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from India Insight:
Delhi rape case: Verma committee report dredges up old stereotypes
Like many journalists who follow Indian affairs, I have been digging through the 657 pages of the Verma committee report on rape in India and attitudes toward women in that country. You can read about its main conclusion in our wire story, namely:
India needs to implement existing laws, not introduce tougher punishment such as the death penalty, to prevent rape, a government panel set up to review legislation said on Wednesday, following a brutal gang rape that shook the nation. Panel head, justice J.S. Verma, rejected outright the idea of the death penalty for rape cases, a demand from some protesters and politicians in the days after the 23-year-old physiotherapy student was attacked on a moving bus.
There's lots more to examine in the report, which was commissioned after the gang rape and death of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi aboard a moving bus. I'll try to highlight on this blog in coming days. The committee cited plenty of case law in its report, and it came across one opinion that it said "seems to have stereotyped Indian and Western women in a somewhat unorthodox way." That's putting it kindly. Here is an excerpt that highlights a decidedly retrograde view toward women -- particularly in the West. It's from a 1983 Supreme Court case, Bharvada Gohinbhai Hirjibhai v. State of Gujarat, in which a civil servant appealed his conviction of the rape of a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl.
The court spends time discussing the nature of corroborating a rape victim's account of what happened as a means to strengthen the case against the accused rapist. Here is what the presiding judge wrote regarding the concept of corroboration and women. It's a long excerpt, but undoubtedly enlightening. I wonder how much the general view has changed in 30 years. I'll have to rely on you to answer the question... (underlining is mine)
from The Human Impact:
PHOTOBLOG: Women in India’s capital resort to self-defence after gang rape
Women in India’s capital Delhi are gearing up for self-defence little over a month after a 23-year-old student was raped on a private bus in the city and left dying on a highway.
The episode sparked public outrage in India, where many women say they cannot rely on the country’s often gender-insensitive and under-resourced police force to ensure their security.
from India Insight:
Fighting challenges to transform banking in rural India
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Reuters)
India's new program to transfer welfare payments directly to the nation's poor has been touted as a near-revolutionary way to protect people from high-interest moneylenders, bureaucracy and bribes, and to help people improve their lives. Like many government programs designed to change the lives of millions of people, it has raised doubts about how well it would work.
from Photographers Blog:
Voices of women in India’s “rape capital”
New Delhi, India
By Mansi Thapliyal
My city is known as the so-called “rape capital of the country”. They say it’s unsafe, it’s dangerous, it’s full of wolves looking to hunt you down. A lot of it may be true. As a single woman working, living and breathing in New Delhi, I have had my fair share of stories. But the labels and opinions associated with the city were accepted on one level – no one questioned them, no one asked why – until a brutal tragedy one cold December night which shook the world and forced everyone (the authorities, the public, the lawmakers) to ask themselves uncomfortable questions and focus the on safety of women. It is still an ongoing, raging debate, thank heavens.
Meanwhile, I decided to focus on what Delhi’s women face and what they think about it. How do they go on with their lives, their work, their families? Just trying to understand the magnitude of how unsafe India’s capital is became one of the most challenging and emotionally exhausting assignments of my career.
from India Insight:
Euphoria over Rahul Gandhi’s new role may be short-lived
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Reuters)
Rahul Gandhi has his work cut out as the new Congress vice president. His speech at the party’s brainstorming meeting on Sunday impressed fans and critics, but it probably is too soon to celebrate.
from India Insight:
Women voters in India want to stand up and be counted
Several years ago, a dinner-table conversation about state elections in Himachal Pradesh veered towards a candidate who gave away pressure cookers to woo women voters. Of course, bribing voters is illegal, but I remember wondering whether all I wanted as a woman was a pressure cooker.
The Delhi rape case and the molestation of a young girl in Guwahati in Assam last year have underscored the place that women often occupy in Indian society. These incidents have made me wonder to what extent our country's political parties will focus on gender inequality as they look forward to the 2014 general elections. How will they vie for the women’s vote?
from India Insight:
Photo gallery: Revisiting Satyajit Ray through Nemai Ghosh’s lens
In an age when moviegoers bask in the fleeting "Dabangg" culture of Bollywood, a visit to an exhibition displaying the works of photographer Nemai Ghosh in Indian cinema’s centennial year is liberating. Ghosh, a Padma Shri awardee, is credited with documenting an aspect of show business that is far removed from the usual focus of the press. In a decades-long career, the accidental photographer -- he held the camera for the first time in exchange for a loan -- had filmmaker Satyajit Ray as his greatest muse.
