[Nasheman news] Tundla (Uttar Pradesh) A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the indigenously built Vande Bharat Express to Varanasi from New Delhi, the train made an unscheduled stop for over three hours on Saturday near Tundla in Uttar Pradesh.
The train came to a halt 18 km ahead of Tundla station after it ran over some livestock around 5.30 a.m. near Chamraula station, according to railway officials.
He also pointed out that this was not a scheduled commercial run. “Commercial operation of Vande Bharat Express starts from February 17.”
The train resumed its onward journey for Delhi at around 8.15 a.m., he added
The 16-coach train will have two executive compartments with 52 seats each and trailer coaches with 78 seats each.
Government capable enough to tackle situation, says Manoj Bajpayee on Kashmir attack
[Nasheman news] Mumbai Noted actor Manoj Bajpayee has condemned Thursday’s terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the Central government is capable enough to tackle the situation.
Manoj said this here on Friday while interacting with the media at Cine And TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) and 48 Hour Film Project’s first edition of ‘Act Fest 2019’, along with Sara Ali Khan, Ronit Roy and Divya Dutta.
The citizens of the country should have faith in them (government) and support them in such trying circumstances, he said.
In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide bomber on Thursday rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, killing at least 45 troopers and leaving 38 critically wounded.
“Words will fall short to express our anger for this kind of heinous act. My prayers are the families of soldiers who have lost their dear ones in the tragedy and it’s their irreparable loss,” Manoj said.
“I feel scared and hurt… I get angry whenever I hear of such evil acts… I am feeling really sad to hear about what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir,” Sara Ali Khan said.
More than 2,500 CRPF personnel were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.
The Pakistan-based JeM terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 20 km from Srinagar.
Curfew to continue in Jammu
[Nasheman news] Jammu Curfew imposed here in Jammu and Kashmir was not relaxed on Saturday two days after 49 CRPF troopers were blown up in a suicide attack on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama by a Jaish-e-Mohammad man, although authorities claimed the situation was under control.
“Curfew will continue till further orders. We will take a call later in the day after assessing the overall law and order situation,” said an official here.
The Mobile Internet suspension started on Friday and continued on Saturday, as well.
Speed of fixedline broadband connections have also been slashed to prevent any form of amplification of the situation given the fact that anti-social elements could upload inflammatory pictures and comments on social media to disrupt peace in the city.
Curfew was imposed on Friday when miscreants torched and damaged several vehicles that carried registration numbers belonging to the Kashmir region.
The Army was immediately called out to assist the civil administration to restore order in the city.
Curfew was initially imposed in some vulnerable areas, but was later extended to the entire city as tension mounted in the wake of violence against a particular section of the society.
The authorities met with important citizens belonging to different communities on Friday to seek their help in bringing the city back to normal.
India says Pakistan’s links with Pulwama attack clear for all to see
[Nasheman news] New Delhi India has rejected Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua’s claims denying her country’s links to the Pulwama terror attack, saying that JeM, which claimed responsibility for the attack on Thursday, is based in Pakistan, and the “links are clear and evident and for all to see”.
The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson on Friday termed as “preposterous” the demand for an investigation, saying there is a video of the suicide bomber declaring himself a member of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
The spokesperson said India has not seen any constructive approach from Pakistan on bilateral relations and it has been sheltering terrorists and terror organisations such as JeM. He said Islamabad has not taken any action against such groups despite international demands.
India also demanded that Pakistan take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control to create a conducive atmosphere in the region free of terror.
The spokesperson’s response came over Pakistan Foreign Secretary’s briefing rejecting Pakistan’s involvement in the terror attack on a paramilitary convoy in Jammu and Kashmir that killed at least 45 troopers. Janjua met envoys of P-5 countries late on Friday.
The spokesperson said JeM has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The organisation and its leadership are located in Pakistan. LeT and other terror groups have welcomed the news of the attack. These groups are also based in Pakistan. Pakistan cannot claim that it is unaware of their presence and their activities.
“They have not taken any action against these groups despite international demands, especially against groups and individuals proscribed by the UN and other countries. The links to Pakistan are clear and evident for all to see. Its own Ministers have shared the same podium with UN proscribed terrorists,” the spokesperson said.
He said there was audio-visual material linking JeM to the terror attack.
