MAHA TRIBAL DEATHS

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday issued a notice to the Maharshtra government over the reported deaths of 740 students t residential schools in the last 10 years.The commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report about the deaths."The schools lack health services and basic amenities. Reportedly, the figures are based on an internal report of the State Tribal Development Department",said a commission statement.As per the norms the students should be screened at least twice a year but government agencies are not following it, the apex human rights body said in the statement.

The commission stated the students coming from the tribal communities generally belonged to poor families and the school authorities, as their lawful guardians, were responsible to ensure the welfare , safety and healthcare needs of the tribal children.The negligence on the part of the state government's Department of Tribal Development and the school authorities was a violation of the right to life, dignity and equality of the students, the statement further said.The commissions has sought a detailed report in the matter within four weeks from the chief secretary of the government.

According to the media reports, the Tribal Development Department runs 552 residential schools for tribal students across the state. A number of posts in these schools are lying vacant, the commission said. The budgetary provisions are reportedly not being utilized in a proper manner.The issue of the deaths of tribal students at residential schools came to light when a 12-year-old girl from a residential school in Palghar district died on 7-10-2016.Most of the students died of dengue, malaria, food poisoning, suicide, drowning and even snake bite, the commission stated.

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WORST TRAIN ACCIDENT

Over 115 passengers were killed in the worst train accident in recent years, when 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express derailed in Kanpur(UP),in the wee hours, on 21st November. The disaster took place just a little after 3 am, when the passengers were jolted out of their sleep. The Patna bound express train jumped out of the track, due to suspected rail fracture. Four ordinary sleeper coaches were badly damaged. Of the four coaches, the S1 and S2 had telescoped into each other and most of the causalities were in these compartments. S3 and S4 coaches also suffered severe damage, while an AC three tier coach remained intact, with lesser causalities.

In rescue operation, the railway personnel were assisted by those of Army, NDRF and state police. The number of the causalities kept on increasing and the death toll is over 115, UP DGP Javeed Ahmad said. Among the dead, 43 have been identified, of which 20 are from Uttar Pradesh. Seventy-six passengers were seriously injured in the derailment IG Saki Ahmad Said. Over 150 injured people have been rushed to nearby hospital in the area. Officials said that prima facie the cause of the accident could be due to track fracture .The Minister of State for railways Manoj Sinha said that the derailment had happened owing to rail fracture.

Trapped in the worst hit S1 coach of the derailed, Indore-Patna Express for over 10 hours before being rescued, businessman Arun Sharma's journey to Patna by the train turned into a nightmare with his nine year old son missing. Mr. Sharma 42, his wife and another son were injured in the mishap. Mr. Sharma was travelling from Bhopal to Patna to attend his friend's wedding. The family, like most of the other passengers, were deep asleep when they were jolted as the train jumped off the tracks with such force that two coaches, S1 and S2, telescoped into each other.-------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE GREAT ESCAPE.

In a sensational jailbreak, the Chief of Khalistan Liberation Front, Harminder Mintoo, had escaped from the high-security Nabha prison near Patiala along with five other prisoners,after armed men in Police uniform stormed the jail. Later, in a major break through he was arrested by the joint operation of the Delhi, Uttarpradesh and Punjab Police. The Uttarpradesh director general of Police, Javeed Ahmed said that the arrest was made following an alert from intelligence agencies.The Khalistani militant Mintoo was arrested one month before, after he was deported from Thailand and kept in the high security jail.

The Centre has sought an immediate report on the incident. The initial interrogation has revealed that all the accused had escaped in separate SUVs, after the jailbreak and had planned to meet in Delhi after the dust had settled. The Punjab DGP Suresh Arora said that unidentified assailants had come to the jail premises and fired indiscriminately and fled with six prisoners. The firing was also done from inside the jail. He said that firing from their part was not effective and had there been effective firing, it would have been the other way round. The Punjab government sacked two senior prison officials and formed a special investigation team to probe the jail break incident.

