WE THE STATE 30th ISSUE

We APRIL 22 TO APRIL 28, 2013 

BY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT 

Tribal affairs minister Vijay Shah's relent- 

less efforts at trying to pacify an angry 

Shivraj Singh Chauhan could not save the 

day for him. In the early hours of Wednesday he 

had to tender his resignation to the chief minister, 

who promptly sent it to the governor recommending 

acceptance. 

Though Shah earned the wrath of the chief minister 

and the state party leadership for his demeaning 

words on women in general, what did 

him in was a loose comment on Chauhan's wife 

Sadhna Singh. "Bhabhi ji chalo. Bhai-sahab ke 

saath to roz jaate ho, kabhi dewaron ke saath chalo. 

Maine bhabhi ki taraf dekha …kya bolti? 

(Bhabhiji, why don't we go out sometime? You go 

out with bhai-sahab everyday, once in a while accompany 

the brother-in-law too)," he had said at a 

public function in Jhabua recently. 

he State 

Vol-01. Issue-30. Bhopal. Monday Page-12. Price-`5/- 

www.wethestate.com 

Rahul Gandhi's itinerary indicates 

serious electoral mission 

Shah reached Bhopal on the instructions of state 

BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar, but by then 

the decision to sack him had been taken in a meeting 

attended by Chauhan, Tomar and party general 

secretary (organisation) Arvind Menon. As per 

party insiders, Tomar was not actually in favour 

of sacking Shah from the cabinet as he didn't find 

anything objectionable in the video recording of 

Shah's speech in Jhabua. He, however, had to bow 

to Chauhan's wishes. 

The minister drove straight to Tomar's residence 

and as instructed by the latter gave his resignation 

letter and also a letter of apology addressed to 

Chauhan. He tried to put the blame of the media 

for "distorting his statements as part of a conspiracy 

against him". 

Thereafter, Tomar and Menon took Shah to CM 

House. Shah reportedly told Chauhan that he had 

not made any indecent statement, but an upset 

chief minister was not in a mood to give a second 

thought. 

However, Chauhan sent his principal secretary 

Manoj Shrivastava to Raj Bhavan to hand over the 

resignation to governor Ram Naresh Yadav, who 

accepted it immediately. 

At the inauguration function of a MEMU (mainline 

electric multiple unit) train at Bhopal railway 

station recently, Chauhan told assembled reporters: 

"Vijay Shah came to see me. He tendered 

his resignation. I have forwarded the same to the 

governor with my recommendation to accept it." 

Meanwhile, the state Congress termed this as a 

"victory" of their "Sadhna ke samman mein Congress 

maidan mein" campaign. Party leaders like 

district Congress president PC Sharma, state Congress 

media-in-charge Manak Agarwal, Shantilal 

Padiyar and Abha Singh also reached Shyamala 

Hills police station and lodged a complaint against 

Shah for his remarks against women. 

Shah is a five-time MLA who has been winning 

assembly elections right from 1990. A tribal leader, 

he hails from a royal family and wields much influence 

in Harsud and adjoining areas. Shah said, 

"I am in politics for the past 30 years and I have 

closely worked with the chief minister when he 

was not the chief minister and I was neither a minister 

nor a MLA. I have utmost regard for him and 

bhabhiji. I cannot in the wildest of my dreams 

mean any disrespect to them." 

Blaming the media for the controversy, he said, "I 

can do nothing if selective parts of my speech are 

shown. One would have to watch the entire CD for 

more than one hour to understand what I had actually 

said and in what context. There was nothing 

wrong in it." 

As per party sources, the fact that Shah wields 

enormous influence in his constituency Harsud 

and also some adjoining assembly constituencies 

is working in his favour and keeping him insulated 

against disciplinary action. Secondly, the BJP 

leadership is of the view that if it takes any action 

against Shah at the moment, it would be giving legitimacy 

to the Congress' protest against the state 

government's attitude towards women. 

With Shah's removal from the state cabinet, the 

strength of Shivraj Singh Chauhan cabinet has reduced 

to 32. They include 23 cabinet ministers and 

nine ministers of state. In September 2012, the 

strength of the cabinet rose to 33 with re-induction 

of Anoop Mishra. 

Vijay Shah happens to be the sixth minister to be 

dropped from the cabinet in the past eight years on 

the charges of omission and commission. The others 

include Ajay Vishnoi, Anoop Mishra, Kamal 

Patel, Jugal Kishore Bagri and Omprakash 

Dhruve. Vishnoi and Anoop Mishra. However, they 

did not face any direct charges and later made a 

comeback. 

Also, Shah happens to be the second minister in 

the BJP government after 2003 who had to step 

down because of his controversial statements. 

Earlier, the then chief minister Babulal Gaur had 

Pooja Bhatt Hesitates to 

Talk about Rape Victims 

Vijay Shah gets the boot 

for taunting CM’s wife 

dropped the then minister Sunil Nayak for his 

statement in favour of Uma Bharti. 

Whatever is the political fallout of chief minister 

Shivraj Singh Chauhan's decision to sack minister 

Vijay Shah from his cabinet over his reported 

sexist remarks, a section of party leaders feel this 

has served as a right message to those party leaders 

who might have thought of raising their voice 

against him ahead of the elections. 

Notably, in the recent constitution of team Rajnath 

at the central BJP level, many of Chauhan's 

detractors found prestigious positions whereas he 

himself could not make it to the parliamentary 

board. This sent out a message to the party's rank 

and file that Chauhan is gradually losing his command 

over the party, and in the time to come, his 

opponents within the party would grow stronger. 

How WE look it ! 

...Cartoon by K G OJHA

2 

BHOPAL April 22 to April 28, 2013 

Capital 

WE THE STATE 

Air taxi service from Bhopal to Ujjain takes off 

BHOPAL 

The air taxi service started between 

Bhopal and prominent pilgrimage centre 

Ujjain, received encouraging response 

on the inaugural day on Friday. The MP 

State Tourism Development Corporation (MP- 

STDC) has launched this service in coordination 

with Ventura Airconnect. 

The response was more than satisfactory for 

the inaugural flight, as the first flight which 

left Bhopal at noon found occupants for all the 

nine seats, while the return flight had eight 

passengers. The aircraft in service is a nine- 

seater Cessna Grand Caravan Aircraft. 

The flight would ferry passengers between 

Bhopal and Ujjain thrice a week on Monday, 

Wednesday and Friday. The flight leaves 

Bhopal at 12.10 pm and reaches 

Ujjain at 12.50 pm. During return 

journey, the aircraft would 

leave Ujjain at 1.10pm and 

would reach Bhopal at 1.50 pm. 

MPSTDC regional manager 

MN Jamali told DNA that this 

is second such air-service in the 

region, while Indore-Bhopal 

service being the first one. He claimed that pil- 

grims visit Ujjain in large numbers seeking 

blessing at Mahakal, so this service would offer 

an easier connectivity between Ujaain and other 

destinations. 

Recently, the special flight 

service offered by MPSTDC 

for the Allahabad Mahakumbh 

2013 had received 

good response as the flights 

were running full during entire 

Mahakumbh. The special 

service was started on February 

5. Significantly, India's 

first intra-state air taxi service connecting the 

cities of Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur had taken 

off from in September 2011. The joint venture, 

promoted by Venutra Airconnect and MP- 

STDC was aimed at offering charter services 

and connecting new tourist destinations. 

The journey from Bhopal to Ujjain and viceversa 

will be conducted through a 9- seater 

Cessna Caravan in association with Ventura 

Air Connect. Service will be provided on first 

come first serve basis. Fair has been decided 

between Rs 1,500 and Rs 3,200. Air service will 

be available between Bhopal and Ujjain on 

three days of week on Mondays, Wednesdays 

and Fridays. 

Does Chouhan fears trouble from Firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharti ? 

BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh feel 

Uma Bharti‘s re-entry in the party 

fold will help it in the state assembly 

elections slated around the year end. 

Uma Bharti's re-entry into the party fold 

in Madhya Pradesh is being seen as a positive 

factor by BJP leaders as far as the 

state assembly elections slated around the 

year end are concerned. 

In 2003, the Congress, under two-time 

MP cadre IAS officer in race 

for Union Home Secretary post 

Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, was badly 

defeated in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly 

polls. The BJP campaign then was led 

by Uma Bharati, who was seen as one of 

the leaders who would shape the party’s 

future while holding true to its core of militant 

Hindutva. She was an impressive 

public speaker with popular appeal. 

But as the party soon realised, the difference 

between a campaigner and an administrator 

is immense, and soon after, she 

had to be replaced. Babulal Gaur took over, 

but he didn’t last long either, and when 

Chouhan took over, not many took him seriously. 

Chouhan is not an administrative genius 

,This was proved when there was much 

talk of the power wielded by his wife, Sadhana 

Chouhan .He is neither as mercurial 

in public, nor is he likely to offer a birthday 

cake to Hanuman in public like Uma 

Bharti. He has a complex about not knowing 

English. He is intimidated by assertive 

professional women. Uma Bharti who 

stayed long with Rajmata Scindia has 

toured worldwide and her her fluency attracts 

media . Uma Bharati thought she 

was the best chief minister the state has 

ever had. But Chouhan has not allowed 

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh cadre 1977 batch IAS officer 

Dileep Raj Singh Choudhary, hailing from Bhopal, has 

emerged as the frontrunner for the post of home secretary 

with the Union government. Present home secretary RK 

Singh's term ends on June 30 this year. DRS Choudhry is 

presently posted as secretary, ministry of steel with the 

Union government. 

The MP cadre officer has served for almost three years as additional 

secretary and then special secretary in-charge of 

Naxal management in the Union home ministry. In October 

2011 he was appointed secretary, public enterprises, and later 

shifted in the same capacity to the ministry of steel. 

While in Madhya Pradesh, DRS Choudhary has served as 

collector, Betul and later as collector, Raipur, in undivided 

Madhya Pradesh. He has also served as housing board commissioner, 

registrar of cooperative societies, secretary and 

principal secretary, finance department. 

