48 weekly edition
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STUDENT AGERead the NeedVol. 1 No:160 | JKENG/2012/41612 | Jammu, Saturday, December 8 (2 Dec - 8 Dec), 2012 | Pages: 32 | 5
News Inbox
UAE makes world'slargest ID card
ABU DHABI: UAE President
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan has set a new Guinness
World Record with the largest
identity card, Contd on page 4
Death toll from Philippinetyphoon climbs past 500NEW BATAAN: Rescuers are
digging through mud and debris to
retrieve more bodies strewn across
a farming valley in the southern
Philippines by a powerful typhoon.
The death Contd on page 4
HC directs ITBP officials todepose before IO
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and
Kashmir High Court has directed
seven ITBP personnel, accused of
abduction and disappearance of a
youth from Anantnag district in
1991, Contd on page 4
Teacher thrashes 8-year-old girl in J&K
KASHMIR: Yet again another
case of corporal punishment has
come to light and this time from
Jammu Contd on page 4
Centre to set up food regulatory
& risk assessment bodyNEW DELHI: The government
proposes to set up a National Food
Science and Risk Assessment
Centre to conduct regulatory
research Contd on page 4
NEW DELHI: The government
Friday won the vote in the Rajya
Sabha on foreign direct investment
(FDI) in retail, two days after it
sailed through the Lok Sabha, final-
ly getting endorsement from parlia-
ment for a policy seen as a major
step forward in its reforms process.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Kamal Nath said reforms were ontrack after the UPA won the voting
on FDI in retail. Refuting BJP's
charge that UPA used the CBI to get
Mayawati's support, Kamal Nath
said, "Mayawati voted with BJP on
nuclear deal earlier, then BJP did
not raise the CBI issue. Now when
they vote against BJP, BJP accuses
of misuse of CBI.
Getting support once again from
the unlikely combination of
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi
Party (SP) and Mayawati's Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP), the government
won the day in the Rajya Sabha by
14 votes.In the house, the opposition-
backed motion got 109 votes and
the government 123 votes. One
member, cricketer Sachin
Tendulkar, was away playing a
match against England in Kolkata.
Minutes before the voting process
began, the SP walked out of the
house with its nine MPs, bailing out
the ruling United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) -- as it had
Wednesday when the Lok Sabha
voted on the issue.
Confusion gripped the govern-
ment after the FDI in retail debate
in the Rajya Sabha over the exactnumber of votes cast in favour and
against the Congress-led United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) -
prompting a reccount.
"Yes, we are going for the re-cal-
culation," Minister of State for
Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev
Shukla said.
Soon after it was announced that
the government had defeated the
opposition-sponsored motion
against foreign investment in multi-
brand retail, it was discovered that
due to "some technical glitches",
the total strength of the house had
gone up to 248 instead of the pres-ent strength of 244.
The total strength of Rajya
Sabha is 245 but with the death of
former Maharashtra chief minister
and union minister Vilasrao
Deshmukh, Contd on page 4
Govt wins FDI battle, gets support of 123 MPs
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7.3 magnit ude quake shakes Tokyobuildings, tsunami warning lifted
TOKYO: A strong quake centered off northeastern Japan
shook buildings as far away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered
a one-metre tsunami in an area devastated by last year's
Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports of deaths orserious damage. The earthquake had Contd on page 4
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir govern-
ment will launch the Results-Framework
Document (RFD) initiative this year to
assess the performance of various depart-
ments, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
said. "Results-Framework Document
(RFD) initiative will be launched this year
for entire government in one shot. All
government departments would be asked
to formulate RFDs for last quarter of the
current year and for entire next year,"
Omar said while addressing a two-day
workshop on 'Results- Framework
Document (RFD) - An Instrument of
Improving Government Performance.'
"RFD is an Contd on page 4
J&K govt to launch Results-FrameworkDocument initiative: Omar
CM Omar Abdullah addressing gathering during workshop on "Results-Framework
Document at Jammu.
People crowd at Sendai railway station in Sendai after a
strong earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan.
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HC directs ITBP ....to present themselves before the investigating
officer of the case within one week.
The directions were passed by the Court
after the ITBP identified the seven accused
personnel and their whereabouts before the
court during the proceedings yesterday.
Ghulam Hussain Koka, father of the youth
Muhammad Asharaf Koka, had filed a petition
before the court pleading that the police inves-
tigation into the alleged abduction and disap-
pearance case of his son was "tardy" and the
warrant issued by Chief Judicial Magistrate
Anantnag was not being executed.
The youth was allegedly abducted by ITBP
personnel in Verinag area of Anantnag district
in 1991.
According to the ITBP communication tothe High Court, then Commandant of 10th bat-
talion Inder Singh Negi is presently posted at
Northern Frontier Dehradun as Inspector
General, Dr P S Gunjiyal, then Chief Medical
Officer, is currently posted with 31st Battlaion
at Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh, Head
Constable Hukum Singh is posted at Leh in
Jammu and Kashmir and Head Constable
Ajeet Kumar is posted at Chandigarh.
The then second in command of the unit R
S Rana has retired and is currently residing in
Himachal Pradesh while Rajinder Singh has
also retired and is presently in Uttarakhand
and sub-inspector Pratap Singh died on
August, 4, 2004.
The whereabouts of these personnel werefurnished to the court following directions to
this effect on the last date of hearing on
November 29.
J&K govt to launch....
effective performance assessment and man-
agement system aimed at judging the per-
formance and functioning of government
departments on the basis of timeline comple-
tion of targets, outcomes of the schemes, pri-
orities fixed, quality of work done, status of
benefits of projects actually accruing to people
and other similar ingredients", he said.
Under RFD, each government department
would be evaluated to identify bottlenecks,
shortcomings if any and to take corrective
measures. "While elections present evaluation
perception of public representatives, there
should be performance evaluation of bureau-
cracy and government departments, and RFD
will be right instrument for the same," he said,
adding that Jammu and Kashmir will be the
eleventh state to implement it. He also empha-
sised the importance of the workshop organ-
ised in collaboration with Performance
Management Division Cabinet Secretariat,
Government of India, for Administrative
Secretaries and Heads of Departments to get
acquainted with the basics of the mechanism.
Omar also said his government was continu-
ously working for improving the quality of
governance at all levels. "We have taken meas-
ures like implementation of Public Service
Guarantee Act (PSGA) and Right to
Information Act (RTI) besides holding
Panchayat Elections and transferring vital
powers to these institutions," he said.
7.3 magnitude....
a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the US
Geological Survey said, adding that there was
no risk of a widespread tsunami. That was
revised from an earlier estimate of 7.4. A
warning for a one-meter tsunami was issued
for the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in northeast-
ern Japan, which was hit by a devastating
earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The
warning was later lifted. That quake triggered
fuel-rod meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear
plant, causing radiation leakage, contamina-
tion of food and water and mass evacuations in
the world's worst nuclear crisis since
Chernobyl in 1986.The government declared in December that
the disaster was under control, but much of the
area is still free of population. Tokyo Electric
Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima
nuclear plant, reported no irregularities at its
nuclear plants after the latest quake.
Indian Ambassador to Japan Deepa
Gopalan said that was no need to worry. "It
was fairly intense and the duration was long.
There are warnings. In Tokyo there is no cause
to worry. We will find out if there are Indians
in that area. Indian community is mostly in
Tokyo and surrounding areas, far from epicen-
tre," said Gopalan.
Narita airport outside Tokyo was back in
action after a brief closure for safety checks.Last year's quake, which measured 9.0, trig-
gered fuel-rod meltdowns at Fukushima, caus-
ing radiation leakage, contamination of food
and water and mass evacuations. Much of the
area is still deserted.
The government declared in December that
the disaster was under control. "Citizens are
now escaping to designated evacuation centres
and moving to places on higher ground,"
office worker Naoki Ara said in Soma, 30 km
(18 miles) from the Fukushima-Daiichi plant.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda cancelled
campaigning in Tokyo ahead of a December
16 election and was on his way back to his
office, but there was no immediate plan to
hold a special cabinet meeting. Public spend-
ing on quake-proofing buildings is a big elec-
tion issue.
Japanese were posting photos of their TV
screens with tsunami warnings on Facebook,
asking each other whether they're safe and
confirming their whereabouts. "It shook for a
long time here in Tokyo, are you guys all
right?" posted Eriko Hamada, enquiring about
the safety of her friends.
