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extrasNOT TO BE SOLD SEPARATELYNOW!

THE NOW! SPECIAL 8-PAGE PULL-OUT

VOL. 2 NUMBER. 17

Gangtok celebrates Beatificationa

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MOTHER TERESA IS NOWBLESSED TERESA OF CALCUTTA

A Mass, Prayer Service, was held at St. Thomas Church, Gangtok, in the memory ofMother Teresa to celebrate her beatificationon Sunday, 19 October. More than 500 pa-

rishioners and many eminent personalities of the Stateattended the Service. The programme began with anintroduction to Mother Teresa’s life read out by DeepakDewan, Joint Secretary, Sikkim Legislative Assembly.This was followed by a Mass conducted by FatherJoachim Sada. The Chief Guest, N. Tsering Lepcha,Chairman, Forest Board, also spoke on Mother’s lifeand her service for the poor and the dying.

Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, Sichey Busty,Gangtok were honoured by the parishioners for thework they have been rendering to the needy in the State.

Mother Teresa had visited St. Thomas Church,Gangtok, in 1982 making the service held in herhonour here all the more special for all those who werepresent.

a NOW REPORT

turn to extras pg 4

extras 2

extraneous THE GANGTOK STATE OF MIND

CONTEST

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A correct entry (decided by draw of lots) will win 2 FREE TICKETS to the

latest flick playing at VAJRA CINEMA, Digital Surround Sound.Last week’s answers: Abhishek and Ajay Devgan; Salman Khan and

Amithabh Bachchan. Winner: Sunita Subba, Gangtok

FUTURE NOWthe

isKYA SE KYA HO GAYA

Bechaara Sikkim State Con-gress Party. What hopes had

blossomed in their collectivehearts when Madam had agreedto merge. What plans, what strat-egies had burned up the midnightoil. They thought they had all thecaste arithmetic worked out per-fect. NBC plus BL plus whateverequals to power. And how cruelreality has been. Now NBC’s arecheering and rooting for an OBCleader, who in one master-strokehas made a mockery of all theircalculations. So hard has thebetrayal been that leaders of thestate Congress are yet to emergeout of depression. Mr. KN Upretiseems to have taken it the worst.In neatly typed, but unconvincingpress releases, he accuses thegovernment of this and that.While the party president seemsto have disappeared, emergingonly rarely to visit the CongressBhavan for memories of anotherday. And former state Congressworkers seem to have been to-tally shaded out of the scene withmost calling the Working Presi-dent, Namkha Gyaltsen as the“No Work President” .Politics is so cruel, yaar.

SAME OLD EXCUSES

Why is that each time you askUD&HD officials about

problems in clearing garbagefrom any place, the response isalways the same. “Three of ourvehicles are not functioning andundergoing repairs”. This waswhat they said last year and thisis what they say this year. Afterthey have added five new pickuptrucks to their fleet. The problemof course goes beyond unavail-

Buzz. . .

BAZAAR

ability of vehicles. Even if thatwere so, something should bedone to ensure that the problemis not a recurring one. All theirgrandiose schemes seem to fal-ter on the way to implementation.Take the Singtam garbage prob-lem. Even after a much publicizedawareness meet and the installa-tion of the “First ever” GarbageDisposal Room and various pro-posals mooted and accepted,nothing has come out of it. Thegarbage room stays locked.“Technical problems” say the ex-perts. Piled up garbage and stinkall around, say the residents. Thegarbage vehicle goes from Gang-tok every alternate day, picks upwhatever it can and the rest pilesup for the next two days. Onewould think that places likeSingtam and Ranipool need a ve-hicle to pick up the muck everysingle day. Can it really be so im-possible to organize that? Maybethe department has just too muchwork to handle, permeating as itdoes every aspect of our life.Municipality? Did someone sayMunicipality?

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Is it a Mall or is it not? Are mallsmeant only for walking or can

one drive through sometimes? Orif you are someone importantmaybe you can speed through,pretending some emergency. Arechildren playing in the mall? Aretourists walking through? No

problem. Just send them runninghelter-skelter. But only if you aresomeone important. Have I lostit? Not yet.

