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[1] New Indian Express, April 28, 2005, Thursday Where minor girls enter into wedlock SALEM: Kondaiyanoor, a tribal settlement in the Sheveroy Hills, witnessed a rare celebration recently. Films songs blared out from nine closely-situated houses in the hamlet. The cacophony reverberated around six hill hamlets situated around five kilometres. There were nine marriages on a single day. Six of the brides were minors. The Malayali tribals went about conducting the marriages giving two hoots for the law. Only last month, the parents of a 13-year-old girl from the neighbouring village Vellore were jailed for giving their minor daughter in marriage. The bridegrooms of the Friday marriage were all from the same village. All tied the knots receiving the mangalasutra from the nattanmaikarar (village elder and priest) Madhaiyan (70). Later, the couple returned to their respective houses to continue other rituals. While three brides were from neighbouring villages Kolagur and Sonappadi, other six were from Kondaiyanur. While the age of some of the girls could be verified from the primary school records, it was a tricky proposition finding the exact age of the others. The reason is that the parents themselves are not aware of the exact date and year of birth nor do they have the habit of registering births. It is for this reason most of the Malayali tribal students are unable to get caste certificates. In the month of March, 30 students obtained caste certificates through the intervention of the court. But according to the village sources, only three girls barely reached 18 years of age. Personal enquiries and cross verification from different people in the village revealed that six girls were certainly minors. Madhu is just 13 according to school records. She married Govindan aged 19. Govindamma is 16 years old and her husband Palanisamy is aged 20. Lakshmi, aged 17, is married to Ramasamy 22. Shantha is barely 18. Sakunthala is 16 and Vennila, who married Ramasamy, is 15. When asked why girls are being married at an early age, Madhaiyan blames it on economic necessity than on customs or tradition. A man needs a wife sooner the better is his philosophy. However, these marriages do not last long, according to a tribal association leader who confirmed that in Kondaiyanoor, minor girls are given in marriage. Free sex, broken marriages, widow remarriage and freedom to break away from a marriage and marry another are all there in these remote villages where government officials rarely go, says a party worker and a tribal association leader from the hamlet. http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IET20050427120919&Title=Southern+News+%2D+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0& ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [2] The Tribune, April 28, 2005, Thursday Dalit woman molested, beaten up Malaudh (Ahmedgarh), April 27: A Dalit woman of Sumel Kheri village was molested and beaten up by an octroi contractor of Malaudh when she resisted his attempt to sexually exploit her. The accused has been arrested after being booked under Section 323, 354, 506, 452 and 120 B of the IPC. Sukhwinder Kaur, a dalit married women of Sumel Kheri village was allegedly molested and beaten up by Karamjit Singh an octroi contractor at Malaudh nagar panchayat. According to a complaint lodged by victim at Malaudh police station, accused had been trying to exploit Sukhwinder Kaur sexually for a long time. He started coming to her house on one pretext or other and developed relations with her husband. On Sunday night, he came to her house and told her that her husband had borrowed some money from him, and he would write off the debit if she fulfilled his desires. On her resistance he molested her. The woman pushed him out of her house and raised the alarm. The residents of the village sent him away from the village. Feeling humiliated, he along with musclemen returned to the village later and forcibly entered her house and beat her up mercilessly. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050428/punjab1.htm#22 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] The Pioneer, April 28, 2005, Thursday Atrocities on SC/ST call for Central intervention, says House panel Subodh Ghildiyal/ New Delhi A parliamentary committee has stated that atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes constitute internal disturbance as stated in Article 355 of the Constitution and has called for Central intervention under various provisions against the offending states. The committee has castigated the Home Ministry for using "police and public order" being "state subjects" as excuse for absolving themselves of the responsibility implied under Article 355. Lamenting the failure to check the atrocities against SC/STs after five decades of Independence, the Committee on welfare of the SC/ST has expressed surprise at the absence of the use of Article 355 and other constitutional measures in cases of atrocities against weaker sections and recommended "extreme step" wherever warranted. The committee is chaired by former social justice minister and BJP MP Satyanarayan Jatiya with 19 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. Confronted with rising figures of crime against SC/ST, the Centre all along contended that it was a state subject. The Committee has hit back and virtually tagged the argument as indifference while offering several options. It has said the "role of Central ministries under Article 256 has been restricted to pursuing the states to implement the Acts. To the MHA's argument that police is a state subject, the committee observed: "They somehow seem to have forgotten the constitutional obligation under Entry 65 (c) of Union List and Entries 1,2,3 of the Concurrent List. They have also failed to shoulder the implied responsibility of protecting every state from internal disturbances as laid down in Article 