December 11, 2012, 9:15 pm
By Md. Abdullah Al Helal
Marriage is commonly understood as relatively enduring relationship between male and female as husband and wife. It is a bond by which a male and female gain the religious, social and legal recognition to live together. It creates mutual obligation between husband and wife. However, marriage is a universal system to regulate sex life. Procreation of children is the additional purpose. No religion permits to fulfill this biological need without being married. Otherwise it is adultery and this type of relationship is known as extramarital affairs. Broadly, extramarital affairs are relationships outside of marriage where an illicit romantic or sexual relationship or a romantic friendship or passionate attachment occurs.
In most of the cases an extramarital relation starts silently from the cheating of one party of other in conjugal life. This affair begins benignly but may later evolve by becoming sexual posing a serious threat to the marital relationship. Extramarital affairs involve the infidelity (physical, emotional, mental) of someone who is married. It has added a new dimension in the social degrading that is really sham for civil society. It is damages the trust, the foundation of relationship, among spouse which is the predicator of all long-term relationships. As marriage bond is enduring so no one can deny the role of trust to sustain this bond. Finally it devastates marriages and may lead to divorce if the illicit affair does not end and trust cannot be rebuilt.
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Apart from this, most of the sensitive death is one of the root causes of extra marital affair according to the DCC police information. Instigating by illicit love, husband killing wife. On the other hand, wife also killing husband. Even they killing their innocent children in order to prove their love to the second party. Again, wife committing suicide for husband's extramarital affairs being helpless. People can not forget the incident occurred at Adabar of capital Dhaka, in June 5, 2010 where mother Ayesha Humayra killed her innocent child Samiul barbarically in association with her illicit lover. In the same year on 11th June Farzana Kabir Rita commited suicide in the capitals Jurain with her 12-year old son Ishrat Kabir Pabon and 10-year old daughter Raisa Rashmi Payel Romana for having illicit love of her husband with another girl. The conscious people had nothing but cry watching these incidents. And raised question are they human being or beast? A report published in the prominent daily newspaper where Dr Zillur Kamal, associate professor of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) said, persons getting such a shock lose faith in any kind of relationship. As the world is nothing but a sum of some relationships, gradually they lose taste of earth and try to commit suicide. Truly, it is these relationships for which people feel an urge to remain alive in this world bearing all sorts of pain in heart. Very often it is seen to be broadcasted in the media what is not tolerable to the sound minded people. These features prove that how immoral these people are as well as how degraded the society is. In this situation children are being affected severely. Sociologists and educationalists opine that, this forbidden relationships hurting children as well. The children of the married couple are affected by the extramarital affair because of the increasing absence of one parent. Once an affair is out in the open, the children feel betrayed and rejected. They experience confusion over why the parent has damaged the family by having the affair, because they are unable to grasp the complex emotional factors which led to that point. Their antagonistic tug of war is the toxicity hurting their child. The child, eventually, after witnessing the hostile environment at home and the parental animosity resulting from the extra-marital of either of the parents, breaks down under the strain of conflict. The child’s distress may take the form of school related problems, anxiety, depression, bullying, victimization and sometimes even health related illness. So, it is a line in the sand that cannot be crossed without serious consequences.
Marriage leads to the establishment of family which is situated in the nuclear position of society. None can deny its significance regarding providing social status, upbringing and socialization of the children. But this primitive and basic institution of the society is perilous now due to such illicit affairs apart from other causes of family discord such as poverty, dowry etc. and ultimately society is plunged into chaos. So, it is indispensably needed to protect this evil deed in order to protect social devaluation. Firstly, there is no alternative of practicing religious value. No religion permits adultery and adultery is considered a sin in all religions. The Bible decrees the death sentence for both the adulterer and the adulteress (Lev.20:10). Islam also equally punishes both the adulterer and the adulteress (Quran 24:2). All religions recognized as systematic way in this regard. So, they are far away from religious value those are involving with illicit affair and doing barbaric act. Secondly, we must stop following western culture. Evident are available in this case that this problem raised tremendously since country people started to follow the western culture blindly. Our local culture has to be popularized and print as well as electronic media can play pioneer role in this regard. Thirdly, last but not least, husband and wife must be tolerant for the sake of family existence. They should have sacrificing mentality because sacrificing mentality ensures everlasting peace.
[Md. Abdullah Al Helalis a Senior Lecturer of General Education at Northern University Bangladesh. He can be contacted at helalabdullah001@yahoo.com]
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December 11, 2012, 9:21 pm
By R. L. Francis
Catholic and Protestant churches, across the country, is celebrating December 9, 2012 as ‘Dalit Liberation Sunday’. Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI) and National Council for Churches in India (NCCI) have suddenly become worried for their Dalit brothers. Both of these churches work under Vatican and Geneva based ‘World Council of Churches’.
In the October month of this year, Catholic Church has organized a congregation under Pope Benedict-XVI, which has advocated for faster evangelization considering the changing scenario of the world. It is under this theme that Indian arms of churches have thrown slogans like ‘Break the barriers – Build the world of equality’ for Dalit brothers.
But, reality is that church has just tried to put old wine in the new bottle. They have demanded to include dalit Christians in the scheduled caste on name of ‘ Dalit Liberation Sunday’. They have criticized Manmohan Singh government to break their promises in this regard.
The slogan looks pleasant from the hindsight, but reality lies in stark contrast to the ‘words’. When church has not been able to create equitable order for 2.5 to 3.0 crore dalit Christians, how can they do justice to non-Christian dalits?
The big question on the entire church organizations is- If after conversion of several hundreds of years, their situation is as good as Hindu dalits, then what church has done for them over this long period? Despite 70 percent of total converted Christians come from dalit framework of Indian society, but their role in the church establishment is almost non-existent. Discrimination is persistently increasing within the church system. Church is trying to shift the blame on Hindu system.
Christianity does not believe in discrimination of any kind. This was the main reason our dalit ancestors have opted for this faith. Even Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), in its resolution passed in 1981 had said that there was no place for caste-based discrimination in Christianity. This is a bad system. The study of father Anthony Raj also proves this fact. Vatican severely criticizes caste based discrimination and untouchability. But, dalit Christians face this at every step. Handful of clergy controls all the resources of church. Through this demand of including, dalit Christians in the scheduled caste’s category, church has played double game. They have successfully divereted the anger of dalit Christians towards government and secondly, they have time and money to spend on more conversions, which will help them to firm their roots.
Welfare of Dalit Christians has never is an agenda for church. They have just been tool for the expansion of the church empire in India. This can be understood through an example. There are 168 Bishops and there are just four who come from dalit community. There are 13,000 diocesan priests, 14000 religious priests, one-lakh nuns and 5000 brothers in India. However, merely few hundred of them are from dalit community. Recently, only dalit priest from Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, Father William Premdas Chaudhry has described agony of dalit father in his autobiography, “An Unwanted Priest”.
There is a common feeling that church has highest amount of land after government of India and they have land in the posh colonies. In India, church has some constitutional rights. Regulation must be imposed to control church and their institutions. There are 480 colleges in only Catholic Church, 63 medical colleges, 9500 secondary schools, 4000 high schools, 14000 primary schools, 7500 nursery schools, 500 training schools, 900 technical schools, 263 Professional institutions, six engineering colleges and 3000 hostels, 787 hospitals, 2800 dispensaries and halth centres currently being run by Catholic Church. If institutes are, being run by Protestants is included then number reaches to 45 to 50 thousands.
Now, my question is how many deans, teachers, professors and doctors are from dalit Christian community in this huge empire of church? How many of them are doctors in medical hospitals? How many dalit Christians are director of social institutions of church, which gets crores of foreign funds for the welfare of converted Christians. Before celebrating ‘Dalit Liberation Sunday’ church should answer these questions. Church should tell that how many dlit Christian students gets education in their convent schools? Reality is that church has become business enterprise and now it is being driven by profit motive. If church has guts, they should bring a white paper on the issue.
It is a harsh truth that many people won’t believe, that condition of Hindu dalits has considerably improved and Christian dalits are now left in this race. Hindu dalits have started ‘Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’ to help entrepreneurship among dalits. But, I want to ask why any such model for development of Christian dalits has not come from church despite having ample resources? I demand instead of ridiculing dalits, they should first create a system which gives them proper rights and justice in the present system.
[R L Francisis President of Poor Christians Liberation Movement (PCLM). He can be contacted on his Mobile # +91-9810108046 or pclmfrancis@gmail.com]
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December 11, 2012, 9:24 pm
IMO News Service
A National Seminar on Gandhi and his basic education was held at National Gandhi Museum Auditorium, Rajghat, New Delhi, on 8th and 9th December 2012. It was conducted by Gandhi Memorial Museum, Bithiharwa, (W) Champaran and National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi. The programme was inaugurated by D.P. Yadav, former Union Miniser of State for Education.
On this occasion, Jaipur-based pediatrician Dr. Vivek Sharma said that Gandhi's basic education has got great role in children with learning disabilities. Dr. Sharma said children with learning difficulties are intuitive and highly creative and excel at hands on learning.
Dr. Sharma affirmed the problem is not motivating or low intelligence. It is hidden disability that needs accommodation and special help along with the focus on strength.
Dr. Sharma emphasized that arts and crafts projects, as well music, and the natural world should be taught regularly to all children, but are specially important for children with learning difficulties.
In many instances, depending on the particular condition of the child, the sensory input provide by artistic endeavor can support physical condition development, as well as emotional, mental and social Dr. Sharma added.
Dr. Vivek Sharma is also presently associated with the popuar web News Portal IndianMuslimObserver.com as Health Editor.
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December 11, 2012, 9:29 pm
By Pervez Bari
New Delhi: The Aligarh Activists Society (AAS) has called for Unity and Reconciliation among the Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas in a letter handed over to the Minister Counsel of Palestine in a function at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Kennedy Auditorium on Sunday.
