The Tribune – Martial arts display steals the show

Gatka and huge turban
Tribune picture

Tribune News Service

Anandpur Sahib, March 28. A magnificent display of horse riding and martial art skills by thousands of Nihangs marked the last day of the six-day historic Hola Mohalla festival here today.

Over 30 lakh devotees paid obeisance at various gurdwaras during the festival, which started on March 23 at Kiratpur Sahib after which the celebrations shifted to Anandpur Sahib on March 26.

The most significant event of the festival was the procession of Nihang groups belonging to the Budha Dal, Harian Velan, Damdami Taksal and the Tarna Dal. The procession began from Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib gurdwara at 2 pm.

Nihangs exhibited their horse riding and martial art skills and sprayed Holi colours on the people all along the way.

The procession halted for a while at gurdwara Kila Anandgarh Sahib at Agampur before it concluded at the Charan Ganga stadium where the Nihangs again displayed their skills. Baba Budha Dal distributed prizes and cash rewards among the winners.

Earlier, the bhog ceremony of “akhand paths” was performed. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh delivered his message to the masses urging them to fight social evils like drug addiction and female foeticide.

A police team, which was formed to check the menace of begging during the festival, nabbed nearly 100 beggars and pick pockets.

Shopkeepers and vendors did a brisk business in the town.

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The Tribune – Committee to monitor female foeticide; Panel formed at Bathinda MP’s initiative to check such cases in the district

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 4. A high powered monitoring committee has been formed to check the cases of female foeticide in Bathinda district. The committee has been formed as per the directions of the Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, The committee was formed today at a meeting of the PNDT (Pre-natal diagnostic techniques) Cell of the district, held under the presidentship of deputy commissioner-cum-president of the PNDT Cell Ravi Bhagat and the IG (Intelligence) Jatinder Jain.

The following have been included in the committee: deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat, IG (Intelligence) Jatinder Jain, SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, Civil Surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni, DPRO Jagdip Singh Gill, district programme officer Shashi Tyagi and project officer of the PNDT Cell, Sadhu Ram Kusla.

As per official information, the committee will work for the eradication of female foeticide besides creating awareness by seeking the cooperation of the youth clubs, Panchayats, government institutions and NGOs.

Ambuja Cement Foundation will also launch an awareness campaign against female feticide in Bhucho, Rampura and Bathinda areas. The Foundation will also adopt three villages, where the sex ratio is very low. Likewise, Guru Gobind Singh Refinery will also adopt three villages which have low sex ratio. These organisations will launch a special campaign to create awareness among people in these villages.

Addressing the meeting, Jatinder Jain called upon the people to cooperate with the administration to fight female foeticide.

He said though the government had enacted laws and the administration had been initiating steps, but people’s cooperation was imperative.

He also said the NGOs, the youth clubs and the industrial houses would create awareness against female foeticide with documentary films, posters, literature and painting competitions etc. He further said the helpline service for pregnant women, whose toll-free number is 1091, would be started soon. It would function round-the-clock.

The meeting also asked the Health Department and the district programme officer to direct the ASHA workers and the Anganwari workers to register the names of every pregnant woman. The meeting also said if any pregnant woman’s name is not registered, then the responsibility would lie with the ASHA worker of the area concerned.

Ravi Bhagat asked the Health Department to send the statistics, relating to registration of pregnant women and the newborn babies, to the PNDT Cell, regularly. He also emphasised on forming a special task force, comprising officials of the health department, police and the PNDT Cell, so that raids could be conducted after getting information about cases of female foeticide.

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The Tribune – Khaps term female foeticide as murder; Want drive against menace, guilty punished

Bijendra Ahlawat, Tribune News Service

Bibipur (Jind, Haryana), July 14. A mahapanchayat of leaders and representatives of over 100 khaps from Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh took a tough stand against female foeticide on Saturday and demanded registration of a murder case against those who indulge in the “heinous act”.

The mahapanchayat, a conglomeration of various caste councils, was convened for the first time to discuss and debate rampant female foeticide in Haryana’s Bibipur village, 10 km from Jind on the Bhiwani road. It was pointed out that the population of girls had decreased due to the rampant practice and effective steps should be taken to wipe out the social ill. There are around 877 females per 1,000 males in the state.