If Choudhary is appointed Union home secretary, he would 

be the third officer from the state to hold the post. The other 

two officers who have served as home secretary in the past 

are RN Banerjee, ICS and TCA Sriniwasa Varadan, IAS. 

Choudhary hails from a family of civil servants. His father 

and father-in-law, late MS Choudhary and late Brahmswaroop, 

have served as chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh. 

Bharati to return to the state ever since 

she left the BJP. Now when she returned it 

would be a trouble to maintain emotional 

equilibrium that has stood him in good 

stead 

However, Congress is of the view that 

ten years of BJP rule has set-in a strong 

anti-incumbency wave in the state which 

even the re-entry of Bharti will not be able 

to contain. 

BJP MLA and spokesman Vishwas 

Sarang said that the party was certainly 

going to benefit in the coming Assembly 

polls with the re-entry of Bharti in the 

party fold as she had her own dedicated 

vote in the state that resulted in the victory 

of her candidates in five seats in the 

2008 Assembly polls. 

In 2008, BJP minus Uma Bharti had won 

143 seats and later it wrested five more 

seats from Congress in the by-polls, taking 

its tally to a total of 148.Her party won five 

seats in 2008 managing to corner over 12 

lakh votes totalling nearly 5.5% of the total 

votes polled in the 215 seats her party 

contested. She herself lost the polls from 

her home turf Tikamgarh. 

Besides, her party candidates got more 

than 5,000 votes in 75 seats, they were at 

IFS officers promoted 

BHOPAL: The state government has promoted 8 IFS officers 

of the 1983 batch to the additional principal chief conservator 

of forests (APCCF) rank and 7 officers of the 1989 batch 

to the chief conservator of forests (CCF) rank. 

BMS Rathore posted at the MoEF in Delhi has been given 

proforma promotion. AK Bhattacharya has been posted as 

APCCF, MP state forest development corporation 

(MPSFDC), Mangesh Tyagi has been posted in planning 

commission, TC Lohani has been posted as APCCF in 

MPSFDC, MK Sinha has been posted as APCCF to MP state 

minor forest produce federation, LK Chaudhry has been 

posted as APCCF co-ordination and MC Sharma has been 

posted as APCCF, regional, working plan, Jabalpur. 

Vishram Sagar Sharma on promotion to CCF rank has 

been posted as director, Kuno Palpur sanctuary. MS Dhakad 

who is currently serving at GoI has been given proforma 

promotion. Alok Das, who is posted in commercial taxes department, 

Indore, has been promoted to CCF. HU Khan has 

been posted as CCF, vigilance and complaints, OP Chaudhry 

has been posted as CCF, research and extension, Gwalior. 

Shamsher Singh posted at the WII, Dehradun has been given 

proforma promotion. Besides this, the state government 

also issued orders transferring 3 IFS officers. Consequently, 

APCCF(wildlife) Dharmendra Shukla has been posted as 

APCCF (IT), CP Rai has been posted as APCCF land management 

and PK Chaudhry has been posted as APCCF vigilance 

and complaints. 

the third place at 27 places, secured second 

position on 11 seats and ensured the defeat 

of the ruling BJP candidates on at least 17- 

18 seats, senior BJP leader and former 

MLA Narendra Birthare said 

Though politics may not be a simple 

arithmetic, but if these numbers are 

added to the BJP’s 2008 performance, then 

it will strengthen the party in the upcoming 

Assembly polls, party sources said. 

BJP vice president Uma Bharti had recently 

said, “I am sure (Chief Minister) 

Chouhan, on his own, would easily win 150 

seats in Madhya Pradesh and it is now our 

responsibility to add to it. The BJP would 

definitely win more seats this time.” 

However, discounting the claims of 

Bharti, state Congress media department 

chairman Manak Agrawal said, “Strong 

anti-incumbency wave has set in Madhya 

Pradesh and the Congress will encash on 

it to form its government in the state by 

winning over 150 seats this time.” 

Both Bharti and another BJP vice president 

Prabhat Jha, who was suddenly removed 

from the post of state BJP president, 

will ensure the defeat of Shivraj 

Singh Chouhan’s corrupt, anti-women and 

inefficient government, Agrawal said. 

THE TEAM 

EDITOR 

M.M. BAIG 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

DILIP OJHA 

ASSISTANT EDITOR 

BIPIN SASI 

CARTOONIST 

DR. K.G. OJHA 

STATE CORRESPONDENT 

RAJIV TIWARI 

LAYOUT DESIGNER 

ARVIND PAWAR 

NEWS COORDINATOR 

SHAILENDRA PARIHAR 

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR 

AKSHAY OJHA

3 

ASTROLOGY 

24-4-2013- Wednesday - Chettr 

Mah Shuklapaksh-Trayodashi 

(Chaturdashi Tithi Kshay) 

Positive direction- West and South 

Bad time - 12:35 pm to 2:12 pm 

Good time - 6:10 am to 9:22 am 

and 3:48 pm to7:02 pm 

25-4-2013-Thursday - Chettr Mah 

Shuklapaksh-Poornima 

Positive direction- South and West 



and 10:59 am to 2:11 pm and 5:25 

pm to 7:02 pm 

26-4-2013- Friday - Vaishakh Mah 

Krishnapaksh-Ekam 

Positive direction - South and West 

Bad time - 10:59 am to 12:35 

pm 


and 12:36 pm to 2:12 pm and 5:25 

pm to 7:02 pm 

27-4-2013- Saturday -Vaishakh 

Mah Krishnapaksh-Dwitiya 

Positive direction - North and West 

Bad time - 9:22 am to 10:59 am 

Good time -7:46 am to 9:20 am 

and 12:35 pm to 5:25 pm 

28-4-2013- Sunday -Vaishakh Mah 

Krishnapaksh-Tritiya (Chaturthi Vratt) 

Positive direction- North and West 


Good time - 7:46 am to 12:35 pm 

and 2:12 pm to 3:48 pm 

29-4-2013- Monday -Vaishakh Mah 

Krishnapaksh-Chaturthi 

Positive direction- East and North 

Bad time - 7:46 am to 9:22 am 


and 9:23 am to 10:59 am and 2:12 pm 

to 7:05 pm 

30-4-2013- Tuesday -Vaishakh Mah 

Krishnapaksh-Panchmi 

Positive direction- South and East 


Good time - 9:22 am to 2:12 pm 

-By AACHARYA SARVESH 

E-Mail: acharya.sarvesh@yahoo.com 

Mobile: 9826609192 

Vastu Tips 

☛ A Basil plant can have a very 

positive influence within the 

limits of a house. 

☛ Bilva, Madhuka and Peepal are 

very favorable on the West of 

the house. 

☛ Udumbara (Goolar) and Panas 

are favorable towards the South 

direction of the house. 

☛ Coconut and Banana plants 

within house limits are very 

favorable, with respect to mental 

peace and health. 

☛ Thorny succulent plants must 

not be grown within the house 

limits. 


Editorial 


Shah had to fall; it was just a matter of time 

Known more for the controversies 

he courted with his words and 

actions than his work as a minister, 

Vijay Shah (50) has been inviting 

troubles for quite some time. It was just 

a matter of time as to when he would be 

taken to task. 

The party leaders believe if Shah 

would not have made remarks against 

chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's 

wife, he would have again got away as he 

did in past. The Jhabua incident came to 

limelight only because of media. 

According to sources, who once were 

close to Shah, the minister was always 

known for his no-holds-barred attitude. 

There was no control on what he said. 

However, the party always ignored his 

eccentricities. Had action been taken 

against him in the past, or a warning 

given to him, perhaps the CM, or for that 

matter the BJP, would not have suffered 

such a humiliation. Also, it would have 

not allowed the Congress from taking 

advantage of the situation. 

In a meeting held with the tribal affairs 

department officers after becoming the 

tribal affairs minister, Shah reportedly 

turned to a woman IAS officer and asked 

her to join him on tours of the state. 

There were some male IAS officers too 

but Shah's offer went to the woman IAS 

officer only. Taken aback by the minister's 

proposal, the woman officer got herself 

shifted to some other department after 

seeking help of the then governor 

Balram Jakhar. 

A few years ago, a woman from Khandwa, 

whose husband worked at Vijay 

Shah's gas agency, lodged a complaint 

with police that Shah harassed her husband 

as she did not fulfill his 'desire'. 

In reference to his utterances at 

Jhabua, Shah blamed the media. However, 

it is not the first time that he has done 

so. When his son's name surfaced in re- 

Who would be BJP’s new tribal face? 

Tribal affairs minister Vijay Shah being sacked from the state 

cabinet, the question doing the rounds in the BJP circles is: who 

would be the new tribal face in the government? 

The question assumes significance as 2013 happens to be the assembly 

election year and the ruling party would put everything at 

stake to win the elections and retain the power for a third consecutive 

term. 

According to BJP leaders, Vijay Shah could not be termed as a 

true tribal face of the government, but still, of all the tribal leaders 

in the party, Shah's stature was only growing. He also had an 

enormous influence in his assembly constituency Harsud and adjoining 

constituencies. Shah came from a Gond royal family and 

hence received respect from the masses. 

The party leaders say the timing of sacking of Shah from the 

cabinet was not good, for the party needed 

him to counter Congress' tribal face in Kantilal 

Bhuria. Earlier, the BJP tried to promote 

Jagannath Singh, the minister for labor 

and leader from Vindhya region, as its 

tribal face, but he could not show much 

promise. 

Ranjna Baghel was another option for the 

party but she was found short of vision and 

leadership skills to mobilize the tribals. The 

woman and child development minister is 

known for corruption and malpractices. 

The choice is difficult and the timing significant. 

Hence, the party cannot afford to 

dump Vijay Shah forever. If he is not to get 

the ticket for 2013 assembly elections, the 

party would have to choose among his wife, 

a mayor, or his younger brother, an independent 

MLA or his elder brother, a bank 

manager. 

If Shah was overlooked entirely, he might 

prove to be a spoilsport for the party for 

around eight seats, which the party cannot 

afford, especially, when it is facing a major challenge to negate 

anti-incumbency. 

The party has to think of strategy as to how to counter the damage 

caused by sacking of Shah and find out a good tribal leader. It 

also remains to be seen if Chauhan inducts any tribal MLA in the 

cabinet to look after tribal welfare department. 

