Cultural Cleaning
Considering the great success the central government has enjoyed in the cleaning up India (sarcasm alert), they now want to move to the cultural cleaning of India. During a meeting with leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Union Culture and HRD ministers pledged to launch a countrywide movement to rid the nation of “sanskritik pradushan (cultural pollution).” We don’t know what kind of moral policing to start from now on!
Caste-Based Atrocities
For all those who believe caste is dead, here is some news to apprise you of the reality in several parts of India. The ‘upper caste’ people of the Sigaranahalli village in Holenarsipur taluk (Karnataka) imposed a penalty on four Dalit women for entering a temple.
A 45-year-old Dalit woman was stripped, beaten up and forced to consume urine by an “upper-caste” couple in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh.
Rape & Sentences
Two Nepalese women were constantly gang-raped and held as sex slaves in the residence of a Saudi diplomat in New Delhi. This came to light when a non profit organization was informed about the same and they sought help from the Nepali embassy and a police raid was conducted. Despite the heinous nature of the crime, we must remember that the diplomat enjoys diplomatic immunity, which means arresting him seems like a doubtful possibility.
A 17-year-old girl was gang-raped by 11 men at a Jaipur hotel where she was taken on the pretext of a job by a couple living in her neighbourhood in outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri area.
The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court reduced a rape convict’s sentence on a condition that he pay Rs 1 lakh to the survivor. Apparently this “compromise” was offered when the both the survivor and her husband agreed to this proposal.
A Dharwad Bench of the High Court of Karnataka, acquitted all the five accused for want of strong evidence to prove their involvement in the rape and murder of Sheetal R. Chougule of Belagavi. Earlier, all the accused were found guilty of conspiracy and murder by a Sessions Court.
Data & Reports
According to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education, the representation of Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes and women in higher education teaching jobs is way below the proportion of their population even after 68 years of independence.
According to World Bank data, India has one of the world’s worst gender gaps even falling below emerging economies such as Indonesia.
Asserting that women safety is a priority for his government, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the women’s rights bill being brought in the next Assembly session will give more teeth to DCW.
Sexual Harassment
A Punjab state committee member of the women’s wing of Aam Aadmi Party resigned on Monday alleging that there was no respect and safety of women in the party.
Communal Violence & Justice
A delegation of the Kandhamal Committee for Peace and Justice comprising of the victim-survivors of the 2008 anti-Christian carnage, met the President of India on September 7. They demanded that a sitting Supreme Court judge should head a panel to look at the failure of the criminal justice system in Kandhamal and make the required legal intervention so as to ensure justice to the victims of violence.
Featured Image Credit: Indiawaterportal.org
