese Encephalitis but only a couple of years ago, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh was in the grip of Japanese Encephalitis, which killed thousands of children over four decades. When Yogi Adityanath government took over from Akhilesh Yadav, Japanese Encephalitis was the biggest health challenge in eastern Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is an infection of the brain caused by the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) while most infections result in little or no symptoms, occasional inflammation of the brain occurs. In these cases, symptoms may include headache, vomiting, fever, confusion, and seizures. This occurs about five to 15 days after infection and by then, the chances of survival are very rare.

JEV is generally spread by mosquitoes, specifically those of the Culex type. Pigs and wild birds serve as a reservoir for the virus. The disease mostly occurs outside of cities. Diagnosis is based on blood or cerebrospinal fluid testing.

Prevention is generally with the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, which is both safe and effective. Other measures include avoiding mosquito bites. Once infected, there is no specific treatment, with care being supportive. This is generally carried out in the hospital. Permanent problems occur in up to half of the people who recover from JE. The disease occurs in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. About 3 billion people live in areas where the disease occurs. About 68,000 symptomatic cases occur a year with about 17,000 deaths. Often cases occur in outbreaks. The disease was first described in 1871.

More than 500 children had died of Japanese Encephalitis that year in Gorakhpur and its neighbourhood. Altogether 14 districts of the region were in the grip of Japanese Encephalitis. In August 2017, many children admitted for treatment of Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), died at the BRD Hospital of Gorakhpur leading to the huge political furore.

Pushed against the wall, Yogi Adityanath government opted for desperate measures and launched Action Plan 2018 in collaboration of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF for containing AES and Japanese Encephalitis.

A massive vaccination drive was launched for Japanese Encephalitis. A robust health and sanitation campaign was launched.

Early vaccination was pushed. Drive to segregate pigs from affected habitation was launched. Immediate response teams were put to work for fogging. The information campaign was launched to convince parents not to let their kids sleep on mud floors, to use India Mark-2 water pipes or hand pump for drinking water and to immediately reach out to ambulance helpline 108 in case of any early symptoms. These measures seem to have worked for Uttar Pradesh. The cases of Japanese encephalitis and AES dropped by about two-thirds in 2018 compared to a year ago. 187 deaths occurred due to Japanese encephalitis and AES in 2018 against 557 in 2017. The total number of cases of Japanese encephalitis and AES dropped from 3,817 in 2018 to 2,043 in 2017 in the affected 14 districts. Fewer numbers of patients of Japanese encephalitis and AES reaching hospitals meant that the doctors could take better care of those admitted resulting in a drop in mortality rate. While one in every seven patients of JE and AES died in 2017, this came down to one in 11 last year. Till February this year, no deaths due to JE and AES were reported despite 35 cases in the region.

Since both the eastern UP and north Bihar share almost same geographical hot and humid climate, a favourable ground for the spread of JE and AES, the measures adopted by the Yogi Adityanath government might help the Nitish Kumar government not only in checking deaths due to the outbreak of this endemic but will also help defusing growing tension among aam aadmi against the ruling dispensation in Bihar. However, the Nitish Kumar government of Bihar, too, has a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place which was laid in 2015 in the view of rising cases of JE and AES. In 2012, 120 children had died of the disease while the death toll was 90 in 2014.

The 2015 SOP was laid by the health department of Bihar in consultation with UNICEF to meet the encephalitis challenge. The SOP mandates that grass-root health workers including auxiliary nurse-midwife (ANM), accredited social health activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi employees have to conduct a household-level survey to check if any child has symptoms of Japanese Encephalitis and AES.

