Delhi Rape Case: 2nd accused nabbed in Bihar

New Delhi, April 22, 2013 [PTI] --- The second suspect in the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl here a week ago was arrested from Bihar early today even as protests continued while police barricaded streets near Parliament to prevent December-like anti-rape protests.  Investigators tracked down the second suspect Pradeep, who was named by first accused Manoj Kumar, from his maternal uncle's home in Barahiya village in Bihar's Lakhisarai district late last night.  A Delhi Police team with the help of Bihar Police Special Task Force arrested Pradeep from his uncle's residence, where he was hiding, Bihar Director General of Police Abhayanand said.  "He will be brought to the national capital today after getting a transit remand from Darbhanga court," Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told PTI.  Three Metro stations -- Race Course Road, Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhavan -- close to Parliament, India Gate and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence were also closed anticipating anti-rape protests like the one witnessed in December last after the gangrape of a girl in a moving bus.  The issue figured in the Lok Sabha with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde assuring agitating members that an inquiry has been ordered into alleged police lapses.  Protests were witnessed at Parliament Gate, Police Headquarters and Jantar Mantar for the removal of Commissioner Neeraj Kumar. However, the numbers were not as large as the December protests.  Manoj, who was arrested on Saturday from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, had told police during interrogation that one of his friends was also involved in the crime.  The girl was raped on April 15 in a building in east Delhi's Gandhinagar locality where the victim and accused Manoj lived and she was rescued 40 hours later on April 17.

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16 hurt in bomb blast near BJP office in Bangalore, party claims terror attack

Bangalore, April 17, 2013[HindustanTimes]---Police in Bangalore said on Wednesday they were investigating a blast outside a Bharatiya Janata Party office that injured 16 people. Here is the latest information about the explosion:

The blast in Malleshwaram locality occurred at around 10.30 am when the BJP office was crowded with party workers and candidates. The state goes to polls on May 5 and Wednesday is the last day for filing of nominations.

* The explosion occurred on a motorbike parked near the BJP office. "Preliminarily, we felt earlier that it was a (gas) cylinder blast as two vehicles that were on both sides of the motorbike got burnt," Bangalore police commissioner R. Auradakar told reporters. "As the motorcycle is fully burnt, we feel that it could be a blast."
* Auradkar, citing preliminary investigation, an "incendiary bomb" had been put on the bike, which was parked alongside cars.

* "Due to the blast, 16 people are injured--eight policemen and eight civilians. Nobody is critically injured. All are being treated at hospital," said Lalrokhuma Pachau, Karnataka's Director General of Police. A team of the National Investigative Agency and forensic experts are investigating the explosion site.

* Pachau said it was too early to say what kind of explosive had been used or who was responsible for the blast. "At this stage we cannot say what material has been used in the blast. Investigations are going on," he said.

* Karnataka Home Minister R Ashok called the blast was "a clear act of terror" against the BJP. "It is a very clear act of terror--it is targeted at the BJP, our senior leaders and workers," said Ashoka. "100 per cent, it is targeted at BJP workers".

* Ashok pointed out the blast occurred on April 17, the date when blasts near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the city injured several people three years ago. The minister since scores of party leaders and workers had been visiting the party office called "Jagannath Bhavan" for the past few day.

* Three cars and several scooters were charred in the blaze that followed the blast. A police bus parked nearby was also badly damaged.

* ABP TV news channel reported the motorcycle which is suspected to have been planted with explosives had a Tamil Nadu registered number plate.

* Of the 16 injured, 11 are police personnel and five are civilians, including three women, Home Minister R. Ashoka said at the explosion site.

* IANS reports two injured women, one of whom has a suffered fracture in her leg, are being treated at the KC General hospital, about five kilometres from the explosion site, told reporters.

* Residents in the area told reporters that the blast shook the windowpanes of several houses.

* Several vehicles were gutted but there was no damage to the party office in the explosion that was initially believed  to be a cylinder blast.

* Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said in New Delhi that he has ordered an inquiry into the blast.

* The BJP office is located in the crowded residential locality of Malleshwaram in north Bangalore, about eight kilometres from the city centre.

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Delhi: Woman gangraped in a moving car by husband and two others

New Delhi, April 12, 2013 [IANS] --- A 20-year-old woman was gang-raped in a moving car by her husband and his two relatives here, police said Thursday. All attackers have been arrested. The incident came to light late Wednesday evening when the woman was found in an unconscious condition in west Delhi's Najafgarh area by a passerby, who informed police. The victim told police that she was gang-raped by her husband Inderjeet and his two relatives Nitin and Vijender -- all in the age group of 21 and 25 -- in a moving car. The woman told police that she was gang-raped after she consumed a cold drink offered by her husband and got unconscious. The woman, a resident of Haryana's Jhajjar district, married Inderjeet at a temple in March without informing their parents, police said. "The victim's medical examination was conducted at a hospital where doctors confirmed that she was gang-raped," said a police officer. A case was registered Thursday based on the woman's statement and her attackers were arrested from their hideouts in west Delhi's Bakkarwala village. "She was called by Inderjeet to meet him here Wednesday to register their marriage through court. After arriving in Delhi, the woman was taken by Inderjeet in a car in which Nitin and Vijender were already sitting," said the officer, citing from the women's statement.

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Man axes nine women to death in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, April 9, 2013 [CNN-IBN] --- A mentally unstable man carried out a bloodbath in Chhattisgarh's impoverished tribal-dominated Balrampur district on Thursday (Apr 4), axing to death nine girls and women aged between 2-65 years, police and eyewitnesses said. The bodies of four female adults and five minors, were lying in a pool of blood for hours in the terror-hit Barhatola village under Samri police station, and the accused, Pandu Nageshia, 35, was tracked down when Balrampur District Collector CR Prasanna and Superintendent of Police GS Darro reached there with a police contingent. "Its brutal killings by a man who is reportedly mentally unstable," Prasanna told IANS over phone from the village which comes under state's northern region, more than 400 km from Raipur. The bodies of four female adults and five minors, were lying in a pool of blood for hours in the terror-hit Barhatola village. "I am too in a state of shock after visiting the village and watching dead bodies scattered outside a house where the deceased belonging to two to three families had assembled as their male family members had gone out on daily work," he said. Prasanna along with Darro found extremely difficult to console several poverty-hit tribal people whose innocent relatives were butchered. Unfolding details of the shocking incident, Darro, quoting eye-witnesses, said Nageshia, who was armed with a sharp-edged weapon "tangia", suddenly went on a killing spree at around 1.30 pm and no one had an idea why he killed the nine - identified as Lalki Bai (60), Kusum Nageshia (4), Manju Nageshia (3), Sitamuni Bai (25), Priyanka (2), Machki Bai (65), Kalgi Bai (60), Sangeeta (10) and Sanjeeta (3).

