Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / 2015 / Archives for October 2015

Archives for October 2015

Movie Review: ‘Mere Sai Ram’ is a clichéd film with nothing new to offer

by

Mere-Sai-Ram

Producers: Sujit Ghosh & Arundhati Ghosh
Director: Navin Joshi
Star Cast: Rahul Barapatre, Piew Jana, Mukul Nag, Smita Dongre, Master Sairaj, Sunil Singh, Reshma Merchant, Kiran Sharma, Arvind Singh, Dhananjay Chaudhary, Vinod Anand, Nidhi & Sudhir Dalvi as Sai Baba.
Genre: Docu Drama
Verdict: AVERAGE

Scores of films have been made on Shirdi Ke Sai Baba, the 1st one being patriotic actor Manoj Kumar’s Shirdi Ke Sai Baba and now director Navin Joshi’s directorial offering Mere Sai Ram offers nothing new albeit Navin Joshi has given a romantic twist to the devotional theme to lure the cine goers.

Plot: The scenario kicks off with Dhondiram (Mukul Nag) who is a simple villager hailing from a very poor background. As an ardent devotee of Sai Baba (Sudir Dalvi) Dhondiram always converses & shares his day to day problems with Sai Baba. In fact his core belief centers around Sai Baba. Once Dhondiram dreams of Sai Baba who asks him to build a temple. Besides there is sub plot which revolves around the love story of Prakash (Rahul Barapatre), the village antagonist Zamindar’s (Dhananjay Choudhari) son, and Dhondiram’s sister (Piew Jana). The 2 stories connect and forms the crux of the film.

Aces: Sudhir Dalvi once again excels in the title role of Sai Baba. Mukul Nag as Sai Baba’s devotee is quite impressive. And last but not the least debutante actor Rahul Barapatere has a good screen presence which will prove to be a good advantage for him in the long run. That apart some of the Sai Bhajans are quiet catchy.

Minuses: The snail’s pace and some of the over repetitive scenes of the film prove to be a hindrance in the narrative.

Last Word: This docu drama Mere Sai Ram is strictly recommended for the most ardent Sai Baba devotees and above all the most ardent Sai Baba fans.

Imran Khan, Reham divorce with mutual consent

by

Imran Khan Reham

by Sammar Abbas, Dawn

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and TV journalist Reham Khan have divorced with mutual consent after 10 months of marriage, PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haq said Friday.

‘Divorce is painful’

In a series of tweets, Imran Khan wrote that the divorce is painful for him, Reham and their respective families and requested everyone to respect their privacy.

He categorically denied the rumours about any financial settlement between them adding that he has great respect for Reham’s moral character and her passion to help and work for the underprivileged people of society.

Six months in, rumours that the marriage was falling apart began to circulate. While the couple was seen together on occasion, Imran last month tweeted an apparent refutation of the rumours: “I am shocked at a TV channel making slanderous statement about my marriage. I strongly urge the media to desist from such baseless statements.”

Earlier, Haq had also told DawnNews that Imran Khan had requested the media to avoid speculation and respect the sensitivity of the situation.

‘Just not getting along’

A source close to the PTI chairman, who asked not to be named, said the two were “just not getting along.”

“She wanted to get involved with politics and that is not what Khan wanted at all. She just did not want to sit at home,” he told Dawn.com.

“There were teething problems as well over other issues which were being resolved but this was a major issue — she wanted to get into politics and was not ready to back down.”

Another confidante of Imran Khan told Dawn.com that there was “a lot of pressure on Khan” from his family to divorce Reham, an apparent reference to Imran’s sister Aleema Khan who had made no secret of her displeasure over the marriage.

Despite several attempts, Reham could not be reached for a comment, but posted an announcement of the divorce on Twitter:

Sources said Reham has left Pakistan for London and is expected to address a conference there.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also asked party leaders to refrain from commenting on Imran Khan’s personal life.

