Friday, July 20, 2007
Activists frown on Indian domestic violence law
Activists frown on Indian domestic violence law
Many Indian American activists have opposed India’s newly enacted law against domestic violence, saying its several provisions lend themselves to misuse and could lead to more broken homes.
Activists who spoke to IANS said they feared the law would be misused like the earlier anti-dowry law (Sec 498a of Indian Penal Code). A large number of Indian Americans have complained that section 498a was used against them to extort money.
The activists urged that the new law be made ‘gender neutral’, with a greater emphasis on counselling as in the West. They said misuse of the new law would affect women too and would bring minor differences in a marriage to a point of no return.
‘It is a great law to get even with in-laws,’ said one woman who spoke on condition of anonymity. ‘Or if you want to marry some rich guy and then get rid of him.’
Others said the provisions of the domestic violence law were too expansive.
‘A significant flaw in this law is that it lends itself to such easy misuse that women will find it hard to resist the temptation to ‘teach a lesson’ to their male relatives and will file frivolous cases,’ said Avinash Gupta, an India American.
‘A similar trend has been shown in the anti-dowry law, which is being misused to such an extent that the Supreme Court (in India) has termed it ‘legal terrorism’.
‘There are three fundamental problems with this new law,’ said Gupta. ‘It is overwhelmingly gender biased in favour of women, the potential for misuse is astounding, and the definition of domestic violence is too expansive.’
Gupta advocated the enactment of a ‘domestic harmony’ law instead.
‘It (the new law) makes it very easy to escalate domestic problems to such a level that it eventually leads to a breakdown in marriage. Once a man is arrested for a relatively minor offence - like perceived insult - he will perpetually feel threatened by his partner, and that is the beginning of the end. This law will lead to more broken homes and children will ultimately pay the price.
‘Going by the domestic violence law’s definition of abuse, how many men are victims? After all, nagging wives are common enough,’ said Gupta.
Some of the most vociferous opposition to the new law is from women, some of whom have been victims of cases filed under 498a.
‘If a man cannot put up with a woman, he cannot throw a fit, that would be abuse. Under the new law, a woman can have it both ways. A woman who wants to stay in the marriage or opt out of it - irrespective of the husband’s wishes - can leverage the law,’ said Uma Challa, a doctoral student.
‘Given the corruption in the Indian legal system, especially among police personnel, the outcome will not be what the lawmakers desired,’ said Dipak, another Indian American.
‘The police will use the law to harass or enter into money making deals with either party,’ he said.
‘The law imposes a responsibility on men, without giving them rights. On the other hand, it gives rights to women without requiring them to be responsible. It should be made gender neutral, offering protection to both men and women. Doing so will not take away anything from women victims,’ said Gupta.
Satya, a California-based volunteer who runs [b]www.498a.org[/b] website, sees a number of victims seeking help from non-resident Indians around the world.
He said: ‘The law would create the same set of innocent victims that the anti-dowry law had. Every year, about 200,000 families go through hell because some women misuse this (498a) law.’
Dipak referred to a statement by Renuka Chowdhury, the Indian minister of state for women and child development, that men who were harassed under these laws, were in a ‘microscopic minority’. ‘Even accepting her statement, should we, in the minority, not be entitled to some protection?’ he asked.
Activists said the law could often go to ludicrous lengths. ‘Under the law, if a wife decides not to cook and wishes to eat out in a restaurant every day, the husband can’t afford not to oblige her lest he invite the provision for ‘not providing food’, for which he could be jailed,’ Satya said.
Although the law cannot be enforced in the US, many Indian Americans have been victims of the anti-dowry law, by vindictive ex-wives and their parents.
‘For them, it is a good source of earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for withdrawing the case. Indian American men and women have been arrested, sometimes at the airport itself, when they have gone to India to visit relatives,’ added Satya.
Being a politically sensitive issue, activists said they see no hope of a more equitable version of the law in the near future.
‘The domestic violence law protects you only if you are a daughter-in-law. For catering to their vote banks, politicians are dividing Indian society on the basis of gender,’ said Challa.
Meanwhile, hapless Indian American men turn to blogs like ’savemarriages’ for advice, even debating whether marrying a woman from India is a risky proposition.
One advisory, apparently from an experienced practitioner, examines other options and offers this advice: ‘Don’t get involved with Indian women. Russian women are better looking, homely, nice and much more reasonable and logical.’
- By Ashok Easwaran
Many Indian American activists have opposed India’s newly enacted law against domestic violence, saying its several provisions lend themselves to misuse and could lead to more broken homes.
Activists who spoke to IANS said they feared the law would be misused like the earlier anti-dowry law (Sec 498a of Indian Penal Code). A large number of Indian Americans have complained that section 498a was used against them to extort money.
The activists urged that the new law be made ‘gender neutral’, with a greater emphasis on counselling as in the West. They said misuse of the new law would affect women too and would bring minor differences in a marriage to a point of no return.
‘It is a great law to get even with in-laws,’ said one woman who spoke on condition of anonymity. ‘Or if you want to marry some rich guy and then get rid of him.’
Others said the provisions of the domestic violence law were too expansive.
‘A significant flaw in this law is that it lends itself to such easy misuse that women will find it hard to resist the temptation to ‘teach a lesson’ to their male relatives and will file frivolous cases,’ said Avinash Gupta, an India American.
‘A similar trend has been shown in the anti-dowry law, which is being misused to such an extent that the Supreme Court (in India) has termed it ‘legal terrorism’.
‘There are three fundamental problems with this new law,’ said Gupta. ‘It is overwhelmingly gender biased in favour of women, the potential for misuse is astounding, and the definition of domestic violence is too expansive.’
Gupta advocated the enactment of a ‘domestic harmony’ law instead.
‘It (the new law) makes it very easy to escalate domestic problems to such a level that it eventually leads to a breakdown in marriage. Once a man is arrested for a relatively minor offence - like perceived insult - he will perpetually feel threatened by his partner, and that is the beginning of the end. This law will lead to more broken homes and children will ultimately pay the price.
‘Going by the domestic violence law’s definition of abuse, how many men are victims? After all, nagging wives are common enough,’ said Gupta.
Some of the most vociferous opposition to the new law is from women, some of whom have been victims of cases filed under 498a.
‘If a man cannot put up with a woman, he cannot throw a fit, that would be abuse. Under the new law, a woman can have it both ways. A woman who wants to stay in the marriage or opt out of it - irrespective of the husband’s wishes - can leverage the law,’ said Uma Challa, a doctoral student.
‘Given the corruption in the Indian legal system, especially among police personnel, the outcome will not be what the lawmakers desired,’ said Dipak, another Indian American.
‘The police will use the law to harass or enter into money making deals with either party,’ he said.
‘The law imposes a responsibility on men, without giving them rights. On the other hand, it gives rights to women without requiring them to be responsible. It should be made gender neutral, offering protection to both men and women. Doing so will not take away anything from women victims,’ said Gupta.
Satya, a California-based volunteer who runs [b]www.498a.org[/b] website, sees a number of victims seeking help from non-resident Indians around the world.
He said: ‘The law would create the same set of innocent victims that the anti-dowry law had. Every year, about 200,000 families go through hell because some women misuse this (498a) law.’
Dipak referred to a statement by Renuka Chowdhury, the Indian minister of state for women and child development, that men who were harassed under these laws, were in a ‘microscopic minority’. ‘Even accepting her statement, should we, in the minority, not be entitled to some protection?’ he asked.
Activists said the law could often go to ludicrous lengths. ‘Under the law, if a wife decides not to cook and wishes to eat out in a restaurant every day, the husband can’t afford not to oblige her lest he invite the provision for ‘not providing food’, for which he could be jailed,’ Satya said.
Although the law cannot be enforced in the US, many Indian Americans have been victims of the anti-dowry law, by vindictive ex-wives and their parents.
‘For them, it is a good source of earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for withdrawing the case. Indian American men and women have been arrested, sometimes at the airport itself, when they have gone to India to visit relatives,’ added Satya.
Being a politically sensitive issue, activists said they see no hope of a more equitable version of the law in the near future.
‘The domestic violence law protects you only if you are a daughter-in-law. For catering to their vote banks, politicians are dividing Indian society on the basis of gender,’ said Challa.
Meanwhile, hapless Indian American men turn to blogs like ’savemarriages’ for advice, even debating whether marrying a woman from India is a risky proposition.
One advisory, apparently from an experienced practitioner, examines other options and offers this advice: ‘Don’t get involved with Indian women. Russian women are better looking, homely, nice and much more reasonable and logical.’