355." Calling for strict action in cases of atrocities on SC/ST, the Committee has advocated the use of t Article 256 with Article 365, which would mean that if directions issued by Union Government and laws not honoured, it will be a fit case for Central intervention. In a significant recommendation, the Committee has stated that Article 46 be put under Fundamental Rights to make it judicially enforceable. Directive Principle, Article 46, directs the state to promote educational and economic interests of the SC and ST and protect them from social injustice and exploitation. Also, the Committee has desired that National Commissions for SC and National COmmission for ST to be given the statutory responsibility of overseeing the implementation of Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989. "The Committee also desires that the Commissions be empowered by making their recommendations mandatory instead of being advisory in nature," says the report. http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=NATION&file_name=nt5%2Etxt&counter_img=5 ------------------------------------------------------------ [4] Rediff.com, April 28, 2005, Thursday ULFA, CPI-Maoists in US terror list The United States has designated the United Liberation Front of Asom as a terrorist organisation. In the "2004 Country Reports on Terrorism" released on Wednesday by the State Department, ULFA has been added to the Other Selected Terrorist Organisations list. Groups on this list are terrorist organisations that do not target the national security of the US or its citizens. Referring to ULFA as the most prominent militant group in India's Northeast, the report noted its use of extortion to finance military training and weapons purchases and that it reportedly procures and trades in arms with other insurgent groups in the northeast. The report said the outfit might have linkages with other ethnic insurgent groups active in neighbouring states, and receives aid from "unknown external sources". The report also added the Communist Party of India-Maoist, formed by the merger of various Maoist groups, to the OSTO List, and expanded the description of Lashker-e-Taiba to include its operation under various fronts and names of convenience. http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/apr/28ulfa.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Rediff.com/PTI, April 28, 2005, Thursday IAF takes woman officer into custody The Indian Air Force on Thursday took its official Anjali Gupta, who is facing court martial, into custody 'to prevent her from harming herself', officials said. The decision to keep Gupta in custody was taken after perusing the contents of a petition filed by her before the Karnataka State Commission for Women, in which she said 'she is on the verge of taking her life' citing perceived harassment, an IAF spokesman said. "Therefore, she is kept under custody so that she does not harm herself," the spokesman said. Gupta, working at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment in Bangalore, is facing court martial on charges of indiscipline, insubordination and financial irregularities. The IAF had on Wednesday announced a court of inquiry into her charges of sexual harassment against three IAF officials. Gupta, the first woman IAF official to face a court martial, had asked for a probe into alleged corruption in her unit and suspension of proceedings against her for three months. Gupta's mother Uma Gupta had demanded that her daughter be given a month's leave as she was under 'tremendous emotional and mental stress' and needed to find a counsel in Delhi to fight her case. http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/apr/28iaf.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] From: "River Basin Friends\(NE\)" <riverbasinfriends@yahoo.co.in> Date: Thu Apr 28, 2005 Two more waterways in the offing Thursday, April 28, 2005 NEW DELHI, APRIL 27: The government is planning to declare two more interstate river/canal systems as national waterways. Shipping, roads and highways minister TR Baalu on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that Kakinada-Pondicherry canals integrated with the Godavari and Krishna rivers, linking Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry; and the East Coast Canal integrated with the Brahmani river and Mahanadi delta, linking Orissa and West Bengal, were being considered for declaration as national waterways. Currently there are three national waterways in the country. These are the Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia, passing through UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal; the Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya, passing through Assam and linking West Bengal through Indo-Bangladesh protocol routes and Sunderbans; the West Coast Canal in Kerala. Mr Baalu said basic infrastructural facilities like navigational channels and rivers terminals were being provided in a phased manner by the Inland Waterways Authority on these national waterways. The minister also said for promoting coastal shipping as a viable mode of interstate water transport, the government had exempted coastal ships from light dues, and the vessel-related charges for coastal vessels would not exceed 60% of corresponding charges for other vessels. Also, the cargo/container related charges for all coastal cargo/containers, other than thermal coal and iron ore and iron pellets, are not to exceed 60% of normal cargo/container related charges http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=89217 River Basin Friends AKAJAN District-Dhemaji.787059. Assam. India E mail.assamravi@... |
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| << April28, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] Capital punishment news from CHRO |
April29, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] CHRO updates 29th April >> |
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