The announcement today stirred a fiery debate on social media, with fans and naysayers of both Khan and Reham posting their two cents and taking sides.

In August this year the PTI chief had announced that Reham Khan, will not be playing an active role in party affairs, following “attacks” on his then wife in the aftermath of the party’s defeat in the NA-19 (Haripur) by-polls.

Loved by millions across the cricket-obsessed nation for winning Pakistan its only World Cup in 1992, Khan’s sporting prowess and rugged good looks brought him international celebrity.

He was considered his country’s most eligible man until he suddenly announced his plans to marry shortly after calling off a movement to topple the government in December after a Taliban attack on a school that killed 150 people.

The PTI chairman and television journalist Reham Khan had tied the knot in a simple nikkah ceremony which took place in January this year at Khan’s Bani Gala residence.

The nikkah, which was a low-key affair, was conducted by Mufti Saeed and was followed by a photo session. The wedding had captivated the entire country, with television channels going all out to cover the event and furnishing their audience with details of wedding sherwani and chappals.

In its early days, the marriage was marked by public appearances of the newlyweds who were seen smiling and happy at various events. Reham on several occasions had candidly expressed her feelings for Imran, saying he is “no longer alone”. In an early interview, she had said: “I didn’t know Mr Khan was Mr Right, you wait your whole life for Mr Right and then you find Mr Most Right.”

Reham had recently also sparked controversy after it emerged that she had not actually attended a college where she claimed to be a student on her website.

Born in 1952 in Lahore into a comfortable family with origins in the Pashtun northwest, Imran Khan was educated at Aitchison College and then Oxford University.

He became one of the world’s greatest ever all-rounders — a fearsome fast bowler and dangerous batsman — whose finest hour came at the 1992 World Cup, where at the age of 39 he led an inexperienced team to the title.

Off the pitch, he had a string of socialite girlfriends and frequented exclusive nightclubs in London until he married Jemima Goldsmith, the daughter of the French-British tycoon James, in 1995

Hi marriage with the Jemima lasted for nine years and ended amicably in 2004 with Goldsmith stating that she was unable to adapt to life in Pakistan.

Imran Khan has two sons from his previous marriage to Jemima.

Reham Khan was previously married to psychologist Ijaz Rehman, with whom she had three children.

EU parliament votes for dropped charges, asylum protection for Edward Snowden

by

Resolution passed by European Parliament Thursday calls on member states to prevent whistleblower’s extradition, rendition

A sticker calling for asylum for Edward Snowden seen in Berlin. (Photo: Tony Webster/flickr/cc)

A sticker calling for asylum for Edward Snowden seen in Berlin. (Photo: Tony Webster/flickr/cc)

by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams

The European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday urging its nations to afford NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden protection.

Passed by a 285 to 281 vote, the resolution calls on EU member states to “drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden, grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistle-blower and international human rights defender.”

Snowden, who’s been residing in Russia since 2013, responded to the resolution on Twitter by calling it a “game-changer”:

While the resolution is not binding, Wolfgang Kaleck, Snowden’s lawyer in Berlin, told the Daily Dot in an email, “It is an overdue step and we urge the member States to act now to implement the resolution.”

U.S.-based digital rights group Fight for the Future welcomed the news as well. Evan Greer, the organization’s campaign director, said, “We hope that this resolution leads to a binding agreement in the EU that allows Edward Snowden to move to whichever EU country he wants, and we hope he gets an epic party thrown in his honor when he arrives.”

“The battle over mass government surveillance is a decisive moment in the history of humanity, and it’s hard to think of anyone who has done more than Edward Snowden to educate the public about the grave risks that runaway spying programs pose to our basic human rights, the future of the Internet, and freedom of expression,” he added.

The World Wide Web Foundation, which advocates for an open Internet and was founded by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, called it a “landmark resolution.” It added in a statement, “We call on national leaders to publicly commit to respecting the will of the European people and offering Snowden asylum.”

