Author: The Metrognome

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Big story

Student stabbed for mistakenly kicking co-passenger

Simmering city is increasingly ready to fight back and pull out its weapons and attack, sometimes at the slightest provocation.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Call it the stress of living and struggling to get through the day in a city becoming increasingly unfriendly to its citizens. Or call it plain intolerance. Whatever the reason, we’re sure not able to keep our tempers under check as much as we need to.

Yesterday, a student was stabbed and grievously injured when he happened to kick a person by mistake. The incident occurred in broad daylight, with several people present.

16-year-old student, Sushil Nihal Maurya, was travelling to his home in Powai in BEST bus no 195 at about 5 pm. Alighting from the crowded bus, and being slightly jostled by those behind him, Sushil inadvertently kicked his co-passenger, Dinesh Soni (20), who was alighting before him.

Dinesh was enraged and swung around to confront Sushil. The latter is said to have told cops that he tried to reason with the man, telling him that he had kicked him by mistake. However, Dinesh pulled out a knife he was carrying and stabbed Sushil just below his ribs, seriously injuring him. Even as shocked passengers rallied around to save Sushil and drag Dinesh away from the boy, the latter reportedly kept issuing threats to him.

The attacker, a mechanic and a resident of Vakola, was later arrested by cops from Andheri police station. Sushil is recuperating at Cooper Hospital.

In recent times, incidents of stabbing have gone up dramatically in Mumbai, the most famous one being the attack on Keenan Santos and Rueben Fernandez, two youths who were stabbed to death after they protested against a boy misbehaving with their female friend.

(Picture courtesy mid-day.com. Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Patrakar types

Security? Who’s that?

Fresh out of a serial bomb blast strike in Hyderabad, you’d think the police everywhere would wise up, right? Wrong.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that the police are a bunch of dodos. What else could explain what I’m about to describe next? And, trust me, this has happened before as well.

A few days ago, I was looking for a Borivli-bound train at Churchgate station. If you’ve been to Churchgate station, you’ll know it is characterised by three things: its subway, its Wimpy restaurant right opposite the public restrooms, and the benches on which bored policemen and policewomen sit and chat with each other, occasionally taking down details and checking bags of random commuters.

It was to two of these policemen that a scared-looking young man, probably on his way home from work as well, ran up to, breathless with excitement. “Sahab, wahan ek bag pada hai! (Sir, there’s a bag lying there!),” he said, pointing in the direction of Platform 4. His face was flushed, and I noticed a tremble in his hands. “Please come with me,” he implored the two cops.

To his chagrin, the two cops merely glanced at each other sleepily. “Tu jayega ki main jaoon?” one asked the other. (I swear I am not kidding). As if by some tacit consent – one of them probably owed the other some small debt – the sleepier of the two rumbled to his feet. “Chalo,” he said to the young man.

I followed the two to see what would happen next. If there was an unidentified bag with a potential bomb in it, I wanted to witness the action.

The cop followed the young man, unhurried and supremely bored. The young man, meanwhile, raced ahead looking for the spot that he had seen the bag in. When he found it, his face lit up with the glow of achievement – he was, after all, rendering a great public service by pointing out unidentified baggage, which is what public service announcements exhort us commoners to do all the time.

The bag was finally found, and I confess my heart sank when I saw it. A black rucksack, placed next to a pillar, adjacent to Platform 4. It was bulky and could have held practically any kind of explosive. The young man pointed at it and backed away, eyes wide.

The cop, whose name should ideally figure in next year’s Gallantry Awards list, nonchalantly approached the bag, and I swear I am still not kidding – poked it with a finger, then pulled open a zipper and started rummaging through its contents.

The young man backed away, horror written all over his face. With a last look at the cop happily emptying the bag of its contents  (a few books, some loose papers, an ID card, stray stationery), he walked away and soon melted into the crowds. I wanted to stop him and tell him to not be horrified. Because I have seen cops do exactly the same thing every time a citizen points out suspicious baggage on railway platforms or on the streets or inside trains – they start by tapping the baggage with their lathis, then poke and prod with their fingers, then empty out its contents before pronouncing, “Kuchh nahin hai ismein.”

