A Sikh woman pilgrim from Hoshiarpur district has reportedly converted to Islam and married a Lahore-based Pakistan national, reports reaching her family in Punjab have indicated.

Her old father-in-law, Tarsem Singh, alleged on Thursday that his daughter-in-law could have fallen into the hands of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and may have been forced to convert and remarry there.

The woman, Kiran Bala, who left for Pakistan on a pilgrimage as part of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) delegation on April 12, reportedly went missing on April 16.

She went to Pakistan on her Indian passport with Pakistan visa valid till April 21.

As per Pakistani media reports, the woman embraced Islam from Darul-Aloom Jamia Naeemia in Lahore on April 16 and later performed ‘nikah’ (marriage) with Muhammed Azam, a resident of Hanjarwal Multan Road in Lahore.

However, what is curious is that in her application for extension of the Pakistan visa, her name is typed as Amna Bibi while the signature has been done as Amina.

She has applied for extension of visa, citing “threats of assassination” to her life in India, before Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, a report in Daily Times said.

The News also posted pictures of the woman and her visa extension application on its website.

Around 1,700 Indian pilgrims had gone to Pakistan to visit Sikh shrines, including Panja Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore and Nankana Sahib — the birth place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, on the occasion of Baisakhi on April 13.

Kiran Bala, 31, a widow, is the mother of three. She was living with her in-laws at their village house in Garhshankar sub-division of Punjab, around 90 km from Chandigarh.

The children are with their aged grandparents. Their father had passed away in 2013.

“I had dropped my daughter-in-law with SGPC officials in Amritsar on April 10 for the pilgrimage in Pakistan. The ‘jatha’ is expected to return on April 21.

“I cannot believe what has happened. No one has contacted us officially from the SGPC and the foreign ministry. I want my daughter-in-law to be returned safely,” Tarsem Singh, a Sikh religious preacher in his village, told the media.

Tarsem Singh alleged that Kiran Bala could be in touch with the Pakistani man (whom she has reportedly married) through social media, particularly Facebook.

He alleged that she was using social media frequently on her mobile phone in the past one month.

The visit of the Indian pilgrims to Pakistan has been mired in controversies in the past one week with Pakistani agencies and officials denying permission to Indian embassy officials there from meeting the visiting delegation members.

Posters of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland, have also been put up at the places where the Indian delegation is visiting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India tweets frequently and considers himself a talented orator. Yet he loses his voice when it comes to speaking out about the dangers faced by women and minorities who are frequent targets of the nationalist and communal forces that are part of the base of his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indians took to the streets during the weekend to protest their government’s callous response to the horrifying rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in January in which supporters of his political party have been implicated. Mr. Modi, though, has barely spoken about this crime and other cases involving his supporters.

Until last week, he declined to address the attack on the girl, in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, by men who wanted to frighten and drive away her nomadic Muslim community, the Bakarwals, from an area that is dominated by Hindus. To read about what happened to the girl, who was held and abused at a Hindu temple, over several days is to plumb the depths of human depravity.

As Mr. Modi remained quiet as public outrage built up for weeks, state lawmakers from his party, which is part of a coalition that governs Jammu and Kashmir, attended a rally in support of a man who had been arrested for the crime and joined in demands by locals that the investigation be taken away from state officials, some of whom are Muslim, and be turned over to federal authorities. After a mob of Hindu lawyers temporarily prevented the authorities from registering charges in court, officials have formally accused eight men, including policemen and a retired government employee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India tweets frequently and considers himself a talented orator. Yet he loses his voice when it comes to speaking out about the dangers faced by women and minorities who are frequent targets of the nationalist and communal forces that are part of the base of his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indians took to the streets during the weekend to protest their government’s callous response to the horrifying rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in January in which supporters of his political party have been implicated. Mr. Modi, though, has barely spoken about this crime and other cases involving his supporters.

Until last week, he declined to address the attack on the girl, in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, by men who wanted to frighten and drive away her nomadic Muslim community, the Bakarwals, from an area that is dominated by Hindus. To read about what happened to the girl, who was held and abused at a Hindu temple, over several days is to plumb the depths of human depravity.