- By Ashok Easwaran
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sehgal gave wife Rs 4.5 lakh, but she wanted more — a divorce
Extortion by wife
New Delhi, May 3: “I HAVE no problems with Reena staying with my husband at my house.” This was the statement that reportedly prompted Kishori Lal Sehgal to shoot at himself. Reena is Sehgal’s wife and the statement came from Surinder Kaur, wife of one Jitender Singh Ahluwalia alias Jeetu with whom Reena allegedly has an affair.
The police said Sehgal had given Rs 4.5 lakh to Reena in March, but she wanted more money, and a divorce. In February this year, Reena filed a dowry case with the Crime Against Women Cell, and started living with Jeetu. On Thursday morning at 10.30 am, both Sehgal and Reena had come to CAW Cell at Nanakpura to attend the hearing of the case. Reena, who had charged Sehgal with dowry harassment, mental and physical torture, was accompanied by Jeetu and Surinder.
After the hearing was over, sources said, Surinder told Sehgal that she would keep Reena with her. Sehgal then went to Nehru Park, near the Prime Minister’s residence, wrote a suicide note and shot himself. The police are verifying if he had a licence for the gun. The bullet missed his heart by just 5 cm, but he survived his second suicide attempt. Sehgal had tried to immolate himself a couple of days ago, said a police officer.
According to the police, Jeetu is a resident of Old Mahavir Nagar in Tilak Nagar and has been in a relationship with Reena even before she married Sehgal four years ago. Sehgal had married Reena after he got a divorce from his first wife, Prem Jyoti, with whom he has a son, Rahul. He has another son, Ansh, with Reena.
Additional Commissioner of Police, CAW Cell, Tajender Luthra said: “We have counselled the couple during hearings. We don’t know what had happened between them. Reena was not staying with Sehgal.”
New Delhi, May 3: “I HAVE no problems with Reena staying with my husband at my house.” This was the statement that reportedly prompted Kishori Lal Sehgal to shoot at himself. Reena is Sehgal’s wife and the statement came from Surinder Kaur, wife of one Jitender Singh Ahluwalia alias Jeetu with whom Reena allegedly has an affair.
The police said Sehgal had given Rs 4.5 lakh to Reena in March, but she wanted more money, and a divorce. In February this year, Reena filed a dowry case with the Crime Against Women Cell, and started living with Jeetu. On Thursday morning at 10.30 am, both Sehgal and Reena had come to CAW Cell at Nanakpura to attend the hearing of the case. Reena, who had charged Sehgal with dowry harassment, mental and physical torture, was accompanied by Jeetu and Surinder.
After the hearing was over, sources said, Surinder told Sehgal that she would keep Reena with her. Sehgal then went to Nehru Park, near the Prime Minister’s residence, wrote a suicide note and shot himself. The police are verifying if he had a licence for the gun. The bullet missed his heart by just 5 cm, but he survived his second suicide attempt. Sehgal had tried to immolate himself a couple of days ago, said a police officer.
According to the police, Jeetu is a resident of Old Mahavir Nagar in Tilak Nagar and has been in a relationship with Reena even before she married Sehgal four years ago. Sehgal had married Reena after he got a divorce from his first wife, Prem Jyoti, with whom he has a son, Rahul. He has another son, Ansh, with Reena.
Additional Commissioner of Police, CAW Cell, Tajender Luthra said: “We have counselled the couple during hearings. We don’t know what had happened between them. Reena was not staying with Sehgal.”
Try reconciliation before arrest in dowry cases, says Raj HC
Try reconciliation before arrest in dowry cases, says Raj HC
27 April 2007
In a significant decision on dowry cases, Rajasthan High Court has directed the police to first attempt 'reconciliation' efforts between estranged couples rather than concentrating on 'immediate arrest' of the husband and in-laws.
Justice Dalip Singh gave this order yesterday while admitting the petition of Subhash of village Atela near Jaipur. Subhash was having trouble in his domestic life and his wife lodged a dowry harassment case against him. Later there were indications of reconciliation between Subhash and his wife. But someone instigated his wife to lodge an FIR, which sent her in-laws to jail for harassing her for dowry. This enraged Subhash and he refused to take in his wife again.
The court sent a copy of the order to Director General of Police and asked all police station incharges to take legal advise in dowry harassment cases.
The court said the police should show restraint and first try reconciliation efforts between the parties with the help of family and friends for cases lodged under Section 498 and 406 of IPC.
The court said the police is free to effect immediate arrest but should try to take the help of mediators first. Immediate arrests often become stumbling blocks and close doors for negotiations and the most affected are the innocent children whose mental development is also stymied.
27 April 2007
In a significant decision on dowry cases, Rajasthan High Court has directed the police to first attempt 'reconciliation' efforts between estranged couples rather than concentrating on 'immediate arrest' of the husband and in-laws.
Justice Dalip Singh gave this order yesterday while admitting the petition of Subhash of village Atela near Jaipur. Subhash was having trouble in his domestic life and his wife lodged a dowry harassment case against him. Later there were indications of reconciliation between Subhash and his wife. But someone instigated his wife to lodge an FIR, which sent her in-laws to jail for harassing her for dowry. This enraged Subhash and he refused to take in his wife again.
The court sent a copy of the order to Director General of Police and asked all police station incharges to take legal advise in dowry harassment cases.
The court said the police should show restraint and first try reconciliation efforts between the parties with the help of family and friends for cases lodged under Section 498 and 406 of IPC.
The court said the police is free to effect immediate arrest but should try to take the help of mediators first. Immediate arrests often become stumbling blocks and close doors for negotiations and the most affected are the innocent children whose mental development is also stymied.
Desperate housewives kill hubbies
Desperate Housewives kill hubbies....
Desperate housewives kill hubbies
Divyesh Singh
Stories of husbands assaulting their wives are common. But in an equally horrific reversal of roles, two housewives in Thane killed their husbands in the last two days.
Burnt to death
In the first incident, Anila Pommy, 40, set on fire her 38-year-old husband, professional photographer Rajendra Pommy, in Ambernath, on Saturday morning. According to the police, the Pommys had been married for 15 years and had four children.
Rajendra, however, had secretly married another woman from his hometown in Punjab two years ago and brought her to Mumbai, the police said. He bought his second wife a flat in Badlapur and had been living with her, rarely visiting Anila and their children. “He did not pay attention to Anila and the children and did not take care of the household expenses. They quarrelled very often,” the investigating officer told DNA.
On Friday night, Rajendra was at his Ambernath home and a quarrel erupted between him and Anila, the officer said. Anila was very angry because Rajendra had sold off property in Ludhiana that belonged to her without telling her. The fight spilled over into the next day. “Anila asked Rajendra to leave his second wife and live with her but he refused,” the officer said.
According to the children’s statement to the police, Rajendra was lying on his bed when Anila attacked him with a stick, hitting him several times on the head and leaving him semi-conscious. “Anila then fetched a container of petrol from the kitchen and poured it over him,” the children reportedly told the police. Anila apparently asked her children to leave the room.
“She then lit a matchstick and set Rajendra on fire,” the officer added.
Neighbours saw smoke coming out of the house and informed the police. It was they who took Rajendra to the hospital, but he was declared dead before admission. “He sustained 80 per cent burns,” the officer said.
The police suspect that Anila planned the murder. “There was no reason for Anila to keep petrol in the house,” senior police inspector Pradeep Bhosale of Ambernath police said.
Beaten to death
The other murder happened a few kilometres away in Ulhasnagar. Kavita Kalyani, 26, beat to death her 45-year-old husband, Kishan, at her maternal home; her brother and mother were also allegedly involved.
Police officials at Ulhasnagar’s Hill Line police station said that Kishan and his wife often quarrelled. On Friday night at around 11.30pm, Kishan went to his in-laws’ house in Camp No. 5 in Ulhasnagar to bring Kavita back to their home in Camp No. 4.
“Kishan was angry because it was late and the children had not yet eaten dinner because Kavita was not at home,” the investigating officer told DNA.
Kishan started yelling at Kavita for being a careless mother. “When Kavita did not pay attention to him, Kishan got angry and started assaulting her. Kavita’s brother, Laxman Vadvirya, intervened and started hitting Kishan,” the officer said. Kavita then grabbed a stick and repeatedly hit Kishan on the head with it, while her mother, Bharti, held him down, the officer added. Kishan collapsed and died almost immediately.
When Kishan did not return home, his friend Govinda Durgal went looking for him. “He came to know that Kavita, her brother and mother had killed Kishan. He immediately filed a complaint with the Hill Line police station,” the officer said.
The police are carrying out further investigations. All the people involved have been arrested and will be produced before the court on Sunday.
