Generally the family driver is best paid while the maid is only paid around half of what the driver makes. The driver also trumps nanny salaries, suggesting people are willing to dish out more to take care of their cars than their kids.
Findings of a recent study on wage gap among domestic workers in India brings no surprise. If you are a male, you will be paid more regardless of the importance, severity or duration of work.
Sadly there is no sign of any end to this gender discrimination.
In a welcome move, courts in India and European Union has upheld the usage of big pictorial warnings on cigarette packs.
Report from India:
The Supreme Court told tobacco companies on Wednesday they must adhere to a new central rule requiring much larger health warnings on cigarette packs, in a major setback for the $11 billion industry that opposes the new policy.
The Supreme Court turned down a plea to stay implementation of the new rules introduced from April 1, which require health warnings to cover 85 per cent of a cigarette pack’s surface, up from 20 per cent earlier.
In a packed courtroom, a two-judge bench rejected the industry’s plea to extend a stay it had obtained from a Karnataka court but agreed to a request to move the rest of the appeals to the Karnataka court.
“You have duty towards the society,” the judges told a team of industry lawyers, which included some of the most expensive advocates in the country.
The industry “should not violate any rule prevailing as of today”, they said.
Three men were detained on Tuesday for the brutal rape-murder of a 29-year-old Dalit law student in a small town near Kerala’s Kochi last week, a crime that drew comparisons with the Delhi 2012 gang rape.
Police said two of the detained suspects are neighbours of the woman, who was alone at home and found in a pool of blood by her mother when she returned from work around 8pm on April 28.
“We have some leads in the case,” additional DGP K Padmakumar said.
The autopsy revealed she was savagely assaulted with sharp-edged weapons after being raped. The body bore at least 30 cut wounds, her abdomen was slashed and intestines were ripped apart.
The traumatised mother is bedridden in a hospital. “We had complained to police about the danger to our lives. The tragedy could have been averted had they taken timely action,” she said.
Some ayurveda practitioners have told me that doctors prescribing allopathy medicines often advise patients not to opt for ayurveda. Such doctors are anti-nationals,
Ayurveda is one of the oldest medical systems in the world and we should be proud of it. How can anyone oppose ayurveda when the whole world is showing interest in it and trying to find remedies of diseases that modern medical science cannot?
S.Y.Naik,Indian Health Minster (Alternative Medicine- Ayush)
The Freethinkers is a vibrant Facebook group run by atheists catering to users speaking malayalam language in India’s Kerala state. It’s open to all and is a space for vigorous debates on varying topics like religion, politics and atheism. It has a huge membership and was mass reported and closed several times but came back with a vengeance.
Now an anonymous Jihadi malayalam blogger has directly threatened the admins of the group with violence.
They were arrested in 2006 for their alleged part in three bomb explosions that took place in Malegaon in India’s Maharashtra state. The blasts took place on 8th September, 2006 , close to a mosque immediately after the time of Friday prayers. 37 people were killed, mostly Muslims.
After 10 years, on April 25, 2016, they were set free by the court saying there is no evidence against them.
With in few weeks of the blast in 2006, the state Police had arrested them. They were 9 men, most of them members of banned Students Islamic movement of India, an Islamist organisation which had played its part in trying to radicalize Indian Muslims and also in some terrorist activities. Police claimed that those arrested had close links with Pakistani terror groups. The investigation was later handed over to India’s premier investigation agency, the Central bureau of Investigations (CBI). CBI also confirmed what the state Police claimed.
After the Mumbai Islamist terror attack of 2008, a separate National agency was set up by Indian government to investigate terror attacks. The National Investigation Agency, NIA , while probing other cases caught hold of one Swami Aseemanand. In 2010 he confessed before a magistrate that he and some of his Hindutva activist friends of a group called Abhinav Bharat were responsible for the 2006 Malegaon blasts. Later the NIA came to a conclusion that Hindutva groups were probably responsible not only for Malegaon 2006 blasts, but also for blasts in Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express (February 2007), the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 2007), the Ajmer Dargah (October 2007), and then Malegaon once again in September 2008.
Aseemanand – Image credit Vivek singh for the Caravan
In 2011 the NIA did not oppose the bail plea for the 9 men. Thus after 5 years they were able to get out of jail. In 2013 NIA told the court that there is no good evidence to incriminate them. Now after another 3 years the court has pronounced them not guilty.
Many a time Indian Police has been accused for “manufacturing” terrorists in high-profile terror cases . With a Hindutva supporting government in Delhi and many of the states this may not be the last time that innocent people are put in jail for terrorism while real culprits roam free. Also there is a question mark on the future of terror cases in which members of the Hindutva outfits are the accused. Still this judicial verdict give us hope that though delayed, justice will be delivered in the end.
The killings in Bangladesh continue.
Xulhaz Mannan and a friend were hacked to death in Dhaka today at Mannan’s residence. He worked as a protocol officer of former US ambassador Dan Mozena for a long time. He was also associated with USAID.
Xulhaz Mannan. This photo is taken from his Facebook page.
BBC identified Mannan as senior editor of Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine.
The attackers tricked Mannan to open the door saying they have brought him a courier.
Islam like most other religions forbids homosexuality.
It seems no one can stop Islamists in Bangladesh.
After the success of the struggle of Hindu women to enter the Lord Saturn temple in Maharashtra with the help of judiciary, a historical Sunni mosque has opened its doors to Muslim women.
The mosque at Tazhathangady in Kottayam town of Kerala is supposed to be as old as 8th century. It is famous for its beautiful architectural style and exquisite wood carvings.
Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid. Photo: Maya Menon
An international Rationalist conference is under way at Tallinn. You must be wondering, like me, where in the world is this Tallinn. It is in Estonia, which was a part of erstwhile USSR. It is jointly organised by Rationalist International, Helsinki, Finland and Rationalist Association, Estonia. A galaxy of humanist-atheist speakers from all over the world are attending.
No, this is not an old news. It happened again.
A progressive secular professor of Rajshahi University in Bangladesh was hacked to death early on Saturday.