IT SEEMS that Indian politicians are suffering from foot-in-mouth disease. They need to realize that using abusive remarks are embarrassing not only to their party, also government and countryman. Our political class has never had it so awful; they have made it worse for themselves. Surprisingly, their respective parties are giving exemption to them while these hasty comments are now being subjected to public question.
There comments reflect their mindset. It is all due to the deterioration of political principles in this country. How can they expect people to respect them when they are making irresponsible and immature comments? It is the media, which is exposing their wrongdoings. There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.
It is unfortunate that a senior BJP leader courted a major controversy by making abusive remarks against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD Lalu Prasad in a public meeting without any second thoughts and in the very next moment he decided to take his words back.
This is not a single instance, even during the parliament session our so called representatives of people are using unparliamentary language and later refuting the same when confronted by party and the media ? Or this is only way to abuse opposition leaders?
In my views, politician who indulges in irresponsible remarks should be punished. Before entering the parliament, our politician must attend ‘One Week Workshop for Effective Public Speaking’. It may be boring for them or they may find strange here politicians subjecting to the week long of Public Speaking training but Politicians in west always went through this kind of programme.
May 06, 2010
‘I have a right to speak’
The latest judgment of the Supreme Court of India quashing the criminal proceedings against actor Kushboo for her remarks on pre-marital sex will go down in legal history for the high values it protects.
“We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavouring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still.”
John Stuart Mill
A century-and-a-half ago, John Stuart Mill voiced his concern for free speech. The Supreme Court in Kushboo’s case has endorsed these ideals. Ms Kushboo’s case is a tribute to one of the most sacrosanct rights of a democracy and to a vibrant dynamic society. The Supreme Court judgment reaffirms our faith in liberty: liberty of ideas; liberty of speech and expression; liberty of opinion; liberty of divergence; liberty of dissension, and liberty of circulation. Benjamin Franklin said: “When men differ in opinion, both sides ought equally to have the advantage of being heard by the public.” It gives a blow to the power-hungry, aggressive sections of society who claim to be the defenders of faith. Are we a closeted society where even the mention of the word sex raises eyebrows? Sex is not synonymous with obscenity or indecency. In Udeshi’s case in 1965, Justice Hidayatullah held: “Sex and obscenity are not always synonymous and it is wrong to classify sex as essentially obscene or even indecent or immoral.” Oddly enough, although many may think the judgment is an endorsement of deviant behaviour, it is not. Ms Kushboo did not advocate premarital sex or live in relationship. She only advocated that society should not be hypocritical and pretend that this does not happen. She advocated health safety measures where it did happen and voiced her concern.
What the Supreme Court of India’s latest judgment does uphold is:
1. Obscenity should be gauged with respect to contemporary community standards that reflect the sensibilities as well as the tolerance levels of an average reasonable person.
2. Although the survey on which Ms Kushboo was invited to comment, was not a literary work, it was published in a news magazine, thereby serving the purpose of communicating certain ideas and opinions on the above-mentioned subject. The survey touched numerous aspects relating to sexual habits of people in big cities.
3. The statements were not defamatory. Ms Kushboo’s statement published in India Today (in September 2005) is “a rather general endorsement of premarital sex and her remarks are not directed at any individual or even at a ‘company or an association or collection of persons’.” It is difficult to fathom how her views can be construed as an attack on the reputation of anyone in particular.
4. There was no intention on Ms Kushboo’s part to hurt anyone’s sentiments. There was neither any intent to cause harm to the reputation of people nor any actual harm done to their reputation.
5. The impugned complaints were made by complainants associated with a political party being PMK, which is active in the State of Tamil Nadu. This adds weight to the suggestion that complaints were made to gain undue political mileage.
6. There was no specific legal injury caused to any of the complainants since the appellant’s remarks were not directed at any individual or a readily identifiable group of people.