Phone lines were overloaded and it was dif-
ficult to contact residents of Miyagi. "Owing
to the recent earthquake, phone lines are very
busy, please try again later," the phone opera-
tor said. The yen rose against the dollar and the
euro on the news, triggering some safe-haven
inflows into the Japanese currency.
UAE makes ....
which is 20 times the size of the actual
National ID card in the country. The card --
with Sheikh Khalifa's name and picture -- is
1.4 metres long and 0.86 metres wide.
Guinness said the UAE currently holds 110
world records.
Regional director of Guinness World
Records, Talal Omar, said the largest ID card
was an identical copy of the original National
ID card which meets all the standards required
to set a world record.
Centre to set ....
and risk assessment.
It will function under the Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India. Giving this
information in the Lok Sabha Friday, Minister
of State for Health and Family Welfare Abu
Hasem Khan Choudhury said the proposed
centre will also overseas surveillance on thelines of the American Centre for Disease
Control and Centre for Food Safety and
Applied Nutrition. The minister said that the
project is awaiting approval by the National
Development Council (NDC) for implementa-
tion.
Death tol l from ....
toll from the storm has surpassed 500, with
more than 400 people missing. More than
310,000 people have lost their homes since
Typhoon Bopha struck Tuesday and are
crowded inside evacuation centers or staying
with their families, relying on food and emer-
gency supplies being rushed in by government
agencies and aid groups.President Benigno Aquino III today visited
New Bataan town, ground zero of the disaster,
saying "I want to know how this tragedy hap-
pened and how to prevent a repeat." Aquino
told residents that he's bent on seeking
answers in order to improve their conditions
and minimize casualties when natural disasters
occur.
Teacher thrashes....
& Kashmir. A class four student studying in a
government middle school in Nagari, near
Rajouri district was beaten by a teacher after
she refused to leave her school and join a pri-
vate academy run by him.
The 8-year-old girl, Sonika Devi has
received multiple fractures on her right hand
and will be undergoing surgery.
The teacher has been identified as Vaid
Prakash. A FIR has been filed against him.
Govt wins FDI ....
the number is reduced to 244. As per the
results declared by Rajya Sabha Chairman
Hamid Ansari, the UPA government got 123
votes, while the opposition got 109 votes.
Nine members of the Samajwadi Party
walked out while seven members - Devender
Goud T, Gundu Sudharani and Y.S.
Chowdhary of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP);
Janata Dal-United MP Bashistha Narain
Singh, who was in Bihar; expelled Biju Janata
Dal (BJD) leader Pyarimohan Mohapatra;
Congress leader Murli Deora, who has under-
gone an operation and cricketer Sachin
Tendulkar, who is playing in the test series
against Engand - were absent.
The total of these votes would be 248
which is four more than the present strength of
the house. But the confusion started in the cal-
culations, according to Rajya Sabha secretari-
at, due to votes being cast three times - twice
electronically and once on paper ballots. The
third ballot was necessitated after at least two
members - Ram Jethmalani and Najma
Heptullah - complained their votes had not
been registered. Hapless media persons had no
other way than run around the galleries to find
the exact number.
On Thursday, day one of the debate on the
issue in the Rajya Sabha, Mayawati had said in
the house that 15 MPs from her party would be
voting with the government.Both the BSP and SP support the govern-
ment from outside.
The government's win on getting 51 per-
cent foreign equity in multi-brand retail has
long been a contentious issue, stalling almost
the entire first two weeks of the winter session
of parliament. With this, global names like
Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-Mart will set up
stores in India.
Addressing the house during the debate,
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma hit back at
the opposition and said the government had
been "talking to everyone, farmers, traders,
consumers, states". The government also held
inter ministerial consultations on the issue,
heard the recommendations and then took thedecision, he said.
2CONTDSTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
Continued from Page 1
India, Ukraine to inkvarious agreements
NEW DELHI: Accompanied by senior
ministers, officials and a large business del-
egation, Yanukovych comes to India on a
four-day visit Sunday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will
hold wide-ranging talks with Yanukovych
Monday. The talks will explore a wide
spectrum of areas, including intensification
of trade and investment, nuclear safety and
visa issues.
The Ukrainian leader will also be visit-
ing Agra and Bangalore during his state
visit, the external affairs ministry said in a
statement. The bilateral cooperation
between the two countries is multi-faceted
and covers a wide range of areas including
political, defence, science and technology,
nuclear, space and and trade investment.
Bilateral trade has surged from $138.62
million in 1992 to $2,865.45 million in
2011-12. Indian pharmaceutical exports to
Ukraine are the largest by volume and sec-
ond in terms of value and are estimated to
be $325 million in 2011. India imports 25
percent of sunflower oil production of
Ukraine, which is amongst the world's
largest producers of sunflower oil.
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3NATIONALSTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
RANJIT SINHA: Ranjit Sinha,
IPS officer of
1 9 7 4 - b a t c h
Bihar cadre
acquired the
office as new
CBI director.
S.A. IBRAHIM: S. A. Ibrahim
IPS (MP-77)
has been
approved by the
C o m p e t e n t
Authority as
officer on Special Duty in the
Intelligence Bureau and also as
the Director for Intelligence
Bureau for a next two years.
NARHARI AMIN: Seniorleader of
Congress party,
Gujarat Narhari
Amin joined
BJP along with
his supporters.
I.K. GUJRAL: Former Prime
Minister I K
Gujral, who
headed a rickety
coalition gov-
ernment in the
late 1990s, died after a brief ill-
ness. He was 92.
MANDVI: Congress president
Sonia Gandhi slammed the
Narendra Modi government in
Gujarat while addressing an elec-
tion rally in the state on Friday.
Sonia Gandhi to tear into Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi's
claims on development accusing
the state government of complete-
ly ignoring the welfare of poor and
wondered where all the central
funds for the state had vanished.
Sonia, who addressed a public
rally near Gorsamba village in
Surat district, said that the promis-
es made by the BJP government
are false and hollow. Gandhi said
the state government has failed in
almost every field and even the
law and order in the state was not
good. "UPA government
has been allocating thou-
sands of crores of rupees to
various states, including
Gujarat, without any bias.
But nobody knows how
this money is spent (in
Gujarat). They are not
bothered about the poor.
They are only concerned
about themselves," she said.
She said because of the policies
of the BJP government, the hard-
ships of the common man have
increased. "If the government had
given attention to your problems,
you would not have faced so many
problems," Gandhi said.
The Congress chief said the
UPA government had waived off
loans to the debt-ridden farmers
but their condition in Gujarat has
not changed because of the 'anti-
people' policies pursued by the
BJP government. "Our govern-
ment is the government of the
farmers. We have waived off loans
to farmers," she said. Gujarat goes
to first phase of polls on
December 13.
Gujarat elections: Sonia slams Modi govt, ignores welfare of poorPEOPLE IN NEWS
NEW DELHI: Inder Kumar
Gujral, who was India's prime min-
ister for 11 months in 1997-98, was
on Saturday cremated here with
full state honours.
Gujral died Friday just four
days before his 93rd birthday.
Known as a gentleman politician,
Gujral died at 3.27 pm at a
Gurgaon hospital of lung infection.
Amid prayers and a 21-gun
salute, his body was consigned to
flames at Smriti Sthal on the banks
of Yamuna where President Pranab
Mukherjee, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, Vice PresidentHamid Ansari and UPA chairper-
son Sonia Gandhi were also pres-
ent.
The last rites were performed by
his two sons, including Akali Dal
MP Naresh Gujral, and his grand-
son at Smriti Sthal, located
between Jawaharlal Nehru's
memorial 'Shanti Van' and Lal
Bahadur Shastri's 'Vijay Ghat'.
Defence Minister AK Antony,
Home Minister Sushilkumar
Shinde, Commerce Minister Anand
Sharma, Law Minister Ashwani
Kumar, Farooq Abdullah, Jaipal
Reddy, BJP leaders LK Advani and
Arun Jaitley, Punjab Chief MinisterPrakash Singh Badal, Haryana
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda, INLD chief Om Prakash
Chautala, LJP's Ramvilas Paswan,
JD-S' Danish Ali, Amar Singh and
some senior bureaucrats attended
the cremation. Diplomats from var-
ious countries were also present.
The President, Vice President,
Prime Minister, Gandhi, Antony,
Shinde, Badal, Advani, Jitendra
Singh (Mos) and others laid
wreaths on the body.
The body, draped in tricolour,
was brought to Smriti Sthal from
his 5, Janpath residence in a flower
bedecked gun-carriage accompa-nied by military personnel and
close family.
