tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148911212024-02-21T06:53:25.537+05:30VichaarkhaanaThought Factory !Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-87171644219770663402020-03-16T22:00:00.002+05:302020-03-19T09:29:59.753+05:30Gormint: Relationship Status?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: purple;">The Government of India is Officially in a S<i>ituationship</i> with CAA-NRC</span></span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times";">The CAA-NRC-NPR matrix has rattled the Indian citizenry out of a stupor against government's steady efforts to further marginalise minorities and deepen the ethnic schism within the nation. Three months since the CAA was passed, rules for its implementation have not been drafted yet. Only recently did the <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/politics/amit-shah-in-rajya-sabha-says-no-one-to-be-marked-doubtful-citizen-no-documents-needed-during-npr-exercise-8145991.html" target="_blank">Home Minister stated in Rajya Sabha that the category of “doubtful citizen” will not be included in the NPR</a>. Just six days after this statement, <a href="https://thewire.in/government/caa-counter-affidavit-centre" target="_blank">in response to the p</a></span><a href="https://thewire.in/government/caa-counter-affidavit-centre" target="_blank">etitions challenging the CAA, </a>the government filed a counter affidavit justifying its intentions for NRC. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And what do we make of the nation-wide protests against the CAA-NRC-NPR? Have they managed to transcend into a movement? At the intersections of this state-citizen logjam lie the various women-led sit-in protests across the country, foremost being the one at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi that has completed three months. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1wzRJty6Z0Qw8PDNlsfMNkMIPDlg0CcziW0JQhBd9bahvMthwNrQdu8gecFspqydy5j5NaLAjmi6iFrwi5J9kHDGL5iYX03Lu15WuGxZy9CuGOskTGfewYsoQ0obMLG4F4uclg/s1600/Entry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1wzRJty6Z0Qw8PDNlsfMNkMIPDlg0CcziW0JQhBd9bahvMthwNrQdu8gecFspqydy5j5NaLAjmi6iFrwi5J9kHDGL5iYX03Lu15WuGxZy9CuGOskTGfewYsoQ0obMLG4F4uclg/s200/Entry.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">In that vein, Mumbai Bagh is going strong on its 50th day and some aspects are hard to miss. For a majority of the women who have actively participated in the sit-in, it has been a unique experience in transcending from the private sphere to an exceptionally public one and turning their personal into political. As I walked into the site today, what struck me was the clear lack of obstruction by police. No table parked in the narrow alleyway to generally hamper movement. No uniformed police personnel manning those tables with thick registers, coercing people into entering their personal information before entering the site.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyQXJPSl2fIU5SF4cqBJzXLOKuJxI6FjAGTMThVWIySDv5gOy8oRzqSfRdYUW2axIum5QVRkX9UDH48IAOpRq3xtS5GBG3QJDVv-FA9fAfF3VmqyYoZXrYy8hAEXw93Q_hjRCBg/s1600/full+venue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyQXJPSl2fIU5SF4cqBJzXLOKuJxI6FjAGTMThVWIySDv5gOy8oRzqSfRdYUW2axIum5QVRkX9UDH48IAOpRq3xtS5GBG3QJDVv-FA9fAfF3VmqyYoZXrYy8hAEXw93Q_hjRCBg/s200/full+venue.jpg" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times";">After more than a month of struggle with the weather and police, the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times";">women finally managed to get a temporary shed on their heads. Many of them have been subjected to surreptitious queries from plain clothes personnel and some have had the unpleasant experience of having a notice from the police for “unlawful assembly” under CrPC's Sec. 149 delivered to their doorsteps. At the site, the women have found new strength in networks that have ignited their sense of pride, association and assertion of their physical and socio-cultural selves in this 100-mt stretch of a road ironically named</span><span style="font-family: "times";"> “Thandi Sadak” (literally, </span><i style="font-family: Times;">cold street).</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It has grown into a struggle between proudly receiving the notices on site from police, meeting elected representatives to present their case and rushing home in time for “supply” water-related chores. This is as much about claim-making on the State as it is about utilising available “official” mechanisms of asserting citizenship. As the agents of the state actively ignore or malign the protestors, especially on account of their religious and gender identity, it is an act of abjection of their very identity as “Indian” citizens. Amidst all this, our good old patriarchy keeps rearing its ugly head, causing conflicts that are sometimes public and violent but mostly private and restraining.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times";">Young girls, especially the unmarried ones, are warned by their parents to not be “highlighted” by visibly participating through sloganeering and organising allied activities at the site. No one says that it will affect their marriage prospects but that’s going to be an interesting development to track in a few years, or months. Conversations with women across a cross-section of ages revealed their intent of staying at the <i>dharna </i>until CAA is revoked. The big question remains</span><span style="font-family: "times";"> ...क्या ये महिलाएँ </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">धरने</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">से</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">आंदोलन</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">तक</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">का</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">सफ़र</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">तय</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">कर</span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "applesystemuifont";"> </span><span lang="HI" style="font-family: "kohinoor devanagari";">पाएँगे</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times";">?</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRtFoxnjc_u2eJNHK_8m7Ss3fELpYdVOC6kNN4Qw6gSm1tAwS-oulEGe3tbteuoXEC8ksTUtJmqbypmAT0nS98iAKiWprx2QMQ2YmgcwUoHnMzmiE3o_rGoH7hnqxwXRVQ_OvVQ/s1600/BMC+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="1600" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRtFoxnjc_u2eJNHK_8m7Ss3fELpYdVOC6kNN4Qw6gSm1tAwS-oulEGe3tbteuoXEC8ksTUtJmqbypmAT0nS98iAKiWprx2QMQ2YmgcwUoHnMzmiE3o_rGoH7hnqxwXRVQ_OvVQ/s200/BMC+board.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Writing on the (Wall) Barricade</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Poster for visitors to sign...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEYc1-bzbMJUYuttTOckJb-5UMxlWJ7pGk2WUoAqXEZo23B2A_tG15xbRq-T2BwOtxzR58wiGzvIiFcEaC6NWUyNxLJUlksMHMFB-KRnyClJxUfu9QB9ReBNQYvwtaWjWvhPD3g/s1600/india+cutout.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEYc1-bzbMJUYuttTOckJb-5UMxlWJ7pGk2WUoAqXEZo23B2A_tG15xbRq-T2BwOtxzR58wiGzvIiFcEaC6NWUyNxLJUlksMHMFB-KRnyClJxUfu9QB9ReBNQYvwtaWjWvhPD3g/s320/india+cutout.HEIC" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">"Nationalistic" Iconography</span></td></tr>
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Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-75434704164319623142013-12-22T21:08:00.002+05:302013-12-23T09:21:32.001+05:30Whose Wedding Next?!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ever had someone zealously insist you attend their wedding as if you
owed them some debt from a previous birth? Or assert that you confirm your
attendance right away as if their wedding ceremony would not be solemnised
without your presence? Polite invitations are sweet, the zealous assertions…not
so much. A couple of the latter have come my way this month. The trend of peers
getting married began in 2012 for me, and people have been getting married left,
right and centre since then! I suppose it will tide over by 2020 and
invitations would be flying thick and fast throughout this period, depending on
who does not read this post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Confession: I have no interest in weddings or even the institution of
marriage. The former is an exercise in event management and the latter brings
nothing to the table in a relationship. This post is for whipping the wedding
wave.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Indian wedding ceremonies involve a bunch of religious rituals. Hindu
weddings tend to have a larger number of such rituals as compared to, say, Sikh
or Muslim ones. Whatever the wedding formalities may be, they require only the
bride, groom and a priest endorsing god’s representation in that ceremony. For
example, the sacred fire plays that representative in the Hindu ones. Unlike
court proceedings, which require human witnesses to register a marriage, the
religious ceremonies have no need for any other physical witnesses. Since “God” is your witness, the mortals can go
take a hike, if they want. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Often, that is not what they ‘want’. Our collectivistic cultural
tendencies manifest themselves in wedding ceremonies which offer the perfect
pretext to gather and make merry. Popular culture has influenced traditional
ceremonies to spread over ‘festivities’ lasting at least 2-3 days. The actual
‘wedding ceremony’ could be a matter of few minutes or some hours, but the
melee around it provides a great outing to our latent voyeur. ‘Sangeet’
and ‘Cocktail’ parties are ideal to satiate our mutual obsession with watching
women dance. The bride and groom have a perpetual grin plastered on,
irrespective of their backs hurting due to long hours of standing, bending to
greet the elders or high-heeled footwear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Originally meant to be a ‘celebration of union’, wedding ceremonies have
ballooned into massive event management exercises. An act of unison between two
private individuals is turned into a colossal shindig swarming with
participants who have no imminent impact on this “union”. While being genuinely
happy for the soon-to-be-marrieds, I find such ‘celebrations’ to be utterly
dispensable and see no point in attending them. I despise the idea of watching
the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ritual of </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanyadan" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>kanyadaan</b></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">”, essentially an act akin to transfer of property, a.k.a the bride. It is quite inconvenient trudging over to faraway destinations and
I don’t eat at weddings. Not to mention the personal costs (time, money, et al)
involved in attending an impersonal event. I’d certainly drop everything and go
for a wedding if my services (of any kind) were solicited by those at the heart
of “the event”. But it’s really unfair expecting me to be a passive bystander in your
jamboree when I have other options to utilise my costs. I’d gladly spend hours
with the couple, bonding over fresh meals, laden with dollops of
laughter as we discuss the good (and even the not-so-good) things in life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I prefer nurturing a personal relationship, instead of
marking my ‘attendance’ at a “wedding ceremony” so that the supremo can gloat
about their event management skills. *Scurrying off to RSVP!* </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-22546314543569630302013-03-11T23:58:00.000+05:302013-12-09T14:05:01.177+05:30Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Presenting a sequel inevitably
lends itself to comparisons with the previous product, especially when you know
that the ‘sequel’ was created only after the first instalment garnered massive
accolades all over. It’s not as if the creator (director Tigmanshu Dhulia) had
an idea he would like to pan out over multiple outings (ala Nolan and the
Batman movies). Yes, one must always view an entity independently…blah blah…
and it would be quite unfair to compare <i>Saheb
Biwi Aur Gangster Returns </i>(SBAGR) with the preceding <i>Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster </i>(SBAG). Watching SBAGR made me realise <b>how much </b>I loved SBAG! Forgive me for
hopping back and forth between these films in this post, as I never really got
down to writing one exclusively on SBAG and will use this opportunity to do
that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have only vaguely read about
but not yet seen Guru Dutt’s classic <i>Sahib
Biwi Aur Ghulam, </i>the original which Dhulia adapted for <i>Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster. </i>Hence SBAG for me was a fresh film not
carrying any baggage from its inspiration. It was deliciously wicked, kept the
audience engaged <b>and </b>on the edge of
their seats! SBAGR, sadly, is too long, un-saucy and does not pack enough
punch. The decay of the erstwhile rulers is portrayed quite well but it is
stretched only to indulge the director’s sensibilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The writers of SBAGR must be
commended for some crackling dialogues and for seamlessly weaving in references
to real-life incidences (*spoiler alert!* porn-watching neta, MLAs being
whisked to seclusion just like how it is done after elections to prevent
horsetrading, lifestyle magazines featuring spreads on crumbling palaces and
interviews that evoke the erstwhile glamour and nostalgia of the ‘royal’ way of
life). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The songs of SBAGR are insipid
and barely do anything to forward the narrative OR entertain the viewers. An attempt
to spice up the proceedings via the customary ‘item song’ fails miserably as
Mugdha Godse is a totally wrong choice for it! Not only is she a hopeless
dancer but also, obviously, her cleavage does not make up for lack of
expressions! What could have been a fabulous satirical number given the
settings (think ‘Ranaji’ from <i>Gulaal</i>)
ends up being a forgettable comment on our media-crazy times. On the aside,
apparently the music of Dhulia’s films never really leave an imprint on us,
unlike Anurag Kashyap’s! Anyone remembers any songs from Haasil? Charas? SBAG
and SBAGR join the same league. That’s one thing consistent in Dhulia’s works!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SBAGR wraps up with a scope/ hint
for the third installation to be attempted in future. Best wishes to Dhulia and
team for hopefully making a film that will redeem this second movie. SBAG had
everyone involved bringing something interesting to the board which is kind of
missing from SBAGR. The former had menace that truly entertained but the latter
fails to make an impact of any kind. I’m craving to watch SBAG now!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SBAGR is not a bad film, it’s
just not good enough!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Images courtesy: </i>http://avsongs.com/component/content/frontpage.html
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saheb,_Biwi_Aur_Gangster</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-51202007929176734452013-01-22T14:16:00.000+05:302013-12-09T14:06:42.183+05:30Mandola Revisited<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px;"><i>Weapons of the Weak</i></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The blogger went for a
second viewing of Vishal Bharadwaj’s <i>Matru
Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, </i>two weeks after the first viewing. While previous opinions still stand true ( </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.in/2013/01/mandola.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.in/2013/01/mandola.html</a> ) </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">here are some additions to it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mandola</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
(yes, I absolutely refuse to call it MKBKM!) provides a crisp opportunity to observe
emotionally-wrenching depth conveyed with subtlety. When Bijlee goes looking
for Matru in the rain-washed, deserted village, she only shows him, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;">from a distance,</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> her freshly hennaed palms . Not a single word is uttered. The
sad-but-blank face of Anushka doesn’t even flinch. All the pathos of an unhappy
present and doomed future are spared their conversion to words and we are left
with just that one sight. That’s all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Later on, when Matru is
packing his stuff to leave, Bijlee simply says, “I have started brushing in the
night”. No sentimental, mushy “I love you”-types expressing of love there. Just a simple dialogue, hinting at
the depth of attachment, belief and hope, binding these characters in an
unconventional yet romantic way. Economy of words has always been the forte of
the brains behind this film!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, the thought
that did not leave my side since the very first viewing! Dialogues and actions
of the movie constantly reminded me of J C Scott’s “<i>Weapons of The Weak</i>”! This movie is an exercise in the display of
not just the arm-twisting tactics of the strong but also of the small stings that
are weapons of the weak. Here the haves do not have it all. The have nots do
not believe that what they have is insignificant in denting the haves, even if
minimally so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An obvious example of
this was the usage of dung as cannonballs to disrupt ‘Operation Mao Mao/ Mow’. The villagers
may not be laced with technologically advanced options to counter the chemically-armed,
menacing son of the manipulating politician, but that did not prevent them from
devising a smart (even if stinky) plan to protect their lush crops from being
destroyed in the wake of midnight’s darkness. This was maximisng the usage of resources at their disposal, no matter how crude!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In their discussion
with the politician (representing the state that wants the land), Mandola (who
owns this land) and other officials (of the bureaucracy that will process this
deal), tillers indulge in ‘coercive bargaining’ (Guha 1987:2001) to get a
better price for their sacrifice (of land). Scott’s book demonstrates how…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
Malaysia the state has become the main provider of valuable public goods but
has not succeeded in replacing the rural elites as patron at the village level.
Many of the material benefits distributed by the state are mediated by the
official party machine, which is controlled locally by landowning families
(Esmon 1987:311).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Similarly in <i>Mandola</i>, when Matru circumvents the village
patronage and attempts get a fair selling price for their wheat at the mandi (wholesale market), Mandola’s henchmen actively
intrude to prevent the sale from taking place. Strains of ‘coercive bargaining’
can also be identified in other (crisp) exchanges between Jalebi Devi and
Mandola, Mandola and Bijlee, Mandola and Matru, among others! In each of these
scenarios the ‘weak’ character plays his/her asset to their advantage while
bargaining for their personal benefits. The outcome of it may not always be entirely in
their favour, but that small foot in the door is not an insignificant gain either!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This has been a stellar comeback for VB who was showered with widespread criticism for his previous directorial venture, a movie both the Lady (</span><span style="font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2011/02/7-khoon-maaf-and-me.html">http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2011/02/7-khoon-maaf-and-me.html</a></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">) and me immensely enjoyed. In </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Mandola </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">there </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">shines the characteristic wicked
wit and sarcasm that comes from an evolved understanding of our evils. The ability
to communicate it with simplicity and deadpan humour is the forte of VB and
Gulzaar Sa’ab! Blessed are we to be living in the times that they are too!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;"><i>References:</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px;">Scott, J.C. 1986. </span><i>Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance.</i> Connecticut:Yale University Press.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Guha, R. 1987. Presentation
of Class in Everyday Life Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant
Resistance by James C. Scott. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;"><i>Economic and Political Weekly.</i> 22:47. pp. 2000-2002.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;">Esman, M.J. 1987.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Weapons of
the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance by James C. Scott. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The American Political
Science Review.</i> 81:1. pp. 310-313.</span></div>
</div>
Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-9828153196120754252013-01-11T20:00:00.000+05:302013-12-09T14:25:40.725+05:30Mandola<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">l <i><span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04;">The Lines Are Drawn</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04;">…</span></i>l</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(*SPOILER
Alert* this is not a review. Some implied puns of the film are ‘explained’ here.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I could launch into a monologue of how much I love VB and the ability to
look past the obvious and appreciate the inappropriately-titled Matru Ki Bijli
Ka Mandola (MBKBM). Instead, i suggest you read <a href="http://rajasen.com/2013/01/11/review-vishal-bhardwajs-matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola/" target="_blank">Raja Sen's</a> on it. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsD6FdDGaOhSWtTC2kS_0QYxmu5DuWxbUmfaNoXzDWhgJzZV-uI0XI7KrofY2Et3Djd7tUj6Tw3Hmz2AocW8XHUNtr6jpTf02W3j-xlVmzRxD6x8JhOj5ZEFckSB3ENkzVlgL3hg/s320/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola-movie-wallpapers-w1z.jpg" width="320" /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What
I will rather do is to claim that I could have walked into this movie during the
interval and watched the proceedings without itching to get any info on the
first half. Seriously! Come on, VB...<span style="text-align: left;">आपका क्या जाता अगर आप हमारे time को थोड़ा और value देते और इस picture को ठीक length की बनाते ?!</span> (exasperated
translation – ‘what would you have lost had you appreciated the value of the
viewer’s time and made this picture of the ‘proper’ length?!). Why indulge
yourself SO much, man?! Just because I have instituted a whole <a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.in/2013/01/2012-at-movies.html">school</a> in the
name of your style (and camp) of filmmaking, does not mean you’ll try my
patience like this, no?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once
I have drawn the lines between the significance of first and second halves of
the film, it is easier to enjoy what VB has served us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is not escapist cinema. It is a wisely-written topical satire with multiple references to the times of our lives lurking from every frame and most dialogues. Two best examples of such dialogues are one each delivered by Shabana Azmi (personal development = country’s development) and Pankaj Kapur (I dream of development…).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There
are <a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.in/2012/05/jawaharlal-nehru-university-new-delhi.html" target="_blank">JNU</a> jokes ;-)! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">VB
even gives us acceptable labels, replete with foul adjectives. “Commie B*****d”
and “Bourgeoisie B***h”. The world consists of only two kinds of people. Just
remove the gender-specific expletives at the end, and there we are! Those who
claim to be walking the grey middle path are only hiding their true colors. I certainly know the side I am on!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
absolutely LOVED the humour. They jokes are small, not in-your-face and don’t
make you laugh-out-loud. Mostly, they sting…but there are enough of
them to keep the grin coming back. I got them all… ALL! Thank You, VB, for
doing a film that appreciates our understanding of subtlety and does not
insult the intelligence by making stuff so annoyingly in-your-face. This is exactly like what we say in Hindi - "<span style="text-align: start;">रेशम से लपेट कर मारना</span><span style="text-align: start;">"</span><span style="text-align: start;">! </span><span style="text-align: start;">(</span><span style="text-align: start;">to wrap in silk and whip!). any intention of political correctness is thrown to the winds, as the dialogues do NOT refrain from names-dropping for conveying the messages loud and clear. everyone from the Ambanis to Sheila Dikshit to the 'babalog' of Indian politics make an appearance in the lines!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Apart from the obvious ‘Mao-Lenin’ references
that EVERYONE got, there were some others like: kursiyaan: chairs (political
power): cheers!, the “tubelight” lighting up when Badal FINALLY gets his Mum’s
hints at ‘Bijli’, and many more that I’ll continue to relish in my future
viewings of this film.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
title of the film is unnecessarily long. While Jitesh Pillai may have found it interesting
(aeons ago on Twitter, and he speculated it to be Gulzaar Sa’ab’s influence on
VB), it didn’t really serve ANY purpose. This film is all about <b>Mandola</b>. The
man and the village. Matru and Bijli are supporting characters. They didn't need an endorsement in the title of the film! Nobody would have accused VB of
being partial if he had gone ahead with only “<b><u>Mandola</u></b>”, after all, that is the
only word that has an actual pun element to it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Arya
Babbar</b> does a good job of the moron he is supposed to play. The director gives
us just enough seconds to exclaim “<i>gadha</i>”
(ass/donkey) when Badal asks Mandola for how will he look in either choice of
sherwani for the wedding and Mandola says “you’ll look the same”!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Imran
Khan</b> tries hard to justify VB’s choice of casting him and succeeds only till
the extent where he can’t convey the ruggedness of a Haryanvi to us. First we are told he studied law. Then JNU is thrust into our face, which will make most people to conclude, incorrectly, that he studied law at JNU. Since that is technically not possible, VB, why the mashup? would it take too much footage to give a clear idea of where he studied law?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Anushka</b>,
my love, does not get much meat to sink her teeth in, :-'(, but shines in a pre-climatic
scene meant to portray her helplessness as a pawn in the game of greed and
gain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Shabana
Azmi</b> is ‘delicious’ ;-)! Her last outing in a VB film was the creepily wicked witch-act in Makdee, a decade ago. To see traces of that wickedness
in some of the scenes here is delightfully </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">satiating</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Pankaj
Kapur</b> takes the cake…A-L-L of it! He is the heart, soul and spine of this film.
I’m so smitten by his character and acting that I’m not even qualified to sing
his paeans here!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
unqualified I feel that I’ll not try to compose original lines for conclusion.
I’d much rather cite Mayank Shekhar for that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 21.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In portions, the film becomes then a
somewhat literal, Leftist pamphlet, starring one of the leading men of
romantic movies (Imran Khan), coming out of the most Right Wing of all cinema
industries (Bollywood), funded by an American Fox Studio, owned by the
Australian magnate Rupert Murdoch. This is fine subversion on the part of the
filmmakers still…But then that’s also the beauty of capitalism, which this
fairly intelligent, amusing take acknowledges by its very own existence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read
this entire piece here: <a href="http://thew14.com/2013/01/11/mayank-shekhars-review-matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://thew14.com/2013/01/11/mayank-shekhars-review-matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Image
courtesy: <a href="http://www.travelindia-guide.com/bollywood-movies/wallpaper-photos/movie/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola-movie-wallpapers-2.aspx"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://www.travelindia-guide.com/bollywood-movies/wallpaper-photos/movie/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola/matru-ki-bijlee-ka-mandola-movie-wallpapers-2.aspx</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">PS:
I chose this image ONLY because Anushka looks smoking in it! Yes, I love her
THAT much!</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com1New Delhi, Delhi, India28.635308 77.2249600000000128.189418999999997 76.579513 29.081197 77.870407000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-12234592579781520052012-12-30T23:06:00.000+05:302013-02-21T22:44:40.251+05:302012: At The Movies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part I : Observations</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2012, Bollywood stories did a wonderful job of bringing the backyards to the fore! It is a common complaint that movies here tend to be based in an urban setup. These do often strike a chord with the audience in the hinterland, as they have an escapist and aspirational elements to them. Simultaneously, movies with story-lines based in the mofussil do not usually appeal to the urban audiences. This seems to be changing in the past decade and 2012 is an excellent example of strong stories based in a not-so-urban/ rural setup and being appreciated all the same for their content.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The chief example of this was <i>Gangs of Wasseypur </i>which rode into the hearts of viewers from Cannes to Chennai! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The year really belonged to the Anurag Kashyap school of cinema. Movies from this camp are known for the realism in their stories, taut scripts, lack of routine drama, among other nuances. What mainly separates films from this school as that of the Vishal Bharadwaj school of cinema is: their treatment. Here’s a quick run through of the former’s outputs of this year which also perfectly fell into the category of strong story-lines based in non-urban setup with rustic and sharp dialogues to the boot<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Paan Singh Tomar (MP)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Irrfan! (exhale!) Kudos to Tigmanshu Dhulia for sticking his neck out and making such films that give us an unadulterated feel of reality, free from the crutches of unnecessary dramatic inputs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b>Shanghai (Bharat Nagar - somewhere in India!)</b></st1:place></st1:city><b><o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Underwhelming. That’s the only word I’ll use to describe this film. For a critique please check out <a href="http://filmanalytique.blogspot.in/2012/06/shanghai.html" target="_blank">http://filmanalytique.blogspot.in/2012/06/shanghai.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And for layers you didn’t realize, hop over to our Lady at <o:p></o:p><a href="http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/06/shanghai-highriser-but-not-quite.html">http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/06/shanghai-highriser-but-not-quite.html</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>GOW 1-2<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The lesser said, the better!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I saw the first film THRICE in a cinema hall! And each time I went back with newer nuances which I hadn’t noticed before. GOW-I is my favourite half from this nearly 5-hours long work of cinematic breadth and depth! For me, GOW-2 was quite linear and not very engaging, psychologically. The dialogues in GOW-I are to-die-for! Despite being sexist at many points, they neatly represent the under-currents of a man-woman equation in different relationships!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Women of Wasseypur had made me want to write an exclusive piece on them …a venture I never got down to actually typing, sadly!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Aiyya (Pune)<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I do get that the director was attempting an absurd comedy, this one ventured into inane territory at many points in its running time!!! The only salvaging factors were the songs, Rani’s on-screen histrionics and Prithviraj’s brooding face and torso!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Love Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (Lalton, Punjab)<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SHORTEN THE FILM’S NAME, to begin with!!!!!!! A sweet film filled with moments of light-hearted humour without any innuendo. And while we are at shortening the title, the makers could also reduce the running time by 20 minutes!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s a film about love and relationships with food being the connecting link. The film also beautifully portrayed life in Punjab, including migration and separation while thankfully skipping the boisterous Punjab portrayed in the Chopra-Johar films!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The three films from AKFPL struck me being in dire need of being cut little short to maintain the pace and interest. Hence, I wish Mr. Kashyap would invest in better editors for the future films coming out of his stable!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="color: #4c1130;">Ishaqzaad</span>e</b> </i>also falls into this niche of bringing back-to-the-fore group. Comments on this film are made in the section after the next.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Regional flavours were also beautifully used in<i> <span style="color: #4c1130;">Barfi</span> </i>(Darjeeling/Calcutta) and<i><span style="color: #4c1130;"> Kahaani </span>(</i><i>Kolkata)</i></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part II: Brief Comments</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>This section contains brief
comments on some of the movies released
in 2012 and viewed by the blogger! </i>(in no particular order.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">Ishaqzaade</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b> </b>The first film I saw in the new year.
Disturbingly sexist it definitely was, but was spot-on in its representations
of political equations and rivalry across <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. This was a microscopic
representation of the political battles our ‘representatives’ wage in the
industry of ‘democracy’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I went to watch
this movie for Habib Faisal and found his traces in many elements of the film,
primarily in its dialogues! Can’t wait for his next film!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PS: Arjun Kapoor
can surely do rugged/uncouth, but can he do suave? <i>Aurangzeb</i>
will show us what else can he do, apart from showing off his stretch marks on
the big screen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">more on it by me: <a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.in/2012/05/ishaqzaade.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.in/2012/05/ishaqzaade.html</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">Kahaani</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A well-written
story where people and cities merged as conspiratory characters to give us a
taut thriller. By now reams have been written about how Vidya Balan is changing
the force of the ideal-typical Hindi film heroine. I’ll refrain from treading
that thought and put out a word for Sujoy Ghosh- in between the much appreciated Jhankaar Beats (2003) and Kahaani, HOW could you even conceive of peddling unbearable works like Home Delivery and Alladin?! wish the creativity would be more consistent!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brownie points
for making his love for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Calcutta</st1:place></st1:city>
so palpable through this work!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">Ek Main Aur Ek Tu (EMAET)</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First ‘froth’ of
the year. And that is increasingly becoming Dharma Productions’ trademark,
barring the occasional <i>Agneepath!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">London Paris New York</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A much better rom-com to
accompany the frothy <i>EMAET. </i>Just that
this one gave the characters more agency and let them go through phases to
eventually reach where they do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our Lady of
Dolce and Namak has a classic retort for this one! Read it here - <o:p></o:p><a href="http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/03/lets-face-it-theres-no-such-thing-as.html">http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/03/lets-face-it-theres-no-such-thing-as.html</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Cocktail<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Again, will stay
away from the morality-based debates that this film fuelled for long! SO much
so, that the stunning DP went on to say that we just showed what is and "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><i>not the way perhaps should be</i>"</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">! (http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/the-vibes-of-deepika</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In defense of
this film, please read <a href="http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/07/in-defense-of-veronica-and-imtiaz.html" target="_blank">http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/07/in-defense-of-veronica-and-imtiaz.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a fun sketch
- <a href="http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/07/16/the-vigil-idiot-cocktail/" target="_blank">http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/07/16/the-vigil-idiot-cocktail/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">Vicky Donor</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My main aim of
going for this film was to see if John Abraham’s actual intelligence shines
through in his choice of script when turning a producer? Shine it certainly
does! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shoojit Sircar has
excellently used his skills as an adman to create product that is a crisp
comment on our life and times without being preachy or repetitive, ever! This
was the only film that didn’t make me feel like it required better editing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Ferrari ki Sawari<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Films produced
by Vidhu Vinod Chopra usually tend to strike the right balance between good content
and emotional appeal. This venture lost out some steam by not striking that
balance enough and tilting to the wrong side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was very
excited to see Bela Segal’s first film as a director. While the story had a lot
of scope to pack enough punch, Bela’s treatment made it a near dud! Even Farah
Khan’s spirited debut could not salvage this ship of aged romance!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">OMG!</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the balances
for a “good” film were struck just right! Now, if only Akshay Kumar wouldn’t
indulge himself to THAT much screen-space, just because he’s the producer! (an
issue that pricked me even while watching <i>Cocktail
</i>(Saif, in this case)!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> English Vinglish<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The SWEETEST
film of this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gauri, when’s your next film coming
out?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read subtle-style’s
appreciation here: <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/when-silence-speaks-volumes/article3991163.ece" target="_blank">http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/when-silence-speaks-volumes/article3991163.ece</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> Heroine<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A badly made
film with no script or story for a backbone. It was a copy of scenes from
Bhandarkar’s previous films and some (rumoured) real-life incidences…all
adapted to the ‘filmy’ setup. Read Raja Sen’s review for the accurate picture -
<span style="text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-heroine-is-unbelievably-trashy/20120921.htm" target="_blank">HTTP://WWW.REDIFF.COM/MOVIES/REPORT/REVIEW-HEROINE-IS-UNBELIEVABLY-TRASHY/20120921.HTM</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a quicker
idea of how bad the film is, check out <a href="http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/09/24/the-vigil-idiot-heroine/" target="_blank">http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/09/24/the-vigil-idiot-heroine/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Barfi<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Saccharine OD. I
won’t venture into a discussion on the inspired/ copied allegations leveled
against this film. It could certainly have done with sharper editing and little
less self-indulgence which lead to repetitiveness in narrative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/09/barfi-is-delicious-fairytale.html%C2%A0"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://dolcenamak.blogspot.in/2012/09/barfi-is-delicious-fairytale.html</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>JTHJ<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Saw it only
because Yash Chopra passed away and I had never seen ANY of his films on the
big screen!!! This film bears his trademark ALL through. The lyrics don’t sound
like having spouted from Gulzar saa’b’s pen, the songs don’t sound like ARR was
given a free hand or that he was being sincere. Won’t criticize this one, as YC’s
soul may writhe in grave!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hence, for a
crisp take on this swan song, please have a quick look at <a href="http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/11/15/the-vigil-idiot-jab-tak-hai-jaan/" target="_blank">http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/11/15/the-vigil-idiot-jab-tak-hai-jaan/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Talaash</span></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Aamir Khan kept
us waiting for so long just to turn every character in this film into a spirit!
Rumour has it that this film was drastically altered from its original track
after Kahaani came out. Tch!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kareena looks
ethereal!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">SOTY</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Stylish Froth”. I live-tweeted while watching this film and one
of the tweets during the middle of the film read- “SOTY: Rodent of the Year?!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">See The Vigil Idiot’s brilliant portrayal here -<a href="http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/10/22/the-vigil-idiot-student-of-the-year/" target="_blank">http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/10/22/the-vigil-idiot-student-of-the-year/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And you simply <b><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">CANNOT</span></u> </b>miss this :<span style="color: #990000;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/enaSFL5eii8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PS: Alia needs to lose a lot of her baby fat!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">--</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Special Mention: Amit Trivedi</b></span></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The year also had some absolutely beautiful music courtesy Mr. Trivedi. He has truly arrived in Bollywood! His works of the year include</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ishaqzaade, EMAET, English Vinglish, Aiyyaa </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A-N-D </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">LSTCK! </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From foot-tapping (<i>Auntyji), </i>to folk (<i>Sava Dollar), </i>to catchy (<i>English Vinglish</i>), to sweet (<i>Main Pareshaan, Farrukabaadi) ... </i>he's given it ALL! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">need we say anymore??!!!</span></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">--</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Best Intro Song</b></span></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Female - Deepika Padukone (Cocktail)</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Angreji Beat</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6OqT39R5vNQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqT39R5vNQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqT39R5vNQ</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Male - Siddharth Malhotra (SOTY)</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Kukkad </b>Kamaal da</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/_Ejpu1N3vFE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Ejpu1N3vFE&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Ejpu1N3vFE&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ejpu1N3vFE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ejpu1N3vFE</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">FINALLY, a list i absolutely agree with: <a href="http://rajasen.com/2013/01/07/best-hindi-films-2012/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">http://rajasen.com/2013/01/07/best-hindi-films-2012/</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
(<i>All images have been lifted from Google Images. Apologies for not citing each!)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br /></div>
Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-51436622243753732982012-05-20T13:12:00.000+05:302012-07-26T22:41:41.130+05:30Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="background-color: white;"> </b><i style="background-color: white;">This post is a personal opinion piece.
To know about JNU, please visit </i><a href="http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=Introduction" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=Introduction</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In
the four decades since its inception, JNU has made a mark for itself as being
the nursery of politics in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
The campus ‘life’ here booms only under that political mushroom, with not much
else going for it in terms of the cultural experience. The two best features of
JNU are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a) Members of faculty across various departments (or
‘Schools’ and ‘Centres’ in JNU parlance). The top rung everywhere is composed
of celebrity academicians of their respective fields. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">b) This is a woman-friendly campus. To be able to provide
such safe precincts bang in the middle of the rowdy and patriarchal terrain of
north <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
is no mean feat! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Beyond
that, there aren’t too many paeans to sing. Being one of the biggest campuses
in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India (almost 900 acres)</st1:country-region>, it is neither
well-curated (like the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Benaras</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Hindu</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>)
nor well-connected (like IIT-Bombay). There is no university bus service for
the residents and the condition of public transport is utterly dismal. There is
also no Wi-Fi connectivity in the hostels. No need to elucidate on how much
discomfort it causes to students!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">This
campus scores really low on the cultural activity scale. The reason for it
brings us to what the campus is most famous for – </span><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116299637988579060147/JNUSUElections2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink"><span style="color: #660000;">students’ political activity</span></a><span style="color: #20124d;">!
This sole factor has a pervasive effect on each and every thing that anyone
would want to do here. New students can’t even get the admission done without
affiliates of various student parties swooping down on them for providing unsolicited
‘assistance’. Further on, whatever little theatre performances happen are
mostly on political issues and films screened are on those themes too.
Performing arts’ concerts are barely held, which is a real shame, considering
the ample space on campus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Political hyper-activity here plays out in the form of protest rallies, </span><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116299637988579060147/PosteringDemocracy?authuser=0&feat=directlink"><span style="color: #660000;">wall art</span></a><span style="color: #20124d;"> via huge
posters, demonstrations, ‘public meetings’ and, as en vogue, hunger strikes!
The issues at hand are almost always those not concerning the students actually
studying on campus at that point in time. They ‘fight’ for quotas and accuse
the administration of being ‘casteist’, blithely forgetting that most of the
students wouldn’t be here if the administration didn’t recognize their quotas. Most
protest activities are also publicity stunts with media personnel being
especially invited to cover them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">This
campus thrives on labels. That, I argue, is their favourite pastime! JNU has
made a name for itself as being a ‘Leftist/ Communist’ campus. I still don’t know
the difference between them. Though, it is these only on the surface level. Scratch
this surface and one will know that these labels </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #20124d;">(including others like Marxist, Statist, Anarchist)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #20124d;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #20124d;">can be afforded to criticize every single thing under
the sun, because, well, it’s dirt cheap here! This is possibly one of the most
inexpensive campuses in the country, despite all the hue and cry about
inflation and price rise in the economy! The reason so much of 'protest' can actually take place on the
campus is because they do not have to pay through their nose for everyday survival.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Capitalism
may well be ridiculed, but if these so-called politically conscious ‘students’
were to walk merely 1 km. out of the campus, the sting will be
out of their agenda! All that money saved from negligible expenses on the
campus is spent generously on cigarettes, alcohol and other substances, none of
which are officially retailed on the campus. The prices of these products are often
hiked for the luxury of being made available within the gates of JNU. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s
an open secret that the political groupings serve as a ready dating pool for
its members. Any change in affiliation to one group leads to instant loss of
that network and alienation from those who were your ‘friends’! Dissent in
opinion within a group is not very welcome and peer pressure is liberally used
to manufacture consent, toeing the respective political line of belief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JNU
is also famous for being the best place to prepare for and crack the UPSC exams
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Imagine that classic contrast where the people who viciously criticize the
state hanker to get employed by the same state! Cases abound of professed
‘Communists' happily leaving behind their affiliations after getting selected through
a highly competitive procedure for the administrative services. Clearly then,
this is a phony bunch of opportunists who use the space for sharpening their
event management skills and avail the university’s ample resources to eventually get a
prestigious government job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In
conclusion, JNU is an example of a gated community swarmed by idealists who can
afford to champion their cause only within the boundaries of this campus. Temporary
occupants here go out of sync with the ways of the world, ignoring the reality
of capitalism and market economy. Blessed are those souls who manage to spend
most of their lives on this campus, funded by the state, which shelters them from
the real struggles outside their gates.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-38646319100162441202012-05-12T13:02:00.000+05:302012-07-23T13:02:40.909+05:30Ishaqzaade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat9EgpdmHJGirFxNj3ZZI01m5WVMeUgS4JT1WvEzRAO36BNgN69Vq9T_PE2yY18ZhICkRCLlJy9JCLrElwn4CqdPmyC61shGxi-zzkFU_K41glFWMGNEPbEXqbt1SwLu9K5XyoQ/s1600/isq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat9EgpdmHJGirFxNj3ZZI01m5WVMeUgS4JT1WvEzRAO36BNgN69Vq9T_PE2yY18ZhICkRCLlJy9JCLrElwn4CqdPmyC61shGxi-zzkFU_K41glFWMGNEPbEXqbt1SwLu9K5XyoQ/s320/isq.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;">I
saw this film’s very first show on the day it released. So the opinions that
follow are devoid of any influences from reviews by film critics in </span><st1:country-region style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;">. I did go
on read many of the reviews and also got their anger and disappointment with
<a href="http://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.in/2012/05/review-134-ishaqzaade.html">sexism</a> in the film. To me the realism and the possibility of this story playing
out SOMEWHERE in north india was so striking, that i'd let the sexism
allegation pass. That's how it is in north </span><st1:country-region style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">india</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;">. Patriarchy at it's best!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The
film is a case of whole not being bigger than the sum of its parts. Hence, I’ll
point out the parts that struck me right away!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* This is a <b><i>Habib Faisal</i></b> film. Period. He’s a man i started to appreciate deeply
after the cinematic experience of Band Baaja Baraat (BBB). Then i saw 'Do Dooni
Char' and completely fell in love with his creativity and skills of cinema. It's
heartening to see how he stuck around YRF, doing (in my opinion, stupid) films
for them. His patience finally paid off when he was allowed to show his real
talent in BBB and now again in Ishaqzaade!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;">* </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;">The
film is VERY realistic. It is definitely possible in tier-3 towns in northern </span><st1:country-region style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">india</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13pt;">. I’m sure
such cases must be happening on micro-levels. The political equations mentioned
are completely plausible. For the director to situate his take on the classic
Romeo and Juliet in such a setup is commendable and has been well-executed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* The
cinematography deserves a special mention. They've captured the feel of such
small-town locations brilliantly in the chases, showing the lanes, narrow by-lanes,
garbage dumps, et al. The crew selection is awesome too. Ranjit Barot was the
perfect choice for a background score that needed the element of thrill with
subtlety. i'm glad YRF didn't opt for Salim-Suleiman this time. Amit Trivedi
needs no endorsement! Though he is yet to supersede that bar which he set very
high with his debut film – Dev.D!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* Dialogues
of this film are very well-written and utterly enjoyable for their rusticity. makes me so proud of Faisal's skills! His insight
of the hinterlands shines through some of the fast-paced and sarcastic retorts
between the actors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* The
choice of supporting actors is spot on! I’ll stick to mentioning my views on
only some of the lead actors here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* <b><i>Gauhar
Khan </i></b>is a woman i've had a serious girlcrush on, for a decade now! The 1st time
i saw her was at the 'Miss <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'
pageant where she was among the top-5 contestants, and I developed a strong
liking for her right away! i wish YRF had signed a 3-film contract with her
too!;-)!. Considering this is her second film after Rocket-Singh (an older YRF
venture)...i hope we see her in another of their films' soon, to complete her hat-trick!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* <b><i>Parineeti
Chopra</i></b> has luscious hair and good acting skills conveying angst and hatred. Though,
her inexperience shows in certain crying scenes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* <i><b>Arjun
Kapoor</b></i>… the debutante… does uncouth very well. i'm waiting to see whether he
can do a classy act well too! By the way, as the adage goes...camera magnifies
everything...his stretch-marks on forearms and lower waist are clearly visible
in some scenes! (background - he was the 'overweight teenager' who Salman Khan
talked into getting fit!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">To
conclude, this film made for a worthy watch, despite being ridden with <a href="http://www.rajeevmasand.com/reviews/our-films/love-hurts-2/">clichés</a>.
The entire experience didn’t stun me out of wits, which is what I was hoping
for, but it wasn’t that bad either!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Image courtesy: </span><a href="http://yrfmovies.blogspot.in/2012/03/ishaqzaade-synopsis.html" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">http://yrfmovies.blogspot.in/2012/03/ishaqzaade-synopsis.html</a></div>
</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-71776486913877375542012-05-12T10:36:00.004+05:302012-05-12T10:37:20.139+05:30Stateless Orphans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Stateless Orphans? :
Citizenship rights of children born through Artificial Reproductive Techniques </span></span></b></h2>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Abstract<i>: Every state has its own criteria for
granting citizenship and recognising the rights that ensue. In case of children
born on a soil different from that of their biological parents’, the conflict
of which nationality are they to be governed by arises. Through selected case
studies of surrogate children in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, this essay assesses some
areas of concerns regarding citizenship, surrogacy, legal adoption and freedom
of movement.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
essay begins with a brief introduction to the concept of citizenship and the
contesting claims surrounding it. This is followed by a short discussion on the
types of surrogacy and children born through Artificial Reproductive Techniques
(ART). The claims of citizenship evoke deep concerns, and these get
particularly enhanced in cases of children born through surrogate mothers. I
attempt to outline this contention by citing two cases of surrogate children whose
movement right after their birth was struck upon by these complex norms of
citizenship, right after their birth. The differing criterion for granting
citizenship and contesting claims of parentage are played out on the young
child, I argue, in gross violation of his/her basic human right. In this essay,
I will try to bring out the dilemmas that a new-born is subjected to when
his/her being acts as a site of intersection of contrary norms of parentage and
citizenship between countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
concept of ‘citizenship’ entails numerous interpretations and affiliations,
leading it to be one of the most contested issues in modern political, social
and cultural life. In lay understanding, citizens are those members of a
nation-state who have legal and political rights. These rights are granted on
the basis of numerous qualifying criteria and instantly differentiate them from
others who may be residing in the same territory but don’t have these rights.
On deliberation, it appears that every geographical entity (state) has its own
criteria for granting recognition to residents and these are, without
exception, fraught with contesting claims. According to Brubaker (2004), ‘<i>The nation-state remains a decisive locus of
power in world affairs; it is the only major locus of power with the public
sphere and institutional forms, however imperfect, that permit some degree of
meaningful and effective civic participation</i>’ (Brubaker 2004:124). This
argument lays emphasis on the decisive role of state in granting (or
withdrawing) rights of citizenship and the benefits that follow thus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Surrogacy
is the result of developments in medical science which have now enabled couples
who cannot have their biological offspring through natural processes, to opt
for scientific assistance in achieving their ends. ‘<i>The word ‘surrogate’ has its origin in Latin ‘surrogatus’, past
participle of ‘surrogare’, meaning a substitute, that is, a person appointed to
act in the place of another</i>’<sup>1</sup>. If a woman is not able to
conceive through natural ways then methods like artificial insemination or
in-vitro fertilisation (ART) may be used. In many cases, women may be medically
unfit to bear a child. It is in cases like these that surrogacy appears as an
option. Though, there have also been numerous cases of gay couples opting for
surrogacy to have off-springs that are genetically linked to them by at least
one parent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In
case of genetic surrogacy, the sperm belongs to a male and the egg is of the
woman who bears the pregnancy for its entire duration. Gestational surrogacy
involves the surrogate carrying the embryo with genetic material (sperm and
egg) of the commissioning couple, or either sperm/egg of another (usually
anonymous) donor. <i>‘The first gestational
surrogacy procedure was reported in 1985 (Usain et al., 1985)’ </i>(Palattiyil
et al., 2010:689). In the past two
decades, Rai (2011) argues that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
has become a hot destination not only for IT services but also health and
medical tourism, owing to the low costs involved. Anand, in <st1:place w:st="on">Gujarat</st1:place>
has seen a mushrooming of IVF clinics turning it into a ‘<i>centre of commercial surrogacy’</i> (Rai 2011:151). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Surrogate
motherhood involves numerous legal, ethical, medical and health concerns, both
for the surrogate as well as the child thus born. The next section gives a
brief glimpse of the contractual norms applicable to such procedures. Surrogacy
laws of some other countries are also mentioned. Owing to the availability of
considerable literature, it is deeply tempting to launch into a long argument
about rights of the surrogate mother, but that issue is not the core concern of
this essay. Hence, there is a discussion of selected cases from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
which brought to fore various issues regarding claims of parenthood and
granting the rights of citizenship to children born through surrogate mothers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Conflicting
norms of surrogacy and citizenship <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In this section, I will discuss
two cases, from not so far back in time, of surrogate children who bore the
brunt of uncertainty over their citizenship status, until the Supreme Court (SC)
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
passed a judgment making way for their smooth passage out of their country of
birth to their country of descent. With this discussion, I hope to highlight
the differences in various laws of granting citizenship, which in turn affect
the official status of new-borns, for no fault of theirs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> The first case is of Manji Yamada
who was born to an Indian surrogate mother in Anand, <st1:place w:st="on">Gujarat</st1:place>
in mid-2008. The biological parents of this child were both Japanese citizens
and had commissioned a surrogate mother via one of the many infertility clinics
in Anand. A month before the birth of this child, the parents divorced and the
biological mother refused to claim any parentage rights over the child. The
surrogate mother also did not want to claim the child as her own. There were
numerous legal snares in this case which complicated the travel of Baby Manji
to her parents’ country and I will mention them in brief. A passport happens to
be the most important document required for legally moving across international
borders. In this case, Baby Manji could not be issued an Indian passport as her
parents were not Indians. Also, in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, an infant’s passport is
linked to that of their mother, which was not possible in this case. The child
was issued a birth certificate by the Anand municipality, but it wasn’t the
valid document permitting international travel. The Japanese embassy refused to
issue a passport to Baby Manji as she was born in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Hence, she needed an Indian
passport and a no-objection-certificate (NOC) to travel to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. All of these reasons were a
key factor in deciding the status of Baby Manji’s citizenship. For nearly three
months, she was, ‘stateless’ and ‘orphan’<sup>2</sup>. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> An option available in such a case
is that the parent/s (foreign citizen/s) legally adopts the child enabling
their travel to the parents’ country. Adoption laws in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> do not permit single male to
adopt a child. Hence, Baby Manji could not be adopted by her biological father.
In the midst of this legal mayhem, Baby Manji’s paternal grandmother came to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
and claimed the parentage of this child on grounds of her being a biological
kin. Another complication arose when an NGO in Jaipur raised objections about
Baby Manji’s grandmother laying claim over the child as there were no laws for
surrogacy in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
and also against the child being allowed travel with her biological father,
arguing that this would be a case of human trafficking! The case went up to the
SC which ruled in favour of the Yamadas and directed the regional passport
office to issue a certificate of identity (issued to people who are stateless
or cannot get a passport from their own country) which is valid for a year and
allowed her to travel only to Japan. The Japanese embassy also granted visa to
Baby Manji on humanitarian grounds, allowing her transit to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place> with her paternal
grandmother. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> The nuances of this case threw open
for consideration the wide gaps in legal provisions for recognising and
regulating advances in medical science (surrogacy, in this case). In keeping
with our bigger theme of citizenship, Baby Manji’s case highlighted the plight
of children entangled in a web of conflicting norms of recognising them as
citizens, across countries. This resulted in her having to bear the miserable
tag of ‘stateless orphan’, even if for a short while. To be labelled thus was
an affront on the basic dignity and human right of a new-born child, for no
fault of theirs. The complex conditions regulating movement across borders are
almost entirely dependent on the citizenship status of individuals. Baby
Manji’s plight was furthered by the fact that she was an ‘alien’ in the country
where her birth was ‘legal’. What a sad paradox would it be, to have been
recognised as being born on a land while simultaneously being stateless and
alien on the same land!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> The second case discussed here is
also from 2008 of a German heterosexual couple, also recruiting a surrogate
mother in Anand, <st1:place w:st="on">Gujarat</st1:place>. The wife, Susan
Lohle was unable to reproduce egg/s for having a biological child through
surrogacy with her husband, Jan Balaz. They got an anonymous donor’s ova which
was fertilised with the sperm of Balaz and successfully implanted in the womb
of the surrogate mother. After the birth of twins in mid-2008, the municipality
issued a birth certificate to these twins stating the father’s name as Jan
Balaz and the mother’s name as that of the surrogate. With this document, an
application for issuing of Indian passports for the twins was made. While the
passports were issued, they were later recalled by the passport office. The
reason for this is stated in <i>Jan Balaz
v/s Union of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>,</i>
stating that,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">surrogate mother cannot be treated as mother of
the babies, and children born out of surrogacy, though in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, cannot be treated as Indian
citizens within the meaning of Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Further
it is also stated that parents of the children are not Indian citizens and
therefore, children are also not Indian citizens as per Section 3(1) (b) of
Citizenship Act, 1955. Further it is also stated that as per Passport Act,
1967, only Indian citizens can apply for Indian Passport and as per Section 6
(2) (a) of the Act, Passport cannot be issued to non-citizens. Further it is
also stated that as per direction of the Government of India, Ministry of
External Affairs, Passport Authority can issue identity certificate, showing
name of surrogate mother, which does not entail citizenship to the children but
would enable him to take his children out of India. Further, it was also
pointed out that the Central Government is yet to legalize surrogacy and hence,
children born out of surrogacy, though in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, cannot be treated as Indian
citizens (<i>ibid.</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This
argument clearly points to the principle of <i>jus
sanguinis</i> followed by the Indian state in recognising individuals as
citizens of the country and granting them citizenship rights (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Roy</st1:city></st1:place>, 2010). The counsel for the couple
countered this argument by citing </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Section
3(1)(c)(ii) of the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955. The argument was based on the
ground that the ova belonged to an anonymous <i>Indian </i>donor and the surrogate mother was an <i>Indian</i> citizen, hence the twin babies have the right to be granted
citizenship on the basis of the descent principle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This case brought to fore an insight on the varied
norms for or against surrogacy prevalent in some other countries of the world.
The Balaz couple’s case was complicated by the fact that they held German
passports but were working in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region>
and were desirous of settling down in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region>
consulate was not willing to grant visa to the couple’s twin born through
surrogacy, unless they had Indian passport since they were born in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
Eventually the couple wished to apply for German citizenship for their twins.
The sorting of this knotted web of citizenship and travel laws of various
countries is discussed in the next section.</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Global
scenario <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
<i>Jan Balaz v/s Union of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> </i>(2009) case provided an
insight into the range of laws regarding citizenship status of children born
through surrogacy. Most states in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1:place> have clear laws regarding
surrogacy contracts and providing legal recognition and citizenship status to
surrogate children. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Ukraine</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
law formally recognises surrogacy, has norms regarding surrogacy contracts and
fully support the reproductive rights of the individuals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ukraine</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> laws permit commissioned parents to choose the
gestational surrogacy, ova, or sperm donation embryo, adoption, programmes for
which no permission is required. Legislation also provides for a commercial
surrogacy agreement between the parties. Child born legally belongs to the
commissioned parents and the surrogate mother cannot keep the child to herself
(<i>ibid.</i>).</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Japan</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">
does not recognise surrogacy as a means of birth and hence children thus born
are not given citizenship rights. The Civil Code of Japan is usually
interpreted to give legal status of motherhood to the woman who physically
gives birth to a child. There is no provision in the Code to recognize the
genetic mother as the legal mother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Germany</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">, as law stands today, does not recognize surrogacy
agreements. Law also prohibits egg donation and advocates for embryo
procreation. Medical practitioners are also prevented from performing
artificial insemination or embryo donation, which are all criminal offences.
Same seems to be the situation in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region></st1:place> and so on. But countries like
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Belgium</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Netherlands</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Great Britain</st1:country-region></st1:place> are little more
liberal (<i>ibid.</i>).</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Storrow
(2011) notes that, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Turkey</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> prohibits using donor gametes in assisted
reproduction (Jones et al., 2010). Recently it revised its regulations to
assert criminal law jurisdiction over Turkish citizens who travel abroad to
acquire donor gametes. The law also criminalizes brokers, physicians and donors
who assist Turkish reproductive travellers. This extraterritorial assertion of
jurisdiction is an attempt to prevent a Turkish child’s ancestry from becoming
obscured through gamete donation abroad (Gu¨rtin-Broadbent, 2010; Urman and
Yakin, 2010) (2011:541).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
laws in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United Kingdom</st1:country-region></st1:place>
allow for only <i>altruistic </i>surrogacy
and commercial surrogacy is not recognised. In the case of twins born through
surrogacy to the Balaz couple, the Gujarat High Court directed the passport
office to return the passports of the twin children. The couple went on to
legally adopt the twins, as they wanted to apply for German citizenship of
these children. It would not have been possible otherwise because, as stated
earlier, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>
does not recognise children born through surrogacy. The country follows a
principle of <i>jus sanguinis</i>,<i> </i>wherein children can acquire German
citizenship only if a parent is a German citizen, irrespective of their place
of birth. Non-recognition of children born through surrogacy implied that
despite being biologically linked to one of the parents, the twins’ could not
granted German citizenship on those grounds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Argument
for avoiding the eventuality of ‘stateless orphans’<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In
the preceding sections, I outlined some of the laws governing citizenship and
the way their applicability gets tested in the unfamiliar domain of surrogate
children and their rights. Despite this, I tried to discuss the ways in which
existent laws are interpreted to create conditions in favour of the recognising
the citizenship status of children born through surrogacy. In this section, I will
try and argue for special rights of recognition, at least for an interim
period, for such children. The cases discussed above have shown how these
innocent children get caught in the mesh of complex laws about citizenship of
the nation of their birth and that of their biological parents. Hence, I
attempt to make a case for constituting temporary special citizenship rights
for surrogate children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Article
7 of the UN Convention on Rights of Child (1989) states that,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">1. The child shall be registered immediately after
birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a
nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his
or her parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation
of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations
under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where
the child would otherwise be stateless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The Convention’s
concern for children being left ‘stateless’ is apparent from the second clause
cited above. The case of Baby Manji and Jan Balaz’ twins proved that children
stand the risk of being ‘stateless’ when their country of birth is different
from that of their parents’ nationality. I would like to stretch the UN’s
endeavour to include special rights of surrogate children, for they stand the
higher risk of being stateless and even orphans, due to differing norms of
citizenship across countries of the world. I argue that there should be
provisions for granting conditional citizenship to such children, for a limited
duration, ensuring their smooth travel to their parents’ choice of country. I
admit that this stand will invite an outright disapproval from nations that do
not recognise surrogacy as a lawful means of reproduction. Nevertheless, making
a case for the basic human rights of infants, I’d base my argument on
Benhabib’s line of cosmopolitanism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Benhabib (2004)
argues that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">a cosmopolitan theory of justice cannot be
restricted to schemes of <i>just distribution </i>on a global scale, but must
also incorporate a vision of <i>just membership</i>. Such just membership
entails: recognizing the moral claim of refugees and asylees to <i>first
admittance</i>; a regime of <i>porous </i>borders for immigrants; an injunction
against denationalization and the loss of citizenship rights; and the
vindication of the right of every human being “to have rights,” that is, to be
a <i>legal person</i>, entitled to certain inalienable rights, regardless of
the status of their political membership. The status of alienage ought not to
denude one of fundamental rights (Benhabib 2004:17, emphasis in original).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Children
born through surrogacy to formal nationals are, in a sense, aliens. In the
spirit of the UN CRC, such children do not deserve the discrimination of being
stateless/orphans, for no fault of their own. It should be the duty of the
state to provide protection and also, I argue, temporary citizenship status to
such children, to ensure their smooth transit into the country of their
parents’ birth/residence. Any action on the contrary is not only a gross
violation of the basic human right to life and dignity of the new born, but
also betrays a non-compliance to the essence of the rights of child as articulated
by the UN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Conclusion
<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The government of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> intends to deal with the
numerous legal issues of citizenship due to differing norms of other countries.
For this purpose, it has incorporated a clause in the draft of the ART
(Regulation) Bill and Rules, 2008, which stipulates that foreign couples should
get a no-objection-certificate for surrogacy from their respective embassy.
This Bill is yet to be passed, and until then, we can only hope that there are
no new cases akin to that of Jan Balaz’ twins, or worse, Baby Manji’s, leading
to innocent new-born babies being labeled as ‘stateless orphans’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">To conclude, the citizenship rights of children born
through surrogacy provide an excellent example of identity being embedded in
nationhood and formal recognition of that status by states. As much as the
argument for cosmopolitanism may rage on, the true test of citizenship is
observed ‘</span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">when
disputes arise over nationality’ (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Arnold</st1:city></st1:place>
2004:32). </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Surrogate children are a case of ‘in-between’
nationalities, and this status of theirs subjects them to quite tedious legal
battles over eventually being granted citizenship rights of any one
nation-state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Endnotes <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Law Commission of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Report no. 228 (2009:9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.expresshealthcare.in/201112/editorial01.shtml">http://www.expresshealthcare.in/201112/editorial01.shtml</a>,
</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081018/jsp/nation/story_9984517.jsp">http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081018/jsp/nation/story_9984517.jsp</a></span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Alcantara, M.d., 2010. Surrogacy in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>: Legal Implications for
Parentage and Citizenship, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Family Court Review</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">, 48:3, 417–430.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Arnold, K. R.,2004. Homelessness, citizenship, and identity : the
uncanniness of late modernity. <st1:city w:st="on">Albany</st1:city>: <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>
Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Benhabib, S., 2004. <i>The Rights of
Others. </i><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Brubaker, R. (2004) “In the name of the nation: reflections on
nationalism and patriotism”, <i>Citizenship
Studies</i>, 8:2, pp. 115-127.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Baby Manji Yamuda vs. UOI</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">AIR 2009 SC 84<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Citizenship Act of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
1955 (Available at </span><span lang="EN-IN"><a href="http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/ic_act55.pdf">http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/ic_act55.pdf</a>)</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Jan Balaz v/s Union of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">(Available at </span><span lang="EN-IN"><a href="http://indiansurrogacylaw.com/jan-balaz-v.-anand-municipality.html">http://indiansurrogacylaw.com/jan-balaz-v.-anand-municipality.html</a></span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Law Commission of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Report 228, 2009, (Available at </span><span lang="EN-IN"><a href="http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report228.pdf">http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report228.pdf</a></span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Points, K., 2009. Commercial surrogacy and fertility tourism in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>:
the case of Baby Manji. (http://www.duke.edu/web/kenanethics/CaseStudies/BabyManji.pdf)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Palattiyil, G. et al. 2010. Globalization
and cross-border reproductive services: Ethical implications of surrogacy in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
for social work.<b> </b><i>International
Social Work </i>53(5) 686–700.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Rai, K., 2011. Law for Surrogacy: Need of the 21<sup>st</sup> Century, <i>International Journal of Research in
Comemrce, Economics and Management, </i>1 (6), 151-154.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Roy, A., 2010. <i>Mapping Citizenship
in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>,</i> <st1:city w:st="on">Delhi</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Oxford</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Semba, Y. et al., 2010. Surrogacy: Donor Conception Regulation in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
<i>Bioethics, </i>24 (7), 348–357. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Storrow, R. F., 2011. Assisted reproduction on treacherous terrain: the
legal hazards of cross-border reproductive travel, <i>Reproductive BioMedicine Online</i>, 23, 538– 545.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Teman, E., 2003, The Medicalization of
"Nature" in the "Artificial Body": Surrogate Motherhood in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
<i>Medical Anthropology Quarterly. </i></span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">17 (1), 78-98.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt;">UN Convention on the Rights of Child, 1989 (Available at </span><span lang="EN-IN"><a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf">http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf</a>)</span></div>
</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-25722146638385907402012-05-12T10:36:00.000+05:302012-05-12T10:37:20.135+05:30Child Sexual Abuse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Naming Child Sexual Abuse in Indian Law</span></b></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Children
are considered as those seeds which will grow up to enrich the future of our
society. The UN Convention on the Rights of Child, 1990, states -‘<i>a child means every human being below the
age of eighteen years</i>’ (Article 1). Rights of the child should subsume, if
not precede, human rights. According to the 2001 Census of India, 428 million people
in the country were aged below eighteen years constituting 42% of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s total
population<sup>1</sup>. By 2006, this figure rose to 430 million, clearly implying
that children are an undeniably significant constituency, replete with their
special needs and rights. Human rights involve making available equal
opportunities of justice and healthy growth to all individuals. Following from
this, child rights involve providing safe and healthy surroundings for balanced
emotional and physical growth and development of the child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> According
to WHO, ‘<i>Child abuse or maltreatment
constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse,
neglect or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential
harm to the child's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of
a relationship of responsibility, trust or power</i>’<sup>2</sup>. Article 19
of the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, 1990, mandates signatory states to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">take
all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to
protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including
sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other
person who has the care of the child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> It
implies a recognition of the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA), it being a
gross violation of a child’s right to life, liberty, privacy, dignity and
safety. In this essay, I will provide an insight into various aspects of CSA, its
incidence and juridical provisions for punishment of perpetrators, in the Indian
context. I will discuss in brief the various laws that are used for convicting
offenders, drawing from the discourse around rape laws in the past three
decades, since the Supreme Court judgment on the <st1:city w:st="on">Mathura</st1:city>
rape case in <st1:place w:st="on">Maharashtra</st1:place> (AIR 1979, SC 185). It is easy to let
the project of naming CSA as a juridical object slide beneath the developments
around rape laws in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
but I will refrain from taking that route. Here, I wish to argue for a special
law for offences related to children, with specific provisions for defining and
criminalising CSA. I will also emphasise on the need of a government ministry
exclusively dedicated to children’s welfare, rather than in its current form of
being clubbed along with women’s welfare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Prevalence
of Child Sexual Abuse in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> In this section, I will briefly
discuss the concept of child sexual abuse (CSA) and its understanding in the
Indian context. According to the Study on Child Abuse in India:2007, ‘<i>child abuse is a state of emotional,
physical, economic and sexual maltreatment meted out to a person below the age
of eighteen and is a globally prevalent phenomenon’ </i>(2007:3). This section
will provide an insight into the prevalence of CSA across the country, gleaned
from some regional surveys conducted since the 1990s. With support from the
statistics cited one gathers that CSA is possibly one of the worst-kept secrets
of our society. The attempt to acknowledge and prove its presence by various
surveys is in constant conflict with actual prosecution of offenders. The
honour-shame complex induced by CSA prevents its reporting to the criminal
justice system. In addition to under-reporting, the difficulties in gaining
justice due to various reasons make it a particularly contested site of
activism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Segal (1995) conducted a study across three
metropolitan cities in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to determine if the abuse of children was prevalent among middle-class
professionals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Interviews
were conducted with a stratified random sample of 319 subjects to assess their
attitudes toward child rearing and their expectations about child development.
These were then correlated with the methods of conflict resolution which had
been used with children in the past year. Of the subjects who participated in
the study, 56.9% reported having used "acceptable" violence, while
41.9% revealed that they had engaged in "abusive" violence (Segal
1995:217).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> This sort of behaviour could be assumed as true of most other parts of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, cutting
across various economic strata (Karlekar 1998, Coomaraswamy 2005, Dabir and
Nigudkar 2007). For the purpose of this paper, I will refrain from exploring
the multiple dimensions of violence against women and children, restricting my
ambit of discussion to that of the juridical recognition of CSA and laws around
it. The <i>Study on Child Abuse </i>(2007) defines
child sexual abuse as…</span><b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">inappropriate sexual behaviour with a
child. It includes fondling a child's genitals, making the child fondle the
adult's genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism and sexual
exploitation. To be considered ‘child abuse’, these acts have to be committed by
a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a baby-sitter, a
parent, or a daycare provider), or related to the child. If a stranger commits
these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and handled solely by the
police and criminal courts (2007:3). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> I consider this difference between ‘abuse’ and ‘assault’ particularly
problematic. While the act of CSA itself is condemnable, distinguishing between
the perpetrators of this criminal activity on grounds of being known/ unknown
to the child appears rather futile, or worse, an exercise in leniency. Does it
make the crime any less/ more heinous if committed by someone unknown to the
victim? If the offender is close to the victim, does the seriousness of the
crime aggravate, considering the breach of trust involved? A person’s regular
access to the child increases the probability of abuse being carried on for a
longer period of time, maybe with a regular frequency. ‘Assault’, in my
opinion, carries a deeper connotation of violence. By drawing a distinction
between ‘abuse’ and ‘assault’, the above definition pushes the intent and
intensity of criminality of the offender into a grey zone. It lends them to be
presented differentially in front of the law, complicating the judgment of
punishment. Any act of child abuse is a function of the unequal power relations
existing between the offender and the victim. An offender utilising this inequality
of power to commit an unlawful activity should not, in my opinion, be
differentiated on grounds of un/familiarity with the victim. That is an insult
to the victim’s agency, which has already been grossly violated by even one act
of abuse by anyone in a superior position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> I will now proceed to provide some statistics from various surveys, in
order to give a glimpse of the pervasiveness of CSA in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In 1999, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences
published a report of a study done in 1994-1995 with 150 minor-age girls in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bombay</st1:place></st1:city>. This report
recorded that 58 of the girls surveyed had been sexually abused before age 10
and 50 of these had been abused by a family member or friend of the family. </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In 1996, Bangalore-based organisation
Samvada conducted a study of school students. 47% of its respondents had been
sexually abused with 62% having been raped once and 38% having been repeatedly
violated. 31% of that group were under
the age of 10 when the abuses took place. In 1997, the NGO Sakshi conducted a
survey with 350 schoolgirls in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>. Amongst its respondents, 63% had been sexually
abused by of family members; and 25% of the girls had either been raped, made
to masturbate the perpetrator or perform oral sex<sup>3</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span>In March 2000, Patel and Andrew
(2001) did a study of 811 students of XI standard in eight schools of urban,
semi-urban and rural <st1:place w:st="on">Goa</st1:place>. The average age was
16 years and 53% of the respondents were boys. Their results showed that, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A third of adolescents had experienced some form of sexual abuse
in the past year. Coercive sex had been experienced by approximately 6% of
adolescents. While rural boys were more likely to have experienced coercive
sexual intercourse than urban boys (10.3% v. 2.5%), urban girls were more likely to have experienced any
form of sexual abuse than rural girls (37.2%
v. 25.4%) (Patel and Andrew 2001:263).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Sharma
and Gupta (2004) ‘<i>retrospectively
reviewed 117 cases of children below 16 years of age, referred for medico-legal
examination/ autopsy from January 2000 to June 2003 to Government Medical
College Hospital, Chandigarh’ </i>(Sharma and Gupta 2004:249). According to
their review of the selected cases,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The youngest sexually abused child was 2 years of age. Girls 28
(77.8%) were more at risk of sexual abuse than boys (22.2%) whereas physical
abuse was more common in case of boys. Fondling was the commonest sexual abuse
reported in 14 (38.9%) cases followed by sexual intercourse in 8 (22.2%) and
insertion of finger in the vagina in 6 (16.6%). Sodomy was reported in 3 (8.3%)
cases. The most common place where the sexual abuse occurred was in the home of
either the victim 14 (38.9%) or the perpetrator 9 (25%). The victim of sexual
abuse in 30 (83.3%) of cases knew the perpetrator. The most common age group to
which the perpetrators belonged was 31–40years (Sharma and Gupta 2004:249).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Pagrare et al. (2005) conducted a study of 189 boys (aged 6-18years) to
assess the magnitude and pattern of sexual abuse among male inmates of an
observation home in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>.
Their conclusions stated that<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Majority of boys were runaways and
38.1% had suffered sexual abuse. On clinical examination, 61.1% showed physical
signs and 40.2% showed behavioural signs of sexual abuse. Forcible sex was
reported by 44.4% of victims and 25% had signs suggestive of sexually
transmitted diseases. Strangers were the most common perpetrators of sexual
abuse (Pagrare et al. 2005:134).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Tulir- Centre for Prevention and Healing of Child
Sexual Abuse study was published in 2006. Its survey was conducted among 2,211
school going children in Chennai in 2005. The results indicated a CSA
prevalence rate of 42%. Children of all socio economic groups were found to be
equally vulnerable. While 48% of boys reported having been abused, the
prevalence rate among girls was 39%. 15% of both boys and girls had been
severely abused</span><sup><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">4</span></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">.</span><sup><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span>Though
these are all instances of small-sample and limited-area based surveys, they do
provide us with a fair perspective on the widespread nature of CSA across parts
of <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>.
In 2005, the Ministry of Women and Child Development undertook a survey
covering 13 states in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> with
a sample size of 12,447 children. In 2007, it published a comprehensive report
on the prevalence of child abuse in India- <i>National Study on Child Abuse</i>.
<span style="color: #231f20; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Study reports that child sexual abuse in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> begins as early as at five
years of age (and in many cases even before that- Virani, 2000), escalates
during pre-pubescence and peaks at 12 to 16 years. </span>Some of the major findings of this nation-wide survey are
as follows: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #231f20; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #231f20; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">5.69% </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">of the child respondents </span><span style="color: #231f20; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">reported being sexually assaulted.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">50% abuses are persons known to the child or in a position of trust and
responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span>In
region-wise prevalence of CSA the highest was recorded <st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="color: #231f20; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Assam</span></st1:country-region><span style="color: #231f20; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> (57.27%) followed by <st1:city w:st="on">Delhi</st1:city> (almost 41%), Andhra Pradesh (33.87%) and Bihar
(33.27%). 71% of sexual assault cases in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> go unreported. </span>Most
children did not report the matter to anyone. A total of 2324 respondents aged
between 18 and 24 years from 13 states were also interviewed. The overall percentage of sexual abuse shows
that every second child in the country is facing one or more forms of sexual
abuse (2007:97).<span style="color: #231f20; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This
research methodology of this study has been critiqued on grounds of
overestimation (Dabir and Nigudkar 2863:2007). Nevertheless, its attempt to
comprehensively assess the status of children’s safety in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> cannot be
undermined. Also, the difference in statistical
figures between those victims who were sexually ‘abused’ and others who reported
‘assault’, in this survey, takes me back to the discussion on the futility of
the distinction between these categories. I believe that this distinction only
serves to create unnecessary categories and complicate its presentation in
front of the law. An act of CSA severely violates the victim’s right to life,
liberty and privacy. This distinction between ‘abuse’ and ‘assault’ ends up
treating the victim as a lifeless object whose violation is measured in terms
of the un/familiarity with the perpetrator, rather than in terms of desecration
of the victim’s dignity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Having
provided a perspective on the prevalence of CSA in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> by referring to some studies,
I will now proceed to discuss the various laws that are used to in cases of
conviction of the offender for CSA. As mentioned earlier, there are no
exclusive laws for CSA in our country. Some of the provisions of the Indian
Penal Code that are used in cases of rape (Section 375 and Section 376), and
some other laws (Section 377 and Section 509) are </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">usually
referred to in cases of CSA. This has been a cause of extreme contention,
especially because of the insensitivity with which such cases are argued and
examined in the court. Baxi argues that ‘</span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">the
“child” is constructed as a collaborator, child adult, non-adult and child-liar
during the testimony’ </i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(Baxi 2012).</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Such experiences
are not only extremely disturbing to the child’s psyche but also very traumatic
in terms of cross-examination and proving the offender guilty of the crime. Childhood
is ignored as a substantial object to be considered in dealing with such cases.
The process of cross-examination subjects the child to adult-like treatment,
with the conditions and questions posed completely oblivious and almost
inconsiderate to the young age of the victim. ‘</span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">For, when childhood is not the object of juridical regulation then it
is these processes that reveal how the law causes injury to children testifying
to rape</i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">’ (Baxi 2012).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Naming
Child Sexual Abuse in Indian Law </span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> In
this section, I will try and make a case for CSA to be recognised as a distinct
juridical category. The discussion will draw from the Indian women’s movement,
especially its activism for the reform of rape laws since <i>Tukaram v/s State of Maharashtra</i> (AIR 1979, SC 185), better known as the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mathura</st1:place></st1:city> rape case. The sections of Indian
Penal Code which are used for punishment in cases of rape are also usually the
ones used for prosecution in cases of CSA. I will attempt to stay safe of discussing
all the tenets of the anti-rape movement in naming CSA in Indian law, as I wish
to lead this discussion to my main argument in support of a special law
exclusively for offences related to children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> I
begin by citing some of the convictions in cases of CSA across the country,
aiming to bring out the common threads of law and arguments used in such cases,
leading to the naming of the offence, despite it not having an exclusive law
criminalising it. This is followed by a discussion of some of the
recommendations of the 172<sup>nd</sup> Law Commission Report, 2000 to improve
the anti-rape laws. I will then use the recommendations of the Supreme Court in
the </span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Sakshi v. Union of India</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">
(AIR 2004 SC 3566) where the Court stated that, ‘<i>The cases of child abuse and rape are increasing at alarming speed and
appropriate legislation in this regard is, therefore, urgently required’ </i>(2004
SC 3566:35)<i> </i>to supplement<i> </i>my argument for a special law naming
and criminalising offences against the child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> In
</span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Lohana Vasantlal Devchand And ... vs The State</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> (AIR 1968 Guj 252) the Gujarat High Court (HC)
upheld the decision of a Judicial Magistrate granting appropriate punishment to
two men on counts of sodomy and one to oral penile penetration of a juvenile
boy in Rajkot. The HC’s judgment noted the lack of a definition of sodomy,
contained a discussion on penetration and used the criteria specified in
Section 377 to confirm that the act in question amounted to an offence. The
Rajasthan HC in <i>Kedar Nath v/s State of
Rajasthan</i> (1985 (2) WLN 560) while hearing an appeal filed by the accused
endorsed the decision of Ajmer Sessions Court judge which had found the
offender guilty under Section 377 (‘unnatural intercourse’) and 302 (murder) of
the IPC. The medical reports showed the victim (a 13 year old boy) had been ‘<i>subjected to carnal intercourse against the
course of nature</i>’ and had died due to asphyxia (pp. 2). In a 2006 case with
exactly the same crimes committed against an 8-year old boy (<i>Jai Prakash v/s State Of Rajasthan</i> Raj
1548, 2006), the judge noted that ‘<i>considering
the menace of child abuse, deterrent punishment should be granted in cases of
child abuse’.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> The Jammu HC
while reviewing an appeal in the <i>Sameer
Ahmad Ganai v/s State of J and K</i> (2008 (1) JKJ 542) case of sexual abuse of
a 6-year old girl, cited various cases from Rajasthan, UP and Bihar HCs to nail
the appellant under Sections 376/511 of the Ranbir Penal Code awarding a
punishment of rigorous imprisonment for two years for the said crime. If one
believed that the perpetrators of such crimes are only males, the <i>A.Ramalingam</i> v/s 2 accused case in
Madras HC (2012) would prove this assumption wrong. The principal (female) and
another teacher (female) of a school sexually abused a 4-year old girl child in
their premises. This particular case is also a seething example of the accused evading
arrest while trying to influence the investigations. The case is still being
heard and the Court has made a due note of the accused trying to interfere with
the investigations. Hence, it has directed the transfer of this case to the
Central Bureau of Investigation (referring to other similar transfers in the
past) for a free and fair investigation into these serious accusations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> The Bombay HC in <i>Laxman Janu Kokare v/s The State of Maharashtra </i>(2011)<i> </i>hearing a criminal case of CSA of 2004
of a then 9-year old girl child refused to be considerate in awarding
punishment to the offender on account of him having two of his own minor
children to look after. The Court noted in its judgment that showing leniency…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">would mean that the father of two minor children can sexually molest the
minor children of other fathers. It would be scandalous to suggest that such
persons who are a menace to innocent minor children can be seen by the Court
with any amount of leniency. The offence is a case of aggravated rape. The sentence
under Section 376(2) (f), (and) the learned Judge has sentenced the accused to
10 years Rigorous Imprisonment (CR.APPEAL.269.2008.doc, pp. 8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> While the above are cases of individual victims,
there are many instances of acts of CSA carried out by person/s in authority,
of numerous hapless children who are under their (so-called) protection. They
could be by foreigners running shelter homes (<i>Childline <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Foundation & Anr. v/s Alan John Waters & Others, </i>2011<i>, </i>SC) or in orphanages (<i>Chhatravas Chandra Arya Vidya ... vs Govt.
of NCT Of Delhi & Anr, </i>2012) or a school principal sexually abusing
some of his students over a long period of time (<i>M.Veersamy v/s State of Tamil Nadu</i>, 2012). From these instances, it
can be concluded that most of the cases that are reported and come up for
hearing are those of assaults made by strangers or non-family members. This is
in no way implies that children are any safer in the precincts of their home,
which is a part of their immediately personal space. Virani (2000) quotes
numerous instances of various kinds of sexual abuse being inflicted upon
innocent children by people who are either related in blood, or are known to
them and their family. The cases are generally not reported in the police for
the fear of shame that it may bring to the family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> The above discussion illustrates that it is usually
the laws against rape and ‘unnatural intercourse’ that are used to convict
offenders of CSA. In the event that there are no physical markers of the crime,
then the court may resort to incriminating the offender on grounds of ‘<i>outraging the modesty of a woman</i>’ (Section
509, IPC). In cases where the child can barely talk, perpetrators of CSA may
easily manage to wriggle out of being lawfully punished because there is no
means of testifying of the act by, say, an infant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> For
the purpose of this paper, I draw from the before mentioned figures and
convictions to argue that there is a strong need for CSA to be officially
recognised as a wide-spread menace. This kind of acknowledgment has been made
(in </span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">State of <st1:state w:st="on">Karantaka</st1:state>
v/s Krishnappa, </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">2000, <i>Tara Dutt v/s State</i>, Delhi HC, 2009, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Rangesh</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placename w:st="on">v/s</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></i></st1:place> by Inspector of
Police, Madras HC, 2010) by various courts in the country, stating the need for
special laws to criminalise offences against children. A counter argument to
this would say that things have been going just fine for more than a century
with the IPC’s current provisions against rape, to be used in cases of CSA. No
doubt that there is no dearth of cases to cite in support of this line of
thought. Nevertheless, with the passage of time there have been numerous reasons
that, I argue, show that children’s need could be better catered to if there
were laws designed keeping in mind their psychological and physical status and
sensitivity. To assume that a child has the capacity to bear the burden of
proof of the heinous crime as well as the brunt of cross-examination done to
prove the offender not guilty would be a gross misunderstanding of the
sensitive nature of a child’s psyche.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In the next section I will discuss the guidelines
provided by the Supreme Court of India in <i>Sakshi
v/s Union of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and Others</i> (AIR 2004 SC 3566) and argue for its legal embodiment in the
form of a special law for offences against children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Law Commission of <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>
Reports, </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Sakshi
v/s Union of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and Child Sexual Abuse</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> In
this section I will refer to developments in the Indian women’s movement and
the anti-rape campaign, while reflecting upon its impact on the conviction of
CSA offenders. There have been four major Law Commission (LC) reports which
addressed the law on rape, adding steam to the Indian women’s movement which
took off after the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mathura</st1:place></st1:city>
rape case (Gangoli, 1996). Two of the Reports were recommendations on the IPC
in general (42<sup>nd</sup> LC Report, 1971 and 84<sup>th </sup>LC Report)
within which the provision of rape was discussed. The other two suggested
reforms related to exclusively to anti-rape laws (156<sup>th</sup> LC Report,
1997 and 172<sup>nd</sup> LC Report, 2000).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Agnes
(2002) chronicles the developments of the movement for reform of anti-rape laws
since the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mathura</st1:place></st1:city>
rape case. She discusses in detail the debate that advanced in the 1990s over
creating an umbrella law for ‘sexual assault’, while doing away with ‘<i>Sections 354 (violating modesty), 375
(rape), 376 (punishment for rape) and 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian
Penal Code (IPC)</i>’ (Agnes 2002:845). She mentions the ‘<i>conflict of interests between two marginalised and vulnerable groups;
both situated across the conventional gender divide, within the scope of the
controversial Section 377’</i> (Agnes 2002:845). The site of this contest is
IPC’s Section 377, where one set of groups want it to be removed, for
legalising consensual homosexual activity, while another set has begun to see
the increase in its usage for conviction of offenders in cases of CSA. Agnes
pitches the conflict between demands of sexual minorities and concerns of child
right groups, arguing that in recent times, cases of sexual assault on children
have been dealt with Section 377 of the IPC, with its provision against
‘unnatural offences’ criminalising CSA (Agnes 2002:846). Hence, if the sexual
minorities’ demand was completely agreed with, then the child right groups
would lose significant grounds in convicting perpetrators of CSA on the basis
of the act being an ‘unnatural offence’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px;"> </span>In 1997, Sakshi, a Delhi-based NGO approached the Supreme
Court through a writ petition asking for directions concerning the definition
of rape in the IPC. The Supreme Court then directed the Law Commission of India
to respond to the issues raised in the petition <span lang="EN-IN">(Agnes 2002:846).</span> In August 1999, it directed the Law Commission to look
into these issues afresh. After detailed consultations with three women’s
organisations, the LC released its 172nd Report on the Review of Rape Laws in
2000. The LC recommended changing the focus from rape to `sexual assault', the
definition of which goes beyond penile penetration to include penetration by
any part of the body and objects.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px;"> </span> Agnes also
covers the demands by various sections which led to the 172<sup>nd</sup> Law
Commission’s (2000) recommendation to make anti-rape laws gender-neutral (Agnes
2002:846). These recommendations were tersely countered by an open letter sent to
the law minister (2001), written after consultation between 30 groups across
the country, with the appeal that, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Unless the definitional and substantive aspects of the
rape law and associated set of laws which deal with sexual harassment,
molestation, unnatural offences, kidnapping and abduction of girls and women in
everyday and extraordinary contexts are amended, the proposed law to fast track
sexual violence cases will remain historically a hollow gesture<sup>5</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Agnes
concludes her overview of these developments by arguing that, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">though the move to reform rape laws is in the right direction and is
long overdue, unless it is fine tuned to the specific needs of the concerned
segments, its aspirations will remain at the level of rhetoric at best or
result in misery and humiliation at worst (Agnes 2002:847)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
foremost issue in naming CSA in Indian law, I argue, is that of the different
definitions across laws of who gets categorised as a ‘child’. There are various
laws applicable depending on specifics of each case of CSA, and the confusion
over ‘age of consent’ gets particularly intensified when the victim is in the
age group of 16-18 years. The Indian Penal Code defines the child as being up
to 12 years of age, whereas the Indian Traffic Prevention Act (1956) defines a
‘minor’ as a person who has completed the age of 16 years but not 18 years.
According to Section 376 of IPC, the girl’s age has to be less than 16,
wherein the assault is assumed as non-consensual leading to the offender being
proven guilty of rape. Section 82 & 83 of the IPC state that nothing
is an offence done by a child under 7 years, and further under 12 years, till
he has attained sufficient maturity of understanding the nature of the Act and
the consequences of his conduct on that occasion. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This is an addition to the discrepancy in the consent
age for a married woman. While the consent age for pre-marital penile vaginal
sex is 16 years, the husband has license to engage in such an act with his
minor wife even if she is as young as 15 years. Though the minimum marriageable
age for women is 18, the marriage with an under-aged girl is not invalid, per
se.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Such
complications over age criterion for judging consent and convicting the
offender got compounded when in the <i>Naz
Foundation v/s Government of NCT, </i>the court ruled that… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
provisions of Section 377 IPC will continue to govern non-consensual penile
non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors. By 'adult' we mean
everyone who is 18 years of age and above. A person below 18 would be presumed
not to be able to consent to a sexual act. This clarification will hold till,
of course, Parliament chooses to amend the law to effectuate the recommendation
of the Law Commission of India in its 172nd Report which we believe removes a
great deal of confusion (2009:40).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Until
the implementation of the said Report, this statement leads to further
confusion in cases of CSA because according to Section 375 of IPC the age of
consent for a woman is 16 years. If a man is able to prove consent by a woman
older than 16 years of age, he can be acquitted of charges of rape (i.e.
non-consensual sex). A very recent example of this was seen in <i>Mohan vs State (G.N.C.T) Of Delhi </i>(2010)
when the offender’s counsel at the Additional Session’s court tried to prove
(unsuccessfully) that the victim’s age was more than 16 and hence the act was
not to be considered as rape, but consensual sex carried out repeatedly over a
period of six-eight months, leading to pregnancy of the victim. To summarise
this argument, while Agnes’ concern of tailoring amendments to law keeping in
mind the demands of various groups thus affected can be observed in the
de-criminalisation of homosexuality in a judgment by Delhi High Court, the age of consent confusion promoted by it
still remains to be settled. The reforms in these laws have been few and far in
between the years impeding the quick and sound disbursal of justice to the
victims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">While sexual assault in some cases of
CSA may amount to rape, it does not dispend the necessity to treat the victim
as a child, rather than as an adult. In an attempt to sensitise the
justice-giving machinery, the SC in <i>Sakshi
v/s Union of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
</i>(2004) made many suggestions. Nevertheless, the state has not made any
particular attempts to enforce these guidelines. </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In <i>Tara Dutt
v/s State</i> (2009), the Delhi HC made a serious observation about the same…<span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Despite the Report of the Law Commission of India
lying with the Government of India for over nine years and the Supreme Court of
India in 2004 hoping that the Parliament would make appropriate changes in the
legislation, it is a matter of grave concern that nothing has been done till
date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Since
the legislature seems to be lax about formally enacting fresh laws in
accordance with the 172<sup>nd</sup> LC Report of 2000, or even make certain
amendments as recommended by the said Report, it seems that the judiciary has
taken upon itself to make avail of every opportunity in laying down guidelines
for better handling of CSA cases. In </span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Virender v/s The State of <st1:state w:st="on">NCT</st1:state>
of <st1:city w:st="on">Delhi</st1:city></span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> (2009), the Delhi HC took cognizance of the SC’s
stand in <i>Sakshi v/s Union of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> </i>(2004)
and laid down some guidelines in cases involving a child victim or child
witness. The Court directed the police (among other orders) to record the
statement at their residence, or any other place where the victim is free of
fear, in the presence of their parent/s or someone they trust. For medical
examination of the victim, the court mentioned that a parent or someone close
to the victim should be present during the examination. Courts have also been
directed, in this judgement, to create conducive atmosphere for carrying out of
the trial. Referring explicitly to <i>Sakshi
v/s Union of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
</i>(2004) the HC in this judgement noted that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">To minimise the trauma of a child victim or witness
the testimony may be recorded through video conferencing or by way of a close
circuit television. If this is not possible, a screen or some arrangement be
made so that the victims or the child witness do not have to undergo seeing the
body or face of the accused. The screen which should be used for the
examination of the child witness or a victim should be effective and installed
in such manner that the witness is visible to the trial judge to notice the
demeanour of the witness. Single visibility mirrors may be utilised which while
protecting the sensibilities of the child, shall ensure that the defendant's
right to cross examination is not impaired (<i>Virender
v/s The State of NCT of Delhi</i> 2009:55).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> After
having dwelled into some of the provisions of the 172<sup>nd</sup> LC Report of
2000 and the SC’s laying down of guidelines for judicial proceedings in cases
of rape and CSA, I will now present my arguments in favour of a special law for
offences related to the child. <b><i><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Offences Against Children (Prevention) Bill, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In
<i>Rangesh .. Accused / vs State By
Inspector Of Police</i> (2010<b>), </b>the
Madras HC ended its judgment by noting… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is to be reminded that as early as in the year
1974, the Government of India adopted a national policy for children, declaring
the nation's children as Supremely Important Assets. Therefore, it is the
responsibility and obligation of the State and Central Government to protect the
interest of the children. It is seen that the Law Ministry of the Government of
India has taken steps to introduce a bill to effectively deal with the sexual
offences against children in the Parliament. It is needless to state that <i>a special law is mandatory for combatting
the menace of child sexual abuse </i>(pp. 8, <i>emphasis added</i>).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India proposed a law to
be enacted, titled ‘<i>The Offences Against
Children (Prevention) Bill’</i><sup>6</sup>. It was first floated in 2005 and is
being currently debated in the Indian parliament as <i>The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill (2011), </i>reported
in <i>The Times of India, New Delhi, April
30, 2012</i>, (pg. 13).</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">From
the preceding discussion, we know that there are no separate laws to identify
various forms of CSA and some provisions of the laws against rape are used to
incriminate those proven guilty of CSA. The proposed Bill intends to classify
the various possibilities of CSA, without relying on the contested criteria of
what constitutes as penetration and rape. Section 5 of the Bill is on sexual
assault of a child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A person is said
to commit “Sexual Assault of a Child” when that person, with or without the
consent of the child:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(1) Penetrates
the vagina, (which shall include the <i>labia majora), </i>the anus or urethra
of any child with:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">a. any part of
the body of that person or of any other person; or<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">b. an object
manipulated by another person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(2) manipulates
any part of the body of a child so as to cause penetration of the vagina (which
shall include the <i>labia majora</i>), the anus or the urethra of the person
by any part of the child’s body;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(3) commits the
act of fellatio, on or by a child;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(4) commits the
act of cunnilingus, on or by a child;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(5) commits the
act of analingus, on or by a child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Explanation</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">: Penetration to even the <i>slightest </i>extent
is sufficient to constitute penetration for the purpose of this section. It is
not necessary that the hymen is ruptured or semen is emitted to constitute sexual
assault.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Exception</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">: Nothing that has been mentioned in the aforesaid
Section shall be an offence, where such penetration is carried for proper
hygienic and medical reasons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Drawing
from this categorisation of acts which constitute CSA, I lend my support to
this Bill, arguing that children have special needs and a different state of
mind than the adults. Treating them on par with those whose cognitive and
physical conditions are far matured than theirs is a blatant violation of their
basic human rights. Using the laws against rape (Section 375, Section 376,
IPC), sodomy (Section 377, IPC) and ‘<i>outraging
the modesty of a woman</i>’ (Section 509, IPC) to incriminate offenders of CSA
is an unjust juxtaposition of the complexities of CSA with that of rape. The
law, and consequently society, must recognise this difference between a child
and adult and take appropriate measures to be sensitive to the needs of this
special set. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> For
this purpose, I would also like to advance an argument for a separate
government body for child affairs in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. While we have a Ministry of
Youth Affairs for majors, children up till the age of 18 are dealt with under
the combined Ministry of Women and Child Development. On one level, this associates the child with
their caregiver, not recognising and paying special attention to other agencies
responsible in socialisation and safety of children. On another level, since
children constitute 40% of our population, I think it is necessary that a
special body looks into their affairs, drafting exclusive policies which are
child-sensitive, rather than making them tug along with their elderly female
caregiving associates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> In
this essay, I have provided an outline of the rights of child, as identified by
the UN and the prevalence of violence against them. In particular, I have
looked at the incidence and pervasiveness of the menace of CSA across the
country, among different economic strata. With the help of various court
judgments against perpetrators of CSA, I have shown that the system of
imparting justice relies on laws against rape and ‘unnatural sex’ to
criminalise the act of CSA and punish the victim accordingly. Here, I have
argued for naming CSA as an exclusive category of offence, with a special law
to deal with it, rather than clubbing it women’s issues. Doing this prevents
certain forms of CSA from being penalised, because they are not recognised by
the black-letter law. I have also argued for the separation of the Ministry of
Women and Child Development, to constitute a separate department to look into
the special affairs of children, in keeping with the spirit of the UN
Convention on the Rights of Child to which <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a signatory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
essay also attempted to trace the impact of laws set by our former colonial
rulers in the years way past <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>’s
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Independence</st1:city></st1:place>
(Das 1996). The Indian women’s movement in the anti-rape campaign can also be
seen as an exercise in enculturing law by sensitising the judiciary,
legislature and through them the society, that the laws so sacred to them were
conferred on us as subjects of the empire. As independent citizens and
intelligent agents of progress and change, it is now unto us to formulate laws
that suit our special conditions and provide maximum justice to those under its
rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Notes<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">1. Study on Child Abuse: India 2007 (pg. iii),
Ministry of Women and Child Development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">2. WHO’s Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse
Prevention, 1999.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">3. </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">http://www.tulir.org/faq.htm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">4.
http://www.tulir.org/images/pdf/Research%20Report1.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">5.
http://www.petitiononline.com/Moily/petition.html<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">6. http://www.ncpcr.gov.in/Bill/Prevention_of_Offences_against_the_Child.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A.Ramalingam</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> v/s 2 accused Madras HC
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Agnes,
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Baxi, Pratiksha. 2012. Child Bears Witness: menace, despair
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bunsha, Dionne (2007):
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<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: windowtext;">Childline <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
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<div class="Default" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: windowtext;">Dabir, Neela and Mohua Nigudkar (2007): ‘Child Abuse:
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Coomaraswamy, Radhika (2005): ‘Human Security and
Gender Violence’, <i>Economic and Political
Weekly</i>, 40 (44/45), 4729-4736.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: windowtext;">Das, Veena (1996): ‘Sexual Violence, Discursive Formations
and the State’, <i>Economic and Political
Weekly</i>, 31 (35/37), 2411-2423.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: windowtext;">Gangoli, Geetanjali (1996): ‘The Right to Protection from
Sexual Assault: The Indian Anti-Rape Campaign’, <i>Development in Practice</i>, 6 (4), 334-340.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Jai</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placename w:st="on">Prakash</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">v/s</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></i></st1:place><i> of Rajasthan</i> Raj 1548, 2006 (3) WLC 544<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Karlekar, Malavika (1998): ‘Domestic Violence’, <i>Economic and Political Weekly</i>, 33 (27),
1741-1751.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kedar</span></i></st1:placename><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<st1:placename w:st="on">Nath</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">v/s</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></span></i></st1:place><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
of Rajasthan 1985 (2) WLN 560 <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Laxman Janu Kokare v/s The State of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Maharashtra</st1:place></st1:state></span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (2011)
(http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1305191/ accessed on 16/4/2012 at 3:00pm)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lohana Vasantlal Devchand And ... vs
The State</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> AIR
1968 Guj 252<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">M.Veersamy v/s State of Tamil Nadu</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, 2012
(http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/169773352/ accessed on 16/4/2012 at 3:30pm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mohan vs State (G.N.C.T) Of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Delhi</st1:place></st1:city> </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(http://indiankanoon.org/doc/212169/
accessed on 16/4/2012 at 3:30pm)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ministry of Women and
Child Development - (2011) <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>:
Third and Fourth Combined Periodic Report on the Convention on the Rights of
the Child<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">- (2007): Study on
Child Abuse: <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">- (2006): '<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>: Building
a Protective Environment for Children', http://wcd.nic.inl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">- Prevention of
Offences Against the Child Bill </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.ncpcr.gov.in/Bill/Prevention_of_Offences_against_the_Child.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">National Commission for Women (1997): <i>The Velvet Blouse. Sexual exploitation of
children</i>, Government of India, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New
Delhi</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Naz
Foundation v/s Government of NCT </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> http://www.nazindia.org/judgement_377.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pagrare, Deepti et al
(2005): ‘Sexual Abuse of Street Children Brought to an Observation Home’, <i>Indian Pediatrics, </i>42, 134-139.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Patel, Vikram and Gracy Andrew (2001): ‘Gender, sexual
abuse and risk behaviours in adolescents: A cross-sectional survey in schools
in <st1:place w:st="on">Goa</st1:place>’, <i>The
National Medical Journal of India, </i>14 (5), 263-267.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rangesh</span></i></st1:placename><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<st1:placename w:st="on">v/s</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></span></i></st1:place><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> by Inspector of Police, Madras HC,
2010 Crl.A.No.991 of 2006 (http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1724760/ accessed on
16/4/2012 at 3:40pm)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sakshi v. Union of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> AIR 2004 S.C. 3566<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sameer Ahmad Ganai v/s State of J
and K </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2008 (1) JKJ 542</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Save the
Children and Tulir (2006): Research on Prevalence and Dynamics of Child Sexual
Abuse among school going children in Chennai. </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.tulir.org/images/pdf/Research%20Report1.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Segal,
Uma A (1995): ‘Child Abuse by the Middle Class? A Study of Professionals in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’, Child
Abuse and Neglect, 19 (2), 217-231.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">State
of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Karantaka</st1:place></st1:state>
v/s Krishnappa</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> 2000 AIR 2000 SC 516 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tara Dutt v/s State</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, Delhi HC, 2009,
(http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1701610/ accessed on 16/4/2012 at 3:25pm)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tukaram
and Another <st1:placename w:st="on">v/s</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>
of <st1:place w:st="on">Maharashtra</st1:place> </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">AIR 1979 S.C. 185</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">United Nations (2006):
'Rights of the Child: Report </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">of the Independent Expert for
the United Nations Study on Violence against Children', www.violencestudy.org<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-(1989): Convention on the Rights of the
Childhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Virani, Pinky (2000):
<i>'Bitter Chocolate - Child Sexual Abuse in
<st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>’</i>,Penguin Books, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Virender v/s The State of <st1:state w:st="on">NCT</st1:state>
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Delhi</st1:city></st1:place> </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Crl.A.No. 121/2008 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">World Health
Organisation( 1999): 'Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention',
http:/ /www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/ violence/neglect/en/ - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(2002): 'Child Abuse
and Neglect by Parents and Other Caregivers' in The World Report on Violence
and Health, www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/ -</span></div>
</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-25367644952882698572012-05-12T10:32:00.001+05:302012-05-12T10:37:20.129+05:30Differentiated Citizenship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<u><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Rights of Citizens: Equal and
Differentiated<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The concept of ‘citizenship’ entails numerous
interpretations and affiliations, leading it to be one of the most contested
issues in modern political, social and cultural life. According to Brubaker
(2004), ‘<i>The nation-state remains a
decisive locus of power in world affairs; it is the only major locus of power
with the public sphere and institutional forms, however imperfect, that permit
some degree of meaningful and effective civic participation</i>’ (Brubaker 2004:124).
This argument lays emphasis on the decisive role of state in granting (or
withdrawing) rights of citizenship and the benefits that follow thus. In
viewing citizenship as a state-related concept, Joppke (2001) urges for a
distinction… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">between at least three aspects of citizenship: <i>citizenship as status</i>, which denotes
formal state membership and the rules of access to it; <i>citizenship as</i> <i>rights</i>,
which is about the formal capacities and immunities connected with such status;
and, in addition, <i>citizenship as identity</i>,
which refers to the behavioural aspects of individuals acting and conceiving of
themselves as members of a collectivity, classically the nation, or the
normative conceptions of such behaviour imputed by the state (Joppke 2001:38,
emphasis added). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This essay begins with an outline of some
theoretical accounts of citizenship and justice. Its aim is to lead into a
discussion on granting equal rights to all citizens as opposed to
differentiated rights, on account of historic discrimination against certain
groups. The essay attempts to explore the various conceptions of the latter by
(most famously) Young (1989) and Taylor (1994). A critique of these
propositions is also briefly discussed. In the final section, the focus is on
the case of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
with an examination of the provision in the Constitution, in the light of the
aforementioned case made in favour of differentiated citizenship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Conditions
of Citizenship – Rights and Justice<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In modern democratic societies, the universalist
paradigm assumes that every person enjoys the same legal and political rights.
This is ‘<i>more of an illusion</i>’
(Mitnick 2004:168) than reality. Hence, in laying the ground for her case in
favour of ‘differentiated rights’, Young (1989) posits that, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">the responsible citizen
is concerned not merely with interests but with justice, with acknowledging
that each other person's interest and point of view is as good as his or her
own, and that the needs and interests of everyone must be voiced and be heard
by the others, who must acknowledge, respect, and address those needs and
interests (Young 1989:262).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Young’s formulation <i>‘is a precept of formal justice, and not one of formal equality’</i>
(Mitnick 2004:169). Isin (1997) in tracing the genealogy of citizenship and
rights argues that, the ‘<i>emergence of
differential class powers result(ing) from the ownership of different forms of
capital that condition(ed) the territorial as well as the legal and moral
boundaries of citizenship</i>’ (Isin 1997:121). An illustration of this is
provided by Holston (2008) who, while discussing the historical conditions of
differentiated social citizenship in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>, observes the ‘<i>use of social qualifications (primarily
differences of education, property, race, gender and occupation) to organize
political, civil and social dimensions and to regulate its </i>(Brazilian
nation-state)<i> distributions of powers.
This scheme of citizenship, in short, is a mechanism to distribute inequality’</i>
(<st1:place w:st="on">Holston</st1:place> 2008:7). The acts of affirmative
action and provisions for formal justice intend to (at least, in spirit)
gradually overturn the historic injustice and discrimination meted out to
disadvantaged groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It is evident that attempts by the state to provide
for formal justice and formal equality do not necessarily convert into
substantive justice and substantive equality. I argue, that, this is because
the relations of power are so entrenched between various classes in societies
that legal means of providing certain disadvantaged groups with equal, or
rather, enhanced access to resources may not compulsorily lead to a dramatic
change in their social status. ‘<i>The
supposedly neutral set of difference-blind principles of the politics of equal
dignity is in fact a reflection of one
hegemonic culture</i>’ (Taylor 1994: 43). Faulks (2000) also points out that </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">since
all citizenship rights involve the distribution of resources, and because
obligations are exercised within a societal context, any discussion of
citizenship is also a consideration of power (Faulks 2000:86). </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Nevertheless, Young (1989) morally exhorts us
arguing that, ‘<i>to give group
representation is the best means to promote just outcomes to democratic
decision-making processes. Group representation provides the opportunity for
some to express their needs or interests who would not likely be heard without
that representation</i>’ (Young 1989:263). </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">While the argument that the above assertion is
entirely contingent on power relations and group hegemony may go on forever,
the essay will now shift its focus to provide an insight into the case made for
recognition of differentiated-group rights, rather than blanket application of
laws. The next section discusses the role of ‘<i>politics of recognition</i>’ (<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Taylor</st1:place></st1:city>,
1994) in promoting the ‘<i>politics of
redistribution</i>’ (Fraser, 1995). These are preceded by Young’s (1989)
argument that, ‘<i>a democratic public,
however that is constituted, should provide mechanisms for the effective
representation and recognition of the distinct voices and perspectives of those
of its constituent groups that are oppressed or disadvantaged within it</i>’
(Young 1989:261).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Differentiated
Citizenship (DC)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘Differentiated
citizenship policies often arise in circumstances of </span></i><b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">cultural
pluralism</span></b><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> where the congenial association we previously
witnessed between formal equality and self-invention quickly collapses’ </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Mitnick’s
2004:173, emphasis added). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Cultural pluralists focus on the
issue of “difference”. Citizenship to them is a matter of identity, where
members of groups feel excluded not only because of their socio-economic
status, but also because of their socio-cultural identity – their difference.
The attempt to create a universal conception of citizenship, which transcends
group differences, is unjust, because it oppresses historically excluded
groups. Therefore, there is a need to develop a theory of “differentiated
citizenship” (<st1:place w:st="on">Chari</st1:place> 2009:49). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">If we were to continue going by Mitnick’s (ibid.)
argument, then the idea of DC stands on shaky grounds as…</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The very notion of law as a system of rules entails
generality across persons, such that no individual may be singled out for
social benefits or obligations (Fuller, 1969). In virtue of their generality,
then, legal rights will indeed be afforded to general classes of persons. But, it certainly does not follow from the
principle of legal generality that all rights will be afforded to all persons;
the classes engendered by legal rights are rarely universal. If this were
otherwise, most forms of legislation (e.g., regarding taxation, welfare,
property), indeed the idea of citizenship itself, would be proscribed (Mitnick
2004:168).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Young (1989), though, </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">stresses on the promotion of a "differentiated
citizenship," which takes into account distinct group identities and group
concerns in a multicultural society. ‘The inclusion and participation of
everyone in public discussion and decision making <i>requires mechanisms</i> for group representation’ (Young 1989:251,
emphasis added).<span style="color: red;"> </span>This implies that the entity
recognising and granting citizenship rights must also provide for recognition
of active differences between groups of recipients and, hence, also legally
provide for means of reducing, if not eliminating, the factors that have led to
historic disadvantage or exclusion of such groups. Her proposition of
recognising differences in the access to civil, political and social resources
by certain groups ‘<i>is understood either
as just compensation for groups that have suffered discrimination in the past,
or as compensation for the present disadvantage these groups suffer because of
that history of discrimination and exclusion</i>’ (Young 1989:271). Her
argument marked a shift in the political theory of rights of disadvantaged
groups, especially in a welfare state. It was preceded by Balibar’s (1988)
foresight questioning, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">to what extent a defence of social and workers'
rights is today connected with progress toward a multinational and
multicultural definition of the state, and so toward a regulated extension of
the notion of citizenship which breaks with the sacrosanct equation of citizenship
and nationality (Balibar 1988:728).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Citizenship, then, is not only about nations, states
and identities. Within this larger axis lie multiple sites of exercising or
depriving citizenship rights. If the notion of universal citizenship with
equally applicable laws were in place, then it would ‘<i>impede the full inclusion and participation of all in law and public
life’ </i>(Young 1989:273-4). Young
argues for recognition of differences, ‘to the degree that there are group
differences that disadvantage, fairness seems to call <i>for acknowledging rather than being blind to them’</i> (Young 1989:268,
emphasis added). Her assertion is endorsed by Taylor (1994) and Fraser (1995)
by their respective arguments for politics of recognition and redistribution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The practice of DC entails legally providing for
enhanced or special rights to alleviate the social conditions of certain groups
which were previously denied of equal opportunities to progress. This involves
efforts by the state to align them with the mainstream and has to be heralded
by recognising the existence of such groups and the historic causes for their
exclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Equal recognition is not just the appropriate mode
for a healthy democratic society. Its refusal can inflict damage on those who
are denied it … . The projection of an inferior or demeaning image on another
can actually distort and oppress, to the extent that the image is internalized
(Taylor 1994: 36).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It is this ‘<i>internalized’
</i>(ibid.) inferiority which needs to be dealt with by redistributing the common
pool of resources available to a state, and also recognition of the formal
justice to such groups at national and international levels. ‘<i>Justice today requires <b>both</b> redistribution <b>and </b>recognition</i>’
(Fraser 1995:69, emphasis in original). Fraser also argues that certain
conditions may help the politics of recognition to promote the politics of
redistribution. The politics of
recognition and dignity is in itself a widely contested domain, as also is the
politics of redistribution. There is also an entire set of exchanges of
critiques between Young and Kymlicka which provide an interesting insight into
the development of the theory of DC and its nuances. For the purpose of this
essay, I will refrain from dwelling into these debates and only briefly discuss
some critiques of Young and the moral hazards of DC, following it with a
special focus on the Indian case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘The most obvious moral
difficulty with differentiated citizenship policy is that social benefits and
obligations are distributed in a formally unequal way</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">’
(Mitnick 2004:169). This belies the universalist claim of citizenship that
assumes all citizens as equal consequently granting equal rights to each of
them. Secondly, Young’s (1989) argument focuses explicitly on groups and
differentiating their rights from the others. The critiques about politics of
recognition of such groups notwithstanding, there is no certainty that all
members of a group may benefit proportionally from such measures of positive
discrimination (as exemplified by the case in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, ref. Jayal and Heyer, 2009).
Fraser (2000) advances a modified approach to fulfil Young’s (1989) dream of DC
by arguing that, </span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘what requires recognition is not group-specific
identity but the status of <b>individual
group members as full partners in social interaction</b></span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">’<i> </i>(Fraser
2000:113, emphasis added).</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Kymlicka and Norman (1994),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">distinguish three different kinds of groups and
three different kinds of group rights, which both Young and her critics tend to
run together: (a) special representation rights (for disadvantaged groups); (b)
multi- cultural rights (for immigrant and religious groups); and (c)
self-government rights (for national minorities). Each of these has very
different implications for citizenship identity (Kymlicka and Norman 1994:372).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">India</span></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> –
Constitution and DC<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 146.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In
Articles 15 and 16, among others, the Indian Constitution ‘<i>recognizes different kinds of citizens on the basis of their group
affiliation and cultural belonging. All citizens are not alike although all are
citizens. In consideration it proposes differential treatment over and above
equal rights</i>’ (Rodrigues 2008:165). Importantly, Rodrigues distinguishes
two bases for ‘recognition of group-differentiated citizenship’ in the
Constitution, namely: disadvantage and “difference (with respect to religion,
language and ethnicity)” (Rodrigues 2008:181-182). Such a distinction creates
schisms between uniformity of law and finds a clear reflection in the case of
women’s status and equality. While the Fundamental Rights clearly negate any
discrimination on the basis of gender, the fact that personal law is linked to
religious identity often results in curtailing women’s right to equality. This
sort of a dichotomy is summarised by Jayal (2011), as…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In sum,
then, the Indian citizenship regime inaugurated in 1950 conceptualized the
individual as the basic unit of citizenship, whose inclusion in the polity was
on equal terms with every other citizen. Groups and cultural communities found
recognition in the form of special compensatory provisions, but they were not
in the first instance viewed as the locus of the primary membership of the
individual; nor were they recognized as the mandated mediators of group
interests vis-a`-vis the state. In terms of the substance of citizenship
rights, these were interpreted comprehensively and expansively, even if the
state capacity to provide them proved wanting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(Jayal
2011:194)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The differences endorsed by the Constitution
(Rodrigues 2008 and Jayal 2011) implied, I argue, that while on hand it wished
to emphasise on the universal generality of law, it also did not want to not
recognise and protect the rights of disadvantaged groups of citizens, of which
India is abound. Sundar (2004) discusses how existing laws shape ideas of
citizenship and structure the strategies that lead to the articulation of one
or the other idea of entitlement, clearly a case of the exercise of power by
those with the privilege of formulating such laws. Sundar (2004) argues that ‘<i>subalterns are bound by state categories</i>,
and that ‘<i>insisting on historical claims
and particular identities is the only recourse people have in the face of
systems which disenfranchise them</i>’ (Sundar 2004:155). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">From the above discussion, it may be deduced that
the category of DC in inherent with layers of disagreement, as are most
political conceptions. Young (1989) intended to propound a case for recognising
the rights of those who have been historically marginalised. Her argument
opened the door to a wide-ranging debate on issues of recognition, group
representation, individual and minority rights among other issues. In more than
two decades since her seminal argument, the body of work analysing the case of
DC has grown consistently. This debate also finds itself physically incarnated
in various policies of redistribution, affirmative action and positive
discrimination undertaken by states across the globe. Brubaker (2004) puts
forth a word of caution at the alarming rise of ‘differentiated’
‘multicultural’ citizenship debates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">To some postmodernist apostles –of multiple and
differentiated citizenships, the weakness of national citizenship is no cause
for alarm. It is compensated for by a proliferating variety of other
citizenships. This burgeoning literature has usefully called attention to the many
sites of citizenship within and beyond the boundaries of nation-states. Yet it
risks overlooking the persisting importance of national citizenship (Brubaker
2004:124).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In conclusion, I would like to dispel the fears
aired by Brubaker (2004), as I believe that DC and other such plethora of
citizenships are subsumed under national citizenship and the latter stands no
risk of losing any significance whatsoever, because, eventually, the
nation-state remains the ultimate site of recognising and granting citizenship
rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="Default" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<u><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: windowtext;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Balibar, E. (1988) "Propositions on
Citizenship," <i>Ethics</i> 98, pp.
723-30.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Brubaker, R. (2004) “In the name of the nation:
reflections on nationalism and patriotism”, <i>Citizenship
Studies</i>, 8:2, pp. 115-127.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: windowtext;">Chari</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: windowtext;">, A. (2009) “Gendered Citizenship and Women’s
Movement”, <i>Economic and Political Weekly<b>,
</b></i></span><span lang="EN-IN" style="color: windowtext;">xliv: 17, pp. 47-57.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Faulks,
K. (2000) Citizenship. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>:
Routledge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Fraser, N. (2000)
“Rethinking Recognition”, <i>New Left Review, </i>3. May-June. pp. </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">107-120.</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">________ </span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(1996) <i>Social Justice
in the Age of Identity Politics: Redistribution, Recognition, and
Participation. </i>The Tanner Lecture Series on Human Values. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stanford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">________ (1995) “</span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">From Redistribution to Recognition? Dilemmas of
Justice in a ‘Post Socialist’ Age”, <i>New
Left Review. </i>I/ 212. July-August. pp. 68-93.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Holston, J. (2008) <i>Insurgent Citizenship: Disjunctions of Democracy and Modernity in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</i></span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">
<st1:placename w:st="on">Princeton</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
Press: <st1:place w:st="on">Princeton</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Isin, E.F. (1997) “Who is the new citizen? Towards
a genealogy”, <i>Citizenship Studies</i>,
1:1, pp.115-132.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Jayal, N. G. (2011) “A False Dichotomy? The
Unresolved Tension between Universal and Differentiated Citizenship in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>”, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><i>Oxford</i></st1:place></st1:city><i> Development Studies</i>, 39:02, pp.
185-204.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Jayal, N. G. and J. Heyer (2009) “The Challenge of
Positive Discrimination in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>”,
CRISE Working Paper No. 55, Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security
and Ethnicity, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oxford</st1:place></st1:city>:DFID<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Joppke, C. (2007) “Transformation of Citizenship:
Status, Rights, Identity, <i>Citizenship
Studies</i>, 11:1, pp.37-48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Kymlicka,
W. and W. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norman</st1:place></st1:city>
(1994) “Return of the Citizen: A Survey of Recent Work on Citizenship Theory”, <i>Ethics</i>, 104:2, pp. 352-381.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Mitnick, E.J. (2004) “Differentiated
Citizenship and Contextualized Morality”, <i>Ethical
Theory and Moral Practice, </i>7:2, pp. 163-177.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Rodrigues, V. (2008) “Citizenship and
the Indian Constitution”, in Rajeev Bhargava (Ed.), <i>Politics and Ethics of
the Indian Constitution</i>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Delhi</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Oxford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Press, pp. 164-188.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Sundar, N. (2004) “Toward an anthropology of
culpability”. </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">American Ethnologist</i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">,
31 (2), pp. 145–163.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Taylor,
C. (1994) ‘The Politics of Recognition’ in C. Taylor et al. <i>Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of
Recognition. </i>Princeton: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Princeton</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Young, I.M. (1989) “Polity and Group Difference: A
Critique of the Ideal of Universal Citizenship”, <i>Ethics</i> 99. pp. 250-74.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-13129526234168976352012-05-12T10:30:00.003+05:302012-05-12T10:31:16.918+05:30Immigrant Citizenship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<u><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Can Immigrants be
Citizens? <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<u><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What citizenship rights
can they rightfully claim?</span></u><u><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></u><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The category of ‘citizen’
serves as a marker of identity, along with other categories such as race,
ethnicity and gender. Citizens are conferred with rights and privileges which
non-citizens mostly don’t have the benefit of availing. The idea of
‘citizenship’ itself has been a widely contested one as it delineates the
inclusion of certain members at the expense of excluding others. In his classic
essay "Citizenship and Social Class" (1998), T. H. Marshall traced
the expansion of citizenship in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place>
over three centuries. Marshall's three categories of citizenship -<i>civil, political and social</i>- are still
relevant and highlight the areas of debate around formulation of citizenship
norms in current context and its usage to grant a legal recognition to natives
differentiating them from immigrants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Political events in the
past half a century have made it even more contentious about who qualifies to
be a citizen and who doesn’t. At stake here now are the political rights of
recognition and assertion of identity, while simultaneously availing of the
benefits of social and civil aspects of citizenship. In the scenario of mass
movement of labour across geographical borders, the category of ‘citizen’
itself seems to have become quite superfluous. The scholarly thought on this
may want us to believe otherwise, though. Hence, this essay reviews selected
works in trying to present both sides of the debate. It begins with a brief
discussion on shifting notions of who qualifies to be a ‘citizen’, proceeding
to a review of some arguments on whether immigrants can be citizens. This is
followed by an evaluation of some arguments on the possibility of certain
rights which immigrants may claim as residents of a state. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Of ‘citizen’ and ‘citizenship<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In lay understanding,
citizens are those members of a nation-state who have legal and political
rights. These rights are granted on the basis of numerous qualifying criteria
and instantly differentiate them from others who may be residing in the same
territory but don’t have these rights. On deliberation, it appears that every
geographical entity has its own criteria for granting recognition to residents
and these are, without exception, fraught with contesting claims. As Aristotle
stated, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The state is a compound
made of citizens; and this compels us to consider who should properly be called
a citizen and what a citizen really is. The nature of citizenship, like that of
the state, is a question which is often disputed: there is no general agreement
on a single definition: the man who is a citizen in a democracy is often not
one in an oligarchy (1941:1247). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hence, the category of
‘citizen’ is not easily envisaged, understood and agreed upon. ‘Many key terms
in the interpretative social sciences and history - "race,"
"nation," "ethnicity," "citizenship,"
"democracy," "class," "community," and
"tradition," for example - are at once categories of social and
political practice and categories of social and political analysis’ (Brubaker
and Cooper 2000:4). According to them, ‘<i>"Identity”
is both a category of practice and a category of analysis. Understood as a
specifically collective phenomenon, "identity" denotes a fundamental
and consequential sameness among members of a group or category</i>’ (<i>ibid.). </i>This is true for the category of
‘citizen’ too. Those marked as citizens of a common territory automatically
share the same set of rights and obligations, irrespective of their differences
in other categories of distinctions. ‘<i>Citizenship
is not a "natural" idea but an invented concept that shifts with
economic, political, and social changes. Citizenship, at least theoretically,
confers membership, identity, values, and rights of participation and assumes a
body of common political knowledge</i>’ (Abowitz and Harnish 2006:653-4).
According to Brubaker, ‘<i>modern national
citizenship was an invention of the French Revolution</i>’ (1992:35).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In a democracy,
citizenship…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">(a) gives membership
status to individuals within a political unit; (b) confers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">an identity on
individuals; (c) constitutes a set of values, usually interpreted as a
commitment to the common good of a particular political unit; (d) involves
practicing a degree of participation in the process of political life; and (e)
implies gaining and using knowledge and understanding of laws, documents,
structures, and processes of governance (Enslin, 2000).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Can immigrants be
citizens?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Wallerstein argues that, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the
concept of citizen was intended to be inclusive-to insist that all persons in a
state, and not just some persons (a monarch, aristocrats) had the right to be
included in the process of <i>collective
decision-making in the political arena and the right to receive the social
benefits the state might distribute</i>. </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But the other face of the
inclusiveness of citizenship was exclusion. Those who were not citizens of the
state had become by definition aliens- citizens, perhaps, of some other state,
but not of this state (2003:651,
emphasis added).<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In line with the
essentially exclusionary nature of citizenship, Walzer (1983) argues that if
national borders are not maintained as markers of a national community,
internal distinctions and demarcations will become more pronounced. The
admission and exclusion of immigrants, he suggests, is at the very core of
‘communal independence’. The sense of a common life, of a historically stable,
on-going association, and of a community with a special and mutual commitment
could not be maintained without such markers. If these national markers
weakened, internal boundaries would come to the fore to the point of insular
‘fortresses’ emerging (Walzer 1983:62-63). According to Klusmeyer, ‘<i>every community determines its own identity-
morally, culturally, and politically- by whom it includes and by whom it
excludes. Throughout their history, Germans have had to face an especially
difficult and painful problem in drawing the boundaries of their national
community</i>’ (1993:83). For Brubaker (1992), the state is an association of
citizens, and not just a territorially defined power and authority structure.
Yet, he argues that citizenship serves
‘<i>a powerful instrument of social closure</i>’,
in terms of the larger international community (1992:75). In his opinion, the
boundary of citizenship allows rich states to draw a line that separates its
citizens from potential immigrants from poor countries. It also allows states
to create internal boundaries that separate citizens from foreign residents, by
associating certain rights and privileges with national citizenship. Liberal
democracies are, following from this argument, ‘<i>internally inclusive</i>’ while remaining ‘<i>externally exclusive</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bosniak
summarises this paradox in the following lines - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Citizenship, as we have
seen, trades in both universalism and particularism. From an internal perspective, the citizenship ideal is warm and
inclusive, extending, in theory, to embrace “everyone.” But this embrace is, in fact, circumscribed; the ideal
of citizenship, from a boundary-conscious perspective, is exclusive, demarcating not merely a class of
national community members but
also, in the process, a class of community outsiders. And since citizenship’s boundaries are not fully coextensive with
territorial borders but extend
into the national society’s interior, these two understandings of citizenship—the universal and the
exclusive—sometimes run up
against each other on the national inside (2006:102).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Klusmeyer
(1993) offers an excellent overview of the German problem of integration of
aliens and immigrants. The absence of a ‘general immigration policy’ (1993:85)
indicates that the state does not promote active influx of citizens from other
countries intending to settle there permanently. Nevertheless, the presence of
refugees and expellees from World War II, guest workers contributing to West
Germany’s phenomenal industrial growth and success, resident aliens, second/
third- generation immigrants and asylum seekers have all contributed to the ‘</span><i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">problem of integrating minorities (that) stands out as one of
the most pressing social and political challenges</span></i><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">’ (1993<i>:</i>106) in the Federal Republic of Germany. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In the light of the above
discussion, I will now try and examine whether immigrants can be citizens by
shifting the attention to Walzer’s (1983) arguments. In ‘<i>Spheres
of Justice’</i>, Walzer outlines his argument for restricted migration by
comparing the nation-state scenario with that of a community’s functioning and
control of its own membership. He claims that the community alone decides on
admission to citizenship, emigration, exiling, and stripping citizenship away.
Secondly, the community ought to adopt a policy of inclusiveness: all of its
present inhabitants-immigrants, refugees, guest workers, and residents-should
be offered full membership because it is tyranny to rule over strangers. But
there are no standards for admission initially other than the ones the
community sets for itself (1983:36-39). While in the former claim Walzer is
vesting all rights on the members of a community, in the latter claim he is arguing
for inclusiveness. In developing his argument further, Walzer values membership
in a community and not simply citizenship in a state. In reality, political
states are geographical entities comprising of communities which may be strife
with differences within and without them. Yet, they are bound together by other
shared cultural beliefs and practices.
Walzer’s commitment to the concept of community shows itself in his
justification for autonomous control of membership but he identifies only the
barest minimum conditions for political unity, and not that of community. Hence
his argument may seem quite superfluous in terms of belonging to a community
where entry is restricted by social agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">According to Walzer, while
labour movements may be a result of market forces and availability of
opportunities, eventually, who gets inducted as a formal citizen is decided on
the basis of ‘kinship principle’ (<i>ibid. </i>41)
which is given priority in the US. As he writes, <i>‘labour mobility has a social price’</i> (<i>ibid. </i>41). Walzer’s arguments imply that the state (akin to a
community) has a choice to decide who’s inducted and who’s not, which leads us
to be believe that he’s making a subtle case for immigration with a restrictive
border. This is countered by Carens who in ‘<i>Aliens
and Citizens: The Case for Open Borders</i>’ (1987) goes all out to make a case
for open borders and free movement. He uses the arguments of other contemporary
schools of political thought to supplement his argument for open borders. Using
Nozick’s (1974) argument for property rights, Carens states that at one level
it may seem that citizens may not immigrate because of collective property
rights held in their native land. Carens points out that Nozickian theories emphasize individual, not collective, rights that may
be enforced by the state. ‘<i>[T]he control that the state can
legitimately exercise over [its] land is limited to the enforcement of the
rights of individual owners. Prohibiting people from entering a territory
because they did not happen to be born there or otherwise gain the credentials
of citizenship is no part of any states legitimate mandate</i>’ (Carens
1987:254). So Nozick’s approach, Carens concludes, cannot support restrictions
on migration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">From
Rawls’ theory, Carens draws that one should ‘<i>take a global, not a national, view of the original position</i>’
(Carens 1987:256). Given this, Carens argues that people in the original
position would select a principle of international justice that protected the
right to free movement, because migration might prove essential to their life
plans. Thus, Carens concluded that a Rawlsian perspective also suggests that
free movement is a fundamental liberty. Carens proceeds to draw his arguments
from utilitarianism, which despite its many internal disagreements against
immigration, also points toward considerably more open borders. This is
because, Carens argues, regardless of whether one considers only economic
factors or also other ones, such as cultural interests or even mere prejudices
- the utility of aliens must be weighed equally with that of citizens, which
would undoubtedly tip the scales in the direction of free movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Under
current conditions, when so many millions of poor and oppressed people feel
they have so much to gain from migration to the advanced industrial states, it
seems hard to believe that a utilitarian calculus which took the interests of
aliens seriously would justify significantly greater limits on immigration than
the ones entailed by the public order restriction implied by the Rawlsian
approach (Carens 1987:264).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">While these three theories
may originally appear to not be in favour of unregulated migration, Carens
skilfully extracts from them nuances and then builds upon them to support his
own grand proposition for more openness of borders. Beyond this, Carens
dismisses Walzer’s argument for restricted movement stating - ‘<i>any approach like
Walzer's that seeks its ground in the tradition and culture of our community
must confront, as a methodological paradox, the fact that liberalism is a
central part of our culture</i>’ (1987:268-9). Carens does admit that open
borders would indeed prevent certain ways of life from continuing, but he
qualifies this by adding that ‘constraining the kinds of choices that people
and communities may make is what principles of justice are for’ (<i>ibid.</i>:271). To conclude, Carens
arguments for open borders seems, for the lack of a better word, quite
restrictive. His claims are all grounded in examples from the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> and when
extrapolated to other parts of the world, certainly may not be feasible or
agreeable to many states. A case for ‘open borders’ should be based on wider
grounds and not on a limited region. Also, Carens’ assumption that people are,
without exception, driven by a desire to improve their living conditions and be
better off economically, at the expense of losing their cultural and community
networks seems too far-fetched and exclusively materialistic. The application
of such an argument may be universally impossible and hence lends an element of
doubt to Carens’ undoubtedly noble intentions. Nevertheless, from Carens, we
may deduce that membership in a functioning economy capable of delivering high
levels of employment, income, and consumer choice, whether organized on the
basis of whole or partial "national sovereignty," is arguably
normally much more important to people in contemporary Western societies (and
indeed to people's conception of the nature of their citizenship) than is their
nationality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is impossible to offer
a neat response to our original question of whether immigrants can be citizens.
Kymlicka and Norman point out that when thinking about citizenship today, ‘the
complex webs of rights and responsibilities implicating citizens in various
ethical, political and social decisions are important to keep in mind’
(2000:15). They argue that, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">while citizens everywhere
may be contained legally within state boundaries that enact rights and
obligations, their own states are not subject to such containment. All states,
through multilateral arrangements and international accords, implicate (or fail
to implicate) their citizens involuntarily in a web of rights and
responsibilities concerning the environment (wildlife, pollution), trade
(copyright, protection), security, refugees, crime, minorities, war, children
and many other issues (<i>ibid.</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What complicates the issue
further is that ‘<i>many citizens and
non-citizens (illegal aliens, immigrants, migrants) of states have become
increasingly mobile, carrying these webs of rights and obligations with them
and further entangling them with other webs of rights and obligations</i>’ (<i>ibid</i>). Hence, it becomes imperative to
explore what rights such aliens and immigrants can claim in the scenario of
increased mobility across borders, either sanctioned or illegal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Immigrants and citizenship rights<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It may seem antithetical
to use ‘immigrants’ and ‘citizenship rights’ in the same phrase. From the
discussion above, it is evident that any move to upgrade the status of
‘immigrants’ to that of ‘citizens’ and granting them rights enjoyed by other
citizens is deeply contested on various moral, political, cultural and economic
grounds. In this section, I explore some of the rights that immigrants wish to
attain but are usually denied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> ‘Since the founding of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
as a sovereign nation, the diversity of the population has challenged the
values of inclusiveness and equality. Historically, these tensions manifested
themselves in debates over taxation and representation, apportionment, and
suffrage. In modern times, these values have been disputed in controversies
over the differential undercount of racial minorities and adjustments of the
censuses; immigrants' rights to representation, access to higher education, and
the entitlements of citizenship; and many other social issues. Essentially, <i>the controversy is about the rights of
membership in a liberal democracy and whether citizenship is a special
membership status</i> (Tienda 2002:587, emphasis added).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Bosniak (1998) discusses
how the figure of the alien is constantly being devalued in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> policy
reforms which are keeping up with the trends of ‘new public preoccupation with citizenship status in this country’
(1998:29). She outlines some of the suggested policy reforms which will make it
difficult for newer members to acquire citizens, while simultaneously taking
away some of the additional social benefits that undocumented citizens
previously enjoyed (<i>ibid.)</i>. She goes
on to critique citizenship theory on the ground that it has ‘been strikingly
silent on issues involving citizenship status and treatment of alien’ (<i>ibid.</i>:31). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Howard (2006) discusses in
detail why national citizenship is still important despite ‘the broader umbrella of ‘European
citizenship’ since it ‘is itself strictly derivative of national citizenship’
(2006:445). Most of these claims by non-citizens of EU (aliens or immigrants)
essentially relate to political rights (eligibility to context elections and
vote) and also their exclusion from receiving social benefits (<i>ibid.</i>). ‘Whether in terms of politics and elections, welfare state benefits,
public-sector employment, social integration, or demographics and pension
systems, <i>national citizenship remains an
essential and enduring feature of modern life</i>-even in the
"supra-national" European Union’ (<i>ibid.:</i>446).
It is these rights that immigrants aim to claim in return of the services
offered to their host nation, not to mention especially by second and third
generation immigrants,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The rights that immigrants
can claim depend on multiple factors. Their ethnic and cultural background,
family size and needs, current economic status and the aspired standard of
living, desire to forge bonds with the community via participation in political
processes are among some of the variables that may lead to immigrants pressing
for attainment of rights closer to those of citizens, if not entirely equal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Scholars like Kymlicka and
Norman (2000) have argued for incorporating the changes brought about by
transnational migration and multiculturalism. Though, the detractors are not
far away. <st1:city w:st="on">Huntington</st1:city> (2004) ominously warns of
the ‘Hispanic Challenge’ to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
where continuing influx of Mexican migrants will lead to the ‘Americans
acquiesce(ing) to their eventual transformation into two peoples with two cultures
(Anglo and Hispanic) and two languages (English and Spanish)’ (2004:32). His
presentation of this situation conjures up images of an Inquisition-like
scenario in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Providing a more rational opinion, on the basis of
analysing statistical data from Mexico, Spain , US and Armenia, Rhodes and
Harutyunyan ‘<i>suggest that the political
logic of emigrant citizenship in recent decades is similar to that affecting
the extension of citizenship to groups that were excluded in the past (such as
such as those without property, racial minorities, and women). Demand for
ever-increasing inclusiveness seems to be almost an inherent feature of
competitive regimes</i>’ (2010:488).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To conclude, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The health and stability
of a modern democracy depends, not only on the justice of its institutions, but
also on the qualities and attitudes of its citizens: e.g. their sense of
identity, and how they view potentially competing forms of national, regional,
ethnic, or religious identities; their ability to tolerate and work together
with others who are different from themselves; their desire to participate in
the political process in order to promote the public good and hold political
authorities accountable; their willingness to show self-restraint and exercise
personal responsibility in their economic demands, and in personal choices that
affect their health and the environment; and their sense of justice and
commitment to a fair distribution of resources (Kymlicka and Norman 2000:5-6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Abowitz, K.K. and J.
Harnish. 2006. Contemporary Discourses of Citizenship. <i>Review of Educational Research</i> 76 (4): 653-690.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Aristotle. 1941. <i>The Politics of Aristotle</i>, ed. Ernest
Barker. <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Oxford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Brubaker, R. 1992. <i>Citizenship and Nationhood in <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region></i>. <st1:city w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:city>:
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Harvard</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Brubaker, R. and F.
Cooper. 2000. Beyond "Identity". <i>Theory
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P. 2000. Education and democratic citizenship: In defence of cosmopolitanism.
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Klusmeyer. D.B. 1993.
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Rhodes, S. and A.
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Tienda, M. 2002.
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<span lang="EN-IN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Walzer,
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</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-87786162869532808912012-05-12T10:29:00.000+05:302012-05-12T10:29:36.486+05:30Hindu Divorce: Book Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The reality of
customary divorce law v/s non-tradition of Hindu divorce: an essay on gender
equity and legal pluralism in central <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i>Holden,
Livia. 2008. Hindu Divorce. Ashgate Publishing Limited: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Pp. xxiii + 259.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.35pt;">
“<b>Hindu Divorce</b>” is an ethnography
which simultaneously lends itself to the fields of anthropology, comparative
law, legal pluralism and gender studies. Holden has achieved this feat by
weaving in theories from across feminism and the legal pluralism of Hindu
marriage and remarriage. The aim of the book is ‘<i>to understand how the mainstream Hindu discourse of gender imbalance
shapes the legal discourse and how, in turn, the official legal discourse
shapes Hindu society</i>’ (2008:19). Holden carried out her research in the
field in several phases over a very long period of twelve years. This enabled
her to develop a deep understanding of the dynamics of various relations
between people at the field level, and also enriched her personal relationships
with the informants and collaborators. </div>
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The book focusses on
customary divorce practices in its chosen field site of Piparsod, located in
Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, <st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place>. The difference between
official legal rules and customary practices is deeply contested. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In many legal systems, there
are some areas where, in the absence of any written law, customs are recognized
as the principal source of law. Hence custom is a permanent subject of debate,
raising the question of how to achieve the translation of facts into law.
Countries which were, or still are, under colonial influence are characterized
by the coexistence of the imported rule with the native legal system, often
called “customary law”. There, custom is simply the non-written law of native
people (<i>ibid. </i>115). </div>
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<br /></div>
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This essay attempts to
provide a review of “Hindu Divorce” while situating it in the larger context of
discourse around customary laws. It begins with a comment on the methodology
adopted by Holden while researching for this book. Various chapter summaries
are included while incorporating a discussion on larger issues of gender
inequality, access to law, formal and customary ways of obtaining a divorce and
remarriage. A brief outline of the debates around codification of Hindu law
after the independence of <st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place>
is also included. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b>Introduction and Methodology<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The book begins with a chapter titled “<i>Conceptualizing Hindu Divorce</i>”, which is the customary and
indispensable ‘review of literature’. Holden initiates this discussion with the
common claim that Hindu marriages are indissoluble, while contesting it by
bringing to the board a wide range of scholarship sketching ‘<i>portraits of Hindu divorce</i>’ (<i>ibid.</i>2). She cites Derrett and others
emphasising that forms of customary divorce are prevalent across various
communities (<i>ibid. </i>7-9). After a
discussion on the conjunction between <i>dharma
</i>and Hindu law (<i>ibid. </i>12-5),
Holden moves on to addressing deeper issues of ‘gender inequality’ (<i>ibid. </i>16) perpetuated by the
phallocentric discourse on marriage practices in the Orient. </div>
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Moving on to the central concerns of her enquiry, Holden writes that ‘<i>the issues addressed throughout this work
are concerned therefore with the conflicting views on what constitutes
knowledge in a particular society and on the role of power in the construction
of knowledge</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>17). Her
focus also ‘takes into account variables other than gender in order to display
the diversity and multiplicity of women’s voices and experiences’ (<i>ibid. </i>18). Her background in law
influences her intent of identifying and analysing strands of legal pluralism
prevailing on the field. The book develops as a ‘<i>dialogue between lawyers and anthropologists</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>22) and ‘upholds the ethnomethodological studies that avoid
classical theories of meaning’ (<i>ibid. </i>24).
This section lays the foundation for the multidisciplinary approach adopted by
the author and provides an insight into the various schools of thought and
practice which have been referred to by her. It serves as an excellent manual
in highlighting the significance of thorough research of previously published
material on related topics that supplements a deeper understanding of
complexities regarding the current chosen area of study.</div>
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The author aims to ‘<i>understand the
place of Hindu divorce in the Indian legal system</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>24). This is a very important inquiry as the dominant notion
in Hindu society is that marriage is an indissoluble institution. It is a line
of thought perpetuated by the hegemonic Brahmanic discourse which claims to
represent the true nature of life cycle practices. ‘<i>A difference exists between the Brahmanical Hindu law of marriage,
which guides the so-called upper classes of society, and the marriage laws
observed amongst the lower strata, where customary divorce is recognised and
has taken place all along and where the laws in question are more equitable to
women</i>’ (Ray, 1952). </div>
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Since this research was conducted over a long
duration, Holden had the privilege of adapting a wide range of methods used to
collect data. The length of the research also enabled her to observe the
gradual changes in the field, urbanisation and certain conspicuous symbols of
the same (Holden 2008:33-7).</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the chapter titled “<i>Insights</i>”, Holden discusses in detail
the sites of her research including its spatial progression in terms of moving from
village (Piparsod) to district-town (Shivpuri) to the semi-urban town (<st1:place w:st="on">Gwalior</st1:place>). Her familiarity
with Piparsod was owing to Professor Chambard’s first-hand experience of
research in this region (<i>ibid. </i>29).
Her experiences as a researcher were mainly influenced by the fact that the
villagers’ identification of her in relation to Professor Chambard and the
birth of her first child, ‘<i>which
radically changed’ </i>her<i> ‘status at the
village level</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>40). This
chapter deals with her ‘concerns about intrusion, objectivity, authenticity,
verifiability, updating and royalties in the data-gathering process’ (<i>ibid. </i>25). It focuses ‘<i>on the sites and the relationships of my
fieldwork, on the evolution of my methods of collection and analysis of data,
and dissemination of findings since my first stay in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, in Autumn 1995</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>27).</div>
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The author writes about her transition from ‘<i>knowing</i>’ Piparsod while she was based in <st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place>, to physically experiencing the sights
and sounds of the place. While she had an idea about some major figures of the
village (as they were informants of Professor Chambard), her own research led
her to establishing ‘<i>complex yet very
productive relationships</i>’ (<i>ibid.</i>30)
with the residents. This section gives detailed insights into the issues faced
by anthropologists on field. They provided me with important lessons on how to
maintain objectivity while integrating oneself with the practices of the people
and being a non-intrusive participant observer. Concerns of confidentiality and
remuneration are also neatly dealt with by Holden, acting as a guide to rookie
researchers. Following a book-based methodology prevents one from gleaning a
wide range of information and incorporating changes on the site can prove to
helpful in obtaining better depth of information. As Holden admits, ‘<i>my involvement in women’s concerns led to a
gradual change in my method of collecting data</i>’ (<i>ibid.</i>53).</div>
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This chapter ends with a write-up by Marius Holden, who is the author’s
husband and an anthropologist himself. He provides ‘<i>insights on how acutely filming raised problems of objectivity and
representativity</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>60) in
the process of recording footage on field and editing the vast amount of video
recorded to create a coherent documentary. This part of the chapter is a concise
illustration of researchers collaborating on a common site and using modern
technology for the collection and of data.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b>Case Studies<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The mainstay of any ethnographic research is the data collected via
narrations of various actors in the field. Their stories form the basis of
relating theoretical expositions with empirical reality. At times, these case
histories serve to contest dominant claims of prevalence or non-existence of
certain practices in the real world. This is certainly true in the case of Hindu
divorce. As mentioned earlier, common perception is such that Hindu marriages
are indissoluble. But the Hindu Code Bill (1956) provided Hindu women with the
legal right of divorce. Nevertheless, as Holden points out, customary divorce
has always been present among certain castes and communities and they prefer to
opt for these procedures rather than engage in lengthy and expensive formal
divorce proceedings. The narratives cited by Holden ‘<i>are therefore an example of how divorce litigation is handled without
any, or with only little, intervention by official law</i>’ (2008:72). It is
also a diligent attempt to highlight the role of public notaries in
officialising what is basically a customary procedure and has not been inked in
formal law. This can be seen as an instance of recording and making official
forms of legal pluralism. </div>
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Through
the notary public procedure, not only do the spouses contractually fix the
terms of their matrimonial relationship, but, and above all, they officially
celebrate their remarriage, which therefore acquires a legitimacy that goes
beyond the boundary of their community’s law. Hence, it also serves as the
equivalent of formal registration of marriage (Holden 2008:92).</div>
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The terminology widely used in relation to the practices of Hindu divorce
in this region include mainly two terms: ‘<i>chor
chutti</i>’ and ‘<i>dharicha</i>’. The
former refers to ‘to set free’ implying the woman having left her first
husband. The latter refers to remarriage and a payment made to the first
husband, endorsed by the panchayat and formalised by the notary. As she quotes
an informant who is also a lawyer, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<i>Chor-chutti azad hona</i> and <i>dharicha </i>are easy procedures, but they
have a legal value too. Because after <i>dharicha
</i>the spouses will live as husband and wife and if somebody objects they will
show their marriage agreement… the community respect this and the law courts
respect this (<i>ibid.</i>146).</div>
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Dhagamwar (1992:197-209) views <i>dharicha
</i>practices as a form of modern slavery, but Holden contests this by arguing
the ‘remarriage is usually registered through a notarial procedure that
establishes the rights and obligations of the spouses in the form of a
contract’ (Holden 2008:90). Holden also quotes one such marriage contract (<i>ibid. </i>96-97) and points out how the
rights of woman are better protected in it as compared to that in most Hindu
first marriages ‘which are not usually accompanied by any contract’ (<i>ibid.</i> 98).</div>
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Holden carefully chooses cases which represent a wide range of possible
circumstances where the actors involved opt for customary divorce. From her
account, it is obvious that it’s mainly women who resort to this measure, as
men supposedly can get away with taking another wife without having to formally
have divorced the first one. Women, on the other hand, ‘<i>can negotiate the termination of a marriage and then remarry, securing
equity for themselves and their children</i>’ (Holden 2005:68). The first
informant discussed by Holden is Rajkumari who ‘<i>points out four steps in the accomplishment of the customary divorce
and subsequent remarriage: the escape, the remarriage ritual, the settlement
before the panchayat, and the settlement before the notary public</i>’ (Holden
2008:80).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.35pt;">
In an attempt to highlight ‘<i>women’s
awareness of their legitimate expectations in matrimonial life</i>’ (<i>ibid. 106</i>), Holden discusses the case of
a woman who initiates customary divorce proceedings against her husband who has
physically abused his wife, even tried to kill her and then took on another
wife. This is an instance of how a woman after leaving her husband doesn’t have
to remarry and can solely approach the notary for formalising a divorce (<i>ibid. </i>99-106). ‘<i>Such a codified behaviour legitimizes divorce in the eyes of the family
and the community as well. Resorting to official jurisdictions would therefore
be an unnecessary step’</i> (<i>ibid. </i>107).</div>
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The narrative of Suman (<i>ibid. </i>107-114)
is indicative of the paternalistic nature of notaries and a hopeful case of a
‘modern’ woman. During her interrogation the notary does not refrain from
leading her on to elicit a definitive response (<i>ibid. </i>112). Suman, on the other hand, is a promising case of a
young, spirited and confident woman who knows her mind and doesn’t refrain from
speaking up. She’s received basic education, was good at school, wants to study
further, be financially independent and is quite clear about her decision to
not go back to her husband. Further on, she’s also assertive about what she
wants and is certain that she wouldn’t enter into another marriage without
first seeing the boy. Differently from the previous cases discussed by Holden,
‘she openly fights Hindu tradition and claims for herself achievements such as
the choice of the partner, the consent in marriage, the right to education, and
the independence from her family members’ (<i>ibid.
114</i>). </div>
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The case history of Rani (<i>ibid. </i>115-9)
included by Holden encompasses a wide range of tricky issues involving a caste
placed low in the social hierarchy but one which has gained considerable clout
owing to recent ‘<i>political innovations</i>’
(<i>ibid. </i>116) and the threat of village
endogamy. Towards the end of this chapter, one sees the advantage a researcher
may of have after having spent a considerable amount of time in the field –
establish a deeper trust with the informants. This has a direct beneficial impact
on the access to data which was previously unavailable due to the ‘outsider’
characteristic of the researcher as well as probable discomfort with the topic
of research that may project certain
actors is a manner inconsistent with their ‘image’.</div>
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Holden also gained access to several affidavits concerning divorce among
Brahmans. ‘<i>Brahmans do divorce but most
of the time they do so officially. Now they start to divorce customarily
because it is less expensive</i>’ (an informant, <i>ibid. </i>120). Not only does this statement contest the usual claim
that marriages among high castes are indissoluble, but also hint at the
expensive nature of a protracted legal battle to gain divorce under the Hindu
Marriage Act. The customary divorce practices discussed throughout this chapter
and illustrated via various case studies are summarised by Holden, as follows:</div>
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The local perception of the frequency of divorce and
remarriage customs in relations to caste and <i>dharma </i> is that they are
observed by lower castes, to whom the strict Brahmanic codes of conduct do not
apply. The consequence is that through the observance of these customs, people
not belonging to the Hindu lower castes are assimilated into them. (<i>ibid.</i> 123).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.35pt;">
As evident from these cases, the role of gender in relation to Hindu
marriages is certainly a disadvantageous one. Under such circumstances,
customary divorce and remarriage proceedings offer a means of subverting the
oppression and abuse suffered in a traditional marriage. That these are
recognised by the law of the land is another tip in their favour. This leads us
to the next chapter which has a long discussion on the customs and laws
surrounding marriage, divorce and remarriage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.35pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b>Tracing Marriage and Divorce: Rituals,
Customs and Law<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
This
chapter intends to study ‘the gap existing between rural values and urban
interpretations of customary practices, in particular, for its implication upon
legal representation of customs before official law courts’ (<i>ibid. 26</i>). While discussing with
informant notaries various customs of marriage, Holden also ventures into
detailing the eight forms of marriage as delineated by <i>Manusmriti</i> (<i>ibid. </i>132).
She explores the status of children in cases of remarriage. The initial section
of this chapter is also striking for providing a telling comment on some of the
social issues which have gained a strong currency in <st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place> today. These include lack of
adult women for marriage due to female infanticide (<i>ibid.</i>129) and the spread of education among rural populace (<i>ibid. </i>134).</div>
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This is followed by a shift in
focus to represent the lawyer’s perspective. Here Holden provides us with an
interesting analysis of how the notaries struggle to integrate custom and law. Fitzpatrick has argued that ‘<i>the
very attempt to write down custom in a way meant to be juridically or
intellectually definitive loses custom</i>’ (1984:21). But, modern Hindu law (Sec. 29 (2), Hindu Marriage
Act, 1955) recognizes the validity of customary divorce in specific
circumstances. The clause “<i>Nothing
contained in this act shall be deemed to affect any right recognised by custom
or conferred by any special enactment to obtain the dissolution of a Hindu
marriage, whether solemnised before or after the commencement of this act</i>"
implies that formal law is not encroaching upon customary practices. This
becomes extremely important considering the variety in prevalence of such
practices across the breadth of this country.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
The role of notaries is that of
‘mediators between non-state and state law’ (Holden<i> </i>2008:144). Holden notes how ‘the notary public…appears wisely to
manipulate a vast range of legal and meta-legal categories and thereby <i>creates</i> for his clients the sufficient
platform for a legal recognition of their customs’ (<i>ibid. </i>144, emphasis added). It is interesting to note that most
Hindu marriages are traditional in nature and not registered depriving them of
legal identification. Herein, practices of customary divorce and remarriage
resort to services of the public notary, thereby creating evidence to the act
which was not registered and recognised before. An informant notary in Gwalior
sketches the history of the <i>Dharicha</i>
law in that state and also mentions how they have to incorporate clauses in the
marriage contract which make the act legal, an agreement that is otherwise
illegal (<i>ibid. </i>151).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b>Conclusion<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
In her attempt to incorporate legal terrains in the
domain of customary marriage and divorce Holden engages in a lengthy discussion
trying to situate her <i>‘fieldwork finding
within the wider horizon of the official Hindu law’ </i>(<i>ibid. </i>161). She refers to numerous cases from Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, <st1:city w:st="on">Bombay</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Madras</st1:city>,
<st1:place w:st="on">Punjab</st1:place>, Himachal Pradesh (<i>ibid.</i>162-187 some in which the judiciary refused to acknowledge
divorce obtained through customary procedures while displaying ‘<i>substantial fairness</i>’ (<i>ibid.</i>188) to the claims of women in some
other cases. She follows this with the examples of women who had obtained
customary divorces in their community panchayats and the complications which
arose during their application for permanent citizenship in <st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place> and US. Holden describes her
role an ‘expert’ in these cases urging
for a better understanding of ‘<i>how export
reports are received in the legal process</i>’ (<i>ibid. </i>212)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
In the final chapter of her book, Holden makes
concluding remarks regarding ‘<i>Hindu
divorce and remarriage practices (</i>that)<i>
are embedded in the dichotomy of their existence, notwithstanding their denial’
</i>(<i>ibid. </i>214). While her field site
was located in Madhya Pradesh, she argues that the cases cited here are a
reflection of (mostly women) mobilizing tradition to challenge the dominant
norms and practices of patriarchy, while negotiating for a safe space for their
own living. She wraps up her work by stating that ‘<i>law courts, not only in India, at least recognise the possibility of
the existence and of the legitimacy of customary Hindu divorce – and are
therefore disconcertingly ahead of the mainstream conceptualisations’ </i>(<i>ibid. </i>219).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
To
conclude, in the exercise of reviewing this book for the course on ‘Enculturing
Law’, this student was exposed to various parallel systems of grievance
redressal prevalent in <st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place>
with respect to the institution of marriage. The recognition of these customary
laws by the formal law of the land (at least in principle) provided a
perspective as to how subaltern forms of justice get integrated into the
mainstream discourse on a particular issue. “Hindu Divorce” by Livia Holden
(2008) is an excellent example of practices having the ability to travel from
down to up in the social hierarchy. The book also provides telling insights
into the gender and kinship norms of various communities in semi-urban or rural
areas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
Debates on legal pluralism always strive to
identify such parallel systems (an economy of sorts) and argue for them being
granted a status at par with that of formal law. The idea of a uniform law for
a state (envisioned in the Constitution) is intended to homogenise the populace
while treating their individual complaints. Here, I’d like to argue that a
state is constituted by various non-homogenous elements and the law should not
attempt to suppress or ignore them in the name of equality. These various
customary laws should be respected and recognised, if not incorporated, in the
formal legal system as they consequently mean recognising the agency of the
variety of individuals (and groups) that comprise the state.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>Bibliography<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
Dhagamwar, V. (1992),
<i>Law, Power and Justice</i>, <st1:place w:st="on">New
Delhi</st1:place>: Sage.</div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Fitzpatrick, P. (1984),
Traditionalism and Traditional Law. <i>Journal
of African Law,</i> 28: 20-27.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Holden, L. ( 2008), <i>Hindu Divorce</i>. Ashgate Publishing
Limited: <st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
----- (2005), Official Policies For
(Un)Official Customs: The Hegemonic Treatment of Hindu Divorce Customs by
Dominant Legal Discourses. <i>Journal of
Legal Pluralism, </i>49: 47-74.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
----- (2003), Custom and Law Practices in <st1:place w:st="on">Central India</st1:place>: Some Case Studies. <st1:place w:st="on"><i>South Asia</i></st1:place><i> Research, </i>23(2): 115–134.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Kishwar, M. (1994), Codified Hindu
Law: Myth and Reality.<i> Economic and
Political Weekly</i>, 29, No. 33:
2145-2161.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<st1:city w:st="on">Moore</st1:city>, E.P. (1998), <i>Gender,
Law and Resistance in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></i>,
<st1:city w:st="on">Tucson</st1:city>: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Arizona</st1:placename></st1:place>
Press.</div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-IN">Ray, R. (1952), The Background of the Hindu Code Bill.
Pacific Affairs , 25 (3): 268-277.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-76286551585422204692010-12-28T21:41:00.005+05:302011-12-13T15:13:56.202+05:30Films-2010<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>A YEAR AT THE MOVIES</i></b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the Hindu way of life, there is a belief that what you do on the first day of a new year, keeps recurring (in an exact or similar manner) all through the year. Year 2010 proved that right for this blogger! I began this year by watching the film 3 IDIOTS on the 1st of January. What followed was a yearlong viewing of some amazing films, topping it all with a bumper month in December! I’m sure I missed out on some gems, but I’m glad with whatever I could manage between classes, assignments and exams. Mentioned here are short comments on all the new movies I saw in 2010:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">3 Idiots</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2cUEnRBqRFmsBifnT40xjlJybryER8MtaXkCcEViTqxFN5tLEBQTSJG8pGxMB7WNaVdu-_4Qi97wBopgGUyKPvPZvAXHMBS0NMA7M7ekiqj7oPmIme1ArVPUtwMVWtEM7pRLNw/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2cUEnRBqRFmsBifnT40xjlJybryER8MtaXkCcEViTqxFN5tLEBQTSJG8pGxMB7WNaVdu-_4Qi97wBopgGUyKPvPZvAXHMBS0NMA7M7ekiqj7oPmIme1ArVPUtwMVWtEM7pRLNw/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">An endearing story of belief, friendship and bonding that stood the test of time. Directed by the man behind the Munnabhai films, Rajkumar Hirani, this one had everything going for it! From an amazing script (written and revised diligently by Abhijat Joshi and the director) to an encouraging yet taskmaster of a producer (Vidhu Vinod Chopra) to a brilliant cast (with Aamir Khan’s star-power and histrionics adding to the galaxy of performers)! It was the ideal combination of Bollywood masala (replete with a rain dance routine!), emotional saga and brains (real gizmos from IIT). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My only grouse with this film is a small detail which skipped the eye of the assistant checking for continuity. The scene: Javed Jaafri is being threatened with his father’s ashes being about to be dropped in the commode. In one shot, Sharman Joshi drops the lid of the container in the loo. Few shots later, the utensil is returned to Jaaferi, with the lid back on it!:-P!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2)<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> My Name Is Khan</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A sappy yet topical KJo film that I took my parents to watch on their wedding anniversary! Review can be read here…</span><a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/03/mnik.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/03/mnik.html</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Teen Patti</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A promising idea which was failed by it's lack luster execution.</span><br />
<a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/03/teen-patti.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/03/teen-patti.html</a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">An utterly emotional and sweet family film, without the usual OD of melodrama! Took my Mum along for it, review can be read here…</span><a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post_11.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post_11.html</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5)<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> Inception</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was G’s ‘goodbye’ film! Review can be read here…</span><br />
<a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/07/reversal-of-real.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/07/reversal-of-real.html</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Udaan</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe7aUrV71wRI_e2Q0OJrOC8JHVHR5xkvMfe7NsZUUVqRvDhoFH8as1czXDtB3Jn4QvrkdSMEgOA9zf_9i2ib3eFmKcrsVYONum1yCzntZK5tPuCd9qf-i_ANXgz22lUCj1-7huQ/s1600/ud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe7aUrV71wRI_e2Q0OJrOC8JHVHR5xkvMfe7NsZUUVqRvDhoFH8as1czXDtB3Jn4QvrkdSMEgOA9zf_9i2ib3eFmKcrsVYONum1yCzntZK5tPuCd9qf-i_ANXgz22lUCj1-7huQ/s200/ud.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A lovely work of art showcasing Vikramaditya Motwane’s passion for story-telling. Kudos to Anurag Kashyap for backing it! My favourite part is the climax which shows the power of education and how knowledge can be used for making our lives so much better, emotionally!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Peepli (Live)</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkH7qcM95n_uiX20ETT5co8U2PL45m2FNi47i47NQl67VMLoD1d7yFc0vzQEKpKMVKZiRRkTpb2rTJVj4EN_apV_l8FngbLyn_BZ-57epWjmQsxPuvmH2vpx6YIx1wbSFyGItFA/s1600/ppl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkH7qcM95n_uiX20ETT5co8U2PL45m2FNi47i47NQl67VMLoD1d7yFc0vzQEKpKMVKZiRRkTpb2rTJVj4EN_apV_l8FngbLyn_BZ-57epWjmQsxPuvmH2vpx6YIx1wbSFyGItFA/s200/ppl.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A telling commentary on our times and the state of our lives. Acute portrayal of manipulation by the media and effects of unemployment. Hats off to Anusha Rizvi for the crisp script and direction. Songs of this film were an absolute winner, too!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Tere Bin Laden</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGJv9WNN9mlSAybVCKGbOEYSt8N4JxIYGb2RkxRA2VbHhVx6RJVvAG0mxTFy-z7HojGwxa9TLhRsq_86_-Wey9u-gZQzj2MbKPWGaxSZZmwbZfw9ODp7lOf244bT4cMM-FgWCUA/s1600/tr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGJv9WNN9mlSAybVCKGbOEYSt8N4JxIYGb2RkxRA2VbHhVx6RJVvAG0mxTFy-z7HojGwxa9TLhRsq_86_-Wey9u-gZQzj2MbKPWGaxSZZmwbZfw9ODp7lOf244bT4cMM-FgWCUA/s200/tr.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The sleeper hit of this year! The film undertakes many political issues which are treated in a light yet impressive manner of story-telling.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">9) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Robot</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">*yawn* Review can be read here…</span><br />
<a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/10/robot.html">http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2010/10/robot.html</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>The Social Network</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The less said, the better! Brilliant examples of super-smart and sharp writing which shines through many of the dialogues in this film. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">11) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Do Dooni Chaar</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">HABIB FAISAL! OMG! I can’t stop gushing over him and his craft! This is an extremely endearing, warm, sweet and a very identifiable film. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkeJdPNZqbx1WF5Wg3LYDgHh6kso5nWj-AN5I0qSRFui0Ih4p7zDyYc1DMda5NpUq0odbwdpC9_4uA8-hPccf2WObZZ6P7Wa4fefiLezmAukF0B7p2kfd1AIRIw1Z38vYqpHVTA/s1600/ddc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkeJdPNZqbx1WF5Wg3LYDgHh6kso5nWj-AN5I0qSRFui0Ih4p7zDyYc1DMda5NpUq0odbwdpC9_4uA8-hPccf2WObZZ6P7Wa4fefiLezmAukF0B7p2kfd1AIRIw1Z38vYqpHVTA/s200/ddc.jpg" width="166" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>THE BUMPER DECEMBER!</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was really looking forward to watching Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se, Guzaarish, Band Baaja Baaraat and Tees Maar Khan. Saw all of these except the last, because I realised in the nick of time that Shirish Kunder is a hopeless story and script-writer. Wish he’d stuck to only editing reels! As for the others…</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa_18RdWf8EtrNDFMllkkrzHvev13WC2bkRJhqY5ec7cHMbLBBNE0E67u0KVp_qVRDoySg4EG8M4g6NxVVpJ3dve4Fpd-2uz_njWHHKnYIz8TIDKwS5TaqrG4RAOq9FpgQfAEbA/s1600/kh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZa_18RdWf8EtrNDFMllkkrzHvev13WC2bkRJhqY5ec7cHMbLBBNE0E67u0KVp_qVRDoySg4EG8M4g6NxVVpJ3dve4Fpd-2uz_njWHHKnYIz8TIDKwS5TaqrG4RAOq9FpgQfAEbA/s200/kh.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A sad attempt by Ashutosh Gowariker to give us a slice of history. This film could do with a lot more sincerity and an interesting screenplay. I went to watch it in its second week and there were only 5 people in the theatre to begin with. When the film ended, there were only 2 people left, one moi and and another old bearded man!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Guzaarish</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIIVMkoj4DMprF1CseQKF4jeB-wSY9AHbnxd7yE7S8yxe6p60cQcehlvUsEmLPsnW3J1lsggwhRHUZfQfponZ1AhmSsy6CBX8AsTOFgu0vxoSeAYl82IW1q2thOyT6GCYPJo0sw/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIIVMkoj4DMprF1CseQKF4jeB-wSY9AHbnxd7yE7S8yxe6p60cQcehlvUsEmLPsnW3J1lsggwhRHUZfQfponZ1AhmSsy6CBX8AsTOFgu0vxoSeAYl82IW1q2thOyT6GCYPJo0sw/s1600/g.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Saw it immediately after KHJJS…within a gap of 10 minutes! This was the film’s 3rd week and there were about 50 people in the hall…not bad for a film declared as ‘flop’! My main aim of watching this film was to see an SLB work on the big screen. I wanted a sense of his craft and relish the colour pallet he employs. Of course, he has publicly proclaimed that he is drawing more inwards now and therefore the visual splendours of a Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Devdas will no more be presented to us. My bad luck for not having seen those on the big screen! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This film is a warm tale of struggle for survival propped up by restrained love and dedication. I came across many people who didn’t like it one bit, and others whose heart-strings it chugged. To each his own, then!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Band Baaja Baaraat</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAHKXCRmE9PPfM58AawV23t8IJL83jsK8iT12-1OcjjU3Lsz5JkkIDD3D3fGeoxsKA2wBcp7O53s9NwIjDlWx66p0Opwn0_roNEtKAEGXYvNAeg1bA9vwUUIDe2W557Y_tfF9zw/s1600/bbb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAHKXCRmE9PPfM58AawV23t8IJL83jsK8iT12-1OcjjU3Lsz5JkkIDD3D3fGeoxsKA2wBcp7O53s9NwIjDlWx66p0Opwn0_roNEtKAEGXYvNAeg1bA9vwUUIDe2W557Y_tfF9zw/s1600/bbb.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">OMG! I LOVE THIS FILM! I COULD DIE WATCHING IT! My original intention behind wanting to watch this film was Anushka. Yeap, that’s right! It’s her that I was watching out for! While the promo of this flick was not well-cut, I was super-tempted to see Anushka’s expressions on the big screen. And boy, what a PATAKHA this girl!!!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anushka, Ranveer and Maneesh Sharma are the B-E-S-T things YRF have offered to us is a REALLY L-O-N-G time!!! Possibly the last time I was super-impressed by a YRF offering was Chak de! India, and that was certainly very long back!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A big round of applause for <i>Habib Faisal</i> for the brilliant screenplay and scintillating dialogues! Perseverance pays..and his stint at YRF is an excellent illustration of it! From patiently writing script/dialogues for some of YRF's lousy and expensive films...his patience paid and he got the perfect opportunity to showcase his skill with the words to us in BBB! Apropos!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">BBB has the crackling mix of a realistic story, brilliant screenplay, crispy dialogues, fantastic execution and an absolutely stunning cast (lead + supporting). Nothing to complain about in this flick! I’m sure you get the drift…I seriously can’t stop hyper-ventilating about it!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The best thing about 2010 is YET to come, though!!!!! </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks to a tweet by Rajeev Masand, I stumbled across this Bollywood-lover -</span><a href="http://dolcenamak.blogspot.com/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0c343d;">http://dolcenamak.blogspot.com</span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">- who understands our films in ways we don’t even imagine them to be! I have fallen in love with this Lady, and don’t be surprised if my posts in the future keep referring you to her posts!</span></div></div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-70519890721911877582010-10-07T02:38:00.004+05:302011-03-13T15:23:28.853+05:30Robot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSpunky%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><o:smarttagtype name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="address" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="Street" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><u style="color: #073763;"><i><b>Enthiran </b></i></u></span>has hit the bulls-eye in south <st1:place w:st="on">Indian territory</st1:place> with visitors thronging to the theater like crazy. Most are, of course, fans of Rajnikanth and his antics, the remaining minority is rooting for the special effects. Being the costliest film made in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, it’s also been dubbed in Hindi as <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><u style="color: #666666;"><i><b>Robot </b></i></u></span>and has garnered quite a few accolades across the country. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8_WALkC67r1bQvDifNYRByupqvcY9MPZ_7qtsjcGvhTLlrOaVnVq5mMHwgY7TtPkSDxgesSL1lScmvQ6gQUmalDB80Fr60rnA5feFscJAbY1tmCLMW8wxsZTumuGmMFaawBZGw/s1600/robot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8_WALkC67r1bQvDifNYRByupqvcY9MPZ_7qtsjcGvhTLlrOaVnVq5mMHwgY7TtPkSDxgesSL1lScmvQ6gQUmalDB80Fr60rnA5feFscJAbY1tmCLMW8wxsZTumuGmMFaawBZGw/s320/robot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>The blogger would not like to ‘review’ the film as that is something each viewer can take an independent call on. Instead, mentioned here are some random stuff that were noticed while watching the film:-</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">For a 10:00 am show at Big ODEON, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><st1:address style="color: #741b47;" w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Connaught Place</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:city></st1:address></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">, there were barely 7-8 people in the hall. In south </span><span style="font-size: large;"><st1:country-region style="color: #741b47;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">, it is running to packed houses in its second week, too.</span></span></div></li>
</ul><ul style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">The lyrics and dialogues of this version have been done by the supremely talented SWANAND KIRKIRE. Of course, his talent is amply wasted. The lyrics are written just somehow to mean like the Tamil ones. Sadly, he couldn’t have come up with better stuff in accordance with the melody, since that wouldn’t then suit the picturisation of the song. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dialogues of the film have no notable features. In fact, at many places, literal translation and technical Hindi has been used. It leaves one wanting for a more casual translation. Worst case in point: “kritrim shukranu” [artificial sperm].</span></div></li>
</ul><ul style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Superstars can’t do without a moral lecture, can they? Well, somewhere they need to ‘give’ a message to their loyal fans. Rajni’s robot does it towards the end while dismantling himself!</span></li>
</ul><ul style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The lead characters zoom around the city in a swanky Mercedes convertible, WITHOUT putting on the seat belt. THAT, actually, would have been a better coded message to give to the million fans who may otherwise be errant car drivers and passengers.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="color: purple;">Lots to write about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. OOPS! ‘</span><u style="color: purple;"><b>Bachan</b></u><span style="color: purple;">’ is how they spell it in the credits, at the very beginning of the film. If they had to make such an expensive film, the least they could do was to get the name of their female lead right! One wonders, why is SHE there in this film? Many reasons, actually. </span></span></li>
</ul><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><ul style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">It’s better to have someone 37 yrs old rather than a 20-something opposite a hero who’s a senior citizen! Hers is a face well-known in across the breadth <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, as compared to say, Shriya Saran, who was Rajni’s co-star in his last film [Sivaji] is 23 years of age and known mainly in Tollywood. She also quite fat, just as they like it down South. [yes, there is a scene done just for showing her cleavage…]</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What is it with Ash’s walk? Can’t she EVER walk straight? Those exaggerated hip-swaying movements only make her posterior look broader than what they already are. Her tummy fat is quite obvious in most of the outfits. </span></li>
</ul><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>In the first song, she dons a beautiful chiffon saree with an ill-matched blouse! Though, it’s only in the songs that the designer has either goofed up or played with a wild imagination, especially in an OTT song called "Kilimanjaro-Mohen jo daro"! For her outfits in rest of the film are quite nice and pleasant, suiting her character and location.</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Being a medical student is good enough. WHY was there a need to show her cheating in the exam and then blatantly lying about it? That, by the way, is an excellent un-coded message to give, no?</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: purple; margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: purple; margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><ul style="color: purple; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Last bit on her… looks like she’s been put there to dance [which she does well] <b>AND</b> so that they can unapologetically refer to her beauty whenever the need arises! Her “blue-eyes” are mentioned at least FIVE times!</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">Sun TV’s logo glares into our face. The producer didn’t wanna give up that ONE chance to show off his company’s diversity!</span></span></li>
</ul><div style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>People move in and out of that <u>Chennai Dumping Ground</u>, even searching through the trash, WITHOUT a mask around their nose…ew!</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"></div><ul style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"> The much-talked about climax of the film is an OD of SFX and some conceptualization behind it. But, honestly, nothing strikingly ingenious about it.</span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The director of this tech-fest, <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Demystifying-Indias-highest-paid-film-maker---the-elusive-S-Shankar/articleshow/6676590.cms">Shankar</a></span>, is being touted as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s <b>Cameron</b>. The blogger doesn’t agree with this line of thought. Somewhere, ‘Avatar’ rang a bell which is not the case with 'Robot'. Excellent graphics n special effects make not a great film.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-2537589619996459402010-10-05T11:15:00.002+05:302011-03-03T18:56:20.441+05:30CSA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Touch Me? <u style="color: #cc0000;">DON'T</u><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>Touch ME!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSpunky%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><o:smarttagtype name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><style>
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</style> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is all around us, yet we tend not to ‘see’ it. Certainly amongst the most common topics to be brushed under the carpet is the sensitive issue of Child Sexual Abuse [CSA]. Such a touchy topic is being broached on this space for the first time. CSA is a social malaise, rampant not only behind closed doors of so-called ‘secured’ set ups, but also just about anywhere else. It mostly goes unreported, and there are many reasons. The victims are ‘sush’-ed into silence by the intimidating perpetrator, or are simply too ashamed to talk about it. In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the relationship between children and their parents is quite affected by notions of ‘hierarchy’, often dissuading the victims from sharing their experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The perpetrators of this heinous crime usually tend to be someone close/ known to the victim. This makes it extremely difficult for the child to either protest or disclose it to the parents. Children of both sexes are equally prone to being abused. Despite lack of conclusive data, the number of victims comprises more of girls. As matured individuals, the usual stance is that the child should immediately report any such abuse. This is easier said than done. The honour-shame complex runs deep and the un-sureness of positive action also dissuades the child from reporting the crime. Even if the child takes the courage to confide in parents [or someone else close], many refuse to believe it and simply chide the victim away. This may do intense damage to the psyche of the abused, leaving an impression for the life time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A more practical solution is [and <b style="color: #741b47;"><i>this is a heartfelt request by the blogger</i></b><span style="color: #741b47;">]</span> that youngsters should have a chat with their younger friends and cousins about “good” and “bad” touch. It is also important that young children in the family are taken into confidence, and encouraged to clearly spurn any advances as well as report it. Also, male kids need to be sensitized about such issues, so that they don’t grow to be future perpetrators of this heinous crime. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At an older age, support is essential to rid the victim of any guilt that they may be carrying from these childhood scars. It is preferred that victims reach out to sensitive individuals who can be a trusted confidant. One may avoid disclosing it to their partners, unless doubly sure of support from them. It is extremely important to think before one “reacts” to such disclosures, as it could be hurtful to the victim. The worst reactions include – “You must have enjoyed it too?!”, “Couldn’t you have reported it?” Such callous statements may leave painful gashes in the minds of CSA victims.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A child is still an immature individual, not knowing all “right” from “wrong”. It is <b style="color: #cc0000;">NEVER</b> their fault. Child psychology is exceptionally complex and cannot be explained in passing. If you can’t help, it’s better to stay SHUT than make the victim feel any worse. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Recommended <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Reading</st1:place></st1:city></u>: <b><i>“<a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.com/2010/05/bitter-chocolate-by-pinki-virani.html">BITTER CHOCOLATE</a>”</i></b>, Pinky Virani</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-25600447800660539502010-07-23T10:31:00.001+05:302011-03-03T18:56:43.289+05:30Reversal of the Real<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dreams have always been a fascinating area of concern. From Freud to Nolan, people can just never get enough of fiddling with dreams! This movie has generated many kinds of noises around it. The blogger will keep this feedback short and crisp. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It’s a well-conceived movie woven around the concepts of ‘shared dreaming’ and ‘dream extractors’. We don’t know how much of it is true, but everyone will have their concerns! It’s a leap of faith to share your dreams. And dreams have the ability to become your personality, to define you. The power of the sub-conscious mind is a risky terrain, not to be treaded by the faint-hearted!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This film deserves a watch, not just for the stirring concept, but the ability of the director to keep you engrossed with the characters [all convincingly acted] and their mind games, across various levels of DREAMs!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sweet dreams, anyone?!:P!</div> <span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"></span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><a href="http://www.cinematical.com/2010/07/19/dissecting-inception-six-interpretations-and-five-plot-holes" target="_blank">http://www.cinematical.com/<wbr></wbr>2010/07/19/dissecting-<wbr></wbr>inception-six-interpretations-<wbr></wbr>and-five-plot-holes</a></span></div></div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-4314909609056262502010-07-23T10:25:00.000+05:302011-03-03T19:26:35.589+05:30SBT<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #4c1130;">Salaam Baalak Trust</b> </span>is an NGO working for the rehabilitation of orphans and juveniles. The blogger visited their centre in Paharganj area of New Delhi. This one is housed in a rented space on the 3rd floor of a DDA building. This building also has other offices of similar organizations. This particular centre has 40 boys in the age group of 6-14 years. They come from variedly underprivileged backgrounds and their upbringing is undertaken by the SBT. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPU4gED5CgsmQ62ooX24n6kL9UVEUMGvwcWcFtWwVAnaun0Y7eSff0QTcxrEJ_u2OZuKS1ybxD7hEOcC9ChO-5i9DxqWCfZKL0TYV_ejnNsBK3krNpzB5uCYbgJrsfeCivtIF1nQ/s1600/C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPU4gED5CgsmQ62ooX24n6kL9UVEUMGvwcWcFtWwVAnaun0Y7eSff0QTcxrEJ_u2OZuKS1ybxD7hEOcC9ChO-5i9DxqWCfZKL0TYV_ejnNsBK3krNpzB5uCYbgJrsfeCivtIF1nQ/s320/C.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBwYTaib969NQeOxhP5v_8V1_TgANgnbBBUBd13iw4U91LAE_uf2fgmKriP42TrengGdS4GIo7qzf5kWS8J2iMhVBSfgRrvV3GLimGQMNIPQVtViqdLnU8H6wjpe-PbEfSreNBg/s1600/B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBwYTaib969NQeOxhP5v_8V1_TgANgnbBBUBd13iw4U91LAE_uf2fgmKriP42TrengGdS4GIo7qzf5kWS8J2iMhVBSfgRrvV3GLimGQMNIPQVtViqdLnU8H6wjpe-PbEfSreNBg/s320/B.jpg" /></a></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The children live in-house in a dorm. There is a computer centre equipped with 14 PCs and classes are regularly held for the children. There are various educational posters adorning the walls. There is an entire show-case dedicated to the various achievements of these kids. There is also a shot of the child who had a role in the ROAD MOVIE, along with its lead actor Abhay Deol and the director Satish Kaushik. One of their star children [now an adult] Vicky Roy has achieved accolades for his photography. He even had a show in New York. That poster is up too, to serve as an inspiration to the children.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBHZjIUQYbHPEX0DDc1ZzyqevrmmVX-imMsW2f3Es4yv5uOeJCozGX0gDTCHYNI6vRpQvcdT_eSFuNt-Co1aqYXVrLY2yPaV6BdpxF1RsmZJU1q1jLgRnaaoUJZE6Hn9267XzmQ/s1600/SBT10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBHZjIUQYbHPEX0DDc1ZzyqevrmmVX-imMsW2f3Es4yv5uOeJCozGX0gDTCHYNI6vRpQvcdT_eSFuNt-Co1aqYXVrLY2yPaV6BdpxF1RsmZJU1q1jLgRnaaoUJZE6Hn9267XzmQ/s320/SBT10.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The main drive behind the initiative is to make available to these children most of the available faculties for an all-round development. Their background should not be a hindrance for a brighter and better future! When this blogger went there, with a group of ladies, the children performed various dance pieces. 2 of them even sung songs for us! One of the dance items was a very well-choreographed and fairly rehearsed piece on the song ‘BUM BUM BOLE’ from the hit flick Taare Zameen Par. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI41zim5Fxzn7xxwqATvqa9NYtKcK_WHNpoq5jHg5v6OpKb3BZ3vPELqAxQL87DviPVqsZtJ_QVzns-0qVtsQlkSO9CfbNZe-dGC3EqPOQFcGbUum-B8KcQGI_80tmvfvY8bfyCw/s1600/SBT6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI41zim5Fxzn7xxwqATvqa9NYtKcK_WHNpoq5jHg5v6OpKb3BZ3vPELqAxQL87DviPVqsZtJ_QVzns-0qVtsQlkSO9CfbNZe-dGC3EqPOQFcGbUum-B8KcQGI_80tmvfvY8bfyCw/s320/SBT6.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many years ago, this blogger was a part of a short X’mas skit done for a group of children from SBT. They must be all grown ups now, but it felt nice to renew the connection with SBT. Hopefully, there will be better associations in the future.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-3AzthbYP5fJ3eHuIkeaWiYm1XUM-bd0uTg4wSheuSz7GEzZVj65Y9YDAesylrtmBFDU2ft4-7gwYd6wmTqneWZrbKNkWXTPh0dETbmBdX1t1g2U6EE4Tfm055IH7OIappgzKg/s1600/SBT8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-3AzthbYP5fJ3eHuIkeaWiYm1XUM-bd0uTg4wSheuSz7GEzZVj65Y9YDAesylrtmBFDU2ft4-7gwYd6wmTqneWZrbKNkWXTPh0dETbmBdX1t1g2U6EE4Tfm055IH7OIappgzKg/s400/SBT8.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-23975674454736020992010-07-23T10:06:00.001+05:302012-08-20T11:55:28.093+05:30In Search...<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSpunky%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><o:smarttagtype name="place" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="country-region" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="State" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="City" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Smt. <span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>DAYA BAI</b></span> is a fairly well-known social worker having a long-standing association with tribal people in Madhya Pradesh [now Chhattisgarh], <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Her journey to reach where she is currently, was not an easy one, in the least. It has been an exploration of her inner self, her search for ‘light’, the true path, her calling. Almost70, she humbly admits, she’s still looking for the purpose of her life. That is an astonishing admission from someone with a body of work like hers. But then, it is the journey which adds meaning to life, and not the destination itself!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On the 10<sup>th</sup> of July 2010, she graced the weekly meeting of <b style="color: #274e13;">SPICMACAY</b> and shared her experiences with us. It was inspiring to hear about the dual pursuit driving it. One being the welfare of tribals, and the other, her continual search for a purpose. It is the latter search which has shaped most of her life experiences. As a septuagenarian, there is undoubtedly a lot she has been through. It is her journey, and never-say-die attitude that made this interaction most memorable. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVaig1UfX_N43h75V_yQu-EDZz57xGgFC_yWYcQbYzF6XRdxiE2-YkL5E5a8egw5OPq5MxhaLIMGX5NHvaMBgyLmboFDnvdY6o5QBTyjClFOAxrRbJaEGX6fgzQIQEfYhSTkQug/s1600/Daya+Bai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVaig1UfX_N43h75V_yQu-EDZz57xGgFC_yWYcQbYzF6XRdxiE2-YkL5E5a8egw5OPq5MxhaLIMGX5NHvaMBgyLmboFDnvdY6o5QBTyjClFOAxrRbJaEGX6fgzQIQEfYhSTkQug/s320/Daya+Bai.jpg" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Despite hailing from a well-to-do family in Kerala, she was not spoilt. She has a twin sister and at the age of 3, she moved from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Cochin</st1:state></st1:place> to the state of Travancore. She was there till the age of 15-16. In her house, inhabited by members of a large extended family, she saw untouchability being practiced. That difference between <b><i>‘us and them’</i></b> was what struck her, and it was her trigger, the starting point. Five of her aunts were nuns, and that inspired her. She went to the convent too, but did not become a sister. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As a child, she heard a song in Malayalam on the life of priests [missionaries] in north <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. “I wanted to be like that, carefree and devoted.” Then she told her family about it, but had health problems. Hence, she made herself “tough”, and then applied and got through the training centre in Hazaribagh, <st1:place w:st="on">Bihar</st1:place>. When in the campus, she saw tribals doing menial/servant jobs. This shattered her dream and broke her into tears. Then she realized, this was not her vocation!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">During the period of her training at the seminary, a sense of sensitivity emerged. On Christmas, hordes of tribal people came from far off for the Midnight Mass. Seeing them, she couldn’t stay in the convent! After the next day’s prayer, she took a resolution – to finish her course, and at the end of it, if she had even a bit doubt, then she won’t take the promotion. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And that’s how it was to be. She finished her course and moved out, did odd jobs to get an experience on the field, and to find the ‘purpose of her life’. She did a BSc from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ranchi</st1:place></st1:city>. There was one Austrian Sister running a school-cum-training centre for tribals in Chhattisgarh, and she went to her. But, she was given a job in another school. In search of light, she worked across places, including at MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY during the cyclone. So, basically, being in the social work line, she applied for MSW at Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai, while she was on field in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Her application was immediately accepted due to her vast on-the-job experience. But the course, fashioned largely on European and other non-Indian lines, with its strictly academic focus, did not appeal to her. Here too, she considered herself a misfit! Somehow managing to finish the first year, she left on her journey again, this time working in <st1:place w:st="on">Maharashtra</st1:place> and Haryana. Eight years down the line, after two syllabi revisions <i>Field Work </i>was introduced in the course. And then she returned to do her 2<sup>nd</sup> year!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It was during the field work for this course that she went to Chhinwada, to do her study with the people of Gond tribe. After random unwelcome experiences, she finally established a bond with the people, due to assistance during childbirth to a tribal woman. Apart from being a voracious reader, she’d previously done a course in nursing too! After having submitted her final paper, she came back to this place. But her attire drove the women away. They weren’t used to draping their saree around a petticoat, unlike her!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But Daya Bai-ji had her trust in God. The village could be reached only by walking a stretch of 23kms through the jungle. People of the Bhil, Saam and Gond tribe lived together in relative harmony and no one was literate. The World Bank had forcefully made them take loans through the local banks for ‘development’. Cheating was rampant in this and the Gondwana tribe had become dehumanized. She was shocked out of her senses when one tribe/ village senior referred to themselves as ‘jungle ke bandar’ [monkeys of the forest]. She was determined to bridge the gap between ‘us and them’.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">She came back there for Christmas and started with doing labour and earning with them. Then, by trick, she saw the records on papers and told the people about how they were being cheated. This was in 1981, and she began her participation with spreading awareness about labour ill-practices. A school was set up and a well was dug. There were night classes held for adults, to whom the first word she taught was हक़ [<i>haq, </i>right]. Letting her creative juices flow, she taught Fundamental Rights by means of songs and stories. This launched her active phase and gradually the inferior feeling amongst the tribals started to reduce.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After laying the foundation, she moved on to tackling environmental problems like deforestation and hybrid seeds. Her current focus is on organic farming, planting trees, organic manure [humus], water harvesting by building bunds and diggings pits, etc. A believer in ‘practice what you preach’, she does not use tap water, for it always results in wastage. And, she left the use of soap and toothpaste right after her course at the seminary. She also established a now successful self-help group amongst the women there. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbL_zwYKaKefh3H-Lq228n8zo4QCZh6sS0VlB3ZUQ9x2sAMGUHA8Xvzx-Y8mBL5LFy7T4oi29LGJRqqhWckTnSZcZlKTV-xkDnDs_rEV4fR3D3mOXhRCulvP5S8Z6OVvVnXbPVDw/s1600/Daya+Bai2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbL_zwYKaKefh3H-Lq228n8zo4QCZh6sS0VlB3ZUQ9x2sAMGUHA8Xvzx-Y8mBL5LFy7T4oi29LGJRqqhWckTnSZcZlKTV-xkDnDs_rEV4fR3D3mOXhRCulvP5S8Z6OVvVnXbPVDw/s320/Daya+Bai2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">She has received many awards in recognition of her work and is well known in the Kerala press. But progress breeds enemies too. She has many blockages planted in her path, having been tortured by the police, her teeth-broken for filing an FIR and mocked at in the court during a trial. Currently she’s fighting a case against her, which has reared its head after three years. She has published a collection of her poetry and her biography has been penned and published in Malayalam. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By her own admission, she is still searching for the ‘purpose’ of her life. Her journey is an inspiration for everyone, to contribute their bit towards a fair and just society. And, the search continues….</div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-2388461999604257222010-05-28T19:15:00.000+05:302012-08-20T11:55:28.087+05:30Meeting a Madman<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cshamshad%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cshamshad%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cshamshad%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> 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table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">WHOSE LIFE ARE YOU LIVING?!</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">How often is it, that we meet people who are classic examples of something?! <span style=""> </span>They are the near-ideal types of a certain stereotype. And what’s better, they even actively justify their position! Consequently, they unabashedly admit to being stuck in a mould, and are very comfortable in their ‘frogs in a well’ condition. Today, this blogger happen to meet one such person!</p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">When it comes to career choices, ‘<span style="font-weight: bold;">tradition</span>’ defined success as “<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">qualifying IIT</span></span>” and “<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">clearing UPSC</span></span>”. The former meant cracking the uber-tough IIT-JEE, ticket to India’s premier engineering institutes, and latter, becoming an administrator, a somewhat cushy job with official and unofficial perks! This ‘tradition’ still holds VERY true in most parts of this country. Boys [more than girls] are indoctrinated since their tender childhood days to have ‘IIT’ as their target. There are factories set up sleepy towns which unfailingly churn out ‘success stories’ of those who’ve ‘cracked’ it! There are, of course, those who inhabit the periphery and milk moolah from this mania.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal">Another<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> national hobby</span></span> is to appear for the awfully famous <span style="font-weight: bold;">‘UPSC’</span>. These set of exams are a window to the almost-good life in INDIA!:P! Not to forget, it surreptitiously authorizes the grooms to demand a hefty dowry in the marriage market. People throng the ‘centres’ of ‘preparation’ in major metros. It has also given rise to a whole industry of ‘coaching classes’ <span style=""> </span>which ‘excel’ in producing ‘toppers’. Everyone’s got their own claim-to-fame students whose passport-size photos are proudly pasted in news-paper advertisements once the final list is announced!</p><p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal">The IIT ‘preparation’ failures lose only about 2-3 years of their early adulthood. <span style=""> </span>The ‘UPSC’ candidates have a bigger window. Their prime is spent in attempting the UPSC<span style=""> </span>and other states’ exams right across till they cross the age limit or finish the stipulated number of attempts. Lucky are those who crack ‘it’ in their first or second attempts. The rest, are…<span style="font-style: italic;">well</span>….just fooling themselves! These ‘traditional’ career choices draw hordes of students to them, in the greed of bettering their life conditions. Very few amongst these are those, who are truly passionate about engineering or being efficient administrators.
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<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia" class="MsoNormal">The person<span style=""> </span>I met today, is a school teacher in a tier-two capital city. His son qualified for the JEE this year with a rank in the 4900s. He is jubilant! They intend to let him opt for any faculty in the IIT-D campus so that…here’s the big part…he can ‘prepare’ for UPSC!!! <span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">[</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">yeah..RIGHT</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">!]
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<br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">When goaded by the blogger, that once in IIT, it’s a little difficult to devote time for UPSC preps, the teacher replied, <span style=""> </span>“<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">My son is a different kind of a guy. He can study for <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">17-18 hours</span>. Sometimes, even <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">more</span>. Delhi has better options in terms of coaching classes. And he has very few needs. I am sure he’ll be able to manage. And this is what he wants to do, too</span></span>.”</p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">He went on to humbly rave about the students he had taught. Their success stories in the nationally dreaded ‘board exams’. <span style=""> </span>How his son is highly ‘obedient’. His children do most of their communication to their mother. <span style=""> </span>“A little bit of “<span style="font-weight: bold;">fear</span>” is necessary in the minds of students”. And then, very politely, he exhorted my kid-cousin to study hard, so that he can make it to IIT. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">[HAH! Like there is no better job to do!]</span> <span style=""> </span>By his own admission, <span style=""> </span>“<span style="font-style: italic;">We still have a traditional mind-set</span>”.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">The resort to ‘tradition’ traces its roots to Indians being highly ‘security-conscious’. Risk avoidance is considered an art, taught right from child-birth. Though, a large section of the upper crust is now exposed to other available options,<span style=""> </span>most of the rest still bask in their ability to fit in the mould. We are hence, mainly content consumers and don’t make much contribution in return. Stifling creativity to trade it for ‘assured-jobs’ has many side-effects. The preference for ‘traditional’ choices has spawned a whole murky network of ill-equipped colleges, astronomical tuition and donation fees and a whole range of wheeler-dealers posing as ‘consultants’ for facilitating admission in mofussil colleges.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">As soon as the teacher left, this blogger couldn’t help blurting, “<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">HE IS A MAD GUY! HE RUNS A SMALL-TIME FACTORY AND PRIDES IN THE FACT THAT HE IS PRODUCING ASSES!</span>” <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">when said in hindi, this sounds fairly polite!;-)!</span> this, followed by the kid-cousin being assured that he should opt for what<span style="font-weight: bold;"> HE</span> wants to do, and not what the other so-called well-wishers nee ‘failures’ want him to do. Poor kido, burdened under the unfulfilled dreams of others…not getting to live his own dream!</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Disclaimer</span>:<span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 153);"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 153, 153);">this post does not intend to discredit those sincerely passionate students who opt for either of these career choices. it's meant...err...only for the dumb clones!</span>
<br /></p> Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-80107928719715234882010-03-12T12:07:00.000+05:302011-03-13T15:23:28.854+05:30अतिथि...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsfCV6nBpvJIHejz6j_QPK8oO8MH9lcTPSIB5gZ5MK90GtV2qjWYcOOehVC8tv8ojbpzcRNkhixVdNBkge_WGeUzZIkNJmod1lO56CnpL8030JUMxXUZSGmgfKS2ERPhOD_R60A/s1600-h/atithi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsfCV6nBpvJIHejz6j_QPK8oO8MH9lcTPSIB5gZ5MK90GtV2qjWYcOOehVC8tv8ojbpzcRNkhixVdNBkge_WGeUzZIkNJmod1lO56CnpL8030JUMxXUZSGmgfKS2ERPhOD_R60A/s320/atithi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447634152625480114" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51); font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">ATITHI, TUM KAB JAOGE?!</span></span> </div><br /><br />The film begins with elaborate animated sketches talking about interesting and humorous<br />stuff. The story-line is simple and there are not too many twists and turns. Of course, beneath the perceieved simplicity lies a sharp depiction of today’s times. We have the quintessential urban couple, both of whom work and have a small child. Their life is sufficient, and gets upturned with the arrival of a ‘guest’.<br /><br /><br />What ensues are sweetly funny moments. No over-the-top comedy for this one. It believes in restrained humour and succeeds in that attempt. Director <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" >Ashwini Dhir</span> </span>has done a good job with the visualization of the scenes. The association with Warner Bro.s has been highly beneficial and can be seen in the neatly animated scenes which intersperse the narrative. Some scenes are shot from unusual camera angles, and have the viewer glued to the screen.<br /><br /><br />Being inspired from a story of the famous Hindi satirist<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> SHARAD JOSHI</span></span>, there is a take on the major controversies of recent past. It is, of course, done subtly and do not fail to tickle the viewer. For example, reference to medicines having animal fat and bones, ‘savitabhabhi’, the goon financing a movie, kitschy film set and many more! What takes the cake, though, are the songs based on old hindi songs’ tunes. The best is the ‘bhajan’ which is set on the tune of a recent and popular item song, as is often seen in the real world too!<br /><br /><br />Styling of all the characters is very well done. They seem utterly identifiable and there is a healthy combination of reality and exaggerated imagination. All the actors have played their parts really well. My Mom especially LOVED the acting of <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Konkona SenSharma</span></span>!!! Also, Commendable is the acting of <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Ajay Devgn</span></span>, who manages to do a very convincing job in this ‘regular’ role, with his average and usually brooding face!<br /><br /><br />The larger theme of the film does not get lost upon the audience. Yes, a lot of today’s people may find it boring. But, if you appreciate subtlety and gentleness, this film is worth a watch. It also mirrors the common sentiments of today’s urban populace on various levels.<br /><br /><br />Kudos to the producer <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Amita Mangat</span> for undertaking this job at such a young age. And she’s humbly added a ‘thank you’ in the beginning to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">entire</span> cast and crew for finishing the whole film in 4 months flat. Now, that’s impressive! The blogger could not help noticing a senior from College doing a bit role in this film. She’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Mansi Multani</span>, last spotted in a smaller role in PYAAR IMPOSSIBLE. I hope her next film has a longer role. Long time before she does meatier stuff!Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-67854371684420117162010-03-12T12:05:00.001+05:302014-08-21T19:57:57.312+05:30दिल तो बच्चा है जी ...!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The famous literary genius <span style="color: #663333; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Gulzar</span><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span>needs no introduction in India. And after ‘Jai Ho’ getting the Oscar in 2009, he doesn’t need much of an introduction in most parts of the world! This blogger had the blessed opportunity to be in his august company [with a host of other people] at an event in the national capital.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">The Delhi University South Campus organized </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 180%; font-weight: bold;">“A DAY WITH GULZAR SA’AB”</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">, hosted by their </span><span style="color: #ff6600; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;">INSTITUTE OF LIFE-LONG LEARNING</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">. It was an apt choice of personality in keeping with the spirit of the Institute. Gulzar Sa’ab truly embodies the spirit of ‘learning’ in every sense of the word. An unassuming man of small height, he was simple dressed in a crisp white kurta and white pants. Not entirely devoid of colour, he teemed these with golden mojris having long pointed toes. </span></div>
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The event began with<b> </b>an introduction by the head of DUSC suggesting of Gulzar Sa’ab being a ‘mathematician’. Interestingly, this professor then went on to prove HOW Gulzar was actually a mathematician, albeit in poetic terms! ! The most touching part of this talk was the ‘turning point’ mentioned by him. It was Tagore’s poem “<a href="http://www.indolink.com/Poetry/tagore16.html">THE GARDENER</a>”. Gulzar Sa’ab’s voice is very composed, grounded, as of one who has seen a lot in this world. This rich experience though does not prevent him from maintaining a child-like inquisitiveness and being a perpetual student.</div>
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The blogger noticed the deep respect he has for stalwarts of Hindi cinema whom he holds in high esteem and touched his ear-lobe every time he took an important name. He admitted to considering Bimal Roy as his ‘guru’ and narrating why he does so. The lucid, crisp and interesting description of his journey through the alleys of literature and cinema kept us all spell-bound. </div>
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This was followed by a panel discussion on “<span style="color: #006600; font-family: verdana; font-size: 130%; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE WORD AND THE IMAGE</span></span>: <span style="color: #009900; font-weight: bold;">Cinema, Literature, Culture</span>.” For Gulzar Sa’ab, definitely, the ‘image’ comes first. This can be clearly understood while studying his lyrics as well as films. The word is a mere medium for articulating the thought process. Cinema is a medium that communicates through images. He compared his state to that of a lid on a boiling pan of water. The steam compels you for an expression. Expression arises from the desire to share and there is immense beauty in simplicity.</div>
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Being a creative person, he is beyond fixed domains. Artists cannot be, or rather should not be apolitical. As members of society it is their duty to express via art, and provoke too! The subjects of Gulzar Sa’ab’s movies, stories and poetry are a testimony to him practicing what he preaches! The discussion was so riveting, that the entire hall was on their feet, applauding for this greatly simple man. And yes, for the second time ever, this blogger gave a standing ovation to the ‘man of the day’.</div>
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Post-lunch, there was a poetry reading session. This definitely had the most heart-wrenching moments of the day. The layers of meaning, evoking vivid imagery and deeply sensitive themes, all tugged at the listener’s heart. Gulzar Sa’ab also has an admirable sense of earthly humour. लाजवाब चुटकियाँ लीं उन्होंने!!! His unassuming and humble demeanour are an important component of his ethereal charm. </div>
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To borrow from one of the speakers, this interaction was not just about that facet of Gulzar Sa’ab which is today best known. It was also delved into the realms of History, Economics, Mathematics, Literature and the indomitable human spirit. Gulzar Sa’ab brought with him this aura of positivity and calm. It was a fairly small [around 150-200] crowd and most, if not all, were charmed by his unassuming sense of humour and simplicity!</div>
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QUOTABLE QUOTE: “<b> <span style="color: #993399; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">BE A VAST AND BIG INDIAN. DON’T BECOME SMALL</span>!</span>”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-46893422725191873452010-03-12T11:45:00.001+05:302011-03-03T18:59:37.246+05:30Rang BARSE!!!:D!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: lucida grande; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">H</span><span style="color: #ff6600;">O</span><span style="color: #009900;">L</span><span style="color: #333300;"><span style="color: #ffcc00;">I</span> </span><span style="color: #6600cc;">H</span><span style="color: #66ff99;">A</span><span style="color: #993399;">I</span>!!!<br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 130%;">Holi is an important marker in the Hindu calendar. Different parts of the country have various significances associated with this date. But, for a kid…it is…simply… The festival of colours!!!<br />
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This blogger has tried to be at a different location for Holi every year, for the past couple of years. It always is a pleasant experience because EVERY place has its own unique ‘feel’ of Holi!!! This year, we headed to the famed and haloed campus of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY</span>, New Delhi for being coloured!!!<br />
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It was an entirely dry ‘playing’, except for being sprinkled with some water by a young cousin. The festival had a somewhat ‘grown up’ feeling for us this time. It felt great saving a lot of water by not playing wet Holi. Of course, that also meant not having too much of residual colours on the skin!<br />
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While heading back home, we shared the auto-rickshaw with a Professor from Poland. He was all ga-ga over the festivities and colours! Someone told him that THIS playing in the campus was ‘civilised’. And he was wondering how would ‘uncivilised’ be then! Well, I gave him ample examples of how rowdy and crude could it get!<br />
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In conclusion, we had a nice, short and sweet ‘Holi’. It was truly 'RANG BARSE'...and no 'bheegi chunar'!!! NOTHING beats the <a href="http://vichaarkhaana.blogspot.com/2008/04/surat-sojourn.html">Surat</a> experience, though! The options for next year are </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 130%;">already being contemplated</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 130%;">!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">PS</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">That guy was a Prof. of Sociology and Anthropology!!! Yes, we had common stuff to talk about !:P!</span></span></div>Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-62186081446359531522010-03-06T22:31:00.000+05:302011-03-13T15:23:28.854+05:30TEEN PATTI<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnFM5_D5ZRDi6xXyiFGfle180ApCH3WjWDnC-AghZzuQDD10w49lsFOFXyhGJjzIajFY-wV0_iLa12r82QkG3OL_IXOI_ZlheqJh5-qNBsPRyGW2_AiygN9H4DpXjo7yhMsz8PA/s1600-h/tp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 348px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnFM5_D5ZRDi6xXyiFGfle180ApCH3WjWDnC-AghZzuQDD10w49lsFOFXyhGJjzIajFY-wV0_iLa12r82QkG3OL_IXOI_ZlheqJh5-qNBsPRyGW2_AiygN9H4DpXjo7yhMsz8PA/s320/tp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445567856220602386" border="0" /></a></span>
<br /></div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link style="font-family: times new roman;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSpunky%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >HINDUJA VENTURES</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> has made inroads into the Indian film industry with their film, </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">TEEN PATTI</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Amitabh Bachchan</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> is the show-stealer. It’s a click flick with a skewed script! First-time director, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >LEENA YADAV</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> has not done a very good job of narrating this thriller. Many scenes have shoddy camerawork and do not establish the location well. Songs in the film are nice, but OUT OF PLACE!!! There is the Brazilian bombshell Maria Gomes gyrating suggestively in an item number.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The ‘Casting Director’ of this film should have been named the ‘Networking Director’. Most of the cast belongs to the ilk which hobnobs with the Hindujas in London and Bombay. So we have everyone from super-model </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Saira Mohan</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> to writer </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghavi</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> showing off their ‘acting’ skills in whatever screen time they get. Ben Kingsley is BIG waste with nothing much to do! Maybe he DID have a lot to do, at least to establish his character, but that go chopped off on the editing table!:P!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">
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<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The rest of the actors, new-comers…do a not-very-convincing job with their immature acting. It looks like they’ve ‘learnt’ acting and are now off to show their skills in this movie! it’s a just-about-okay film. The blogger has been told that ‘21’. The original in English from which this flick is inspired, is a better watch!</span></p> Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14891121.post-9548202771717701532010-03-06T22:28:00.000+05:302011-03-13T15:23:28.855+05:30MNIK<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrTFAdob6K3le35tX45p7aXKlWqCMAB3ffQZUSBs-QdtiQXyBHZSZOUOr2fiohNFQg4TW-fb2SIYbxjEDNOq1k_Piw_EmJyAQyrVSXr9GnhVXhU-ES4eEdqca7qKSntJNtuB_2A/s1600-h/mnik.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrTFAdob6K3le35tX45p7aXKlWqCMAB3ffQZUSBs-QdtiQXyBHZSZOUOr2fiohNFQg4TW-fb2SIYbxjEDNOq1k_Piw_EmJyAQyrVSXr9GnhVXhU-ES4eEdqca7qKSntJNtuB_2A/s320/mnik.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445566768083370882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: lucida grande; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">My Name is...</span><br /></span></div><br />The Great Bard had famously said… “WHAT’S in a NAME?!” Well, if we were to look in the contemporary world around us, there’s a LOT in every name. If it wasn’t enough in India, for sur-names to symbolise people’s caste and the whole baggage it carries, we now have a terror-struck globe. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">MY NAME IS KHAN</span> is a contemporary tale of how there’s a LOT in a name.<br /><br /><br />This is a refreshingly different movie from the DHARMA stable. Quite a respite from Karan Johar’s usual candy-floss style of cinema with designer brush strokes! This one’s designer too, but it got a lot more depth beyond the beautiful visual imagery! This film marks the turning of a radically new leaf in the careers of both <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); font-weight: bold;">SRK</span> n <span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51); font-weight: bold;">KJo</span>. It can be read as both these powerful people taking a stand in their larger responsibility towards the society at large.<br /><br /><br />It’s the journey of Rizwan Khan, in a world not-so-kind to differently-abled people. And matters get worse after the WTC is perished in the 9/11 air attacks. Khan suffers from <a href="http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/asperger.html">Asperger’s Syndrome</a>. He cannot look straight into the eye while talking, stammers a little, has slight learning difficulties and other pet peeves but is resolute, nevertheless! The film keeps the viewer riveted, though the second half is a tad stretched.<br /><br /><br />The scene which struck the blogger was one where Khan throws his pebbles at a doctor in a mosque. This is symbolic of the stoning of the Satan, an integral part of Islamic tradition. The subtle incorporation and powerful portrayal of such a lore is deeply appreciated.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Kajol</span> is as endearing as ever, and the lovely long jackets enhance her persona. SRK, for a change, REALLY goes way deep beyond the character’s skin. All other actors have done a fair job of justifying their roles. This film is a good example of the triumph of the just human spirit over all forms of prejudice and injustice.<br /><br /><br />In conclusion, this blogger believes that it is important to record the various happenings in society, in a variety of perspectives. Cinema is a very powerful medium to store what is tomorrow’s history. An array of narratives projecting the impact of the one common event is extremely necessary to have a rounded picture. KUDOS TO KJO n the entire MNIK team!:D!Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418437706309023239noreply@blogger.com0