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Bihar Police claims brutal murder of girl is honour killing, arrests father

Roshan Kumar
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Bihar Police claims brutal murder of girl is honour killing, arrests father

Patna: The horrific incident of a minor girl being allegedly gang-raped and brutally murdered in Buniyadganj in Gaya district in Bihar, is getting murkier. Now the police is claiming that it is a case of ‘honour killing’. The body of a 16-year old girl was found on January 6, around 600 metres away from the victim’s Rampur Manpur Patwatoli residence. Followed which Gaya police arrested the victim’s father and his friend the alleged honour killing case.

Buniyadganj police had recovered the badly mutilated body of the girl. The victim has been beheaded following which her head was doused in acid to make the identification difficult. The victim’s clothes were torn and the upper half of her body deep wounds.

Gaya police have arrested the victim’s father and his friend Leela Patwa on charges of honour killing.

Gaya police is claiming that the victim’s elder daughter had also recorded her statement in a local court under section 164 of CrPC. “The girl’s elder sister in her statement at the court had stated that the victim who was missing since December 28 had returned home on December 31. Her father and his friend (Leela Patwa) beat up the girl for eloping with a youth. On January 4, the friend of the victim’s father came again to their house and took the girl to an unknown place, following which the girl’s beheaded body was found on January 6,” said Gaya SSP, Rajiv Mishra.

Mishra while taking to eNewsroom, said: “The police is investigating the case and probing all possible angles behind the gruesome murder.”

However, the locals of Patwatoli and members of weavers (Patwatoli) community are not ready to buy the police theory behind the murder. The locals on January 9 and 10 organised candle marches in Gaya town to protest against the police inaction and for targeting the family members of the victim.

Prem Narayan Patwa, president of Vastra Udyog Bunkar Sewa Samiti (Patwatoli) told eNewsroom, “The police is unnecessarily targeting the victim’s family. The victim’s elder sister had given her statement under police duress and the police is cooking up the story to shield some influential person behind the incident. We have demanded a probe by Special Investigation Team (SIT) or CBI.”

Echoing the views of Prem Narayan Patwa, Bablu Patwa a resident of Patwatoli who knows the deceased family members said that the deceased family members were subjected to third degree torture to admit to the case of honour killing.

Bablu Patwa said that family members were pressured by police to confess that the victim had returned home December 31 night and was thrashed by family members for eloping with the youth.

Bablu said, “I know the family members, they are poor with victim’s father not even having enough financial resources to meet their daily requirements.” Bablu also refuted the allegations that the girl was having any affair with any youth, ruling out the possibility that she had eloped with any youth. The residents of Patwatoli also claimed that police are yet to receive the post mortem report of the victim and they have also not recovered the murder weapon.

Meanwhile, on Saturday Magadh range DIG Vinay Kumar along with Gaya SSP Rajiv Mishra and other senior police officials visited the victim’s residence at Patwatoli and assured the family members that within seven days they will carry out point by point probe. The of Vastra Udyog Bunkar Sewa Samiti (Patwatoli) who had given a two day bandh call today lifted the bandh after an assurance from police. The Patwatoli once known as Manchester of Bihar houses more than 1000 power looms domited with Patwa weavers community. The area is also known for producing IIT-ians as several students from the locality every year are in IIT merit list.

Electoral reforms by politicians is a classic example of a fox guarding the henhouse

T N Suhas
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Electoral reforms by politicians is a classic example of a fox guarding the henhouse

On February 28, 2018, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers from 19 states had met in the New Delhi BJP headquarters to discuss the possibility of simultaneous polls. One view that emerged during the discussion was that till India reaches a stage where there is a possibility of conducting simultaneous elections right from the panchayat to general elections, the government to contemplate the possibility of holding the state polls along with  the 2019 general elections.

Ostensibly, the rationale of holding simultaneous polls is to address the issues of massive expenditure that the government incurs when conducting elections; paralysis of governance due to the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, and the disruptions that elections cause to public life. In a democracy, the will of the people is paramount and it forms the basis of authority. This will is expressed by exercising the right to vote in elections. Many opposition parties, including the Congress, Left parties and many regional players feel the cycle of elections indicate the level of public satisfaction and attitude towards the current government(s). Homogenization of elections is packaged as a “One Nation, One Poll” policy, therefore, is somewhat anti-democracy, they argue.

