Page 411 - Social Issues
SC to hear plea against rights activists' arrest (Lead, correcting Para 3)
The Supreme Court will hear later on Wednesday a plea by well-known historian Romila Thapar and activist Maja Daruwala on the arrest of five left-wing activists and a lawyer on Tuesday for their alleged naxal links.
Further liberalization can help double rural income faster in India: Rajiv Ranjan Singh
Even as the government is making efforts to double rural income in the country by 2022, there is a need for further liberalization to attract investment and know-how in the Indian agricultural system to fast-track the process of income in the rural areas.The need for greater technological know-how can be gauged from the fact that despite agriculture accounting for highest employment as a sector in the country, the produce is still not at par with the requirement. India had to import 1.48 million tons of wheat in FY17-18 despite being the second largest producer of wheat in the world.If the best of global technological input is available to the Indian farmers, there will be a significant reduction in input costs and increase in per unit cost savings for the farmer. This will result in farmers' income increasing at a higher rate as compared to the farm output."It is rightly estimated that one-third increase in farmers' income can be attained if there is price realization, efficient ...
SC to hear plea of Romila Thapar, 4 others against arrest of Left-Wing activists at 3:45 PM
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear at 3.45 PM a plea by historian Romila Thapar and four other human right activists against the arrest of Left-wing activists by Maharashtra Police for suspected links with Maoists. The petition by Thapar and others was mentioned for urgent hearing before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra. Besides Thapar, the other four petitioners are Prabhat Patnaik, Devaki Jain, Satish Deshpandey and Maja Daruwala. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners told the bench that extraordinary circumstances have cropped up due to the Maharashtra Police action of arresting several human rights activists. CJI Misra initially told Singhvi to mention the matter at 1.05 PM today as the Constitution bench has assembled to hear a separate matter. Later the CJI said that an appropriate bench will assemble at 3.45 PM to hear the case. The petitioners have sought independent investigation into the arrest of human ...
Amnesty urges Malaysia to quash caning sentence of lesbians
Amnesty International today urged Malaysia to quash a caning sentence for a lesbian couple, calling the punishment cruel and unjust. Two unidentified ethnic Malay women, aged 22 and 32, had pleaded guilty for attempting to have sexual intercourse and were sentenced to six strokes of a cane and fined by a Shariah court earlier this month. The caning in northeast Terengganu state was due yesterday but reportedly postponed to September 3 due to technical reasons. Court officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment. Amnesty's Malaysian director Gwen Lee welcomed the deferment but said a delay was insufficient. "We are pleased that the cruel and unjust punishment that was handed down to these two women did not take place as scheduled," Lee said in a statement. "However, a delay is obviously not enough. Both women must now have their sentences quashed immediately and unconditionally to reverse this injustice once and for all." Amnesty urged Malaysia to "end the use of caning and ...
4 in 10 Americans struggle to pay for basic needs: Study
Four in 10 Americans struggled to pay for their basic needs such as food or housing last year, according to a new study from the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
Brazil deploys military to boost security at Venezuela border
Brazil President Michel Temer has signed a decree to send the army to "guarantee law and order" on the border with crisis-hit Venezuela after recent violent clashes. Earlier this month, more than a thousand homeless Venezuelan immigrants who had flooded over the border into Brazil's northwestern Roraima state were driven back by an angry mob that rampaged through their makeshift tent following rumours a local shopkeeper had been brutally beaten by migrants. Temer said his measure was aimed at providing "security for Brazilian citizens but also Venezuelan immigrants fleeing their country." He also branded Venezuela's crisis as "tragic," saying it "threatens the harmony of practically the entire continent." Temer called on "the international community to adopt diplomatic measures" to halt the Venezuelan exodus, as economic and political crises under President Nicolas Maduro's regime drive hundreds of thousands to leave in hope of finding a better life elsewhere. The United Nations says .
Data on childcare homes 'frightening', says SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it is "frightening" to read the data collected by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), according to which out of 2,874 children's homes surveyed till now, only 54 have received "positive reviews".
Maneka asks Indian Envoy in Spain to send abandoned girl back
Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday asked the Indian Ambassador in Spain to send back the adopted girl who was abandoned by her foster parents in the country.
2 women, including journalist, sexually assaulted in Noida
Two women, including a journalist, were allegedly sexually assaulted by a man in sector 24 here, police officials said, even as one of the complainants claimed the police "delayed" action which allowed the accused to escape. According to the Facebook post of one of them, she and her friend, both 24, were sexually assaulted by the man last night in 12/22 area while they were on their way home in Noida. In her post, the woman alleged that the police did not "act fast", which allowed the assaulter to escape. She also alleged misbehavior by a constable at the local police outpost and raised concern over the absence of CCTV cameras in the area. Senior police officials, however, said the complaint in the case, that was reported late yesterday night, has been registered and a probe was undertaken to nab the accused. According to officials, a case has been registered at the sector 24 police station under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her ...
Trudeau says will only sign NAFTA deal that is 'good for Canada'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today said he would only sign a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement that is "good for Canada," after the United States and Mexico hammered out their differences to reach a tentative accord. "We will engage in a positive way and look forward to ultimately signing a deal as long as it's good for Canada and good for middle class Canadians," Trudeau said as his foreign minister was set to rejoin trilateral NAFTA negotiations in Washington.
