A bag that could solve India's toilet woes

Press Trust of India, Thursday March 11, 2010, New Delhi


It is a daily struggle for millions of slum dwellers in the country to get access to a toilet, a perennial problem that authorities have so far been unable to solve.

But, now a Swedish firm has come out with a solution -- Peepoo, a biodegradable toilet bag that can be used as fertiliser.

The toilet bag, which has recently undergone field trials in India, Bangladesh and Kenya, is expected to help mitigate the dreadful situation for millions, especially the women in the slum areas, says its developer Anders Wilhelmson, an architect and professor in Stockholm.

"Peepoo is not just a toilet bag, it's a solution to human waste disposal problem, the biggest obstacle to sanitation and public health in developing countries like India," Wilhelmson said in an email interview from Stockholm.

"It will be of great help particularly for women, who often wait all day until it is dark to go to the toilet, increasing their chances of infections."

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 600 million people or 55 per cent of Indians still do not have access to toilets. About 54.71 per cent of urban slums have no toilet facility and most free community toilets built by the government are rendered unusable because of the lack of maintenance, the UNDP report for 2009 said.

Camilla Wirseen, one of the founders of the Peepoo project, said the bag is designed in a way that it is easy to use and hygienic.

The Peepoo is clean from the beginning and doesn't smell after use and very importantly, it makes collection of waste very easy," Camila Wirseen said.

"It works like micro treatment plant and cuts the contamination. This will save lives."

According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) data, an estimated 400,000 children under five years of age die each year due to diarrhoea and other infections caused by poor sanitation and hygiene which is largely because of open defecation of waste that contaminates drinking water.

The innovation will prove highly beneficial to control the situation, Wilhelson said, adding that his organisation (Peepoople AB) has carried out a small ground test in Bihar and "the response was overwhelming".

Megh Pyne Abhiyan, an NGO, has carried out the trial in three flood-hit districts of Bihar --Supaul, Khagaria, Saharsa-- last year.

Describing Peepoo's other features, the officials said the bioplastic bag can be used as fertiliser, which is an expensive and scarce commodity in countries like India.

Once used, the 14x38 cm slim elongated bag can be knotted and buried under the earth. With a layer of urea crystals, the waste can turn into fertiliser, killing off disease-producing pathogens found in feces.

"Not only is it sanitary, they can reuse this to grow crops," Wilhelmson said.

"You can use it directly in a small container or Garden-in-a-Sack. It can also be processed and mixed with topsoil and loam (clay+sand) creating a soil filled with nutrients."

About the cost of the bag, the officials said, it will be comparable to the price of polythenes used to collect garbage.

"I believe fertiliser is subsidised in India. Peepoo is fertiliser, maybe it can be subsided either by the government or international organisations," Camilla said.

She, however, said they have not yet collaborated with any Indian firm for its production or sale in the country.

"But, we are getting a lot of interest from Indian citizens who have expressed their willingness to cooperate and help," she said, adding that if things go as planned the bag will be available in India soon.

However they said, Peepoople is currently focusing on Kenya and Bangladesh.

Soon the company will start manufacturing and selling the toilet bag in both the two countries and soon a production unit with high capacity will be set up in India, they added.

The market for low-cost toilets in the developing world is about a trillion dollars, according the World Toilet Organization, a sanitation advocacy group, which has been organising World Toilet Summit ever year since 2001.

Peepoo sounds promising. It is heartening that technology innovators can also be compassionate folks having the poorest of the poor in mind when innovating. Onward, peepoo revolution.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/a-bag-that-could-solve-indias-toilet-woes-17537.php?page=1#postcommentarea

Govt to consult all before bringing Women's Bill in LS

Updated on Thursday, March 11, 2010, 14:52 IST
Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: The stand-off over Women's Reservation Bill ended Thursday with government announcing that the proposed legislation would be brought in the Lok Sabha only after consultations with all sections.

The breakthrough came after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav, the three strong opponents of the bill, met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and DMK leader T R Baalu also attended the meeting.

Pranab then appraised the Congress core group, comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi amongst others, of the views of the opponents.


As per reports, the core group agreed to hold discussions on the Women’s Bill after taking into account the need to pass the Finance Bill before the current session of the Parliament ends, four days from today on March 16.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, Pranab referred to the discussion he held with the opponents of the bill and said, “ During the meeting, some sort of assurance was sought on the progress of the Constitution Amendment Bill (Women's Reservation Bill) before bringing it to the Lok Sabha. “

“Government will complete the process of consultations with all concerned," he assured the house.

