The Ministry of Women and Child and Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Women and Child Development, Uttar Pradesh, management of Home of Widows at Sunrakh Bangar, Vrindavan.  The Ministry of Women and Child Development has constructed this shelter home for widows with a capacity of 1000 inmates. 

The MoU will be in force for a period of 2 years which may be renewed for further period on satisfactory running of the Home. The Home will be run by the UP Government themselves or by any State government institution or by any civil society or by any reputed non-government organization to be decided by the State government.

According to the MoU, the Uttar Pradesh government will be responsible for activities including setting up mechanism for identifying beneficiaries, providing residential care to the widows, deploying staff as per norms with prescribed qualification and experience.  The MoU further states that senior officials of the Uttar Pradesh government shall visit and check the security staff periodically and monitor their performance.  The MoU also includes provisions for facilitating Aadhar Cards for all inmates and medical/geriatric care for inmates. 

Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development, has asked the States/UTs to issue necessary directions to take necessary steps for including male child victims of sexual abuse in the Victim Compensation Scheme/Fund.

In a letter, written to State Chief Ministers, she has also requests that compensation including interim compensation may be given to the victim on time. 

Pointing out that POCSO Act is gender neutral and safeguards the interest of not only the girl child but also the male child, the letter also mentions that as per NCPCR data, though 31 State Governments have notified their Victim Compensation Scheme under Rule 7, POCSO Rules, 2012, the disbursements of compensation has not been uniform or satisfactory.

The Minister has also drawn attention that in some of the States the interim compensation to child victims of sexual abuse is not being awarded to meet the immediate medical and other needs of the child for relief or rehabilitation. The letter stresses that male child who is the most neglected victim of child sexual abuse is being ignored for award of compensation and needs to be included. 

POCSO Rules, 2012 (Rule 7) envisages:

1. The Special Court may, in appropriate cases, on its own or on an application filled by or on behalf of the child, pass an order for interim compensation to meet the immediate needs of the child for relief or rehabilitation at any stage after registration of the First Information Report.  Such interim compensation paid to the child shall be adjusted against the final compensation, if any.
2. The Special Court may, on its own or on an application filled by or on behalf of the victim, recommend the award of compensation where the accused is convicted, or where the case ends in acquittal or discharge, or the accused is not traced or identified, and in the opinion of the Special Court the child has suffered loss or injury as a result of that offence. 
3. Where the Special Court, under sub-section (8) of section 33 of the Act read with sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, makes a direction for the award of compensation to the victim, it shall take into account all relevant factors relating to the loss or injury

Caused to the victim, including the following: –

• Type of abuse, gravity of the offence and the severity of the mental or physical harm or injury suffered by the child;
• The expenditure incurred or likely to be incurred on his medical treatment for physical and/or mental health;
• Loss of educational opportunity as a consequence of the offence, including absence from school due to mental trauma, bodily injury, medical treatment, investigation and trial of the offence, or any other reason;
• Loss of employment as a result of the offence, including absence from place of employment due to mental trauma, bodily injury, medical treatment, investigation and trial of the offence, or any other reason;
• The relationship of the child to the offender, if any;
• Whether the abuse was a single isolated incidence or whether the abuse took place over a period of time;
• Whether the child became pregnant as a result of the offence;
• Whether the child contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD) as a result of the offence;
• Whether the child contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a result of the offence;
• Any disability suffered by the child as a result of the offence;
• Financial condition of the child against whom the offence has been committed so as to determine his need for rehabilitation;
• Any other factor that the Special Court may consider to be relevant. 
• The compensation awarded by the Special Court is to be paid by the State Government from the Victims Compensation Fund or other scheme or fund established by it for the purposes of compensating and rehabilitating victims under section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure or any other laws for the time being in force, or, where such fund or scheme does not exist, by the State Government. 
• The State Government shall pay the compensation ordered by the Special Court within 30 days of receipt of such order. 
• Nothing in these rules shall prevent a child or his parent or guardian or any other person in whom the child has trust and confidence from submitting an application for seeking relief under any other rules or scheme of the Central Government or State Government.

The completion of four years of the NDA regime has prompted a flurry of debates over the extent to which this government has made progress on bringing the country into the era of “Achhe Din” for the masses. Comparisons are being made with the tenures of the UPA regime. Comparisons of course are always odious. Circumstances are always different especially the external environment which is difficult to control for any government. 

Even so, it is possible to take policies in a particular direction and hence intent becomes equally important in making any assessment.