According to a press release the AAS had organised a Symposium on "Palestine: Occupation, War Crimes and Demand for Sovereignty". The chief guest was His Excellency Saleh Asad Saleh Muhammad, the Minister Counsel from Palestine Embassy.
The other speakers were Prof. Mirza Asmer Beg, Department of Political Science at AMU and Dr. Arshi Khan, Associate Professor, also in Department of Political Science.
Prof. Beg spoke on the recent developments in Palestine. He stated that the present aim of Israel and its allies is to isolate Iran. Israel is aiming to divert the attention of the world towards other issues, while they make settlements on Palestine and try finishing it off completely.
Dr. Arshi Khan spoke on the historical background of the Palestinian crisis. He said, Israel was created illegally, with active support from Britain and its other allies. The issue of Palestine is not a Muslim-Jew issue, rather it is an issue of self-determination, the right of the Palestinian people to be governed by themselves.
The chief guest of the event, His Excellency Saleh Asad Saleh Muhammad, Minister Counsel Embassy of Palestine, stated that he was honoured to be at the Aligarh Muslim University. He reportedly said that the Indian Government has always been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. He opined that Palestine is an occupied territory and the occupiers will have to leave it, sooner or later.
Meanwhile, the AAS handed over a letter to His Excellency addressed to President of P.A. Mahmoud Abbas in which they called for unity among the Palestinian resistance and urged Mahmoud Abbas to invite Hamas for a National Unity Government so that the struggle for Palestine can be taken forward.
The letter said: “By the Grace of Almighty Allah, the people of Palestine and their Resistance have won twin victories in the past one month. While the besieged people of Gaza successfully countered the death-mail from Israel and forced them to a truce, the Palestinian cause gained further recognition at the United Nations. We congratulate Palestine on this twin victory”.
The letter pointed out that the world opinion is also changing and people around the world are coming out to speak in favour of the Palestinian struggle. The realistic demands of the cause, that is, a viable State based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and the right of Palestinians to return being guaranteed, is being recognised the world over as the standard for a solution.
However, the thing that pains us most is the disunity and infighting within the Palestinian Resistance. Both Fatah and Hamas are legitimate representatives of Palestinian people and have repeatedly shown their commitment to the Palestinian Cause by their ceaseless struggle and sacrifice. Both are freedom fighters and have our support, respect and admiration. The present moment is the best to bridge the divide and come together for Palestine. Let the past be past, and the future with a Palestinian State our goal, the letter noted.
The letter further said: “We cannot forget that Israeli missiles have not stopped destroying Palestinian homes, nor have the Zionist settlers stopped their theft of Palestinian land”.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that it was intriguing to note that none of the dignitaries from the higher echelon of AMU administration graced the function despite having been invited by the organisers. They were conspicuous by their absence, sources said.
[Pervez Bariis a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]
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December 13, 2012, 8:54 pm
By Leigh Cuen
A back-to-the-land movement is blossoming in the Palestinian Authority, the United Nation’s newest nonmember observer state. “The Palestinian future is in the land.” Farmer Khader Khader said, standing in his organic olive grove in the northern West Bank village of Nus Jubail. Many Palestinian farmers are switching to organic farming methods, and selling their oil to high-end grocers in the US and Europe.
According to the aid group Oxfam, an estimated 17,000 tons of olive oil is produced annually in the West Bank by thousands of farmers, some of whom are producing fair trade olive products. Olive oil has unique traditional and cultural significance in the region. Most Palestinian olive oil is produced for local consumption. But this product is becoming increasingly important for Palestinians’ connection to the global economy.
The business of organic farming, for international markets, was first introduced to the West Bank in 2004. According to Nasser Abu Farha of the Canaan Fair Trade Association (who we’ve covered here), one of the companies selling organic Palestinian olive oil to distributors abroad, today at least $5 million worth of organic olive oil is exported from the territories every year.
“About half of all Palestinian commercial oil exports,” he said. “The future of Palestinian exports is in added value, through environmental and social accountability. People want to know: Where is this oil coming from? Whose life is it changing?”
Around 930 Palestinian farmers have fair-trade and organic certification. Another 140 are in the process of “converting” their land, which takes two-to three-years of testing and monitoring the soil until it is officially certified as free from pesticides and chemicals.
Lack of rain and Israeli trade restrictions are among the many challenges these farmers face. But new digital technology and the rising demand for organic produce are giving Palestinian farmers new ways to compete in global markets. In Whole Foods supermarkets in New York and New Jersey, organic Palestinian olive oil is sold under the “Alter Eco” brand, Farha said.“I don’t throw rocks,” said Khader, in reference to young men who hurl stones at Israeli soldiers. The proud farmer, Khader, gestured towards the rock terraces he built in his organic olive grove. “I use them to build our future.”
(Courtesy: Green Prophet)
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December 13, 2012, 8:57 pm
Qatar University revealed the first public details of its research into sustainable aviation biofuels made from marine organisms, to coincide with the opening of the UN climate change conference COP18 in Doha, the Qatari capital.
The state-backed £7.8m biofuel project is the only one of its kind in the region. Run by the university in collaboration with Qatar Airways and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), it is now into its third year. In that time, the research team has developed state-of-the-art facilities from labs that were nothing more than empty rooms.
The project aims to produce affordable, sustainable biofuels that do not use valuable arable land and that can be produced efficiently in the punishing climate of Qatar. These fuels should provide an alternative source of energy for use by the airline industry. If successfully produced on a commercial scale, the discovery will have international ramifications - significantly reducing one of the industry’s biggest fixed costs and providing an environmentally-friendly fuel where carbon dioxide is recycled rather than accumulating in the atmosphere.
Team members isolated multiple forms of single-celled photosynthetic organisms (cyanobacteria and microalgae). These are locally unique but abundant and grow well in the extreme heat, strong sunlight and highly saline waters of Qatar.
The research group successfully grew these cultures in the lab, extracting the fat – lipids – to make fuel, while carbohydrate is used to make bioethanol. They then scaled up their tests to tanks of 1,500 litres situated outdoors at QU’s research farm north of Doha, where they grew the cultures successfully for six weeks. Now the experiment is being scaled up even further, to specially-designed 25,000-litre outdoor research ponds.
The step after that will be construction of a pilot plant on a much larger scale – 1.5million litres. The aviation industry has been keenly following the project throughout its stages.
Project manager Hareb al-Jabri said: “We are at an exciting and critical point in this project. If successful, it could help transform the international aviation industry.
“This project is a real example of successful state-backed collaboration, to find sustainable ways of enabling Qatar’s development which will have an impact across the world.”
Biofuels project director Dr Malcolm Potts added: “We are working with micro-organisms which can be grown anywhere, and which are particularly suitable to the environment of Qatar. We are trying to develop a biofuel industry here, using new technologies not found anywhere else in the world.
“We are also delighted that more than one-third of the 20-strong international Biofuel team comprises Qatari graduates of QU who bring to bear a high level of skill to the project.”
(Courtesy: E&T Magazine)
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December 13, 2012, 9:06 pm
By Karin Kloosterman
Consequences of climate change especially acute in the Arab world, and traditional methods for coping with climate are severely stressed finds new World Bank assessment.
All eyes are on Qatar now as the country hosts the UN-sponsored climate change event COP18. We’ve been reporting on COP18 before it began and during, and recently posted about the need for Muslim and Arab-led action in the fight against climate change. Now the World Bank is following the lead of activists in the Middle East region calling for the attention of Arab leaders to help in the global fight, before it is too late.
The Arab world has been adapting to climate change for centuries. There is a long history and tradition of coping with the associated challenges, such as changes in temperature and rainfall. New climate change risks are emerging at a much faster rate, including the prospect of a world that is four degrees hotter, and resilience built up over years is being severely tested.
A new World Bank report charts current and future damage from the region’s rapidly changing climate and calls for strong leadership in preparing countries and communities to face the threat.
According to the World Bank impact of climate change will be especially acute in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and immediate action will be needed to avoid the projected consequences of worsening water shortages and rising food insecurity. A new report Adaptation to a Changing Climate in the Ara Climate in the Arab Countries provides a comprehensive assessment of the threat to the region posed by increasingly severe weather, and offers a set of policy options for the urgent task of managing current effects and building resilience against those yet to come.
“Reducing vulnerability to climate change will require concerted action on multiple levels,” said Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. “Political leadership now, will be critical in establishing climate change as a national and regional priority.”
These risks have been identified and assessed in the new climate report which was prepared in partnership with the League of Arab States, involving specialists, researchers, policymakers and civil society organizations from across the region.
The report reinforces the warning that decades of poverty reduction efforts could be reversed as contained in the recent World Bank publication, Turn Down The Heat: Why a 4° C Waritalic”>° C Warmer World Must be Avoided.
Over the past 30 years, climate change has affected 50 million people in the Arab world, costing about $12 billion directly and many multiples of that indirectly. Recent trends suggest that dry regions are becoming drier and flash floods have become more frequent. The 2006 flooding of the Nile River Basin led to 600 deaths, with a further 118,000 people affected, while in 2008 a record five-year drought finally ended in the Jordan River Basin.
Globally 2010 was the warmest year since records began in the 1800s, and of the 19 countries that set new record temperatures, five were in MENA. Regional temperatures are projected to reach new record highs, coupled with less rainfall which, in a region with the world’s lowest endowment of freshwater, could make this precious natural resource even scarcer.
A harsher climate threatens livelihoods throughout the region. Extreme weather could affect both the annual US$50 billion tourism industry and agriculture, already under severe climate stress. The combination of higher temperatures, lower rainfall and increased frequency of drought could cause more crop failures and lower yields putting MENA’s rural population, nearly half the region’s total, under growing stress. Migration to already overcrowded cities and vulnerable costal zones would accelerate.
Yet a further consequence of climate change could be the upending of traditional social roles, as it is usually the men who migrate for low-wage, low-skill jobs, and the women who remain behind with all the farming and community responsibilities.