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Rajiv Gandhi was 'middleman' for Swedish Jets

New Delhi, April 8, 2013 [ANI/YAHOO!India News] --- Rajiv Gandhi was a middleman in the 1970s for a Swedish company that was looking to sell fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, whistle blowing website Wikileaks has claimed. The astonishing revelation that he was the "main Indian negotiator" for a massive aircraft deal is contained in the latest tranche of U.S diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and accessed by The Hindu. According to the newspaper, Gandhi became the negotiator for the Swedish company Saab-Scania, when it was trying to sell its Viggen fighter aircraft to India in the 1970s, much before he became the prime minister. The first cable said that Air Marshal O.P Mehra's son-in-law was the chief negotiator for the competing Mirage, but it does not give his name, the paper said. Contacted in New Delhi, Navin Behl, the former Air Chief's son-in-law, denied that he was ever involved in any such negotiations, it added. The paper said that in another cable, the Swedes also made it clear they "understood the importance of family influences" in the final decision. "Our colleague describes Ranjiv Gandhi [sic] in flattering terms, and contends his technical expertise is of a high level. This may or may not be. Offhand, we would have thought a transport pilot [is] not the best expert to rely upon in evaluating a fighter plane, but then we are speaking of a transport pilot who has another and perhaps more relevant qualification," the cable read, said the newspaper. According to the paper, the British SEPECAT Jaguar eventually won the race, from which Saab was forced to withdraw by the U.S.

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President gives assent to Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013

New Delhi, 03 April 2013 [ANI] --- President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 and it will now be called the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 19 and by the Rajya Sabha on March 21. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was moved in the Rajya Sabha by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde where he had termed it as a 'unique law'. Shinde had then said the purpose of the bill is to provide stringent punishment also for offences like stalking, voyeurism, acid attacks and human trafficking. The Union Cabinet had earlier last month approved the amendments to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 keeping the age of consent for sex to 18 instead of 16. The demand for having such a law picked up after the December 16, 2012 brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in the national capital.

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Girl strayed into Pakistan comes home

JAIPUR/BIKANER/JAISALMER, 02 APRIL [TOI] --- A seven-year-old girl, PoojaMeghwal, who strayed into Pakistani territory on Friday while grazing cattle was handed over to BSF officials by Pakistani Rangers on Monday evening. The girl is hale and hearty and returned with new dress, footwear and candies offered by Pakistani Rangers. Soon after getting the custody of Pooja, the BSF authorities took her to a hospital at an Indian post in Bikaner. The doctors found her in good health. "We have also intimated her family members and will try to hand over her today itself," said a senior officer of BSF. BSF authorities were in touch with Pakistani Rangers since Friday and had several rounds of flag meetings to get her back. BSF officials said they were waiting for the flag meeting since morning. "The meeting started in the evening when a commandant from their side and a commandant from our side participated in the meeting. They handed over the girl to us at 7.30 pm and we have given her custody to the local police ," said a BSF officer. Pak rangers gave her a new dress "The girl was smiling and was seen in a new dress given to her by Pakistani Rangers," a BSF officer said. Babu Lal Bishnoi, deputy superintendent of police, Bikaner, said: "The Rangers handed over the girl to BSF officials at 7.30pm while we got her custody by 8.45 pm. The girl told us that she was offered timely meal, candies, new footwear and a new dress by Pakistani Rangers. A woman officer was also deputed by them to take care of her," Bishnoi added. Pooja had crossed the international border and entered Pakistan through a damaged fencing near 43KYD village in Bikaner on Friday. Intruder sent back to Pakistan A 45-year old Pakistani intruder who had entered into Indian border from international border Pakistan from a border post near Govardhan border in Sriganganagar district was handed over to Pakistani rangers in a flag meeting with Pak rangers on Monday evening. Azam(45), a resident of Kiladidar of Apsahbad tehsil of Gujarwala district in Punjab state of Pakistan had entered into Indian territory on March, 10. Immediately after it Pak rangers were informed and they confirmed him to be their citizen. "During the interrogation, he told that he had entered into the Indian border by mistake. After all security and intelligence agencies inquiring him, no objectionable thing came in front and on Monday during the flag meeting, he was handed over to the Pak rangers," said an official. [TOI]

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Airports of Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad are among the top five in the world

[PTI]--Airports Council International (ACI), a global body of airports, has adjudged Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport as second best after Seoul’s Incheon airport in the category of airports handling 25-40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) for their service quality for the year 2012.

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport was adjudged the third best in this category, an ACI statement said.

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International airport (RGI) has bagged the second position for their service quality in the category of five to 15 MPPA. Japan’s Nagoya airport was adjudged the best in this category.

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Who was Delhi rape accused Ram Singh? All you need to know

New Delhi, Mar 11 [firstpost.com] --- The sudden death of prime accused in the horrific 16 December Delhi gangrape Ram Singh, who committed suicide inside Tihar jail, is likely to affect the outcome of the trial say lawyers and experts. Here is a quick look at who he is and what his role in the rape was.

Prime accused in Delhi gangrape case:

Ram Singh, the driver of the bus in which the horrific gangrape was carried out, was the main accused in the case.  Singh, instead of parking the white chartered bus with its owner, had kept the vehicle with him on the night of the incident, reportedly met the other accused for dinner and then took the bus to drive around Delhi.

The group picked up the 23-year-old woman and her male friend as they were attempting to travel home after watching a film together.  The bus was driven through the bustling south Delhi areas of Munirka, Vasant Vihar and Mahipalpur as the six men raped and tortured the girl and beat her friend, using iron rods and other weapons.

