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STUDENT AGERead the NeedVol. 1 No:160 | JKENG/2012/41612 | Jammu, Saturday, December 8 (2 Dec - 8 Dec), 2012 | Pages: 32 | 5

News Inbox

UAE makes world'slargest ID card

ABU DHABI: UAE President

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al

Nahyan has set a new Guinness

World Record with the largest

identity card, Contd on page 4

Death toll from Philippinetyphoon climbs past 500NEW BATAAN: Rescuers are

digging through mud and debris to

retrieve more bodies strewn across

a farming valley in the southern

Philippines by a powerful typhoon.

The death Contd on page 4

HC directs ITBP officials todepose before IO

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and

Kashmir High Court has directed

seven ITBP personnel, accused of

abduction and disappearance of a

youth from Anantnag district in

1991, Contd on page 4

Teacher thrashes 8-year-old girl in J&K

KASHMIR: Yet again another

case of corporal punishment has

come to light and this time from

Jammu Contd on page 4

Centre to set up food regulatory

& risk assessment bodyNEW DELHI: The government

proposes to set up a National Food

Science and Risk Assessment

Centre to conduct regulatory

research Contd on page 4

NEW DELHI: The government

Friday won the vote in the Rajya

Sabha on foreign direct investment

(FDI) in retail, two days after it

sailed through the Lok Sabha, final-

ly getting endorsement from parlia-

ment for a policy seen as a major

step forward in its reforms process.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister

Kamal Nath said reforms were ontrack after the UPA won the voting

on FDI in retail. Refuting BJP's

charge that UPA used the CBI to get

Mayawati's support, Kamal Nath

said, "Mayawati voted with BJP on

nuclear deal earlier, then BJP did

not raise the CBI issue. Now when

they vote against BJP, BJP accuses

of misuse of CBI.

Getting support once again from

the unlikely combination of

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi

Party (SP) and Mayawati's Bahujan

Samaj Party (BSP), the government

won the day in the Rajya Sabha by

14 votes.In the house, the opposition-

backed motion got 109 votes and

the government 123 votes. One

member, cricketer Sachin

Tendulkar, was away playing a

match against England in Kolkata.

Minutes before the voting process

began, the SP walked out of the

house with its nine MPs, bailing out

the ruling United Progressive

Alliance (UPA) -- as it had

Wednesday when the Lok Sabha

voted on the issue.

Confusion gripped the govern-

ment after the FDI in retail debate

in the Rajya Sabha over the exactnumber of votes cast in favour and

against the Congress-led United

Progressive Alliance (UPA) -

prompting a reccount.

"Yes, we are going for the re-cal-

culation," Minister of State for

Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev

Shukla said.

Soon after it was announced that

the government had defeated the

opposition-sponsored motion

against foreign investment in multi-

brand retail, it was discovered that

due to "some technical glitches",

the total strength of the house had

gone up to 248 instead of the pres-ent strength of 244.

The total strength of Rajya

Sabha is 245 but with the death of

former Maharashtra chief minister

and union minister Vilasrao

Deshmukh, Contd on page 4

Govt wins FDI battle, gets support of 123 MPs

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7.3 magnit ude quake shakes Tokyobuildings, tsunami warning lifted

TOKYO: A strong quake centered off northeastern Japan

shook buildings as far away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered

a one-metre tsunami in an area devastated by last year's

Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports of deaths orserious damage. The earthquake had Contd on page 4

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir govern-

ment will launch the Results-Framework

Document (RFD) initiative this year to

assess the performance of various depart-

ments, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

said. "Results-Framework Document

(RFD) initiative will be launched this year

for entire government in one shot. All

government departments would be asked

to formulate RFDs for last quarter of the

current year and for entire next year,"

Omar said while addressing a two-day

workshop on 'Results- Framework

Document (RFD) - An Instrument of

Improving Government Performance.'

"RFD is an Contd on page 4

J&K govt to launch Results-FrameworkDocument initiative: Omar

CM Omar Abdullah addressing gathering during workshop on "Results-Framework

Document at Jammu.

People crowd at Sendai railway station in Sendai after a

strong earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan.


2/32

HC directs ITBP ....to present themselves before the investigating

officer of the case within one week.

The directions were passed by the Court

after the ITBP identified the seven accused

personnel and their whereabouts before the

court during the proceedings yesterday.

Ghulam Hussain Koka, father of the youth

Muhammad Asharaf Koka, had filed a petition

before the court pleading that the police inves-

tigation into the alleged abduction and disap-

pearance case of his son was "tardy" and the

warrant issued by Chief Judicial Magistrate

Anantnag was not being executed.

The youth was allegedly abducted by ITBP

personnel in Verinag area of Anantnag district

in 1991.

According to the ITBP communication tothe High Court, then Commandant of 10th bat-

talion Inder Singh Negi is presently posted at

Northern Frontier Dehradun as Inspector

General, Dr P S Gunjiyal, then Chief Medical

Officer, is currently posted with 31st Battlaion

at Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh, Head

Constable Hukum Singh is posted at Leh in

Jammu and Kashmir and Head Constable

Ajeet Kumar is posted at Chandigarh.

The then second in command of the unit R

S Rana has retired and is currently residing in

Himachal Pradesh while Rajinder Singh has

also retired and is presently in Uttarakhand

and sub-inspector Pratap Singh died on

August, 4, 2004.

The whereabouts of these personnel werefurnished to the court following directions to

this effect on the last date of hearing on

November 29.

J&K govt to launch....

effective performance assessment and man-

agement system aimed at judging the per-

formance and functioning of government

departments on the basis of timeline comple-

tion of targets, outcomes of the schemes, pri-

orities fixed, quality of work done, status of

benefits of projects actually accruing to people

and other similar ingredients", he said.

Under RFD, each government department

would be evaluated to identify bottlenecks,

shortcomings if any and to take corrective

measures. "While elections present evaluation

perception of public representatives, there

should be performance evaluation of bureau-

cracy and government departments, and RFD

will be right instrument for the same," he said,

adding that Jammu and Kashmir will be the

eleventh state to implement it. He also empha-

sised the importance of the workshop organ-

ised in collaboration with Performance

Management Division Cabinet Secretariat,

Government of India, for Administrative

Secretaries and Heads of Departments to get

acquainted with the basics of the mechanism.

Omar also said his government was continu-

ously working for improving the quality of

governance at all levels. "We have taken meas-

ures like implementation of Public Service

Guarantee Act (PSGA) and Right to

Information Act (RTI) besides holding

Panchayat Elections and transferring vital

powers to these institutions," he said.

7.3 magnitude....

a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the US

Geological Survey said, adding that there was

no risk of a widespread tsunami. That was

revised from an earlier estimate of 7.4. A

warning for a one-meter tsunami was issued

for the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in northeast-

ern Japan, which was hit by a devastating

earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The

warning was later lifted. That quake triggered

fuel-rod meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear

plant, causing radiation leakage, contamina-

tion of food and water and mass evacuations in

the world's worst nuclear crisis since

Chernobyl in 1986.The government declared in December that

the disaster was under control, but much of the

area is still free of population. Tokyo Electric

Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima

nuclear plant, reported no irregularities at its

nuclear plants after the latest quake.

Indian Ambassador to Japan Deepa

Gopalan said that was no need to worry. "It

was fairly intense and the duration was long.

There are warnings. In Tokyo there is no cause

to worry. We will find out if there are Indians

in that area. Indian community is mostly in

Tokyo and surrounding areas, far from epicen-

tre," said Gopalan.

Narita airport outside Tokyo was back in

action after a brief closure for safety checks.Last year's quake, which measured 9.0, trig-

gered fuel-rod meltdowns at Fukushima, caus-

ing radiation leakage, contamination of food

and water and mass evacuations. Much of the

area is still deserted.

The government declared in December that

the disaster was under control. "Citizens are

now escaping to designated evacuation centres

and moving to places on higher ground,"

office worker Naoki Ara said in Soma, 30 km

(18 miles) from the Fukushima-Daiichi plant.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda cancelled

campaigning in Tokyo ahead of a December

16 election and was on his way back to his

office, but there was no immediate plan to

hold a special cabinet meeting. Public spend-

ing on quake-proofing buildings is a big elec-

tion issue.

Japanese were posting photos of their TV

screens with tsunami warnings on Facebook,

asking each other whether they're safe and

confirming their whereabouts. "It shook for a

long time here in Tokyo, are you guys all

right?" posted Eriko Hamada, enquiring about

the safety of her friends.

