SXSWEdu 2015: The Boy Who Beeps – Who Can Speak The Language Of EdTech?

Now in its fifth year, the 2015 SXSWEdu rally in the Texas midland is more inclusive than ever. The panelpicker judges eschewed trendy topics like flipped learning and Big Data in favor of deeper discussions about Social Emotional Learning and Gamification. Major themes that ran through the first day included programming in schools, authentic PBL, and contemporary professional development.

A major highlight of the day was hearing about the impressive Coded Curriculum implemented by Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The school has embraced a “launch / test / refine” approach to incorporate coding into every academic discipline. The faculty actively seeks to “make excellent mistakes” as they teach children the “New Basics” of open-ended problem solving, non-linear thinking, and collaboration.

Source: Sunni Brown

Another centerpiece of the sessions was Sunni Brown‘s mesmerizing workshop about “how to stay curious.” A guru of visual thinking and a doctor of doodling, Brown reminded the crowd that visual language is a river native to cultures across the world that instills a powerful cognitive awareness.

The spirit of sharing was genuine today at SXSWEdu. Every attendee was universally open and eager to connect. Yet a question kept trickling through the meandering hallways like the incessant drip of Austin’s rain: How many actual classroom teachers were present at the conference? When Brown asked how many classroom educators were in the room, fewer than ten percent among the hundreds raised their hands.

Source: ASIDE 2015

Throughout the day, we met: an online charter school principal, a start-up edupreneur, an NAACP coordinator, a not-for-profit founder, an NEA staffer, a Museum and Library Services researcher, a corporate communications director, a Learning Sciences professor, a former math instructor in Ethiopia, and a doctoral candidate who moonlights at Khan Academy. We met other interesting people, too, but we did not meet one classroom teacher.

We know they were there. But they seemed few and far between. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it signals that SXSWEdu is not for everyday teachers. Maybe the passionate attendees perceive a sea change in education that is more galvanizing than “regular” teachers can see. Or maybe not.

Either way, it speaks to a road diverging in a not-yet-understood wood. If start-ups and online outlets are careening onto their own edtech on-ramp, what happens to the students and teachers driving in the HOV lane?

For example, after participating in one session about a full-scale coding curriculum pushed across all disciplines, we attended a completely different panel about whether edtech really offers any solution at all. It feels strange that this question is still being asked: Is edtech a panacea or a distraction?

Source: General Electric

The nuanced nature of this tacit tech tug-of-war reminded us of a General Electric ad from September 2014 called “The Boy Who Beeps.” The touching ad follows the birth of a baby who can speak the language of technology. The commercial intends to tout GE’s omnipresence in electronics, but to us it highlighted the children today who are always plugged in, always wired.

Kids are born who can seemingly speak to machines, communicate with the digital world, control their own access to e-learning. What happens, though, when their days become disconnected? Can they muster the skills to navigate a tangible, interpersonal world? Or better yet, can they make things, create their own machines? Are they controlled by the very machines they rely on? And what about children who don’t have machines?

Source: General Electric

In the edtech learning space, are there start-ups who talk only to machines – and not to educators? And what about the teachers who cannot (or will not) talk to machines, who can’t negotiate the apps and iPads filling their classes?

By the end of today, we were encouraged. We decided that educators are indeed emerging as a potent force in the digital economy. American Federation Of Teachers President Randi Weingarten noted a change since last year’s SXSWEdu. She now hears tech companies asking, “How can we get teachers involved in the process?” She emphasized that with the onslaught of shiny edtech tools, the best advice is to know how to teach first, and to learn to use technology second. Brown echoed the same, saying that digital tools are great, but they’re not worth much if we can’t use them. The learning is the key.

SXSWEdu 2015: Education For All – How Far Have We Come?

Source: TES Global

An important and undeniable thrust of the 2015 SXSWEdu conference has been the attempt to reconcile the nation’s educational inequalities. Marquee panels and sofa conversations alike have centered on this notion of access – access to college, to technology, to careers, to mentors, to professional development, to contemporary learning tools.

Last night’s reception at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library made this theme immediate in bringing together historians and educators to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

Source: LBJ Presidential Library, ASIDE 2015

This morning, Second Lady Of The United States Dr. Jill Biden kept this dialogue moving forward in leading a summit by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation about redesigning higher education to fuel student success. Dr. Biden noted that education is the great equalizer, the basis for a better life. For this reason, she stressed, “Teaching is not what I do. It’s who I am.”

A panel discussion later with Jamie Casap, Timothy Jones, and Isis Stephanie Cerda focused more intently on the need for diversity within educational technology. Similar messages emerged in workshops on “Equal Opportunity For Deeper Learning,” “My Brother’s Keeper: One Year Later,” and “Teaching A New Narrative For Black Male Achievement.”

Source: ASIDE 2015

An equally critical thread appeared in the number of talks about empowering girls and women in technology and entrepreneurship. For example, EdTechWomen was named this year’s official SXSWEdu Change Maker. Other titles included: “Women Disruptors 2.0,” “Paying It Forward: Leveraging Today’s Female Voice,” “Empowering Girls And Women To Lead,” “Digital Diversity: Minority Women In EdTech,” and “EdTech For Educational Inclusion.”

Another highlight of the day was Kristin Ziemke’s and Cheryl Boes’ presentation of innovative project examples to engage young learners with voice, choice, and audience. Their use of easy apps and elementary blogging revealed the many avenues that let children demonstrate understanding in exciting, authentic ways.

A later workshop featured a panel of thought leaders who promoted creativity in schools. They championed “less talking and more doing.” The speakers paraded both theoretical and tangible ways to inspire kids as imaginative thinkers. As Jonathan Plucker, Professor at the University Of Connecticut, noted, “creativity is about constraints.” A teacher’s task, therefore, is to help students identify constraints and then decide which ones to get rid of, which ones to ignore, and which ones to live with.

Ultimately, after a day of education and introspection, of creativity and contemplation, we recalled John Ashbery’s lines from Three Poems, which speak to the impossibility of certainty and the elusiveness of knowing:

“The term ignorant is indeed perhaps an overstatement, implying as it does that something is known somewhere, whereas in reality we are not even sure of this: we in fact cannot aver with any degree of certainty that we are ignorant. Yet this is not so bad; we have at any rate kept our open-mindedness — that, at least, we may be sure that we have — and are not in any danger, or so it seems, of freezing into the pious attitudes of those true spiritual bigots whose faces are turned toward eternity and who therefore can see nothing.”

Most College Athletes Are Failures — Learning From March Madness

Source: NCAA

Cheer for the stumbles

The he-shoulda-had-thats

And the tears that linger

For in those moments

Greatness lies

There you will find

The provoked

The determined

The unified

It’s in those moments

That champions are born

Most NCAA athletes are failures. They don’t win the championship. They don’t enter the pros. They don’t take home a trophy at the end of the season. Only a handful of elite programs reap the acclaim and hardware that accompanies major spectacles like the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. Most Division I, II, and III competitors are well-rounded college students giving a tremendous amount of effort for the love of their sport and their college.

Just watching one game of the March Madness media blitz is enough to make even a non-fan sympathetic to the kids with their heads hung low after a devastating loss. Anyone in an office pool knows that their bracket will be busted after the first weekend. There are no trophies for participation.

Yet these are the moments that turn kids into adults, that enforce life lessons of diligence and duty, grit and grace. That’s why the March Madness tournament offers a great chance to talk to students about failure, about perseverance, and about process over product.

