The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 23

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The International News Weekly India December 01, 2017 | Toronto 14 What does Miss World Manushi Chhillar say on Padmavati row? Agencies MUMBAI: Miss World Manushi Chhillar has said Indian women "do not feel persecuted and face challenges head-on" even though there is a feeling that "our society is not very woman-friendly". Manushi said this during a media interaction here on Monday. She was expressing her views over the row surrounding Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film "Padmavati". "All Indian women have one thing in common... we don't feel persecuted for who we are and actually face our challenges head-on. "I think that's what we need to do, we need to be confident about who we are," she said on the death threats received by Deepika Padukone, who plays the lead in Bhansali's magnum opus on the Chittor queen. "We will face a lot of limitations and sometimes we do feel that it is not a very woman-friendly society. "But as individuals, we should just set an example and make women feel confident that you can do amazing things as well," she added. As part of the Miss World pageant, contestants were supposed to perform one dance from their respective countries. Manushi chose to dance to "Dhol Baaje" song from Bhansali's "Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela". It was also picturised on Deepika. "All the girls used to dance to that song during rehearsal. I am happy that in a way, I could bring India in front of the world," said Manushi. To her Bollywood calling, anytime soon, Manushi said: "I am really excited about travelling next year. We will be visiting four continents, and spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene. "Bollywood is just something that is not on my mind as of now so I really can't say anything about it." Manushi also said she loves to read books. She would like to work with Aamir Khan. Former Miss World Priyanka Chopra is her favourite actress. India's Re 1 note completes 100 years Continued from page 01 Later, the promise was removed for this denomination. "As people were increasingly melting silver one rupee coins during World War I, the number of coins were reducing from the market. At that time the British government planned to introduce this note," Sushil Kumar Agrawal, CEO of mintageworld.com, an online museum of coins, stamps and currency notes, told IANS. In its 100-year journey, design of One Rupee note was changed 44 times. The one Rupee note is the only currency printed by the Government of India and not by the Reserve Bank, and is signed by the Finance Secretary. Though printing of One Rupee note was discontinued in 1994, it was re-introduced during 2015-16 financial year after a gap of 21 years. The re-introduction was more on nostalgic value than actual usage. Asked about the reason, Agrawal said perhaps collectors' demand for One Rupee note was the reason behind the re-printing. "It does not as such have any value and the printing cost is certainly much higher than the value of the note" he said. Talking about One Rupee note's 100-year journey, founding Partner of Numismatic Auction House and founder of Oswal Antiques, Girish Jagshi Veera told IANS that the government might have reintroduced the currency because it is the basic currency of the country. But we do not get to see the note too often. It is learnt that a bundle of 100 one rupee notes is sold for Rs 600 in grey markets of Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai and Chandni Chowk in Delhi. Collectors do not mind shelling out premium for the notes. In fact, different years of printing can fetch vastly different prices. A one rupee note of 1985 signed by Finance Secretary S. Venkitaramanan was sold for Rs 2,75,000 at Classical Numismatics Gallery on January 21, 2017. Another one, of 1944, issued by British India, signed C.E. Jones, was sold for Rs 130,000 for a pack of 100 at Todywalla Auctions in October 2009. The note, for all practical purposes, has become a collector's item. 'Padmavati' row based on rumours: Bhansali tells Parliamentary panel Agencies NEW DELHI: In the midst of a raging controversy over his film "Padmavati", director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Thursday appeared before a Parliamentary committee here and maintained that the row over the yet-to-be released movie was just based on rumours, strongly rejecting charges that he had distorted historical facts about the 16th century Rajput queen. Bhansali was grilled for over two hours by members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT as he appeared before it in Parliament House with Prasoon Joshi, who heads the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Sources told IANS that the filmmaker was asked why he had screened the movie for a few select journalists even before it was cleared by the censor board. "All the controversy over the film is based on rumours. I have not distorted facts. The film is based on a poem by Malik Muhammad Jayasi," Bhansali said, referring to the 16th century Indian sufi poet's epic poem "Padmavat". "We don't intend to hurt anyone's sentiments," Bhansali told the 30-member panel headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur. Among