Phone lines were overloaded and it was dif-

ficult to contact residents of Miyagi. "Owing

to the recent earthquake, phone lines are very

busy, please try again later," the phone opera-

tor said. The yen rose against the dollar and the

euro on the news, triggering some safe-haven

inflows into the Japanese currency.

UAE makes ....

which is 20 times the size of the actual

National ID card in the country. The card --

with Sheikh Khalifa's name and picture -- is

1.4 metres long and 0.86 metres wide.

Guinness said the UAE currently holds 110

world records.

Regional director of Guinness World

Records, Talal Omar, said the largest ID card

was an identical copy of the original National

ID card which meets all the standards required

to set a world record.

Centre to set ....

and risk assessment.

It will function under the Food Safety and

Standards Authority of India. Giving this

information in the Lok Sabha Friday, Minister

of State for Health and Family Welfare Abu

Hasem Khan Choudhury said the proposed

centre will also overseas surveillance on thelines of the American Centre for Disease

Control and Centre for Food Safety and

Applied Nutrition. The minister said that the

project is awaiting approval by the National

Development Council (NDC) for implementa-

tion.

Death tol l from ....

toll from the storm has surpassed 500, with

more than 400 people missing. More than

310,000 people have lost their homes since

Typhoon Bopha struck Tuesday and are

crowded inside evacuation centers or staying

with their families, relying on food and emer-

gency supplies being rushed in by government

agencies and aid groups.President Benigno Aquino III today visited

New Bataan town, ground zero of the disaster,

saying "I want to know how this tragedy hap-

pened and how to prevent a repeat." Aquino

told residents that he's bent on seeking

answers in order to improve their conditions

and minimize casualties when natural disasters

occur.

Teacher thrashes....

& Kashmir. A class four student studying in a

government middle school in Nagari, near

Rajouri district was beaten by a teacher after

she refused to leave her school and join a pri-

vate academy run by him.

The 8-year-old girl, Sonika Devi has

received multiple fractures on her right hand

and will be undergoing surgery.

The teacher has been identified as Vaid

Prakash. A FIR has been filed against him.

Govt wins FDI ....

the number is reduced to 244. As per the

results declared by Rajya Sabha Chairman

Hamid Ansari, the UPA government got 123

votes, while the opposition got 109 votes.

Nine members of the Samajwadi Party

walked out while seven members - Devender

Goud T, Gundu Sudharani and Y.S.

Chowdhary of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP);

Janata Dal-United MP Bashistha Narain

Singh, who was in Bihar; expelled Biju Janata

Dal (BJD) leader Pyarimohan Mohapatra;

Congress leader Murli Deora, who has under-

gone an operation and cricketer Sachin

Tendulkar, who is playing in the test series

against Engand - were absent.

The total of these votes would be 248

which is four more than the present strength of

the house. But the confusion started in the cal-

culations, according to Rajya Sabha secretari-

at, due to votes being cast three times - twice

electronically and once on paper ballots. The

third ballot was necessitated after at least two

members - Ram Jethmalani and Najma

Heptullah - complained their votes had not

been registered. Hapless media persons had no

other way than run around the galleries to find

the exact number.

On Thursday, day one of the debate on the

issue in the Rajya Sabha, Mayawati had said in

the house that 15 MPs from her party would be

voting with the government.Both the BSP and SP support the govern-

ment from outside.

The government's win on getting 51 per-

cent foreign equity in multi-brand retail has

long been a contentious issue, stalling almost

the entire first two weeks of the winter session

of parliament. With this, global names like

Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-Mart will set up

stores in India.

Addressing the house during the debate,

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma hit back at

the opposition and said the government had

been "talking to everyone, farmers, traders,

consumers, states". The government also held

inter ministerial consultations on the issue,

heard the recommendations and then took thedecision, he said.

2CONTDSTUDENT AGE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 (2 DEC-8 DEC), 2012

Continued from Page 1

India, Ukraine to inkvarious agreements

NEW DELHI: Accompanied by senior

ministers, officials and a large business del-

egation, Yanukovych comes to India on a

four-day visit Sunday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will

hold wide-ranging talks with Yanukovych

Monday. The talks will explore a wide

spectrum of areas, including intensification

of trade and investment, nuclear safety and

visa issues.

The Ukrainian leader will also be visit-

ing Agra and Bangalore during his state

visit, the external affairs ministry said in a

statement. The bilateral cooperation

between the two countries is multi-faceted

and covers a wide range of areas including

political, defence, science and technology,

nuclear, space and and trade investment.

Bilateral trade has surged from $138.62

million in 1992 to $2,865.45 million in

2011-12. Indian pharmaceutical exports to

Ukraine are the largest by volume and sec-

ond in terms of value and are estimated to

be $325 million in 2011. India imports 25

percent of sunflower oil production of

Ukraine, which is amongst the world's

largest producers of sunflower oil.


3/32

3NATIONALSTUDENT AGE


RANJIT SINHA: Ranjit Sinha,

IPS officer of

1 9 7 4 - b a t c h

Bihar cadre

acquired the

office as new

CBI director.

S.A. IBRAHIM: S. A. Ibrahim

IPS (MP-77)

has been

approved by the

C o m p e t e n t

Authority as

officer on Special Duty in the

Intelligence Bureau and also as

the Director for Intelligence

Bureau for a next two years.

NARHARI AMIN: Seniorleader of

Congress party,

Gujarat Narhari

Amin joined

BJP along with

his supporters.

I.K. GUJRAL: Former Prime

Minister I K

Gujral, who

headed a rickety

coalition gov-

ernment in the

late 1990s, died after a brief ill-

ness. He was 92.

MANDVI: Congress president

Sonia Gandhi slammed the

Narendra Modi government in

Gujarat while addressing an elec-

tion rally in the state on Friday.

Sonia Gandhi to tear into Gujarat

Chief Minister Narendra Modi's

claims on development accusing

the state government of complete-

ly ignoring the welfare of poor and

wondered where all the central

funds for the state had vanished.

Sonia, who addressed a public

rally near Gorsamba village in

Surat district, said that the promis-

es made by the BJP government

are false and hollow. Gandhi said

the state government has failed in

almost every field and even the

law and order in the state was not

good. "UPA government

has been allocating thou-

sands of crores of rupees to

various states, including

Gujarat, without any bias.

But nobody knows how

this money is spent (in

Gujarat). They are not

bothered about the poor.

They are only concerned

about themselves," she said.

She said because of the policies

of the BJP government, the hard-

ships of the common man have

increased. "If the government had

given attention to your problems,

you would not have faced so many

problems," Gandhi said.

The Congress chief said the

UPA government had waived off

loans to the debt-ridden farmers

but their condition in Gujarat has

not changed because of the 'anti-

people' policies pursued by the

BJP government. "Our govern-

ment is the government of the

farmers. We have waived off loans

to farmers," she said. Gujarat goes

to first phase of polls on

December 13.

Gujarat elections: Sonia slams Modi govt, ignores welfare of poorPEOPLE IN NEWS

NEW DELHI: Inder Kumar

Gujral, who was India's prime min-

ister for 11 months in 1997-98, was

on Saturday cremated here with

full state honours.

Gujral died Friday just four

days before his 93rd birthday.

Known as a gentleman politician,

Gujral died at 3.27 pm at a

Gurgaon hospital of lung infection.

Amid prayers and a 21-gun

salute, his body was consigned to

flames at Smriti Sthal on the banks

of Yamuna where President Pranab

Mukherjee, Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh, Vice PresidentHamid Ansari and UPA chairper-

son Sonia Gandhi were also pres-

ent.

The last rites were performed by

his two sons, including Akali Dal

MP Naresh Gujral, and his grand-

son at Smriti Sthal, located

between Jawaharlal Nehru's

memorial 'Shanti Van' and Lal

Bahadur Shastri's 'Vijay Ghat'.

Defence Minister AK Antony,

Home Minister Sushilkumar

Shinde, Commerce Minister Anand

Sharma, Law Minister Ashwani

Kumar, Farooq Abdullah, Jaipal

Reddy, BJP leaders LK Advani and

Arun Jaitley, Punjab Chief MinisterPrakash Singh Badal, Haryana

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh

Hooda, INLD chief Om Prakash

Chautala, LJP's Ramvilas Paswan,

JD-S' Danish Ali, Amar Singh and

some senior bureaucrats attended

the cremation. Diplomats from var-

ious countries were also present.

The President, Vice President,

Prime Minister, Gandhi, Antony,

Shinde, Badal, Advani, Jitendra

Singh (Mos) and others laid

wreaths on the body.