7. The complaints made were frivolous in nature since the comments did not injure anyone in particular.
8. The institution of the numerous complaints against Ms Kushboo was done in a malafide manner. In order to prevent the abuse of the criminal law machinery the complaints were quashed. In such cases, the proper course for magistrates is to use their statutory powers to direct an investigation into the allegations before taking cognizance of the offences alleged. It is not the task of the criminal law to punish individuals merely for expressing unpopular views. The threshold for placing reasonable restrictions on the “freedom of speech and expression” is indeed a very high one and there should be a presumption in favour of the accused in such cases. It is only when the complainants produce materials that support a prima facie case for a statutory offence that magistrates can proceed to take cognisance of the same.
9. One must be mindful that the initiation of a criminal trial is a process that carries an implicit degree of coercion and it should not be triggered by false and frivolous complaints, amounting to harassment and humiliation to the accused.
When we will turn the pages of history, this judgment of Justice B.S. Chauhan for the three Judge Bench will stand out for the high values it protects, which are integral to democracy and civil society.
May 03, 2010
Pre-marital sex not a statutory offence: SC
The Supreme Court has held that pre-marital sex is not a statutory offence and criminal law cannot punish individuals merely for expressing "unpopular views" justifying such acts as it would violate freedom of speech and expression."While it is true that the mainstream view in our society is that sexual contact should take place only between marital partners, there is no statutory offence that takes place when adults willingly engage in sexual relations outside the maritial setting, with the exception of 'adultery' as defined under Section 497 IPC," the apex court said in a judgement.A three judge bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishna and justices Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan passed the judgement while quashing the criminal cases filed against popular south Indian actress Khushboo for her views on "pre-maritial sex"."It is not the task of the criminal law to punish individual merely for expressing unpopular views. The threshold for placing reasonable restrictions on the 'freedom of speech and expression' is indeed a very high one and there should be a presumption in favour of the accused in such cases."It is only when the complainants produce materials that support a prima facie case for statutory offence that magistrates can proceed to take cognizance of the same. We must be mindful that the initiation of a criminal trial is a process which carries an implicit degree of coercion and it should not be triggered by false and frivolous complaints amounting to harassment and humiliation to the accused," the court said.
Writing the judgement, Justice Chauhan said the complaints against the actress were instituted with a malafide by office bearers of PMK party and "in order to prevent the abuse of the criminal law machinery", the same has to be quashed.Asserting that Khushboo's statement was not obscene or harmed the reputation, the bench said, "the appellant's statement published in 'India Today' is a rather general endorsement of pre-marital sex and her remarks are not directed at any individual or event at a 'company' or an association or collection of persons."It said the statements did not invite any case for defamation as defined under Section 499 of IPC."The appellant's statement published in 'India Today' (in September 2005) is a rather general endorsement of pre-marital sex and her remarks are not directed at any individual or even at a company or an association or collection of person," the apex court observed.The apex court said that though Khushboo's remarks provoked a controversy, there must be a culture of open dialogue when it comes to societal attitudes on issues like pre-marital sex and live-in relationship.
"While there can be no doubt that in India, marriage is an important social institution. We must also keep our minds open to the fact that there are certain individuals or groups who do not hold the same view."To be sure, there are some indigenous groups within our society wherein sexual relations outside the marital setting are accepted as a normal occurrence. Even in the societal mainstream, there are a significant number of people who see nothing wrong in engaging in pre-marital sex," it said.The court observed that notions of social morality are inherently subjective and the criminal law cannot be used as means to unduly interfere with the domain of personal autonomy."Morality and criminality are not co-extensive. In the present case, the substance of the controversy does not really touch on whether pre-marital sex socially acceptable, instead the real issue of concern is the disproportionate response to the appellant's remarks," it said.
If the complainants had any grievances against the actress, they should have contested the same through the media and not by filing criminal complaints, the court said.Rejecting the argument that her views endorsing pre-marital sex misguided young people, Justice Chauhan said, "All that the appellant did was to urge the societal acceptance of the increasing instances of pre-marital sex when both partners are committed to each other. This cannot be construed as an open endorsement of sexual activities of all kinds."If it were to be considered so, the criminal law machinery would have to take on the unenforceable task of punishing all writers, journalists or other such persons for merely referring to any matter connected with sex in published materials."The court further said that for the sake of argument, even if it were to be assumed that the appellant's statements could encourage some people to engage in pre-marital sex, no legal injury has been shown since the latter is not an offence.
