A punishing drought in western India is hurting livestock farmers as the region experiences water shortages.
She is 11 years old and lives in Bonewadi, a small town in Maharashtra, with her mother, two sisters and one brother. She is in grade six and walks 3km to attend school. In the evening, she walks 7km to feed her cattle at a camp. Meet Asha, a young girl born in a farmer's family that owns 11 acres of land, which is usually sufficient to earn enough money to make a living under normal conditions.
Then there is Digambar Pandurang Atpadkar, a 70-year-old farmer who owns 60 acres of land and four wells in Vartuke Malwade, a small village, also in Maharashtra, India's second most populous state. He and his wife have walked 10km to reach the cattle camp, which offers emergency food and shelter, to save their eight animals.
Asha and Atpadkar are just two among the many who have been hit by drought in India. And surprisingly, majority of the farmers and cattle taking refuge in the cattle camp are from Mann taluk in Satara district - that has 21 cattle camps this year - which is under the parliamentary constituency of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who recently claimed to have spent millions of rupees supporting irrigation facilities in Maharashtra.
Moreover, Mann taluk is also adjacent to the sugar belt - sugarcane is an infamously water-intensive crop - which politicians consider their stronghold, having poured in a lion's share of Maharashtra's development funds here. Yet, the region, popularly known as Manndesh in local folklore, continues to remain at the mercy of whimsical rains.
Triggering concerns of poor farm output and higher inflation, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted less rain from June to September. "We expect 15 per cent shortfall in the seasonal rains," LS Rathore, the director general of the IMD, told reporters.
Media Mogul Oprah Winfreyis in the headlines again, not to say for the bad reasons! People haven’t forgotten that she was in India, for the first time, in January to shoot an India special for Oprah's Next Chapter. The series was aired on Discovery Channel and its affiliate TLC - The Lifestyle Channel - over the weekend. So what? There lies the crux of the story. Winfrey's negative take on India in the show has been largely criticized.
During her visit, Winfrey visited a Mumbai slum, the Jaipur Literary Festival, where she taped an interaction with noted writer Deepak Chopra, a widow’s home in North India, rounding off with a must-see trip to the Taj Mahal. The episode also filmed Winfrey spending time with families, from the slum-dwelling poor to millionaires, including being escorted by Indian film icon Amitabh Bachchan and his family to a glamorous Bollywood party hosted in her honour by leading Mumbai socialite Parmeshwar Godrej.
Watching the show – yes, I must admit, her talk shows are addictive and I often end up watching some of them, compromising with some hours of my sleep -- I was shocked to see her take on India and Indians.
She was guided through a slum in Mumbai by Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram, and went to meet a family of five. She was surprised to see the family – parents and three children – living in a 10x10ft room. She was surprised to see the whole family living in a small space. But what was most shocking was she asked the children how they could live in such a “tiny” room and actually wanted to know, “Don’t you feel it’s too cramped?” She asked the, if they were happy living in such a small place. Maybe the children, who are happily living with their parents, might have wondered why she’s asking such a foolish question! Not enough of her queries, she asked the father if “he was happy and satisfied”, which made the man to get tears in his eyes. All he said was he wished he could earn more and provide for a more comfortable life for his children. Adding to the woes, Winfrey didn’t keep quiet, after making the man weep in front of his family, she said that she knows how awful it is for children to see their father weep!
In fact, she looked for a shower head in the toilet and was amazed to hear that the family bathed with a bucket! She was astonished by the fact that all their clothes fit onto a small shelf. Why didn’t she ask the family how they enjoyed the big LCD TV that adorned their walls? Had she mentioned about the TV, maybe it would have killed the whole purpose of her visit to the slum, to their house. The painful story would have been marred by the mention of the TV! When their older daughter told Oprah that she’d like to go to London to study further, Oprah played her role as American ambassador. She said: “No. Come to America, it’s a lovely country. It’s the best.”
After visiting the slum, she visited a rich joint family, which was dressed in full Indian regalia, in Mumbai. They served her a meal in silver plates and bowls. She looked at the food and asked one of the family members, “So I hear some people in India STILL eat with their hands”. I felt like screaming at her ignorance or maybe arrogance… Which Indian will not get angry at her question? I wondered if people in the US eat pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and tacos using forks and knives, or I don’t know if they have some other cutlery for them!