Officers from the three armed
forces carried on their shoulders
the mortal remains of Gujral to the
cremation ground as he was
accorded a state funeral. Gujral
(92), who led a rickety coalition in
late 1990s and was known for
'Gujral Doctrine' of five principles
for maintaining good neighbourly
relations, breathed his last at a pri-
vate hospital in nearby Gurgaon
last afternoon.
The govt. has declared seven
days of state mourning. His body
was being kept at his residence, 5,Janpath for last tributes.
NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Health
and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad
Friday said that 83 prosecution cases were
initiated and 39 people arrested till July
this year for dealing in spurious drugs.
Replying to supplementaries in the Lok
Sabha, he said, out of 49 thousand drug
samples tested by the Central Drugs
Standard Organisation last year, only 0.19
per cent were found to be spurious. Mr.
Azad said, the government has asked for a
detailed proposal on a request by Interpol
Secretary General to develop a data base
of pharmaceutical companies.
Adding that India is the third largest
drug manufacturing country in the world,
Mr. Azad said, the government has taken
several steps and introduced various
schemes to control spurious drugs includ-
ing strengthening of drug test laboratories
and promoting good manufacturing prac-
tices.
Cases initiated & arrests made ofspurious drug dealers: Health Min Azad
Former PM IK Gujral cremated with full state honours
Calls on Mobilephone to be free innext 10 yrs: SibalNEW DELHI: Communications
and IT Minister Kapil Sibal told
the Lok Sabha that calls on
mobile phones will be made free
in the next ten years.
Replying to supplementaries
during question hour, he said
communication is a fundamental
right and it should not be charged.
He said that telecom companies
are working on a plan to earn rev-
enue from data instead of calls.
The Minister admitted that the
services of BSNL are not upto the
mark in the North-East,
Uttarakhand and some other
places. But he assured the mem-
bers that after completion of core
networking, the situation will
improve.
Mr. Sibal told the House that
for the first time the number of
cell phone users in the country
has declined. About fifty crore
people in the country still do not
have mobile phones.
He hoped that by linking land-
line telephones with broadband,
the number of its subscribers willgo up.
Govt to open 3000 Jan Aushadhi genericdrug out lets in 12th planNEW DELHI: Special Secretary in the ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers V.
Rajagopalan Tuesday said that govt. has proposed to open 3 thousand Jan Aushadhi
Generic Drug outlets in coming years across the country in the 12th five year plan.
Addressing the India Pharma Summit-2012 in New Delhi, he said there is a need to pro-
vide affordable and quality generic medicines to the people of the country especially to
the weaker section of the society. Mr Rajgopalan said, access of affordable medicines is
on high priority of the Centre as it is critical to the provision of equitable, affordable and
quality healthcare. Underlining the importance of more innovations and research in the
field of pharma, he urged all concerned stakeholders to come up with innovative methods
for increasing access of medicines in far-flung areas. Speaking on the occasion, WHO
representative to India, Nata Menabde urged India to develop more generic medicines.
Ajit Pawar back again; takesover as Maha Deputy CM
MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit
Pawar was Friday re- inducted as Maharashtra deputy chief
minister, just 10 weeks after he quit over alleged links to a cor-
ruption scandal. Pawar was sworn in at the Raj Bhavan Friday
morning. Pawar had resigned from the council of ministers on
September 25th following allegations that he was involved in a
multi-crore irrigation scam.
Pawar had quit the cabinet Sep 25 after his name figured in
an allegations of irregularities worth Rs.20,000 crore in irriga-
tion projects during the time he was water resources minister
from 1999-2009.
However, he got a clean chit after the state government's
much awaited white paper on the irrigation department Nov 30.
Voicing their protest against Pawar being made deputy chiefminister again, the opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party
said he should face a special investigation team (SIT) probe and
rejoin only if he was cleared by that.
According to Eknath Khadse, leader of opposition in the
assembly, CM Prithviraj Chavan, from the Congress, was under
pressure from the NCP and that was the reason he was re-induct-
ed. "If Pawar has guts, he should be ready for an SIT probe. If
proved innocent, he can rejoin the cabinet with respect," Khadse
said.
Terming the exercise "an eyewash" and a "high voltage
drama", Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said the govern-
ment was fooling the people and it was still not clear if Pawar
was innocent.
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4NATIONALSTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
BANGALORE/NEW DELHI:
Protests erupted in Karnataka Friday
following the release of Cauvery
river water to Tamil Nadu late
Thursday and a crucial meeting was
on in New Delhi to decide the quan-
tum of water needed by the two states
for the remaining part of this month.
Karnataka released the water to
avoid contempt of court as the
Supreme Court had directed the state
Wednesday to give Tamil Nadu daily
10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water till
Sunday.
On the court's direction, the
Cauvery Monitoring Committee
(CMC) met in the national capital towork out the water needs of the two
states in view of vast divergence in
their claims.
The apex court had also directed
the CMC, comprising union water
resources secretary and chief secre-
taries of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
Kerala and Puducherry, to submit a
report to it Monday on its decision.
Hence, the CMC decision is crucial
for both the states.
Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar,
who flew to New Delhi Friday morn-
ing to plead the state's case with the
central government, met union Water
Resources Minister Harish Rawat
and briefed him on the difficulty the
state would face if more water is
released to Tamil Nadu.
"We explained to the minister the
serious drought situation, lack of
water in our reservoirs and our
requirement," Shettar told reportersafter the meeting.
The water issue release disrupted
Karnataka assembly proceedings as
the opposition Congress and Janata
Dal-Secular members staged a 'dhar-
na' (protest) against release of water
by the Bharatiya Janata Party govern-
ment.
The protest forced Speaker K.G.
Bopaiah to briefly adjourn the house.
However, with the two parties resum-
ing 'dharna' after the house re-assem-
bled, Bopaiah adjourned it for the
day. The two parties have been
demanding that the state should not
release water and the government
should be ready to face contempt of
court to protect the interests of farm-
ers in the Cauvery belt area of the
state.
The Cauvery belt in the state wit-
nessed protests by farmers and
Kannada activists for the second dayFriday. Farmers' organizations have
called for a shut-down of Mandya,
about 80 km from Bangalore and a
hotbed of agitation, if Cauvery water
is to be released to Tamil Nadu while
Karnataka faces drought.
Cauvery row: Crucial meet in Delhi, protests in Karnataka
NEW DELHI: The govt. has eased restrictions on tourist
visas which had mandated a two-month gap between con-
secutive visits by foreign nationals. However, it will not
apply to nationals of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan,
Iraq, Sudan, Bangladesh, foreigners of Pakistani and
Bangladeshi origin and stateless persons and they will con-
tinue to come under the 60-day gap rule. The decision is
expected to breathe fresh life into the tourism industry and
comes just ahead of the peak tourist season.
The restriction was imposed in 2009 after the Mumbai
terror attack when it was found that Lashkar-e-Taiba ter-
rorist David Headley had "grossly misused" his multiple-
entry visa with which he made nine trips to India and pre-
pared footage of 26/11 targets for the Pakistan-based terror
group. The Home Ministry, however, made it clear that anyapplicant for an Indian visa who has any sort of Pakistan
lineage, even if it is two generations back, must be referred
to Delhi by the Indian missions for prior clearance. In its
November 23 order, the Home Ministry said, "The provi-
sion relating to the two-month gap between two visits of a
foreign national to India on a tourist visa has been
reviewed by the govt. It has now been decided to lift the
restriction of two-month gap on re-entry of foreign nation-
als coming to India". The move to review the visa restric-
tion was initiated by the PM's Office (PMO) in January
2012 after concerns were raised by the Tourism Ministry
that the negative perception following the move had affect-
ed flow of tourists. The PMO had asked the ministries of
Home and External Affairs to review the restrictions,
including the possibility of bringing in more countries
under the visa-on-arrival scheme and improving condi-tions at major airports.
NEWS IN BOX
Assam Assembly winter session from Dec 10GUWAHATI: The winter session of the Assam Legislative Assembly will
begin from Dec 10. The five-day session will continue upto Dec 14, an offi-
cial release said Saturday.
On the first day of the session, the list of supplementary demands and
appropriation for 2012-2013 will be presented before the Assembly. The
voting on supplementary demands for grants for 2012-2013 would be taken
up on Dec 23. Besides, on Dec 12, the introduction, consideration and pas-
sage of the Assam Appropriation (Number IV) Bill 2012 is slated. The win-
ter session of the assembly is expected to be stormy as the Tarun Gogoi led
govt. would come under the scanner of the opposition, on account of the
recent ethnic violence in BTAD region, sources in various parties said.