"I think, this assurance would assuage the feelings of all members and the business would be conducted smoothly," he said, when the House re-assembled after two adjournments on the issue.

Pranab had earlier in the day too assured the house that ‘all issues’ regarding the bill is open for discussion and that the government is not averse to holding an all-party meeting.

.

Now it is expected that the Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha after April 12 when Parliament comes back from the month-long recess..

Clearly, the UPA government is, at the moment, preferring to keep its fingers crossed and wait for a more suitable situation as it is aware that any adverse development now might set the bill to the back burners.

Earlier in the day, Pranab had responded in detail - in the Parliament - to the accusations by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sharad Yadav that the bill is discriminatory against Dalits, OBCs and minorities, Pranab said, “The fact of the matter is that on this issue there are divergent views. There were discussions, we could not, unfortunately, reach at a conclusion, although various attempts were made.”

"I myself held several rounds of talks. Then Home Minister Shivraj Patil took meetings. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took meetings. Various attempts were made during UPA-I and NDA regimes to arrive at a consensus.

"But certain political parties took a particular view, some others took a different view. There was no convergence of views," Mukherjee said.

“You (Yadav trio) stated that an all-party meet be called. There is no harm in calling an all-party meet. This is a Constitution Amendment Bill which has to be passed with special majority and ratified by half of the states,” he stated.

"There are instances, one House had passed the Constitution Amendment Bill and the other House had rejected it," he said seeking to pacify the agitating members.

Pranab, however, took expectation to the continuing disruptions in both the houses of the Parliament over the issue, slamming the Yadavas, he said, “All these issues can be raised, can be debated and can be decided by the 543 members sitting here belonging to different political parties but opposition must allow the house conduct normal business. Nothing can be achieved by stalling the proceedings. Financial business has to be completed and there is a time schedule for it,” he added.

Adding, “All issues will be discussed before the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha. We will consult you”

Opponents protest

A response from the government was necessitated as today also the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned over the issue. As soon as the Lok Sabha convened at 11 am, the Yadavs once again raised the tempo over their opposition to the bill.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav contended that the bill in its current form would benefit only women who have already made progress and ignore those who have been left behind.

"Those who have been pushed behind will be further pushed behind. We have to make provisions for reservation for Dalit, backward and Muslim women," Yadav said.

He said the Samajwadi Party was ready to support amendments to the Women's Reservation Bill.

As Yadav began to speak on price rise, there were suggestions from the BJP benches that he should not divert from the issue of women's reservation.

JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said there was restlessness among political activists across the country over the bill.

"This is a Constitution Amendment Bill. Heavens will not fall if you hold discussions with all parties," he said.

"Talk to everyone. Let leaders of all parties sit together and find a way out," he said.

He contended that nobody, except political activists, has the ability to understand the country better and the bill sought to negate their work carried over a lifetime.

"Before being brought to this House, there should be consensus on it," Yadav said.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad said that a solution to the current deadlock could be found if leaders of all parties meet.

Prasad said he had also called up Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the issue but did not specify whether there was any discussion.

No division over Bill: BJP

Meanwhile, the BJP has rubbished all reports of a division within its ranks over the bill. Party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Shushma Swaraj said that the BJP will issue a whip in favour of the bill when it comes for voting in the lower house.

It is obvious that the Congress has lost its enthusiasm in passing the Women's Reservations Bill after Muslims have objected to it. Congress, the creator and sustainer of Pakistan, can never be seen doing anything the Muslims dislike. They will now bring in amendments to the Bill to assure the Muslims that they still remain the premier appeasement party of India!

