Why 'Indian Women' Still Ignored?

With current uproar over gangrape, 'ignored' women's issues have taken a centrestage in national politics.

It's December 23. India Gate is a sea of about a 2,000 sloganeers. Deep in the midst of a large group of students who hold aloft the banner of All India Students Association (AISA), their former president, the slender Kavita Krishnan, is in full flow. It is an echo of her speech outside Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's house that went viral: "We cannot disregard politics as insignificant, we do need to talk about politics. There is a culture in our country that justifies rape, that defends the act. If we are to change any of this, we need to politicise the issue. The Government has to listen." There is an applause, and some students shout "raise your voice against Sheila Dikshit" or "fight for women to be free".

Krishnan, a former leader of the radical students' organisation AISA, is now secretary of All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA), a group affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPIML). In a well-appointed home in Lutyens' Delhi, Meira Kumar, speaker of the Lok Sabha, can hear the gathering storm. She was one of the first to visit Safdarjung Hospital to meet the Delhi gang rape victim's family. She went to their one-bedroom home in suburban Delhi too, and her voice breaks as she recalls the mother saying, "Hamari haisiyat hi kya hai? Namak aur roti khate hain bachchon ko padhana ke liye (What financial standing do we have? We eat roti with salt so that our children can study)." She knows that something changed forever this December. "Women's issues will no longer be brushed aside to be handled by women. They have come centrestage and will remain there."

Whether it is the unstoppable rage against the gang rape, the rising resentment against male politicians with loose tongues and sexist minds, or the zero tolerance for entertainment that incites violence, women have decided that personal is no longer private. It is public, and political. In 2013, the Government will no longer be able to turn away from reform of women's laws, many of which are pending, such as Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, which relate to acid attacks and sexual assault. The Delhi gang rape protests were not entirely led by women's groups, but they formed a large part. Clearly, protests need to be politicised. Women's voting has declined. In 2009, of the total 58 per cent who voted, 45 per cent were women. In 2004, of the 58 per cent who voted, 53 per cent were women. Yet the number of women being elected to the Lok Sabha is on the rise. The 15th Lok Sabha has the highest ever percentage of women MPs, 58, at 11 per cent.

Women have shown the power of their anger before. Mothers who lost their daughters to dowry deaths came out on the streets of Delhi to protests against dowry. The result was the amendment to the Indian Penal Code, to include Sections 304B and 498A, which acknowledge harassment and cruelty by husbands and his relatives for dowry.

This time, the movement is demanding not just a revision to rape laws. It is asking for the onus to be on society to keep its women safe. As one of the many slogans out there on the cold December nights said: 'Don't tell us how to dress. Tell your sons not to rape.' This time, the women's movement, disparate though it may be, has learnt to give it back in the same coin in which it is attacked, using the language of offence. Thus, Slut Walk Delhi, a Facebook group with 15,982 likes and 28,000 shares started by Delhi University students Trishla Singh and Umang Sabarwal, or Dented and Painted, created after Abhijit Mukherjee's ill-advised comment, with a picture of a faceless woman wearing a tank-top emblazoned with the legend, 'Dented and Painted'. Or the Ban Honey Singh petition started by writer Kalpana Misra, 52, from Delhi, to the general manager of the Bristol Hotel in Gurgaon to cancel the singer's performance on New Year's Eve. It collected 2,500 signatures in less than 12 hours after Misra posted it late on the night of December 30 in protest against his deeply misogynistic lyrics.

Suddenly the cry is: Save Women, Save India. There are many who see this awakening as temporary, or even limited. Activist and novelist Arundhati Roy went on BBC'S Radio 4 to say that the reason this crime is creating so much outrage is "because it plays into the idea of the criminal poor, like the vegetable vendor, gym instructor or bus driver actually assaulting a middle class girl" (which is not strictly true). And that rape is seen as a "matter of feudal entitlement" in many parts of the country (which is true).

She also said that attitudes towards women need to change in India, because a change in the law alone will protect middle class women, but "the violence against other women who are not entitled will continue". Indeed, preventing violence against all women, and all kinds of violence, is the ambitious long-term goal of this movement. As Ayesha Kidwai, JNU professor and member of its JNU'S gender sensitisation committee against sexual harassment, points out, young women on the street have broadened the debate on rape. Instead of just speaking about sexual assault, they have tried to establish that there is a chain-sexual harassment, an institutional and public tolerance of sexual harassment, and an incitement to sexual violence.

The demand for such sweeping reform is a challenge for governance. Governments are used to dealing with vote banks, not issue banks. Doles are easy, details are not. What if women do form vote banks? BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman doesn't see it happening. Women belong to various religions and castes. They are yet to unite for the sole reason that they are women. Can it happen that they will look beyond their birth markers?

