Rape accused granted bail by Madras High Court to 'mediate' with victim - Seriously!

This is one of the most ridiculous judgement - I have read! In what cuckoo land is the judge living??

Picked this from  CNN-IBN - I don't know how authentic the news is - need to read about before I conclude that the news is true... 

In an unusual development, the Madras High Court has granted bail to a rape accused so that he could participate in a mediation process with the victim in the case.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the victim was a minor when the incident happened, and has now lost her parents. The victim also gave birth to a child after the rape.

The decision by the Madras High Court to release the accused on bail came after the alleged culprit filed an appeal and a bail petition.

The judge who granted bail to the accused claimed that he had referred a similar case for mediation and the result of it was...

Now to an unusual judgment in a rape case "happy conclusion" as the accused had agreed to marry the victim.

Hot Pursuit - Nation-State

This is one of the best articles I have read on the topic 'Hot Pursuit.'



We seem to be loosing our ability to think rationally - in the face of growing redefintion of India as a nation-state of homogenous identity.



M. K. Narayanan on India’s current foreign policy on its neighbours - The Hindu 

Ghettoisation!

Its about saftey in numbers! Its also about easily finding the other!

Uprooted from Mumbai after the 1992-93 riots, thousands of Muslim families found safety in Mumbra on the city’s outskirts. Visiting it over a few days, Basharat Peer discovered islands of progress amid large seas of neglect in the township that nine lakh people call home.

In India’s largest Muslim ghetto - The Hindu 

Police have filed an FIR against a Councillor. The councillor locked a Muslim family out of
their own house and continues to be defiant about not letting them stay in the locality.

Evicting a Muslim family out of a Hindu-dominated area

International Yoga Day!

Did you know that the UN observes the following

• 27 January - International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
• 4 February - World Cancer Day
• 6 February - International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation 
• 13 February - World Radio Day 
• 20 February - World Day of Social Justice  
• 21 February - International Mother Language Day  
• 1 March - Zero Discrimination Day 
• 3 March - World Wildlife Day 
• 8 March - International Women's Day
• 20 March- International Day of Happiness 
• 21 March - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 
• 21 March - World Poetry Day 
• 21 March - International Day of Nowruz 
• 21 March - World Down Syndrome Day  
• 21 March - International Day of Forests 
• 22 March - World Water Day  
• 23 March - World Meteorological Day 
• 24 March - World Tuberculosis Day  
• 24 March - International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims 
• 25 March - International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade  
• 25 March - International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members
• 2 April - World Autism Awareness Day 
• 4 April - International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 
• 6 April - International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
• 7 April - International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda
• 7 April - World Health Day 
• 12 April - International Day of Human Space Flight
• 22 April - International Mother Earth Day
• 23 April - World Book and Copyright Day  
• 23 April - English Language Day 
• 24 - 30 April - World Immunization Week [WHO]
• 25 April - World Malaria Day
• 26 April - World Intellectual Property Day
• 28 April - World Day for Safety and Health at Work
• 29 April - Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare
• 30 April - International Jazz Day
• 3 May - World Press Freedom Day
• 8-9 May - Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War  
• 9-10 May - World Migratory Bird Day 
• 15 May - International Day of Families 
• 17 May - World Telecommunication and Information Society Day  
• 21 May - World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
• 22 May - International Day for Biological Diversity
• 23 May - International Day to End Obstetric Fistula 
• 29 May - International Day of UN Peacekeepers
• 31 May -World No-Tobacco Day
• 1 June - Global Day of Parents 
• 1 June - "Vesak", the Day of the Full Moon
• 4 June - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 
• 5 June - World Environment Day  
• 6 June - Russian Language Day at the UN 
• 8 June -World Oceans Day 
• 12 June - World Day Against Child Labour
• 13 June - International Albinism Awareness Day 
• 14 June - World Blood Donor Day 
• 15 June - World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 
• 17 June - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 
• 20 June - World Refugee Day  
• 21 June - International Day of Yoga 
• 23 June- United Nations Public Service Day 
• 23 June - International Widows' Day 
• 25 June - Day of the Seafarer  
• 26 June - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
• 26 June - United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture 
• 4 July (first Saturday in July) - International Day of Cooperatives
• 11 July - World Population Day  
• 15 July - World Youth Skills Day  
• 18 July - Nelson Mandela International Day 
• 28 July - World Hepatitis Day 
• 30 July - International Day of Friendship 
• 30 July - World Day against Trafficking in Persons 
• 9 August - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
• 12 August - International Youth Day
• 19 August - World Humanitarian Day 
• 23 August - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition  [UNESCO]  
• 29 August - International Day against Nuclear Tests
• 30 August - International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 
• 5 September - International Day of Charity  
• 8 September - International Literacy Day 
• 12 September - United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 
• 15 September - International Day of Democracy
• 16 September - International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer 
• 21 September - International Day of Peace 
• 25 September (last week of September) - World Maritime Day 
• 26 September - International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons  
• 27 September - World Tourism Day
• 1 October - International Day of Older Persons
• 2 October - International Day of Non-Violence 
• 5 October - World Teachers’ Day 
• 5 October (first Monday in October) - World Habitat Day 
• 9 October - World Post Day 
• 10 October - World Mental Health Day 
• 11 October - International Day of the Girl Child 
• 13 October - International Day for Disaster Reduction 
• 15 October - International Day of Rural Women 
• 16 October - World Food Day 
• 17 October - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty  
• 24 October - United Nations Day  
• 24 October - World Development Information Day  
• 27 October - World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 
• 31 October - World Cities Day 
• 2 November - International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists  
• 6 November - International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict  
• 10 November - World Science Day for Peace and Development
• 14 November - World Diabetes Day  
• 15 November (third Sunday in November) - World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
• 16 November - International Day for Tolerance  (Resolution 5.61 of the 28th session of the UNESCO General Conference)
• 19 November - World Toilet Day 
• 19 November (third Thursday in November) - World Philosophy Day
• 20 November - Africa Industrialization Day 
• 20 November - Universal Children’s Day
• 21 November - World Television Day 
• 25 November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women  
• 29 November - International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 
• 1 December - World AIDS Day
• 2 December - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
• 3 December - International Day of Persons with Disabilities  (A/RES/47/3)
• 5 December - International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development 
• 5 December - World Soil Day 
• 7 December - International Civil Aviation Day 
• 9 December - International Anti-Corruption Day
• 10 December - Human Rights Day
• 11 December - International Mountain Day 
• 18 December - International Migrants Day 
• 20 December - International Human Solidarity Day 

