Karnataka HC Issues Guidelines To Keep Illegal Migrants In Foreign Detention Centres Even After Grant Of Bail

In a latest development, the Karnataka High Court in the case of Babul Khan And State of Karnataka in Case No. : CRL.P. No. 6578/2019 delivered on May 19, 2020 while taking a stern view of illegal migrants and foreigners overstaying in India has held in no uncertain terms that they should be kept in ‘detention centers’ till the further orders of the court or till they are deported to their mother country. It minced no words to put across that illegal migrants sometimes pose threat to national security and infringe rights of Indian citizens. It also made it clear that this cannot be allowed to go on with impunity!

To start with, the ball is set rolling in the opening para of this latest judgment by stating that, “This petition is filed seeking grant of bail under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, pertaining to Crime No. 213/2018 of Sarjapur Police Station. The said case after charge sheet culminated into CC No. 1734/18. Finally after committal proceedings, it came to be registered as SC No. 5014/2019, pending on the file of III Additional District and Sessions Judge, Bangalore Rural District, sitting at Anekal. The said case was registered for the offence punishable under Sections 14A and 14B of the Foreigners Act, 1946; under Section 25 of the Indian Arms Act, 1959; and Section 34 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.”

Delving deeper and setting the background, para 3 then envisages that, “The brief facts of the case divulged from the Charge sheet papers are that:

Accused Nos. 1 to 15 named in the Charge sheet belonged to Bangladesh, illegally migrated to Indian Territory, without Passport and Visa and they have been staying in Indian Territory without any legal documents or any license or permission from the competent authorities. It is also alleged that Accused Nos. 1, 3, 14 and 15 have illegally obtained Aadhaar Cards by fraud and misrepresenting themselves as Indian Citizens. It is further alleged that Accused No. 2 was possessing bullets and thereby the Accused persons have committed an offence under the Arms Act.”

While elaborating further, it is then pointed out in para 4 that, “On plain reading of the Charge sheet papers, it is seen that specific allegations have been made against the petitioners that, they are Bangladesh citizens, and they have been illegally migrated to Indian Territory and residing in India without any authority of law. Hence, they have committed the offence under Sections 14A and 14B of the Foreigners Act. So far as other offences are concerned, no such allegations are made against the petitioners.”

Be it noted, a Bench of Karnataka High Court of Justice KN Phaneendra after going through the case in detail has issued the following detailed guidelines in para 112 on dealing with illegal migrants and foreigners facing proceedings under the Foreigners Act, 1946 which form the bedrock of this notable judgment:

As soon as the offence under Foreigners Act and other Laws is detected and there is a strong prima facie material to show that the detected person is a foreign national, and if he has no Passport or Visa, or if the Visa is expired, and he has no right to stay in Indian Territory, proceedings shall be immediately started to deport him to his nation, without unnecessary delay, from the date of registration of FIR against such person.
The jurisdictional police have to immediately take steps to inform the concerned competent authorities to initiate proceedings to deport such foreign nationals to his/her mother country vis-à-vis other competent authorities also share the details of such person amongst themselves and the concerned jurisdictional Court.
If the Court refuses to grant bail to those persons (foreign nationals) in any criminal case, the Court shall keep such person in regular jail, till the disposal of the case.
If for any reason the Court grants bail including anticipatory bail, in any criminal case where the offender is a foreign national, and the offences are under the Foreigners Act and/or also under any other Laws for the time being in force, and their Visa is cancelled or lapsed, or they have no Passport, or they are illegal migrants, then the Courts shall specifically order to keep them in detention centers, unless the competent authority has passed any order under section 3(2)(a) to (f) of Foreigners Act, 1946, or till further orders of the court or till they are deported to their mother country.
If the case registered against the foreign nationals, ended in conviction, they shall be ordered to be kept in regular prison of the state till they serve the sentence, and after serving the sentence, they shall be kept in detention centers till, they are deported to their country.
If the case ends up in discharge, release of the accused or acquittal, and their nationality is in dispute before the competent Tribunal, they shall be ordered to be kept in detention centers till they are deported to their country unless they have any right or otherwise entitled to remain in India, or the competent authority has passed any orders under section 3(2)(a) to (e) of Foreigners Act 1946, the acquittal, discharge or release of the accused is no bar for the concerned competent authorities to question the nationality of that person before the competent Tribunal.
The Public Prosecutors, the Defence Counsel and the Courts shall make all their efforts to expeditiously deal with such cases by giving priority, for its early disposal, so as to enable other competent authorities to take appropriate steps under the facts and circumstances of each case for deportation of such foreign national (accused) as early as possible. The Court may also if permissible under law, and applicable to the facts and circumstances of a case may invoke sections 265A to 265L under chapter XXI (A) of Code of Criminal Procedure, after following due procedure.
As far as possible where a foreign national is involved in a case, the courts shall make their endeavor to record evidence and write the judgment in English language, if the accused in such case is not conversant with the local language.
The Central Government and the State Governments shall take all necessary steps to establish as many as necessary Detention Centers, at Cities, Districts and Taluka places as per the Detention Center Manual referred to in this judgment, with all necessary basic facilities, as per the Detention Center Manual, as per the directions and guidelines of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Upadhyaya Vs State of A.P. and others reported in (2017) 15 SCC 337, so as to keep the foreign nationals, till their deportation whenever they are ordered to be kept in detention centers by competent authorities or by the Courts.
In case, the accused/foreign national is a woman or a woman having a child or the child itself, the competent authorities, including jail authorities, detention centers and the Courts and Juvenile Justice Boards have to follow the guidelines of the Hon’ble Apex Court laid down in Upadhyaya’s case noted supra; in addition to the provisions under the Prisons Act as well as Prisons Rules, and Juvenile Justice Act and Rules strictly and meticulously in their letter and spirit.
If a mother who is a foreign national, is in custody and having infant below the age of six years or up to six years, the court may order the child to accompany the mother during her custody. If, either of parents got arrested, then the custody of the child may be given to the other parent who is not arrested. If both the parents are arrested and they are in custody of children to their close relative or to Government shelter home, or to any other organization recognized or undertaking of the government where government or concerned authorities can monitor the well being of the child, as per Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Rules.
If a foreign national is convicted by the Court and any application for parole is made, the jail authorities have to take into consideration the conditions enumerated under Section 4 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, in addition to the Prisons Act and Rules.
If a foreign national is found to be an illegal migrant and not a citizen of India, and has been involved in criminal offences under other law of the land for the time being in force, apart from Foreigners Act, the State Government or the Central Government as the case may be, take immediate necessary steps by exercising their discretion after applying their mind to the facts and circumstances of the case, if necessary and if the circumstances warrants, if the said offences are not heinous or anti-social, or not punishable with imprisonment for more than three years, or with fine only to withdraw those cases under Section 321 of Cr.PC., so as to enable the concerned authorities to take necessary steps to deport such persons to their mother country, as expeditiously as possible.
The State Legal Services Authority, District Legal Services Authorities and Taluka Legal Services Committees, shall make a periodical visit to the jails and Detention Centers to ensure and satisfy itself that the concerned authorities have taken necessary steps to implement the directions issued by the Ho’nble Apex Court in Upadhyay’s case and also the Detention Center Manual, so as to take appropriate action to inform the concerned authorities to rectify their mistakes and also the Legal Services Authorities suo-motu can take steps in accordance with law to get the mistakes or errors rectified on the legal side.
The Central Government and the respective State Governments shall often revise the Detention Center Manual and also the Prisons Act and Rules based on the need of the hour to bring necessary changes, so as to effectively and efficiently implement the very object of such Manual and laws.
The Central Government, the State Government, the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, Karnataka Judicial Academy and Police Academy in the State shall take appropriate necessary swift action to sensitize all the stake holders, Judges, Prosecutors, Police Officers, Custom and Immigration Officers (FRRO-FRO), Jail Authorities and Officers delegated in Detention Centers, in this regard.
Registry is directed to send a copy of this order to the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to Home Department, Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and Karnataka Judicial Academy, for appropriate necessary steps.