The efforts brought down the encephalitis death toll to four in 2016 and 2017, and 11 last year. But it has seen a spike this year clearly showing that the SOP was not followed. Encephalitis situation is desperate in Bihar for the Nitish Kumar government.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Found a new way of celebrating Father’s Day

C K Subramaniam

June 17, 2019

Father’s Day was celebrated and tributes poured in on social media and off it, mostly about what we love/miss about our fathers or about some of life’s greatest lessons they’ve imparted to us. This time around though, we thought we’d ask some of these special men what it is that they have learnt from their children over the years. Cynics tend to trash the hype around these special days and dismiss the commercialization attached to them. Why not look at it with a different perspective and enjoy the day? Why can’t we be glad at the sea of opportunities available to express and share our feelings? This Father’s Day (June 16), gives yet another opportunity to change the mindset and celebrate the special bond with a Father.

One should be able to think of something fun and special and why bother about remarks that advertisers cash in on sentiments. The love and respect will always be there but we don’t express it every day. On Father’s Day, we can share our feelings and make it a joyful one for the family. We tend to keep our parents’ happy and we are ready bent upon to do anything for that.

On seeing the celebrations, his eyes were radiant with happiness. The gift can be anything and the intention is more important than the actual gift that cheers him. Father’s day celebrations which involve elders bring joy especially among the little ones. It is always nice to celebrate Father’s Day or a Mother’s Day and make our parents feel important and special. Our actions go a long way in making our children understand about caring and bonding. When we give a gift to our parents, they understand the joy in giving. When we feel happy that our parents are happy, they learn the richness of our culture.

There is a lot of scope now; avenues for self-expression are many which were not available when we were children. Any celebration which strengthens emotional bonding adds a lot of value to one’s life. My father loves soaps very much. As a soap chemist he loves to have the Mysore Sandal soap by the side of his bed every day. The fragrance of Sandal soap spreads the real fun of the presence of father and his love for soaps. Instead of mass-produced greeting cards or a generic gift, how about talking and listening to him and trying to understand what a father feels. Giving gifts will definitely make parents happy but first, talk to them. The more children talk and listen to their parents, the happier they will be. The love he extended to me and my family members was somewhat touching and thanksgiving. When he get the news about my coming on a particular day, he used to wait at the entrance whether it is summer or winter climate and the look of him will provide the real thrill of a life time.

It is the unconditional love and support that makes the bond strong. Yet, there are inherent expectations in the father-son relationship. How much do fathers want their sons to be like or unlike them? Do sons usually model themselves after their dads and have this innate need to be affirmed by them?

On the eve of Father’s Day I felt that I am a proud son of my father. He gave me all in my life from education to job and no one else can give me so much and still did not expect anything from me. The importance of discipline in life and the resilience to achieve goals were instilled in me from childhood by my father. He always told me I need to be ruthlessly focused if I want to achieve results. From him I learnt we should always have a Plan B or contingency plan in life irrespective of what work we do.

I am glad that I did and I owe to him the success that I am enjoying today. From practically nothing, we created the valuable online currency exchange marketplace. He never taught me but showed me how to live modestly, be self-effacing and work towards what I want. Now it is time for me to take up the role of father and do a world of good to my loving children. It has been said that our children can be our greatest teachers if we are humble enough to receive their lessons, and going by what these fathers have had to say, there’s no arguing that while we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. There lies the real success of father-son relationship.

My suggestions for the Finance Minister

S. Krishna Kumar

June 17, 2019

At the outset, I welcome and congratulate the new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will be presenting her maiden Union Budget in a few days.

Hon’ble FM! You have yourself sought suggestions and views from the people and here are some worthy suggestions to you from my side. In fact, these have been time and again ignored by your predecessors due to whom there has been no relief to the common man, the salaried class, and mainly the senior citizens. I am not going into critical cases of taxation pertaining to corporate and industries, market and commodity transactions, and other such matters, as there are many associations to represent and make suitable suggestions to your good self.

Last year, Piyush Goel was kind enough to hike the tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh. This was only notional. This was not effective and the actual exemption limit. IT @5 per cent was still made applicable. I suggest that the first slab of Rs 5 lakh be fully exempted from tax. Besides that, the third slab of 30 per cent is hitting the salaried class very hard. Here, I feel that this rate should be lowered at least for the salaried class and employed.