As for the UPA, the biggest problem in the last few years of its tenure on the economic policy front was the paralysis in decision making that had crept into the government following a series of highly publicized scandals. These included the the notorious telecom and coal mine allotment scams. In addition, the Manmohan Singh government was faced with enormously high international crude oil prices that even touched a peak of 140 dollars per barrel at one stage. Even so, it managed to attain an average growth rate of 7.7 per cent but was 6.6 per cent in 2013-14 when its term ended,

The  Modi government, in contrast, had the good fortune of having world oil prices crash to 50 dollars within a year of taking over. This not only brought down the oil import bill and enabled them to keep the current account deficit under control, it also emboldened them to raise excise levies sharply. It brought in a revenue windfall that helped keep the fiscal deficit under check. The deficit has been brought down gradually from 4.5 per cent at the end of the UPA tenure to 3.5 per cent in the last fiscal (2018-19). This has been made possible partly due to some good luck in having a benign external environment and partly by efficient management of resources.

At the same time, unlike the well known policy paralysis of the UPA’s last term, the NDA has taken a series of major policy measures over the last four years which have had a big impact on the economy, both in a positive and negative way. The two most significant ones were demonetization and the launch of the Goods and Services Tax GST). 

Demonetisation in 2016 not only slowed down the economy for several months especially in rural areas but also created severe hardship for the common man. This was followed in mid-2017 by the introduction of GST which made times equally hard for small businesses. The growth rate slowed down owing to the double whammy of demonetization and launch of a radical new tax system. Fortunately, the GST Council gradually made the new tax system less complex and bureaucratic. This eased many problems faced by small and medium industry but much red tape still needs to be cut out of the new system.

Other significant policy decisions have also been taken over the past four years, several of which have far reaching consequences.  These include firstly, the passage of the new Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. This pathbreaking law has brought tremendous relief to homebuyers who have been cheated over the years in a systematic way by real estate developers. The legislation which is still in the process of being ratified by states has brought a considerable measure of discipline and regulation to the real estate sector. 

The second much-needed and long awaited legislation is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. It has enabled companies to be declared bankrupt and hence allow the assets to be sold, ensuring that lenders get at least some of their money back. The process has begun successfully with some large entities having been sold recently enabling banks to recoup some of their losses.

The third scheme that has transformed lives is the Ujjwala scheme to provide free cooking gas to women in rural areas. This has come as a boon to women living in rural areas who were using wood as a fuel, which posed a threat to their health as well as their environment. The fourth major policy has been the launch of the Jan Dhan accounts, a much reviled programme since many of these were found to be fake accounts in order to meet government targets. Even with this caveat, there is no doubt that that the Jan Dhan scheme has expanded the scope of financial inclusion to large segments of the urban and rural poor.

Despite these problems, economic growth is still not doing too badly. Even with the impact of the twin setbacks mentioned earlier, growth in 2017-18 is expected to be around 6.6 per cent while the Reserve Bank of India expects it to accelerate to 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal. Clearly, the economy is on a upward path at this point. But it is roughly at the same level of growth as when the UPA ended its tenure. Numbers, however, do not tell the whole story. 

The NDA has certainly been more proactive in implementing economic reforms over the last four years and these will have their impact in the long run. It may thus be too early to make a clear assessment. There is no doubt, however, that this is a government that has boldly launched big ticket reforms like GST and these may finally push the economy on to a high growth path over the next few years.

(Views expressed are personal.)

The government is planning to introduce a centralize data management system which would help in keeping a track on the population of disable people, type of disability and work effectively to provide facilities to the beneficiaries and the authorities will be able to access this centralize data from anywhere.

Announcing this at a function in New Delhi to commemorate World Multiple Sclerosis Day, organised by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI), Mr.  K. Vikram Simha Rao, Director, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India said, Â“There is a dire need of representation of Persons with Disability (PWD) at the government level so that more disabilities can be included in the disability act and more schemes can be introduced & benefits can be passed on to the PWDs. 

Mr.Rao also informed that Â“Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has extended its proposal of including Multiple Sclerosis along with 20 other disabilities in the Ayushman Bharat – Health Insurance Scheme so that MS patients can avail the central government’s health scheme; this would help a MS patient to be self-reliant to an extent.”

MS is an autoimmune disease in which body’s immune system starts damaging the protective layer of the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. There has been a considerable shift in MS prevalence in India and this has really changed the notion of considering India as a low risk zone for MS. In India, significant upsurge is needed in carrying out large scale population-based epidemiological studies to get an idea about the true incidence and prevalence rates of MS viz a viz disease burden.