The other day, tourists wereseen roaming the streets, chil-dren were happily runningaround, all was well with the mall,just the way the town plannershad wanted it. When all of a sud-den three ‘Rato battis’ emergedfrom Nam Nang and in full speeddrove across town, scattering thetourists and frightened childrenwho ran all over the place to getout of the way of the vehicles. Itis a wonder that no accident ac-tually took place. Who has giventhese ‘VIP’s’ the right to do asthey please? There can be nospecial privileges for “Rato Battis”or the Police or anyone. They arenot above the law or the people.What holds good for us must holdgood for them too. If it’s a mallgentlemen, it’s a mall.

What say the SP?

WHERE IS THE MUSEUM?

Setting up Sikkim’s first mu-seum seems to be jinxed.

Scheduled to start sometime thisyear, nothing has been heard ofit since. Plans for the museumstarted way back in 1976. Loca-tions from children’s park toArithang were mooted but noth-ing worked out.

The Culture Department wasall excited about finally being al-lotted the White Memorial Hall,which they thought would be anideal location. But it seems theSports Department has won thisparticular match and are des-tined to stay where they are. Weare spending hundreds of croreseach year on buildings we mayor may not need. Why can’t apermanent place be allotted andbuild to house the state’s tradi-tional wealth? Meanwhile,maybe the Culture Departmentshould sort out its in-house prob-lems. Ego hassles and misun-derstanding amongst officials isstalling movement on any goodproject.

ARIES Relaxed period ahead. Financial crisis will be reduced.Those in trading, agencies will be very successful. Frequent travelis likely. Export business will be very successful. Things are likelyto get better. Support from your superiors suggested.TAURUS You may take a major decision regarding family. Familylife will be very good. Expenses will decrease. Worries will bereduced. Cash flow will be very good. This is a very successfulperiod.GEMINI You may take a new decision on business matters. Busi-ness will be very brisk. You will have the support of your friendsand relatives. Cash flow will be very good. Prosperity is indicated.Political life will be comfortable. Litigation will be in your favour.You may get a promotion and transfer. Separation from your lifepartner is likely.CANCER Extensive travel indicated. Litigation will be postponed.Cash flow will be very good. Business turnover will be very good.Support from your subordinate will continue. You will get a pro-motion. Encouraging change is round the corner. Happiness willprevail.LEO You may switch over to a new line of business. This will bevery good. Unwanted worries will be reduced. Expenses will beas usual. Tension due to spouse will be reduced. Promotion willbe there, but no change in environment. Students will do better.Business will yield you a good profit.VIRGO You will be very successful. Support from your spouseand business partner will continue. Domestic happiness will pre-vail. Uncommon expenditure will be reduced. Litigation will bepostponed.LIBRA Circumstances improve. Improvement in your status andprosperity is indicated. Those appearing for competitive examsmay be successful. There may be internal changes in office. Thosewith eth judiciary will do well financially. You can enjoy free flow ofcash. Export business will be very successful.SCORPIO You may go on along trip. Financial position will bevery good. Litigation will be in your favour. Worries will be re-duced. Happiness will prevail. You may have backache. Depres-sion is likely to continue.SAGITTARIUS You will be very cheerful. Financial position willbe very good. Tension will be reduced. Happiness will prevail.Long travel is indicated. You will be in a position to invest yourmoney. Worries will be over. Unusual expenses will go down.CAPRICORN Long journey likely. Those in trade, finance andpublishing will do well. Expenses will be low. Your family, friendsand relatives will stand by you. Encouraging communication willbe received.AQUARIUS You will be in a position to take new decisions infamily matters. Family life will be very good. You will be popular.Expenses will decrease. Tension will be reduced. Finances willbe good. You may acquire immovable property.PISCES Improvement in your status, position and prosperity isindicated. You may acquire immovable property. You may changeyour house and go for a new one. Changes will be very success-ful. Happiness will prevail. Understanding with your spouse willbe very good.

Clogged drains after a heavy downpour are expected. It is the diligence with which they are cleaned up that is a welcome change

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Mini Jelly Cups whichhave caused the chok-ing deaths of more than

20 children worldwide are beingsold quite openly in the rajdhani.From small roadside kiosks to“foreign” shops, you can buythem as single cones or in pack-ets of 12 or more. The jelly iscontained in a dome-shapedplastic cup with a peel off lid.Children love them and parentsdon’t think twice before pamper-ing them with it.

“My children are always eat-ing them and I don’t think any-thing is wrong with them. They

The children of Gangtok willsoon have something to

smile about and flash that perfectsmile. A team of highly qualifieddentists and doctors, all the wayfrom the United States ofAmerica, will make sure thatabout 400 children get the bestdental care they need.

