Sahitya Akademi condemns Kalburgi murder, requests writers to take back their awards

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October 23, 2015

In view of the strong protest by writers against ‘growing intolerance in the country’, the executive board of the Sahitya Akademi, Friday, condemned the killing of Professor MM Kalburgi and urged the central and state governments to prevent such incidents to happen in future.

Board member K Nachimuthu said, “We all condemned the killing of MM Kalburgi…Unanimously decided that writers who have returned awards should take them back, people who have resigned should join back.”

However, the group of writers who are on a silent protest outside the Akademi office in Delhi are waiting for the official statement from the board to be made public.

The highest decision-making body of Akademi met after it came under criticism for its alleged silence on ‘growing intolerance in the country’.

Around 100 writers, poets and others from the literary circuit are on a silent protest outside the Akademi office in Mandi House in central Delhi.

The protesters also submitted a memorandum to the Akademi demanding that it pass a resolution pledging to take stern steps to safeguard the freedom of speech and right to dissent of the writers.

Speaking to a news channel, one of the protesters said, “People are being attacked – minorities, Dalits, writers – freedom of expression is in danger…people are being led onto a fascist path.”

As per reports many other writers, who have not returned their awards, are waiting for the outcome of the Akademi meeting to decide their future course of action.

Interestingly, there’s another group of writers who are present at the venue to protest against the writers who have decided to return their awards.

They claim that those writers who have returned their awards are doing politics due to ideological differences with the Modi government.

One them said that these writers have never raised their voice even when bigger incidences have occurred in the country. One of their posters read: “Get well soon”.

At least 35 writers from across the country had over the past few weeks announced their decision to return their Sahitya Akademi awards and stepped down from official Akademi positions to protest the “rising intolerance” in the country.

Rapes happening due to accessibility to mobile phones: Azam Khan

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Afternoon Voice

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October 23, 2015

With repeated cases of rapes of minors coming to light, Samajwadi Party Minister Azam Khan on Friday said mobile phones are responsible for such cases.

In a bizarre remark, the minister said toddlers are getting raped because of the content available on mobile phones. He said minors are being raped because free porn is available on mobile phones.

“2.5-year-old getting raped, why? Its because of mobile phones. Even in villages people can download things,” Khan said.

This came after a 2.5-year-old girl was allegedly raped in Delhi’s Nangloi area last week.

In a separate incident, a five-year-old was also raped allegedly by three men in Delhi’s Anand Vihar area. The girl was reportedly alone at home when one of the accused, her neighbour, took her to his house and then allegedly raped her along with his friends.

Reacting to this, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “Of course because rape & depravity didn’t exist before the arrival of smart phones.”

Making insensitive statements is nothing new for UP ministers. Earlier, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had sparked a controversy by making a shocking statement on rapists. “I know of many such cases, where 1 person commits the rape and 4 people are named in the report. There are cases where one person commits crime, 4 brothers in the same family get arrested,” he said.

“It is impossible for 4 men to rape a woman.” he added.

Geeta, deaf-mute girl stranded in Pakistan, to return to India on Oct 26: MEA

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Afternoon Voice

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October 23, 2015

Geeta, the deaf-mute Indian woman living in Pakistan after accidentally crossing the border over a decade ago, will return to her country on October 26, the MEA confirmed on Friday.

“On 26th Oct, Geeta will be back to India, with 5 members of Edhi Foundation who will be treated as state guests,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

“We will do a DNA test to establish conclusive proof of relation with the family Geeta has identified. If the DNA test is positive, we will hand over Geeta to the family. Else we have identified institutions where she can be taken care of,” he added.

The man believed to be Geeta’s father is Janardhan Mahto from Bihar’s Saharsa district, who has five sons and two daughters. Geeta, he has claimed, is his first born Heera, who was lost in a fair in 2004.

The story of Geeta became more famous as it was similar with the one depicted in Salman Khan blockbuster “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”.

Geeta, now 21, was reportedly around 11, when she was found sitting alone on the Samjhauta Express by the Pakistan Rangers 15 years ago at the Lahore railway station.

Police took her to the Edhi Foundation in Lahore and later she was shifted to Karachi.

Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, T C A Raghavan, and his wife had visited Geeta in August after Swaraj directed him to meet her and try to locate her family.

