Women’s Day Is Only A Farce!!!!

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By Leslie Tripathy

Nobody has the right to violate a girl. And it is an abominable development that rape victims are held responsible for their horrendous plight. It is shameful that some men think it is acceptable to gang rape a girl. How sickening? They deserve the severest of punishments. It is ridiculous, that most often the victim is blamed for inviting this type of distress upon herself. What a society?  What do these men think? It is their birthright or a fundamental right to take advantage of a woman? This plight of a woman has been very well justified in the movie, ‘The Accused’ starring Jodie Foster as Sarah Tobias, where she was gang raped. And when she was being gang raped in a bar cum restaurant, men were shown cheering the act when the poor Sarah was crying for help. Later, onlookers justified the act, saying she deserved it as she had decided to wear skimpy clothes and was flirting with men and was dancing seductively. But since when did men start to think they can force themselves on woman when she says ‘No’?

Victim Blaming should stop

Few recent events have shed light on the lowly mindset of some men who think women have no right to enjoy or wear short dresses. And if they do, they are sending signals to be raped. How tragic! It is not only some sick, perverted minds who are thinking so, even the upholders of honour and security of our society are no less behind. Recently a senior officer in Noida revealed the name of the victim, which is against the law set by Supreme Court of India. And as if that was not enough the senior official went on to give his judgement on the girl's character, citing that the girl studying in tenth grade who had been gang raped had welcomed it on herself, as she had downed some vodka shots with the gang, who she claimed were her friends. This dribble by the official was met with outrage.
The story does not end there. The vicious cycle of blaming the woman keeps getting worse, even in cosmopolitan cities, like when a girl in her 30s was gang raped, the police went on to question her morals. How disgusting! Another controversy spilled around when the State chief minister, went on record stating the rape victim's version was nothing but lies to scandalise her government. How ironic?

We might be in the 21^st century yet the thinking of society is still in the ‘stone age’. Victims of sexual abuse and   harassments are judged by the clothes they wear and made to feel guilty for inviting trouble upon themselves. This is ridiculous!!! Indian women in large numbers protested this mindset when they participated in the ‘Slut Walk’. Last year millions of women across the world participated in the SlutWalk, where they wanted to give the message to horny, perverted men that men have no right to rape a woman even if she walks naked. The mission was to make a point of ‘zero tolerance’ for sexual violence. The global protest took off after a Toronto policeman told a “personal security class” at York University that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”. The aftermath to that comment became a global movement, when a thousand people hit the streets of Toronto in a “Slut Walk”.

For some men, rape is a form of punishment that they think is the best way to silence or tame an arrogant woman. And these men need to be castrated. Government has to take strict action against such evil perverted minds and then only men cannot even dream of raping a woman. And society should stop looking down upon rape victims, it is then only these victims can have hope to live on despite the mental scar. But the meanness and narrow thinking of society hardly allows women to move on. It is about time. And there should be zero tolerance for men who indulge in such acts. It is only then victims can stay strong, overcoming the physical, psychological damages thereby not taking to anti-depressants nor entertaining the idea of committing suicide. The accused should be made to pay a hefty sum to the victim and government too should protect the identity of the victim and provide her with all facilities to better her life.

Women have been at the lamentable receiving end. No day passes by without news of rape, murder, harassment, acid attacks, stove burning and domestic violence. Though many women as compared to older eras are more independent financially and emotionally, yet their independence, freedom and flamboyance are becoming a hurdle for them. They are begrudged by shallow men, by scorned, rejected suitors, unemployed and lesser successful colleagues.

India is 4^th most dangerous place for women

India is only behind Afghanistan, which tops the chart while Pakistan emerges third in the list of countries deemed unsafe for the fairer sex. If violence, dismal healthcare and brutal poverty make Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country for women, the world's largest democracy, India ranks as the fourth most dangerous country for a woman to live in, according to the global survey of threat perception to the fairer sex, primarily due to female foeticide, infanticide, high levels of human trafficking, child marriage, and domestic servitude the poll showed. 44.5 percent of girls are married before the age of 18. Women dowry deaths are a daily occurrence that is well documented. Statistics reflect that a dowry related suicide takes place every 4 hours in India. That is six women per day and these are reported cases. Congo came a close second in the list of the most dangerous countries for women due to rampant rape in the country, followed by Pakistan, a poll by gender experts from a legal news service. The poll by TrustLaw, an online legal news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, marked the launch of its new TrustLaw Women section on its website, a global hub of news and information on women's rights.