On the other hand, a discussion paper- “Analysis of Simultaneous Elections: The “WHAT”, “WHY” AND “HOW” by NITI AAYOG, justifies the amendment of the constitution to execute this policy. However, a debate about the drawbacks of why and how this policy could be problematic in the Indian context is the need of the hour as even the Chief Election Commissioner , Sunil Arora, insisted that this policy is a desirable goal in an interview with a leading news channel.

Advocates of simultaneous polls argue that the practice of simultaneous elections started in the general elections of 1950-51 and continued for three subsequent general elections (1957, 1962 and 1967). The March 1967 general elections were a blow for both the ruling Congress and its supreme leader Indira Gandhi. While the Congress managed to keep power at the Centre, it lost powers in nine states.

According to V Krishna Ananth, a political commentator, 1967 elections witnessed the unfolding of the fractures in the nation’s social and political edifice. With the 1967 elections emerged the fragmented socio-political reality of India as a nation which had been stitched together in 1947. 1967 experiments in alliances, coalitions and vote appeal on the lines of caste, region etc. made far-reaching impact and continues to influence politics even today.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances , Law and Justice in its 79th report on “Feasibility of Holding Simultaneous elections to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and State legislative assemblies” mentions the precedent of simultaneous elections in countries like South Africa and in Sweden, where elections are held on a fixed date (similar to the USA). Interestingly, the practice of simultaneous elections in these countries is complimented by the electoral system of proportional representation.

Therefore, to implement Simultaneous polls, government should adopt the practice of proportional representation. Is this feasible? The main criticism of first-past-the-post system is that individuals can be elected and parties can achieve a governing majority of parliamentary seats even though they have not received a majority of the votes. Therefore, the dissent voiced by the minority (that may be significantly a large group) would be silenced. First-past-the-post works to the advantage of political parties whose support is concentrated in certain areas but may be weaker in other parts of the country. Such a party may win more seats than a party whose nationwide support is spread more uniformly — so the number of seats that an election allocates to each party is not commensurate with the overall level of support the party has on a nationwide basis. Secondly, PR system involves complex calculations. To implement this scheme we must restrict the number of candidates and the number of parties, thereby offering limited options for the voters. Therefore, the PR system is desirable but it is not feasible in the Indian context.

Are the arguments fair?

Simultaneous elections are desirable, as quite often-Indian polity is in election mode, which leads to huge expenditures. On the contrary, concurrent elections if held would result in sharing the expenditure between the centre and the state.

Is the reason of massive expenditure a fallacy? Let’s do a fact check. Election Commission incurs a total cost of roughly around 8000 cr in the span of 5 years, out of which 4000 cr is spent on general elections (Lok Sabha) and around 800 million people participate in this exercise. Therefore, 0.03% of the total expenditure is not a huge price we are paying to celebrate democracy.

It is not the government expenditure that the advocates of this policy intend to address. Instead, their line of argument is that simultaneous polls would help in bringing down the election expenditure of the political parties/candidates. Political parties cannot fight elections without large funds as elections in recent times are all about visibility. India’s privately funded election campaign is a contrast to the trend in most countries, which have partial or full public funding or transparent regulation and financial accountability of political finance. State funding of elections is a potential solution to this problem. The Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections had endorsed partial state funding of recognised political parties and their candidates. But the lack of political will has prevented a serious discussion on this issue. Therefore, to adopt simultaneous polls the government must make laws to cap the expenses of the political parties or consider state funding of elections to ensure a level playing field and it would increase accountability.

The argument that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) prevents the government from carrying out welfare schemes is questionable. Firstly, the absence of strong state leaders has forced the national parties to depend on the Prime Minister and the national leadership to campaign for the state elections. This essentially drains the Prime Minister’s time and distracts him from governance. Secondly, the trend where government brings out populist schemes just prior to elections to persuade a specific section, particularly the swing votes. There are instances wherein the ECI has allowed the centre to implement its schemes without much hassle (subject to restricting the publicity of such schemes). For example, the release of the second installment of funds under MGNREGA was allowed by ECI for poll-bound states of Himachal and Gujarat, with a rider that it should not be publicised. Therefore blaming the MCC for hindering governance is inappropriate. The onus is on the government to empower the ECI prior to making amendments to the Indian Constitution to boost Indian polity. If India wants to embark on the path of “cooperative federalism”, then more welfare projects should be taken up by the state and not by the center. But the current standoff between the centre and states regarding the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM JAY) projects a different picture.