Dalit boy found dead in Haryana, family claims he died in police custody

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Afternoon Voice

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October 23, 2015

Days after the Ballabgarh incident, the death of another Dalit boy has led to a furore in Haryana on Friday.

A 15-yr old boy found dead in Gohana. His family alleges he was accused of pigeon theft and was taken into custody by the police.

Later his dead body was found. The family claims he was tortured to death, however, the police said that they had let him and has no role in his death.

The situation turned tense in the area after the family of deceased placed his body on road to mark protest, demanding action against the culprits.

“We have sent the body for post-mortem, inquiry is going on, whoever is found guilty will be punished,” Vinod Kumar, DSP, Gohana said.

Congress leader PL Punia said, “If ‘Rakshak’ police itself will become ‘Bhakshak’ where will people go? Seems rule of law has ended in Haryana.”

Can’t get away by saying statement was misinterpreted: Rajnath on VK Singh’s ‘dog’ remark

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Afternoon Voice

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October 23, 2015

A day after Union Minister VK Singh kicked up a storm with his comments that the Centre cannot be blamed if somebody throws a stone at a dog to shield it from criticism for the Faridabad Dalit burning incident, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday cautioned leaders of the ruling party to remain extra cautious before making any statement.

While expressing his views on former Army chief’s remarks, Singh said, “We can’t get away by saying that statements were misinterpreted or twisted. We need to be extra careful while putting forth our views.”

While cautioning his colleagues from making controversial statement, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader further said that one should ensure that there is no possibility of statement to be interpreted in the wrong sense.

“I feel that as leaders of the ruling party, we must all be extra cautious while making any statement,” he said.

When the former Army chief was asked to comment on the gory killing by upper castes of the children in a Haryana village, Singh said: “If someone throws stones at a dog, the government is not responsible. It was a feud between two families, the matter in under inquiry.

“Failure of the administration should not be put on the government’s head,” he added.

VK Singh’s comments follow the torching of a Dalit family’s house in a village in Faridabad district bordering Delhi in Haryana that left two children dead and their mother in critical condition.

The gory killings have triggered widespread condemnation and largescale street protests.

Meanwhile, Singh has tendered an apology and said that his remarks were ‘mixed’ to present a wrong picture.

“Let me be very clear, they were two different remarks, someone has mixed it. Few people from opposition are targeting us for no reason, I’ve fought for the country, we don’t believe in division,” the former Army chief said.

Bitter pill called retirement

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Afternoon Voice

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October 23, 2015

One of India’s greatest opening batsmen Virender Sehwag retired from all forms of international cricket and Indian Premier League (IPL) on the occasion of his 37th birthday. The decision comes after Sehwag signed up to play in the next year’s Masters Champions League 2020, where only retired cricketers can participate. Sehwag’s decision comes barely a few days after one of his contemporaries Zaheer Khan decided to bid adieu to the game. Sehwag has failed to find a place in the Indian team since 2013 and had not been in the reckoning either.

In a glorious international career spanning over 12 years, Sehwag played 104 tests scoring 8586 runs at an impressive average of 49.34, hitting 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries. He was a master hitter and even Srikkanth and Budhi Kundream could not achieve such a phenomenal success with the bat. He is the only triple centurion in Tests for India having scored a career-best knock of 309 against Pakistan at Multan, which also is an Indian record. He is also one of those rare batsmen to have scored two triple tons with his next one (319) coming against South Africa. In 251 ODIs, he accumulated 8273 runs at an average of 35.05 and scored 15 hundreds apart from hitting 38 fifties. In 19 Twenty 20 Internationals, he managed 394 runs with two half-centuries. He has been a part of two World Cup winning teams under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership, 2007 World T20 in South Africa and the ICC ODI World Cup in India.

We have seen drastic changes in the Indian side and the seniors are leaving the scene of action one by one. Sehwag could not control his emotions and was raising voice against captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni has realised his dream of packing seniors off and quit himself from test cricket under pressure. Thus, almost all seniors quit the game in a master move and the selectors were harsh on Sehwag. When a player with less potential like Harbhajan Singh is getting repeated opportunities, a high potential Sehwag was ditched without giving a last chance. It is time for Indian players to perform or perish and not bask in the past glory all the time.