Today, the plight of senior citizens is quite pathetic. The senior citizens today, are in fact a harassed lot, thanks to the ever decreasing rates and return on investments like fixed deposits on which they try their best to thrive. On the one hand, you are increasing the prices and imposing cess, surcharge, etc. However, on the other hand, you are reducing the interest rate on deposits, etc? The interest on PPF was also reduced. Do you know how senior citizens have been adversely affected due to the drastic reduction in the interest rates, from time to time? Their monthly income (through interest as a source of income alone) has come down heavily and they have been finding it difficult to lead a decent life. At the time of introducing exclusive schemes for Senior Citizens government, banks, LIC, etc., generously announce the interest rate of 9.30 per cent and even above. Later this is brought down systematically, for one reason or the other to say 8.30 per cent or just 8 per cent. Once the interest rate is fixed under the “senior citizens’ scheme”, this should never be brought down, especially when there is a lock-in period of 5 to 10 years, for investments made.

Above all, the limit for exemptions under Sec.80C should also be increased to a more reasonable level.

This is very important. Dear Madam, for your earnest and bold action: It’s high time that the agricultural income is brought into the income tax net. Many politicians and others under the guise of being “agriculturists/farmers” have been evading I-Tax for decades. No Finance Minister has ever dared to bring the AGRI-Income for Income tax. In fact, today, one can see many rich farmers leading a lavish style (most of the political leaders and so on…) and yet not paying the income tax as they say they earn “agricultural income!!” Will you please muster the courage to introduce “Tax on Agricultural Income, say, above 10 lakhs” – especially to tax the so-called super rich agriculturists/farmers who have been evading taxes worth crores, for generations?

Last but not the least, you need to book all those utter and core corrupt officials, bureaucrats, ministers, super wealthy political leaders of regional parties too and attach all their wealth and assets. I am not talking about the huge money stashed away in Swiss banks. We have been hearing very many cases of ministers and bureaucrats and officials being involved in large scale scams and corrupt deals. They have amassed wealth and properties to the tune of hundreds of crores. Some former ministers have been found to be having as many properties, farms, flats, lands, and so on. However, nothing has happened so far to them, except that raids by IT, ED, CBI, are being conducted with no end results or the ‘scamsters’ getting punished!! The legal cases and hearings go on and on and on with the ‘defaulters and the accused’ only getting bail as many times and seeking the SC permission to happily undertake foreign travels! These cases must be fast-tracked and closed for once for all. The core corrupt who has looted the nation must be put behind bars.

More importantly again, as per the disclosure made by the FM last year, that the number of bank loan defaulters has risen to an alarming extent, the government must take stern actions against this defaulters-come what may. It’s a known case that on the one hand some industrialists happily default loan repayments etc. and on the other hand lead a lavish style by owning luxury yachts, limousines and so on. These defaulters must not be spared at all. Come what may, crooks like Mallya, Nirav, Choksi and many others — that outside and those from inside the country too must be booked and jailed.

The government must grab and attach all the properties of such corrupt people and defaulters and recover all the monies due.

Dear FM Madam! Please recover all those unaccounted wealth, assets, and cash from the most corrupt people; you can certainly get huge revenue to wipe off the deficit in the budget. You need not even think of imposing and taxing the common man anymore. Maybe you can even do away with the Income tax on the salaried.

Once you tax “agricultural income”, the fiscal health of the nation and also the health of genuine and poor farmers, will drastically improve.

Will the Hon’ble PM and your good self take some bold measures — it’s now or never! Let’s have “SABKA VIKAS” in real terms — for the common man and the honest taxpayers to lead a decent and healthy life!

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.

Gossiping isn’t fun!