According to the police report, the attack lasted at least 45 minutes.

There were six attackers, one of whom claims to be a juvenile and is being tried separately. Each of the men raped the 23-year-old woman, with at least two taking turns driving the bus. They penetrated her with two metal rods, causing such severe internal injuries that doctors later found parts of her intestines floating freely inside her abdomen.

The couple was stripped, robbed and thrown off the bus near Mahipalpur.

After fighting for her life for almost a fortnight, the 23-year-old woman breathed her last in Singapore on 29 December.

What he reportedly told the police

Singh reportedly had told the police that he had brutally assaulted the 23-year-old woman because she had resisted his attempt to rape her and bitten him.

According to police sources, Singh was drunk and he lost his cool when the girl bit him. After he was bitten he and his friends started beating the girl and her male friend with iron rods.

He had also snatched three mobile phones belonging to the girl and her friend so that they could not dial anyone for help after being thrown from the bus.

Singh had reportedly told the police that he had tried to destroy the evidence by washing the bus and also asked his accomplices not to talk about the incident. He parked the bus at RK Puram and later took it to its owner in Noida.

It was reportedly based on Ram Singh's confession that the police were able to arrest the others involved in the case, including his brother.

Ram Singh, with the four others, were charged with murder, gangrape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences, dacoity, hurting in committing robbery, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy and common intention under the Indian Penal Code.

Singh and the others in Tihar Jail had reportedly been assaulted by other inmates when they were taken in and had also been put on 'suicide watch'.

His background

Singh was a bus driver, despite an accident in 2009 that fractured his right arm so badly that doctors had to insert a rod to support it. He appeared on a reality television show in a compensation dispute with a bus owner, who in turn accused Singh of "drunken, negligent and rash driving".

Singh's neighbours describe him as a heavy drinker with a bad temper. One young woman said he used to get embroiled in violent rows and a relative recalled a physical altercation with her husband.

A Mail Today report  documents Singh as being a 'muscleman' in the Ravi Dass camp area of RK Puram in Delhi, a pocket of shanties in an otherwise upper middle class neighbourhood. Known for his drunken brawls in the neighbourhood, he had even reportedly eloped with a married woman, only to return after she passed away.

However, his parents had tried to justify their son's involvement in the heinous crime.

"They (Ram Singh and Mukesh) were not like this. In 20 years, they have never committed a crime. They must have been in bad company. As regards alcohol, that's common among drivers," Mangi Lal, the father of two of the accused, was quoted as saying in this Firstpost report.

Ram Singh had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

His death

Ram Singh died inside Tihar jail on 10 March. Prison authorities say he committed suicide using the clothes he was wearing to hang himself. The DG Prisons confirmed to CNN-IBN that Ram Singh committed suicide. However a magisterial inquiry has been launched into the incident, which is likely to impact the course of the trial. The death is also being seen as a major embarrassment to the Delhi police and Tihar jail officials.

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14-year-old gang-raped in Kolkata, 2 arrested

Kolkata, March 11, 2013 [IANS] --- A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped in the wee hours of Monday in the city's Jadavpur area. Two of the accused have been arrested, police said. "Following a complaint of gang-rape we have arrested two persons. The 14-year-old victim was allegedly raped and at least three to four persons are suspected to be involved," Deputy Commissioner (Jadavpur) Sujay Chanda said. "A medical test on the victim to ascertain rape will be conducted soon," Chanda said. According to police, the victim, along with another girl, had gone for a bath to a pond in the locality at around 3 a.m. on the occasion of Maha Shivratri. Two young men started teasing the girls. While her companion fled the spot, the victim was forcibly taken by the youths to a building still under construction and raped. The incident comes just two days after West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairman and former Supreme Court judge Asok Kumar Ganguly said West Bengal "was not lagging behind Delhi in the number of atrocities on women, and may have (even) surpassed the the national capital (in such crimes)".

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Army Colonel, five others arrested in Manipur drugs haul

Imphal, Mon Feb 25 2013[Indian Express]: An Army Colonel posted as the Defence PRO in Imphal and five others were arrested by the Manipur police on Sunday for allegedly ferrying drugs, estimated to be worth between Rs 15-30 crore, to the Indo-Myanmar border
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Col Ajay Choudhury, a Territorial Army sepoy posted under him, an Indigo Airlines associate manager and three others have been accused of ferrying pseudoephedrine, used for manufacturing heroin, in three vehicles, including the Colonel's official vehicle. Police suspect the Colonel had ferried drugs at least four times in the past.

"We have estimated that the drugs are worth between Rs 15-30 crore in the international market. We caught three vehicles carrying these drugs at Pallel. The three civilians were Kukis and seem to be involved in the drug racket," said Manipur DGP Y Joykumar Singh.

"They seem to have been involved in a number of such operations before. Col Choudhury has been denying his involvement, but one of the cars carrying the drugs was alloted to him by the Army. The consignment was on its way to Moreh, the Indo-Myanmar border town," said Singh. "We had received a tip-off that a big consignment of drugs was on its way to Moreh," he added.

In New Delhi, officials said strict action will be taken if the Colonel is found guilty.

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Dalit hostel attacks in Patna University

PATNA (Bihar), Feb 6, 2013 [The Hindu] --- A mob burst on the scene as night fell. Equipped with hockey sticks, bricks, stones, firearms and crude bombs it prepared for an assault.

"You are Harijans," it yelled. "You have no right to read and write. Your work is to mend shoes and chappals. We will keep you as servants in our houses. Your ancestors did the same work. You leave the hostel or else there will be a massacre." This is part of a police statement given by a Dalit student residing in the Bhimrao Ambedkar Welfare Hostel of Patna University (PU) facility.

Last week, the hostel witnessed fierce caste violence in which three Dalit students were injured.

"Around 30 men came shouting Brahmeshwar Mukhiya zindabad, Mukhiya amar rahe [Long live the Mukhiya] and Ambedkar ko phuk do [Destroy Ambedkar]. They stood outside the hostel and started throwing stones. They dragged and beat up a student. Firing shots and bombs rent the air. We ran inside the hostel. All we had to defend against the armed attack were brick pieces used to support the cots in our room," Satyaprakash, a student at the Ambedkar hostel, told The Hindu.