At the risk of sounding extremely uncharitable, if there ever is a time for a bomb to go off, that time is when a lazy, foolish policeman approaches suspicious baggage and starts poking it. Too bad we citizens are not empowered to call the bomb squad ourselves.

Vrushali Lad is a freelance journalist who has spent several years pitching story ideas to reluctant editors. Once, she even got hired while doing so.

(Picture courtesy stockpicturesforeveryone.com. Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Film

‘People can protest, but State cannot pander to them’

This, and other illuminating thoughts from film personalities, at a talk on 100 years of Indian cinema at St Xavier’s.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Cinema, especially Indian cinema, is increasingly being derided for being the opium of the masses – something which it is praised for, in equal measure, but in the light of negative portrayals of women in films and the recent Delhi gangrape and murder, what we are choosing to watch is as important as what filmmakers are choosing to show us.

“It’s been only a little more than a century that we have understood our own evolution,” said independent filmmaker Anand Gandhi. “And it’s been just two or three decades that we’ve realised that culture mimics life. So when we talk of a century of Indian cinema, we have to understand that we have had very less time to really understand the question: does cinema imitate life?”

Anand was speaking at ‘Century of Cinema – the challenges in the next 25 years’, a talk held at St Xavier’s Multimedia Centre, recently. Joining him on the panel were film scriptwriter, filmmaker and member of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Anjum Rajabali, and current Managing Director of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Nina Gupta. Film theorist and researcher Narendra Panjwani chaired the panel.

Anjum replied to a question on why non-masala films were not marketed enough in India, or why they faced a distribution problem, by saying, “If a product has to connect, it does. Look at a film like Ardh Satya (starring Om Puri). It was a disturbing film that ended on a note of despair. It barely had conventional, masala elements in it. And yet it ran for 20 weeks at Novelty Cinema in 1983 – in those days, if a film ran at Novelty and Chandan (considered the massiest cinema halls of Mumbai) for a long while, it was considered a sure hit. Despite the likes of Salim-Javed and Manmohan Desai being immensely popular at the time, writer Vijay Tendulkar had still penned a script that connected.”

 

He also responded to a question on the portrayal of women in cinema. “Yes, the portrayal of women is a concern. We have to examine how popular culture portrays them, and does it have an effect on social psyche? There are no easy answers, but a collective interface is needed and we need to be conscious of why certain characters are shown a certain way. Filmmakers must be careful, because the audience may see things shown in films as endorsements of behaviour.

For instance, the portrayal of Sonakshi Sinha in Dabangg. Is her character’s portrayal a recommendation of that film for how women should behave? If not, why has she been portrayed that way? These are questions that filmmakers need to ask themselves,” he said.

To a question on whether good Indian cinema could possibly become mass, even as films like Rowdy Rathore and Dabangg ran to packed houses across the country, Nina (in pic on right) said, “Films combine an element of art and an element of commerce. The reason films are so expensive to make, is because a film requires a huge collaborative effort from several different people who must all be on the same page. With such a big canvas, the element of risk is greater. If a certain kind of cinema, parallel cinema for example, does not have an audience, it is not going to be made.”

 

Anand (in pic on left) interjected when an audience member said that mass entertainers only dwelled on escapism, “Cinema serves extremely complex functions. Films do mirror who we are, our relationships, the times we live in, but they also mirror our aspirations, dreams and memories. A film is an anthology of our responses. Films that mean something to me have reflected the environment I have been in, and my introspection. So I don’t think that idealism and realism can be mutually exclusive of each other in cinema.”

An audience member asked Anjum if he felt that cultural and political interference in films could be a factor to consider for the Censor Board in the coming years. He replied, “Look, certain statutory guidelines are very strongly put down while passing a film. The Constitution does guarantee freedom of expression, but with the rider that we should be sensitive to others.

Coming to the point of bans and protests, let me give you the example of the film Aarakshan (directed by Prakash Jha, and which Anjum wrote). Even before the film’s showing, a preemptive ban was imposed in three States, which the Supreme Court struck down. The film ran in theatres and there were no protests after release. But in the case of Vishwaroopam, a ban was imposed because the State chose to pander to protests. In my opinion, we should give groups the right to protest, but the State has no business pandering to these groups’ emotions, which are not in the guidelines of the law. If you play to the gallery, there will be several threats to the identity of artists.”