Meanwhile, it is reported that a woman who was in an SHO's vehicle died after being hit by a bullet when the police opened fire at her vehicle after it jumped a barrier about 20 km away from the prison.The others who fled were gangster Vicky Gaunder and Kashmira singh. The police told the news agencies that the militants after the escape were proceeding towards Haryana. The Punjab government has announced a reward of Rs. 25 lakh for any person who provides information about the escape of the prisoners and for the help to arrest the remaining under- trial prisoners.
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RETURN OF GANGSTORS

Recent two murders happened in Trivandrum,  have rocked the city putting the spotlight on gang wars. Sending shock waves across the capital, two murders were reported in different parts of the city on Friday night within a gap of  three hours. The first murder took place at a residence in Kannammoola  while the second one happened  at a public road at Karakkamandapam near Nemom. In both incidents, gang rivalry and its retaliations led to the murder of two youths. It is reported that the key culprits in both the attacks were recently released after detention under Kerala Anti Social Activities Prevention Act.

Kannammoola, the heart of the city, has now turned the hub of criminal activities.Ever since the rise of goons like Puthenpalam Rajesh and Dini Babu, the area has been witnessing violence for the last one year. Dini Babu was once a member of the gang led by Rajesh. However he left the gang after differences cropped up with Rajesh on the financial matters regarding smuggling of river sand. Following this the gang divided into two factions.Though police arrested the gang leaders invoking KAPPA the members of the gang controlled the activities.It is reported that the stone quarries and sand mining mafia used these gangs for the smooth functioning of the quarries and all their operations and also for threatening the local people who objects or make complaints to the police or other authorities. Even the officials are also afraid to take any action against these gangs.

From these two incidents took place in the city, it is also noted that many new youths were involved in goon activities. A senior police official said it was the false glamour of power, flashy lifestyle and money which lured the many youths to be part of these gangs.They are also maintaining relationship with political leaders to accomplish their vested interests.Majority of the gangsters are lodged in jails after booking them in various offences. As per the statistics available  a total of 43 arrests were made in the year 2015 under KAPPA. However the data indicates that the new LDF government also took initiative to book the gangsters under KAPPA and to  put them behind the bars.

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MARATHA CONUNDRUM

In Mumbi, a 15 year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and killed by three men.The girl was belong to Maratha community. The victim's private parts has been mutilated and her hands and teeth found broken. The incident generated shock waves across the state. All the three culprits were arrested, which did not subside the anger prevalent in the Maratha community. At the time of the incident these three culprits were drinking liquor to celebrate the purchase of a motor cycle.When the body was found by the villagers, who were mostly from Maratha community, they couldn't take the body to the hospital alive.The incident happened in the Kopardi village near Mumbai.

The Marathi community has been in agitation for the last several years demanding reservation in education and employment.This incident of rape and murder of a Maratha girl, aggravated the agitations sponsored by the Maratha community,which is  politically influential in Maharastra, accounting for about 34 percent of the State's population. The incident became a powder keg for the community to agitate. The community decided without the support of any political  party or any leader to hold silent rallies across the state. These rallies are like Arab Spring originated in the Middle East or the women labor strike took place in the tea plantations of Kerala State in the year of 2014.But as usual several political parties and leaders are claiming that they are behind the agitations, even though there is no official organizers. Almost every silent rally is led by woman and they account for nearly 30 percent of the protesters.They demanded death penalty to the accused in the rape ;and murder case and to implement the reservation law.

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NONAGENARIAN RAPE

A nonagenarian living alone was reportedly raped by a sexagenarian neighbour at Kadakkal in  Kollam. The incident has sent shock waves across the state. The victim a 90-year-old woman is a cancer patient. Eventhough the incident had happened two weeks before, the incident came into lime light recently, owing to the interference of a social activist. The Kadakkal police has registered a case under Section 377 for unnatural offence and under Section 354 for assault or criminal force to woman with intention to outrage the modesty, of IPC and also arrested a 64-year-old man named Babu alias Vijayakumar. Considering the gravity of the case, the state police chief Loknath Behra directed the IG Manoj Abraham to look into the matter and to supervise the investigation.

At the same time, it is understood from the circumstances that the defacto complainant lady has given a false statement before the police with a malafide intention to demoralize and to tarnish the image of her neighbor, due to enmity. The police said that there was a civil dispute between them with respect to their properties. Eventhoug medical examination of the lady was conducted, it was found that she was not subjected to rape. There are reports that the woman is mentally unstable. The locals said that the accused is not that kind of person who will commit such a heinous crime. But one lady who is living nearby told the police that she had seen that the accused on that particular day around that area. According to the victim the accused had entered the house by breaking open the back door and molested her. She also said that the ward member tried to hush up the matter, when she told the matter to him.