Sikkim Happiness Home, lo-cated at Gairi Gaon, Tadong, willbe the venue for a week-long den-tal camp, where under-18 childrenfrom various schools in therajdhani will be provided with free

THE CUPS THAT CHOKE

are just like any other sweet,”says Geeta Tamang.

But what she and many of usdon’t know is that these killersweets have been banned allover Europe, America and Aus-tralia. In Japan these jellies havebeen dubbed “the deadly mouth-ful” and authorities there havereported eight child deaths andanother 80 choking incidents.Parents have been warned aboutthese liquid jelly sweets. Foodregulatory bodies have strictlybanned these mini-cup jelly prod-ucts, traditionally manufactured inSouth-East Asia.

“I used to keep these packetsearlier but now I have only Indianjellies,” informs T. Doma of Su-

per Bazaar, Gangtok. While shemay not stock on these, there isno stopping all the others.

Most of the jellies coming fromTaiwan or Korea contain the ad-ditive Konjac, also known asconjac, konnyaku, yam flour orglucomannan and comes from afibrous root grown in Asia whereit is used as a thickener or madeinto noodles.

Jelly sweets made with this in-gredient do not dissolve easily andcan result in the sweets becom-ing stuck in a child’s throat. Theshape and size of the mini jelly-cups, and the fact they are de-signed to be sucked, enablesthem to slip easily into the throatand form a plug. The jelly does not

Jelly-cups – bannedworldwide, loved here

easily dissolve, so it can be verydifficult to dislodge from the throat.

Apart from choking, in Gang-tok some children have been re-ported suffering from rashes andallergy after consuming thesejelly sweets. Doctors have diag-nosed it as allergy to the artificialcolouring used on these sweets.Whatever the dangers may be

from these jelly cups, parentsneed to be aware of the potentialrisk from these sweets and chil-dren should not be allowed to buyor eat them. Although many ofthese jelly products do not specifythe thickener used, it would bebest to avoid these jelly sweets,till further proof is obtained on thematter.

a NOW REPORT

a NOW REPORT

The Himalayan Dental Relief Project team with wards at Sikkim Happiness Home.

SAY CHEESE!

turn to extras pg 4

The Dentists with a Himalayanmission have arrived

Diwali Greetings fromState Pollution Control

BoardThe manufacture, sale or use of firecrackers gener-ating noise level exceeding 125 db (A1) or 145 db(c) PK at 4 mtrs distance from the point of burstingshall be prohibited.

The use of Firecrackers or fireworks shall not bepermitted except between 6 am to 10 pm. No fire-works or firecrackers shall be used between 10 pmto 6 am to 6 am.

Firecrackers shall not be used at any time in si-lence zones.

The education resource centers in all the statesas well as the management/ principals of schoolshall take appropriate steps to educate studentsabout the ill effect of air and noise pollution.

extras 4

INTHECITYrajdhani

12

“Jesus said I am here to serve the peopleand not be served. Mother Teresa did thesame thing all her life. Her service to the poor,the dying and the unwanted was never donefor the sake of fame and this is being recog-nized by the Church today,” said Fr. Sada.

In Vatican City, Pope John Paul II,struggling to celebrate Mass but lookingjoyous nevertheless, beatified MotherTeresa during a ceremony held in St.Peter ’s Square, bestowing one of hisChurch’s highest honors on the nun whocared for society’s downtrodden.

In a shaky and halting voice, John Paulmanaged to proclaim Mother Teresa“Blessed,” the last major step on the pathto sainthood.

Police and Vatican security officials es-timated the crowd at 3,00,000, one of thelargest gatherings for any Vatican function.After a night of rain, the sun was shining

Sunday and thousands of tourists and Ro-mans streamed towards the square evenafter the ceremony began.

“Brothers and sisters, even in our daysGod inspires new models of sainthood,” thePope told the crowd. “Some impose them-selves for their radicalness, like that offeredby Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom todaywe add to the ranks of the blessed.”

“In her, we perceive the urgency to putoneself in a state of service, especially forthe poorest and most forgotten, the last ofthe last,” the Pope said, speaking in a slowand shaky voice.

Nuns from Mother Teresa’s Order wipedaway tears and the crowd clapped whenhe pronounced her blessed. A poster ofher smiling, wrinkled face was unveiled tothe crowd from the facade of the basilica.