“The perpetrators (of female foeticide) should be booked under Section 302 of the IPC instead of the simple imprisonment of five years and fine awarded to the guilty of such a crime,” said the resolution passed at the mahapanchayat.

The mahapanchayat, which for the first time saw a large number of women participants, also decided to launch an awareness campaign against the social evil by holding regular panchayat meetings. An 11-member committee would be formed to oversee the campaign.

“The committee will be headed by Ram Karan Solanki, chief of the Palam-360 Khap. It will meet again to ensure that the campaign against foeticide continued till positive results were achieved,” said Sunil Jaglan, Sarpanch of Bibipur village, and organiser of the mahapanchayat. It was chaired by Kuldeep Ram Rai, head of the Naugama Panchayat.

While speakers condemned the practice of female foeticide, they stressed the need for creating social awareness against female foeticide and educating the masses on problems that could crop up if the rampant practice continued. Khaps blamed the media for presenting them in poor light and claimed they had only been working for the social benefit of various communities.

Santosh Dahiya, head of the woman wing of the Sarvakhap Mahapanchayat, said both men and women were responsible for foeticide and the state’s skewed sex ratio and only their will and attitude could bring about a change.

Kuldeep Singh Dhanda, pradhan of Barah Kalan Khap, said they were worried about the declining sex ratio in the state. Change is possible only with the involvement of all sections of society, he said.

However, voices of dissent were also heard during the function. While a large number of women attended the panchayat, only a handful was allowed to speak after the resolution. They termed the resolution a futile exercise.

Some participants objected to the manner in which the resolution was adopted. “The organisers ought to have held a thorough debate and discussion on the matter before adopting the resolution,” said Umed Singh Deswal, head of the Dulehra Barah Khap of Jhajjar. He said organisers exhibited immaturity in the manner in which the event was organised.

Khaps that participated in the meeting included Malik, Binain, Dalal, Sheoran, Hooda, Barah Kalan, Dahiya, Bhanwala, Gathwala, Kandela, Sangwan, Solanki, Maan, Dhanda, Deswal and Tanwar, besides representatives of Dalit bodies. With women of the village leading the campaign, the Gram Sabha of Bibipur village had invited leaders of over 300 khaps to seek their support for the campaign.

(With agency inputs)

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The Tribune – Duped in the name of ‘Nanhi Chhaan’

Kulwinder Sandhu, Tribune News Service

Moga, April 20. Hundreds of people have been duped under the banner of ‘Nanhi Chhaan’, a socio-religious campaign launched by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal against female foeticide.

Hundreds of forms have been sold at Rs 15 each at the Suvidha Centre here during the past few months.

These forms, duly completed, were accepted by employees/contractors of the centre along with Rs 300 in cash from couples with daughters.

Sources said the employees promised to provide a grant of Rs 1 lakh to couples with a girlchild, Rs 2 lakh to those with two daughters and Rs 3 lakh to those with three daughters. “There is no such scheme to provide financial aid to couples with daughters,” said a Social Welfare Department official.

When contacted, Moga Deputy Commissioner Arshdeep Singh Thind claimed that no such forms were sold by the Suvidha Centre. “These forms could have been sold prior to my posting here last week,” he said.

The DC said he would look into the matter and take appropriate action against those found guilty. An employee at the Suvidha Centre, Mohit Arora, said a few months ago these forms were sold by a contractor who was given the task to run the centre.

“Now, the centre is managed directly by the district administration and we are neither selling nor accepting the controversial forms under the so-called Nanhi Chhaan scheme”, he added.

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The Tribune – Fight foeticide, Hema tells women voters

Bipin Bhardwaj, Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 25. BJP star campaigner Hema Malini today appealed to the women, hands folded, to fight female foeticide and rescue the girlchild. She was in city to address a rally in favour of BJP candidate from Jalandhar (North) Krishan Dev Bhandari. Hema started her speech with “Jo Bole so Nihal” and claimed that she loved Punjab for its rich food and culture. She highlighted the efforts made by the SAD-BJP government in the power sector and the various schemes for the welfare of women and children.

