Saturday 16 June 2012

tiger jeet singh wrestler


Real name: Jagit Singh Hans
Popular wrestler in Toronto in the late 1960s and 1970s. Wrestled as a crazed heel in most other areas. Used the cobra (sleeper) as his finisher.
Made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1965, wrestling as a heel. His first main event in Toronto was in a tag match late that year, teaming with Professor Hiro to take on the team of Johnny Powers and Sweet Daddy Siki. Began teaming with Fred Atkins in 1966. Became the top team in Toronto by defeating Whipper Billy Watson and Bulldog Brower for the international tag title in July 1966. Singh and Atkins wrestled at or near the top of the card through 1966 and 1967.


Made his solo debut in a Maple Leaf Gardens main event in April 1967, defeating the Mighty Igor. Defeated Johnny Valentine for the Toronto version of the U.S. title the following month. Wrestled Gene Kiniski for the NWA title in the summer of 1967 and, in the fall, twice challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title. With Wild Bull Curry, again defeated Watson and Brower to win the international tag title in 1968. Turned babyface late in 1968. In February 1971, wrestled The Sheik in the main event of the first wrestling show in Maple Leaf Gardens history to attract a sell-out crowd of over 18,000 (there had been sell-outs before, but more seats had since been crammed into the Gardens to allow a capacity crowd of 18,000). Wrestled The Sheik 12 times at the Gardens from 1971-1974. I think it's fair to say that Singh learned a lot from Sheik, since his wildman persona in Japan, Australia, and most areas of the world outside of Toronto was very similar to Sheik.



Won the IWA tag title in Australia in 1971 with Mr. Fuji, defeating Mark Lewin & King Curtis Iaukea. Began wrestling in Japan in 1973, arriving with a bang by attacking Antonio Inoki outside a Tokyo department store in October. Inoki got even by "breaking Singh's arm" in a 1974 match. Defeated Inoki to win the NWF world title in 1975. Lost the belt to Inoki three months later. Defeated Seiji Sakaguchi in 1976 to win the NWF Asian title and remained champion until jumping to All Japan in mid-1981. Wrestled in the main event of the joint New Japan-All Japan card in Tokyo in 1978, teaming with Abdullah the Butcher to take on the Japanese dream team of Inoki & Giant Baba. 


Defeated El Canek to win the UWA heavyweight title in Mexico in 1980. Lost the title to Inoki a couple months later, regained it, and then dropped it back to Canek in 1981.
Back in Toronto, had one final match for Frank Tunney against Sheik in 1977 when he subbed for no-show Dusty Rhodes. Defeated Ric Flair in Toronto in 1979 and, in the same year, challenged Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA title at the Gardens. Made his final Gardens appearance for Tunney in 1983.
Continued to wrestle in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, and would make occasional appearances on indie shows in the Toronto area. In 1990, teamed with Inoki to defeat Big Van Vader & Animal Hamaguchi in the main event of Inoki's 30th anniversary show in Yokohama. Feuded with Atsushi Onita in FMW in 1992. Wrestled in the main event of the first Heisei Ishingun card in Tokyo in 1994, losing to Shiro Koshinaka with Inoki as referee.
His palatial 14,000 sq. ft. home can be spotted from Highway 401 on the south side near Milton. A 1997 newspaper article put his net worth at $9.6 million, based on court documents from a criminal fraud charge against Singh and others (charges against Singh were dropped in 1994, but in 1997 a judge said he had not been forthright in his testimony).


 His son Mick (Gurdip) has wrestled as Tiger Ali Singh in the WWF and as Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. in Japan. 


 "Tiger Jeet Singh, sensational 24-year-old lad from Punjab, India, is the new United States Champion by virtue of a victory over Johnny Valentine following a hectic match in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. Managed and trained by that "Hard Rock from Down Under" Fred Atkins, Singh has swept aside all opposition. Atkins is high in his praise of his newest protege and feels he is entitled to a championship match with either Bruno Sammartino or Gene Kiniski. Singh is an expert in judo and karate and uses those tactics to wear down his foes, then finishes them off with his feared Cobra hold, one of the most dangerous in the business." (From WRESTLING REVIEW, August 1968)


Prominent Titles:

  • U.S. champion (Toronto), 1968-72
  • IWA World tag champion (Australia), with Mr. Fuji, 1971
  • International champion (Montreal), 1974
  • Canadian tag champion (Vancouver), with Dennis Stamp, 1975
  • NWF World champion (New Japan), 1975
  • NWF Asian champion (New Japan), 1976
  • NWF North American tag champion (New Japan), with Umanosuke Ueda, 1977
  • NWF North American champion (New Japan), 1979
  • 2-time UWA World heavyweight champion (Mexico), 1980-81
  • NWA International tag champion (All Japan), with Umanosuke Ueda, 1983
  • WWA World Martial Arts champion (Japan), 1992








