Death Sentence for honour killings

Death for honour killings
GAJINDER SINGH
Chandigarh, March 30: Five people were today sentenced to death for murdering a young couple who had married within the same gotra (sub-caste) and were under police protection, the judgment the first of its kind against kangaroo courts notorious for ordering barbaric honour killings and whose writ runs strong in several areas of India’s backward hinterland.

Karnal additional district and sessions judge Vani Gopal Sharma passed the order while agreeing with the prosecution that the case could be described as being the “rarest of rare” which merits the capital punishment.

The judgment is significant as this is the first time that a boy’s family moved court against an honour killing that was carried out at the behest of the khap panchayat — a self-styled caste-based council. Such councils, common in the interior areas of several Indian states, allegedly function with political blessings.

The councils, which hold kangaroo courts and pass Taliban-like judgments, have claimed many lives in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with their diktats and are even known for ridiculous rulings such as ordering couples to live like brothers and sisters and separating infants from mothers.

The couple, Manoj, 23, and Babli, 19, both hailing from Karora village in Haryana’s Kaithal, had eloped in May 2007 and married secretly in Chandigarh. The khap panchayat had asked them to dissolve the marriage as people of the same gotra are considered siblings.

Apprehending threat to their lives, the couple approached police, which produced them before a Kaithal court on June 15, 2007. The court ordered police protection for them.

However, on the same day, Manoj and Babli were kidnapped while returning from Kaithal despite the presence of police personnel.

The two were dragged out of a packed Haryana Roadways bus near Raipur Jatan village in Karnal and then whisked away in a Scorpio.

The couple were beaten and forced to drink poison by relatives of Babli’s family. Their mutilated bodies were fished out of a canal in Hisar district nine days later, their hands and feet tied.

Despite a missing persons complaint lodged by Manoj’s mother Chanderpati, the police cremated the couple as destitutes.

Among the five who have been awarded the death sentence are Babli’s brother Suresh, cousins Satish and Gurdev and two paternal uncles, Baru Ram and Rajender.

The khap panchayat leader Ganga Ram, who passed the diktat for their elimination but was not present when the couple were murdered, has been sentenced to life. The driver of the Scorpio, Manjeet, has been held guilty of assisting in the couple’s kidnapping and given a jail term of seven years.

The court also told the Haryana government to provide Rs 1 lakh to Manoj’s family as he was its only earning member.

“We are satisfied with the punishment but want Ganga Ram too to be hanged. He did not care to listen to us when he passed the diktat. We will appeal for nothing short of the death penalty for him in the high court,” Manoj’s sister Seema said over phone.

Public prosecutor Lal Bahadur said it was the first such decision against the barbaric diktats of khap panchayats. “This is a message to the caste councils,” he said.

The sessions court has also asked the police to take action against the two policemen who were supposed to protect Manoj and Babli instead of looking on blindly when they were dragged out of the bus.

The Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government was silent on the verdict. Hooda has, on several occasions, praised khap panchayats, stating that they were only carrying out “societal duties”. The councils play a crucial role during elections.

A teenaged couple in Hussainpur Terai village of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh was killed on March 27 on the orders of the local khap panchayat in broad daylight.

The UPA government at the Centre has come up with a proposal to amend the Indian Penal Code and make honour killings a “distinct offence”.

WITH INPUTS FROM TAPAS CHAKRABORTY

This is one ruling of the court which gives much satisfaction.
Honour killings have been going on in all the north Indian states and in Pakistan.
Awarding of the death penalty should act as deterrent to other perpetrators of this crime. I suppose this is the result when the Panchayats are left in the hands of uneducated people with middle age views.

Sleeping with the Enemy

Game for India, match in Pak
- Sania to marry Shoaib, play for home and live in Dubai
OUR BUREAU


Hyderabad, March 29: After an alleged nikaah over the phone, an engagement aired on Twitter.