Electoral reforms in the hands of the politicians is a classic example of a fox guarding the hen house. These issues are employed as deviationary tactics to avoid debating issues that have caused crises (like demonetisation and poor implementation of GST). The gullible Indian electorate might not be able to distinguish the state and national narratives as they are not well informed. By conducting simultaneous polls, the issues of the state might take a backseat.

All-women Madhubani artists wait for their payment after painting Bihar Sampark Kranti Express

ScribeShah
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All-women Madhubani artists wait for their payment after painting Bihar Sampark Kranti Express

Darbhanga/Kolkata: On August 23, Bihar Sampark Kranti Express was rolled out with immense pride by the Indian Railways. All of its 24 coaches were beautified with Madhubani Paintings or Mithila Art by the hard work of 45 Madhubani artists, all women. What more, their artwork was even appreciated by the United Nations.

However, six months down the line, the artists who made it to the headlines for their work, are yet to receive any payment. Take the example of 20-year-old Anjali Jha, a Madhubani artist who ekes-out-a-living by painting. She was the key artist for the Madhubani Art on train project.

“We were a group of 45 artists who worked on the coaches. I played a key role in making the sketches on all the 20 coaches of the Bihar Sampark Kranti Express. There were two other artists who been hired to do the sketches, but they quit after working on four coaches. Also, most of the artists that were brought in to paint the train coaches were inexperienced,” recounts Anjali, who had stationed in Darbhanga for three months along with other artists to give shape to this venture of the Indian Railways.

She then added, “We have heard that our work has been appreciated by all, but we are yet to receive the payment for our work.” On being asked, about the amount that the contractor would be paying she said, “No fixed pay was decided. We were just told that we would be paid a nice amount by the Indian Railway.”

 

Anjali hails from Milwar, a remote village in Darbhanga, Bihar, she helps her father sustain their six-member-family. On a month that is kind to her, she earns about INR 10000 by painting shawls, sarees or artefacts with the now-much-in-vogue Madhubani art, based on the specification of her clients. Similar is the story of Sapna Roy, from Madhubani’s Pakhraoni village, who also paints to sustain her family needs.

But the life of a rural artist specializing in an art form, which the Indian Railway has adopted, seems to be not so easy. “We generally get work on an ad-hoc-basis. There is no fixed earning for us. So, when we got this opportunity we grabbed it with both our hands,” said Sapna Ray.

Ray further added, “We worked from July till October on this project. The first train with Madhubani Art was launched on August 23, since then we worked on more trains. But it’s almost January and we are yet to get our payments. We had been told that we would be receiving our payment in December, but are yet to get paid.”

On contacting Ashutosh Sahu, the main contractor for the ‘Madhubani Art Train’ said, “I had made some mistake while filling up the forms and then the officials were on leave, hence the delay.” He then paused and added, “Amount that needs to be paid to the 45 odd artists is high. Approximately every artist is to get paid between Rs 15000 to Rs 20000, so I have no option but to wait till the payment gets cleared from the department; else I would have paid from my own funds. The girls need not panic.”

Interestingly, according to an India Today report, Indian Railways spent about Rs1 lakh per coach to beautify it with Madhubani Paintings.

More scams of the Chouhan regime

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More scams of the Chouhan regime

PDS scam

Kamal Nath, Congress Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, constituted his cabinet on December 25. Ten days later, new Food Minister Pradyuman Singh Tomar inspected a Public Distribution System (PDS) shop in Bhopal city and found mud and stones in wheat and rice, in addition to detecting other irregularities. The PDS scam had grown into gigantic proportions in the BJP government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan with his blessing. It was by accident, or call it by a little carelessness of his officers, that the enormity of the scam had come to light.

