Archives for June 2018

After three decades of war, Afghanistan is still not a secure place to live in. It is perhaps the most dangerous place to be born. Although after 2001 Afghanistan is considered to be a “post-war country”, violence, suffering, injustice, inequality, illiteracy and poverty remain unpleasant reminders of conflict in daily life. The “post-war” tag doesn’t make sense.

In addition to the many injuries from landmines and artillery, over 80 per cent of Afghan children reveal the psychological scars of war.

A survey conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the effect of war on children aged 8-18 in Kabul indicated that 41 per cent had lost one or more parents because of the conflict, and over half of them had witnessed torture and violent deaths around them.

My personal experience of what it means to be a child in a war-torn country forms the background of this analysis. Parents, families, writers, journalists, poets, schools and government and other non-government institutions are involved and responsible for creating children’s worldview in a society full of antagonism, hatred, and war.

From my childhood, I recall war, violence, killing, injuries, burning of buildings and sounds of different jet fighters, rockets and landmines, which affected my way of seeing and understanding the world. There is no change in the situation for my sons, and hundreds of other children living in the country. Violence and pain are still everyday experiences of people in Afghanistan, either directly or through the media.

Family and socio-economic background greatly influence children’s worldview. We learn from our environment how to behave and maintain social order in society.

Parent’s beliefs and their worldview affect their children’s beliefs and worldview. In creating a wider outlook for children several other influences are necessary, including those of teachers, care takers, other adults and institutions working for children.

Story books, storytelling, school books and comics are also important factors which shape a child’s worldview, as are toys, computer games, music and films.

I was in my uncle’s house a few years ago when there were five adults between the ages of 28 and 65 and 15 children aged between 2 and 12. Two persons had pistols and they set up a sign and started shooting at the sign. The children were happy watching their parents firing the guns.

My son Muzzamel was with me. He is four years old. I took him away from the firing and got him busy with my mobile phone football game. After they finished, I asked them how they could do this in front of their children. Their response was simple: The children need to learn these things because one lived in a country where everybody should know how to use guns.

Plastic guns imported from Pakistan are common and the most liked playthings by the children. Use of guns has become normal for most parents.

The everyday experience of bomb blasts, war, instability and poverty affect the psychology of children. They do not have the facilities for entertainment like public parks, cinemas and other leisure places which can have a great influence on their life and personality. In Afghanistan children are mostly deprived of the space outside their homes. Children are scared of going out, even those who go to school.

In such a complex situation, a child’s worldview is constructed by the adult’s world, which is loaded with fear, anxiety, insecurity and instability.

As one nine-year-old from Panjsher Valley told Save the Children in an interview: “I want to grow up as quickly as I can so that I can have a gun and find my father’s killer. And I will kill him because he killed my father.”

Even institutions involved in children’s welfare find it difficult to provide an alternate worldview free from war, violence and hatred.

A sit-in protest at the Lt. Governor’s office by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues entered its fourth day on Thursday.

The hunger strike by Health Minister Satyendar Jain entered day two, while that by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia completed a day.

During a health check up on Thursday morning, all the parameters were nearly normal for both the ministers.

Kejriwal, Sisodia, Jain and Gopal Rai has been camping in the Raj Niwas, the official accommodation-cum-office of Lt. Governor Anil Baijal, since Monday evening.

The Delhi Chief Minister said he and his colleagues would not leave Baijal’s office until their demands were met.

The demands include a direction to IAS officers working in the Delhi administration to end their “strike”, action against officers who have struck work for “four months” and approval to his government’s proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the poor.

The four miniters continued attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), LG and the Central government through tweets.

Kejriwal accued the LG’s security personnel for not allowing his brother, who came from Pune, to see him.

“Every right thinking person asking same question – why is Centre instigating strike by IAS? How can Centre not allow doorstep delivery of rations? These are simple and non-controversial demands of Delhiites,” Kejriwal tweeted.

The Chief Minister said he feels the intention, behind the non acceptance of their demand, is “not right”.

