To encourage Hindi Literature in its own way, Premchand Archives of Jamia Millia Islamia has organized a literary exhibition, based on the life of famous Hindi writer Pt. Banarasidas Chaturvedi. Gaurav Kumar & Dipu Shaw report.
Seven states, each with a distinct culture and subcultures within them. Yet, we call them the North East. Their differences might not be so obvious to someone from any other part of India. Here’s a chance. The Purvottari Festival also called the spirit of North East is being celebrated at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). The nine-day festival showcases the culture, dance, music, handicrafts and food of all the eight States of the region Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura besides presenting documentaries on the region and holding seminars. A report by: Dipu Shaw and Gaurav Kumar
By Dipu Shaw, Kapou Malaker, Gaurav Kumar
“The ban on smoking is a move in the right direction” - this is one thing that smokers, non-smokers or the busybodies of the anti-smoking lobby, all agree on. However, three months after the ban came into force, there are still doubts over how much it has worked.
Smoking already accounts for 900,000 deaths a year in
Government of
As per the revised rules, the pubic zone has been categorized as shopping malls, cinema halls, public/private work places, hotels, banquet halls, discotheques, canteens, coffee houses, pubs, bars, airport lounges and railway stations.
But, making people aware of such no smoking zones is still a big challenge for officials.
“There are problems in executing the ban on smoking. Many people do not know how to identify these public places”, says Mohd. Iqbal, S. H. O. of Jamia Nagar police station.
However, a lot of people, mostly non-smokers believe that the ban is in the larger interest of the society. Prof. Manjula Batra of the Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia says that the objective of such an act is to promote the health of the people not only for this generation of people, but also of the future of the nation”. She suggests methods to spread awareness among the people. “We need to educate them. Media has an effective role to play. Arranging seminars, lectures etc to make people aware about the ban on the public places are available options”, she says.
Dr Sanjoy Gogia, physician, Internal Medicine in
Not everyone buys the views of the supporters of no smoking zones. “We know about the pros and cons of smoking. If we are uncomfortable with someone smoking in front of us, we can straightway go and tell that person not to smoke”, says Mukut Sharma, a student of the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
There are others in the student community who are demanding for Smoking Zones where they can go and smoke without affecting the non-smokers. Mayank Khurana, a 3rd year statistics student of
The Act has provisions for creating places where smokers can light up their cigarettes and smoke freely. Dr. Batra of
Nevertheless, places like University and college campuses do not fall in that category.
As of now, shutting your eyes to the “No Smoking Zone” boards and lighting your cigarette is a one way ticket to the police station.
By
By: Dipu Shaw
Photo: Rozy Ibrahim
One thing responsible for fuelling the anger of the people living in the Jamia Nagar area, after the Batla House encounter, was that they remained uninformed about the state of affairs. They did not get any detailed briefing about the incident. The case apparently lacked transparency.
The September 19, police encounter in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar killed two suspected terrorists allegedly involved in Delhi serial blasts, Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajed, along with a police officer, Mohan Chand Sharma.
One and a half months after the case, the truth about the encounter and subsequent arrests that followed it, still remains shrouded in mystery. Even under the Right To Information Act, the various departments that were related to the case have denied to pass on the information. It leaves a suspicion that there is a deliberate attempt to camouflage the truth.
The Jaiprakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre of AIIMS has turned down the request to provide information about the post mortem reports saying that the case was related to Medico Legal Records.
They refused to provide information under Sections 8(1) b and 8(1) h of the RTI to a petitioner, Afroz Alam Sahil.
Section 8(1) b of the Right To Information Act – 2005 states that information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court cannot be provided to a RTI petitioner.
Section 8(1) h states that information cannot be provided about matters which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of the offenders.
Wrong arguments
Both do not apply to the Batla House Encounter case, according to experts. “The arguments given by AIIMS is totally baseless”, says Prashant Bhushan, Supreme Court lawyer. “No orders or ruling has been passed by the court to withhold information regarding the case. And by no means it can amount to contempt of court”, he adds.
Asked if the information in any way could impede the process of investigation, the seasoned lawyer says, “What does it have to do with the investigations?”
The Delhi police
The Delhi Police has also tried to evade questions on the issue. It prefers to answer only three out of the six questions asked in a RTI petition in connection with the encounter and subsequent arrests. The answers too are only denials instead of information.
It declined to provide the post mortem report of the deceased in the case citing section 8(1)h of the RTI Act-05 as AIIMS had done. Interestingly, the Office of the Dy. Commissioner of Police, Crime, Delhi, makes no mention of the other questions asked in the petition. The petitioner had also asked to provide the number of people arrested in connection to the serial blasts in the capital on September 13 and the places from where they were arrested. In addition, it was asked if the police have evidence against those who have been arrested. The Delhi police did not feel it was necessary to answer these questions.
