Violence against women

Much has been written and debated about the BBC documentary, “India`s Daughter” and whether it should have been banned in India? After seeing the film and hearing the defence lawyers and the equally rabid rapist, being interviewed at length, I realised that nothing new was being filmed or said. It all happened on prime time TV in India and though we never got to see the parents as shown in the film, there were quite a few printed interviews that showed their love, their loss and their terrible grief.

The fact that civil society came out in huge protests all over the country and the congress government was totally out of touch with the people of India and their genuine outburst of grief and anger is also reported .

All this does not detract from the merits of a well packaged documentary that in the end most of the public will see if they want to on social media sites. The only reason the Nirbhaya story became a worldwide sensation was because of Indians who rose in revolt against the violence and demanded new more aggressive laws against rape and quicker justice for victims.

Other countries where such incidents have occurred have not had the same effect on its societies. 

This has happened, thanks to our very active media and civil society. But it has made a worldwide difference. Infact, the countries with the highest rape cases in the world are (91.6 per 100000), Trinidad and Tobago (58.4 per 100000), Sweden (53.2 per 100000), korea ( 33.7 per 100000) etc.

While, the annual rape rate in India has increased from 1.9 to 2.0 per 100,000 people over 2008-2012 period. Compared to other developed and developing countries, incidence rates of rape per 100,000 people are quite low in India. This could be due to unreported cases and there is concern about this aspect but due to a very active civil society and non-governmental organisations more victims are coming forward to register cases. 

A study done by International Business Times, UK, with official statistics reported that Lesotho had the highest incidence of rape followed by South Africa. In Lesotho, sexual violence against women and girls is widespread at the rate of 88.6 rape cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011, according to a UN report. 

“Unequal gender relations and belief in the sexual entitlement of men are entrenched in cultural and social norms, and the country has a very high incidence of rape. In the majority of cases, victims of sexual violence are silenced,” according to a research by NGO kick for life. 

All these facts are not an attempt to play down violence against women in India. As a woman and a journalist who has covered this issue for 25 years, there is no denying the feudal and often medieval mindset of men in this country who regard women as their property but the fact is that this is changing and civil society is bringing about this change which in turn is propelling political will. This is one fact that makes India different.

India`s Daughter, should have stressed on this aspect more.

Rupsha Roy

Msc.Media || PG:1

Democratize society for women's equality at all levels.

March the 8th, International Women’s Day, impacts corporate life a little less this year, for two reasons. One, it fell on a Sunday; and, two, in reality, Indians observe the day, for the most part, purely as a token, whose import is restricted to some women-oriented activities that day, with little spill over for the rest of the year. Women are seriously under-represented inside the womb, forget corporate boards, Parliament seats, the civil service, the judiciary or the professions.

There is a good reason why the sincere efforts of many professional women (and some men) fail to make a difference to this hypocritical attitude towards women. Those who do try to make a difference in terms of gender sensitivity and gender equality rarely try to link this process with the overall democratization of society, and so limit their own impact.

 Consider the discourse on women’s safety. It centers on policing, legal penalties, panic buttons, etc. Very few voices seek to review society’s attitudes towards women, about the serious breaches with religious teaching and tradition that women’s equality calls for.

The futility of pursuing social change in the limited space of elite interaction is brought home, more often than not, by violence. The elite have to interact with the non-elite. Emancipation clashes with the traditional notion that women who place themselves outside spatial and temporal locations that are considered virtuous are asking for sexual depredation.

 A woman who climbs the corporate ladder alongside her male colleagues at the workplace can feel secure about her young daughter as she traverses home, city and campus, only when women’s equality is part of society’s consciousness at all levels.

Yet, she has a disincentive to see the question in broader democratic terms. Her own relative emancipation is achieved at the expense of subaltern women, to whom she outsources her domestic chores. Sharing of housework by men at all levels, in other words, is part of the process of rendering March 8 something a little more than a mere token.

Rupsha Roy
Msc.Media || PG:1

“Nirbhaya-Fearless”

Here’s why the documentary shouldn't have been banned:

(CNN)India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has told all news channels not to air a controversial documentary about rape in India -- warning that the excerpts "appear to encourage and incite violence against women."

An Indian court restricted the publication and airing of the film in India as well as the dissemination of excerpts from it after Mukesh Singh's comments were released in several media outlets. He appeared to show no remorse and blamed the rape victim for being out at night, according to the documentary called "India's Daughter."Mukesh Singh told the documentary crew that his victim "should just be silent and allow the rape.

A decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at night," he told the BBC. "A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy. Boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes."He suggested that they "had a right to teach them a lesson."

In December 2012, a young woman was savagely attacked and raped by a group of men aboard a public bus in New Delhi and later died from her injuries. Mukesh Singh, who was driving the bus, is now on death row and has filed an appeal.