those who attended the meeting were Congress' Raj Babbar and BJP patriarch L.K. Advani. Thakur in a statement said he raised a few questions in view of the "Padmavati" controversy and get them addressed. "How and why did this divide and controversy erupt, why is a huge amount of money of taxpayers being utilized towards providing security in wake of this issue, why was the movie showcased to a select media, even before screening it to CBFC. A movie is meant for entertainment, not for creating a tensed atmosphere across the country. This meeting has been called upon to discuss all these issues at length, bring all the relevant stakeholders on a common platform to eventually reach a consensus." The director has been given time till December 14 to give a written reply to the panel about the movie and the controversy surrounding it. Thakur said the media too played a role in creating a perception amongst the audience, referring to death threats against Deepika Padukone who is playing the title role. The cases registered against the people who issued inflammatory statements by the respective state governments was not played up by the media. This at times leads to forming a negative mindset amongst the audience, he noted. The Parliamentary panel had asked him to attend its meeting to explain his point of view as several states have threatened to block the screening of the film, which was earlier scheduled for release on Friday. The film stoked controversy over assumptions that it has a dream sequence depicting romance between Rajput warrior queen Padmini and Delhi sultan Alauddin Khilji. Joshi told the panel that the censor board was yet to take a decision about the movie as it would be shown to regional and central screening committees. Earlier in the day, the censor board chief also appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Petitions to brief its members about the controversy. Joshi is believed to have told the panel that the film had not yet been approved and the board only cleared the trailer and promos of the period film. Members who raised objections against the movie include Congress' C.P. Joshi, BJP's O.M. Birla and Shiv Sena's Rajan Vichare. They also sought ban on airing the promos of the film. The Rajput Karni Sena, an organisation of the Rajput community, has urged a nationwide ban on "Padmavati". Activists of the Sena and some other groups have been protesting against the movie, claiming it "distorts" historical facts. As six states, including Rajasthan, have already announced that they will not release the film, the Supreme Court on Tuesday took exception to people holding official positions making "prejudicial comments" about the movie, saying these breached the principle of rule of law. The apex court asked when the matter was pending for consideration before CBFC, how could persons in public authority comment on whether the censor board should issue certificate or not.
The International News Weekly WORLD December 01, 2017 | Toronto 15 Canadian among victims of 'online' rape by Swedish man Agencies OSLO: A Swedish man has been found guilty of raping young girls, including one Canadian victim, strictly on the basis of his threatening and coercive online interactions with them. Thursday's verdict against Bjorn Samstrom, 41, marks the sixth time he has been convicted of offences involving forcing minors to perform sexual acts. The latest case involved allegations of sexual coercion against 27 victims in Canada, the United States and Scotland, according to prosecutor Annika Wennerstrom. She said court heard that Samstrom would threaten to post photos of the victims on pornography sites or to kill their relatives unless they performed sex acts as he watched from Sweden. Wennerstrom said Samstrom was found guilty of 59 of the nearly 100 charges he faced, including four counts of aggravated rape of a child. One of those convictions, she said, pertained to a Canadian girl who was 13 at the time. Samstrom has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the convictions. Wennerstrom said the verdict sets a new precedent for sex crimes perpetrated over the internet. Despite what she described as a positive outcome, however, Wennerstrom said she plans to appeal the verdict on the grounds that the new precedent may be too stringent. She said the rape convictions were obtained for situations when the victim was totally alone in a room and being forced to perform particularly explicit sex acts on camera. She argued the bar needs to be set lower. "We have penetrations with long durations, and pain, and agony, and the children are afraid, and they cry, and it's still not enough," Wennerstrom said of the cases that did not lead to convictions. "So we are not completely content with this outcome because we think that it should be enough." Both sides have three weeks to file an appeal, an avenue Samstrom's defence lawyer suggested he too may choose to pursue. "He has been convicted of crimes which he does not consider he is guilty of. So it is very possible that he appeals," Kronje Samuelsson told Swedish news agency TT. Samstrom admitted coercing the teens — all under age 15 at the time — but denied his actions constituted rape. Wennerstrom said the ruling is the first of its kind in Sweden, adding