Berners-Lee said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session last year that Snowden “should be protected, and we should have ways of protecting people like him. Because we can try to design perfect systems of government, and they will never be perfect, and when they fail, then the whistleblower may be all that saves society.”

Shaker Aamer: Last UK Guantanamo Bay detainee released after 14-year detention

by

Shaker Aamer has never been charged with any offences and has maintained his innocence

Shaker Aamer has been kept in Guantanamo Bay for 14 years but has never been charged or tried.

Shaker Aamer has been kept in Guantanamo Bay for 14 years but has never been charged or tried.

by Rose Troup Buchanan, Independent

Shaker Aamer, the last British resident detained in Guantanamo, has been reportedly released and is flying back to his wife and four children in London.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed to Sky News Mr Aamer had been released. His plane is believed to be due to land in the UK at around midday today.

Co-director of the We Stand With Shaker campaign Andy Worthington also said he had confirmation from Mr Aamer’s lawyer he is due to return.

“We’re delighted to hear that his long and unacceptable ordeal has come to an end,” he told Press Association. 

“We hope he won’t be detained by the British authorities on his return and gets the psychological and medical care that he needs to be able to resume his life with his family in London.”

Cori Crider, Mr Aamer’s US lawyer and strategic director of Reprieve, said in a statement the release was “long, long past time.” “Shaker now needs to see a doctor, and then get to spend time alone with his family as soon as possible.” Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen cautioned: “After so many twists and turns in this appalling case, we won’t really believe that Shaker Aamer is actually being returned to the UK until his plane touches down on British soil.” “We should remember what a terrible travesty of justice this case has been, and that having been held in intolerable circumstances for nearly 14 years Mr Aamer will need time to readjust to his freedom,” Ms Allen said in a statement. The 46-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen has been held in the US dentention centre for 13 years without trial. His case was debated in the House of Commons in March, and MPs have lobbied Washington to urgently address his transfer – which was cleared in 2007. Prime Minister David Cameron has personally lobbied on behalf of Mr Aamer, urging Barack Obama to free the Guantanamo detainee in June of this year.  A Downing Street source claimed Mr Cameron told the US president: “We are very clear we need to find a resolution to the case of Shaker Aamer.” On Friday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn congratulated Mr Aamer’s team on the release, calling it “great news.”

Mr McDonnell told The Mirror he was “breathing a heavy sigh of relief” following Mr Aamer’s release. “Shaker was simply a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, a charity worker building wells in Afghanistan who was kidnapped, ransomed and falsely imprisoned.”

Mr Aamer, whose British wife and four children live in London, has British residency and permission to reside indefinitely in the UK. He has not seen his family in 14 years.

He was imprisoned in Afghanistan after being accused of working with al-Qaeda.

A Reprieve report, published earlier this year, detailed the horrific torture he claims US interrogators meted out in an attempt to make him sign a false confession. Mr Aamer later said he would have told interrogators “he was Bin Laden” to make the torture stop.

Dr Emily Keram, an American doctor who was able to visit him in Guantanamo, diagnosed Mr Aamer with acute post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), migraines, digestive problems, swelling, asthma and tinnitus. She recommended urgent treatment for the “serious medical concerns” in the UK.

Guantanamo Bay detention centre was established in 2002 by the US government. Following a successful Freedom of Information request, the centre admitted to holding 779 men and boys over the course of its use. Mr Obama had promised to close the facility – condemned globally by international human rights organisations – but as of June this year 116 individuals remain imprisoned in the centre. That number will now stand at 115.

JD(U), Congress approach EC, demand ban on Amit Shah’s entry in Bihar

by

Amit_Shah

New Delhi: Upping the ante against Amit Shah after his “fireworks in Pakistan” remark, JD(U) and Congress today approached the Election Commission demanding that the BJP chief be barred from entering Bihar for “inciting communal tension” till the election process ends.