A search of Indian newspapers found 153 reported cases of acid violence from January 2002 to October 2010. In 2009, India's then home secretary Madhukar Gupta estimated that 100 million people, mostly women and girls, were victims of trafficking in India that year."The practice is common but lucrative so it goes untouched by the government and police," said Cristi Hegranes, founder of the Global Press institute, which trains women in developing countries to be journalists. The country's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) estimated that in 2009 about 90 per cent of trafficking took place within the country and that there were some 3 million prostitutes, of which about 40 per cent were children. Around 50 million girls are thought to be "missing" over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide in the country, the UN Population Fund says.

Women should be given their space to tread

If the government does not pull up its socks and doesn’t work on with severest punishment for these sex-hungry-rapists, molesters, traffickers, acid attackers then India certainly will climb up the ladder at least in being the most dangerous country for a women to live in. While most sexual violence is attempted by friends or acquaintances, a large portion of crime is still random.  Cat-calling, groping, and staring are all common complaints. Men keep staring at women as if she is on display. Such experiences deter a woman’s mood from being herself. She always has to edit her words, gestures, reactions, dress code to be comfortable in the presence of men. This is sheer hypocrisy, where many men act like predators on the prowl for flesh. The suffocation in a woman’s life is not over yet, she has to check her smile and gregarious mannerisms before it can cause trouble for her as it can be interpreted that she is interested in the person, there is also a stigma attached to women drinking, smoking, where chances are high of her being considered easy and available according to the male’s dictionary. So preferably it is important to look stoic and emotionless, precisely women should stop being themselves. How can a woman be said to be dressed provocatively and held responsible for her feminine gifts? And I would like to add, it is not a safe excuse to blame women for their dressing, little girls are raped too, and certainly not for dressing provocatively when they have not even hit puberty. Every day we hear horror stories about attempted sexual assaults on trains, and females age no bar being the victim of more unwanted touching than they can embarrassingly remember. No women can claim she hasn’t been harassed nor been subjected to inappropriate touching, groping, lewd calls.

Chances are high of India verging on becoming ‘No Woman’s Land’.

Sadly, this Women’s day, I have nothing to celebrate. Although there may be a handful of Indian women striding high in the coveted lists of Forbes, these women’s progress might be relieving, yet does not solace the many hypocrisies and harassments females are enduring these days 24x7=365days.

Marie Colvin; The Stuff Gritty Journalists Are Made Of

By Leslie Tripathy

 While the journalist fraternity mourns the inhuman killing of war journalist, Marie Colvin by the ruthless Syrian forces. Brutality in Syria has been met with outrage by the peaceniks.

 As a concerned audience, we await the news of the latest updates on the war-affected zone. The brave escapades, the tragic civilian deaths, the brutality and ruthlessness of government forces and we have been witnesses to historic wars and conflicts through the live coverage of courageous journalists. And Mary Colvin is one such grand veteran testimony of unabashed selfless grit and determination ensuring the world never missed out on her eyewitnessed accounts which were broadcast on CNN or the BBC because though a staff reporter of more than 20 years’ standing for The Sunday Times, she was – as usual – the last journalist not to have fled.

But sadly the news from Homs, where brutality under a cruel dictatorship would not trickle down to us. We would not know how many people have been killed or what areas of the town are under bombardment, and that is because Marie Colvin, one of the bravest journalists, ever to report a story has been killed by shellfire in Homs while covering the current uprising in Syria.

The American-born reporter for the London Sunday Times, Marie Colvin, along with a young French photographer, Remi Ochlik, were killed in Syria on Feb 22nd. They were killed when the Syrian forces shelled the makeshift media center, where they were staying to cover the Homs battle. At least three other journalists, including Paul Conroy, a freelance photographer travelling with Colvin, were wounded. 