http://www.zeenews.com/news610297.html#

Swedish newspapers reprint Prophet cartoon

11/03/2010
Stockholm: Leading Swedish newspapers on Wednesday published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog by a caricaturist after he was targetted by an alleged assassination plot.
Sweden's paper of reference Dagens Nyheter published the controversial drawing, insisting artist Lars Vilks "is not alone in this conflict" after seven Muslims were arrested in Ireland for allegedly plotting his murder.
"A threat against him is, in the end, a threat against all Swedish people," the paper said in an editorial. Irish police on Tuesday arrested the seven -- four men and three women -- suspected of conspiracy to murder Vilks because of his cartoon, in an operation coordinated with US and European security agencies.
Police said there was a plot to assassinate Vilks, who has a 100,000-dollar (74,000-euro) bounty on his head from an Al-Qaeda-linked group.
US prosecutors also said a Pennsylvania resident Colleen LaRose, who was arrested in October 2009 operating under the online name "JihadJane", had agreed to carry out the murder of a Swedish resident, pledging "only death will stop me."
The Justice Department declined to comment on whether LaRose was connected to the alleged plot to kill Vilks. Dagens Nyheter called on the Swedish state to give Vilks "all the protection he needs."
It said authorities must take action "against an attack aiming at one of our most fundamental rights, freedom of expression." The Expressen tabloid also published the cartoon, insisting it was important "to defend freedom of expression which is more and more threatened."
"An open society must show that it will not give in to threats, that it is ready to fight for freedom of expression," added the daily in an editorial. The regional daily Nerikes Allehanda started the controversy when it first published Vilks' satirical cartoon on August 18, 2007 to illustrate an editorial on the importance of freedom of expression.
That paper did not choose to republish the drawing Wednesday. ¨I don't think it is relevant to publish the picture," Nerikes Allehanda's chief editor Ulf Johansson, who has also faced threats over the initial publication, wrote in the paper.
"If I were to publish it, it would have another symbolical value than when other papers publish it. Dagens Nyheter has published the picture three to four times already and no one has cared," he added.
The Aftonbladet tabloid, which published the drawing in 2007, also refrained from republishing it Wednesday, with chief editor Jan Hellin insisting "the picture has no news value today."
"Publishing the same picture now would ... only increase the level of conflict and provocation in a situation that requires enlightenment, discussion," he wrote. Vilks said Tuesday he was not worried by the arrests in Ireland or the threats on his life. "I'm not shaking with fear, exactly," he told Swedish news agency TT.
He also told the TV4 commercial broadcaster he would consider doing it all over again "if the occasion was right." "One is allowed to insult all religions but not Islam. That is the exception. There is a problem there," he said.
The threat against Vilks has its parallel in Denmark, where several plots to murder cartoonist Kurt Westergaard have been foiled since his drawing of Prophet Mohammed with a turban in the shape of a bomb was first published in September 2005, along with 11 other drawings focused on Islam.
The threat against Vilks "is very sad, I think," Westergaard told Expressen on Wednesday. "But I am impressed by his courage and that he refuses to give in," he added.
Swedish artist: Cartoon murder plot 'low-tech'
A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by drawing the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog says he believes the suspects in an alleged plot to kill him were not professionals.
Lars Vilks told The Associated Press on Wednesday that suspects arrested in Ireland and the U.S. appeared to be "low-tech." Commenting on media reports that the woman held in the U.S., Colleen R. LaRose, had visited the area where he lives, he said: "I'm glad she didn't kill me."
Vilks said he has built "homemade" defense systems against terrorists in his home, including a safe room and a barbed-wire sculpture that can be electrified. He said he didn't regret making the drawing, and that the point was to show that "there's nothing that is so holy you can't offend it."
At least three Swedish newspapers on Wednesday published a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog after an alleged plot to murder the artist who created it was uncovered in Ireland.
The controversial drawing by Swedish artist Lars Vilks was printed in Stockholm papers Dagens Nyheter and Expressen and the Malmo daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet.
Irish authorities on Tuesday detained four men and three women suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to kill Vilks. Irish police said Wednesday those arrested were two Algerians, two Libyans, a Palestinian, a Croatian and an American woman married to one of the Algerian suspects. They were not identified by name.
Sydsvenska Dagbladet said it printed the drawing as part of its news coverage of the alleged plot. Expressen said it printed it for its news value and to take a stance for the freedom of speech.
Dagens Nyheter said in an editorial that "Vilks doesn't stand alone in this conflict. A threat against him is, in the long term, also a threat against all Swedes."
Vilks has faced several death threats since the drawing was first printed by a Swedish newspaper in 2007, a year after separate cartoons of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper sparked furious protests in Muslim nations. Al-Qaida put a $100,000 bounty on his head.
Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry. Vilks said Wednesday he wasn't sure whether to take the alleged plot seriously. "Not until all the cards are on the table. I'm sure they have plans, but the question is how far they can go," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Vilks said it was possible he was also being targeted by an American woman accused by U.S. authorities of recruiting jihadist fighters online. Colleen R. LaRose had discussions her alleged plans with at least one of the suspects apprehended in Ireland, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
Sweden's security police, SAPO, declined to comment on whether the cases in Ireland and the U.S. were linked to Vilks.
Associated Press & AFP
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K.Venugopal
#1
11 March 2010 14:24:16
I think depicting Prophet Mohammad as a dog is despicable and cannot be justified under any case of freedom of expression. It is a shame that the entire press in Sweden has supported such a depiction. However, it must also be seen that terrorism in the name of Islam has got into the nerves of many well-meaning folks around the world and their desire thereby to paint Islam in the darkest of hues is understandable. Muslims themselves must be seen to be rising in unison against Islamic terrorism. Otherwise Islam and its icons would continue to attract outpourings of hate, however unreasonable, by more and more people.