Desperate housewives kill hubbies
Divyesh Singh
Stories of husbands assaulting their wives are common. But in an equally horrific reversal of roles, two housewives in Thane killed their husbands in the last two days.
Burnt to death
In the first incident, Anila Pommy, 40, set on fire her 38-year-old husband, professional photographer Rajendra Pommy, in Ambernath, on Saturday morning. According to the police, the Pommys had been married for 15 years and had four children.
Rajendra, however, had secretly married another woman from his hometown in Punjab two years ago and brought her to Mumbai, the police said. He bought his second wife a flat in Badlapur and had been living with her, rarely visiting Anila and their children. “He did not pay attention to Anila and the children and did not take care of the household expenses. They quarrelled very often,” the investigating officer told DNA.
On Friday night, Rajendra was at his Ambernath home and a quarrel erupted between him and Anila, the officer said. Anila was very angry because Rajendra had sold off property in Ludhiana that belonged to her without telling her. The fight spilled over into the next day. “Anila asked Rajendra to leave his second wife and live with her but he refused,” the officer said.
According to the children’s statement to the police, Rajendra was lying on his bed when Anila attacked him with a stick, hitting him several times on the head and leaving him semi-conscious. “Anila then fetched a container of petrol from the kitchen and poured it over him,” the children reportedly told the police. Anila apparently asked her children to leave the room.
“She then lit a matchstick and set Rajendra on fire,” the officer added.
Neighbours saw smoke coming out of the house and informed the police. It was they who took Rajendra to the hospital, but he was declared dead before admission. “He sustained 80 per cent burns,” the officer said.
The police suspect that Anila planned the murder. “There was no reason for Anila to keep petrol in the house,” senior police inspector Pradeep Bhosale of Ambernath police said.
Beaten to death
The other murder happened a few kilometres away in Ulhasnagar. Kavita Kalyani, 26, beat to death her 45-year-old husband, Kishan, at her maternal home; her brother and mother were also allegedly involved.
Police officials at Ulhasnagar’s Hill Line police station said that Kishan and his wife often quarrelled. On Friday night at around 11.30pm, Kishan went to his in-laws’ house in Camp No. 5 in Ulhasnagar to bring Kavita back to their home in Camp No. 4.
“Kishan was angry because it was late and the children had not yet eaten dinner because Kavita was not at home,” the investigating officer told DNA.
Kishan started yelling at Kavita for being a careless mother. “When Kavita did not pay attention to him, Kishan got angry and started assaulting her. Kavita’s brother, Laxman Vadvirya, intervened and started hitting Kishan,” the officer said. Kavita then grabbed a stick and repeatedly hit Kishan on the head with it, while her mother, Bharti, held him down, the officer added. Kishan collapsed and died almost immediately.
When Kishan did not return home, his friend Govinda Durgal went looking for him. “He came to know that Kavita, her brother and mother had killed Kishan. He immediately filed a complaint with the Hill Line police station,” the officer said.
The police are carrying out further investigations. All the people involved have been arrested and will be produced before the court on Sunday.
How about women harassed by women
Harassed by 'bahu': Saas kills herself
How many of them needs protection?
Is Mother-in-law not a women? Why can'nt government make laws to protect them too?
Ludhiana, May 18
Women committing suicide due to troublesome mothers-in-law is often heard, but an
aged woman of Urban Estate, Dugri, today jumped to death before a running train
allegedly due to harassment from daughter-in-law. The woman claimed in a suicide
note that she could not bear the harassment at the hands of her daughter-in-law and
her relatives any longer and hence was ending her life.
On the basis of the two-page suicide note, filled with heart rending tale of woes of
victim Dilip Gandhi, the Government Railway Police booked her daughter-in-law Sonia
Gandhi, Sonia’s mother Harinder Sethi and sister Chhina Walia for abetting Dilip to
commit suicide under sections 306, 34 of the IPC.
All accused live in Chandigarh. Sonia is the daughter of a retired Superintendent of
Police M.S. Sethi.
Interestingly, the main reason behind the dispute between the family members was
the immigration of Sonia’s husband Gursharan Singh Gandhi to Canada. Sonia and
other accused were allegedly vehemently against Gursharan’s move.
The victim says in the suicide note that Sonia and other accused allegedly opposed
Gursharan’s immigration to such an extent that he was forced to return to India after
spending a few weeks in Canada. He had managed to go abroad after a six-year wait.
Once back home, the in-laws forcibly took his passport and other documents away.
Additional SHO, GRP, Harbans Singh said the woman jumped before the Ludhiana-
Jakhal train around 5:30 am today. The police later recovered the suicide note, which
revealed her identity. He said no arrest had been made so far.
The suicide note revealed that the victim was quite religious. She began the note
offering prayers to Sikh gurus and tendering an apology for ending her life, given to
her by the almighty.
She wrote: “She had no other option as the harassment by the daughter-in-law and
other accused was driving them mad”. She said her son was married to Sonia 10
years ago. They had a daughter from the marriage. Her son managed immigration
after much effort but Sonia always opposed his decision.
When my son finally went to canada, she went to her parent’s house and threatened
to register a case of dowry against us. My son tried his best to cool down things. But he was threatened with such dire consequences that he returned home”.
She further claimed that her son went straight to his in-laws house in Chandigarh
where he was forced to part with the passport. Later, he took a Rs 9,000 per month
job with the Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle.
This money was insufficient for the family and there was no compromise by the
accused. The accused then humiliated her in public by levelling cheap allegations,
which she could not bear and decided to end her life.
How many of them needs protection?
Is Mother-in-law not a women? Why can'nt government make laws to protect them too?
Ludhiana, May 18
Women committing suicide due to troublesome mothers-in-law is often heard, but an
aged woman of Urban Estate, Dugri, today jumped to death before a running train
allegedly due to harassment from daughter-in-law. The woman claimed in a suicide
note that she could not bear the harassment at the hands of her daughter-in-law and
her relatives any longer and hence was ending her life.
On the basis of the two-page suicide note, filled with heart rending tale of woes of
victim Dilip Gandhi, the Government Railway Police booked her daughter-in-law Sonia
Gandhi, Sonia’s mother Harinder Sethi and sister Chhina Walia for abetting Dilip to
commit suicide under sections 306, 34 of the IPC.
All accused live in Chandigarh. Sonia is the daughter of a retired Superintendent of
Police M.S. Sethi.
Interestingly, the main reason behind the dispute between the family members was
the immigration of Sonia’s husband Gursharan Singh Gandhi to Canada. Sonia and
other accused were allegedly vehemently against Gursharan’s move.
The victim says in the suicide note that Sonia and other accused allegedly opposed
Gursharan’s immigration to such an extent that he was forced to return to India after
spending a few weeks in Canada. He had managed to go abroad after a six-year wait.
Once back home, the in-laws forcibly took his passport and other documents away.
Additional SHO, GRP, Harbans Singh said the woman jumped before the Ludhiana-
Jakhal train around 5:30 am today. The police later recovered the suicide note, which
revealed her identity. He said no arrest had been made so far.
The suicide note revealed that the victim was quite religious. She began the note
offering prayers to Sikh gurus and tendering an apology for ending her life, given to
her by the almighty.
She wrote: “She had no other option as the harassment by the daughter-in-law and
other accused was driving them mad”. She said her son was married to Sonia 10
years ago. They had a daughter from the marriage. Her son managed immigration
after much effort but Sonia always opposed his decision.
When my son finally went to canada, she went to her parent’s house and threatened
to register a case of dowry against us. My son tried his best to cool down things. But he was threatened with such dire consequences that he returned home”.
She further claimed that her son went straight to his in-laws house in Chandigarh
where he was forced to part with the passport. Later, he took a Rs 9,000 per month
job with the Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle.
This money was insufficient for the family and there was no compromise by the
accused. The accused then humiliated her in public by levelling cheap allegations,
which she could not bear and decided to end her life.
Seven-yr-old faces dowry charges
Seven-yr-old faces dowry charges
Sameer Kumar, Abhay Mohan Jha
Saturday, May 26, 2007 (Begusarai)
A seven-year-old has been charged in a dowry case in Bihar.
Santosh, a class four student has paid the price for a crime he did not commit.
''They framed me in a dowry case. I study in class 4. Police came to my house and asked for money. They threatened to send me to Munger otherwise,'' he said.
Santosh was named in a dowry harassment case last year along with his parents and his elder brother.
His parents and brother got bail after his father reached a compromise with the complainant. But given Santosh's tender age, the court didn't pass any specific bail order in his name.
Santosh's lawyer says there were serious lapses in the way the case was handled.