Marie the Crusader
56 year old Colvin dared to go where many brave journalists feared to tread. Marie Colvin said: 'Someone has to go there and see what’s happening … we believe we do make a difference.' Colvin’s streak for adventure and audacity to bring hope to the war ravaged was undaunting when she disclosed, "I entered Homs on a smugglers' route, which I promised not to reveal, climbing over walls in the dark and slipping into muddy trenches," Colvin wrote in an article published by the Sunday Times on Feb. 19. "Arriving in the darkened city in the early hours, I was met by a welcoming party keen for foreign journalists to reveal the city's plight to the world. So desperate were they that they bundled me into an open truck and drove at speed with the headlights on, everyone standing in the back shouting 'Allahu akbar'—God is the greatest. Inevitably, the Syrian army opened fire."

Colvin, in her final dispatches had detailed the unfolding conflict in Homs, which has been the focus of unrest against the Syrian president.’ Colvin reported on shelling in Homs for the BBC and CNN, in which she described the bloodshed as “absolutely sickening”

 The killing was not an accident, it was pre-planned to extinguish the presence of journalists from Syrian soil. The killing came days after many journalists were asked to evacuate Syria. But the gutsy Colvin along with few other journalists decided to stay back and report the horrors and dangers boiling in Syria. According to Jean-Pierre Perrin, a journalist for the Paris-based Liberation newspaper who had been with Colvin in Homs last week, told London's Telegraph that Syrian forces had threatened to kill journalists there."A few days ago we were advised to leave the city urgently and we were told: 'If they find you they will kill you,'" Perrin said. "I then left the city with the journalist from the Sunday Times but then she wanted to stay back ." Perrin said he was told the Syrian Army "issued orders to 'kill any journalist that set foot on Syrian soil.'"

 Marie’s Mission
In a message to a friend the night before she was killed, Colvin admitted that she was still baffled and angry that the world could simply stand by as Homs burned.

 Marie wanted the world to wake up and solve the crisis. Disgusted by the horrors of the war and killing of civilians she had pointed, "Every civilian house on this street has been hit, The top floor of the building I'm in has been hit, in fact, totally destroyed " She had added "It's a complete and utter lie they're only going after terrorists, they are targeting civilians as well." Her coverage was infused with emotion. In Syria, Colvin said government forces were committing “murder” and she described how she had witnessed a baby die from shrapnel wounds. She was never mawkish, but nor was she minded to stand idly by and witness massacres. Colvin was a guest on Anderson Cooper’s show before she was killed, "There's been constant shelling in the city," Colvin said. "So, Anderson, I have to say, it's just one of many stories ... It's chaos here." Colvin made sure her stories of atrocities helped the world to learn the plight of the helpless. Her reports were influential because she prioritised small human details as well as her passionate appeal to international governments to act. Later she told CNN of her hope that "that little baby will move more people to think why is nobody stopping this murder that is going on in Homs every day." It was her female, more empathetic approach to war journalism that made her such a stand-out. Studies into the influence of female war reporters suggests that their increasing presence since the mid-70s encouraged a shift from an artillery and military-based focus to one more concerned with the impact of warfare on civilian victims.

She was known for sporting a black eye patch, after she lost an eye when she was ambushed by government soldiers in Sri Lanka, while reporting during an attack in 2011, an injury she later said unhesitatingly was 'worth it'. Writing in the Times following that incident, Colvin vowed to continue reporting in war zones despite the risks. What was striking about her was there complete absence of self-pity. Colvin has never been heard complaining about the hardships she endured or the effects of witnessing so much pain.

 A peek into the Hero’s personal life
Marie Catherine Colvin was born on January 12 1956 in Oyster Bay, New York, to William and Rosemarie Colvin, both schoolteachers. Her father was a former US marine who had served in Korea, and he eventually gave up teaching to become a political activist for the Kennedy Democrats. She studied American Literature at Yale, where she got her first taste of journalism by working for a university newspaper. Her urge above all, however, was to become a foreign correspondent. She swiftly convinced UPI to promote her to the Paris bureau, where her dash, good looks and dark curls soon won her a host of admirers. She spent most of her life going from one conflict to another, embedding herself in the eye of the storm in Chechnya, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. She married three times but never had children; her relentless drive not just to report the facts of war, but to urge the powers that be to respond, was the beating heart of her existence. She wrote and produced documentaries, including Arafat: Behind the Myth for the BBC in 1990, and she featured in the 2005 documentary film Bearing Witness with four other female war reporters. She was twice named foreign reporter of the year (2001 and 2010) in the British Press Awards. She was given an International Women's Media Foundation award for courage in journalism for her coverage of Kosovo and Chechnya. And the Foreign Press Association named her as journalist of the year in 2000.