The body, draped in tricolour,

was brought to Smriti Sthal from

his 5, Janpath residence in a flower

bedecked gun-carriage accompa-nied by military personnel and

close family.

Officers from the three armed

forces carried on their shoulders

the mortal remains of Gujral to the

cremation ground as he was

accorded a state funeral. Gujral

(92), who led a rickety coalition in

late 1990s and was known for

'Gujral Doctrine' of five principles

for maintaining good neighbourly

relations, breathed his last at a pri-

vate hospital in nearby Gurgaon

last afternoon.

The govt. has declared seven

days of state mourning. His body

was being kept at his residence, 5,Janpath for last tributes.

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Health

and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad

Friday said that 83 prosecution cases were

initiated and 39 people arrested till July

this year for dealing in spurious drugs.

Replying to supplementaries in the Lok

Sabha, he said, out of 49 thousand drug

samples tested by the Central Drugs

Standard Organisation last year, only 0.19

per cent were found to be spurious. Mr.

Azad said, the government has asked for a

detailed proposal on a request by Interpol

Secretary General to develop a data base

of pharmaceutical companies.

Adding that India is the third largest

drug manufacturing country in the world,

Mr. Azad said, the government has taken

several steps and introduced various

schemes to control spurious drugs includ-

ing strengthening of drug test laboratories

and promoting good manufacturing prac-

tices.

Cases initiated & arrests made ofspurious drug dealers: Health Min Azad

Former PM IK Gujral cremated with full state honours

Calls on Mobilephone to be free innext 10 yrs: SibalNEW DELHI: Communications

and IT Minister Kapil Sibal told

the Lok Sabha that calls on

mobile phones will be made free

in the next ten years.

Replying to supplementaries

during question hour, he said

communication is a fundamental

right and it should not be charged.

He said that telecom companies

are working on a plan to earn rev-

enue from data instead of calls.

The Minister admitted that the

services of BSNL are not upto the

mark in the North-East,

Uttarakhand and some other

places. But he assured the mem-

bers that after completion of core

networking, the situation will

improve.

Mr. Sibal told the House that

for the first time the number of

cell phone users in the country

has declined. About fifty crore

people in the country still do not

have mobile phones.

He hoped that by linking land-

line telephones with broadband,

the number of its subscribers willgo up.

Govt to open 3000 Jan Aushadhi genericdrug out lets in 12th planNEW DELHI: Special Secretary in the ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers V.

Rajagopalan Tuesday said that govt. has proposed to open 3 thousand Jan Aushadhi

Generic Drug outlets in coming years across the country in the 12th five year plan.

Addressing the India Pharma Summit-2012 in New Delhi, he said there is a need to pro-

vide affordable and quality generic medicines to the people of the country especially to

the weaker section of the society. Mr Rajgopalan said, access of affordable medicines is

on high priority of the Centre as it is critical to the provision of equitable, affordable and

quality healthcare. Underlining the importance of more innovations and research in the

field of pharma, he urged all concerned stakeholders to come up with innovative methods

for increasing access of medicines in far-flung areas. Speaking on the occasion, WHO

representative to India, Nata Menabde urged India to develop more generic medicines.

Ajit Pawar back again; takesover as Maha Deputy CM

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit

Pawar was Friday re- inducted as Maharashtra deputy chief

minister, just 10 weeks after he quit over alleged links to a cor-

ruption scandal. Pawar was sworn in at the Raj Bhavan Friday

morning. Pawar had resigned from the council of ministers on

September 25th following allegations that he was involved in a

multi-crore irrigation scam.

Pawar had quit the cabinet Sep 25 after his name figured in

an allegations of irregularities worth Rs.20,000 crore in irriga-

tion projects during the time he was water resources minister

from 1999-2009.

However, he got a clean chit after the state government's

much awaited white paper on the irrigation department Nov 30.

Voicing their protest against Pawar being made deputy chiefminister again, the opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party

said he should face a special investigation team (SIT) probe and

rejoin only if he was cleared by that.

According to Eknath Khadse, leader of opposition in the

assembly, CM Prithviraj Chavan, from the Congress, was under

pressure from the NCP and that was the reason he was re-induct-

ed. "If Pawar has guts, he should be ready for an SIT probe. If

proved innocent, he can rejoin the cabinet with respect," Khadse

said.

Terming the exercise "an eyewash" and a "high voltage

drama", Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said the govern-

ment was fooling the people and it was still not clear if Pawar

was innocent.


4/32

4NATIONALSTUDENT AGE


BANGALORE/NEW DELHI:

Protests erupted in Karnataka Friday

following the release of Cauvery

river water to Tamil Nadu late

Thursday and a crucial meeting was

on in New Delhi to decide the quan-

tum of water needed by the two states

for the remaining part of this month.

Karnataka released the water to

avoid contempt of court as the

Supreme Court had directed the state

Wednesday to give Tamil Nadu daily

10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water till

Sunday.

On the court's direction, the

Cauvery Monitoring Committee

(CMC) met in the national capital towork out the water needs of the two

states in view of vast divergence in

their claims.

The apex court had also directed

the CMC, comprising union water

resources secretary and chief secre-

taries of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,

Kerala and Puducherry, to submit a

report to it Monday on its decision.

Hence, the CMC decision is crucial

for both the states.

Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar,

who flew to New Delhi Friday morn-

ing to plead the state's case with the

central government, met union Water

Resources Minister Harish Rawat

and briefed him on the difficulty the

state would face if more water is

released to Tamil Nadu.

"We explained to the minister the

serious drought situation, lack of

water in our reservoirs and our

requirement," Shettar told reportersafter the meeting.

The water issue release disrupted

Karnataka assembly proceedings as

the opposition Congress and Janata

Dal-Secular members staged a 'dhar-

na' (protest) against release of water

by the Bharatiya Janata Party govern-

ment.

The protest forced Speaker K.G.

Bopaiah to briefly adjourn the house.

However, with the two parties resum-

ing 'dharna' after the house re-assem-

bled, Bopaiah adjourned it for the

day. The two parties have been

demanding that the state should not

release water and the government

should be ready to face contempt of

court to protect the interests of farm-

ers in the Cauvery belt area of the

state.

The Cauvery belt in the state wit-

nessed protests by farmers and

Kannada activists for the second dayFriday. Farmers' organizations have

called for a shut-down of Mandya,

about 80 km from Bangalore and a

hotbed of agitation, if Cauvery water

is to be released to Tamil Nadu while

Karnataka faces drought.

Cauvery row: Crucial meet in Delhi, protests in Karnataka

NEW DELHI: The govt. has eased restrictions on tourist

visas which had mandated a two-month gap between con-

secutive visits by foreign nationals. However, it will not

apply to nationals of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan,

Iraq, Sudan, Bangladesh, foreigners of Pakistani and

Bangladeshi origin and stateless persons and they will con-

tinue to come under the 60-day gap rule. The decision is

expected to breathe fresh life into the tourism industry and

comes just ahead of the peak tourist season.

The restriction was imposed in 2009 after the Mumbai

terror attack when it was found that Lashkar-e-Taiba ter-

rorist David Headley had "grossly misused" his multiple-

entry visa with which he made nine trips to India and pre-

pared footage of 26/11 targets for the Pakistan-based terror

group. The Home Ministry, however, made it clear that anyapplicant for an Indian visa who has any sort of Pakistan

lineage, even if it is two generations back, must be referred

to Delhi by the Indian missions for prior clearance. In its

November 23 order, the Home Ministry said, "The provi-

sion relating to the two-month gap between two visits of a

foreign national to India on a tourist visa has been

reviewed by the govt. It has now been decided to lift the

restriction of two-month gap on re-entry of foreign nation-

als coming to India". The move to review the visa restric-

tion was initiated by the PM's Office (PMO) in January

2012 after concerns were raised by the Tourism Ministry

that the negative perception following the move had affect-

ed flow of tourists. The PMO had asked the ministries of

Home and External Affairs to review the restrictions,

including the possibility of bringing in more countries

under the visa-on-arrival scheme and improving condi-tions at major airports.

NEWS IN BOX

Assam Assembly winter session from Dec 10GUWAHATI: The winter session of the Assam Legislative Assembly will

begin from Dec 10. The five-day session will continue upto Dec 14, an offi-

cial release said Saturday.

On the first day of the session, the list of supplementary demands and

appropriation for 2012-2013 will be presented before the Assembly. The

voting on supplementary demands for grants for 2012-2013 would be taken

up on Dec 23. Besides, on Dec 12, the introduction, consideration and pas-

sage of the Assam Appropriation (Number IV) Bill 2012 is slated. The win-

ter session of the assembly is expected to be stormy as the Tarun Gogoi led

govt. would come under the scanner of the opposition, on account of the

recent ethnic violence in BTAD region, sources in various parties said.