Virendra Sehwag redefined test match batting. His strike rate in tests was 82.23. His one day strike rate was above 100. Sehwag’s retirement will disappoint many fans. He made batting look so easy terrific eye hand co ordination that helped him to be on the spotlight in all three formats. We are all proud to have a dynamic cricketer like him to open the innings for India. He was very humble during his playing days and good human being as well. An outstanding career came to an end. Wish him good luck in his future endeavour. God bless Sehwag and his family.

C.K. Subramaniam

Put on your Dancing Shoes

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Afternoon Voice

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October 23, 2015

The attractive dancing shoes have much more to them than just looks.

When you see an elegant dancer on the dance floor spinning and twirling around swiftly have you ever wondered from where does that smoothness come from. Graceful dancers swinging to the beat of Cha Cha Cha and salsa keep you glued to their silky movements. Dancing to the rhythm with an elegance of movement is more than just talent. This could also have something to do with the shoes you’re wearing. If you ever cared to look beneath a dancer you will realize that most of the grace and energy comes from the correct footwear.

There are a lot of shoes to choose from in the market. That is why it is wise to compare each one of them and closely examine their bottoms, toe boxes, etc. You must not also forget the kind of floor you often dance on to make it a point that the shoe design makes foot movement easier. This way you’d know better whether your shoes fit with what you’re stepping on and with what you’re doing.

In Indian classical dance demands no footwear – the ‘Ghungroo’ is the only footwear. On the other hand, International dances need shoes and this footwear is like Ghungroo for International dance lover. We too pray and respect our dance shoes just like Ghungroo. Today I will give you a low down on the fashion aspect of the dance footwear.

Our flooring is often made of wood or cement. Thus, it is good to wear dancing shoes that support just enough friction between the floor and the soles. However, regular rubber or leather sole shoe may cling or slip extra on the dance floors. Thus, it is better to purchase or custom-make dancing shoes with soles made of only suede.

Generally soft flexible suede sole dance shoes body as well as the heel is made of pure leather and the ankle support is longer than that of the normal shoes. This helps maintain the balance between the slip and the grip techniques that lets the dance move swiftly on the smooth dance floor. Its difficult to find good suede shoes in India, but according to Mr. Jameel Shah, director of ‘Shah Shoes’ the only Indian dance shoe company that has copied the art of making typical dance shoes from abroad and sells the replicas in various color and styles says ‘You can fold the dance shoe anyway you want to, it takes the shape of your foot unlike normal shoes, this is the essence of the dancing shoes, they are comfortable and do not restrict the movement of your feet, weather you are on your heels or on your toes, it supports you throughout-the cushioning supports the knees and the ankle avoiding injuries.’ Shah Shoes has his main outlet in Mumbai but supplies to most of the dance schools in India, they regularly work with schools in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Surat, Ahmedabad, Pune and more. They work through email ‘shahshoes@yahoo.in’ and each shoe rate ranges from 2000 to 5000 rupees. The other option is to buy these shoes online from websites like supadance.com, showtimedanceshoes.com and danceshoesonline.com but the international order can range from 50-120 dollars per pair plus the courier charges.

Every dance form needs different kind of shoes; I recommend standard heel shoes – small and thin for ballroom dances like the Waltz, Quickstep, Tango and the Foxtrot. Cha Cha Cha, Jive, Samba and Salsa are best complimented with feet gear that have broader and bigger heels as broad big heels enhances the hip movement of Latin dancers and helps them make swift twirls and graceful footwork. Then we have Jazz shoes for Jazz and contemporary dancers, Ballet Shoes or character shoes for other western dances.

Choice of colours is also an important aspect while buying dance shoes, for example the Tango is a dramatic dance form hence a combination of black and white shoes adds onto the effect. The standard black shoe for men is most common in leather or patent leather and dainty silver, golden and skin shoes for women are the common colours for Latin American dances. Ladies nowadays are experimenting with colors like red, shimmer, pink and even yellow and green, but such experiment is mostly done by performers and not students.

The right shoe and the right colour take the performance to a different level. One has to experience it to believe it. So invest in an appropriate dancewear and put your best foot forward.