Perhaps. For the first time, issues considered marginal or even taboo are being discussed and debated: A woman's right to her body, security in public spaces, young people's right to aspire to a life beyond their dreams. One of the most moving aspects of the gang rape victim's family was that her father had sold a piece of land in their village to finance her education-not her marriage, as would be commonly expected. Only such family reform can create change-after all, 94 per cent of rapists are known to the victims. Beyond a point, governments cannot alter mindsets that allow female foeticide or dowry demands. Historically, despite embarrassing blips like CPI(M) MLA Anisur Rahman's comments on Mamata Banerjee, the Left has tried to be progressive in its attitude towards women. Leftist students' organisations, most with strong women leaders in Delhi, have no intention of allowing this movement to peter out. On New Year's Eve, AISA organised a protest in the central park at New Delhi's Connaught Place, aimed at "reclaiming spaces" for women. There will be more such public acts of assertion in 2013, posing a challenge for conventional policing.

In a political environment in which men try hard but fail to disguise their innate scorn for women in public life, and women try hard to fit in, will women's issues remain national concerns to be relegated to the margins again? Cynics point to the Women's Reservation Bill and the 16 years it has spent in cold storage despite the blessings of the most powerful woman leader in India. But the protests against corruption in 2011, and the rage against the gang rape of 2012, have created a new empowered citizen. He or she is led by conscience, not straitjacketed by any ideology, is connected to the world, and is armed with technology. Organising a protest is no longer a matter of hiring trucks, printing posters and buying food. It can be a group on Facebook which trends on Twitter and then gathers momentum through BlackBerry Messenger. Today's youth demand day-to-day democracy, not once in five years.

Women were at the centre of the recent US presidential battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in November 2012. About 55 million unmarried women were eligible to vote in this election, and Romney's rigid views on abortion made them flock to the Obama camp. More women than men turned out to vote (53 per cent turnout for women and 47 per cent for men). Fifty-five per cent of the women voted for Obama, while only 44 per cent voted for Romney. Not surprising, because he wanted to take back the hardfought control over their bodies with his outdated views on abortion. And not surprising when his Republican colleagues Todd Akin of Missouri and Richard Mourdock of Indiana shocked everyone with their views on rape, saying pregnancy from rape was "something God intended". Both lost the elections to the US Senate.

There's a moral there for the Indian politician who dismisses the dentedand-painteds and the thumke walis. They don't just have a voice but also a vote.

Sinkhole Assemblies in India

Despite enjoying enormous powers, pillars of democracy have failed to live up to people's expectations.

India, as its constitution states, is a union of states. Enormous powers are vested in the states that make up the country - law and order, education, health, agriculture, water and transport, to name a few of their key responsibilities. Many other important duties like resource mobilisation and expenditure are shared with the Union government. Some Indian states are huge, indeed they match many countries in terms of their geographical expanse and population. Each of them governed by democratically elected governments which zealously guard their power and authority.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the governance of our states is the performance of their legislatures . Most sit for two or three weeks at the longest, with one or two shorter sessions. Just what kind of legislative business they can conduct thereafter is obvious. In comparison to the state legislatures, the Parliament of India actually manages to conduct some business, even though in recent years its record has been somewhat blemished.

The Parliamentary Committee system, which is kept away from the glare of the media, does a great deal of the leg-work on legislation and this compensates for the spotty performance of the two houses of Parliament.

To a great extent, here, the responsibility in the states lies with the executive, which does not give due importance to legislative processes. But blame must be shared with the legislators who participate in the functioning of their respective assemblies. In a few states with stable polities, legislators have been returned to the assembly in several successive elections. But others see massive turnovers and the result is that the people's representatives remain inexperienced and raw.

Ultimately, the responsibility rests with the political parties themselves. One of the major challenges before them is to maintain a high level of ethical conduct that is expected from legislators. While Parliament and some states have ethics committees, some state legislatures do not even have this minimal institutional check. As for the parties, they simply don't care, winning the seat is everything.

Andhra Pradesh: The assembly met for 37 days in 2012 over two sessions - budget and monsoon, and a three-day special session. The winter session has not been held. An assembly secretariat official failed to identify any particular reason for the few sittings. Each MLA earns a salary of Rs. 1,07,000 per month, including perks. The assembly spends, on average, Rs. 8,500 per minute during a session.