Going forward, it is then aptly stated in para 115 that, “However, when the police have invoked Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, the presumption u/s. 9 of the Foreigners Act will come into play, unless it is shown to the court during the course of trial, that the petitioners are not foreign nationals, they should be presumed as foreign nationals. Apart from invoking Section 14A of the Foreigners Act, it is alleged that they were holding empty cartridges with them and therefore, the police have invoked Section 25 of the Indian Arms Act. However, the major offences are u/s 14A and 14B of the Foreigners Act. The offence u/s. 25 of the Arms Act is not punishable either with death or life imprisonment. Therefore, in my opinion, by means of imposing stringent conditions, the petitioners are entitled to be enlarged on bail. However, it is made clear that though the court is enlarging them on bail, they cannot be given free movements to wander across India as per their whims and fancies, till the case is decided or till the Government decides whether they have to be deported to their mother country or not. Till that point of time, in my opinion, they shall be kept in Detention Centre with all facilities as noted above and if they are acquitted in the case registered against them, the Government has to take appropriate steps whether the determination of their nationality has to be done by the Competent Authority and whether they are still to be deported to their mother country and thereafter only appropriate decision has to be taken by the Government. Further, if they are convicted for any reason, the Competent Authorities have to take appropriate steps to deport them to their country immediately.”

In essence, this latest judgment pronounced by the Karnataka High Court lays down in no uncertain terms that illegal migrants have to be kept in any of the Foreign Detention Centers in Bangalore or at any place nearby Bengaluru city even after the grant of bail till the trial is concluded. They have to comply strictly with bail conditions and not indulge in hampering or tampering the prosecution witnesses! It also makes it clear that authorities have to provide proper facilities to children of illegal migrants who are in jail or detention centers till they are deported to their country in consonance with the UN Declaration with reference to the rights of the child as adopted by the General Assembly and Article 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966! Same is the case with women also!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Zero Tolerance For Violence Against Doctors And Healthcare Workers

Nothing on earth can be more disgusting, more degrading and more demoralizing than to see that how brazenly so many dastardly and cowardly acts of unprovoked and uncalled for attacks against doctors and healthcare workers have been carried out ever since the outbreak of this corona pandemic is going on! We must be honest enough to concede that the Covid-19 pandemic is akin to a full fledged war which is completely unprecedented where we don’t even know where the enemy is hiding and who can spread it so easily by just body contact also! We also must be gracious enough to concede that the doctors and other health staff are our new frontline soldiers and they must be protected from violence against any lumpen elements and those who dare to attack them must be meted out the most severe punishment so that a stern and strong message goes out that violence against them who risk their own lives to protect their patients will not go unpunished and unaccounted for!

Truth be told, doctors are rendering willingly so many sacrifices and hardships that it cannot be described in words! Dr Javed Ali Huda had barely removed his PPE after a long day attending to the patients at the emergency OPD of Meerut’s Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) Medical College when he received the heart breaking news of his father’s untimely demise. He had to give the funeral a miss. He laid bare his feelings while controlling his emotions that, “I wanted to go home and see my father one last time. But, I am a doctor and could not have risked the lives of others back home. I was put on a video call and my family sent me pictures of my father’s burial!” There are so many such similar instances where doctors have willingly given the highest priority to their sacred duty placing them above their family and their near and dear ones! Still can we ever allow violence against doctors who are the living form of “God” who attend to their patients most willingly without any discrimination under any circumstances?