His comments in the documentary have stirred fierce debate about whether airing his interview gives him a platform to share his misogyny, versus those who say it increases awareness and understanding of the horror of rape.

The documentary's director, Leslee Udwin, wrote that she was "deeply saddened" by attempts to silence the film."India should be embracing this film -- not blocking it with a knee-jerk hysteria without even seeing it. This was an opportunity for India to continue to show the world how much has changed since this heinous crime," she wrote for India's NDTV.

Banning this documentary on the grounds that the content bears ‘malicious, offensive, and outrageous remarks against women’ is legit, except that it really isn’t, because it merely portrays the harsh reality of women in India, all thanks to years of oppression and overwhelming patriarchy that exists till date with TV shows like Savadhan India, Crime Patrol, etc that put forward similar content every single day.

Numerous people are of the opinion that the documentary should not be banned. While there are so many of us who are educated and even well off, it’s shocking how a lot of us are still so incredibly  narrow minded when it comes to knowing what a woman’s place is in our society. 
A nation where Goddesses are worshipped just as staunchly as a woman is treated like she’s a nobody.

SAGARIKA DEV
Msc.Media || PG:1

#Instagram

Do you guys even remember the days before Instagram? I mean, of course you do — but really, where would we be without it now?

Today, the Instagram community has grown to more than 300 million Instagrammer capturing and sharing their lives every month. Over the past four years, what began as two friends with a dream has grown into a global community that shares more than 70 million photos and videos each day from passion for jazz to Kiev. 

Instagram is home to creativity in all of its forms, a place where you can find everything from images of the Nile River or a peek inside the mind of Taylor Swift. New record turnouts of communities coming together to form friendships, explore new places and celebrate creativity in all corners of the globe from New Delhi to New York, Bucharest, Nairobi and beyond. 

As Instagram gets bigger, it’s focusing on helping us discover photos and videos from people, whether it’s a friend or your favorite musician.

Some fashion bloggers have reached wildly impressive amounts of followers as well, numbers that far exceed their Twitter or Facebook counts.

 So what’s the secret to Instagram fame? The exact formula varies, but always seems to have these elements: good captions, sharp detail or still-life photos and lots of outfits. Let’s take a closer look. It has launched a People tab on the Explore page, which highlights interesting accounts to follow.

They have added verified badges for celebrities, athletes and brands, making it easier for us to connect with the authentic accounts Finally, as more people join, keeping Instagram authentic is critical—it’s a place where real people share real moments.

We’re committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web, and that’s why we’re finishing up some important work that began earlier this year.

4 take-aways to give our #Instagram feeds a boost:

#Post frequently! Posting at least twice a day, if not five times a day. Consistency like this keeps your followers engaged.

#Pay_attention_to_your_captions – they make a difference.  Mention brands, use appropriate hashtags and add humor or emotion whenever we can!

#See_the_beauty_in_wherever_you_are. Keeping a creative eye on our surroundings, look for history, color, nature, and character all around us. Get creative – there are gorgeous locations- the biggest cities to the smallest towns.

#Showcase_your_style. Instagram users love to see our fashion, so embrace the #OOTD hashtag and share our personal style with our followers all the time. Trying different angles have a friend snap a quick picture for you, and embrace fancy mirrors.

SAGARIKA DEV

Msc.Media || PG:1

Indian Bullet Express (IBE)

Japan's shinkansen bullet train technology is the leading candidate for a planned 500km railway linking the western city of Mumbai and the state of Gujarat to the north, the first step in India's extensive high-speed rail project. The Indian and Japanese governments initiated a joint feasibility study in late 2013, and a final report is to be released in July 2015. The Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is participating in the study, told participants at a Feb.
 28 high-speed rail seminar in New Delhi that the report will likely recommend that Japan's bullet train project with Japan. The Japanese contingent at the seminar included Issei Kitagawa, state vice-minister of transport; Yuji Fukasawa, executive vice president at East Japan Railway, which hopes to win orders for the project as part of a consortium of Japanese companies; Tadaharu Ohashi, a counselor at Kawasaki Heavy Industries; and top Hitachi officials.
With construction likely to start as early as 2017, India and Japan will quickly work out the necessary details, such as fundraising, as soon as the study is complete. Plans include combining official development assistance from JICA with an infrastructure fund set up by Japan's transport ministry. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been working to revive manufacturing with the "Make in India" initiative, will probably require that rolling stock be built locally.
How much Japanese companies will cede to India's demands will be a point of interest. The railway linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad will cost 700-800 billion rupees, including 12 stations to be built along the route, the Indian government said. The train will have a top speed of 320kph, slashing travel time to around two and a half hours from about eight hours now. India plans to build nine railways linking the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, which has been dubbed the Diamond Quadrilateral project.
Since the Mumbai-Ahmedabad railway requires tunneling beneath a river, India favors Japanese drilling technology, which was used in such projects as the Seikan Tunnel linking Japan's main island with the northern island of Hokkaido. 
India also focused on Japan's safety record, with no passenger deaths in 50 years of operation, and know-how allowing trains to run at intervals of several minutes. France, Spain and China also have shown interest in India's high-speed rail plans, and competition over the other routes will likely remain fierce technology is the most appropriate option. A top official in India's Ministry of Railways told The Nikkei that Japan's technology is the world's best and that India hopes to work on this.