she knows of no other countries with a similar conviction on record. She said Samstrom had a long history of similar offences dating back to his teens. She said the latest case marked the sixth time he came before the court. Samstrom lived alone near Uppsala, some 70 kilometres north of Stockholm, at the time of his most recent arrest. The international case came to light when Samstrom was being investigated for another coercion case involving Swedish victims, Wennerstrom said. During that investigation, police found videos at his home of girls speaking English. Swedish investigators contacted counterparts in Canada, Britain and the United States, who located 18 of the 26 girls and interviewed them. None were present at the trial, but their videotaped testimonies were played in court. The other nine victims were never identified. 100 Chinese couples to take part in mass wedding in Sri Lanka Agencies COLOMBO: One hundred Chinese couples will visit Sri Lanka next month to take part in a mass wedding in the island country, Sri Lanka's Megapolis and Western Development Ministry announced on Wednesday. The Ministry said the event, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, was expected to further increase ties between Sri Lanka and China, reports Xinhua news agency. The mass wedding would be held on December 17 in Colombo under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Some 400 guests will attend. Tourism Minister John Amaratunga told reporters that the event will help promote the island nation as an ideal wedding destination. The mass wedding will be followed by a Sri Lanka- China food festival at a luxury resort in Colombo. Leading chefs from both China and Sri Lanka will take part in the festival. The couples will later be taken on a tour of Yala, Sigiriya and Kandy, popular tourist spots in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has become a popular destination for Chinese tourists, with China currently being the second largest market. Pakistani kills wife over cold dinner Agencies I am biggest supporter of Hafiz Saeed: Musharraf Agencies ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf has said he is the "biggest supporter" of the outlawed Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT) and expressed his liking for its founder Hafiz Saeed, blamed for the horrific 2008 Mumbai terror attack. "I am the biggest supporter of LeT and I know they like me and JuD (Jamaat-ud-Dawa) also likes me," Musharraf told Pakistan's ARY News this week, referring to the groups founded by Saeed. JuD is the LeT's charitable wing classified by the US and the UN as a terror group. Asked if he liked Saeed, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head for his role in terror activities, the former Pakistan Army chief said he does and that he had met him. Saeed was freed after 10 months of house arrest last week after Islamabad failed to submit proof to a court to back charges that his release would lead to law and order problems. Acknowledging that the JuD and LeT were waging a "jihad" to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from India, Musharraf said: "Yes, they are involved in Kashmir and I support them." Musharraf said in the interview that he had always favoured "action" in Kashmir. "I was always in favour of action in Kashmir and of suppressing the Indian Army in Kashmir. They are the biggest force (LeT), India got them declared as terrorist by partnering with the US." New Delhi accuses Pakistan of arming, training and financing militant groups fighting to secede Jammu and Kashmir from India. Musharraf denied the LeT was involved in the Mumbai terror attack that left 166 Indians and foreigners dead. "I don't think Saeed was behind the 26/11 attack. In Pakistan, we don't call him a terrorist." Death for 139 in 2009 Bangla mutiny stays LAHORE: A woman was murdered by her husband following a petty argument after she apparently served him cold food, the police said. After an exchange of hot words, Feroz Khan, a resident of Sargodha, murdered his wife Roshan Bibi and fled the spot, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The body was handed over to the family after legal formalities. The police have registered a case against the accused. Agencies DHAKA: A Bangladesh court has upheld the death sentences of 139 people for their involvement in the 2009 mutiny at the border guards headquarters here which left 74 people dead. A division bench of Justice Nazrul Islam, Justice Shawkat Hossain and Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique delivered the verdict, reports Xinhua news agency. The High Court division also upheld the jail terms for 196 border guards. The mutiny on February 25 and 26, 2009 was staged by a group of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), a paramilitary force that guards the country's borders. The victims included civilians, the BGB Director-General and some Army officers. A total of 850 people -- 823 BGB soldiers and 23 civilians -- were accused in the case. Among the accused, 813 were arrested, 13 are on bail, 20 are on the run while four died in custody
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The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 23

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