CULTURING INDIA

RAPE CASE TOOK 15 YEARS TO DECLARE RESULT    After the tumult-causing rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim, a special CBI court ruled on how the Dera Sacha Sauda leader is to be punished. The minimum sentence for a rape conviction was three years in jail but it isn't uncommon to be handed a much longer period of incarceration. The case itself took a long 15 years to resolve This is what the story says: APRIL 2002: PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee receives an unavowed letter from Dera Sadhvi (follower) stating that she was raped by Gurmeet Ram Rahim. May 2002: Punjab and Haryana high court directs Sirsa districts and session judges o prove the allegation in the letter. September 2002: High Court hands matter to CBI after district court indicates possibility of sexual exploitation. December 2002:   CBI registers a case of rape and criminal intimidation against Gurmeet Ram Rahim July 2002: CBI files charge sheet against the Dera h...

“Om Gann Ganapataye Namaha” Of the 330 million gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, my favorite is Ganesh, the  Lord of the Ganas . He is  Vighneshwara , the Remover of Obstacles. The story goes that Shiva, the great god, had challenged Ganesh and his brother Kartik to go around the universe three times. While Kartik took off in great haste on his peacock to complete the task, Ganesh walked his portly figure around his parents, Shiva and Parvati, and declared that he had accomplished the task as his parents were the totality of the universe. Shiva was quite pleased at Ganesh’s strategy and granted that Ganesh will be invoked before the invocation of any other gods when anyone embarks on any task. Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha Nirvighnam Kurumey Deva Sarva Kaaryyeshu Sarvada Ganesh’s elephant head requires some explanation. According to one story (and there are more than one), Parvati, his mother, wanted someone to prevent...

BJP   Becomes  UNBEATABLE   –  Admittedly                                   Nobody can defeat Narendra Modi in 2019,” Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar  said at a press conference  last week, explaining his decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kumar’s decision and his choice of words have lent the BJP an aura of invincibility, but it is just that: an aura. While there is no doubt that the BJP is the dominant pole of Indian politics today—and by a bit—the party is not really invincible. "Nobody can compete with Narendra Modi. I don't have the capability to do that, and there is nobody capable enough in the country right now," he said, "there is no doubt that he will win in 2019 again."  “There were corruption charges and cases were filed by the CBI (against Lalu Prasad and family). I had only told them to come out with prope...

         INDIGENOUS COLORS OF INDIA     The  International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples  is observed on  August 9   each year to promote and protect the  rights of the world’s indigenous population . This event also recognizes the achievements and contributions that  indigenous people  make to improve world issues such as  environmental protection . It was first pronounced by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1994, marking the day of the first meeting of the  UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights , in 1982. There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, l iving across 90 countries. They make up less than 5 per cent of the world's population, but account for 15 per cent of the poorest. They speak an overwhelming ma...