Needless to say, the dire need for a strict law to protect doctors and health workers was felt most when two medical doctors – Zakiya Syed and Trupti Katdare were attacked and pelted with stones by a violent mob in a dense settlement in Indore. These two medical doctors had then fled to save their own lives but they then returned to the spot a day later along with their team of health workers to screen people for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Dr Zakiya Syed said that, “I am injured but not scared at all. This won’t deter me from doing my duty.”

It is certainly a solace to see that the Union Government too acted with alacrity and approved an ordinance to amend and strengthen the Indian Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, making offences against doctors and nurses cognizable, non-bailable and carrying imprisonment terms from six months to seven years. We also saw how even the Indian Medical Association too taking serious note of the repeated attacks on doctors and health workers did not shy away from calling a two-day strike by the doctors on April 22 and 23. When the Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured them that no guilty attackers would ever be spared under any circumstances that the strike was ultimately called off!

It is also most reassuring to see that even the PM Narendra Modi has strongly condemned the growing attacks against doctors and reiterated his government’s full solidarity with doctors and health workers by following a zero tolerance policy against all such attackers. This alone explains why it has not dithered in enacting a strict law also to protect doctors from dastardly attacks by those with criminal bent of mind. This was in fact the crying need of the hour also!

As it turned out, soon after the Union Cabinet had approved the ordinance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there can be no compromise on the safety of healthcare professionals fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. He also eloquently pointed out that, “The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 manifests our commitment to protect each and every healthcare worker who is bravely battling COVID-19 on the frontline. It will ensure safety of our professionals” The Centre has also made it clear that the law will mandate that the police complete the probe in such cases within 30 days and that the courts pronounce judgment within a year! Very rightly so!

Be it noted, SK Sarin who is Director of Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Delhi has minced no words in observing in his enlightening editorial titled “The safety of healers” in ‘The Indian Express’ dated April 27, 2020 that, “While hundreds of acts of violence against doctors have been reported every year for the past two decades, many more are never brought to light. Doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals will remember the day the Union government passed an ordinance ensuring that acts of violence against doctors and other medical staff will be a cognizable and non-bailable. Imprisonment from six months to seven years and a penalty from Rs 50,000 to Rs 7 lakh can be sanctioned by the courts. Such punishments will serve as a deterrent to unruly patients and their relatives, if found guilty.”

To be sure, in this same enlightening editorial, Dr SK Sarin while continuing in the same vein adds a caveat by pointing out that, “Will the courts change their outlook in the wake of the new ordinance? If these very warriors are ostracised while returning from work or are thrown out of their houses, bruised by a crowd pelting stones, will the courts and judges rise to the occasion and take suo motu action? Will they be able to deliver timely and exemplary punishments and safeguard the dignity and lives of HCPs? Healthcare professionals need a sensitive and accountable judicial system and this ordinance should be given more punch and wider applicability in the times to come.”

Furthermore, AIIMS Resident Doctors Association (RDA) General Secretary Dr Srinivas Rajkumar T said while welcoming the Centre’s decision that, “We appreciate the central government for taking note of this situation, albeit late, and ensuring immediate amendments are made as feasible so that frontline warriors are able to serve the country without fear.”

Interestingly enough, the Union Health Ministry also advised the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories to adopt adequate measures in ensuring the safety of the health workers. Separately, the Union Home Ministry in a letter asked all states and Union Territories to provide adequate security to doctors and front-line health workers who are facing attacks from unruly people. Amit Shah who is Union Home Minister also told a group of doctors and representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) that safety of health care professionals treating the virus infected patients is non-negotiable.

Going forward, the Home Ministry letter sent by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to all State Chief Secretaries also urged that governments impose strict penalties against those obstructing the functioning of healthcare workers and against those offenders who obstruct the last rites of healthcare workers who may have died due to Covid-19 or any other reason. It also asked states and Union Territories to appoint a nodal officer both at the state and at the district level on a 24×7 basis, to redress any safety issues of medical professionals. It also conceded that at this time, even a single incident of violence against healthcare professionals was likely to create a sense of insecurity among the entire healthcare community!

Of course, we must also pay attention to what Dr Ullas Batra who is Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology of Rajiv Gandhi Institute and Research Centre Delhi says on the proposed ordinance which the President recently approved also that, “This ordinance is exclusively for those doctors who are working to treat COVID-19 patients. In my opinion, it needs to be extended to all medical doctors.” Centre too must pay heed to what Dr Batra has said so plainly!

No doubt, this new ordinance protects not just doctors but also paramedical staff and accredited social health activists. It is also provided that two times the cost to be recovered from vandals if cars or clinics of health care professionals are damaged! There is also the provision of Rs 50 lakh insurance for health workers.

All said and done, what now truly matters most is strict, swift and sincere implementation of the new law to ensure that there is zero tolerance for any kind of violence or threat or intimidation in any form against not just doctors but also health workers which include nurses, paramedical staff among others! It is solely because of them that India has managed to limit the death casualty to such a low level not crossing the figure of even ten thousand even though in advanced and developed countries like USA, the death toll has exceeded one lakh and ten thousand for which they deserve full credit also! This has certainly enhanced the reputation of our country at the world stage also!

In other words, this alone explains that why even PM Narendra Modi has also while appreciating the relentless work done by them expressed his firm commitment and resolve to ensure that those who attack them are dealt with sternly and strictly and not left scot free under any circumstances for which he certainly deserves accolades! It must be now ensured that not even a single act of violence against doctors, nurses and health workers should ever go unpunished under any circumstances, come what may! This again is possible only if this new ordinance is implemented in totality against all those who dare to attack doctors and health workers in any way!

In conclusion, the ball is now clearly in the court of the courts, police and law enforcing agencies who must lead from the front by ensuring that no guilty is ever spared under any circumstances for which special police officers should also be appointed to serve its purpose! This will certainly help resolve the issue of scarcity of law enforcers for immediate response!

