THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) BILL, 2012

Murder of Democracy and Gender Equality........

THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE(PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) BILL, 2012 (Excerpts)
A
BILL

(The amended Lok Sabha version)
to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the
prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

WHEREAS sexual harassment results in violation of the fundamental rights of a woman to equality under articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and to live with dignity under article 21 of the Constitution and right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business which includes a right to a safe environment free from sexual harassment;

AND WHEREAS the protection against sexual harassment and the right to work with dignity are universally recognised human rights by international conventions and instruments such as Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, which has been ratified on the 25th June, 1993 by the Government of India;

AND WHEREAS it is expedient to make provisions for giving effect to the said Convention for protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace.

.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) ''aggrieved woman'' means—(i) in relation to a workplace, a woman, of any age whether employed or
not, who alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment by the respondent;

ii) in relation to a dwelling place or house, a woman of any age who is employed in such a dwelling place or house;

(b) ''appropriate Government” means—(i) in relation to a workplace which is established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly—

(A) by the Central Government or the Union territory administration, the Central Government;(
(B) by the State Government, the State Government;
(ii) in relation to any workplace not covered under sub-clause 

(i) and
falling within its territory, the State Government;
(c) ''Chairperson'' means the Chairperson of the Local Complaints Committee nominated under sub-section (
1) of section 7;
(d) ''District Officer'' means an officer notified under section 5;
(e) “domestic worker” means a woman who is employed to do the household work in any house hold for remuneration whether in cash or kind, either directly or through any agency on a temporary, permanent, part time or full time basis, but does not include any member of the family of the employer;
(f) ''employee'' means a person employed at a workplace for any work on regular, temporary, ad hoc or daily wage basis, either directly or through an agent, including a contractor, with or, without the knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not, or working on a voluntary basis or otherwi0se, whether the terms of employment are express or implied and includes a co-worker, a contract worker, probationer, trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name.

## ''Sexual harassment'' includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication) namely:—
(i) physical contact and advances; or
(ii) a demand or request for sexual favours; or
(iii) making sexually coloured remarks; or
(iv) showing pornography; or
(v) any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature;
(o) ''workplace'' includes—
(i) any department, organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise, institution, office, branch or unit which is established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government or the local authority or a Government company or a corporation or a co-operative society;
(ii) any private sector organisation or a private venture, undertaking, enterprise, institution, establishment, society, trust, non-governmental organisation, unit or service provider carrying on commercial, professional,
vocational, educational, entertainmental, industrial, health services or financialactivities including production, supply, sale, distribution or service;
(iii) hospitals or nursing homes;
(iv) any sports institute, stadium, sports complex or competition or games venue, whether residential or not used for training, sports or other activities relating thereto;
(v) any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of employment including transportation provided by the employer for undertaking such  journey.

(vi) a dwelling place or a house 

## "Uunorganised sector'' in relation to a workplace means an enterprise owned by individuals or self-employed workers and engaged in the production or sale of goods or providing service of any kind whatsoever, and where the enterprise employs workers, the number of such workers is less than ten.
## (1) No woman shall be subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace.
(2) The following circumstances, among other circumstances, if it occurs or is persent in relation to or connected with any act or behaviour of sexual harassment may amount to sexual harassment:—
(i) implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment; or
(ii) implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment; or
(iii) implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status; or
(iv) interferes with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment for her; or
(v) humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety.

COMPLAINT

(1) Any aggrieved woman may make, in writing, a complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the Internal Committee if so constituted, or the Local Committee, in case it is not so constituted, within a period of three months from the date of incident and in case of a series of incidents, within a period of three months from the date of last incident :

• Provided that where such complaint cannot be made in writing, the Presiding Officer or any Member of the Internal Committee or the Chairperson or any Member of the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall render all reasonable assistance to the woman for making the complaint in writing:
• Provided further that the Internal Committee or, as the case may be, the Local Committee may, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the time limit not exceeding three months, if it is satisfied that the circumstances were such which prevented the woman from filing a complaint within the said period.

(2) Where the aggrieved woman is unable to make a complaint on account of her physical or mental incapacity or death or otherwise, her legal heir or such other person as may be prescribed may make a complaint under this section.10.
Conciliation:
1) The Internal Committee or, as the case may be, the Local Committee, may, before initiating an inquiry under section 11 and at the request of the aggrieved woman take steps to settle the matter between her and the respondent through conciliation.

Provided that no monetary settlement shall be made as a basis of conciliation.

(2) Where a settlement has been arrived at under sub-section (1), the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall record the settlement so arrived and forward the same to the employer or the District Officer to take action as specified in the recommendation.
(3) The Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall provide the copies of the settlement as recorded under sub-section (2) to the aggrieved woman and  the respondent.
(4) Where a settlement is arrived at under sub-section (1), no further inquiry shall be conducted by the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be.

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 10, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall, where the respondent is an employee, proceed to make inquiry into the complaint in accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to the respondent and where no such rules exist, in such manner as may be prescribed or in case of a domestic worker, the Local Committee shall, if prima facie case exist, forward the complaint to the police, within a period of seven days for registering the case under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, and any other relevant provisions of the said Code where applicable:

• Provided that where the aggrieved woman informs the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, that any term or condition of the settlement arrived at under sub-section (2) of section 10 has not been complied with by the respondent, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee shall proceed to make an inquiry into the complaint or, as the case may be, forward the complaint to the police: 
• Provided further that where both the parties are employees, the parties shall, during the course of inquiry, be given an opportunity of being heard and a copy of the findings shall made available to both the parties enabling them to make representation against the findings before the Committee.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, the court may, when the respondent is convicted of the offence, order payment of such sums as it may consider appropriate, to the aggrieved woman by the respondent, having regard to the provisions of section 15.
(3) For the purpose of making an inquiry under sub-section (1), the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 when trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:—
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents; and
(c) any other matter which may be prescribed.
(4) The inquiry under sub-section (1) shall be completed within a period of ninety days.

INQUIRY INTO COMPLAINT

## (1) During the pendency of an inquiry, on a written request made by the aggrieved woman, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, may recommend to the employer to—
(a ) transfer the aggrieved woman or the respondent to any other workplace; or

b) grant leave to the aggrieved woman upto a period of three months; or
(c) grant such other relief to the aggrieved woman as may be prescribed.
(2) The leave granted to the aggrieved woman under this section shall be in addition to
the leave she would be otherwise entitled.
(3) On the recommendation of the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the
case may be, under sub-section (1) , the employer shall implement the recommendations made under sub-section (1) and send the report of such implementation to the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be.
## (1) On the completion of an inquiry under this Act, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall provide a report of its findings to the employer, or as the case may be, the District Officer within a period of ten days from the date of completion of the inquiry and such report be made available to the concerned parties.
(2) Where the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, arrives at the conclusion that the allegation against the respondent has not been proved, it shall recommend to the employer and the District Officer that no action is required to be taken in the matter.
(3) Where the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, arrives at the conclusion that the allegation against the respondent has been proved, it shall recommend to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be—
(i) to take action for sexual harassment as a misconduct in accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to the respondent or where no such service rules have been made, in such manner as may be prescribed.

(ii) to deduct, notwithstanding anything in the service rules applicable to the respondent, from the salary or wages of the respondent such sum as it may consider appropriate to be paid to the aggrieved woman or to her legal heirs, as it may determine, in accordance with the provisions of section 15:

• Provided that in case the employer is unable to make such deduction from the salary of the respondent due to his being absent from duty or cessation of employment it may direct to the respondent to pay such sum to the aggrieved woman:
• Provided further that in case the respondent fails to pay th0e sum referred to in clause (ii), the Internal Committee or, as the case may be, the Local Committee may forward the order for recovery of the sum as an arrear of land revenue to the concerned District Officer.

(4) The employer or the District Officer shall act upon the recommendation within sixty days of its receipt by him.