Besides, panchayat polls in the state are slated for Jan-Feb and opposition
parties are expected to corner the govt. regarding inflation and corruption
allegations.
SC issues guidelines to curb eve teasingNEW DELHI: The Supreme has termed the consequences of eve-teasing
as disastrous and issued a number of guidelines to curb the menace. A bench
of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said all the state govern-
ments and Union territories are directed to depute plain-clothes female
police officers in the precincts of bus stands, railway stations, metro stations,
cinema theatres, shopping malls, parks, beaches, public service vehicles,
places of worship etc. so as to monitor and supervise incidents of eve-teas-
ing. The court said the guidelines were necessary as there is no uniform law
to deal with the menace. The apex court laid down the guidelines in the
judgement by which it set aside a verdict of the Madras High Court.
ID proof must for sleeper-class passengers
NEW DELHI: It will be mandatory for sleeper-class train passengers to
carry identity proof from Saturday. The Railways has taken the steps to pre-vent misuse of tickets by touts and facilitate hassle-free travel by bonafide
people. From Dec 1, passengers failing to produce original identity proof in
sleeper class, as and when asked for, will be treated as "without ticket" and
charged accordingly, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
The rule will apply for all forms of ticket, including those for sleeper
class, issued by Railways through computerised passenger reservation sys-
tem (PRS) or Internet. The decision to introduce photo I-cards for sleeper
class passengers is likely to deter touts from booking tickets under fictitious
names and selling them to passengers at a premium, the official said.
In February, Railways had made it mandatory for AC-class passengers to
carry identity proof with them. Passengers travelling on a Tatkal or an e-
ticket are also required to carry I-cards while undertaking train journey.
Passengers can carry any of these ten ID proofs while undertaking train
journey -- voter ID card, passport, PAN card, driving licence, photo identi-
ty card having serial number issued by central/state government, student
identity card with photograph issued by recognised school/college, Aadhar
card, nationalised bank passbook with photograph and credit cards issued
by banks with laminated photograph.
Bihar village bans women from using mobiles
PATNA: A village panchayat in Bihar has prohibited women from using
mobile phones and imposed heavy fines on them if they violated the diktat,
an official said Monday. The self-styled social reformers of Sunderbadi vil-
lage panchayat in Kochadham block of Kishanganj district Sunday issued
the orders banning women from using mobiles, a district official said.
"The villagers have issued an order to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 if a girl
is found using a mobile phone, while a married woman will have to pay a
fine of Rs 2,000 if found talking on a mobile outside her house," the official
said. "The decision was taken in a meeting attended by panchayat members
and village elders," Mohammad Manzoor Alam, who presided over the
meeting, told a news agency by telephone Monday. Alam said the villagers,
mostly elders, favoured imposing the ban.
NEW DELHI: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and scores of people were
detained from outside Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's residence Friday during
their protest against demolition of buildings in a south Delhi locality.
Over 100 people had gathered outside Dikshit's 3-Motilal Nehru Marg resi-
dence at 7 AM while Kejriwal joined them an hour later to protest demolitionof their houses in Shaheenbagh near Okhla and demanded an audience with her.
The protesters continued their demonstration outside the Chief Minister's
residence but police detained them around 12:30 PM as they refused to leave
the place.
Kejriwal and other AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas were
among others who were detained, a senior police official said.
A large number of police personnel were deployed at the spot to avoid any
untoward incident. Police barricaded one side of road from Janpath side which
has the entry gate to Dikshit's residence. Protesters shouted slogans against the
government action.
"The land where these people are living is there land, they have documents
of it. But it's unauthorised because you have to get the map passed by the gov-
ernment," Kejriwal said. "But on October 4, 2010 Sonia Gandhi had announced
that 1600 colonies will be regularised, this colony is also one of them. But
despite that 500 houses were demolished," he said.
Kejriwal, AAP activists detainedoutside CM's house
Guwahati molestationcase: Court convicts11, acquits journalist
GUWAHATI: A chief judicial magis-
trate's court Friday convicted 11 of the
16 people accused of assaulting and
molesting a girl in public outside apub in Guwahati on July 9. They are
yet to be sentenced.
Prime accused Amar Jyoti Kalita is
among those held guilty. But the court
acquitted local television journalist
Gaurav Jyoti Neog, who filmed the
molestation and was arrested on
charges of having planned the mob
attack on the 20-year-old girl.
Three others - Hafizuddin, Diganta
Basumatary and Jitumoni Deka - were
let off because of lack of evidence.
One of the accused in the case is a
minor and his case is being heard in
the juvenile justice court.
Govt eases tourist visa restrictions ahead of peak season
-
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C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K
CAIRO: More than 30 hours after
violence erupted between support-
ers of Islamist President Mohamed
Mursi and those opposing him, the
Egyptian president Friday
addressed the nation in a live tele-
vised speech. Mursi vowed to push
on with a December 15 referendum
on the controversial new constitu-
tion, saying "afterwards, there
should be no obstacle and everyone
must follow its will". If the referen-
dum says a yes or no, he promised
to cancel the recent controversial
constitutional declaration and to
form a new constituent assembly.
Mursi held figures of the opposi-
tion and remnants of the former
regime responsible for the recent
events, adding, more details
would be revealed in the com-
ing days by the prosecution.
In his speech, Mursi said
more than 80 people had been
arrested. Mursi offered to hold
dialogue with the opposition
and to meet their representatives
on Saturday in his offices.
As soon as the speech ended
Egyptian social media was
abuzz with calls for taking to the
streets tomorrow once again in
objection to the current situation.
Concurrently the main headquarters
of the Freedom and Justice Party in
Mukkatam area was set on fire.
Seven people died and more
than 700 were injured yesterday in
clashes between Mursi's Islamist
supporters and his mainly secular
opponents in Egypt's worst political
crisis since Mursi took office in
June. The anti-Mursi camp is furi-
ous with the president for assuming
sweeping powers two weeks ago
and by what it feels was the rail-
roading through by an Islamist-
dominated panel of the draft consti-
tution.
Mursi addresses nation after 7 kil led, 700 injuredBESSE COOPER: Besse
Cooper, the
woman listed as
the oldest per-
son of the world
in Georgia nurs-
ing home at 116 years of age.
DAVE BRUBECK: Dave
Brubeck, the
renowned Jazz
pianist died due
to heart failure.
He was 91.
JEFF ZUCKER: The former
NBC Universal
chief Jeff
Zucker has been
named presi-dent of CNN
Worldwide.
JOSEPH MURRAY: American
plastic surgeon
Dr Joseph
Murray, the sur-
geon who oper-
ated the first
successful kidney transplant and
later won a Nobel Prize for his
work died. He was 93.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
5INTER NATIONALSTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
DOHA: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-
moon on Wednesday urged Syria's regime
against using its stockpile of chemical
weapons, warning of "huge consequences"
if Bashar Assad resorts to such weapons of
mass destruction.
Ban also suggested that he would not
favor an asylum deal for the Syrian leader
as a way to end the country's civil war and
cautioned that the United Nations doesn't
allow anyone "impunity."
"I again urge in the strongest possible
terms that they must not consider using thiskind of deadly weapons of mass destruc-
tion," Ban told media , speaking on the
sidelines of a climate conference in Qatar.
"I have warned that if in any case this
should be used, then there will be huge
consequences. And they should be account-
able," he said of the Syrian regime.
Damascus has said it would not use such
weapons on his own people even if it had
them. Syria is party to the 1925 Geneva
Protocol banning chemical weapons in war.
In Qatar, the U.N. chief was asked about
the potential for an asylum deal that would
remove Assad from power. The Syrian
president vowed in an interview with
Russia Today last month that he would
never be forced into exile and that he
would "live and die in Syria."
Clashes between rebels and regime
troops have intensified in the suburbs ring-
ing the city in recent weeks. The area has
been a stronghold of predominantly Sunni
Muslim rebels, who are fighting to topple
Assad's regime, dominated by Alawites, an
offshoot Shiite group.The increased pressure of the opposition
fighters on the capital has raised worries
that Assad or his forces will resort to des-
perate measures, perhaps striking neigh-
bors Turkey or Israel, or using chemical
weapons.
Syria's uprising began with peaceful
protests in March 2011 and later escalated
into a civil war that the opposition says has
killed more than 40,000 people. So far,
both sides have refused international calls
for a negotiated solution.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will take
action against LeT founder Hafiz
Saeed - the mastermind of the
Mumbai attacks - if India provides
evidence against him that stands in
court, Foreign Minister Hina
Rabbani Khar said on Saturday.