Writing the judgement, Justice Chauhan said the complaints against the actress were instituted with a malafide by office bearers of PMK party and "in order to prevent the abuse of the criminal law machinery", the same has to be quashed.Asserting that Khushboo's statement was not obscene or harmed the reputation, the bench said, "the appellant's statement published in 'India Today' is a rather general endorsement of pre-marital sex and her remarks are not directed at any individual or event at a 'company' or an association or collection of persons."It said the statements did not invite any case for defamation as defined under Section 499 of IPC."The appellant's statement published in 'India Today' (in September 2005) is a rather general endorsement of pre-marital sex and her remarks are not directed at any individual or even at a company or an association or collection of person," the apex court observed.The apex court said that though Khushboo's remarks provoked a controversy, there must be a culture of open dialogue when it comes to societal attitudes on issues like pre-marital sex and live-in relationship.
"While there can be no doubt that in India, marriage is an important social institution. We must also keep our minds open to the fact that there are certain individuals or groups who do not hold the same view."To be sure, there are some indigenous groups within our society wherein sexual relations outside the marital setting are accepted as a normal occurrence. Even in the societal mainstream, there are a significant number of people who see nothing wrong in engaging in pre-marital sex," it said.The court observed that notions of social morality are inherently subjective and the criminal law cannot be used as means to unduly interfere with the domain of personal autonomy."Morality and criminality are not co-extensive. In the present case, the substance of the controversy does not really touch on whether pre-marital sex socially acceptable, instead the real issue of concern is the disproportionate response to the appellant's remarks," it said.
If the complainants had any grievances against the actress, they should have contested the same through the media and not by filing criminal complaints, the court said.Rejecting the argument that her views endorsing pre-marital sex misguided young people, Justice Chauhan said, "All that the appellant did was to urge the societal acceptance of the increasing instances of pre-marital sex when both partners are committed to each other. This cannot be construed as an open endorsement of sexual activities of all kinds."If it were to be considered so, the criminal law machinery would have to take on the unenforceable task of punishing all writers, journalists or other such persons for merely referring to any matter connected with sex in published materials."The court further said that for the sake of argument, even if it were to be assumed that the appellant's statements could encourage some people to engage in pre-marital sex, no legal injury has been shown since the latter is not an offence.
April 30, 2010
Sick lawyers
To
The president,
Dist Bar Association,
Sambalpur.
Sir,
With reference to your show cause notice dated 17.4.2010 , ref no -260(5) which I received on 21/04/2010 at 12.15 pm,I would like to show cause as follows :-
1. That I with great pain need to make my stand transparent on the incident occurred on 8/4/2010 at around 10.30 am with mr aswini kumar padhee my senior and with me.
2. That it a fact while Mr. Aswini kumar padhee while clearing the path leading to the library being encroached by a juice vendor was being involved in a heated argument and also being blatantly attacked by a huge mob of “ Highly Distinguished Lawyers”. He was bleeding from his nose.
3. That when I came to know about it , I along with Mr Padhee and his son Mr. Bhishnu Prasad padhee went to Mr. Pradeep Bohidar,i.e the ex-president of D.B.A. Sambalpur to enquire about the uproar.
4. That without paying a heed to us we were jostled by the angry group of lawyers leading by Mr. Suren Mohanty and Mr. Atanu Ghosh.
5. That I tried my best to protect Mr. Aswini Padhee and took him to the Advocate’s clerks room.
6. That suddenly I saw a huge mob of lawyers leading by Mr. Suren Mohanty and Mr. Atanu Ghosh approaching towards us, however it was pacified.
