• Swamy: PM must intervene on Sethu
• Mere pronouncment of talaq not enough for divorce: HC
• Over one crore people take holy on dip on Mauni Amavasya
• World's longest rock art chain in Vindhyas

• Stone Age tribe faces extinction
• Lord Hanuman sheds tears?
• Pre-historic artefacts found in Orissa

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's immediate intervention to stop the destruction of the Ram Sethu, as a result of dredging for the Sethusamudram project. It is being argued that dredging work in Sethusamudram project, where the ancient Ram Sethu, or bridge, was located, would destroy the ancient symbolic link between India and Sri Lanka. Hence, the dredging work should be given up in the location. AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa has also been opposing the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) on the grounds that the project would destroy marine ecology in the Bay of Bengal and deprive fishermen of their livelihood. The particular spot between Dhanushkoti to Sri Lanka cannot be entered by anyone, something that is borne out by the Nasa images. According to tradition, while construction of railway bridge and surface bridge are possible, the Sethusamudram project is not able to make any headway. The Rs 2,400-crore project envisages dredging of a navigation lane in the shallow waters of the Palk Straits, enabling ships to move between eastern and western ports of the country without touching the Sri Lankan coast. Dr Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation for the project on July 2, 2005.

Dr Swamy referred to news reports that 107-tonne imported dredging driller made of pure steel broke into two pieces and sank in the sea, when an attempt was made to break up the Ram Sethu. Dr Swamy referred to US space agency Nasa satellite images and said these images validated the ages-old Hindu beliefs. There is already an application pending with World Heritage Convention of the Unesco to declare the Ram Sethu as a world heritage site. The Ramanathapuram district civil court has issued notices to the Centre on a petition filed by an RSS worker as to why the demolition of Ram Sethu should not be stopped.

Courtesy: www.asianage.com, January 24, 2007

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Bhubaneswar: The Stone Age Juang tribe in Orissa's Keonjhar district is literally facing the threat of extinction, thanks to the indifference of the State and Central governments. Authorities have not only failed to lift improve the socio-economic conditions of the tribe, but have not even provided them with basic facilities. At least 45 Juangs have died in the last one year due to malnutrition and various diseases, bringing down their population sharply. Of these, 23 deaths have been reported from Somagiri village under Harichandanpur alone. The Juang population, which stood at 8,768 in 1961 has grown at a snail's pace and has touched only 21,146 by 2001. For the Juangs, every person counts. Rapid decline in forest cover because of illegal felling of trees and increasing influx of people to their habitat for mineral exploration have made their life miserable. Although the Orissa government claims to have taken up a project for their uplift, nothing good has happened on the ground. They continue to live in abject poverty. The Centre also provides assistance to the state government and non-governmental organisations under the scheme for the development of primitive tribe groups. But an Assembly committee which enquired into the scheme discovered that the major chunk of the allotted funds had not reached the tribals. Though Juangs live in 148 villages, the Central-funded Juang Development Agency (JDA) is looking after only 35 villages covering 7,248 people.

The rest of the tribals have no access to safe drinking water, proper healthcare and education. The Juangs, believed to be a Stone Age tribe, have been the subject of studies by many anthropologists and academicians. Concentrated mostly in Banspal, Telkoi and Harichandanpur blocks in Keonjhar district, the tribe classifies itself into two sections - the Thaniya (those who dwell in their original habitation) and the Bhagudiya (those who have moved away to other places). The Juangs believe that their ancestors emerged from earth on the hills of Gonasika where the river Baitarani has its source. They also refer to themselves as Patra Savaras (patra means leaf), meaning that they are that branch of the Savara tribe whose members used to dress themselves in leaves. In Juang society, the village is the largest corporate group with formally recognised territory. They practise shifting cultivation and also take forest produce. The tribe shifts their villages frequently as they consider it inauspicious to live at a particular place for a long period. Their life is marked by the celebration of a number of religious festivals in honour of their gods and goddesses. For them Dharam Devta and Basumata are the supreme deities. The former is identified with Sun God and the latter with Earth Goddess. Gramashree is the presiding deity of the village. There are also other deities. All their festivals are marked by dancing and singing. They use a kind of drum known as changu at the time of dancing. Each Juang village has a dormitory known as Majang where their traditional dance takes place and the village panchayat sits. The Pradhan who is the secular headman and the Nagam or Boita, the village priest, constitute the traditional village panchayat. This patrilineal society considers its totem sacred. It is never destroyed or injured by its members. Though various facets of their cultural practices are safely enshrined in anthropological monographs, the people themselves are caught in a vexed situation at present. "Influx of outsiders and indifference of governments have made their lives wretched," said Bibhuti Patnaik, a veteran local journalist and social worker.