'Mukhiya' refers to the slain Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh.

Located in Patna's 'coaching district', the hostel forms part of the Saidpur hostel campus of PU. Facing it is a cluster of five hostels for general category students, collectively called the 'Saidpur hostel', which has gained notoriety over the years for nurturing hooligans and becoming a virtual den of anti-socials from the landowning Bhumihar caste, particularly from the badlands of Jehanabad district.

"While students from other castes reside in the Saidpur hostel, since very early days, it has been dominated by the "so-called" students of the landlord caste, mostly Bhumihars. The boys come mostly from Jehanabad, Gaya and Nalanda districts. Though it's for all students, including those from SC, when students are enrolled, they either belong to the Saidpur hostel or the Ambedkar hostel," official sources told The Hindu.

A clear topographical division on caste lines thus separates the two hostels. "Yahan par Jehanabad ke khas jati ke khas logon ka dabang hai [A particular caste from Jehanabad wields clout here]. Only a Jehanabad Bhumihar can stay here without being harassed. Others; say a Yadav boy comes along; he is beaten up and made to flee. The miscreants then get their own relatives to stay. Many of them don't even know where PU is. There is a terrible situation here," a Saidpur resident told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.

Gangster Guddu Sharma, who was shot dead in Delhi a few years ago, was a product of the Saidpur hostel. In fact, this hostel is one of the reasons why a police check post in the area was converted into a full-fledged police station in 2007.

A common power grid that supplies electricity to the entire neighbourhood is one of the key triggers for such attacks, as it was last week.

"That evening, there was a power cut at the Ambedkar hostel, but not at the Saidpur general hostel. The Ambedkar students went to the electricity office, situated on the same campus, to take stock of the mater. Seeing them, the Saidpur boys hurtled down and started hurling caste abuses, such as 'Harijans' 'dusadhs' and 'chamars' [all lower caste names]'," as per another police statement of a student.

"When we asked for power supply, they said, 'Have you ever seen light in your life?'" Satyaprakash recalled.

The official sources said, in a situation where the Ambedkar hostel had power and Saidpur hostel did not, there was immense pressure on electricity officials to cut the supply to the Ambedkar hostel. "Seeing an equal distribution of facilities stokes the caste jealousies of the Saidpur hostellers, Many times fights over power supply take the form of caste clashes," an official source said.

"There have been times," said a general student, "when the whole area is plunged into darkness, but only the Saidpur hostel is lit." Disconnecting water supply to the Ambedkar hostel is another means of showing caste dominance. The tap dries up at 9 a.m. and its water is dirty. At any given point of time, a few students suffer from jaundice.

At the heart of the matter, said students, lies plain caste hatred, "a determined effort to display caste superiority."

The police have registered an FIR under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act. Five persons — Atul Shekhar, Amit Kumar, Ashutosh Kumar, Nupendra Kumar and Shishuranjan Kumar — are under arrest.

Sources told The Hindu that the police initially arrested 10 persons, but high-level manoeuvring facilitated the release of five of them. There are also complaints that while the real fish get away, "legal students" get wrongly implicated in cases.

So acute is the problem of "illegal occupancy" that even authorities are at the end of their tether. Officials put the size of illegal occupants to a whopping 80 per cent.

"The number is so huge that once even the Special Task Force [personnel] was beaten up by them. The unauthorised boys know nothing will happen. PU does not want to interfere. Perhaps they are scared. You need the Rapid Action Force to crack down. They have been staying there for years," an authoritative source from the university, who did not wish to named, told The Hindu.

The police, on their part, perceive a limited role for themselves in the matter. "We have raised the matter with the university in vain," they said.

When asked, PU proctor Kirteshwar Prasad told The Hindu: "We are trying to get them vacated. We are on the job. We had written to the administration. We will write to them, namely the senior superintendent of police and the district magistrate, who are the competent authority."

The incident received biased coverage in the press, according to the Ambedkar hostel students. "The news report in a leading Hindi daily pinned the blame on us. It said we were the ones to attack. Their numbers are huge. How can we possibly attack them" they asked.

An official source concurred. "That report is totally false. We were on the ground, we know what happened. The report paints an entirely wrong picture. The local media has played a very bad role in this."

Despite arrests, the trouble is far from being over. There are indications that in light of this incident, the Saidpur hostel is looking at acquiring more arms. Financial contributions collected for the upcoming Saraswati puja could provide the means.

The spectre of routine caste violence looms large over the Dalit students. They dare not take the short-cut to the university, as it passes through the Saidpur hostel.

Photo: A portion of the Bhimrao Ambedkar Welfare Hostel of the Patna University where Dalit students are staying. (By Ranjeet Kumar/ The Hindu)

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Delhi: Science museum to be named after gang-rape victim

New Delhi, 05 Feb 2013 [IANS] --- The South Delhi Municipal Corporation will name a science museum here after the young woman who died following her gang-rape in December.

The museum, to be built in R.K. Puram in south Delhi, will help to perpetuate the memory of the 23-year-old whose trauma triggered widespread protests, Mayor Savita Gupta told IANS.

"She battled for her life bravely in the hospital. We salute the brave girl," Gupta said.

The father of the victim has given his consent to name the museum after his daughter, she said.

Gupta said all three corporations in the capital would give a total of Rs.15 lakh to the family of the victim.

The gang-rape victim died in a Singapore hospital 13 days after she was assaulted in a moving bus. She was raped by six males including a juvenile.