Wednesday 6 June 2012

She Has a Pimp’s Name Etched on Her

Taz, a 16-year-old girl here in New York City, told me that her pimp had branded three other girls with tattoos bearing his name. When she refused the tattoo, she said, he held her down and carved his name on her back with a safety pin.
More about Taz in a moment. That kind of branding isn’t universal, but it’s very common. An alleged pimp indicted last month in Manhattan is accused of tattooing his street name on a prostitute’s neck, along with a bar code. He allegedly tattooed another prostitute with a symbol of his name on her pubic area, along with a dollar sign. In each case, the message was clear: They were his property, and they were for sale.
Such branding is a reminder that women being sold on the streets in America are — not always, but often — victims rather than criminals. That consciousness is spreading, and we are finally seeing considerable progress in tackling domestic sex trafficking.
So far, in 2012, states have passed more than 40 laws relating to human trafficking, according to Megan Fowler of Polaris Project, an anti-trafficking organization.
Prosecutors and police are increasingly targeting pimps and johns, and not just the women and girls who are their victims. In Manhattan, the district attorney’s office recently started a sex trafficking program and just secured its most comprehensive indictments for sex trafficking. Likewise, a federal prosecutor in Virginia brought sex trafficking charges last month against a man accused of selling a 14-year-old girl in several states.
Now President Obama is said to be planning an initiative on human trafficking. I’m hoping that he will direct the attorney general to make sex trafficking a higher federal priority and call on states to pass “safe harbor” laws that treat prostituted teenage girls as victims rather than criminals.
The other important shift is growing pressure on Backpage.com, a classified advertising Web site that dominates the sex trafficking industry. Calls for Village Voice Media, which owns Backpage, to end its links to sex trafficking have come from attorneys general from 48 states, dozens of mayors from around the country, and some 240,000 Americans who have signed a petition on Change.org.
Resolutions are pending in the Senate and House calling on Village Voice Media to get out of this trade. At least 34 advertisers have dropped Village Voice Media publications, including the flagship, Village Voice in New York City.
In its defense, Village Voice Media notes that it screens ads and cooperates with the police. That’s true, but Taz — the 16-year-old with her former pimp’s name carved into her back — told me that three-quarters of her “dates” had come from Backpage.
I met Taz at Gateways, a treatment center outside New York City. She told me that she ran away from home in New York City at the age of 14 and eventually ended up in the hands of a violent 20-year-old pimp who peddled her on Backpage.
Skeptics mostly believe that prostitutes sell sex voluntarily, while anti-trafficking advocates sometimes suggest that they are almost all forced into the trade. The truth is more complicated.
Taz wasn’t locked up, and, at times, she felt a romantic bond with her pimp. She distrusted the police — with reason, for when officers found her in December, they arrested her and locked her up for four months in juvenile detention.
Yet Taz wasn’t exactly selling sex by choice, either. She said her pimp issued his four girls a daily quota of money to earn; if they didn’t, he would beat them. They could never leave, either, Taz said, and she explained what happened when her pimp caught her trying to run away:
“I got drowned,” she recalled. “He choked me, put me in the tub, and when I woke up, I was drowning. He said he’d kill me if I left.”
Another time, Taz says, she tried to call 911. “He hit me over the head with a glass bottle,” she recalls. Then he ordered another of his girls to sweep up the broken glass.
I bet the police looked at Taz and saw an angry, defiant prostitute who hated them and didn’t want to be rescued. There was an element of truth to that. But there’s another side as well, now visible, and it underscores the importance of helping these girls rather than giving up on them. Taz is emerging as a smart, ambitious girl with dazzling potential. She loves reading and writing, and when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up, she smiled a bit self-consciously.
“I’d like to be a pediatrician,” she said. 



Wednesday 23 May 2012

The Khalsa Flag Fluttered At the Citadel of the Mughal Empire

devinder singh saggu chandigarh

May 1710: The Khalsa Flag Fluttered At the Citadel of the Mughal Empire

 


Seeing his end drawing near, Guru Gobind Singh initiated Banda Bahadur into the fold of the Khalsa brotherhood and invested in him the political and military authority to vigorously launch a crusade against the forces of evil. The Guru, after having blessed him with temporal authority, adorned him with a sword, a bow, five arrows with golden tips from his quiver, and an insignia of the Khalsa, the Nishan Sahib.
After Banda Bahadur took Amrit, Guru Gobind Singh dispatched him, along with 25 Sikhs, to Punjab to uproot tyranny, oppression and injustice. Question arises? With no money, no arms, no shelter and no base to accomplish the mission set forth, how could a handful of Sikhs shatter the citadel of the mighty Mughal empire?
It speaks volumes of Banda Bahadur’s towering personality, his military acumen, organizational skill, coordinated efforts and, above all, his illustrious leadership that he surged like a hurricane to take on the Mughal Empire. Undaunted, unfazed by the heavy odds against him, he led his men in the most magnificent fashion crushing the forces of evil one after the other.
War brings out the stuff that makes legends and this is what Banda was, a legend. The blood-splattered battlefield of Chappar Jherdi spewed awe-inspiring tales of heroism, sacrifice and self-confidence of the Khalsa to win the battle against insurmountable odds.