Ad agency Leo Burnett produced an award-winning TV spot for the NCAA last year called “Cheer.” Since then, its aired over 850 times, and it’s in heavy rotation again this week. It’s easy to see why.

The ad is a brief masterpiece of narration and language to encourage everyone — athletes, kids, and adults — to relish the stumbles of life and the tears of as-yet-unmet goals. As the transcript reads, these moments turn disappointed players into “the provoked, the determined, the unified.”

Source: NCAA

Teachers talk a lot about failure with their students, about the unreachable expectation of perfection and the inescapable necessity of hard work. This ad is a perfect companion for homeroom discussions, circle time, advisory conferences, or recess pick-me-ups.

For more ideas about teaching with the NCAA tournament, check out: “March Madness In The Classroom — Teaching With Tournament Graphics.”

eFest Day One

Here we all are at the first day of eFest. The feeling is relaxed and friendly and it looks like the emphasis is going to be on round table conversations – well the set up of the room has set the scene. Lots of familiar faces and it is good to have time to catch up with old friends and eLearning colleagues.

Presentation from NorthTec introduced by the CEO and several staff – They have six campuses and lots of Learning Centres scattered around Northland. They use Moodle and have set up wireless and computing and video conferencing in all the LC. Also have a staff portal to provide information management, ICT access which is the same for all staff – RSS, document sharing, web space. They have Mobile programmes – f2f courses delivered in communities including on marae – horticulture, forestry, environmental studies, construction, sport and recreation.

Case studies
1. Bachelor of Nursing – five semester development, e-capability eCDF funding, team approach. Supported by senior management and evaluated by action research – Dr Nancy George. Video interview with a nursing student illustrated how important it is for a woman with children and a part-time job to be able to study flexibly.

2. Certificate in eLearning Design and Development (eCDF) – video clips of students talking about what they got out of the programme.

3. Mobile programmes teach skills as part of a community project. For example, gardening in schools.

4. Learning support – eTech support, online counselling, online learning objects. also reconfiguring technologies and buildings around the flexible approach.

Nursing communication scenarios using actors – example in palliative care – appropriate and non-appropriate.

Also have a student portal – blogs, portfolios. also have virtual classrooms.
Staff development in staff and student portals.

Polytechnics and universites are going to be connecting to KAREN (advanced research network) – ultra fast Internet connection.

Presentation by Murray Brown from Ministry of Educationjoined the dots about what has been happening – funding, eLearning advisory etc.

Barry Ogilvie from Tertiary Education Commission speaking about eLearning project updateThey have four projects under discussion. Looking for a vision for network capability. Also flexible and distance learning options. Looking for a range of methodologies for assessing capabilities across ITP sector – e.g. maturity model.

District Health Boards – Wintec and Northgate – nursing education – use mentoring, reflection, innovation. Staff want to have fun when learning. Mandatory training – national online campus, generic material with local contexts. Liked Moodle.

NorthTec nursing programmeDevelopment and action research of Bachelor of Nursing programme. using a blended model as they do not want to lose face-to-face component. Have students who can study even though they live in isolated areas in Northland. Gave away online discussion as not popular with students.

Contextualisation of multimedia resourcesDeveloped communication modules. Read information and choose correct answers. simple to change text. Originally created by WELTEC – not available in a repository and not sure abut IP issues. Have Grammar online. have a lesson and go through and choose options. Read information and do a test – so they changed it. Flash object with xml file at the back – replace text here and leave the codes. Could be easy to delete code if staff are unaware. Design perspective given and then pedagogical perspective given. How does it affect the learner?

Flowering Plant Endemism of Northern Western Ghats

Scientists at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology have come up with plant data of the Northern Western Ghats which indicates that plateaus, in addition to the forests, should be prioritized for conservation of the Northern Western Ghats.

It is the plateaus and the cliffs that harbour most of the endemic species, thus increasing their importance in conservation plans.

ARI team led by Dr. Mandar Datar and Dr. Ritesh Kumar Choudhary has published a paper in the international journal Phytotaxa after thoroughly investigating the Northern Western Ghats to produce an updated checklist of 181 local endemic plant species, including four monospecific genera.

They have found that a majority of the endemic species are therophytes, which complete their life cycle in a short period during monsoon.

The Western Ghats of India

The Western Ghats of India is one of the global biodiversity hotspots owing to the endemism that is sheltered by a chain of mountains. The northern part of this biodiversity hotspot, along with the Konkan region, is considerably different from its southern and central counterparts on account of lesser precipitation and extended dry season.

A notable geographical feature of the Northern Western Ghats is the presence of plateaus and cliffs that display maximum endemic species, unlike forests. Forests of the Northern Western Ghats harbour many species which are not endemic.

Figure 1: Abutilon ranadei, a Critically Endangered endemic species from the northern Western Ghats

Although the Northern Western Ghats region has been floristically surveyed well, the local endemism of the flowering plants in the area is not much explored. Scientists have various estimates about the species that are endemic to the region, and the understanding of habitats, seasons, and plant distribution is limited.

The study conducted by the ARI team suggested that the Northern Western Ghats is the region of rapid diversification of specific herbaceous endemic genera like Ceropegia, Glyphochloa, Dipcadi, and Eriocaulon.

Dr. Mandar Datar stated, “To project the Northern Western Ghats prominently on the world vegetation map, it is absolutely necessary to complete the IUCN threat status assessment on priority, which is underrepresented for the region.”

The team firmly believes that the published data can be used as a proxy for conservation planning and effective protection measures of the Northern Western Ghats.

[For further details, Dr. Mandar Datar (mndatar@aripune.org, 020-25325057), Scientist, Biodiversity and Palaeobiology Group, and Dr. PK Dhakephalkar, Director (Officiating), ARI, Pune, (director@aripune.org, pkdhakephalkar@aripune.org, 020-25325002) can be contacted.

Publication:

Bhushan K. Shigwan, Aboli Kulkarni, Smrithy Vijayan, Ritesh Kumar Choudhary & Mandar N. Datar. 2020. An assessment of the local endemism of flowering plants in the Northern Western Ghats and Konkan regions of India: checklist, habitat characteristics, distribution, and conservation. Phytotaxa, 440 (1): 025–054

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.440.1.2]

Integrated Cold Chain Network

The Cold Chain Infrastructure provides backbone support by storing the perishables and ensuring the availability of fruits and vegetables throughout the year, said Union FPI Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal. During a video conference with promoters of MoFPI supported cold chain projects today, Union Minister emphasized the importance of Food processing enterprises, especially the Integrated Cold Chain Network, in the present uncertain and evolving circumstances in view of COVID pandemic. It saves the farmers from uncertain circumstances and also facilitates stabilization of market prices. The Food Processing Industry has the potential to absorb the excess farm produce thereby benefiting the farmers and at the same time, convert the harvest into a value added processed product that can meet the domestic as well as the global demand.

Sh. Rameswar Teli, MoS, MoFPI was also present in the video conference with the promoters of completed Integrated Cold Chain Projects supported by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in the States of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. This was the second such interaction (in a series of web meetings) of Union FPI Minister, with the promoters of MoFPI supported projects to facilitate seamless operations of FPIs.

The promoters of 38 cold chain projects, across 5 states, participated in the Video Conference. The promoters interacted with the Union Minister and shared their experience gained/ problems faced in completing the projects. Further, the promoters also shared the hardships and problems faced in running the cold chain projects during the lockdown period.