“Climate change is a reality for people in Arab countries,” said Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa region. “It affects everyone – especially the poor who are least able to adapt – and as the climate becomes ever more extreme, so will its impacts on people’s livelihoods and wellbeing. The time to take actions at both the national and regional level in order to increase climate resilience is now.”
The report stresses that adaptation should be integrated into all national policies and actions to ensure they are climate resilient. This spans efforts from collecting climate data to strengthening basic services. Accurate weather information is critical for preparing for extreme events. Improved access to services such as education, health and sanitation, along with effective social safety nets to compensate for sudden loss of livelihood, will give citizens the skills and resources to navigate climate challenges.
The World Bank Group is currently engaged across the region in supporting countries and communities in coping with the effects of a changing climate. A project in Morocco is financing the integration of adaptation measures into the national agriculture strategy, while in Yemen more effective land management is being promoted, along with research into drought resistant crops.
Moreover, sustainable development, increasing social and economic inclusion and improving governance – the essential ingredients for building and maintaining resilience – are overarching goals of all Bank activities throughout the region.
Action for change
According to the World Bank Arab countries can take steps to reduce the impacts of climate change. The report outlines measures that not only potentially reduce the region’s vulnerability, but can also contribute to more sustainable long-term development. The report offers a model, an ‘Adaptation Pyramid Framework,’ to strengthen public sector management in a changing climate, and to assist stakeholders in integrating climate risks and opportunities into all development activities.
The main messages suggest that countries and households will need to diversify their production and income generation, integrate adaptation into all policy making and activities, and ensure a sustained national commitment to address the social, economic and environmental consequences. With these coordinated efforts the Arab world will be able to rise to the challenge once again and, as it has for centuries, successfully adapt to a changing climate.
(Courtesy: Green Prophet)
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December 13, 2012, 9:11 pm
By Dr. Abdul Ruff
The annual United Nations climate summit has convened this year in Doha, the capital of the oil-rich emirate of Qatar, on the Arabian Peninsula. The UN sponsored climate change conference opened on 26th November, as the delegates from over 190 countries gathered for discussions on major issues relating to global anti-warming efforts, including details of the Kyoto Protocol's second commitment period. Known as the 18th Conference of Parties (COP 18) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), they would press ahead with what has been achieved in the past and accomplish substantive results.
A shivering humanity, terrorized by the NATO terror wars operating like global furnaces, is clueless about the fast changing climatic disorders. Latest findings suggest that the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 2ºC may now be beyond reach, and that we may now be locked into a 4-6ºC temperature increase. The World Meteorological Organization released preliminary findings for 2012, highlighting extremes of drought, heat waves, floods, and snow and extreme cold, as well as above-average hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin for the third consecutive year. By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa are projected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change. Island nations like Maldives are under serious climatic threat.
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UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, welcoming the participants, rightly said: "Time is running out...The door is closing fast on us because the pace and the scale of action is simply not yet where it must be." Earlier in Bonn, Germany, Figueres had said that the Doha conference must deliver its objectives to speed up global action towards a low-emission future where everyone has the chance of a sustainable life. The problem is, action is needed now to avert the very scenario that President Obama has said he wants to avoid.
As climate change speakers enjoy comfortable conditions at summits, including sumptuous intercontinental food and liquor, outside the air-conditioned conference halls and corridors of the UN climate summit in Doha, in the emirate of Qatar – which, ironically, is the nation with the highest per capita carbon emissions of any nation on the planet – there are protests. The newly-formed Arab Youth Climate Movement, hundreds of grassroots activists from across the region, including many involved in the Arab Spring, are marching, calling for their nations to take the lead in reducing emissions. If past meetings are any indication, national self-interest on the part of the world's largest polluters, paramount among them the big brother USA, will trump global consensus.
"We want our children to live in an America … that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet", President Barack Obama the shroud politician proclaimed in his victory speech on 6 November this year, just over a week after super storm Sandy devastated New York City and much of New Jersey, killing more than 100 people. These are fine aspirations. But Obama is supporting skyrocketing export subsidies for dirty fossil fuels through the United States Export-Import Bank, with at least $10.2bn in public financing for fossil-fuel projects in 2012 alone.
Obviously, the only way to avoid the climatically pessimistic scenarios will be radical transformations in the way the global economy currently functions: rapid uptake of renewable energy, sharp falls in fossil fuel use or massive deployment of CCS (carbon capture and storage), removal of industrial emissions and halting deforestation. As the fossil fuels, nuclear generators, terror wars accelerate; the atmosphere temperature will climb, creating a chain reaction of climate-related natural disasters.
Urgency of arresting fast progressing climatic change and global disorder threatening the existence of humanity and living beings must be sensibly realised by world powers, especially by chief polluters cum destroyers, USA, China and India. And appropriate corrective measures initiated before it is too late!
In order to save the humanity from eventual consequential destruction, the US led NATO terror wars, now also known as WW-III, cruel nuclear furnaces, and growing fossil menaces.
[Dr. Abdul Ruffis Specialist on State Terrorism; Chancellor-Founder of Center for International Affairs (CIA); Independent Analyst; Chronicler of Foreign occupations & Freedom movements (Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Xinjiang, Chechnya, etc.). He is also former university Teacher. He can be contacted at abdulruff_jnu@yahoo.com]
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December 13, 2012, 9:16 pm
By Kevin Sullivan
Riyadh: A few miles from the blinged-out shopping malls of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Souad al-Shamir lives in a concrete house in a trash-strewn alley, with no job, no money, five children younger than 14 and an unemployed husband who is laid up with chronic heart problems.
“We are at the bottom,” she said, sobbing hard behind a black veil that left only her eyes visible. “My kids are crying, and I can’t provide for them.”
Millions of Saudis live in poverty, struggling on the fringes of one of the world’s most powerful economies, where job-growth and welfare programs have failed to keep pace with a booming population that has soared from 6 million in 1970 to 28 million today.
Under King Abdullah, the government has spent billions to help the growing numbers of poor people, estimated to be as much as a quarter of the native Saudi population.
But critics complain that those programs are inadequate, and that some royals seem more concerned with their wealth and the country’s image than with helping the needy. Last year, for example, three young Saudi video bloggers were arrested and jailed for two weeks after they produced an online video about poverty in Saudi Arabia.
“The state hides the poor very well,” said Rosie Bsheer, a Saudi scholar who has written extensively on development and poverty. “The elite don’t see the suffering of the poor. People are hungry.”
The Saudi government discloses little official data about its poorest citizens. But media reports and private estimates suggest that between 2 million and 4 million of the country’s native Saudis live on less than about $530 a month — about $17 a day — which analysts generally consider the poverty line in Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom has a two-tier economy made up of about 16 million Saudis, with most of the rest of the population consisting of foreign workers. The poverty rate among Saudis continues to rise as youth unemployment skyrockets. More than two-thirds of Saudis are younger than 30, and nearly three-quarters of all unemployed Saudis are in their 20s, according to government statistics.
In just eight decades as a nation, Saudi Arabia has grown from an impoverished backwater of desert nomads to an economic powerhouse with an oil industry that brought in $300 billion last year.
Forbes magazine estimates Abdullah’s personal fortune at $18 billion, making him the world’s third-richest royal, behind the rulers of Thailand and Brunei.
He has spent government funds freely on high-profile projects, most recently a nearly $70 billion plan to build four gleaming new “economic cities,” where government literature says “up to five million residents will live, work and play.”
The king last year also announced plans to spend $37 billion on housing, wage increases, unemployment benefits and other programs, which was widely seen as an effort to placate middle-class Saudis and head off any Arab Spring-style discontent. Abdullah and many of the royals are also famous for their extensive charitable giving.
For many years, image-conscious Saudi officials denied the existence of Saudi poverty. It was a taboo subject avoided by state-run media until 2002, when Abdullah, then the crown prince, visited a Riyadh slum. News coverage of the visit offered many Saudis their first look at poverty in their country.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, a son of Crown Prince Salman, said in an interview that the government has acknowledged the existence of poverty and is working to “meet its obligations to its own people.”
Prince Sultan said the Saudi government was “three to five years” away from dramatically reducing poverty through economic development, micro-lending, job training and creation of jobs for the poor.
The Saudi government spends several billion dollars each year to provide free education and health care to all citizens, as well as a variety of social welfare programs — even free burials. The government also provides pensions, monthly benefits and payments for food and utility bills to the poor, the elderly, the disabled, orphans and workers who are injured on the job.
Much of the welfare spending comes from the Islamic system of zakat, a religious requirement that individuals and corporations donate to charity 2.5 percent of their wealth; the money is paid to the government and distributed to the needy.
“Living in Saudi Arabia is like living in a charitable foundation; it is part and parcel of the way we’re made up,” Prince Sultan said. “If you are not charitable, you are not a Muslim.”
Despite those efforts, poverty and anger over corruption continue to grow. Vast sums of money end up in the pockets of the royal family through a web of nepotism, corruption and cozy government contracts, according to Saudi and U.S. analysts. Bsheer said some Saudi royals enrich themselves through corrupt schemes, such as confiscating land from often-poor private owners, then selling it to the government at exorbitant prices.
At the other end of the spectrum, many of the poorest Saudis are in families headed by women like Shamir, who are either widowed, divorced or have a husband who is sick or disabled. Under Islamic law, men are required to financially support women and their children. So women who suddenly find themselves without a man’s income struggle, especially because the kingdom’s strict religious and cultural constraints make it hard for women to find jobs.
The situation for many families, including Shamir’s, is worse because they are “stateless” and not officially recognized as Saudi citizens, even though they were born in the country. The United Nations estimates that there are 70,000 stateless people in Saudi Arabia, most of them descended from nomadic tribes whose traditional territory included parts of several countries. Their legal limbo makes it harder for them to receive government benefits.
Shamir, 35, lives in the shadow of a huge cement factory. The houses and streets are covered in a haze of smoke and dust. Her concrete house is down a narrow alley, where graffiti covers the cracked walls and litter piles up in the street.
