Prime minister won't budge on Pakistan Nistula Hebbar / DNA .. March 5, 2010
New Delhi: Under attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his efforts to re-engage Pakistan, prime minister Manmohan Singh did some plain speaking on the issue on Friday, maintaining that dialogue was the only way forward for civilised countries to resolve problems.
He asserted that he took the decision to restart talks with Pakistan in a “calculated manner” after weighing the pros and the cons and not under pressure from the United States.
Senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Venkaiah Naidu had subjected the prime minister to scathing criticism over the US’s role in the Indo-Pak talks. The exchanges between him and Advani, in particular, turned sharp and bordered on the personal a couple of days ago.
Getting back at the senior BJP leader, Singh said, “I think we will do a disservice to any government and prime minister of this proud country if we say that such fundamental matters of national security and foreign policy were based on anything but our supreme national interest.”
Singh said US president Barack Obama had never, during his many discussions with him, sought to pressurise India into taking “one position or the other” vis-a-vis Pakistan. He also made it clear that India would not have been isolated in the international community had it not started the dialogue process.
“Dialogue is the only way forward for civilised countries to resolve their problems…The chances of miscalculation can only increase in an environment of no contact.”
He did, however, add that India has insisted that Pakistan must not allow its territory to be used to carry out terror attacks against India.
He denied the charge that he had asked the Saudi Arabian government to act as a mediator between India and Pakistan. “No offer was made seeking mediation, India and Pakistan speak to each other bilaterally, without mediators,” he said categorically.
Footprints in the Bajra is a portrait of Muskaan, a Maoist rebel from the age of 13 Uttara Choudhury Sunday, March 28, 2010
f2bk: The Naxalite movement is the manifestation of 3 basic issues: poverty, land and injustice. These, in most cases, of course, are born born from central government ignorance and neglect. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Insert: India rebel attack kills 74 police By Amy Kazmin in Hyderabad, India April 7 2010 03:00
Maoist rebels ambushed Indian paramilitary forces in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh yesterday, killing 74 policemen in the deadliest attack on security forces in the history of the decades-old insurgency. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3fcc5ee-41dd-11df-865a-00144feabdc0.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In her debut novel, Nabina Das writes about an India where social divides stand taller than multistoried shopping malls. Footprints in the Bajra, inspired by what she saw while touring the interiors of Bihar as part of a travelling theatre group, inquires into why the Maoists have an influence over a large section of Indian society. Das talked to Uttara Choudhury in New York about her book, and its protagonist Muskaan.
What prompted you to take up such a complex issue in your debut novel?
On a primary level, my interest in socio-political movements with a current portent, especially in India, goaded me to tell this story. The complexity is not regarding Maoism per se, but the state’s inability to offer a cohesive system for its people.
On a deeper level, I am interested in lives. The novel is really just a slice of life story, about Muskaan the young Maoist rebel, and Nora, her friend from the city. Maoism is mentioned in the background only to paint these lives. In no way is the book a primer on Maoist philosophy.
As a journalist and NGO worker, I have had access to lives affected by Maoism and the state’s actions. Bloodshed and killings were the only gains these people came home with. Those stories stayed with me as examples of harsh reality outside the TV screen and disposable newsprint. I felt compelled to let these characters speak in my book.
Your novel delves into the life of a Maoist recruit — a teenage girl named Muskaan. Did your research for the novel point to the fact that young women are drawn to the Naxalite movement?
It is a fact that in ‘modern’ India young people from regions with little development find themselves on the sidelines. Their anger with the system has percolated upwards. The recent mining claims in Orissa sparked off huge protests, not just in the villages but also among city folk who until recently had no idea about the Kondh people — Dongria, Kutia and Jharania — and their ways.
Generations of caste and class atrocities together with government apathy has helped mobilise ranks on the side of the extreme left. Sometimes these young rebels don’t know what being a Maoist means. I had once asked a person in jest who proudly called himself a Maoist, whether he was happy not to be called a Stalinist. He promptly said if being a Stalinist helped avenge his people, he’d happily be one.
These are my characters in Footprints. They live in Durjanpur, Banka or Patalgarh — names that are linear views, hence negative in connotation.
For the marginalised, the situation is stark. Muskaan is a Maoist recruited as a child soldier at 13. She is an example of how these ‘renegade’ movements use young people as a staple for propagating their adventurist tactics. We have examples of such far-left movements in other parts of the world, like the Shining Path in Peru.
Would you say the Maoists are a greater threat to India than global or cross-border terrorism from Pakistan? Sadly, what gets lost in the debate is the plight of a huge chunk of people. Maoism or Naxalism does appear to be an option for the disadvantaged, especially Dalits and tribals, although I am aware of people who are striving for alternative movements away from guns and gore.
When it comes from the government, the word “threat” certainly is the key operative here. Whether Maoists are delighted at that labeling I have no idea, for I’m not a practitioner of the movement. But calling Maoism a “threat” helps situate the public view about this far-left movement. Threats justify the forming of counter-attack groups and human rights negligence. This precludes any investigation into how the poorer swathe of India eats, works, sleeps and dies.
The threat works well for the government in distracting the people. Meanwhile, deaths and displacements continue in the middle plane whether in Kashmir, Manipur, Orissa or Chhattisgarh.
Do you think American audiences will be able to relate to Muskaan and a story about a slice of rural India?
American writing is rich and diverse. Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz and Nam Le have successfully drawn readers into worlds outside their own familiar confines. Muskaan’s India may not be familiar to a lot of readers even in wealthy, urban India.
Since you live two lives, shuttling between the US and India, will your second novel be cast in India or America?
I plan to work on a book based on Assam, my home state, and the upheavals it has witnessed. Tentatively, it’s called “The Boatman of New York.” It would be a generational story across continents.
Young woman in northern India takes turns sleeping with five husbands, who are all brothers
'We all have sex with her but I’m not jealous,' her first husband says. 'We’re one big happy family.'
By David Boroff / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, March 18, 2013, 12:53 PM Comments (122)
Shariq Allaqaband/Cover Asia Press
Brothers Sant Ram Verma, Bajju Verma, Gopal Verma, Guddu Verma and Dinesh Verma with their wife Rajo Verma and her 18-month-old son. She is unsure which brother is the father.
A young woman in northern India is taking brotherly love to a new level.
Rajo Verma has five husbands who are all brothers – and she sleeps with a different one every night.
Rajo Verma shares one room with her five husbands.
The 21-year-old Verma is also not sure which one fathered her now 18-month-old son.
Verma and first husband Guddu were united in an arranged Hindu marriage four years ago, but she has since married Baiju, Sant Ram, Gopal and Dinesh. Baiju is the oldest at 32, while Dinesh is the youngest at 19. The seven of them live in one room in Dehradun.
“We all have sex with her but I’m not jealous," first husband Guddu told the newspaper. "We’re one big happy family.”
Shariq Allaqaband/Cover Asia Press
Rajo Verma married Guddu first and later married the others, in accordance with ancient customs.
Verma married the four brothers in support of an ancient tradition called polyandry, according to the Sun.
“My mother was also married to three brothers so when I got wed I knew I had to accept all of them as my husbands," she said. “I sleep with them in turn. We don’t have beds, just lots of blankets on the floor.
“I get a lot more attention and love than most wives.”
LOL .. another good news story .. love gutsy women .. ones who are different .. from the first page of the comments, the 2nd (now) is best .. 'husbands as....' .. :)
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