Delhi: Of the 245 working days last year, Delhi MLAs met only for 22. In 2011, 'business was transacted' only on 17 days, which included the 10-day budget session. Each day of the session costs Rs. 6.12 lakh, excluding the expenditure incurred on ministers and on collecting and preparing replies to questions. The last session of the assembly - held from December 11 to December 14 - was supposed to run for 14 hours. It lasted only 12 hours 35 minutes. According to official records, each hour wasted cost the secretariat Rs. 1.85 lakh. MLAs are paid Rs. 1,000 per sitting.

Jammu & Kashmir: In 2012, the budget-cum-winter session of the assembly, held in the state's winter capital Jammu, witnessed 33 sittings with nearly 10 meetings during the summer session in Srinagar. A ccording to assembly secretary Muhammad Ramzan, the MLAs are paid the air fare to attend the sessinos in Srinagar and Jammu, beside a Rs. 500 allowance per session. The salary for MLAs comes to about Rs. 80,300 per month. While the government says the two sessions are adequate, they have come under the fire from the opposition for being insufficient.

Punjab: For the Budget session, the newly constituted assembly met over 10 days. The winter session, before it was adjourned sine die, saw five sittings in December. An MLA in Punjab gets about `80,000 including their monthly salary and constituency allowance.

Rajasthan: The present house will go down in history as that with the fewest sittings. Since 2008, when the House was elected, it has met 97 times, averaging 24 days per calendar year. According to the Rules of Business and Conduct of the House, the total number of sittings in the three sessions - budget, winter and monsoon - should not be less than 60. Over the past two decades, the number of sittings has whittled down considerably. An MLA earns Rs. 62,500 per month and an allowance of Rs. 1,000 for each meeting attended.

West Bengal: Assemblies in large states such as West Bengal should meet for 90 days each year. But in 2012, West Bengal only managed 41. In 2011 and 2010, there were 34 and 48 sittings respectively. The key reason behind this is the government's alleged urge to avoid debate. MLAs here are paid Rs. 1,000 per sitting.

Uttar Pradesh: In its maiden year after the polls, the UP assembly met for all of 26 days, with a 21-day budget and five-day winter session. The monsoon session was not convened. Each MLA or MLC earns about Rs. 40,000 - Rs. 50,000. Over the past years, one has observed that the government mostly calls the assembly session either for the annual or supplementary budget, supplementary demand for funds or to get a Bill of its interest passed.

Tamil Nadu: In 2012, the assembly met for about 39 days, including the 32-day budget session. Disruptions are rare, but since 1989, a lot of time is wasted paying obeisance to the CM under the alternating DMK and AIADMK governments. If the House is in session for 120 days a year, it is considered a good thing. Under the DMK, there were more sessions but over time, the opposition's voice has been silenced. MLAs earn more than Rs. 70,000 per month, with a Rs. 500 daily allowance when the House is in session.

Jharkhand: Jharkhand is notorious for convening the minimum number of meetings, with 2012 witnessing just about 28. The assembly operates from rented premises and met 26 and 23 times in 2011 and 2010, respectively. It was decided at a Presiding Officers Conference during Somnath Chatterjee's tenure as Lok Sabha Speaker that small houses, such as Jharkhand's with its 81 members, ought to convene at least 50 sittings. But consecutive governments have failed to achieve this. MLAs in the state earn a Rs. 700-allowance per sitting.

Bihar: Back in 1960, the budget session of the Bihar assembly was held over 76 sittings in a span of 139 days. This year, the budget session year saw 28 sittings. The winter session had only five, as did the monsoon session. The shorter sessions started becoming a norm in the post-1980 era, and it has continued under the RJD as well as JD(U)-BJP regimes. MLAs get a Rs. 1,000 allowance per sitting.

Orissa: The winter session of the House had 21 working days, but a lot of time was lost thanks to the walkouts staged by the main Opposition party, the Congress. The 2012 budget session started on February 21 and went on till the first week of April, about 40 days. Then came the monsoon session, which saw 10 sittings. An MLA here earns Rs. 60,000 per month, with a Rs. 500 allowance per sitting.

Tamil Nadu: In 2012, the assembly met for about 39 days, including the 32-day budget session. Disruptions are rare, but since 1989, a lot of time is wasted paying obeisance to the CM under the alternating DMK and AIADMK governments. If the House is in session for 120 days a year, it is considered a good thing. Under the DMK, there were more sessions but over time, the opposition's voice has been silenced. MLAs earn more than Rs. 70,000 per month, with a Rs. 500 daily allowance when the House is in session.

Boiling Down to Human Chemistry

Are relationships largely determined by chemicals released in individuals?

Chemistry is a trendy word these days. A film's success or failure is often attributed to the chemistry, or lack of it, between its actors. When two people meet for the first  time and hit it off, they have a “great chemistry”, 
while workplace issues often stem from “bad work chemistry”. 