http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3695346&page=0&ucid=311891#uc2Lst311891

BMW case: Anand tenders unconditional apology to SC

Updated on Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 11:51 IST Tags:BMW case, R K Anand

New Delhi: Noted criminal lawyer R K Anand, who was held guilty of attempting to influence the course of justice in the infamous BMW hit-and-run case, has tendered an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court.


Anand tendered his "sincere and unqualified unconditional apology" for all acts imputed to him in the sting operation carried out by a news channel in 2007 and as observed in the Supreme Court judgement.

The reply by the advocate came on the apex court's show cause notice as to why he should not be given more punishment.

Anand pleaded before the court that his punishment should not be enhanced under section 12 of Contempt of Court Act.

The apex court had on July 29, 2009 upheld the conviction and stripping the status off senior advocate of Anand for contempt of court for attempting to influence the course of justice in the hit-and-run case.

A three-judge bench of apex court had asked as to why the quantum of punishment for Anand, who was the defence lawyer in the BMW case, should not be enhanced.

The apex court had held that the sting operation carried out by NDTV showing the defence and prosecution lawyers trying to influence controversial witness Kulkarni as not a typical case of trial by the media but undertaken in public interest.

The Delhi High Court had held guilty two senior advocates-- R K Anand and I U Khan, for obstructing administration of justice and, as a punishment, debarred them from appearing in courts for four months.

However, the apex court had set aside the conviction of Khan from charges of contempt of court.

PTI

Is a simple sorry enough to be free of criminal charges, even if it is couched in moralistic tones like sincere, unqualified unconditional etc? A senior advocate like him, who should have known better, ought to be taught that sorry is no cure.

http://www.zeenews.com/news609701.html

RJD, SP members climb Speaker's podium, snatch women's bill

08/03/2010

New Delhi: High drama prevailed in the Rajya Sabha on Monday when the House met at 2 pm following a series of adjournments over the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill. Voting on the Bill is expected to take place at 6 pm.

In the Lok Sabha there was high voltage drama. The moment Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar called for Question Hour, SP, BSP and RJD members trooped into the Well demanding quotas for OBC, Dalit and Muslim women within the proposed Women's Reservation Bill.
As soon as the House met and Law Minister Veerappa Moily was called to table the Bill, RJD and SP members rushed in and snatched the papers from the table of Speaker Hamid Ansari. They tore some papers and threw it at him. Some of them even tried to climb on to the podium. An embarrassed and shaken Speaker then adjourned the House once again.
In the Lok Sabha too there was high voltage drama. The moment Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar called for Question Hour, SP, BSP and RJD members trooped into the Well demanding quotas for OBC, Dalit and Muslim women within the proposed law to reserve 33 per cent seats in Parliament and State assemblies for the fair sex.
The Speaker refused to adjourn the House and carried on with the Question Hour. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav gestured his party members to move forward and himself marched to the Well from the side of the treasury benches. Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) and Lalu Prasad and Umashanker Singh (both RJD) followed Yadav.
Mithilesh Kumar (SP) tried to climb the table placed in front of the Speaker prompting Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee to request Yadav to control his members.
On the SP chief's directive, the members retreated a bit but stayed put in the Well and continued to raise slogans.
Yadavs withdraw support