In his homily, read by Mumbai CardinalIvan Dias and others, Pope John Paul saidhe was “personally grateful to this courageouswoman whom I have always felt at my side.”

Hundreds of nuns from the Missionar-ies of Charity, the order established byMother Teresa in 1949 to tend to the des-titute, sang hymns with gusto.

Front-row seats were reserved for VIPs,including Queen Fabiola of Belgium, royaltyfrom Liechtenstein and Jordan, the presi-dents of Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo -in homage to Mother Teresa’s roots in theBalkans - and about 2,000 of the poor fromshelters run by Mother Teresa’s followers,including one inside the Vatican’s walls.

Also attending the ceremony were Mus-lim and Orthodox Christian delegationsfrom Albania.

Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, wasborn in what is now Skopje, Macedonia.She spent most of her life working in Indiaand established convents and homes forthe needy around the world.

The Pope put her on the fast track towardsainthood; breaking with the Church practiceof waiting five years after a candidate’s death

before starting the often decades-long pro-cess of beatification, the last formal step be-fore declaring someone a saint.

Last year he confirmed the requiredmiracle for her beatification, the recoveryof an Indian woman, Monica Besra, whowas being treated for what doctors saidwas an incurable abdominal tumor. Monicarecounted how nuns from Mother Teresa’sorder tied a medal with her image aroundher waist and prayed. The day was exactlyone year after Mother Teresa’s death.

“That day I fell asleep and I had a deepsleep,” said Besra, who embraced Catholi-cism after her recovery. “When I woke up,I touched my stomach and I found that thetumor was no more. And I felt light.”

The Vatican will have to approve a sec-ond miracle before Mother Teresa, treatedby many in her lifetime as a living saint,can be officially canonized saint.

Mother Teresa will now be known asBlessed Teresa of Kolkata.

contd from extras cover

GANGTOK CELEBRATES BEATIFICATION

Getting cash in a hurry hasjust become easier for those

living at Tadong and nearby ar-eas. The State Bank of India,Tadong, installed an ATM counterat their branch on 16 October,with Minister for Tourism, KTGyaltsen doing the honours.

Speaking to NOW! BranchManager, Mr. Majumdar said thatthis facility will greatly help thepeople of Tadong to access theirpersonal accounts “24 hours aday and 365 days a year”. Thenetwork is also accessiblethroughout India. Apart frombanking services, the ATM facil-ity will also help in depositingmoney for admission and exami-nation fees at some educationalinstitutions, he added.

The ATM machine is a touchscreen machine and is very con-venient to use. Guides and in-struction pamphlets have alsobeen distributed to the custom-ers. The bank is also providingvolunteers for first-time users.There is no minimum balancerequired and the ATM-cum-Debit

card is free of all charges. A cus-tomer has to fill a form and de-posit it at the branch manager’soffice and the rest will be doneby the Bank. The ATM facilitymakes it convenient for the cus-tomers who can now avoid longqueues while making withdraw-als or deposits.

SBI will soon launch the Mobile-Top-Up service and mobile phoneregistration through the ATM ma-chines. Railway tickets can also be

The instant-cash culture comes to TadongANAND OBEROI

booked through the ATM. With thismachine a customer can alsomake inquiries on their balanceand get mini-statements showinglast five transactions.

SBI- ATM boasts a widespreadnetwork of 6,700 ATMs all overIndia. There are also 49,000 mer-chant establishments from wherea customer can purchase goodsand services all over the country.

SBI also has a tie-up withMaster-Card through which a

card having the CIRUS logo onecan access other ATMs and thecard having the MAESTRO logowill provide goods and servicesfrom shops. Recently, SBI hasentered into a tie-up with ICICIand HDFC bank where custom-ers can upgrade their cards to in-ternational ATM-cum-Debit cardby paying a nominal fee of Rs.250 through which they can with-draw foreign currency from ATMslocated in foreign countries.

TOUCH THE SCREEN ANDWITHDRAW THE CASH:Minister for Tourism and LandRevenue, KT Gyaltsen[extreme left] looks on as theATM at the SBI, Tadongbranch, brings the conve-nience to touch-screen kioskwithdrawals and deposits tohis constituency.The ATM was inaugurated bythe Minister on 16 October,last Thursday and is net-worked to 6,700 ATMs thatSBI has around the country.

a NOW! pic

AppealThe State Pollution Control Board, Sikkim, appeals to all thepeople of Sikkim not to use the following during differentfestivals.1. Fire crackers generating above 125 db noise2. Loud speakers generating above 100 db noise3. Idols which are made up of plaster of Paris and which

needs immersion4. Religious offerings which are water contaminating in

nature5. Plastic items for decorations

The above mentioned directions are as per the provisions ofdifferent Acts and Rules governing environmental protection.