The Kerala State Women's Commission and The Kerala State Human Rights Commission have taken separate suo motu cases in connection with the rape of the 90-year- old widow. They will assist the victim to fight for justice and the Chairperson of the Commission said that  "justice will be ensured for the victim". 

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SOUMYA CASE

The honorable Supreme Court of India has set aside the death sentence imposed by the honorable High Court of  Kerala, in the Soumya case. But the apex court confirmed the sentence of life imprisonment for the brutal rape committed on Soumya by the accused Govindachami. A three-judge Bench comprising of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Prafulla C. Pant and Uday Lalit gave this verdict on an appeal filed by death-row convict Govindachamy. He challenged the  High Court judgement confirming the order of the Thrissur Fast Track Court awarding him death sentence. The incident occurred  on 6th Februery 2011.

The prosicution case was that Govindachami pushed Soumya out of the compartment of train after trying to rob her. Thereafter he has committed rape on her,who had already suffered extreme injuries due to the fall .She died on the spot. The apex court found that as per the evidences of the prosecution witnesses, it is clear that the accused had committed rape.The DNA profile also supported the evidence. And therefore the apex court did not find any difficulty in confirming the life imprisonment awarded for rape.The court observed that not only the offence under Section 376 IPC was committed by the accused , the same was so committed in a most brutal and grotesque manner. Hence the imposition of life sentence was awarded by the trial court and confirmed by the HC.

The murder charge against convict Govindachamy in the Soumya case fell flat on a contradiction i the prosecution argument that the assailant had  pushed the victim out of the train and the eye witness statement that a passenger had seen her jump off the train. Relying on expert findings, the prosecution had contended that injuries suffered by Soumya were the result of a fall after being pushed off her from the running train.Though the Supreme Court set aside Govindachamy's death sentence, he will have to remain in the jail for his entire life, owing to the confirmation of the life imprisonment awarded for the the rape under Section 376 the Indian Penal Code.

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ONAM- PART IV

Onam evokes memories of our childhood with friends. During the child hood days, we used to roam in the village to see the pookkalams before the yards of the houses and institutions or clubs.According to mythology, we celebrate the imaginary return of the Emporer Mahabali, who once ruled Kerala as the perfect socialist state where all are equal and lived happily without any problems or difficulties or cheating or crimes.But unfortunately he was sent to Pathalam, by Vamanan , because of the jealousy . We made pookkalams with much enthusiasm by using the flowers plucked from yards of our own houses or from the neighbours, in the early morning. But unfortunately, now a days , the bulk of the flowers  that we consumes during the Onam festival season, comes from Tamil Nadu.

During these days we were in a conventional Onam mood.The preparation of  Onasadya is one of the favourite aspects of Onam celebrations. The traditional style of sitting on the floor and eating from a banana leaf, by using the hand, is another feature of Onam sadya. Every body prepare rice, sambar, parippukari etc. in traditional Kerala style.My favourite dish is 'kadalapradaman' and even I know how to prepare this delicious and nutritious item, that I learned from my mother. Making all the dishes on the same day, is a challenging task. Though I don't take much rice, I enjoy eating every bit of the Onasadya on Thiruvonam day.

Onam brings home Malayalis from all over the world to their little home State, in search of their roots.It is the season where entire families get together from the farthest corners of the world. But it is not just the natives who are enjoying the beauty of the festival, foreigners also come to Kerala to enjoy the season and to take part in the festivities. The festival entwines people and cuts across age groups and religions, making it a truly secular festival.  The energy imparted by the interesting competitions is infectious. It is a wonderful sight to see everyone celebrating together, be it in schools or offices,wearing traditional dresses, singing Onam songs  and eating sadya. The excitement and joy ,when the family members and friends come together is palpable.

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ONAM - PART III

City police has initiated steps to increase security during Onam festival. The police set up 100 CCTV cameras and 20 public address systems, besides the existing 40 CCTV cameras and 12 platform cameras from September 12 to 18. A large number of visitors will come to the city to take part in the Onam celebrations sponsored by the government. "Extra police force will also be mobilized apart from the normal deployment,for round the clock surveillance in the city during the festive season. Around 30 police vehicles with video cameras too will be patrolling the city to ensure the safety of the public. In short the City Police is equipped to provide security to the public", said G Sparjan Kumar, the City Police Commissioner.