Dance Shoe Care:

Brush your shoe regularly, from top and sole.
Use a wire bristles shoe brush for the soles.
Polish your shoes before and after use.
Do not wear your dance shoe to a party or outdoors they are only to be used on the dance floor.
Keep your shoe in a cloth bag through which they can breathe, yes it is very important to allow your dance shoes to breathe if you want them to last longer.
Air your shoes once or twice a week and more during rainy season as it can catch fungus.
Lastly pack and unpack your shoes carefully after every use

Artscape By Sandip Soparrkar

Why BMC woke up only after fire incident?

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Afternoon Voice

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October 22, 2015

On one hand the BMC has acted against erring hotels which have flouted fire safety norms on the other hand it has turned a blind eye towards hawkers who cook on streets.

Even though the BMC has initiated a massive crackdown against grade 2 and 3 hotels across the city but why did the civic body wake up only after the Hotel City Kinara fire incident which claimed the lives of eight persons. If the civic body had taken this action earlier then it could have averted the accident. On one hand the BMC has acted against erring hotels which have flouted fire safety norms on the other hand it has turned a blind eye towards hawkers who cook on streets. Vendors don’t follow any safety norms while cooking on streets but often no action is taken against them. Many of them pay hefty bribes to officials and hence they are allowed to go scot free.

As per records available with the BMC out of the 3 lakh vendors around 1 lakh vendors sell vada pav and Chinese food. Many of them use cylinders for cooking on streets but don’t adhere to safety norms there by putting people’s lives at risk. Most of them cook unhygienic food. Since food is available at cheap rates hence people visit these vendors for having food. They also don’t wash the vessels properly after cooking. Most of the cooked food is kept uncovered which may create health problems for customers.

All these vendors have been carrying out their business in the city for several years but no civic body official has bothered to monitor their functioning. Corporators have raised the issue of inaction by the civic body against street vendors. Earlier the Bombay High Court had issued a directive banning the sale of eatables, tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres from schools, hospitals and religious places. However, vendors continue to flout these norms and sell eatables near schools and hospitals. Corporators also asked whether the civic body will take action against the erring street vendors.

Sunil Sharma a Kandivali resident said, “The BMC only wakes up after the occurrence of a major fire accident. What were the officials doing before the Hotel City Kinara fire incident? What would have happened if the fire would have spread in the vicinity and claimed more lives?.”

Yogesh Pawar, a Borivali resident said, “The BMC must undertake a regular inspection of hotels to ascertain whether they are following the fire safety norms. Strict action must be taken against those who are flouting the safety norms.”

Rakesh Shah, a Malad resident said, “Right now BMC is only focussing on hotels and are not inspecting the vendors who cook food on streets. Actually street vendors cook food and don’t maintain hygiene. If people eat this food then they might fall ill.”

Mr. Bhagwat, practice what you preach

By

Vaidehi Taman

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October 22, 2015

Vijaya Dashami is an important day for RSS to celebrate, because the organization was formed on this day. RSS marked its 90th Foundation Day this year. From small group of volunteers, it has become one of the largest organizations which safeguards Hindu religion. From January to June 2015, enrolments have been at the rate of 5,026 per month, this number goes up a bit between July and September to 6,648 per month. Mohan Bhagwat’s interview came out on September 28, and the figures, nationally, for just the first 15 days of October are 4,700. Somewhere in some section of youth, the craze for RSS is on the rise but on the other hand majority of youth look at it as terror or communal organization. Irrespective of criticism, RSS succeeded in making its existence even much stronger in recent past.

In Vijay Dashmi speech, Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said that there is new hope in the country as India is poised to become the leader of the world. Doordarshan, a government channel gave live telecast to Bhagwat’s speech. Last year also Doordarshan had aired live telecast of Bhagwat’s speech which irked the Opposition but the public broadcaster had insisted that its coverage was from a news point of view. While speaking on various issues, Bhagwat said that the world is now expecting that the ‘new India’ will show the way, especially the developing world thinks India as the leader of the group and for the ‘new India’ the first thing required is that we get out of mental slavery. He stressed that the aim should be not just be material growth but spiritual growth. When country is divided over religion and caste how one can really be spiritual, being spiritual is mostly misinterpreted as communal mentality. What India needs at this moment is financial growth and development. India needs to function peacefully. Every Indian needs security and assurance of safety, unless this is not taken care, spiritual practices are just not possible.