Another generalization she did when she told her viewers, “ALL women in India live with their mothers-in-law and extended family.” Where did she get this impression from? Everybody living with mothers-in-law and extended family? God knows and she knows…
Then, decked in Tarun Tahiliani’s designer saree, she headed towards Bachchan family. There she met the family and saw Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan’s child and said the baby was “lit from within”. Sorry, I couldn’t understand what she meant by that!
Later, she went to the party thrown in her honour by billionaire socialite Parmeshwar Godrej. She wondered at the paparazzi outside the Bachchan home, which is quite impressive on any given day. AT the party, she said hi, hello to Priyanka Chopra, Shiamak Dawar, Anil Kapoor and other Bollywood stars. She interrogated A.R. Raman – sorry, that how she called him, Raman not Rahman! She talked to him about how “even he lives with his mother and whether he loves his wife who he had an arranged marriage with”.
Leading news channel CNN-IBN posted an “open letter” to Oprah Winfrey from an Indian who eats with her hand” on its website penned by Rituparna Chatterjee. The letter read: “Oprah, your comment about eating with the hand is really not that big a deal to us; we are used to gross Western ignorance regarding our ancient country. But as a responsible public figure about to air a show that will be beamed across the world, you should have done your homework. Using our hands to eat is a well established tradition and a fact none of us are ashamed of. Our economic distinction has nothing to do with it. A millionaire here eats the same way a pauper does. You have been to Asian nations. You should know that.”
Questioning Winfrey's motives, Chatterjee added, “Poverty is an inseparable part of India, you say, and seek out the human stories that make the grind bearable. But which India have you come looking for? The one that shops at state-of-the-art supermarkets and vacations abroad or the one whining about their misery in tiny holes of homes with LCD televisions on the walls? The India that scrapes by with $200 a month but sends its children to subsidized government schools to pick up fluent English? The India of your press information - fascinating, with its many-headed goddesses and grimy, naked children playing by roadside hovels - or the India of the future - an economic superpower that looms large outside the range of an average American's myopic vision?”
A critique of the show by online news site Firstpost.com writer Rajyasree Sen described the two-episode series as “myopic, unaware, ignorant and gauche. This was Middle America at its best worst”.
Winfrey's tour of a Mumbai slum, where she met a family of five living in a cramped room, was also criticised by Rajyasree Sen. She said: “And the slum is where Oprah’s 'oh-my-god-how wonderfully-pathetically-quaint-to-be-so-poor' avatar stepped out in full glory. .. Now I’m not surprised that Oprah was surprised to see an entire family living in such tiny quarters. Although I’m sure she could find cramped ghettos in the U.S... She did look for a shower head in the toilet and seem amazed to hear they bathed with a bucket. And she marveled at how all their clothes fit onto a small shelf. She pointedly avoided any mention of the massive LCD TV which adorned their wall. That would have killed the sob story. When their older daughter told Oprah that she’d like to go to London to study further, Oprah also played her role as American ambassador to the hilt and said, “No. Come to America, it’s a lovely country. It’s the best”.”
Another leading newspaper group Dainik Bhaskar posted the headline “Snobbish Oprah Mocks India” and said: “In a typical American snooty style, the talk show queen tried to portray a superficial ‘sob story’. Oprah was anything but a good guest when she went around the small room interrogating the family members about their ‘poor’ living style and ‘miserly’ living.” In its coverage of how the show got a “thumbs down”, India Real Time – not to forget it’s the Wall Street Journal's India-specific blog -- said: “The smell of incense (tick), the sari fitting (tick), the aspirations of slum dwellers (tick), and the glitz of Bollywood (tick). Let’s not forget arranged marriages and the fact that Indians, even rich ones, “still” eat with their hands (tick, tick). India as Westerners imagine it, one stereotype at a time.”
On the other hand, a few of the many online comments to the India Real Time story supported Winfrey's coverage of India's reality. “The views Oprah presented are cliched BUT TRUE! I am an Indian who lives in the U.S... To many middle and upper class families, the India Oprah presents simply does not exist. I was shocked to speak to members of my family and they denied that people are dying of malnutrition and starvation below their very ivory towers,” said a post by RJ.
Some even say that Oprah showed what’s reality and there’s nothing wrong in what she did. “Oprah showed what she saw in India. What’s wrong with that? If we can’t clean up our act, then we have no business feeling offended,” said another post by Esh.