''The age of none of the accused has been mentioned in the entire case diary,'' said Vijay Maharaj.
Police admit they made a mistake but say the witnesses in the case had a role to play.
''None of the witnesses mentioned that the accused is under age. I agree that we have made a mistake in this case,'' said Amit Lodha, SP, Begusarai.
Police say Santosh can breathe easy irrespective of the outcome of the case. But this comes as cold comfort for someone who has learnt a bitter lesson so early in life.
When would the government spring into action. After how long and after how many lives? Snatching the basic rights in the name of women empowerment?
Sameer Kumar, Abhay Mohan Jha
Saturday, May 26, 2007 (Begusarai)
A seven-year-old has been charged in a dowry case in Bihar.
Santosh, a class four student has paid the price for a crime he did not commit.
''They framed me in a dowry case. I study in class 4. Police came to my house and asked for money. They threatened to send me to Munger otherwise,'' he said.
Santosh was named in a dowry harassment case last year along with his parents and his elder brother.
His parents and brother got bail after his father reached a compromise with the complainant. But given Santosh's tender age, the court didn't pass any specific bail order in his name.
Santosh's lawyer says there were serious lapses in the way the case was handled.
''The age of none of the accused has been mentioned in the entire case diary,'' said Vijay Maharaj.
Police admit they made a mistake but say the witnesses in the case had a role to play.
''None of the witnesses mentioned that the accused is under age. I agree that we have made a mistake in this case,'' said Amit Lodha, SP, Begusarai.
Police say Santosh can breathe easy irrespective of the outcome of the case. But this comes as cold comfort for someone who has learnt a bitter lesson so early in life.
When would the government spring into action. After how long and after how many lives? Snatching the basic rights in the name of women empowerment?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Comment against another poorly written anti-male article
December 18, 2006
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to an article, "Stove-burst deaths unusually
high, Gujarat cops say hands tied" by Sreenivas Janyala, published in
your newspaper on December 18, 2006
(http://indianexpress.com/story/18850.html). This article is
nonsensical and poorly researched. Domestic violence is a very serious
issue and requires great attention. When one assumes that domestic
violence must have occurred it does more harm than good because it
hurts innocent people.
The statement that "Women victims give declarations absolving in-laws,
husbands, prevent investigation for suicide or murder" is meaningless.
Why would a woman's dying declaration "prevent" investigation? If a
woman says that her family is not responsible for her death, that is
what she means. In cases where there is no dying declaration, there
should be a burst stove which can be examined to investigate the cause
of the accident.
The article shows pictures of three women as "three recent victims of
stove bursts". The caption also says, "Over 300 have died this year
alone". These three women have suffered stove bursts and they are
alive. The author of the article is talking about "dead women". Are
these three women examples of accidents? Or have these women testified
that their respective husbands and in-laws were responsible for the
stove bursts? What prevents investigation in their cases? Why has
nothing been said in the article about these three cases?
Next, the author makes another nonsensical assertion: "…most victims
are young and recently married, and invariably the police treat the
cases as accidents, based on dying declarations." There is a
difference between police "treating these cases as accidents" and
dying declarations "preventing investigation". Why would police treat
a case as anything other than an accident if the injured person said
it was an accident she caused? It is absurd for radical women's
organizations to insist that all stove bursts should be assumed
suspicious.
Take a look at numbers of stove bursts cited in the article: "in 2005,
343 women across the state died in kerosene stove explosions; this
year there have been 330 deaths so far." Gujarat has 2,10,41,937
females over the age of 7. There is approximately one stove burst per
1,00,000 females. We can expect that young women, who may not have
much experience using wick or kerosene stoves, will make more serious
mistakes. Again, radical women's advocates have not demonstrated
cause for assuming that every stove burst related death of a woman is
an act of domestic violence.
The author concedes that there is a preponderance of "wick stoves"
which are more likely to explode and adds that, "unusually, by police
figures, in 62 per cent of the cases, the stoves that burst are of
ISI-approved brands." An ISI rating cannot prevent careless misuse of
stoves. Nor can a BIS automobile approval prevent vehicle accidents.
Certainly, an stove accident rate of 1 per 1,00,000 women in Gujarat
does not suggest a level of domestic violence worthy of the wild
claims made by this article parroting the statements of radical
activists.
The author states that "Burns specialists and forensic experts — and
sometimes police officers — say they know most of these cases are
suicides, often in the face of harassment by husbands or in-laws, or
plain murders." Unless burn specialists or forensic experts are able
to interview corpses, it is impossible for them to find that a burn
was a suicide caused by harassment, or a murder. Police are in a
better position to ascertain facts at the scene of the event and
record them for appropriate handling. The public focus should be on
making sure that the police handle suicide investigations properly.
Assuming innocent husbands and in-laws to be criminals or falsely
incriminating them under stringent anti-dowry laws is senseless, and
is destroying families, and placing men, women, and children in
desperate situations that lead to substantially higher rates of
suicide.
Gender-obsessed activists are unable to see that stove bursts happen
to males and females of all ages. Here are a few news items for
example:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050705/j&k.htm#5 - Father, son
killed as stove bursts
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2006/09/08/stories/2006090800110200.htm
- A fire accident that badly disfigured a child's face also helped
bring into the world a skilled plastic surgeon.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021130/ldh1.htm - Teenagers, woman
die in stove bursts
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/09/stories/2006060915260400.htm - Couple
die of burns in stove burst
http://www.hindu.com/2004/02/19/stories/2004021913430300.htm - Four
sustain burns in stove burst
http://newstodaynet.com/25apr/ld5.htm - Succumbs to burn injuries (A
woman dies, husband and child suffer injuries)
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:E_8xt2MYw3wJ:www.newstodaynet.com/250505.htm+stove+burst&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=16
- Stove-burst kills woman
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040518/asp/calcutta/story_3260616.asp -
Stove burst death (woman in her mid-thirties dies)
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov14/c2.asp - Stove burst
kills teenager
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050331/asp/calcutta/story_4554978.asp -
Stove burst (14 yr old girl dies)
Mr. Janyala quotes anonymous police officers saying, "But
investigations are stone-walled by the dying declarations which,
police officers say, could have come under pressure or coercion, or
from the woman's unstated fears for her children's future and of
bringing her family a bad name." As stated earlier, it is preposterous
to assume that dying declarations could have come under pressure or
coercion, thus making a serious issue such as domestic violence into a
mere guessing game.
In addition, it has to be noted that, in India, the word of a woman
who is alive and dandy is taken for granted even if she is blatantly
lying and criminal cases are registered against innocent husbands and
in-laws. Why is it that a dying woman's declaration that her husband
and in-laws are innocent not taken to be the truth? Is it that, in
India, only a woman's statements against her own husband and in-laws
will be considered to be the truth? It is absurd that the author is
suggesting that a husband and his family are to be assumed guilty even
when all the evidence suggests otherwise. Is it that an Indian husband
and his relatives are punishable by law by default, and women, police
and judiciary have to diligently work towards that goal?
Mr. Janyala also quotes H.G. Patel, a former superintendent of police,
who investigated about two dozen cases. He does not say when Patel
investigated these two dozen cases. Did he investigate them 20 years
ago? Or did he investigate two dozen cases in his entire career? Are
the two dozen cases of Patel representative of the 300 plus stove
burst related female deaths per year in the state of Gujarat?
Here's another ridiculous assertion, by Dr. Raibagkar, the head of a
burns ward: "Even if the patient doesn't tell us, we know from the
depth and degree of burns, patterns, areas burnt, whether it is
accidental or suicidal." How can one look at burns and be sure to say
if they were "accidental or suicidal", especially if they are all over
the body and the victim is dead? Serious burns all over the body or
the depth of burns depends on the intensity of flames, what the person
was wearing (the garment and the material it is made of), what kind of
things the person was surrounded by and/or what the person did as a
reaction to the fire. Yes, the police should investigate cases but
they do not. Instead, they presume all men and their families to be
guilty (maybe because that is much easier than doing their job of
investigation), and arrest innocent individuals. These arrests and all
the cases of female burn victims are conveniently used as cases of
bride burning by radical feminists in India and abroad, to beef up
statistics of harassment and domestic violence against women, and, to
argue for the existence of horrendous laws that victimize thousands
of innocent men and their relatives.
Finally, the author gives an example of Raman Solanki, whose
daughter-in-law died of burns but made a declaration that her husband
and in-laws were not responsible for her suicide. The woman is said to
have stated that her husband "was having an extra-marital affair and
was harassing her". Nothing is mentioned about how he was harassing
her and what he was harassing her for. Nothing is said about what
section of IPC the husband was booked under. It also appears as though
in-laws can be booked under Indian criminal law just for knowing about
their son's affair. In fact, considering the rate at which false dowry
cases are increasing, it is evident that in-laws are deemed criminals
just for having given birth to a male child or just for sharing a
womb.