Categories
Kharcha paani Learn

Iran wants to do business with India

Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Ardashir Lajirani, wants India to throw its doors open for Iranian students and businesses.

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Ardashir Larijani visited the Governor of Maharashtra K Sankarnarayanan at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai, today. During the visit, he said that business leaders from Iran were keen to further develop business and trade contacts with India, and expressed the hope that India would provide opportunities for Iranian business leaders to explore its business potential.

Stressing the need for greater academic collaboration between the two countries, he said that addressing small issues like expediting issuance of student visas by India would help more students from Iran to study in India.

Complimenting India for achieving significant progress in various areas during the last few years, Larijani said, “The Parliament of Iran is determined to enhance and facilitate relations with India so that the trade between the two nations will further increase from the current $15 billion.” He said that trade can be enhanced by increasing cooperation in areas like energy resources and industries.

The Speaker was accompanied by a large delegation of Parliamentarians and Ministers and is currently on a visit to India.

He added, “Social, cultural, educational and trade relations between Iran and India are deeply rooted in history and both the nations have influenced the cultures of each other during these contacts.” He said that the people of the East such as Iran and India have a lot of commonalities such as morality, ethics and family values.

Categories
Learn

‘Anti-terror laws should be scrapped’: Arun Ferreira

Activist, alleged Naxal Arun Ferreira feels that special laws like POTA and charges like sedition should be done away with.
by Nidhi Qazi

He was jailed for four years on charges of being a Naxal operative, then released after no substantial evidence emerged to give credence to the charges against him. Arun Ferreira, who admitted to having Naxal literature in his possession, speaks freely about his prison experiences, and is forthcoming with his views on the Government’s anti-terror laws and the way it treats its prisoners, among other thing.

“Arrests have become a trend, an unhealthy one for our democracy,” Arun said as a guest speaker for the workshop ‘State, Displacement and Naxalism: Is the Republic under siege?’  organised by St Xavier Institute of Social Research. Speaking on the topic, Arun gave his opinions and narrated his experiences to explain how the development paradigm of India is class-ridden. “Development has diverse interpretations in a society comprising classes with antagonistic class interests,” he said.

He also spoke about the “lop-sided development” that has been taking place since independence. He said, “The State, ruled by the most powerful, economically-dominant class also becomes the politically-dominant class and thus acquires a new means of exploiting the oppressed classes. Thus, development serves its (powerful) class interests.”

More importantly, he pointed out the response of the State in the case of people’s struggle against development that harms the greater majority, through examples he gave on special laws to the state of our prisons, to human rights violation, to the response of the State.

“Special laws like POTA (Prevention of Terrorist Activities) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UA(P)A] are unnecessary. They are meant to victimise people and activists and thus suppress voices,” Arun said. Banning organisations, arresting people on charges such as sedition and using special laws show “the State’s intolerance for dissent,” he added.

Prison anecdotes

Arun was released from jail last year, after serving four years. During the talk, he had several experiences – both torture-related and otherwise – to share. Since he has always been an avid cartoonist, he drew a lot of cartoons while being incarcerated, which mirrored the reality around him in prison, while also maintaining a personal diary.

He spoke of punishments inside prison and how prison authorities behaved with inmates. “They used to beat us on the soles of our feet. That is deliberate done, as beating the soles doesn’t leave behind marks. Thus we don’t have any evidence to put in front of the Court,” he said.

He mentioned a few ways in which he was tortured, such as when ice would be put in his underwear, or when he would be given solitary confinement in the anda barrack for a year. “Maharashtra is the only State in the country where undertrials are forced to wear uniforms. In other places, these are meant for the convicted only,” he informed.

He also said that he was kept in company with death-row convicts, as the State saw him as a “security threat”. He said, “One of the pretexts on which I was arrested was the literature on Naxalism in my possession.”

Speaking on what goes on inside prisons, he said, “They are overcrowded, they violate human rights and of late, they are seeing an increase in the number of political prisoners.” He referred to the most recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, alleging that it underreported the number of prison deaths. “In reality, inmates are injected on the way to hospital and then they are declared dead-on-arrival (DOA), thus signaling death outside the prison, and thus projecting no prison death,” he said. He also added that high walls of the prison were a strategic move to prevent the noise of jailers’ beatings from going out of the prison.