The promoters expressed their concerns on the decision of the local Government authorities to limit the hours of operations of Mandis to avoid overcrowding. They said that the limited hours of operations have slowed down the procurement process – leading to large waiting queues for farmers who wait to bring their produce to Mandis. They further shared that delay affects the quality of perishable food products and significantly reduces their price while leading to wastage in certain cases. They pitched for 24*7 operations of the Mandis to ensure seamless supply of recently harvested fruits and vegetables.

The promoters involved in export of processed food items expressed their concerns on the rising prices of (sea/air) freight which is rendering their product less competitive in the global arena. They said that the freight charges have gone up by 30 %. They requested the authorities to provide in-land as well as destination freight subsidies in order to support domestic industries to compete globally.

Citing the low domestic demand amidst the COVID Pandemic, the industry representatives from the Cold Chain sector, unanimously pitched for subsidy in the power tariffs. They urged that a Cold store needs to function 24*7 and the plant compressors cannot be shut at any point of time. They said that movement of perishables to and from cold stores has reduced in the past few days. The promoters further shared that they are experiencing a liquidity crunch due to obligation for the wages and salaries of employees and labourers, and urged for subsidy on power tariffs along with interest subvention on loans.

Apart from the above, following issues were discussed by Union Minister in the Video Conference:

1. Raw material availability and its high cost

2. Impact of Lockdown on operations

3. Labour and Logistics issues

4. High inventory costs

5. Liquidity crisis as payments have to be made to farmers

Dekho Apna Desh Logo Design Contest

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India today launched the ‘DekhoApnaDesh’ logo design contest on the MyGov platform. The objective of this contest is to have a logo for ‘DekhoApnaDesh’ campaign coming out of creative ideas of the citizens of the country.

DekhoApnaDesh is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism which was launched by Union Minister for Tourism (IC) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel at Konark, Odisha on 24th January 2020 by releasing the content of the pledge during a function on Mygov platform. This initiative of the Ministry of Tourism is in line with the appeal of the Honorable Prime Minister made from the ramparts of Red Fort on 15th August 2019 in his speech asking every citizen to visit at least 15 destinations by the year 2022, to promote domestic tourism in India which is intended to enhance tourist footfalls in places of tourist interest so as to help develop the local economy.

Post lockdown and as the control over the spread of pandemic is achieved, it is widely agreed fact that domestic tourism will recover faster than international tourism. Focussing on domestic tourism potential, encouraging fellow countrymen to explore their own country, taking a much-needed break within their own borders will be a winning strategy for India.

During the lockdown period, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India as part of its ongoing engagement with industry and its audiences is organising webinars on the overall theme of ‘DekhoApnaDesh’ . The objective of this webinar series is to create awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India – including the lesser known destinations and lesser known facets of popular destinations.

DekhoApnaDesh” Logo design Contest activity is live on My Gov, and the link is :

https://www.mygov.in/task/dekho-apna-desh-logo-design-contest/

The winner of the DekhoApnaDesh Logo contest will get a 5 nights 6 days all expenses covered holiday package for 2 to any destination in India from their residence in India . The contest terms and conditions are available on MyGov.in

Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2020, scheduled on 31 May, deferred

New Delhi, 07 May 2020: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) held a special meeting today to review the situation after the second phase of the nation-wide lockdown due to COVID-19. Taking notice of the extension of restrictions, the Commission decided that it will not be possible to resume examinations and interviews for the present.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2020, scheduled to be held on 31 May 2020, therefore stands deferred. Since this examination also serves as the screening test for the Indian Forest Service Examination, the schedule for the Indian Forest Service Examination is also deferred. The situation will be reviewed again on May 20, 2020 and fresh dates for these examinations shall be notified on the UPSC website in due course.

The Commission has already deferred the following: (a) Personality test for remaining candidates for the Civil Services Examination, 2019; (b) Notification for the Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination, 2020; (c) Notification for the Combined Medical Services Examination, 2020; (d) Notification for the Central Armed Police Forces Examination, 2020 and (e) the NDA & Naval Academy Examination, 2020.

As and when dates are decided for the deferred tests/examinations, it will be ensured that candidates are given a notice of at least 30 days.

Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) is hiring

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) has released recruitment notification to fill up various teaching positions and non-teaching positions. There 20 faculty posts available for five departments: Information Technology (IT); Computer Science & Engineering (CSE); Mechanical and Automation Engineering (MAE); Basic and Applied Science(BAS); and Architecture and Planning (AP).

The other posts notified for recruitment are as followed: Pro-Vice Chancellor; Controller of Examinations; Deputy Controller of Examinations; System Analyst; Medical Officer (Part-Time on Contact).

List of Faculty positions with vacant posts

Department	Name of the Post	Total Positions (Subject to change)
Department of Information Technology (IT)	Assistant Professor	8
Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)	Assistant Professor	4
Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering (MAE)	Assistant Professor	2
Department of Basic and Applied Sciences (BAS)	Assistant Professor	3
Department of Architecture and Planning (AP)	Assistant Professor	3

List of other posts

Department/Name of the Post	Total Positions
Pro-Vice Chancellor	1
Professor (TPO)	1
Controller of Examinations (On Deputation	1
Deputy Controller of Examinations (On Deputation/Direct)	1
System Analyst	1
Medical Officer (Part-Time on contract)***	1

For exact qualification, how to apply and other details, interested candidates should refer the official Recruitment Notification, uploaded on the official website of Delhi Technological University (DTU).

http://www.igdtuw.ac.in/

About the University: The Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) has been established in May 2013 vide Delhi State Legislature Act 9 of 2012, as a Non-Affiliating Teaching and Research University in Delhi to work in emerging areas of professional education among women, with focus on engineering, technology, applied sciences, management and its allied areas with the objective to achieve excellence in these and related fields.

eFest Day One

2. Certificate in eLearning Design and Development (eCDF) – video clips of students talking about what they got out of the programme.

3. Mobile programmes teach skills as part of a community project. For example, gardening in schools.

4. Learning support – eTech support, online counselling, online learning objects. also reconfiguring technologies and buildings around the flexible approach.

Nursing communication scenarios using actors – example in palliative care – appropriate and non-appropriate.

Also have a student portal – blogs, portfolios. also have virtual classrooms.
Staff development in staff and student portals.

Polytechnics and universites are going to be connecting to KAREN (advanced research network) – ultra fast Internet connection.

Presentation by Murray Brown from Ministry of Educationjoined the dots about what has been happening – funding, eLearning advisory etc.

Publishers to rein in informal circulation of newspaper PDFs

Print news publishers are cracking down on online groups and platforms that have been sharing PDF versions of popular newspapers to readers every day.

For a lot of newspaper management bodies, these informal circulations on social media are nothing but a form of piracy. Soon only subscribed members will be able to access online newspapers.

“It has come to our attention that some publications are facing issues with distribution of the print copies and a lot of piracy and theft of newspapers is happening, especially in the digital format,” said Mary Paul, the secretary-general of the Indian Newspaper Society Secretariat.

Many newspapers are now available in the epaper format online in the morning every day, some of which are free. The availability of the epapers across platforms has been a hit, especially since the beginning of April 2020 when newspaper circulations were forced to stop at several places across the country in the wake of the global pandemic.

According to the INS, many users are creating PDFs out of newspaper pages and circulate them on WhatsApp and Telegram groups to the readers, leading to a loss in both subscription revenue for the print newspapers as well as epapers digitally.

The INS also called this circulation of newspaper on social media illegal and said publications are trying to battle it in their own ways.

The body has also come up with recommendations to stop this:

1. Communicate clearly in the apps, websites and newspapers that circulating any copy or part thereof, is illegal and strict legal action will be taken along with heavy penalties.

