News for 'civil prison'

How cow slaughter ban is hurting Indian economy

How cow slaughter ban is hurting Indian economy

Rediff.com25 May 2016

Cows are required for milk and as producer goods for breeding cows and bulls for the future.

Class and Crime in India in Zurich's Top 10 Films

Class and Crime in India in Zurich's Top 10 Films

Rediff.com8 Oct 2014

Kanu Behl's Titli is one of the best films from India in recent years, says Aseem Chhabra from the Zurich film festival.

Sheena Bora Trial: Indrani was a dark blob against a jail window

Sheena Bora Trial: Indrani was a dark blob against a jail window

Rediff.com19 Apr 2018

Each time they held the leafy bedsheet over the window for a few seconds, a clearer but very grey visage of Indrani came into view. In the barely discernible image, Indrani seemed to look tired and downbeat. But then the bedsheet would be taken away and Indrani would disappear into the darkness once more.

Indian Muslims: Trapped between the devil and the deep sea

Indian Muslims: Trapped between the devil and the deep sea

Rediff.com27 Jan 2016

'If chutzpah nationalists brought the Babri Masjid down, chutzpah secularists did precious little to stop it from being torn down.' 'If chutzpah nationalists ensured carnage in Gujarat, chutzpah secularists allowed Muzaffarnagar to become their next hunting ground.' 'Chutzpah secularists readily banned SIMI, but dragged their feet when it came to banning the Bajrang Dal.'

Sheena Bora Trial: A game of chess

Sheena Bora Trial: A game of chess

Rediff.com19 Feb 2019

Sameer Buddha was just the kind of witness Indrani's lawyer Sudeep Pasbola dislikes. Someone, who had temporarily dumped his memory before entering the court. He answered most questions, one after another, one after another, one after another, with a monotonous, deadpan: 'I don't remember.' 'I don't remember.' 'I don't remember.'

Sheena Bora Trial: A Tale of Two Witnesses

Sheena Bora Trial: A Tale of Two Witnesses

Rediff.com19 Jun 2018

Shyamvar Pinturam Rai and Pradeep Waghmare. Both erstwhile employees of Peter and Indrani Mukerjea. In the witness stand on Monday, Waghmare came across as a cheerful, straightforward man who is attempting to clamber his way towards prosperity. In the witness stand on Friday, Rai shed his customary jauntiness and broke down weeping, begging forgiveness from CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale.

Sheena Bora Trial: And the witness brandished her shoe

Sheena Bora Trial: And the witness brandished her shoe

Rediff.com31 May 2018

Finally to end the dispute, Sharma threatened to show her shoes. Pasbola declared regally that he would like to forgo that particular honour. Sharma ignored him. Instead, she bent down, took off her shoe and triumphantly held her prize aloft, and said delightedly, "Yeh dekhiye! (Have a look!)"

And Indrani wants to speak to Peter...

And Indrani wants to speak to Peter...

Rediff.com9 Sep 2017

As Peter sits outside the court with his sister, Indrani walks in with a request. It has been three months since Peter has started speaking to Indrani again, after a long silence of two years.

'Shahnaz believed what she wrote could make a difference'

'Shahnaz believed what she wrote could make a difference'

Rediff.com7 Jul 2015

'What I remember best is the vigour with which she threw herself into the job, the passion she had for issues, particularly those that affected the poor.'

Sheena Bora Trial: Where will Indrani wear her new shoes?

Sheena Bora Trial: Where will Indrani wear her new shoes?

Rediff.com5 Jan 2018

A mere pair of shoes sets off the kind of harsh condemnation Indrani draws in these corridors of justice. That she being a woman who killed her daughter -- never mind that she is an undertrial and the crime has not yet been proven -- apart from making her an object of curiosity, also makes her, by perception, more evil than the men that flood these corridors, facing trial for similar or worse crimes.

Hamid Karzai in Islamabad to mend fences

Hamid Karzai in Islamabad to mend fences

Rediff.com26 Aug 2013

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Pakistan on a day-long visit to mend frayed ties with Pakistan and to seek the release of high-profile Taliban prisoners, including Mullah Barader, to give a fresh impetus to the reconciliation process in his war-torn country.

'Jallikattu movement is bigger than 1965 anti-Hindi agitation'

'Jallikattu movement is bigger than 1965 anti-Hindi agitation'

Rediff.com20 Jan 2017

'What is surprising is the scale and spontaneity of the mobilisation and the social profile of the mobilisation.' 'Not just the youth, but women, children and families are part of this now.' 'This is completely unprecedented.'