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav (R) and Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav (L) shout slogans against the proposed Women's Reservation Bill outside parliament in New Delhi on Monday. Photo Courtesy: AFP
Meanwhile, the Congress led UPA is likely to see a close finish over numbers on Women Reservation Bill in the Parliament. Both Mulayam Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Lalu Prasad's RJD have withdrawn support to the UPA government, pulling out 28 MPs. The Yadavs issued a whip against Women Reservation Bill early Monday morning.
Congress discusses floor strategy
A rattled Congress went into hurdle following the withdrawal of support. Senior party members including Ahmed Patel and Pranab Mukhejee met Sonai Gandhi at 10 janpath to devise a strategy on passing the Bill in Parliament.
Also protests have broken out in Delhi on the issue. Reacting to the charge of RJD that the Bill is anti- Dalit, the UPA govt said that the Bill is actually pro-minorities.
The UPA govt has also expressed hope that the Women's Reservation Bill will be passed in the current session of Parliament despite opposition and that the Bill will be passed with a comfortable margin.

Women supporters of India's ruling Congress Party carry placards portraying party president Sonia Gandhi as they rally in support of the proposed Women's Reservation Bill in New Delhi on International Women's Day on Monday. Photo Courtesy: AFP
The story of the journey of the Women's Reservation Bill cannot be told through its political math. With the Bill set to come up for consideration in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the political calculators are out again. But as before, those calculations may not be crucial.
In each of its three previous (aborted) Lok Sabha outings in 1996, 1998, 1999, the three formations that officially supported the Bill -- the Congress, BJP and Left -- emphatically outnumbered the three political forces that most violently opposed it -- the RJD and JD(U) (subsumed in the Janata Dal, or as separate parties) and the SP.
In the 1996 Lok Sabha, the first three added up to 353 seats to the latter troika's 63; the equation was 371 to 43 in the 1998 Lok Sabha; and it became 339 to 54 in the 1999 Lok Sabha. Though this time the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the equation in the Lok Sabha remains just as outrightly skewed in favour of the pro-camp: 344 to 47.
If the political numbers haven't shifted dramatically, something else has. For one, none of the main outspoken opponents of the Bill is either part of the governing coalition or allied to it. This was not the case in either 1996, when the ruling United Front counted on Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh and Sharad Yadav, or in 1998 when Nitish Kumar, who had recorded his dissent to the Bill in the report of the Geeta Mukherjee-headed joint parliamentary committee in 1996, was railway minister in the Vajpayee government, or in 1999 when Sharad Yadav had also joined the ruling NDA.
Today Lalu and Mulayam support the UPA from outside, but their support is hardly crucial to the Congress in power. The subduing of both Yadavs, which happened primarily in their bastions of UP and Bihar, has come full circle in New Delhi.

Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav arrives at parliament in New Delhi on Monday. An attempt by India's government to pass legislation reserving a third of all seats in the national parliament provoked uproar today as opposition politicians forced repeated adjournments. Photo Courtesy: AFP
For Sharad Yadav, the story has taken an even crueller turn perhaps. With his JD(U) colleague Nitish Kumar announcing his own U-turn on the Bill, Yadav is left to cope with a party that is internally divided. From Yadav's perspective, it is an acutely unfair tug of war: JD(U) MPs must choose between Yadav, titular head of an NDA that is a decidedly pale version of itself, and Nitish, the JD(U)'s only mass leader and chief minister in a crucial election year in Bihar.
But if the intensity of the opposition to the Bill has gone down rather dramatically, the reasons don't have to do with merely the reduced political-electoral clout of the principal opponents of the measure. Nitish's turnaround on the Bill shows that.
For Nitish, the rethink is perhaps part of a search for a new political idiom and constituency that has marked his tenure as chief minister of Bihar. Lacking the kind of committed caste base that was once -- and, in some measure, still is -- commanded by his rivals in Bihar, Nitish has tried to play the old caste game and also tread new ground. As part of his search for new constituencies, he has made efforts to craft new mobilisations, including that of women. The reservation of 50 per cent of seats in panchayats for women in Bihar is part of the Nitish experiment.
Though Nitish's attempt is driven by his specific compulsions in Bihar, it speaks of a wider change. Women are still not commonly seen to be a political-electoral constituency, but at the same time, for politicians who have exhausted the limits of the old kinds of identity politics and are in search of wider coalitions and newer mobilisations, the charge of being "anti-women" is not one that can be allowed to stick to the kurta anymore. Even those who once scoffed at the demands of political correctness can now do so only at their possible political peril.