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Being A Khan: Shah Rukh Khan

New Delhi, 31 Jan 2013 [NDTV | OUTLOOK | IBN7] --- The article 'Being a Khan', authored by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, appeared last week in the magazine Outlook Turning Points (The Global Agenda 2013).  Read the full article below:  I am an actor. Time does not frame my days with as much conviction as images do. Images rule my life. Moments and memories imprint themselves on my being in the form of the snapshots that I weave into my expression. The essence of my art is the ability to create images that resonate with the emotional imagery of those watching them. I am a Khan. The name itself conjures multiple images in my mind too: a strapping man riding a horse, his reckless hair flowing from beneath a turban tied firm around his head. His ruggedly handsome face marked by weathered lines and a distinctly large nose. A stereotyped extremist; no dance, no drink, no cigarette tipping off his lips, no monogamy, no blasphemy; a fair, silent face beguiling a violent fury smoldering within. A streak that could even make him blow himself up in the name of his God. Then there is the image of me being shoved into a back room of a vast American airport named after an American president (another parallel image: of the president being assassinated by a man named lee, not a Muslim thankfully, nor Chinese as some might imagine! I urgently shove the image of the room out of my head). Some stripping, frisking and many questions later, I am given an explanation (of sorts): "Your name pops up on our system, we are sorry". "So am I," I think to myself, "Now can I have my underwear back please?" Then, there is the image I most see, the one of me in my own country: being acclaimed as a megastar, adored and glorified, my fans mobbing me with love and apparent adulation. I am a Khan. I could say I fit into each of these images: I could be a strapping six feet something - ok something minus, about three inches at least, though I don't know much about horse-riding. A horse once galloped off with me flapping helplessly on it and I have had a "no horse-riding" clause embedded in my contracts ever since. I am extremely muscular between my ears, I am often told by my kids, and I used to be fair too, but now I have a perpetual tan or as I like to call it 'olive hue' - though deep In the recesses of my armpits I can still find the remains of a fairer day. I am handsome under the right kind of light and I really do have a "distinctly large" nose. It announces my arrival in fact, peeking through the doorway just before I make my megastar entrance. But my nose notwithstanding, my name means nothing to me unless I contextualize it. Stereotyping and contextualizing is the way of the world we live in: a world in which definition has become central to security. We take comfort in defining phenomena, objects and people - with a limited amount of knowledge and along known parameters. The predictability that naturally arises from these definitions makes us feel secure within our own limitations. We create little image boxes of our own. One such box has begun to draw its lid tighter and tighter at present. It is the box that contains an image of my religion in millions of minds. I encounter this tightening of definition every time moderation is required to be publicly expressed by the Muslim community in my country. Whenever there is an act of violence in the name of Islam, I am called upon to air my views on it and dispel the notion that by virtue of being a Muslim, I condone such senseless brutality. I am one of the voices chosen to represent my community in order to prevent other communities from reacting to all of us as if we were somehow colluding with or responsible for the crimes committed in the name of a religion that we experience entirely differently from the perpetrators of these crimes. I sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make me a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in india. There have been occasions when I have been accused of bearing allegiance to our neighboring nation rather than my own country - this even though I am an Indian whose father fought for the freedom of India. Rallies have been held where leaders have exhorted me to leave my home and return to what they refer to as my "original homeland". Of course, I politely decline each time, citing such pressing reasons as sanitation words at my house preventing me from taking the good shower that's needed before undertaking such an extensive journey. I don't know how long this excuse will hold though. I gave my son and daughter names that could pass for generic (pan-Indian and pan-religious) ones: Aryan and Suhana. The Khan has been bequeathed by me so they can't really escape it. I pronounce it from my epiglottis when asked by Muslims and throw the Aryan as evidence of their race when non-Muslims enquire. I imagine this will prevent my offspring from receiving unwarranted eviction orders and random fatwas in the future. It will also keep my two children completely confused. Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, "You are an Indian first and your religion is humanity", or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, "Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega - insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega" set to Gangnam Style. None of this informs them with any clarity, it just confounds them some more and makes them deeply wary of their father. In the land of the freed, where I have been invited on several occasions to be honored, I have bumped into ideas that put me in a particular context. I have had my fair share of airport delays for instance. I became so sick of being mistaken for some crazed terrorist who coincidentally carries the same last name as mine that I made a film, subtly titled My name is Khan (and I am not a terrorist) to prove a point. Ironically, I was interrogated at the airport for hours about my last name when I was going to present the film in America for the first time. I wonder, at times, whether the same treatment is given to everyone whose last name just happens to be McVeigh (as in Timothy)?? I don't intend to hurt any sentiments, but truth be told, the aggressor and taker of life follows his or her own mind. It has to nothing to do with a name, a place or his/her religion. It is a mind that has its discipline, its own distinction of right from wrong and its own set of ideologies. In fact, one might say, it has its own "religion". This religions has nothing to do with the ones that have existed for centuries and been taught in mosques or churches. The call of the azaan or the words of the pope have no bearing on this person's soul. His soul is driven by the devil. I, for one, refuse to be contextualized by the ignorance of his ilk. I am a Khan. I am neither six-feet-tall nor handsome (I am modest though) nor am I a Muslim who looks down on other religions. I have been taught my religion by my six-foot-tall, handsome Pathan 'Papa' from Peshawar, where his proud family and mine still resides. He was a member of the no-violent Pathan movement called Khudai Khidamatgaar and a follower of both Gandhiji and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, who was also known as the Frontier Gandhi. My first learning of Islam from him was to respect women and children and to uphold the dignity of every human being. I learnt that the property and decency of others, their points of view, their beliefs, their philosophies and their religions were due as much respect as my own and ought to be accepted with an open mind. I learnt to believe in the power and benevolence of Allah, and to be gentle and kind to my fellow human beings, to give of myself to those less privileged than me and to live a life full of happiness, joy, laughter and fun without impinging on anybody else's freedom to live in the same way. So I am a Khan, but no stereotyped image is factored into my idea of who I am. Instead, the living of my life has enabled me to be deeply touched by the love of millions of Indians. I have felt this love for the last 20 years regardless of the fact that my community is a minority within the population of India. I have been showered with love across national and cultural boundaries, from Suriname to Japan and Saudi Arabia to Germany, places where they don't even understand my language. They appreciate what I do for them as an entertainer - that's all. My life has led me to understand and imbibe that love is a pure exchange, untempered by definition and unfettered by the narrowness of limiting ideas. If each one of us allowed ourselves the freedom to accept and return love in its purity, we would need no image boxes to hold up the walls of our security. I believe that I have been blessed with the opportunity to experience the magnitude of such a love, but I also know that its scale is irrelevant. In our own small ways, simply as human beings, we can appreciate each other for how touch our lives and not how our different religions or last names define us. Beneath the guise of my superstardom, I am an ordinary man. My Islamic stock does not conflict with that of my Hindu wife's. The only disagreements I have with Gauri concern the color of the walls in our living room and not about the locations of the walls demarcating temples from mosques in India.  