7. That after having a glass of water I came outside and was moving towards Mohapatra coffee shop. Suddenly I heard a voice calling me from behind. It was Mr. Pradeep Bohidar. We had some exchange of words. He turned back. Again while going towards the coffee shop I was chased like an animal as if a big price was put on over my head by a huge mob of lawyers leading by Mr. Suren Mohanty and Mr. Atanu Ghosh and Mr Mukesh using some abusive words. I was virtually dragged on the path by Mr. Suren Mohanty holding one of my legs and facing the kicks and blows of our learned and great advocates who were acted like a moral police. Their manners were abysmal. However I was saved by Mr. Sangram panda, Mr. Dash and few genuine lawyers. I really thanks them from the core of my heart.
8. Rather I would say it was their personal grudge on me for the reason best known. I have done my duty and obligation towards my Guru as a disciple. Hence no regrets. Decency, decorum, discipline has no value at all. It was a sheer mockery at our highly esteemed Bar association.. Such outrageous activities and moral turpitude must not be tolerated.
In the view of above , I would request your best self to be pleased to consider the above written statement as my defense in the disciplinary proceeding and allow me for an oral submission.
Conclusion :- More importantly ,it offers a lesson that those we humiliate are human beings. They deserve to be treated with dignity. Some of them , after all, may be exceptional. Some may even possess genius.
Where The Mind is Without Fear
WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Rabindranath Tagore Yours Faithfully,
Siddhartha shankar Mishra,
Thanking You Legal Practitioner,
Sambalpur,
Mob- +919937965779
The president,
Dist Bar Association,
Sambalpur.
Sir,
With reference to your show cause notice dated 17.4.2010 , ref no -260(5) which I received on 21/04/2010 at 12.15 pm,I would like to show cause as follows :-
1. That I with great pain need to make my stand transparent on the incident occurred on 8/4/2010 at around 10.30 am with mr aswini kumar padhee my senior and with me.
2. That it a fact while Mr. Aswini kumar padhee while clearing the path leading to the library being encroached by a juice vendor was being involved in a heated argument and also being blatantly attacked by a huge mob of “ Highly Distinguished Lawyers”. He was bleeding from his nose.
3. That when I came to know about it , I along with Mr Padhee and his son Mr. Bhishnu Prasad padhee went to Mr. Pradeep Bohidar,i.e the ex-president of D.B.A. Sambalpur to enquire about the uproar.
4. That without paying a heed to us we were jostled by the angry group of lawyers leading by Mr. Suren Mohanty and Mr. Atanu Ghosh.
5. That I tried my best to protect Mr. Aswini Padhee and took him to the Advocate’s clerks room.
6. That suddenly I saw a huge mob of lawyers leading by Mr. Suren Mohanty and Mr. Atanu Ghosh approaching towards us, however it was pacified.
7. That after having a glass of water I came outside and was moving towards Mohapatra coffee shop. Suddenly I heard a voice calling me from behind. It was Mr. Pradeep Bohidar. We had some exchange of words. He turned back. Again while going towards the coffee shop I was chased like an animal as if a big price was put on over my head by a huge mob of lawyers leading by Mr. Suren Mohanty and Mr. Atanu Ghosh and Mr Mukesh using some abusive words. I was virtually dragged on the path by Mr. Suren Mohanty holding one of my legs and facing the kicks and blows of our learned and great advocates who were acted like a moral police. Their manners were abysmal. However I was saved by Mr. Sangram panda, Mr. Dash and few genuine lawyers. I really thanks them from the core of my heart.
8. Rather I would say it was their personal grudge on me for the reason best known. I have done my duty and obligation towards my Guru as a disciple. Hence no regrets. Decency, decorum, discipline has no value at all. It was a sheer mockery at our highly esteemed Bar association.. Such outrageous activities and moral turpitude must not be tolerated.
In the view of above , I would request your best self to be pleased to consider the above written statement as my defense in the disciplinary proceeding and allow me for an oral submission.
Conclusion :- More importantly ,it offers a lesson that those we humiliate are human beings. They deserve to be treated with dignity. Some of them , after all, may be exceptional. Some may even possess genius.