As Mr. Modi remained quiet as public outrage built up for weeks, state lawmakers from his party, which is part of a coalition that governs Jammu and Kashmir, attended a rally in support of a man who had been arrested for the crime and joined in demands by locals that the investigation be taken away from state officials, some of whom are Muslim, and be turned over to federal authorities. After a mob of Hindu lawyers temporarily prevented the authorities from registering charges in court, officials have formally accused eight men, including policemen and a retired government employee.

Mr. Modi has also been reluctant to talk about a rape accusation against a state lawmaker from his party in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, which is governed by the B.J.P. A teenage girl says the lawmaker raped her last summer, but until recently the police have dragged their feet in bringing charges against him. He and his brother are also accused of conspiring to kill the girl’s father, who was found dead in police custody.

On Friday, Mr. Modi said that these cases had brought shame on the country and that “our daughters will definitely get justice.” But his remarks ring hollow because he waited so long to talk about the cases and spoke in broad generalities — describing the crimes as “incidents being discussed since past two days.” He has taken a similar approach in the past when addressing cases in which vigilante groups affiliated with his political movement have attacked and killed Muslims and Dalits — members of India’s lowest caste — who they falsely accused of killing cows, which are sacred to Hindus.

Mr. Modi’s silence is as perplexing as it is distressing. He seems to have failed to learn the lesson of his predecessors who did not forcefully respond to protests in late 2012 and early 2013 after a young woman was raped and killed on a public bus in New Delhi. That government, which was led by the Congress party, paid a heavy political price for its heartlessness in the 2014 parliamentary elections; the B.J.P. won the elections in large part because Mr. Modi promised to make the government more responsive to the needs of Indians who were left behind by a government dogged by corruption scandals and widely considered rudderless.

Instead, he has exhibited a pattern of silence and deflection that is deeply worrying to anybody who cares about the health of the world’s largest democracy.

Mr. Modi cannot be expected to discuss every crime committed by someone who supports him. But these cases are not isolated or random examples of violence. They are part of an organized and systematic campaign by nationalist forces that want to terrorize women, Muslims, Dalits and other underprivileged citizens.

The prime minister has a duty to safeguard and fight for all of the people of India, not just those who are allied with him politically.

The Former First Lady of the US, Barbara Bush, died on Tuesday at the age of 92 after having been in failing health for some time, a family spokesperson said.

“A former First Lady of the US and relentless proponent of family literacy, Barbara Pierce Bush passed away Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at the age of 92,” Bush family spokesperson Jim McGrath said in a statement.

The cause of her death has not yet been revealed, but on Sunday a family spokesman had said that Mrs. Bush decided to refuse further medical treatment, except for “comfort care”, Efe reported.

The wife of former President George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) and mother of former President George W. Bush (2001-2009) had suffered chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for some time, which affected her cardiac capacity and led to hospitalisation on numerous occasions over the past years.

“Barbara Bush was a fabulous first lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions. To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother,” George W. Bush said in a statement released by the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

Born on June 8, 1925 in New York, Barbara Pierce — her maiden name — was the second woman in the US history to be the wife of one US President and the mother of another, the first being Abigail Adams in the early 19th century.

She became very popular in her country as an advocate for universal literacy, a cause for which she actively participated with various organisations and to which she felt very close as her son Neil was diagnosed as dyslexic.

The former first lady continued her crusade for literacy and created her own foundation, “The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy,” which globally supports organisations that promote reading habits among children and adults.

(IANS)

A collective of journalists in Tamil Nadu have lashed out against Governor Banwarilal Purohit for patting the cheek of a lady reporter without taking her permission. In a letter addressed to him late on Tuesday night, the journalists have demanded that he should issue an unconditional apology.
“unbecoming” of a person holding a Constitutional post. The incident took place when the 78-year-old Governor was about to leave the venue of the crowded press conference at the Raj Bhavan, which was all set to conclude.

DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi tweeted “even if the intention is above supsicion, a person who holds a public office has to understand that there is a decorum to it and violating a woman journalist’s personal space does not reflect the dignity or the respect which should be shown to any human being.” “It is not only unfortunate, but unbecoming of a person holding a constitutional post,” DMK Working President M K Stalin said in his twitter handle.