Apart from this, in the ministry of Shivraj Singh Chauhan and 

in the party leadership of state, there are few more faces that are 

publically exposed about their unhealthy behavior and vulgar 

statements. Some of them are even famous as “don” of their area 

and are also giving shelter to unsocial elements. In view of forthcoming 

elections, will CM formulate any strategy to cleanup such 

dirty spots? 

-EDITOR 

Email: editor@wethestate.com 

lation to a liquor baron's daughter's attempt 

to commit suicide at Indore a few 

years ago, Shah even then blamed the 

media. 

However, the tainted minister was not 

only inaccessible to media but he 

dumped even some of his close friends 

in the past few years, particularly, when 

his stature grew in the government. 

According to the party leaders, the corridors 

of power have several tales relating 

to Shah's 'colorful' life style but the 

party, or for that matter chief minister 

Shivraj Singh Chauhan, never paid attention 

to same. It was the state BJP 

president Tomar himself who once 

saved Shah from an embarrassing situation 

when a traveling ticket examiner 

(TTE) of a train intended to lodge a report 

against him. 

In fact, of late, the CM rewarded Shah 

by making him the district-in-charge 

minister of Sehore, CM's home district. 

Minor’s rape in 

Delhi: Why 

student 

protesters are 

missing 

As a second wave of protests 

hits the Capital triggered this 

time by the brutal rape of a 

five-year-old, made more shocking by 

the Delhi Police’s callousness in investigating 

it, the massive outpouring 

of students onto the streets witnessed 

in the aftermath of 16 December 

seems to be missing. 

The gangrape of a 23-year-old student 

and attack on her friend on 16 

December had seen an unprecedented 

scale of protests led by students in 

the Capital. 

While the weekend witnessed 

protests led by left-wing student 

groups at India Gate and near the police 

headquarters, the second wave of 

anti-rape movement seems to have 

been dominated by the political parties, 

most visibly the Aam Aadmi 

Party. 

That it is exam season in universities 

seems to have had a definite impact 

on the numbers turning out for 

protests. But that is not the only reason, 

students say, why the scale of 16 

December protest is missing this 

time around. 

The decisive direction that the 16 

December protest had is missing this 

time. The chemistry of a protest cannot 

be predicted or controlled. A moment 

can’t repeat itself. And every 

moment is new. There is a lot of 

anger and disenchantment. In the 

days to come, in another context, another 

protest might erupt. One can 

only prepare and create a platform 

for protest.

4 


Politics 


Rahul Gandhi's itinerary indicates 

serious electoral mission 

BHOPAL 

Rahul Gandhi's itinerary during 

his two-day visit to the 

state gives a clear indication 

that the Congress vice-president will 

be in Madhya Pradesh on a serious 

electoral mission and wishes to get a 

first-hand feedback from the grassroots 

on the party's prospects for both 

the 2013 assembly election and the 

subsequent Lok Sabha election. 

During his stay in Mohankheda and 

later in Bhopal, Rahul Gandhi will 

have five rounds of meetings with 

the Congress workers. Two of these 

meetings will take place in Mohankheda 

and three in Bhopal. 

The list of invitees for the meeting 

with Rahul Gandhi indicates that he 

wishes to interact with leaders of all 

hues from all the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies 

of the state, which obviously 

covers all the 230 assembly seats as well. 

According to state Congress media incharge 

Manak Agrawal, those invited for dialogue 

with the Congress vice-president are district 

Congress presidents, vicepresidents, 

treasurer and block Congress presidents, incumbent 

MPs and MLAs, all the party candidates 

fielded in the previous assembly 

and Lok Sabha election and presidents 

of frontal organisations. 

In Mohankheda, delegates from 

14 Lok Sabha constituencies have been invited. They are 

from Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Rajgarh, Dewas, Ujjain, 

Mandsair, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone, Khandwa 

and Betul. 

In the second meeting organised in Mohankheda, Rahul 

will interact with elected represenatives of panchayati raj 

institutions and urban local bodies. Invitees at this meeting 

are presidents, vice-presidents and members of district 

and janpad panchayats and mayor, presidents, vicepresidents 

and corporators of municipal bodies. 

In the meetings in Bhopal, Rahul Gandhi will address 

district Congress president, vice-president, treasurer and 

block Congress presidents, incumbent MPs and MLAs, 

party candidates in the previous Lok Sabha and assembly 

election and presidents of frontal organisations at Manas 

Bhavan. 

Party leaders from 15 Lok Sabha costiuencies have been 

invited for the meeting. They are from Sagar, Damoh, 

Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, 

Balaghat, Chhindwara, Hoshangabad, Vidisha and 

Bhopal. 

In the second meeting being organised at Ravindra Bhavan, 

Rahul Gandhi will be face-to-face with elected respresentatives 

of the panchayati raj institutions and urban 

local bodies from areas under these constituencies. 

In the third meeting, which will take place at state Congress 

headquarters, Rahul Gandhi will have interaction 

with the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates. 

Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general 

secretary in-charge of party affairs for MP BK 

Hariprasad will arrive here on Monday to take stock of 

the preparations being made for Rahul Gandhi's programmes 

in Mohankheda and Bhopal. He will also go to 

Mohankheda for the purpose. 

Wheat at Re 1 and rice at Rs 2 per kg to BPL families 

BHOPAL 

Wheat will be provided at Re 1/kg and 

rice at Rs 2 per kg to below poverty 

line (BPL) families from June 2013. At 

present, wheat is being provided at 

the rate of Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 

3/kg to Antyodaya families while BPL 

families are getting wheat at Rs 3 per 

kg and rice at Rs 4.50 per kg. 

Half of MP's population, around 3.50 

crore people, will benefit from further 

subsidy being provided under the 

scheme. These include 8 lakh Antyodaya 

and 56 lakh BPL families. Chief 

minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced 

the new scheme during a 

public meeting at Gandhwani in Dhar 

district. 

This decision will put a burden of Rs 

360 crore additional subsidy on the 

state exchequer. At present, 35 kg of 

food grain is being provided to Antyodaya 

and 20 kg to BPL families per 

month under Mukhyamantri Annapurna 

Yojana. The state government 

is already bearing a burden of Rs. 440 

crore subsidy against the scheme. 

The decision by the state government 

to provide food grains at special 

concessional rates to BPL and Antyodaya 

families came ahead of the proposed 

Food Security Bill of the Union 

government. The Bill proposes to provide 

wheat at the rate of Rs 2/kg and 

rice at Rs 3 per kg. 

An official communique said Madhya 

Pradesh was receiving food 

grains from the Union government 

for BPL families including wheat at 

the rate of Rs 5/kg and rice at Rs 6.50 

per kg. 

The state government was already 

bearing transportation and commission 

cost. 

In another important decision, the 

state government has also decided to 

provide iodised salt to BPL and Antyodaya 

families at the rate of Re 1 in all 

the 313 development blocks of the 

state with effect from June 2013. At 

present, this facility is being provided 

in only 89 tribal-dominated development 

blocks in the state. 

The decision aims to promote health 

and nutrition. This decision would 

put an additional burden of Rs 40 

crore per annum on the state government.

5 

DINESH BAHUVA 

Email: dbahuva@gmail.com 

Recently I have read a small book titled 

“We Indians”. It is a 100 page small 

book written by famous leader Minoo 

Masani. Perhaps young people do not remember 

him. He was a great leader and founder 

member of the Swtantra Party along with Ra- 

Jaji after our independence. He was also a 

member of the constituent assembly which 

prepared our constitution along with such 

stalwarts as Dr Ambedkar and K.M. Munshi. 

The Swtantra party was like the Republican 

party of the USA. It believed in small government, 

free enterprise and free markets, and 

little interference in the life of the people by 

government. In the sixties, those were the 

days of socialism and commanding heights 

of the government interference in business. 

The government was in almost every business 

from cycles, scooters to airlines. The 

once the Swatantra Party won 67 seats of 

Loksabha in an election of the sixties. After 

that it started declining and ultimately disappeared. 

But Mr. Minoo Masani went on becoming 

M.P. He was a strong critic of policies 

of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 

The book is a short history of India right 

from the earliest period to the modern age. 

The book was published by the Oxford University 

Press in 1989. It is obvious that a hundred 

page booklet cannot do justice to such as 

vast period. There are only glimpses of 

events. 

The idea of writing this article is that the 

contents of the book will be shocking to most 

Indians. I shall highlight these points. 

It starts with question what are Indians 

made of ? It declares that we are not a single 

race. The India is a melting pot of various 

tribes. For the last 5000 years the mixing is going 

on. Our DNA is a mix of Caucasian (Ancestors 

of white people), Scythian (what we 

call Shak), Mongoloid (ancestors of the people 

of East Asia) and larger portion of Dravidian 

(who came before Aryans). In Punjabi, 

Rajasthani and north Indians people the Cau- 


casian portion is more? Therefore they are 

more white and tall. The people of the northeast, 

Bengal and Odisha have more Mongoloid 

blood. You can make out that from 

their faces. The people of four southern states 

have more Dravidian blood. They are dark 

skinned and short. 

There is no pure race in the any part of the 

world. Because throughout the history the all 

tribes have been not only migrating from one 

part to another part but, intermarrying. According 

to famous biologist Julian Huxley the 

only pure ‘races’ in existence now are more 

primitive and backward people like the aborigines 

of Australia and the bushmen of 

Africa!. Or our aadivasis. 

There is a difference between race and language. 

A race has a common ancestor (or origin). 

Therefore people of the same race can 

speak different languages depending upon 

the place of their residence, culture, history 

of migration. The reverse is also true. People 

of different races speak same language. 

There lots of confusion because of mixing 

one with another. 

