The Buzz & Beyond

Women in Politics – it is not that as if they do not exist. However, the perception is that the representation ratio is not equal. So, they explore the possibilities of increasing by the way Indian politicians knew better – reservation. Even as the women's reservation Bill repeatedly flounders in Parliament, it should be recognized that this process has a long history. In 1917, a delegation of Indian women put up its demand for franchise before secretary of state Ewin Montagu. In the 1920s, the right to vote was granted to propertied women. They were, however, not allowed to participate in legislatures. Courtesy, constant lobbying by the Women's Indian Association, this right to contest was granted in 1930. Muthulakshmi Reddy became the first woman legislator. In the Round Table Conference held in 1930, two women activists, Begum Jahanara Shah Nawaz and Radhabai Subbarayan, pleaded for 5 per cent reservation for women in the legislatures. Other women activists, did not appre...

“Who are they?” my son asked me. “I’ll tell you later!” “Why do they look so different?” he could not wait. “Let them go! I will explain later!” “Why not now? By now that person took the seat that got vacated. As the person sat, the lady sitting next to the vacated seat got up and stood aside. “Kyon uth gayee? Hum achoot hai kya? Mera koi galti hai? (Why you got up? Are we untouchables? Did I commit any mistake?)” the eunuch asked. I could feel that she is crying. “Why did that lady say so? What sin did she do?’ my son perturbed me. I will have a tough time explaining him. However, it kept some bells ringing in my mind. “Whose fault is this?” Transgender communities have existed in most parts of the world with their own identities, customs and rituals. The hijra (Eunuch) community in India, which has a recorded history of more than 4,000 years, was considered to have special powers because of its third-gender status. Mentioning of Hijras can be traced back to Ramayana and the Mahab...

http://ngkjrs69.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/10/one-of-india-s-unsung-heroes.htm There is no dearth of temples in India that you can find many of them even on all Indian highways but to locate a public-toilet is difficult. Unfortunately, this is the importance we give to toilets! We always felt that to defecate in public is nothing wrong! An interesting observation by the Indian Planning commission is as follows: Nearly 80% of the country's population still either defecate in open or use unsanitary bucket latrines or smelly public toilets. This is true even in urban areas where hardly 20 per cent of the population has access to water/flush toilets connected to a sewerage system & only 14% enjoy water-borne toilets connected to septic tanks or leach pits. In rural areas a mere 3% of the population has access to sanitary toilets. This lack of adequate sanitation is responsible for diseases like Cholera, dysentery, typhoid, para-typhoid, infectious hepatitis etc that costs our li...

Disclaimer: All the characters and incidents are ficitious. Any resemblence is a sheer coincidence only! Lt. Gajendra Singh was summoned by Major General. “Your leave is sanctioned and you are proceeding on leave from tomorrow. But be back by 2nd of next month. You have only 20 days. My advance congratulations on your marriage1” Gajendra could not believe it even now. He is standing on the railway platform waiting for his train. 4 days will be lost in train and hardly 15 days. Still, his face was gleaming. Suddenly, he heard a familiar noise that is of shooting. He saw two militants on the over-bridge linking platforms 3, 4, 5 & 6 firing from top onto the platform creating panic among public. “Gajji you need to act!” he told to himself. Gajji climbed the bridge from rear side through the metallic pillars. He held one of the terrorists from behind and strangled his neck literally. The firing from this terrorist went haywire. Seeing this, the first terrorist now shot at Gajendra and ...