Tennis star Sania Mirza is set to marry former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik within days, he confirmed in a tweet tonight, making him the latest cricketer from across the border to bowl over an Indian beauty.

“…And the news of Me marrying to Sania is true. Inshallah will get married in April,” Shoaib, 28, wrote after a day of speculation in the Pakistani media about the inter-country, inter-sport marriage. Shoaib is now undergoing a one-year ban after the Pakistan board punished several senior players on charges ranging from indiscipline to poor performance.

Sania, 23, will continue to play for India, according to her father Imran Mirza who, PTI said, revealed that the couple would live in Dubai after marriage.

“This is a unique case where the husband and wife will represent their respective countries in sport,” Mirza reportedly said.

PTI quoted Shoaib’s brother-in-law Imran Z. Malik as saying the family would leave for India on April 7, the nikaah would take place in Hyderabad on April 10 or 11, and the walima or reception in Lahore on April 16 or 17. He said the marriage proposal had come from the cricketer’s mother.

TV channels, however, quoted Imran Mirza as saying the engagement was planned by April 15 but the wedding date hadn’t been fixed.

Just two months ago, Sania had split from her former fiance and childhood friend Sohrab Mirza, apparently because their lifestyles didn’t match.

Today, Shoaib was quoted as saying: “I fully understand what it takes to be an international sports person and I will support Sania in her career as long as she wishes to play. Representing India at the 2012 Olympics is very important for her and I will be the proudest husband if she can win a medal for her country.”

A statement from Sania, reported by PTI, said: “My wedding inshallah is going to be the biggest day of my life. I have been in the constant glare for too long and would appreciate privacy at this very personal moment in my life…. I hope to be fully fit to represent India in the Commonwealth and Asian Games that are scheduled for later this year.”

Some of Sania’s relatives, however, are praying that the wedding goes off smoothly. This would be Shoaib’s second engagement to a Hyderabadi girl, after the first ended in threats of lawsuits being filed against him in the city.

M.A. Siddiqui, an affluent city resident with family links to powerful clerics, accuses Shoaib of having married his daughter Ayesha in 2002 and of denying her a divorce. Shoaib denies having married Ayesha but has admitted to being engaged to her once. According to some reports, Shoaib and Ayesha had conducted a nikaah over the phone.

Imran Khan and Bollywood queen Zeenat Aman were one of the first “neighbourly” celeb couples although their widely reported romance three decades ago did not lead to marriage.

That distinction was reserved for Mohsin Khan and actress Reena Roy in the early ’80s, but the Shoaib-Sania match-up is the first involving cross-border sporting couples.

The last India-Pakistan “cricket marriage”, in 2005, took place a little away from the public eye, with Javed Miandad’s son tying the knot with the daughter of Dawood Ibrahim.

I don't know whether to laugh at these goings on of Sania Mirza and Shoaib Maliick.
Both have been semi-engaged previously.
Shoaib seems to like Hyderabadi girls.
But my point is how will our Chacha-Bhatija duo of Bal and Raj take it.
Inspite of their being so much against sporting ties between the two countries these two have gone and done the unacceptable.
One question arises which country will each represent after the marrige.
They say they will live in Dubai which is as neutral as neutral can be.
Sania's father says that she will continue to play for India.
That is what he would want for that is where the moolah is, in sponsorship money.
If the sponsors withdraw she will hardly get any money from wins as she has hardly won any tournaments in the last 5 years and her rating in international cricket seems to be going only one way, that is down.
Further, she cannot hope to play for Pakistan because of burqua problem and the Taliban threat.
So she has no choice but to play for India, provided the Indian sponsors accept her under the new set up.
However, what I do not understand is how the 25 crore or so Muslims in India can accept this slap on their faces.
Do you mean to say that she has not been able to find her match
among the Indian Muslims?
Shame on you!!!

Senior Citizens Health Plan

Senior health care solution--according to
Maxine

So you're a senior citizen and the government says no health care for you,

what do you do?


Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets.