Only then will a loud and clear message go out to one and all that there shall be zero tolerance from now onwards against any form of dastardly attack against doctors and health workers! Also, the government must now leave no stone unturned to ensure that the provisions of this new ordinance are disseminated widely using all the tools at its disposal so that people become aware fully about it and are able to use it when needed!

Even the political parties too must now step forward and lead from the front and ask their cadres to inform the people of this new ordinance! Only then can this new ordinance serve its true purpose for which it has been enacted! There can be certainly no denying or disputing it!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

How Tea drinking has evolved around the world

When you get up early in the morning and start your day the first thing you aspire for is tea. Tea is refreshing, energetic drink that sets up your day. we get to know about the popularity of tea from the fact that it is 2nd most consumed drink after water all around the globe. Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over tea powder prepared by crushing leaves of the Camellia sinensis , an evergreen shrub (bush) usually found in East Asia . Tea is very ancient drink as its origin dates back to around 3rd century AD which is mentioned in medical records of Hua Tuo in the regions of today’s worlds North Burma and southwestern China.

Tea: history and origin

Tea has been in use as energetic and recreational drink since ancient time. During 18th-19th century tea had become very popular among Britishers who were using it as recreational drink. They were so much addicted to tea that they had started trading Opium drug derived from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum grown in mostly Northeast part of India for the miraculous plant leaves Camellia sinensis from plantations of China. Later the Chinese liberals started fights against this conspiracy of western countries against Asian countries especially against East Asia. This led to famous Opium wars between two countries.

Tea and Health

Tea has many positive effects on health.If you are up to lose your weight then tea can be your best partner.Many researchers have stated that consumption of Tea helps in reducing risk of heart attacks as it lowers cholesterol level,it also helps in maintaining blood pressure.Green tea drinking is very effective to reduce risk against cancer and also it improves brain functioning.

Though it has many good health effects but its over consumption can lead to caffeine overload leading to dizziness,nervousness and disturb in sleep. It can also cause muscle pain , heartburn etc. It is recommended that daily intake of caffeine should not exceed 40 milligrams.

Tea: beverage of the world

Tea has gained popularity in almost over 100 countries where people enjoy this drink in various forms. A balanced consumption of tea is like boon to us.Tea has evolved over the centuries from native to only China and east Asia in 3rd century AD to almost in every household of the world in this 21st century.

Endless blues…

She was completely whole and yet never fully complete.

It’s not like that I do not want to talk to you, it’s just a scarcity. I have run into shortage of words. “Thunderstruck”, head in the clouds, ideas spark like a lightening. A hailstorm inside my mind, but there is a pinch of shine, like a ray of hope in disguise. When phone rings now, there’s a warbling voice inside my head, nudging my brain to speak out, but scarcity locks my mouth. In a den of dawn, I am like a flower blossoming on the surface, nourished by the sun, but in reality I am rooted up in silence. I isolated my own blossoming down to the earth, and now most of me am rooted up in silence away from the sun and the horizon. Finding my true self, nurturing my body, this lockdown blessed me in disguise.

It’s not that I do not want to talk to you it’s just I cannot right now. It’s not because I do not want to talk, it’s because I am left with no words but a mind full of thoughts that are meant to be for my mind only. Holding the thoughts to utter a word is as difficult as holding a handful of sand.

Everyone told me, to live my life in such a way that I will be remembered for my kindness, compassion, fairness, character, benevolence and a force for good that had much respect for life. But I am a night watchman to my own voice now, deep down nourishing it for the good. A root can be as much like a fierce erupting volcano as a flower looks like having a sufficient amount of nectar to suffice the thirst of a bee. Everyone desires themselves as heroes in their version of the story. Everyone wants to slay and control, but silence is thing which can turn into a beast, if you are already on a hunt for its beauty. Everyone is on a hunt but the truth is nothing is enough for us. You just need to feel beautiful without anyone needing to tell you.

An Illusion

Lockdown has ended virus has not , Time has changed people have not.

When you felt like that at least for the time being when the entire country was in lockdown no women would have been harassed, tortured and most importantly would not have been raped as people’s focus has been shifted to the virus and they were and are still very busy in saving their own lives. But eventually you realise that you were absolutely foolish and insane to think that when you come across articles stating that NCW has received significantly higher number of complaints in this COVID-19 induced lockdown from women seeking protection from domestic violence not only this a six year old child was raped and blinded by a man in Uttar Pradesh and many more like that. After reading such articles your all hopes will be shattered into such small pieces that you can’t even see them through a microscope and you will realise that what all you have been thinking and imagining was just a perfect example of an Illusion.

Amidst the global pandemic when everything is at its lowest the spirits of ignoble men present in our country is still very high and they haven’t and aren’t missing any opportunity for the fulfilment of their shitty desires which gives them the permission to cross any boundaries like imposing their so called will on a six year old child, beating their wives to release tension. Only god can answer the question that what forces these men to commit such things and from where they get the audacity to do so.

Increased cases of domestic violence in the country clearly shows that some unabashed males of our society are taking full advantage of the lockdown as they are very much convinced that the victims of their brutality can’t do anything in such a situation. They have forced the women in their homes to think that
“HOME IS HELL”.

Violence against women occurs throughout her life but the fact is hard to believe that the men in our country aren’t ready to slow down and they aren’t able to manage their so called virtual ego even in a global pandemic.
Patriarchy coupled with rhetoric of male domination is the soul cause of all what is happening around because it has made the men of our country believe that they are superior to women and they can do anything to show their superiority over them . It has deteriorated their mind-set beyond recognition.

It is a shame for us that in 2020 when the entire world is busy in fighting against the virus the women in our country are forced to think how to save themselves from the virus present inside their own homes in human form .

For how long we are going to be like this ?