Is it something to do with how India and Indians are projected after Slumdog Millionaire? Maybe, who knows? Many people in the West think India is filled with slums and Indians have been stereotyped like that everywhere. “Since the time Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Indians have been stereotyped everywhere like that. Whenever I’ve met someone, they do mention Slumdog Millionaire, as if every Indian was that. For many in Europe, India is what is shown in Bollywood movies, women are sexy, wearing short skirts and barely covered bodies and couples sing and dance around trees and in public areas. They are not able to differentiate the real life from movies. The most common stereotype in Europe about India is that there are a lot of people in India dying or dead on the streets. Many are scared to visit India, just because there are too many people,” said a post by Gajendra K.
So I’m not the only one who’s criticizing Oprah’s take on India, a whole lot of Indians are also of the same opinion.
It’s the end of an era. Isn’t it strange that superstars have a persona so large, even larger than life, that we often forget that they are also mortals and one day or the other they will leave the world like every other living soul.
On Wednesday, July 18, 2012, “Bollywood’s first original superstar” Rajesh Khanna, popularly known as Kaka, died at the age of 69 at ‘Ashirwad’, his house on Carter Road in Mumbai.
But as media covered the news of his death, all the newspapers, television channels used the phrase “Bollywood’s first superstar” and then I for a moment I asked myself, ‘what, first superstar?’ Yes, no doubt he was a big star the Indian cinema had ever seen, but was he the first superstar, as the media, Indian and foreign, kept on buzzing? I was surprised whether Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, who ruled the Hindi film industry even before Rajesh Khanna, were not superstars? Didn’t they give super hits?
If not Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, Kapoor family is still giving hits in Bollywood. Raj Kapoor has left an entire family of stars. His sons Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor, his grandson Ranbir Kapoor and granddaughters Karishma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor – even his daughters-in-law Babita and Neetu Singh have given some big hits -- have given hits in the film industry. And moreover, who can deny the contributions of Raj Kapoor to Hindi cinema which is probably greater than that of most of his contemporaries?
Was Raj Kapoor not a superstar then? Didn’t he deliver successful films like: Barsaat (1949), Aah (1953), Awaara (1951), Boot Polish (1954), Shree 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956), Anari (1959), Kanhaiya (1959), Main Nashe Men Hoon (1959), Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Aashiq (1962), Ek Dil Sao Afsane (1963), Sangam (1964), Teesri Kasam (1966), Around the World (1967), Diwana (1967), Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968), Mera Naam Joker (1970)?
And what about the legendary songs is films delivered? Who will stop from humming "Laga Chunri Mein Daag" (Dil Hi To Hai), "Dil Ka Haal Sune Dil Wala", "Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh" and "Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua" (Shree 420), "Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo" (Mera Naam Joker), (Shree 420), "Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandni Mein Hum", "Jahan Mein Jati Hoon Wahin Chale Aate Ho" and "Yeh Raat Bhigi Bhigi, Yeh Mast Fizayen" (Chori Chori), "Masti Bhara Hai Samaan", "Belia Belia Belia" and "Mama O Mama" (Parvarish), "Chalat Musafir" (Teesri Kasam), "Lallah Allah Tera Nigehbaan" (Abdullah)?
Not to forget the fact that Raj Kapoor had received many awards, including nine Filmfare Awards and 19 nominations. His acting was rated as one of the "Top-Ten Performances of all time", by the Time Magazine.
How can anyone forget Dilip Kumar and his superhit songs like “Ude jab jab zulfen teri” (Naya Daur, 1957), “Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen” ( Madhumati, 1958), “Do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan” (Kohinoor, 1960), “Tu kahe agar” (Andaz, 1949), “Nain lad jaye hain” (Ganga Jamuna, 1961), “Insaaf ka mandir hai ye” (Amar, 1954), “Pyaar kiya toh darna kya” (Mughal-E-Azam, 1960), “Saala main toh saab ban gaya” (Sagina, 1974), “Tere husn ki kya tareef karun” (Leader, 1964), and others?
Not to forget an important fact that Dilip Kumar-starrer Mughal-E-Azam (1960) broke box office records in India when released and held the record for the highest grossing film ever until Sholay broke its record in 1975. This was (counting Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas) the most expensive film ever made in Indian history. Tailors were brought from Delhi to stitch the costumes, specialists from Surat-Khambayat were employed for the embroidery, Hyderabad goldsmiths made the jewellery, Kolhapur craftsmen designed the crowns, Rajasthan ironsmiths crafted the weapons, and the elaborate footwear was ordered from Agra. For the battle sequence, 2,000 camels, 4,000 horses and 8,000 troops were used, many of them soldiers on loan from the Indian Army. Altogether the film cost Rs 1.5 crores (132.7 crores in present terms).