The fact is that India has become one of the most intolerant nations and no one is above it. All are equally intolerant and morally corrupt. I do not trust anyone in these matters. Capable and competent people are needed in all walks of life and over years that have been denied to the country on various accounts to benefit politics. Here, what you sow so shall you reap. While November 8 is still three phases of polling away in Bihar, the RSS is making sure that its share of victory or defeat is not taken in any other way than the one it intends. This is self-goal by RSS/BJP. This time BJP may lose millions of votes in Bihar. Nitish and Lalu will come to power in Bihar for sure. On the other hand, secular media and people are also exposed badly. They vomit platitudes like freedom of speech and tolerance. Are they tolerant if someone peaks against their cherished ideals and values?

Is insertion of secularism as an act of eyewash? If secularism is practiced in letter and spirit by government in its delivery mechanism, will government interfere with measures of beef ban to cater to adherents of a particular faith? Will government resort to reservation mechanism catering to castes of a particular faith? Will the government act in a manner which leaves out country’s nationals outside caste fold and professing a minority’s faith? Too often calls are heard of changes in school curriculum with religious connotations, is it a stroll on path of secularism? Acts of appeasement of adherents of majority faith in government delivery mechanism is camouflaged under the label of secularism while a book chapter reads of religion influence measures. It’s faith which has become focal relegating the Indian. Is secularism seen more in breach or in practice? Secularism is seen among sections of Indians. The secular state has been continuously diluted since 1947. The administration has been always suspicious of the religious minority groups and has sought to be friendly with the Hindu majority states and has been sabotaging the progress of other states like Kerala, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir under various excuses. Industrial investment has been at a very low level in these states. No IITs, no military academy, no National projects and finally in the case of Punjab, even the state capital, High Court have been denied.

Bhagwatji said, India stands for unity in diversity. However, we are looking amid rising cases of intolerance in the country. He also said that India is helping other countries at this hour keeping the interest of our country on the forefront. “India is evolving in a new look, world is expecting India to show them the way ahead. A new idea of India is rising in the world. Whenever there is a crisis situation in the world, we come forth to help. If Mr. Bhagwat actually believes so then he should practice what he preaches and try to bring harmony in our country, by taking initiative in curbing caste and religious attacks. Else his speeches will remain merely a formality.

Saibaba Trust shouldn’t spend on invitation cards: HC

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Afternoon Voice

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October 22, 2015

The Bombay High Court has refused to allow an expenditure of Rs. 14.94 lakhs incurred by Saibaba Sansthan Trust in Shirdi towards printing invitation cards and posting them to patrons for the Dussehra function.

The order was passed last week by justices A B Chaudhari and Indira K Jain of the Aurangabad bench of the High Court who heard an application filed by the Saibaba Sansthan Trust through its executive officer.

As the committee, which runs the trust, has been appointed by the HC, the Saibaba Sansthan has to obtain permission for all the major expenses incurred by it.

Sanjay Choukidar, the trust’s counsel, submitted that the invitees are residing in interior parts of the villages and towns and therefore there is a system to send invitation cards by post as they are the patron members of the trust.

Besides, some patrons are residing abroad and they too are required to be invited through invitation cards.

However, the bench noted that the expenditure of printing invitation cards and posting them to patrons was not required in these days of technological advancement, namely SMS, MMS, Internet, publication, television, etc.

“There is no point in spending huge amount as aforesaid (Rs 14.94 lakhs) towards item no 5 and 6 (printing of invitation cards and postage expenses) as given in the expenditure list by the Sansthan. Certainly, the said amount can be saved,” said the Judges in their order last week.

The court further noted, “The counsel of the trust also fairly states that the trust would adopt other ways of inviting the devotees rather than spending huge amount over these two items. We make it clear that in future also if such an application is made, expenditure thereon shall not be claimed on these two items,” the bench further said.

The judges, however, observed that they had perused the details of other expenditure and in their opinion the same should be allowed in view of the function at the Sansthan.

“We, therefore, allow the prayer for making expenditure as per item nos. 1 to 10 except item nos. 5 and 6.

Consequently, the total amount to be spent shall be reduced by Rs 14.96 lakhs,” the judges said in the order.

Meanwhile, RTI activist Sanjay Kane has written a letter to Saibaba Sansthan chairman stating the expenses disallowed by the HC should be recovered from the officers of the trust who were responsible for the same.