Bhopal witnessed heavy rains in July 2016 when it rained cats and dogs without a glimpse of sun for days together. The low-lying colonies were flooded, houses collapsed, people died and thousands had to be evacuated to hastily put up camps. It was then revealed – once again – that these colonies had been allowed to be built on sewage drains and there was no outlet for the rain water to flow out.

But the flood-victims, belonging mostly to the lower strata of society, had to be fed. Chouhan directed the Civil Supplies Department to disburse grains among them and the Department promptly sent some bags of wheat to these people. In the hurry they sent them the wrong bags which were not meant to be opened in cities but in remote villages. Because, when the people opened the bags they found a substantial quantity of mud cakes and stones along with the wheat. They cried foul inviting the media persons and activists. Mud cakes and stones were separated in presence of the media and activists and weighed. In a 50-kg bag, mud cakes and stones weighed 15 to 20 kgs.

This accidental exposure led to the revelation that mud cakes and stones were mixed in certain number of wheat bags at warehouses where the grain is kept. These ‘mixed’ bags were meant to be sent to remote areas to be distributed through fair price shops in villages. As the individual consumer got a certain quantity of wheat at a time, all that he complained of was that the wheat was dirty or had some mud and stones in it but he never came to know of the actual quantity of the adulteration. Sometimes some people did create ruckus but they were taken care of by the police or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the area. The reason was simple: Chouhan’s most trusted officers were put at the helm of affairs in both the departments; Civil Supplies and Warehousing Corporation. Some close relatives of Chouhan were said to be having interest in the working of the two departments.

Chouhan’s criminal intent

What the Congress and other opposition parties could not do was done by a member of Chouhan’s cabinet to make the Chief Minister and his RSS mentor (late) Anil Madhav Dave aware of their criminal intent in trying to rob the poor of their land fraudulently. Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Akhand Pratap Singh vehemently opposed at a cabinet meeting the proposal to allot 13.766 hectares of land in the Chief Minister’s Budhni Assembly constituency by overruling the objections of the revenue and finance departments to Narmada Samagra Trust floated by Anil Madhav Dave. The land near Uma Bharti’s favourite Bandrabhan Ashram was the pastureland belonging to the poor people of Ramnagar village on the bank of river Narmada.

Under the rules, this land could not be converted into the land for construction of houses. Dave’s Trust was to be allotted the land at throwaway prices. The Chief Minister’s criminal intent became clear in giving the khasra number of some other land in the newspaper advertisements inviting objections. Narmada Samagra Trust was registered with the Registrar of Public Trusts only a few months earlier, its movable property amounting to only Rs 11,000 and no immovable property. Anil Madhav Dave, as secretary, was the only person authorised in the Trust deed to enter into legal proceedings. The required application fee was not deposited while applying for allotment of land to the Trust. The move to allot land to Dave’s Trust was dropped after the fraud was exposed by Akhand Pratap Singh.

Murder of IPS officer

Chouhan and his wife Sadhna Singh were celebrating Holi at the Chief Minister’s sprawling residence in Bhopal when the news of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh’s murder by the mining mafia at Morena was conveyed to them. If they were affected, they did not show it and the revelry continued unabated with full gusto. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Chambal range D P Gupta had told media persons after the incident that Singh had tried to stop a tractor carrying illegally mined stones but the driver ran over him. “We won’t call it an accident. Even after he was stopped, the driver crushed the officer with his tractor. It’s a clear case of murder. The tractor driver (identified as Manoj Gurjar) has been arrested and a case (under Section 302 IPC) has been registered against him and we are trying to ascertain whom he was working with”, the DIG was quoted as having stated.

Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta and Director General of Police (DGP) Nandan Dubey rushed to Gwalior on the way to Morena and with that the murder became accident. The police also spread the word that no mining mafia was behind the incident, that the driver was carrying the stones to his village for his own use and that he had become nervous on seeing the police officer and lost control of the vehicle resulting in the “accident”.

IPS officer’s wife Madhurani Tewatia, an IAS officer posted in Gwalior (who later got herself transferred to UP cadre), said: “One day you say it is a murder and the other day you say it is not – this is not acceptable… If someone has done something good for the country, you can’t just get hold of the driver and feel that it is enough. You need to start from the roots to eradicate this mafiasm.” Madhurani Tewatia asked if a poor driver dare trample an IPS officer, or even a constable, under the wheels of his vehicle unless he was assured of full protection – legal, monetary and otherwise – by those in control of the illegal operations?

