In a joint excavation and analysis undertaken by the department of archaeology of the Deccan College Deemed University in Pune and Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, archaeologists have discovered a couple’s skeleton in the same grave, which according to them is the first anthropologically confirmed joint burial of a couple in any Harappan cemetery.
The grave was found in the Harappan settlements excavated at Rakhigarhi in Haryana, 150km northwest of Delhi.
According to the archaeologists, the two bodies found during the excavation laid face up, with arms and legs stretched out. They confirmed that pieces of evidence showed that the duo was buried simultaneously or about the same time but they couldn’t confirm whether one was buried before the other.
The findings have been published in the peer-reviewed international journal ACB journal of Anatomy and Cell Biology.
Vasant Shinde, corresponding author of the research, and vice chancellor of DCDU was quoted saying that the archaeologists in India have often debated the historical meaning of joint burials. He said that the Harappans believed in life after death, because of which pottery and bowls were found in the graves. He said those pots may have contained food and water for the dead. “Hence, the contemporary view of life after death may actually be as old as 5,000 years,” he added.
He also mentioned that the manner in which the couple was buried, with the male’s face towards the women, could commemorate their long-lasting affection for each other even after death.
Previously, another Harappan joint burial was discovered in Lothal, one of the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, located in the Bhal region of the modern state of Gujarat, but was regarded as a case of a widow’s self-sacrifice over her husband’s death, Shinde informed while speaking to TOI.
“Other archaeologists claimed it was difficult to estimate the sexes of the individuals, and they may not have been a couple. Other than that, none of the joint burials reported from Harappan cemeteries has been anthropologically confirmed to be a couple’s grave,” he said.
Shinde furthered that though couple graves were something which was not uncommon in other ancient civilizations, yet, he considered it strange that they were not discovered in Harappan cemeteries until now.
The skeletons, whose age was estimated to be between 21 and 35 years at the time of burial, were taken to the laboratory of the DCDU for analysis after the field surveys were completed. There, the skeleton’s sex was also determined after studying the pelvic region. The researchers, however, confirmed that they did not find any evidence of trauma or lesions in the skeletons.
Earlier we had reported how studies of Rakhigarhi remains had dismissed the long concluded ‘Aryan Invasion theory’ by testifying through its comprehensive DNA study that no central Asian traces were found in the remains and thus established that the Vedic era that followed it was a fully indigenous period. The study proved the Aryan Invasion Theory was flawed and Vedic era evolution of knowledge and culture happened through indigenous people.
The Modi government, in a landmark decision, introduced the 124th Constitutional Amendment Bill that provided for 10% reservation for economically backward classes that have not been included in any reservation category so far.
The bill amends the articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India, making provision for reservation for educational institutes and jobs respectively. This reservation will be an addition to the existing 50% reservation provided for people from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes. The economical backward has been defined as a family with an annual income below Rs. 8 lakhs, apart from clauses on landholding. The ₹8 lakh limit is at per with the existing limit for the creamy layer of OBCs.
The reservation in higher educational institutions will be extended to private institutions also, whether aided or unaided. But the minority educational institutions will be exempt from the reservation as per provisions of article 30 of the constitution.
Perhaps owing to political considerations, Congress party, reluctantly, supported the bill as well. However, soon after the 124th Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed, the prevalent narrative evolved into how this reservation might not pass Judicial scrutiny as it breaches the 50% reservation limit which was decided upon by the Indra Sawhney judgement.
To understand the ramifications of the 50% reservation cap, one must look back at the Indra Sawhney judgement and evaluate the basis of that judgement.
The Mandal Commission Report of 1980 was tabled in Parliament on two occasions, viz 1982 and 1983, however, the court said, no action had been taken on the recommendations on the report until an office memorandum dated 13.08.1990.
The Office Memorandum stated that after considering the Mandal Commission Report, 27% of the vacancies in civil posts and services under the Government of India shall be reserved for the Socially and Economically Backward Classes. This was followed by an Office Memorandum of 25.09.1991, by which, within the 27% of vacancies, preference was to be given to candidates belonging to the poorer sections of the Socially and Economically Backward Classes; and 10% vacancies were to be reserved for Other Economically Backward Sections who were not covered by any of the existing schemes of reservation.