Besides, panchayat polls in the state are slated for Jan-Feb and opposition

parties are expected to corner the govt. regarding inflation and corruption

allegations.

SC issues guidelines to curb eve teasingNEW DELHI: The Supreme has termed the consequences of eve-teasing

as disastrous and issued a number of guidelines to curb the menace. A bench

of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said all the state govern-

ments and Union territories are directed to depute plain-clothes female

police officers in the precincts of bus stands, railway stations, metro stations,

cinema theatres, shopping malls, parks, beaches, public service vehicles,

places of worship etc. so as to monitor and supervise incidents of eve-teas-

ing. The court said the guidelines were necessary as there is no uniform law

to deal with the menace. The apex court laid down the guidelines in the

judgement by which it set aside a verdict of the Madras High Court.

ID proof must for sleeper-class passengers

NEW DELHI: It will be mandatory for sleeper-class train passengers to

carry identity proof from Saturday. The Railways has taken the steps to pre-vent misuse of tickets by touts and facilitate hassle-free travel by bonafide

people. From Dec 1, passengers failing to produce original identity proof in

sleeper class, as and when asked for, will be treated as "without ticket" and

charged accordingly, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

The rule will apply for all forms of ticket, including those for sleeper

class, issued by Railways through computerised passenger reservation sys-

tem (PRS) or Internet. The decision to introduce photo I-cards for sleeper

class passengers is likely to deter touts from booking tickets under fictitious

names and selling them to passengers at a premium, the official said.

In February, Railways had made it mandatory for AC-class passengers to

carry identity proof with them. Passengers travelling on a Tatkal or an e-

ticket are also required to carry I-cards while undertaking train journey.

Passengers can carry any of these ten ID proofs while undertaking train

journey -- voter ID card, passport, PAN card, driving licence, photo identi-

ty card having serial number issued by central/state government, student

identity card with photograph issued by recognised school/college, Aadhar

card, nationalised bank passbook with photograph and credit cards issued

by banks with laminated photograph.

Bihar village bans women from using mobiles

PATNA: A village panchayat in Bihar has prohibited women from using

mobile phones and imposed heavy fines on them if they violated the diktat,

an official said Monday. The self-styled social reformers of Sunderbadi vil-

lage panchayat in Kochadham block of Kishanganj district Sunday issued

the orders banning women from using mobiles, a district official said.

"The villagers have issued an order to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 if a girl

is found using a mobile phone, while a married woman will have to pay a

fine of Rs 2,000 if found talking on a mobile outside her house," the official

said. "The decision was taken in a meeting attended by panchayat members

and village elders," Mohammad Manzoor Alam, who presided over the

meeting, told a news agency by telephone Monday. Alam said the villagers,

mostly elders, favoured imposing the ban.

NEW DELHI: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and scores of people were

detained from outside Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's residence Friday during

their protest against demolition of buildings in a south Delhi locality.

Over 100 people had gathered outside Dikshit's 3-Motilal Nehru Marg resi-

dence at 7 AM while Kejriwal joined them an hour later to protest demolitionof their houses in Shaheenbagh near Okhla and demanded an audience with her.

The protesters continued their demonstration outside the Chief Minister's

residence but police detained them around 12:30 PM as they refused to leave

the place.

Kejriwal and other AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas were

among others who were detained, a senior police official said.

A large number of police personnel were deployed at the spot to avoid any

untoward incident. Police barricaded one side of road from Janpath side which

has the entry gate to Dikshit's residence. Protesters shouted slogans against the

government action.

"The land where these people are living is there land, they have documents

of it. But it's unauthorised because you have to get the map passed by the gov-

ernment," Kejriwal said. "But on October 4, 2010 Sonia Gandhi had announced

that 1600 colonies will be regularised, this colony is also one of them. But

despite that 500 houses were demolished," he said.

Kejriwal, AAP activists detainedoutside CM's house

Guwahati molestationcase: Court convicts11, acquits journalist

GUWAHATI: A chief judicial magis-

trate's court Friday convicted 11 of the

16 people accused of assaulting and

molesting a girl in public outside apub in Guwahati on July 9. They are

yet to be sentenced.

Prime accused Amar Jyoti Kalita is

among those held guilty. But the court

acquitted local television journalist

Gaurav Jyoti Neog, who filmed the

molestation and was arrested on

charges of having planned the mob

attack on the 20-year-old girl.

Three others - Hafizuddin, Diganta

Basumatary and Jitumoni Deka - were

let off because of lack of evidence.

One of the accused in the case is a

minor and his case is being heard in

the juvenile justice court.

Govt eases tourist visa restrictions ahead of peak season


5/32

C M Y K C M Y K C M Y K

CAIRO: More than 30 hours after

violence erupted between support-

ers of Islamist President Mohamed

Mursi and those opposing him, the

Egyptian president Friday

addressed the nation in a live tele-

vised speech. Mursi vowed to push

on with a December 15 referendum

on the controversial new constitu-

tion, saying "afterwards, there

should be no obstacle and everyone

must follow its will". If the referen-

dum says a yes or no, he promised

to cancel the recent controversial

constitutional declaration and to

form a new constituent assembly.

Mursi held figures of the opposi-

tion and remnants of the former

regime responsible for the recent

events, adding, more details

would be revealed in the com-

ing days by the prosecution.

In his speech, Mursi said

more than 80 people had been

arrested. Mursi offered to hold

dialogue with the opposition

and to meet their representatives

on Saturday in his offices.

As soon as the speech ended

Egyptian social media was

abuzz with calls for taking to the

streets tomorrow once again in

objection to the current situation.

Concurrently the main headquarters

of the Freedom and Justice Party in

Mukkatam area was set on fire.

Seven people died and more

than 700 were injured yesterday in

clashes between Mursi's Islamist

supporters and his mainly secular

opponents in Egypt's worst political

crisis since Mursi took office in

June. The anti-Mursi camp is furi-

ous with the president for assuming

sweeping powers two weeks ago

and by what it feels was the rail-

roading through by an Islamist-

dominated panel of the draft consti-

tution.

Mursi addresses nation after 7 kil led, 700 injuredBESSE COOPER: Besse

Cooper, the

woman listed as

the oldest per-

son of the world

in Georgia nurs-

ing home at 116 years of age.

DAVE BRUBECK: Dave

Brubeck, the

renowned Jazz

pianist died due

to heart failure.

He was 91.

JEFF ZUCKER: The former

NBC Universal

chief Jeff

Zucker has been

named presi-dent of CNN

Worldwide.

JOSEPH MURRAY: American

plastic surgeon

Dr Joseph

Murray, the sur-

geon who oper-

ated the first

successful kidney transplant and

later won a Nobel Prize for his

work died. He was 93.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

5INTER NATIONALSTUDENT AGE


DOHA: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-

moon on Wednesday urged Syria's regime

against using its stockpile of chemical

weapons, warning of "huge consequences"

if Bashar Assad resorts to such weapons of

mass destruction.

Ban also suggested that he would not

favor an asylum deal for the Syrian leader

as a way to end the country's civil war and

cautioned that the United Nations doesn't

allow anyone "impunity."

"I again urge in the strongest possible

terms that they must not consider using thiskind of deadly weapons of mass destruc-

tion," Ban told media , speaking on the

sidelines of a climate conference in Qatar.

"I have warned that if in any case this

should be used, then there will be huge

consequences. And they should be account-

able," he said of the Syrian regime.

Damascus has said it would not use such

weapons on his own people even if it had

them. Syria is party to the 1925 Geneva

Protocol banning chemical weapons in war.

In Qatar, the U.N. chief was asked about

the potential for an asylum deal that would

remove Assad from power. The Syrian

president vowed in an interview with

Russia Today last month that he would

never be forced into exile and that he

would "live and die in Syria."

Clashes between rebels and regime

troops have intensified in the suburbs ring-

ing the city in recent weeks. The area has

been a stronghold of predominantly Sunni

Muslim rebels, who are fighting to topple

Assad's regime, dominated by Alawites, an

offshoot Shiite group.The increased pressure of the opposition

fighters on the capital has raised worries

that Assad or his forces will resort to des-

perate measures, perhaps striking neigh-

bors Turkey or Israel, or using chemical

weapons.