THE ASSAULT ON SARHIND
After the fall of Mughal towns of Samana, Sadhuara and Kapuri, the next target was Sarhind. The flattening out of these towns gave the Mughal Empire a shiver down its spine. Shock waves of awe were felt all around. This news was received by the Sikhs residing far and near in the hinter land of Punjab.
Banda needed time to consolidate his gains, and muster required war materials and men to take on Wazir Khan. He retired to a secluded place called Mukhlispur. It had a fort on the top of a hill. History speaks that Mukhlis Khan built the fort, on the orders of Emperor Shah Jahan. The fort was a strong structure. It was located between Sadhuara and Haripur, about 10km from Sadhuara. At the time of occupation by Banda Bahadur, the fort was in a dilapidated condition. Later, it was restored and made the first capital of the Sikhs, and renamed Lohgarh. Here it was that Banda Bahadur struck coins in the name of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. Preparation of war commenced.
Simultaneously, the Hukumnamas of Guru Gobind Singh directing Sikhs to gather under the overall command of Banda Bahadur also were received. Propelled by the zeal, they set course to join the Khalsa commonwealth, leaving their hearths and homes. Contingents of Sikhs marched for the final assault towards Sarhind. They carried whatever war material they could lay their hands on. Banda Bahadur also descended from the hills of Logarh, Mukhlispur, near Kala Amb. The entire operation was planned in two phases.
 
The Battle of Ropar: 
When Wazir Khan found out about the movement of Sikhs, he was terribly upset. Sikhs of Majha and Doaba had already reached Kiratpur and were preparing to cross over the Satluj River. Wazir Khan deputed Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan of Malerkotla to check their advance and prevent their union. Accompanied with his brother, Khizar Khan, and his cousins, Nashtar Khan and Wali Mohammad Khan, marched towards Ropar. In route, detachments of Sarhind and Ropar also joined in. They had two guns and assorted weapons, including superior horses.
Sikhs, on the other hand, had few men. They had insufficient weapons, muskets and other tools of battle. Notwithstanding the smaller numerical strength, they surged ahead with determination and courage. The battle started in the morning. Initially, the guns played havoc on the Sikhs. Fierce fighting continued throughout the day. A great deal of blood was shed on both sides. Throughout the contest, the Mughal troops had the upper hand. It appeared that the battle would end in their favor. They were confident of their victory but the Sikhs fought with unprecedented ferocity. As the sun set, darkness descended and the battle ceased for the day. The next morning, to their good luck, a fresh contingent of Sikhs arrived.
Emboldened with the new arrival, Sikhs hit their foe with redoubled vigor. Khizar Khan mounted a fierce assault. Desperately, Sikhs made a dashing charge, shooting arrows with great precision. At that point, a bullet hit Khizar Khan and he fell dead. There was chaos and confusion in the rank and file of the Mughal forces. Exhorting his men to push forward, Sher Mohammad Khan led another charge. All his efforts to stand up against the Sikhs proved futile. Nashtar Khan and Wali Khan tried to extricate the body of Khizar Khan but both were killed in battle. Sher Mohammad Khan was severely injured and fled away. The entire Mughal force suffered a complete rout. The Sikhs carried the day.
After cremating their dead, the Sikhs hurriedly set course to join their brethren. By this time, Banda also reached Banur. The news of this conquest was received with great delight. Sikhs advanced on Ambala-Kharar road to meet their brethren. There was a great rejoicing at their union. Karaha Parshad was liberally distributed.





Tuesday 22 May 2012

Love, Sex and Robots?


There is no doubting that technology has a major impact on our lives. We live and breathe our computers, smartphones and tablets on a daily basis. However, technology within the next few years is promising to take us to new levels – social interaction with robots that may just lead to love, marriage, and yes, even sex. Is it possible, though, for humans to love an artificial being?

Experts in the technology industry like David Levy are certain this is the next step for the human race. They envision a partner that never complains, is always happy and always ready to service – in more ways than one – and is not moody. It is not unfeasible that a robot can be customized to be a person’s dream partner, simply ask Truecompanion owner Douglas Hines. He debuted his sexbot at an adult expo in 2010 and has already received over 4,000 orders. People, he say, want someone who is emotionally available and oftentimes human companions cannot offer this type of availability. Robots, on the other hand, will always be available.
The robotics behind these humanoids is nothing short of amazing. Not only do the robots speak, but they are sensitive to touch, ensuring that human interaction is responded to. For some people, this is everything that they have desired.
Some people, however, question how far technology really goes. Is it crossing a boundary by offering robots to take the place of human beings? And can robot love really be as good or better than that we experience with other humans? According to some people who already own these human-like robots, not only does it compare to human companionship, but in many ways exceeds it.
Whether or not the trend will catch on is yet to be seen, but according to industry experts, it may not be long before we see these robots as a common occurrence.