Member SecretaryState Pollution Control Board, Sikkim

NO RISE IN MEAT PRICEOf late there is a rumour that the

prices of meats have increased or

have been proposed to be increased

in the state. As the meat prices are

fixed by the government through the

Animal Husbandry and Veterinary

Services Department, this is to clarify

that no such price increase or any

proposal for increasing the same is

being taken up by the Department.

Hence, all concerned public are

hereby notified not to be carried away

by such rumours.Commissioner Cum Secretary

Department of Animal Husbandry and

Veterinary Services

dental check up and treatment,which will begin from 24 October.

Dentists and volunteers fromthe US-based Himalayan DentalRelief Project, who will be con-ducting this camp, have alreadyarrived. Three dentists and a doc-tor will be conducting the dentalcamp, during which school stu-dents will be treated for regulardental problems and given les-sons on the right technique forbrushing and dental hygiene.

This is the first time that the Hi-malayan Dental Relief Project,which has been working in Nepaland North India for quite sometime, is conducting such a camp inthe State. Andrew Holecek, DDS,one of the visiting dentists, toldNOW! that the camp is basicallyaimed at providing School childrenwith basic dental care facilities.

The organisers of the camp,the dZi Foundation, which alsosupports the Sikkim HappinessHome, said that this camp is ba-sically for school students, routedthrough their respective schoolsand not open for everybody. Theyintend to take the camp into therural areas in the near future.

The camp will not just providethe children with free dentalcheck-up but will also try to incul-cate in them proper dental hy-giene regimen. A data base willbe created and regular follow-upsconducted to monitor theprogress of the beneficiaries.

Lets smile to that!

Contd from extras pg 3

Say Cheese!

Reconstructive Plastic Surgery CampThe fifth Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Camp willbe held at STNM Hospital, Gangtok from Novem-ber 10 to November 22. The camp is being spon-sored by the Department of Health and Family Wel-fare in collaboration with Interplast, Germany andRotary International. Cases of cleft lip, cleft palate,facial tumours, post burn contractures will be oper-ated upon.The camp is strictly for reconstructive surgery andcosmetic plastic surgery will not be entertained.

Contact Surgery Out Patient Department (SOPD),STNM Hospital, for further information on weekdays

from 10 am to 12 noon.

extras 5

13

LiTNOWWHEN THE HILLS WRITE

Genuine HOTEL GOLDEN PAGODA, MG MARG,

GANGTOK. PH: 03592 223276

ONLY AT: STYLE

SWEET NOTHINGS MESSAGES FROM THE HEART

STYLE A PEPE T-SHIRT FREEfor the best message every week from STYLE.

L O N D O N

Ram, Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayi,Papiyon ke paap Dothe2

To jaldi aao, Kahin dair na hojaye

Hey Mosquito [Rahul]Say u’r prayer little one, don’t

forget my friend to include every-one on u’r funeral. I’ll keep u warmwithin and keep u free from sin...Sleep with one eye open, grippinyour pillow tight, enter night, exit

light, take my hand and we are offto Never, Never land

Mortien [Suman, Prajoy, Sugat]

YO!for god’s sake please say that therakhi u put on my wrist was a fake

...

VERMINcome back, all is forgiven

Aunty

SACK THE CEO

Ask a Zen master what isreality and he will tell youwhat it is not. Jeetendra

Jain, in his book, Sack the CEOhas taken exactly that approach.Through his hilarious, maliciousand spice-laden book, he tells uswhat management is not orshould not be. With one stroke,the author has ripped into piecesthe fig leaf behind which India Inc.has been hiding — a majority ofit that is.

The readers will find their col-leagues, bosses and boss ’sbosses, except their names havebeen changed with better sound-ing ones. In the book, they ap-pear as Mr. Smallfry, Mr.Fasttrack or Mr. Takeiteasy. Thebosses will come cloaked in asTopgun, Talk-the-Talk, CronyCapone, Volte-Face or FamilyMan and many others to fit theirvery own personalities.