Taking strong objection to BJP’s poll advertisements in the state, they accused the party of using “lies and false propaganda” to vitiate the atmosphere and demanded that an FIR be registered against Shah as well Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his quota remarks.

Slamming Shah’s yesterday remarks that if BJP loses in Bihar, there will be fireworks in Pakistan, JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi said, “Shah’s remarks are inflammatory.

“A case should be registered against him and he should be debarred from entering Bihar till the poll process is over. He is a habitual conspirator. He was earlier also debarred from entering Gujarat by the court.”

A delegation of Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, spokesperson Ajoy Kumar and JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and submitted a memorandum, accusing the BJP of “vitiating” the electoral process by “promoting communal tension” through its advertisements.

It sought action including “complete withdrawal” of these ads and “prosecution” of the perpetrators.

Submitting a list of advertisements issued by the BJP in Bihar including one which accuses Nitish Kumar-led of “snatching the plate of dalits” and accuses it of trying to carve five per cent reservation for a particular community from the quota for SC/ST/OBC, the delegation demanded quick action from the poll watchdog.

The parties complained to the EC on this matter on a day when Prime Minister Narendra raised the pitch on this issue addressing a rally in Lalu Prasad’s home turf Gopalganj and citing a speech of Nitish Kumar in Parliament allegedly favouring sub quota for Muslims.

Tyagi also said that the Election Commission should register a case against Modi for the repeated reference of his belonging to Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) in the same manner as the Election Commission had lodged a case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad for his forward versus back election remark earlier.

They also cited two more ads. While one alleges that Lashkar-e-Toiba and ISI terrorists are “thriving in Bihar due to negligence” of JD-U leaders, the other talks of Bihar government’s role in “delayed” arrest of Yasin Bhatkal from Nepal border.

The delegation alleged that it is a “shameless” attempt by the BJP at spreading “false propaganda” and “creating communal tension”.

The Nitish Kumar-led alliance claimed that one of the ads say that RJD, JD(U) and Congress leaders are “giving sanctuary” to terrorists to appease a particular community for votes.

The name of the particular community becomes clear when seen in context to previous day’s ad, which spoke about Muslim community appeasement by RJD-JD(U) and Congress by ‘robbing the plate of dalits’, the delegation alleged.

On the ad regarding Bhatkal arrest issue, the delegation said that it questions whether the ‘delay’ was to make a particular community feel the “government’s benevolence”.

“The connection between letting Bhatkar escape and a community is done to connect Bhatkal with the Muslim community,” they alleged.

“In the on-going elections in Bihar, the BJP has been promoting lies, false propaganda and communal tensions through its advertisements. This has resulted in vitiating the electoral process by promoting communal tension….

“As you will see from these ads, it is a shameless attempt at spreading false propaganda and creating communal tension by use of misuse of select words in ambiguous contexts that could be interpreted for multiple factions for inciting violence between the two communities,” the delegation said in its memorandum.

Terming these ads as “blatant violation” of the provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1951 and several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the delegation said, “The EC must demand a complete withdrawal of the advertisement and prosecution should be initiated against the perpetrators at the earliest.”

(Agencies)

Historians join hands protesting against rise in ‘intolerance’

by

Romila Thapar

Hyderabad: Hopping on the bandwagon of eminent personalities who have been protesting against the rising intolerance in the nation by returning the honours bestowed on them by the government for their work, are historians including Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and M G S Narayanan who have come out in protest describing the situation as a “highly vitiated atmosphere of intolerance in the country.”

“Differences of opinion are being sought to be settled by using physical violence. Arguments are met not with counter arguments but with bullets. And, when it is hoped that the head of government will make a statement about improving the prevailing conditions, he chooses to speak only about general poverty; and it takes the head of the state to make the required reassuring statement, not once but twice,” a joint statement issued by the historians stated.

The statement comes in the backdrop of octogenarian biologist P M Bhargava’s decision to return his Padma Bhushan award in solidarity with the protesting writers and filmmakers as he accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to turn India to a “Hindu religious autocracy.”