Appreciating Bhandari for his clean image and development works in his constituency, she appealed to the gathering to give him another chance. Addressing a gathering at Talwara in favour of Amarjit Singh Sahi, BJP candidate from Dasuya, she again raised the issued female foeticide. Hema promised to revisit the area along with her husband Dharmendra if the voters helped Sahi to win with a thumping majority. Avinash Rai Khanna, MP, and Vijay Sampla, Chairman of the Punjab Khadi Board, also spoke.

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The Tribune – Women issues in Panjab

Crackdown on female foeticide

The government had success in managing to add 17 girls to the sex ratio of 876 girls per 1,000 boys recorded in 2001, to make it 893. However, this figure is still well short of the national average of 940. The only consolation is that Punjab figures higher in gender ratio than the neighbouring Haryana (877) and far higher than Chandigarh (818), especially since the latter has the country’s eighth highest literacy rate, as compared to Punjab’s 17th position.

To its credit, the SAD government was more stringent in enforcing the PNDT Act compared to the preceding Congress government. Prior to 2007, it was not difficult for a pregnant woman to get her foetus aborted after getting the gender determined, usually done after 14 weeks of pregnancy. However, soon after talking over the reins in 2007, the government tightened the noose around medical establishments involved in this practice, making it difficult to get a foetus aborted after 10 weeks of pregnancy. This is believed to have contributed greatly to improving the sex ratio.

The stringent measures included a series of periodic crackdowns. During its tenure, the government suspended licences of 322 out of a total 1,296 ultrasound scan centres in the state, cancelled licences of 34 others and initiated 24 court cases, according to state Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Satish Chandra.

As even the improved gender ratio shows, plenty more remains to be done in this direction.

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Crime against women continued unabated

Looking at the crime statistics, it does not seem the state government was able to substantially improve the safety environment for women. Dowry deaths, rape, cruelty by a relative or husband, molestation, female foeticide, and desertion of wives by NRIs continued.

The high incidence of crime against women was serious enough for Member Secretary of the Punjab State Women’s Commission Sarvesh Kaushal to write to the state Chief Secretary in 2009, saying, “Despite the Domestic Violence Act already operational, such insensitivity to the cause of women is baffling. The same is also true of the other burning issue of female foeticide, in which only 11 cases have been registered in five months.”

He had cited figures for the first five months of 2009 (January to May), during which 153 women were raped, 222 kidnapped and another 130 molested. This was in addition to 70 women who were murdered, 55 who were driven to commit suicide and 39 who lost their lives for inability to “satisfy” their in-laws’ dowry demand.

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Not until society pitches in

One hurdle in improving women’s lot is their status in the larger society, which continues to deny equality.

Gurdev Kaur Sangha, Chairperson of the Punjab State Women’s Commission, said: “We have taken up the issue of women’s rights violations and addressed a number of cases related to domestic violence. Unfortunately, despite all the government has done to empower women, the fact remains they are still facing discrimination at the hands of their family and society at large,” irrespective of whether they were rich or poor. However, she added the middle class were treating women relatively better.

Men used their clout and money and did not even allow women to get justice. “Just two decades ago, I used to think women would be treated well by their in-laws with women’s literacy on the rise. I believed educated mothers-in-law would treat their daughters-in-law better. Unfortunately, it has only led to the demand for gold in dowry being upgraded to diamonds,” Sangha said. No government could do much if the mindset did not change, she added.

Given the environment against women, Dr Rainuka Dagar, Director (Research), Gender Studies Unit, Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), Chandigarh, said the Punjab government deserved credit for implementing the PNDT Act. “In 1901, the state had a sex ratio of 874 women per 1,000 men. Having a history of skewed gender ratio, the improvement in Punjab is rather encouraging. It is not easy to change the mindset of the people. I am glad political leaders have made a move and brought the issue to the forefront.

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The Tribune -Women candidates riding high on gender-centric issues

Gagan K Teja, Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 2. With main political parties of Punjab – SAD and Congress – all set to increase the number of women candidates in the ensuing assembly elections, women-centric issues are expected to dominate the campaign in the assembly segments from where women candidates would be trying their luck. Akali Dal has fielding three women candidates in Patiala district, the maximum from the royal city in the past five decades.

Akali leaders said the SAD would be announcing more women candidates in the next list to be announced shortly.