Syria's uprising began with peaceful

protests in March 2011 and later escalated

into a civil war that the opposition says has

killed more than 40,000 people. So far,

both sides have refused international calls

for a negotiated solution.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will take

action against LeT founder Hafiz

Saeed - the mastermind of the

Mumbai attacks - if India provides

evidence against him that stands in

court, Foreign Minister Hina

Rabbani Khar said on Saturday.

"Hafiz Saeed was in custody and

the evidence against him could not

hold in a court of law. We have

said even now that we will be

happy to look at any evidence

against him that holds in a court of

law," Khar said.

Asked if Pakistan will act if

India provides evidence against

Saeed, she replied, "Yes, there will

definitely (be action). He was

already in custody. The evidence

against him was not enough and he

was released from custody for this

reason."

Saeed, who now heads the

Jamaat-ud-Dawah, was placed

under house arrest for less than six

months after the UN Security

Council declared the JuD a front

for the LeT in the aftermath of the

Mumbai attacks in November

2008. He was freed on the orders

of the Lahore High Court. The

LeT founder was subsequently

detained for incidents that

occurred in Pakistan but let off

again. Though the US offered a

$10 million bounty for him earlier

this year, Saeed lives openly in

Lahore and has organised a series

of rallies and gathering at which

he has spoken out against the US

and India.

During the interview, Khar said

that the "environment with India

became very bad" after the

Mumbai terror att acks. We passed

through a difficult phase."

However, the Pakistan govern-

ment had "improved that environ-

ment in a massive way," Khar

said. "We tried to build trust. We

made a policy decision, which no

one had made in 40 years, to begin

moving on the track of trade nor-

malisation."

Khar noted that the move to

normalise trade had been a "very

good confidence-building meas-

ure." India and Pakistan had

helped each other in securing non-

permanent seats in the UN

Security Council while Delhi had

given a waiver at the WTO to

trade concessions granted to

Pakistan by the European Union,

she said.

Asked about the possibility of

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

visiting Pakistan, Khar sought to

play down the issue and said

Islamabad should not be defensive

about making a goodwill gesture

such as inviting Singh for a visit.

UN chief warns Syria's Assadon chemical weapons

Pakistan will take action if India provides evidence against Saeed: Khar

China's Xi Jinpingcalls for powerful

missile forceBEIJING: The Chinese military has

been ordered to build a powerful and

technological missile force by Xi

Jinping, the newly elected chairman

of the Central Military Commission

of the Communist Party of China

(CPC). Xi, also newly elected gener-

al secretary of the CPC Central

Committee, made the comments

Wednesday while meeting delegates

at the 8th Party congress of the

People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s

Second Artillery Force, reports said.

The artillery force is the core

strength of China's strategic deter-

rence, the strategic support for the

country's status as a major power,

and an important cornerstone safe-

guarding national security, Xi said.

The party and military leader

stressed the absolute CPC leadership

over the military, and called for pro-

moting the PLA's glory, fine tradi-

tions and working styles, in order to

ensure the army's "absolute loyalty,

purity and reliability". The authority

of the CPC Central Committee and

the Central Military Commission

should be consciously safeguarded,

and the military should "keep pace

with" the leadership in ideology,

politics and actions, Xi said.

Sri Lanka top judge inmarathon hearing

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's first woman Chief Justice Shirani

Bandaranayake, facing impeachment, was Tuesday grilled for

over six hours by a parliamentary panel probing alleged

improper conduct by her.

Bandaranayake appeared for a second time before the par-

liamentary select committee to answer impeachment charges

against her, parliament officials said.

"She will be coming next on Thursday", deputy speaker

Chandima Weerakkody said. However the PSC would exam-

ine her written submissions tomorrow without her presence,

officials added. The 54-year-old Bandaranayake is being

probed on 14 charges of improper conduct in the impeach-

ment motion moved by the government MPs.Bandaranayake was accorded religious blessings as she

stepped out of the court. Few meters away was a group of gov-

ernment supporters who demonstrated against the chief jus-

tice. "Madam aren't you ashamed" and "Let's preserve the

supremacy of parliament" were some of the placards held by

government supporters.

The motion was the culmination of a month-long spat

involving the executive and judicial wings of the state.

The opposition dubs the government move as a political

witch hunt in order to undermine the independence of the judi-

ciary. The judiciary cited political interference violating its

independence as the reason for friction.


6/32

6EDITORIALSTUDENT AGE


BY ARPITA SHARMA

Society is the base for over-

all development of a

nation. And the society's

structure depends entirely upon

the status and condition of its

women. The condition of women

was far better in ancient India. In

early period Aryans treated men

and women alike in all religious

rituals and social functions. But

condition of women has declined

gradually. Gender is the word

used especially for the female

population of the society. This

article is an attempt to define the

agriculture status of women inIndia.

Rural women are responsible

for production of more than 55%

food grains and comprise 67% of

total agricultural labour force.

The role of woman in agriculture

varies from country to country.

Asian woman contribute to about

50% of the food production. In

south-east Asia, women play

major roles in sowing, transplant-

ing, harvesting and processing

staple crops like rice.

Complementary gender roles are

also found in most areas as in

Nepal and India where womenexclusively gather fodder for buf-

faloes, cattle and other livestock.

Almost all women in rural India

can be termed as farmers, in some

sense, working as agricultural

labour, unpaid workers in fami-

lies and farm enterprises or a

combination of the two.

GENDER ISSUES

Women's contribution to agri-

culture, whether it is in subsis-

tence farming or commercial

agriculture, when measured in

number of tasks performed and

time spent, is greater than men.

Their contribution in agriculture

is aptly highlighted by a micro

study conducted in Indian

Himalayas which found that on a

one hectare farm, a pair of bul-

locks work for 1060 hours, a man

for 1212 hours and a woman for

3485 hours. Generally, operationsperformed by men are those that

entail use of machinery and ani-

mals. Contrary to this, women

always rely on manual labour

using only their own energy. Not

only are women overworked,

their work is more arduous than

that undertaken by men. Further,

since women's work is largely

based on human energy it is con-

sidered unskilled and hence less

productive. On this basis, women

are invariably paid less wage

despite their working harder and

for longer hours. This makes the

woman's work invisibleACCESS TO RESOURCES:

Despite their role as a back-

bone of food production and pro-

vision for family consumption in

developing countries, women

remain limited in their access to

critical resources and services

due to cultural, traditional and

sociological factors.

ACCESS TO LAND

Not even 2% of the land is

owned by women, while the pro-

portion of female heads continues

to grow. Land reforms pro-

gramme, together with break-up

of communal land holding have

led to the transfer of exclusive

land rights to males as heads of

the household which ignores both

the existence of the female head-

ed household and the rights of

married women to a joint share.

ACCESS TO AGRICULTUR-AL INPUTS

Women access to technologi-

cal inputs such as improved

seeds, fertilizers and pesticides is

limited as they are frequently not

reached by extension services. In

addition they often lack cash

needed to purchase inputs even

when they are subsidized.

ACCESS TO EDUCATION,

TRAINING AND EXTENSION

SERVICES

Two- third of one billion illit-

erates in the world are women

and girls. Available figures show

that only 5% of extension servic-es have been addressed to rural

women, while no more than 15%

of the world's extension agents

are women.

ACCESS TO RESEARCH

AND APPROPRIATE

TECHNOLOGIES

Women farmers' roles and

needs are often ignored when

devising technology that may

cause labour displacement or

decrease workload.

DEVELOPMENTAL

INITIATIVES:

Efforts have been made by

department of agriculture to

incorporate gender issues into

development agenda and ensure

full and equitable participation of

women in all agricultural devel-

opment programmes. In an effort

to 'engender agricultural process'

the DOAC implemented specialprogrammes/ schemes for women

in agriculture sector, where a

composite package of training,

extension, input, managerial and

entrepreneurial support was pro-

vided to selected farm women

beneficiaries. Different approach-

es were followed in all these proj-

ects to provide a complete sup-

port package to women farmers.

The technical back-stopping was

provided through a blend of

'skilled-based' capacity building

exercises coupled with extension

support through "On field

Demonstration", "Mahila-Goshties" and "Study Tours".

WOMEN AND GREEN

REVOLUTION:

The green revolution of 1960

and 1970s with its package of

improved seeds, farm tec hnology,

better irrigation and chemical fer-

tilizers was highly successful in

meeting its primary objective of

increasing crop yields and aggre-

gate food supply. Yet despite its

success in increasing aggregate

food supply, the green revolution,

did not necessarily translate its

benefits to the lower strata of

rural poor including women. So a

gender friendly second green rev-

olution is to be ushered in.

SOME ADMINISTRATIVE

REFORMS :

The government in partnership

with NGO's has to further accel-

erate the process of bringingabout these reforms.