2. Additionally, also for any legal action taken, publish a few news stories to talk about the huge fines and lawsuits initiated against offenders to deter others from doing it.

3. Take legal action against offenders, especially against WhatsApp and Telegram admins and trigger legal notices (WhatsApp group admins are liable for anything illegal that happens in their groups).

4. Build certain product features which prevent piracy or at least slow it down. These include:

a. Limiting downloads of PDFs, Images

b. Adding Javascript code on pages to prevent copying

c. Inserting a user identifier code which is not human visible, so circulated PDFs on Social Media can be tracked back to individuals

d. Auto-generate a list of users downloading greater than a certain number of PDFs per week and block them

Some of the newspapers have already started following the recommendations. Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar has already published a story talking about the piracy of newspapers in the form of online circulation on WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

“The newspaper is the property of the management of that paper. It can be read by either buying it or subscribing to it online. The industry is already going through a tough time and we do not want our readers to abandon the print media. The newspapers are all together in this and we will soon come out with a plan to combat this. We are sure are patrons will stand by us in this,” said the marketing head of a popular language daily of North India.

Why No Death Penalty For Gang Rape In India?

“Brother, please save me, I don’t want to die. I want to live. Those who have done this to me, I want to see them getting a death sentence.”

These were the most emotional last words of Unnao gang rape victim who was brutally gang raped in March and when police allowed those gang rapists to be released on bail then they decided to burn her while she was on her way to attend the court hearing pertaining to this gang rape case as they were hundred percent convinced that the judiciary of India does not hang gang rapists and it is only once in 15 years that a poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee who could not afford fees to hire lawyers and whose petition was drafted by Tihar jail prisoners is hanged and so the chances of very easily escaping from strict punishment are quite bright! Every Indian will get moved to read what this Unnao rape victim said before dying! What was her fault? That she was a women?

Why are rapists released on bail for some time as we saw in case of Unnao gang rape case? Why no security is provided to the victim who was raped? Why the life and safety of victim is not cared for by police as we saw most unfortunately in Unnao which resulted in accused burning her 90% which led to her death later? Why should the strictest action not be taken against all those police cops who ensured that the accused were out on bail and who ensured that gang rape victim got no security?

Should we be proud of our legal justice system which operates at an excruciatingly glacial pace and makes sure that those who commit rape and gangrape coupled with murdering the rape victim by either setting them ablaze as has nowadays become the latest fashion or in some other manner in some cases? All the Judges of Supreme Court, ex Judges, ex-CJIs, legal giants like K Parasaran, Soli J Sorabjee, Kapil Sibal, Harish Salve, Mukul Rohatgi, etc must ponder over it and think of ways by which the waning public faith in our judicial system is restored! If the public faith is destroyed then people will start taking law in their own hands to deliver “instant justice” which can never be good for our country!

It is most shocking that the incidents of not just rape but even gang rape followed by setting ablaze the victim is increasing very rapidly in our country as we saw most recently in Unnao, Hyderabad and many other cities but still we don’t get to read gang hanging! Are gang rapists immune from death penalty? Why is it that under our penal laws there is no mandatory death penalty for gang rape?

Why is it that under our penal laws there is no mandatory life imprisonment also for gang rape as stipulated in Section 376D of the IPC? Why the punishment for gang rape as stipulated in Section 376D of the IPC is “shall not be less than twenty years but which may extend to life”? Why this “discretion bomb” in form of “may” is inserted in Section 376D dealing with gang rape?

Should this “discretion bomb” not be defused promptly by removing it and providing for “mandatory death penalty” considering the irrefutable fact that gang rape incidents are increasing alarmingly in our country followed by even gang burning of gang rape victims as we saw most recently in Unnao and earlier in Hyderabad with a 26-year-old veterinary doctor? Can gang rape be justified under any circumstances? Why then do we see that there is no mandatory death penalty for such offences?

Why different punishment prescribed for gang rape on woman under 16 years of age as prescribed in Section 376DA and that on woman under 12 years of age as prescribed under Section 376DB of IPC? Why only life imprisonment under Section 376DA and not death? Why option of life and death in Section 376DB of IPC? Why not mandatory death penalty?

Why even for repeated offenders there is no mandatory death penalty and why the option of life term is added simultaneously in Section 376E of IPC? All these escape routes must be closed now forever so that rapists are never able to take advantage of the loopholes in our legal system anymore now! But are our politicians, lawmakers and Centre ready to do this or will they be happy with just face saving exercise and lip service? Only time will tell!

Why is it that about 15 to 16 years ago a poor rapist named Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged for rape-cum-murder of a Class XI girl in 2004 and that too on circumstantial evidence alone but no gang rapists are hanged ever? How many times have gang rapists been hanged in our country? Why are they not hanged?

Why gang rapists who even murder their victim as we saw in Nirbhaya case are not hanged till now? Should we keep feeling proud that just one poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee whose petition was drafted by prisoners of Tihar jail as was pointed out by senior Supreme Court advocate Colin Gonsalves was hanged about 15 years back in 2004? Should we not feel ashamed that many thousands of rapists cum killers escape death penalty by exploiting the legal loopholes in their favour?

Should we feel proud that since then not a single rapist has been hanged? Should we feel proud that even though thousands and thousands of rape incidents keep happening all across our country but yet we don’t see any hanging since 2004 when Dhananjoy was last hanged? Should our judiciary, lawmakers, Parliament and Centre feel very proud on this?

Why just recently we saw how people threw flowers on those policemen in Hyderabad who killed those 4 gang rapists when they attacked them as is being alleged and people started celebrating and many politicians started hailing it? Why is it that people are losing faith in the ability of our judiciary to deliver justice in time? Is it not a matter of utmost concern for all of us that encounter killings is being glorified as people believe that the legal system has been designed in such a manner that it ensures that rapists and gang rapists are not hanged for many decades?

Why is it that Arvind Kejriwal who is Chief Minister of Delhi while expressing concern over people’s loss of faith in the criminal justice system openly says that, “People across the country are agitated over reports of horrible rape and murder incidents happening across the country that have come to light of late – whether it is Hyderabad or Unnao [where a rape victim was burnt earlier this week]. That’s a reason why people are expressing happiness and satisfaction over the police encounter in Hyderabad?” Why Kejriwal further says that, “It is also something to be worried about, the way people have lost their faith in the criminal justice system. This demands introspection and all governments must come forward and work together strengthening the criminal justice system and investigating agencies?” We all must seriously introspect on this!

Why is it that even after the killers of Nirbhaya who had been convicted by the Supreme Court and even after five years of death penalty being convicted by the Delhi High Court have not been hanged top death till now? Why their mercy petition keeps hanging? Is this the real beauty of our judicial system for which we should feel proud?

Why even Supreme Court does not say anything on it? Why even in terror cases like the killing of former PM late Rajiv Gandhi, killing of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, mercy petition keeps pending for decades? Should we be proud of this and justify it in the name of “due process”?

The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu very rightly said that, “What happens even after punishment is given to convicts. We all are witness… appeal, mercy (petition)… can anybody think of having mercy on such people? This kind of violation of dignity of women cannot go on unchallenged. What is required is not a new bill; what is required is political will, administrative skill and then change of mindset and then go for the kill of the social evil.” He also rightly said that minors who know how to rape should not be given any benefit and must be punished just like others! Rightly so!