There is no hanky panky of thecorporate world left uncovered.Jain appears to be a master ofanalogies for he describes each

corporate malady in medicalterms. For example, Mr. Talk-the-Talk, who says one thing anddoes exactly the opposite, is di-agnosed as suffering from corpo-rate schizophrenia. Mr. Volte-Face is a patient of an acute caseof Alzheimer because hechanges his decisions so oftendepending on his personal exi-gencies and forgets his last in-structions given a day or two ago.Corporate arthritis is a disease

Anecdotal escapecommonly found in the familybusinesses, which have a grandvision for the family, dummy.

In many places, the corporatesector resembles a circus wheresome are performing a trapezewhile others are clowning around.

You see all the facets ofcronyism, wheeling-dealing andfixing befitting a Bombay don ex-cept here the same tasks arebeing performed in pin-stripesuits, who roam the corporateworld with an air of self-assumedimportance.

Sack the CEO can put you offif you try to read it as a book offiction, from the first chapter to thelast. It is not because it gets bor-ing but because the reader cantake only this much assault ofcorporate misdeeds and nomore, without falling sick. Merci-fully, it is written in stand-alonechapters of 10-12 pages and youcan read it like a short story book.A good travel companion or abedside book to be picked up,read for a chuckle or two.

Pages 250; Price Rs. 245; Available

at GOODBOOKS, Tadong

Hi Choppel

Extravagant Birthday Wishes to the

Master of Understatement

from LOCO POCO aka COCO

Badi Tina

What News?

All the best from All of us

the NOW! team

Dearest Mammy

Happy Birthday, May you achieve

everything you have dreamt of.

Love Suneeta & Anand

...

u have taken a loan for a fridge, an

advance for the baby...

what say you we also borrow some

time for each other

...Nangs, How is life treating you out there..

Learnt Oriya yet??? Stewart Little

Imagination

or Madness?

Imagination

or Madness?I’ve never been on a beach

But I can imagine

The moon over the waters

The trees swaying to the wind

The sand and the water gleaming in diverse light

A chill surrounding the land.

A perfect dream

To top it all off

You, there with your hand

Held in mine.

As a fire lit upon the shore in my heart

On that sandy beach

A greater flame burnt incessantly

Screaming of the holocaust desire

To hold you, to touch you.

Spend a zillion lifetimes

In one single moment

To embrace the pain,

Knowing it has sometime but to end.

Like an agonizing necessity

Your ardour has left me addicted.

Every ounce of me has only one desire

You, You, You, You.

As my beach danced in the ethereality of it all

My senses gave way and my brain froze

The lanes of time were now obsolete

It was at one moment all in heaven and in hell

There was that fear and the pain

Of knowing there was an end

And there was that elation of knowing true bliss, nirvana

From that fever of psychosis

From one moment so symmetrical

From just one kiss.

- PRAMOD HINGMANG -

Class 12, Holy Cross School

extras 6

WOMENEXTRA SPACE FOR THE FAIRER SEX

NOW!

14

On October 15, a Swiss diplomatwas abducted, assaulted andraped in her own vehicle in NewDelhi. She was returning to the

parking lot after a latenight show at theInternational Film Festival. Just days ear-lier, a college student was raped by fourmen from the elite President’s BodyGuards in a New Delhi park.

Women are increasingly vulnerable incities. They are being picked off the streetsand raped in moving cars, assaults aremore common inside campuses, date rapeis on the increase and merely travelingalone leaves a woman open to risk.

In villages, the threat of rape is a con-stant. The act is used to settle scores incaste and power tussles.

The statistics are grim across the coun-try. Sexual crimes against women are onthe rise. According to the World HealthOrganization, every 54 minutes a womanis raped in India. Another by the Centerfor Development of Women’s Studies[CDWS] gives even more disturbing sta-tistics. It says 42 women are raped everyday in India - one every 35 minutes. Thatwould be alarming enough were it not forthe fact that a large number of cases in-volving sexual molestation go unreported.Studies show that for every reported rapecase, as many as 68 rapes went unre-ported, while for every FIR filed on moles-tation 374 remained unreported.

Not only is there an escalation in thenumber of rapes, but in the perversity ofcrimes against women. The situation isworst in the north-Indian states of UttarPradesh and Rajasthan, where caste andgender divides are sharp. Gender issuesincluding rape are often subsumed bycaste loyalties.