In their letter to Purohit, the collective of TN journalists too have sought to remind him that his act was even more shocking because he is a constitutional figure. “Your action today in touching the cheek of a senior lady reporter who asked you a question at the press meet was patronising at best and a violation of her rights as a woman at worst,” read the letter. “It, however, does not behove the Constitutional head of a State to throw basic courtesy and respect to the winds and attempt to touch a lady without her consent, even if the gesture may have been ‘paternal’ in nature. “

A charge-sheet has been filed against four Delhi University (DU) students for “misbehaving” with Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on an occasion in 2017, police said on Tuesday.

A senior Delhi Police officer told IANS that the charge sheet was filed on Monday against the four on charges of “stalking, drunken driving and insulting the modesty of a woman”.

In April 2017, four DU students were arrested for “chasing, misbehaving and overtaking” Smriti Irani’s car in an inebriated state in the Chanakyapuri area here.

They were arrested following a complaint by the Minister’s security staff.

‘I don’t know how long I will be alive. I can be raped…My modesty can be outraged,’ Lawyer Deepika S Rajawat said.
Amid nation-wide protests against the rape and murder of 8-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua, the lawyer of the victim’s family says that she has been receiving threats and said she will approach the Supreme Court requesting protection.

Lawyer Deepika S Rajawat says she fears she can be “raped or killed”.
I was threatened yesterday that ‘we will not forgive you’. I am going to tell the Supreme Court tomorrow that I am in danger,” Rajawat said on Sunday.
On Monday, the victim’s father requested the Supreme Court to shift the trial outside Jammu and Kashmir, citing safety and security for his family.

“We don’t think there is conducive atmosphere in Kathua for the trial,” said Rajawat.

Last week, Rajawat appeared on a television channel and alleged that she was threatened by Jammu Bar Association president BS Slathia from appearing in the case.

“I am not a member of the Jammu Bar Association. But on Wednesday, Slathia asked me to stay away from the case while I was going to the court. I am not answerable to him, I am only answerable to my client,” she told TV channels.

“I am not scared, but I am not feeling safe either. Protesters (lawyers) are trying to put pressure on me so that I don’t fight for justice. But I will continue to fight Asifa’s case. I have full faith in the police investigation,” Rajawat added.

The trial in the Kathua rape began from Monday.

The incident has left the country shocked and angry and thousands of protesters took to streets voicing their concern over security of girls and women.

Six men, including a retired revenue official, two police officers and a minor have been accused of kidnapping, gangraping and murdering the minor from the nomadic Bakherwal community in Kathua in January this year. Two other policemen have been charged with trying to cover up the crime for money.

The girl’s body was found on January 17. After the accused were arrested, a group called the Hindu Ekta Manch took out protests in which two BJP ministers and a lawyers’ body linked to the Congress participated.

The case gained national attention after a police chargesheet revealed that the girl was kept in a local temple, gangraped repeatedly, and kept sedated and without food before being strangled. Her head was also smashed with a large rock. Just before she was killed, one of the accused, a police officer, insisted on raping her one last time.

A group of lawyers had tried to present the police from submitting the chargesheet.

According to the “OECD Health Statistics 2014: How Does India Compare” report, the overall health spending accounted for only four per cent of the GDP in India in 2012, out of which only 33 per cent of health spending was funded by public sources. Further, health accounted for only 4.8 per cent of total government spending in 2012. India ranks extremely high even among other developing countries in out-of-pocket costs on healthcare.

The “Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016-17” says that tobacco smoking is a major preventable risk factor for a number of causes of death. In India, 10.7 per cent adults smoked daily in 2010 and it remains so even in 2016. When measuring the exposure of second-hand smoke in households, women are at a higher risk (39.3 per cent) in comparison to men (38.1 per cent) but unfortunately our policies remain passive on this issue.

With the dismal condition of healthcare in India, the provisions for healthcare are even worse when it comes to women-specific diseases. Generally, women’s health receives attention only during pregnancy; this comes from our patriarchal understanding of women’s role in society.

Cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, respiratory diseases and trauma are major causes of death for women worldwide. The health profile of India by WHO reveals that women have a higher life expectancy in comparison to men, but this is marred by disorders like musculoskeletal diseases, depression, etc. Social structures and prejudices also create an environment in which women’s health and well-being are further compromised.

Due to a lack of disease-specific data on gender differences, there is a complete absence of evidence about preventive care for women, along with issues like increased consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Gender disparities have also crept into healthcare delivery and women’s access to treatment.