Devadasis are a cursed community'

Southern India's devadasi system, which 'dedicates' girls to a life of sex work in the name of religion, continues despite being made illegal in 1988


Parvatamma is a devadasi, or servant of god, as shown by the red-and-white beaded necklace around her neck. Dedicated to the goddess Yellamma when she was 10 at the temple in Saundatti, southern India, she cannot marry a mortal. When she reached puberty, the devadasi tradition dictated that her virginity was sold to the highest bidder and when she had a daughter at 14 she was sent to work in the red light district in Mumbai.
Parvatamma regularly sent money home, but saw her child only a few times in the following decade. Now 26 and diagnosed with Aids, she has returned to her village, Mudhol in southern India, weak and unable to work. "We are a cursed community. Men use us and throw us away," she says. Applying talcum powder to her daughter's face and tying ribbons to her hair, she says: "I am going to die soon and then who will look after her?" The daughter of a devadasi, Parvatamma plans to dedicate her own daughter to Yellamma, a practice that is now outlawed in India.
Each January, nearly half a million people visit the small town of Saundatti for a jatre or festival, to be blessed by Yellamma, the Hindu goddess of fertility. The streets leading to the temple are lined with shops selling sacred paraphernalia – glass bangles, garlands, coconuts and heaped red and yellow kunkuma, a dye that devotees smear on their foreheads. The older women are called jogathis and are said to be intermediaries between the goddess and the people. They all start their working lives as devadasis and most of them would have been initiated at this temple.
Girls from poor families of the "untouchable", or lower, caste are "married" to Yellamma as young as four. No longer allowed to marry a mortal, they are expected to bestow their entire lives to the service of the goddess.
The devadasi system has been part of southern Indian life for many centuries. A veneer of religion covers the supply of concubines to wealthy men. Trained in classical music and dance, the devadasis lived in comfortable houses provided by a patron, usually a prominent man in the village. Their situation changed as the tradition was made illegal across India in 1988, and the temple itself has publicly distanced itself from their plight.
The change started in colonial times. Academics dispute what the British thought of the custom, but their presence meant that kings and other patrons of temples lost their power and much of their economic influence.
Now the system is seen as a means for poverty-stricken parents to unburden themselves of daughters. Though their fate was known, parents used religion to console themselves, and the money earned was shared.
Roopa, now 16, has come to buy bangles at the festival. She was dedicated to the goddess seven years ago and was told that Yellamma would protect her. Her virginity was auctioned in the village, and since then she has supported her family by working as a prostitute out of her home in a village close to Saundatti.
"The first time it was hard," she admits. In fact, her vagina was slashed with a razor blade by the man she was supposed to sleep with the first time. Her future, like that of other devadasis, is uncertain. Once they are around 45, at which point they are no longer considered attractive, devadasis try to eke out a living by becoming jogathis or begging near the temple.
Chennawa, now 65 and blind, is forced to live on morsels of food given by devotees. "I was first forced to sleep with a man when I was 12," she says. "I was happy that I was with Yellamma. I supported my mother, sisters and brother. But look at my fate now." She touches her begging bowl to check if people have thrown her anything. "My mother, a devadasi herself, dedicated me to Yellamma and left me on the streets to be kicked, beaten and raped. I don't want this goddess any more, just let me die."
BL Patil, the founder of Vimochana, an organisation working towards the eradication of the devadasi system, says that although the dedication ceremonies are banned, the practice is still prevalent, as families and priests conduct them in secret. The National Commission for Women estimate that there are 48,358 Devadasis currently in India.
"For certain SC communities [Scheduled Caste – a government classification of lower castes] this has become a way of life, sanctioned by tradition," he says. The priests conduct the ceremonies in their own houses because "it is profitable for them".
Patil started Vimochana partly to stop the children of devadasis becoming devadasis themselves. He set up a residential school for devadasi children in his own home 21 years ago, in order to train them to become teachers or nurses. Enduring protests from neighbours who did not want to live near the untouchable children of prostitutes, the school has gone on to educate more than 700 children, and is today housed in several buildings. "More than 300 of these children are married and have become part of society," he says.
Roopa does not know what her future is. She says that although she does not like to be "touched" by many men, the money feeds her family. "I would like to be a teacher, but this is my fate." she says. As she walks past Chennawa, she adds: "When I am old like this aayi [grandmother] I may become blind like her."
Roopa places some food in Chennawa's hands: "I hope some one will look after me then. I am not counting on Yellamma though." She wears her new bangles, admires them and says it is time for her to go back to work.