##  For the purpose of determining the sums to be paid to the aggrieved woman under clause (ii) of sub-section (3) of section 13, the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, shall have regard to—
(a) the mental trauma, pain, suffering and emotional distress caused to the aggrieved woman;
(b) the loss in the career opportunity due to the incident of sexual harassment;
(c) medical expenses incurred by the victim for physical or psychiatric treatment;
(d) the income and financial status of the respondent;
(e) feasibility of such payment in lump sum or in instalments.
## Notwithstanding anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005, the contents of the complaint made under section 9, the identity and addresses of the aggrieved woman, respondent and witnesses, any information relating to conciliation and inquiry proceedings, recommendations of the Internal Committee or the Local Committee, as the case may be, and the action taken by the employer or the District Officer under the provisions of this Act shall not be published, communicated or made known to the public, press and
media in any manner:
Provided that information may be disseminated regarding the justice secured to any victim of sexual harassment under this Act without disclosing the name, address, identity or any other particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the aggrieved woman and witnesses.

DUTIES OF EMPLOYER

## Every employer shall—
(a) provide a safe working environment at the workplace which shall include safety from the persons coming into contact at the workplace

(b) provide assistance to the woman if she so chooses to file a complaint in relation to the offence under the Indian Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force;

(c) cause to initiate action, under the Indian Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force, against the perpetrator, or if the aggrieved woman so desires, where the perpetrator is not an employee, in the workplace at which the incident of sexual harassment took place;
(d) treat sexual harassment as a misconduct under the service rules and initiate action for such misconduct;
(e) monitor the timely submission of reports by the Internal Committe.

 ## (1) Where the employer fails to—
(a) constitute an Internal Committee under sub-section (1) of section 4;(b) take action under sections 13, 14 and 22; and (c) contravenes or attempts to contravene or abets contravention of other provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.
(2) If any employer, after having been previously convicted of an offence punishable under this Act subsequently commits and is convicted of the same offence, he shall be liable to—
(i) twice the punishment, which might have been imposed on a first conviction, subject to the punishment being maximum provided for the same offence:
Provided that in case a higher punishment is prescribed under any other law for the time being in force, for the offence for which the accused is being prosecuted, the court shall take due cognizance of the same while awarding the punishment;
(ii) cancellation, of his licence or withdrawal, or non-renewal, or approval, or cancellation of the registration, as the case may be, by the Government or local authority required for carrying on his business or activity.
## (1) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act or any rules made thereunder, save on a complaint made by the aggrieved woman or any person authorised by the Internal Committee or Local Committee in this behalf. 

(2) No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.
(3) Every offence under this Act shall be non-cognizable.

The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.

Conclusion:  Only point which looks to me a little sane is that, "Every offence under this Act shall be non-cognizable"; otherwise the provisions of the acts looks draconian and easy to abuse. There is one clause, which says, "Punishment for false or malicious complaint and false evidence". The case of trying the girl/lady/women/female (or complainant), for "False or Malicious Complaint or False Evidence" will come only after the person wins the case.  But the sections are so, prejudiced and one-sided, that once a person is dragged into it, it would be difficult for him to escape the net, even if the case is false.
In such a circumstance, I feel, it would be prudent for any employer of a firm or owner of a sole proprietorship business, or the head of a family, etc.: NOT to EMPLOY women/girls/females/ladies, in the said concern, unless it is absolutely necessary, so that headache becomes less. In case of homes, one can use the services of male maid servants, instead of the ordinary female ones; if there is a male member in the house. In this way, the potential hazards of such act, which are purely based on VOTE BANK POLITICS of Political Outfits, is minimized. 

I am really disgusted at all the political parties who responsible for passing such a gender prejudiced act, which will further divide the gap between male and females. This act is dangerous and I am sure more and more innocents will be victimized by its sections.

Source: http://164.100.24.219/BillsTexts/LSBillTexts/PassedLoksabha/144C_2010_LS_Eng.pdf

Pranab Mukherjee makes nostalgic trip to in-laws' home in Bangladesh

A Bangladesh air force helicopter carrying
the president and the first lady landed at
Narail town from where they took a drive
through the village roads up to Bhadrabila
village, some 9 kilometres away to be received
by their relatives. Photo: Aj Ki Khabar

NARAIL: (Bangladesh) President PranabMukherjee today made his maiden visit to the ancestral home of his in-laws where he was accorded a traditional reception meant for a 'Jamai' or husband of a Bengali woman.

"We received the 'Dadababu' (elder sister's husband) with 'Uuludhani' and 'mangal pradip' as he arrived with our sister Suvradi," a cousin of first lady Suvra Mukherjee told after the couple's private visit.

A Bangladesh air force helicopter carrying the president and the first lady landed at Narail town from where they took a drive through the village roads up to Bhadrabila village, some 9 kilometres away to be received by their relatives.

"Pranab Mukherjee exchanged pleasantries with his in-laws and enquired about their welfare. He knew many of them while his wife introduced him to several other relatives," ruling Awami League lawmaker from the constituency Fazilatunnesa Bappi told from the scene as she accompanied the couple.

Witnesses said the in-laws offered a golden chain to their 'dadababu' as a gift and a sari to their 'didi'.

During their 90-minute trip they visited a nearby Hindu temple and offered prayers.

The enthusiastic relatives entertained the high-profile couple with coconut water and traditional Bengali sweetmeats while a makeshift stage was erected at the premises of the household for their exclusive family reception.

The ancestors of Suvra Mukherjee migrated to India in early 1950s after the 1947 partition. However, she was born in Narail and did her early schooling in the town.

The first lady had previously visited her ancestral home once in 1995 along with her daughter.

President Mukherjee is in Bangladesh on his first overseas visit since taking office.

Courtesy: The Times of India

Health Benefits of Sleeping Naked
Shed those inhibitions, this is no time to be embarrassed. While some people may frown upon the idea of sleeping in the nude, keep an open mind as we discuss the benefits of sleeping in your birthday suit.

Natural pain reliever:

Clothes restrict blood circulation, hence shedding that artificial skin is good for stimulating the same. It helps in eliminating tension and discomfort from the abdominal viscera nerve region and even relieves waist pain. Those tight elastic bands do little good and hence should be loosened for a sound comfortable sleep. Medical research have shown that sleeping naked is good for those suffering from insomnia as it has a comforting effect on them.
Sebaceous glands stay happy:
Sleep is not a complete no-activity state. The organs are at work and so to improve their productivity it is important that we don’t put pressure on them by way of clothes. It is said that bare skin absorbs more nutrients than with clothes on. Going naked will streamline and accelerate the repair process of the skin. A healthy, uninterrupted air flow will help in the process. Sleeping naked allows the sebaceous glands to do their work best, which is sebum discharge and regeneration. This in turn helps in improving the metabolic rate of the body.
Protects privates:
That wet feeling can be a little discomforting in women and can increase the possibility of infection. Sleeping naked increases ventilation to these areas makes them comfortable and keeps them dry, thereby avoiding chances of fungal infection. For men, it has also been found to increase fertility by keeping the testes at adequate temperature and retaining the sperm quality too.
Enhanced lifestyle:
Tired or feeling uneasy? Try going naked! A hectic day at work at times makes it hard to get that sound sleep that we cherish. However, sleeping naked can ease the tension and help in giving you that adequate dose of sleep. It relaxes the body and helps in a comfortable sleep. As a result, people wake up refreshed and remain energetic all day along.
How to improve sleeping pattern:
Try and take a bath to be germ free. Make sure that the temperature and humidity in the bedroom is adequate, in order to avoid catching a cold. Transform that bed into something fluffy so that the drape feels good on your bare skin.
Though considered a taboo by some, the requirement of sleeping naked can be talked out with your spouse. People may ridicule the idea, but trust me they will soon be taking cues to get that comfort sleeping.