Then getting back to Dev Anand. Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967), Hum Dono (1961), Kaala Bazaar (1960), Teen Devian (1965), Asli Naqli (1962), Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963), Kaala Paani (1958), Johnny Mera Naam (1970), Bombai Ka Baboo (1960), CID (1956), Paying Guest (1957), Nau Do Gyarah (1957), Jewel Thief (1967), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Tere Mere Sapne (1971), Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), etc.
And the hit songs, rather say evergreen like him are so many: Aankhon hi aankhon mein, Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan, Jaata kahan hai deewane, Kahin pe nigahen, Leke pehla pehla pyaar (CID), Chod do aanchal, Mana janab ne pukara nahin, Haye haye yeh nigahen, O nigahen mastana, Chand phir nikla (Paying Guest), Hum hain rahi pyaar ke, Aankhon mein kya ji (Nau Do Gyarah), Hum bekhudi mein tumko, Acha ji main haari, Nazar lagi raja tore bangle par (Kaala Pani), Khoya khoya chand, Rimjhim ke tarane leke, Sach hue sapne tere (Kala Baazar), Main zindagi ka saath nibhata, Abhi na jao chodke, Allah tero naam (Hum Dono), Tere ghar ke samne, Dil ka bhanwar, Dekho rootha na karo, Sun le tu dil ki sada, Tu kahan yeh bata (Tere Ghar Ke Saamne), Arre yaar meri tum bhi ho ghazab, Aise to na dekho, Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat, Likha hai teri aankhon mein (Teen Deviyan), Wahan kaun hai tera, Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna, Gaata rahe mera dil, Tere mere sapne, Kya se kya ho gaya, Din dhal jaaye (Guide), Yeh dil na hota bechara, Raat akeli, Aasman ke neeche, Hothon pe aisi baat, Dil pukare aare (Jewel Thief), Palbhar ke liye, O mere raja, Nafrat karne walon, Husn ke lakhon rang (Johny Mera Naam), Hey maine kasam li, Jaise radha ne mala japi, Jeevan ki bagiya, Ta thai tat thai (Tere Mere Sapne), Phoolon ka taaron ka, Dum maaro dum, I love you, Kanchi re (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), etc.
Then how come Rajesh Khanna is considered the first superstar? Is it because the term superstar was not coined in the time of Raj Kapoor or Dilip Kumar or Dev Anand? Or is it the term film critics and analysts gave him? Why did they choose that particular term? Is it because of the countless stories of women who were literally crazy about him? It’s not a secret that women, irrespective of their marital status, would send him letters written in their blood. Female fans would wait outside his Bandra home just to get a glimpse of their heartthrob. They chanted his name, left lipstick marks all over his car and even got married to his photograph. To define all this popularity did they find the word “superstar” apt? Maybe. Or is it because he has an enviable track record of 15 consecutive superhits in the 1970s, a record that will probably never be broken? Maybe. Or just those three dialogues made them to call him a superstar? Maybe.
“Ae Babu Moshai, zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath hai jahan-panah. Usse na aap badal sakte hain na main.” (Anand, 1971)
“Pushpa, I hate tears.” (Amar Prem, 1972)
“Kisi badi khushi ke intezaar mein hum yeh chote chote khushiyoon ke mauqay kho dete hain.” (Bawarchi, 1972).
These dialogues are evergreen and whoever has watched his films will never forget these lines. His dialogues remain etched in the memories of all his viewers. And the songs too live in the memory of Indians, after all he brought alive onscreen the creative efforts of RD Burman, Anand Bakshi and Kishore Kumar, and he had the fortune of featuring in some of Bollywood’s greatest ever melodies. Whatever be the reason, he remains in our mind and his songs will keep haunting us...