Indian girls sexually exploited in the name of religion


By NEETA LAL


India’s Devadasi system ‘dedicates’ girls to a life of sex work in the name of religion.
EACH January, as parts of India are gripped by the bitter cold of winter, a horde of devotees throng the tiny temple village of Saundatti in southern Karnataka. Poor men, women and children march in a colourful parade, singing and dancing, to “marry off” the young village girls to the Hindu goddess Yellamma.
The streets leading up to the temple are thick with atmosphere, with peddlers hawking bangles, cosmetics, clothing, sweetmeats and other items, adding to the carnivalesque scene.
In reality, however, there’s little that’s festive about the heinous tradition of the Devadasis (or female servants of god) in India which dates back to the sixth century. Pre-pubescent girls – sometimes as young as three of four – are “married off” by their poor and illiterate parents to “god” under the garb of religion. The Devadasis are then required to “serve” the priests and the local landlords in lieu of payment to their parents.
Childish innocence: Pre-pubescent girls are sometimes ‘married off’ by their poor and illerate parents to ‘god’ in the garb of religion.
“In the olden days,” informs Pandit Bhaskar Reddy, a seventh generation priest, “after young girls are dedicated to local temples, they act as temple caretakers, conduct rituals as well as sing and dance to entertain the wealthy.”
Gradually, however, Reddy says the lines started blurring and the girls got sucked into the ugly vortex of sexual exploitation.
Despite a 1988 law banning the practice in India, the Devadasi tradition is thriving across the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Ironically, these are the IT hubs of the country, now synonymous with India’s progress in the global market.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) estimated in 2008 that currently, there are more than 450,000 Devadasis in India. An NCW survey states that the Devadasis in Karnataka account for approximately 80% of all sex workers while overall, these girls account for an estimated 15% of all sex workers in India.
The practice thrives due to a complex interplay of poverty, social acceptance and sex trade enmeshed inextricably with religious practices that have gradually institutionalised the sexual exploitation of women.
Social activist Asha Ramesh found a direct correlation in a 1993 study, between the dedication of Devadasis to the god to the parents being childless. The parents vowed to dedicate their first child to a temple if it happened to be girl, according to Ramesh’s research. If the parents had no son, then the girl child was “dedicated” and would not be able to marry as she was now deemed to be a “son” and had to earn the family’s bread and butter.
Meanwhile, other clever families with properties ensured that the familial booty remained in house by turning the girl into a “son”. Unfortunately, over the years, the system also became a means for poverty-stricken parents to unburden themselves of daughters.
Devadasi Vaishnavi*, 45, who is based in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, says she was around eight years old when she was “married off to god”. Born into a poor family, she vividly recalls her elaborate initiation ceremony as a child surrounded by relatives and strangers.
Over the years, as the practice became illegal, Vaishnavi says she was dragged into prostitution and is now an active sex worker in Sangli’s red light district. “I have been exploited physically and mentally since my childhood,” says the middle-aged woman. “Men have raped and beaten me. The local cops too, exploit me. It is a living hell for me. But what choice do I have?” she asks.
Chandni*, 38, was luckier. Or perhaps, pluckier. The Devadasi left the practice at 26 and joined a self-help group in Maharashtra. She now offers support to those who want to leave. She also educates families not to sacrifice their children at the altar for this disgusting practice. She runs awareness programmes at temples and fairs, mobilises community support and lobbies with district officials to help other Devadasis.
According to a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) report in 2004, the Devadasi tradition has become synonymous with the commercial and sexual exploitation of women in India.
The report further states that after their initiation as Devadasis, these women migrate either to nearby towns or other far-off cities to practice prostitution.
According to the 1934 Devadasi Security Act, this practice was banned in India by the British. And though the ban was reinforced in the 1980s, it continues to be flouted as the laws aren’t punitive enough. Anyone found guilty of helping a girl to become a Devadasi or even attending the ceremony, can be jailed for three years or fined a paltry sum of US$44 (RM133). Parents and relatives can be fined up to a maximum of US$111 (RM336) if they are found guilty of encouraging the girl to be dedicated.
A survey by the Joint Women’s Programme, Bangalore, states that 63.6% of young girls were forced into the Devadasi system due to tradition while 38% reported that their families had a history of Devadasis. Nearly 40% of them join the flesh trade in cities.
In a way, a Devadasi is considered “public property” in the village. Most Devadasis earn under US$22 (RM66) per month and run a high risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases.
Activists acknowledge that inaccessible villages and a dramatic upward spiral in the demand from organised traffickers who pay attractive sums of money for young girls to fill the urban brothels are the biggest stumbling blocks in obliterating this pugnacious system.
Education for the Devadasi girls is difficult as they are pulled out of schools (if they are sent to one, that is) to follow the tradition. Their health is compromised as they risk the danger of contracting HIV/AIDS. A 1993 government survey indicated that more than 9% of all Devadasis in India were infected with the virus. Those that escape contracting the HIV/AIDS virus are still likely to face physical assaults on their bodies, psychological trauma, and/or social castigation.
“Even if a Devadasi discontinues her ‘career’,” sums up Chandni, “she is still vulnerable to victimisation in human trafficking. Our children aren’t spared because the government does not recognise their birth status as they do not carry their fathers’ surname. This makes it very convenient for traffickers to sell our daughters to brothels.”