We are bringing up a daughter who pirouettes in a leotard and choreographs her own ballets. She sings western songs that confound my sensibilities and aspires to be an actress. She also insists on covering her head when in a Muslim nation that practices this really beautiful and much misunderstood tenet of Islam. Our son's linear features proclaim his Pathan pedigree although he carries his own, rather gentle mutations of the warrior gene. He spends all day either pushing people asie at rugby, kicking some butt at Tae Kwon Do or eliminating unknown faces behind anonymous online gaming handles around the world with The Call of Duty video game. And yet, he firmly admonishes me for getting into a minor scuffle at the cricket stadium in Mumbai last year because some bigot make unsavory remarks about me being a Khan. The four of us make up a motley representation of the extraordinary acceptance and validation that love can foster when exchanged within the exquisiteness of things that are otherwise defined ordinary. For I believe, our religion is an extremely personal choice, not a public proclamation of who we are. It's as person as the spectacles of my father who passed away some 20 years ago. Spectacles that I hold onto as my most prized and personal possession of his memories, teachings and of being a proud Pathan. I have never compared those with my friends, who have similar possessions of their parents or grandparents. I have never said my father's spectacles are better than your mother's saree. So why should we have this comparison in the matter of religion, which is as personal and prized a belief as the memories of your elders. Why should not the love we share be the last word in defining us instead of the last name? It doesn't take a superstar to be able to give love, it just takes a heart and as far as I know, there isn't a force on this earth that can deprive anyone of theirs. I am a Khan, and that's what it has meant being one, despite the stereotype images that surround me. To be a Khan has been to be loved and love back - that the promise that virgins wait for me somewhere on the other side. ~ Shah Rukh Khan ===================================== "We In India Are Extremely Safe And Happy" 'We have an amazing democratic, free and secular way of life. In the environs that we live here in my country India, we have no safety issues regarding life or material. As a matter of fact it is irksome for me to clarify this non-existent issue.' According to me, all our lives we are defined by three identities. Two of which are fortunately acquired by birth and are a matter of unconditional love and acceptance. The first identity is acquired by where one is born. Our Motherland. That defines us. So foremost all of us here like me are proud Indians. Second the family name and upbringing that our parents give us. Mine is Khan, like some of us here. I am very proud of my parents, like all of us are here. I love them unconditionally. The third is the profession we choose that defines us. By some quirk of fate I am a celebrity...a public figure in the fields of art and media. Like most of us are here today. This is the full text of Shah Rukh Khan's statement clarifying his essay in Outlook Turning Points magazine. As I said being an Indian and my parents' child is an unconditional accepted truth of my life and I am very proud of both. The third...being a public figure makes me open to any kind of questioning, adjectives good and bad and or sometimes makes me an object of controversy as people use my name and statements to attach any positive or negative sentiment to it. I accept all the above because this is the life I chose and will stand by it. I am what I am, because of the love and admiration that comes with being who I am in my profession...so I thank everyone for making me the star I am. Now to address this whole issue, with regards to my Article, that has taken an unwarranted twist. I do not even understand the basis of this controversy. Ironically the article I wrote (yes its written by me) was actually meant to reiterate that on some occasions my being an Indian Muslim film star is misused by bigots and narrow minded people who have misplaced religious ideologies for small gains...and ironically the same has happened through this article...once again. The reason for this primarily is...I think some of the people have not even read it and are reacting to comments of people, who in turn have also not read it. So I implore you all to first read it. Second if you read it, nowhere does the article state or imply directly or indirectly that I feel unsafe...troubled or disturbed in India. It does not even vaguely say that I am ungrateful for the love that I have received in a career spanning 20 years. On the contrary the article only says that in spite of bigoted thoughts of some of the people that surround us...I am untouched by skepticism because of the love I have received by my countrymen and women. I will paraphrase the beginning and the end of the article to clarify and substantiate my stand. "Then, there is the image I most see, the one of me in my own country: being acclaimed as a megastar, adored and glorified, my fans mobbing me with love and apparent adulation. So I am a Khan, but no stereotyped image is factored into my idea of who I am. Instead, the living of my life has enabled me to be deeply touched by the love of millions of Indians. I have felt this love for the last 20 years regardless of the fact that my community is a minority within the population of India. I have been showered with love across national and cultural boundaries, they appreciate what I do for them as an entertainer - that's all. My life has led me to understand and imbibe that love is a pure exchange, untempered by definition and unfettered by the narrowness of limiting ideas. Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, you are an Indian first and your religion is Humanity, or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, tu hindu banega na musalmaan banega - insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega set to Gangnam style. Why should not the love we share be the last word in defining us instead of the last name? It doesn't take a superstar to be able to give love, it just takes a heart and as far as i know, there isn't a force on this earth that can deprive anyone of theirs. I am a Khan, and that's what it has meant being one, despite the stereotype images that surround me. To be a Khan has been to be loved and love back." Please, I implore everyone here to read the article and convey through your respective mediums of communications, all the good things that it expresses to youngsters and my fellow Indians. It is a heartfelt and extremely important aspect of my life, an appreciation of love that all of you have bestowed upon me and also a point of view from my being a father of two young children. I would like to tell all those who are offering me unsolicited advice that we in India are extremely safe and happy. We have an amazing democratic, free and secular way of life. In the environs that we live here in my country India, we have no safety issues regarding life or material. As a matter of fact it is irksome for me to clarify this non-existent issue. With respect I would like to say to anyone who is interpreting my views and offering advice regarding them, please read what I have written first. Also some of the views that I have been made to read are just an extension of soft targeting celebs and creating an atmosphere of emotional outbursts and divisiveness based on religion...in the minds of some. I implore everyone to understand, that my article is against exactly this kind of giving in to propaganda and aggressiveness. Let's not be misled by tools which use religion as an anchor for unrest and a policy of divide and rule. I would also like to add here, that my profession as an actor makes me, liked beyond the borders of my nation and culture. The hugs and love that I am showered upon by Nationalities all around the world, make me safe all over the globe, and my safety has genuinely never been a matter of concern to me...and so it should not be a matter of concern to anyone else either. We are all educated and patriotic people. We do not have to prove that time and again because of divisive politics of a few. My own family and friends, are like a mini India...where all religions, professions and a few wrongs included, all are treated with tolerance and understanding and regard for each other. I only sell love...love that I have got from millions of Indians and non Indians...and stand indebted to my audience in my country and around the world. It is sad that I have to say it to prove it, in my country, which my father fought for, during the Independence struggle. That's my piece and having said all this...I would like to request all of you present here...that henceforth ask me questions regarding...my next movie. The songs that I have recorded. The release date of my film. The heroines cast in it. The Toiffa awards in Vancouver, because I am an actor and maybe I should just stick to stuff that all of you expect me to have a viewpoint on. The rest of it...maybe I don't have the right kind of media atmosphere to comment on. So I will refrain from it. And please if you can...put all I have said on your channels, or mediums of communication, in the exact same light as I have said it and meant it in. 24 hours of unrequired controversy is more than enough for all of us I assume. So do not sensationalize and hence trivialize matters of national interest and religion any further and drag a movie actor in the middle of it all...and let me get back to doing what I do best...making movies. ~ Shah Rukh Khan ========o========