You are allowed to shoot 2 senators and 2 representatives.

Of course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head, and all the health care you need!

New teeth, no problem. Need glasses, great. New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart?

All covered.
(And your kids can come and visit you as often as they do now).
And who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you that you are too old for health care. Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any income taxes anymore.

IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?

India's Rich & Miserly

India's wealthiest are the least generous
March 25, 2010 19:39 IST

This is the great Indian paradox. The country's economy is booming, with the number of millionaires and billionaires rising by the day. According to a research by Bain & Co, there are over 115,000 high-networth individuals in India.

Since 2000, this elite group has grown an average of 11 per cent annually. Between 2006 and 2007, the number of wealthy individuals in India surged by 23 per cent, which is the highest growth rate in the world.

While this may be good news, here is the other side of the India growth story.

Today, more than 400 million people live below the poverty line in India. The global meltdown has pushed an additional 25 million to 40 million citizens below the poverty line.

So how can a country like India bridge the gap between its rich and poor? Are India's wealthiest people doing their best to reach out to the poorest? Well, the generosity of India's rich population does not necessarily rise with income and education, says the Bain & Co study.

"The wealthiest have the lowest level of giving at 1.6 % of household income. While the 'high class', which is ranked one level below the 'upper class' on the income and education scale, donates 2.1% to charity, the middle class gives 1.9% of household income to philanthropy," says Arpan Sheth, partner, Bain & Company.

A New Element Discovered

Scientists Discover New Element (but have we seen it before!)

Oxford University researchers have discovered the heaviest element yet know to science. The new element, Governmentium (Symbol = Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.


These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called pillocks. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.

A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 to 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganisation in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentiums’ mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganisation will cause more morons to be neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as a critical morass. When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium (Symbol = Ad), an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium, since it has half as many pillocks but twice as many morons!


Bishan


Sent by Bishan Dewan

Sikkim Trip - 19 th and 20th March, 2010

In the morning we did some marketing at M G Road and surrounding area. I had lunch Ganesh Bhojanalaya, a Marwari Basa, where they serve marwari food in Thalis.
For the first time in a week I was satisfied with my meal.
As Napoleon had said, an army marches on its stomach and for one whole week I was not satisfied with what I ate.
Mind you, K K Rai and his family had gone out of their way to give me a very wholesome and rich vegetarian meal but marwari food is marwari food. You can't beat it no matter how many animals you slaughter.
Tempo, the Sikkim Assembly Speaker was slightly delayed for personal reasons and our visit to the Assembly which was to have been at 12.00 noon, finally took place at 3.00 pm.
Tempo and his staff explained the working of the Assembly and the significance of the Spiritual symbol which is hung behind the Speaker's Chair and all important places in Sikkim.
It seems Tempo and his family have a long association with the Sikkim Government.
After the assembly visit the more energetic amongst us visited the Flower Show and the Rope way.
Some of us, me included, decided to have a bit of rest before going to the party in the evening.
A very big party was given by Tempo for all the GMS boys at “The Royal Plaza”, the best hotel in Gangtok.
A group photo session was held before the party started.
All those present came into the photo, which I have attached.
This is what I liked about Tempo.
The group photo was taken even before the party started because later on it becomes difficult to collect everybody at one place, for obvious reasons.
Then a board, paper and pen was passed around so that everybody could put down his name, Tel No, Year of passing. Thus in one stroke we had all the details with photographs of all the attendees. I suppose we should have also put down our email IDs, then the data would have been complete.
The party was great.
All the ladies and the lads introduced themselves.
Old songs were sung.
The memory in my digital camera became exhausted and I had to use only my movie camera.
These were taken and I hope to be able to make it available after suitable editing.
Since I could not eat with the rest for the odour of meat all round became unbearable, Tempo arranged for me to have my dinner outside.
It was very thoughtful of him.
It was a beautiful evening which went right up to 11 o’clock.
We returned tired but happy for the return journey to Kolkata, the next day.
The return journey was uneventful until I reached home.
AK Roy, J K Ghosh and I had got down hurriedly at Ultadanga when the train made an unscheduled stop.
The rest of the boys went on to Sealdah, which was the terminus.
From Ultadanga,AK took a Taxi to his flat at Salt Lake.
JK and I boarded a single taxi which dropped me at Bangur Avenue and he went on to his home at Madhyamgram
I am by nature forgetful and everyday my wife had been following up by phone to check that I had put back everything properly.
When I reached home, my wife asked whether I had brought back everything.
I checked my luggage and found that one bag was missing.
I had boarded at NJP with 4 items and now there were three.
Now, I could not remember whether I had got down from the train with 4 or 3 items.
I immediately called up JK to confirm whether I had left a bag in the Taxi.
His line was not available.
I telephoned Ranjan and the others to just check my compartment to see if any bag had been left behind.
Of course the train had reached Sealdah by then and had started emptying and I did not have any hope of getting back the bag, if I had left it on the train.
I then phoned AK to confirm if the bag had been left on the train since he was the last to get down at Ultadanga.
He confirmed that nothing was left behind in the train, when he got down.
I was slightly assured and hoped now that the bag would be with JK.
JK telephoned me after about 10 minutes, informing me that I had forgotten to unload the bag from the taxi at Bangur Avenue and it was now with him
I breathed easily.
My wife said, "I told you so. Whenever, I don't go with you, you leave something behind"
I agree with her.
But then these Non-veg people do not allow her to go with me on these tours.