Where The Mind is Without Fear
WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Rabindranath Tagore Yours Faithfully,
Siddhartha shankar Mishra,
Thanking You Legal Practitioner,
Sambalpur,
Mob- +919937965779
April 15, 2010
Incredible India - The hub of child prostitution?
‘INCREDIBLE INDIA,’ is the name given to the land of my birth, because everything here is incredible - the wide variety of people, culture, arts, monuments, and architecture. In a country as diverse and complex as India, with 5,000 years of recorded history, it is not surprising to find that the people reflect the rich glories of the past, the culture, traditions and values relative to geographic locations and the numerous distinctive manners, habits and food that will always remain truly Indian.
From the eternal snows of the Himalayas to the cultivated peninsula of the far South, from the deserts of the West to the humid deltas of the East, from the dry heat and cold of the Central Plateau to the cool forest foothills, Indian lifestyles clearly glorify the geography. But sadly, India has a dark secret which was recently revealed on January 29, 2010, when the Supreme Court of India said, ‘India is becoming a hub for large-scale child prostitution rackets.’
The Court suggested the need to set up a ‘special investigating agency’ to tackle this menace in the world’s second most densely inhabited nation. The World Bank, World Development Indicators say that in 2008 the country had a population of 1,139,964,932, so by now it is probably way above that. According to the BBC, India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2050, while some countries will shrink by nearly 40%, according to new research.
Sadly, despite all the incredible growth of the Indian economy, prostitution is currently a contentious issue in the country with child trafficking and prostitution rampant throughout the land. In 2007, the Ministry of Women and Child Development reported presence of 2.8 million sex workers in India, with 35.47 percent of them entering the trade before the age of 18 years. The number of prostitutes has also doubled in the recent decade. More recent figures have reported that sex workers in India are now around 15 million, with Mumbai alone, being home to 100,000 sex workers, the largest sex industry center in Asia.
Some infamous red light centers in India are Sonagachi in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal; Kamathipura in Mumbai (Bombay), Maharastra; G. B. Road in the capital city of New Delhi, Reshampura in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh; and Budhwar Peth in Pune, Maharastra, where often minors ply their trade. The majority of sex workers in India do so because they are lacking resources to support themselves or their children.
Most do not choose this profession out of preference, but out of necessity, often after the breakup of a marriage or after being disowned and thrown out of their homes by their families. The children of sex workers are much more likely to get involved in this kind of work as well. A survey completed in 1988 by the All Bengal Women's Union interviewed a random sample of 160 sex workers in Kolkata and of those, 23 claimed that they had come of their own accord, whereas the remaining 137 women claimed to have been introduced into the sex trade by pimps or agents of various sorts.
A surprising breakdown of the agents by sex, were as follows: 76% were female and only 24% were males. Over 80% of the agents had brought young women into the profession were known people and not traffickers: neighbors, relatives, etc. Over 40% of 484 prostitute girls rescued during major raids of brothels in Mumbai in 1996 were from Nepal. In India as many as 200,000 Nepalese girls, many under the age of 14, have been sold into sexual slavery.
Nepalese women and girls, especially virgins, are favored in India. According to a 1994 report in the newspaper Asian Age, 30 per cent of these women are under 20 years of age, 40 per cent are 20-30 years of age, and approximately 15 per cent of them became prostitutes as children under the age of 12.
In its recent report, the Indian Supreme Court said, “Child prostitution is happening because of abject poverty in the country. This is also because of the very high large-scale unemployment. Our entire cultural ethos is going down the drain.”
The Court also wanted to know why the government is not “invoking rape cases against those exploiting the children in such prostitution rackets.” Working in this field, I realize that the Government of India is taking every step to curb and eliminate prostitution in India, but definitely somewhere down the line, they are not able to implement these actions strictly in many of these cases. Somewhere along the way there appears to be a loophole.