Love was the first relationship description to move away from the realms of physics and biology to the cauldron of heady molecules: endorphins, testosterone and oxytocin and get the identity of a sizzling chemical reaction. Do the laws of chemistry that circumscribe love hold true for other human relationships, too? Are the filial bonds that hold people together merely a set of chemical equations when broken down to the molecular level? Is there a chemical formula for every emotion? 

Scientists across the globe have been working on unravelling the secrets of social neuroscience, a trendy new branch of research. There is one theory that considers every human being as a molecule, whose interactions with other individuals are like those between two giant molecules, forming affinity or repelling bonds the same way as a molecule of oxygen would react with hydrogen or iron. Another group feels that most interpersonal interactions are the play of chemicals released by these individuals, under instructions from their respective genetic codes. 

A study conducted a few decades ago showed that a group of girls who lived in a confined space would have their menstrual cycles synchronised. This made scientists wonder if there were chemical cues that were making the group behave similarly, says Sanjeev Jain, professor of psychiatry at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (Nimhans), Bangalore. “Similar cues must be triggering complex behaviours in people, governing group activities, courtship and mating,” says Sanjeev. 

For instance, the double income nuclear family culture of present times is showing  an increasing number of youngsters affected by the maternal social deprivation syndrome. “The absence of parents for long hours and insufficient bonding affects the secretion of most hormones from the brain's pituitary glands, thereby affecting general growth, wellbeing and social skills,” says Dr S.K. Wangnoo, senior consultant endocrinologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi. Here again, there must be strong chemical cues from the parents that encourage development in the youngster. 

Psychiatrists and endocrinologists loosely club individuals into three clusters. “Cluster A people have high levels of dopamine and are the most eccentric,” says Dr Kushal Jain, psychiatrist at Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Studies, New Delhi. “They don't mix well with others and do things their own way. They are fine to work with as long as they are not disturbed too much. Cluster B people are outgoing. They are good leaders but not necessarily good team members. These people are found to be low in dopamine, a pleasure hormone. Since their pleasure pathways don't work too well because of a lack of dopamine, they are constantly trying to activate the pathways, which reflects in their social behaviour. These people also have interpersonal problems with others of their cluster type. Cluster C people are affable, as they have low levels of serotonin, a stress management chemical. Since this cluster lacks stress coping skills, it automatically tries to avoid conflict.”

Extremely low serotonin levels, however, are associated with mental disorders like depression. It isn't always levels of a chemical that affect relationships. Sometimes it is how a person's body reacts to the chemical. For instance, people with social anxiety disorders are often extra sensitive to the effects of serotonin. 

These clusters could explain several interpersonal behaviours. Two constantly bickering colleagues might both be dopamine-starved, while a calm, affable person  might be running low on serotonin. Will a calm person get aggressive if injected with serotonin? “The creator wouldn't get the variety of individual personalities we see today if he had to depend on just dopamine and serotonin,” says Mumbai-based social psychiatrist Harish Shetty. “Each human being should be considered a laboratory of trillions of molecules. Interaction with another such laboratory will naturally set off innumerable chemical reactions that will ultimately forge the relationship between the two.”

Chemicals don't work solo, they like to work in a group. Human beings are the most  evolved species and can understand each other's feelings. They have empathy. Sanjeev suggests that mirror neuron pathways in the brain play a role here. These pathways were discovered around three decades ago and have caught the fancy of neurologists and neuropsychiatrists ever since. 
Why do opposites attract? According to Jain, the attraction might happen because they see in the other what they may like to see in themselves, and forge the bond through the mirror pathways. 

US-based scientist Dr V.S. Ramachandran's research suggests that empathy itself is not a metaphysical, social phenomenon, but has a neurological basis. In his study, he  gave a set of people mild electric pokes, which fired their mirror neurons for pain. The same set of neurons fired up in the same way when these people saw someone else being poked. Understanding someone's feelings is what we call empathy. Ramachandran calls these neurons the Dalai Lama neurons. 

Scientists theorise that even a human's moral fibre is woven with the yarn of chemicals, mainly large peptide chains of molecules like hormones. Oxytocin and progesterone are the toppers in this category, being associated with lofty virtues like altruism and empathy. One research group in the west developed a nasal spray with oxytocin as the main component and, in a study, showed that inhaling it lowered the social fears of the subjects, thereby making them more trusting. 