You will be shocked to know that there is no 

such thing as Aryan race! Aryan is a family 

of languages. The honour of creating such 

confusion goes to famous German Indologist 

Dr. Max Muller. Later on he understood his 

mistake and tried to rectified same, but it was 

too little and too late. In those days the word 

of Dr. Max Muller was word of The God for 

most prominent Indians, so the same misconception 

continues to this day. Every Indian 

student learns in school that Aryans were 

white race who came from central Asia and 

settled into the land of ‘Sapt Sindhu’ (of seven 

rivers). Also Famous UNESCO conducted 

a study and declared that there is no such 

thing as “Aryan Race”. I am sure our holy 

man and persons from some organization will 

Feature 

We the Indians 

shout from rooftop that it is “conspiracy” of 

western powers to weaken the Aryan Race, as 

if we Indian Aryans are greatest power on the 

earth. 

Further UNESCO study concluded that 

Aryan were people inhabiting the steppes of 

Turkestan and central Russia using a common 

‘Indo-European’ language. That language 

is the ancestor of Sanskrit, Latin, Ancient 

Greek and languages today spoken in 

Europe. It also confirmed that population of 

the world is a mixture of various racial types 

(tribes). Lokmanya Tilak places original 

place of Aryan in Arctic region based on astronomical 

data. 

Surprisingly the most interesting works of 

our ethnic origin is not written by any Indian 

but by an Englishman named Sir Herbert 

Risely titled ‘The People of India’. (It is not 

true that every bit of knowledge of history 

has come from foreigners. We are busy with 

mythologies of The Ramayan and Mahabharata 

and refuse to believe any evidence to 

the contrary.) The Risely divides Indian people 

in seven groups. They are: 

Turko-Iranians(mostly found in Pakistan) 

Indo-Caucasians(People of Punjab, Rajasthan 

and Kashmir) 

Scytho-Dravidians(they are medium 

statured) 

Caucasian-Dravidians(People of U.P., Rajasthan 

& Bihar) 

Mongolo-Dravidians(From Bengal, Odissa 

& Assam) 

Mongoloid(From north east and lower Himalaya 

region) 

Dravidians(From south India & some portions 

of M.P. & Chota Nagpur) 

The book tells if somebody tells that say 

Aryans or Dravidians are original residents 

of Indian Please do not believe him. Historians 

really do not about it. 


The book tells us an interesting story about 

how Dravidians came to India. In the distant 

past South India and Africa were connected 

by land. Therefore Dravidians were migrated 

from Africa and they may be first descendants 

of primitive man. I have seen cave 

paintings at Bhimbetka near Bhopal (M.P.) 

which are around 11000 years old. 

Generally it thought that in India the Caucasians 

(Aryans) brought civilization into India. 

It is another myth. There people were nomads. 

You know from today’s nomadic people 

that they are very backward. They go from 

place to place in search of food for them and 

cattle. Such people cannot develop civilization. 

We know from the examples of Mohenjo-Daro 

and Harappa that civilization develops 

where people learn farming and there is 

plenty of water for farming (usually near river). 

The farming produces surplus crops 

which develops commerce. We know that both 

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were city states 

with well developed plans. 

The question now is that how Aryans 

spread all over north India. The book gives 

very curious answers. Aryans had horses 

which ware very suitable for war, while Dravidians 

had elephants which were slow (you 

the war between Alexander the Great and Purus). 

The Aryans accepted may customs from 

Dravidians. 

Before Aryans, Dravidians were spread all 

over in up to Afghanistan. There is a tribe in 

Baluchistan today which speaks the Dravidian 

language known as Brahui 

The Early religion of Aryans is nature worship. 

They used to worship the Sun, Wind, 

Moon, fire, the Sky, Lightening rain and 

dawn. The method was a prayer for bountiful 

crops, prosperity of family and community, 

which continues even today in villages. The 

oldest religious book of Aryans is a Rigved 

which is around 4000 years old. It contains 

prayers to gods (main is Indra) and system of 

sacrifice (part of crop and grass to put into 

fire). The development of Vedic religion is a 

long topic which prevents further discussion 

here. 

We are a country of bystanders who will stand back and watch 

BIPIN SASI 

W 

hen the anti-rape Bill was discussed 

in parliament , We have 

witnessed Member of Parliament 

arguing that condom commercials on 

TV vitiate the minds of the young and provoke 

them to immoral acts. It can be a topic of 

national debate but we can never understand 

why people rape, kill or torture. That is what 

sets most of us apart from those who commit 

such crimes. But we must realize that the 

danger is right here, waiting round the corner 

for the next turn. 

The rape incident of three minor girls has 

shocked and aggravated the Delhi once again. 

Why politicians and police administration 

are not able to guarantee the safety, that their 

own daughters and family members posses. 

When females are not safe in the capital of 

the country and a women lead state, we can 

assess the ground reality of other states. 

Sheila Dixit who is probably busy studying 

Modi’s modus of Operandi would not get time 

to listen to the voice of Delhi .No political party 

has come up with an assurance of safety 

and justice yet . No individual leader is ready 

to assure justice and security, The protesters 

believe that kicking any political party out of 

power would make us all safer. Let’s believe 

that these protesters of Aam Aadmi Party 

have chosen the right path. But if you dare to 

Join them and protest for a cause, the police 

will beat you and humiliate you to that extent 

, that you will never think of raising a voice 

again . And if you are a female protester the 

police will detain you in custody and make 

you sweep and mop the floor .Later in near future 

Govt. will put the same policemen without 

moral values in buses for your safety. Will 

women passengers feel safe with such policemen? 

The police tried to suppress the matter of 

the Five year old rape victim and even offered 

Rs.2,000 to the family to keep quiet. Apart 

from the five year old rape ,a lot many inci- 

dents are reported which sparked outrage 

against police and politicians who are arrogant 

and without moral values. Goverment 

should spent money on the treatment of these 

arrogant police officers and erred politicians 

like Tribal Minister Vijay Shah(MP) , and 

minister Rajaram Pande(UP) for their mental 

illness The girl who was protesting for the 

five year old was beaten by an ACP. A country 

who prouds to call the nation of mahatma follows 

every other thing than his own teachings. 

Any Indian will prefer to confess to his/her 

neighbor than to the police. Police is only for 

the bureaucrats and politicians. They will 

charge money from the complainant and also 

slam some accusation on the 

complainant.The only cultured politician is 

West Bengal lawmaker Abhijit Mukherjee, 

the son of President Pranab Mukherjee, who 

makes cynical remarks on the women . These 

people who make derisive remarks on the 

women are not from a particular political party 

, they are everywhere around you , waiting 

for their turn . It is not TV, short skirts and or 

a political party. It is the knowledge that we 

are a country of bystanders who will stand 

back and watch. And perhaps later, we’ll 

show some remorse. Knowing this fact that 

you cannot help yourself by seeking help 

from police or politician . You need to be more 

stronger for you and your loved ones .

6 


View Point 


The necessity of Truth Commission in Kashmir Valley 

POOJA TARTE 

Email: hirdelawassociates@gmail.com 

Abdul Majid Zargar with context to an establishment 

of truth and commission in Kashmir 

quoted that 

“The state first killed people, and then it 

killed the truth. It now wants the linen 

soaked with the blood and honor of helpless 

population washed through an arrangement 

called as truth and reconciliation commission.” 

The issue of Truth Commission in Kashmir 

cropped up again and again by the Chief 

Minister Omar Abdullah after the discovery 

of so many unmarked graves. Scholars and 

jurists often argue that Truth Commission is 

formed after countries who vacilitate themselves 

from authoritarian state to democratic 

state. The reconciliation, rehabilitation, 

reparation and compensation is often done 

when countries go through transition and a 

new government is being elected. For instance 

when apartheid ended SATRC came 

into force and when East Timor got freedom 

from Indonesia, then emerged the Timor Lest 

Commission of Truth and Friendship. Kashmir 

has a different story. The conflict has not 

resolved there yet. The writer asserts that the 

truth and reconciliation commission differ 

in there authority for instance few recommend 

amnesty, few seizure or search and few 

prosecution. It is feared in Kashmir that the 

truth commissions will be used in Kashmir 

as tool to grant amnesty to al the army personnel, 

militant groups and all the heinous 

perpetrators of crime. The perpetrator holding 

such political powers will then confess 

the crime and amnesty will be granted to 

them and then will again walk freely without 

any fear. This will not curb down the problem 

but will lead to increase in number of rapes, 

molestations and abuses because there shall 

be then no fear of punishment. 

Regarding this issue New Delhi based advocate 

Ms. Warisha Farasat said that 

“There is still no acknowledgement from 

the state about the serious human rights violations 

that have happened .There are still 

human rights violations going on. It is very 

important for TRC that there is a transition 

to a situation where human rights violations 

have almost completely stopped. I do not 

think that is the situation at the moment.” 

Furthermore she argued that “who are these 

people who will head a TRC for Kashmir, who 

will have legitimacy among all different 

stakeholders.” 

In this context CM Omar Abdullah quoted, 

“ tragically we have locked ourselves into cycles 

of violence where protests leads to death 

leading to further protests leading to further 

causalities.” 

MY PERSPECTIVE 

Before starting up of any new body of 

governance the Indian government 

should first put a ban on Draconian 

laws like ASFP through which these military 

people get easily released out of all charges. 

These are the laws due to which all the perpetrators 

enjoy impunity. These forces constantly 

get engaged in commission of crimes. 

The government should now become very serious 

in providing justice to women in Kashmir. 

There has been a continuous grave 

breaches of human right violations being observed 

in Kashmir. The situation of convalescence 

still persists in the valley. The nepotism 

by politicians, armed militant groups, 

and high ranking officials has become conventional 

now. The officials who try to show 

honesty are killed or smothered down. 

As discussed earlier the women in Kashmir 

get exposed to attacks from everywhere. India 

should not ratify itself to the Rome 

statute. International Criminal Court is 

more of governed by its permanent members 

and is also subordinate to the United Nation 

Security Council. If India ratifies the statute 

then there will be too much of political interference 

into the internal affairs of the 

state. The fear of India to be a part of Rome 

statute is justified but yes women in Kashmir 

valley are crying for justice. As per the aforesaid 

discussion International Criminal 

Court has the provision in chapter VII, 

wherein non-members of International 

Criminal Court can be brought into jurisdiction, 

if there are very heinous crimes committed 

in such a non member state. Furthermore, 

scholars often argue that truth and reconciliation 

commission comes up after a war 

ends and a new government is elected. According 

to few Indian jurists Kashmir has a 

different story where the war is still going on 

and so its difficult to create a Truth Commission 

therein. 