The 1991 office memorandum
In the Indra Sawhney judgement, while the 27% reservation was upheld, the 10% reservation in civil posts and services under Government of India proposed for economically backward section who are not covered by any of the existing schemes of reservations was struck down.
The basis for striking down the 10% reservation for the economically backward, was that per Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) of the constitution referred only to social backwardness.
The judgement read (para 774)
Part of the Indra Sawhney judgement
Thus, it stands to reason that the basis of the Court striking down the 10% reservation for economically backward categories was solely on the basis of Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) and the 50% reservation cap that was set by the Court was also solely for caste-based reservations.
It also stands to reason that there was no provision in the constitution that would form the basis of a 10% reservation for the economically backward, as the existing provisions were to be applicable solely for caste-based reservations.
The Modi government, for the purpose of the 124th Constitutional Amendment that provides 10% reservation to the economically backward, have not altered or depended upon Article 15 (4) or Article 16 (4).
The Modi government has introduced a constitutional amendment adding Article 15 (6)
124th Constitutional Amendment Bill
And Article 16 (6).
124th Constitutional Amendment Bill
The Modi government has effectively created an entirely new class of reservation that will need to be evaluated by the Court independently without caste considerations and without the limits of the 50% cap that has been employed for caste-based reservations.
The 50% reservation that was set by the Indra Sawhney judgement was laid down when Article 15 (6) and Article 16 (6) did not exist, hence, if challenged, the current 10% reservation would need to be evaluated differently without taking into consideration the 50% reservation cap and hence, Indra Sawhney judgement may be inapplicable to the current issue.
In fact, in the RAM SINGH & ORS. VERSUS UNION OF INDIA case where the Court had struck down Jat reservation, Justice Gogoi had made pertinent observations regarding reservations for economically backward.
In paragraph 53 of the judgement, Justice Gogoi and Rohinton Fali Nariman had observed (emphasis mine):
“Backwardness is a manifestation caused by the presence of several independent circumstances which may be social, cultural, economic, educational or even political. Owing to historical conditions, particularly in Hindu society, recognition of backwardness has been associated with caste. Though caste may be a prominent and distinguishing factor for easy determination of backwardness of a social group, this Court has been routinely discouraging the identification of a group as backward solely on the basis of caste. Article 16(4) as also Article 15(4) lays the foundation for affirmative action by the State to reach out the most deserving. Social groups who would be most deserving must necessarily be a matter of continuous evolution. New practices, methods and yardsticks have to be continuously evolved moving away from caste centric definition of backwardness. This alone can enable recognition of newly emerging groups in society which would require palliative action.
The recognition of the third gender as a socially and educationally backward class of citizens entitled to affirmative action of the State under the Constitution in National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India is too significant a development to be ignored. In fact, it is a pathfinder, if not a path-breaker. It is an important reminder to the State of the high degree of vigilance it must exercise to discover emerging forms of backwardness. The State, therefore, cannot blind itself to the existence of other forms and instances of backwardness. An affirmative action policy that keeps in mind only historical injustice would certainly result in under-protection of the most deserving backward class of citizens, which is constitutionally mandated. It is the identification of these new emerging groups that must engage the attention of the State and the constitutional power and duty must be concentrated to discover such groups rather than to enable groups of citizens to recover “lost ground” in claiming preference and benefits on the basis of historical prejudice.”
In the judgement, Justices Gogoi and Rohinton Fali Nariman had observed that a state policy that keeps in mind only historical injustice would result in under-protection of the most deserving backward class of citizens and that the State must come up with a yardstick that helps citizens recover lost ground regardless of caste considerations.
They had further gone to assert in Paragraph 54 (emphasis mine):
style=”text-decoration: underline;”>”The perception of a self-proclaimed socially backward class of citizens or even the perception of the “advanced classes” as to the social status of the “less fortunates” cannot continue to be a constitutionally permissible yardstick for determination of backwardness, both in the context of Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution. Neither can any longer backwardness be a matter of determination on the basis of mathematical formulae evolved by taking into account social, economic and educational indicators. Determination of backwardness must also cease to be relative; possible wrong inclusions cannot be the basis for further inclusions but the gates would be opened only to permit entry of the most distressed. Any other inclusion would be a serious abdication of the constitutional duty of the State. Judged by the aforesaid standards we must hold that inclusion of the politically organized classes (such as Jats) in the list of backward classes mainly, if not solely, on the basis that on same parameters other groups who have fared better have been so included cannot be affirmed.”
While striking down the reservation for Jats, Justices Gogoi and Nariman had mentioned categorically that “the gates would be opened only to permit entry of the most distressed”.
In this judgement, the Court made clear that while politically organised groups like the Jats should not be given reservation and that caste can no longer be the only marker of ‘backwardness’, for the most distressed, the State should take affirmative action.
In that sense, a 10% reservation for economically backward not only conforms to what Justice Gogoi had observed but also draws its power from a Constitutional Amendment that doesn’t rely on Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) as before. Hence, it won’t be struck down and also won’t exceed the 50% reservation cap which is based on caste determinants.
If the 124th Constitutional Amendment is thus challenged in the court, the Court will need to ask itself several questions, not depending on the Indra Sawhney judgement.
The Court and the Government would essentially find itself in the unchartered territory since the matter of reservation based on the economic background based on Article 15 (6) and Article 16 (6) has never been discussed. The Court will essentially need to decide if the Bill is challenged, whether it is willing to increase the reservation cap to 60%. This in itself might not be a point of contention since the limit of 50% exists essentially only on paper as many states have far exceeded the cap in terms of reservations.
The Court would also need to consider the long-standing debate between Proportional equality and Balanced equality. If Proportional equality is considered, the reservation of 10% for a population that far exceeds that number proportionally should not raise eyebrows. Even if the Court considers Balanced equality, it stands to reason that the distressed sections that have not had equal access to opportunities as the affluent class must be the recipient of affirmative action of the State.
Thus, while these arguments would only be considered if the Bill is challenged in the Court of law, judging by the precedents in place, the current reservation would not breach the 50% reservation limit set by the Indra Sawhney judgement and if at all, would need to be evaluated afresh by the Court of law.
(This article was written with inputs from Advocate J Sai Deepak. His debate on the subject can be watched here. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s response in the parliament can be accessed here.
The BJP government led by PM Narendra Modi has decided to open up hostels for the benefit of the students from Northeast living in various cities of India. The Union government has announced that special hostels for them would come up in Delhi, Bengaluru and several other cities of the country.
On Monday, addressing a group of students from Northeast, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh announced that the government will provide hostel facilities to students from the northeastern states across several cities in India. A group of students from the Northeast are in Delhi as a part of a team to visit several cities under the annual “Students Experience in Inter-State Living” (SEIL) programme.
A Northeast Hostel for Girl Students is ready for inauguration at the Bangalore University campus and an exclusive Northeast Hostel is under construction at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, where a very large number of youths are pursuing higher studies, he said.
In addition, a plot of land is being acquired in Rohini area of Delhi to set up a hostel for Northeast students studying in Delhi University, and also land has been acquired in Dwarka, New Delhi to construct a state-of-the-art Northeast Convention Centre, said a press release from PIB.
Dr Jitendra Singh emphasised that one of the major achievements of the Narendra Modi government has been starting facilities for cost-effective living through hostels and other means in different parts of the country for Northeastern students.
He said that the NDA government has focussed on the youth of the North-East region and it could be assessed from the fact that the “Start-up India, Stand-up India” programme initiated by the Prime Minister had been implemented in the region with an added support from the Ministry of DoNER in the form of “Venture Fund”.
“The response to this has been very encouraging and in the years to come, Northeast may become a favourite destination for young Start-Ups from all over India,” he said.
Minister Jitendra Singh further mentioned the Northeast Rural Livelihood Programme and promotion of “Home Tourism” as examples of government’s push to generate employment in the region, stressing that the latter had become a major source of livelihood and revenue generation, especially in states like Meghalaya and Sikkim.
The NDA government’s decision to provide a 10% reservation to people from economically weaker sections from the General Class has sent jitters among the Opposition. They cannot oppose it due to political compulsions and if they support it, the BJP still benefits from it.
It appears they have decided to attack the proposition by terming it the first step towards eradication of reservations based on caste. Jignesh Mevani, the controversial MLA from Gujarat who has been accused of inciting violence in the past, made such an assertion.
RSS के लोगों से बात हुई- भाजपा 10% ग़रीबों को आरक्षण क्यों दे रही है? जो पता चला वो बेहद ख़तरनाक है। RSS जाति आरक्षण के हमेशा से ख़िलाफ़ रही है। अभी पहले चरण में संविधान संशोधन करके आर्थिक आधार शुरू करेंगे। फिर SC, ST और OBC का सारा आरक्षण ख़त्म करके केवल आर्थिक आधार रखेंगे
Mevani said, “Talked to people from the RSS- why is the BJP giving 10% reservations to the poor? What I learnt was extremely dangerous. The RSS has always been against caste-based reservation. In this first step, through an amendment in the Constitution, they will start economic background based reservations. Then, they will end all reservations for SC, ST and OBC and keep reservations for only people from economically weaker sections.”
Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, echoed similar sentiments.
मेरी कई लोगों से बात हुई। सब लोगों को लग रहा है कि भाजपा कि यही चाल है।
Kejriwal claimed that he had talked with several people and all of them believed what Mevani claimed was actually what the BJP was thinking. “Very dangerous,” he said.
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, was even more brazen in its attempt to spread Fake News. In a tweet, the party insinuated that ‘Manuvadi Modi’ had provided 10% reservations to the Brahmin community alone.
सवर्ण पैदा हुए मोदी ने पहले गुजरात में अपनी जाति को पिछड़ा बनाया फिर 14 में खुद की जाति के नाम दलित पिछड़ों को मूर्ख बना कर खूब वोट लूटा!
अब मोदी ने अपना असली मनुवादी जातिवादी रंग दिखा दिया!
जिनमें सिर्फ 5% गरीब हैं उन्हें देश की आबादी का 10% आरक्षण में दे बहुजनों को लूट लिया!
The party said that by giving 10% reservations to a community which has only 5% poor among them, the BJP has looted the Bahujan community. It is unclear where the party got its statistics from, it appears fairly certain that they conjured things out of thin air to make a political point. In reality, the 10% reservations to people from economically poor backgrounds will not impact caste-based reservations in any manner whatsoever.
After floundering for a while, it appears the Opposition has found its voice yet again. It’s pretty clear that Mevani and Kejriwal are brazenly lying, something they have been known to do in the past. Even prior to the Assembly Elections in Bihar, the opposition with the help of the media had hyped the narrative that the BJP was against reservations. And despite the many reassurances from the top leadership, the strategy worked and the BJP suffered a heavy defeat.
Going into 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, it appears the Opposition has decided to adopt a similar strategy. The narrative doesn’t have a grain of truth in it of course but when one has the support of the “Pliant Media”, one can try and get away with such outright lies.
After the release of the trailer of The Accidental Prime Minister in December last year, the movie has been subject to widespread criticism and has invited several legal pleas against it. After a Bihar local court ordered police to launch FIRs against the actors of the movie on 8 January, acting on a plea filed in the court, a Congress leader from Punjab has now moved High court to stall its release.
According to reports, Anumit Singh Sodhi, a member of Pradesh Congress Committee in Punjab and son of state’s sports minister Rana Gurmeet Singh, has moved Punjab and Haryana high court to stall the release of the movie. The petition has been filed by advocate Kannan Malik, on the behalf of Congress leader, and demanded that court should quash the certification issued by Central Board of Film Certification. The petition argued that movie is doing injustice to the image of Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It added that the movie completely destroys the Manmohan Singh’s image, and weakens the image not only domestically but also internationally. The petition also said that the under Singh’s reign the “country has grown”.