1. Full and equal rights should be

given to women to own land

and other properties.

2. Ensuring that, women's unpaid

work and contribution to on-

farm and off-farm production

should be recorded in national

account.

3. Making appropriate technolo-

gies available to rural women

which focus on utilizing local-

ly available materials.

4. Revising legislation which

guarantees equal pay for work

of equal value, improvingworking conditions and

enforcing legal standards.

5. Promoting and increase in

number of female extension

functionaries and agricultural

researchers

Feminism in Agriculture: A Study Of Gender Bias In Indian Agriculture

The Congress may croon

that the UPA Government

which it leads has won a

vote in the Lok Sabha in f avour of

its decision to introduce foreign

direct investment in multi-brand

retail, but the fact is that this sup-

posed victory is both fake and

manipulated. It does not reflect the

collective will of the Lower

House, either in spirit or in words.

The party has been brandishing

numbers to justify its victory, say-

ing that 253 members voted to dis-

miss the Opposition-sponsored

resolution against FDI while only

218 voted for it. But there are

other figures that give a more real-

istic picture of how the Lok Sabha

by a large majority is opposed to

FDI in multi-brand retail. The

Government has been claimingthat it has a majority in the House.

While the simple mark stands at

272, the ruling combine could

muster just 253 votes. In other

words, the Government is in a

minority and can survive crucial

tests only through abstentions and

walkouts by helpful parties, some-

thing that we saw during the

Wednesday vote when both the

Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan

Samaj Party left the House before

voting. Representatives of as

many as 14 parties out of the 18

whose representatives participated

in the debate on the i ssue, categor-

ically and unambiguously pillo-

ried the Government's move to

bring in the FDI. Among those

parties were the SP and the BSP,

with the former being particularly

vocal in its opposition to the

Government's decision. Had thetwo Uttar Pradesh-based parties

voted in line with what they said

in the Lok Sabha - together they

account for 43 votes - the motion

against FDI would have succeed-

ed. Given this situation, jubilant

Congress leaders will do well to

stop misleading the country by

repeating ad nauseam their lie that

the House has stamped its

approval on FDI in multi-brand

retail. The Government's 'victory'

is at best, therefore, only technical

in nature and does not reflect the

mood of the majority of members

of the Lower House, and it cer-

tainly has not been endorsed by

the people of the country at large.

Besides the Government's pre-

carious numbers, what more has

been exposed is the Janus-faced

SP. It can be argued that the party's

decision to walk out during thevote and thereby bail o ut the UPA

regime was not unexpected; the

party has earlier too come to the

UPA's rescue while claiming to

oppose it. But the Wednesday

episode stands out because the SP

demonstrated a shocking lack of

moral courage to walk the talk. It

would have been understandable if

the party had been ambiguous on

its stand over FDI and as a result

not participated in the voting. But

here we had a situation where the

SP openly opposed the

Government's decision and yet did

not vote on the floor of t he House.

It's not surprising that rumours are

floating around that the party

played safe because it is worried

about the re-opening of inquiries

against its senior leaders by the

Central Bureau of Investigation,

controlled by the Congress-ledUPA.

But the UPA's chicanery may

not work in the Rajya Sabha

where orchestrated walkouts by

friendly parties will not suffice to

bail it out. Given the situation,

friends of the Congress have been

stalling work of the Upper House

over the last few days by using

one pretext or the other, apparent-

ly with a view to sabotage the

forthcoming discussion and vote

on FDI.

The technique has been adopt-

ed on two occasions in the recent

past - on the Lokpal Bill and on

the issue of rising prices - when

allies and outside supporters of the

Government disrupted the pro-

ceedings. Is the UPA plotting a

repeat? Although the BSP has

decided to back the regime on FDI

in the Upper House, the possibili-ty remains.

UPA secures FDI vote in Lok Sabha, and how!


7/32

7EDITORIALSTUDENT AGE


Section 66A of the IT Act is

an unconstitutional weapon

that is being used for politi-

cal retaliation. Section 66A of the

IT Act is a relevant section which

penalizes 'sending false and offen-

sive messages through communica-

tion services'. The section reads as

under -

Any person who sends, by

means of a computer resource or a

communication device,-

a) any information that is grossly

offensive or has menacing char-

acter; or

b) any information which he knowsto be false, but for the purpose

of causing annoyance, incon-

venience, danger, obstruction,

insult, injury, criminal intimida-

tion, enmity, hatred or ill will,

persistently by making use of

such computer resource or a

communication device,

c) any electronic mail or electronic

mail message for the purpose of

causing annoyance or inconven-

ience or to deceive or to mislead

the addressee or recipient about

the origin of such messages.

Punishment - Imprisonment for

a term which may extend to threeyears and with fine.

Explanation- For the purpose of

this section, terms "electronic mail"

and "electronic mail message"

means a message or information

created or transmitted or received

on a computer, computer system,

computer resource or communica-

tion device including attachments

in text, images, audio, video and

any other electronic record, which

may be transmitted with the mes-

sage.

The section covers tow different

acts -

1. Sending offensive or menacing

messages sent by using elec-

tronic communication means.

2. Sending false messages to

cheat, mislead or deceive people

or to cause annoyance to them.

If there ever was a more com-

pelling case of the law being an ass,

it must be the way provisions of

Section 66A of the Information

Technology (IT) Act (notified on

27 October 2009) have been mis-

used recently. Be it the case of

Shaheen Dhada and her friend in

Palghar, Maharashtra, who were

arrested for posting and "liking"

(endorsing) an innocuous opinion

about the bandh following Bal

Thackeray's death on the social

media website Facebook, or the

arrest of India Against Corruption

volunteer Ravi Srinivasan in

Pondicherry for using Twitter to

make a remark about Union

Finance Minister P Chidambaram's

son Karthi Chidambaram, the use

of Section 66A in these instances

shows up the law in a very poor

light.

It is not just that the Act has

been misused, but the very provi-

sions in the law seem to be uncon-

stitutional. Section 66A penalises

anyone for "sending false and

offensive messages through com-

munication services" and defines

such messages as "grossly offen-

sive or of menacing character". The

fact that "grossly offensive" or

"menacing" could be subject to any

interpretation, not necessarily rea-

sonable, clearly violates the rea-

sonable restrictions imposed on

freedom of expression under

Article 19(2) of the Constitution.

Article 19(2) of the Constitution of

India declares that all citizens have

the right to freedom of speech and

expression. Section 66A of the

Information Technology Act vio-

lates that right. This Section must

be dumped. The government's

response after huge criticism over

misuse of the Section peaked fol-

lowing the arrest of two girls by the

Maharashtra police over a

Facebook post has been to merely

issue new guidelines.

In fact, the scope of the Act's

provisions is so broadly defined

that they run afoul of the funda-

mental right to freedom of speech

and expression, repudiating Union

Minister for Communications and

Information Technology Kapil

Sibal's assertions to the contrary.

That the penalty - a cognisable and

bailable offence - is up to three

years of imprisonment and a fine,

much higher than for comparable

offences that are not committed

using the computer medium makes

it even more draconian.

Part (b) of Section 66A consid-

ers the sending of "any information

which [is known] to be false, but

for the purpose of causing annoy-

ance, inconvenience, danger,

obstruction, insult, injury, criminal

intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill

will, persistently by making use of

such computer resource or a com-

munication device" as a cognisable

offence. The trouble is that there is

no distinction being made between

messages that cause annoyance,

inconvenience, ill will or insult

which are surely not neces-sarily

criminal in nature with those that

cause injury, danger, criminal

intimidation or enmity (which are

in any case covered under other

clauses of the Indian Penal Code

(IPC)).

Part (c) of Section 66A, ostensi-

bly written in to curb internet spam,

includes "any electronic mail or

electronic mail message for the

purpose of causing annoyance or

inconvenience or to deceive or to

mislead the addressee or recipient

about the origin of such messages"

as punishable under the section.

Again, instead of narrowly defin-

ing spam as emails sent in bulk that

are unsolicited and deceptive,

annoying, misleading and incon-

venient, the provision includes any

email communication b-etween

two or more individuals that could

"annoy" or "mislead" or cause

"inconvenience". This is again an

unconstitutional provision because

it does not criminalise spam mes-

sages alone but unreasonably

includes any electronic communi-

cation or message within its broad-

ly defined conditions.

What is more disturbing is that

Section 66A has been invoked to

book cases against people who

have posted messages or views

related to political issues, along

with other clauses of the IPC. As

the recent case of arrest and deten-

tions of two trade union members

of the All India Cabin Crew

Association or the arrest of

Jadavpur University professor

Ambikesh Mahapatra for sending asarcastic cartoon featuring West

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee via email, or Shaheen

Dhada's arrest point out, the provi-

sions of the Act have been used for

political vendetta.