"Hafiz Saeed was in custody and
the evidence against him could not
hold in a court of law. We have
said even now that we will be
happy to look at any evidence
against him that holds in a court of
law," Khar said.
Asked if Pakistan will act if
India provides evidence against
Saeed, she replied, "Yes, there will
definitely (be action). He was
already in custody. The evidence
against him was not enough and he
was released from custody for this
reason."
Saeed, who now heads the
Jamaat-ud-Dawah, was placed
under house arrest for less than six
months after the UN Security
Council declared the JuD a front
for the LeT in the aftermath of the
Mumbai attacks in November
2008. He was freed on the orders
of the Lahore High Court. The
LeT founder was subsequently
detained for incidents that
occurred in Pakistan but let off
again. Though the US offered a
$10 million bounty for him earlier
this year, Saeed lives openly in
Lahore and has organised a series
of rallies and gathering at which
he has spoken out against the US
and India.
During the interview, Khar said
that the "environment with India
became very bad" after the
Mumbai terror att acks. We passed
through a difficult phase."
However, the Pakistan govern-
ment had "improved that environ-
ment in a massive way," Khar
said. "We tried to build trust. We
made a policy decision, which no
one had made in 40 years, to begin
moving on the track of trade nor-
malisation."
Khar noted that the move to
normalise trade had been a "very
good confidence-building meas-
ure." India and Pakistan had
helped each other in securing non-
permanent seats in the UN
Security Council while Delhi had
given a waiver at the WTO to
trade concessions granted to
Pakistan by the European Union,
she said.
Asked about the possibility of
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
visiting Pakistan, Khar sought to
play down the issue and said
Islamabad should not be defensive
about making a goodwill gesture
such as inviting Singh for a visit.
UN chief warns Syria's Assadon chemical weapons
Pakistan will take action if India provides evidence against Saeed: Khar
China's Xi Jinpingcalls for powerful
missile forceBEIJING: The Chinese military has
been ordered to build a powerful and
technological missile force by Xi
Jinping, the newly elected chairman
of the Central Military Commission
of the Communist Party of China
(CPC). Xi, also newly elected gener-
al secretary of the CPC Central
Committee, made the comments
Wednesday while meeting delegates
at the 8th Party congress of the
People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s
Second Artillery Force, reports said.
The artillery force is the core
strength of China's strategic deter-
rence, the strategic support for the
country's status as a major power,
and an important cornerstone safe-
guarding national security, Xi said.
The party and military leader
stressed the absolute CPC leadership
over the military, and called for pro-
moting the PLA's glory, fine tradi-
tions and working styles, in order to
ensure the army's "absolute loyalty,
purity and reliability". The authority
of the CPC Central Committee and
the Central Military Commission
should be consciously safeguarded,
and the military should "keep pace
with" the leadership in ideology,
politics and actions, Xi said.
Sri Lanka top judge inmarathon hearing
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's first woman Chief Justice Shirani
Bandaranayake, facing impeachment, was Tuesday grilled for
over six hours by a parliamentary panel probing alleged
improper conduct by her.
Bandaranayake appeared for a second time before the par-
liamentary select committee to answer impeachment charges
against her, parliament officials said.
"She will be coming next on Thursday", deputy speaker
Chandima Weerakkody said. However the PSC would exam-
ine her written submissions tomorrow without her presence,
officials added. The 54-year-old Bandaranayake is being
probed on 14 charges of improper conduct in the impeach-
ment motion moved by the government MPs.Bandaranayake was accorded religious blessings as she
stepped out of the court. Few meters away was a group of gov-
ernment supporters who demonstrated against the chief jus-
tice. "Madam aren't you ashamed" and "Let's preserve the
supremacy of parliament" were some of the placards held by
government supporters.
The motion was the culmination of a month-long spat
involving the executive and judicial wings of the state.
The opposition dubs the government move as a political
witch hunt in order to undermine the independence of the judi-
ciary. The judiciary cited political interference violating its
independence as the reason for friction.
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6EDITORIALSTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
BY ARPITA SHARMA
Society is the base for over-
all development of a
nation. And the society's
structure depends entirely upon
the status and condition of its
women. The condition of women
was far better in ancient India. In
early period Aryans treated men
and women alike in all religious
rituals and social functions. But
condition of women has declined
gradually. Gender is the word
used especially for the female
population of the society. This
article is an attempt to define the
agriculture status of women inIndia.
Rural women are responsible
for production of more than 55%
food grains and comprise 67% of
total agricultural labour force.
The role of woman in agriculture
varies from country to country.
Asian woman contribute to about
50% of the food production. In
south-east Asia, women play
major roles in sowing, transplant-
ing, harvesting and processing
staple crops like rice.
Complementary gender roles are
also found in most areas as in
Nepal and India where womenexclusively gather fodder for buf-
faloes, cattle and other livestock.
Almost all women in rural India
can be termed as farmers, in some
sense, working as agricultural
labour, unpaid workers in fami-
lies and farm enterprises or a
combination of the two.
GENDER ISSUES
Women's contribution to agri-
culture, whether it is in subsis-
tence farming or commercial
agriculture, when measured in
number of tasks performed and
time spent, is greater than men.
Their contribution in agriculture
is aptly highlighted by a micro
study conducted in Indian
Himalayas which found that on a
one hectare farm, a pair of bul-
locks work for 1060 hours, a man
for 1212 hours and a woman for
3485 hours. Generally, operationsperformed by men are those that
entail use of machinery and ani-
mals. Contrary to this, women
always rely on manual labour
using only their own energy. Not
only are women overworked,
their work is more arduous than
that undertaken by men. Further,
since women's work is largely
based on human energy it is con-
sidered unskilled and hence less
productive. On this basis, women
are invariably paid less wage
despite their working harder and
for longer hours. This makes the
woman's work invisibleACCESS TO RESOURCES:
Despite their role as a back-
bone of food production and pro-
vision for family consumption in
developing countries, women
remain limited in their access to
critical resources and services
due to cultural, traditional and
sociological factors.
ACCESS TO LAND
Not even 2% of the land is
owned by women, while the pro-
portion of female heads continues
to grow. Land reforms pro-
gramme, together with break-up
of communal land holding have
led to the transfer of exclusive
land rights to males as heads of
the household which ignores both
the existence of the female head-
ed household and the rights of
married women to a joint share.
ACCESS TO AGRICULTUR-AL INPUTS
Women access to technologi-
cal inputs such as improved
seeds, fertilizers and pesticides is
limited as they are frequently not
reached by extension services. In
addition they often lack cash
needed to purchase inputs even
when they are subsidized.
ACCESS TO EDUCATION,
TRAINING AND EXTENSION
SERVICES
Two- third of one billion illit-
erates in the world are women
and girls. Available figures show
that only 5% of extension servic-es have been addressed to rural
women, while no more than 15%
of the world's extension agents
are women.
ACCESS TO RESEARCH
AND APPROPRIATE
TECHNOLOGIES
Women farmers' roles and
needs are often ignored when
devising technology that may
cause labour displacement or
decrease workload.
DEVELOPMENTAL
INITIATIVES:
Efforts have been made by
department of agriculture to
incorporate gender issues into
development agenda and ensure
full and equitable participation of
women in all agricultural devel-
opment programmes. In an effort
to 'engender agricultural process'
the DOAC implemented specialprogrammes/ schemes for women
in agriculture sector, where a
composite package of training,
extension, input, managerial and
entrepreneurial support was pro-
vided to selected farm women
beneficiaries. Different approach-
es were followed in all these proj-
ects to provide a complete sup-
port package to women farmers.
The technical back-stopping was
provided through a blend of
'skilled-based' capacity building
exercises coupled with extension
support through "On field
Demonstration", "Mahila-Goshties" and "Study Tours".
WOMEN AND GREEN
REVOLUTION:
The green revolution of 1960
and 1970s with its package of
improved seeds, farm tec hnology,
better irrigation and chemical fer-
tilizers was highly successful in
meeting its primary objective of
increasing crop yields and aggre-
gate food supply. Yet despite its
success in increasing aggregate
food supply, the green revolution,
did not necessarily translate its
benefits to the lower strata of
rural poor including women. So a
gender friendly second green rev-
olution is to be ushered in.
SOME ADMINISTRATIVE
REFORMS :
The government in partnership
with NGO's has to further accel-
erate the process of bringingabout these reforms.