Why should a definite time not be set for completing rape cases? Why should a definite time not be set for deciding rape cases in lower courts, High Court as well as the Supreme Court also? Why should review petition not be abolished or at least time limit set for deciding it?

Why should mercy petition for heinous crimes like gang rapes and terror cases not be abolished or at least a time limit be set up for deciding it? Why Centre repeatedly ignores such demand made by prominent persons in this regard? Whose interest is served in doing so? Should we be proud of it? Why is it that it takes decades or many years to decide a mercy petition? Why can’t it be decided within few days as pointed out by former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee?

It is good to note that even our President Ram Nath Kovind rightly pointed out that incidents of demonic attacks on women have shaken the conscience of the country. He rightly said that women safety is a very serious issue and a lot of work has been done on this but much remains to be done. He also advocated that those convicted under the POCSO Act should be deprived of their right to mercy petition as they do not need any such right. Here I would beg to differ with the President most humbly and add that there should be no discrimination of POCSO and others and all the rapists and all the terrorists deserve no mercy petition under any circumstances and even if it is still not abolished it must be decided within a short span of time say a few days or weeks and not in many decades which only gives a potential tool to our adversaries to take potshots at the manner in which anyone can get away even after killing the former PM of India as we saw in case of late Rajiv Gandhi where mercy petition was not decided even after decades!

Why can’t strict and speedy justice be provided to people? Why should the 45% of lawmakers who have been elected to Parliament and who are facing themselves serious charges of rape and murder not be debarred permanently from entering politics until their name is cleared of all charges by the top court itself? Why no law has been enacted in this regard?

Why do we expect that such lawmakers who are themselves facing rape charges will support laws that mandates compulsory death penalty for all rape and terror cases? Are we not foolish? What they will favour is that just a single rapist like the poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee is hanged on the basis of circumstantial evidence alone once in 15 years and no rapists or gang rapists are hanged all these years even after they set the victim ablaze!

They will advise us that law will take its own course! They will advise us to be patient and have faith in India’s judicial system! It is high time and now the Supreme Court too must speak out most strongly against all the inadequacies in our criminal justice system due to which people’s faith in it is getting steadily dwindled as is being pointed out repeatedly in different newschannels, different newspapers and different magazines which is certainly not a healthy sign for a democratic country like India! Parliament too must seriously debate on it and should give this most sensitive issue of woman’s safety and of according nothing but death penalty to those perpetrate the most horrifying crime against women the topmost priority instead of just debating trivial issues like that of onion or tomato or radish! Let’s hope so!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Creating engagement through interactive infographics

I’ve been a long term advocate of the use of infographics in education and especially enjoy thinking of ways that students can be encouraged to engage with and question the content as well as create their own graphics, so when I rediscovered Visme.co I was really delighted to find the tool that I once thought was a PowerPoint substitute for creating online presentations had turned into an awesome interactive infographic creator.

What’s so impressive about Visme?
I’ve used quite a few infographic creation tools and most are either template based or they have a library of assets which you can drag and drop to construct your own layouts.

Visme.co offers a combination of both these options along with the possibility to animate the elements within the graphic, drop in your own images or online videos and also embed html elements such as polls and quizzes into the graphic.

This enables your infographic to be more than just data display, they can act as multimedia tools to encourage user responses and build learning and research and it\’s built on html 5 so it works across mobile platforms too.

How to use Visme
When you go to the Visme.co dashboard you get three main options. You can create a presentation, an infographic or use a blank space to create any kind of hybrid of the two.

If you choose presentation you get a number attractive templates which you can flick through and select. Once you have selected one you can edit the design and images and add your own content.

If you choose infographic you can search through a wide range of completed infographic designs and choose one with a structure similar to what you want to display and edit and customise it for you own data.

Every element within the graphic can be edited, moved around and animated.

If you choose a blank canvas, then you can search through the images and icons library and create your own design from scratch. You can choose the size of your canvas so that it can be presentation size or more of a poster format.

You simply drag on any elements that you want to include from the graphics library and then click on then to edit them to suit your design. It’s easy to resize them, change the colour or even animate them. You can also search through and add images.

You can find some really nice examples of what’s possible on the Visme blog.

What I like about it

Visme.co is a really flexible tool which offers the choice between using templates to develop your content and an open canvas.
There is a huge range of professionally designed icons and graphics you can simply drag and drop into your creations to make them look professional.
The potentials for dropping in html objects such as quizzes that enable interaction can make static data much more dynamic.
The ability to drop in multimedia and particularly video can lend more significance and impact to the information in the graphic.
You can hyperlink elements within the page to pages on the internet so you can use this to show sources of information or link to other images or background information.
Visme.co is built on html 5 so runs across platforms and devices.

How use it with students

Create multimedia posters – You can get students to research a famous person and create a poster about them. This could be a fan poster about someone they like, a historical character or even someone in the news. They can add short video clips about the person as well as a range of facts.
Combine lectures with visual notes – You can combine a short lecture video with some notes about the lecture to teach students visual note taking skills or to make the content of the video more meaningful and memorable.

Create interactive animated work sheets – You can create colourful worksheets with images or text that links to various resources around the internet and embed them into online courses or blog posts.
Poems or songs with visuals – You can have videos or audios of songs dropped into graphics and add images and icons that help students to understand the words. This is an example of a poem reading with a visual gap fill activity. The images below illustrate the words of the poem, but there are some clouds with question marks and students have to listen and hear the missing word. The cloud is also hyperlinked to the answer (an image of coral), so they can check their answers. They can then use the images to help them remember the words of the poem.

Publish student research – You can ask your students to do research and find data and information about various topics and then create their own infographic display of the information.
Transforming text to visual – You can get your students to create a visual representation of a text as a means of checking comprehension. This could be based around literature, such as a play or story they are reading or it could be a representation of the information in an article or essay.

Tools like Visme.co are great to lift the level of engagement in your classroom whether you use them to create tasks, present information or put them in the hands of your students to do the creating. There is a learning curve with these tools, but Visme.co provides some great tutorials and support to get you and your students started.

Visme.co is a commercial product with premium lisences but there is also a free lisence you can use with your students.

I hope you enjoy using this amazing tool.

Related links:

FLLinNZ facilitation sessions – day two

Sean McDougall – speaking via videoconferencing classrooms of the futurenot a lot has changed – still sitting in classrooms altogether slumped over desks which are unsuitable for learning and sitting at all day. All studying at same time in groups. Sean has been working in designing learning spaces for the future.

No point in designing new buildings and doing the same sort of teaching there will be no additional benefits for the teachers and students. “It is about how you do it not where you do it.” Example of a design where the teacher could get around the students (children) better which improved the activitiy. Design of saddle seats which could swivel in any direction – take up less of a footprint – tables fit around the room – four-way data projector. Cheaper option than billions spent on school rebuilding. Room designed to encourage conversation and collaboration and teacher tried to teach by standing up the front. Learned from mistakes – need to educate teachers in new approaches.

Design my school – tool where students could be involved in designing school. http://designmyschool.net used wikipedia design – Co-Design

Provided some statistics about education in UK – 80% black children leave school at 16yrs and over half jobs advertised in UK in 2012 will require a degree. need to get back to the idea of a creative school rather than an “exam factory”. The system is not working – community minority groups illustrate this.

Singapore exampleeight years old problem-solving re bomb in an oil facility – building robots to clean up oil, building website to keep parents informed, writing business plan – a year long project. need to invent and create and solve future for themselves.

Xchurch School called UnlimitedBarriers removed – students direct their own learning Involved in projects in which they are interested e.g. designing logos, music distribution, own record label. Studying alongside 18 yr olds to get qualifications like Business.