Courtesy: Yahoo.com

No case for the noose, really

Anil Dharker

Afzal Guru’s hanging and the clamour for death penalty for the Delhi gangrape heroine has brought to the fore the vexed question of capital punishment.
As most of us know, a Supreme Court judgment a few years ago decreed that the death penalty should be given only “in the rarest of rare cases”. But in a large country like ours, even such a restrictive edict results in sufficient numbers: at the last count, there were nearly 500 prisoners awaiting execution, some of them for years. In fact, in the last 17 years, only four people on death row have gone to the gallows. As you would expect, almost every convicted prisoner sends a mercy petition to the President of India, and most Presidents (for example Pratibha Patil), take no action till their term ends, passing on this particular burden to their successor. Pranab Mukherjee seems to have shown a greater awareness about the need for action, but even he cannot quickly clear the backlog.
Let’s forget the numbers for a while: the central question is whether the death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment which the state has no right to inflict, especially since it does not have the ability to undo/reverse it. If you can’t give life, you can’t give death. This argument has won over most democracies in the world, especially the developed world where only the US has not banned it. But even there, 41 of America’s 50 states have done away with the death penalty.
There are several compelling arguments for not having the death penalty. First and foremost is its utter and complete irrevocability. DNA tests, now widely used in the West, have shown that a number of past convictions for murder have got an innocent man. So what does the state do to the man wrongly hanged? Say “Sorry”?
This was one argument which was used in the UK to do away with the death sentence. It’s an important point to keep in mind, especially when we consider that the quality of detection and police work, and the level of forensic tests available there are far superior to what we have in India. Many of our convictions are based on confessions, a terribly dicey area, especially because we know how they are extracted by the police. In the US legal experts are of the view that confessions should be invalid unless they are video-taped, but who is to say whether the tapes have been doctored or not?
Let us assume, however, that the Supreme Court’s diktat of “rarest of rare cases” rules out the death penalty for marginal cases where evidence is not clinching, so that when a man is sent to the gallows, the proof against him is water-tight.
Even here there are problems. The foremost amongst them is of inequity. How many cases have you heard of where a rich or influential man has been hanged? Some of the worst and most gruesome murders have been committed by well-off people, but they get away because they have the money to get the cleverest of lawyers, who at worst, will get a death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. Often things do not even reach that stage: the well-connected murder suspect can bribe/threaten witnesses, can “influence” police investigations, or even get the prosecution to dilute its case. It’s the poor man, often relying on a state-allotted lawyer, who will face the hangman’s noose.
There are also the courts themselves. Different judges in different high courts have different ways of evaluating the “rarest of rare” decree. Some judges have been strict (the hanging judges), while others have been lenient (the bleeding hearts). Isn’t it likely that economic class, caste, even the look and deportment of the accused can unconsciously have a bearing on his punishment?
So, then, what are the arguments for the death penalty? One is obviously the “eye for an eye” argument: the enormity of the crime can only be punished by the maximum sentence. But didn’t Mahatma Gandhi famously say, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”? Besides, doesn’t this smack of a kind of revenge motivation? Notably in the Delhi gangrape, didn’t we all say “Hang the bastards”? But is revenge, never condoned in individual cases, befit a liberal democracy?
The deterrent effect is often cited in favour of the death penalty. Did it deter Afzal Guru? Or Ajmal Kasab? If there had been a mandatory death penalty for gangrape, would that have stopped the Delhi gang of six? If they had thought of the consequences at all, they wouldn’t have given in to their deranged lust in the first place. But if they had, they would likely have killed both the girl and her male friend to ensure that there were no witnesses to their crime. So whether it is terrorists or crimes of “passion”, the deterrence effect doesn’t really work. Even in other cases, where there is an element of cold-blooded planning in a murder and the deterrent effect should operate, the perpetrators carry on with their crime in the mistaken belief that they can hide the evidence.
On balance, then, there seems to be hardly any case for capital punishment. Instead what we need to do is define “life imprisonment” as jail till the end of the prisoner’s life. That would be time enough for most murderers to repent.

Anil Dharker is a Mumbai-based writer and columnist

Courtesy: The Asian Age

Pranab’s visit to Dhaka ill-timed

President Pranab Mukherjee receives a
ceremonial guard of honour during his
arrival at the Hazarat Shahjalal International
Airport, Dhaka Bangladesh on Sunday - PTI

Dozens of people have been killed in violent clashes in Bangladesh in recent days, including on Sunday, as our eastern neighbour battles with itself to discover its identity and soul. President Pranab Mukherjee has made Dhaka his first port of call since assuming office over seven months back — to underscore the importance this country accords to Bangladesh — and arrived in its capital on Sunday to a red-carpet welcome. And yet the wisdom of being welcomed during a major domestic upheaval in a host country appears questionable.
Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and external affairs minister Salman Khurshid had preceded Mr Mukherjee in Dhaka to pave the way for the state visit. But it still looks extremely ill-timed. Street violence was reportedly intensifying as the President’s special aircraft landed in the middle of a three-day strike call given by elements opposed to the Hasina Wajed government hosting India’s President.
No one could have known how things would turn out when Mr Mukherjee’s visit was being prepared by both sides. But the opponents of the ruling Awami Party could read it as a strong endorsement of the Hasina government, and resent President Mukherjee’s trip. India, for good reasons, has a strong bond with the Hasina government. But when circumstances do change, and Begum Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party returns to power at a future date, the timing of President Mukherjee’s visit may well be negatively recalled. Begum Khaleda’s decision on Sunday to cancel her planned meeting with Mr Mukherjee on Monday was, therefore, not a good sign.
The street fights, stabbings and killings taking place in Bangladesh over the past week stem from the political division in the country since its war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, which was midwifed by India. The Pakistan Army, with the aid of local collaborators who were chiefly from the Jamaat-e-Islami Party, had killed and raped millions of Bengalis. Forty-two years later, war crimes tribunals have been set up to try 10 individuals. Three of them have already been convicted. When Abdul Qader Mollah was given life imprisonment, thousands of young people favouring a secular and democratic society protested wildly at Dhaka’s Shahbag Square and demanded he be awarded the death sentence. Days later, Jamaat-e-Islami vice-president Delwar Hossain Sayedee was given the death sentence, and this was a signal for the Jamaat to go on a rampage across Bangladesh. Begum Khaleda has backed the Jamaat, her party’s traditional ally.
The current violent turmoil in Bangladesh relates to its past and to recent judicial pronouncements, but also to competition between the idea of a secular public space and Islamist ideologues. India, a friend, should be careful not to be made a target by any quarter.

Courtesy: The Asian Age

Bangladesh riots close in on India's president during visit

Samanth Subramanian and Suryatapa Bhattacharya

A fire fighter sprays water inside the burnt
compartment of a train at Kamlapur Railway
Station in Dhaka on Monday. Andrew Biraj / Reuters

NEW DELHI // A petrol bomb exploded outside the hotel where India's president was staying in Bangladesh yesterday as more protesters died in a wave of violence sparked by the government's prosecution of local Islamist leaders.

There were no reports of injuries in the explosion in Dhaka, which was the latest incident to mar Pranab Mukerjee's state visit that began Sunday. Day one of his trip coincided with the start of a two-day general strike called by political supporters of Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the vice president of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamic party, who was convicted of war crimes on January 21. At least 61 people have been killed in protests that have intensified since Sayedee was sentenced to death last week.

Sayedee supporters yesterday attacked government offices and police responded with bullets and tear gas. At least three people died and dozens more were injured.

Some commentators have raised concerns about the timing for Mr Mukherjee's three-day visit. An editorial in the Indian newspaper Asian Age said yesterday that "the wisdom of being welcomed during a major domestic upheaval in a host country appears questionable".

Mr Mukherjee's visit was planned months in advance and comes in the heels of the visit of India's foreign minister, Salman Khurshid, who was in Dhaka on February 16 and 17.

Ms Zia's aides said she was unable to attend the meeting because of the two-day strike in the country.

The Bangladesh government has prosecuted 10 leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami for their alleged role in the massacres and rapes, abetted by the Pakistan army, in Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. Jamaat-e-Islami is an ally of the opposition Bangladesh National Party, headed by Khaleda Zia, who called for the strike.

Ms Zia was scheduled to meet Mr Mukherjee yesterday, but she called off her appointment in a move that was regarded as a diplomatic snub.

But India's foreign secretary, Ranjan Mathai, said security concerns about the strike changed Ms Zia's schedule. "We had the meeting with Begum Khaleda Zia fixed well in advance," Mr Mathai said in a statement. "The president was, in fact, looking forward to it. Our external affairs minister had met [Ms Zia] on February 17. She had also met the president in India during her visit in November."

Mr Mukherjee's visit was planned months in advance and comes in the heels of the visit of India's foreign minister, Salman Khurshid, who was in Dhaka on February 16 and 17.

The Indian president has steered clear of commenting on the protests, the worst violence in the Bangladesh since independence.

