Gobind Thukral

HOW does a society that claims itself to be enlightened and deeply religious account for the daily run of atrocities on women. These do not relate to just domestic violence, molestation or rape or even dowry deaths, the horrible of all these are the ‘honour killings’.

Haryana has the dubious distinction of almost leading the pack along with Punjab, Rajasthan and other North West Indians states. According to the Indian Population Statistics Survey in mid-2007, 655 homicidal cases were registered as “honour killings”. In Haryana, 10 per cent of murders of women are “honour killings”. It is a matter of serious concern for all; state government and the socially awakened persons. The present government feels extremely concerned about this aspect of Haryana’s social life. Hence the renewed emphasis on women education and encouragement at all levels to seek their increased participation in political, social and economic life.

With dreadful repetition, those young boys and girls who dare to have love marriages are ostracised, shot dead in cold blood; axed or strangled to death and thrown into canals by fuming parents and relatives. They are accused of bringing dishonour to their families and their gotra. If a daughter and in some cases even a son chooses her or his life partner of free will, everyone demonstrates a convoluted notion of honour and cries for murder. Even if the couple happens to be the same gotra, they are not tolerated and mostly done to death. Shockingly these neithercause any remorse or repentance and the perpetrators of the heinous crime go around as boastful performers of some heroic feat. Dead bodies of their daughters are badges. How sordid indeed. The entire community is filled with some sense of pride and the khap panchayats mostly do not stir into any action. At times they turn up as supporters and even instigators of such crimes.

“We understand the situation of women as of today and are committed to bring an all around improvement in their lives. They are equal not in law but in practice. We will ensure this.” This is how the state Chief Minister, Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda approaches the subject of empowering of women.

Mr Dharam Vir, the Chief Secretary of Haryana, admits, “There are several cases of atrocities and honour killings and we are taking such cases very seriously. However, we cannot change the situation overnight, as there is a need to bring a social change in the state. Our first priority is to arrest the declining sex ratio and to address the problem of female foeticide in the state. We have observed that there has been a marginal increase in the sex ratio in the last few years.”

Indeed he is right as the overall sex ratio in the state as per the 2001 census was 861 females per 1,000 males. The present government has launched several schemes to set this skewed sex ratio right. A girl child is a privileged person with free education plus stipends up to the university level, money for marriage and much more even free travel for places of study. The government has setup Delivery Huts all over the state to avoid still births and miscarriages.

The issue of empowering of women neither begins nor ends with honour killings. How do we estimate the changing role of women in social and other spheres of human activity? Women in Haryana have had chequered life. While taking care of home and the cattle in full measure, they have been part of the farm workforce too in a large measure. Men, who dominate the scene most of the time, were confined largely to farm operations. Yet in a patriarchal society like ours, men folk dominate in decision making in all spheres.

There is as of now visible change taking place. Women are getting more educated. They are moving into jobs which were exclusive domain of men. This new found economic power often means equality with men. A recent survey points out that 28 per cent of currently married women are employed and 82 per cent of them decide how their earnings are to be spent. But their participation in major household decisions is still limited. Only one in eight women has bank accounts. This study conducted on behalf of Government of India noted that half of the women went to market and 53 per cent visited health centers independently on their own.

Domestic violence, a by-product of the feudal system still prevails in Haryana. Spousal violence is lower among the educated women. Yet one in seven experienced this violence. Alcohol consumption and family background led to such violence which prevailed more among the illiterate families and backward families. Economic hardships too added to at discords and violence. A new law now in place would be helpful. A report on "A Situation Analysis of Women and Girls in Haryana'' brought out by the National Commission for Women (NCW) said Haryana's affluence was not reflected in the gender relations scenario. It ranked far behind many states though it has made rapid progress in the field of female literacy which has risen by almost five times in the past four decades but the gender gap remains high.

One third reservation in panchayats and municipal committees and councils has provided them with rare opportunity to be decision makers. There is a clear shift from earlier situation where only husbands decided the political alignments and decision making in these bodies. More and more women are taking independent decisions. Mrs Jaswinder Kaur, sarpanch of village Khanpur kalan in kurukshetra who has achieved complete sanitation in the village takes her decisions herself and leads women upfront.

As Haryana society moves forward and as industrialisation picks up and education spreads, women would be more conscious of their position and assert their rights. The present government has clear mind as far as the status of women and their further empowerment is concerned and has taken a number of measures through education, social upliftment and jobs.