Oxytocin is released in copious amounts during childbirth and lactation. “Delivering and bringing up a child, often at the cost of huge personal risk, requires high levels of selflessness,” says Sanjeev. So, naturally, researchers have studied this ancient molecule in depth. Released during hugging and kissing, oxytocin has earned appellations like “the love hormone” or “the cuddle hormone”. It is seen in high levels among prairie wolves, an extremely monogamous species, indicating  oxytocin's role in fidelity. In pop science, oxytocin is the tend-and-befriend chemical, just as adrenaline is the fight-or-flight hormone. 

Progesterone, which is present during pregnancy, is regarded as the nurturing hormone, and is also called the fidelity hormone. “In complex species, childbirth and childcare are taxing processes requiring the participation of both parents. Fidelity is, therefore, a requisite for survival,” says Sanjeev. 

Social endocrinology is still in its nascent stages and every study throws up new information. Chemicals do not always instruct us on how to behave and our behaviour, too, can release a particular set of chemicals. A recent study by the University of Michigan shows that female bonding causes a surge in progesterone levels, increasing their general levels of wellbeing. This is in contrast to the established thought that progesterone caused bonding in the first place. The study also showed that these women, when awash with progesterone surges, were also more inclined to sacrifice, even at the cost to personal risk. 

Positive chemical cocktails coursing through the system will not amount to much, however, unless supported by the right genetic code, physical maturity and other factors. The nesting behaviour triggered by progesterone works best when the body is in its prime reproductive years. An immature individual might not be able to utilise the affiliation bonds induced by the hormone as effectively. 
“Uptake of chemicals depends on the development of neuronic pathways in the brain,” says Sanjeev. Does that explain why people you could never get along with during your youth now seem tolerable? Similarly, adrenaline, a corticosteroid, is secreted in times of sudden stress, triggering a cascade of reactions from dilated pupils to increased heartbeats, making the individual acutely self-aware and focussed on the situation. 

Yet, some decide to fight the adversary, while others choose flight. “Herein comes personality type, which is itself etched by individual chemical concentrations in their systems,” says Wangnoo. 

Behavioural scientist Anindya Sinha of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, has been studying macaques for two decades. He has made interesting observations, based on just one molecule: a transporter of serotonin. Most macaques have only one variety of this gene, only the aggressive rhesus [where the pecking order is stringent] and egalitarian bonnet macaques [who live in democratic communities] show different expressions of the gene, or polymorphism, as it is scientifically called. Sinha's studies demonstrate that this genetic variety is responsible for a commonly shared trait between these otherwise different macaques: adaptability. Individuals with the long gene sequence are better adapted to stress than those with the short one. But the coexistence of both gene forms within the population gives the cluster better adaptability skills, thus boosting their survival chances even in changing environments. 

At a human level, Sinha extends this theory to explain why certain socially negative traits like alcoholism and drug addiction persist. These traits have been associated with the expression of particular genes. Scientists believe that genes which are bad for the survival of species are eventually weeded out of populations. But the same gene that makes a person prone to addiction might also be responsible for a positive trait like adaptability or affability that is beneficial for species survival. “My studies focussed on just one gene expression,” said Sinha. “Individual behaviours are sculpted when hundreds of genes act in concert. Yet, we are not just a manifestation of gene expression, because there are so many other forces also at play. There is a chemistry out there for sure. But how much is chemistry and how much is beyond it, is something we don't know when we will decipher.” 

The absence of parents for long hours and insufficient bonding affects the secretion of most hormones from the brain's pituitary glands, thereby affecting general growth, wellbeing and social skills.

Owaisi mock media, divide Muslims to expand vote base

“The Nation wants to know” went Urdu in Tandur town, 130 km from Hyderabad, on Saturday night. Asaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad MP and chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), taunted English television anchors at a public meeting, poking fun at their mulk pooch raha hai rhetoric.

“Television studios have become like courtrooms. Where the anchors ask questions, making it seem like the entire country wants to know the answer. But I will not reply there. I will say what I want before the people,” said Owaisi, as the appreciative all-male gathering of about 5,000 cheered at the Idgah ground.

Owaisi is cheesed off with what he describes as the domination of Twitter by the ‘saffron brigade’. “Eighty percent of people on Twitter are from the Sangh Parivar,” he says. The feeling is that this clutch of vocal, vociferous, aggressive twitter handles are increasingly dictating the news rundown on the mainstream media, which is wrongly treating the chatter on Twitter as the voice of India.

It almost seemed as if the otherwise media-friendly Owaisi wanted to vent his spleen at different forms of media. During his hour-long speech, he mentioned YouTube, on which brother Akbaruddin Owaisi’s hate speech went viral with over 80,000 hits, some 25 times. So much so that when the police officer indicated that the stipulated time for the meeting was over, he said in jest, “Ten minutes are still left on my YouTube.”