Sikhs can register marriages under Anand Act



NEW DELHI: Meeting a long-standing demand of the Sikh community, Parliament today passed a law allowing them to register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act instead of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Sikhs will be able to register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said replying to the debate on the amendment Bill which was later approved by voice vote. It was earlier passed by Rajya Sabha.

Although the Anand Marriage law was enacted in 1909, there was no provision for registration of marriages which were were registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Admitting that it had taken a lot of time to pursue amendments in the Anand Marriage Act, Khurshid said, this was a symbolic gesture and "we should respect the sentiments of all communities ...whether Bodos or any other group."

Sikh groups have maintained that members of the community face problems abroad as their certificates are issued under the Hindu Marriage Act. Besides Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists are issued certificates under the Hindu laws.

Sikh marriage ceremonies are known as 'Anand Karaj' (blissful event).

According to the amendment bill, couples whose marriages have been registered under this Act, will not be required to get their marriage registered under the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Act, 1969 or any other law for the time being in force.

Supporting the bill, Harsimrat Kaur (SAD) said Sikhs face problems abroad because while they identify themselves as Sikhs, their marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act. She thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for approving the amendments in a recent Cabinet meeting.

P S Bajwa (Cong) said it was necessary to make it clear that the Act was never repealed as claimed by some writers in the recent past. Several other members cutting across party lines supported the Bill. 






Saturday 19 May 2012

Indian "prostitute village" marries girls to end flesh trade


A veiled girl from the Saraniya community waits for her engagement ceremony to start at Vadia village in the western Indian state of Gujarat March 11, 2012. The Vadia village in western India hosted a mass wedding and engagement ceremony of 21 girls on Sunday aimed at breaking a tradition of prostitution which has for centuries exploited women of a poor, marginalised and once nomadic community in the region.
 
By Nita Bhalla
 A village in western India hosted a mass wedding and engagement ceremony of 21 girls on Sunday aimed at breaking a tradition of prostitution which has for centuries exploited women of a poor, marginalised and once nomadic community in the region.
Hundreds of guests from surrounding villages and government officials gathered at the colourful event, which saw eight couples married and 13 others engaged in a huge marquee in Wadia village, 115 km (70 miles) west of Palanpur city in India's Gujarat state.
"Prostitution is a tradition which this community adopted for ages and it has been very normal for them. They did not think they were doing anything wrong. But it is uncivilised, indecent," said Vijay Bhatt, development officer for Banaskantha district, which Wadia village is part of.
"By marrying and engaging these girls we have been able to break this culture. Once a girl is married, she is out of the profession. Once she is even engaged, she is out of this nexus."
Adorned in gold jewellery and dressed in brightly coloured pink sequined skirts and blouses, the girls sat veiled on a raised platform in a long line next to their grooms and fiancés in golden turbans, as a Hindu priest chanted Vedic mantras.
Activists said the girls - who come from the Saraniya community, where women traditionally do not marry and work as prostitutes in nearby towns and cities - will now be able to break free of the profession of their mothers and lead "normal, pious" lives.
"We are trying to get rid of this culture and stigma. We want to pull it from its roots," said Ramesh Saraniya, whose 25-year-old sister and 22-year-old niece were wedded to local village men in the mass ceremony.
"It is happening for the good of our society."

"EASY MONEY"
The men of the Saraniya community, a nomadic group of 50,000, once worked for various warring factions which ruled over this drought-prone region prior to India's independence from Britain in 1947, sharpening their daggers and swords.
The Saraniyas' women were "entertainers" for the feuding warlords in the then fragmented Gujarat and neighbouring state of Rajasthan, dancing and singing, as well as providing sexual pleasure for their employers.
Post independence, activists and officials say, the Saraniya were given land by the government to provide a better means of income, but due to the "easy money" made from sex work, Wadia's men have continued soliciting their sisters and daughters.
Local people from mud-and-brick Wadia village are reluctant to talk about the issue, fearing discrimination against them in this conservative and largely patriarchal country.
"We are poor and don't have water. We have been doing agriculture and farming castor seeds and now are earning more money. The kind of work that you talk about has stopped now," said Valiben Saraniya, whose 20-year-old niece was married.
At the ceremony, musicians played the dhol and shehnai, the traditional Indian drum and trumpet used in weddings, as the eight marrying couples simultaneously placed garlands over one another and walked around a sacred fire placed in front of them, as per Hindu tradition.
Thirteen couples as young as 12 were also engaged during the ceremony, exchanging rings in the incense-filled tent, as a priest gave instructions from a microphone. Their parents said their weddings would take place when they turn 18.
Social activists who organised and the funded 900,000 rupee ($18,000) event said securing the girls with future husbands would end Wadia's flesh trade, but they added that more development was needed to ensure other girls did not become sex workers.
"It is damn sure that no one will go into this profession after getting engaged or married as that is how this community has worked. If there is a husband, she won't be sold," said Mittal Patel from the Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch, a local charity that works to support India's nomadic tribes
"Alternative employment to the women is necessary such as teaching them embroidery, boosting irrigation for their fields and for them to do animal husbandry. This will end this cycle. No woman wants to do this by choice."