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Delhi gang-rape case: Supreme Court rejects transfer of trial outside Delhi

New Delhi, 29 Jan 2013 [TIMES OF INDIA] --- The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea to shift the trial in Delhi gang rape case to a place outside the national capital. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir dismissed the transfer petition upon the receipt of the sessions judge's report that the accused, on whose behalf the transfer petition was moved, does not want to be represented by advocate ML Sharma. Rejecting the transfer petition, the court said that the advocate has no locus standi to appear in the matter on behalf of one of the gang-rape accused, Mukesh. In the course of the last hearing of the case, the apex court had asked the sessions judge, trying the Dec 16, 2012, gang-rape case, to ascertain as to whom the accused would like to engage as his counsel. The situation arose after another advocate, VK Anand, told the court that it was he who actually represented the accused before the trial court. The sessions judge, in his report to the apex court, which was opened Tuesday in the court room, said that the accused wanted to be represented by advocate Anand. Anand, in the course of the last hearing, said that he was not seeking any transfer of trial outside Delhi. Earlier, accused Mukesh had sought the shifting of the case to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh or any other state, as he apprehended he would not get free and fair trial in the city. The petition said that Mukesh did not expect a free and fair trial in Delhi as the judiciary was under tremendous pressure because of personal interest shown by chief minister Sheila Dikshit and others. Besides the public pressure and unending public agitations over the incident, the petition drew the apex court's attention to some of the statements made by the serving and retired judges of the higher judiciary who sought changes in the law for an expeditious trial of rape accused. The petition said the attitude of police and jail authorities was totally biased against the petitioner. Ram Singh, Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur were charged with gang-raping and brutally assaulting a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus Dec 16. The victim died in aSingapore hospital December 29.

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OBCs, SCs, STs to blame for corruption: Ashis Nandy