Are the Owaisis feeling the heat? Their answer is obviously no but the widespread condemnation of Akbaruddin Owaisi’s speech in Adilabad where he had challenged “100 crore Hindus to a duel with 25 crore Muslims” and sworn to vanquish them “if the police stayed away for fifteen minutes”, has pushed the MIM on to the back foot. At the same meeting last month, Akbar had spoken of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in an offensive manner, comments that upset not only the Hindu community, but even the moderates among the Muslims.

The Tandur meeting was the first since Akbar was served notice by the Adilabad and Nizamabad police to appear before them next week. And if the utterances of elder brother Asaduddin Owaisi—the milder of the two—were any indication, the attempt was to mollify the Hindu community and reduce temperatures.

“We are not against Hindus. But we are against the BJP and Kiran Kumar Reddy,” declared Asaduddin Owaisi, linking the BJP’s new found aggression to what may possibly happen if a Telangana state were to be formed. MIM has opposed creation of Telangana state arguing that it will be a communal hotspot with the BJP likely to flex its muscles to make the minorities insecure.

Ever since it parted ways with the Congress, the MIM has looked to expand into newer areas and grow out of its base in the Old City of Hyderabad. The present controversy presents a challenge in how to ensure Akbar, who is one of MIM’s star campaigners and orators, is not disqualified from fighting elections. The bigger issue is that its image has taken a beating at a time when Asaduddin Owaisi is emerging as a national Muslim leader. The party has now once again been branded as group of rabble-rousers who incite communal passions for the sake of votes.

The dilemma for the MIM is that it knows Akbar’s semantics, though terribly over the top, work as well. In Tandur, as soon as Asaduddin Owaisi finished speaking, an MIM leader announced on the mike “Akbaruddin Owaisi saab ki Adilabad aur Nizamabad ki speech ki DVD bahar stall par mojood hai. Aap apne liye ek copy khareed le.” (The DVD copies of the speeches by Akbaruddin Owaisi at Adilabad and Nizamabad are available on sale here, please buy a copy). The scramble that followed is a giveaway to the kind of hysterical adulation Akbar enjoys within his constituency. Ten-year-old Mehraj gushed in the crowd every Owaisi mentioned Akbar, “Hamare hero hai.” (He is our hero)

What this episode will do is to help MIM polarise the Muslim vote more. If Akbar is arrested or he surrenders in court, he will achieve martyr status before a crowd that already fawns over him. It will also help the BJP make inroads into the Old City of Hyderabad, an area that has been virtually lost to them for a decade now. The only loser will be Hyderabad that could bear the brunt of the games politicians on both sides will play.

How does one shame the shameless in India?

This is not an empty rant against the ruling class. It is much more — it is an expression of utter and total condemnation. It is a notice. The entire country stood as one, a rare occurrence, behind Nirbhaya who passed away in Singapore on December 29. Her tragic death generated deep anguish, yes. But there was also deep disgust. Citizens raised their voices across platforms and demanded that this day be permanently marked as the Day of Shame. Will that happen? More importantly, will that help? How does one shame the shameless in any case? 

    
Behind all the emotional outbursts, one thing was constant — the vociferous demand for justice. 

The demand for change. Not years from now. But immediately. Perhaps, this is precisely the tipping point India has been waiting for. Here was one case which touched countless hearts and pushed an important concern to centre stage in a way no other case or movement has in recent memory. It took a horrific rape to expose our politicians. Suddenly the netas of Delhi were stripped naked. And there was no place to hide. Years of strutting around pompously and grand standing during one crisis after another, provided zero protection to these people as enraged citizenry took to the streets crying out for better governance, sickened by the apathy and abuse of power. The moment of truth was finally here. And the reins got seamlessly transferred into the hands of the people of India. 
    
Announcing a commission to examine what went so horribly wrong in the 23-year-old girl’s case, is a ruse that will no longer work. Those days of buying time and fobbing off angry citizens with empty assurances of ‘looking into the matter’ are over. This was the old way of doing things. Young India is not ready to play ball with such deception. As was amply demonstrated at India Gate, yes, by those very dented and painted people. Had even one of these leaders bothered to meet protestors during those early days when storm clouds were rapidly gathering over the Capital, perhaps this clumsy, even callous debacle could have been better managed. 
    
The young girl would have died regardless. That was a given from the word go. But we would have been spared the farce of watching the meaningless airlift to Singapore. That was the final straw. It was the wrong decision taken for the wrong reasons, by the wrong people. It fooled nobody. If anything, it further fanned the flames of collective anger. Citizens instinctively saw through the political game that was being played out in such a brazen manner. That high-minded gesture was not about saving a critically injured girl. It was about saving their own face. And faking concern. It was already too late. The time for such hypocrisy and sham is unequivocally over. 
    