The landlord is threatening to kick her out, and a neighborhood shop owner has cut off her credit for food and gas for her stove. She lives mainly on charity from wealthy Saudis who show up with food and clothes.
One recent morning, her children ran to the door to help unload food being dropped off by a middle-class Riyadh couple in an SUV. Shamir said donations help her pay for the electricity to run an air conditioner, but she does not have enough to buy school supplies for her children.
While middle-class Saudi youths have all the latest gadgets, Shamir’s 14-year-old daughter, Norah, has never sent an e-mail or seen Facebook. Her husband has a second wife who has 10 children who live across town. Most are unemployed.
Shamir said her husband earned about $500 a month as a security guard until his health forced him to quit five years ago. She said she has tried in vain to find work as a seamstress or a cleaner.
“I’ve been patient all these years,” Shamir said. “I hope that God will reward me with a better life for my children.”
(Courtesy: The Washington Post)
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December 13, 2012, 9:24 pm
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
The post ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has many sordid stories to tell. Some about the woes of war and others of its aftermath, one such story is depicted in the movie “With You, Without You” (Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka) that screened at the 43rd international film festival, November 20-30 2012 at Goa, India.
The film is set in the months after war and deftly explores the emotional fall-out of such trauma on the lives of ordinary people. The movie depicts the life in a society which still has unhealed wounds of the war that lasted over three decades, killing over tens of thousands of people.The movie tells the tale of the confrontation between a man from the majority Sinhalese point of view and a woman from the Tamil minority community. Their struggle with their own past is beautifully depicted in the movie and could a metaphor for the struggles of the tear drop island itself.
Selvi (Anjali Patil) is a beautiful but quiet Tamil refugee girl who catches the eye of a middle-aged Sinhala pawnbroker (Shyam Fernando) when she comes to his shop to cash in her last jewel. The Buddhist pawnbroker captivated by the Tamil beauty follows to her temporary home. He discovers that his love interest is about to get married to a old man for wants of money.
The pawnbroker throws all caution to the winds and proposes to marry the Tamil girl. Selvi too breaks all barriers that divide the Tamil and Sinhala societies and moves into the house of her savior. They slowly but surely fall in love with each other but neither of them ever talks about his or her past. This was until an old army friend of the pawnbroker turns up, and a terrible secret emerges.
In order to unburden himself the pawnbroker tells Selvi, that he is an ex Army man who was involved in the operation at Killinochi, where a Tamil girl was raped by the soldiers accompanying him and the girl died subsequently. He further narrates that he was unable to withstand the brutality and quit the Army and took up the business of running a pawn shop.
The confession unstitches the wounds of the ethnic conflict and Selvi becomes hysterical. No amount of persuasion, cajoling and coxing by his lover has any sobering effect on the Selvi. The pawnbroker even sells his shop and buys tickets to travel to India for sight seeing but Selvi is totally withdrawn.
It’s a very romantic evening; Selvi watches from the window the dark clouds hovering over the hills, playing hide and seek. The pawnbroker, riding a motor cycle returning home with air tickets and goodies for Selvi is trying to race with the clouds, avoiding being caught in the rain. The background score signaling for an emotional union, but the climax has a gory side.
Selvi, appearing to have a better view of the clouds, climbs up to the window and then jumps out to her death. The pawnbroker, who was able to beat the rain, returns to find that he was late to unite with his lady love.
The expression of the woes and miseries of the poor Tamil girl is powerfully portrayed by Indian actor Anjali Patil who bagged the best actress award at the Goa international film fest. The film marks talented theatre actor Shyam Fernando’s debut role in cinema. Others in the cast include Wasantha Moragoda and Maheshwari Ratnam.
The film is directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage which is his seventh directorial venture and is considered as Prasanna’s best work so far.
“When I was reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novella “The Meek One” over and over again, two things plunged into my mind. One was its probe into masculinity and the second was questioning how consumerist values deprived people of human connection. When adapting this novella to a film, I based it upon the biggest issue facing our country, which is the ethnic conflict,” said Prasanna while talking about his film at the Goa film fest media conference.
“With You, Without You,” has a striking resemblance to “The English Patient,” a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. Set before and during World War II, it’s a story of love, fate, misunderstanding and healing. Written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, “The English Patient” won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
There is a problem in categorizing “With You, Without You.” The movie is relating to the theme of love, it is also related to the post war conflict; it is also an exhibition of third world cinema. What could be its proper genre is something baffling. Notwithstanding the facts, this co-production by India and Sri Lanka can be described as Sri Lanka’s independent cinema at its best.
[Syed Ali Mujtabais a Journalist based in Chennai. He attended the 43rd international film festival, November 20-30 2012 at Goa. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com]
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December 13, 2012, 9:31 pm
By Dr. Abdul Ruff
Ruthless and corrupt Muslim rulers have joined anti-Islamic terror bands led by NATO terrorist organization operating across the globe to reduce Muslim populations and insult Islam so much so Islam itself is being viewed as terrorist religion. Same enemy is encouraging insane opposition in Syria to destabilize the Muslim nation so that the enemies could loot the energy and other resources of Syria as it happened in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thousands of innocent people have been killed by the regime in Syria just for the sake of an undemocratic leader refusing to transfer power. Activists say some 40,000 people have died in more than 18 months of battle against President Bashar al-Assad. He perhaps thinks people should die in order to let him stay in power endlessly.
The Syrian conflict is one of the bloodiest and most bitterly fought of the Middle East revolts that have become known as the Arab Spring. The uprisings began two years ago with a revolt in Tunisia, and saw long-serving leaders in Egypt and Libya toppled from power.
Enemy of Islam and Muslims exploits any rift among Muslims anywhere in the world.
US president Obama said the coalition was now "inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough". He described the move, which follows the UK and France, as "a big step". Obama says the US has formally recognised Syria's opposition rebel coalition as the "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. This is exactly what they shamelessly did in Libya.
Obama is wrong in saying that the emerging coalition had earned “the right” to represent the Syrian people.
Damascus is under siege. A full length war would break out any time killing everyone, destroying everything. Islamic assets like Mosques must be protected. Old Damascus contains the 1,400-year-old Umayyad Mosque and so many layers of history that Roman columns prop up arcades in the souk, and people still live and work in the street called Straight, where the Bible says St Paul stayed after he was struck blind on the road to Damascus. The other Damascus is in the modern suburbs. Armed rebels control big chunks of them, though they're also surrounded by the regime's forces. In the past week they've been pounded by artillery.Assad will also be destroyed and if he does not realize the danger Syria is facing.
It appears while supporting the opposition strikes, the enemies of Islam also encourage President Bashar al-Assad to stay on and not to give in until the targets of destructions and Muslim massacres are achieved.. The posture of Defiance by Al-Assad has already ruined Syria in some measures and any further defiance could destabilize Syria and since western enemies have ganged up against him Assad also will be killed brutally.
Western wild beasts and huge vultures are yearning for more Syrian blood.....
That is not good for Syria and its people. Especially, when enemies of Islam in various formats target Muslims!
No president can rule lifelong. Enemies of Islam are strong. For the sake Syria, Syrians and Islam, President Bashar al-Assad must step down!
Transfer of power must begin now before it would be too late for that!
[Dr. Abdul Ruffis Specialist on State Terrorism; Chancellor-Founder of Center for International Affairs (CIA); Independent Analyst; Chronicler of Foreign occupations & Freedom movements (Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Xinjiang, Chechnya, etc.). He is also former university Teacher. He can be contacted at abdulruff_jnu@yahoo.com]
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December 13, 2012, 9:39 pm
By Arvind Singh Bisht
Lucknow: Teen marriage has always been a hot button topic. The issue is debated endlessly but doesn't change the fact that teen marriages are still very much prevalent and quite common among poor Muslims. Considering this, the Akhilesh Yadav government's latest decision to give Rs 30,000 for education or marriage of class X pass poor Muslim girls, whose father's annual income is less than Rs 36,000 is now open to political debate.
The government has earmarked Rs 250 crore for the scheme in the supplementary budget for the current financial year passed on Tuesday. The budget literature categorically states that the poor Muslim girls, whose fathers' net annual worth is not more than Rs 36,000 will be eligible for grants for pursuing their education beyond Class X, or marriage.
Calling it blatant appeasement of Muslims by the ruling Samajwadi Party, the BJP says that it would divide the society on communal line. Calling upon the people to rise against it, BJP leader Hukum Singh said that the criteria for giving such a grant should be economic and not community. Terming it as only a 'glitter without purpose' for cheap popularity, he said the scheme would only increase the incidence of child marriages among poor Muslims and lose its basic purpose of promoting education among them.
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However, his argument makes no defence against checking child marriages, which are rampant among Muslim communities. A class X pass student is normally in the age group of 15 to 16.And going by the policy, the grant will be available for the marriage of any such girl if her father wishes so. But curiously, this is illegal under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, according to which the marriageable age of a girl is 18 years and 21 for boys.
An effective mechanism to check the teen marriages could have been the mandatory registration of marriages. But the state government has so far been skirting the issue, predictably under pressure of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which is against it. The arguments given against the marriage registration is that Muslims marriages are governed by the Shariat and it does not allow it.
"Emphasis should be given on increasing economic opportunities for Muslims rather than indulging in short-term measures," says Tahira Hasan, a social activist. She said that the Akhilesh Yadav should revisit the scheme and increase the eligibility for such a grant after intermediate. This will serve the purpose of promoting the education as well as helping the poor Muslims for the good, Tahira points out.
(Courtesy: The Times of India)
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December 15, 2012, 12:08 am
By Tafline Laylin
Counteracting overwhelming criticism leveled at Gulf nations for their lack of environmental accountability, the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) unveiled a low-emission, lower fuel consumption hybrid car-concept that can be applied to any vehicle.
“The engine captures thermal waste energy that is utilized to generate electric energy to run hydrogen fuel cells using the potable water as a source for the gas,” GORD announced in a press release. Initial studies show that this technology emits 50% less carbon monoxide (CO) & nitrous oxide (NOX) than conventional oil or natural gas-powered vehicles.