Anthony Gasper being felicitated
Ratnankar Roychowdhury being felicitated
Rudra Roychowdhury being felicitated
Ranjan Mazumdar being felicitated














K K Rai and Dorji Dadul
Dorji Dadul
A group photograph of all those who attended with their wives
K T Gyaltsen (Tempo) explaining the inticacies of the work of the Speaker
Security officers inside the Sikkim Assembly
The spiritual symbol of Sikkim
Manos Chowdhury, K T Gyaltsen and Mrs Ranjan Mazumdar

Kamal Kallani and Rudra Roychowdhury


A K Roy, K D Gupta, Ratnankar Roychowdhury
Ranja Mazumdar, Arun Oberoi,Amarnath Banerjee, J K Ghosh, Anthony Gasper

Who is the king?

May be you are King of World...


May be you are most dangerous in world...

May be you are an independent one...

May be you can rule other or rule the World...

May be you are most lovable by others...

Either you are a Gentleman...

Or most Dangerous Killer of the world...

But The fact is this...
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When you are at home...
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...Wife is Wife...
...Does not matter Who the Hell are you...

Sent by Prakash Bhartia.
I suppose the pictures says it all whether we make fun of their driving or not

The 2009 Women Driver Awards

10th Place Goes to:


9th Place Goes To:

8th Place Goes To:

7th Place Goes To:

6th Place Goes To:

5th Place Goes To:

4th Place Goes To:

The BRONZE Medal Winner:

The SILVER Medal Winner:

YES - her helmet is ............
.............................. worn backwards
. and finally,
here is our 2009 Women Drivers Awards
*** GOLD Medal Winner ***


WOW! How the...Oh never mind. CONGRATULATIONS!
This concludes the 2009 Women Drivers Awards Ceremony.
Thanks to all our contestants for giving us all a reason to laugh & smile.

Sent by Prakash Bhartia
How do women manage to do it?
Is it in their genes or are they thinking of something else while driving or are they concentrating too much on the driving instead of driving casusally like men do.
I wouldn't know for I too don't know how to drive a car.
If you remember when you first started riding a bicycle and were learning to ride.
You may have seen a big stone in the middle of the road and decided to avoid it.
However, the more you tried to avoid it, the more your cycle was pulled towards it as if by a gravitational force until you finally hit it fair and square.
I suppose women to try to avoid some land mark and then go and hit it plump in the middle.