1. Full and equal rights should be
given to women to own land
and other properties.
2. Ensuring that, women's unpaid
work and contribution to on-
farm and off-farm production
should be recorded in national
account.
3. Making appropriate technolo-
gies available to rural women
which focus on utilizing local-
ly available materials.
4. Revising legislation which
guarantees equal pay for work
of equal value, improvingworking conditions and
enforcing legal standards.
5. Promoting and increase in
number of female extension
functionaries and agricultural
researchers
Feminism in Agriculture: A Study Of Gender Bias In Indian Agriculture
The Congress may croon
that the UPA Government
which it leads has won a
vote in the Lok Sabha in f avour of
its decision to introduce foreign
direct investment in multi-brand
retail, but the fact is that this sup-
posed victory is both fake and
manipulated. It does not reflect the
collective will of the Lower
House, either in spirit or in words.
The party has been brandishing
numbers to justify its victory, say-
ing that 253 members voted to dis-
miss the Opposition-sponsored
resolution against FDI while only
218 voted for it. But there are
other figures that give a more real-
istic picture of how the Lok Sabha
by a large majority is opposed to
FDI in multi-brand retail. The
Government has been claimingthat it has a majority in the House.
While the simple mark stands at
272, the ruling combine could
muster just 253 votes. In other
words, the Government is in a
minority and can survive crucial
tests only through abstentions and
walkouts by helpful parties, some-
thing that we saw during the
Wednesday vote when both the
Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan
Samaj Party left the House before
voting. Representatives of as
many as 14 parties out of the 18
whose representatives participated
in the debate on the i ssue, categor-
ically and unambiguously pillo-
ried the Government's move to
bring in the FDI. Among those
parties were the SP and the BSP,
with the former being particularly
vocal in its opposition to the
Government's decision. Had thetwo Uttar Pradesh-based parties
voted in line with what they said
in the Lok Sabha - together they
account for 43 votes - the motion
against FDI would have succeed-
ed. Given this situation, jubilant
Congress leaders will do well to
stop misleading the country by
repeating ad nauseam their lie that
the House has stamped its
approval on FDI in multi-brand
retail. The Government's 'victory'
is at best, therefore, only technical
in nature and does not reflect the
mood of the majority of members
of the Lower House, and it cer-
tainly has not been endorsed by
the people of the country at large.
Besides the Government's pre-
carious numbers, what more has
been exposed is the Janus-faced
SP. It can be argued that the party's
decision to walk out during thevote and thereby bail o ut the UPA
regime was not unexpected; the
party has earlier too come to the
UPA's rescue while claiming to
oppose it. But the Wednesday
episode stands out because the SP
demonstrated a shocking lack of
moral courage to walk the talk. It
would have been understandable if
the party had been ambiguous on
its stand over FDI and as a result
not participated in the voting. But
here we had a situation where the
SP openly opposed the
Government's decision and yet did
not vote on the floor of t he House.
It's not surprising that rumours are
floating around that the party
played safe because it is worried
about the re-opening of inquiries
against its senior leaders by the
Central Bureau of Investigation,
controlled by the Congress-ledUPA.
But the UPA's chicanery may
not work in the Rajya Sabha
where orchestrated walkouts by
friendly parties will not suffice to
bail it out. Given the situation,
friends of the Congress have been
stalling work of the Upper House
over the last few days by using
one pretext or the other, apparent-
ly with a view to sabotage the
forthcoming discussion and vote
on FDI.
The technique has been adopt-
ed on two occasions in the recent
past - on the Lokpal Bill and on
the issue of rising prices - when
allies and outside supporters of the
Government disrupted the pro-
ceedings. Is the UPA plotting a
repeat? Although the BSP has
decided to back the regime on FDI
in the Upper House, the possibili-ty remains.
UPA secures FDI vote in Lok Sabha, and how!
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7EDITORIALSTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
Section 66A of the IT Act is
an unconstitutional weapon
that is being used for politi-
cal retaliation. Section 66A of the
IT Act is a relevant section which
penalizes 'sending false and offen-
sive messages through communica-
tion services'. The section reads as
under -
Any person who sends, by
means of a computer resource or a
communication device,-
a) any information that is grossly
offensive or has menacing char-
acter; or
b) any information which he knowsto be false, but for the purpose
of causing annoyance, incon-
venience, danger, obstruction,
insult, injury, criminal intimida-
tion, enmity, hatred or ill will,
persistently by making use of
such computer resource or a
communication device,
c) any electronic mail or electronic
mail message for the purpose of
causing annoyance or inconven-
ience or to deceive or to mislead
the addressee or recipient about
the origin of such messages.
Punishment - Imprisonment for
a term which may extend to threeyears and with fine.
Explanation- For the purpose of
this section, terms "electronic mail"
and "electronic mail message"
means a message or information
created or transmitted or received
on a computer, computer system,
computer resource or communica-
tion device including attachments
in text, images, audio, video and
any other electronic record, which
may be transmitted with the mes-
sage.
The section covers tow different
acts -
1. Sending offensive or menacing
messages sent by using elec-
tronic communication means.
2. Sending false messages to
cheat, mislead or deceive people
or to cause annoyance to them.
If there ever was a more com-
pelling case of the law being an ass,
it must be the way provisions of
Section 66A of the Information
Technology (IT) Act (notified on
27 October 2009) have been mis-
used recently. Be it the case of
Shaheen Dhada and her friend in
Palghar, Maharashtra, who were
arrested for posting and "liking"
(endorsing) an innocuous opinion
about the bandh following Bal
Thackeray's death on the social
media website Facebook, or the
arrest of India Against Corruption
volunteer Ravi Srinivasan in
Pondicherry for using Twitter to
make a remark about Union
Finance Minister P Chidambaram's
son Karthi Chidambaram, the use
of Section 66A in these instances
shows up the law in a very poor
light.
It is not just that the Act has
been misused, but the very provi-
sions in the law seem to be uncon-
stitutional. Section 66A penalises
anyone for "sending false and
offensive messages through com-
munication services" and defines
such messages as "grossly offen-
sive or of menacing character". The
fact that "grossly offensive" or
"menacing" could be subject to any
interpretation, not necessarily rea-
sonable, clearly violates the rea-
sonable restrictions imposed on
freedom of expression under
Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
Article 19(2) of the Constitution of
India declares that all citizens have
the right to freedom of speech and
expression. Section 66A of the
Information Technology Act vio-
lates that right. This Section must
be dumped. The government's
response after huge criticism over
misuse of the Section peaked fol-
lowing the arrest of two girls by the
Maharashtra police over a
Facebook post has been to merely
issue new guidelines.
In fact, the scope of the Act's
provisions is so broadly defined
that they run afoul of the funda-
mental right to freedom of speech
and expression, repudiating Union
Minister for Communications and
Information Technology Kapil
Sibal's assertions to the contrary.
That the penalty - a cognisable and
bailable offence - is up to three
years of imprisonment and a fine,
much higher than for comparable
offences that are not committed
using the computer medium makes
it even more draconian.
Part (b) of Section 66A consid-
ers the sending of "any information
which [is known] to be false, but
for the purpose of causing annoy-
ance, inconvenience, danger,
obstruction, insult, injury, criminal
intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill
will, persistently by making use of
such computer resource or a com-
munication device" as a cognisable
offence. The trouble is that there is
no distinction being made between
messages that cause annoyance,
inconvenience, ill will or insult
which are surely not neces-sarily
criminal in nature with those that
cause injury, danger, criminal
intimidation or enmity (which are
in any case covered under other
clauses of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC)).
Part (c) of Section 66A, ostensi-
bly written in to curb internet spam,
includes "any electronic mail or
electronic mail message for the
purpose of causing annoyance or
inconvenience or to deceive or to
mislead the addressee or recipient
about the origin of such messages"
as punishable under the section.
Again, instead of narrowly defin-
ing spam as emails sent in bulk that
are unsolicited and deceptive,
annoying, misleading and incon-
venient, the provision includes any
email communication b-etween
two or more individuals that could
"annoy" or "mislead" or cause
"inconvenience". This is again an
unconstitutional provision because
it does not criminalise spam mes-
sages alone but unreasonably
includes any electronic communi-
cation or message within its broad-
ly defined conditions.
What is more disturbing is that
Section 66A has been invoked to
book cases against people who
have posted messages or views
related to political issues, along
with other clauses of the IPC. As
the recent case of arrest and deten-
tions of two trade union members
of the All India Cabin Crew
Association or the arrest of
Jadavpur University professor
Ambikesh Mahapatra for sending asarcastic cartoon featuring West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee via email, or Shaheen
Dhada's arrest point out, the provi-
sions of the Act have been used for
political vendetta.
