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Brickbats for yet another ‘pro–women’ plan of BJP govt. The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) immediately took up the issue and demanded a change in the clause, which so casually equated rape to any other accident. AIDWA threatened demonstrations outside every GIC office in the country, if the clause was not modified. AIDWA general secretary, Brinda Karat, said, "In a country where rape and sexual attack on women is increasing, the PM inaugurates a policy which equates rape with other marketable insurance policies. This shows how callous and insensitive the attitude of people can be." She added, "Rape is not the least about losing a limb or a body part and equating it to a physical accident is both outrageous and unfortunate. It is deplorable that our corporate and political leaders are viewing rape as only a physical accident when the victim might actually be dying more than a thousand deaths". The insurance companies claimed that the aim of the policy was not to add to a rape victim’s trauma but to help her cope with it without having to worry about financial problems. However, as Shabnam Hashmi, who sent out a nation–wide appeal to protest against the policy pointed out: "In a society where the first victim of poverty is the girl child, the new scheme will provide yet another avenue for manipulating rape on hapless girls. It will also lead to increasing child abuse for gaining monetary compensation." Following the protests, the GIC decided to delete the word ‘rape’ from the scheme’s prospectus, saying the word was only used in the scheme to clarify the causes for disablement. Hurdles on the Indo–Bangla bus route The trip between the two cities is expected to take about 12 hours. The 36–seater air–conditioned buses carry on their sides, a line each from the famous poets, Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, of the two countries. In the meantime, a team of MPs from Assam has announced their intention of making the bus trip from Guwahati to Dhaka as a good–will gesture in May. The need to open up border trade between the two countries was also emphasised by Assam chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, at a seminar in mid–March. He pointed out that the Northeast shared only two per cent of its border with India while sharing 98 percent with its border with Burma, Bangladesh, China, and Bhutan. He stressed that joining hands with Bangladesh may well open a gateway to the affluent Asian markets, and improve the Northeast economy — a step which he said was urgently required considering that the poor state of the Northeast economy was manifesting itself in militancy. SC enhances Hindu woman’s property rights The judges observed: "According to the old Shastric Hindu law, marriage between two Hindus is not a contract but a sacrament and after marriage it is a pious obligation on the part of the husband to maintain his wife during lifetime and after his death, the widow is to be maintained out of the party." Thus they held that the ‘pre–existing right’ automatically became an ‘absolute right’, under section 14 of the Hindu Women’s Rights to Property Act and other provisions of the Hindu Succession Act. Twists and turns in the Staines’ killings case The Staines’ killings case seem to be taking an absurd turn. A little after the government had announced that the Rashtriya Ekta Puraskar for the year 1999 was to be awarded posthumously to the missionary, they admitted that the investigation into his death had not even begun. At a Union cabinet meeting held on March 23, the BJP government decided to grant the DP Wadhwa Commission of enquiry, which had been appointed to investigate the murders, three more months for the investigations. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, information and broadcasting minister, Pramod Mahajan, admitted that the commission was to "begin work now", though it had been appointed shortly after the murders took place on January 22, and had been instructed to submit its report as soon as possible, but definitely within two months time. The report, therefore, would have been due in April. Mahajan said that the delay was a result of the lack of co–operation from the Orissa state government. Subsequently, Justice Wadhwa asked the special investigating team, formed to probe the murders, to submit their preliminary report by April 6, when the commission will hold its first hearing in Orissa. The Indo–Australian Association, Chennai, also conferred the Indo-Australian Award for Meritorious Service on the late Graham Stuart Staines on March 24. The Australian high commissioner, Rob Laurie, said at the function that it was crucial for the Centre to bring to book those who were responsible for the murders of Staines and his two sons. Christian homes torched in Orissa Meanwhile, an attempt to burn down a Christian prayer hall in Vadgam village in Gujarat was foiled by the villagers, who quickly put out the fire before any major damage was done. Keeping the Lahore spirit alive The foreign minister of Pakistan, Sartaj Aziz, and India’s minister for external affairs, Jaswant Singh, also met during the 21st SAARC council of ministers at Sri Lanka and set out a road map for implementation of the Lahore declaration. They issued a joint statement agreeing on: Ø A meeting of experts to be held within two months for implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding. Ø The next round of composite and integrated dialogue process was set to commence in New Delhi in May and in Islamabad in June. Ø The committee on humanitarian issues composed of minister of state for foreign affairs of Pakistan and the minister of external affairs of India, which was set up by the Prime Ministers of the two countries at Lahore is to meet in April to formalise the agreement on the issue of release of civilian prisoners and to discuss other humanitarian issues. Ø Both sides agreed to relax the visa regime for several categories of visitors. Specific visa relaxation measures are to be announced soon. Ø Delegations of experts are to meet in April to identify areas of co-operation in information technology, Y2K and WTO–related issues. In mid–March, Pakistan took the lead in unilaterally announcing relaxation of rules for issuing visa, claiming even tourists can apply and get ‘same day’ visas. On March 25, India reciprocated declaring specific easing in visa regulations. For seven categories of individuals, multiple entry visas with up to one–year duration will be issued. The visas will no longer need to be city–specific, and most importantly, these individuals will be exempted from police reporting. But dissenting groups have still not let up. The Jamaat–e–Islami in Pakistan is adamant on its anti–India stand. As threatened, it carried out its plan to wash the Minar–e–Pakistan with rose water, in order to "wash away PM Vajpayee’s footprints" at the monument, "which is a symbol of the sacrifices of the martyrs of the Pakistan movement". The Minar is built at the spot where the idea of the formation of a separate Muslim nation was born. The Jamaat has also declared that the Lahore Declaration is void and no subsequent governments will honour it. |