This was clear in a gang rape case thatoccurred in September this year. When a25-year-old woman complained of havingbeen gang-raped by seven men in a col-lege hostel in Jaipur, Rajasthan, politiciansfrom the poweful Jat-caste to which themen belonged rallied to protect their kind.Cutting across party lines, the Jat politi-cians termed the rape story, which foundprominent display in leading newspapers,a “conspiracy to defame a particular caste.”

As a result, the National Commissionfor Women (NCW) that investigates rapecases often finds itself helpless in caseswhere political pressure is brought to bearon behalf of the accused rapists.

Women at the forefront of struggles onbehalf of the poor and marginalised faceserious risks of getting raped.

In 1993, Budhi Behn, an activist of theNarmada Bachao Andolan in Gujarat, wasgang-raped by policemen after she re-sisted eviction from her land threatenedby a dam project.

Usha Dhiman, a low-caste woman, wasstripped, paraded naked and raped bygoons of a powerful liquor lobby, whoseinterests she threatened by leading an anti-liquor movement that was gaining momen-tum in western Uttar Pradesh state.

In a similar case, Dhapu Bai, a tribalwomen from the Tonk district in Rajasthan,was gang-raped by liquor contractors be-cause her husband was leading an anti-liquor agitation.

Perhaps the worst abuses are found inBihar, where landowners and upper castesmaintain armed private armies like the

The Law on RapeSection 375 of the Indian penal Code defines rape as “sexual inter-course with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coer-cion, misrepresentation or fraud at a time when she has been intoxi-cated or duped, or is of unsound mental health and in any case if sheis under 16 years of age”Section 376 defines the punishment for rape. If rape is proved thenpunishment can be up to seven years of rigorous imprisonment forraping an adult and up to 10 years for raping a minor. Criminal Pro-cedure code amendments have all made rape trials compulsorily in-camera (where only those directly connected are allowed. And whereit is obligatory to protect the identity of the victim.

Ranvir Sena, which regularly attack low-caste villages and kill or mutilate the menand rape the women in collusion with po-lice, landlords, employers and business orpolitical interests who use rape as aweapon in conflict or suppression.

The All-India Women’s Association al-leges that as part of the ‘’pacification’’programme in the north-eastern state ofTripura, scores of women were raped bysoldiers in Ujanmaidan.

Similar occurrences have been re-ported in areas like the northeastern re-gion where there is unrest among the Nagapeople, and in divided Kashmir. Accord-ing to members of the Naga People’sMovement for Human Rights, ‘’securityforces in the North-east and in Kashmirrape women to induce a state of humilia-tion and terror in the entire local popula-tion.’’

Often, such abuse of power by men inuniform is facilitated and justified by spe-cial laws that give them wide-ranging pow-ers of search and detention over civilians.

Women’s organisations are now com-ing together in broad coalitions to resistabuses by law officers or those who rep-resent the forces of caste hegemony.Some of them have in fact been formedspecifically to fight rape.

However, a rape victim’s real weaknessis forced on her again and gain. It beginswith the humiliation at the hands of therapist, then the embarrassing and shame-ful journey that her parents, family andneighbourhood, police and finally the lawsubject her to. Her contribution to the crimeis repeatedly suggested. Secondary vic-timization, the term used for post rapetrauma, often ends up coagulating the ef-fect of the initial crime. By the time the lawtakes its course, most of the women havehad enough.

A lot has been said, a lot heard and alot debated, but the truth is still out there.Clutched to our chests like a guilty secret.

Whatever protests we may make on thesubject, for a large percentage of the popu-lation of this country, rape is still viewedas the most shameful thing to ever hap-pen to a woman.

This damaging view of what is essen-tially a crime done against the woman hashad such distasteful consequences for oursociety that something urgent needs to bedone about the situation. For rape is notjust a crime against women. It’s a crimeagainst humanity.

�

RAPEa continuing offence

against humanityTHE SITUATION IS GRIM

ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

SEXUAL CRIMES AGAINST

WOMEN ARE ON THE RISE.

REPORTS SUGGEST THAT 42

WOMEN ARE RAPED EVERY

DAY IN INDIA - ONE EVERY 35

MINUTES! FOR EVERY

REPORTED RAPE CASE, AS

MANY AS 68 RAPES WENT

UNREPORTED...

extras 7

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TENACIOUS SWIMMERSand Yuhina L. Lachungpa are twosuch swimmers and are just backfrom the Indian Public SchoolConference, Aquatic Meet 2003,held at Patalia [Punjab] at theYadavendra Public School.Squaring off against 250 swim-mers representing 19 public

MINLA AND YUHINA

schools from all across the coun-try, the two held their own. Yuhinabagged a silver medal in the 50mtrs. breaststroke while Minlabrought home a bronze in 50 mtrsbutterfly.