Another murder

Constable Dharmendra Singh Chauhan, an ex-army man, was posted at the Noorabad police station in Morena district. One night he was part of a patrolling party when they saw sand-laden truck parked under suspicious circumstances. As the police party challenged the vehicle, its driver started the engine and tried to flee the scene. Chauhan ran forward to stop the truck. He had almost reached the engine when the driver abruptly turned the truck trampling the constable under its wheels. The driver ran away from the scene. Chauhan’s colleagues in the patrolling party took their own time to reach the scene of the ghastly murder.

Note: Illegal mining in Madhya Pradesh was directly supervised by Chouhan’s wife Sadhna Singh through a promotee IAS officer with a dubious record S K Mishra.

Jhabua blast

A blast in a store in the small town of Petlawad in Jhabua district killed 90 persons and injured over 100 others. The law does not permit storage of explosives in a residential area but here the explosives were kept in a house at the centre of Petlawad town. Moreover, the owner of the explosives store Rajendra Kasawa did not even have a licence to store or sell the explosives. The licence for explosives is issued by the Petroleum and Safety Organisation (PESO). Deputy Chief Controller of PESO M K Jhala, based in Bhopal, said a day after the blast that no licence had been issued in the name of Rajendra Kasawa. Jhala said: ‘it is a serious matter. I have checked records and no licences were issued from our side. Our officials will be visiting Petlawad and submit a report’, he added. The residents of Petlawad had been complaining to the district administration about the storage of the explosives in the residential areas but the district administration always ignored the complaints. Chouhan’s close associates were said to be the beneficiaries of the racket.

Bharat Bandh impacts normal life, Bengal most affected, school bus attacked in Kolkata

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Bharat Bandh impacts normal life, Bengal most affected, school bus attacked in Kolkata

Kolkata: The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken cognizance in the matter of an attack on a school bus in Barasat with school children on board allegedly by members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), during the first day of the two days’ Bharat Bandh.

A press communiqué released by the WBCPCR mentioned that commission has issued a show-cause notice to Sujan Chakraborty and other office bearers of the CPI(M).

Earlier, few sporadic incidents of vandalism was also reported to have taken place in some parts of Bengal on Tuesday following the 48-hour-long nationwide general strike called by central trade unions protesting against the “anti-people” policies of Narendra Modi led NDA government in the center. Scuffles between police and the strike supporters were witnessed in some areas. At Jadavpur area in south Kolkata, CPI(M) leader and MP of Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency Sujan Chakraborty along with several other strike supporters were detained by the police.

Stones were pelted at a school bus in Champadali area of Barasat in North 24 Parganas district. A government bus was also ransacked by strike supporters at Champadali. Protestors also vandalised a bus at Jamuria in Paschim Bardhaman district.

Protestors squatted on tracks in some places to stop trains and burnt tyres on the roads. Members of Students’ Federation of India staged agitation at the gates of Presidency University in Kolkata. In Siliguri, protesters organised a big procession. But the trading hub in the city was open, though roads had fewer vehicles compared to a normal working day.

There have been reports of clashes between TMC and CPM workers in Asansol during the first day of the ongoing 48-hour nationwide strike. Train services came to a halt at Madhyamgram, Hasnabad-Bongaon, Krishnagar, Duttapukur and Lakshmikantapur train line. At Sodepur, in North 24 Parganas district, protesters threw banana leaves on overhead wires to disrupt train movement.

The state government had earlier announced that state employees would be barred from availing casual leave or half day leave on Tuesday and Wednesday. No leave will also be allowed on the day preceding the two-day strike or following it, as per the government notification issued on Friday.

A circular for no adverse order was also issued by the Calcutta High Court that prevails over all the lower courts under it.