For how long the women in our country are not going to feel safe and secure not only outside their homes but also in their own homes ?

How much more time do we need to accept the fact that domestic violence isn’t a private matter it a silent crime which need to be called out whenever seen happening around ?

How much more time does our society need to understand that domestic violence isn’t an act of love ?

How much more time do we need to make the men of our country understand that women are humans not entities which can be treated in the way they like and no matter what the situation is no one has the right to claim superiority over women ?

Do we need infinity to end patriarchy?

How news isn’t what we think it is

In todays age, we live in a techno-savvy generation from where we get our every information. And with all that has been happening throughout the world, I think we can all agree that it has been really hard to watch the news. Whenever we open our phones, we go through various apps that provide us with information, such as twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. But are they really a source of reliable news?

Think about it whenever one opens their device, they think they are in the know. But are they really, coz these days all news is various people shouting at each other, Trump calling various people bad names and the latest “trends” that modern day celebrities are following. That’s not news, its gossip. While we get a feel that we are up to date with various events that are happening, all that we are taking in is high-fructose bullshit. Because of the competition between various news channels, all they think about these days is TRP. So, the question arises where can we get a nutrient dense news supplement. The answer is local news, be it newspapers, sites or radio. They can be trusted because usually they do not have the funding of a political party or a politically affiliated person. Taking the example of Republic TV, the main anchor Arnab Goswami used to be a major news anchor who got famous due to his unique “style” of handling debates. He was often seen screaming at various correspondents who were called in however, he did that without an inherent bias. As soon as he was scooped up by Republic TV, his entire display of news changed. These days he can be seen showing only the stuff that seems to benefit PM Modi. This was inevitable due to them getting funding from BJP affiliated people. We can see major similarities between fox news and republic tv, both functioning with a mostly right-wing bias. So, one might wonder, if not right-wing, tuning into media houses owned by the left wing should do the trick. But that too is not the case as various reporters within to so called “secular” spectrum have skeletons of their own. One such example is Barkha Dutt, who has often been targeted by people due to her Anti-India ties. She was a reporter during the Kargil war and was responsible for the death of various jawans due to her reprehensible reporting of the locations of Indian troops. She also used the same tactics during the Pathankot and 26/11 attack. She has also been seen supporting Pakistan on various occasion. She has gone so far as to lament the death of terrorist Burhan Wani, calling him the son of a school headmaster. She has shown her true colours on various occasions such as siphoning money through ndtv and commit tax fraud. However due to her political backing and friends in high places where anti-india sentiments are shared, she is often left unscathed from her blatant misuse of power to undermine India.

So, as we can see neither of such channels and media outlets can be trusted. hence the call for unbiased news sources is the need of the hour.

12 July :- New conversations day

“Many are so in the habit of making lazy conversation about weather & sport that we don’t take the opportunity to ask interesting questions and have rewarding conversations” .

Awkward Silence are suggesting a number of alternative conversation starters that people can use including ‘Which birthday tradition should change?’, ‘How would you feel about your partner doing kissing scenes in a film?”, and ‘What do you want to achieve with your life?’. “Conversation is extremely powerful. It’s the where ideas blossom, it’s where connections are made, it’s the life-blood of relationships”

Yet despite how impactful it is, people tend to under-value its worth.” “This is why New Conversations Day is so important, it’s to help people wake up to how rewarding new conversations can be.”

New Conversations Day is about not waiting until tomorrow to have the conversations we could be having.Like asking each other what we should be doing with our lives & making decisions, or talking to our parents & discovering their stories, or simply sharing the big ideas on our hearts” said Mr Benbow.

We want people on 12 July to not be content with dull conversation, we want them having genuinely interesting conversations. We have hundreds of suggestions to get them started, but each conversation is unique.

Ask someone what they would have said if they were the first person on the moon, or whether it’s OK for couples to have secrets from each other. Ask someone what they would teach their children about alcohol, or whether they think animal have morals. Ask someone what their idea would be for a TV show, or about the last time they cried.

India under Lockdown: Unlocking Domestic Violence

Home is the safest place for anyone to be with own family in this pandemic situation. Unfortunately it is the worst place for lot of women in the world. Domestic violence has witnessed a tremendous surge during the lockdown period. The modes vary from the physical, sexual, mental to financial abuse or assaults. The victims, most of whom are women, fall prey to chronic diseases, acute depression, trauma and so forth. The attacks are repeated on a regular basis, daily. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the risk of intimate partner violence will increase all around the world as people are encouraged to be in their homes during the lockdown. There are various domestic violence helplines from different organisations in different parts of the world to save the victims.

According to the reports of National Commission for Women (NCW) in India, issues an urgent alert on the increasing number of reported cases. The lockdown stress is intensifying mental frustration if the perpetrators of violence, who vent their anger on women and children. The anxiety of losing jobs, associated insecurities and financial problems are making the abusers more violent. To cope with this trend various hotlines are operating to enable victims to report their cases. The number of cases surprise all because no one realised before that the lockdown would lead to such unleashing of domestic violence.

Coronavirus has affected the Indian economy very badly. Alongside the economic uncertainty these cases are rising steadily. The NCW reports that this year it has received more than 250 cases of domestic violence from 23 March to 16 April which is almost 100% increase from 27 February to 22 March. The NCW apprehends that the reported cases are only a small percentage of the cases occurring. There must be more unreported cases where the victims are in constant vulnerability. The number of domestic violence cases rose from 3,287 to 3,993 during the lockdown.

West Bengal government helpline has received over seventy cases during the lockdown. A woman living in a high profile highrise in Kolkata had to file a FIR in the nearby police station alleging torture and abuse by the husband. In another incident, the Association of Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) reported that a twenty-six year old woman, Sona Mondol from Malda district, was strangled by her husband. In another case, a wife was killed by her husband for protesting against his extra-marital affair.