Colvin constantly weighed “bravery against bravado”
In 1999, she scored her dramatic triumph in East Timor when Indonesian troops closed in on a United Nations compound in Dili where 1,500 people had taken shelter, the UN wanted to pull out and leave the refugees to their fate. Marie Colvin and two other female journalists remained in place, defying the UN, and the world, to do nothing. Eventually, shamed by the courage of the reporters, Indonesian forces allowed the refugees to leave and the international community stepped in. Marie Colvin’s presence had undoubtedly helped save many hundreds of lives. In another incident, based with Chechen rebels as Russian troops cut off all escape, she found that the only route out was a 12,000ft mountain pass to Georgia. During an eight-day midwinter journey she strode through chest-high snow and braved altitude sickness, hunger and exposure.

Colvin has been admired by her colleagues for being eloquent, passionate and courageous. She had a fearless zest for life, never hesitating to get straight to the heart of the story no matter how dangerous. She made sure she focused on the suffering of individuals and brought their stories to light. For most of her esteemed fraternity, she was a formidable competitor but also a good and generous colleague. She was also incredibly glamorous, funny and exuberant. She sacrificed a lot for her work. She had two failed marriages, never raised a family and never had a conventional personal life. She lived for her work and died for it. She loved life, and brought an American energy to the countless parties she graced over many years. She could be found at the heart of the conversation, cigarette and brimming vodka martini in hand. Colvin’s enthralling character and her journalistic talent was that tyrants like Gaddafi were charmed by her, and sought her out, even as she eviscerated them in print. Last year she published an account of her encounters with the late Libyan leader over 25 years. It was entitled “Mad Dog and Me”.
Marie Colvin always maintained: 'Someone has to go there and see what’s happening people are being shot at, and others are shooting at you.. we believe we do make a difference.' Colvin was a fearless and formidable woman, committed to telling the world the truth about its atrocities - and its shameful reluctance to combat them - her whole working life. Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow called her "the most courageous journalist I ever knew."

The Selfless Icon
Often compared to the ferocious spirited journalist, Gellhorn, Colvin displayed an extraordinary bravery that put her in a position to deliver the wartime stories of rebels, underdogs and ordinary citizens. She was doing precisely this when she was killed, telling the world of indiscriminate government shelling of “a city of cold, starving civilians”. Colvin’s life echoes bravado, strength, the undeterred courage and determination in facing risks in order to tell the world the truth, giving her life revealing man’s inhumanity. Colvin wrote of the importance of telling people what really happens and about "humanity in extremis, pushed to the unendurable". She continued: "My job is to bear witness to history.” She wrote about people so that others might understand the truth. Colvin paid a price for telling truth to the world. But she did not put her life on the line to win acclaim. Instead it was by being in the line of fire, by sharing the risks of those she was writing about, that she was able to produce her immensely powerful coverage of conflict’s human toll.

 Robert Fisk, once said, If we rely on Governments, official sources or the powerful, we are finished as journalists. A war journalist’s life is pretty tough; Colvin’s killing is an eerie reminder of the danger lurking in war zones, with bullets flying and of deadly atrocities taking place in Syria. When it comes to exposing a cruel dictatorship to the world, to add Peter Preston’s words, ‘there's no substitute for a war reporter’.

Also published on Breakingnewsonline
http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/features/13583-a-tribute-to-marie-colvin-the-fearless-journalist-.html

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Loved the facts on India's Man of the Moment : Anna Hazare

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10 Things to know about Anna Hazare and Jan Lok Pal Bill.. !

1. Who is Anna Hazare?

An ex-army man. Fought 1965 Indo-Pak War

2. What's so special about him?

He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra

3. So what?

This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills.

In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.

4. Ok,...?

This guy, Anna Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities.