Joint Entrance Examination

The Joint Entrance examination has begun from Tuesday which coincides with the 48-hours-old strike. But the state government has made special arrangements for examinees. Special examination bus and other vehicles in large numbers were seen plying on the metropolis streets. The security has been tightened too. This year, 9.5 lakh students are appearing for the Joint Entrance main examination. Through this exam, one can take admission in a graduation course in engineering at IIT, NIT, CFTI, SFTI, etc. The exam which started on Tuesday will continue till January 12.

At least 391 people including 34 women were detained across Bengal during the bandh.

In Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan too, bandh was effective, however, no major violence was reported.

Watch Madhya Pradesh MLAs entering Assembly on day one

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Watch Madhya Pradesh MLAs entering Assembly on day one

Bhopal: On January 8, when the MLAs entered the Madhya Pradesh Assembly for the first time after the fifteenth Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, most members were seen bowing at the entrance. Among the MLAs, mostly first timers, eNewsroom spotted ruling Congress’ Education and Sports Minister Jitu Patwari, Public Relations Minister PC Sharma, Revenue and Transport Minister Govind Rajput, MLA Kalawati Bhuria, Omkar Singh Markam bowing at the Assembly entrance along. BJP MLAs, Aakash Vijayvargiya and Kamal Patel were also seen doing the same. Onlookers maintained that had the elected representatives bow before the people who elected them it would have been better for democracy. What matter for MLAs are their attendance, raising public issues and answering the queries of the common man will be a reflection of how much they respect the Assembly.

In other development, Narmada Prasad Prajapati became the Speaker. The four times Congress MLA Prajapati, for the first time in 52 years got elected after voting.

All pictures by: Raj Patidar.

 

Amartya Sen says, We as humans have failed to fulfill our basic human responsibility to stand with the oppressed

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Amartya Sen says, We as humans have failed to fulfill our basic human responsibility to stand with the oppressed

Kolkata: Humanity is connected through our art and literature even though politics and geography divide us. That was the message sent out at a recent event attended by Nobel Laureate and renowned economist Professor Amartya Sen.

Speaking at the occasion Professor Sen came out in full support of actor Naseeruddin Shah, who recently got into a controversy when he expressed concern regarding the rising mob violence in India and had also spoken against the alleged crackdown by the government on NGOs.

Since then the veteran actor is facing the wrath of right wingers and even the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s leaders. One BJP MLA even went on to say that if he were to be made a minister he will bomb such people who speak about intolerance in India.

In his speech, Professor Amartya Sen stressed on the need for fostering and maintaining humanity, “During the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, what we did, does not come under social responsibility but it is in our humanity to stand by the oppressed. What is happening to Bengali Muslims in Assam in the name of NRC or the deportation of Rohingyas to Myanmar can never be justified. We as humans have failed to do our basic human responsibility to stand with the oppressed.”

The nobel laureate also said, “We need to come out in full support of people like Shah and at the same time be vociferous against those who condemn views expressed by the likes of Naseeruddin Shah.”

Earlier intellectuals of Kolkata had expressed support for Naseeruddin Shah and had even called out Bollywood for not coming out in support of the legendary actor.

Professor Sen further added, “The atmosphere of religious intolerance is gaining momentum each passing day. So every rational person should come forward and protest against this kind of environment.”

When asked why a country like India, which is secular, is witnessing such religious intolerance and what are the reasons behind it, Professor Sen smiled and said, “This could well be qualified as a doctoral thesis. But yes, social reasons coupled with political reasons is the cause.”

Regarding the change of RBI governors in quick succession, Professor Sen didn’t elaborate much, but simply stated that they have been removed as the present government didn’t like them.

The 85-year-old renowned economist was in town to attend the golden jubilee celebration of a Bengali magazine Samatat. He addressed a gathering at Purbashree auditorium, EZCC on Sunday evening.

Along with Prof Sen, Indologist Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, singers Srikanta Acharya and Sraboni Sen, elocutionist Ratna Mitra, Mayor of Bidhannagar Corporation Sabyasachi Dutta were also present at the occasion.

Professor Bhaduri spoke at length about his association with Samatat and it’s editor Arghyakusum Duttagupta who happens to be economist Prof Amlan Dutta’s younger sibling. “My association dates back to the time when I was still a college student. I once wrote an article for Samatat where I wrote an introduction of my book ‘Sukhosaptati’ which is a collection of stories, our folklores that have a message.”