If those in positions of power refuse to recognize what this crisis is all about, it will be their tragedy. While a disenfranchised woman’s heartrending plea — “Mummy, I want to live!” — fell on deaf ears and was dismissed by deadened souls, it was left to the people of India to continue the struggle, while our leaders resolutely and foolishly refused to meet protestors. Such aloofness. Such cowardice. It is going to cost. And cost big time. 
    
Leadership is about engagement. Real leaders do not run away from crises. But ours have specialized in burying their heads during any emergency hoping it will resolve itself and disappear on its own. This was one time they miscalculated — and how. The courageous young girl is dead. But there is an elephant in the room. An elephant that refuses to turn tail and leave. Ignoring the animal is not an option. But which of our mighty leaders is ready to take on the challenge and deal with not just the elephant, but the hungry beast that is on the prowl. It is a beast without a name. It is ferocious and cannot be tamed.The power of this beast is bigger than the state. This insatiable creature is about to gobble up Delhi. Water cannons, lathi charges…even bullets, will not stop its march. 

Why Indian police fails at crowd control?

The Delhi high court on Wednesday slammed Delhi Police for imposing Section 144 CrPC during the Nirbhaya rape protests instead of handling law and order. On December 22 and 23, cops had used batoncharge, teargas and water cannons on people who had gathered at India Gate to protest. Around the same time, police in Manipur opened fire at protesters demanding the arrest of an NSCN (IM) commander. A journalist was killed in the firing. 

 Clearly, police in India are inept at crowd control. They resort to brutal methods at the slightest provocation. Why? 
    
Experts say the issue could be about not putting the right people in charge. “Training has always been a lacuna, but it’s also about putting the wrong people on the job. Units trained in hardcore anti-insurgency operations are put in charge of crowd control all of a sudden. These men are trained to use their firearms, not batons. The policeman does what he is trained to do; he may not always know what he is supposed to do under the given circumstances,” said a senior officer of Assam police, requesting anonymity. 
    
The crisis at India Gate could have been averted by using mounted police, aver officials from other forces. But additional DCP and PRO of Delhi Police Rajan Bhagat clarified, “We didn’t use our mounted unit as that would have put our animals at risk. The crowd was violent and hurling stones and brickbats. Many of our colleagues were injured and one of them died.” 
    
An officer in the elite President’s Bodyguard added that the presence of a horse “may deter a crowd from getting violent; but if it does, the horse could get fidgety and bolt, resulting in a stampede. You don’t want that in a civilian situation, do you?” 
    
Cops abroad, though, use their mounted units to break up protests. They have also been taking lessons from history. The ‘shield wall’ or ‘phalanx formation’, a battle tactic used by the Persian Sparabara, Greek hoplites and Roman legions inancient times, has been a favourite among riot police in advanced countries. London police, in particular, experimented with the Anglo-Saxon shield wall, which had troubled the Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. In a simulation attack, cops found that even heavily armed protesters couldn’t break past this wall.
    
They are also looking for ‘less lethal’ weapons of riot control. For instance, the British Home Office is focusing on a new chemical called ‘discriminating irritant projectile’ or Dip, which would be loaded with CS gas, pepper spray or another irritant. Another interesting weapon is “skunk oil” — foul-smelling liquids fired in the form of pellets. So intense would be the odour that anyone hit by such a pellet would want to go home and change. 
    
Perhaps it’s time police in India followed their example. But there are hurdles here. 
    
“Many proposals for modernization got caught in red tape. Our riot gear isn’t anything to write home about. That’s why so many policemen were hurt in Delhi. We are still using archaic rubber bullets or baton rounds and are yet to use plastic bullets,” said an IPS officer in charge of riot training.

Of all juvenile crimes, 64% by 16-18 yr olds

NCRB Data Shows Rapes Committed By Juveniles Have Jumped By An Alarming 188%. Even as the nation pushes and the government debates lowering the age limit in juvenile crimes in the light of the Delhi gang rape, NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data shows that most juvenile crimes are committed by those in the age group of 16-18 years. 

    
Notably, the minor accused in the Delhi gang rape, who was allegedly the most brutal among the six accused, is 17 and a half years old. 
    
The NCRB data also shows that rapes committed by juveniles have jumped by 188%. The only categories of crimes involving juveniles for which growth figures are higher are theft and robbery, which recorded a growth rate of around 200% and abduction of women which recorded an exponential rise of 660%. 
    
In 2011, the rise in rape by juveniles (34%) over 2010 was again among the highest. Other growth figures that were higher than this included dowry deaths (63.5%) and abduction of women (53.5%) — both crimes against women. 