Their coach, P. Chakraborty isall praises for their feat and com-mended them for the commitmentthey showed during the training.“If they can shave off 10 secondswith just a month’s practice. Imag-ine what they can achieve if theytrained through the year. Theycan become national champi-ons,” he gushed.

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yeh deadlines ke bhooke, management ki duniya;yeh Product agar ban bhi jaaye to kya hai?Yahaan ek khilona hai programmer ki hasti

ye basti hai murda bug-fixers ki bastiyahaan par to raises hai, inflation se sastiyeh Review agar ho bhi jaay! e to kya hai?

Har ek keyboard ghayal, har ek login pyaasiexcel mein uljhan, winword mein udaasi

yeh office hai ya aalame micr$ft kiyeh Release agar ho bhi jaaye to kya hai?

Jalaa do ise, phoonk daalo yeh monitormere saamne se hataa daalo yeh! modem

Guru Dutt’s new version??HUMORHUMORHUMORHUMORHUMORHUMOR

extras 8

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Looking good has never beeneasier. Oily skin, dry skin,

mixed skin, whatever type youmay be, there’s a remedy for allthat. Each month newer cosmet-ics hit the stores. This week wesnooped around to find the lat-est in beauty buzz for you.

Here are some all new itemsavailable at shops in theRajdhani.

Yes, the sun is still as strongas ever and you definitely needsome help. Try the Lakme IcyFresh Gel for a cool new way tostay fresh. With peppermint andwatercress extract, it’s just per-fect for a matt complexion. Thispotion doesn’t come cheap, a jarof 50 gms cost Rs.175.

Also from the same companyis the Lakme Butter Up, a bodysmoother for dry skin. A rich elixirof avacado and shea butter thatconditions your skin for the softvelvet feel! Rs.300 for a 170 gms.

Garnier Skin Naturals have

just launched BodyCocoon, anintense moisture lotion that nour-ishes dry skin with micro-fruit oils.Available in two sizes of 250 mland 120 ml, it cost Rs. 119 andRs. 69 respectively.

Men need not despair, thecosmetic industry is recognizingthat they could use some helptoo. Biotique has introduced Bit-ter Orange, a nourishing lotionfor men. It is a light emulsion withextracts of butter, orange,wheatgerm, and winter cherry.Sounds good enough to eat! Youcan buy it for Rs. 180. In the

same range is Bio Plantain af-ter shave lotion. A powerful anti-septic with aromatic herbs fromthe Far East with sandalwood oil.

Brand new is the Bio FreshPure Herbal Range whichproudly proclaims that beauty isonly skin deep! The brand offersan exclusive range of productsmade from ‘exotic and unusualreservoir of herbs picked from therich Indian soil’. Hardsell aside,there are some things you couldtry out.

The Mixed Fruit Lip salvecould be very useful this winterfor chapped dry lips. So too theCocoa butter & Aloe Vera Handand Body Lotion.

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A Cradle of ExcellenceLocated inside the Army Cantonment, Army School, Gang-tok is run directly under the supervision of HQ 17 Moun-tain Division. It was established in the year 1975 and to-day, it has classes from Nursery to Class 10 with a strengthof approx 500 students. The school forms part of ArmyWelfare Education Society (AWES), New Delhi which runsa total of 130 schools and Professional Colleges, all overIndia. The school is affiliated to the the CBSE and the me-dium of instruction is English with Hindi and Sanskrit assecond and third languages.

THE ARMY SCHOOLS AIMS AT :-Provide quality education at an affordable price.Overall development of students in disciplined environ-mentDevelop patriotismNational integrationDevelop leadership qualities

OUR STRENGTH :-Professionally competent facultyComputer Lab with twenty computersWell lit class roomsWell equipped physics, chemistry and biology laborato-ries.Efficient management by senior army officersFacilities for indoor/outdoor gamesAuditorium for conduct of Co-curriculum Activities (CCA)and cultural programmesRegular conduct of trekking, adventure sports and picnicsInter-Army School sports, games and co-curriculum ac-tivities

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