The petitioner argued that movie’s release just months before General elections is a deliberate attempt to reap political benefits. The petitioner has so far not confirmed whether the petition is filed on his personal capacity or on behalf of the party.
Congress leaders have been trying hard to stall the release of the movie, alleging that the movie portrays their leaders in the bad light. Several Congress leaders have spoken against the movie, and the Maharashtra unit of Youth Congress had sent a letter to the producers of the movie asking for a special screening for them before the theatrical release of the movie so that they can censor it.
On January 3, a lawyer named Sudhir Kumar Ojha filed a case against the actors of the movie for ‘damaging the image of some top people’. The case was filed in Muzaffarpur’s Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court on January 3. Acting on which, the court had asked the police to launch FIR against Anupam Kher (portraying Manmohan Singh) and Akshay Khanna(portraying author of the book, Sanjaya Baru), along with 13 others.
A similar plea was also filed at Delhi High court by a fashion designer, Pooja Mahajan through lawyer Arun Mattri. The high court had rejected the plea and asked the petitioner to convert her plea into a PIL. Following which on 8 January a PIL was filed in the court, which was to be heard on January 9. However, the PIL also couldn’t make an effect and was rejected again. The court also questioned the locus of the petitioner. Now, Mahajan has asserted that she will move to Supreme Court.
Delhi High Court has dismissed a PIL against the release of the trailer of the movie “The Accidental Prime Minister”. Court questioned the locus of the petitioner Pooja Mahajan. Petitioner’s counsel says we are moving supreme court. pic.twitter.com/FS73AO7JOS
The petition filed at Delhi High court had cited that movie and its makers are violating Section 416 of the IPC which prohibits and punishes impersonation of a person with the intention to harm an individual. The petitioner had also cited the fact that, movie makers had not obtained any NOC (No Objection Certificate) from Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi etc., which is a prerequisite according to the laid norms Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for making a biopic, involving real-life people.
The petition filed by Congress leader of Punjab will be heard by Justice Krishna Murari and Arun Palli on Wednesday.
The trailer of the movie was released on 27th December on Youtube, and so far it has achieved 65.5 million views on the video streaming site. Although the Congress leaders claim that the trailer shows Dr Singh in a bad light, actually the opposite is true. The trailer shows the former prime minister as an honest man, who had to act against his wills due to the pressure of party leaders, including then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Amid this widening number of complaints in courts and police stations, the movie is scheduled to hit the theatres on January 11, if not stopped by any court. The movie is based on a book by the same name, authored by Manmohan Singh’s media advisor during UPA regime, Sanjaya Baru. The movie will release along with another movie Uri: The Surgical Strike, based on 2016 covert surgical strikes launched by Indian forces.
As per the data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), as many as 253 terrorists were killed in encounters in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 till 28th December. The corresponding figure was 213 in 2017, 150 in 2016 and 108 in 2015. The government also said that 17 terrorists were arrested as against 18 in 2017.
Zero tolerance policy against terrorism and the effective response given by the security forces to counter terrorist activities is one of the main reasons for countering terror activities. As per reports, as many as 300 terrorists are active in the state who are being helped by some locals.
As per the written reply given by Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the government has implemented various measures to mainstream the youth, including providing employment opportunities and youth exchange programs amongst others. Rs 80,068 crore has also been provided under the PM Development Package, 2015 for various developmental activities.
The government has also taken various other initiatives like Special Industry Initiative (SII) to enhance skills and employability of graduates and diploma holders and skill development and employment scheme to provide options and opportunities to schools and college dropouts. The government has also started providing financial assistance to students who have passed the 12th standard or equivalent exams to study in states outside of J&K.
We had earlier reported how the government’s initiatives of trying to improve internal security to tackle left-wing terrorism have yielded results.
The present NDA government has been fighting the menace of the ‘Left-wing-terror’ successfully by using the “carrot and stick” policy to eradicate the terror in the region.