World Multiple Sclerosis Day is aimed to raise awareness and understanding about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) among the general public, employers and government officials.

Calling for more research into effective treatments and practical ways to improve quality of life for people with the illness, MSSI has said there is an urgent need for the private and public sector to support multiple sclerosis organizations and patient groups, by investing in them and developing their capacity, ensure improved diagnosis and treatment, and increased access of information and resources for all. It is imperative to work together with policy makers to make treatments more affordable, either directly or through wider reimbursement by insurance or government, it said,

Dr. Kameshwar Prasad, Head of the Department of Neurology at AIIMS, said Â“A lot of research needs to be done on MS. Earlier when MRI was not available, it was hard to detect MS and it used to be considered as a rare disease but, post MRI introduction it has helped doctors diagnose MS occurrence in patient more effectively. MS is physically as well as emotionally draining illness that impacts both the patient and their families – demanding a lot of psychological strength. MS affects the patient’s mind, will-power, employment and disrupts life on the family/ friends front as well. It is about time that organizations such as MSSI, private institutions and government come together to undertake research so that preventive measures can be taken and collaboratively work towards providing affordable MS generic drugs to the patient.”

Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. In India MS is targeting children’s as well starting from the age of 16 years. As per the last study conducted in India was 2003-04 there were 200,000 reported patients were affected with MS. Post that, no study was conducted on this and it is believed that this figure must have gone up by 2 to 4 folds which could be 10 percent of world’s total Multiple Sclerosis patients.

Mr. T.D. Dhariyal, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, said Â“In these years we have noticed that the most common problem that PWDs face is the ease of accessibility. A lot of awareness needs to be created for MS and organizations like MSSI should come forward and lead the awareness creating campaign.  We are dedicated towards making Delhi the most accessible city, whether it’s related to providing facilities to MS patients, giving employment, care and allowance as well. In some cases, we have taken suo motu action and made sure that PWDs are treated equally, and their rights are rightly served.”

Multiple Sclerosis Society of India is the oldest society in India dedicated to help people affected by Multiple Sclerosis effectively manage and cope with the disease. 

NEW DELHI : The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared Class X results today. Thiruvananthapuram performed best amongst all regions with 99.60 % pass percentage followed by Chennai region with 97.37 % while Ajmer stands at third position with 91.86 % pass percentage. 

Total 16,24,682 students appeared in the exam out of which 14,08,594 students passed the exam. Overall pass percentage of this year is 86.70. Four students have topped the exam with 499 total marks. Details of the toppers are as follows:

Total pass percentage of boys is 85.32 % while pass percentage of girls is 88.67 % which is 3.35 % better than boys. 1,31,493 students scored more than 90% while 27,476 students scored more than 95% in this exam. This year CBSE conducted Class X exam from 5th March, 2018 to 4th April, 2018. Some more details are as follows:

Links to know the result 

As per previous years, this year also the CBSE is hosting its results on net with the technical support of National Informatics Centre (NIC). The students can access their results through following websites;

www.results.nic.in

www.cbseresults.nic.in

www.cbse.nic.in

The telephone numbers of NIC through which results can be accessed through IVRS are as follows:-

The result can be received by sending SMS for class 10 as given below:

cbse10 <rollno> <dob> <sch no> <center no> on Mobile Number 7738299899. The date of birth format is ddmmyyyy.  CBSE will also provide Class-X digital mark sheets in DigiLocker at https://digilocker.gov.in.

There should be absolutely no reason for a girl to drop out of school when she attains puberty. That a girl has to totally give up schooling or miss classes because she is undergoing a normal biological process defies all logic. 

Rough estimates suggest 23% girls in India drop-out of schools annually on reaching puberty   annually due to lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities including non-availability of sanitary pads and awareness of menstruation. 

In a growing economy like India, it is unacceptable that a majority of the women have to use cloth – some even polythene—as absorbent just because they cannot afford a sanitary napkin or do not have access to it. In India, there are 336 million women in the reproductive age group who lack mechanisms and means to meet their menstrual needs. Shame and stigma associated with menstruation makes things even more difficult for young women to talk about it. 

According to Dasra, a not-for-profit organisation based out of Mumbai, 52% of all girls have no knowledge about menstruation and how to manage it when they have their first period. Often, it is the mother who informs her daughter about menstruation instead of a health worker. 

Mother’s advice and information comes with lot of traditional myths and beliefs. 

Only 12% of Indian women can afford commercially available sanitary napkin which is generally the only product they have access to manage their periods. The National Family and Health Survey-4 data suggests only 62% women in India use some hygienic absorbent. Only 42% women use sanitary napkins while 16% use locally made napkins. This number of women using sanitary napkins goes up with the levels of education and wealth quintile with more educated and richer women four times more likely to use a sanitary napkin.

Poor menstrual hygiene management could result in serious urinary and reproductive tract infections with serious implications in the long run. Using a clean cloth is an alternative but this needs to be washed properly and dried in sunlight which most women are unable to do. If a cloth is dried in damp places, there is every possibility of germs and bacteria thriving on it.  Women, particularly those in the rural settings and urban slums, are also unable to maintain hygiene because there are no toilets and even if there, there is no water. Proper disposal is another major concern. 

Hence, to overcome all these barriers it is important that stigma and shame around menstruation be shunned. Menstruation is like any normal biological and physiological process of the body and needs to be treated like one. If family and community have a role to play in creating awareness about the issue, it is also important that low cost sanitary napkins be made available to girls and women to ensure hygiene. These should be made available at schools, public places and work place. The more we talk about it, the more it gets talked about.

If HIV/AIDS is no more a stigma, why should menstruation be! 

[Directed: Yash Chopra/ Produced: BR Chopra/ Story: Akhtar Mirza/ Dialogue: Akhtar-ul-Aman/ Cinematography: Dharam Chopra/ Editing: Pran Mehra/ Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi/ Music: Ravi/ Playback: Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey and Mahendra Kapoor/ Art Direction:Sant Singh/ Costumes: Bhanu Athaiya/ Starring: Balraj Sahni, Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, Rehman, Shashikala, Surendra, Leela Chitnis, Achala Sachdev, Manmohan Krishna, Madan Puri, Motilal and Mubarak]

The biggest hit of 1965 and the sixth biggest film of the 60s was Waqt, it was released in 1965 immediately after the India-Pakistan war and the movie ran to packed houses.  A mega-starrer it was the first colour film from the B R Chopra’s stable and the first film about lost-and-reunited siblings. Its ensemble cast had three top of the line heroes and two of the most glamorous heroines- Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, Balraj Sahni and for once the cast also included the story writer Akhtar Mirza, dialogues writer Akhtar-Ul-Iman and the editor of the film Pran Mehra!

The film set the trend for display of opulence and glitz –ornate mansions with fountains, motor boats, American cars, circular beds, lavish parties and grand pianos! The shenanigans and drama of feudal was replaced in one swipe to antics and romance of the newly upwardly mobile cavorting around outdoor locations in Kashmir, Shimla, Nainital, Bombay and Delhi. The glamorous women wowed you with stylish cuts, diamond jewellery and elegant grooming. The men looked dapper in tight suits and T-shirts. 

This was the film that established the quintessential Yash Chopra style and established him as a majordomo amidst all dream sellers in Bollywood, a position he held for nearly five decades, directing 22 films and producing another 52 films till his last assignment,  Jab tak hai jaan (2012). The film also displayed the other side of Yash Chopra, the oft discounted side, Yash Chopra never shied away from showing abject poverty and social disparities as he did in Deewar a decade later, or as he did in this film in the form of romantic liaison between a graduate driver and the owner’s daughter.

The story, written by Akhtar Mirza, was about three brothers the only casting that came to mind of B R Chopra was the Kapoor family: Shashi, Shammi and Raj Kapoor B R Chopra thought it was a dream cast. One day, he was traveling with Bimal Roy when he narrated the script and also discussed the casting. Bimal Roy immediately dismissed the cast as misfit and pointed out the major lacuna,the movie was about separation and casting three real brothers in the film who anyone  could recognize were being cast by a director of Chopra’s calibre. Ultimately the film was made with Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt and Raj Kumar.

The film also reconfirmed Ravi’s reputation as a melody master. The film’s most enduring song has been Aye meri zohra jabeen, which Yash Chopra’s son Aditya included in his debut film, Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge (1995) three decades later as a love anthem for the older generation. Achala Sachdev riveting performance in the song what with her blushing ever so coyly is now part of Bollywood lore! Nainital was among the favourite destinations for picturisation of songs in films released in 1965, and Waqt had three songs filmed in Nainital as backdrop. 

Interestingly neither the song Aye meri zohra jabeen nor and Aage bhi jaane na tu, were chartbusters on the Binaca Geetmala! The sad solo by Mohd. Rafi, Waqt se din aur raat and Maine ek khwab sa dekha went up to twenty seventh and thirty first spots on the 1965 annual Binaca Geetmala list! As a rare case, Asha Bhosle sang for both Sadhana and Sharmila Tagore in the film while Mahendra Kapoor gave playback for Sunil Dutt and Shashi Kapoor

The film won seven Filmfare nominations awards too. Yash Chopra (Best Director), Raaj Kumar (Best Supporting Actor), F.A. Mirza (Best Story), Akhtar-Ul-Iman ( Best Dialogue) and Dharam Chopra (Best Cinematographer). Filmfare Nomination for Best Film and Filmfare Nomination for Best Actress-Sadhana were the only nominations it could not convert into awards. The surprise winner for Best film that pipped Waqt and Haqeeqat was Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965)!

Though salwar kameez was the rage those days, Sadhana popularized the fashion of churidar kurtas with Waqt. To win Yash Chopra’s approval, she dressed in a churidar kurta when he. In a 1990 interview to Movie magazine, Sadhna revealed her idea of a modernizing the Muslim salwar-kurta in 60s. It led to a fashion revolution surviving till this day! Instead of the salwar Sadhna wore a churidar and a tight, sleeveless kurta with embroidery on the neck and below the bust line. Yash Chopra didn’t like the sound of it and rejected it, saying that she should stick to salwars for Waqt. Sadhna spoke to designer Bhanu Athaiya who stitched a churidar-kurta based on Sadhna’s specifications. When Yash Chopra came to narrate the story to her, he wanted her to wear the same thing for his film! 

The two most unforgettable dialogues in the pantheon of most quoted Bollywood quoted quips belong to Raaj Kumar in Waqt. His gravelly voice and theatrical dialogue delivery is on full display when he snatches a stiletto from Madan Puri and warns him- “Yeh bachchon ke khelne ke cheez nahin, haath kat jaye to khoon nikal aata hai” (This is not a thing for kids to play with, if it cuts the hand then blood comes out) but the dialogue high on octane is saved for Rehman “Chinnoy Seth, Jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hon woh doosron par pathar nahi phenka karte.” (Chinoy Seth, those who live in houses made of glass do not throw stones on others). 

In an article in Cine Blitzmagazine (1996), upon Raaj Kumar’s demise due to throat cancer BR Chopra had paid tributes “As an actor he was totally a director’s actor. He needed exactly 48 hours to discuss the script with the writers. If he was satisfied with the role, he would sign on immediately. He always arrived well prepared and was most punctual. When I heard about his problems with other directors, I used to chuckle to myself. They must have allowed themselves to be taken for granted.”

Waqt was a landmark in many ways: if it set a trend for showing the lifestyles of the uber rich it was also a ‘lost and found’ film, a storyline that was a staple in nearly all  the films of 1970s and in fact threatened us by assuming the life sized role of becoming an independent genre altogether! The family is separated by an earthquake, historically being the Quetta earthquake of 1935, but as a metaphor it signifies the human upheaval during the partition. And as a partition story the saga of migration from Pakistan to India has remained a recurrent theme in the Hindi film industry. The film’s strongest point was the sense of bonding and the support it provided to the disintegrating institution of joint-family. 

NEW DELHI: India on Monday asserted that it has “never” discarded dialogue with Pakistan but terror and talks cannot go together. 

“We have never said there will be no talk. Never ever we have said we are not ready for talks but there is a caveat. Terrorism and talks cannot go together. This has been our position and there has been no change in our position,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at her annual press conference here. 

She also said the formal dialogue with the western neighbour need not be linked to the ensuing elections in Pakistan in July. “We are ready for talks even before elections. But there is one condition  Pakistan should give up terrorism….I have said this earlier at the UN general assembly also when Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had put four point formula for talks,” she said.

“I have made it clear that there is no need of a four-point formula. Let us decide about one point, you give up terror and we can have talks,” said Ms Swaraj. 

During her 90-minute long press conference, she highlighted the “unprecedented” achievements of the Narendra Modi government in  foreign policy during last four years.

Responding to queries, she asserted whether it has been indicated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman or anyone else, India has never discarded the caveat on terrorism.

“You cannot have talks when the entire border with Pakistan is being turned into a hot-spot. There is no change in our stand because when we lose lives on the borders, the talks cannot be held.”