“Good morning. After all what Delhi people are demanding, for the doorstep delivery of rations and IAS officers to end their strike. Who in the world will say this is wrong? Why nothing is being done. Today is the fourth day, I don’t feel their intention is right,” he added.

The ministers have been clearing all the government files from the LG office.

They are being supplied with food from Kejriwal’s residence.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters along with leaders came on roads to show their support to the Ministers’ protest.

They marched from the Chief Minister’s residence to the LG house.

Heavy police and CRPF were deployed in the area since Monday, and more were deployed on Wednesday to avoid any crisis due to the protest march.

The AAP has planned a candle march in Rajpath on Thursday and warned of a protest at the Prime Minister’s residence on Sunday if their demands were not met.

In a move to counter the sit-in protest by the Chief Minister, the BJP on Wednesday also launched a protest highlighting the issues of water and electricity shortage in the national capital.

(10:46)
New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) A sit-in protest at the Lt. Governor’s office by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues entered its fourth day on Thursday.

The hunger strike by Health Minister Satyendar Jain entered day two, while that by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia completed a day.

During a health check up on Thursday morning, all the parameters were nearly normal for both the ministers.

Kejriwal, Sisodia, Jain and Gopal Rai has been camping in the Raj Niwas, the official accommodation-cum-office of Lt. Governor Anil Baijal, since Monday evening.

The Delhi Chief Minister said he and his colleagues would not leave Baijal’s office until their demands were met.

The demands include a direction to IAS officers working in the Delhi administration to end their “strike”, action against officers who have struck work for “four months” and approval to his government’s proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the poor.

The four miniters continued attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), LG and the Central government through tweets.

Kejriwal accued the LG’s security personnel for not allowing his brother, who came from Pune, to see him.

“Every right thinking person asking same question – why is Centre instigating strike by IAS? How can Centre not allow doorstep delivery of rations? These are simple and non-controversial demands of Delhiites,” Kejriwal tweeted.

The Chief Minister said he feels the intention, behind the non acceptance of their demand, is “not right”.

“Good morning. After all what Delhi people are demanding, for the doorstep delivery of rations and IAS officers to end their strike. Who in the world will say this is wrong? Why nothing is being done. Today is the fourth day, I don’t feel their intention is right,” he added.

The ministers have been clearing all the government files from the LG office.

They are being supplied with food from Kejriwal’s residence.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters along with leaders came on roads to show their support to the Ministers’ protest.

They marched from the Chief Minister’s residence to the LG house.

Heavy police and CRPF were deployed in the area since Monday, and more were deployed on Wednesday to avoid any crisis due to the protest march.

The AAP has planned a candle march in Rajpath on Thursday and warned of a protest at the Prime Minister’s residence on Sunday if their demands were not met.

In a move to counter the sit-in protest by the Chief Minister, the BJP on Wednesday also launched a protest highlighting the issues of water and electricity shortage in the national capital.

A British man, accused of conspiring targeted killings of RSS leaders in Punjab, will have to face law in India, Union minister Kiren Rijiju is believed to have told his UK counterpart Baroness Williams.

During an hour-long meeting at New Delhi on Tuesday, Rijiju is said to have conveyed to Williams that Jagtar Singh Johal is suspected to be one of the conspirators in carrying out targeted killings of seven RSS, Shiv Sena and Dera Sacha Sauda leaders between January 2016 and October 2017, an official said on Wednesday. The visiting minister has been told that Johal will have to face law in India for his alleged role in the crime in Punjab, the official said.

The National Investigation Agency, in a charge sheet filed in a court in Punjab’s Mohali on May 4, had claimed that Johal was involved in the funding of the conspiracy to kill Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosain in Ludhiana last October. Johal is currently in a jail in Punjab and other cases against him are under various stages. Rijiju told Williams that regular consular access is being provided to diplomats of the British High Commission to meet Johal and so far 11 consular visits have been facilitated.