Design done by people and with people. How can we work with excluded communities?
Example from Ireland – Sean is working with nuns in Cork. How can they work with people who are falling through groups. Responsive servicing. Immigrants, travellers, prisoners working together to find solutions to help stop people dropping out. They told their stories –
1. need place to come to meet with friends

children had different perspectives about how the building looked like – teachers forget what the rooms of the school look like.
Introduce opposites e.g. if you want technology look at what the organisation would look like without technology.

Another example-what could we do to make a fountain better? Designing a programmable, interactive fountain e.g. speed camera – measure how fast children are running around. could measure height and jets could respond to different heights. Give fountain three wishes – to see, hear, feel. Children helped design a mural with pictures and ideas of what they liked or did not like about the school. invites configuration and brings people together to work on a common problem to prepare them for the rapidly changing 21 century. create your own models and not wait for someone to “design a catalogue and you order from it”.

Allow people to skill up – learn and make mistakes. Video showing chidren with robots they constructed – watching them work and showing the great excitement. learning what they need for the knowledge economy. Need to redesign the service to meet the needs of the children e.g. reading construction manuals as that is where the interest lies for one of the children who likes building things.
Have moved from where things are done to them to one where people create their world. can you hand over what is seen to be important information to be displayed e.g. Cardiff streets.

1.What will it mean if we get it right?

increased success. Teachers who get it. learners who get what they want.

2.What happens if we carry on as we are?

no change as technology etc. changes around us.

3.Why haven’t we done anything about it?

too hard, no money.

4. What could we do about it?

let people know what skills people will need in the future

Mark Nichols – institutional change for eLearning
Statement: now know how eLearning works – do we? We know how to facilitate online discussion – do we?
Beeby 1992 wrote about lessons learned in 1930s. Mark is an educational evolutionist. Focus is on formal education. He has failed spectacularly. Failures are far more interesting and you can learn from it. In his FLLinNZ year he read a lot about institutional change and talked to lots of people about it. Reckons it is commonsense. Has been ignored and now feels like he is prophetic.
What do we know about change
Peter Senge – see institution as a whole “see the wood for the trees”. Large scale change is complex. Example: had a CDROm of video, looked after website, used discussion – looked after it himself and it worked well. what would happen if it was systemised? Need to train people and learners. need to copy multiple CDs. What about looking after discussions – technical support, archiving.

Who maintains resources? How do we support subject matter experts with elearning. can they use pre-prepared materials. how are new technologies incorporated? How do we enrol students? Innovation in one course is very different to what is needed in a whole programme. Good systems solve problems before they happen.

Best to work with late majority – sustainability through transformationwork on changing core ideas – workshops Core and custom – complement standardisation with innovation. How do you get buy in. Use systems that organisation has in place – systems for internal review. Meet with programme leaders and work with them. Division of labour – how to best support those who are not tech literate. Engage at level of the core with tech support at that level.
FL strategy or teacing and learning strategy – use them.

How do you go about internalising elearning?
strategic ownership – VLE a thermometer – some staff flocked to it – others ignored it. If few staff got excited good prognosis – otherwise more difficult to change ideas about eLearning.

John P. Kotter – leading organisational change, very good book.
useful orientation to major changes that are involved.

Examples from Bible College
1. establishing a sense of urgency – better resourcing of students, costing
Developing a strategy and PD. College eLearning audit and prepare national exemplar.
Sense of urgency varies – depends on hierarchy and priorities e.g. pbrf. When there is a crisis – lack of students for programmes. Responding to market.

2. Creating the guiding coalition
put ideas in front of managers with evidence

3.Developing a vision and strategy
what evidence is there that it improves learning? works well where there is no choice or it supports lifestyle. Don’t change what is working and change what and when you need to.

4. Communicating the change vision

5. Empowering broad-based action

6. Generating short term wins

7. Consolidating gains and producing more change

8. Anchoring new approaches in the culture

Some discussion on the above questions but not enough time and no summarising of them at the end.

Maret Staron – TAFEOverview of some research projects. “Designing Professional development for the Knowledge era”.
Big emphasis in Australia with workforce development. Mentioned learning environmnet managers – work done in the workplace with learners there. Moving more to learner directed ideas. Open standards
Now in the Knowledge era – environment, learning ecology, business,
focus for all four areas on learners, context, technologies

Suggestion that the knowledge era will only last a decade – has progressed from information era. Next era proposed to be the concept era. Is this true?

Need to be knowledge workers – need to find, use information. Now need to generate our own information. One of our greatest challenges – how to work in groups to generate new knowledge?

Work is becoming more unbounded in time and space now with practitioners increasingly needing to work and engage in their own learning at work and at home” (ANTA 2004).

Used an ecology metaphor – broader than networks – what is your learning ecology? relationship between entitities and their environment. Dynamic, adaptive and diverse – there is no one way. Maron promised a model to help but no one way.

Stuck in the mechanistic metaphor – want to think, feel, use intuition, be creative – a contradiction.

Strength-based Philosophy – moves us from deficit-based modelWhat is wrong and we will fix it. Hard to shift to strength-based model. Constrained by bureaucracies who follow the deficit-based model. A lot of organisations try and solve problems by looking at what they need to fix. Martin Seligman – how to look at what helps people thrive. How to help organisations be the best they can. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – psychology of optimal experience – “in the flow” when things work well and you are in the optimal skill level. When in the flow anxiety, boredom and apathy reduces.

Business wisdom
How to bring leadership on board. What is the glue that connects the elements of a learning organisation? (Wise thinking and actions.)

Key findings of research
Strength-based orientation more effective.
capability – moves beyond professional development – confident, capable, competence – ability to work in unknown areas.
Values is the bedrock
Disruptive model

action learning, mentoring is strength-based, communities of practice

Some places run events on a cafe conversation model for PD. Look at what is working and why.
Who is practising deviance in a positive way for the benefit of the organisation.
What gifts does each person bring to the organisation?
How to reshape the description of your work so it is more flexible – job sculpting.
Appreciative inquiry.
Disruptive technology – policy, research, processes
Life-based learning, expert-centred model, work-based learning
In reality learning crosses work, leisure, family etc.
What is the source of learning not the continuum? “Learning for work is not restricted to learning at work.”
Life-based learning is integrated and holistic. What are the enablers to create this type of learning?
“A business approach to capability development “- companion document to research report.

http://www.icvet.edu.au

Discussion of four questions: Modifying what could we build? – Listening, sharing stories and conversations. previous knowledge and recording.
Exploring – what assumptions should we challenge?
Visioning – what would be your ideal, your dream?
Experimenting – what can we combine and test?

What is your personal stance in relation to work-based and life-based learning? What does it it mean to design this ideal for approaches to learning?

Stanley Frielick – Real change institutional challenges and opportunitiesThreshold concepts and troublesome knowledge – a new way of understanding, interpreting or viewing something may emerge a transformed internal view of subject matter, subject landscape or world view.
What is a threshold moment? – when someone starts contributing and/or facilitating to an online discussion. When people take charge of something – self-directed learning.

The real university is a state of mind. Zen and the art of motorocycle maintenance : an inquiry. Are there two universities? The first real university is the concrete one – state of mind sits within there. What are the mental models which underly our university structures?