I deny the above fact and favor the establishment 

of a Truth and reconciliation Commission 

in Kashmir termed to be as the 

Kashmir's truth and reconciliation commission. 

The members of such Truth Commission 

should be the leaders from India as well 

as Pakistan who will be voted by the democratic 

people of India and by the people of 

Pakistan. The leaders need to be efficient 

people working for NGO's, professors from legal 

arena and attorneys from courts. There 

has to be more and more active participation 

of women in such Truth Commission. Such 

Truth Commission should be formed to have 

in rehabilitation, reparation, reconciliation 

and compensation programmes. The option 

of granting of amnesty should not be a part 

of such Truth Commission so that the offenders 

are punished through trials and justice 

is delivered to the victims. 

In conclusion a Truth Commission is ultimately 

a better option and the setting of such 

impartial body of governance will be a indubitable 

step to provide justice to women in 

Kashmir Valley. In this context the journalists 

of India are of a view that 

“The people of Kashmir valley are wounded 

physically, socially, culturally and psychologically 

due to the long turmoil. The afflictions 

are deeply engraved in the hearts and 

minds of people. Kashmiris are left with the 

only question. The step towards establishment 

of a Truth Commission will be a step 

towards peace in the valley.” 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Amartya Sen once said, “The most important 

argument for focusing on 

women agency may be precisely the 

role that such an agency can play in removing 

the gender based inequities that depress 

the well being of women.” 

It becomes very important that women 

should be socially as well as economically independent. 

Women should be encouraged by 

families as well as the society to come in power 

and participate in the bureaucratic operations 

of the state. The women victims should 

be provided with monetary funds in order to 

equip them to start their own business. In 

context with Jammu and Kashmir, India and 

Pakistan should join their hand for helping 

out the women victims and curbing down 

poverty and violence. This is a century of 

globalization and so are the global citizens 

who should chime in together to heal up the 

widespread torment. The UN donors need to 

assist the needy with financial help. There is 

an urgent need to adopt the practice of vetting 

and to suspend all corrupt officials from 

the bureaucracy. It is very important to have 

in fair and just channelization of the compensation 

that has to be provided to women 

victims. 

An active participation of NGO's from the 

international arena is a need of an hour. 

There should even be an increase in the role 

of media activities covering the suffering of 

the needy and in creating awareness amongst 

the stronger section of the society. Truth 

should be revealed through sting operation 

programmes, rally and interviews of victims 

by journalists, etc. In the context of Kashmir 

issue, the writer asserts that it is very important 

to have workshops on awareness and 

teaching them to defend themselves in situa- 

tions of conflict. 

There has to be more of a gender sensitive 

reparation policies and a special unit to investigate 

war crimes from the gender perspective. 

There is an urgent need to set up a 

women’s task force with more participation 

of women. The running up of such task force 

needs to be done by women. Such participation 

should be done from various sectors like 

that of media and communication, health 

sector, legal sector, security and defense, education 

sector, personality development sector 

and psychological sector, hence encouraging 

women from each and every sphere of 

the society. If we are serious to bring a 

change in the condition of women and girls 

and help them to lead a normal life, then we 

should empower women and girls with education, 

so as to bring a positive change in the 

society. This can be done by setting up grass 

root level organizations to articulate and 

press for the need of education and awareness. 

The past situations can only be dealt by creation 

of powerful multiple mechanisms. It focuses 

on the need to create governance which 

could focus on the political, social and economic 

rights of all the citizens irrespective 

of gender race or status. It is very important 

to have a truth and reconciliation commission 

in Kashmir as the life there in is becoming 

miserable. The fear of India to ratify to 

Rome statute is also justified but at the same 

time justice has to be delivered to the victims. 

I favor Omar Abdullah but at the same time 

strongly oppose the fact of granting impunity 

to the wrongdoers, if in case a truth and 

reconciliation commission gets established 

in Kashmir. 

I have grown up in a country where, even today 

a large part of the female population is 

unprivileged, uneducated and struggles for a 

respectable living. With this work, the writer 

tried to throw some light on the complicated 

situations of the silent playing women population 

in Jammu and Kashmir. Our long term 

goals should be focused on to make a contribution, 

however small, to the health and happiness 

of her fellow citizens, by narrowing 

the circle of unequal and unsustainable life. 

A little step can make a difference for our fellow 

beings.

7 BHOPAL April 22 to April 28, 2013 Glamour WE THE STATE 

Pooja Bhatt Hesitates to 

Talk about Rape Victims 

Pooja Bhatt, one of the heralders 

of adult films in 

mainstream Bollywood, is 

cautious of expressing solidarity for 

the rape victim, reported agencies 

The 41-year-old actor-turned-director 

producer of films like 

"Jism, "Rog", "Paap", "Jism 2" 

said that she doesn't chance 

voicing her opinions on 

rape victims since she has 

promoted obscenity. 

Bhatt deeply upset 

with the ongoing social 

crisis tweeted, 

"This is not a 

world to bring 

more 

children into. This is certainly not a nation 

to bring more daughters into. Violence is 

their destiny." 

But then she added that many feel she 

doesn't stand the right to support the rape 

victim. 

She later posted on twitter, "Each time I 

speak up about rape or sexual abuse, some 

'saint' tells me that I have no right to since I 

introduced a 'adult film star' to Bollywood." 

"I humanised an 'adult film star' and got 

her accepted into the mainstream. The rest 

of Bollywood is now free to objectify her 

like they do most women." 

Bhatt had introduced Indo-Canadian 

porn star Sunny Leone in Bollywood with 

her film "Jism 2". 

Leone features in Sanjay Gupta's 

"Shootout at Waadla" for which she shot a 

raunchy item song "Laila". 

Bhatt had also introduced Bipasha Basu 

in the role of a seductive vamp with her 

erotic thriller "Jism" (2003). 

Aishwarya And Abhishek 

Bachchan, Happy 

Wedding Anniversary 

The cupid couple Aishwarya 

Rai and 

Abhishek 

Bachchan are 

celebrating their 

6th Wedding Anniversary 

today. 

So on this occasion 

“We The 

State” wish them 

a very happy anniversary! 

After six years 

of their married 

life, the couple is 

now proud parents 

of 15-monthold 

baby girl 

named Aaradhya. 

The smallest member 

of Bachchan 

family, Aaradhya, 

became a child 

celebrity with 

shutterbugs trying 

to capture her photo. 

This year, the anniversary 

is very 

special for the couple 

because their little 

angle Aaradhya 

will be with them. 

According to reports, 

the couple will be celebrating 

their anniversary in New York. 

They were in Vancouver, Canada recently 

for the TOIFA awards, where 

Abhishek said 

while receiving an award: "I really 

owe this to Aishwarya and the love 

and support she has given me. She 

makes me the person that I am." 

After the award ceremony, the trio 

left for New York, where they first 

visited Shweta Bachchan's motherin-law 

Ritu Nanda, who has been 

hospitalised. 

Dangerous trend: 

Celebrities like Amitabh 

Bachchan encouraging 

mob justice ? 

Jaipur: This incident has the 

potential to trigger off a dangerous 

trend as many people, 

including Bollywood star 

Amitabh Bachchan seem to 

be favouring ‘mob justice’ in 

barbaric rape-cases similar 

to five-year-old girl rape in 

Delhi. We are entering a dangerous 

territory as a 25-yearold 

rape accused was beaten 

to death by the father and 

brother of the allegedly 

raped girl in Bhilware district 

of Rajasthan. 

The incident occured at 

Ahinsa circle under Subhash 

Nagar yesterday where Prem 

Shankar and his son Shyam 

beat up Shankar Lal Jat, police 

said on Saturday. 

Jat was rushed to a hospital 

where he was declared 

brought dead. 

The daughter of Prem 

Shankar was allegedly raped 

by Shankar a few days ago 

and an FIR in this connection 

was lodged on Thursday, 

the police said, adding that 

the father and the son duo 

were absconding. 

After the brutal rape of a 

five-year-old in Delhi, people 

are protesting on the streets. 

They are increasingly getting 

frustrated at the apathy 

shown by the Delhi police, 

politicians and administration 

in taking concrete measures 

to curb the menace. 

Such is the level of anger 

that civil society runs the 

risk of being barbaric. But if 

everyone tries to settle score 

like this then very soon there 

will be anarchy and bloodshed 

on the road. 

Sadly, our icons seem to be 

getting swayed away with the 

enormity of the crime and 

happen to instigate people to 

take law in their own hands. 

Reacting to five-year-old 

girl's rape, Amitabh 

Bachchan wrote on his blog: 

“Even animals have certain 

codes of conduct! Jails are 

not the solutions...keeping 

them bound and confined 

shall not change them or 

their thinking...They need to 

be made examples of. They 

need to be shamed first publicly 

and then left to the public 

to deal them justice in 

whichever way they see fit." 

Perhaps, time is running 

out for the government as 

people are getting impatient. 

But, this should not be an excuse 

for us to tread the path 

of criminals. 

(Agencies)

8 


Bihar among most spenders on VIP security 

NEW DELHI/PATNA 

Despite Chief Minister Nitish 

Kumar persistently 

pressing for a special assistance 

package from the Centre for 

Bihar to give boost to state’s miserable 

economy, still the “backward 

state” spends a whopping sum of 

Commerce 

Bhopal jewellers fear shortage of gold 

BHOPAL 

If you are thinking of buying gold, you 

might as well hurry. While the retail gold 

market in city has been riding high - having 

recorded almost 50% hike in sales during 

the past few days due to the dip in the prices 

of the yellow metal -- a crisis might be looming 

in the coming days. 

The bullion and coin wholesalers have almost 

stopped the supply due to the price 

slump, and the impact of the restricted flow of 

the metal to retail market might start showing 

soon in form of shortage of raw material. 

Thus, jewellery and other retail gold items 

might get hard to come by in the near future 

even as the marriage season has commenced. 