Women supporters of India's ruling Congress Party rally in support of the proposed Women's Reservation Bill in New Delhi on Monday. However, the battle for greater representation to women in our legislatures never really needed to be this hard fought -- women's representation has crossed 10 per cent for the first time in the 15th Lok Sabha Photo Courtesy: AFP
While Nitish's reversal has been dramatic, the DMK's quieter reversal -- it opposed the Bill in 1996 and has now pledged its support -- attests to the same shift in a political culture in transition.
Of course, the new opening that the Bill has found in the polity is riddled with its own closures. Be it the old opposition to the Bill, or the newly consolidated support for it, the Women's Reservation Bill itself remains a black box. While they swear their commitment to women's reservation, supporters of the Bill refuse to discuss the efficacy of its specific modalities.
The battle for greater representation to women in our legislatures never really needed to be this hard fought -- women's representation has crossed 10 per cent for the first time in the 15th Lok Sabha; among the major states, women make up only 12 per cent of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, 10 per cent in Bihar, 9 per cent in Gujarat, 10 per cent in Haryana, 4 per cent in Maharashtra, 9 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 6 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 13 per cent in West Bengal.
But there has never been a debate in the House on whether rotational reservation, for instance, which will involve the unsettling of two-thirds of candidates in every election, is the best way to ensure greater representation of women leaders from the ground level. It remains to be seen whether that debate will be joined in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Source: India Syndicate, Indian Express


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K.Venugopal
#1
08 March 2010 18:05:41
The Women's Reservation Bill has been made a farce and the Congress is complicit in the plot because the Yadavs have projected it as an issue of Muslim interest and there is no way the Congress is going to displease the Muslims in any way. Congress would indeed have supported the bill if the Yadavs only clamoured for OBC reservation but the sly guys have brought in the Muslim angle and cornered the Congress. The Communists will also find a way to put the bill without Muslim reservation in cold storage. Only the BJP is committed to pass the bill in its present form. Will the women of this country take note?

paln
#2
08 March 2010 18:00:49
I have my doubts about success of such quota system, we have so nefariously used over years and years..its also true that just being a woman politician is not a sinecure for political evils..and we know quite a few female names and thier dids.
Nevertheless, its worth trying. Its always good to balance. Now 33% could be too high. Than there should be a time frame for such a quota. We have seen how reservation of schedule caste card is not played endlessly, now going to reservation for minorities and than god knows where..
Then a serious question is behavious of our politicians. Its just insane, shameful, disgusting and insulting on democratic system and all of us to see our so called polticians ( i wont call them leaders0 behave in parliament. Its most indecent and arrogant way. Cannot be tolerated, whether they are right or wrong.
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null1
#3
08 March 2010 17:49:47
In the name of quota and reservation politics this country has already suffered enough.....please put a stop to this.....Mayawati, Mamta Banerjee, Jaya Lalitha, Sushma Swaraj and many other female politicians did not need any reservations to make it big in politics. And the matter of fact is that women politicians are not better than male politicians. Actually some of the groups in this country have got used to get things easily.... and feminists should understand that this way they would only get alms and not rights....you do not beg for your rights...you fight it out...

apnaAgam
#4
08 March 2010 17:35:21
Well done Mayawati , Mulayam and Laaloo, in the name of reservation of women the manuwadi castiest uppercaste Hindus want to increase there numbers abd throttle downtroddens through back door, without sub quota for Minorities SC ST and OBC amongst minorities the Bill should be dumped all Minority and Downrodden MPs ignore the whip and ensure there unity and make there Govt, Do not expect support and right decisions from Manuwadi Akalis as they are blot on the face of minorities and sold completely to evil forces of Manuwadis.