According to the National Human Rights Commission, so far 2560 cases of police encounter/alleged fake encounter has come up before it. The Commission has so far granted compensation in sixteen cases of police encounter/alleged fake encounter. The statistics adds to the suspicion of the people. The Delhi Police has not done anything substantial to alleviate doubts from the minds of the people of the community. Poor reporting and confusion on the part of journalists has also helped the cause of doubts and distrust.
contact Dipu Shaw at:conciousdipu@gmail.com
By
Dipu, Kapou & Kinley
Jamia Millia Islamia is in news ever since two of the university’s students were arrested by the Delhi police on 20th Sept. The Vice-Chancellor of the University Mushirul Hasan has committed to provide legal aid to the two students. The offer has raised a major controversy in political circles.
Two Jamia students- Zia ur Rehman and Mohammad Shakeel, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in terror activities.
Peaceful march
More than 1,500 students of the University and many staff members took part in a peace march on Thursday in the University area led by the Vice Chancellor. “The peace march is aimed to fortify Jamia’s determination to condemn violence”, said Prof. Hasan.
As soon as the rally ended, a handful of supporters carrying banners of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) reached the University area, shouting slogans of “Long live N. C. Sharma” and condemning the Vice Chancellor’s move to “support terrorists”.
Police vigilant
A major scuffle was avoided when the police roped in and took control of the situation. The supporters of ABVP were brisked away in police vans. “What the university is doing is not right,” shouted one of the ABVP supporters referring to the proposal of Jamia University to provide legal aid to the arrested students.
Deputy Commisioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi, Hargobind Dhariwal rushed to the spot to make sure there was no untoward incident. He clarified that there were no arrests and the march was peaceful. When asked about the identity of the ABVP supporters, he said “They could be anyone. It could be that they are not students”.
Prof. Hasan urged his students to get back to their respective faculties. Security remained beefed up in the University area throughout the day.
Support for arrested students
The Executive Committee of Jamia Teacher’s Association (JTA) also announced their commitment to provide financial support to the two students of the University who have been arrested for their alleged involvement in terror activities. The JTA praised the University’s move to provide legal assistance to the two students. They further demanded from the University that “no disciplinary action should be initiated against the students unless they are proven guilty by the court of law.”
By: Dipu Shaw & Gaurav Kumar
Have you given a thought to the number of people who make a living out of the blueline buses? The drivers and conductors may be the only people who come to your mind. But, wait! There are others too.
Jitendra Kalra runs a small business of supplying water to the drivers and conductors of the blueline buses. He employs six labourers for this. They fill the 15 liter water cans at the nearby Mandavli Water Tank at Rs 5 per can. They charge Rs 15 from the bus drivers for the water.
As the blueline buses stop at the Shakarpur stand, Ritesh Pandey, the water supplier can be seen rushing with a can of water into each of them. Ritesh, a labourer from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh is paid Rs. 3,000 per month by his employer for the job.
There are more than 50 such points at various bus routes in the capital. About 250 labourers are employed by small businessmen. They supply the cans of water to more than 4,000 blueline buses in the capital. While Ritesh rushes in and out of the buses exchanging the cans of water with empty cans in the buses, his colleague Manoj Kumar refills the empty cans at a water tank about 2 kilo meters away. Ritesh only gets a few minutes to supply the water and scribble the number of the bus in the small pad that he carries in his pocket.“I supply water for the first half of the day and from 2 pm we start collecting the money from the respective buses,” informs Ritesh. The passengers are usually too busy to notice him. Some even mistake him to be a fellow commuter when he enters the buses.
However, this business which is as old as the blueline buses may soon close down. The Government aims to phase out all the blueline buses from the capital’s roads. The red and green low floored DTC buses are already on the roads. “The phasing out has already begun and soon we will get rid of all the killer blueline buses,” says Haroon Yusuf, Transport and Power Minister. When asked about these water suppliers who would loose their means of livelihood, the Transport Minister said that the safety of Delhites was more important than the income of such small businessmen and labourers.
The DTC bus drivers do not buy the water cans. Instead, they drink water at the DTC Depot which is available for free.
Businessman Jitendra Kalra has other alternatives. “This is an illegal business and I am not solely dependent on it,” he specifies. Nevertheless, for poor labourers like Ritesh the blueline buses are the only means to earn their bread.
As the Government officials and agencies discuss the flood situation in Bihar, experts and organizations working in flood affected north
Dr. Dinesh Mishra, fellow at People’s Science Institute (PSI) recently released his book on floods in
This time the
Kavindra Kumar Pandey of the Megh Pyne Abhiyan, which works with the flood-affected in north
Even the flood management policy of the government has received some serious criticism.