GORD unveiled their Eco-Hybrid car at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP18) meetings in Doha.
The car’s fuel cell is powered in part by a thermoelectric generator which recovers heat from exhaust-gases and a thin film photovoltaic that is installed on the sunroof. This system slashes fuel consumption by approximately 20% and it can be applied to existing vehicles as well.
Explaining the difference between GORD’s Eco-Hybrid vehicle and other hydrogen power concepts, GORD Chairman Dr. Yousef Al Horr said that their car requires no extra electricity since it produces its own by capturing wasted thermal energy.
“Also, bulky compressed-hydrogen cylinders are a thing of the past, as our concept accomplishes the production of hydrogen by using water through fuel cells integrated within the car,” he continued.
That Qatar is the world’s biggest per capita consumer of fossil fuels has been a source of valid criticism, but GORD, the non-profit governmental research subsidiary of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, is helping to clean up the country’s act.
Dr. Al Horr said that hosting the COP18 conference gave GORD the opportunity to showcase the fruits of their R&D labor.
“The hybrid concept that is fully designed, built and installed in Qatar, is a landmark achievement and testament to GORD’s alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030,” he said.
“This indigenous product demonstrates Qatar’s capability to reduce environmental impact and to make a contribution to sustainable development.”
(Courtesy: Green Prophet)
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December 15, 2012, 12:19 am
By Tafline Laylin
Concerned to reconnect hands and minds and make a worthwhile environmental impact, a few women from Saudi Arabia are crocheting recycled plastic bags into colorful bean bags and other quality crafts. The founder of Ateeq, which is Arabic for vintage, Diane Rayyan teamed up with crochet master Ishrat Khawja to hold a two day “trocheting” workshop. Weighing just under 20 pounds and made entirely from plastic, the bean bags are sold with other eco-goods to generate funds for low-income Saudi women.
The founder of Fruitful Fusion, Khawja lent her crocheting expertise to the Trochet, an environmental initiative that turns trash into treasure. Albeit slightly cleaner than Egypt or Lebanon, Saudi Arabia is inundated with plastic bags that make their way into waterways, public parks and even remote desert locations.
But there is an important social component to the project as well.
“I believe the mind and the hand have generally lost connection with each other through the years and with Ateeq I am trying to unblock this passage to unleash creativity and innovation,” says Rayyan.
Held at the Rawaj Center in Jeddah, the two day workshop resulted in a line of brain cancer ribbons made from recycled plastic. Dania Al Masri of Jeddah’s Backpack purchased the whole lot of them, which was a tremendous boon for the project.
“Because I can sense the pride in their work, hence empowering them in the least I can do,” Al Masri said of her purchase.
“It is a two-way benefit: If the community supports young entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurs will support the community. I believe empowering one another reinforces great values and it keeps the economy going.”
(Courtesy: Green Prophet)
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December 15, 2012, 12:27 am
Jeddah: The European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent to two Saudis for their invention of a nail ‘screw’ made of natural minerals, including date stones.
The screw is similar in its formation to the structure and composition of bones because it contains carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and minerals.
It is used in surgical procedures to install fractured bone segments, where it settles into the bones and begins to decompose naturally in the body after a period of 30-45 days, from the date of the surgery. Full decomposition requires a period of six to nine months.
“This new screw is a scientific leap. It differs from other metal screws made of chrome or other metals in many ways; the most significant modification is the fact that it is made of natural and biodegradable elements that decompose in the body without any complications or adverse effects,” said a joint statement by the two inventors Mohammed Assa’edi and Nagwan Abu Khair.
This screw requires no further surgery to remove it from the body, after the fractured bone has healed. It is also easy to use and cheaper in price.
Khaled Saleh, director of the Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing Program at King Saud University, said the program received the patent application and submitted it to the EPO.The scientific team at the university will commence clinical trials on the screw, in preparation for its use, locally and globally.
The EPO consists of 146 international entities. Countries with important scientific and commercial discoveries have been selected for this purpose, including the European Office for Patents, the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
(Courtesy: Arab News)
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December 15, 2012, 12:32 am
Johor Bahru: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today urged Muslim economies to embrace changes to capitalise on its greatest resource - the youth.
Speaking when opening the 8th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here today, he said the youth should not be seen as a liability, but as an asset, an untapped resource to allow the countries to develop and modernise.
"We must put our confidence in Muslim youth as full economic participants, as consumers, employees and entrepreneurs. We must be unafraid to encourage change in institutions which stifle young people's opportunities in reforming public services, supporting appointment by merit and remaining ever vigilant against corruption," he added.
Najib who is also the Finance Minister said, it is up to the leaders to show leadership and build economies that are prepared for the future.
Muslim economies he said, must be willing to confront old assumptions and embrace new technologies, to open up economies and reform their politics, which will not always be easy with challenges and uncertainties.
"But reform is necessary and history show us it is right. The periods of greatest Islamic influence were the most intellectually open," said the Prime Minister.
He said the demographics in Muslim countries at present is experiencing a significant "youth bulge", with 60 per cent in 2010 being under the age of 30.
By 2030 he said, Muslims will make up 26 per cent of the world's population, but 30 per cent of this will be youth.
"Muslim youth want economic opportunities. Our response must be to commit to building open and sustainable economies, with education and economic reform that allows our young people to pursue their ambitions," Najib said.
On the "Arab awakening", Najib said many young people cannot see opportunities for themselves and feel they have no control over their lives or a stake in their nations.
"Such pessimism can lead to disengagement, radicalism or emigration. While political freedom is important, it is economic opportunity that young people value most.
"We are losing some of our young people to apathy and extremism," he said, adding, youth unemployment in the Middle East in 2010 was 25 per cent, while in North Africa it was 24 per cent.
"Unemployment at such levels is toxic. When young people lack opportunities, they grow restless and disenfranchised," he added.
Najib pointed out that from 1970 to 2000, eight out of 10 countries experiencing new civil conflict, had populations where 60 per cent were under 30, as in the Muslim world today.
Muslim economies he said, must also understand that the second great change in young people lives, is technology.
He pointed out that 21 years ago there were no websites, but today, with more than half a billion, the internet has gone from a tiny scientific community into one of the most potent development tools the world has ever known.
"This technological shift has implications for the economic sphere in which Muslim youth operate. Empowered by technology and emboldened example, young people are able to compare the strength and weaknesses of their democracies and articulate their political needs to a global audience," said Najib.
He said the two forces of demography and technology determine the nature of opportunities for Muslim youth.
Young people in Islamic societies according to him, want freedom of opportunity, for example to pursue world class education, as well as be an active participant in new digital spaces.
"They want strong democratic institutions and open and accountable government. And they want to play their part in civil society to build a better nation with their own hands," said Najib."Our challenge is to stretch ourselves to deliver those freedoms without sacrificing tradition, stability and growth," he added.
He also called on Muslim countries to continue opening up their economies, as a means to bring in higher value jobs and stronger economic growth.
Najib said while 23 per cent of the world's population was Muslim, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations, conduct just 8.3 per cent of global trade.
The WIEF is being held from today until Thursday at the Persada Johor Covention Centre here.Also attending is Comoros President Ikililou Dhonine, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
(Courtesy: New Straits Times)
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December 15, 2012, 12:38 am
The Kerala “Gulf Boom” refers to the mass migration of a large number of people from the Indian state of Kerala to the Gulf Countries from 1972 to 1983. The movement of many migrant workers from Kerala to the Gulf Countries continues to the present day. By 2008, the Gulf countries contained a total Keralite population of more than 2.5 million, who annually send home a sum of around $ 6.81 billion (US), which was more than 15% of the total Remittance to India in 2008. And were 15 to 18 times the size of foreign exchange earned from the export of cashew and marine products. Forty-two per cent of Malayalis in the Gulf countries are Muslims.Director Kamal, in two of his critically acclaimed movies, based on true stories, gives us the Muslim women’s side of the Gulf Boom story, from both sides.
Gadhamma (“Housemaid”) showcases the life of a Muslim woman who is employed as maid-servant in a wealthy Arab household and falls prey to Saudi Arabia’s modern slavery. Perumazhakkalam (“The season of heavy rains”) depicts the plight of Gulf wives, predominantly Muslims, who are left behind in Kerala, while their husbands work abroad.
Both the movies have Saudi Arabia, and its Shariah rule, as their background.
Gadhamma
In this film, a lower-middle-class Malayali widow, Aswathy, reaches Saudi Arabia, to work as a housemaid. Her employers are abusive, make her discard all contacts with her family back in Kerala, and stop paying her salary.
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She escapes the house but lands up with a bunch of goons, from whom she is saved and given abode by a fellow Malayali only to be imprisoned by the Mutaween (Saudi Arabia’s moral police), and flagellated for living with an non-mahram man. Once she serves out her sentence, she is deported back home. What happens to Ashwathy once she returns is unclear, as most maids return back to Gulf when they realize they have no means of survival back in Kerala.
As director, Kamal states in an interview that he “mellowed down” the plight of an expatriate maidservant (which, he says, “is worse than what is portrayed”), and that takes away a little bit from the impact the movie could have made. This being said, it brings light to the extensive violation of human rights which takes place in the lower class expatriate society in Middle Eastern countries. For example, the vulnerability of the unskilled laborers, under the Kafala system, which is likened to modern day slavery. The system requires all laborers to have an in-country sponsor, usually their employer, who is responsible for their visa and legal status. This makes it possible for the employers to abuse and confine their housemaids, and exploit them with no legal consequences.
In one scene, Ashwathy is dressed in a hijab and niqab, while she is kidnapped by goons, on the pretext of giving her a lift in their vehicle. They discuss among themselves about sexually abusing her, which breaks the common notion that wearing a hijab necessarily asexualizes women.
The movie was banned for viewing across all Middle Eastern countries, due to its negative depiction of all Gulf countries.