“The ruling party today, is deviating from the path of democracy and is on its way making India a Hindu religious autocracy and I object to it,”  Bhargava told Deccan Herald.

He received the Padma Bhushan in 1986. Bhargava, founder-director of Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), is one of the signatories of another statement from scientists in which they asserted that “India will not accept attacks on reason, science and our plural culture. We reject the destructive narrow view that seeks to dictate what people will wear, think, eat and who they will love.”

Over a 100 senior scientists from across the country have signed a petition addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee against growing religious intolerance. The infamous Tandoor murder case brought CCMB into limelight for matching victim Naina Sahni’s DNA.

Union Minister Arun Jaitley described the surge in protests as “manufactured rebellion”, while he dubbed the scholars and intellectuals returning their awards as “rabid anti-BJP elements”.

The finance minister wondered if the conscience of protesting scholars and intellectuals had pricked when corruption and scams to the tune of lakhs and crores of rupees were taking place in the UPA era.

The historians, however, took on the Modi government, saying, when writers were returning their awards in protest, no comment was made about the conditions that caused the protest.

“Instead the ministers call it a paper revolution and advise writers to stop writing. This is as good as saying that intellectuals will be silenced if they protest. This is particularly worrying for us as historians as we have already experienced attempts to ban books and expunge statements of history despite the fact that they are supported by sources and the interpretation is transparent,” they said.

(Agencies)

Chandrabhan Sanap gets death in TCS techie rape-n-murder case

by

Chandrabhan Sanap (right) is seen with Esther Anuhya in the CCTV footage at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on January 5. (File photo)

Chandrabhan Sanap (right) is seen with Esther Anuhya in the CCTV footage at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on January 5. (File photo)

Mumbai: A special women’s court here today awarded death sentence to Chandrabhan Sanap, prime accused in the rape and murder of a Andhra Pradesh-based software engineer in suburban Kurla here last year.

“The case falls under the category of the rarest of rare, hence the accused is awarded death sentence…he must be hanged by his neck till he is dead,” said Special Women’s court judge Vrushali Joshi pronouncing the verdict.

The prosecution demanded death for Sanap, saying that sympathy to him would send a wrong signal and neither the victim’s parents nor the society would feel that justice has been delivered.

On the other hand, pleading for mercy, the defense lawyers had argued that the convict had undergone reformation while in prison.

On October 27, the 29-year-old driver was convicted under IPC Section 302 (murder), Section 376 (rape) and Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) for raping and killing the 23-year-old techie, after the court agreed with the prosecution, which had examined 39 witnesses in the case.

Mumbai Police’s crime branch had arrested Sanap in early March last year about two months after the murder of the young techie, who was a native of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and was employed as assistant system engineer with IT major TCS at its office in suburban Goregaon.

Investigators caught Sanap after an exhaustive scrutiny of 36 CCTV footages at the railway station and grilling of about 2,500 people. The victim went missing from Lokmanya Tilak terminus near Kurla after arriving by train from Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of January 5, 2014.

According to police, Sanap spotted her sitting alone at the railway station and offered to drop her off at Andheri on his two-wheeler. Subsequently, he took her to an isolated spot and strangled her when she resisted his attempt to rob her.

The decomposed body of the techie was found off the Eastern Express Highway in suburban Bhandup on January 16, 2014. Sanap, who worked as a porter here and then as a driver in Nashik, is a history-sheeter.

(Agencies)

I will eat beef, who are you to question, asks CM Siddaramaiah

by

siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has joined the beef row contending that unnecessary issues are being raked under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I haven’t had beef. But I will eat. Who are you to question? Whatever is comfortable for me, I will eat.” he said referring to the BJP leaders’ objection to beef consumption while interacting with the media in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Admitting that the situation across the country had turned “insecure” with the kind of issues taking centre stage, Siddaramaiah said the focus of the Union government should be on the development of the nation.