Bhopal's New Market Sarafa Association 

vice-president Manoj Agrawal said that the 

market for gold is uncertain and the prices 

might go down further. The combined effect of 

sharp rise in sales by about 50% and the decision 

of the bullion traders to hold back their 

stock in hope of a surge in prices, could create 

a serious shortage of gold in the coming days, 

he said. 

Amrapali Jewelers manager Subodh Soni 

said, "We suffered huge losses due to sudden 

decrease in gold rate, but increase in selling 

of gold by up to 50%-70% has compensated 

our losses. The market is on boom due to 

Pushya Nakshatra (on Thursday) and the 

wedding season." Gold sold at Rs 26,400 per 10 

grams and silver at Rs 45,000 per kg on Thursday. 

Small jewellery shop owners have already 

started feeling the impact of short-supply. 

Tirupati Jewelers owner Chintu Agrawal 

said, "I think in the coming days there will be 

a major problem for both buyers and retailers." 

He, however, added that during the last 

three days, the sale of gold doubled and 

Pushya Nakshtra made a big difference. 

Wholesale supplier Jai Mohan Agrawal, 

however, disagreed that hoarding of bullion 

was a trend. "Some suppliers might have possibly 

blocked the bullions, but it doesn't apply 

on all the wholesalers. I have not stopped supply 

of coins to the retailers. And I am happy 

with the decline in the price of gold, because 

it has got the market going again." 

Demand for engineering talent 

declining in IT industry: Report 

Demand for engineering graduates in 

the IT industry is reducing due to 

slowdown in revenue growth, change 

in business mix and preference for science 

graduates to lower costs, says a new report. 

"We attribute slowdown in absorption of 

engineering talent to slowdown in revenue 

growth rates of Indian IT, change in nature 

of demand (BPO and infrastructure management 

services) and effort by companies to 

lower cost of delivery by recruiting science 

graduates for delivery of services," a Kotak 

Institutional Equities report said. 

The report said business mix of Indian IT is 

changing with incremental growth accruing 

from analytics, consulting, BPO etc., which 

requires employees with different skill profiles. 

"Protectionism and expansion of delivery 

network to other low-cost locations such as 

Mexico, China and Eastern Europe are leading 

to accelerated hiring by companies outside 

India," it said. 

The report said TCS recruited over 5,000 

non-Indians in the past four quarters while 

Infosys has significantly stepped up hiring in 

local geographies. 

"In addition, many new deals involve re- 

Rs. 141.95 crore annually to provide 

security cover to its 3591 VIPs, 

much higher than other richer 

states. 

Considering Bihar’s per capita income 

of just over $430, the colossal 

expenditure on VIP security raises 

questions over government’s fiscal 

management. 

badging of client employees. This reduces demand 

for Indian engineering talent," it 

added. 

The report said supply of engineers has 

also increased aggressively over the past few 

years. 

"India now trains more engineers annually 

(1.5 mn) than China (1.1 mn) and the US (0.1 

mn) combined. This may lead to meaningful 

underemployment or stagnating wages," the 

report said. 

Excess supply will give companies flexibility 

to recruit in line with requirements, it 

added. 


Rajasthan doubles 

alcohol revenue 

in five years 

Jaipur: Despite tall claims to curb alcohol 

consumption in the state, the revenue 

of excise department has almost 

doubled ever since the Congress government 

came to power in 2008. 

In 2007-08 the revenue of the excise 

was Rs. 1,805.12 

crore which rose to 

almost 100 percent 

in 2011-12 to Rs. 

3,287 crore. Till Decem-ber 

2012 the 

department has already 

earned Rs. 

2,803.72 crore 

which is likely to 

break all previous 

records by the end 

of financial year in 

March 2013. Of total revenue received 

in 2011-12, Indian Made Foreign Liquor 

(IMFL) is the highest contributes with 

Rs. 1,298.63 cr. followed by country 

liquor Rs. 913.64 cr., beer Rs. 666.01 

crore and others Rs. 408.72 cr. 

Meanwhile, with an eye on assembly 

elections this year, the state government 

is planning to impose a ban on 

liquor across the state and has formed 

a five-member committee to submit its 

report within six months to the government. 

NRI deposits in 

Kerala stands at 

Rs. 62,708 crore 

Thiruvananthapuram: The bank deposits 

by Non-Resident Indians (NRI) in 

Kerala stood at Rs. 62,708 crore till December 

2012, bankers said on March 26. 

There are now around three million 

Keralites who work in foreign countries, 

close to 90 percent of them in the 

Middle East countries. 

Maximum deposits were done in the 

State Bank group, which attracted 40.58 

percent or Rs. 25,445 crore of the total 

deposits. The private sector banks aggregated 

a total NRI deposit of Rs. 

23.395 crore. 

The semi-urban areas of Kerala accounted 

for 62.85 percent of the deposits 

followed by 31.34 percent in the 

urban areas with the rural diaspora accounting 

for a mere 5.81 percent of 

share in the deposits. 

Within the State Bank group, Kerala’s 

own State Bank of Travancore led with 

Rs.17,258 crore of NRI deposits.

9 

BHOPAL 

Madhya Pradesh can expect a big jump 

in wildlife tourism, as Palpur Kuno, set 

to get lions from Gir, would be the only 

habitat in the world to have three big 

cats, the lion, the tiger and the panther 

in one habitat. 

Lion tourism attracts a sizeable number 

of visitors in Gujarat. This was the 

principal reason for Gujarat refusing to 

let the lions go to MP, a move which 

would make Gujarat lose its unique position 

of being the only state in the 

country to have Asiatic lions. 

Also, Palpur Kuno is geographically located 

very close to the renowned 

Ranthambhor tiger reserve in Rajasthan 

that attracts sizable foreign and 

domestic tourists. Kuno Palpur is about 

100 km from Ranthambhor and tourists 

that visit Ranthambhor could also add 

Palpur Kuno in their itinerary. 

The habitat comprises of dry deciduous 

shrub vegetation. The most common 

trees are kardhai and saalai. Being 

dry in nature, the area offers very good 

visibility of wildlife. A total of 24 villages 

have been relocated from the reserve 

and the former agricultural fields 


of the village have developed in grasslands 

that are ideal habitat for game. 

The sanctuary has registered the presence 

of tigers that have returned to the 

area in the last few years. Panthers are 

also found in the reserve. 

Restrictions imposed on number of 

tourists at the prominent tiger reserves 

of the state like Kanha, Bandhavgarh 

and Pench could also be an advantage 

for Palpur Kuno. 

Presently, Palpur Kuno has very basic 

tourist amenities and hardly any tourist 

traffic. The sanctuary has a forest rest 

house located on the banks of the river 

Kuno and the closes hotels are at Shivpuri 

and Sheopur. 

"We will examine all future prospects 

and plan to strengthen our presence in 

the area," said managing director, MP 

state tourism development corporation, 

Raghwendra Kumar Singh. 

"I am aware of a few hotel and lodge 

owners who were looking to set up shop 

in Palpur Kuno. However, no one was 

sure whether the lion project would 

eventually be executed. Now that it has 

happened, I anticipate a big rush for 

Palpur Kuno," said former MLA and 

treasurer of the eco-tourism society of 

Heritage & Tourism 

India (ESOI). 

From the management and protection 

point of view, the Palpur Kuno sanctuary 

would present a fresh set of challenges 

to the forest department. One of 

the key reasons cited by Gujarat in the 


Kerala beyond the backwaters 

Kerala is famous for its backwaters, luscious green 

terrain and laidback environment, but Kerala has 

much more to offer outside of its usual tourist 

hotspots. Sean Sequeira lists out the best of the lesser 

known destinations in Kerala. 

ATHIRAPPALLY WATERFALL 

Known as 'The Niagara of India', 

Athirappally Falls is best 

seen during or after the monsoon. 

Apart from the views of the 

waterfall, there is plenty of 

other sightseeing for wildlife 

enthusiasts including fauna 

like the Lion Tailed Macaque, 

Great Indian Hornbill and 

Cochin Forest Cane Turtle. 

Getting there 

Closest airport: Cochin International 

Airport 

Closest railhead: Chalakudy 

Places to stay 

Riverok Villas(Rs 1,226 per 

night) 

KTDC Tamarind Kalady(Rs 

1,097 per night) 

VAGAMON MEADOWS 

A fairly unknown destination, 

Vagamon is a hill station located 

1,100 meters above sea level 

which is nicknamed Scotland 

of Asia. 

The most enchanting highlights 

of Vagamon are the 

beautiful valleys and meadows 

which are covered green by the 

thick flora. The meadows make 

for an excellent picnic destination. 

Getting there 

Closest airport: Cochin International 

Airport 

Closest railhead: Kottayam 

Place to stay 

Green Meadows (Rs. 3,000 per 

night) 

Chamundi Hill Palace (Rs. 

1,600 per night) 

Unique Palapur Kuno sanctuary 

set to give tourism boost 

BEKAL FORT 

The largest fort in Kerala, Bekal Fort was 

built from the sea up. There is plenty to explore 

in this fort; stairways and tunnels, a water tank, 

temples and mosques nearby and plenty of 

views of neighbouring towns from the observation 

tower. There is also a beach adjacent to the 

fort. 

Getting there 

Closest airport: Mangalore Domestic Terminal 

Closest railhead: Kasargod 

Place to stay 

K-Tees Residency (Rs 1,800 per night) 

Chandralayam Homestay (Rs. 1,500 per night) 

Edakkal Caves are located 1,200 metres above 

sea level in the Ambukuthi Mala mountain. 

The caves have pictorial writings with human 

and animal figurines. which date back upto 

7,000 years and are rumoured to have been 

made by the Neolithic man. 

These are the only known carvings in south 

India which date back to the Stone Age. 

Getting there 

Closest airport: Kozhikode International Airport 

Closest railhead: Kozikhode 

Place to stay 

The Edakkal Hermitage (Rs 2,750 per night) 

Green Mountain Cottages (Rs 1,046 per night) 

SC in not wanting to part with the lions 

is the poor protection record in Madhya 

Pradesh. "All arrangements required to 

accommodate the lions once they are 

here are in place," said CCF, lion project, 

Sudhir Kumar.