I run an organization in my homeland called the Indian Rescue Mission and already we have rescued hundreds of girls, may of them minors, from forced prostitution. I have found out that a huge demand for sex and a relaxed law enforcement system has resulted in the thriving trade of buying and selling women and girls.
Young girls from poor areas are particularly vulnerable and are often lured, kidnapped, or tricked into prostitution. Once the girl is sold to a particular brothel keeper, she becomes a virtual slave of the industry. She is beaten, threatened, verbally abused, and forced to sleep with many men every day. She will remain a slave until she is able to pay back the money the brothel keeper paid for her.
I have personally gone on several raids on these brothels and am convinced that an axe needs to be laid at the root of this problem.
Many of the organizations, including mine, that work for the rescue and rehabilitation of these victims are only trying to arrest the brothel keepers or managers of the brothels who are the last players of the whole trafficking game.
But I also feel that organizations need to trace the locations of the main pimps and traffickers and then they should be arrested and be put behind bars and that’s how we can bring an end to this issue. Child prostitution is growing so rapidly that all the efforts made by different organizations, play just a very small part.
From the eternal snows of the Himalayas to the cultivated peninsula of the far South, from the deserts of the West to the humid deltas of the East, from the dry heat and cold of the Central Plateau to the cool forest foothills, Indian lifestyles clearly glorify the geography. But sadly, India has a dark secret which was recently revealed on January 29, 2010, when the Supreme Court of India said, ‘India is becoming a hub for large-scale child prostitution rackets.’
The Court suggested the need to set up a ‘special investigating agency’ to tackle this menace in the world’s second most densely inhabited nation. The World Bank, World Development Indicators say that in 2008 the country had a population of 1,139,964,932, so by now it is probably way above that. According to the BBC, India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2050, while some countries will shrink by nearly 40%, according to new research.
Sadly, despite all the incredible growth of the Indian economy, prostitution is currently a contentious issue in the country with child trafficking and prostitution rampant throughout the land. In 2007, the Ministry of Women and Child Development reported presence of 2.8 million sex workers in India, with 35.47 percent of them entering the trade before the age of 18 years. The number of prostitutes has also doubled in the recent decade. More recent figures have reported that sex workers in India are now around 15 million, with Mumbai alone, being home to 100,000 sex workers, the largest sex industry center in Asia.
Some infamous red light centers in India are Sonagachi in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal; Kamathipura in Mumbai (Bombay), Maharastra; G. B. Road in the capital city of New Delhi, Reshampura in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh; and Budhwar Peth in Pune, Maharastra, where often minors ply their trade. The majority of sex workers in India do so because they are lacking resources to support themselves or their children.
Most do not choose this profession out of preference, but out of necessity, often after the breakup of a marriage or after being disowned and thrown out of their homes by their families. The children of sex workers are much more likely to get involved in this kind of work as well. A survey completed in 1988 by the All Bengal Women's Union interviewed a random sample of 160 sex workers in Kolkata and of those, 23 claimed that they had come of their own accord, whereas the remaining 137 women claimed to have been introduced into the sex trade by pimps or agents of various sorts.
A surprising breakdown of the agents by sex, were as follows: 76% were female and only 24% were males. Over 80% of the agents had brought young women into the profession were known people and not traffickers: neighbors, relatives, etc. Over 40% of 484 prostitute girls rescued during major raids of brothels in Mumbai in 1996 were from Nepal. In India as many as 200,000 Nepalese girls, many under the age of 14, have been sold into sexual slavery.
Nepalese women and girls, especially virgins, are favored in India. According to a 1994 report in the newspaper Asian Age, 30 per cent of these women are under 20 years of age, 40 per cent are 20-30 years of age, and approximately 15 per cent of them became prostitutes as children under the age of 12.
In its recent report, the Indian Supreme Court said, “Child prostitution is happening because of abject poverty in the country. This is also because of the very high large-scale unemployment. Our entire cultural ethos is going down the drain.”