And here goes some of his hit melodious numbers: - Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera (Aradhana) 1969 -Mere Sapnon Ki Raani (Aradhana) 1969 - Roop Tera Mastana (Aradhana) 1969 - Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi (Khamoshi) 1969
- Achha To Hum Chalte Hain (Aan Milo Sajna) 1970 - Dil Sacha Aur Chehra Jhootha (Sachcha Jhootha) 1970 - Jeevan Se Bhari Teri Ankhen (Safar) 1970 - Meri Pyari Behaniya (Sachcha Jhootha) 1970 - Yahan Wahan Sare Jahan (Aan Milo Sajna) 1970
- Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai (Kati Patang) 1970 - Yeh Shaam Mastani (Kati Patang) 1970 - Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai (Kati Patang) 1970 - Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye (Anand) 1971 - Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli (Anand) 1971
- Chala Jata Hoon (Mere Jeevan Saathi) 1972 - Chingari Koi Bhadke (Amar Prem) 1972 - Kuch To Log Kahenge (Amar Prem) 1972 - O Mere Dil Ke Chain (Mere Jeevan Saathi)1972 - Diye Jalte Hain (Namak Haram) 1973
- Main Shayar Badnam (Namak Haram) 1973 - Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai (Daag)1973 - Jai Jai Shiv Shankar (Aap Ki Kasam) 1974 - Karvate Badalte Rahe (Aap Ki Kasam) 1974 - Gore Rang Pe Na Itna (Roti) 1974
- Zindagi Ke Safar Mein (Aap Ki Kasam) 1974 - Mere Naina Saawan Bhadon (Mehbooba) 1976 - Aate Jaate Khoobsurat (Anurodh) 1977 - Humein Tum Se Pyaar Kitna (Kudrat) 1981 - Agar Tum Na Hote (Agar Tum Na Hote) 1983
- Shayad Meri Shaadi (Souten) 1983 - Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet (Souten) 1983
It’s been six days and the police have arrested only six culprits who had molested a teenage girl in Guwahati, Assam. Why do these men attack young girls, especially the ones going to pubs or bars? Maybe it is not a sign of disapproval, but a feeling that they are unable to join the so-called modern circles. Maybe their frustration of not being able to socially or financially qualifying to the affluent and upmarket group makes them to victimize young women.
Maybe it is not a coincidence that majority of the victims belong to this transitional strata, who work in pubs, call centres etc. The pubs and hotels that usually report such crime are not the ones frequented by the rich and powerful, but by youth who are probably the first ones in their families to discover some cheap beer and privacy with their partners! But whatever be the reason, these men forget the simple fact that their own sister or daughter or mother or any relative could be in the similar situation one day and people remain mute spectators… It’s time for people to protest against such heinous acts and help the cops in identifying the culprits.
Maybe this 17-year-old girl didn’t have an idea that she would be attacked by an angry mob when she came outside the pub this Monday night, July 9, 2012. The teenager had gone to celebrate a friend’s birthday at Club Mint on GS Road in Guwahati, Assam. She was singled out and targeted after her friends left at 9.30 pm.
The victim was molested by an angry mob for around 40 minutes on a busy street outside the pub in Guwahati's Christian Basti area. And what’s surprising is the fact that the nearest police station was just one kilometre away from the place where the incident happened. And disgustingly, the police took over 40 minutes to reach the spot!
Plus, shockingly, the whole incident was captured on a camera by a News Live cameraperson and is now viral on the Internet. Nobody bothered to help the hapless girl, who literally went on begging everybody to rescue her from the mob. The entire incident was shot on camera. And wonder about the ethics behind shooting a molestation incident live and airing it? The channel said they did it "in public interest"!
Syed Zarir Hussain, the Managing Editor of the TV channel, said, "Had we stopped rolling the camera, these molesters would not have been arrested. What we did was in public interest. On the night this incident happened, we showed only the molesters. We took a call to show the incident the next day as we realised that the molesters would not have be arrested. Whatever we did, we did for public interest and it is because we showed the video that four people have been arrested."
As many as 13 culprits have been identified with the help of the video and only six have been arrested so far. The first arrest was made only on Wednesday, two days after the incident. And what about the cops who arrived late? A police official has been suspended for dereliction of duty amid ongoing raids in Assam and neighbouring states to nab the remaining culprits.
Then, there is Akhil Gogoi, RTI activist and Team Anna member, who claimed that he has in his possession video footage that proves Gaurav Jyoti Neog, reporter of News Live channel was not just present, but also "planned and directed" the ghastly mob attack. He held press conferences on Friday and Saturday to prove his allegations. He showed the footage, which had a voice asking for the girl being molested to be brought to a well-lit area since the camera had arrived. Gogoi also suggested a forensic test to prove that the voice was Neog's. The voice, he alleged is heard making lewd comments, but that these comments were beeped out in the footage that News Live aired.