10 


Must Read 


Women hit back at India's rape culture 

The Red Brigade ( a self defence 

group ) was formed in November 

2011 to fight back against a growing 

number of sexual attacks on 

women in the Madiyav area in the city 

of Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh 

The male tormentor of the young 

women of the Madiyav slum did not 

spot the danger until it was too late. 

One moment he was taunting them 

with sexual suggestions and provocations; 

the next they had hold of his 

arms and legs and had hoisted him into 

the air. 

Then the beating began. Some of the 

young women lightly used their fists, 

others took off their shoes and hit him 

with those. When it was over, they let 

him limp away to nurse his wounds, 

certain that he had learned an important 

lesson: don't push your luck with 

the Red Brigade. 

Named for their bright red outfits, the 

Red Brigade was formed in November 

2011 as a self-defence group for young 

women suffering sexual abuse in the 

northern Indian city of Lucknow, 300 

miles south-east of Delhi. Galvanised 

by the gang rape and murder of a 23year-old 

medical student in Delhi last 

December and the nationwide protests 

that followed against a rising tide of 

rapes, they are now gaining in confidence. 

From a core membership of 15, ranging 

in age from 11 to 25, they now have 

more than 100 members, intelligent and 

sassy and with a simple message for the 

men who have made their lives a misery: 

they will no longer tolerate being 

groped, gawped at and worse. Their activities 

are a lesson in empowerment. 

Men who fall foul of the Red Brigade 

can first expect a visit and a warning. 

Sometimes the Red Brigade will ask the 

police to get involved, but if all else fails 

they take matters into their own hands. 

Their leader, 25-year-old teacher Usha 

Vishwakarma, has her own experience 

of the daily danger faced by many 

young women in the country. She was 

just 18 when a fellow teacher tried to 

rape her. "He grabbed me and put his 

hands round me and tried to open my 

belt and trousers," says Usha, sitting in 

the bare-brick front room of her small 

house. "But I was saved by my jeans because 

they were too tight for him to 

open, and that gave me a chance to 

fight, so I kicked him in the sensitive 

place and pushed him down and ran out 

of the door." 

No one at the school took her accusations 

seriously, telling her to forget it 

and stop causing trouble. The experience 

left her traumatised and for two 

years she did nothing. But little by little 

her confidence came back. In 2009 she 

set up her own small school for local 

girls in an outbuilding next to her family 

home. Yet all around her, she says, 

she saw more and more young women 

suffering the same abuse she had faced. 

And it was threatening to wreck the 

chances of her young female students. 

"Parents were telling girls to stay in 

their homes so there would be no incidents. 

They said, 'if you go to school, 

boys will be troubling you, so stay home 

and there will be no sexual violence'," 

Pooja Vishwakarma, 18, left, a captain in the Red Brigade, during martial arts training. The brigade takes direct action 

against their tormentors and now when a local man steps out of line, he can expect a visit from the group 

says Vishwakarma. "But we said no, 

and we decided to form a group to fight 

for ourselves. We decided we would not 

just complain; we would take a lead and 

fight for ourselves." They bought red 

kameez (shirts) and black salwar 

(trousers) and began to plan the fightback. 

"We chose red because it means 

danger and black for protest," says 

Vishwakarma. 

There is much to fight back against. "It 

is in the minds of men that girls are objects 

and it has been like that always," 

says Vishwakarma. "Religion shows 

women as very powerless and that whoever 

is strong can do anything." 

Other members of the group drift in 

and join her, sitting on the bed along 

one wall of the front room. At the other 

end of the room is a table laden with the 

placards they carry with them when 

they go out to protest on the 29th day of 

every month. The demonstrations mark 

the date of the Delhi bus rape and murder 

on 29 December. Their slogans read: 

"Stop rape now" and "We want safety". 

"In the electronic era there are pictures 

everywhere of women and girls 

being treated like objects. It is now very 

simple to see pornography and it is 

feeding the hunger for sex. The men 

think that if you are looking sexy, then 

you want sex," says Vishwakarma. 

They have started martial arts training 

so that the men do not have a physical 

advantage over them. Pooja, Vishwakarma's 

18-year-old sister, laughs as 

she recalls the reaction of the boy they 

grabbed in the street when his taunts 

became too much. "We all stopped and 

turned round and we surrounded him 

and grabbed his arms and legs and he 

thought it was a joke, but we were not 

kidding and four of us lifted him in the 

air and the others started to hit him 

with their shoes and fists," she says. 

The rough justice the Red Brigade 

metes out might seem extreme to western 

sensibilities, but many Indian 

women are making it clear that they are 

no longer prepared to put up with endemic 

abuse. That much is clear from 

the crime figures: reports of molestation 

in Delhi are up 590% year on year 

and rape reports by 147%. The rape cases 

have hit tourist numbers, which were 

down 25% in the first three months of 

the year – 35% fewer women are travelling 

to India. 

The Red Brigade say sexual abuse is a 

part of daily life for young women like 

them. They all have stories of abuse, 

attempted rapes and daily harassment. 

"This is what happens in India," says 

16-year-old Laxmi, one of Vishwakarma's 

lieutenants. "These things happen 

all the time. All of us know this, so 

don't let anyone say otherwise. This is 

why we have formed the Red Brigade." 

Seventeen-year-old Preeti Verma 

nods in agreement. Her family are too 

poor to have a toilet in the house, so 

she has to go out into the fields, she 

says. Every time she went out, the man 

in the neighbouring house threw 

stones at her to try to scare her into 

jumping up. "He wanted to see my 

body," she says. "I told him: 'What are 

you doing? You are shameless, don't 

you have a mother and sister in your 

house?' But he replied that his mother 

is for his father, his sister is for her 

husband and that I was for him." She 

told Vishwakarma, and the man received 

a visit from the Red Brigade and 

another from the police. She has had 

no trouble from him since. 

"We've caught a lot of men recently," 

says 17-year-old Sufia Hashmi. "I 

joined up because men always used to 

pass comments on me and touch my 

body, but now we beat them the men 

cannot do anything and they run away. 

You feel powerful and you feel good." 

The next day, they gather on the roof 

of a gym across the city to run through 

their moves, a mixture of kicks, 

punches and throws. An instructor 

shows Pooja how to use a wooden stick 

to keep a boy at bay. She holds it 

against his assistant's throat and the 

boy looks terrified. The others gasp 

and giggle. 

Yet it is not just the young men of the 

neighbourhood that the Red Brigade 

must overcome. Many of the members 

are very young and, although some of 

their parents are supportive, others 

are convinced they are wasting their 

lives. "The attitude of my parents is 

very demoralising," says 16-year-old 

Simpi Diwari, a tiny young woman 

who a few moments ago was kicking 

away the legs of one of her colleagues. 

"I want to be like Usha, fighting 

against the cruel things, I want to be a 

teacher and a motivator too, but I am 

fighting with my parents just to be allowed 

out of the house." 

On the way back to the slum, the rickshaws 

pass a public park and for a moment 

these tough young women show 

themselves for what they really are – 

children forced to grow up fast. They 

beg and plead to stop. "Please, please," 

they say, their eyes gleaming in excitement. 

Shrieking gleefully, they race off 

towards the swings, slides and roundabouts. 

Later they stroll back through 

the market, eating ice-creams, heading 

for their homes. The sun is low in the 

sky, the shadows long. The men watch 

sullenly as they pass, like wolves who 

have just discovered the sheep are 

armed. No one risks a word.

11 

BHOPAL 

The very same day he gave marching 

orders to tribal affairs minister Vijay 

Shah for making sexist remarks, state 

BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar 


ended up with his foot firmly in his 

mouth. 

In Shajapur, when journalists drew 

his attention to Congress allegations of 

a possible involvement of the BJP in 

the Bengaluru blasts that took place 

Social media to influence elections 

in 17 of MP's 29 Lok Sabha seats 

BHOPAL 

Madhya Pradesh's not so tech-savvy 

chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan 

joined the micro-blogging site twitter 

last month, becoming third BJP chief 

minister to do so after Gujarat CM 

Narendra Modi and Chhattisgarh CM 

Raman Singh. The move might have 

surprised some. But analysts say it is 

a wise decision, given the findings of a 

new study. Social media is likely to in- 

fluence politics and elections in over 

half of Madhya Pradesh's 29 Lok sabha 

constituencies in the forthcoming 

2014 general elections, the new study 

suggests. 

According to the study by IRIS 

Knowledge Foundation and supported 

by the Internet and Mobile Association 

of India (IAMAI), elections in 17 

parliamentary constituencies of MP 

would be influenced to varied degrees 

by the social media. Of these 17 constituencies, 

9 are high impact, 5 are 

medium impact and 3 are low impact. 

In MP, the high impact constituencies 

include Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, 

Jabalpur, Ujjain, Rewa, Satna, Dewas 

and Dhar. Sagar, Hoshangabad, 

Khandwa, Balaghat and Khargone are 

low impact constituencies, while as 

Ratlam, Shahdol and Mandsour are 

the medium impact constituencies in 

the state. The rest of the 12 constituencies 

would be no-impact constituencies, 

and surprisingly these include 

the constituencies of Jyotiraditya 

Madhavrao Scindia (Guna), Kamal 

Nath (Chhindwara), Sushma 

Swaraj (Vidisha) and Narindra Singh 

Tomar (Morena). 

May be Shivraj Singh Chauhan himself 

realized the potential of the social 

media, or his advisors ensured it, last 

month Chauhan finally 

joined Twitter. 

Chauhan started tweeting 

from March 8 and 

this will help him to 

hone his social media 

strategy ahead of the 

polls. According to experts, 

social media is 

quite influential when 

it comes to directing 

public perceptions and 

influencing their decisions 

to some extent. In 

India at present, the 

number of Facebook 

users equals almost to the population 

of Madhya Pradesh (over 7 crore), the 

second populous state in India 

In this 'simplistic' study, social-media-impacted 

constituencies are those 

where Facebook users are more than 

the victory margin of the winner in 

the last Lok Sabha election, or where 

such users account for over 10% of the 

voting population. 