Elaborating further on this Professor Bhaduri said that our folklore are the same stories that have been found in an Arabic book ‘Tuti Nama’ in Arabia which had probably travelled from India. From Arabia these folklores travelled to Italy and then to England. “The well known book of English literature, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, are a collection of such stories that have their origin in India. I was surprised and so happy to see it,” said the Indologist.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration, Samatat has published a 400 pages book where the best articles that created storm in the literary world were republished along with some new articles.

Kolkata hosts its first Queer Literary Festival

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Kolkata hosts its first Queer Literary Festival

Kolkata: The season to celebrate literature has set in. And Calcutta alone will be hosting not one but three literature festivals in January itself. In fact, between November to January, several literature festivals have already taken place at several Indian cities. But there has been few sessions dedicated to ‘queer’ literature in the popular Lit Fests and the number  of authors specialising in it being invited as speakers is even lesser in number. Thereby, feeling the need of a separate fest for the community, Kolkata hosted its first Queer Literary Festival on January 5.

Celebrating the ‘queer’

On a cold winter afternoon, seeing three of the four panelists occupying the stage, representing a form of literature that not many choose to talk about, in the heart of the city, was appreciated by many. Setting the motion for the session – Every Struggle Is Our Struggle: Queer Voices, Literature of Resistance was Aulic, writer and anthropologist from Dhaka, currently residing in Berlin. She said, “I don’t write to resist but to exist.”

Actor and poet Tista Das, a prominent face of the West Bengal Trans Movement, began by saying, “Being a transgender woman, I am also part of the society. I have never thought myself to be different, so, I never began my poetry or writing as ‘queer poetry’ or ‘queer writing’. I began writing to voice against the injustice that exists in the society till date. To be honest, I never thought myself to be different from the society, but it was this very society that made me feel that I was different and gradually, my writing also got a tag.”

QUEER LGBT Transgender Kolkata
A painting at the entrance of the Queer Literature Festival site

Abhijit Majumdar, a professor and researcher by profession and writer by passion, who has penned a couple of books on ‘queer emotions’ and human rights, among which the most prominent being Noishobdyer Potroguccho said, “I am not a writer by profession but I write, not to exist but to resist, unlike Aulic. I am being very candid, my writings are agenda based, if they are considered as literature, I have no issue.”

Need for another setup

With write-ups, poems and even reports written in support of the ‘queer’ community adorning the walls of the Goethe Institut, the organizers made their need for being talked about or being taken into the fold evident.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eb3N5syzIo[/embedyt]

 

Talking about the need of a literary meet dedicated to the queer authors and literature, was Mallobika, co-founder Sappho for Equality, she said, “Because people don’t have the courage to talk about queer issues let alone queer literature. This festival is an attempt to open up conversations with writers, readers and publishers about our struggles, joys and sorrows. It is also an attempt to listen to other movements of struggles, resistances and movement.”

Adding to that, Avinaba, independent gender, sexuality and policy researcher currently associated with Sappho for Equality, said, “The whole idea of organizing this literary meet was to create a pace for the writers and poets from the community to come and share their work. None of the mainstream festivals has ever invited writers from the community.”

All minorities are ‘one’

Speaking about the need of a platform, which gives space to other representatives of the minority community – be it religious, sexual, class or caste. Avinaba said, “The primary idea was to focus on queer and other marginalized representatives of the society, who for different reasons – gender, sexuality, class, caste, religion, geographic locations, cannot come forward, or rather let’s say are not allowed to put forward their work. We often hear from others, “we do not discriminate”  “we do not see one’s gender and sexuality!” However, the mainstream publishing houses – both regional and national – often complained about not finding enough talent in the queer community, in terms of literature.”

Adding to that, Md Reyaz, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aliah University said, “As a religious minority, I empathise with the sexual minorities, for I believe that living in a secular country, if I am taking benefits of being a minority and say that people have no business to know what’s being cooked in my kitchen then we should not peep into other’s bedroom. On the contrary, we have reached a stage, where I would say all minorities should come together on one platform.”