616 domestic violence cases have been reported across Tamil Nadu from 25 March to 14 May through helplines. The number is alarming considering the brief period. Telangana women are also facing the brunt of the hike in domestic violence cases. According to Sakhi One Stop Centres, around 89% cases registered in April are of domestic violence. A report from the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) mentions a total of 144 registered cases in Uttarakhand. According to the Punjab State Commission for Women (PSCW), the helpline number is receiving minimum of thirty complaints regarding domestic violence each day since 22 March. There are some interstate cases as well. Thus, the Kerala State Women Commission received a call from Chennai. The caller reported that his sister and her daughter were hiding in the wild forest in Idukki district, Kerala, after being thrown out from home.

Police in Delhi states that over 2,500 women called their emergency helpline numbers. They have received 600 cases of abuse against women, 23 cases of rape assaults and 1612 cases of other kinds of domestic violence within second week of April. There is one case from Uttam Nagar, of a twenty-eight year old young mother, who had undergone mental and physical abuse in front of two toddlers by her spouse and his family. He beat her up severely and told her to leave the house immediately.

Coordinators of various private helpline numbers from across India report that their phones are constantly ringing with distress calls, some of which call for immediate help. Domestic violence is not going to vanish instantly. But what is important is to report these cases to the nearest police station and to make use of both the government and private helplines.

Stay mentally healthy in Coronavirus pandemic

We all are going through the most difficult times, which nobody had even thought of. The increasing cases of Coronavirus scaring us, we are locked up in our house, there is a constant tension how to keep us and our family safe. Some of us are alone in their homes, from extroverts we are turning into introverts. All these things leading to a great impact on our mental health which sometimes leads to anxiety and depression. So, it is necessary to stay strong and keep yourself healthy. Here are some ways which help you to keep yourself mentally strong and healthy.

STAY HAPPY – Try to be happy as much as you can. Pamper yourself. Do whatever you like. Wakeup in the morning, enjoy the sunrise, listen music, dance, read the book with coffee. Make your favourite food. Draw if you enjoy painting. Polish your skills. Get time for your hobbies. Do everything which you are not able to do in your daily busy life
DO YOGA AND EXERCISE – Exercise and yoga improves both physical and mental health. According to Duane Milder, “Exercise boost levels of serotonine, dopamine and norepinephrine. It gives you a general good feeling about being in control in an otherwise uncontrollable situation. You can’t go to gym but go for a walk on your terrace or parking area. Do yoga in the fresh air. It will boost up your mood and help you to feel happy and stress-free for the whole day.
DON’T FEEL “YOU ARE ALONE” – We are physically far from each other, not emotionally. Talk to your loved ones. Video call your friends, play games. Spend time with your parents. Don’t feel your are alone. Try to regularly talk to someone who are living alone. It will encourage them and you, and we will together go through this.
EAT HEALTHY FOOD- Eat food which has lots of vitamins and minerals. Eat vitamin A and vitamin C rich food. It will help you to boost your immunity and protects you from seasonal illness.
LIMIT THE NEWS- WHAT YOU ARE WATCHING OR READING- We all are scared from what is going around us, but don’t spend a lot of time in watching and reading about Coronavirus. It only increases the mental stress. Also don’t believe on news circulated on social media. Most of the time the news is fake and it leads to a lot of unnecessary stress.
MAINTAIN POSITIVITY- The most important thing is maintain positivity and never lose hope. Always think that it is all temporary and it will end soon. Think that this is the time when you can spend quality time with your parents, partner, polish our skills, do yoga and exercise, spend time with yourself which is nearly impossible in your daily busy life. Try to look for the positive side of every situation. It will not only help you but your positivity encourage others too, to look for the positive side of the situation.

Try to follow these tips everyday .It will help you to go through this global pandemic. Mental health is as important as physical health. If you are not feeling well don’t hesitate to seek help. We need to keep phisical distancing so it doesn’t mean that you don’t socialise with people. Talk to people and your loved ones. This will surely help you to keep you mentally healthy.

Shampoos: Adding Grime & Subtracting Shine

We all crave for luscious, silky, thick, shiny and long hair, shampoo ads can blind us with the attractive videos and the visuals it has to offer, especially with a famous celebrity. We blindly trust the attractive and amusing shampoo ads which make us believe in drastic changes in the hair quality after we use that respective shampoo. It never really meets our demands. One is unknowingly damaging their hair by using such products.

Most of the shampoos which you get over the counter in stores are not SLS free, contain silicon and also are plastic based, which means the effects are temporary, most of us must have tried all the new brands available in the market to see a major improvement in our hair quality. But I wonder if anyone of us were really satisfied with the product.

Even though the products claim to have argon oil, grape seed oil and other essential oils which can solve our hair woes but the dangerous chemicals like cyclomethicone, copolymers, SLS or even methylchloroisothiazolinone are present in huge amounts in-comparison to the natural, organic and biodegradable components hence making no difference to the product and its users.

Shampoos which contain waxes, SLS and silicone etc. apparently lead to product build up on your hair, which is adding unwanted synthetic layers on your hair and eventually causing damage. Same goes for dry shampoos, hair gels, hair mousse and hair serums which state that it will replenish your hair and repair the damage but that’s not true after all. When one gets split ends or damaged hair there is no solution as such to clearing that damage by using products which state that it will “repair the damaged hair”. There is only one solution when it comes to the eradication of damaged hair that is to cut those hair off.

Not only this, but plastic based shampoos contain resins which are extracted from petrol(by products) and hence can cause hair product build up and with more product build up in the hair one is more exposed to a dandruff build up as well. The same goes for conditioners, they are loaded with silicone and waxes which gives us a temporary shine and makes your hair smooth and soft only for some time. Shampoos only act as cleansers and some of them are so harsh that if used without a conditioner they can make your hair super dry and frizzy.