According to NCRB data for 2011, 64% of all juvenile criminals fall in the age group of 16-18. In 2011, 33,887 juveniles were arrested for 25,178 instances of crime. Of these, 1,211 juveniles fell in the 7-12 years age group, 11,019 fell in the 12-16 years age group while 21,657 fell in the 16-18 years age group. In Delhi itself, of the 925 boys arrested for juvenile crimes in 2011, 567 were in the 16-18 years age group. 
    
Again, while the debate on the issue of revisiting the age limit in juvenile crimes has focused on the Juvenile Justice Act being a reformatory tool, the NCRB data is not very encouraging, especially in case of Delhi. Close to 22% of all juvenile criminals in Delhi were repeat offenders in contrast to the national average of 11.5%. Sources say even this data gives a very conservative figure as only those convicted earlier are called repeat offenders. Also, those who have turned adults and continued in crime are not included. 
    
Even the argument that broken families and children without parents lead to more juveniles taking to crime falls flat if the NCRB data is any indication. It shows that in 2011, only 5.7% of all juveniles arrested were found to be homeless. The rest either stayed with their parents (81.3%) or relatives. 
    
However, socio-economic conditions have been a factor. A large chunk of the offenders come from extremely poor families, making for close to 57% of all juvenile criminals. Lack of education is another big factor with over 55% juvenile criminals being illiterate or limited to primary education. Across the country, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat accounted for close to 70% of all juvenile crimes registered in 2011. MP led the pack in rape cases with 271 cases, followed by UP (146) and Maharshtra (125). Delhi recorded 47 cases of rapes by juveniles. All together make for over 50% of all rape cases by juveniles.

MIM party smells conspiracy behind action against Akbar Owaisi

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) sees a conspiracy by the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh to target its leader Akbaruddin Owaisi by slapping serious charges of waging war against the nation.

Police in Hyderabad, Adilabad and Nizamabad districts, during the last two days, registered three cases against Owaisi for allegedly making hate speeches last month.

The courts in Hyderabad and neighboring Ranga Reddy district directed the police to book Owaisi under Section 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity between different groups.

However, the police in Nirmal town of Adilabad district went a step further and registered a case under Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage war against the state).

Police in Nizamabad also booked the MIM legislator under Section 295 A (for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings).

The police Friday served notice to Owaisi, who is away in London for treatment, summoning him for questioning at Nirmal police station on Jan 8 and at Nizamabad on January 9.

The 42-year-old firebrand, younger brother of MIM chief and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, faces arrest in the case.

However, sources in MIM said he is not likely to return to India before Jan 16. Owaisi, through his lawyers, may seek more time for appearing before the police.

“Akbar Owaisi is a public representative and not a hardcore criminal as the government is trying to project him,” a leader of MIM told while taking serious objection to Director General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy’s statement that, if necessary, the police would take Interpol’s help to arrest him.

Sources in MIM said Akbar would make himself available to police soon after his return to India and would cooperate with the due process of law.

While the young leader, who discontinued his medical education to enter politics in early 1990s, was booked many times for alleged provocative speeches in the past, this is the first time that a case of waging war or attempting to wage war has been registered against him.

Representing Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad for the third consecutive term, Owaisi is also the leader of the MIM in the legislative assembly.

His alleged objectionable comments triggered an outcry from political opponents, who are demanding his disqualification as member of the legislative assembly; his opponents also seek that he be barred from contesting elections.

The MIM, which severed its ties with the Congress recently over the issue of expansion of a temple abutting historic Charminar, sees a conspiracy behind the cases.

A party leader, who did not want to be named, said Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was worried over the huge public response MIM was drawing at its public meetings in various towns.

“The chief minister says that the government has nothing to do with the cases, it is all his game plan to stop the MIM leader,” he said, while referring to the police chief’s statement that Owaisi may not be allowed to address public meetings in future.

Leaders MIM and some other Muslim groups under the banner of United Muslim Action Committee have been addressing meetings in towns with sizeable Muslim population to ‘expose the Kiran Kumar Reddy government for colluding with communal forces’.

Unmindful of the controversy over Owaisi’s remarks, the Muslim groups are holding a public meeting at Tandur in Ranga Reddy district Saturday night.

Sources in MIM also blamed some other rivals of the party and a section of electronic media for blowing the issue out of proportion. “There is nothing new in what he said. One should see the context in which the remarks were made,” sources said.

MIM leaders are hopeful that serious charges under Section 121 would not stand in the court of law. They claim that Owaisi has said nothing which can be described as ‘anti-national’.