Perumazhakkalam
While Gadhamma primarily shows the life of an expatriate, Perumazhakkalam, shows the other side of the spectrum, the plight of the Gulf wife, the woman who lives separately from her husband, who is employed in a Gulf country, returning usually for a short vacation once every two or three years. Here, the protagonist Gulf wife is Razia, also known as Mailanji, because of her expertise in applying Mehndi hand designs. Her husband Akbar works in Saudi Arabia, and news reaches her that Akbar is charged with murder of a fellow Malayali expatriate, Raghu, a Hindu, while in Saudi Arabia, and is facing the death penalty.
Akbar’s friend, Jose, visits from Saudi Arabia, and brings Razia a ray of hope, when he mentions that under the Sharia law for murder, Akbar could be freed if they could get a letter of mercy from Raghu’s wife, Ganga, saying that she forgives her husband’s murderer.Following this, starts Razia’s unrelenting effort to get Ganga to sign the mercy petition. While Raghu’s parents and brothers are not willing to sign the petition, Ganga, out of kindness, goes out of her way to sign the document, only to be ostracized from her Brahmin society and husband’s home. Akbar is spared his death sentence and is relieved from prison during Ramadan, as is a practice in Middle Eastern countries . He returns home to thank Ganga for her mercy. Ganga is seen as an independent woman, who runs a humble snacks business, but is happier there than within the confines of her husband’s home.
The movie stands out in many respects, as it is shown solely from the women’s perspective.Razia is a Muslim woman, while Ganga is a Brahmin Hindu woman. These are two religions, which though live in tolerance in Kerala, are poles apart when it comes to rituals and beliefs. While Islam is widely considered to be oppressive to women, this movie depicts Hinduism to be much harsher, especially to widows. Ganga’s bangles are broken, and her ornaments are removed, and she is only supposed to dress in white after her husband’s death. She is also prohibited from attending auspicious occasions like marriages, and secluded to live within the confines of her husband’s home.
The patriarchal system leaves her with much less support than her Muslim counterpart Razia, who, though in a black burkha, is wholeheartedly supported by her family. Razia also enjoys the privilege of living in her parents’ house, as against the common practice in India, where wives are supposed to stay in the husband’s house post-marriage. This practice was built to protect Gulf wives, who spent most of their young adult life separated from their husbands, to live in the security of their own homes.
Kamal depicts Muslim women as they are, in both his movies, as true to life as it can get. The movies felt like a mirror held to the society in which I have lived and grown up. They have their plights and sorrows, but they are resilient, as are all women. Both Razia and Aswathy spend most of their life waiting. Waiting for their husbands to return, or waiting to return home for their lives to start. Most of the women in my home are Gulf wives, hence this movie strongly resonated with me, personally. Most of these women are sometimes only known for their Mehndi skills like Razia and/or for their domestic skills like Aswathy, but tragedy brings out their strength.
(Courtesy: Patheos)
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December 15, 2012, 12:46 am
By T. Sudheesh
Alappuzha: Here’s a heart-warming story of faith and humanity transcending all religious barriers. This home is the result of love and compassion. A simple abode which is a beautiful reminder of the potential for religious co-existence in a literate State.
When fifty-two-year-old Jameela, a deaf-mute Muslim woman, receives the key of her newly-constructed house from the Kandamangalam temple administration committee on Monday, the moment will be a testimony to the harmony inherent among us, that has been seriously threatened in recent times.
The relationship between Jameela and the temple started at the beginning of 2000 when Jameela, an orphan, was noticed by the temple committee. She was battling poverty, further impeded by her inability to speak and hear. The Kannmangalam temple took Jameela under their wing and ‘adopted’ her.
Mr P.N. Dhananjayan, the secretary of the temple committee says that Monday, the day Jameela gets her own home, is going to be a special day. It will be special for the temple committee as well as the entire Kannaman-galam area, inhabited by Hindus as well as Muslims.
"When we first met her, she had no idea how she could go forward without a helping hand. Since then, she is being looked after by the temple committee.
Residing in a tiny home adjacent to the temple, she has dedicated her life to the temple activities despite being a devout Muslim," he says.
With the help of donations from devotees, the temple has constructed a small house with specially crafted designs made by skilled artisans from Cherthala. According to the Secretary, the temple has spent at least Rs 2 lakh on this.
"Despite being deaf-mute, Jameela has now become an epitome of religious integration," he says, adding that she is free to follow whichever religion she wishes.
"We are firm that our service will not become a liability or get in the way of her beliefs, but we are determined to provide her with better living standards," he adds.
"It has been the temple committee's long cherished dream to construct a house for her. That has been accomplished now. The house will officially be dedicated to her on Monday,” he signs off.
(Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle)
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December 15, 2012, 12:52 am
By Uttara Choudhury
New York: Attempts by Russia, China and Iran to put rules on the table at a UN telecoms conference in Dubai to control how the Internet works, was met with energetic opposition on Thursday by a bloc led by the US, India and Canada who stressed that the proposed treaty would hand countries too much power to control online content and free speech.
US search giant Google, which has been campaigning against the UN Internet regulation, said the expected vote this week is ominous.
“What is clear … is that many governments want to increase regulation and censorship of the Internet,” a Google spokesperson told FoxNews.com. “We stand with the countries who refuse to sign this treaty.”
The US and at least 10 other countries announced in Dubai that they would not sign the treaty.“India feels there should not be a regulation of the Internet,” Rabindra Jha, the deputy director general (international relations) of India’s telecommunications department, told Bloomberg.
“It should be self regulating. It remains self regulating, like the solar system. Nobody regulates day and night, nobody regulates the year and months. It comes automatically,” added Jha.
The conference has drawn 193 countries and is being organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency, to update global international telecom regulations for the first time since 1988.
Proposals at the conference in Dubai range from combating spam and improving network security to mandating identification of communications’ origins.
Discussions between countries participating in the Dubai conference shifted into high-stakes showdowns on Thursday on a proposal for greater government oversight. The final document at the UN’s International Telecommunications Union will reach delegates Friday.
China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia and several Middle Eastern countries, apparently have the upper hand in efforts to get UN backing for government rights over Internet affairs. These countries say some regulations are needed to protect networks from spam and to give countries more power over Web address systems.
Hamadoun Toure, the Secretary-General of the ITU, says the treaty will not limit freedom of expression and will mostly seek ways to broaden Internet services to developing countries.The outcome in Dubai is unlikely to have any immediate impact on how people use the Internet because countries are already able to regulate online activities within their borders.
India’s stand at the Dubai conference is commendable, but ironic given that police have arrested a number of people in cases which seriously test India’s wavering commitment to freedom of speech. Only last month, medical student Shaheen Dhada and her friend Renu Srinivasan were arrested over a harmless Bal Thackeray comment on Facebook.
In 2011, India’s Department of Information Technology issued new regulations restricting web content.
The rules allow officials to demand that Internet sites and service providers remove content they consider objectionable on the basis of a long list of amorphous criteria. The list of objectionable content is sweeping and includes anything that “threatens the unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order.”
(Courtesy: FirstPost.com)
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December 15, 2012, 1:06 am
The ongoing Jindal-Zee scandal is the latest warning signal for India’s troubled Fourth Estate. But is there anybody in the business willing to clean up the mess?
By Shoma Chaudhury
In Britain, the hacking of a dead schoolgirl’s cell phone hair-triggered a national outrage that eventually led to the most sweeping inquiry on the media — its culture, practice and ethics — in the history of the country. The inquiry examined everything: the excessive cosiness between politicians and the media; the collusion between police and the media; public grievances against the media; media intrusions into privacy; cartelisation; cross-ownership; the slide in internal governance; and regulation.
Perhaps, it is time now for the Indian media to recall the old parable of the frog as well. If you don’t recognise the slow heating of the waters you swim in, a day comes uncomfortably soon when you find yourself fried. For a variety of reasons, it’s indisputable that the Indian media is coasting in several danger zones now, but are we, as a fraternity, sufficiently willing to acknowledge that? Are we putting in the correctives? Do we even agree the water is hot? And, if so, why?
It is not that there are no warning signals. Few would deny, for instance, that the ongoing Jindal-Zee News extortion scandal is a serious spike in the tank. Over the past couple of years, there have been several others — most prominently, the Niira Radia tapes; the ‘paid news’ scandals; and earlier this year, the arrest of a journalist in Guwahati for allegedly urging a mob to molest a girl more effectively for his camera. How is the Indian media responding to these spikes? How is it reading the symptoms? And is the media’s response sufficient to inspire confidence in the public?
Tehelka’s cover this week set out to examine these questions because there is a creeping sense of public disenchantment with the media and, given the great freedoms and duties it bears as a profession, the media’s response to challenges within do not just concern the fraternity, they concern the country. If we do not self-regulate effectively, there is a real danger it will begin to be done for us. The tabling of the highprofile Leveson Report in Britain — that great bastion of press freedoms — and the bitter debate it has brought in its wake is a sobering reminder of what can happen when great freedoms are not acquitted with great responsibility — and the public mood turns.![]()
So what does the Indian media think about its own conduct? Is it headed for its own catalytic News of the World moment? Or is it ready for necessary introspections? And what are the possible remedies that can forestall the need for a Leveson Report in our country? As media, our strength — our immunities — lie in public trust. This is to offer that public an earphone into a crucial internal conversation.
In a sense, perhaps the Zee TV scandal should already be India’s News of the World moment. Certainly, it has enough jolt value. Such incidents do not have to be endemic in the profession to trigger outrage; the shock lies in how low the depths can go.