(Agencies)

Our issues can be only solved through dialogue: Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit

by

Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit with Nasheman.in editor Rizwan Asad at a dinner hosted by Press club of Bangalore during his visit to Bengaluru on Wednesday

Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit with Nasheman.in editor Rizwan Asad at a dinner hosted by Press club of Bangalore during his visit to Bengaluru on Wednesday

Abdul Basit

Bengaluru: Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Wednesday asserted that the issues between India and Pakistan can be only solved through dialogue.

Speaking to Nasheman.in Mr. Basit said that there definitely are issues between both the countries, primarily being the issue of Jammu & Kashmir. He said, there is no other way to establish lasting peace without holding talks and resolving issues.

On the question of his country allegedly hiding fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, he asserted that “he is not in Pakistan. Even your government is not sure about his whereabouts.”

“Do share information on Dawood if you have any,” he said.

Earlier in his talk, Basit said since India is a big country it has more responsibilities on its shoulders to put an end to violence and Pakistan is ready to engage with India with sincerity and seriousness of purpose.

“After 35 years of violence in Pakistan, a fatigue factor has set in after having suffered at the hands of terrorism. We genuinely want violence to come to an end and we are ready to engage with India with sincerity and seriousness of purpose, but India as a big country has more responsibilities on its shoulders,” he said.

On the allegation that Army controls the politics and judiciary of the country, Mr. Basit rubbished it saying one should not give credence to propaganda. He assured that Pakistan is a democracy and a relatively conducive environment flourishes in his country.

Role of Urdu writers in Indo-Pak relationship

He said people of both the countries, have a common culture and language. Urdu, he contended has been a common thread of unity and writers of the language from both end of the border have encouraged bilateral relations between India and Pakistan.”

Mr. Basit also expressed great pleasure announcing that his country has recently passed an ordinance to make Urdu the official language of Pakistan. Acknowledging that Pakistan’s earlier leaders hailed from an elite class, who preferred English over Urdu, he said Urdu will finally get its due credit, after suffering for long.

Why I am returning my national film award: Anand Patwardhan

by

Anand Patwardhan

by Anand Patwardhan

National awards have always meant a lot to me. They were more precious than International awards and awards from private institutions precisely they represented those rare moments when the government of India became willing to uphold the spirit of our secular, socialist and democratic Constitution.

Today this spirit is evaporating. Our nation is at a crossroads. On one side is the secular path that our freedom fighters laid out for us and on the other, the path towards majoritarian fascism that the present regime seems bent upon. I am not saying we are already a fascist state. I am saying that the early warning signs are unmistakable.

It is the duty of all thinking citizens to speak out before it becomes too late. Filmmakers are thinking citizens who cannot look away. When the government attempted to foist unqualified saffron administrators on the FTII, students there went on strike. The strike has lasted an unprecedented four months. In this period people from all walks of life began to wake up to the unmistakable reality that the India they knew was on a dangerous new path. The killing of rationalists, the hounding of whistleblowers like Teesta Setalvad and Sanjiv Bhatt, the denial of justice to victims of religious pogroms and caste based massacres, the emboldening of the religio-lunatic fringe and the impunity of those who kill or advocate killing in the name of religion is accompanied by the wholesale rewriting of history, the denial of scientific enquiry and the consequent production of a generation of dumbed down consumers for whom having an enemy to hate replaces their thirst for knowledge.

So it is with a heavy heart I am returning my very first National award for Bombay Our City. Back in 1985 even as we won this award the homes of people I had filmed were demolished. I did not go to receive the award. Instead Vimal Dinkar Hedau whose home in Bandra had just been demolished went to Delhi to receive this award and distributed leaflets about the cause of the homeless. The prize money went to the slumdwellers movement. Today I am returning the medal.

What do we want from this government? Not much. Just its resignation. Will that happen any time soon? Not likely. What do we want from the people of India? Not much. Just eternal vigilance.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives