In India, Journalists=Lobbyists?

Wiretap on lobbyists, journalists reveal links at top? New Delhi, Nov 19 : Days after the resignation of A. Raja as communications minister over the 2G spectrum scandal, Open magazine has uploaded on its website what it claims are phone chats among leading lobbyists, industrialists, politicians and journalists, giving a sneak peek into what it says are the 'networks of power' reflecting 'how this...

Time To Plug The Corruption

The Rot in Delhi Three scandals suggest that India's corruption scourge is growing more serious. India's corruption, always impressive, is reaching world-class levels. Last month, Transparency International, the watchdog that ranks countries based on levels of corruption, downgraded India to 87 out of 178 countries, three notches below last year. And on Monday, a World Economic Forum panel...

Woman's Tale: Escaping Rape

How One Woman Escaped Her Rapist By Khristina Let me warn you; this is a spine-chilling tale of a woman escaping rape. A little excerpt: I walked into the apartment, placed the glass on the table, and told Marco I needed to head home. He had a small cigar box in his hand and offered me a hand-rolled cigarette from inside, presumably marijuana. “No. No, thank you,” I said. Then he came...

Set to Sizzle

By Anita Aikara Monikangana makes her debut in Guzaarish. Monikangana, the dusky model from Assam, speaks about her role in Guzaarish, working with stalwarts and taking a break from modelling. Launch Vehicle I play Estella Francis in Guzaarish. I could easily relate to the character as it is very much like what I have been through in my personal life. When Sanjay Leela Bhansali narrated the character...

Don’t Retweet Or You’ll Spend 1Yr in Labour Camp in China

Chinese woman sentenced one-year in labour camp for retweeting Beijing, Nov 19 : China has sentenced a woman to a year in a labour camp for "disrupting social order" by retweeting a satirical message urging Chinese protesters to smash the Japan pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, an international rights group said. Cheng Jianping, 46, re-posted a message from the social networking site Twitter last...

Manipur Women Vendors Dance With Joy

Women vendors take out a religious procession in Imphal on Thursday. Picture by Bullu Rajkumar Imphal, Nov 19 : Women vendors danced with joy here today as the process of shifting them from temporary shades to the three new women’s markets was set in motion. The scene was in stark contrast to the one seven years ago when they had put up a strong protest againt the Okram Ibobi Singh government’s...

Assam Cultural Centre in Delhi

Guwahati, Nov 19 : Assam is yet to set up a cultural centre in New Delhi when states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have all made a move in this direction to promote their cultures and traditions. To fill this void, Asamiya Krishti Kendra, a socio-cultural organisation based at Dwarka sub-city of New Delhi, has taken the initiative to construct a permanent cultural centre in...

Mizo Women March Against Rape in Aizawl

Aizawl, Nov 19 : A wave of protests ripped through the quiet Christian state of Mizoram after two incidents of rape of minor girls in the state in the past two months. Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl, an influential Mizo women organisation in the state, observed a black week, that began last Friday to register their anger and dismay against the recurring incidents of rape, molestation and harassment...