On Naxalism

On the issue of Naxalism being a security threat, Arun said, “I do not think Naxalism is a threat to the Indian people. In fact, Naxals have stood up to resist mega-projects and potential displacement of tribals. However, it is definitely a challenge to the pro-corporate development accompanied with MoUs for mineral extraction and SEZs. It is the question for the State to decide on whose side they choose to stand. If it is with the corporates, as it seems to be, then they would be viewed as a threat.”

He was also of the view that “laws cannot be seen as the only solution to combat an insurgency. There has to be a drastic change in the development model currently pursued by the State. Only such socio-economic and political solutions can bring about a lasting change to eliminate the need for the people to take up to insurgency.” Further, “as a first step, I feel that the present special anti-terror laws such as UA(P)A or AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Protection Act) should be immediately scrapped,” he said.

(Feature image courtesy rediff.com)

Categories
Deal with it

Raise IT exemption limit, says the salaried class

Survey across the country’s metros and Tier II cities reveals that people want more exemptions on HRA, transport allowance and health.

Budget 2013-2014 will soon be upon us, and people are already awaiting news of new tax slabs. However, a comprehensive survey by the Associated Chamber of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) across the country reveals that a vast majority of the salaried class employed in a host of trade and industry sectors wants Finance Minister P Chidambaram to raise the exemption limit of income tax to at least Rs 3,00,000.

The survey reveals that people also want him to increase deductions such as medical and educational allowances in the Union Budget, so that they are left with more purchasing power.

The survey was conducted in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun, and was titled, ‘Budget 2013: Common man’s expectations from the FM’. About 2,500 employees from different sectors were covered by the survey from each city.

Over 89 per cent of respondents said that the slab of tax-free income has not moved up in line with real inflation. “The current basic exemption limit of Rs 2,00,000 should be increased to at least Rs 3,00,000, with the exemption limit for women going up to Rs 3,50,000. This will increase the purchasing power of individuals and stimulate demand,” the survey reads.

“Pushing the basic exemption limit will also align it with the proposals made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Direct Taxes Code (DTC)”, the survey noted.

With increasing healthcare costs, the existing tax free limit of Rs 15,000 should be increased to Rs 50,000; the same also needs to be considered in the Budget, said 89 per cent of respondents.

The transportation allowance granted by employers to employees (for commuting between the place of work and residence) is tax-free to the extent of Rs 800 per month. This limit was fixed more than a decade ago, and definitely needs to be revised upwards to at least Rs 3,000 per month, given the rising commuting costs across the country, finds the survey.

“Additional benefits related to housing, the deduction limit for payment of interest (on self occupied property) has remained constant at Rs 1,50,000 since 2001. There is an increase in property prices and accordingly the amount of loan. An increase in the exemption limit to Rs 2,50,000 will be a welcome change.

“Section 80C of the IT Act provides a deduction of Rs 1,00,000 for certain investments. This provision helps people in making forced savings that helps them in the future. A common man expects this limit to be increased to Rs 2,00,000 with sub-limit of Rs 50,000 exclusively for insurance and pension,” says DS Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM.

The survey was able to target employees from 18 broad sectors, with maximum share contributed by employees from IT/ITes sector (17 per cent). 11 per cent of the respondents came from financial services. Employees working in engineering and telecom sector contributed 9 per cent and 8 per cent respectively in the questionnaire. Nearly 6 per cent of the employees belonged from market research/KPO and media background each.

Around 55 per cent of the survey respondents fall under the age bracket of 25 to 29 years, followed by 30 to 39 years (26 per cent), 40 to 49 years (16 per cent), 50 to 59 years (2 per cent) and 60 to 65 years.

“Investments in infrastructure bonds are currently not allowed as a deduction up to Rs 20,000. These bonds have proved to be quite popular and the limit should be increased to Rs 50,000, considering that the Government needs massive funds for the development of the infrastructure sector and also the lock in period be restricted to five years,” added 82 per cent of respondents.

Over 71 per cent of respondents demanded for national pension system (NPS) brought under the EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt) as against EET (exempt-exempt-tax) at present. This means that investors get a tax exemption at all three stages of investment, appreciation and withdrawal.

(Picture courtesy profit.ndtv.com)

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