Shafiq Ur Rahman Khan

by Maloy Krishna Dhar The writer is a former Joint Director of Intelligence Bureau, Government of India (June 04, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the absence of our half-brother the Chimpanzee, lovely elephants, fascinating tigers and lions circus-going has become out of fashion. However, do not lament. In our Indian society there are several groups of human-animals whom you must visit through the window of this essay. These are not social evils; these have become deep flaws in our cultural values. In fact, we, the Indians are funnier than amusing compared to our animal-brethren driven out of the circus arena under provisions of cruelty to animal laws. Who would banish the culturally polluted people of India and where? Let’s have a tour de shame of the Great Indian Circus. In a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-tradition country like India societal traditions, cultural totems and social and systemic evils often vary from region to region. Certain societal and systemic evils ...

KALAIGAON, – Incidents of trafficking of children, adolescent girls and women in Udalguri district have assumed an elephantine proportion not only in Udalguri but BTAD districts as well. Small children are being trafficked for engagement in different shops or factories in hazardous condition despite the existence of child labour Act. The children are often harassed, abused and even dragged into street begging by some notorious criminals. Adolescent girls of poor families are also often convinced by middle men or women for working as maids in towns and cities at higher rate of payment, and are being trafficked. The parents or guardians cannot resist this temptation, but what they can never known is the situation their children and girls are facing at their work place. Some adolescent girls are also sexually abused at their work place leaving them pregnant and nursing mothers. What is more pathetic is the fact that some of them are also murdered after sexual abuse. Some women are also lu...

In the country where honour killing has become rampant, a unique wedding was witnessed in Marwahi district of Madhya Pradesh. Puja, a minor left her home for love. The boy’s family not only kept her at their house for 10 days, a time period she needed to be an adult but also got both of them(boy and the girl) married after that. Puja left house on her own will, as her family fixed her marriage elsewhere on June 17 and Puja wanted to marry her boyfriend. Puja relied on her boyfriend Kamlesh Chandra and his family. Her faith paid off. But Puja regrets that on this special occasion her family was not with her. The villagers also supported Kamlesh’s family in this marriage. Kamlesh's family has given a message to the whole society by getting both of them married। This marriage is a slap on the face of those who think honour killing is the solution for couples in love. samaylive.com

A couple was found murdered and their bodies hung up for display in a village in Bhiwani district of Haryana on Sunday.  The bodies of Rinku and Monica were put up for display inside a house in Nimtadwali village.  The couple had been in a relationship for over two years. Rinku was staying at his maternal uncle's home in Monica's village. They belonged to the Jat community but had different gotras. ( boy belonged to 'Dalal' gotra (sub caste) while the girl was from 'Boora' )  Preliminary investigations and injury marks on the bodies suggest that the couple was tortured by their killers.   Police have registered a case of murder and are suspecting the girl's family. "We are waiting for the post-mortem report. We suspect the girl's family," said a police officer.  Couple found dead in Delhi; honour killing suspected  A man and woman who married four years ago against the wishes of the woman's parents were found murdered in the Indian capital ...

HONOUR KILLING has unfortunately claimed another life. This time from the militancy infested vale of Kashmir. A resident of Anantnag district in Kashmir valley has been accused of killing his daughter, who wanted to marry against the wishes of her father. Her death was earlier considered "due to an accident’’ but the killing by father was confirmed only on June 8. On June 4, a 28 year old schoolteacher, Ruby Jan D/o Abdul Rehman Hajjam of Sehpora, Dooru (Anantnag) was admitted to SMHS Hospital Srinagar with a deep stab wound in her abdomen . Her attendants had told doctors that the unmarried women had fallen from a height and sustained injuries. Ruby had succumbed to her injuries on the same day. Her last rites were carried out under suspicious circumstances as she was hurriedly buried in a bid to hush up the real cause of death. Police Station Dooru had taken a cognizance of the matter after registering a case under Section 174 of the Ranbir Penal Code ( RPC). However, the ru...

The Delhi High Court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the ''honour killing'' of his daughter for allegedly having an adulterous relationship with her uncle. The Court refused to grant any relief to the father, Bahgwan Dass, after coming to the conclusion that the act of murder was not done in a fit of rage but was planned. "The provocation of the daughter running away after abandoning her husband and being in adultery with her cousin uncle was a fact in the knowledge of the appellant for over a month and surely this conduct of the deceased would not be a sudden or a grave provocation resulting in loss of self control," a bench comprising Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Suresh Kaith said. Although the court agreed that the honour of Dass was sullied by the act of his daughter, but it refused to take lenient view of the crime and uphold the trial court verdict which found him guilty of murdering her. "It is apparent that the honour and pride o...