'Human rights are being curtailed systematically'

'Human rights are being curtailed systematically'

Rediff.com13 Apr 2016

'Human rights violations are there in rural areas and in cities. In rural areas it is crude and in the open. In urban areas it is well hidden.' 'Awareness has grown several fold. India has 160 national and state human rights institutions. No other country in the world has this.' 'Unfortunately the right to association, right to assembly, freedom of expression, right to protest and discuss are all being curtailed systematically one by one.'

Marion Cotillard, Clooney, Gaga: Humanitarians of Hollywood

Marion Cotillard, Clooney, Gaga: Humanitarians of Hollywood

Rediff.com24 Sep 2014

Ever wondered what happens when Hollywood A-listers turn protestors? Take a look.

'We refuse to be bullied into silence'

'We refuse to be bullied into silence'

Rediff.com10 Jan 2019

MUST READ: The speech Nayantara Sahgal was not allowed to give.

South Sudan is sinking

South Sudan is sinking

Rediff.com21 Jan 2014

Thousands of people have lost their lives and thousands more displaced in the violence in South Sudan. The United Nations mission and humanitarian agencies are under strain to protect camps and to provide internally displaced persons with water, food and other emergency relief. What flared up as a political conflict in South Sudan is now assuming an ethnic character.

Time for more justice, less laws

Time for more justice, less laws

Rediff.com18 Jun 2014

The government must get rid of the clutter of old, obsolete laws.

RIP Gauri. We will not let you down

RIP Gauri. We will not let you down

Rediff.com7 Sep 2017

'That is what Gauri was, in her essence -- the principle of free, open, forthright words, made flesh.' 'And that is what was gunned down -- her words, and with them our freedom to fashion our own opinions, to frame our own thoughts, to articulate them without fear of reprisal.'

Student Of The Year

Student Of The Year

Rediff.com5 Mar 2016

Shekhar Gupta has a question for Kanhaiya Kumar, but a bigger, more vital, one for the honourable judge.

Sheena Bora Trial: The strange matter of the dusty shoes

Sheena Bora Trial: The strange matter of the dusty shoes

Rediff.com14 Jul 2018

One always ponders over why the witnesses should not have poor memory when answering cross examination questions or recounting events that occurred six years ago. Too many witnesses seemed to have drunk some Harry Potter-esque Philosopher's Stone magic elixir that has Botoxed their fading memory to make it as good as new again.

'I live in the present, have to correct the past and move to the future'

'I live in the present, have to correct the past and move to the future'

Rediff.com22 Jan 2015

'Whatever happens in Delhi happens in India,' says Kiran Bedi.

Modi-Li talks: Aspirational, productive and positive

Modi-Li talks: Aspirational, productive and positive

Rediff.com15 May 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to China with a bagful of initiatives, but not all seems to have been fulfilled given China's reluctance to go the whole hog with him

Bihar topper scam: A well-oiled network

Bihar topper scam: A well-oiled network

Rediff.com20 Jun 2016

The reputation of Bihar's schools has taken a knock. Satyavrat Mishra explains how a student-teacher nexus has gamed the system to produce toppers by the dozen.

The war that changed the world

The war that changed the world

Rediff.com8 May 2015

'The Russians? had risen to great heights of sacrifice and heroism and won a victory against Hitler and Nazism at such a tremendous cost in spite of being weighed down by the tyranny and oppression of Stalin.'

Sheena Bora Trial: Indrani wants to argue her case for bail

Sheena Bora Trial: Indrani wants to argue her case for bail

Rediff.com5 Oct 2018

Accused No 1 announced that there had been a change in the circumstances of her health condition. She produced a thick 19-page document, written in her neat, very feminine handwriting, detailing her condition, its symptoms and the consequences it could have on her health and well-being.

Sheena Bora Trial: The plot gets curiouser and curiouser...

Sheena Bora Trial: The plot gets curiouser and curiouser...

Rediff.com5 Jun 2018

Why had the CBI decided to have Waghmare tell the court the tale surrounding this odd trip to Kolkata made for even odder reasons, close to a year-and-a-half after Sheena's murder? To show the kind of person Indrani was? And that the murder of her daughter was not a heat of the moment crime, given Indrani was capable of other odd, suspicious, premeditated acts like this?

Database State to Surveillance State

Database State to Surveillance State

Rediff.com31 Jan 2017

The plan of UID/Aadhaar-based surveillance does not end with the collection of fingerprints and iris scan, it goes quite beyond it and poses a lethal threat to the idea of India, says Gopal Krishna.