I am not sure what the purpose of this article is other than to raise
some sensation in the mind of a reader who has limited ability to
discern. It makes me wonder about the kind of training your
journalists are getting and what kind of social responsibility the
Indian newspapers fulfill in terms of doing some honest and
intelligent reporting. I expect that the editors of Indian Express are
a little more watchful of what kind of articles are being published
and that they maintain the dignity of the profession of journalism.
Thank you,
Uma Challa
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to an article, "Stove-burst deaths unusually
high, Gujarat cops say hands tied" by Sreenivas Janyala, published in
your newspaper on December 18, 2006
(http://indianexpress.com/story/18850.html). This article is
nonsensical and poorly researched. Domestic violence is a very serious
issue and requires great attention. When one assumes that domestic
violence must have occurred it does more harm than good because it
hurts innocent people.
The statement that "Women victims give declarations absolving in-laws,
husbands, prevent investigation for suicide or murder" is meaningless.
Why would a woman's dying declaration "prevent" investigation? If a
woman says that her family is not responsible for her death, that is
what she means. In cases where there is no dying declaration, there
should be a burst stove which can be examined to investigate the cause
of the accident.
The article shows pictures of three women as "three recent victims of
stove bursts". The caption also says, "Over 300 have died this year
alone". These three women have suffered stove bursts and they are
alive. The author of the article is talking about "dead women". Are
these three women examples of accidents? Or have these women testified
that their respective husbands and in-laws were responsible for the
stove bursts? What prevents investigation in their cases? Why has
nothing been said in the article about these three cases?
Next, the author makes another nonsensical assertion: "…most victims
are young and recently married, and invariably the police treat the
cases as accidents, based on dying declarations." There is a
difference between police "treating these cases as accidents" and
dying declarations "preventing investigation". Why would police treat
a case as anything other than an accident if the injured person said
it was an accident she caused? It is absurd for radical women's
organizations to insist that all stove bursts should be assumed
suspicious.
Take a look at numbers of stove bursts cited in the article: "in 2005,
343 women across the state died in kerosene stove explosions; this
year there have been 330 deaths so far." Gujarat has 2,10,41,937
females over the age of 7. There is approximately one stove burst per
1,00,000 females. We can expect that young women, who may not have
much experience using wick or kerosene stoves, will make more serious
mistakes. Again, radical women's advocates have not demonstrated
cause for assuming that every stove burst related death of a woman is
an act of domestic violence.
The author concedes that there is a preponderance of "wick stoves"
which are more likely to explode and adds that, "unusually, by police
figures, in 62 per cent of the cases, the stoves that burst are of
ISI-approved brands." An ISI rating cannot prevent careless misuse of
stoves. Nor can a BIS automobile approval prevent vehicle accidents.
Certainly, an stove accident rate of 1 per 1,00,000 women in Gujarat
does not suggest a level of domestic violence worthy of the wild
claims made by this article parroting the statements of radical
activists.
The author states that "Burns specialists and forensic experts — and
sometimes police officers — say they know most of these cases are
suicides, often in the face of harassment by husbands or in-laws, or
plain murders." Unless burn specialists or forensic experts are able
to interview corpses, it is impossible for them to find that a burn
was a suicide caused by harassment, or a murder. Police are in a
better position to ascertain facts at the scene of the event and
record them for appropriate handling. The public focus should be on
making sure that the police handle suicide investigations properly.
Assuming innocent husbands and in-laws to be criminals or falsely
incriminating them under stringent anti-dowry laws is senseless, and
is destroying families, and placing men, women, and children in
desperate situations that lead to substantially higher rates of
suicide.
Gender-obsessed activists are unable to see that stove bursts happen
to males and females of all ages. Here are a few news items for
example:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050705/j&k.htm#5 - Father, son
killed as stove bursts
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2006/09/08/stories/2006090800110200.htm
- A fire accident that badly disfigured a child's face also helped
bring into the world a skilled plastic surgeon.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021130/ldh1.htm - Teenagers, woman
die in stove bursts
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/09/stories/2006060915260400.htm - Couple
die of burns in stove burst
http://www.hindu.com/2004/02/19/stories/2004021913430300.htm - Four
sustain burns in stove burst
http://newstodaynet.com/25apr/ld5.htm - Succumbs to burn injuries (A
woman dies, husband and child suffer injuries)
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:E_8xt2MYw3wJ:www.newstodaynet.com/250505.htm+stove+burst&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=16
- Stove-burst kills woman
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040518/asp/calcutta/story_3260616.asp -
Stove burst death (woman in her mid-thirties dies)
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov14/c2.asp - Stove burst
kills teenager
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050331/asp/calcutta/story_4554978.asp -
Stove burst (14 yr old girl dies)
Mr. Janyala quotes anonymous police officers saying, "But
investigations are stone-walled by the dying declarations which,
police officers say, could have come under pressure or coercion, or
from the woman's unstated fears for her children's future and of
bringing her family a bad name." As stated earlier, it is preposterous
to assume that dying declarations could have come under pressure or
coercion, thus making a serious issue such as domestic violence into a
mere guessing game.
In addition, it has to be noted that, in India, the word of a woman
who is alive and dandy is taken for granted even if she is blatantly
lying and criminal cases are registered against innocent husbands and
in-laws. Why is it that a dying woman's declaration that her husband
and in-laws are innocent not taken to be the truth? Is it that, in
India, only a woman's statements against her own husband and in-laws
will be considered to be the truth? It is absurd that the author is
suggesting that a husband and his family are to be assumed guilty even
when all the evidence suggests otherwise. Is it that an Indian husband
and his relatives are punishable by law by default, and women, police
and judiciary have to diligently work towards that goal?
Mr. Janyala also quotes H.G. Patel, a former superintendent of police,
who investigated about two dozen cases. He does not say when Patel
investigated these two dozen cases. Did he investigate them 20 years
ago? Or did he investigate two dozen cases in his entire career? Are
the two dozen cases of Patel representative of the 300 plus stove
burst related female deaths per year in the state of Gujarat?
Here's another ridiculous assertion, by Dr. Raibagkar, the head of a
burns ward: "Even if the patient doesn't tell us, we know from the
depth and degree of burns, patterns, areas burnt, whether it is
accidental or suicidal." How can one look at burns and be sure to say
if they were "accidental or suicidal", especially if they are all over
the body and the victim is dead? Serious burns all over the body or
the depth of burns depends on the intensity of flames, what the person
was wearing (the garment and the material it is made of), what kind of
things the person was surrounded by and/or what the person did as a
reaction to the fire. Yes, the police should investigate cases but
they do not. Instead, they presume all men and their families to be
guilty (maybe because that is much easier than doing their job of
investigation), and arrest innocent individuals. These arrests and all
the cases of female burn victims are conveniently used as cases of
bride burning by radical feminists in India and abroad, to beef up
statistics of harassment and domestic violence against women, and, to
argue for the existence of horrendous laws that victimize thousands
of innocent men and their relatives.
Finally, the author gives an example of Raman Solanki, whose
daughter-in-law died of burns but made a declaration that her husband
and in-laws were not responsible for her suicide. The woman is said to
have stated that her husband "was having an extra-marital affair and
was harassing her". Nothing is mentioned about how he was harassing
her and what he was harassing her for. Nothing is said about what
section of IPC the husband was booked under. It also appears as though
in-laws can be booked under Indian criminal law just for knowing about
their son's affair. In fact, considering the rate at which false dowry
cases are increasing, it is evident that in-laws are deemed criminals
just for having given birth to a male child or just for sharing a
womb.
I am not sure what the purpose of this article is other than to raise
some sensation in the mind of a reader who has limited ability to
discern. It makes me wonder about the kind of training your
journalists are getting and what kind of social responsibility the
Indian newspapers fulfill in terms of doing some honest and
intelligent reporting. I expect that the editors of Indian Express are
a little more watchful of what kind of articles are being published
and that they maintain the dignity of the profession of journalism.
Thank you,
Uma Challa
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Renuka Chaudhary : I have such pity for men
Act won't hit good hubbies: Renuka
On the live interview with Karan Thapar, Renuka Chaudhary says "I have such a pity for men".
Imagine any public figure saying the similar statement for women.
Karan Thapar has totally exposed Ranuka's vicious plans. Men are not safe in their own house.