The security forces have carried out extensive and targeted operations in the strongholds of the Naxals and have succeeded in eliminating the terrorists. The security forces, along with state government have also devised rehabilitation initiatives so that the Naxals can give up guns and join the mainstream without any violence. This approach is considered to be one of the successful initiatives of the government, as many Naxals have come out of the camps and is part of social life now.
The government has also backed up this with the massive financial outlay for developing the basic infrastructure like roads, railways, schools, electricity in the region. Access to technology and mobile network has brought major changes in the region, as it has brought success in providing health care and educational benefits and has helped the locals to take advantage of government schemes to enhance their livelihood opportunities.
Recently, few Naxals had surrendered before the security forces, after security forces gunned down eight down eight Naxals in forests of Timinar and Pusnar during Anti-Naxal operation, along Dantewada-Bijapur border. The surrendered Naxalites talking to the media said that they face a lot of problems in the Naxal camps. The administration, through various policies and initiatives of the government, has managed to rehabilitate many former Naxals who surrender.
The actor turned politician, Delhi BJP President, Manoj Tiwari, who has been demanding an NRC-like (National Registry of Citizens) exercise in Delhi for quite some time now, today, according to a report by DNA, reiterated the same, claiming that large numbers of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have ‘infiltrated’ into the city.
Speaking to the media, Manoj Tiwari slammed both the Congress party and AAP for opposing the NRC in the parliament and over the voter’s name deletion row created respectively.
Criticising the Congress for opposing the NRC and the ruckus it created over the same in the parliament, Tiwari said, “The opposition to NRC by the Congress clearly shows that for them the interest of the country is less important than its politics as the party is protecting illegal infiltrators in Assam.”
While demanding that the central government should identify these “infiltrators and deport them” as is happening in other parts of the country, Tiwari claimed that “the present government has taken strict measures and identified them. Now, it wants to deport them but the Congress is only playing politics on the pretext of their rights,” he alleged.
The National Register of Citizens in Assam in July last year had sparked sharp exchanges of disruption in the Parliament with the opposition alleging discrimination. Opposing the NRC, Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M) and SP had maintained that list puts “human rights and democratic rights” of people at stake.
However, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had hit back then saying that the opposition was politicising a sensitive issue.
Attacking AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP leader said, large numbers of Rohingyas have infiltrated into Delhi. Previously due to the Bangladeshis and now due to the Rohingyas, the rights of the citizens of Delhi have been adversely affected. It is also affecting the law and order situation in Delhi”.
While releasing an audio clip in a press conference Tiwari attacked the Kejriwal government, saying that previously, defying the High court orders, the Aam Aadmi Party demanded Voter ID cards from the families of school students, violating the Right to Privacy of the citizens of Delhi. “Now, the AAP workers are giving information to people about the deletion of voters’ names, and accusing the BJP of it.
The Arvind Kejriwal government last month had blamed the BJP of deleting about 30 lakh “anti-BJP voters” from the electoral rolls in Delhi. Earlier it had created a ruckus blaming the Election Commission over the deletion of names of over 10 lakh voters from the electoral roll in Delhi. An allegation which the EC had termed ‘baseless’ and had added that contrary to Kejriwal’s claims, 1.5 lakh voters have been added to the voters’ list in Delhi.
Manoj Tiwari, taking a jibe at the AAP supremo said that “Kejriwal is misleading the people of Delhi to save his sinking boat with the help of false propaganda.”
Incidentally, except few in the opposition who have a penchant to play politics over every conceivable issue, an exercise like NRC, which would help to weed out illegal migrants from the country has been welcomed and accepted by most of the people across India, who are willing to participate in an event which would help the country get rid of the illegal infiltrators posing a threat to the National security.
In a shocking incident, a Christian priest belonging to Fatehabad, Haryana has been alleged of coercing a youth and his family to convert into Christianity, reported News18.