5. Really, what is he fighting for?

He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India.

6. How that can be possible?

He is advocating for a Bil, The Jan Lokpal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), beurocrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.

8. It's an entirely new thing right..?

In 1972, the bill was proposed by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit thier theft (corruption).

7. Oh.. He is going on a hunger strike for that whole thing of passing a Bill ! How can that be possible in such a short span of time?

The first thing he is asking for is: the government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed.

Next, they make a joint committee to DRAFT the JAN LOKPAL BILL. 50% goverment participation and 50% public participation. Because you cant trust the government entirely for making such a bill which does not suit them.

8. Fine, What will happen when this bill is passed?

A LokPal will be appointed at the centre. He will have an autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed. The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like, Bofors scam or Bhopal Gas Tragedy case, that has been going for last 25 years without any result.

9. Is he alone? Who else is there in the fight with Anna Hazare?

Baba Ramdev, Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, Social Activist Swami Agnivesh, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and many more.

Prominent personalities like Aamir Khan is supporting his cause.

10. Ok, got it. What can I do?

At least we can spread the message. How?

Putting status message, links, video, changing profile pics.

At least we can support Anna Hazare and the cause for uprooting corruption from India.

At least we can hope that his Hunger Strike does not go in vain.

At least we can pray for his good health.


Got inputs from https://www.facebook.com/udayanath

My Butterfly days

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By Leslie Ann Tripathy

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much”
- Elisabeth-Anne “Bessie” Anderson Stanley(Success)
B.J.B college, the mention of the name fills my eyes with tears of joy and I proudly reckon all the fond memories of my college days. I don’t know how and why it doesn’t figure in India’s list of Best Colleges, but boy, this college inspired my soul to give my best. The professors were awesome. Their energy was contagious. And I always worked hard to live upto the high standards in academic excellence they set for us. Freedom and joy was in the air. I was always at peace. My days there marked the beginning of the emergence of a girl from her cocoon into a butterfly. This is the college where I was a topper, a teenage rebel, was supremely popular, plus I kind of set a record among friends for wearing jeans and t-shirt each day of my college life and not to forget was quite chubby. But it was during these days when I turned my flaws into my feathers.
B.J.B college, has an esteemed standing, not only is it one of the premiere colleges of Odisha. But it also is the hub of educational excellence. I am very grateful to my father. Because it is after he got transferred from Khallikote college, I accompanied him to Bhubaneshwar. I was kind of intrigued by the stories I had heard regarding the majestic batch of students B.J.B had produced over the years. I found the “khatti” (gossip session with friends) under the tree more comforting than attending classes. My friends would bring new ideas. We were young. We were hungry. We were angry. We were restless. We were the MTV generation. Lindsay Lohan was our spokesperson. Shakira was our expression. As my father was a college professor, word would go around that I was not a classworm.
B.J.B college brought the best out of me. I of all the people on earth, who was called timid, shy by my teachers, back in school went onto represent the college in youth festivals after I defeated post-graduate students, in a debate competition when I was in the 1st year of my intermediate. Even I was honoured three times by His Excellency , The Governor of Orissa, with State’s Best Debator, Best Poet award.
With the little achievements, I managed to accomplish, my self-esteem brightened, following which I courageously plunged into acting, with the encouragement and support of my amazing friends from college. I still cannot analyse, was it my shifting to Bhubaneshwar or my studying in B.J.B college or the joy of getting rid of Math, Science and taking Humanities, that sprung in this new confidence in me to win awards, see a different confident side of myself, as
Sydney J. Harris once said, “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”(of opportunities)