Though, Congress is yet to announce the names of candidates, but Punjab Mahila Congress president Malti Thapar said that she was rigorously pursuing the party high command in New Delhi that at least one woman candidate from each district of the state should be given Congress ticket.

Meanwhile, the women Akali candidates – Kuldeep Kaur Tohra from Patiala (Rural), Harpreet Kaur Mukhmailpur from Ghanaur and Vaninder Kaur Loomba from Shutrana (SC), are mainly focusing their election campaign on women-centric issues. While canvassing, all the three candidates are listening patiently to women about problems being faced by them.

“Being a woman, it is easier to understand the problems of the women. Though development is our main agenda throughout the state, but I will certainly work for the uplift of women in society”, said Kuldeep on the sidelines of an election meeting in Patiala (Rural) segment.

Expressing similar views, Harpreet Kaur was assuring people of Ghanaur assembly that if elected, she would work for the uplift of women besides taking pains to ensure all-round development of the areas in the constituency.

Vaninder Kaur Loomba said that she was inspired by the work done by Akali MP Harsimrat Kaur against the social evil of female foeticide and would try to follow in her footsteps.

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The Tribune – Film on female foeticide on Dutch TV

Gagan K. Teja, Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 7. India has always attracted foreign filmmakers and documentary makers for numerous reasons. They are fascinated by Indian culture and tradition and like to focus on real-life social problems that afflict society.

Dutch television, through its researcher Marnel Breure, is planning a series of seven documentaries on modern India.

One of these documentaries is about Punjab and focuses on the problems of female foeticide, domestic violence and drug abuse. In this context, Mr Jelle Brandt, a Dutch journalist and collaborator with Marnel, visited Patiala and nearby villages to find out more about these problems.

Using Patiala-based doctor Dr Harshinder’s book “Female Foeticide: a curse” as the base of their documentary, he visited Mallan Kheri village of Patiala district to get a first-hand account of the situation prevailing in the villages of Punjab. He was accompanied by Dr Harshinder Kaur who acted as a mediator between him and villagers.

Talking to The Tribune, Brandt said that he interviewed the villagers and discussed the reasons behind the killing of the girlchild in the womb. “The unanimous opinion was that the main reason that prompted the killing of the female foetus is dowry and unless this practice is curtailed or stopped it would be really difficult to curb this menace,” he added.

He further informed that they had selected various states for highlighting different issues. They would be shooting a documentary each in Mumbai, Hayana, Delhi and Punjab.

“I was thrilled to see India as I had a totally different picture in my mind. Despite the fact that there were some problems, one cannot deny the fact that Indian was no less than other developed countries. I interacted with a large number of people and collected enough information as to how we could highlight the issue of female foeticide and convince people to shun this practice. I will return with my team in February 2012 and shoot the entire documentary,” added Brandt.

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The Tribune – Fight Against Female Foeticide; Patiala doctor’s efforts start bearing fruit

Gagan K Teja, Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 25. Having focused on her aim of saving the girl child for the past 15 years now, the dedication of Patiala paediatrician Dr Harshinder Kaur has finally started bearing fruit with a large number of students both in India and abroad joining her fight against female foeticide and dowry system.

The United Nations, Geneva, during June 2011 session conferred the title of the “International Women Rights Activist” on Dr Kaur for her efforts for checking this practice.

During her visit to Toronto in April 2011, she was able to motivate 2,500 university students against female foeticide and they gathered under her slogan “Hail the Girl Child” and promised that they would neither give nor accept dowry.

A signature campaign was also initiated in this regard and for this achievement, Dr Kaur was honoured with the lifetime achievement award in the Canadian Parliament.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Kaur said it was nice to see youngsters come forward to support the cause.

“Dowry and female foeticide are the most common problems these days not just in India but abroad as well. Therefore, it is really important to engage youngsters in such missions, as they are the ones who can actually bring changes in society,” she added.

When questioned about her recent visit to Vancouver, she said around 250 more students from Kwantlen College joined her “No dowry campaign”. Meanwhile, a Hollywood Movie “Roaring Silence” based on Dr Kaur’s book “Female Foeticide – A Curse” was introduced at the Cannes Film Festival this year and was displayed in the Cannes Magazine.

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