(For readers as yet unfamiliar with the case, last week, two of Zee’s top editors — Sudhir Chaudhary and Samir Ahluwalia — were arrested on charges of extortion levelled at them by the Jindal Group. The backstory is that Zee had been running a series of investigative stories on Jindal’s alleged corruption in the coal allocation scam. In October, Congress MP and steel magnate Naveen Jindal called a press conference in which he suddenly released hidden camera footage that showed the two Zee editors brazenly negotiating a Rs 100 crore deal with his men in return for dropping the damaging stories and setting up a symbiotic relationship for the future. Zee’s contention is that it is Jindal who had approached them with a bribe and the editors were playing along to see how far they would go. However, even if it is true that the Jindal Group made the first offer and so are themselves culpable, Zee’s defence appears incredibly weak because they have no counter-footage of their own to prove they intended an exposé. They also have no explanation for why their editors were trying to push what seemed a Rs 20 crore agreement into a Rs 100 crore deal, if journalistic exposure and not extortion was their real goal. Zee News CEO Alok Agarwal conceded to TEHELKA that the footage looks “disturbing”, but he said the editors were trying to get a contract document signed before they exposed Jindal. He could not explain, however, why they did not then just stop at Rs 20 crore. According to him, the editors were “acting in their own wisdom” and, curiously, no one else in the management knew that such a negotiation — or exposé — was underway. The Delhi Police, however, say the editors’ call records show they allegedly spoke to their boss, Zee TV owner Subhash Chandra, for several minutes from the hotel premises where the meeting with the Jindal’s representatives took place.)
However, despite its many ramifications for the media, many print and TV editors have declined to comment on the case on the plea that it is “sub-judice”. This is not a courtesy the Indian media extends too often to others outside the profession: recall Kanimozhi, A Raja, or Aarushi Talwar’s parents, to name only a few recent high-profile cases. A refusal, therefore, to even contingently condemn fellow journalists on whom prima facie there is disturbing evidence may serve a kind of professional piety — but the silence is likely to have hard fallouts.
As Ravish Kumar, Executive Editor of NDTV India, puts it, “The question is not about how we see this case, but about how people have started seeing us after this case. This is one more blot on journalism, adding to the bad name it has been earning repeatedly. We are anyway losing our credibility because of our content and cases like this will totally ruin us.”
There are other editors who share this dread. Vinod Mehta, Editorial Director, Outlook, says, “In my 40 years as editor, I have never seen such cynicism about the media in the public. We have been in denial since the Niira Radia tapes. No matter what scandal hits us, we seem to bury our head in the sand and pretend nothing has happened. We say we must do something, but we hope if we procrastinate, it will go away. Instead, each time, it is coming back with greater intensity.”
For a variety of reasons, it’s indisputable that the Indian media is coasting in several danger zones now, but are we sufficiently willing to acknowledge that?
Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor of The Hindu, extends that concern, “We never like writing about the fraternity. To put it crudely, we don’t like pissing inside the tent. The Zee story is definitely a matter for the police to investigate as both sides have levelled charges against each other, but it leaves one very disturbed. What we fail to realise is that the phenomenon of paid news is bound to take you down this road to extortion and blackmail and, despite the mountain of evidence, no one has taken up the issue of paid news. So, it is really time the fraternity looks at all this very seriously.”
It is true the Jindal-Zee case is a very murky one: both sides have much to answer for. Sudhir Chaudhary, for instance, was heading LiveIndia when the infamous “Uma Khurana” sting was conducted by a LiveIndia reporter, Prakash Singh. This led to a shameful incident in which Uma Khurana, a government schoolteacher who the sting had falsely accused of forcing students into prostitution, was almost lynched by a mob in Delhi. The sting was subsequently found to be fake and Prakash Singh was arrested for it. However, despite having presided over this debacle, Sudhir Chaudhary faced no strictures and wound up as Zee News head, while Jindal, it appears, employed the discredited Prakash Singh to engineer his “reverse sting” on Zee News.
This “face-off between two evils”, as independent journalist and educator Paranjoy Guha Thakurta calls it, might be one of the reasons that explains why some in the fraternity have subsided behind an omerta on the Jindal-Zee case. But the clear split in the media between those who are deeply concerned about its falling ethics and standards, and those who believe all is well, extends to pretty much every crisis there has been.
As Varadarajan says, “The biggest threat to Indian media is not necessarily from government or big business, but from within, from our unwillingness to admit there are serious problems. Even in private, off-record chats with many senior editors and proprietors, forget about agreeing on the nature of the problem, they say, there is no problem. The biggest players in the business just don’t want to subject themselves to any scrutiny.”
Nowhere has resistance to scrutiny — and apathy to exposure — been as stark as the media’s response to the dark phenomenon of ‘paid news’. For the longest time, the idea of ‘paid news’ was scathingly synonymous with Bennett, Coleman and Co. In 2003, the Times Group — as it is more popularly known — infamously started a company called Medianet through which celebrities, products and film promotionals could buy space for themselves in its supplements, dressed up to look like bona fide editorial stories. (The group now carries a small disclaimer in Delhi Times and Bombay Times to say these are sponsored features, but many argue it is not significant enough to catch attention and the stories are still kitted to look like journalism. Besides, it seems excessively cynical — and a total abdication of a rich history of cultural journalism — to assert that the world of cinema, entertainment, the arts and popular icons does not need honest assessments.)
In 2005, however, even as murmurs about Medianet continued, the Times Group floated the idea of “private treaties” — called Brand Capital — through which, instead of money, it took equity from companies in exchange for advertisement space. Starting out with 10 companies, Bennett, Coleman and Co now has private treaties with 500. Justifiably, this has invited intense criticism about conflict of interest. The question everyone asks is, how can readers trust coverage by the Times Group on any corporate or business story, when it is difficult to track who they have treaties with?
As Hartosh Singh Bal, Political Editor with Open magazine, says, “The Times of India has changed the very idea of what we consider normal. But after the initial questions, almost everyone has gone along with their ideas and things have gotten worse. Now, even other media houses have private treaties. The seeds of all this were sown when (Bennett, Coleman and Co proprietor) Samir Jain asserted he was in the business of advertisement rather than news.”Such is the disquiet about private treaties, on 15 July 2009, the Securities and Exchange Board of India chief wrote to Press Council of India (PCI) Chairman GN Ray saying it “may give rise to conflict of interest and result in the dilution of the independence of the press”. Recently, both The New Yorker and Caravan magazines have carried critical cover stories on the impact of the Jain brothers — Vineet and Samir — and Times Now Editor Arnab Goswami on the media.
But Ravi Dhariwal, CEO of Bennett, Coleman and Co, expresses extreme exasperation when confronted with these questions. “There is a complete misunderstanding among journalists about all of this,” he says. “Why is our circulation increasing if we were doing so much wrong? Why have we not been hung out to dry by our readers? I’m tired of these innuendoes. I challenge anyone to show us even one example of an unduly positive story on a company that is part of Brand Capital! You have to understand, we do not take shares in exchange for favourable stories. There has never been interference in the editorial decisions of any of the main publications. Whatever coverage we do for money is upfront through Medianet. Nothing is surreptitious. Brand Capital, in fact, is business with risk — we take equity from companies who may be cash-strapped so as to enable business to grow. We feel if the advertisement market grows, we will grow with it. That is the idea behind it. And unlike other media companies, we have never ever taken money for political coverage. Find me one politician who says we have.”
Unfortunately, Dhariwal’s parting arrow hits hard. It is true: Bennett, Coleman and Co can no longer be isolated for the phenomenon of ‘paid news’. In 2010, the media collectively entered an even darker chapter. Although many journalists might be familiar with this story, few ordinary readers would know that in January 2010, acting on several complaints, the PCI commissioned Thakurta and K Sreenivas Reddy to prepare a report on the pervasive culture of ‘paid news’.
The report was submitted on 10 April 2010. In a scandalous move, however, the 30-member PCI deferred publishing it till 31 July because some members felt it would “destroy the credibility of publishers mentioned in it and hurt their longterm interest (sic)”. When July came, the PCI not only failed to make the report public, it did not even append it to the summary it sent the government. Shamefully, the report was only made public in October 2011 — a year and a half later — by order of the Chief Information Commissioner, acting on an RTI request.
Reading that report is like falling through a dark chute. ‘Paid news’ has now travelled from the relative frivolity of Delhi Times into the political domain, threatening the very basis of democracy. Media across the board have begun demanding “election premiums” and “package deals” from politicians in return for favourable coverage. Stories worded exactly the same appear in different papers under different bylines as exclusives. PR agencies displace journalists at election time. Depending on what candidates shuck out, they might find themselves above the fold in a paper being declared a victor; below the fold a loser. Two candidates from the same constituency might even find themselves declared winners with equal vehemence on the same page. Failure to pay could mean a complete blackout or even a hostile campaign. Paying more could advance you from merely getting “political publicity” to inflicting “political mudslinging”. Politician after politician testified to this dismal state of affairs in the report.
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Booth rigging had been replaced by the rigging of minds.
P Sainath of The Hindu, who was among the first journalists to start exposing the advent of ‘paid news’ in politics, demonstrated how Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan had been praised for his “young and dynamic leadership” in three publications — Lokmat, Pudhari and Maharashtra Times — on different days in exactly the same words. He also exposed how Chavan had got 89 full pages of coverage, though he claimed he had spent only Rs 10 lakh on his election.
In a Rajya Sabha discussion on 5 March 2010, several senior politicians noted the staggering proportions ‘paid news’ had acquired. CPM’s Sitaram Yechury told the House that this disease not only affected the Fourth Estate, “but the future of Parliamentary democracy itself”. ‘Paid news’, he said, was “distorting the electoral system, privileging those with money, demeaning the very idea and essence of journalism”.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley was even more hard-hitting. “Industries,” he said, “can shape the economy but media shapes the human mind… Yet respectable media organisations had ‘legitimised’ the practice of ‘paid news’ and several broadcasters had made a cartel and raised rates for political advertisement in 2009”. That, he argued, placed these actions of the media “not in the realm of free speech, but in trade and business, that too with unlawful objective, violating the IT Act”. Any candidate indulging in paid news, therefore, should be disqualified and the media house fined in exemplary terms.