According to reports, the youth belonging to Ratiya, Fatehabad has alleged that the priest had come to his house several times to compel him and his family to change his religion to Christianity. The youth approached the Superintendent of Police to lodge the complaint accusing the priest of threatening to kill him if he ever complains to the police.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal District Convenor has issued a warning to the district administration regarding the conversion activity taking place in the area and added that there will be several protests if the administration fails to take strict action against the accused for attempting to religious conversions.
Police Deputy Superintendent Dharmbir Poonia told that they have received a complaint in this regard. Given the seriousness of the matter, the investigation is going on, legal action will be taken against those who will be found guilty, said Poonia.
Announcing an anticipatory bail for veteran actor Alok Nath, the Mumbai sessions court observed that filmmaker Vinta Nanda, who had accused the former of sexual assault and rape, “did not lodge a report immediately after the incident for her own benefit”. In an order dated 5th January, judge SS Oza noted that the complainant “remembered the entire incident but did not remember the date and month of the incident. In view of all these facts, the possibility cannot be ruled out that Nath has been falsely enroped in the crime.”
Regarding the delayed FIR which was filed on 21st November 2018, the court said, “If there is a delay in lodging the FIR, it loses the advantage of spontaneity, danger creeps in of the introduction of coloured version, exaggerated account or concocted story as a result of large number of consultations/deliberation (sic).” The Court further added that promptness in lodging the FIR is an assurance regarding the truth of informant’s version.
During the #MeToo wave which took the nation by a storm last year, filmmaker Vinta Nanda had accused actor Alok Nath of sexual assault and rape back in the 90s. In a Facebook post, Nanda, without naming Nath, talked about her ordeal. She accused him of being an alcoholic and displaying obnoxious behaviour, but the same was overlooked because he was one of the most popular actors. She accused him of harassing the lead actress, and even tried to molest her on the set. Alok Nath was later kicked out of the show but soon after the show went off air.
The World Bank in its latest forecast has stated that India will continue to remain the fastest growing major economy in the world for the 2018-19 fiscal year too. As per reports, the organisation has predicted that India will maintain a growth rate of 7.3% in its GDP in 2018-19.
India’s GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 7.5% in the 2019-20 financial year. In comparison, China is expected to grow at a much slower rate of 6.3% in 2018-19 and 6.2% in the 2019-20 financial year.
The World Bank had predicted the 2018-19 GDP figures to be at 7.3% and has maintained that. In the 2017-18 FY, India’s registered growth rate was 6.7%.
World Bank Prospects Groups director Ayhan Kose has stated, “India’s growth outlook is still robust. India is still the fastest-growing major economy,”.The minor slowdown in 2017-18 was attributed to the major economic reforms like GST and demonetisation.
The World Bank report says, “In India, the growth has accelerated, driven by an upswing in consumption, and investment growth has firmed as the effects of temporary factors wane. However, rising interest rates and currency volatility are weighing on activity.”
The report has stated that though demonetisation and GST did pose a temporary setback for growth figures, the two reforms have contributed significantly towards the shift from the informal to the formal sector.
Recently, India’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) had also released the advance estimates of the GDP in pursuant to the release calendar of National Accounts by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. As per the figures, the growth in terms of GDP is estimated at 7.2% as against 6.7% in 2017-2018.
The estimates by the World Bank’s GEP for the current year falls between the estimates by India’s CSO and the International Monetary Fund. IMF had predicted a 7.4% GDP growth for 2018-19.
However, the World Bank estimate paints a grim picture of the global economy in the coming years. While it has stated that the upcoming cycle of general elections in South Asia might elevate political uncertainty in the region, in some countries, the challenging political climate could even adversely affect the ongoing reform agenda and economic activities.
Overall. the global economy is expected to grow at a mere 2.9% this year, compared to the 3% of last year. For the next two financial years, the global economy is expected to grow at 2.8% only.
The growth of many advanced economies is expected to drop to 2% this FY. Rising borrowing costs, slowing external demand and constant policy uncertainties are expected to affect the economies of many countries. The forecast for advanced economies in the next two financial years is pegged at 1.6% and 1.5% respectively.