“It is a totally man made flood”, says Himanshu Thakar,
Dr N.C. Saxena, former Secretary of the Planning Commission of India is critical of the Government, both at the center as well as in the state of
Experts observe that it does not pay to tamper with the flow of a river that carries a heavy sediment load. And River Kosi carries a lot of silt with it. Dr. Mishra gives the example of the
The PSI fellow who is considered an expert on
Dr. Mishra recommends a combined effort to tame floods in
By
Babu , Dipu Shaw , Sumiran Preet Kaur
Photo:Jaishree
It was an interesting occasion where esteemed journalists and aspiring journalists gathered to discuss and criticize the medium which they represent. The seminar on “Does the Media Care” was organized by AJK Mass Communication Research Centre of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and BBC World Service Trust. The esteemed panelists included the likes of Tarun Tejpal, Ziya us Salam and Prem Shanka Jha. All in the room, including the panelists and the audience agreed on one thing - media is becoming less concerned about important issues like development, environment and health. The first half of the session tried to answer the question “Is Indian media obsessed with celebrities and crime?
The key note address of Mr.Tarun Tejpal of Tehelka sent instant energy waves. The applauses in the room proved that his speech was received with full enthusiasm. He pointed out that the stories in media are corporate centric and there is a paucity of social coverage. “We don’t pay for the media, it is the advertisers who pay, what we see is what the advertisers wants us to see”, he pointed out.
Equally candid but more optimistic about the contemporary media scenario was P.N.Vasanti, Director of CMS (Centre for Media studies). She pointed out how the new trends in news coverage was all about crime and politics. She reminded the audience about the coverage of Sanjay Dutt’s trial and Bacchan wedding. Her references could strike a chord with the audiences as they were still fresh in their minds.
But the picture is not all dark. Pamela Philipose, director of Women’s Features Service admits that the phenomenon of marketisation and globalization is unavoidable but she feels that the new generation who will be entering the profession can reverse the negative trends in media. She referred to the audience, many of whom were students of mass communication and journalism and put the onus of responsibility on them. Senior journalist Usha Rai also agreed with Ms.Philipose and pointed out that there were spaces in the media that addressed developmental issues.
Interestingly Nilanjana Bose of CNN IBN considers that the media cannot be blamed completely. “We have crime all around us and there is nothing wrong in covering crime and celebrities. People want to see it”,she added. Rohit Gandhi, a TV journalist with Canadian Broadcasting opined that media organizations should be blamed for bringing up a system where viewers are mere passive consumers. Thomas Chandy, CEO of “Save the Children in India”, world’s largest independent Child Rights Organization said that the apathy among Indian middle class should be addressed.
The lunch in between the two sessions was not devoid of discussions on media. For Saira, a student of English (Hons) Jamia Millia Islamia, it was nice to see journalists as journalists and not as someone representing and defending their media houses. The audience was all pepped up to attend the second session. The second half of the session tried to answer the question “Why aren’t there more stories about health, science and environment?”
Prem Shankar Jha clearly stated that media being the fourth estate must act as an apparatus of nation building. Zia-us-Salam, senior assistant editor of The Hindu spoke about the divide between rural Bharat and urban India.
At one point of the discussion all the attacks were aimed at television. Amit Sen Gupta, Editor-in-Charge of Hard News, was critical of television journalism. “They neither investigate nor do they follow-up stories”, he alleged. But all the criticism was taken in a healthy manner. Navika Kumar fromTimes Now tried her best to put forward the other side of the story.
Ravi Agarwal, an environmentalist and founder of Toxics Link opined that “Media has certain responsibilities of nation building, shaping public opinion and awakening the mass.” In his view, environmental issues cannot be gazed in isolation, it has to be multi-linked with politics, society and economics.
Prananjoy Guha Thakurata, commentator and editor of “Real politic” ended the symposium with a positive note urging the young generation to celebrate heterogeneity in news. The applause from the audience showed that the young listeners were ready to take the responsibility.
Words: Dipu Shaw and Sumiran Preet Kaur
Anuj and other members of Ibtida, Hindu College’s theatre group, are practicing for their forthcoming play. He puffs from a cigarette every time he gets a break from his role in the play. His friend who is sitting and watching the performance shares the fag when Anuj is acting out his part. Both the friends are unmindful of the board less than 20 meters away that says “Delhi University is a no smoking zone now”.
The campaigns to make university campuses a smoke free zone may be a novel initiative of the Health Ministry, but is it effective in combating smoking?
Mayank, another student of the university feels that making the entire north campus a smoke free zone is not the way out. “There should be smoking zones too, where we can go and smoke our cigarettes.” The members of the theatre group argue the same point when questioned about the cigarettes in their hands.
Who’s concerned?
Government of India has launched National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in the 11th five-year plan to implement anti-tobacco laws. Delhi is one of the 9 States to be covered under NTCP. But the Government’s steps of putting up “No smoking zone” boards in the college campuses hardly acts as a deterrent for smokers.
Even the police constables stationed around the colleges are not concerned about catching the smokers. They say it is not their job. In fact, they themselves do not mind smoking their beedis right in front of the college.
Sale continues
Sale of tobacco products may be officially banned in the campus. But if you are a regular smoker, you know where to go for your need. The small tea shops around the corner take care of it. Others, who are unaware of the “facilities” keep their stocks full well in advance. Whether they are the hostellers of Hindu college or other students of the university, they know the means to meet their end.