All legal avenues are available for Johal and his lawyers to pursue his case through India’s independent judicial system, the Union minister of state for home told his British counterpart. India has been maintaining that Johal, a citizen of the UK, has become a rallying point for Sikh groups in Britain. There was also a debate in the UK Parliament on Johal’s issue and providing the consular access to him. Since Johal’s arrest, a false, slanderous and orchestrated media campaign has been initiated by militants and their sympathisers as well as radical elements based in Britain and other Western countries against the Punjab government and the Punjab Police, another official said.

There were instances when Punjab Police officers received death threats targeted at them and their family members from such elements over phone, WhatsApp and various social media platforms, the official said. During his meeting with his UK counterpart recently, NSA Ajit Doval had even suggested that one can approach the National Human Rights Commission, which is an independent body with investigative and judicial powers, to look into allegations of mistreatment.

Johal had claimed that police threatened to shoot him and set him alight with petrol, according to the British media reports.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today maintained there was no discontent within Congress now over denial of ministerial berths and expressed confidence that no party MLA would join hands with the BJP.

Confident about the Congress-JD(S) coalition government completing its full five-year term, Siddaramaiah, who is also a leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), said, “There is no one who is dissatisfied… everyone is satisfied now.”

Pointing out he has had talks with everyone who were reportedly unhappy over not becoming a minister, including M B Patil, he said: “how much ever BJP tries to entice our MLAs, no one will go.”

There was growing discontent among newly elected Congress lawmakers who were left out during the June 6 cabinet expansion, with some openly expressing dissatisfaction and holding separate meetings.

The disquiet that had come out in the open soon after the exercise has gone silent in the last two days following efforts by the party leadership to pacify upset MLAs.

Responding to BJP state President B S Yeddyurappa’s comments that several Congress leaders are eager to join his party, Siddaramaiah said Yeddyurappa’s words have no value.

“He (Yeddyurappa) himself doesn’t know what he is talking about,” he told reporters in Mysuru, as he hit out at the BJP, accusing it of trying to entice Congress MLAs with money and posts.

He said the coalition government’s first coordination committee meeting is scheduled for June 14.

Siddaramaiah, who heads the coordination committee that has the responsibility to oversee smooth functioning of the coalition government, said the agenda has not yet been prepared.

“I will look into it once I go to Bengaluru tomorrow,” he said.

Stating that he hasn’t spoken to Congress President Rahul Gandhi yet regarding the issue of new Karnataka Pradesh Congress President, the former chief minister, in response to a question, said he would go to New Delhi after completing pending work here, including his nature care treatment.

Siddaramaiah said he was confident of the government completing its term, adding the public mandate was for five years.

“Only thing is that a coalition government had to be formed as the public verdict was not in favour of one party,” he said.

To a question on Kumaraswamy’s comments about rampant corruption in the system, Siddaramaiah said: “I don’t know where he has seen (corruption), if he has seen let him stop…. When he has come to know where corruption is, let him stop.”

Stating that corruption starts with transfers, Kumaraswamy had yesterday said there are middlemen in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha (the state secretariat) for this purpose who claim the Chief Minister and Ministers are with them.

Not wishing to react on Kumaraswamy’s statement that he was made Chief Minister on Congress’ insistence, he said “I haven’t spoken to him, so I cannot react.”

The former Chief Minister also termed reports about his contesting the coming Lok Sabha election as a “creation of the media”.

The BJP won three of the six seats in the biennial Karnataka Legislative Council elections, the counting for which went late into the night on Tuesday June 12. The JD(S) won 2 seats while the Congress registered a win in only one constituency.

The 30-year dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ended by the Congress after the latter registered its first victory in the northeast graduates’ constituency in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections. Congress candidate Chandrashekhar B Patil beat his nearest rival K B Srinivas of BJP by a slender margin of 321 votes.

In the Bengaluru graduates’ constituency BJP’s Devegowda won by 3,864 votes.

Marthibbegowda of JD(S)

In a blow for the BJP in the coastal region, the party’s MLC candidate Capt Ganesh Karnik lost the election to JD(S) candidate S L Boje Gowda in the south-west teachers’ constituency.