SAMAYEETA DAS 
Msc.Media || PG:1

A neat win for India

India confirmed the top spot in their group, took their winning streak in World Cup matches to nine, their longest and now only behind the great Australian run between 1999 and 2011, and also maintained their record of bowling oppositions out in this World Cup, claiming their 50th wicket in five matches in the 49th over of Ireland's innings. 
Ireland scored the highest score against India in this World Cup, William Porterfield and Paul Stirling registered the best partnership - 89 - against them, Niall O'Brien came within one run of the best individual score against their unbeaten opponents, but India's excellent offspin bowling and aggressive captaincy restricted them to 259, well below par on a flat pitch, small Seddon Park boundaries and given Ireland's weak bowling. Shikhar Dhawan, with his second hundred this World Cup, and Rohit Sharma knocked the runs off with ease.

Good knocks by Porterfield, Stirling and Niall O'Brien. Ireland could well have posted a more imposing total so credit to the Indian spinners for pegging things back and applying enough pressure to restrict Ireland's batsmen, who have been scoring very well against full members and associates alike.

I was impressed with the Irish skipper's post match interview. Their team appears settled psychologically and are meeting challenges with the right mindset. 
Ireland has a well respected captain, their batsmen are fearless and technically competent enough to hold their own, and if the bowling could gain more penetration it would balance this team out nicely. 

By far the most successful associate team this WC and I wish them well for the rest of the tournament and their future cricketing endeavours. Dhawan moved to No. 2 on the runs list this World Cup, second behind Kumar Sangakkara.
 Once he reached the fifty Dhawan accelerated even as Rohit fell to a somewhat lazy dab, playing Stuart Thompson on. Dhawan went from 50 off 54 to 96 off 74 before bringing up the hundred with the 84th ball he faced and getting out to the 85th. However, India needed only 70 at that time, and got them without drama.

SAMAYEETA DAS
Msc.Media || PG:1

Filmfare Awards 2015

The black lady has always been one of the most prestigious awards for the Bollywood film fraternity.  2014 had been a wonderful year for the film industry where the audience were offered a plethora of films catering to all kinds of viewers.

The film that stole all the limelight and hype was ‘Queen’ which bagged most of the Filmfare awards this year. ‘Queen’ bagged awards in the categories of

• ·         Best film- Queen
• ·         Best director- Vikas Bahl
• ·         Best actor - Kangana Ranaut
• ·         Best background score- Amit Trivedi
• ·         Best cinematography- Bobby Singh & Siddharth Diwan
• ·         Best editing- Abhijit Kokate & Anurag Kashyap.

‘Haider’ was another movie that was acclaimed critically and it also bagged quite some awards. It achieved awards in the categories of

• ·         Best actor - Shahid Kapoor
• ·         Best actor in supporting role- Kay Kay Menon & Tabu
• ·         Best production design- Subrata Chakraborty & Amit Ray
• ·         Best costume design- Dolly Ahluwalia.
• The other categories run as follows-
• ·         Best debut actor- Fawad Khan (Khoobsurat) & Kriti Sanon (Heropanti)
• ·         Best debut director- Abhishek Varman (2 States)
• ·         Best music- Shankar Ehsaan Loy  (2 States)
• ·         Best lyrics- Rashmi Singh (Muskurane ki wajah- Citylights)
• ·         Best playback singer- Ankit Tiwari (Ek Villain) & Kanika Kapoor (Ragini MMS2)
• ·         Best screenplay & dialogue - Rajkumar  Hirani & Abhijat Joshi (PK)
• ·         Best story – Rajat Kapoor (Ankhon Dekhi)
• ·         Best choreography- Ahmed Khan ( Jumme ki raat-Kick)
• ·         Best sound design- Anil Kumar Konakandla & Prabal Pradhan (Mardaani)
• ·         Best action- Sham Kaushal (Gunday)
• The winners in the Critic’s choice categories go as follows-
• ·         Best actor- Sanjay Mishra (Ankhon Dekhi) & Alia Bhatt (Highway)
• ·         Best film- Ankhon Dekhi

The Lifetime Achievement Award was handed over to Kamini Kaushal for being a timeless icon even at the age of 88. Her contribution to the industry is endless and still counting as no age can stop her from continuing with her strides. 

SANGITA BANERJEE
Msc.Media || PG:1