Traditionally, much of the work done by women is performed within the context of the family. As women move beyond their traditional occupations in today’s era, they meet new health hazards which add to the existing occupational hazards.

Globally, psychological violence at work, especially bullying, violence, mobbing and harassment (including sexual harassment) are reported to be major concerns for women. Many studies show that women are at particular risk of physical and psychological violence both in and outside the workplace. But this is rarely considered under the banner of occupational safety and health. Appropriate indicators must be established when examining compensation for work accidents and injuries in such cases.

As a result of the neglect of women’s occupational injuries, women are reported to be at much lower risk of occupational injuries and accidents. For instance, till recently, deteriorating respiratory health due to pollution from household cooking was not considered an occupational health issue. Whatever little data is available on women’s occupational health and safety issues is mostly aggregated and this ignores many important aspects of women’s health profiles.

A UN study of 31 countries shows women are working 10 to 30 per cent more hours than men and that two-thirds of women’s work is unpaid, unvalued and invisible. Yet our national health programmes fail to address health issues pertinent to women.

Low participation rate of women in the labour market is also attributed to uncertain occupational health and safety. Thus, there is a high urgency for a comprehensive plan for women’s health whether in the workplace, household, or other spheres.

(IANS)

DEEPA MALIK, a silver medalist, Rio Paralympic 2016 shows you how “Life is a festival which you celebrate every day.”

Deepa Malik, 46 years, is an athlete and the first Indian woman who has won a medal in Paralympic Games and a Silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the shot put. As an adventure sportsperson, she is a part of the Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18000 feet. It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including the remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.

She has also been awarded the Arjuna award (2012) and the President Role Model award (2014). She has worked to formulate the 12th five-year plan (2012–2017) on Sports and Physical Education as nominated by the Planning Commission HRD Division, on behalf of the Sports Ministry as part of the working group.
We have already told you about her life journey before, The Extraordinary Story Of Deepa Malik, Silver Medalist, Rio Paralympics 2016. Nevertheless, here are a few things we need to learn from her and imbibe in our lives.
You Write Your Own Destiny
Deepa was bedridden at age 6; the doctors took one year to diagnose her condition. She had her first surgery at age 7 for a spinal tumour. Post that, next two years was all about aggressive rehabilitation, intensive physical activity and occupational therapy. As a vivacious and outdoorsy person, she found opportunity in her physical rehabilitation. It became her way to innovate, discover and drive her passion for sports.

She adapted to sports, showed a sense of seriousness and purpose and didn’t let her health be a barrier or impediment in any way. Her spinal tumour re-emerged and at the age of 29 and she was paralysed waist down. Deepa is on a lifelong tumour management treatment. But all this did not deter her from chasing her dreams and turning them into a reality.

Besides the medal in Paralympic Games and a Silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the shot put, her list of international and national awards is exemplary and extensive. In the last few years, they also include awards like PC Athletics World Championship, Doha 2015 | Diploma (5th Position) – (Shotput), IPC Oceania Asian Championship, Dubai March 2016 | 1 Gold (Jav), 1 Silver (Shotput), Incheon Asian Para Games 2014 – Silver medal in women’s 53–54 Javelin with a new Asian Record and IPC 2nd China Open Athletics Championship Beijing 10–17 April 2014– Shot put F53-55 Gold etc.

Deepa’s grit, tenacity, passion and intent remained unbeaten and she turned around her life. Where most people would give up and resign to a life of hopelessness and despair, she fought grave circumstances, distressing life conditions and exigent physical, emotional, mental, psychological factors.

Designing ways to fuel her passion in a constructive way, she ensured her own contentment and triumph.

Inspiration Can Come From The Mundane In Your Life

For Deepa, her parents have been her most important teachers, mentors and inspiration. They have moulded her to be a strong person. Even after suffering from severe disabilities, she has always been bold, confident and never gave up hope. She says, “Without them, I won’t be the Deepa Malik I am today.”