In south teachers’ constituency JD(S) candidate Marthibbegowda defeated his nearest rival, M Laxman of the Congress.

BJP’s V A Narayanaswamy from southwest teachers constituency won by over 2,000 votes against his nearest rival, Ramesh Babu of JD(S) and in south-west graduates constituency Ayanur Manjunath of the BJP won against JD(S) candidate Arun Kumar.

The polling for six legislative council seats – three each of teachers and graduates, was held on June 8. Eight candidates – Arun Kumar of JD(S), Ayanur Manjunath of BJP, S P Dinesh of Congress, G C Patel of Sarva Janata Party, and independents Zafarulla Sattar Khan, G M Jayakumar, B R Prabhulinga and B K Manjunath were in the fray in the graduates’ constituency. Twelve candidates – Ganesh Karnik of BJP, S L Boje Gowda of JD(S), K K Manjunath Kumar of Congress, and independents Arun Hosakoppa, Aloysius D’Souza, K B Chandroji Rao, D K Tulasappa, Ampar Nityanand Shetty, B R Prabhulinga, K C Basavarajappa, M Ramesh and K P Rajendra Kumar contested in the teachers’ constituency.

The six legislative council seats are Karnataka southeast teachers’ constituency, Karnataka south teachers’ constituency, Karnataka southwest teachers’ constituency, Karnataka southwest graduates’ constituency, Bengaluru graduates’ constituency and Karnataka northeast graduates’ constituency.

Voting was preferential where the voter mentioned preference of candidates. There were 7,140 voters in the teachers’ constituencies and 15,494 voters in the graduates’ constituencies from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and Davangere districts.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s first ever press conference here on Wednesday turned out to be a huge disappointment — it lasted for 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

The media briefing was organised by the Congress state and city units at a venue in Bandra at around 8.30 a.m. and mediapersons were barged with multiple reminders.

Over 100 representatives from print, electronic and online media turned up and patiently waited for Gandhi, who breezed in almost an hour later.

After the initial introductions, a question was put to the Congress chief whether he would be willing to take over the leadership of the opposition alliance before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Brushing it aside, Gandhi repeated his criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

This also lasted less than two minutes. Then he thanked everyone and suddenly got up, ending the press conference abruptly.

A party official later said: “Rahulji was getting delayed for his onward journey to Nagpur and Nanded and other engagements.”

Many mediapersons had left their homes at 6 a.m. to reach the Bandra venue on schedule.

An apologetic Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam blamed it all on a PR team.

“We had clearly said he would give a few bytes to the electronic media. The print media was also specifically informed that he will not take any questions. The programme went as scheduled,” Nirupam told IANS.

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fitness challenge saying that yoga and treadmill were a part of his daily workout but he was more concerned about the “development fitness” of his state.

“Dear Narendra Modiji, I am honoured and thank you very much for the concern about my health. I believe physical fitness is important for all and support the cause. Yoga-treadmill are part of my daily workout regime. Yet, I am more concerned about development fitness of my state and seek your support for it,” Kumaraswamy tweeted in response.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Prime Minister shared a fitness video of himself after he was nominated in an online fitness challenge by Indian Cricket Captain Virat Kohli and challenged the Janata Dal-Secular leader along with Table Tennis player Manika Batra and Indian Police Services (IPS) officers to take on the challenge and post their fitness videos.

“Here are moments from my morning exercises. Apart from yoga, I walk on a track inspired by the Panchtatvas or five elements of nature – Prithvi, Jal, Agni, Vayu, Aakash. This is extremely refreshing and rejuvenating. I also practice breathing exercises. #HumFitTohIndiaFit,” Modi tweeted.

“I am delighted to nominate the following for the #FitnessChallenge: Karnataka’s CM H.D. Kumaraswamy. India’s pride and among the highest medal winners for India in the 2018 CWG, Manika Batra. The entire fraternity of brave IPS officers, especially those above 40.”

The online fitness campaign was initiated last month by Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

He had posted a video of his fitness regime and challenged Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, Kohli and badminton player Saina Nehwal to do the same.