We will degrade and destroy Islamic State: Obama

We will degrade and destroy Islamic State: Obama

Rediff.com11 Sep 2014

Identifying Islamic State terrorists as uniquely brutal, United States President Barack Obama has announced that the country will lead a broad coalition to roll back the threat posed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his militia.

Why Two Leaves symbol is crucial for bypolls to Jaya's seat

Why Two Leaves symbol is crucial for bypolls to Jaya's seat

Rediff.com14 Mar 2017

For the AIADMK's cadres, it is much more than an election symbol, they believe the party's electoral chances rest on owning it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.

Protect the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right!

Protect the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right!

Rediff.com7 Aug 2015

'The government's proposal to store citizens' data including Aadhaar data under its Digital India initiative on cloud is violative of the citizens' human rights because the cloud is admittedly beyond India's jurisdiction.'

Subrata Roy's get-out-of-jail deal is mired in mystery

Subrata Roy's get-out-of-jail deal is mired in mystery

Rediff.com5 Feb 2015

Sahara relied on a letter from bank saying the funds were there.

Sheena Bora Trial: What did Indrani tell her lawyer?

Sheena Bora Trial: What did Indrani tell her lawyer?

Rediff.com4 Jul 2018

Indrani chose at that moment to wave a folded chit from the accused enclosure. It distracted Bharti, who looked at her sharply for a split second before turning back to Pasbola. The chit was collected from Indrani and her lawyer Gunjan Mangla slipped it to Pasbola. He looked at it, quietly laughed in disbelief and continued with his cross examination.

Sheena Bora Trial: Were the driver's call records tampered with?

Sheena Bora Trial: Were the driver's call records tampered with?

Rediff.com20 Jan 2018

'Could the Khar police and the CBI have tinkered with the driver's call data records?' 'And did their fiddling with the information not make it that they were tampering with the lives of people that were in the balance as a result of this case?'

Here are the best photos from the World Press Photo Awards

Here are the best photos from the World Press Photo Awards

Rediff.com15 Feb 2017

The winners of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest have been announced. The winning shot was taken by Turkish Associated Press photographer called Burhan Ozbilici, with an image he has simply titled An Assassination in Turkey. Showing Mevlut Mert Altintas shouting after shooting Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19 2016.

Sheena Bora Trial: The driver says bye

Sheena Bora Trial: The driver says bye

Rediff.com10 Jan 2018

Tuesday was the last that Courtroom 51 saw of Shyamvar Rai, accused No 3 and approver in the Sheena Bora murder trial. True to form, Rai's final hours in the witness box were rather acrimonious. His cross-examination at several points turned downright ugly.

SC's NJAC verdict based on 'erroneous logic': Jaitley

SC's NJAC verdict based on 'erroneous logic': Jaitley

Rediff.com18 Oct 2015

The finance minister said he said, "The judgement has upheld the primacy of one basic structure -- independence of judiciary -- but diminished five other basic structures of the Constitution, namely, Parliamentary democracy, an elected government, the Council of Ministers, an elected prime minister and the elected leader of the opposition."

Can Modi unshackle Indian genius?

Can Modi unshackle Indian genius?

Rediff.com26 Aug 2014

Rajeev Srinivasan on how India has continued to disappoint, but could outdo Singapore one day.

Hinduphobia: Intolerance, racial and religious

Hinduphobia: Intolerance, racial and religious

Rediff.com19 Feb 2015

'I do hope the Patel family sues the hell out of the state of Alabama, and I hope the Hindu American Foundation and other community organisations are helping with legal aid and monetary support. For, there is reason to believe that it is religious and racial bias that led to the incident: In other words, a hate crime. There is no reason to suffer that silently.'

Right to privacy is deeply linked to national security

Right to privacy is deeply linked to national security

Rediff.com26 Oct 2017

Admittedly, EVMs too have a UID number and any convergence of data can make the secret ballot system a party of history, warns Dr Gopal Krishna in the 5th part of his series against Aadhaar.

Beating up an ambassador: This is how Communists are

Beating up an ambassador: This is how Communists are

Rediff.com1 Feb 2016

'Why would the Communists do this? I have three possible answers: One, they are specifically opposed to the Global Education Meet that the ambassador organised. Two, they are beginning to realise their days are numbered in Kerala. Three, the standard modus operandi of leftists is anarchism because they are not constrained by any codes of ethics. Roughly, the bad, the good, and the ugly,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.