Jubel D'Cruz

June 17, 2019

gossips — Image Courtesy: mycellcare.com

Gossip hasn’t always been considered a bad word. The word ‘gossip’ first meant godparents or a familiar acquaintance and was used to describe someone who told of a family’s news and developments. During the time of William Shakespeare, a gossip was also someone who sat with a woman through childbirth, perhaps to talk, offer comfort, or to help her pass the time.

We use a lot of different words to describe gossip. We chat. We yak. We get the scuttlebutt. We gab, we dish, and we chew the fat. We hear it through the grapevine, listen to the word of mouth — sometimes straight from the horse’s mouth. Tongues, they wag. There must be something important about all this idle chit-chat to demand such an extensive and colourful vocabulary! And we all do it. Very few people proudly admit to it, but we all gossip. Some of us even relish it.

While some religions and cultures frown upon the practice more than others, gossip in one form or the other happens all over the world among people of all ages.

As our communication technologies have sped up, so has the spreading of our gossip. Whip-quick messages zip around us all day long about this person or that person, this celebrity or that politician. Where word once travelled, via word of mouth that may have taken hours or even days to reach its listeners, it now travels in seconds via Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, blogs, emails, cell phones, etc. People love to hear and talk about cruel things about other human beings.

It’s been said that knowledge is power. Unfortunately, many people like to spread damaging information or intimate details about others, whether it’s true or not. This is what is called gossip. If you know something juicy someone did over the weekend, it’s easy to feel like you have to tell it to others. We especially like it when we hear something that makes someone look bad.

The most dangerous part about gossip is that it steals another person’s reputation. A reputation is very fragile. When you gossip, you are helping to destroy something extremely valuable.

If you think it’s time for you to decide you don’t want to have any part of gossip, here are some tips on how to do it.

Make a commitment that you’re not going to gossip: Even though the temptation to gossip is powerful, you will always win when you choose not to use it. And really, with all the gossip, there’s no way of knowing for sure what is true or not.
Don’t listen to others when they gossip: Gossip grows an audience. You simply being there listening to it adds to its appeal. If someone starts to tell you something gossipy, say, I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable talking about this person when they’re not here to defend themselves. Not only will you break the gossip chain, but you will also gain the trust of other people, as someone who won’t spread rumours.
Don’t judge people based on gossip: If you should hear gossip about someone you don’t know, you have two choices: Allow the gossip to determine what you believe, or let your own personal experience determine what you think. The first time you have an experience with someone that is contrary to the gossip you’ve heard, you’ll be a lot more careful about spreading or believing gossip the next time you hear it.
Think twice before you speak: Before you repeat something you’ve heard about another person, think: Does this really do any good for me to spread this information? Or am I just trying to be in the know? Is the information even true? Could I be hurting someone by telling this, even if it’s true? If the person you are talking to is not part of the problem or part of the solution, there’s no need to tell them anything.
Stay away from people who gossip for they will gossip about you too: Don’t associate with people who find such great joy in belittling others. Be very careful about what you choose to tell these people. If it’s a close friend, you might consider saying how you want to stop spreading gossip, and that you’d really like her help.

There’s an old saying that goes like this: “Stick and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. That’s not true. Being gossiped about can be extremely painful. If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it to others. In the end, it never pays to gossip.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 17 June, 2019

Web Team

June 17, 2019

Proving cases of sexual harassment a mammoth task

Proving a sexual harassment case in our country is a mammoth task and more so if it is against a powerful popular personality. Tanushree Dutta’s sexual harassment case against Nana Patekar was in any case going to fall as it was filed after a decades since the alleged event happened. Without going into the merits of the case, women should file cases at the time of the alleged crime and not wait for an ‘agitation like MeToo to report their crime.

Rapes, molestations and other sexual crime against women in our country is on the rise. Many serious cases don’t even get registered at police stations due to social stigma involved. Fair sex should be encouraged to file cases of sexual harassment and society should be humble towards them. Sexual harassment cases should be tried in special courts for speedier judgement.