In a speech at Dhaka University yesterday, having accepted an honorary doctorate, Mr Mukherjee only remarked: "I am confident that democratic traditions in Bangladesh will grow stronger with time and that you will preserve democracy with your constant vigil."

Smriti Patnaik, a research fellow and Bangladesh specialist at the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), said that India had to tread a fine line.

If India were to explicitly support Bangladesh's government and the secular forces, she said, it would "delegitimise" what the youth are fighting for.

"They need to figure out themselves about where they will head with this. India has learnt its lesson about keeping out of its neighbours' political affairs."

Mr Mukherjee has stuck to safe notes of optimism on bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh.

He referred to the agreement between the two countries to ratify their common border.

"We are committed to working closely with Bangladesh to avoid any untoward incidents on our border," Mr Mukherjee said. We can together make it a gateway of peace and mutually beneficial cooperation."

The border agreement includes a proposed land swap, in which the two countries would exchange tiny enclaves that have existed as anomalies since official borders merged between India and Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, in 1947. The Indian cabinet has already cleared the land swap, but it still requires a constitutional amendment that must be passed by two-thirds of parliament.

The 51,000 residents of these enclaves have remained effectively stateless, unable to vote in India or Bangladesh, and their welfare neglected by both governments.

India charges that Bangladeshi citizens cross illegally into its territory and has erected barbed-wire fences along the border, which Bangladesh protests.

Farooq Sobhan, a former Bangladeshi ambassador to India, said his country was "strongly in favour" of the pact being ratified as soon as possible.

"The ball really is in India's court," Mr Sobhan said in December. "You have your legislative and constitutional requirements. But over here, there's no protest. No one has raised any issues or objections."

Courtesy: The National

Raj Thackeray softens stand against NCP; slams IPL matches

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray today softened his stand against the NCP and also questioned the rationale of playing IPL cricket matches in the state, when it faces a severe drought.

Raj, who has been engaged in a war of words with NCP leaders, said he did not wish any confrontation and had merely responded to intimidating statements by NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade, "daring" him to visit Pune. He clarified that he would not be visiting Pune as announced earlier.

"I am doing my job. I am criticising them (NCP) politically. I have no programme in Pune. I don't want confrontation (with the NCP)," he said.

Yesterday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had directed his party workers through a communique, not to be at loggerheads with the MNS, when Raj Thackeray visits Pune on March 7.

Raj also reiterated his demand that jobs in Maharashtra should be given to the sons of the soil.

"If jobs are being generated in Maharashtra, then Marathi speakers should be given the first priority," he said.

Citing the terrible drought in the state, Raj also said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches shouldn't be played in Maharashtra.

"Entertainment tax has been relaxed for IPL matches. Since the drought in the state is terrible, we expect that IPL matches shouldn't be played in Maharashtra," Raj told reporters.

In April and May, the situation is likely to worsen further in Maharashtra's drought-affected regions, he said, alluding to this year's 'Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013' season, called 'IPL 6' or 'IPL 2013', which will begin on April 3 and end on May 26.

He pointed out that NCP chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had criticised his party minister in Maharashtra Bhaskar Jadhav after he hosted his son and daughter's wedding in an extravagant style.

"Therefore, is it appropriate to organise IPL matches in a state, when there is severe drought?" he asked.

Courtesy: The Times of India

A sin for 'em to live here?
Hindus in Noakhali, Banskhali look for answer after attack by Jamaat

Having lost everything, Nipu Sheel wails
sitting on the debris of her house that
was set ablaze by Jamaat-Shibir men at
Banshkhali in Chittagong. The religious
fanatics looted and torched houses and
temples of the Hindus in the district
on Thursday,following the death sentence
to Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee.
Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

The Hindu families having survived the onslaught from anti-liberation elements now wonder what protection they have in this country.

As the religious minorities in some remote pockets of Chittagong and Noakhali try to come to terms with Thursday's barbaric attacks on their homesteads and temples, there is no let-up in the assaults at other places including Barisal, Bagerhat and Gazipur.

Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad has demanded the government act immediately to resist communal attacks, arrest the culprits, rehabilitate the victims and rebuild the temples.

Moments after Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee received death sentence for war crimes, his party, in some cases allegedly aided by BNP supporters, struck terror in the hearts of Hindus on Thursday.

Visiting some neighbourhoods ravaged by Jamaat and its student wing Shibir, these correspondents encountered blank looks of the community members.

Passing three days under the open sky, without sleep and proper food, the families in Rajganj under Begumganj upazila of Noakhali do not know what lies ahead.

“It is our sin to live in this country being Hindu; it is our sin not to flee away,” Minoti Rani Das shouted. “We had a happy family. Now I have no shed, no food, no space to cook, no furniture. Now I have only some ashes.”

This is not only Minoti's story. Around seventy six families have been living under inhumane conditions since Thursday afternoon as the bigots ran riot after the pronouncement of Sayedee verdict.

While millions of compatriots across the country were celebrating following the verdict, some families were losing everything in the village.

Almost all the victims and some other villagers alleged that Jamaat-Shibir-BNP men were directly involved in the attacks.

At least 40 houses, six temples and several dozen shops were burnt and vandalised; valuables and furniture were looted. Police came at least one and half hours latter when it was all over.

While launching attacks, around 250 to 300 rioters were saying Sayedee was sentenced to death because of the deposition of Hindu witnesses, locals said. The number of attackers varied from spot to spot.

“Sayedee got death sentence because of you. You cannot stay in this country,” Bablu Bhuiyan, whose two houses were damaged, quoted one attacker as saying.

Gathered since around 10:00am, the fanatics were chanting slogans including Sayedee saheber kicchu hole, jolbe agun ghore ghore (fire will be set to each and every house, if something happens to Sayedee). Many were wearing masks.

Abdul Hashem, a tea-stall owner of Rajganj Bazaar, said almost all the attackers were young and he could identify at least three persons actively involved with Jamaat. Two of them run a pharmacy and a grocery at the bazaar.

Many Hindu families took shelter in nearby houses of Muslims during the attacks, said Benu Ranjan Chowdhury, whose house was burnt.

Some victims alleged that Harunur Rashid, chairman of Rajganj union parishad and general secretary of local BNP unit, played a murky role.

“Had the chairman taken immediate steps, the mayhem wouldn't have occurred in such massive scale,” said Bimol Kanti Acharjee.

However, Rashid refuted the allegations, saying, “The attack was launched by some outsiders and street urchins.”

Mohammad Alauddin, acting ameer of Noakhali district Jamaat, said, “The fans of Sayedee might have resorted to violence. Besides, a feud over land could have triggered the incidents. I've heard there was rivalry among some families.”

He denied Jamaat's complicity.

Mahbubur Rashid, Noakhali superintendent of police, said, “It is clear to us that the anti-liberation force launched the attack. Maximum punishment for perpetrators will be ensured.”

Like Rajganj, Chittagong's Banshkhali also bears marks of vandalism and arson led by Jamaat and Shibir on Thursday.

The attackers hacked to death 60-year-old Dayal Hari, said locals.

Dayal had come to see his daughter at her in-law's. As the armed bigots started the rampage, he hid at the latrine.

But they broke the door, dragged him out and hacked him. The man somehow escaped and jumped in the adjacent pond but the attackers caught him and hacked him again.

Dayal was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where physicians declared him dead.

Sunil, another Banshkhali resident, said some one thousand attackers stormed the houses. They carried machete, sticks and other sharp weapons and used gunpowder to burn eight houses.

At least 70 people are now homeless.

Nipu Sheel did not understand why her house and cowshed were burnt to ashes on Thursday.

“They beat us and set our houses ablaze,” she said. ”We didn't understand what's was wrong. They looted our belongings. The cattle were burnt to death. We were lucky enough to have our kids saved.”

Rani Dash is one of many injured in the assaults; she suffered right arm fractures.

Sheikh Fakhruddin Chowdhury, mayor of Banshkhali Municipality, local BNP-Jamaat leaders instigated the mayhem.

In Bagerhat, some criminals set fire to Dumuria Sarbojanin Puja Mandir in Ramchandrapur union in Morelganj upazila around 1:00am yesterday.

The house of Narayan Chandra Bashu Chowdhury, president of Banagram union AL, was set afire around the same time, police said. Another house of a Hindu family was torched in Baharbula village.