Haryana remembers the words of its grand old man Chaudhry Ranbir Singh: “The one best thing about freedom has been women empowerment that girls can be independent and can work.” This should inspire generations as this is a genuine statement that comes from a grand freedom fighter who was honest to the chore and led a transparent life. Empowering women is possible if both the state government and the society build a mass movement. For that seeds have been sown in right earnest.

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Grave times ahead for Bangladesh as BDR mutiny ends in Dhaka

IT was brutal but short lived, thankfully. Yet the munity by the Bangladesh Rifles [BDR] that guards long borders with Indian and Burma claimed 160 lives, mostly of officers from the military that man senior positions. For the fledging government of Sheikh Hasina Wajad the brutality of the mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) soldiers continues to unfold brutality as more mass graves containing bullet- riddled bodies of army officers at its headquarters are discovered.

The two graves were unearthed by rescuers from army and fire brigade services, a day after the first one with 42 bodies of massacred officers, including BDR chief Man Gen Shakil Ahmed, was found in the premises of the force's headquarters in Pilkhana area in the heart of the capital.

The death toll before the discovery of the new graves stood at 67. It was not known immediately known how many bodies were there in the graves, even as over 70 army officers were still believed to be missing.

The short-lived but deadly insurrection by the rank and file of the Bangladesh Rifles marked a critical test for the two-month-old government in Dhaka that is still in the process of consolidating civilian control after two years of Army-backed emergency rule. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handled the situation with calibrated firmness. The fact that what started as a takeover of the BDR’s Dhaka headquarters spread to 15 border districts, despite an offer of general amnesty by the Prime Minister, did reflect deep-rooted grievances among the guards.

These relate to issues of pay and treatment by the Army commanders, and a change in the command and control structure. Sheikh Hasina in a televised address promised to look into their grievances, while also holding out the threat of putting down the mutiny by force. Only when the tanks rolled out in a show of force did the renegades relent. The events came against the backdrop of widespread frustration in the country, which faces high food prices, a slowing economy, and rampant corruption within the ruling classes — a formidable challenge confronting the fledgling government.

For Sheikh Hasina the principal task in the current phase is to put down Islamist guerrilla groups. These threaten the basic fabric of society. She needs to dismantle the support system that continues to remain entrenched. India is naturally worried as it has a long border of 4,100 kms with Bangladesh and earlier some elements from the terror outfits have poured from that country.

What impact the BDR rebellion will have on the delicately poised civilian government depends on whether, and how swiftly, Sheikh Hasina’s administration is able to redress the genuine grievances of the rank-and-file forces. it has take care that it does not upset the powerful military leadership and yet asserts its overall authority. Every section should “give democracy and the economy a chance to develop,” in a country that has seen 19 coup attempts and the killing of two Presidents during military takeovers since it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.

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The proposed interim {mini} budget: Really a political gimmick

Vinod Anand

IT is really surprising that in the name of the global meltdown, the political rulers (political sector) in India are planning to present the vote-of account(VOA) perhaps on 16th Feb or so in the name “interim (mini) budget” to bring about a major hike of about 30 per cent or so from last year’s allocations in the outlay for many ministries (like agriculture, rural development, health, minority affairs, and human resource development) that are (artificially) running the UPA’s so-called “flagship” schemes. This strategy will in no way ameliorate the lot of the proletariat, and help the really ‘deserving’ masses, but it will surely enhance the electoral power of the ruling parties. This will involve an enhancement of both plan and non-plan expenditure, and the burden will eventually be borne to a large extent by the tax payers. The ultimate impact of this ‘clever’ strategy will be that it would adversely affect the well-being of the nation in various ways. Another serious impact will be the reduction in the allocation of ministries like defence, civil aviation, and telecom that matter a lot especially in the present times of insecurity and recession.

It is also likely that the Government may boost the realty sector in terms of (1) raising the tax deduction on interest payments on housing loans from Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh (2) exempting corporates from tax on profits earned by building small dwelling units, and (3) reduction in the excise duty on “big” cars. These are also populist measures in the name of the global economic crisis and its impact on India. All these measures are essential from the point of the Government basically because the elections are round the corner. Another pertinent question can be raised in this context. Why is such a boost required for the richer sections of the society? Why shouldn’t the Government do something for the poorer sections?

I wonder why can’t the Government take a rational decision in this respect? Let us hope that this VOA doesn’t go through.

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