S.N. Kabra

Imposing tax on cash-withdrawal a right step

It refers to media-reports that central government is considering tax on cash-withdrawal above rupees 10 lakh from banks by an individual to encourage digital-payments to curb cash-transactions at a time when currency-circulation has bounced 19-percent above than it was at time of demonetisation of old currency done on November 8, 2016 thus killing the very objective of bold step of note ban. Any such step will be a step in right direction to effectively check parallel economy of black money and generation of unaccounted money.

It would be a right step to restore monthly cash-withdrawal limit of rupees 96000 by an individual from banks which was done at time of demonetisation to tackle currency-crunch at that time, which may be gradually reduced to rupees 48000 per month. Any cash-withdrawal limit from banks should be fixed on monthly basis rather than annually. Logic of allowing cash-withdrawal of tune of rupees ten lakhs though once a year is beyond understanding.

The central government should go ahead with massive and consolidated package to curb currency-circulation and generation of black money rather than in parts. Curbing cash-withdrawal should be coupled with introduction of permanent Voluntary Disclosure Scheme in form of proposed Elephant Bonds and compulsory deposit of all rupees-2000 notes in banks apart from imposing a limit for agricultural income and abolishing often-misused tax-exemptions on charity and contribution made and received by political parties.

Madhu Agrawal

By-elections criminal waste of money

It refers to unnecessary and costly by-elections caused because of 49 sitting MLAs and four Rajya Sabha members having been elected for the new Lok Sabha. By-elections also become necessary in case a candidate wins from two constituencies of both for Lok Sabha and state-assembly. Such by-elections are criminal waste of public-money because of faulty poll-laws not refined even after seven decades.

At least basic poll-reforms should be immediately done whereby any sitting MP or MLA must resign from earlier seat within say three days of election-notification so that by-election for the vacated seat may be simultaneously held with general elections. Since a person cannot represent two constituencies at a time or can be member of both Parliament and state-legislature simultaneously, a person must not be allowed to contest from more than one constituency or for both Lok Sabha and state-assembly. Also a sitting MP on being appointed minister in state-assembly (and vice-versa) must automatically lose membership of the earlier House.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

Rain returns

Mumbai monsoon is giving jitters to the people from the beginning this year. As the rain arrives, the woes continue to take toll and two boys from Kandivali got electrocuted. More so disaster struck as panels collapse at Churchgate station and Bandra skywalk causing one death and five persons were injured in the separate mishaps. Tree fall, electrocution are major problem this monsoon season. The BMC failed to understand the crux of the problem and initial rains caused so many accidents. People risked their own life to come on the streets. It is time for BMC to have more stringent measures and work round the clock with an emergency team during the monsoon rains.

C.K. Ramanath

Ban on mannequins must be strictly implemented

It is quite laudable of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take a decision of imposing ban on display of mannequins outside shops or on roads by dressing them in underclothes. This decision should be promptly and strictly implemented. There is huge increase in such display of mannequins outside shops since last few years. One lady municipal councilor had raised objection to it in the year 2013 when manufacturers and sellers of underclothes had tried to suppress her voice; saying that there was nothing objectionable in the same; however, MMC has decided, though late, to impose such ban; giving relief to all women. Parents find it quite awkward to keep their small children away from such mannequins kept outside shops when they go for shopping. Women feel embarrassed while some men, with lewd tastes, look at such mannequins with different angle. Till few years back, sale of underclothes was taking place in shops, though such mannequins were hardly seen even inside shops. Was there need for such hideous display? Municipalities of other cities in the country should also follow the example of BMC and take similar decision!

Jagan Ghanekar

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Prisoners need Psychological Counselling

Suraj Chandran

June 16, 2019

The tragic suicide incident of Vikas Pawar, who ended his life by jumping from the sixth floor of the Dindoshi sessions court on Saturday, raises questions about the problems faced by the prisoners in jail. Due to unhygienic conditions of prisons, inmates often fall ill and there is a risk of communicating diseases to the other prisoners. Even though several committees have been formed to study and submit a report about prison reforms but the guidelines made by the committees are not implemented.