They also contain colors and preservatives and synthetic essences which can become host to numerous allergies, and also thickening agents that actually damage the hair strands and it will strip the natural oils that our scalps create and can make the hair crisp and give it a parched appearance.

These shampoos not only are doing unwanted damage to our hair but are damaging the environment and polluting the ecosystem especially marine life and the sea creatures, one of the reasons behind coral bleaching is because of the chemicals found in hair care and skin care which are dumped in sea water, even the waste from factories producing silicon and plastic based shampoos causes a lot of damage to the sea life.

We all know that we don’t have many options to choose from when it comes to organic shampoos but one definitely must try and get their hands on an organic shampoo and see the difference it can make. Many brands like khadi, soul tree and Organic Harvest etc. offer some of the best organic and hair friendly products without damaging the environment. These brands are easily available on online e-commerce websites like Amazon or Nykaa which caters to a wide array of consumers.

Abdhi Upadhyay

The Meaning of Zen

My moment of ‘zen’ is pretty accurate and simple. It is the definition of reading a nice book which brings the most vivid imagination in me, near a seashore tucked with large stones. We often tend to underestimate the power of sitting near the seashore and feeling the cool breeze flush through us. That is the power of being ourselves and to ourselves.

It not only helps to find our true self but also give a nod expanding our vivid imagination. If you ever understand the mere importance of zen, it will improve many lives and feel like dwelling your soul deep into the blue waters surfaced without a single errors.

We must learn to intervene ourselves into the pure form of nature as much as we can. The chirping sounds of beautiful birds or the sound of water droplets making its way on the leaf surface. If we stop ourselves and graze around the unrealistic nature, there is not a single note of error that does not aspire zen.

Believing in oneself and hence depending totally on nature in order to make peace to your mind, body and soul elevates us positively. And once we find the part which causes a slight feeling of distress, it is always the insatiable bite of zen what we crave for. Zen is the synonym of real ‘us’.

Basu Chatterjee – The Story Teller

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Big Surprising News: Planet Nine does exist in our Solar System …///

Two recent studies have shown that the existence of a mysterious, hypothetical Planet Nine could explain why the planets in our Solar System don’t fully line up with the Sun. Researchers have been speculating about a ninth planet since January this year, and these latest studies add more weight to the hypothesis that, at some point in time at least, there was an extra planet orbiting our Sun.

In fact, if Planet Nine does exist (or did), it would help to explain something that scientists have puzzled over for decades – why the Solar System is tilted.

What does that mean?

Well, basically, all of the prime 8 planets that orbit our Sun do so on the same plane, making the Solar System look like a disc. The problem is that the Sun spins at a different angle, with its axis roughly 6 degrees off from the rest of the planets.

In the past, researchers have attempted to explain this slant by blaming the temporal tug of passing star or interactions between the Sun’s magnetic field and the disc of the dust that formed an our planets. But none of these hypotheses have fully accounted for the misalignment.

“Using an analytic model for secular interactions between Planet Nine and the remaining giant planets, here we show that a planet with similar parameters can naturally generate the observed obliquity as well as the specific pole position of the sun’s spin axis, from a nearly aligned initial state,” the team states.

“Thus, Planet Nine offers a testable explanation for the otherwise mysterious spin-orbit misalignment of the solar system.”

In the French study, conducted by astronomers at the Côte d’Azur Observatory in Nice, the team suggests that Planet Nine’s tilt is likely to blame for this misalignment, rather than its mass.

According to the researchers, while mass is often used to explain why objects in space influence one another – and that’s what the Caltech team looked into – in this case, it would mean that Jupiter – the juggernaut of our Solar System – could have caused the tilt, which it didn’t.

Instead, their models showed that Planet Nine’s tilt could have skewed everything else – coming to the same conclusion as the Caltech researchers. Combined, the results of both the studies add a significant amount of evidence that Planet Nine exists, though not enough to actually prove it.

Instead, the studies seem to say that something influenced the early Solar System and made the mysterious 6-degree tilt – and Planet Nine fits the profile.

While Planet Nine will stay hypothetical until researchers manage to actually find it in the night sky, it’s not stopping researchers from piling up evidence of its existence. For example, revert in April, a team started devising a way to spot the planet using black-body radiation, which basically scans the sky for hotspots that could be planets cooling down.

These latest results haven’t been peer-reviewed as yet, so we need to take them with a grain of salt for now. While the debate over Planet Nine will likely continue well into the future, it’s exciting to see that it fits into models explaining why our Solar System is the way it is.

Reference- divyanshspacetech.wordpress.com

Anxiety makes you the prisoner of your own mind

What a dreadful night it was, when my body was as cold as ice, I was frozen in the month of may and was constantly shaking with the fear of losing someone. Thinking about that dreadful situation itself gives me anxiety. Coping up with anxiety is not at all easy my friends, it is like climbing up the Mt.Everest with naked feet, where you feel the chills of the cold wind and the hot aggressive waves of heat passing through your spinal cord. Why does this happens, why does the blood pressure dances like a columbus. Why does the brain cells dance like a hippi and why do we feel nervous or tensed as if there’s a war going outside our house and the people will eat us up.

Difference between anxiety and getting anxious

Anxiety is a feeling of nervousness, uneasiness or feeling worried. When I was lying cold in the bed, I was constantly shaking and my mind felt numb, thinking about what will happen next, why is my life like this, should I call out for help, should I share it with the others? But you are not able to do anything at that moment, you just want to stay still for a while, even listening to songs never helps. You just want to be alone with your thoughts because anxiety leaves you lifeless and unhappy. This is what anxiety is, a monster under your bed, which enters in your mind like an unwelcomed guest and creates a havoc in your body.