Local administration imposed the section 144 banning all sorts of gathering and agitation at Failahat Bazar from 9:00am to 6:00pm yesterday as both local AL and Jamaat called programme at the spot around 2:00pm.

Unidentified people damaged eight idols of Sarbojanin Durga Mandir at Gaurnadi upazila in Barisal and idol of Saraswati at a temple near Kashimpur Bazar in Gazipur yesterday.

In Gaibandha, police arrested three Shibir activists yesterday in connection with anarchy over the last two days at Sundarganj upazila.

The Jamaat-Shibir rioters in Thursday and Friday destroyed 19 shops, six houses and two temples at Belka, Dhupni and Bangsher bazaar of the district.

The administration has deployed two platoons of BGB and one platoon reserve force of police and imposed the section 144 to avert any untoward incident.

~~Pankaj Karmakar and Nurul Amin from Noakhali and Arun Bikash Dey, from Banshkhali

Courtesy: The Daily Star

Deadly Ideology: Passed off as Religion..??!!

A new video shows what is being preached in the name of Islam. If these kinds of deadly philosophies are passed off as religion, then I fear to think, what will happen to the world in future. I therefore, urge upon, the sane persons of all the communities, to ponder over, this matter very seriously and find out a solution, so that a head-on-clash, between Muslims and Non--Muslims can be avoided. Also, let us find ways to bring an end to this deadly ideology, which is being perpetrated in the name of "Allah".

NCP raped Maharashtra for 14 years: Raj Thackeray
MNS chief Raj Thackeray renewed his scathing attack on Sharad Pawar-led NCP and accused the party of 'raping' Maharashtra for the last 14 years.

Photo, Courtesy: The Financial Express

 Renewing his attack on the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray Saturday accused the Sharad Pawar-led party of "raping" Maharashtra for the past 14 years.

"The NCP is holding all the crucial departments, home, irrigation, power and roads since 14 years. But what have they done so far? The NCP has raped the state," Thackeray said at a public rally in Jalna, 452 km to the east of Mumbai, in the parched Marathwada region.

Referring to the drought which has afflicted several parts of the state, Thackeray squarely blamed the NCP and the party's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for the current scenario.

"The drought has hit 72 percent of the state. With another three months of summer to go the situation can well be imagined. In all these years, as many as 336 irrigation projects have been left incomplete and they need Rs 12,000 crore to complete. But, what are they doing?" he asked.

He alleged that if the projects are completed, then money will stop coming from the contractors.

Thackeray said that at least four big contractors became affluent overnight and demanded a probe into their assets.

When the state is confronted with such a severe drought, there is no need to hold the IPL matches in Maharashtra, he said.

Naming certain NCP and Bharatiya Janata Party legislators and parliamentarians, Thackeray accused them of being hand-in-glove in looting the state. "Why are the BJP-Shiv Sena silent in the face of such a serious drought reeling across the state?"

Pointing out that he was accused by the NCP of using abusive language, but the suffering people of the state are abusing it (NCP) even more. "I shall not be polite towards those who have been doing otherwise (looting) the state," he declared.

Shifting to election gear, Thackeray said that now the Congress-NCP has just one and half years left. "After my government comes to power, then where will Ajit Pawar go? Let them slap any number of cases against MNS activists. After we come to power, we shall withdraw all of them (cases)," he assured.

This was Thackeray's first and keenly watched public rally after his Aurangabad rally last Tuesday when his convoy was attacked allegedly by NCP workers. Its direct fallout was MNS' retaliatory attacks on NCP offices in over a dozen parts of the state including Mumbai.

Thackeray had promised to "give a fitting reply" to the NCP at Saturday's rally and said he would now visit Pune - the Pawar family bastion March 7, followed by a tour of Vidarbha starting March 16.

Meanwhile, NCP state spokesperson Nawab Malik claimed that last week, the MNS had bought a used car for Rs 35,000 and then burnt it, according to police investigations.

"Same type stunt of stone-throwing on its leader's car by the (MNS) party workers and then blame NCP with the motive of attracting media and public attention. This is the real face of MNS," Malik said in a statement.

Courtesy: Mid-Day

Indians swear by arranged marriages

Despite the growth of social networking sites and online matrimonial sites, a majority of Indians still swear by the traditional arranged marriage, a new survey has revealed.

Around 75 percent of Indians, including 82 percent women and 68 percent, are conservative and prefer arranged marriages, according to The Taj Wedding Barometer, a survey conducted by the Taj Group of Hotels, Mumbai, which was released here Saturday.

While women prefer their parents' and family members' decisions in deciding their future life-partner, men tend to take an independent decision about their future spouse.

Compared to the national average of 74 percent, nearly 82 percent of young people in north India prefer arranged marriages.

The survey, conducted by IPSOS, in which 1,000 young people aged between 18-35 in 10 cities were interviewed, also found that both men and women prefer the first marriage proposal in private.

While 33 percent of Indians in western India preferred a straight-forward proposal without frills, 21 percent from the south (both male-female) wanted women to initiate the proposal, against the national average of 10 percent who felt men should take the first step.

However, 13 percent of all men wanted women to initiate the proposal compared to only eight percent of women who expressed the same view.

After the proposal, the engagement ceremony was the top favourite of all pre-wedding functions  followed by the "sangeet" ceremony at 81 percent and other religious functions trailing at 71 percent.

Indians have adopted western styles like bachelor parties and cocktail parties, for which the preferred venues (for bachelor parties) were 34 percent at a resort, 30 percent at a deluxe hotel and 13 percent opting for farmhouses.

Women considered bridal grooming very important, with 47 percent choosing it as an integral part for the pre-nuptial preparations.

Facials topped the grooming package at 46 percent, followed by spas and beauty treatments at 23 percent. As many as 50 percent from the south gave more importance to facials compared to 46 percent in the north and 31 percent in the west.

As for the three most important aspects of a wedding, the respondents put 73 percent (77 percent of the women and 69 percent men) for the wedding attire, 65 percent for the wedding day and the wedding feast coming at 48 percent.

South Indian and Chinese cuisine ranked the most preferred for weddings at 56 percent, and the rest preferring north Indian cuisine. A majority said they would serve five-15 dishes to their wedding invitees.

On the number of guests, 500 was the magic figure, with the ideal guest list between 50-500, though men from south India preferred 1,000 guests. On the other hand, women from the north and west preferred a smaller wedding guest list between 100-250.

Post-wedding, 80 percent respondents preferred honeymoons at conventional romantic destinations within a week of the marriage.

Goa ranked first in the list, followed by Ooty and Srinagar (Kashmir) on the domestic honeymoon circuit.

On the international front, while 46 percent of men preferred European destinations for a honeymoon, 36 percent women selected the US, though 25 percent of all women preferred buying a wedding-cum-honeymoon package from a five-star or seven-star hotel.

The Taj Group's senior vice president, sales and marketing Deepa Misra-Harris said that weddings at the hotel have always been iconic and "most enduring', having a special place in the hearts of the guests since a century.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences' associate professor and Centre for Human Ecology chairperson Sujata Sriram said: "Today, marriage is increasingly driven by a desire for companionship and emotional support. Grooming is also catching on in India, as men are becoming increasingly metrosexual."

She added: "There is a higher willingness to spend on looking good and this is evident with the rise of male aesthetics in India which can also be seen across film, literature and entertainment."

The survey covered Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai, Kanpur and Ludhiana in malls/markets frequented by people for wedding preparations.

Courtesy: Deccan Herald

Four killed in fresh Bangladeshi riots

A vehicle set on fire by the  "Islamist Activists"
in Rajshahi, northwest from Dhaka
Photo, Courtesy: CNN.com

At least four people were killed on the fourth day of rioting in Bangladesh on Sunday after an Islamist opposition leader was sentenced to death for war crimes, police said.

Soldiers were deployed after protesters torched police posts, a railway station and other government facilities in the northern district of Bogra during a strike called by the opposition.

Protesters and police exchanged gunfire that left four people dead in the region 230 kilometres north-west of Dhaka, police officer Abdul Waris said.

He said thousands of activists of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party attacked public property and offices of the ruling Awami League.