The Court also wanted to know why the government is not “invoking rape cases against those exploiting the children in such prostitution rackets.” Working in this field, I realize that the Government of India is taking every step to curb and eliminate prostitution in India, but definitely somewhere down the line, they are not able to implement these actions strictly in many of these cases. Somewhere along the way there appears to be a loophole.
I run an organization in my homeland called the Indian Rescue Mission and already we have rescued hundreds of girls, may of them minors, from forced prostitution. I have found out that a huge demand for sex and a relaxed law enforcement system has resulted in the thriving trade of buying and selling women and girls.
Young girls from poor areas are particularly vulnerable and are often lured, kidnapped, or tricked into prostitution. Once the girl is sold to a particular brothel keeper, she becomes a virtual slave of the industry. She is beaten, threatened, verbally abused, and forced to sleep with many men every day. She will remain a slave until she is able to pay back the money the brothel keeper paid for her.
I have personally gone on several raids on these brothels and am convinced that an axe needs to be laid at the root of this problem.
Many of the organizations, including mine, that work for the rescue and rehabilitation of these victims are only trying to arrest the brothel keepers or managers of the brothels who are the last players of the whole trafficking game.
But I also feel that organizations need to trace the locations of the main pimps and traffickers and then they should be arrested and be put behind bars and that’s how we can bring an end to this issue. Child prostitution is growing so rapidly that all the efforts made by different organizations, play just a very small part.
Increasing suicide cases in Orissa
AGRICULTURE IS the chief occupation in Orissa. Seventy five per cent of the total working population engaged in agriculture and agriculture related industries. The principal problem that agriculture in Orissa faces is the shortage of water in many areas. Orrisa is the Indian state which is most affected by climate change.
Many farmers have allegedly committed suicide in Orissa who totally depend on the mercy of rain. In Orissa, farmers engaged in rain fed farming and many farmers ended their lives because of total crop loss due to bad monsoon.
The frequency at which farmers are killing themselves in Orissa is appalling. Small farmers of Orissa borrow loans from micro-finance NGO’s whose rate of interest is incredibly high. Banks give up loans on five per cent rate of interest but it is unable to access this which requires lot of documentation process and this make rural farmer attract towards micro-finance NGO’s where disbursal process is quick and easy but the rate of interest is almost 24 per cent to 50 per cent.
Farmers who took loan from these micro-finance NGO’s were trapped into life long process of death. This is clearly being seen that these NGO’s are exploiting small farmers of Orissa.
Fear of not being able to pay the amount of loan which they have took from micro-finance NGO’s drove the farmers to commit suicide. Now loans have become a fear for every farmer of Orissa.
Government takes the pride in having comprehensive agricultural policy but fails to provide good irrigation facilities and insurance cover to protect farmers. This shows that our government fails to stop suicide cases in Orissa.
Many farmers have allegedly committed suicide in Orissa who totally depend on the mercy of rain. In Orissa, farmers engaged in rain fed farming and many farmers ended their lives because of total crop loss due to bad monsoon.
The frequency at which farmers are killing themselves in Orissa is appalling. Small farmers of Orissa borrow loans from micro-finance NGO’s whose rate of interest is incredibly high. Banks give up loans on five per cent rate of interest but it is unable to access this which requires lot of documentation process and this make rural farmer attract towards micro-finance NGO’s where disbursal process is quick and easy but the rate of interest is almost 24 per cent to 50 per cent.
Farmers who took loan from these micro-finance NGO’s were trapped into life long process of death. This is clearly being seen that these NGO’s are exploiting small farmers of Orissa.
Fear of not being able to pay the amount of loan which they have took from micro-finance NGO’s drove the farmers to commit suicide. Now loans have become a fear for every farmer of Orissa.
Government takes the pride in having comprehensive agricultural policy but fails to provide good irrigation facilities and insurance cover to protect farmers. This shows that our government fails to stop suicide cases in Orissa.