JAIPUR, 26 Jan 2013 [PTI] --- The Jaipur literature festival today witnessed fireworks after political critic Ashis Nandy made a controversial comment on corruption and people belonging to OBC, SC and ST communities which drew a strong response from the audience. At a panel discussion at the festival, Nandy said, "Most corrupt people come from OBC, SC and ST communities". Journalist Ashutosh, who was among the panelists, and most members from the audience took strong exception to the statement. "This is the most bizarre statement I have heard. The Brahmins and the upper cast can do away with all the corruption but when a low caste person emulates the same thing it becomes so wrong. Such statement is not right," he said. "Most of the people who are doing corruption are people from OBC, SC and ST communities and as long as it remains Indian republic will survive," Nandy said. His comments were met with boos from the audience. However, Nandy later clarified that what he meant was that most of the people getting caught are people from OBC, SC and ST communities as they don't have the means to save themselves unlike people from upper castes. "You catch a poor person selling a black ticket for Rs 20 and say corruption but rich people with corruption of millions get away," he said. Speaking at the first session here, on 'Republic of Ideas' which discussed the idea of Indian Republic, author-journalist Tarun Tejpal said corruption is a class equalizer. "Many people who came from wrong side of society subvert the rules and move ahead using loopholes. That is the only way they have as we made such class barriers," he said. However, a member from the audience said that "corruption is the most abusive power. We can't agree to what you said". Indian Constitution, the panelists observed has tried to do very well to safeguard the freedom of speech by compromising on certain aspects. Richard Sorabji, an author with around 120 books to his credit said, "Compromise is very important for a Constitution. Indian Constitution tried to do very well with safeguarding of freedom of speech. People should be free to say what they want to say against religion but not with deliberate malice. This is a compromise missing in us". "America will do well to adopt India's idea of free speech," he added. Patrick French, whose latest book focuses on India, said that the problems India is facing today are not the creation of Constitution but by problem of bureaucracy. Talking on the idea of India, he said, which neighbouring country you look upto and say you want to live in it. That's the idea of India. The fact that you can't read does not stop you from voting. It was a great idea of Indian Constitution" ================================== Ashis Nandy clarifies stand on dalit corruption remark, cites 'misunderstanding' JAIPUR, 26 Jan 2013 [IANS] --- Leading political psychologist, scholar and social scientist Ashis Nandy clarified on Saturday that he did not mean to hurt the sentiments of the country's disempowered groups with his comment about the equalizing force of corruption and that the scourge was rampant among the backward and dalit communities as well. "I do believe that a zero corruption society will be despotic society. I also said that if people like Richard Sorabjee and I want to be corrupt, I shall possibly send his son to Harvard and give him a fellowship and he can send my daughter to Oxford," Nandy told the media following protests by dalit groups. "No one will think it as corruption. Indeed it will look like supporting talent. But when dalits, tribals and the OBCs are corrupt, it looks very corrupt indeed. However, this second corruption equalizes. It gives them access to top their entitlements As long as this equation persists, I have hope for the republic," he said. Nandy said he was sorry that he had been misunderstood. "As should be clear, there was neither any intention nor any attempt to hurt any community," he said. The scholar said he had been supporting the cause of the marginalized and dispossessed in the last 40 years of his academic and intellectual life. Earlier in the day, Nandy had stirred a hornet's nest at a panel discourse, "Republic of Ideas" when he said: "It will be an undignified and vulgar statement but the fact is that most of the corrupt come from the OBC, the scheduled castes and now increasingly STs. As long as it was the case, the Indian republic would survive." "I will give an example. The state of least corruption is West Bengal. In the last 100 years, nobody from the backward classes and the SC and ST groups have come anywhere near power in West Bengal. It is an absolutely clean state," Nandy said. Later Nandy set the record straight saying that he had meant to endorse fellow panelist Tarun Tejpal's statement that "corruption in India was an equalizing force" after dalit activists descended on the venue to protest Nandy's remarks. Late in the evening dalit leader Kirorilal Meena filed an FIR against Nandy at the Ashok Nagar police station. This was despite festival producer Sanjoy K Roy explaining the import of Nandy's comments to Meena and other dalit leaders. "They have clarified their position and have understood that it was a misunderstanding. Controversies are easily created. Please be responsible," Roy said. A trained clinical psychologist and sociologist, Nandy works cover a variety of topics like politics, public conscience and dialogues of civilizations. Nandy has been honoured with the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize and has been named as one of top 100 public intellectuals by the Carnegie Foreign Policy magazine. Panelist Tarun Tejpal, the editor in chief and publisher of Tehelka said: "It is sad that in a literary festival, people should be attacking the finest intellectual. When you come to literature festival, you are coming to play with ideas." Like in 2012, the Jaipur Literature Festival this year too has lived up its reputation as a platform for free speech and diverse voices with Saturday's controversy over Nandy remarks and a heated exchange between lyricist-MP Javed Akhtar and dalit writer Kancha Ilaiah from Andhra Pradesh over religion. Protests by hardline Muslim groups following speculation that author of "Satanic Verses" Salman Rushdie would attend the festival last year had kept the heat on for five days. ================================= Grounded in earlier remarks JAIPUR, 28 Jan 2013 [The Hindu] --- Subsequent remarks made by Ashis Nandy need to be read and understood in the context of what Tarun Tejpal said speaking before Nandy did. Agreeing with Tejpal, Nandy went on to argue that such "corruption" of the excluded — the Dalits, tribals, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minorities — is inevitable if they are to break out from the bonds of an oppressive web of rules and regulations. He went on to say, referring to both himself and Richard Sorabji, that if they "arranged" to get fellowships for their children at Harvard or Oxford, as part of a trade in mutual and selective favours, none will comment about that, as if it is axiomatic that the fellowship was awarded on the basis of merit. Politicians or leaders of the oppressed strata, being new to the game and relatively untutored in the skills of manipulation, are unlikely to seek academic fellowships as a form of graft, and are more likely to covet and corner licences to operate petrol pumps. These pumps are publicly noticeable and can provoke outrage. Their licensees are linked to their "corrupt" benefactors, who are then condemned by the chattering classes in metropolitan cities. So far so good. Nandy then went on to more provocatively stretch the argument, asserting that it is precisely this kind of "corruption" that has "saved" the Republic and democracy by enabling a degree of social and economic mobility and pluralising the composition of India's elite. Furthermore, he argued, that it is most likely the list of "corrupt" could be inordinately dominated by Dalits, tribals, minorities and OBCs. Despite his prefacing his last remarks, saying that what he was about to say may shock many people, and that he nevertheless wished to stress the point about how we understand corruption, many in the audience (and one on the panel) completely missed Nandy's point, and immediately accused him of casteist bias, calling upon him to withdraw his remarks and tender an apology. Some in the audience demanded that he should be charged under the Protection of Civil Rights Act for hurting the sentiments of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Competitive outrage follows Nandy's protestations that what he said and meant was completely the opposite of what he was being charged with were not persuasive once the atmosphere was charged with heightened emotions. Competitive outrage, taking on the familiar form favoured by some overly strident and aggressive TV anchors, evidently gives no quarter to nuanced arguments, any irony, or even black humour. When Nandy characterised the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Madhu Koda (now in jail), as India's first dollar billionaire, he was hardly extolling the virtues of corruption or turning a blind eye to the "perfidies" of upper caste politicians. At best, in an underhand and sly way, he was expressing admiration for the abilities of a tribal leader in matching up to what has hitherto been an exclusive preserve of India's upper caste elite. Accusations of Nandy of being anti-Dalit/tribal/minority groups, the calls for registering a FIR against him, and demanding that he should be arrested would, in our better days, have been dismissed as an irrelevant, if not comic, aside. Such innocent days have faded, unfortunately, into a distant past. So quick are we now to take offence and demand immediate retributory action against alleged offenders that we almost never take a moment to pause, to ascertain the facts, understand what was said and meant, in what context, and to what ends. All we want is action, and now! Signals shrinking discourse Subsequent demands by the Bahujan Samaj Party leader, Mayawati, by the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes P.L. Punia, and others, to arrest Ashis Nandy, even though none of them was present during the discussion, illustrates the danger of a growing kind of prickliness and intolerance. Worse still, such occasions are used by politicians to signal their commitment to their constituencies and shore up their images. In the process we are left with a diminished public discourse. Even liberals, usually quick to defend "freedom of speech," advocate caution and temperance in the expression of reactions to intemperate allegations of the kind made against Nandy. Is this stance, one wonders, a compensatory guilt, marking what is politically correct, an obverse privileging of the erstwhile dispossessed? Ashis Nandy's choice of words, phrases, and examples can be questioned. He is not an organised and scintillating public speaker. One can also differ with his argument and analysis, for instance, his failure to distinguish between "corruption of the poor" and the "corruption of their leaders," whose subversion of rules often results in them robbing the very poor who are also their constituents. Nevertheless, Nandy's argument that the "rules of the game" have been set by an elite class to which he belongs, which remains a privileged lot, and therefore, that the deliberate subversion of those rules is an inevitable strategy for those striving for survival and upward mobility, certainly has merit. Clamping down on nuanced utterances and elliptical statements of the kind Nandy made will only make us a poorer democracy and Republic. *Harsh Sethi is Consulting Editor, Seminar magazine.

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