Teachers and learners are inextricably linked and there is not just a one-way flow of information. Reactive (teacher-centred) versus constructive (learner-centred). Both demonstrate a dualist model – autonomous model where learner is separated from the world. Ecological model – capillaries of power – an energy which circulates through an institution. (Foucalt). Need to focus on capillaries when look at change. what are the technologies of power?

threshold concept 3 – Can teaching and learning function like an ecosystem? Is it similar to indigenous models of learning? Example, dialogical model where relationships occur between teachers and learners.

Mention of DNA and genetics as shaping learning – evolution, mutants, survival of the fittest – social dynamism – who supports the weak and do we just leave them in the wilderness?

Threshold concept 4 – ecological sensibility – disruptive technologies. who decides what is knowledge? Who decided what is needed for promotion?

Real change
Form (media) and content – most disruption happening here – disruptive technologies and disruptive pedagogies.
Assessment examination and accreditation
Appraisal (teacher) and evaluation (courses)

Immune system – assessment and appraisal areas. what is needed to make this disruptive – quality, prescriptive and normative, secretive – policies and processes, rewards. Suggests real change needs to be focussed on immune system (resistance). Make them more open, networked and ecological.

The disruptive technologies and pedagogies will act as an external stimulus which will upset the balance of the ecosystem and stimulate internal systems in assessment and appraisal i.e. disrupt them – they will have to change so they can revert to a balanced model. Change cannot occur in an ecosystem without an external stimulus. An internal stimulus can change an individual’s system but not when an individual is part of a bigger system. Negative and positive feedback. Negative feedback in a closed system will return it to the status quo. Positive feedback will stimulate either rebirth or bleeding to death or system wide shock and collapse.

In complexity or chaos theory where there is a complex system – competency alone is not enough – it is very linear and serves only part of the purpose. Capability occurs when there is a branching out and multiple layers of action and direction.

FLLinNZ facilitation sessions – day two

Design my school – tool where students could be involved in designing school. http://designmyschool.net used wikipedia design – Co-Design

1.What will it mean if we get it right?

increased success. Teachers who get it. learners who get what they want.

2.What happens if we carry on as we are?

no change as technology etc. changes around us.

3.Why haven’t we done anything about it?

too hard, no money.

4. What could we do about it?

let people know what skills people will need in the future

2. Creating the guiding coalition
put ideas in front of managers with evidence

4. Communicating the change vision

5. Empowering broad-based action

6. Generating short term wins

7. Consolidating gains and producing more change

8. Anchoring new approaches in the culture

Some discussion on the above questions but not enough time and no summarising of them at the end.

Suggestion that the knowledge era will only last a decade – has progressed from information era. Next era proposed to be the concept era. Is this true?

Need to be knowledge workers – need to find, use information. Now need to generate our own information. One of our greatest challenges – how to work in groups to generate new knowledge?

Work is becoming more unbounded in time and space now with practitioners increasingly needing to work and engage in their own learning at work and at home” (ANTA 2004).

Stuck in the mechanistic metaphor – want to think, feel, use intuition, be creative – a contradiction.

Business wisdom
How to bring leadership on board. What is the glue that connects the elements of a learning organisation? (Wise thinking and actions.)

action learning, mentoring is strength-based, communities of practice

http://www.icvet.edu.au

What is your personal stance in relation to work-based and life-based learning? What does it it mean to design this ideal for approaches to learning?

Mention of DNA and genetics as shaping learning – evolution, mutants, survival of the fittest – social dynamism – who supports the weak and do we just leave them in the wilderness?

Threshold concept 4 – ecological sensibility – disruptive technologies. who decides what is knowledge? Who decided what is needed for promotion?

Due Process Of Law For Rapists Must Speed Up Now

It has been repeated ad nauseam that we all must respect law and allow the due process of law to work accordingly. It cannot be denied that “fake encounters” and “extra judicial killings” are a big threat to our Indian democracy. But the biggest threat to our criminal justice system is to justify the excruciatingly glacial pace with which our courts function under the garb of “due process of law”! It is the victims families who bear the maximum brunt because of this which under no circumstances can ever be justified on any ground whatsoever! This cannot be left unattended and it is high time now that the due process of law for rapists must speed up now!

Is it due process of law that thousands of Judges post are lying vacant in trial courts due to which inordinate delay in delivering justice happens? Is it due process of law that an astonishing 38% of sanctioned posts for High Court Judges – 410 of 1,079 posts are lying vacant? Is it due process of law that thousands of Judges post are lying vacant in trial courts? Is it due process of law that we earlier saw how even posts of Supreme Court Judges are lying vacant?

Is it due process of law that witnesses are threatened to turn hostile by dreaded goons due to which they succumb many times out of fear? Is it due process of law that those witnesses who still don’t listen to dreaded goons are liquidated brutally? Is it due process of law that witnesses who speak up against dreaded goons or who are rape victims and inspite of security needs are denied the same by the police due to which they are brutally murdered?

Is it due process of law that rape cases keep pending for many years first in the trial court, then for many years in the High Court and finally in the Supreme Court? Is it due process of law that Public Prosecutors many times skip appearance on crucial hearings due to which rape victim suffers immensely? Is it due process of law that the victim has to wait endlessly for getting justice and she is told clearly by the Judges that don’t expect instant justice and she can get justice after decades of fighting the legal battle in court after following the due process of law?

This must change now and the judicial system must now speed up cases in serious crimes like that of rape among others. Our judicial system needs a lots of changes which will benefit the rape victim. It can be done if there is adequate political will in this regard!

We just saw how amid a chorus of voices in both Houses of Parliament endorsing the encounter killing by Telangana Police of the four accused in the gangrape and murder of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad, there were a few voices of caution and dissent also that cut across party lines which cannot be ignored. We are a democratic country where “rule of law” prevails and we all as good citizens have to abide by it. There can be no denying or disputing it.

While condemning the Hyderabad police encounter, BJP MP Maneka Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that, “Whatever happened was terrible for the country. You cannot take the law in your hands. They (accused) would have been hanged anyway.” I agree with Maneka Gandhi’s first two statements that whatever happened was terrible for the country and no one can take law in one’s own hands. There can be no denying it!

But I don’t agree with the third line that, “They (accused) would have been hanged anyway.” Our past experience does not inspire the unflinching confidence which Maneka has tried to demonstrate in our criminal justice system! We cannot run away from the ugly truth that confronts us on this score!

Based on my personal knowledge I will tell what I know on this count. The last time we had the great privilege to see a rapist being hanged was 15 years ago in 2004 when a poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged on circumstantial evidence alone with his petition being drafted by Tihar jail prisoners as was pointed out by senior Supreme Court advocate Colin Gonsalves which is nothing but a “miscarriage of justice” because in other similar cases like that of Priyadarshini Mattoo rape cum murder case where the evidence was direct, death penalty was not given because there were “eminent and experienced lawyers” to defend him! Similarly before 2004, it was way back in 1982 that Ranga and Birla were rightly hanged.

But can Maneka Gandhi tell me why is it that just three rapists hanged in last 37 years and why no gang rapists have been hanged ever till now at least to the best of my knowledge? Is this due process of law? Is this the right manner of imparting justice?

What about the other thousands of rapists cum murderers who escape very easily from punishment? Why have they been spared? Is it just because they were able to hire a battery of “eminent and experienced” lawyers who were able to give thousands of reasons for saving their clients from being sent to the gallows? Is this due process of law?

I have just no words of praise for Naresh Gujral who is Rajya Sabha MP of Shiromani Akali Dal and who sums up most eloquently and elegantly by saying that, “Though I feel very strongly for women’s security because I have two daughters, the due process of law is to be followed. The problem is the process of law has become very slow. But still, there has to be process of law. This way, we are walking towards anarchy. We are not savages. There were four accused and a full investigation did not take place and we do not know whether all four were involved or not. This is dangerous.”