Indian law allows a women: To implicate any men she 'claimed' to have ever lived with or without marriage, irrespective of when she was divorced, what the divorce decree was.
- Satya
On the live interview with Karan Thapar, Renuka Chaudhary says "I have such a pity for men".
Imagine any public figure saying the similar statement for women.
Karan Thapar has totally exposed Ranuka's vicious plans. Men are not safe in their own house.
Indian law allows a women: To implicate any men she 'claimed' to have ever lived with or without marriage, irrespective of when she was divorced, what the divorce decree was.
- Satya
Media will have to wake up and acknowledge that women are equally violent
Tortured hubbies, victims of 498(A)
Who could you turn to when you say you are harassed by your wife?
How many would be ready to believe you?
Do you know after marriage the rate of suicide of men becomes 3.4 times that of women?
This whole ecosystem is fetched by feminist, contributed by women organizations and funded by every government.
Who could you turn to when you say you are harassed by your wife?
How many would be ready to believe you?
Do you know after marriage the rate of suicide of men becomes 3.4 times that of women?
This whole ecosystem is fetched by feminist, contributed by women organizations and funded by every government.
UN rejects the false report about domestic violence in India
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2006/11/24/un-rejects-un-secretary-general%E2%80%99s-report-on-violence-against-women/
U.N. Rejects Secretary-General’s Report on Violence Against Women
November 24, 2006
Vox Populi, Family, Politics, Feminism
By David R. Usher
Hot off the presses: On Wednesday, the United Nations decided to “note”, but not to “acknowledge” the dangerous Secretary-General’s report on Violence Against Women assembled under the corrupt administration of Kofi Annan. This means that the report will probably not be acted upon.
It appears this took place because of tremendous pressure placed on the United Nations by RADAR and its hundreds of affiliates and co-signatories.
This is a major gain for reformers working diligently to replace senselessly-destructive feminist social frameworks with truly beneficial pro-family solutions. It is also a step forward in achieving a major goal: ending terrorism by world feminists. Radical feminism has been a focal point of the bitter major cultural disagreement between Muslims and the West in recent years.
America must now adopt moderate approaches to gender with respect to social power, law, divorce, and family policy if it wishes to reduce stark cultural tensions that have culminated in radical Muslim attacks on the West. Feminist policies must be ended. Marriage must be restored as the social norm, for this is the only arrangement assuring equal sociall rights and power sharing between men and women.
This event now points directly to the outrageousness of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was strongly supported by past Democrat and Republican-dominated congresses and presidents.
America is now officially out of step with the world. The new Congress must now substantially revise VAWA. Given the fact there is little worth keeping in VAWA, it would be wiser to redact VAWA entirely and replace it with useful policies recognizing the true etiology of domestic conflict, and targeted towards providing preventive and interventive treatment for the benefit of spouses who request assistance dealing with an abusive partner
U.N. Rejects Secretary-General’s Report on Violence Against Women
November 24, 2006
Vox Populi, Family, Politics, Feminism
By David R. Usher
Hot off the presses: On Wednesday, the United Nations decided to “note”, but not to “acknowledge” the dangerous Secretary-General’s report on Violence Against Women assembled under the corrupt administration of Kofi Annan. This means that the report will probably not be acted upon.
It appears this took place because of tremendous pressure placed on the United Nations by RADAR and its hundreds of affiliates and co-signatories.
This is a major gain for reformers working diligently to replace senselessly-destructive feminist social frameworks with truly beneficial pro-family solutions. It is also a step forward in achieving a major goal: ending terrorism by world feminists. Radical feminism has been a focal point of the bitter major cultural disagreement between Muslims and the West in recent years.
America must now adopt moderate approaches to gender with respect to social power, law, divorce, and family policy if it wishes to reduce stark cultural tensions that have culminated in radical Muslim attacks on the West. Feminist policies must be ended. Marriage must be restored as the social norm, for this is the only arrangement assuring equal sociall rights and power sharing between men and women.
This event now points directly to the outrageousness of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was strongly supported by past Democrat and Republican-dominated congresses and presidents.
America is now officially out of step with the world. The new Congress must now substantially revise VAWA. Given the fact there is little worth keeping in VAWA, it would be wiser to redact VAWA entirely and replace it with useful policies recognizing the true etiology of domestic conflict, and targeted towards providing preventive and interventive treatment for the benefit of spouses who request assistance dealing with an abusive partner
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
complaint letter to WashingtonTimes for their baised article
Dear Editor,
I am completely shocked and disappointed at the heavily biased article
that was published in your newspaper.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061113-120817-8603r.htm
It demeans Indian culture in general and Indian men in particular. It
is clearly a propaganda by Indian feminists and the author seems to be
advancing their cause without even verifying the facts.
As an Indian Citizen, I am extremely concerned by the Domestic Violence
Act. The feminist organizations have been hailing this act and
presenting it as empowerment of domestic abuse victims. However, there is no
recourse for men who are victimized in their houses. The law lends itself
to very easy misuse and is a gross violation of human rights of half
the population. The fact is that due to this law, men will be
emotionally, mentally and financially abused. As so delicately put by the
concerned minister Ms. Renuka Chaudhary - "Its now men's turn to suffer".
The fact is that the Indian Domestic Violence law is a skewed law in
which only a WOMAN can file a complaint against a MAN. If a man is a
victim of domestic violence, he has no recourse under the law. Moreover, a
man is legally obligated to pay ANY amount of money that the woman asks
him, otherwise he can be jailed. Moreover, if he asks for a single
penny from her, that is also considered domestic violence. If the couple is
living in a shared household, then the man is responsible for the rent.
The law allows any woman who has lived with any man, in a residence, to
actually occupy the residence any time she wants by claiming domestic
violence. So, a divorced wife or an old live-in partner whom a man has
not seen in a decade can file domestic violence and can actually get to
live in any residence that the couple might have lived in before.
Incredulous ? Insane ? That's exactly what this law is. Please see
references at the end where the minister herself admits some of these
things.
It is clear by the actions Ms. Renuka Chaudhary, that her real agenda
is to legally cripple and victimize men on behalf of radical feminists.
She is vehemently opposed to making the law gender neutral. Her
arguments have been the following - "If men have a problem, they should speak
up" or "it is predominantly the woman who suffers". What confounds me
is that if the law is made gender neutral, it does not take away ANY
benefit from the real women victims of domestic abuse AND it provides help
to male victims as well. The irony is that the Minister herself readily
admits that the law will be misused. So, her solution? "What if this
law is misused ? Every law is misused". Bravo !! So, now the Govt. is
actually encouraging the misue of the law here !! When a well respected
journalist asked her on national television, if innocent men should
suffer before the law is amended, her reply was "Its not a bad idea. I pity
men". Some more comments by Renuka Chaudhary - "If men behave,
they have nothing to fear". But what if the men behave and the women
misbehave ? Today, in urban India, when a woman does not want to be in a
marriage, she promptly files a dowry case along with the divorce and
legally harrasses and extorts money from the innocent husband and his
family after they have been in jail for no crime of theirs. If a woman
wants to walk out of a relationship, there is nothing to dissuade her from
filing false cases and the lawyers actually encourage that.
There are three fundamental problems with the domestic violence law –
a) it is overwhelmingly gender biased in favor of women, b) the
potential for misuse is astounding and c) the definition of domestic violence
is too expansive.
There are degrees of domestic violence and not all conflicts in a
relationship can be termed as domestic violence. This law trivializes the
issue of domestic violence by including minor differences in its realm
and by explicitly denying protection to half of the population.
The law in its current form is grossly inadequate to tackle the problem
of domestic violence. It imposes a lot of responsibility on men,
without giving them rights. On the other hand, it gives lots of rights to
women without requiring them to be responsible. At the very minimum, it
should be made gender neutral, offering protection to both men and women.
Also, provisions for stringent punishments need to be incorporated into
the law to prevent misuse. Moreover, the law needs to be made more
practical by differentiating between various degrees of conflicts and by
unambiguously defining what constitutes domestic violence.
The fact is domestic violence is a serious problem and a neutral and
unprejudiced law is needed to protect the genuine victims of domestic
violence, irrespective of gender. The perpetrators of domestic violence
need to be appropriately punished and dealt with. At the same time,
protection cannot be withheld from real victims for any reason whatsoever,
least of all their gender. One can be certain that there is something
sinister about a law, when it intimidates and instills fear in innocent
people. When a person who has not committed any crime, begins to fear
punishment under the provisions of a law, it is not a law anymore – it is
state sponsored terrorism.