The rioting began after Jamaat-e-Islami vice-president Delwar Hossain Sayedee was convicted on Thursday of murder, looting, arson, rape during the country’s 1971 independence war.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on “all political actors in the country to exercise maximum restraint, use their influence to put an end to these violent incidents, and do all in their power to avoid exacerbating the divisions in society, which have been brought to a head by recent events.”

Keywords: Bangladesh riots, Jamaat-e-Islami, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, 1971 Bangladesh war, war crimes.

Courtesy: Deccan Herald

ঢাকায় হাঙ্গামা বিএনপি-র, মোকাবিলায় কড়া সরকার

নিজস্ব সংবাদদাতা • ঢাকা (আন্নদবাজোর প্ত্রিকা)

মৌলবাদী জামাতে ইসলামির পাশে খালেদা জিয়ার বিএনপি দাঁড়িয়ে যাওয়ার ফল কী হতে পারে, আজ ঢাকার রাজপথ তার প্রমাণ দিল। বিএনপি-র মিছিল থেকে মৌলবাদীদের মতো একই রকম ভাঙচুর, হাঙ্গামা দেখল আজ ঢাকা। বেশ কয়েক জন পুলিশ আহত হয়েছেন। পুড়েছে গাড়ি, ভেঙেছে কিছু অফিসবাড়ির কাচ। এর বাইরে বাংলাদেশে অশান্তির আঁচ গত দু’দিনের চেয়ে কিছুটা কমই। তারই মধ্যে ভারতের রাষ্ট্রপতি প্রণব মুখোপাধ্যায়ের সফর নিয়ে এখন উদগ্রীব সরকার। হাঙ্গামা-হরতালের ডাকের মধ্যেও প্রণববাবু সফরে অনড় থাকায় রাষ্ট্রপতি জিল্লুর রহমান ও প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনার মুখে যে হাসি ফুটেছে, সরকারি সূত্রে তা জানা গিয়েছে। বাংলাদেশের তথ্যমন্ত্রী হাসানুল হক ইনু আনন্দবাজারকে জানিয়েছেন, সরকার দেশের ৬৪টি জেলার সব ক’টির প্রশাসনের সঙ্গে যোগাযোগ রেখে কড়া হাতে আইনশৃঙ্খলা মোকাবিলা করছে। আপাতত ১৫টি জেলায় মৌলবাদীরা বিচ্ছিন্ন কিছু চোরাগোপ্তা হামলা চালাচ্ছে।

হিংসাদগ্ধ

অশান্ত ঢাকায় পুলিশের টহল। পাশে জ্বলছে পুলিশেরই জিপ। শনিবার বেশ কিছু গাড়ি পুড়িয়েছে বিএনপি ও জামাতের সমর্থকরা। ঘটিয়েছে বিস্ফোরণও। ছবি: এএফপি

দেশের আড়াই হাজার মসজিদের ইমামদের সঙ্গে সরকার আলোচনায় বসেছিল। তার পরেই পরিস্থিতি অনেকটা নিয়ন্ত্রণে এসেছে। ইনু বলেন, ঢাকায় খালেদা জিয়ার কর্মিসভার পরেই উত্তেজনা ছড়ায়। কিন্তু সেটাও মুষ্টিমেয় এলাকায়। তাঁর কথায়, পরিস্থিতির সুযোগ নিতেই বিরোধী নেত্রী নেতৃহীন জামাতের ‘আমিরের’ ভূমিকা নিয়েছেন। খালেদা এ দিন সভায় অভিযোগ করেন, সরকার ইসলাম ও স্বাধীনতাকে মুখোমুখি সংঘাতে নামিয়ে দেশকে বিস্ফোরক করে তুলেছে। সরকারের পক্ষে তথ্যমন্ত্রী ইনু বলেন, একাত্তরেও জামাত ঠিক একই যুক্তি তুলে স্বাধীনতার বিরোধিতা করেছিল। ইসলাম কেন, কোনও ধর্মই খুন, ধর্ষণকে স্বীকার করে না। হাঙ্গামাকেও গুনাহ্ বলা হয়েছে। বরং দুষ্কমের্র বিরোধিতার কথাই বলছে ইসলাম। সে হিসেবে রাজাকারদের বিচার কোনও ভাবেই ধর্মবিরোধী হতে পারে না। মানুষও তা বুঝছেন। সেই কারণেই খালেদার কৌশল সফল হবে না। রবিবার থেকে মঙ্গলবার, বিএনপি-জামাত জোটের ডাকা হরতাল উপেক্ষা করার ডাক দিয়েছেন শাহবাগের আন্দোলনকারীরা। তথ্যমন্ত্রী জানান, সরকারও এই হরতালে জনজীবন একেবারে স্বাভাবিক রাখতে সব রকম বন্দোবস্ত করছে। মানুষ আরও একবার প্রমাণ করবেন, তাঁরা হরতাল চান না। তিনি জানান, ভারতের রাষ্ট্রপতিকে স্বাগত জানাতে বাংলাদেশের সরকার ও মানুষ তৈরি। প্রণববাবু এই সফরে অনড় থাকায় সরকারও বাড়তি আত্মবিশ্বাস পেয়েছে। তথ্যমন্ত্রী জানান, দু’চারটি এলাকায় সংখ্যালঘু হিন্দুদের উপরেও জামাত চোরাগোপ্তা হামলা চালিয়েছে। কিন্তু সরকার কড়া হাতে তার মোকাবিলার নির্দেশ দেওয়ার পরে এই প্রবণতা কমেছে।

Teesta Setalvad Unmasked
~~By Sandhya Jain

Teesta Setalvad, a Mumbai-based journalist, who, like former IAS officer Harsh Mander, shot to national and international fame due to high profile activism over the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in March 2002, has been unmasked in a most unseemly manner. Over the past decade, Setalvad survived controversies with former protégé Zahira Sheikh and employee Rais Khan Pathan, besides a Gujarat Government investigation into illegal exhumation of graves, thanks to unstinted backing from the media, the Supreme Court, the Congress and the UPA Government.

But now she has fallen foul of the residents of Gulbarg Society whose cause she vociferously espoused. Setalvad has been publicly accused of the same crime that Best Bakery survivor Zahira Sheikh once accused her of — collecting money in the name of the riot victims and failing (or refusing) to distribute (or even share) it. She overcame the dispute with Zahira by demonising the young girl, but now residents of Gulbarg Society have sent her a notice demanding that she distribute the funds she collected among the riot victims. Relations have soured to the point that Setalvad failed to attend the memorial service for victims this year.

The residents (all Muslims) are demanding that the money “collected over the dead bodies of those who died in this society” must be divided among the riot victims as it “has been taken in our name”. Claiming that the residents were unaware that a trust had been formed for making the collections, they said that what the human rights activist had done “amounts to cheating”.

The dispute goes back to 2006 when Setalvad proposed to purchase the 5,200-square-metre Gulbarg Society land from the residents to set up a museum. The deal failed to materialise, but Setalvad’s Trust collected donations, which the residents say must be distributed among riot victims.

This is not Teflon Teesta’s first brush with controversy. Former aide Rais Khan Pathan accused her of tampering with witness affidavits when at least six women of Naroda Gam denied before the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team in 2008 that they were raped during the riots. The witnesses said they did not know this was being said in the affidavits as the documents were in English, a language they were not familiar with.

More recently, in January 2013, Rais Khan accused Setalvad’s NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace, of violating the provisions of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act regarding receipts of funds from abroad. He demanded cancellation of CJP’s FCRA registration and initiation of criminal proceedings against its trustees.

Pathan averred that CJP’s FCRA permission was under the economic and education categories, but the NGO had no such activities. Infact, CJP, as per its constitution is a non-political, registered social organisation established to promote communal harmony, make legal interventions to prosecute those guilty of killing innocent citizens and assist others petitioning before the courts for redressal of grievances.

Setalvad’s worst victim by far is young Zahira Sheikh who, like Rehmatnagar tailor Qutbuddin Ansari, was projected as the female face of the Gujarat riots, and exploited to the hilt to demonise Chief Minister Narendra Modi, while building the profiles and careers to his tormentors.