Feeling anxious is a different thing, it is not constant, it comes according to the situation. Anxiousness is a feeling of distressed, uneasiness or stressed about a particular matter for a short span of time. For example, many of us feel anxious while giving a speech, examination or also at the time of giving an interview. Many of us feel anxious while talking to someone, while stepping out of our comfort zone or even going to the parties. The symptoms remain the same that you will feel cold or sweaty but the condition of anxiety is even worse.

There are various kinds of anxiety disorders and the two of them are:

1.Panic Disorder: It is a state of disorder where you get constant panic attacks and you will feel as if you are in real danger or the world is going to end. It is a feeling of terror and you lose your control over things, over your behaviour. They can occur anytime, anywhere, where a person feels that this is a harmful or dangerous situation and it can cause a panic attack. The symptoms of panic attack are feeling sweaty, having numb toes or feeling hot or cold.

2.Social Anxiety Disorder(SAD): Also known as Social Phobia, it a situation where one has abnormal amount of anxiety and fear of going out and having social interactions or even talking to the strangers. It is a situation where the person feels that he/she is being watched and judged by people. As a result people often avoid going out and do not interact with them. The symptoms can be a rapid heart rate, nausea and feeling sweaty.

How does the society takes it and how should we deal with it?

Mental illness is still a stigma in our society, where people feel anxious about sharing it with others because they feel that the society will mock at them and will never understand their situation. Over the years the word ‘anxiety’ has been thrown around lossely. Society takes it up as a condition of normal stress or tension, but they do not understand the real meaning of anxiety, they don’t know that it is a monster which threatens or blackmails us. But the society will never accept this, they have painted a different picture for themselves regarding ‘anxiety’ and always think that it is not more than stress from which we will get rid of after sometime. We should not focus on what the society thinks, we should focus on our health and fight with this monster inorder to get cured from this mental-illness. We should try to maintain calm and should not panic and try to meditate. Doing regular exercise will help us to get rid of this problem. We should always think positive in every situation and try to stay away from the things that can bring us near to the anxiety. The biggest cure for this problem is that we should share our problems with the person on whom we trust and who will never mock at us, be it family or friends. Society will always try to put you down and will always mock at you and you should always try to ignore them because they are the main reason for anxiety and mental illness. You have to accept that it will take time to get rid of this and have to follow the right steps and the right therapy and accept that you are still a normal person, nothing can disturb your life.

https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/what-are-the-five-major-types-of-anxiety-disorders/index.html

Cotton College to Cotton University, Prestigious Institution in Guwahati: Journey Completed more than a Century

In 2017, the famous institution of Assam popularly known as Cotton College has been upgraded to Cotton University. The prestigious and famous Cotton College located at heart of Guwahati city viz., Panbazar was established in 1901 by Sir Henry Stedman Cotton, the Chief Commissioner of the erstwhile British province of Assam. It is the oldest institute of higher education not only in Assam but the whole of northeast India. Sir Cotton, had formally declared establishment of Cotton College under Calcutta University at a public meeting held on 27 May, 1901. Prof Fredrick William Sudmersen was the first principal of the College. After establishment of Gauhati University in 1948 the affiliation of Cotton College was transferred from Calcutta University to Gauhati University. The Historical change took place in 2017 when Cotton College which was 116 years old in 2017 has been upgraded to the University, recognized by the University Grants Commission. The Vision of the University is to make it a world-class one, excelling in developing knowledge both research and teaching.

Dr. Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, then Professor of Chemistry, Gauhati University also Director, UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, Gauhati University has been assigned the coveted post of Vice Chancellor of the University in July 2017. Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, the Governor of Assam is the ex officio Chancellor of Cotton University in accordance with the provision of the University Act. Prior to upgrade the University, most of the departments of Cotton College offered post graduate courses from 1994 in addition to under graduate and higher secondary courses in humanities, social science and science streams.

Presently, keeping the tradition of the erstwhile Cotton College, the University offers courses from Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate in Arts, Social Science and Science streams and also there are courses in Graduate, Post- graduate and Ph.D. The graduate syllabuses of different subjects have been prepared by the faculty members of Cotton University, incorporating inputs from external experts. The subjects are: Anthropology, Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science and IT, Economics, Education, English, Geography, Geology, Hindi, History, Mathematics, Persian, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Sanskrit, Statistics and Zoology.

The postgraduate syllabuses also have been prepared by Cotton University faculty in collaboration with and external experts. These are Anthropology, Assamese, Bengali, Botany, Chemistry, Education, English, Geography, Environmental Biology & Wild life Science, Geography, Geology, Hindi, History, Mathematics, Master of Computer Applications (MCA), Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MBBT), Persian, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Sanskrit, Sociology and Statistics. In addition, there are Ph.D. programmes available in the University. It may be mentioned here that the Centre for Women’s Studies (CWS) at Cotton University, has been formally established in January 2020, which is headed by its Convenor and has one Assistant Professor. Further, the Internal Committee (IC) of Cotton University (2019-2022), is committed to provide neutral, confidential and supportive environment to members of the campus community and serves as the complaint redressal mechanism under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Moreover, the Cotton University Court in its First Meeting held on 3 May 2019 has accepted the First Statute of Cotton University, 2019.

Time to time, I have interacted many students who had passed from then Cotton College and observed they felt bliss to study in the College because of its quality education. Most of the students were selected who scored high marks in the previous examination and teaching faculty members were also highly dynamic. I wish the newly started University, which has been graduated from College to University, a great success as this year in educational arena, Cotton College to Cotton University has completed 119 years.

The following websites have been consulted for writing the article:

Dr. Shankar Chatterjee

Former Professor& Head (CPME)

NIRD &PR (Govt. of India),

Hyderabad-500 030

Telangana, India

Email <shankarjagu@gmail.com>

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What does that mean?

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Difference between anxiety and getting anxious

How does the society takes it and how should we deal with it?

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