“The demand for an investigation is preposterous when there is a video of the suicide bomber declaring himself a member of the JeM. There are also other audio-visual and print material linking JeM to the terrorist attack. We have therefore no doubt that the claim is firmly established,” the spokesperson said.
He said while there are claims to offer dialogue from Pakistan, it continues to shelter terror outfits.
“We have not seen any constructive approach from Pakistan on relations with India. What we have noticed however, are claims to offer dialogue on the one hand, while sponsoring and sheltering terrorists and terrorist organisations such as JeM on the other,” the spokesperson added.
Pulwama fallout: US for India’s bid to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist
[Nasheman news] New Delhi US National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton, in a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, has extended support for India’s bid to designate Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, an MEA statement said on Saturday.
Washington extended and reiterated its support towards India’s right to self-defence against cross-border terrorism under the 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council after the toll in the deadly Jaish attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on Thursday reached 49.
The suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy carrying troopers towards Srinagar had blown up a bus when an explosive-packed SUV rammed into the paramilitary vehicle, causing the death of some 40 troopers at the spot.
Doval and Bolton have resolved to hold Pakistan to account for its obligations under UN resolutions and to remove all obstacles to designate Azhar as a global terrorist under the UN Security Council Resolution which has already designated JeM as a terror body.
It was China, who has been stonewalling the process. Beijing on Friday indicated it would continue to block India’s bid to declare Azhar as an international terrorist even after JeM claimed responsibility for the worst-ever attack in Jammu and Kashmir on security forces since militancy erupted in the state in 1989.
“The two NSAs vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan cease to be a safe haven for JeM and terrorist groups that target India, the US and others in the region,” the External Affairs Ministry statement said.
The conversations took place during a telephone call between Doval and Bolton on Friday evening.
During the conversation, Bolton expressed condolences and outrage over the Pulwama attack by the Pakistan-based terror group.
The American diplomat also offered all assistance to India to bring the perpetrators and sympathisers of the attack promptly to justice.
Doval appreciated the US support.
Apollo Hospital offers to treat free injured CRPF troopers
Nasheman News : Leading private hospital Apollo on Friday offered to treat free injured troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who survived the terror blast near Awantipora in Kashmir on Thursday.
“We offer to treat the CRPF troopers injured in the terror attack till recovery and rehabilitation at any of our hospitals across the country,” said Apollo Hospitals Chairman Prathap Reddy in a statement here.
Grieving the loss of 45 brave troopers, Reddy hailed the martyrs who laid their lives for the country and offered condolence to their bereaved families.
“We salute the families of the victims who gave the country such brave sons of the soil and for their supreme sacrifice,” added Reddy.
Karnataka to give job to CRPF trooper’s widow
Nasheman News : Karnataka will provide a job to the widow of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper H. Guru, who was among those killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Friday.
“It is a heart-wrenching incident. The state government will provide a job to the widow (Kalavathi) of Guru who is from Mandya district in the state,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.
In a tweet earlier, the Chief Minister said he spoke to Guru’s family members over the telephone and consoled them.
“Their grief is heart-wrenching. We are with them. I have instructed officials to speed up the compensation process,” Kumaraswamy tweeted.
Guru, 33, from Gudigere village in Mandya district, about 100 km from here, belonged to the 82nd Battalion of the CRPF and was posted in Srinagar.
Guru’s family members, including Kalavathi, father Honnaiah, mother Chikka Thayamma and younger brothers Madhu and Anand were inconsolable over his sudden death in the terror attack on the bus in which he was travelling along with other troopers from Jammu to Srinagar.
According to his relatives, Guru was at home on leave last week and left for Jammu and Kashmir on February 11.
Guru joined the CRPF in 2011 and was deployed in Jharkhand as part of the 94th Battalion before being posted in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Though Guru’s mother feared for his life and asked him to quit the job and settle down in the native village, he told her that he was committed to serve the country and not to worry about his welfare,” a family member told the local media in Kannada.
BJP’s state unit President B.S. Yeddyurappa, who also hails from Mandya district, said Guru’s tragic death was painful.
“Guru, who dedicated his life to the nation at a young age, was a role model for the youth of the country. I pray for his soul to rest in peace and give strength to his bereaved family,” Yeddyurappa tweeted in Kannada.
Former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader S.M. Krishna, who too hails from Mandya, condemned the savage terror attack on the CRPF convoy in which 45 troopers were killed.