1977; COMATOSE INDIA AWAKES TO HISTORY'S WHIRLPOOL

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Leslie Ann Tripathy
American born British settled poet T.S.Eliot once said, "Time present and Time Past are perhaps present in Time Future and Time future perhaps present in Time Past ." A nation that forgets its history is condemned to repeat it. Henry Ford pooh poohed history as junk. Junk or not history is no respecter of hubris. History is a big leveller. History makes many things possible unseen before.
India saw its worst turmoil in 1975. Jayprakash Narayan asked army to revolt. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi clamped emergency. All leaders like Jayprakash Narayan, Moraji Desai, Charan Singh, Biju Patnaik, George Fernandez were incarcerated. The largest democracy was put to a coma. When rest of world cried foul at the foul play the Indian leaders turned a deaf ear to the din outside and continued their gameplan of putting the clock back. They showcased to people their own cosmetic achievements.
However trains ran on time. Officers came to office at 10 o clock. But press suffered its worst casualty. BBC was not allowed to report. There was serious and severe gagging. Newspapers like The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Statesman protested with blank editorials. Veteran columnists like G.K.Reddy, N.Ram of The Hindu protested. So did C.R.Irani of The Statesman and Mr G.D.Goenka of The Indian Express. The din got louder. Press proved once again that pen is mightier than sword of the oppressor. Many turned to BBC, which was the only authentic source of news. The great writer Nirad C Chaudhury wrote in ENCOUNTER magazine about the anathema called emergency and showed how press was muzzled and freedom of expression was crushed under the heavy boots. The world condemned throttling of the neck of democracy in India's fledgling republic. World leaders condemned the hijacking of Indian democracy. America contemplated sanction. So did Britain and other democracies.
Meanwhile , people also resented the gagging of the press and muzzling of media. Many excesses in family planning stoked people's anger against the government. Sycophancy became the new religion of the bureaucrats and self-serving politicians. The same officials told lies to Mrs Gandhi that she would win if there would be election. This was the 'hamartia' of Indira Gandhi. But for Indian democracy, this was the turning point, history was offering.
Soon Mrs Indira Gandhi lifted emergency in 1977, declared elections and released all the leaders. The election was an earthquake. Indira Gandhi and Congress party were routed and the first non-congress govt was installed under the leadership of Morarji Desai. This was a fitting tribute to Indian democracy above all its great people. The world hailed the maturity of Indian democracy and its democratic foundation was secure forever.
The most intriguing thought that eats up anyone is, what led to the declaration of emergency??? Walking past the memory lane, it started with Raj Narain, a socialist who was recently defeated by Indira Gandhi (two to one) in the Rae Bareilly parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh, submitted to the Allahabad High Court charges of corruption in the election process against Mrs. Gandhi. In 1974, Jayaprakash Narayan, ex-congressman, ex-socialist began to organize a campaign in Bihar to oust Indira Gandhi and her congress party from office on charges of corruption. On June 12th, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court, found the Prime Minister guilty on the charge of misuse of government machinery for her election campaign. The court declared her election "null and void" and unseated her from the Lok Sabha. The court also banned her from contesting in any election for an additional six years. Some serious charges such as bribing voters and election malpractices were dropped and she was held guilty on comparatively less important charges such as building of a dais by state police and provision of electricity by the state electricity department and height of the dais from which she addressed the campaign rally. Some of these charges were in reality an essential part for the Prime Minister's Security protocol. In addition, she was held responsible for misusing the government machinery as a government employee. Because the court unseated her on comparatively lesser charges, while being acquitted on more serious charges, The Times of India described it as "firing the Prime Minister for a traffic ticket". Strikes by labour and trade unions, student unions and government unions swept across the country. Protests led by Raj Narayan and Moraji Desai flooded the streets of Delhi close to the Parliament building and the Prime Minister's residence.
Justice Sinha stayed the operation of his judgment for 20 days allowing the Congress party to elect a successor to the Prime Minister. Unable to find a competent successor, Mrs. Gandhi, on June 23rd 1975 appealed for “complete and absolute” stay which would have permitted her to be a voting Member of Parliament, as well as Prime Minister. On June 24th 1975 Justice Iyer granted Indira Gandhi “conditional stay”. This decision gave rise to outcries of opposition from the opposition that she should resign. Mrs. Gandhi did not resign. On the evening of June 25th 1975, JP Narayan called for a civil disobedience campaign to force the resignation of the Prime Minister. In response, the authority of the maintenance of Internal Security Act was used in the early hours of June 26th to arrest more than a hundred people who opposed Mrs. Gandhi and her party. People arrested included JP Narayan, Raj Narain, Jyortimoy Basu (communist party-marxist), Samar Guha (president of the Jana Sangha). A proclamation of Emergency was issued on June 26th by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, on the advice of Prime Minister Gandhi. The authority for calling the emergency was under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution. Such an emergency can be called by the President whenever he is satisfied that the security of India, or any part of it has been threatened by war, external aggression, or internal disturbance. The actual occurrence of a disturbance is not necessary, only expected the occurrence of a disturbance. Furthermore, under Article 352, the Courts may not inquire into the validity of the grounds upon which emergency was called. The powers given to the Central Government under this form of emergency virtually have no limits.
The key events during the emergency that came so heavily on the citizens, on July 1st, 1975, Economic and Social reforms were made when civil liberties were suspended and the government introduced a mandatory birth control program. During the emergency, Mrs Gandhi’s 20-Point programme promised to liquidate the existing debts of landless labourers, small farmers and rural artisans. The programme planned to extend alternate credit to them, abolish bonded labour and implement the existing agricultural land ceiling laws. It provided house sites to landless labourers and weaker sections and it revised upwards minimum wages of agricultural labour. The program also provided special help to the handloom industry by bringing down the prices, preventing tax evasion and smuggling, increasing production and streamlining distribution of essential commodities. It increased the limit of income tax exemption up to Rs 8000, and liberalized investment procedures. On July 4th, four parties were banned, the government of India banned four major religious, political and revolutionary parties and 22 associated parties with them. These parties included the Anad Marg, Rashtriya Swayamasevak, the Naxalites and the Jamaa-e-Islami-e-Hind. On August 3rd, an amendment to the Representation of the People Act was drafted to clear Indira Gandhi from the Allahabad high court ruling of June 12th. On August 4th, at least 50,000 or more people had been jailed in India since the declaration of Emergency. On August 15th, Bangladesh President Mujibar Rahaman was assassinated by Bangladeshi military leaders and this incident gave rise to new external problems in India. On September 15th, The Delhi High Court ruled that charges must be entered when arrested under the Internal Security Act. On September 26th, the Constitution (39th Amendment) Bill 1975 allowed the election of a Prime Minister beyond the scrutiny of the parliament was approved. On January 9th 1976, the government suspended seven freedoms guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution of India. On February 4th, Lok Sabha's life was extended by one year. On November 2nd, Lok Sabha passed 42nd Constitution Amendment Bill making India a socialist, secular, republic and laying down the fundamental duties of citizens. On January 18th, The President dissolved Lok Sabha. On March 21st, Emergency was withdrawn. And on March 22nd, 1976, Janata Party gained absolute majority
The 21 month Emergency period was long and intensive, enough to leave permanent scars. The Janata Party, now the ruling party in India. The Janata government’s response to the natural calamities (seasonal floods and their associated devastation) and old Indian problems proved no more effective than other methods had been in the past. Thus social and political discontent was very much present in the post-emergency India. It became harder for the government with the increase in smuggling, strikes and social protests. Moreover, no satisfactory solution was produced that insured the Indian people and the democratic institutions that they will not be threatened by Emergency again. In response to this, the Shah commission was appointed by the new government on May 28th 1977. The commission inquired into the allegations of abuse of authority and the malpractices during the emergency period. The commission found that Indira Gandhi had been motivated by considerations of exigency, as there was no concrete evidence that could warrant the declaration of emergency. She never consulted the cabinet with her decisions and the citizens were denied their basic freedom.