In other words, Naresh Gujral who is a learned Rajya Sabha MP and son of former PM IK Gujral has not minced any words to make it very clear that the nub of the problem in our criminal justice system is this: “The problem is the process of law has become very slow.” Why can’t the due process of law for rapists be speed up? Who is stopping it?

It can be done provided there is political will as was very rightly acknowledged by none other than the Vice President – M Venkaiah Naidu himself. He said that, “I am not against any bill or new law, but what I always feel is political will and administrative skills to kill the social evil are needed. Change in the mindset is the need of the hour and that we should go back to the roots and culture. Looking at such incidents from the prism of religion and politics would ensure that the “cause is lost”.” Very rightly so!

Why can’t Centre display adequate political will and take the bull by the horns? Why can’t thousands of rapists be hanged by ensuring greater speed in “due process of law” which presently is moving at snail’s pace? The ball certainly lies clearly in the Centre’s court and it must now take the historic initiative in this regard just like it did on Article 370 which invited praise from many Congress and other opposition leaders also!

Having said this, it must be pointed out that on new laws, the Vice President said that, “Bringing new laws was not the solution. We brought a Bill on Nirbhaya. What happened? Was the problem solved?”

With due respect to Vice President whom I adore, I must tell him that he is right that they brought a Bill on Nirbhaya but it did not solve the problem. In the same vein, I must tell him even though it would seem unpalatable that the Bill on Nirbhaya was riddled with inconsistencies and there were too many “escape routes” which were exploited fully. Why mercy petition for rapists and terrorists have not been abolished? Why no time limit fixed for deciding mercy petition?

Why mandatory death penalty not inserted in Bill on Nirbhaya? Why Judges were armed with “discretion bombs” in form of “may” in the new Sections inserted by the 2018 amendment which now must be defused by removing “may” and punishing those who commit rape as in Nirbhaya case with mandatory death penalty? Was it done earlier? Certainly not!

Why even for repeated offenders of rape there is no mandatory death penalty? Why “escape route” in form of “life imprisonment” still open in the Bill on Nirbhaya? Why should rapists get a chance again ever to commit rape again and still not get death penalty compulsorily?

Why no time limit was fixed for trial court, High Court and also Supreme Court to decide the case? Why was it allowed to linger on for so long? Why minimum punishment for gang rape was fixed at 20 years?

Why no mandatory death penalty was fixed for gang rape? Why maximum punishment was fixed only at life and not death? Why time limit not fixed for filing review and mercy petition and also for deciding them?

Whose interest did all this serve by leaving it totally untouched? It goes without saying that it was the accused rapist who gained the most due to all this just like we saw earlier prior to bringing of a Bill on Nirbhaya. Can the Vice President deny this? Certainly not! But certainly Vice President is right in advocating that minor rapists whop know how to rape must be punished just like other adult!

I must also admire what Trinamool Congress Leader in the Rajya Sabha – Derek O’ Brien said about this. He very rightly said that, “The problem needs a solution without politics. West Bengal has 48 fast track courts of which 46 are for dealing with cases of violence against women. I strongly believe it’s a social evil. We need to solve this without politics. Quick justice is the need of the hour, but we need the rule of law. This is a very emotional issue, a sensitive issue.”

More importantly, selective hanging of rapists as we saw in case of poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee must stop once and for all. All rapists irrespective of their background must be hanged and killed promptly just like mosquitoes! No discrimination based on economic and social status should be done on this score!

Also, those who are poor like Dhananjoy Chatterjee must be given the best lawyer so that “due process of law” is actually implemented on ground and it is not the prisoners of Tihar jail who draft his petition which ostensibly had to be rejected as it was poorly drafted! What a shame that Dhananjoy Chatterjee’s application was drafted by Tihar jail inmates as was pointed out by senior Supreme Court advocate Colin Gonsalves which is nothing but the supreme rather worst travesty of justice as he was hanged on circumstantial evidence alone whereas in other similar cases the accused rapist were not given death penalty! This nothing but abuse of “due process of law”!

This should never be allowed under any circumstances to happen! Why should rich rapists be allowed to walk away even after raping, committing murder and committing gang rape? To walk the talk, no rapist irrespective of his economic status should ever be spared under any circumstances and this is when we can then say that “due process of law” has been followed!

Most importantly, the due process of law for rapist must be speed up. The time limit for completing trial in trial courts as well as time for deciding cases in High Courts and Supreme Court must be fixed and should be accorded the topmost priority as it brooks no inordinate delay! Centre and also Supreme Court must act in tandem to ensure this.

To sum up, Julio Ribeiro who is a retired IPS officer and who was Mumbai Police Commissioner, DGP Gujarat and DGP Punjab and whom I hold in highest esteem very rightly says that, “The Telangana police unit which shot dead the four suspects in the veterinary lady doctor’s rape-cum-murder offence were likely carrying out a mandate entrusted to it by their own leaders who, in turn, will have received instructions from political superiors. The public baying for blood is a symptom of a puzzled and ill-informed society. Until the system of judicial process is put back on the rails, these short-cuts will continue. How does the government – with the judiciary, the Bar and the police, all components of the judicial process – correct all these flaws in the system? For starters, the court must hold daily hearings in such cases without any interruption. No adjournments should ever be given. If lawyers are busy with other cases, they must take steps to send their juniors to attend those other cases instead. All stakeholders in the judicial process must sit across the table and take a decision to speed up the trials of rape and murder cases, at least.”

He further adds that, “When I was a young student of law, those accused of heinous crimes like murder or rape were tried swiftly and punished or set free, as the evidence on record dictated, within a year. The average time taken was eight or nine months, during which time the accused were in the custody of jailors. The hearings were held daily, and no adjournments were asked for or given. The public prosecutor and the lawyer of the accused were invariably present in court to rise in their seats when the presiding judge entered at the appointed hour of the morning. The witnesses were kept ready outside the court and would be ushered inside the courtroom when his or her name was called by the judge’s clerk. There was great precision and solemnity to this whole process. Sadly, this has disappeared now with advocates for the prosecution or the defence seeking adjournments, often on flimsy grounds. Sadder still, they are able to obtain it without any difficulty. The entire atmosphere has been transformed into one witnessed routinely in the courts of the lower judiciary. Delays in the disposal of trials of those accused who are charged with murder and rape, or other heinous crimes, has warped the judicial system. If those who dare to commit such crimes feel that there is laxity within the system, where the chances available to suborn witnesses are enhanced, then the threat of law catching up with offender retreats. An atmosphere of lawlessness creeps in. It is exactly this atmosphere of lawlessness that presently prevails. The middle class, who form the bulk of the opinion makers in any country, put pressure – subtle or overt – on the governments of the day to preserve their sense of security in anyway possible. Since the judicial system does not operate as smoothly as it used to in the past, popularly elected governments, in turn, put pressure on the police forces to use other methods to solve the problem.”

It is high time now and both the judiciary and the Centre must take the suggestions of Julio Reibero who has a vast experience of police service most seriously and implement his commendable suggestions! Rape laws must be earnestly expedited and all laws which affect women must be speed up so that women gets justice as per due process of law and not by encounters! Only then will people start respecting judiciary in the true sense and people’s unflinching faith which earlier was there shall stand restored once again!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

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The Western Ghats of India

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The body has also come up with recommendations to stop this:

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