|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << July27, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net] Articles on Gujarat & Manipur |
July31, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]To hang or not to hang >> |
|
#1 KERALA TRIBALS: New Cases Of Unwed Mothers In Attappady The Hindu, July 27, 2004, Tuesday New cases of unwed mothers in Attappady By Our Staff Reporter PALAKKAD, JULY 26. The problem of unwed tribal child mothers has surfaced again in the tribal hamlets of Attappady with the reporting of three cases recently. The latest case is that of a 14-year-old girl from the Thaze Agali tribal hamlet. The girl who delivered of a baby boy had been in the Agali Public Health Centre (PHC) since July 24. Te girl was reportedly sexually exploited when she came home from her school hostel last year during vacation. She is now a school dropout. She had been under treatment in the Agali PHC for the last couple of months. She was taken to the Palakkad District Hospital after she became anaemic last month. She spent two weeks there. She and her ten-year-old sister have no parents. Their father died when they were kids and the mother disappeared ten years ago. They are now living with their grandmother. The girl has left the area after leaving the baby with the old woman. Two other cases of unwed mothers were reported from Attappady recently. One incident was at Mulli. In this case, the newborn child was found dead. In the third incident, the unwed mother and her child are being taken care of by a social organisation. ------------------------------------ #2 ENCOUNTER WATCH: Javed's Son To Study In Kerala The Hindu, July 28, 2004, Wednesday Javed's son to study in Kerala By Our Staff Reporter ALAPPUZHA, JULY 27. Siddique Javed Muhammed, son of Javed Muhammed Sheikh who was killed in an encounter with the Gujarat police in Ahmedabad, arrived at Javed's home at Thamarakkulam in the district today. According to members of Javed's family, 10-year-old Siddique would stay in Kerala and pursue his studies here. The family members said Siddique had not been informed of about his father's death yet. Siddique was accompanied by his maternal uncle ------------------------------------------------ #3 Superstition/Obscurantism: KERALA : Plastic Dolls Symbolise Evil Spirits At Ancient Temple New Indian Express, July 28, 2004, Wednesday Plastic dolls symbolise evil spirits at ancient temple TRIPUNITHURA: Cute dolls nailed to a tree could only be a saddening sight. A look at the pala tree at Keezhkkavu Bhagavathy temple of Chottanikkara Devi temple would not make you feel different, though you know that they??™re believed to be symbols of evil spirits. The devotees used to fix an iron nail on the pala tree just to symbolise the eradication of the evil spirit from their minds, according to Gangadaran, a devotee. Earlier, the devotees used to fix the nail on the tree with their forehead, he said. But now, the ritual is symbolically observed, by nailing them using coconuts, he added. Gradually the devotees began using beautiful dolls and terrific images of evil spirit to be ???crucified??™ on the tree. And the practice spread fast, which has definitely boosted the sale of dolls in the shops in and around Chottanikkara Devi temple. Some astrologers too have a role in this, said Vinayachandran, a devotee. They advise the devotees to fix these dolls on the tree just to ensure that the evil spirit is ousted from the soul of the devotees, he added. Interestingly, this tree attracts many because of the innumerable cute dolls nailed on its huge trunk. And Devaswom Board never interferes with this practice of nailing plastic dolls on the tree, said Rajan, Devaswom executive officer. ------------------------------------------- #4 RAJANI and SOWMYA : The Kerala Tale Of Two Suicides TALE ONE: Victim: Sowmya; Accused: SFI Leader Keralaonline, July 28, 2004, Wednesday Crime Branch to probe Sowmya's suicide: CM Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister AK Antony announced a Crime Branch inquiry into the suicide of the law college student Sowmya who jumped to her death at Kochi after being betrayed by the SFI leader Chinju Balan. The Chief Minister's announcement in the state Assembly was seen as a move to expose the double standards of the Opposition, which is keeping mum on the recent suicide of the law student. Antony tried to convince the Opposition Left Democratic Front(LDF) that he did not want to mix politics in the issue. "There is a strong demand from the ruling party MLAs to bring the law student issue also under the purview of the judicial inquiry ordered into engineering student Rajani S Anand's suicide. But I don't want to link the two issues," he added. But it was ironic that the Opposition members were not ready to open their mouth on law student Soumya's death. This had only showed their double standards. The Crime Branch would probe the circumstances that led to the suicide of Soumya, who was betrayed by an SFI leader, he added. Strongly condemning the violent agitation by pro-Left students against banks and government property, the Chief Minister said the agitators should not think that the government would remain a mute spectator. Police would take stringent action against those who indulged in violence and attack on police stations to forcibly release the arrested leaders. Earlier, Leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanandan offered to settle the issue in an amicable manner if the government came forward for negotiations to ''correct the lapses'' in its policies relating to the self-financing professional education sector. With the government declaring a holiday for schools and colleges institutions for a week, there was a decline in the violence which was triggered by the suicide of the engineering student, who discontinued her studies after banks rejected her education loan application. --------------------------------------------------------------- Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (CHRO) 3, Rams' Cottage Ambalathumukku, Pettah Thiruvananthapuram-695 024 (Ph.: 0471-2476262) Web: www.humanrightsindia.com www.humanrightskerala.com |
|
| << July27, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net] Articles on Gujarat & Manipur |
July31, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]To hang or not to hang >> |
|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on India Thinkers Net |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |