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Since 1999 only 1.2 per cent of GDP is being spent on health by Indian governments- Dr Kafeel Khan

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Since 1999 only 1.2 per cent of GDP is being spent on health by Indian governments- Dr Kafeel Khan

Kolkata: Dr Kafeel Khan, the suspended lecturer of Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Hospital, Gorakhpur who is advocating Health for All initiative claims that healthcare system in India is in shamble. And because of this in 2017, around eight lakh kids have died. Also that from tuberclosis only 4.5 lakh people die every year. And since 1999, different governments have only spent 1.2 percent of India’s total GDP on healthcare system.

During his three-day visit of Kolkata, Dr Kafeel, formally launched the Kolkata chapter of Health for All – a pan India initiative of Dr Kafeel Khan Smile Mission Foundation in association with 25 non-political health activists.

Dr Kafeel, while speaking to eNewsroom on the sidelines of Public Health Crisis, a monthly film screening and conversation programme organised by People’s Film Collective at Jogesh Film Academy said, “The public healthcare system is in shambles and is affecting the poor and the marginalised. And it is these poor who often have to bear the brunt of the state apathy. If you will look at the budget set aside for healthcare during the annual budget, you will realise that the budget is not even enough to even fulfil the promises made by the Prime Minister.”

Highlighting the abysmal state of national healthcare, the doctor said, “Since 1999 only 1.2 per cent of GDP is being spent on healthcare system in India. We can’t just blame the Modi government for the same. Eighty per cent of doctors practices in private. In 2017, around eight lakh kids died and most of these deaths were preventable. While around 4.5 lakh people die of tuberculosis in India annually.”

He continued, “Fake medicine industry is on the boom. If a solution is not provided to all these problems, then India will emerge as an ailing nation. We need to remember that a sick nation can never progress in the best possible way.”

According to Dr Kafeel, who has been at the receiving end of the Uttar Pradesh government, mentioned that his Health for All project aims to work closely with the state and the central government to better the healthcare facility right at the grassroot level. He said, “After having launched this project at various Indian states, I am here to formally launch its Kolkata chapter. I am in talks with MP Mamataz Sanghamitha and later will be presenting the same to the CM of Bengal so that our think tank body along with all the government agencies can better the healthcare facilities being made available to the masses.”

One being asked about him having tweeted to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan seeking an appointment, he said, “They have just responded saying that we can meet him on any working day. I shall be meeting him by July 15.”

During his two-hour-long session, Dr Kafeel was seen narrating his turmoil and constant victimisation by the UP government. He said, “I was just an ordinary doctor, who was doing his job. I never had anticipated that my life would take such a turn. If an educated man like me can be cornered in this manner, then one can imagine the plight of those hailing from the marginalised section of the society.”

However, on being asked if he was being victimised by the UP government because of his religious identity, he said, “I don’t think so. Had there been any other doctor in my place at BRD Hospital during that crisis period, he would also have been framed. I have been made a scapegoat by the CM of UP to save his health minister, who had stopped the payments being made to the liquid oxygen supplier simply because he was seeking a 10 per cent cut from the supplier.”

Dr Kafeel is also supposed to meet the Indian Medical Association officials on July 12. “After my tweet question IMA’s stand when they backed the Kolkata Doctor Strike, they have asked me to meet their officials, so that they can look into my issue, which is, the UP government not clearing my due or revoking my suspension even after a Supreme Court double bench asking the UP government to clear my dues.” He then added, “I also need to earn a living. If my suspension is not revoked then I want the UP government to relieve me of my duties.”

MP government’s move to bury the Vyapam scam

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MP government’s move to bury the Vyapam scam

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n its manifesto for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, last year, the Congress promised constitution of a Jana Aayog (People’s Commission) comprising legal experts, educationists and others to investigate the scams of the BJP government that occurred between 2008 and 2018 including the Vyapam scam. It was also promised that after completion of the investigation, the government would move the courts and strive for getting the culprits punished.

It is nearly seven months that the Congress government, with Kamal Nath as Chief Minister, has been in place. Not only there is no talk of setting up any Jana Aayog to probe the numerous scams of the BJP regime, but the government has made a move to sweep under the carpet the Vyapam scam, the biggest of the BJP regime.

Vyapam is acronym of Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal (or Professional Examinations Board). The Kamal Nath government has decided to replace Vyapam with Rajya Karmachari Chayan Aayog (or State Staff Selection Commission), apparently to erase from the public memory the name Vyapam which is becoming a source of embarrassment to the Congress government also because of its failure to set up the promised Jana Aayog to investigate this mega scam.

Vyapam scam has destroyed careers of thousands of brilliant boys and girls in Madhya Pradesh. Uma Bharti described the Vyapam scam as bigger than Lalu Prasad Yadav’s fodder scam. In fact, the Vyapam scam is the first of its kind in the country and cannot be compared to any other.  The modus operandi used in the scam was somewhat like this: the candidates for PMT who had done well will be disqualified and other names (either on the recommendation of some important person or against payment of a heavy amount) will be shown as having qualified, and even put in merit list, for admission to medical colleges. After investigation, the STF had come across names of doctors working in hospitals who had not even appeared in PMT but had been declared qualified against payment of hefty sums. The young boys and girls who had worked hard for their tests were just at a loss to understand what went wrong.

Vyapam or Professional Examinations Board (PEB) was constituted, initially, to conduct tests for admission to medical colleges (PMT). Later on, the tests for admission to engineering colleges (PET) were also entrusted to the Vyapam. In 2007, Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan entrusted to Vyapam the responsibility of making recruitment for some government departments, public sector undertakings and semi-government bodies also, which was till then handled by the State Public Service Commission. The avenues of earning money and obliging important persons thus widened further with the recruitment being made for various departments such as the police, education, transport, civil supplies and weight and measures.

Following a hue and cry inside and outside the Assembly, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan constituted a Special Task Force (STF) of Madhya Pradesh police to look into the matter. Following a plethora of petitions in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Chief Justice decided to monitor the progress of the STF investigation of the Vyapam scam. Petitioners were dissatisfied with the working of the STF. Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, and some others, moved the High Court with the prayer that the case be entrusted to the CBI. Rejecting the repeated petitions for handing over the case to the CBI, the High Court eventually constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) with (retired) Justice Chandresh Bhushan as its chairman.  Its members were retired (1975 batch) IPS officer Vijay Raman and I T expert L M Reddy.

But this, too, failed to satisfy the petitioners. A High Court division bench of Chief Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice Alok Aradhe monitored the “progress” in STF investigation in camera with directions not to reveal anything discussed to the public. Besides, it came to public knowledge only several months later that the High Court bench was monitoring investigation of only in respect of PMT and Pre-PG (medical) admission scams out of the eight Vyapam-related scams. Still more surprising was the High Court order that the SIT constituted by the High Court itself would not investigate but only work as a watchdog. This order came after Digvijaya Singh submitted to SIT the allegedly tampered excel sheets and SIT chairman (Justice) Chandresh Bhushan hinted that SIT may entrust to an agency other than STF the task of verifying if the excel sheets had really been tampered with. The High Court directed the SIT to hand over whatever evidence it gets to STF and not to start its own investigation.

While Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife Sadhna Singh and their relatives and close acquaintances were said to be the main beneficiaries of the scam, Congress leaders including Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kamal Nath, Suresh Pachouri and Vivek Tankha made only occasional noises instead of pursuing the scam investigation with any seriousness. The real intention of the Congress leaders has now become clear, with the Kamal Nath government deciding not to start the promised investigation of the scam but push the Vyapam scam under the carpet.

Then MP High Court Chief Justice A M Khanwilkar was, it appears now, trying only to derail the investigation to protect the actual culprits behind the scam.

 

Opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not of eNewsroom. This is an open forum and we try
to give space to every school of thought.

Medicines worth Rs 10 and a cooling room could have saved the lives of 200 children in Muzaffarpur

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Medicines worth Rs 10 and a cooling room could have saved the lives of 200 children in Muzaffarpur

Kolkata: A fact-finding from Kolkata who visited Muzaffarpur come to conclusion that neither it was a virus outbreak nor the litchi syndrome that caused the death of over 200 children. They also maintained that a simple 10 % dextrose solution, a sachet of electrolyte (value around Rs 10) and a cooling room could have easily saved the innocent lives.

The team of Medical Service Centre (MSC) — Central Committee, Kolkata comprising four doctors was in Muzaffarpur, Bihar for two days in the first week of July. The main intention of this group was to study the reason behind the sudden outbreak of encephalitis which caused the death of 110 kids in Bihar.

“Our team surveyed and conducted camps in 7 villages located in three of the most severely affected blocks of Muzaffarpur. Based on the information and facts gathered by our team, we have come to the conclusion that deaths were 100 percent preventable. The illness could have been treated if the minimal medical infrastructure was present there.”

On being asked to explain, he said, “There is only one medical healthcare centre in the entire district – Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH). Sadly enough, it was not equipped enough to take care of the huge number of cases that were pouring in. With less number of doctors and an increasing number of cases, the medical system not in places increased the number of deaths. They didn’t even have drip set and glucometer in place. And despite the huge public outrage, the government did little to make the necessary types of equipment available in surplus quantity despite the Health Minister visiting the hospital.”

Muzaffarpur children doctor litchi
Fact-finding team doctors meet with children in Muzaffarpur

Elaborating of the fact-finding report, he said, “There are three primary deductions made on the basis of facts gathered by our team. Kids mostly from poor families died during this outbreak. Most of these kids were malnourished and their parents insisted that they hadn’t had litchis for days and had still died. And last and the most important fact – they never died of viral infection or encephalitis. This had been confirmed by the Pune Institute of Virology that no viral infection had been detected in the spinal fluid that they had received as samples.”

On being asked then what was the reason for the death, he said, “Poverty, poor sanitation, poor hygiene and poor medical infrastructure are the main reason for the huge number of death tolls. Scientifically, all these reasons combined with the hot and humid climate of Muzaffarpur led to mitochondrial damage of the malnourished kids, which eventually led to multi-organ failure.”

The team maintained that parents with a daily earning of Rs60- Rs150 were unable to afford the ambulance or transport money to take the kids to the SKMCH. “The primary healthcare system is in shambles in Bihar. The government had been in denial first but now being forced to accept. It’s high time that the Prime Minister, Health Minister and Bihar’s Chief Minister probe into the recurring Muzaffarpur deaths. They need to provide the basic infrastructure to the rural doctors,” said Dr Chandra.

Explaining how badly the poor parents are treated Dr Chiranjeet Roy, one of the team members shared, “Sadly enough the parents who lost their kids are yet to get the death certificates indicating the reason for the death of the child. All that they have got is a challan receipt stating that the child had died.”

Dr Kafeel Khan, who is in Kolkata and had also organised health camps in Muzaffarpur, when questioned about the same, stated,  “Only the kids from poor families died during this outbreak and all these children could have been saved. We as doctors have to face the public outrage when the government is to be blamed for not giving the doctors the basic infrastructure.” He then added, “If this type of incident had taken place in West Bengal, then public outrage and social media campaigning would have been far more critical and demanding.”

United Nations seeks report on Tabrez Ansari lynching from India

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United Nations seeks report on Tabrez Ansari lynching from India

Kolkata: Within days of Center of Africa Development and Progress (CADP), a non-governmental organization (NGO) which enjoys a special consultative status with the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council Civil Society Network, highlighting the lynching of Tabrez Ansari and raising concern about mob lynching in India, during the General Session of the UN Human Rights Council on July 1, Delhi-based journalist-turned-social activist, Saket Gokhale received an email from the UN seeking all the details related to Tabrez Ansari’s lynching case for a better understanding.

The email from UN’s headquarter in Geneva came in response to a report that Gokhale had filed with the office of the UN’s High Commissioner of Human Rights in the month of June.

Speaking to eNewsroom, Gokhale said, “I am glad that the UN has taken cognizance of my report on the lynching of Tabrez Ansari in Jharkhand. I had filed this report almost 10 days back, with the hope that the UN would take notice.” On being asked if it was because of his report that Paul Newmman Kumar Stanisclavas, representing CADP had raised the issue at the UN, he said, “I guess so. For I had filed the report towards the end of June and the issue was raised on July 1, following which I received the email from the UN.”

Explaining as to, why he had filed the report on Tabrez’s case and not of any other mob lynching case, he shared, “I couldn’t file a report on the total number of lynching cases that have taken place in India so far, as the template that the UNHRC offers demands only a single case to narrated in a detailed way. Since Tabrez’s case is the most recent case and the police definitely had a role in his death made me go for this case.” Then elaborating on the same, he said, “In this particular case, there is a proof (viral video) that clearly establishes his lynching as a hate crime. Tabrez, who has been accused of theft, was made to chant Jai Sri Ram while being brutally assaulted. Secondly, he was in police custody for four days before he breathed his last. Here the police, which is part of the state machinery failed to provide the necessary medical treatment to a man who had been lynched. Also, interestingly, the police first filed the FIR for the bike theft, while they filed the lynching case two days later. Why? Didn’t the lynching take place on the same day as that of the alleged theft?”

UN UNSC UNHRC United Nations Tabrez Ansari mob Lynching
Saket Gokhle

Explaining his reason for approaching the UN, he shared, “The fact that the PM chooses to break his silence on Tabrez’s case after 10 days with a statement that is not reassuring for the minority or an MP garlanding those accused of lynching or the accused getting government jobs in some ways suggests that these unknown faces that comprise the lynch mob enjoys the impunity of the state. It has also been observed that in almost, the FIR and charge sheet filed by police have many loopholes, which makes it easier for the defence lawyer to have their clients released.”

He admitted that the move was to create international pressure on the Indian government to put a check on mob lynching of minorities in India. “Human Rights is not just a constitutional right but an international right. India is one of the signatories of the Geneva Convention and is bound to safeguard the rights of minorities. Also, our PM prefers international voices over the voices of the opposition. Hence, I chose this route for creating pressure. It’s high time that internationally people get to know what’s happening in India. About time for the ministers supporting lynch mobs get their visas banned.”

On his association with the grand old party – Indian National Congress and if it had any role in his writing to the UN, Gokhle made it clear, “I am not on the payroll of INC. I don’t take orders from any political party. Yes, I do see it as a secular alternative to the present government. But most of my research and human right activities are individual initiative. I was disturbed by the increasing frequency of lynching. Post-election, lynching is taking place on a daily basis in India.”

Jai Sri Ram, Hanuman were never part of the Bengali psyche, history and civilisation-Amartya Sen

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Jai Sri Ram, Hanuman were never part of the Bengali psyche, history and civilisation-Amartya Sen

Kolkata: Amartya Sen, the Nobel Laureate Professor and one of the tallest personality of Bengal claimed that religious slogans like Jai Sri Ram and Jai Hanuman has never been part of Bengal’s culture.

The development economist said so while speaking at an event Kolkata after Independence – a personal memoire, organised by Jadavpur University at the University’s Gandhi Bhavan on Friday.

“It came from outside. If one wants to beat someone then force him to chant Jai Sri Ram. There is no connection of this slogan with the civilisation and history of Bengal. Nowadays I hear Ram Navami being celebrated in Kolkata. Never heard of it being celebrated earlier,” he said amidst loud round of applause from the audience comprising mainly students. He then went on to share an anecdote where he asked his four-year-old granddaughter about which characters she prefers in television.

“She thought for long and answered Maa Durga. So the kind of importance and power that Maa Durga enjoys In Bengal is no way close to Ram Navami,” said the 85-year-old professor of Economics and Philosophy of Harvard University who had played an instrumental role in setting up the Economics Department of Jadavpur University.

Talking about the Great Calcutta Killing or Noakhali Riots that broke out just prior to independence, he said that those instrumental in organising riots are elements that came from outside. “That time though there was no BJP but there was Hindu Mahasabha. The slogans were different but the motivation was just the same. But I must admit that the conscious and planned way of polarising or dividing people by chanting a slogan has never happened before,” said Sen. He further said that showing allegiance to Hanuman, was also never a part of the Bengali psyche.

“In Bengali we say tumi ekti hanuman (you are a hanuman) which is in a way a kind of derogatory statement. We have seen hanuman entering the kitchen and displacing utensils with his tail. So this is what we know about hanuman. So offering respect is never a part of Bengali tradition,” said Prof Sen in whose honour London School of Economics (LSE) has announced the creation of ‘Amartya Sen Chair in Inequality Studies’. Economist and philosopher Sen was a professor at LSE from 1971-1982.

In his speech he talked at length about his journey from Shantiniketan to Presidency to Coffee House to Cambridge and then to Trinity College. He talked in detail about his association with fellow classmate Sukumar Chakraborty, who later on became a famous economist and how both of them used to go to Dasgupta Book store at College Street during their Presidency days. “One day Sukumar asked the proprietor of Dasgupta Book Store whether he felt bad about Amartya only reading and not purchasing a single book. To this, Mr Dasgupta said had I thought about money then I would have set up a jewellery shop instead of a book store.”

He reminisces about his days at Jadavpur University where he started teaching at an age of 23 years. “I used to have 28 classes per week and now I take only one class a week. Initially Jadavpur was designed for studying engineering but later upgraded to a University where various disciplines could be taught,” said Sen, a welfare economist who is happy to be a part of that eventful journey.

Sen was seen praising the economic advancement of Bangladesh during the last few years and how  India has failed miserably. Talking about the creation of market for jobs he talked about the importance of education, healthcare and social welfare schemes. “Education and health are two fundamentals of social welfare policy and must be given major importance and that is what Bangladesh government did. Make the citizens of a country capable enough, skilled enough by educating them. The only way for a country to progress is by ensuring health for all,” said the advocator of mixed economy.

Meet the urban forest man of Kolkata

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Meet the urban forest man of Kolkata

Kolkata: Who doesn’t know Assam’s Jadav Payeng – the forest man of India? But do you know that Kolkata has its own forest man? Do you know that this city-based naturalist, has created a lush green forest patch in a 1-kilometre corridor between Majerhat and Durgapur bridge?

Meet 43-year old Mantu Hait, a lawyer on weekdays and a naturalist on weekends. Hait, a resident of Chetla, practices law at the Alipore Court, is credited for having created a green corridor which is now home to 250 varieties of trees and shrubs and home to over 10 mammals including the golden jackal and mongoose.

Speaking to eNewsroom, Hait said, “My association with this area between Majerhat Bridge and the Durgapur Bridge can be traced back to my teenage days. I used to spend a lot of time in this area and admire the greenery. But in the late Nineties and the dawn of the new millennium, I was disappointed with the disappearing greenery of this area. I wanted to bring about a change but couldn’t as I didn’t have enough money to execute my plans.”

So, the moment Hait completed his degree in law and began practicing, he started coming back to his favourite spot. But this time he came loaded with seeds of fruit trees, which he planted in the area using guerrilla technique, which involves the sowing of one type of seed so that a huge number of trees grows in a small area.

forest-man-kolkata-trees-Mantu-Hait
Green Corridor of Chetla

Soon within a few years, the change began to be felt by the people living in and around the area. “When I decided to go ahead with my guerrilla plantation, I first wrote to the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), seeking their permission, as this particular stretch of land belongs to them. I waited for their response, but when I didn’t get any, I began with my plan of restoring the green lungs of our area. Here I would like to add that when I began planting trees, KoPT didn’t raise any objection but it also never gave me any permission.”

However, his first stint was a major disappointment as most of the seed that he planted failed to bloom into saplings. Determined to resurrect the greenery, he researched the subject. “I realized that summer would be the best time to plant trees. So, in my second stint I hired some labours to help me meet my target and post-monsoon, I witnessed most of my planted seeds growing into beautiful saplings.”

In these 10 years, since he started realizing his vision, Hait has grown at least 2500 trees. However, there is a stark difference between the trees that he sows and the ones planted by the municipal corporation. “Most of those trees are either Asoka or Eucalyptus trees. Such trees only can give oxygen but are useless for birds and other animals. Hence, I make sure to plant fruit trees, this, in turn, has helped make the area congenial for various birds, animals and butterflies,” said Hait.

forest-man-kolkata-trees-Mantu-Hait
(L to R) Mantu Hait with one of his friend at Chetla Forest

On an average, he shells out at least INR 10000 or more on an annual basis to purchase seeds or fruits which he distributes among the people of his locality, with the only catch to have the seeds returned to him so that they can be planted in the urban forest of Kolkata.

Taking a step forward, he has even set up two cottages in Sunderban area, with the sole intention of growing fruit trees. On being asked he will be getting some monetary gain from such plantations, he said, “Definitely not, these trees are a gift from me to the future generation and it’s the least that we can individually do to conserve the biodiversity.”

However, Hait was a little sad, with the recent act of KoPT mowing down around 200 trees in the urban forest that he has been taking care of for the past decade. “They just came and destroyed 200 trees. They can’t do this. With rapid urbanization, this stretch is like the lungs of our area. I even wrote to them but as usual no response. I am disappointed but now down. On July 14 we will be having a massive tree plantation programme in this stretch. We have requested people to join us in this campaign,” he said.

Given the goodwill that Hait has created in the past 10 years, a huge number of people are donating not just seeds but are also vouching to be part of the green Kolkata mission.

UN Human Rights Council Listens to Increasing Mob lynching and hate crimes against Muslims and Dalits in India

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UN Human Rights Council Listens to Increasing Mob lynching and hate crimes against Muslims and Dalits in India

Kolkata: 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari’s name along with that of the Kolkata Madarsa teacher was heard not at the Indian Parliament but at the United Nations (UN)'s Security Council meet held at the UN headquarters in New York on July 1.

Ansari, was lynched by the Hindutva goons at Dhadkidih village in Kharsawan district while the Madarsa teacher was assaulted on a local train in Kolkata for not chanting Jai Sri Ram.

It was interesting to see Paul Newmman Kumar Stanisclavas, representing Center of Africa Development and Progress (an NGO) of South Africa, which is a non-permanent member of UNSC, raise the ever increasing cases of mob lynching and hate crimes being inflicted on Indian Muslims and Dalits. He raised the issue during the 17th Meeting, of the 41st Regular Session, that was held before UN’s Human Rights Council.

Paul Newmman Kumar Stanisclavas during the few minutes that he had been allotted maintained that he was raising the issue during the session as India is the signatory to ICCPR and ICSCR. He stated that in the last five years there has been a rise in the number of hate crimes being committed against Muslims and Dalits of India. In last couple of months, Indian Muslims have witnessed raise of hate crimes against their community

He pointed out that since April 2017 at least 10 Muslim men have been lynched publically in India.

 

Paul started his speech by saying, “In the last five years Muslims in India have seen a rise in hate crimes committed against their community. In the last five years there has been lynching of Muslims and Dalits in India by fanatic Hindu mobs fortisibly for the protection of the holy cow.”

He further stated, “The attacks have contributed to a growing sense of insecurity among Muslims and has intensified religious tension. The recent trend is to make Muslims chant Jai Sri Ram. Ten days ago 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari was beaten for hours until he died in the hands of the Hindu mob in the eastern state of Jharkhand for not chanting Jai Sri Ram. Recently a Muslim teacher was attacked o a train for being Muslim. He was heckled to say Jai Sri Ram, when he refused he was beaten and forced to get off the train.”

He summed his speech by requesting the UN to remind India to follow its Constitution. He stated, “These fanatic Hindu mobs have been allowed to move around with apparent impunity.  The Indian state has remained mute to the cries of the minorities. We urge the UN to intervene and request India to follow the principles laid in its own Constitution.”

During his speech even condemned Indian Member of Parliament (MP) Pratap Sarangi for declaring inside the parliament that those who does not chant Hindu slogan Jai Sri Ram should not be allowed to live in India.

Earlier, on June 27, US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had strongly condemned the lynching of Tabrez in Jharkhand and called on the Narendra Modi government to take concrete actions to prevent such violence and intimidation.

In last three years, Jharkhand alone has witness 18 people being lynched to death. However, since June 2019, instances of Muslims being forced to chant Jai Sri Ram have been on the rise. After the lynching of Tabrez, at least half a dozen similar cases have been reported from various parts of India.

This particular speech can be watched it on http://webtv.un.org/. Paul Newmman Kumar Stanisclavas, the 73 speaker for the session speaks from 2:09:30 onwards.

Countdown to semi-final: India’s batting needs to come good

Aditya Mukherjee
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Countdown to semi-final: India’s batting needs to come good

New Delhi: There was a sigh of relief on Tuesday after India defeated the doughty Bangladesh by 28 runs and sealed a birth for the semis in the World Cup. The margin of victory could have been more had India managed to capitalize on the impressive start given by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Rohit went on to score his fourth test hundred in this tournament, and continues to tower over other batsmen in his team. With the run rate hovering around 6.25 till 25th over, things began to fall apart after Rohit and Rahul’s dismissal. Except Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya failed to make any significant contribution to the total. Even Dinesh Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni played mediocre innings leaving a lot to be desired. India now will play Sri Lanka before girding up their loins for the semis.

Rohit’s brilliant run in the tournament

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that India must attribute their victories to Rohit’s centuries.  He had been a revelation as he played with conviction and confidence in almost all the matches. In the semi final, all focus will be on him again and if he is able to score 60 or 70 plus runs, then the team will definitely consolidate its position in the course of the game.

cricket world cup 2019 Team India Virat Kohli Dhoni Pant Rohit Pandya
Rishabh Pant

Middle order should be solid

In Rishabh Pant and Pandya, India have got two solid middle order batsmen who can turn things around with their lusty hitting. Rishab is a little impetuous, and needs to cultivate a temperament that would help him play according to the needs of the situation. Pandya’s range of shots is amazing. Of late, he has even mastered the art of helicopter shots. If he gets going, the opponents have every reason to press the panic button.

Dhoni can always surprise

It is unfortunate that Dhoni has been trolled for his slow batting against England. The English bowling was impressive which made it difficult for both Dhoni and Kedar Jadav to score quickly at the fag end of the match. Skipper Kohli has constantly supported Dhoni and knows that he has it in him to turn things around.

Bhumra and company remain India’s bowling strength

Jasprit Bhumra and Mohammad Shami’s brilliant performances in this tournament have given hopes to Indian fans. Bhumra’s almost unplayable googlies remain batsmen’s nightmare, and in all probability, he can snatch victory for his team from the jaws of defeat. His economy rate has been absolutely top class. Shami, though a little expensive, continues to bamboozle with his deceptive bouncers and in-swingers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is equally capable of making life miserable for batsmen.

Kohli should also now serious think of giving Ajay Jadeja a place in the final eleven in the coming matches. We would love to see him bowling not to talk about his brilliant fielding prowess.

Kakinara, the place where people were living peacefully for 40 years, loses its peace as soon as BJP gets an MP

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Kakinara, the place where people were living peacefully for 40 years, loses its peace as soon as BJP gets an MP

Kolkata: The video shared by the fact-finding team shows dingy serpentinous lanes with houses seamlessly bound with one another bearing the testimony of the violence that had erupted in the Bhatpara area post-Lok Sabha Election. According to the shared footages, these lanes that seem eerie now, houses residences ransacked by the goons, some walls of the no dilapidated homes now have Jai Sri Ram and Modi written on them.

A fact-finding team led by Association of Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) reached Bhatpara on June 30. The team comprising around 20 participants split into a group of two, one headed towards Kakinara and the other towards Jagatdal, in Bhatparata to do a detailed survey of the situation.

Speaking to eNewsroom, immediately after the visit, Altaf Ahmed, Assistant Secretary of APDR said, “APDR’s fact-finding team had visited various affected areas of Bhatpara and Jagatdal. We have interacted with the people there. During this interaction, we came to know that four people were killed, during the tension that gripped the area. Of these four, two were killed by police firing. However, during the visit, we realised that the biggest loss was that of humanity. In this area, people of both the community had been living peacefully for around 40 years. But now distrust seems to have seeped in.”

Asit Roy, a social activist associated with Medha Patkar’s National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM), who was also part of the fact-finding team said, “The fact that we social activists are reaching out to the victims of the Bhatpara and Kakinara victims after 40 days is definitely a sad thing. We should have reached out to these people who have been tortured for these many days in the name of turf capturing.” He paused and said, “The problems definitely began immediately after Arjun Singh shifted his loyalty to the Bharatiya Janata Party and with his performance he is being rewarded with his son and brother being given due importance and position in the party. But the problem that the common man is facing is beyond political rivalry.”

kakinara bhatpara west bengal riots loots BJP Mamata Banerjee
A shop owner shows his looted shop

Election Commission and Not Mamata to be blamed

Narrating his observation on the basis of his interaction with the people of the affected area, he cited examples of how shops were looted, houses plundered and shops captured and converted into BJP offices in these 40 days. “People need to understand that the Kakinara and Bhatpara burned under the observation of the Election Commission. Right from the time when violence broke out in this area, the entire area was under the observation of the central forces. Not a single local police were deputed here. So, all the violence, rioting and looting took place right under the nose of the CRPF and BSF forces, just stood like mere spectators. Here not Mamata Banerjee but the Election Commission is to be blamed for not maintaining law and order or for allowing this alleged communal flare-up for this long a time, where Muslims, in particular, have had to bear the brunt for not aligning with the BJP,” said Asit.

He then added, “However, given the fact that most of the people who have been tortured are her voters, it’s now the moral responsibility of the CM to stand by them.”

Locals believe the Bhatpara episode as communal, not political riot

Adding to that social activist Moutuli Nag Sarkar, who was part of the fact-finding team that visited Kakinara area said, “The general public that we interacted with Kakinara bazaar, Chalta Road and Tina Godam area, clearly termed it as a communal riot and not political turf capturing, as they believe that maximum of those who have been affected are Muslims.” On being asked, if there was some truth in the claim of Muslims being most affected, she said, “Yes, mostly the Muslim houses and shops that have been looted.”

Adding to that photographer Soujanya Sinha Roy, who accompanied APDR’s team said, “I have been part of most of the visiting team of the civil society in this area. I have witnessed a lot of shops that have been completely stripped off their goods and cash. The attackers even broke almirahs to take away all the expensive belongings of the affected families.”

kakinara bhatpara west bengal riots loots BJP Mamata Banerjee
A shop which has been forcibly turned into BJP office

Not just cash, but valid identity proofs also looted

Moutuli added, “While we were meeting the affected families, many told us that attackers, in particular, looted their documents like Voter Identity Card, Adhaar Card etc, in addition to looting their cash, pieces of jewellery along with their groceries. The families believe that this was being done to force them to vacate their houses and move on to some other place. At least two meat shops had been captured by the goons and converted into BJP party offices. The affected families despite staying there are in constant fear.”

On being asked about the compensation they received, she said, “Compensation as little as Rs 6300 can’t be enough to help these affected families start their lives afresh. They have been looted in a way that they have to start everything from scratch. Each family has been looted goods and cash worth INR 600000.”

The crisis that looms over these families that have been stripped off their identity proofs if NRC is implemented in Bengal, she said, “It definitely will create some problem. We will be highlighting this point in the APDR fact-finding report which will be published soon. However, we have also had a word, with the local police, who have committed to having the documents recovered. As of now, 71 arrests have been made.”

A short film explores same sex questions— among youth and grand parents

ScribeShah
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A short film explores same sex questions— among youth and grand parents

Kolkata: How conducive is it for a young man who is in same sex relationship to break ‘the news’ to his maternal grandmother?

How does she come to terms with it?

Does she accept? Or does ‘generation gap’ win?

These are some of the questions that were raised and answered at the launch and screening of Interlude, a short film directed by young filmmaker Ritama Ghosh and produced by Sonno at the Oxford Book Store, Kolkata on last Saturday.

Eminent actor and director, Sudeshna Roy has played the role of the grandmother in the short film while Rahul Roye and Sibashis Chatterjee have portrayed the couple who are in the same sex relationship. The film is promising and has been made at an opportune time, especially since efforts are on to make society more inclusive and stop judging people for their sexual orientation.

The screening of Interlude was followed by an enlightening panel discussion on ‘Can people in same sex relationship stay/live together if they want to?’ The panel comprised renowned music composer, Debojyoti Mishra, media consultant and film critic, Ranajit Dey, social activist and actor, Shree Ghatak, actor and script-writer of Interlude Rahul Roye as well as the director Ritama Ghosh.

LGBT same sex gay lesbian interlude short film
Screening of Interlude, in Kolkata

The discussion, moderated by Bappaditya Mukherjee, captured the attention of the audience right from the very beginning. Stated Ritama, “All of us share a warm and sweet relationship with our grandparents, but after a certain age, ‘generation gap’ threatens that bond. Just think how much more this generation gap can widen and affect the relationships of those who are in same-sex relationships! How do they tell their grandparents and what happens after that? Do the grandparents accept their grandchild or does ‘the news’ create a perpetual drift between them? Interlude was made with the desire to understand the dynamics and I have concisely shown the grandmother in positive light for I belief that until and unless our families and society becomes all-inclusive, we cannot progress.”

Addressing the gathering, Debojyoti Mishra pointed out, “We need to reach out and sensitise, but not just the older generation, but people from all strata of society. I think that we need another Vidayasagar amidst us – one who will reform our mindset and create a better world.” Ranajit Dey while sharing his opinion stated, “Till such time biological sex continues to dominate gender identity, it will be difficult for people in same-sex relationships to stay or live together. Society will continue to judge them till people are educated that biological sex and gender identities are two separate entities.”

Shree Ghatak shared, “We need more and more films and books that will highlight the need for ‘all-inclusiveness’ and portray things in positive light.” People from all walks of life and even the so-called modern generation continue to judge people like us. We need to change that mindset first.”

The event ended on an inspiring note on Saturday and just as eNewsroom was about to upload this story, an ‘update’ arrived that stated ‘Interlude will be screened at the 6th Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival which will be held from July 18-21, 2019.’

Clearly, films like Interlude cannot be ‘paused’.

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