An early riser like her father, from him she has learnt to make the most of things and turn even a nightmare into an opportunity. As an army man, every time he got posted he would take up the first available accommodation, which most others would turn down, as it would be one the old dilapidated British bungalow. Most other officers avoided taking it up as it would be inhabitable. But in no time, he would get it painted, change the plumbing and renovate a ramshackle house into a stunning, expansive, vintage and beautiful home. This is how she discovers power and prospects in the most forbidden and negative circumstances.

Deepa’s mother hails from an orthodox, conservation and lower middle-class family of four sisters. Even then in her time, she was a part of the debate club, an NCC cadet who participated in the Republic Day parade and went on to become the rifle shooter for Maharaja Karni Singh, Bikaner’s rifle shooting team. Deepa believes that her mother is her role model – from her, she learnt how to thrive, grow and achieve her goals against all odds.

For her husband when she got paralysed waist down, it was never an issue. He never stops her from feeding her spirit, passions and yearnings. Before her marriage, her parents were always scared that rather than recuperating from surgeries she was busy playing sports and riding bikes. But her then future husband totally backed her decision to ride. She knew he would never come in her way of growth. She was wise enough to perceive that he was the right person as a life partner for her. Life partners create that environment, space and support for each other to soar higher.

Disability Is A State Of Mind

The biggest challenge for her in this journey has been to find wheelchair accessible places and parking. She battles with infrastructure. India lacks sensitization about disability. Trainers lack sensitizations, awareness and knowledge, even though they work with the athlete. They do not study, customize, and harmonize sports sciences to bring about the best solutions for the athlete who is differently abled.

India needs to treat Paralympics as main stream sports in our country. As Deepa says, “The health of the nation is known by how the senior citizens, women and physically challenged are doing in that country.”

She rightly believes that our country will truly become that ’emerging, smart and modern India’ when the infrastructure, policy, funding, sponsorship, training and opportunities for a physically challenged person becomes egalitarian and accessible.

Deepa had to open a restaurant and become a motivational speaker to raise funds for training. She exerts, “CSR needs to wake up and invest in the health of the physically challenged for our nation.”

An astounding success of India in Paralympics will result in altering the global image of the nation to a 180-degree turnaround to positive, where every citizen will get sensitized, more medals will be won for the nation and it will be the best way to keep a person with disability healthy and happy.

Life Is A Festival

She beautifully puts, “Life is a festival, which you celebrate every day.”
One cannot just wait on the fence, play the victim card, blame others or circumstances or look for excuses. It is imperative to walk forward and create your own way to achieve your purpose. Even when things, opportunities, support and finances were not available, Deepa found ways to go ahead and did not let any challenge hold her back.

With self-belief, confidence, faith and the capacity for hard work, she created the infrastructure and “blood group” of people who stand out for each other in adventure sports. She used social media, technology and core groups of bikers and rally sportsperson to fight through her way in the country.

As reported, “Deepa Malik was the first person ever to receive a license for invalid (modified) rally vehicle, a case she consistently pursued for 19 months in Maharashtra. She is also the first physically challenged individual in the country to receive an official rally license from the Federation Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) and become a navigator and driver in the toughest car rallies of the country like Raid-de-HIMALAYA 2009 and Desert Storm 2010.”

Tehelka reported, “Malik set a Limca Book record for riding the first special bike for paraplegics in 2009. When she received a special license to drive a hand-controlled car, she undertook a record drive of 3,000 km from Delhi to Leh and back, through high altitude passes.

After undergoing hydrotherapy at the Spinal Injuries Centre, she became the first disabled person to swim for a kilometre in the Yamuna against the current.”

And so, if you’re ever feeling down or demotivated, think of Deepa Malik who literally did not let anything come in between her and her dreams.

Women at Microsoft Corp working in US-based technical jobs filed 238 internal complaints about gender discrimination or sexual harassment between 2010 and 2016, according to court filings made public on 12 March.

The figure was cited by plaintiffs suing Microsoft for systematically denying pay raises or promotions to women at the world’s largest software company. Microsoft denies it had any such policy.

The lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court in 2015, is attracting wider attention after a series of powerful men have left or been fired from their jobs in entertainment, the media and politics for sexual misconduct.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys are pushing to proceed as a class action lawsuit, which could cover more than 8,000 women. More details about Microsoft’s human resources practices were made public on 12 March in legal filings submitted as part of that process.

The two sides are exchanging documents ahead of trial, which has not been scheduled.