Sexual abuse in school, high time to relook at the programs
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION of girl students in a residential school at Badaambada village in Nabarangpur district has became an important issue and now such issues have been reported from several parts of Orissa, particularly in tribal areas. The headmaster of the school, Pradipta Sahu, a contractual teacher Iswar Bhatra and Padman Bhatra, the husband of the cook of the school and later on the male cook of the residential school, Raju Bhatra have been taken into custody by the police in relation to this case.
Several visits were made by different government officers, political parties and dignitaries that forced the government to take disciplinary action and ultimately few officials (Welfare Extension Officer and Block Development Officer) were sacked from the job.
Now all the responsible persons of the government departments, political parties, and Panchayat leaders visit different schools at regular intervals. I must thank the person who brought this incidence into notice. Here a simple question arises that why the political parties/leaders realised so late that they should visit such institutions and that too after the occurrence of such a shameless incident in one such school? If they would have done this earlier such cases might not have taken place in other schools. I would like to request them not to visit the school now at all as it simply proves they want to get some political mileage.
After this incident the State government declared that only women headmasters would be posted in residential schools for girls. The schools are asked to accommodate students double its capacity, without proper place to sleep, eat, and bathe. And on the other hand the teachers stay on the same campus with their own families.
The concerned authority of the state government needs to check the quality of the dress material supplied to the girl students.
Sex is a biological need and it is difficult for an unethical person to abstain himself from it. And the tribal way of life which is generally featured by early sex, early marriage and elopement makes it easier for the people to exploit the girls. Many may not accept this logic out of mere hypocrisy .
Sexual abuse can lead to corporal punishment. . While signing the CRC the Indian government had promised to look after the matters pertaining to child rights and protection. Designing plans and making laws never solve the problems at all..
I want to raise a question on the working of the district level Child Well being Committees, and why they were not treated as the group which did not perform its duty perfectly. Why only the Welfare and Block Development officer were identified for negligence of their duty, why not the collector, the Minister for Tribal Welfare and Education and above all the Chief Minister of the state that is another big question for me. One can say the degree of negligence may be at the bottom. But the other duty bearers have failed to perform their duty and there is no confusion on this. Yes, I must say the real culprits need to be punished severely, but more than that the Government should take this as a lesson and plan accordingly so that such incidents do not happen at all.
Several visits were made by different government officers, political parties and dignitaries that forced the government to take disciplinary action and ultimately few officials (Welfare Extension Officer and Block Development Officer) were sacked from the job.
Now all the responsible persons of the government departments, political parties, and Panchayat leaders visit different schools at regular intervals. I must thank the person who brought this incidence into notice. Here a simple question arises that why the political parties/leaders realised so late that they should visit such institutions and that too after the occurrence of such a shameless incident in one such school? If they would have done this earlier such cases might not have taken place in other schools. I would like to request them not to visit the school now at all as it simply proves they want to get some political mileage.
After this incident the State government declared that only women headmasters would be posted in residential schools for girls. The schools are asked to accommodate students double its capacity, without proper place to sleep, eat, and bathe. And on the other hand the teachers stay on the same campus with their own families.
The concerned authority of the state government needs to check the quality of the dress material supplied to the girl students.
Sex is a biological need and it is difficult for an unethical person to abstain himself from it. And the tribal way of life which is generally featured by early sex, early marriage and elopement makes it easier for the people to exploit the girls. Many may not accept this logic out of mere hypocrisy .
Sexual abuse can lead to corporal punishment. . While signing the CRC the Indian government had promised to look after the matters pertaining to child rights and protection. Designing plans and making laws never solve the problems at all..
I want to raise a question on the working of the district level Child Well being Committees, and why they were not treated as the group which did not perform its duty perfectly. Why only the Welfare and Block Development officer were identified for negligence of their duty, why not the collector, the Minister for Tribal Welfare and Education and above all the Chief Minister of the state that is another big question for me. One can say the degree of negligence may be at the bottom. But the other duty bearers have failed to perform their duty and there is no confusion on this. Yes, I must say the real culprits need to be punished severely, but more than that the Government should take this as a lesson and plan accordingly so that such incidents do not happen at all.
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