Regards,
Note to the Editor - Most of the voices heard on this topic are of
feminists and of well meaning people who do not understand the law
completely and are just taken in by the propaganda of feminists, without even
realizing it. Empowering women is a noble goal but empowering women by
victimizing men is gross injustice. Please read the law and its
implications as given in the references below. I hope that you will publish my
concerns in your esteemed newspaper
PS : Every comment of Ms Renuka Chaudhary that I have quoted above is
true. I give the references below.
1. Ms. Renuka Chaudhary's video interview on CNN-IBN where she says
that its not a bad idea for men to suffer and "I pity men" . In the
interview, she openly threatens the well respected journalist Mr. Karan
Thapar to "be careful" and at one point even threatens him of domestic
violence.
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26051/11_2006/devils_renuka1a/ill-empower-women-chowdhury.html
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26051/11_2006/devils_renuka1b/ill-empower-women-chowdhury.html
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26051/11_2006/devils_renuka2/ill-empower-women-chowdhury.html
2. Her interview with times of India, where she says "If men have a
problem, they should speak up"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/347817.cms
3. Her quote in Hindustan Times, where she opposes making the law
gender neutral so that male vicitms can also seek relief. -
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=05_11_2006_001_016&typ=1&pub=47
4. The official law is available here -
http://www.498a.org/contents/general/domesticviolenceact05.pdf
5. An summarized version is available on this news site
http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?fromtimeline=true&id=95405&callid=1&template=womencrime
6. An critique of this law is available here -
http://presentindia.blogspot.com/2006/11/loopholes-in-domestic-violence-bill.html
7. Examples of how this law can be misused are here
http://presentindia.blogspot.com/2006/10/domestic-violence-on-men.html
here http://savemarriages.wordpress.com/
and http://givemejustice.wordpress.com/
8. More information about the law and what people are saying about it
is available here http://www.498a.org/dv.htm
9. Study that shows that in India, women are much more violent then
men.
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf
10. Even the statistics quoted in your article are potentially fake.
http://www.mediaradar.org./alert20061113.php
I am completely shocked and disappointed at the heavily biased article
that was published in your newspaper.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061113-120817-8603r.htm
It demeans Indian culture in general and Indian men in particular. It
is clearly a propaganda by Indian feminists and the author seems to be
advancing their cause without even verifying the facts.
As an Indian Citizen, I am extremely concerned by the Domestic Violence
Act. The feminist organizations have been hailing this act and
presenting it as empowerment of domestic abuse victims. However, there is no
recourse for men who are victimized in their houses. The law lends itself
to very easy misuse and is a gross violation of human rights of half
the population. The fact is that due to this law, men will be
emotionally, mentally and financially abused. As so delicately put by the
concerned minister Ms. Renuka Chaudhary - "Its now men's turn to suffer".
The fact is that the Indian Domestic Violence law is a skewed law in
which only a WOMAN can file a complaint against a MAN. If a man is a
victim of domestic violence, he has no recourse under the law. Moreover, a
man is legally obligated to pay ANY amount of money that the woman asks
him, otherwise he can be jailed. Moreover, if he asks for a single
penny from her, that is also considered domestic violence. If the couple is
living in a shared household, then the man is responsible for the rent.
The law allows any woman who has lived with any man, in a residence, to
actually occupy the residence any time she wants by claiming domestic
violence. So, a divorced wife or an old live-in partner whom a man has
not seen in a decade can file domestic violence and can actually get to
live in any residence that the couple might have lived in before.
Incredulous ? Insane ? That's exactly what this law is. Please see
references at the end where the minister herself admits some of these
things.
It is clear by the actions Ms. Renuka Chaudhary, that her real agenda
is to legally cripple and victimize men on behalf of radical feminists.
She is vehemently opposed to making the law gender neutral. Her
arguments have been the following - "If men have a problem, they should speak
up" or "it is predominantly the woman who suffers". What confounds me
is that if the law is made gender neutral, it does not take away ANY
benefit from the real women victims of domestic abuse AND it provides help
to male victims as well. The irony is that the Minister herself readily
admits that the law will be misused. So, her solution? "What if this
law is misused ? Every law is misused". Bravo !! So, now the Govt. is
actually encouraging the misue of the law here !! When a well respected
journalist asked her on national television, if innocent men should
suffer before the law is amended, her reply was "Its not a bad idea. I pity
men". Some more comments by Renuka Chaudhary - "If men behave,
they have nothing to fear". But what if the men behave and the women
misbehave ? Today, in urban India, when a woman does not want to be in a
marriage, she promptly files a dowry case along with the divorce and
legally harrasses and extorts money from the innocent husband and his
family after they have been in jail for no crime of theirs. If a woman
wants to walk out of a relationship, there is nothing to dissuade her from
filing false cases and the lawyers actually encourage that.
There are three fundamental problems with the domestic violence law –
a) it is overwhelmingly gender biased in favor of women, b) the
potential for misuse is astounding and c) the definition of domestic violence
is too expansive.
There are degrees of domestic violence and not all conflicts in a
relationship can be termed as domestic violence. This law trivializes the
issue of domestic violence by including minor differences in its realm
and by explicitly denying protection to half of the population.
The law in its current form is grossly inadequate to tackle the problem
of domestic violence. It imposes a lot of responsibility on men,
without giving them rights. On the other hand, it gives lots of rights to
women without requiring them to be responsible. At the very minimum, it
should be made gender neutral, offering protection to both men and women.
Also, provisions for stringent punishments need to be incorporated into
the law to prevent misuse. Moreover, the law needs to be made more
practical by differentiating between various degrees of conflicts and by
unambiguously defining what constitutes domestic violence.
The fact is domestic violence is a serious problem and a neutral and
unprejudiced law is needed to protect the genuine victims of domestic
violence, irrespective of gender. The perpetrators of domestic violence
need to be appropriately punished and dealt with. At the same time,
protection cannot be withheld from real victims for any reason whatsoever,
least of all their gender. One can be certain that there is something
sinister about a law, when it intimidates and instills fear in innocent
people. When a person who has not committed any crime, begins to fear
punishment under the provisions of a law, it is not a law anymore – it is
state sponsored terrorism.
Regards,
Note to the Editor - Most of the voices heard on this topic are of
feminists and of well meaning people who do not understand the law
completely and are just taken in by the propaganda of feminists, without even
realizing it. Empowering women is a noble goal but empowering women by
victimizing men is gross injustice. Please read the law and its
implications as given in the references below. I hope that you will publish my
concerns in your esteemed newspaper
PS : Every comment of Ms Renuka Chaudhary that I have quoted above is
true. I give the references below.
1. Ms. Renuka Chaudhary's video interview on CNN-IBN where she says
that its not a bad idea for men to suffer and "I pity men" . In the
interview, she openly threatens the well respected journalist Mr. Karan
Thapar to "be careful" and at one point even threatens him of domestic
violence.
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26051/11_2006/devils_renuka1a/ill-empower-women-chowdhury.html
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26051/11_2006/devils_renuka1b/ill-empower-women-chowdhury.html
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/26051/11_2006/devils_renuka2/ill-empower-women-chowdhury.html
2. Her interview with times of India, where she says "If men have a
problem, they should speak up"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/347817.cms
3. Her quote in Hindustan Times, where she opposes making the law
gender neutral so that male vicitms can also seek relief. -
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=05_11_2006_001_016&typ=1&pub=47
4. The official law is available here -
http://www.498a.org/contents/general/domesticviolenceact05.pdf
5. An summarized version is available on this news site
http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?fromtimeline=true&id=95405&callid=1&template=womencrime
6. An critique of this law is available here -
http://presentindia.blogspot.com/2006/11/loopholes-in-domestic-violence-bill.html
7. Examples of how this law can be misused are here
http://presentindia.blogspot.com/2006/10/domestic-violence-on-men.html
here http://savemarriages.wordpress.com/
and http://givemejustice.wordpress.com/
8. More information about the law and what people are saying about it
is available here http://www.498a.org/dv.htm
9. Study that shows that in India, women are much more violent then
men.
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf
10. Even the statistics quoted in your article are potentially fake.
http://www.mediaradar.org./alert20061113.php
Saturday, November 11, 2006
DV and 498a - What's next?
Anyone who has been awake the last two
decades knows how section 498A of IPC has been heavily
misused, dragging innocent men and women into police
stations, lock-ups and courts, thus depriving many
young children of a happy childhood, many youth of
productive careers and many senior citizens of mental
peace in the last leg of their lives.
As if this 498A fiasco is not enough jingoistic
feminists have come up with another Act, along the
same lines of 498A only with larger loopholes waiting
to be used against many more Indian citizens. Many
women who really need
protection from Domestic Violence will probably never
know about it and even if they do, never use it. This
law will be yet another weapon in the hands of
unscrupulous women who will misuse it at the slightest
opportunity.