Out of 118 gender discrimination complaints filed by women at Microsoft, only one was deemed“founded” by the company, according to details in the unsealed court filings.

Attorneys for the women called the number of complaints“shocking” in the court filings and the response by Microsoft’s investigations team“lackluster.”

Companies generally keep information about internal discrimination complaints private, so it is unclear how the number of complaints at Microsoft compares to competitors.

Microsoft said in court filings that the plaintiffs did not identify practices that impact enough employees to warrant a class action, and that it spends more than $55 million per year to promote diversity and inclusion. The company had about 74,000 US employees at the end of 2017.

Microsoft said the plaintiffs cannot cite one example of a pay or promotion problem in which Microsoft’s investigations team should have found a violation of company policy, but did not. A Microsoft spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

US District Judge James Robart has not yet ruled on the plaintiffs’ request for class action status.

A Reuters review of federal court cases filed between 2006 and 2016 revealed hundreds containing sexual harassment allegations where companies used common civil litigation tactics to keep potentially damning information under wraps.

Microsoft had argued that the number of womens’ human resources complaints should be kept secret because publicizing the outcomes could deter employees from reporting future abuses.

A court-appointed official found that scenario“far too remote a competitive or business harm” to justify keeping the information sealed.

Priyanka Chopra says women have the “superpower” to balance career with family and it is high time men understood that their aspirations are equally important. The 35-year-old actor, who entered the film industry soon after winning the Miss World title at the age of 18, credits her parents, especially her father, for understanding her dreams and helping her achieve them.

“I came from a family where everyone questioned my decision to become an actor. There was a big debate in my house. But my parents, especially my father said, ‘I am standing by her in whatever she wants to do. I will make sure nothing wrong happens to her.’ He kept his promise. He was with me always till I was 23. He used to be my manager. I had the support of my father,” Priyanka told in an interview.

“The men in the world need to understand that as soon as you empower a woman, as soon as you give her the opportunity to be her best, she can handle both family and career. I feel boys can’t tackle both. Look at the medals at Commonwealth Games, most of them have been won by women because they had this opportunity,” she says. The actor believes society needs to be more open towards the idea of women being ambitious. She says people have still not warmed up to the idea of a career-oriented woman.

“Girls being ambitious is still like… ‘haw kitni ambitious hai!’ (she is so ambitious!). Women have the superpower where they can manage their family and their ambition together. Just because a woman is working, it does not mean she won’t be able to take care of her family. My mother was a working woman. She is double MD. She raised two children, who seem to be alright. We need to separate the two things,” she says.

Priyanka, who has always been upfront about her ideas on issues pertaining to gender equality and women’s health, says being an entertainer gives her a platform to spread awareness about various social causes. “I take my social responsibility very seriously. I know I am an influencer. I know because of being an entertainer, I have the ears of people. They will listen to me. I like to use the platform to be able to make a change. I know what my life would have ended up being had my parents not taught me to be the way I am. So, I like to take that opportunity, especially when I believe in a cause.”

The actor, however, does not think working for social welfare is solely a celebrity’s job. She believes promoting a cause is a personal decision and celebrities should not be expected to behave like superheroes. “So many people ask me ‘you are celebrity, what do you do for the world?’ People never ask themselves what they have done. As an entertainer, it is my job to entertain people and I am doing it. And I don’t understand why celebrities are expected to do everything and solve world problems. I am doing this because I want to.

“I am a strong believer that each one of us needs to be socially responsible. But it is an individual’s decision. For me, it is important that I will fly down in the middle of my shoot just for 12 hours. But everybody can’t be expected to have the same standard. And I do think, we tend to sometimes think that actors should be perfect, but we are not… We are humans,” says Priyanka.

Priyanka, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, flew down to Delhi from Dublin, Ireland to formally introduce the 2018 Partners’ Forum, a platform which works towards improving the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents. The actor says despite being a public figure, she does not censor her opinions to fit the popular narrative which sometimes lands her in trouble.

“… I am logical, but not careful. That is why I get into trouble. But I speak from my heart and I know I don’t have any malice. I know there are people out there who are waiting with a magnifying glass to see if I speak something wrong. I always hope that I don’t say something wrong and if I say I am not shy to apologise. But if I am not wrong, I will defend myself,” she says.