anil 1976
#5
08 March 2010 17:35:00
Just have a look if this bill goes passed, then if any SWAMY will come in parliament so they will stuck to them like Swamy ji i am rajya sabha member i want to become a Finance minister or railway minister or home or chief. like what swamy ji had done with AIR hostess & post gradute women so then once entered they cannot out from the field.
even in european countries you can count on your fingers how many countries have womens leadership even in usa or uk who is pm or president the word women are equal to men comes from there why they only just providing State secretary why they dont hand over the country to women, UPA congress is under pressure from USA to pass this bill because they knows INDIA can become super power in the next few years & this is the negative point & this all foolish things Credit goes to MRS SONIA GANDHI .
this goverment is not having any quota or reservation for smaller caste or they dont want poor become richer they just want who is having money create money in congress rulling power and all of poor go to village at the election time only we will knock your door then RAHUL GANDHI will sleep in CHAMAAR house that we are equal then after BYE BYE this is what we can expect from congressowhat the plus point has come from CONGRESS even rates for everything is increasing & increasing they jaut want NUCLEAR POWER if you dont have food dont worry we had bought NULEAR Power enrgy with electricity you eat food & youll get better job then only our factory will work

p786p786p
#6
08 March 2010 17:21:21
shame !1
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KOTA
#7
08 March 2010 17:13:17
Womans reservation is a forward thinking bill for empowerment of females of India.

Laluji, has already empowered his wife to be CM of Bihar when he was stuck with fodder scam.I do not understand why he should have reservation for the womans bill in present form.

Mulayamji, please understand this is a national requirement.you had already empowered Jayaprada in your party from your state- though she does not belong to your state.

There are so many reservations in Indiameant for upliftment of variuos sections of our society, and undo the social unjust perpetrated on them for centuries....!

I am confident reservation for women, in what ever form will bring in good to our country.
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researchers
#8
08 March 2010 17:12:57
I dont knw what are the plus and minuses of passing a reservation bill, but the actions of such people is not acceptable...they should understand the value of house...which gives them enough power to rule the country.....action is required against such politicians....this behvior is nt acceptable

mobilr234
#9
08 March 2010 16:00:09
Women are even worst placed in society than SC, ST and OBC, who have got reservation. If these segment of society can get quotas, why can not the worst affected member of society. country will definitely benefitted from women's empowerment. We should whole heatedly support the bill

INTENSIVEKS
#10
08 March 2010 15:57:38
From the FIRE TO THE FRYING PAN.....
The KATTAR BIHARIs and the UP ke gunde were ruling the roost of Indian Politics of "no mercy...ONLY MONEYBAGS..." and the smart WOMEN SADASYAS have learnt the ART of MAKING MONEY through the SANSADs from these very gundes in Parliament...
Why wait for their "masculine genders" like LALOO PARSHAD and not-so-MULAYAMS who drank the Milk and Cream of the Public Money and the women-folk attending to the maintenance of the BECHARAS AND BACHHADAS..???
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3688176&ucid=309744#uc2Lst309744

Tainited swami Nityananda surfaces, says he never breached law

08/03/2010
Chennai: Breaking his silence in the sex scandal in which he allegedly figured, self-styled godman Nityananda Swami on Sunday claimed he has not done anything "illegal" and that he was a victim of a smear campaign.
"There have been many allegations against me and my organisations in recent days...I want to assure you all, all of you, that nothing illegal has been done by me or by any of my organisations," he said in a video clip recorded at an undisclosed location, a week after his alleged sleazy acts were telecast on TV channel drawing widespread protests. The tainted swami gave an impression of 'all is well' in the video clip, putting forth his point of view on the matter.

"We are in the process of collecting evidence to establish the falsity and motive of this smear campaign that has been going against me. I will address all the allegations and issue a detailed explanation. We will find out the truth and will come back to you very soon.
Another case filed
Meanwhile, another case has been filed against self-styled godman Nityananda Swami on a complaint by an ashram inmate who has claimed that he had shot the video purportedly showing the Swami in a compromising position with an actress which was later telecast on TV channels.
Police Commissioner T Rajendiran told reporters here today that Sri Nithya Dharmananda alias K Lenin had said in his complaint that he had shot the video and submitted a CD of the purported act caught on camera.
"We have filed a case under different sections of IPC (including rape and criminal intimidation) based on the complaint. The case does not come under our jurisdiction, and it would be transferred to Karnataka police and Tamil Nadu DGP (Letika Saran) has spoken to her Karnataka counterpart," he said.
Police had earlier filed a case of cheating against Nityananda following a complaint by a group of Madras High Court advocates.
Rajendiran said Dharmananda had said in his complaint that he had been staying in the Nityananda Dhyanapeetam in Bangalore since 2006 and levied different charges against the Swami including that he had forced some individuals into homosexual acts who had later left the ashram, besides being intimate with women devotees. He had also said one person was found dead under "mysterious circumstances" in the ashram while another attempted suicide.
Dharmananda said he had shot the latest video "showing Nityananda with the actress" in December last year with a view to expose him and sought police action against him to "protect devotees and Hinduism", Rajendiran said.
He had alleged that he was threatened twice by Nityananda and some of his disciples on suspicion that he had shot a video, Rajendiran said.
The video aired on Tamil TV channels recently had caused a furore, with some Hindu groups and others protesting against Nityananda even as Karnataka government promised "very strict" action against him.
The Ashram, however, has said there was a "conspiracy" to malign Nityananda's reputation and maintained that the video footage was morphed.
Source: PTI, India Syndicate
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K.Venugopal
#1
08 March 2010 10:42:22
The swami's statement is a disappointment, coming as it does after so many days. What evidence is he waiting for to establish the falsity of the charges against him? And why is he speaking from an undisclosed location, even camouflaging his background in the video statement - almost like what the terrorists do. All he has to do is to simply say that he has not had sex with anyone. If he is not able to state this directly and unambiguously, he will always be suspected of trying to escape the charges on technical grounds. I hope the detailed explanation he has promised will salvage his image.