In November, public interest lit-
igation was filed in the Madurai
bench of the Madras High Court to
declare Section 66A as unconstitu-
tional and ultra vires. One hopes
that a legal evaluation of the provi-
sions results in the scrapping of the
section in the IT Act. (As we go to
press the Supreme Court, -acting
on public interest litigation, hasissued notice to four states, includ-
ing Maharashtra, on their use of
Section 66A to make arrests.)
Beyond Section 66A in the IT
Act, there are similar problems
with the recently notified
Information Technology
(Intermediary Guidelines) Rules
2011 about which EPW had earlier
commented in these pages
("Regulating Internet Content", 11
December 2011). There has defi-
nitely been a gross misunderstand-
ing of the internet medium, view-
ing it merely as a device for com-
munication rather than its present
status as a dynamic public forum
for discussions, debate and infor-
mation, among other purposes. The
laws envisaged for regulating the
internet have not kept pace with the
changes in the medium and that is a
cause for worry as these laws have
been proven to be either unconsti-
tutional or obsolete. When one also
takes into consideration the fact
that censorship and restriction of
freedom of expression on the inter-
net through website takedowns and
blocking is on the rise, there defi-
nitely is a need for raising the stan-
dards of internet governance and
lawmaking in the country.
Section 66A of the IT Act: The unconstitutional weaponIt is not just that the Act has been misused, butthe very provisions in the law seem to be
unconstitutional. Section 66A penalises anyonefor "sending false and offensive messages
through communication services" and definessuch messages as "grossly offensive or of
menacing character". The fact that "grosslyoffensive" or "menacing" could be subject toany interpretation, not necessarily reasonable,
clearly violates the reasonable restrictionsimposed on freedom of expression under Article19(2) of the Constitution. Article 19(2) of theConstitution of India declares that all citizens
have the right to freedom of speech andexpression. Section 66A of the Information
Technology Act violates that right. This Sectionmust be dumped. The government's responseafter huge criticism over misuse of the Sectionpeaked following the arrest of two girls by theMaharashtra police over a Facebook post has
been to merely issue new guidelines.
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8STATESTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
JAMMU: A meeting of Congress
party was held at Senior Congress
Leader ,G M Saroori's residence
with grass root level representatives
which include Ex Chairman LC
Arvind Singh Micky, MLA Inderwal
G M Saroori, MLA Ramban Ashok
Kumar, MLA Chenani Krishan
Chand, MLC Mohammad Amin
Butt, MLC Naresh Kumar, MLC
Subash Gupta, Secretary Auqaf
Islamia Kishtwar Mushtaq Ahmed
Hap, Sarpanches including Piyaray
Lal Sharma, Mohammad Shafi
Saroori, Surjeet Singh Charak &
other.Saroori said it is the effort which
the ruling coalition had been vigor-
ously campaigning among the
panches and sarpanches. He said,
like in this Legislative Council elec-
tion the party workers had workedhard due to their effort Congress-
National Conference bagged all the
four seats of Legislative Council
under Panchayat quota.
He said leaders and workers had
to work hard and remains closelyassociated with each other and with
the common people in every area
and at all levels. Workers had to
show the same spirit and determina-
tion in the BDC election and Urban
Local bodies' election which will be
conducted soon.
He lauded Panchayat members
for reposing faith in the candidates
of the ruling coalition in the state.
"We hail and thank panchs and
sarpanchs for reposing faith in coali-
tion candidates by electing them
with convincing margins. The ruling
coalition victory in Legislative
Council polls under Panchayat quota
is a result of people friendly policies
of the state government in the last
three years. Reiterating that the
coalition government was commit-ted to establish a vibrant three-tier
Panchayati Raj system in the state,
Saroori assured maximum empow-
erment of panchayat members.
Congress leaders also congratulate
MLA Inderwal G M Saroori from
his Inderwal constituency Coalition
candidates including Dr Shahnaz
Ganaie (NC) and Sham Lal
Bhagat(Congress) got highest per-
centage votes from Jammu region.
Ali Mohammad Dar (National
Conference) was declared elected
from K-1 constituency. Ghulam
Nabi Monga (Congress) was
declared elected from K-2 con-
stituency. Sham Lal Bhagat
(Congress) was declared elected
from J-1 constituency. Dr Shahnaz
Ganai (National Conference) wasdeclared elected from J-2 con-
stituency. As many as 33,450 pan-
chayat members decided the fate of
37 candidates in fray.
Congress party meeting held at Saroori's residence
Congress leaders during party meeting at Saroori residence.
SRINAGAR: Police arrested Muhammad Yasin
Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF) following post-prayer
protests in uptown Maisuma locality of summer
capital Srinagar on Friday.
Malik was leading dozens of supporters after
the Friday prayers during a JKLF march to city
centre Lal Chowk from the adjacent Maisuma
locality. Police intercepted the march and arrest-ed Malik and five other JKLF leaders. This result-
ed in protests as people in the area resorted to
heavy stone pelting at police and Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
Security forces used batons and tear gas shells
to disperse the protesters who kept regrouping to
throw stones at the forces. Malik and the five
leaders were taken to Kothibagh police station.
Friday's protest was against the sentencing of
three Kashmiris by courts in the state for their
involvement in separatist violence during the last23 years.
Malik told a news agency: "After 20 years,
Kashmiris are being sentenced to life imprison-
ment. Why were we released from jails in the first
place? If there is no embargo on peaceful protests
I must ask the Indian civil society why are old
cases being opened up against Kashmiris now?"
"Ours is a peaceful struggle and pushing peo-
ple to the wall would be dangerous. I appeal to the
intelligentsia and the civil society in India to pon-
der over the serious situation that is emergingbecause of the sentencing of our people to life
imprisonment," Malik added.
Yasin Malik arrested during JKLF march in Srinagar Pilgrims conven-ience tops Govt's
agenda: BhallaJAMMU: Minister for Revenue,
Relief and Rehabilitation, Raman
Bhalla, has said that the government
was making concerted efforts to tap
the huge tourist potential, espe-
cially the pilgrimage tourism, in thestate by creating necessary infra-
structure. "These endeavors of the
government are not only adding to
the state's economy but tremendous-
ly helping employment generation
for the youth", he added. This was
stated by the Minister while
addressing a large gathering of
devotees at Shri Bharav Nath ji tem-
ple during a function held at
Dounthly bazaar in Panjthirthi, here
today. Paying obeisance at the tem-
ple, the Minister prayed for peace,
progress and prosperity in the State.
The Minister said Government is
working hard to develop all the
tourists and historical places with all
basic facilities so that the visitors
could enjoy the spots without any
inconvenience. Bhalla said develop-
ment of famous Shri Bawe Wali
Mata, Shri Peer Kho temple, Shri
Ranbireshwar, Shri Raghunath Ji,
Shri Balram, Shri Laxmi, Shri
Bharav Nath and Shri Gajadhar
shrines and several other places are
the major projects in this direction.
He hoped that these would become
a source of attraction for the devo-
tees and help in diverting the Shri
Mata Vaishno Devi ji, Shri Budha
Amarnath Ji and Shri Amar Nath
pilgrims to other parts of State hav-ing tremendous tourism potential.
NEW DELHI: A huge collection of hand spin,
hand woven shawls and finest quality of silk &
needle, hand embroidered collection of
Pashmina Royal Shawls exhibition was organ-
ized by Jammu and Kashmir Handloom
Development Corporation. The 7 days
Exhibition (7th to 13th December 2012) was
inaugurated by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble
Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy
Resources, Government of India today here.
On the occasion he appreciated the unique
Pashmian collection of Royal Pashmina items
and congratulated the Department for organis-
ing the exhibition. The Jammu and Kashmir
State Handloom Development Corporation has
revived the traditional skill of handspun hand
woven Pashmina stalls and has developed a
range of shawls in contemporary colours and
designs as well which are displayed in the exhi-
bition and visitors were pleased to see the tra-
ditional specimen craft, which has been repro-
duced and is related to Mughal, Afgan, Sikh
and Dogra rule who had patronized the Royal
craft. However Care has been taken that the
reproduction of specimens maching all quality
parameters are exact duplication and one piece
per specimen has been reproduced with no like-
lihood of these specimens being copied or pro-
duced by anyone else. The recreating of these
masterpieces of olden times are collection of
600 specimen of Pashmina shawls, from
International Museums private collections,
from rare books, where from sample has been
documented and taken up for recreation.