US bishop reconsiders USD 2.3 m retirement home
A Catholic bishop who came under intense criticism after his plans to retire in a USD 2.3 million home in California's Silicon Valley became public, now says he will finish his days in a rectory. Bishop Patrick McGrath confessed in a statement issued yesterday that he "erred in judgement" when the San Jose diocese purchased the five-bedroom home for his retirement. "I failed to consider adequately the housing crisis in this valley and the struggles of so many families and communities in light of that crisis," he said. "I have heard from many on this topic and I have decided that I will not move into this house." McGrath said the diocese planned to sell the nearly 3,300-square-foot (306-square-meter) home as soon as possible and any profits from the sale would go to a charity fund. "I assume full responsibility for this decision and I believe that the sale of the house is the appropriate action," he said. "When I retire, I now intend to live in a rectory at one of our parishes." The ...
Congress to protest against sealing of non-polluting industries
The Congress Delhi unit on Tuesday said that it will protest at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence here against the "illegal" sealing of non-polluting industrial establishments in the capital.
Rahul flays Centre over arrest of activists
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday flayed the Modi government over raids and arrest of rights activists and said it wanted all NGOs to shut except the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
National conference to discuss end of child marriages in India
With an aim to formulate a national action plan to end child marriages in India, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will be organising two-day 'National Conference on Child Marriage' from Wednesday.According to NHRC, the main objective of the conference is to revisit the issue of child marriage from a human rights perspective at the national level by consulting experts from the government and non-government organizations, civil society organizations and other forums to make a call for a national action plan on ending child marriage and set a time target to achieve this.In India, according to the NFHS-3 and NFHS-4 data, there is a significant decline in the actual percentage of child marriage both for females (20.6%) and males (12%). The national average of child marriage for females is down from 47.4% to 26.8% and for males from 32.3% to 20.3%. "However, it becomes imperative to focus on analyzing and addressing the percentage in which the practice still persists for various .
Cong demands third-party audit of women shelter homes across country
The Congress demanded today that the government should introduce a compulsory marriage registration bill to deal with the problem of desertion women married to NRIs and conduct third-party audit of women shelter homes across the country. The demands were made by a delegation led by All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev that called on Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi and submitted a memorandum to her. The delegation pointed out that over 30,000 cases of desertion of women married to NRIs were pending in Punjab alone and demanded that a compulsory marriage registration bill be introduced and a law be enacted so that these women get justice. The delegation also stated that the shelter homes are for the rehabilitation of women and were established so that women in difficult circumstances could lead a life of dignity, but the recent events reported in Muzzafarpur, Bihar, and Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, point to the contrary. Medical examinations pointed at the ...
People facing online abuse must come out in streets and protest: Activists
Social media users and other netizens should move beyond the virtual space and hit the streets to protest against online abuse and bullying to assert their democratic rights in the digital space, activists said today. In a panel discussion organised as part of an event by the Amnesty India here, JNU student leader Shehla Rashid and activist-author Gurmehar Kaur shared their views, while deliberating on confronting the threat posed by online violence against women. "What we are seeing today is replication of 'violence' and abuse happening online in offline domain. This culture of violence is really worrying," Rashid said. The JNU students leader said she has often faced abuse on social media platforms like Facebook which amounts to violation of democratic rights, online or offline. "Online abuse, verbal or otherwise, injects doubts in the minds of readers, and makes the the person being abused less credible in their eyes. It essentially renders them as a second-class citizens. Today, ..
Mahila Congress demands marriage registration bill, audit of shelter homes
A delegation of All India Mahila Congress led by Lok Sabha member Sushmita Dev on Tuesday met Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and demanded a compulsory marriage registration bill to prevent desertion of Indian brides by the NRIs and regular audit of women shelter homes.
Activists' arrests shouldn't be politically motivated: Maha Cong
The government must take action against culprits but its steps should not be politically motivated, the Maharashtra Congress said on the arrest of five prominent Left-wing activists on suspected Maoist links today. "Truth must come out before the people. The government must go to the root of the issue. Culprits, if there are any, should be caught. But the action should not be politically motivated," Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said. The police raided the homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested at least five of them for suspected Maoist links, sparking a chorus of outraged protests from human rights defenders. The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year.
Worldwide gun deaths reach 250,000 yearly; US ranks high
Gun deaths worldwide total about 250,000 yearly and the United States is among just six countries that make up half of those fatalities, a study found. The results from one of the most comprehensive analyses of firearm deaths reveal "a major public health problem for humanity," according to an editorial published with the study today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Although recent headlines make it seem like gun killings are surging globally, the new figures tell a more nuanced story. Researchers counted about 209,000 gun deaths in 1990 compared to 251,000 in 2016. The average rate, about 4 per 100,000 people, was mostly unchanged. Two-thirds of the deaths in 2016 were homicides, although the U.S. is among wealthy countries where suicides by gun outnumber gun killings, the study found. The numbers reflect more than "how many guns are around in a country," said lead author Dr Christopher Murray, a professor of health metrics at the University of Washington. Cultural
Sealing: Cong to protest outside Kejriwal's residence
The Delhi Congress today announced demonstration outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on August 31 against "illegal sealing" of non-polluting industrial units. In a statement, Delhi Pradesh Control Committee (DPCC) chief Ajay Maken said that according to the 6th Economic Census 2013, there are 8,75,308 industrial establishments in Delhi out of which 1,55,950 are manufacturing ones. "Due to the mistakes and laxity of the central government and the Delhi government, who battle in the court for petty issues but do not work at the ground level for the welfare of the people, the sword of sealing is hanging over these establishments," Maken said. Thousands of factories of Bawana are in tension these days as Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) has issued notices to them asking why the lease of their establishment should not be cancelled for alleged violation of laid down rules. "Delhi Congress will hold a demonstration outside the ...