In a society where men and women live
together what affects one affects the other. When a
man is thrown out of his own house under true or false
allegations of domestic violence or cruelty everyone
who is dependent on him is bound to suffer. That will
include dependent parents and siblings who can be male
or female. It is unfair enough to penalize an entire
family even if an accused man is truly abusive. Unfair
is a subtle word to describe a situation in which an
innocent man, along with his family, is tortured by
misuse of law. Injustice is a subtle word to describe
how women, who commit perjury and harass families for
years on end go unpunished.
Many men suffer in silence in India unable to meet the
unending financial and emotional needs of their wives.
Some of them even face physical violence. This section
of the Indian population is completely missed by the
radar either intentionally or because men are too
embarrassed to admit their misery lest they be labeled
as sissies who cannot fix problems in their homes. On
the other hand many a men who belong to this category
are facing threats or fighting false cases filed
against them by their wives.
Domestic violence is committed by men and women and it
is not always directed against the opposite sex. This
is even more true considering the wide range of areas
covered by the Domestic Violence Act. Where do
husbands harassed by wives seek retribution? Where do
women harassed by their daughters-in-law or
sisters-in-law seek protection? In fact every family
that has so far been falsely accused and tormented in
the name of Section 498A has been subjected to
Domestic Violence as defined by the law. The only
catch is that not everyone is covered by the law. On
the other hand, victims of Domestic Violence are ever
more vulnerable and at risk of being legally harassed
by thoughtless women.
A lot of people cite official statistics of dowry and
other kinds
of harassment to support anti-dowry laws and DV act in
their current form. Come to think of it, who has
collected this data? How have they collected it? And
who has checked their validity? Very often the number
of cases that are filed in police stations or courts
are the basis for the official statistics of dowry
harassment. So, if you make a law that gives women
unlimited scope to fabricate lies and get away with
perjury and if women keep filing false cases then the
statistics will always be on the rise. Then you can
argue more strongly in support of your own hypothesis
and the need for biased laws.
Thousands
of cases are rotting without trial for years under
section 498a...False cases that have been filed
against men AND WOMEN who are being tormented by the
police and courts as we speak. And when all these
victims of misuse of law get acquitted will those
statistics be publicized to support the introduction
of new laws that punish women who are abusing laws?
Apart from all the pain and suffering endured by
victims the society incurs a huge cost because of
false cases. Right now India is busy filling up
lock-ups and courts with innocent citizens who could
otherwise have spent their time to add to the
productivity of the country. In addition, frivolous
lawsuits that drag on for years distract attention
from real crime that needs to be addressed
immediately.
decades knows how section 498A of IPC has been heavily
misused, dragging innocent men and women into police
stations, lock-ups and courts, thus depriving many
young children of a happy childhood, many youth of
productive careers and many senior citizens of mental
peace in the last leg of their lives.
As if this 498A fiasco is not enough jingoistic
feminists have come up with another Act, along the
same lines of 498A only with larger loopholes waiting
to be used against many more Indian citizens. Many
women who really need
protection from Domestic Violence will probably never
know about it and even if they do, never use it. This
law will be yet another weapon in the hands of
unscrupulous women who will misuse it at the slightest
opportunity.
In a society where men and women live
together what affects one affects the other. When a
man is thrown out of his own house under true or false
allegations of domestic violence or cruelty everyone
who is dependent on him is bound to suffer. That will
include dependent parents and siblings who can be male
or female. It is unfair enough to penalize an entire
family even if an accused man is truly abusive. Unfair
is a subtle word to describe a situation in which an
innocent man, along with his family, is tortured by
misuse of law. Injustice is a subtle word to describe
how women, who commit perjury and harass families for
years on end go unpunished.
Many men suffer in silence in India unable to meet the
unending financial and emotional needs of their wives.
Some of them even face physical violence. This section
of the Indian population is completely missed by the
radar either intentionally or because men are too
embarrassed to admit their misery lest they be labeled
as sissies who cannot fix problems in their homes. On
the other hand many a men who belong to this category
are facing threats or fighting false cases filed
against them by their wives.
Domestic violence is committed by men and women and it
is not always directed against the opposite sex. This
is even more true considering the wide range of areas
covered by the Domestic Violence Act. Where do
husbands harassed by wives seek retribution? Where do
women harassed by their daughters-in-law or
sisters-in-law seek protection? In fact every family
that has so far been falsely accused and tormented in
the name of Section 498A has been subjected to
Domestic Violence as defined by the law. The only
catch is that not everyone is covered by the law. On
the other hand, victims of Domestic Violence are ever
more vulnerable and at risk of being legally harassed
by thoughtless women.
A lot of people cite official statistics of dowry and
other kinds
of harassment to support anti-dowry laws and DV act in
their current form. Come to think of it, who has
collected this data? How have they collected it? And
who has checked their validity? Very often the number
of cases that are filed in police stations or courts
are the basis for the official statistics of dowry
harassment. So, if you make a law that gives women
unlimited scope to fabricate lies and get away with
perjury and if women keep filing false cases then the
statistics will always be on the rise. Then you can
argue more strongly in support of your own hypothesis
and the need for biased laws.
Thousands
of cases are rotting without trial for years under
section 498a...False cases that have been filed
against men AND WOMEN who are being tormented by the
police and courts as we speak. And when all these
victims of misuse of law get acquitted will those
statistics be publicized to support the introduction
of new laws that punish women who are abusing laws?
Apart from all the pain and suffering endured by
victims the society incurs a huge cost because of
false cases. Right now India is busy filling up
lock-ups and courts with innocent citizens who could
otherwise have spent their time to add to the
productivity of the country. In addition, frivolous
lawsuits that drag on for years distract attention
from real crime that needs to be addressed
immediately.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
sad state of affairs, It is India, not eutopia
When Dowry Prohibition act was enacted (DP), prohibition officers
were supposed to be appointed by respective state governments. Even
SC has time and again reiterated that prohibition officers are to be
appointed so that police doesnt get involved directly and wreck any
marriages/family which can be saved by prohibition officers which is
a civilian post. This DP act was enacted about 20 years ago and still
no prohibition officers are appointed by any state govts. These
prohibition officers are supposed to call both sides, find the truth
and recommend to police if really/prima facie there exist demands for
dowry/harassment for dowry. Very recently even Madras High court CJ
has given a stay for all dowry related complaints. (Subsequently it
was vacated by the SC)
When the experience is such for the DP act itself which was enacted
20 years ago, will respective State Govts. appoint Protection
officers for DV act so fast??
Kiran bedi and many other feminists on the TV say that this DV will
ensure speedy justice for women in the form of residence orders,
economic relief etc. (The provision in DV being any complaint by the
women to be settled by the magistrate within 60 days and within 3
days notice has to be sent by the court to the husbands and his
family)
Spare a thought to the Magistrates and Judges for the kind of load
they are already carrying. Now add the DV alongwith this.
The need of the hour is more magistrates/judges/presiding officers
and more infrastructure for new court/additional court buildings.
Maybe the courts should work in 2 shifts as suggested by our CJI,
appoint retired judges/magistrates to try out cases on
Saturdays/sundays if they are interested and fit.
were supposed to be appointed by respective state governments. Even
SC has time and again reiterated that prohibition officers are to be
appointed so that police doesnt get involved directly and wreck any
marriages/family which can be saved by prohibition officers which is
a civilian post. This DP act was enacted about 20 years ago and still
no prohibition officers are appointed by any state govts. These
prohibition officers are supposed to call both sides, find the truth
and recommend to police if really/prima facie there exist demands for
dowry/harassment for dowry. Very recently even Madras High court CJ
has given a stay for all dowry related complaints. (Subsequently it
was vacated by the SC)
When the experience is such for the DP act itself which was enacted
20 years ago, will respective State Govts. appoint Protection
officers for DV act so fast??
Kiran bedi and many other feminists on the TV say that this DV will
ensure speedy justice for women in the form of residence orders,
economic relief etc. (The provision in DV being any complaint by the
women to be settled by the magistrate within 60 days and within 3
days notice has to be sent by the court to the husbands and his
family)
Spare a thought to the Magistrates and Judges for the kind of load
they are already carrying. Now add the DV alongwith this.
The need of the hour is more magistrates/judges/presiding officers
and more infrastructure for new court/additional court buildings.
Maybe the courts should work in 2 shifts as suggested by our CJI,
appoint retired judges/magistrates to try out cases on
Saturdays/sundays if they are interested and fit.