As many as 1,000 police personnel will be deployed in the city and the whole area will he under direct surveillance of ht police. Apart from the existing control room, special control rooms will also be opened at Kanakakunnu Palace and East Fort from where the entire stretch from Kowdiar to Attakulangara can be monitored. 400 police men, 20 shadow police and 10 women shadow police personal will be also deployed to provide security to women and children. Six assistant commissioners, 12 circle inspectors and 75 sub- inspectors are expected to be deployed at various parts along the stretch from Kowdiar to Attakkulangara. Fire and Rescue Services personal are also ready to meet any emergency situation.In addition to all these arrangements, Poojappura Square, Central Stadium, Vazhuthacaudu Tagore Theatre, Vyloppalli Samskrithi Bhavan at PMG and other venues, where the Onam programmes are sheduled will also be under the ambit of surveillance cameras. The police also conducted combing operation to arrest the criminals whose names are their in the known-depredators list and also the accused persons against whom the warrants are pending, as a precautionary measure.

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ONAM FESTIVITIES -PART II

The Kerala government has planned to celebrate Onam in a big way this year with a lot of programmes. The celebrations will be held from September 12 to 18. The state-level inauguration of Onam week celebrations will be carried out by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijauan at 6.30 pm on September 12, at the Nishgandhi auditorium in the capital. The celebrations will come to an end with a colorful procession with floats from Kawdiar to Attakkulangara on September 18. The Onam flag will be hosted on September 11 at Kanakakunnu palace. This will be followed by a switch-on of the illumination and inauguration of  Onam trade fair. Leading hotels and Kudumbasree workers will host a food festival at Kanakakunnu palace campus.

 Colorful cultural programmes will be held in different venues in the capital. Nishagandhi auditorium will be the main venue of the cultural pragrammes. Mega show conducted by various media organisations will be held at Central Stadium. While Poojappura ground will witness music nights. The cultural programmes of women and children will be held at venue in shangumugam beach . Kanakakunnu palace will also be one of  the major venue of celebrations where the folk arts programmes and exhibitions will be held. Some other important venues of celebrations are Museum compound, Vyloppalli Samskrithi Bhavan, Public Office Compound, University College, Vazhuthacaud Tagore Theatre and Veli Tourist Village. Public may get the details of the Onam festivities from the information center at the Kanakakunnu gate and also from the digital display system set up at different parts of the city. It is expected that a large number of visitors will come to the city to watch the Onam programmes sponsored by the government. 

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ONAM - National Festival of Kerala.

It is the time of Pookkalams and Sadya again. Onam is here and true to its spirit of bonhomie, celebrations and gifts. From the day of Atham, beautiful pookkalams adorns courtyards of houses and offices and institutions. for the 10 days till Thiruvonam, young and old share the same enthusiasm when it comes to making the pookkalams to welcome the Emperor Mahabali. Made with myriad flowers and in intricate designs, they are not only a visual treat but evoke nostalgia as well.Times must have changed but nott the sentiments attahed to pookkalam as it remains the staple for any Onam celebrations for Malayalis all over the world. No onam celebrations is complete without a delicious and nutritious Onasadya, which is considered to be one of the most elaborate feasts prepared across the world with at least 24 dishes, the making of the sadya used to be a grant family affair for Malayalis. However with nuclear families and city life gaining precedence, the home made sadyas given way to takeaways and sadyas in restaurants.

Athagosham, Athachamayam, Thiruvathirakkali, Padayani, Pookkavadi, Thaeyyam etc. are important events related to Onam festivities. The colourful programmes and processions with its floats   take us to a different world of traditions and miths related the Onam which is the national festival of Karala.All the Keralites who are living in other places, come here to celebrate Onam together. Beside showcasing the splendour of our culture, the Onam also conveys several social awareness messages.The Onappattu, "Maveli naduvaniidum kaalam......"conveys the underlying messages  that we are all one and we need to work for the betterment of society respecting each other.
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TRAVELOGUE PART III