“The imprint of Pakistan’s ISI is visible in the cowardly attack, going by the target chosen and the modus operandi of the terrorists,” Krishna said in a statement.
Regretting that the latest terror attack proved that Pakistan did not learn any lesson from India’s September 2016 surgical strike across the LoC, Krishna said India’s policy must be more muscular and lethal while dealing with the hostile neighbouring country.
“The surgical strike by the Indian Army Commandos ought to have made Pakistan realise the futility of fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir. As it did not, it must be spoken to in the language it understands,” said the former Karnataka Chief Minister.
Noting that Pakistan did not learn any lesson in spite of losing four wars against India in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999 (Kargil), Krishna said it would be naive to believe that one surgical strike will discipline Pakistan.
“Repeated military blows on Pakistan’s strategic and commercial interests must be undertaken,” said Krishna.
Condoling Guru’s death, Krishna said the trooper laid down his life to the call of the motherland. “We are all proud of Guru’s sacrifice. I assure his parents that their son’s sacrifice will not go in vain. India will avenge this barbaric killing. I pay my condolence to them and will meet them soon,” added Krishna.
The Status Of Women Has Changed In India
By: Husna Rizwan
Women are not born, but made. What better than India to exemplify this statement by Simone De Beauvoir. With the whole world celebrating International Women’s Day with great pomp & show, it would be only apt to analyse the position & the space Indian women occupy today, and comparing it to the time 6 decades ago when the country had just gained independence. With women participating in nationalist movements, to being pushed into the domestic household space, to their resurgence as super women today, women in our country have seen it all.
There have been innumerable debates about gender in India over the years. Much of it includes women’s positing in society, their education, health, economic position, gender equality etc. What one can conclude from such discussions is that women have always held a certain paradoxical position in our developing country.
While on one hand, India has seen an increased percentage of literacy among women, and women are now entering professional fields, the practices of female infanticide, poor health conditions & lack of education still persisting! Even the patriarchal ideology of home being a woman’s ‘real domain’ & marriage being her ultimate destiny hasn’t changed much. The matrimonial advertisements, demanding girls of the same caste, with fair skin & slim figure, or the much criticised fair & lovely ads, are indicators of slow changing social mores. If one looks at the status of women then & now, one has to look at 2 sides of the same coin; one side which is promising & one side which is bleak.
When our country got its independence, the participation of women nationalists was widely acknowledged. When Indian Constitution was formulated, it granted equal rights to women, considering them legal citizens of the country & as an equal to men in terms of freedom & opportunity. The sex ratio of women at this time was slightly better than what it is today, standing at 945 females per 1000 males. Yet the condition of women screamed a different reality.
They were relegated to household chores & made to submit to male-dominated patriarchal society, as has always been prevalent in our country. Indian women, who fought as equals with men in nationalist struggle, were not given that free public space anymore. They became homemakers & were mainly meant to build a strong home to support their men who were to build the newly independent country. Women were reduced to being 2nd class citizens. The national female literacy rate was alarmingly low (8.6%). The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for girls was 24.8% at primary level & 4.6% at upper primary level (in the 11-14 years age group). There existed insoluble social & cultural barriers to education of women & access to organised schooling.
A very few were allowed into the public space, which she was expected to manage on her own, while maintaining her domestic role as a homemaker. In spite of Sharda Act which was passed in 1950’s to raise the marital age limit for girls, child marriage particularly in North India was quite prevalent though average age at marriage for females was increased to 18. Sprawling inequalities persisted in their access to education, health care, physical & financial resources & opportunities in political, social & cultural spheres. It was almost unthinkable for women to have a choice or a say in matters of marriage, career or life. Rather she had no voice at all. The practice of dowry was as common as ever.
And since men were better educated than girls, their demands were even more. The Dowry Prohibition Act was finally passed in 1961, to protect women & promising severe punishment, but the conviction rate of crime against women was & still is very low in India. Because of such inhuman practices which were normalised by our society, the birth of the girl child was considered inauspicious. In villages as well as cities, the girl child was killed either before birth or after it. Even till date, the practice continues. The United Nations Children’s Fund, estimated that up to 50 million girls & women are “missing” from India’s population because of termination of the female foetus or high mortality of girl child due to lack of proper care.