Charges against the government during the Emergency era, were wanton detention of innocent people by police without charge or notification of families. Abuse and torture of detainees and political prisoners.Use of public and private media institutions, like the national television network Doordarshan, for propaganda.Forced vasectomy of thousands of men under the infamous family planning initiative. Indira's son, Sanjay Gandhi, was blamed for this abusive and forcible treatment of people. Arbitrary destruction of the slum and low-income housing in the Turkman Gate and Jama Masjid area of old Delhi.
Taking these findings into consideration, the Janata government’s Home Minister, Choudhary Charan Sigh ordered the arrest of Indira and Sanjay Gandhi. The arrest meant that Indira was automatically expelled from Parliament. However, this strategy backfired disastrously. Her arrest and long-running trial, gained her great sympathy from many people who had feared her as a tyrant just two years earlier. Charan Singh made Indira Gandhi a martyr and she rode a sympathy wave. Mrs. Gandhi succeeded in defying both the courts and the government over the alleged improprieties committed even before the emergency. She began giving speeches again, tacitly apologizing for "mistakes" made during the Emergency, thus proceeding with her political comeback in the backdrop of the crumbling rule of the Janata party. This set up the stage for the 1980 elections, which brought Indira Gandhi back to the office.
Desai, known for pioneering beliefs and enforcing strict discipline and authority and thus possessed a radical mindset. His government undid many amendments made to the constitution during emergency and made it difficult for any future government to impose national emergency.