Tuesday 8 May 2012

India's 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Waiting for Justice\MRIDU KHULLAR


On the surface, the line of two-room dwellings on a dusty street in west Delhi appears little different from thousands of other roads in India's crowded capital. The paint flakes off buildings' walls and the grass grows in parks that haven't been mowed in months. Kids play cricket in the street, fruit and vegetable sellers push their wooden carts through narrow lanes and women busy themselves with housework and cooking. What sets this impoverished community apart is one remarkable absence: men.
C-block, or the "widows' colony," as it is more commonly known, is where Surinder Kaur, 65, lives today after she sold her house in Sagarpur and moved next door to her sister Harjinder Kaur, 57, a few years ago. Every morning, the women have tea together in a two-room house, where the only picture is of a newlywed Harjinder and her husband, killed 25 years ago in one of the darkest chapters in Indian history. The widows' colony in Tilak Vihar is a cheaply built and neglected cluster of homes, which were given by the government to hundreds of women and their children who survived what have become known as the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. But as the grim event's 25th anniversary nears at the end of this month, crime, addiction and prostitution have taken root in what was supposed to be a survivors' safe haven. Residents say this is because of the damage to the mental health of children who were witness to their parents' and siblings' murders and who grew up in impoverished homes and weren't given any medical help — physical or mental — for their problems. "They'll slice a blade right through you if they know you're new to the area," warns Harjinder. "Even the autorickshaw drivers refuse to come here."
Devender Singh, 26, an unemployed drug addict whose father was killed before his eyes in 1984, says his brother was murdered in the colony a couple years ago and that it's likely he'll meet the same fate. "We're all thieves and addicts here," he says. "When you get no work, what else will you do?" The lawless attitude of the young people is an echo, residents say, of India's broken justice system. The young people saw no punishment for the crimes committed against their families, so they see no justice for the crimes they'll commit in the future.
The anti-Sikh riots were four days of mayhem in the northern parts of India, particularly Delhi, in which armed mobs set fire to Sikh homes and businesses, killed unarmed men, women and children and attacked gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship. The violence, which left almost 3,000 people dead, was a reaction to the assassination of the country's Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, on Oct. 31, 1984, by her two Sikh bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh. Earlier, in June, Gandhi had approved Operation Bluestar, a mission to flush out Sikh separatists who had amassed weapons in the Golden Temple in Amritsar in northern India. While the operation was considered a success, almost 500 Sikh civilians visiting the temple that day were killed by the Indian army, though unofficial reports suggest numbers much higher.
Surinder Kaur was at her home in Delhi when the rioters broke in. Diwali, the biggest festival of the season, had just ended, but she and her husband had left the lights around the house up. In just 15 days, their eldest son was getting married, and the celebrations were already getting under way. Then a mob of more than 2,000 people descended on their middle-class neighborhood, killing dozens of Sikh families and burning alive Kaur's soon-to-be-married son and husband with petrol from the family's motorbike. "It's like a cyclone came through our lives and ripped it apart," she says. "We've never celebrated another festival since."
Initially a response to the death of a beloved leader that unfolded mostly in the poorer parts of west and north Delhi, the events of the days that followed became much more organized, spreading strategically across the city, including upper-class and diplomatic neighborhoods. Eyewitnesses have repeatedly told stories of the police looking on as rioters murdered and raped, having gotten access to voter records that allowed them to mark Sikh homes with large Xs, and large mobs being bused in to large Sikh settlements. "On Oct. 31, there was primarily looting and arson attacks," says Jaskaran Kaur, co-director of Ensaaf, a U.S.-based nonprofit that works in the predominantly Sikh state of Punjab.        "On Nov. 1, you see that everything happened very methodically — there were simultaneous attacks following similar patterns where the gurdwara was often attacked first before the residences and properties, and the death squads were able to make extensive use of state infrastructure like buses and trains." Despite this, the army was not called in until days later. "We saw what they did and who did it," says Surinder Kaur. "We saw the local politicians marking up our homes. At the time, we didn't know what it was for."
But while 10 official commissions have been set up over the years to investigate the events of the four days, only a handful of minor convictions have been made, and not one major politician or police officer has been convicted. "The justice system is based on evidence, and people are scared to come forward or are persuaded not to," says political analyst Amulya Ganguli. During the riots, Kaur of Ensaaf says the government "worked to destroy a lot of the evidence about who was involved with the killings by refusing to record [first information reports] or name those that family members mentioned."
Instead, in March 2009, India's Central Bureau of Investigation filed its final report on the riots, clearing Jagdish Tytler, one of the accused who had major political ambitions and was announced as a candidate for Indian parliament elections in 2009. Tytler had been accused of leading mobs of thousands during the riots, and though he was named by several eyewitnesses, he was ultimately exonerated because of lack of concrete evidence. Hundreds of Sikh protesters gathered outside the courts afterward, and Sikh journalist Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a press conference in April, following his remarks on the matter. The Congress Party was forced to drop Tytler, and another accused, Sajjan Kumar, as candidates for the election to protect its image.
Outside of India, too, Sikhs have been making a consistent effort to get more international attention to the lack of accountability for what happened. In the 2005 elections in Britain, the country's 700,000- strong Sikh community banded together to make it a campaign issue. For the 25th anniversary of the event later this month, advertisements by Ensaaf — showing an old woman wiping away her tears, with the words, "25 years ago, our loved ones were burned alive in front of our eyes," and in the next line, "Why has India, the world's largest democracy, denied us justice?" — are scheduled for the month of November in the San Francisco Bay Area's transit system.
But many Sikhs in India seem to have been quick to move on. While there is still a large community waiting for justice and, in some cases, compensation, the deep distrust that once existed between the community and the Congress Party has dissipated. The party has been in power in Punjab for many years, and party chief Sonia Gandhi — daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi — helped by formally apologizing to the Sikh community in 1998. In September, India's cabinet also extended a $1.5 million rehabilitation package for victims. "It doesn't exonerate the Congress, but by and large the Sikh community agrees that it was a one-off thing and there is no anti-Sikh philosophy in any political party and [the incident] was not a result of a clearly articulated worldview, as it has been with Muslims in the country," says Ganguli.
Many, however, feel that more compensation — which was insufficient and delayed to begin with — is not the answer. Jaskaran Kaur suggests starting with a truth commission, a special prosecutor's office and a wide range of services, including rehabilitation of family members, physical and mental services and acknowledgement of the event in the form of museums, history books and convictions. "Apologizing doesn't amount to much for family members unless the state is going to acknowledge its role in the massacres and then take serious steps for accountability."
For Surinder Kaur, it no longer matters. The safe haven provided by the government made her community unsafe a long time ago. "We haven't allowed our children to mix with anyone in this neighborhood," she says of the widows' colony. "One day, they'll get out of here, and there will be a new beginning."