In November, public interest lit-

igation was filed in the Madurai

bench of the Madras High Court to

declare Section 66A as unconstitu-

tional and ultra vires. One hopes

that a legal evaluation of the provi-

sions results in the scrapping of the

section in the IT Act. (As we go to

press the Supreme Court, -acting

on public interest litigation, hasissued notice to four states, includ-

ing Maharashtra, on their use of

Section 66A to make arrests.)

Beyond Section 66A in the IT

Act, there are similar problems

with the recently notified

Information Technology

(Intermediary Guidelines) Rules

2011 about which EPW had earlier

commented in these pages

("Regulating Internet Content", 11

December 2011). There has defi-

nitely been a gross misunderstand-

ing of the internet medium, view-

ing it merely as a device for com-

munication rather than its present

status as a dynamic public forum

for discussions, debate and infor-

mation, among other purposes. The

laws envisaged for regulating the

internet have not kept pace with the

changes in the medium and that is a

cause for worry as these laws have

been proven to be either unconsti-

tutional or obsolete. When one also

takes into consideration the fact

that censorship and restriction of

freedom of expression on the inter-

net through website takedowns and

blocking is on the rise, there defi-

nitely is a need for raising the stan-

dards of internet governance and

lawmaking in the country.

Section 66A of the IT Act: The unconstitutional weaponIt is not just that the Act has been misused, butthe very provisions in the law seem to be

unconstitutional. Section 66A penalises anyonefor "sending false and offensive messages

through communication services" and definessuch messages as "grossly offensive or of

menacing character". The fact that "grosslyoffensive" or "menacing" could be subject toany interpretation, not necessarily reasonable,

clearly violates the reasonable restrictionsimposed on freedom of expression under Article19(2) of the Constitution. Article 19(2) of theConstitution of India declares that all citizens

have the right to freedom of speech andexpression. Section 66A of the Information

Technology Act violates that right. This Sectionmust be dumped. The government's responseafter huge criticism over misuse of the Sectionpeaked following the arrest of two girls by theMaharashtra police over a Facebook post has

been to merely issue new guidelines.


8/32

8STATESTUDENT AGE


JAMMU: A meeting of Congress

party was held at Senior Congress

Leader ,G M Saroori's residence

with grass root level representatives

which include Ex Chairman LC

Arvind Singh Micky, MLA Inderwal

G M Saroori, MLA Ramban Ashok

Kumar, MLA Chenani Krishan

Chand, MLC Mohammad Amin

Butt, MLC Naresh Kumar, MLC

Subash Gupta, Secretary Auqaf

Islamia Kishtwar Mushtaq Ahmed

Hap, Sarpanches including Piyaray

Lal Sharma, Mohammad Shafi

Saroori, Surjeet Singh Charak &

other.Saroori said it is the effort which

the ruling coalition had been vigor-

ously campaigning among the

panches and sarpanches. He said,

like in this Legislative Council elec-

tion the party workers had workedhard due to their effort Congress-

National Conference bagged all the

four seats of Legislative Council

under Panchayat quota.

He said leaders and workers had

to work hard and remains closelyassociated with each other and with

the common people in every area

and at all levels. Workers had to

show the same spirit and determina-

tion in the BDC election and Urban

Local bodies' election which will be

conducted soon.

He lauded Panchayat members

for reposing faith in the candidates

of the ruling coalition in the state.

"We hail and thank panchs and

sarpanchs for reposing faith in coali-

tion candidates by electing them

with convincing margins. The ruling

coalition victory in Legislative

Council polls under Panchayat quota

is a result of people friendly policies

of the state government in the last

three years. Reiterating that the

coalition government was commit-ted to establish a vibrant three-tier

Panchayati Raj system in the state,

Saroori assured maximum empow-

erment of panchayat members.

Congress leaders also congratulate

MLA Inderwal G M Saroori from

his Inderwal constituency Coalition

candidates including Dr Shahnaz

Ganaie (NC) and Sham Lal

Bhagat(Congress) got highest per-

centage votes from Jammu region.

Ali Mohammad Dar (National

Conference) was declared elected

from K-1 constituency. Ghulam

Nabi Monga (Congress) was

declared elected from K-2 con-

stituency. Sham Lal Bhagat

(Congress) was declared elected

from J-1 constituency. Dr Shahnaz

Ganai (National Conference) wasdeclared elected from J-2 con-

stituency. As many as 33,450 pan-

chayat members decided the fate of

37 candidates in fray.

Congress party meeting held at Saroori's residence

Congress leaders during party meeting at Saroori residence.

SRINAGAR: Police arrested Muhammad Yasin

Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir

Liberation Front (JKLF) following post-prayer

protests in uptown Maisuma locality of summer

capital Srinagar on Friday.

Malik was leading dozens of supporters after

the Friday prayers during a JKLF march to city

centre Lal Chowk from the adjacent Maisuma

locality. Police intercepted the march and arrest-ed Malik and five other JKLF leaders. This result-

ed in protests as people in the area resorted to

heavy stone pelting at police and Central Reserve

Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

Security forces used batons and tear gas shells

to disperse the protesters who kept regrouping to

throw stones at the forces. Malik and the five

leaders were taken to Kothibagh police station.

Friday's protest was against the sentencing of

three Kashmiris by courts in the state for their

involvement in separatist violence during the last23 years.

Malik told a news agency: "After 20 years,

Kashmiris are being sentenced to life imprison-

ment. Why were we released from jails in the first

place? If there is no embargo on peaceful protests

I must ask the Indian civil society why are old

cases being opened up against Kashmiris now?"

"Ours is a peaceful struggle and pushing peo-

ple to the wall would be dangerous. I appeal to the

intelligentsia and the civil society in India to pon-

der over the serious situation that is emergingbecause of the sentencing of our people to life

imprisonment," Malik added.

Yasin Malik arrested during JKLF march in Srinagar Pilgrims conven-ience tops Govt's

agenda: BhallaJAMMU: Minister for Revenue,

Relief and Rehabilitation, Raman

Bhalla, has said that the government

was making concerted efforts to tap

the huge tourist potential, espe-

cially the pilgrimage tourism, in thestate by creating necessary infra-

structure. "These endeavors of the

government are not only adding to

the state's economy but tremendous-

ly helping employment generation

for the youth", he added. This was

stated by the Minister while

addressing a large gathering of

devotees at Shri Bharav Nath ji tem-

ple during a function held at

Dounthly bazaar in Panjthirthi, here

today. Paying obeisance at the tem-

ple, the Minister prayed for peace,

progress and prosperity in the State.

The Minister said Government is

working hard to develop all the

tourists and historical places with all

basic facilities so that the visitors

could enjoy the spots without any

inconvenience. Bhalla said develop-

ment of famous Shri Bawe Wali

Mata, Shri Peer Kho temple, Shri

Ranbireshwar, Shri Raghunath Ji,

Shri Balram, Shri Laxmi, Shri

Bharav Nath and Shri Gajadhar

shrines and several other places are

the major projects in this direction.

He hoped that these would become

a source of attraction for the devo-

tees and help in diverting the Shri

Mata Vaishno Devi ji, Shri Budha

Amarnath Ji and Shri Amar Nath

pilgrims to other parts of State hav-ing tremendous tourism potential.

NEW DELHI: A huge collection of hand spin,

hand woven shawls and finest quality of silk &

needle, hand embroidered collection of

Pashmina Royal Shawls exhibition was organ-

ized by Jammu and Kashmir Handloom

Development Corporation. The 7 days

Exhibition (7th to 13th December 2012) was

inaugurated by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon'ble

Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy

Resources, Government of India today here.

On the occasion he appreciated the unique

Pashmian collection of Royal Pashmina items

and congratulated the Department for organis-

ing the exhibition. The Jammu and Kashmir

State Handloom Development Corporation has

revived the traditional skill of handspun hand

woven Pashmina stalls and has developed a

range of shawls in contemporary colours and

designs as well which are displayed in the exhi-

bition and visitors were pleased to see the tra-

ditional specimen craft, which has been repro-

duced and is related to Mughal, Afgan, Sikh

and Dogra rule who had patronized the Royal

craft. However Care has been taken that the

reproduction of specimens maching all quality

parameters are exact duplication and one piece

per specimen has been reproduced with no like-

lihood of these specimens being copied or pro-

duced by anyone else. The recreating of these

masterpieces of olden times are collection of

600 specimen of Pashmina shawls, from

International Museums private collections,

from rare books, where from sample has been

documented and taken up for recreation.