On the other hand, Neog rejected Gogoi's charges, though he agreed that he was present that night at the pub, Club Mint.
The National Commission for Women team, which visited the victim at her residence on Saturday, said that the victim reiterated to them that she could see the camera light on her. The team said that the victim told them she knew she was being recorded and kept pleading but he did not help her. The NCW team, also said that they found signs of cigarette burns on her body. "The girl has wounds on her body. The boys who were drunk must have been smoking cigarettes because there were cigarette marks on the girl's body," said Alka Lamba, a member of the special team of the NCW that's probing the incident.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has finally reacted to the Guwahati incident. He has asked the police to take immediate action in the case. He also stated that a Special Task Force (STF) has been constituted to tackle the situation. “No one has the right to molest anyone… I have asked the police to keep a vigil on the anti-social elements," said Gogoi.
Unfortunately, still the culprits are roaming scot-free after the horrific incident, the atrocious crime which has sent shock waves across the entire country with people, politicians and protesters demanding strict action. Hoardings, with the faces of the culprits who have been identified from the video footage of the incident, have been put up across Guwahati.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau's NCRB latest statistics, Assam is one of most vulnerable places in the country in terms of crime against women. The latest NCRB figures say that the rate of crime against women in Assam was the second highest in the country in 2011 with 36.6 per cent, and the rate represents a jump from the 33.5 in 2010. The NCRB report further said that there were 2,28,650 incidents of crimes against women in the country, out of which Assam registered 11,503 incidents.
To be frank, this is not the first such incident in the recent past, where a woman has been molested in public and people had been mute spectators.
On January 1, 2007, a group of revellers had attacked a young woman at the Gateway of India in Mumbai. Photographs of the woman being groped appeared in a tabloid Tuesday morning. The mob had even torn off her skirt despite the presence of her male companion. The tabloid photographer had claimed that he was atop a temporary watch tower erected by the police when he clicked the pictures. The woman screamed for help but no one came to her aid, not even the cops came to her rescue and the couple managed to get away on their own.
On January 1, 2008, a mob of 70-80 men groped and molested two young women for around 15 minutes on a busy main street in Mumbai’s glamour district Juhu. The women - one in a black dress, the other in a jeans and top - emerged from the JW Marriott with two male friends around 1.45 am, and began walking towards Juhu beach close by. A mob of about 40 got after them and began teasing the women. One of the women swore loudly at the hooligans. But the mob, now 70-80 strong, wouldn’t let go. They trapped the women near a vehicle and a tree, and pounced on them. A man in a white shirt tore off the black dress. Another, in a blue shirt, led the assault. As the women fell on the ground, dozens of men jumped on them.”
On October 20, 2011, Reuben Fernandes, 29, and his 24-year-old friend Keenan Santos after dining at the restaurant, stepped out to have a paan. A drunken man, Jitender Rana, made some lewd comments about the girls in the group, which resulted in an argument. Rana went away saying that he would be back in five minutes. After 10 minutes, Rana returned with a group of friends, armed with sharp weapons and then stabbed Santos and Reuben in the stomach. While Keenan died within a few hours of the fight, Reuben underwent an operation, but died after having a sudden massive internal bleeding in his abdomen.
On January 1, 2012, a young girl was molested outside Sahara Mall in Gurgaon. The police used batons to disperse the assaulters. A cop said: “There was a huge crowd and when we reached the spot the victim was crying for help. Though her friend tried to protect her, youths pounced upon her and started groping her. When we intervened, the youths started attacking us. Earlier, we managed to send some girls in a cab to Delhi.”
Ok, what do the Indian laws have to say about molestation? 1. Section 341 (Wrongful Restraint): Simple Imprisonment for 1 month, or a fine of Rs 500, or both. 2. Section 143 (Unlawful Assembly): Imprisonment for 6 months, or fine, or both. 3. Section 294 (Obscene Act): Imprisonment for 3 months, or fine, or both. 4. Section 323 (Voluntarily Causing Hurt): Imprisonment for 1 year, or fine of Rs 1,000, or both. 5. Section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty): Imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both.
But the question is, are the culprits aware of these laws? Even if they do, how many of them are charged? How many victims get justice?