History bears witness that Pashmina shawls
were known world over and were immensely
popular in Europe. Huge quantities were
exported to Europe where these are in
Museums as pieces of art and in private collec-
tion as pieces of inheritance.
There was huge rush of visitors on the occa-
sion. Among other staff members Managing
Director, Deputy General Manager J&K
Handloom Development Corporation were also
present on the occasion who have efficiently
managed the event and said that people of the
Delhi would have an opportunity to have best
and unique collection of Royal Pashmina
shawls at their door steps which are created by
the efficient hands of Kashmiri artists.
Pakistan violatesceasefire
POONCH :In the third breach of ceasefire
this month along the border, Pakistan troops
targeted forward Indian posts along Line of
Control and International Border in Poonch
and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistan Rangers fired at Pansar forward
border out post (BoP) along International
Border (IB) in Samba sector around 1500
hours today," a senior BSF officer said.
Pakistan Rangers resorted to small arms firing
and BSF troops fired back effectively, he said.
There was no loss of life or injury to anyone,
he said. Pakistan Rangers also violated the
ceasefire along the International Border in
Arnia sector of the state yesterday. However,
BSF troops did not retaliate. In Poonch sector
of the state, Pakistan troops opened fire on
Indian posts in Krishnagati sector of the dis-
trict last evening, Army said.
"They had fired 22 rounds and Indian
troops replied back," he said. This is the third
ceasefire violation in December this year. A
couple were injured on October 1 when the
Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts and
Chachwal forward village along International
Border in Samba sector.
Roya l Pashm ina Ex h ib i t ioninaugu ra t ed a t Delh i
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9STATESTUDENT AGE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012
Prof. Mushtaq Peerappointed Consultant
JAMMU: The cabinet which met
here on Thursday with Chief
Minister, Omar Abdullah in chair
approved the appointment of Prof.
Mushtaq Ahmad Peer as consultant
regarding IT applications and com-
puterization to fast tract appoint-
ments. He would be conducting
tests for recruitment to non-
gazetted and class IV posts to speed
up the recruitment process.
Govt. dispenses withcheque system in certain
Departments
JAMMU: The cabinet which met
here on Thursday with Chief
Minister, Omar Abdullah in chairdecided dispensing with cheque
system of payments in Departments
like Public Works, PHE, Irrigation
& Flood Control, Power
Development Department, Forest
and switching over to civil account-
ing system. The new accounting
pattern would come in force from
April 01, 2013.
CPI(M) demands setting upof a Disability
Commisssion in J&K
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir
unit of CPI(M) today demanded
setting up of a DisabilityCommission in the state and imple-
mentation of J-K Persons with
Disabilities Act 1998, Mental
Health Act 1987 and National Trust
Act-1999 to empower the disabled
population in the state."The rising
problems of the disabled can't be
addressed through lip service, pseu-
do promises or ritual celebration of
World Disability Day. Serious poli-
cy intervention is the need of the
hour to facilitate their independent
living and self determining exis-
tence," CPI(M) secretary
Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said
in a statement here.
Tarigami said that the adminis-
trative structure would be instru-
mental in looking at their problems
holistically and formulating policy
inputs for their welfare.
He called for a comprehensive
reservation policy for the disabled
in private educational institutions,
training and professional colleges
and other employment concerns to
empower the disabled population in
the state.
Stressing on opening of special
vocational rehabilitation centres in
the state, the CPI(M) leader said
training in different crafts and
trades would hone their skills andenhance their employability.
LA panel seeks report onbrunt of brick kilns on
human lives, agri declineJAMMU: A meeting of the Sub
Committee (Brick Kilns Related)
of the Committee on Environment
of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative
Assembly was held on Friday
under the Chairmanship of MLA,
Ch. Zulfikar Ali.
The meeting deliberated upon
various issues including impact of
brick kilns on human lives and
decline in agriculture besides dis-
cussing rules and regulations relat-
ed to Pollution Control Board.
The Legislators, Dr. Shafi
Ahmad Wani, Charanjit Singh,
Prof. Gharu Ram and Ch. Sham
Lal gave valuable suggestions formaking Jammu and Kashmir a pol-
lution free State.
The Committee directed the
DDCs of Samba and Kathua to col-
lect detailed information on the
brunt of brick kilns on human lives
and agriculture in these districts for
the last three years and submit the
same to the Assembly Secretariat
for scrutiny. The Committee asked
the PCB authorities to gear up their
field functionaries to keep a strict
check over implementation of their
prescribed norms. The meeting
was attended by Commissioner
Secretary, Forest Sheikh EijazIqbal, Secretary CA&PD,
Mohammad Abass Dar, District
Development Commissioner
(DDC), Kathua, Ms Zahida Khan,
District Development
Commissioner, Samba, Mubarak
Singh, Chief Wildlife Warden, A.
K. Singh, Director CA&PD,
Jammu, Parvez Ahmad Malik,
Director Environment, Regional
Director Environment and senior
officers of Assembly Secretariat.
Govt approves re fixing oftransport fares
JAMMU: The cabinet has
approved refixing of maximum
chargeable fares in case of stage
and contract carriers. Decision to
this effect was taken today with
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah in
chair. As per the cabinet decision,
14.40% hike has been approved in
existing fares of big buses(stage
carriage), 13.49% hike in mini
buses(stage carriage), 12.13% hike
in taxi, maxi cabs(contract carriers)
and 8.81% hike in petrol driven
auto rickshaws(contract carriage).
The cabinet has directed the
State Transport Authority to
accordingly issue detailed notifica-
tion specifying revised route-wisefares.
NEW DELHI: Jammu and
Kashmir Government is probing
whether the recent killings of pan-
chayat members were carried out
by militants or resulted from per-
sonal enmity and criminal nexus.
In a written reply, Minister of
State for Home Affairs R P N Singh
said, "As per information received
from the State Government, two
sarpanchs (Kulgam and Baramulla)
and one panch (Baramulla) have
been killed by unknown gunmen in
incidents of violence against the
elected representatives of
Panchayats."
He said investigation is on to
unravel the truth as to whether the
killings of panchayat members
were related to militancy or there
was some criminal nexus or person-
al enmity behind the incidents.
"State government has taken
measures to ensure safety of elected
representatives of panchayats
which includes night patrolling by
security forces and domination of
area, perceived to be vulnerable to
such attacks. All specific reports
about threats to Sarpanchs/Panchs
are being attended by State police,"
Singh said.
Panchayat elections were held in
the state earlier this year after more
than three decades and as many as
35,000 Panches and Sarpanches
were elected.
In August this year, posters
claiming to be that of a terror group
were pasted in some parts of the
Valley asking the panches to quit.
However, the police was not sure
whether the posters were a handi-
work of some terror group or mis-
creants.
Kill ing of Panchs in J&K being probed: MHA
Coalition's clean sweepin LC polls, opposition
draws blankNC, Cong bag two seats eachJAMMU: The ruling National Conference-Congress
coalition has swept the Legislative Council polls for
which counting took place early this morning. Of the
four LC seats which went for polls on December 03,
National Conference and Congress bagged two seats
each.
For the K-1 constituency of Kashmir province,
National Conference candidate Mr. Ali Muhammad
Dar defeated his nearest rival Peer MuhammadHussain of Peoples Democratic Party by a margin of
2675 votes. Of the 16155 votes polled for the con-
stituency, Mr. Dar secured 8586 votes whileas Mr.
Hussain got 5911 votes.
For the K-2 seat, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Monga of
Congress defeated his nearest rival Mr. Yasir Reshi of
PDP by a margin of 2565 votes. Mr. Monga secured
8659 votes whileas Mr. Reshi got 6094 votes.
For J-1 constituency Congress candidate Mr.
Shyam Lal defeated his nearest rival Mr. Gurmeet
Singh of PDP by a margin of 7034 votes. Of the
14874 votes polled, Mr. Shyam Lal secured 9123
votes whileas Mr. Gurmeet secured 2089 votes.
For the J-2 seat, Dr. Shahnaz Ganai of National
Conference defeated her nearest rival Mr. Ved
Prakash Gupta of PDP by a margin of 6917 votes. Of
the 14812 votes polled for the constituency, Dr.
Shahnaz secured 9070 votes whileas Mr. Gupta
secured 2153 votes.
SC asks J&K govt to broad-en passage leading to
Amarnath cave
NEW DELHI: The Suprem