History bears witness that Pashmina shawls

were known world over and were immensely

popular in Europe. Huge quantities were

exported to Europe where these are in

Museums as pieces of art and in private collec-

tion as pieces of inheritance.

There was huge rush of visitors on the occa-

sion. Among other staff members Managing

Director, Deputy General Manager J&K

Handloom Development Corporation were also

present on the occasion who have efficiently

managed the event and said that people of the

Delhi would have an opportunity to have best

and unique collection of Royal Pashmina

shawls at their door steps which are created by

the efficient hands of Kashmiri artists.

Pakistan violatesceasefire

POONCH :In the third breach of ceasefire

this month along the border, Pakistan troops

targeted forward Indian posts along Line of

Control and International Border in Poonch

and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Pakistan Rangers fired at Pansar forward

border out post (BoP) along International

Border (IB) in Samba sector around 1500

hours today," a senior BSF officer said.

Pakistan Rangers resorted to small arms firing

and BSF troops fired back effectively, he said.

There was no loss of life or injury to anyone,

he said. Pakistan Rangers also violated the

ceasefire along the International Border in

Arnia sector of the state yesterday. However,

BSF troops did not retaliate. In Poonch sector

of the state, Pakistan troops opened fire on

Indian posts in Krishnagati sector of the dis-

trict last evening, Army said.

"They had fired 22 rounds and Indian

troops replied back," he said. This is the third

ceasefire violation in December this year. A

couple were injured on October 1 when the

Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts and

Chachwal forward village along International

Border in Samba sector.

Roya l Pashm ina Ex h ib i t ioninaugu ra t ed a t Delh i


9/32

9STATESTUDENT AGE


Prof. Mushtaq Peerappointed Consultant

JAMMU: The cabinet which met

here on Thursday with Chief

Minister, Omar Abdullah in chair

approved the appointment of Prof.

Mushtaq Ahmad Peer as consultant

regarding IT applications and com-

puterization to fast tract appoint-

ments. He would be conducting

tests for recruitment to non-

gazetted and class IV posts to speed

up the recruitment process.

Govt. dispenses withcheque system in certain

Departments

JAMMU: The cabinet which met

here on Thursday with Chief

Minister, Omar Abdullah in chairdecided dispensing with cheque

system of payments in Departments

like Public Works, PHE, Irrigation

& Flood Control, Power

Development Department, Forest

and switching over to civil account-

ing system. The new accounting

pattern would come in force from

April 01, 2013.

CPI(M) demands setting upof a Disability

Commisssion in J&K

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir

unit of CPI(M) today demanded

setting up of a DisabilityCommission in the state and imple-

mentation of J-K Persons with

Disabilities Act 1998, Mental

Health Act 1987 and National Trust

Act-1999 to empower the disabled

population in the state."The rising

problems of the disabled can't be

addressed through lip service, pseu-

do promises or ritual celebration of

World Disability Day. Serious poli-

cy intervention is the need of the

hour to facilitate their independent

living and self determining exis-

tence," CPI(M) secretary

Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said

in a statement here.

Tarigami said that the adminis-

trative structure would be instru-

mental in looking at their problems

holistically and formulating policy

inputs for their welfare.

He called for a comprehensive

reservation policy for the disabled

in private educational institutions,

training and professional colleges

and other employment concerns to

empower the disabled population in

the state.

Stressing on opening of special

vocational rehabilitation centres in

the state, the CPI(M) leader said

training in different crafts and

trades would hone their skills andenhance their employability.

LA panel seeks report onbrunt of brick kilns on

human lives, agri declineJAMMU: A meeting of the Sub

Committee (Brick Kilns Related)

of the Committee on Environment

of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative

Assembly was held on Friday

under the Chairmanship of MLA,

Ch. Zulfikar Ali.

The meeting deliberated upon

various issues including impact of

brick kilns on human lives and

decline in agriculture besides dis-

cussing rules and regulations relat-

ed to Pollution Control Board.

The Legislators, Dr. Shafi

Ahmad Wani, Charanjit Singh,

Prof. Gharu Ram and Ch. Sham

Lal gave valuable suggestions formaking Jammu and Kashmir a pol-

lution free State.

The Committee directed the

DDCs of Samba and Kathua to col-

lect detailed information on the

brunt of brick kilns on human lives

and agriculture in these districts for

the last three years and submit the

same to the Assembly Secretariat

for scrutiny. The Committee asked

the PCB authorities to gear up their

field functionaries to keep a strict

check over implementation of their

prescribed norms. The meeting

was attended by Commissioner

Secretary, Forest Sheikh EijazIqbal, Secretary CA&PD,

Mohammad Abass Dar, District

Development Commissioner

(DDC), Kathua, Ms Zahida Khan,

District Development

Commissioner, Samba, Mubarak

Singh, Chief Wildlife Warden, A.

K. Singh, Director CA&PD,

Jammu, Parvez Ahmad Malik,

Director Environment, Regional

Director Environment and senior

officers of Assembly Secretariat.

Govt approves re fixing oftransport fares

JAMMU: The cabinet has

approved refixing of maximum

chargeable fares in case of stage

and contract carriers. Decision to

this effect was taken today with

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah in

chair. As per the cabinet decision,

14.40% hike has been approved in

existing fares of big buses(stage

carriage), 13.49% hike in mini

buses(stage carriage), 12.13% hike

in taxi, maxi cabs(contract carriers)

and 8.81% hike in petrol driven

auto rickshaws(contract carriage).

The cabinet has directed the

State Transport Authority to

accordingly issue detailed notifica-

tion specifying revised route-wisefares.

NEW DELHI: Jammu and

Kashmir Government is probing

whether the recent killings of pan-

chayat members were carried out

by militants or resulted from per-

sonal enmity and criminal nexus.

In a written reply, Minister of

State for Home Affairs R P N Singh

said, "As per information received

from the State Government, two

sarpanchs (Kulgam and Baramulla)

and one panch (Baramulla) have

been killed by unknown gunmen in

incidents of violence against the

elected representatives of

Panchayats."

He said investigation is on to

unravel the truth as to whether the

killings of panchayat members

were related to militancy or there

was some criminal nexus or person-

al enmity behind the incidents.

"State government has taken

measures to ensure safety of elected

representatives of panchayats

which includes night patrolling by

security forces and domination of

area, perceived to be vulnerable to

such attacks. All specific reports

about threats to Sarpanchs/Panchs

are being attended by State police,"

Singh said.

Panchayat elections were held in

the state earlier this year after more

than three decades and as many as

35,000 Panches and Sarpanches

were elected.

In August this year, posters

claiming to be that of a terror group

were pasted in some parts of the

Valley asking the panches to quit.

However, the police was not sure

whether the posters were a handi-

work of some terror group or mis-

creants.

Kill ing of Panchs in J&K being probed: MHA

Coalition's clean sweepin LC polls, opposition

draws blankNC, Cong bag two seats eachJAMMU: The ruling National Conference-Congress

coalition has swept the Legislative Council polls for

which counting took place early this morning. Of the

four LC seats which went for polls on December 03,

National Conference and Congress bagged two seats

each.

For the K-1 constituency of Kashmir province,

National Conference candidate Mr. Ali Muhammad

Dar defeated his nearest rival Peer MuhammadHussain of Peoples Democratic Party by a margin of

2675 votes. Of the 16155 votes polled for the con-

stituency, Mr. Dar secured 8586 votes whileas Mr.

Hussain got 5911 votes.

For the K-2 seat, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Monga of

Congress defeated his nearest rival Mr. Yasir Reshi of

PDP by a margin of 2565 votes. Mr. Monga secured

8659 votes whileas Mr. Reshi got 6094 votes.

For J-1 constituency Congress candidate Mr.

Shyam Lal defeated his nearest rival Mr. Gurmeet

Singh of PDP by a margin of 7034 votes. Of the

14874 votes polled, Mr. Shyam Lal secured 9123

votes whileas Mr. Gurmeet secured 2089 votes.

For the J-2 seat, Dr. Shahnaz Ganai of National

Conference defeated her nearest rival Mr. Ved

Prakash Gupta of PDP by a margin of 6917 votes. Of

the 14812 votes polled for the constituency, Dr.

Shahnaz secured 9070 votes whileas Mr. Gupta

secured 2153 votes.

SC asks J&K govt to broad-en passage leading to

Amarnath cave

NEW DELHI: The Suprem

Documents

48 Weekly Edition