Sex ratio shows positive change
Abantika Ghosh, TNN 26 August 2009, 03:08am IST
NEW DELHI: The Annual Report on Registration of Births and Deaths in Delhi 2008 that was released on Tuesday reinforced the city government's claims
of a drastic improvement in the capital's sex ratio at birth from 848 females per 1,000 males in 2007 to 1,004 in 2008. While the ravings on Laadli continued, the scheme, if the report is to be believed, seems to be working with a distinct religious bias.
While the sex ratio at birth in Hindus and Muslims is 1,002 females per 1,000 males and 1,040 females per 1,000 males respectively, for Sikhs and Christians it is still languishing at 873 and 875, respectively. The figure is way below the acceptable international level of 952 females per 1,000 males and the national average of 933, according to the 2001 data. While officials explain the figures by saying that the number of Christian births in Delhi is too few, for Sikhs they admit that the largely prosperous community which is way outside the ambit of Laadli and notorious for its abhorrence for the girl child they cite the Punjab sex ratio as proof may not still have learnt to accept the birth of a girl.
There are also figures in the report which raise questions as to whether the dramatic improvement in sex ratio is actually an indication of a decrease in female feticide or simply underregistration of male births. In 2008, the number of girls born in institutions for every 1,000 boys was 915 but the same figure for home births stood at an astounding 1,303. Though chief secretary Rakesh Mehta is not willing to accept the hypothesis that there may be underregistration of male births "Parents of boys are usually very particular in these things'', is how he refutes it senior officials in Delhi government say 1,303 is too high a figure to be "natural''.
Explained a senior official: "Laadli in itself is an incentive to register girls. But there is no such incentive to register the birth of a boy child. There is also a chance that girls who were born elsewhere to fathers who are Delhi residents were registered here to take advantage of Laadli. These theories cannot be completely overruled because the only other explanation then would be that there is some amount of male feticide happening which is preposterous.'' Laadli, interestingly, has had just 23,706 registrations at birth in 2008 against an increase in 19,000 of the total number of girls born during the year.
The number of male children born in the city has incidentally gone down from 1.74 lakh in 2007 to 1.66 lakh in 2008. And the figure, somewhat surprisingly, has been constantly going down from 2005 when it stood at 1.78 lakh. The number of girls on the other hand has remained more or less constant over this period before registering a jump from 1.47 lakh in 2007 to 1.67 lakh in 2008.
Commenting on the difference in sex ratios across religions, Mehta though sounded distinctly concerned about the Sikh figures. "The figures are worrying because unlike Christians the number of Sikhs in Delhi would be substantial. Sikhs are prosperous, so Laadli which is for families with an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh does not affect them. It would have to do with the Punjabi connection. See how bad the sex ratio of Punjab is. Moreover the census figures clearly showed how south Delhi which is home to so many rich Punjabis and Sikhs have one of the worst sex ratios. What one needs to do to address that mindset has to be thought about now.''
The figures also showed that more than 50% women become mothers before the age of 25 years and there is a distinct link between the level of education in women and the number of children they bear. While 42.53% of the fourth (or more) child were born to illiterate women, only 2% were born to graduates.
The death registration figures, on the other hand, show that more than 41% men die between the ages of 35 and 60 whereas the percentage of women of the same age group dying is about 31%. For a city that prides itself on its health infrastructure, a figure that may come as a shock is that the largest percentage (26.72%) of deaths occur due to causes which are not explained "symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings'' is how the report puts down the cause of these deaths.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/delhi/Sex-ratio-shows-positive-change-/articleshow/4934292.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
84 case: Trial court rejects CBI claims
84 case: Trial court rejects CBI claims
TNN 26 August 2009, 03:06am IST
NEW DELHI: A trial court on Tuesday dismissed the CBI's contention that it was not under a metropolitan magistrate's jurisdiction to decide on the
agency's probe report giving clean chit to former Union minister Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
After almost five months of gruelling arguments with CBI questioning the jurisdiction of a magisterial court on deciding the matter, additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) Rakesh Pandit, in his order, decided to hear the closure report on September 23.
Not convinced with CBI's arguments in which they had sought the transfer of the matter to a sessions court, ACMM Pandit said, "This court can take cognizance of the offence exclusively triable by the court of sessions and then can summon the accused who are mentioned in the chargesheet as well as those who are not mentioned therein if it appears to the court that they have also done the offence.''
CBI, which had on April 2 sought to close the case against Tytler claiming there was no sufficient evidence against him, claimed that the matter involved the offence of murder thereby making it exclusively triable by a sessions court.
The alleged role of Tytler in a case related to killing of three persons on November 1, 1984, in the aftermath of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination was reinvestigated by CBI after a court had earlier refused to accept a closure report against him in December, 2007.
The court, which is likely to take up the closure report for hearing on September 23, would now have all the powers to either accept CBI's closure report or reject it and can even issue summons against Tytler as mentioned by it in its nine-page order.
Citing various High Court and Supreme Court's judgment, the court referred to the CPC to conclude that "this court can take cognizance of any offence. The word `any' has been used (in Section 190) to include even those offences which are exclusively triable by the court of sessions.''
During the arguments on the matter, the riot victims' counsel Rebecca M John had earlier contended that a magistrate only takes cognizance of all offences, whether triable by it or not. "The metropolitan magistrate has the power and the right to accept an investigation report, or reject it, and take cognizance of the offence and can decide which accused to summon,'' John argued in the court, terming as "fallacious'' CBI's plea that the magistrate did not have the power to decide on its investigation report.
The case allegedly involving Tytler relates to an incident on November 1, 1984, when a mob had set afire Gurdwara Pulbangash in north Delhi, killing three persons Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh. The CBI had given a clean chit to Tytler in the case and sought prosecution of co-accused Suresh Kumar Panewala for the offence of murder.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4934220.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
TNN 26 August 2009, 03:06am IST
NEW DELHI: A trial court on Tuesday dismissed the CBI's contention that it was not under a metropolitan magistrate's jurisdiction to decide on the
agency's probe report giving clean chit to former Union minister Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
After almost five months of gruelling arguments with CBI questioning the jurisdiction of a magisterial court on deciding the matter, additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) Rakesh Pandit, in his order, decided to hear the closure report on September 23.
Not convinced with CBI's arguments in which they had sought the transfer of the matter to a sessions court, ACMM Pandit said, "This court can take cognizance of the offence exclusively triable by the court of sessions and then can summon the accused who are mentioned in the chargesheet as well as those who are not mentioned therein if it appears to the court that they have also done the offence.''
CBI, which had on April 2 sought to close the case against Tytler claiming there was no sufficient evidence against him, claimed that the matter involved the offence of murder thereby making it exclusively triable by a sessions court.
The alleged role of Tytler in a case related to killing of three persons on November 1, 1984, in the aftermath of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination was reinvestigated by CBI after a court had earlier refused to accept a closure report against him in December, 2007.
The court, which is likely to take up the closure report for hearing on September 23, would now have all the powers to either accept CBI's closure report or reject it and can even issue summons against Tytler as mentioned by it in its nine-page order.
Citing various High Court and Supreme Court's judgment, the court referred to the CPC to conclude that "this court can take cognizance of any offence. The word `any' has been used (in Section 190) to include even those offences which are exclusively triable by the court of sessions.''
During the arguments on the matter, the riot victims' counsel Rebecca M John had earlier contended that a magistrate only takes cognizance of all offences, whether triable by it or not. "The metropolitan magistrate has the power and the right to accept an investigation report, or reject it, and take cognizance of the offence and can decide which accused to summon,'' John argued in the court, terming as "fallacious'' CBI's plea that the magistrate did not have the power to decide on its investigation report.
The case allegedly involving Tytler relates to an incident on November 1, 1984, when a mob had set afire Gurdwara Pulbangash in north Delhi, killing three persons Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh. The CBI had given a clean chit to Tytler in the case and sought prosecution of co-accused Suresh Kumar Panewala for the offence of murder.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4934220.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sikh priests protest to save jobs
Groups of Sikh priests have protested an order that could disbar men under the age of 30 and over 60 years to be employed in gurdwaras across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The priests have been angered by the new plan of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the apex Sikh shrines management body. The plan is to sack all priests who do not fall within the new age stipulation. This could mean job losses for scores of priests, they said.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar had recently endorsed the new recruitment rules for granthis and paathis (hymn singers) following complaints against younger priests. These ranged from moral turpitude to several instances of devotee collections in gurdwaras.
Insisting there could be no compromise on maintaining the sanctity of the shrines, Mr Makkar called for a list of all Gurdwara employees below 30 years and ordered a thorough verification of each man’s antecedents.
The committee has also sought a fresh appraisal of each priest’s character, conduct, his knowledge of the holy scripture and efficiency in performing various religious rites.
Courtesy : CathNewsIndia
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
The priests have been angered by the new plan of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the apex Sikh shrines management body. The plan is to sack all priests who do not fall within the new age stipulation. This could mean job losses for scores of priests, they said.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar had recently endorsed the new recruitment rules for granthis and paathis (hymn singers) following complaints against younger priests. These ranged from moral turpitude to several instances of devotee collections in gurdwaras.
Insisting there could be no compromise on maintaining the sanctity of the shrines, Mr Makkar called for a list of all Gurdwara employees below 30 years and ordered a thorough verification of each man’s antecedents.
The committee has also sought a fresh appraisal of each priest’s character, conduct, his knowledge of the holy scripture and efficiency in performing various religious rites.
Courtesy : CathNewsIndia
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
Monday, August 24, 2009
Court convicts three in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
Court convicts three in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A Delhi court today convicted three persons for attempting to murder members of a Sikh family during the 1984 riots and indicted the Delhi Police and the state machinery saying their role at that time "makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity."
Additional Sessions Judge Surinder S Rathi held Mangal Sen alias Billa, Brij Mohan Verma and Bhagat Singh guilty of attempt to murder, rioting, dacoity in Shastri Nagar in north Delhi.
While deciding the case, the judge made a strong indictment of the manner in which the Delhi police and the state machinery had acted during the anti-Sikh riots.
with thanks : source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/243010_Court-convicts-three-in-1984-anti-Sikh-riots-case
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A Delhi court today convicted three persons for attempting to murder members of a Sikh family during the 1984 riots and indicted the Delhi Police and the state machinery saying their role at that time "makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity."
Additional Sessions Judge Surinder S Rathi held Mangal Sen alias Billa, Brij Mohan Verma and Bhagat Singh guilty of attempt to murder, rioting, dacoity in Shastri Nagar in north Delhi.
While deciding the case, the judge made a strong indictment of the manner in which the Delhi police and the state machinery had acted during the anti-Sikh riots.
with thanks : source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/243010_Court-convicts-three-in-1984-anti-Sikh-riots-case
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
Amarinder supports separate committee for Sikhs in Haryana
Amarinder supports separate committee for Sikhs in Haryana
PTI 22 August 2009, 07:04pm IST
LUDHIANA: Fully supporting Haryana government's move to set up a separate committee for managing Sikh affairs in the state, former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the community there had the right to decide about its future.
Early this month, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said that a separate body for Sikhs on the lines of SGPC would be set up in the state provided there were no legal hurdles. Later, he said a referendum would also be conducted to help Sikhs take a final call on the issue.
Haryana cabinet though, recommended dissolution of the state Assembly on Friday.
Speaking to media persons after appearing in a local court in Ludhiana, Singh alleged that Akalis themselves earlier divided the Sikh community which has led to such a demand from Haryana's Sikhs.
"Today they (the Akalis) are saying it amounts to dividing Sikhs, but let me remind them that they are the same people who divided the Sikhs and Punjabis decades ago when they launched the Punjabi subha movement," he said.
Amarinder pointed out that it is the democratic right of every Sikh in Haryana to decide whether he wants to remain with the SGPC or set up a separate committee there and rejected the opposition by Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal and SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar over the move.
"Who is Badal or Makkar to decide about that?", he asked. About his party's loss in the recent bypolls on three seats in the state, he said the ruling party used "brute force" to win over the seats.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Amarinder-supports-separate-committee-for-Sikhs-in-Haryana/articleshow/4923049.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
PTI 22 August 2009, 07:04pm IST
LUDHIANA: Fully supporting Haryana government's move to set up a separate committee for managing Sikh affairs in the state, former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the community there had the right to decide about its future.
Early this month, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said that a separate body for Sikhs on the lines of SGPC would be set up in the state provided there were no legal hurdles. Later, he said a referendum would also be conducted to help Sikhs take a final call on the issue.
Haryana cabinet though, recommended dissolution of the state Assembly on Friday.
Speaking to media persons after appearing in a local court in Ludhiana, Singh alleged that Akalis themselves earlier divided the Sikh community which has led to such a demand from Haryana's Sikhs.
"Today they (the Akalis) are saying it amounts to dividing Sikhs, but let me remind them that they are the same people who divided the Sikhs and Punjabis decades ago when they launched the Punjabi subha movement," he said.
Amarinder pointed out that it is the democratic right of every Sikh in Haryana to decide whether he wants to remain with the SGPC or set up a separate committee there and rejected the opposition by Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal and SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar over the move.
"Who is Badal or Makkar to decide about that?", he asked. About his party's loss in the recent bypolls on three seats in the state, he said the ruling party used "brute force" to win over the seats.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Amarinder-supports-separate-committee-for-Sikhs-in-Haryana/articleshow/4923049.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The dancing patka of Dil bole Hadipa
Have you seen the Dancing patka of Dil bole Hadipa. It can be seen in the Promos being aired on various TV channels. How can one make a joke of sikh turban or patka.
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
Friday, August 21, 2009
some more pics of Belgian delegation at Amritsar & Delhi
More pics at Delhi can be viewed on our News dated 2nd August on the same blog i.e. www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com with Title Delegation from the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Religion & Worldview, K.U.Leuven, Belgium, reached Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, New Delhi
with thanks : www.indiablog.be
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh web portal
Historical room unearthed in excavation near Lakhnor Sahib, Ambala
In the pics above :
A devotee prays at the site of a 500-year-old room unearthed near Gurdwara Lakhnor Sahib in Ambala; and (right) wooden beds used by Guru Gobind Singh during his childhood. — Tribune photos by Kamal Sachar
Excavation near Lakhnor Sahib, Historical room unearthed
Suman Bhatnagar
An excavation conducted recently at the historical Lakhnor Sahib Gurdwara, near Ambala City, has revealed a room having several artefacts. The finding has generated a lot of enthusiasm among the local Sikh community.
The room, at the depth of about 25 feet, was found during excavation work being carried out near the gurdwara by the managing committee.
Lakhnor Sahib is a historical religious place where Guru Gobind Singh had spent the initial years of his life as his mother, Mata Gujri, hailed from this village. The devotees are of the view that the room was around 500 years old and had been constructed by the maternal grandfather and grandmother of Guru Gobind Singh. Now the devotees have started the reconstruction of this room. A large number of Sikhs have been coming here to have a look at the historical room.
A copper sword, apparently made in 1804, was also found from the house of a villager, Harpreet Singh, while he was digging the foundation of a room close to the gurdwara. A wooden bed, sword and a copper plate which was used by Guru Gobind Singh in his childhood, are kept safe in this gurdwara.
A well from which Mata Gujri used to collect water is still existing near the gurdwara. According to believers a number of diseases are cured by drinking the water of this well. Every year on the occasion of Gurpurb thousands of devotees from various states come to visit this gurdwara.
with thanks : source : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071230/haryana.htm
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A sikh web portal
(Plz note : It's an old news of Dec. 2007, being uploaded for our valued visitors as the news seems to had gone unnoticed at that time. Recent pics of the site are being uploaded very soon.)
UK Sikhs accuse BBC of racism
UK Sikhs accuse BBC of racism
PTI 20 August 2009, 01:06pm IST
LONDON: A race row has erupted at BBC's flagship Asian station, which has been accused of being insensitive towards Sikhs and encouraging a Muslim presenter to mock Sikhism.
"We should not be paying a licence fee for promoting the ignorance-based ramblings of those bent on self-promotion who sneer at Asian religion and culture," said Hardeep Singh, a spokesman of the Sikh Media Monitoring Group, which accused BBC's Asian Network of being insensitive towards listeners from the minority community.
The Sikh Group has written to the BBC asking for a full transcript of Adil Ray's show, which was removed from their website after threats from angry Sikh listeners who accused the popular Muslim presenter of denigrating the "kirpan" dagger - an important religious symbol and one of five ceremonial symbols that baptised Sikhs are expected to wear at all times, The Independent newspaper said today.
Members of the Sikh community complained that Ray, in the show broadcast by the Birmingham-based network on Thursday August 6, had been disparaging about whether Sikhs really needed to carry kirpans. The complaint was based on Ray's discussion of the cancellation of a Punjabi music concert in Canada where police had banned Sikhs who refused to remove their "kirpan", the British daily reported.
BBC's Asian Network had courted controversy last year when the Lord Ahmed of the Labour Party had accused the network of being biased against Muslims.
Indarjit Singh, veteran Sikh journalist and chief of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said Britain's Asian communities should move away from stations aimed at a small demographic.
"Stations like BBC Asian Network do little to encourage integration and social cohesion because they allow communities to ghettoise themselves," he said.
Supporters of the Asian Network, however, believe the radio station is a vital voice for Britain's Asians in the otherwise white-dominated industries of media and broadcasting.
The network, which was set up eight years ago after the BBC's then director general Greg Dyke described his own organisation as "hideously white", has denied the accusations or any suggestion that Ray meant to mock Sikhism.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/uk/UK-Sikhs-accuse-BBC-of-racism/articleshow/4914512.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh web portal
PTI 20 August 2009, 01:06pm IST
LONDON: A race row has erupted at BBC's flagship Asian station, which has been accused of being insensitive towards Sikhs and encouraging a Muslim presenter to mock Sikhism.
"We should not be paying a licence fee for promoting the ignorance-based ramblings of those bent on self-promotion who sneer at Asian religion and culture," said Hardeep Singh, a spokesman of the Sikh Media Monitoring Group, which accused BBC's Asian Network of being insensitive towards listeners from the minority community.
The Sikh Group has written to the BBC asking for a full transcript of Adil Ray's show, which was removed from their website after threats from angry Sikh listeners who accused the popular Muslim presenter of denigrating the "kirpan" dagger - an important religious symbol and one of five ceremonial symbols that baptised Sikhs are expected to wear at all times, The Independent newspaper said today.
Members of the Sikh community complained that Ray, in the show broadcast by the Birmingham-based network on Thursday August 6, had been disparaging about whether Sikhs really needed to carry kirpans. The complaint was based on Ray's discussion of the cancellation of a Punjabi music concert in Canada where police had banned Sikhs who refused to remove their "kirpan", the British daily reported.
BBC's Asian Network had courted controversy last year when the Lord Ahmed of the Labour Party had accused the network of being biased against Muslims.
Indarjit Singh, veteran Sikh journalist and chief of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said Britain's Asian communities should move away from stations aimed at a small demographic.
"Stations like BBC Asian Network do little to encourage integration and social cohesion because they allow communities to ghettoise themselves," he said.
Supporters of the Asian Network, however, believe the radio station is a vital voice for Britain's Asians in the otherwise white-dominated industries of media and broadcasting.
The network, which was set up eight years ago after the BBC's then director general Greg Dyke described his own organisation as "hideously white", has denied the accusations or any suggestion that Ray meant to mock Sikhism.
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/uk/UK-Sikhs-accuse-BBC-of-racism/articleshow/4914512.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
A Sikh web portal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