As women in Ireland celebrate lifting of ban on abortion following a referendum that voted overwhelmingly in against the ban, India has had a liberal law on abortion since 1972 when very few countries actually allowed termination of pregnancy.

Coincidentally, it was a 31-year-old Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar’s death in October 2012 that triggered the movement for lifting of ban in Ireland. Savita had died at University Hospital Galway due to the complications of a septic miscarriage at 17 weeks’ gestation. When it became clear that the miscarriage was inevitable, Savita had requested an abortion.

At that time the medical team had not diagnosed her with a blood infection, and her request was denied. The medical team eventually did diagnose the sepsis and determined that Savita’s life was in danger they had planned to administer misoprostol to induce delivery, but the miscarriage completed before they were able to. The sepsis continued developing and she died of a cardiac arrest caused by the sepsis Her death caused controversy at the time, nationally and internationally, leading to protests and marches.

Now, a new abortion law will be in place by the end of year, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said. It follows a landslide vote in favour of repealing the Republic of Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion. The proposed legislation will allow abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and up to the 24th week in exceptional circumstances.

More than two thirds of voters backed the decision to change the law with every constituency in the Republic of Ireland, with the exception of Donegal. The referendum delivered a conclusive consensus for reform among men and women, nearly all age groups and across most counties. 

The final figures were 66.4% in favour of the change and 33.6% voting against it.

Abortion was banned in Ireland with the insertion of the Eighth Amendment into the Irish constitution in 1983 and it gave an equal right to life to both a mother and an unborn child.

In contrast, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), Act, 1971 allows abortion to Indian woman, though under specific conditions such as including risk to the life of pregnant woman or grave injury of physical and mental health, substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities, pregnancy as a result of rape or incest and failure of contraception. Contraception failure is the most common reason for seeking medical termination of pregnancy.

The best of part of the MTP Act is that it ensure secrecy and until recently, there was no age bar on women seeking abortion. But, under the new rape law, sex below the age of 18 years is considered as a rape and makes it mandatory for the health provider to report the matter, and hence any girl below 18 years, now finds it difficult to seek abortion. The provision is in conflict with the law.  

However, the Indian government has put severe restrictions on medical termination of pregnancy due to an increase in sex selective abortion as daughters are not preferred and hence sex-selective abortion is practised, resulting in an unnatural male to female population sex ratio.

Despite a liberal law and abortion services being offered free of cost at the public health facilities across the country and abortion pills being available across the counter, there is little awareness about it among women. Studies have shown, most women think abortion was illegal. In the wake of stigma attached to abortion, married women prefer to go to back-street quacks for abortion. On the other hand, adolescent girls have been seen using abortion as a contraception method without realising the health impact of repeated abortions on the body.

When the audience packed auditorium started clapping all of a sudden, turning to the right, I saw Basanti Devi Bisht entering the hall in her traditional costume with a red ‘tika’ worn from nose to the forehead. In a musical evening organised by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) on May 19, 2018 she was invited to perform in ‘Sanjari: Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’. Sanjari is a series of musical events, which is IGNCA’s attempt to bring in light the fading music of India.

Basanti Bisht is the only woman Jagar (a folk art of Uttarakhand) singer to be awarded the Padma Shri last year. The lady in her 60s, along with her troupe is a known name in the field of folk culture of Uttarakhand. The audience followed every beat of Basanti’s  drum while she was performing. 

She won the hearts by starting the performance with a Manglik song whose story goes like this- Back when the earth was formed, Naradmuni went to Naaglok to bring cows to the earth for its purity but cows said, “People living on the earth will beat us and disrespect us.” To this, Naradmuni convincingly replied by saying, “Hey mother, you will be respected and taken care of by the humans.” And got them to the earth.

In her presentation, Basanti Bisht also dedicated songs to the Spring season in Uttarakhand, ladies whose husbands are in the Army and rarely come home, and Lord Shiva too. 

Uttarakhand rests on the Indian map as a place with mountains and rivers. Representing the ever-flowing rivers, Ganga and Jamuna, she sang a song called ‘O Jag Janani h Le Mata’ where she praised the presence of these rivers. 

Various songs sung by her were preceded by a back story of each, given by the host, Vilas Janve. ‘Meri hudki baaji ghama gham…teri jhamri baaji chhama chham’ sung by Basanti was a song of two young lovers where the boy says, “You are a soft flower and I am a bee roaming around. I will never forget you. Today, let me play my instrument and

you dance on it.” 

Basanti Devi is playing a huge role in taking forward the rich and lost culture of her state.