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3685595&ucid=309475#uc2Lst309475

India voices concern over US equipping Pak army

Press Trust of India, Sunday March 7, 2010, Thiruvananthapuram

Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday expressed serious concern over the US equipping Pakistan army with modern weapons and asked Washington to ensure that they were not used against India.

"United States decision to provide sophisticated weapons (to Pakistan) is a matter of serious concern to India. The US should ensure that these weapons are not targeted against India", Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Noting that the issue had already been taken up with the US Defence Secretary during his visit to India recently, he said the American explanation that Pakistan army has to be strengthened to fight terrorist outfits like Al-Qaida and Taliban in Afghanistan was not convincing to India.

Antony, who inaugurated a new building at the Coast Guard Station at Vizhinjam, said, "Our past experience is bitter" on this issue.

The Defence Minister said he told US Defence Secretary that even though they were providing equipment to fight terrorists, Pakistan army was deploying them on Jammu and Kashmir borders.

"This is a matter of concern to India and I hope that the US will take a serious note of this," Antony said.

He said while India preferred to carry on talks with Pakistan, Islamabad should take firm action to dismantle as many as 42 terrorist camps operating on its soil.

"Unless these terrorist camps are destroyed, it is a difficult situation. We want some action (by Pakistan) to dismantle these camps," he said.

On infiltration from across the border into Jammu and Kashmir, Antony said the situation in the state had improved and tourists had started visiting it again. However, there were forces that still create trouble.

"Normalcy is returning and tourists are coming. But some forces against India have not reconciled with the situation.

So, they have redoubled their attempts to infiltrate but our forces have by and large checked their attempts," he said.

After Mumbai terror strikes, Indian forces had been maintaining an "eternal vigil". It was due to the alertness of the defence forces that many attempts by terrorists to strike were foiled, he said.

Rejecting the criticism by certain defence analysts that the acquisition of equipment for the Army had been less in the last few years, Antony said, in fact, this had doubled in the last five to six years.

On the latest position on purchase of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov from Russia, he said the process was in the final stages.

Antony ruled out the use of military to combat Naxal violence, saying a permanent solution to deal with it was to strengthen state police forces.

However, he said military would provide logistic support like training and assistance to state police forces in their effort to combat the Naxal threat.

Replying to a question, Antony said the government has no information on China instigating Maoists in India.

Earlier after inaugurating the Coast Guard Administrative complex, Antony said Coast Guard plans to set up Coast Guard Air Enclave at Kochi, Goa, Mangalore and Vishakapatnam.

Indian Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra said Coast Guard would be strengthened by inducting 85 more ships by 2012.

As part of expanding its marine intelligence gathering activities, Coastal Surveillance Network has been established, Chopra said.



America can only see through the prism of dollar-making and has always been eager to sell itself to the highest bidder. All the high values of liberty and democracy are only confined to the writings of its scholars and the world has been taken in by such writers and has assumed that America is the land of freedom and equal opportunity. Muslims, Communists and Christians in India, are largely serving the cause of Pakistan, China and America and therefore only the Hindus are left to defend India. We need a Hindu government to make India strong on its own terms and take on its enemies.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/india-voices-concern-over-us-equipping-pak-army-17314.php?page=1#postcommentarea