Monday 7 May 2012

The Possibility of Alien Life


The Possibility of Alien Life Is Now (Almost) Impossible to Deny

An international team of astronomers have reached the most definitive conclusion, one with profound implications: our galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion planets. Of those, most are small planets like ours. Statistically, every star would have at least one planet.
This means that the chances of life and habitable planets in our galaxy alone is overwhelmingly high. So high that it's impossible to deny that it's out there. The only question is how much of that is little dumb critters* and how much is civilized.
According to Stephen Kane—at NASA's Exoplanet Science Institute at CalTech in Pasadena and one of the authors of the study—"not only are planets common in the galaxy, but there are more small planets than large ones. This is encouraging news for investigations into habitable planets."
Kane is being too conservative when he says that this is "encouraging news". This is amazingly great news! The number of Earth-like planets is much higher than Jupiter-sized giants. The rough estimate is that there are at least 10 billion terrestrial planets across our galaxy alone.
That is a mind-blowing number.
Couple this number with the latest calculations that have extended the goldilocks zone, the area where life could happen around stars. And then add the fact that life happens spontaneously, even under the most extreme conditions, and the idea of a Milky Way thriving with life is impossible to deny.
There's no doubt that, statistically, there's life out there (and let's not even talk about the other 500 billion galaxies in the Universe).

Intelligent civilizations

Of course, how much of this life is smart enough to build computers, communication dishes or Imperial Star Destroyers is another matter altogether. As far as we know, all those habitable worlds may be full of killer snails and dozy fish
But the fact remains that, until now, we could only guess much of this stuff. Now we know. That makes a big difference.
The fact that there are at least 100 billion planets in our Milky Way alone has profound implications for our understanding of the Universe. These discoveries, made using Hubble and Kepler, are finally putting some real numbers in the Drake Equation.
The equation—created by Frank Drake, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz—is used to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.
Now we are starting to replace the guesses with solid information and things couldn't look better. Soon it will not be "we want to believe" but "we know." [Hubble]