Now, as voices against Setalvad’s functioning get louder, it may be in order to mention some facts. Zahira Sheikh lost several family members in the attack on the Best Bakery, owned by them. Zahira’s testimony in the Vadodara fast-track court in June 2003 led to the acquittal of 21 accused persons. But in July 2003, she was airlifted to Mumbai where she was warmly received by Javed Akhtar; here she claimed she had testified out of fear.

Setalvad then whipped up great frenzy, drawing the National Human Rights Commission into the fray. The NHRC asked the Supreme Court to transfer the riot cases out of Gujarat. The Supreme Court duly obliged by sending the Zahira Sheikh and Bilkis Bano cases to Mumbai and directing the Gujarat Government to re-examine all other cases.

Then, in 2005, Zahira Sheikh accused Teesta Setalvad of physically controlling her from July 6, 2003 to November 3, 2004 and tutoring her to give a certain type of testimony in court. She said the affidavit submitted to the NHRC in the name of Zahira Sheikh by Setalvad (600-odd pages of documentation) was unsigned! They were, Zahira sneered, mere pamphlets.

In other words, the NHRC and the Supreme Court had acted without scrutinizing the documents – that is, without legal basis. Unfortunately, Zahira was denied the right to cross-examine the then NHRC chairperson AS Anand when she said that an oral testimony given to the chairman and two members of the Commission differed from the record NHRC presented to the Supreme Court. This was a serious allegation, but it was brushed aside by the Apex Court which continued to give a free run to Setalvad.

Zahira Sheikh was the first to demand a probe into Teesta Setalvad’s post-Gujarat assets. Instead, the Apex Court appointed a probe committee headed by Registrar General BM Gupta and punished the feisty victim for perjury, startling even senior jurists. The Court also ignored reports beginning to emerge in the media about witnesses claiming to have received money for giving testimony in the post-Godhra trial cases.

As if this were not enough, in December 2005 Teesta Setalvad illegally exhumed bodies of Gujarat riot victims from graves near Pandarwada. When the State Government initiated action against her on grounds of fabricating false evidence, tampering with evidence, criminal conspiracy and outraging religious feelings, the apex court stayed criminal proceedings against her and called it a mala fide case and a “spurious” case to victimise Setalvad.

Teesta Setalvad has been richly rewarded for her activism with a plethora of national and international awards, including the Nuremberg Human Rights Award 2003, Parliamentarians for Global Action ‘Defender of Democracy’ Award, jointly with Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand 2004; M.A. Thomas National Human Rights Award from the Vigil India Movement 2004, Nani A Palkhivala Award 2006, and Padma Shri 2007.

But now her aura of greatness is beginning to falter. With her, the National Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court cannot evade public scrutiny of their actions and attitudes in the Gujarat riots cases. The young orphan, Zahira Sheikh, was made to suffer terrible victimization, and has since vanished into oblivion; she deserves a public apology and decent compensation.

It is also imperative that the accounts of Setalvad, and indeed all NGOs associated with the Gujarat riots, are audited to see how much money they collected and what relief was actually distributed to the victims.

Courtesy: NITI CENTRAL

Bangladesh death toll rises to 47, clashes continue

Bangladeshi Hindus wave black flags

Bangladeshi Hindus protest against
Jamaat-e-Islami activists in Dhaka
on Saturday.

At least three people were killed in clashes between Jamaat-e-Islami activists and Awami League activists & the police in Bangladesh, as the death toll from the deadly riots rose to 47 since Thursday, a Daily Star report said.

At least three people were killed and hundreds were injured in attacks on law enforcement officials and ruling party men on Friday by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, the report said.

On Saturday, a man was killed and 10 others were injured in a gunfight between Jamaat activists and police in Satkania upazila of Chittagong. Jamaat activists also vandalised two hospitals, four vehicles and a petrol pump in Comilla town, the report said.

According to witnesses at the scene, men belonging to Jamaat, and its student wing, Shibir, started throwing brick chips and vandalised two local hospitals, four vehicles and a petrol pump early on Saturday.

Jamaat-Shibir have wreaked havoc in the country since Thursday when a war crimes tribunal sentenced Jamaat vice president to death for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War, according to the report.

Early on Saturday, unidentified miscreants set fire to a Hindu temple and houses of two Hindu Awami League men in different parts of Morelganj upazila in Bagerhat, the report said.

Sources say the temple was set fire by members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, an ally of the Jamaat.

On Friday night, detectives arrested five students of North South University (NSU) for their alleged involvement in the killing of Shahbag blogger Ahmed Rajib Haidar, who was found stabbed in Dhaka’s Mirpur area on February 15, a report said.

Haidar, a Shahbagh movement activist, was found stabbed dead near his residence in the city’s Mirpur area on February 15.

Also on Friday, Jamaat-Shibir activists blocked highways, threw brick chips at police, vandalised vehicles and roadside shops, and removed railway sleepers disrupting rail commutation, according to the report.

Courtesy: NITI CENTRAL

Temple, houses of Hindu AL men torched in Bagerhat

Miscreants torched a kitchen of the house of Hindu Awami League leader in Morelganj upazila of Bagerhat early Saturday. Photo: STAR

Unidentified miscreants set fire to a temple and houses of two Hindu Awami League men in Bagerhat and ransacked a temple in Gazipur on Saturday.

BAGERHAT:
A temple and houses of two Hindu AL men were set ablaze in Morelganj upazila early Saturday.

The temple was situated at Ramchandrapur union of the upazila while the houses at Banagram union and Baharbula village of the same union, reports our Bagerhat correspondent.

Miscreants set fire to Dumuria Sarbojanin Puja Mandir in Ramchandrapur union at any time from 12:00am to 1:00am, said Aslam Hossain, officer-in-charge of Morelganj Police Station.

The dress of goddess Durga gutted before the locals managed to douse the fire, the OC added.

Meanwhile, some criminals also set fire to the house of Narayanchandra Bashu Chowdhury, president of Banagram union AL unit around the same time, the OC said.

A store room and kitchen of the AL leader was gutted in the fire.

Hearing the hue and scream of Bashu's family members, locals rushed to the spot and managed to quench the fire.

Bashu claimed that local BNP men might have set the fire for achieving political gain.

Another house of a Hindu community people was torched around the same time at Baharbula village in the same union, the police official said.

Taposh Sen, whose house was gutted, is an AL activist, said Bashu.

Meanwhile, MD Jahor Ali, Morelganj upazila nirbahi officer, and Pankaj Chand Roy, additional superintendent of police in Bagerhat, visited the spot.

On the other hand, Khandaker Rafiqul Islam, superintendent of police in Bagerhat, termed the incidents 'mysterious'.

They are now investigation the incidents, the SP added.

GAZIPUR:
Unidentified people vandalised the idol of Saraswati in Kashimpur Namabazar area early Saturday.

Saiful Islam, a sub-inspector of an outpost under Joydevpur Police Station, confirmed the incident to The Daily Star.

Courtesy: Daily Star

STOP EXECUTIONS

No one has the right to take another life!

Revenge is not justice  

~~Mani Shankar Aiyar

I had just boarded a flight when someone from a television channel called me on the mobile to ask for my reaction to the hanging of Afzal Guru. I did not know till then that he had been strung up to die. I instinctively replied that I felt saddened. It is a comment that is likely to haunt me, for many well-wishers have asked me why I did not hold my tongue or tailor my remark to the popular mood, for it seems that there is national rejoicing at the hubris that has overtaken those who sought to end our democracy in one fell blow on Parliament.

It may have been an instinctive reaction but it reflected my deeply held abhorrence of the death penalty. I had certainly articulated the same position when Nalini was spared the death sentence for her part in the assassination of my friend and patron, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. I had felt relief then that we were not taking a life to punish the taking of a life, even the taking of the life that was the staff of my life; my belief is that all life is infinitely precious, howsoever misused; that to imitate assassination by assassination is to become complicit in assassination.

I had felt the same when I heard of Ajmal Kasab’s hanging, with this one difference — it can be said that Kasab had sought martyrdom when he embarked for Mumbai, and the Indian state was helping him realise his most ardent desire. On the other hand, Afzal Guru sounded resigned to his fate, rather than welcoming it.