Though a number of constitutional amendments were made for women’s social, economic & political benefits, yet they were never effective to bring in a radical change in situation. Women had only the role of a “good wife” to play & if a woman ventured out to work, she was seen as a bad woman, going against societal norms. Women were expected to cook food & eat only after the men, with whatever meagre amount of food is left. This led to rampant malnutrition among women & an extremely poor health status. Around 500 women were reported to die every day due to pregnancy related problems due to malnutrition & getting married before 18. It was only by 1960’s that a few educated women began to see themselves increasingly change from a mere guardian of home to a legitimate participant in discourse of life. The country saw the 1stundercurrent of female discontent with the system.
With time, a lot has changed since those dark ages of 1950’s for women. Though at some levels like dowry, crimes like rape, sexual harassment at office or public places & molestation, eve-teasing, even after over 60 years of independence women are still exploited, which is the shameful side of our country. Yet one can’t deny that the situation has improved since the earlier times. Women, who now represent 48.2% of the population, are getting access to education & then employment. From 5.4 million girls enrolled at the primary level in 1950-1951 to 61.1 million girls in 2004-2005. At the upper primary level, the enrolment increased from 0.5 million girls to 22.7 million girls.
Dropout rates for girls have fallen by 16.5% between the year 2000 & 2005. Programs like “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” & “Saakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy” has helped increase literacy rates from less than 10% to more than 50% today. The result of this is that India has world’s largest number of professionally qualified women. In fact India has largest population of working women in the world & has more number of doctors, surgeons, scientists, professors than United States.
Women in India slowly started recognising her true potential. She has started questioning rules laid down for her by society. As a result, she has started breaking barriers & earned a respectable position in the world.
Today Indian women have excelled in each & every field from social work to visiting space station. There is no arena, which remains unconquered by Indian women. Whether it is politics, sports, entertainment, literature, technology everywhere, its women power all along.
Today names like Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, Shobhaa De, Jhumpa Lahiri can put any other writer to shame. In the field of cinema, women like Rekha, Smita Patil, Shabana Aazmi, Vidya Balan & Konkona Sen are such names who don’t play feminised roles, but have asserted themselves over this male-dominated realm. In the field of Politics, from Indira Gandhi to Shiela Dixit, Uma Bharti, Jayalalithaa, Vasundhra Raje & Mamata Banerjee today, women are making their presence felt.Today, modern woman is so deft & self-sufficient that she can be easily called a superwoman, juggling many fronts single-handedly. Women are now fiercely ambitious and are proving their metal not only on home front, but also in their respective professions. Women in Indian are coming up in all spheres of life. They are joining the universities & colleges in large numbers. They are entering into all kinds of professions like engineering, medicine, politics, teaching, etc. A nation’s progress & prosperity can be judged by the way it treats its women folk. There is a slow & steady awareness regarding giving women their dues & not mistreating them, seeing them as objects of possession. Despite progress, the very fact that women, along with being achievers, are also expected to fulfil their roles as wives or mothers, prioritising home against anything else.
This point of view hasn’t changed much. There is still a large section of women who are uneducated & married off before the age of 18. Families are required to supply a chaste daughter to family of her future husband. Also very few women are actually employed in good-paying jobs & hence parents don’t see the point of spending money on girls’ education. Statistics say that close to 245 million Indian women lack the basic capability to read & write, which is a large number. Only 13.9% women are employed in urban sector & 29% in domestic & agriculture sector, where too a majority of women are exploited by men. The sex ratio of India shows that Indian society is still prejudiced against female, and a lot is yet to be achieved in this context.
The path towards total gender empowerment is full of potholes. Over the years, women have made great strides in many areas with notable progress in reducing some gender gaps. Yet realities such as 11,332 women & girls getting trafficked every year & increased practice of dowry, rape & sexual harassment hit hard against all development that has taken place. Thus, if on one hand women are climbing the ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared to the past, women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Women may have left secured domains of their home, but a harsh, cruel, exploitative world awaits them, where women have to prove their talent against the world who see women as merely vassals of producing children. The Indian woman has to make her way through all the socialised prejudices against her, and the men have have to allow & accept the women to be equal participants in the country’s way forward.