To understand how we observe few these Days in India: - 

The World against child labour day - In India we are amending laws so that children below 14 years of age to work in family enterprises or entertainment industry... 

The Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women  - The concept of marital rape does not apply in India as marriage is treated as sacred here... 

The World Toilet Day  - India launched the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan with a budget allocation to build toilets. We are so there.

The International Day of Democracy- hm... yes ... we will commomerate this shortly!

The Human Rights Day - hm... well... we will commomerate this also, shortly!

The Anti - Corruption Day - hm...

The International Yoga Day  - And Wow! the money, time and effort spent by Indian Government to promote is phenomenal!  

 - Childern asked to come to school on the weekly holiday at 6.30 AM to be photographed doing Padmasana

 - Media houses encouraged to promote the Day to ensure maximum success

 - Industries encouraged to organise the day in factories and work places - ostensibly to promote healthy living and working conditions :)

- The PM is going to demonstrate some special Asanas! :)

Afterall, we have to get into the Guiness Book of World Records... 

Marital Rape and Misogyny

In an aritcle in The Hindu... "When Marriage is Less than Sacred" ...  Vasundhara Sirnate said this

"To suggest that a husband has a right to his wife’s body is spurious. Let me illustrate this. Suppose a wife bakes a cake and asks her husband to eat it. He says no. So, she forcibly opens his mouth and shoves large chunks of cake down his throat without his consent. Even when he says he has had enough and asks her to stop, she continues to shove more cake down his throat. He then asks her again to stop but she does not. She slaps him and force-feeds him the whole cake until he throws up. Once he is done throwing up, she feeds him a second cake until he throws up again. He is terrified of her because this is a never-ending cycle. Technically, she is a good wife feeding her husband. But chances are that she would be booked for cruelty and abuse."

I just loved the underlined bit so much that I wanted to share it!

Much Ado about a Logo!

Well its Make in India!

The much discussed Cantonal Bank of Zurich advertisement is like this




And the make in India logo is this


Well... there is absolutely no doubt ... that the ad agency looked around for inspiration. We in India do tend to get inspired by many things happening around the world - (and then claim that ours is Bigger/ Better, and more original etc.)

I however do think that the GOI should fire the creative agency... just on principle!

Toilets and Dignity of Women

This is quoted from an article I read - interaction with PM of India. To the Query During the first year, you initiated a number of programmes and schemes like Swacch Bharat, toilets for schools, jandhan, insurance for poor, pension scheme. What are the plans for the future?

The Hon'ble PM responded ...

Ans: First, I should mention that Swacchh Bharat and school toilets are not merely for cleanliness. The provision of toilets is a minimum requirement for the dignity of our women and it is unfortunate that we have not done this so many years after independence.

I have no issues with the answer - but a question - not to the PM - he is product of the society.... but in general...

Why is the toilet associated with dignity of a woman? Benevolent Sexism is still sexism- Women don't need a pedestal to stand on or in this case - urinate from!

Does the the dignity of a man get enhanced when he lifts his langot, down's his chaddi, or unzip... pulls out and sparys all over a tree/ wall or any available space?

Seriously.... can we ever elevate the discussion (of need for toilets) from protection of a woman's 'dignity' to issues like hygiene, health and social implications? 

Swachch Bharat has to be about cleanliness! It has to be about Health - Good Health for man, woman, and child !!!!