The first non-congress govt assumed power on 24th March under the Gandhian leader Morarji Desai and history of India turned a new leaf. On 25th July of the same year, the great South India leader Neelam Sanjiva Reddy became the first Indian President sponsored by non- congress alliance.. World adressed this as it was a line away from dynastic rule. The world hailed all these democratic milestones .
But soon trouble started brewing as Govt appointed B.P Mandal in November , otherwise known as Mandal Commission to make recommendations for the backward cast was resisted by students from general candidates. Thus polarisation was in the offing in caste lines that saw the worst student violence of the century.
1977 was the year in which the racing driver Narain Kartikeyan, hockey legend Dilip Tirkey were born. One year may not be such a big thing, but it assumes great significance in the march of a nation, in the flow of its history.

Why I love CNN.com

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Leslie Ann Tripathy

Founded in 1980 by Ted Turner, Cable News Network, generally referred as CNN, is now one of the major English Language Television Networks. It was the first broadcasting station to present 24-hour television news coverage. CNN launched its news website CNN.com (initially known as CNN Interactive) on August 30, 1995.
In October 2009 CNN.com introduced a new website design (http://edition.cnn.com/#fbid=sF0HsV2CXdb), making number of major changes to their information-heavy layout, revamping it by adding a new "sign up" option where users can create their own user name, a new "CNN Pulse" (beta) feature along with a new elegant red color theme with the power logo of CNN standing stylishly in white along with the world map, which changes according to the edition one chooses amidst edition preferences. However, most of the news archived on the website has been deleted.
The previous design was somewhat cluttered and not very inviting; the content looked liked it was being forced into an unstructured space. The new layout is very different and embraces a number of modern web design, usability best practices and trends. The new design is beautiful, clean, organized and well-structured. It invites the eye to scan and find something interesting with the goal of clicking through to another page. We find the website very easy to use, as everything is neatly sectioned off. The main selection panel is found at the top of the website, it covers all beats bringing in headlines, business, sports, entertainment, iReport, tech, travel, video and news stories under heads Europe, Asia, Africa, etal. The centre of the webpage highlights top stories.
The second half of the homepage has ‘Editor’s Choice’ with Highlights and Connectors which are in video format. Latest updates from Environment, market, weather. It also has snazzy sections informing user schedules of CNN’s tv (which has the most amazing journalists working from all parts of the planet) and has webpolls and newsalerts encouraging user interaction through RSS feeds, Twitter , Facebook (for which it has a separate section ‘popular on facebook’), blogs and mobile phones. It recently launched free of charge application in and outside of the U.S, to provide a visually-driven news experience for iPhone and iPod touch users who demand accessibility and convenience. CNN.com also seeks viewers participation in nominating an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to help others in its yearly special event CNN Heroes, hosted by Anderson Cooper.
CNN’s iReport.com has pioneered a trend in citizen journalism, which features user-submitted photos and video. The first picture of Haiti earth quake was from iReport by a viewer.
Coverage of the first Gulf War and other crises of the early 1990s led officials at the Pentagon to coin the term "the CNN effect" for its 24-hour news coverage on the decision-making processes of the American government. It has largely been criticized from Middle Eastern nations, that it reports news from a pro-American perspective, calling it Corrupt News Network(CNN). It has been accused of perpetrating media bias for allegedly promoting both a conservative and a liberal agenda. Accuracy in Media and the Media Research Center have claimed that CNN's reporting contains liberal editorializing within news stories.
Whatsoever, CNN.com stands out as the mecca for breaking news for online news readers with its Iconic, Impressive, Innovative and Interactive news coverage as it continues to go beyond borders.