Courtesy: www.asianage.com, January 22, 2007

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Dispelling common misconception that a Muslim man can divorce his wife by simply saying talaq three times, the Bombay High Court has held that mere pronouncement of intention to divorce is not enough. Before talaq is pronounced -- orally or in writing -- there has to be an effort for reconciliation between the couple with the help of arbiters, Justice B H Marlapalle stated, holding the divorce in question as null and void. The high court was recently deciding a review petition filed by one Dilshad begum, whose husband Ahmedkhan Pathan had driven her out of the house in June 1989. A Judicial Magistrate's court in Baramati in Western Maharashtra granted her monthly maintenance of Rs 400 under the criminal procedure code (CrPc). However, Ahmedkhan pronounced triple talaq orally at a local mosque on May 20, 1994 in the presence of two witnesses. (Dilshad was not present at the time). He also sent a legal notice to Dilshad, alongwith a one-time maintenance, informing her of divorce. After that he challenged the order of maintenance in the sessions court on the ground that under Muslim law, a divorced woman can not get maintenance under CrPc. The sessions court upheld this argument and quashed order of maintenance. Dilshad filed an appeal in the high court, which accepted the fact that her husband had indeed pronounced talaq in 1994. However, Justice Marlapalle then proceeded to examine whether the talaq in question was valid as per the Muslim law. Relying upon an earlier judgement of the full bench of the Bombay High Court, Justice Marlapalle observed that before divorce is finalised, there has to be an attempt at reconciliation. "Conveying reasons for divorce, appointment of arbiters, resorting to conciliation proceedings to bring about a reconciliation and failure of such proceedings should precede the pronouncement of talaq," the judge noted. None of these preconditions were met in the present case, court said, holding thereby that since divorce was not legal, Dilshad was entitled to get maintenance under CrPc.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, January 21, 2007

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A priest in this holy city on Sunday claimed that a devotee in his temple saw tears rolling down the eyes of Lord Hanuman's idol. Priest Mahesh Gaur of the Ganga temple, situated on the Mathura-Agra road, said the devotee told him that he saw the eyes of lord hanuman welling with tears when he entered the shrine on Sunday morning. Soon the news spread like a wild fire and a large number of faithful descended on the temple. Some people said this was a bad omen and began chanting bhajans. The rumours also spread to Kanpur with devotees flocking the Bhairav Ghat Hanuman Mandir in the city after the temple priest Jaikishan claimed to have seen idols of the deity shedding tears in the evening. Jaikishan said 'poojas' and 'aartis' were being performed and the faithful were chanting from the 'hanuman Chaalisa' late into the night. The Panki Hanuman Mandir also reported a similar rush of devotees, who were offering prayers to the monkey god amid the frenzy. The temple priests were unable to say whether the supposed shedding of tears was a miracle or a curse.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com.com, January 22, 2007

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More than one crore people had a holy dip in the Ganga till this afternoon on the auspicious occasion of 'Mauni Amavasya' even as akharas of sants had their second 'shahi snan' of Ardh Kumbh here. A rare celestial configuration with both the sun and the moon being in the tropic of Capricorn took place on the day, with the most auspicious period, 'amrit yog', being on Friday morning. Lakhs of people converged on the banks of the Ganga even before day-break, while the sants had their bath at sangam, confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. It is a popular belief that a sacred bath in the Ganga on the occasion enables one to attain salvation. Many had snuggled together, covered by blankets, around 100-odd bonfires lit at the mela ground during the previous night in order not to miss out on the most auspicious period. Mahanirvani akhara along with Atal akhara set out in a majestic procession at the stroke of 0515 hours and reached sangam an hour later with a large number of naga ascetics flourishing swords.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, January 20, 2007

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Several artefacts belonging to the pre-historic ages have been discovered in Orissa during exploration by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ASI combed around 85 villages as part of its survey of antiquarian remains in December. They found scores of nicely polished artefacts like chisels, axes and idols from 38 villages, on slopes, foothills and hillocks. "We also found some handmade pots with cord impression. The artefacts are of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic age," superintending archaeologist D.N. Dimri told IANS. "The items are being examined further to determine their exact age. But from the evidence available we are sure they are from the pre-historic age," he added. Dimri said the settlers in the area could have been nomadic. Although artefacts of the pre-historic age have been found in different places across India, the new findings are unique because they are nicely polished. "Other ancient materials we discovered include idols of different deities belonging to the 10th or 11th century," Dimri said.

Courtesy: www.teluguportal.net, January 11, 2007

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After Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh is poised to claim yet another world record in rock art - this time, for the longest chain of rock art. The 12-km-long site, with most of its petroglyphs or pre-historic rock carvings intact, has been discovered in Mandsaur district of Malwa region, which is also home to Bhimbetka, the UNESCO world heritage site, 45 km south of Bhopal. The Rock Arts Society of India (RASI), which knew about the existence of the site for sometime, has now gone official saying the site in the Vindhyan tableland, a plateau lying north of the central part of the Vindhya range, is indeed the "longest chain of rock arts in the world". "Nowhere in the world has anybody come across such an extensive chain of rock arts with little interruption. What's exciting is most petroglyphs are intact," internationally acclaimed paleontologist and former RASI secretary G L Badam told TOI. The site is situated inside dense forests, 35 km from Bhanpura town, about 350 km from Bhopal. Earliest carvings in the chain are mostly of animals like rhino, nilgai , bear, panther, elephant, monkey, turtle and crocodile. But there are also pictures of cow, bull, buffalo, pig and horse. Experts have called the discovery of the Bhanpura rock arts as "an important milestone in the history of anthropology". "The presence of a variety of rituals, processions and fighting scenes goes to prove the continuity of the art and early man's culmination into community living," said Badam. RASI officials have already pitched for National Park status to the Vindhyan rock-shelters.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, January 6, 2007

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