The Innova car , in which we have travelled was belong to Mr. Adv. Jayachandran. Other advocates were Mr. Prasannan, Mr. Sanoj Nair( the former secretay of Trivandrum Bar Associatin), Mr. Suresh and Mr. Vellanadu Biju. Around 7 a.m. we have started from Vanchiyoor, after a cup of tea from Binu Hotel.We have loaded our bags in the dicky and locked very well. We had decided  before embarking to have a halt around Nagercoill, for breakfast. Around 8.30 a.m.  we have reached there, in front of Aryabhavan Hotel Complex, where we got idli, dosai and uppuma. I am fond of idly and sambar, particularly Tamilnadu idly and sambar are very delicious.  When compare with Travancore sambar, the Tamilnadu sambar's taste is different.  Even within Kerala, different parts, different types of sambar is available, nothing common in it. When I take meals from the canteen of Kerala High Court Bar Association, at Kochi, I feel a defferent taste, not much tasty, as I am familiar with Travancore dishes. I got opportunity to experience the taste of Northern Kerala sambar, while I was working as lecturer in law , in Government Law College, Kozhikkodu. I never like the same and I preferred fish curry or meat along with lunch rather than sambar or any vegetable side dishes. I used to take fish curry, even along with breakfast, instead of sambar or chutney. Nothing wrong in it, as it is part of the food culture of Northern Kerala. Here in Travancore region people never take fish along with the  breakfast. My friends preferred dosai and uppuma to idly, which were too delicious according to them. The bill was also reasonable. Mr. Sanoj Nair was  keeping the account for the trip, to be  divided among us , at the end of the trip. 

(....to be continued)

KODAIKKANAL TRAVALOGUE - PART II

On 12th May, morning we have started the journey from Thiruvananthapuram. Even though I was ready around 6 a.m. as per the schedule, my friends , who are also advocates residing different parts of Thirvannthapuram, got delayed to reach at place of embarkation, as they are accustomed with the Indian punctuality. Punctuality is a religion in England. That is why they could establish an Empire on which the sun never sets and we lost even our motherland for long period. Even though we were ruled by the British for longtime, we thoroughly failed to copy their good qualities, which we ought to have learned from them. In this regard it is better to quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "we should learn one thing from the British ie., their punctuality". But never materialized his dream, like his other dreams viz, non-violence and undivided India. Ironically, later he himself had become the victim of the violence.

In India everybody use their wrist watch to know how they are slow in their work place as well as in all other engagements. Here it doesn't matter, if somebody a bit late or early and everybody adjusts with latecomers.To justify their delay, they may blame railway time or public transport system or they may find some other reason and others would pretend as if they swallowed their version,as it was. Late comers are often dejected. Those who go first will be served first. Getting up early in the morning and starting our work is the best way to keep a head of others. We should remember that there are people who start every thing early and they quite naturally get the earliest result, which is embodied in the proverb" the early bird catches the worm".

                   End of  Part II ----to be continued

Welcome to Kodaikanal

We have decided to go for a leisure trip to any one of the hill stations, during summer vacation(of the courts), for a change from monotonous routine works. But we could arrange the trip only at the fag end of the vacation, because of various reasons. Hence we planned for a short trip enabling us to come back, before the reopening of the courts. During the discussion, one of us suggested Waynadu, which is, not only a beautiful place, but also a place of historical importance.

Photo Courtesy: www.carlton-kodaikanal.com

But I did not show much interest to go there, as I was there several occasions in Mananthavadi, in connection with the shooting of two telefilms viz., 'Nakshathrangal Marikkunnilla' a biography of Nexalite Varghese who was killed in fake encounter and 'Pazhassi Raja'. In addition to that 3-4 days are not sufficient to enjoy the scenic beauty of Wayandu as there are a lot of places to visit and enjoy viz., Thirunelli Temple, Pakshithavalam(natural bird sanctuary) Kuruva Island, Padinjarethara Dam, Banasura rock and some places of historical importance related to Pazhassiraja and Tip Sultan.Finally, we have opted for Kodaikkanal, to enjoy the remaining days of vacation.

Kodaikkanal is an ideal place for the people who want to become part of nature for some time, which is located in the Palani Hills of Dindigul District in Tamil Nadu. This is the best beautiful station near Thiruvananthapuram, at an altitude of 7000 ft. from sea level with lush scenic beauty and pleasant climate. Maximum atmospheric temperature is 20 Degree Celsius and in the night it may come down to 10 Degree Celsius. Kodaikkanal is also known as  the princess of hill stations, surrounded by shola reserve forests, which is part of Western Ghats. April-June is the peak season. Madurai is the nearest city.  

END OF PART I

To be continued.

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