Social activist Abhijeet Rane said, “A lot of illegal activities are happening in jail. The jail authorities should take necessary precautions while dealing with the criminals. They should organise positive lectures, counselling to prisoners. They should try to educate them. A lot of NGOs working in the interest of criminals are not up to the mark. They should take the initiative to change the system.”

Health protection in prisons is a serious public health issue which states ignore at their peril. Prisoners also need to get four hours of sunlight a day but they are denied. The food offered to the inmates is inedible. Instead of tea, brown water is offered to them and black water laced with stones for rice are offered to them. Chapattis and vegetables served to them lack nutritional value. Many of them are not allowed to call their relatives. As a result of these, many of them tend to get depressed and some of them try to commit suicide. Prison populations have a disproportionately high rate of people suffering from mental health or behavioural problems. The judicial system needs to incorporate psychological counselling sessions for all accused but counselling is not provided to them.

Veteran criminal lawyer Majeed Memon said, “There is a need to provide proper hygienic food and maintain cleanliness around the cell. Prison staff should behave well with prisoners. Counselling should be provided to prisoners wherever needed. All these necessities are the basic rule for keeping human in the custody.”

“Unfortunately the conditions in jail are horrible where even animals are finding it difficult to survive. Young boys and girls are kept in pathetic conditions and they get out of the prison as worst citizens. The death of Vikas Pawar in police custody is a warning bell to the prison superintendent to ensure that such incidents don’t occur hereafter,” he added.

Most of the prisons in the country are overcrowded. Owing to crowded conditions, prisoners pass on their infections to other prisoners, staff, and their own friends and families who visit them. They contract communicable diseases themselves and slip through shoddy screening and substandard treatment programs. The alarming prevalence of communicable diseases like hepatitis C, TB, and HIV/AIDS among prisoners pose a serious public health problem.

Charuvalli Khanna former member National Commission for Women said, “In the jail manual minimum guidelines are mentioned which should be followed by prison authorities. Young boys indulging in sexual offences should be provided counselling.”

After the Supreme Court was informed that 1,300 prisons across the country are overcrowded the apex court had stated that prisoners cannot be kept in jail like animals. Some of the prisons in the country are overcrowded to the extent of 600 per cent.

Social activist Godfrey Pimenta said, “Jail manual is available where everything concerned with jail and facilities for prisoners are given in detail. The prison authorities also have to follow the guidelines stated in the jail manual. If they fail to follow these guidelines then proper redressal mechanism is available.”

“What’s the point in talking about prison reforms when we cannot keep them in jail? We should release them if you cannot keep them properly,” the apex court had said. The Supreme Court reprimanded the states and union territories for complete lack of commitment to fix this extremely unfortunate situation. The apex court had through orders of May 6, 2016, and October 3, 2016, directed the preparation of a plan of action by states and union territories to address the issue of overcrowding in prisons and the proposal was directed to be submitted by March 31, 2017, but not even one of them submitted the plan.

Pradip Bhalekar, a former inmate of Arthur Road jail, has been fighting for prisoners’ rights through his NGO, Manav Adhikar Forum. According to data he accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) query, 92 inmates died between 2015 and May 2017 in four Maharashtra prisons — Arthur Road, Thane Central, Byculla women’s jail, and Kolhapur Central. All these deaths were recorded as either suicide or from natural cause.

The accused Vikas Pawar was arrested by the Powai Police in 2015 under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for abusing a six-year-old boy. On Saturday police escorts brought Pawar from Arthur Road prison to Dindoshi sessions court for the hearing. After the conclusion of the hearing, he pushed the guard escorting him and jumped from the sixth floor of the court building. He was later rushed to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali but was declared brought dead.

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