The organisers, also used the event to raise their voice against the Transgender Bill. “We have dedicated a complete session on this issue as the law is draconian in its present form. An individual belonging to the male and female category don’t need to be verified as male or female by specialists. They why are trans men and women being subjected to such humiliation. This bill if enacted will be misused by those being authorised to scan our bodies. As it is we are humiliated by the society, this will subject us to further humiliation,” said Prabhat Majumdar, one of the panelist for the session on Transgender Bill. Another bill which was much talked about in between the session was the Triple Talaq Bill, the demand being – redrafting of the bill, as the bill in its present form, many felt would lead to a witch hunt of Muslim men in particular

Kolkata girl promotes dying Madhubani Art using new-age technology

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Kolkata girl promotes dying Madhubani Art using new-age technology

Kolkata: On a lazy summer afternoon, which was meant to be spent at leisure, Wasma Mirza was left awestruck by the beautiful bed sheets and tablecloth that adorned the rooms of her grandmother’s residence in Darbhanga, Bihar.

Mesmerised by its beauty, she was compelled to trace the history of the artwork that was displayed before her. “My grandmother told me that those artwork had been sourced from a village called Madhubani, which wasn’t very far from our Darbhanga residence. I decided to pay a visit to the village, from where the now-dying art-form Madhubani Art or Mithila Paintings has originated.”

ABC of Madhubani/Mithila Art

Determined to have a closer look and better understanding of what this art was all about and why it was dying, she along with her parents (Shahanshah Mirza, great-great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah and Fatima Mirza) went to Madhubani.

“On the day we visited Madhubani, I was extremely delighted to witness the haat in progress. I was left fascinated with what I saw – women selling their Madhubani artwork, as some in small batches sat under the tree, giving the final strokes to some of their near finished products,” she said. She further added, “However, my visit to this haat left me a bit disheartened, as I saw that there were not many buyers for this artwork.”

 

E for Entrepreneur

As locals speak Mithila, in her first visit, Wasma took an interpreter with her to understand both the artwork and communicate with the artist in order to seal the deal. “I am in the second year of college and will soon be graduating. So, career happens to be on the top list of our discussions. When I saw these handicrafts at my grandparent’s house, I got an idea of starting a small business by buying from these women and selling it to my family and friends, back in Kolkata. However, I was appalled by the response that these artists were getting in their own town. There were very few buyers and most of the artists were from the economically backward community. This further encouraged me to promote their work in my own small way,” she told to eNewsroom.

Social Media to boost the sale

Madhubani Art Mithila kolkata
Wasma Mirza

Determined to help the artists, she used her savings to purchase a couple of artworks from the haat. “I used WhatsApp and Facebook to promote the handicrafts, and I got a great response from my family and friends in Kolkata. Overwhelmed with the response, now on a regular basis I am getting a number of these products from Madhubani, straight from these women artists and am selling them in Kolkata, for a very marginal profit. This is my small way of reviving a dying art and paying the artists their due. They are generally left underpaid by middlemen.”

Wasma’s work model may be new and small in size, but experienced artists in Mithila Art, believe that this can be beneficial for them. Speaking to eNewsroom, from Madhubani was Anjali Jha, who ekes out a living by doing Madhubani painting, said, “In our villages, almost every house has an expert in Mithila art. So, there is a surplus product but less number of buyers. The maximum money made by artists like us is Rs 10000 a month. Agents make more profit than us, but if someone could directly contact us like this girl from Kolkata and give us regular work, then at least we can expect a steady flow of income.”

Adding to that Shalini Karn, an emerging Madhubani artist said, “This kind of an initiative will be beneficial for the local artists. Today, it has become essentially important for the artists to have a market beyond the the local haat, to market their product and make a steady income. It’s encouraging to see urban girls taking interest in us.”

The last sunset and sunrise of 2018

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The last sunset and sunrise of 2018

Jaipur: The year 2018 has came to an end with the promise of a fresh start in 2019. To make moments memorable, Chandra Mohan Aloria captured the last sunset and sunrise of the year gone. Enjoy the pictures as it is, as we are not giving any caption to these pictures captured by the photographer. The first photo captures the last sunset of 2018 and rest are of last sunrise of the last day of 2018. Let us pledge to make the world a better place to live in for everyone. Wishing our readers – A Very Happy New Year 2019!

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