While as the medium impact constituencies 

are those where it has been 

assumed that a Facebook user can influence 

one other voter who may not 

be on Facebook. Given this background, 

social media is likely to influence 

the elections to some extent. According 

to the data available, nearly 10 

crore Indians use the Internet each 

day, with 4 crore of them having an assured 

broadband connection. 

Region 

near the saffron party office, Tomar 

said Congress was in habit of seeing 

the BJP's hands in everything. "Congress 

ko har cheej me BJP ka haath 

dikhai deta hai. Hum log majaak me 

kahte the ki agar kisi Congressi ke 

ghar me bachcha hota hai to usme bhi 

BJP ka haath dikhai dega (we often 

joke that even when a baby is delivered 

at a Congress party member's home, he 

sees the BJP's hands behind it)," Tomar 

said. 

The sexist innuendo in Tomar's remark 

elicited sharp reaction from the 

state Congress. Leader of Opposition 

in state Assembly Ajay Singh said the 

same Narendra Singh Tomar who 


Now Tomar does a 

Shah, Cong up in arms 

taught a lesson to Vijay Shah on the latter's 

indecent remarks against women, 

has now himself made an indecent 

statement. "I used to think that Tomar 

was a serious leader, but his remark 

has broken the image I had about him. 

He lacks depth," said Singh, talking to 

the journalists. 

He advised that dirty, mean politics is 

not going to help anyone and so every 

politician should avoid making such remarks. 

On Vijay Shah, Ajay Singh said 

the former minister's habit of bragging 

was well known to all, but this time his 

comments were too "private and sensitive". 

Despite several attempts, Tomar 

could not be contacted. 

India now gets a first 24-hour matrimonial channel 

New Delhi: Shagun TV, said to be the country’s first 24-hour matrimonial channel, 

will be launched on April 26. 

To be carried nationally across north and west India, it will be distributed 

through direct-to-home and digital networks. It is being launched by Vertent Media. 

The channel, conceptualised, conceived and promoted by media man Anuranjan 

Jha, is said to be full of entertainment, fun and amusement related to matrimonial 

content.

12 BHOPALApril 22 to April 28, 2013 

BHOPAL 

Dubbed as the 'Pride of Gujarat', Asiatic lions 

hitherto found only at the Gir reserve in 

Gujarat would get a second home at Palpur 

Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Chief 

minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan welcomed 

the Supreme Court order allowing the transfer 

of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat to 

Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur 

district. The matter had been lingering for 

the past 20 years and the judicial pronouncement 

on Monday would put an end to the 

years of resistance by Gujarat in 'sharing' lions 

with MP. However, in a setback, the Cheetah 

reintroduction also proposed at Palpur 

Kuno will not take place as the apex court has 

ruled it out. 

The chief minister said that adequate 

arrangements have been made at Palpur 

Kuno sanctuary to accommodate the lions 

when they arrive there. He said wildlife is 

safe in the state and hoped that the lions 

would flourish once they are here. 

The Supreme Court allowed the transfer on 

the grounds that Gir presently is the only 

habitat in the country for Asiatic lions, and 

that they face the risk of extinction. A second 

home for the lions is necessary, the court 

said. Gir has about 400 lions presently. A total 

of 92 lions have died at Gir, including 83 of 

natural causes, in the last two years. 

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of 

Forests (Wildlife) Dharmendra Shukla said 

that he would be in a position to comment on 

the court order once he sees it. "The habitat 

at Palpur Kuno is ready to accommodate the 

lions and we will wait for the modalities of 

the transfer to be worked out. Many aspects 

of the transfer are still to be worked out by 

the government of India," said Shukla. 

"While the necessary arrangements for the 

lions are in place, some minor preparations 

at the field level that need to be made will be 

done once the details of the transfer are 

worked out," said Sudhir Kumar, chief conservator, 

Lion Project, Gwalior. 

The state, however, received a setback on 

Nation 

the cheetah reintroduction case. The reintroduction 

of the cheetah from Namibia to the 

Palpur Kuno sanctuary that had been stayed 

by the Supreme Court was cancelled on Monday. 

The court felt that projects dedicated to 

saving Indian species should get precedence. 


Palpar Kuno is waiting for lions: Chauhan 

NEW DELHI 

India’s Supreme Court took up a new and 

highly contentious topic last week — 

whether pornography leads to sexual assault 

and should, therefore, be completely 

banned in India. 

The Supreme Court’s interest in the issue 

comes in response to a petition that asks the 

government to enact a law that would make 

even viewing pornographic materials a nonbailable 

offense. Distributing pornographic 

materials is already illegal in India, but the related 

laws are vague and rarely enforced. 

“I believe that watching porn corrupts people, 

and many of the crimes that happen to 

women, girls and children, such as sex-trafficking, 

are mostly related to pornography,” 

said Kamlesh Vaswani, the author of the petition 

and an intellectual property rights 

lawyer who said he became interested in the 

issue after seeing the impact of pornography 

in his hometown of Indore. 

India has been reeling from reports of rape 

and sexual violence directed at women and 

girls. The fatal gang rape of a young woman in 

Delhi on Dec. 16 prompted the government to 

pass strict new laws about sexual crimes, but 

reported rapes have risen sharply this year 

and many say the police response remains inadequate. 

Last weekend, Delhi again erupted 

in protests after the parents of a five-year old 

girl said that the police refused to register a 

complaint that their daughter was raped and 

a police officer was filmed slapping a female 

protestor. 

The Supreme Court has asked the Ministry 

of Information and Technology, the Ministry 

of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry 

of Home Affairs to respond by April 29 to 

the petition’s allegations that existing laws 

are not protecting women from the negative 

fallout of pornography. 

As Internet penetration grows in India with 

the availability of high-speed data services 

and the spread of smartphones, pornography 

is spreading rapidly here, even though publishing 

or distributing it, in print or on the 

Web, is illegal under the Indian Penal Code 

and the Information Technology Act of 2000. 

There is some evidence that Indians are 

more actively seeking pornography on the Internet 

than citizens of many other countries: 

Google searches for the word “porn,” as a 

proportion of total Google searches, have increased 

five times between 2004 and 2013 in India, 

according to Google Trends. Over that period, 

India ranked fourth worldwide, after 

Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, and 

Pakistan. 

New Delhi, population 16 million, was the 

city with the highest-worldwide percentage of 

searches for “porn” in 2012. Dallas was the 

second highest. 

One of every five mobile users in India 

wants adult content on his 3G-enabled phone, 

one 2011 study by IMRB concludes, and 

pornography Web sites rank among the most 

popular in India. Sunny Leone, an Indian-origin 

Canadian porn star, became a popular in 

An expert committee headed by retired IAS 

officer MK Ranjitsinh identified Kuno as an 

ideal habitat for re-introduction of Cheetahs, 

which had got extinct from India in 1952. 

Kuno had a cheetah population, till they were 

hunted down in the early 1900s. 

Will India Ban 

Pornography as Reported 

Sexual Assault Rises ? 

India after appearing on the “Bigg Boss” 

house here in 2011. 

It’s a far cry from just a decade or so ago, 

when the sight of a naked woman on a movie 

screen, much less at home on the television, 

was rare here, outside of a few seedy cinemas 

and the occasional, much-circulated video. 

“Pornography corrupts the mind and causes 

sexual excitement to grow,” said Vijay Panjwani, 

the lawyer who argued the petition on 

behalf on Mr. Vaswani in front of the 

Supreme Court last week. “When a release is 

not found it leads to acts of sexual violence 

against women.” 

Whether viewing pornography can be directly 

tied to sexual violence or rape is highly 

debatable. A common criticism of pornography 

is that it has a lasting effect on the minds 

of regular viewers by shaping the way they 

think about sex and encouraging aggressive 

behavior. 

“What happens when a culture is saturated 

with sexually explicit images eroticizing male 

domination and female subordination?” asked 

Gail Dines, a sociology professor, and Robert 

Jensen, a journalism professor. They argue 

that most pornography contains images of 

physical and verbal abuse of female performers 

and skews the viewers’ attitudes towards 

sex. 

Some sociologists say that in India, the negative 

effects of viewing pornography are exacerbated 

because of a social environment 

that discourages regular interaction between 

young men and women. 

“India is a society in a phase of transition 

that is based on a high segregation of men and 

women,” said Ranjana Kumari, the director 

of the Center for Social Research in New Del- 

hi. “In this environment viewing pornography 

creates heightened sexual desire and aggression 

in young men who have no normal 

interaction with women and that can often 

lead to violent behavior.” 

The porn industry also has many defenders. 

The incidence of rape in the United States has 

declined 85 percent over a period of 25 years 

while access to pornography has increased, 

according to research by Anthony D’Amato 

and Glenn Reynolds, both law professors. 

David Loftus, an actor and author of “Watching 

Sex: How Men Really Respond to Pornography,” 

argues that the effect of watching 

pornography depends on the viewer and not 

on the content. “The men who have difficulties 

with pornography, much like many who 

cannot relate well to others and turn to crime, 

tend to come from dysfunctional backgrounds, 

where stringent rules, hypocrisy, unhappiness 

and even violence abounded,” he 

wrote. As a growing number of Indians watch 

pornography, the government has tried heavyhanded 

attempts to suppress popular Web 

sites. In June of 2009, for example, the government 

asked all Internet service providers to 

block a cartoon Web site called Savita Bhabhi, 

about a bored housewife on the grounds that it 

was obscene. 

But some government ministers are among 

the growing audience: In February 2012, three 

ministers resigned because they were caught 

on camera watching porn on a mobile phone 

during a session of the Karnataka state assembly. 

Do you think making it illegal to watch 

pornography could curb sexual assault in India, 

or make the problem worse? Please send 

your thoughts at editor@wethestate.com 

Owned Printed and Published by M.M.Baig. Printed at lucky, 267, Pragati Nagar, Shahanshah Garden, Bhopal (MP) and published from H.No.101, A-SECTOR INDRAPURI BHEL, WARD NO.63 DIST BHOPAL-462021, M.P. 

Tele/FAX 0755-4292545,Mob.09425029901 email-editor@wethestate.com RNI No. MPENG\2012\46415 Editor: M.M. BAIG -Responsible for selection of News & Articles under PRB Act, Subject to Bhopal jurisdiction

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