Revenge is not justice. For revenge often engenders counter-revenge. That is why so many terrorists are born in the crucible of the injustice they see themselves being subjected to, or believe they have been subjected to — whatever the facts of the case. So, putting them away — for all of their natural life in high security prisons in the “rarest of rare” cases — is a reasoned response to terrorism. But leaving them dangling in the air is almost certain to be fertile breeding ground for more terrorism.

As for the hanging of ordinary murderers — as distinct from ideological murderers — the record seems to show that the death sentence is hardly ever a deterrent. That is why a vast majority of countries, some 139 of the member-states of the United Nations, have abolished the death sentence. They have discovered that murderers, whether ideological, like terrorists, or personal, like killers, tend to be either schizophrenic or psychotic or both, neither being a category that yields to the common fear of retribution, especially final retribution. Even in cogent moments, the psychopath is likely to regard the risk of death in inflicting death as a risk worth taking. Perhaps that explains why, in the United States, where it is state law rather than federal law that prevails, those states that have retained execution tend to have higher murder rates while states that have abolished execution have lower murder rates.

The nexus between awarding the death penalty and deterring crime was discredited centuries ago with the saying that one might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. The origins of that expression lie in 17th-18th century England, where almost every crime was punishable by public hanging — and so the highwayman consoled himself with the profitable thought that if one were going to be hanged anyway for stealing a lamb, one might as well steal the whole sheep. The relationship between death and deterrence has never been established. This explains why our Supreme Court has long held that death may be awarded in only the “rarest of rare” cases.

Except, of course, in Afzal Guru’s case. There, the Supreme Court confirmed that the only evidence against Afzal Guru was “circumstantial”, that is, uncorroborated by other evidence that would link him to the heinous crime. Yet, decided the learned judges, death would be the appropriate condign punishment to salve the “collective conscience of the nation”. Certainly, this was the rarest of rare judgments. Challenging the collective conscience of the nation is an everyday occurrence in a vibrant democracy. It is perhaps the highest duty of the public intellectual. There would have been little human progress without radical challenges to the received wisdom that constitutes the collective conscience of any nation.

But I felt saddened at Afzal Guru’s hanging, not primarily because it might constitute a grave miscarriage of justice but because I am perforce part of a system that considers the taking of human life as “justice”. I am diminished as a human being. For, as John Donne sang centuries ago, “Ask not for whom the bell tolls/ It tolls for thee”.

Note:The writer is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha, express@expressindia.com

Courtesy: The Indian Express

BAER, FREDERICK MICHAEL ON DEATH ROW SINCE 06-09-05 DOB: 10-19-71 DOC#: 910135 White Male Madison County Superior Court #1 Judge Fredrick Spencer

Prosecutor: Rodney J. Cummings, David L. Puckett

Defense: Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Bryan R. Williams

Date of Murder: February 25, 2004

Victim(s): Cory Clark W/F/26; Jenna Clark W/F/4 (No relationship to Baer)

Method of Murder: slashing throat with knife

Murderers Also Repent For Their Acts

Summary: On the afternoon of February 25, 2004, Cory Clark and her 4-year-old daughter were alone in their home near Lapel. Her 7-year-old daughter was at school and her husband was outside the state. Baer entered the residence and used a knife to slit the throat of Cory Clark, then chased down 4-year-old Jenna and slit her throat as well. Baer had attempted to rape Cory before her death. Baer had been working at a nearby construction site that day, left work, committed the murders, then returned to the job. The apparent motive was to feed a drug habit and a deviate sexual appetite. Baer also faces Rape and Burglary charges in Marion and Hamilton Counties.

Trial: Information/PC for Murder Filed (03-03-04); Amended Information and Death Sentence Request Filed (04-07-04); Recusal of Presiding Judge (12-16-04); Change of Venue Granted (01-31-05); Motion to Plead Guilty But Mentally Ill (02-28-05); Plea Rejected (03-01-05); Motion to Sever Unrelated Offenses Granted (04-04-05); Voir Dire in Huntington County (04-26-05, 04-27-05, 04-28-05); Amended Information Filed (05-02-05, 05-12-05); Jury Trial in Madison County (05-03-05, 05-04-05, 05-05-05, 05-10-05, 05-11-05, 05-12-05); Verdict (05-12-05); Amended Information Filed (05-17-05); DP Trial (05-19-05, 05-20-05); Verdict (05-20-05); Court Sentencing (06-09-05).

Conviction: Murder, Murder, Robbery (Class A Felony), Attempted Rape (Class A Felony); Theft (Class D Felony).

Sentencing: June 09, 2005

Aggravating Circumstances:
b(1) Robbery, b(1) Attempted Rape, b(8) Two Murders, b(9) On Parole, b(12) Victim Less Than 12

Mitigating Circumstances:
Mental Illness, Paranoid Personality Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Severe Drug Dependency, Difficult Childhood, Toxic Parenting, Bad Report Cards, Impulsive, Mother had Chenotherapy, Sister Got Killed. 

Courtesy: Clarkprosecutor.org

Former Florida Warden Haunted by Botched Execution

~~By Ron McAndrew

During my tenure as Warden at Florida State Prison it was my duty to oversee the executions of three men: John Earl Bush, John Mills Jr. and Pedro Medina. Remembering every gruesome detail of their deaths is haunting.

The flames that consumed Pedro Medina's head when the execution went seriously awry, the smoke, the putrid odor, and his death by inferno is deeply embedded in my brain.The memory of telling the executioner to continue with the killing, despite the malfunctioning electric chair, and being at a point of no-return, plagues me still.

When I became warden I learned that it was tradition for the "death team" to go out for breakfast the morning after an execution. On the early morning after John Bush's execution the 'traditional breakfast' was held 15 miles south of the death chamber at a Shoney's in Starke, Florida. This was my first execution and I felt that tradition was important and moreover, the well being of the 'team' was my responsibility. In this small town of 5000 most everyone works at the prison, is retired from the prison or has a family member in the business. Everyone in the restaurant knew who we were and what we had just done...there were even a few 'high five signs.' While stirring my scrabbled eggs into hot grits, I began to realize the full import of the spectacle around us. Looking across the room, I could see the female attorney who had represented Bush. I saw my own sickness on her sad face and decided that breakfast after executions just didn't fit. It was my first and my last traditional death breakfast. It simply appeared celebratory from too many angles.

STOP EXECUTIONS

Minutes before an execution it's the warden's responsibility to sit with the prisoner and read the death warrant aloud after explaining that it is a state law requirement. I asked the condemned men if there was anything that could be done for them or if there was anyone I could call or if they had something very personal and confidential they'd like me to pass on...following of course, their imminent death. While I shall never share any of the words passed to me during those quiet moments it can be said that the whispers were sincere and promises were kept.

Searching my soul for answers that would satisfy the question on just why were we killing people and why our governor and politicians would do their 'chest pounding' over these ghastly spectacles was difficult. I began to remember myself as the person who went to Florida State Prison with a firm belief in the death penalty. And even though I still professed this belief, the questions of why we were doing this and if it were necessary, would not leave my mind. While appalled by the physical act of tying a person to a chair and burning him to death, I did not deny the reasons for the act.

Here I want to say that one must be careful in searching his soul…one may just find that God is there and that He does not support the barbaric idea that man should execute man.

During the renewal of my faith and my conversion to the Catholic Church, I was asked to speak out about my feelings on the death penalty.

After twenty-three years in Corrections, I have come to the conclusion that killing people is wrong. We have no business doing it, except in self-defense, in defense of someone else or in defense of the nation. And it's wrong for us to ask others do it for us. Looking back I wish I had never been involved in carrying out the death penalty. We have an alternative that doesn't lower us to the level of the killer: permanent imprisonment. It is cheaper, keeps society safe and offers swift justice to the victims.

I have found that my experience and notoriety as a warden who carried out executions provides a good platform to reach the public. I say to the many groups I've spoken to in the past few years that I'll 'tell my story to anyone who'll stand in front of me long enough to hear it.'

Note: Ron McAndrew is a 22-year veteran with the Florida Department of Corrections. He also served as Director of the Orange County Jail in Florida for one year. For the last three years he has worked as a prison and jail consultant, and as an expert witness He is a member of Saint John the Baptist Catholic Community in Dunnellon, Florida. To learn more about McAndrew's journey, visit: www.RonMcAndrew.com.

Courtesy: Death Penalty Focus