A Political Encounter With Prakash Raj
By: Rizwan Asad
The Reel Life Actor Turns A Real Life Politician Prakash Raj needs no special introduction, as he is a very popular multilinguistic actor, producer & director having worked not only in all the South Indian languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Tamil & Telugu but also in varied other languages like Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri, English et al! And now at this age & stage he has said a final good bye to the Indian Cinema industry forever to step into the Political arena to contest for the forthcoming Loksabha elections as an independent candidate. Tune in for his political nuggets in his Garden house on off MG Road.
*So Prakashji you are now all set to contest the forthcoming Loksabha elections as an independent candidate. So what brings you back to Bangalore? *But what made you to take the decision to come back to Bangalore only & contest for the elections? *Sir I was never away from Bangalore as Bangalore is where my real roots are. So you see there is no coming back syndrome as far as Bangalore is concerned! To that my answer once again is that I don’t come, I have been brought & it is always the situation that brings me here. This time I came to observe the political scenario & also to see where our country & its politicians are headed and as compared to that where our voters are headed and whether together they all are forming the correct political scenario or not?
*But why only Bangalore? You could have contested the forthcoming elections from anywhere? *You see I belong to Bangalore & today whatever I am or whatever qualities I have is because of my upbringing & my roots in Bangalore. I have learned my craft here & I have started my career on stage & films as an actor in Kannada films from Bangalore. Actually speaking Bangalore has empowered me, whatever I have achieved today & whatever qualities I have acquired is because of my deeply enmeshed roots in Bangalore. So Bangalore has given me so much that I thought it was payback time. I want to do something for my Bangalorean people. Hence I decided to restart my independent political journey from Bangalore all over again. I also realized that I should be the voice of the Bangaloreans in particular & of the entire India in general & this way I can take their demands to the parliament on a State & National level too. Now it remains to be seen if I can succeed in my mission & if the people of Bangalore will accept me as their independent leader.
*So what do you think of the current political scenario? * I feel that the current political scenario is more in a denial mode. Nobody, I mean none of the parties are showing the correct picture of Bangalore’s varied culture, its varied languages thereby it effects the current & the correct representation in the constitution. So my advice to them is to get their act together, one which would help them to make the proper inclusion of the massaes vote bank in order to have their right representation in the constitution.
*Don’t you think today’s politics constitutes more of a disordered chaos!!!
*Yes! You are right we find a lot of chaos everywhere & especially in all the corners of the political arena. What we need today is that people should strive to keep alive the spirit of humanity by understanding the right nuances of politics as befitting to the human spirit, those politicians who do not follow these rules needless to say that they end up in a clueless chaos.
*I am sure many political parties may have invited you to contest the elections. Yet you decided to go independent. Why? *Yeah many political parties which are on the verge of decline dangle baits in your way and most of them just strive to hang on to the invited people to survive in the cesspool of politics but thankfully I am not one of those who will bite the bait. So I thought it is better to contest the election as an independent candidate.
*How different is today’s politics as compared to the earlier times? *Of course there is a vast difference in today’s politics as earlier they were committed to their cause of the betterment of the country & its people but today everyone knows what’s going on so the less spoken about the current situation the better.
*So where have all those committed politician gone?
*No one knows. So what do you want me to do should I go & find them?
*Most of the politicians & even the voters are illiterate so do you think that something should be done in this regard?
*You tell me what can be done in this regard? The system definitely has to be changed. But who will bell the cat?
*Do you think that the voters can be blamed as most of them, especially the hi-fi people do not step out of their apartments or bungalows & do not even come out to exercise their power of vote?
*Nothing can be done as long as the so called hi-fi voters themselves realize their follies & understand what change they can bring about with their power of vote. They should realize about their duties towards their country. Nowadays the illiterate people in distant villagers are also becoming conscious about their duties & even making their brethren realize about their duties & responsibilities towards their country.
*Lastly how do you think the system can be changed for a better leader who can at least think of everyone’s well-being?
*Simple! Let the voter’s analyze the situation & and choose the right candidate mind you not the party. Don’t get tempted by dangling baits & false promises.
TN CM announces Rs 20 lakh each to kin of two CRPF troopers
Nasheman News : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palanisami on Friday condoled the death of 45 CRPF troopers in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir and announced a solatium of Rs 20 lakh each to the families of two troopers from the state who died.
He expressed his grief at the death of the two troopers from Tamil Nadu – G. Subramanian and C. Sivachandran – in the Thursday suicide bombing in Pulwama district.