“Ghosh’s photographs of Ray, at home and on the sets suggest a rare intimacy, with the poignancy of these images of the master at work, directing and in many cases enacting roles,” said Pramod Kumar KG, curator of the exhibition, ‘Nemai Ghosh: Satyajit Ray and Beyond’, on display at the Delhi Art Gallery in Hauz Khas Village.
from India Insight:
Nine miracles Congress might expect from Rahul Gandhi
Now that Rahul Gandhi has assumed what many would say was his rightful place, expectations from him would be high. These will be all the more pressing within the Congress party, which will look to its new vice president to help it retain power. Here is a list of those possible expectations:
Hook the young ones: Gandhi is widely presented as the youthful face of the 128-year-old Congress party. At 42, he is the youngest leader in the highest ranks. With 70 percent of India’s population below the age of 35, today's young people form an irresistible voting bloc to court.
Target Dalits and "backward" classes: Rahul Gandhi’s visits to the homes of Dalits and so-called backward classes, in particular in rural India, have been well recorded. You could say that it's just politics and public relations, but Congress needs to show more support for groups that often gravitate toward smaller regional parties.
Duplicate NSUI and Youth Wing experiments: This means tackling what federal minister Jairam Ramesh called “structural problems” within Congress. Gandhi has brought about vital electoral and membership reforms in the Congress's Youth Wing as well as its National Students Union of India, providing a wider gateway for people to enter politics. Many Congress delegates at the party's meeting in Jaipur demanded similar progress. At the moment, members in the top Congress body are nominated, and candidates for election are usually hand picked by the party high command.
Image makeover: Congress needs an image makeover in the run-up to the parliamentary elections of 2014. Rahul Gandhi’s relatively clean image and straight-talk against graft could be the party’s hope at a time when corruption scandals threaten to end its 10-year rule at the center.
New alliances, preserving old friends: Who knew that lacking political experience would be a job qualification? Gandhi, with this important note on his CV, can forge new alliances and nurture old friendships that are prone to developing cracks.
The “Gandhi” name: The name and the party have been intertwined since India's independence. Whether the brand value behind the name is good or bad is sometimes hard to say. Rahul Gandhi has a chance to eliminate the need to ask the question. If he can eliminate or minimize fighting among party members, this will help.
Ground realities: Congress has been accused of being out of touch with reality. Gandhi will need to project a friendly face and speak realistic words to help the party's image.
Speaking of which... speak up: Though Rahul has been a politician for nine years, public speaking has not been his forte. He has rarely expressed his opinion on various burning topics. This has emboldened the opposition and given the media evidence to say that he is not ready for senior management. It's time to share.
Lead India into the new century: A thumping victory in the 2014 elections with Gandhi as vice president and leader of the party's campaign committee for the elections would be nice. Congress workers will hope that he will be the party’s prime ministerial candidate as well, a trump card in the face of regional and hostile forces such as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister (and former Congress ally) Mamata Banerjee. That said, some dreams may be a little too unrealistic for now.
from India Insight:
Why Rahul Gandhi stepped into the spotlight
The Congress has for a long time acknowledged Rahul Gandhi as heir apparent and several party members had openly said that he is their leader. Which means his appointment on Saturday as the party’s vice president -- a post just below that of Congress chief and Rahul’s mother Sonia -- was in many ways just a matter of finding him a suitable title.
So why should it matter?
One reason for Gandhi’s long-awaited promotion was to energise the party for a round of state elections in the run-up to the national elections in 2014. The Congress remains a party which derives its charisma from the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and party workers openly swoon over the family. News of Gandhi’s appointment was greeted with fireworks and proclamations by party leaders of brighter days ahead.
from Expert Zone:
India Markets Weekahead – Still time to tank up for a pre-budget rally
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
The Nifty has crossed 6,000 levels while the Sensex breached the psychological barrier of 20,000 to touch a two-year high -- triggered by an overdrive of government action, encouraging macro numbers, corporate results and no bad news internationally.