Others have argued that ‘paid news’ should be declared an electoral malpractice and also invoke provisions of the IPC to do with cheating. But after the initial noise, nothing has happened. According to SY Quraishi, former chief election commissioner, in the Punjab Assembly election earlier this year, a staggering 339 notices were sent out to media houses and politicians on suspected cases of ‘paid news’. But nothing happened.
Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor, CNN-IBN, sounds a warning note. “The more we prevaricate, the greater the hole we will dig ourselves into. The public mood can eventually lead to a nanny state. There has always been corruption in the media, but it has now become more institutionalised and systemic. So how do we fix it? How do journalists ensure proprietors play by the rule? These are questions that should deeply worry the entire profession.”
But the water has gone back to slow burn. No one is worried enough to undertake action.To suggest Indian media needs introspection or peer scrutiny is not to assert all of it is corroded or even that it has lost all of the robustness that should underpin media in a free world. But to arrive at an honest measure of oneself, one must at least remind oneself what an ideal media in a democracy is meant to be.
By its most rudimentary definition, a democratic press is meant to inform, educate and entertain the citizenry in a fair, objective, factual and proportionate way. It is meant also to be opinionated, irreverent and inviolably committed to the idea of individual and civil liberties. At its purest, however, it is meant to have the appetite to investigate and question both money and power and hold them to the idea of the greater common good. It is meant not only to reflect the popular mood, but also to stand against it, if the popular ever consolidates into something detrimental to a core constitutional or democratic value.
While almost every editor Tehelka spoke to feels the Indian media collectively is doing better and more feisty work than an earlier generation of journalists, part of the slow burn in the beaker is that on almost all of these counts, the media has begun to slip.
“A big part of the problem is that journalists have become too arrogant and filled with hubris. This is even more true of the TV media than print,” says Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in- Chief of The Indian Express. “Print itself has bad conscience because it has been guilty of ‘paid news’, but with TV, there is a sense that we are the movers and shakers; we can build or destroy governments and individuals. So, you have very strong positions being taken on TV without due diligence. As the State is getting weaker, this power of the media is becoming more disproportionate. The tall claims made by the CAG on the 2G, coal scam, etc, are a good case in point. Scepticism — a desire to check facts — should be the first impulse of the media, but TV does not bother. Why does every scandal have to be made to look like 2-3 percent of India’s GDP to excite the media? TV just goes with the popular mood and it becomes very difficult for others in the fraternity to take more nuanced positions without sounding pro-government or pro-corporate. In fact, a desire to wait till you can check the facts is almost seen as cowardice or compromise now. We have TV anchors who would have taken us to war with China, Pakistan and Australia at the same time if they had their way!”
Perhaps these are only the surface symptoms. If there is one concern that binds everyone in the media — a concern everyone agrees lies at the heart of what is eroding its standards — it is the intense struggle for revenue.
For instance, Sanjoy Narayan, Editor, Hindustan Times, is part of the fraternity who says he has never seen “the Chinese wall between editorial and marketing” ever breached at HT or other publications he has worked in. But he admits the “intensification of competition and the decline in revenue and profitability across the media” are areas of great alarm. The skimping on resources, the slide in credibility, the dumbing down of content, the absence of due diligence, the low quality of hirings, the scramble for TRPs and visibility, the fact that most media play it safe and don’t dig into the political- corporate nexus of corruption is all a product of that resource crunch, he says.
Intensification of competition is an understatement: India has more than 800 channels — of them, 300 are news channels. Yet, everyone has to vie for the same finite advertising pie. Both in print and TV, there is a disproportionate dependence on advertising, and corporates as subscribers do not pay the cost price of news. (They would pay Rs 150 for a cup of coffee or an imported packet of chips, but not a news magazine.) In the television business, this is further skewed dangerously by the collective delusion of the TRP rating.
Vikram Chandra, CEO of NDTV, is scathing in his analysis. “There is a key structural issue why TV has collapsed,” he says. The Indian TV news business is perhaps the only one in the world that cannot raise revenue through subscriptions and instead spends almost 40 percent of its costs paying distribution fee to cable operators. In the analog format, every cable operator can only put on about 50-60 channels on air, but there are 200 vying to get on, so everyone is willing to pay an extortionate fee. This is a double-edged sword because it then forces channels to be dependent on only TRP ratings for ads.
The trap here is that the viewing tastes of an uber-heterogenous country of 1.2 billion people is gauged by only 8,000 TRP boxes. Of this, only about 200 boxes can be seen as a reflection of English viewers’ tastes. Of these, at least 30-40 can be bought off. “That leaves one trapped in a Chakravyuh you cannot get out of,” says Chandra. “Instead of being rewarded for good programming, one is forced to follow the herd and play to the lowest common denominator.”
But both Chandra and other TV editors see a slow turnaround ahead. “If the government can get its act together, it is possible to turn the business,” he says. “With the movement to digital from analog, the carriage fee will start to go down and a channel can actually gauge who its real viewers are and what sort of programming they will reward. As this mad desperation for TRP ratings goes away, TV programming will improve drastically.”
But corrections in revenue generation are perhaps neither the only danger nor the only panacea. As Shekhar Gupta points out, “There is a very dangerous trend in India now, when media is beginning to get evaluated only in terms of money and balance sheets rather than respect and influence. In itself, media will always be a very small business. The total earnings of the top 10 news channels in India would be just over Rs 1,200 crore a year. So you have a situation now when new “resource” corporates have realised that they can pay 10 times the book value for a media house and just buy it out. The attitude is, ‘you have such tiny financial muscle and such huge nuisance value, let us show you your place’. Whatever they spend is just small change for them, so they can buy out any media house and either neutralise or use that influence.”
Curiously, the remedies to many of the challenges confronting Indian media then lie in the old, undefinable mix between high principles, personal moral fibre and sound pragmatics. For media to preserve its noble calling, first of all, editors must go back to being editors. As former chief justice, Justice JS Verma, says, “We must remind ourselves of what Rajendra Prasad said at the end of the Constituent Assembly debates: ‘The worth of the Constitution will depend on the worth of those who run it’.”
The reason Justice Leveson’s report has kicked up a furore is that despite reiterating his unwavering commitment to the idea of a free press, his report is proof that Britain has turned a historic corner. It no longer believes its press is capable of self-regulation. Among some sound recommendations and some worrying excesses that speak of an impulse towards paranoia (a call to share sources, a demand for politicians and police to declare which journalists they met and what they spoke of ), the Leveson Report not only suggests setting up an independent regulatory body — with neither government nor any serving editors as a part of it — it also suggests a statutory underpinning for the body. Piquantly, it is left to British Prime Minister David Cameron to attempt a final stand on behalf of the media — against the public mood — and protect its freedoms from even a shadow of legislative or government control.
The clear split in the media between those who are deeply concerned about its falling ethics and standards, and those who believe all is well extends to pretty much every crisis.
In India too, some of these faultlines are already starting to show. Vinod Mehta, for instance, says, “I had always believed that we should be tried only by our peers, but now I’m not so sure of that. Perhaps, we need a mixed bag with men like Justice Santosh Hegde and Justice JS Verma.”
Hartosh Bal is willing to go even a step further. “One of the biggest issues facing Indian media that is rarely spoken of is the question of cross-ownership — the same company owning huge slices of print, TV, radio, Internet, et al. No media house should become too big, so how does one arrive at ownership norms? We need to debate and take these decisions, and where can this demand come from but from Parliament?”
Regulation, of course, is always a thorny business — assailed by many imponderables. How much is too much; how little is too little? How can one enforce even as one leaves free? If there are to be guardians of conscience, how are they to be appointed? If someone unworthy sits on a high chair, how can the chair itself be safeguarded?
Tehelka has always been a passionate defender of the press’ right to remain inviolably free and self-correcting. But lapses like the absent peer response to the PCI report on ‘paid news’, for instance, does severely challenge that notion.
Should such gross misdemeanours be left to the workings of individual conscience? Or, should one adhere to what Quraishi says: “The media is the watchdog of democracy. Nothing that weakens it should be permitted, but if it is weakening from within, that too should not be permitted.”
On one principle, however, there can be no doubt; there should never be any pre-facto control over a media group’s right to publish a story. All parsing of mistakes can only be post-facto.‘Print itself has bad conscience because of paid news, but with TV channels, there is a sense that we are the movers and shakers; we can build or destroy governments’.
Interestingly, while the PCI remains an institution in disarray, a potentially sound forum is taking shape in the television medium. The National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) led by Justice Verma and four other eminent citizens — Dipankar Gupta, Nitin Desai, SY Quraishi and Chokila Iyer — as well as four serving TV editors, is slowly building up a body of informal jurisprudence through fines, censures and orders.
Justice Verma’s sober gravitas has created a natural alcove of leadership for it. “I did not want to just handle complaints,” he says, “I wanted to help build a framework, a code of conduct.” When the NBSA invited him to chair the body, he asked for some non-negotiables: that he could take suo moto notice of wrongdoing; that he could impose fines; and that as long as any media organisation was part of the NBSA, they would be bound by its rules.
While its membership remains voluntary and merely 25 of 300 channels are part of it (and Rajat Sharma of India TV walked out of it when he was fined Rs 1 lakh), the NBSA is getting cases referred to it from the information & broadcasting ministry on non-member channels as well, who seem inclined to comply with its decisions from outside, mostly out of peer pressure. To make it truly effective, membership of all channels ought to be compulsory, but even Justice Verma is hesitant to articulate how that might be democratically effected.
Just the opening of the conversation is a start. In print too, experiments like The Hindu’s Readers’ Editor — a post independent of the editor — and committed to the readers’ experience and redress of grievance, are gaining currency. As more of the media is called upon for course corrections, it will be our responses to the small doses of heat that will ultimately determine our collective health rather than the panicked response to the super bolt.
(With inputs from Brijesh Pandey, Prakhar Jain and Rahul Kotiyal)
[Shoma Chaudhuryis Managing Editor, Tehelka. She can be contacted at shoma@tehelka.com]
(Courtesy: Tehelka)
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