Govt lags behind in implementing
schemes for SC/ST: Par Panel

NEW DELHI, May 8: Despite favouring several options including reservation for welfare of Dalits, the Government itself lags behind in implementing various schemes meant for SC/STs and OBCs.

Out of 51 ministries or Government departments, only seven have reported formulation of Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) in their annual plan, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment has said.

The ministries/departments which reported formulation of such a plan are the Ministry of Small Scale Industries, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Department of Agriculture and Cooperation among others.

The Committee also observed that during the last year, some states with sizable SC population have not allocated funds for their SCSP as per the percentage of their population.

Andhra Pradesh which has a SC population of 16.20 per cent has an allocation of only 7.63 per cent, Himachal Pradesh with SC population of 24.70 per cent has an allocation of 11 per cent and Punjab with a SC population of 28.90 per cent has an outlay of 26.02 per cent.

Keeping in view the fact that the allocations under Scheduled Castes sub-plan in proportion to the percentage of SC population in the state is the main criteria for release of grants by the Centre under the scheme, the Committee expressed its displeasure at the non-adherence to the norms by some states.

The Committee also termed as a matter of concern the fact that the ministry does not have any data highlighting the number of beneficiaries who were successful in crossing below the poverty line after having availed of the benefits of the scheme of SCA to SCSP.

"The Committee regret to observe that this is nothing but a casual approach on the part of the Government vis-a-vis its mandate for working towards bringing the target group into the mainstream of development by making them self reliant," it said.

The Committee noted that despite their repeated recommendations impressing upon all states/UTs to open a separate budget head for SCA funds, two states are yet to follow the instructions.

Inspite of clear cut instructions from the Planning Commission directing all Central ministries and departments to formulate SCSP for SCs in their annual plan only seven ministries out of a total of 51 have complied till now, it said.

The Committee has recommended the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to ensure expeditious compliance by the remaining Central ministries of the guidelines issued by the Planning Commission in this regard. (PTI)

Gen-X ‘cashes in’ on relationship days

KOLKATA, May 8: Come mother’s day on May 11 and youngsters throng shops across the city to buy their choicest of cards and surprise their moms. Days like father’s day, best friend day, rose day, Valentine’s day and many more such days are being increasingly observed with fervour by Gen-X.

"But when dealing with relationships, do we really need the dates to remind us about the bonds we share in our personal lives?" asked Pradip Basu, Joint Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata.

Samiara Sen lives as a paying guest in south Kolkata though her home is in this city. Her reason to stay on her own is that she needs to meet her family only on weekends, and not everyday after college.

But she never forgets to wish her mother on Mother’s Day (May 11), her father on Father’s Day (June 22) and her sister on Sister’s Day (May 2).

"I love my mother very much. Mother is God in the lips and hearts of children," Samiara says though she does not consider spending quality time with her mother, working in a bank.

"What are we achieving by sending cards when we dump our parents in old-age homes in their later lives; When we think that our old grandparents are old furniture that needs to be discarded?" says Basu.

"Increase in the observation of these days is nothing but marketing strategy to catch hold on the peppy generation to make money. It hurts to see that relationships have become a commodity with a price tag," he said.

Basu added that the trend of sending e-cards and smses are taking a toll on the real meaning of relationships. "Emotions are slowly vanishing from the heart," he lamented.

The list of days are endless with the likes of boss day (16 October), Hair Stylist Day (April 30), Daughter and Father take a Walk Together Day (July 7), Handshake Day (June 28), Step Mom Day (May 01), Father-in-Law Day (July 30) and Kiss Day (April 28).

Sreya Sengupta, a 3rd year student of a Private Engineering College, however, says "I don’t give cards to my father on Father’s Day. It’s enough that I care for my father. I don’t need a special day to show my love for him."

Sahana Acharya, a teacher of a reputed girls school, says she has no problem in receiving cards from her two sons, both students. "But will they look after me when I’m old?" (PTI)

SC decision not setback for me: Ramadoss

NEW DELHI, May 8: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss today asserted that the Supreme Court quashing the AIIMS (Amendment) Act as unconstitutional was not a setback for him and said there was no question of resigning on the issue.

"It is not a setback for me. It was not my decision but that of the UPA Government which was even approved by Parliament," Dr Ramadoss told reporters when asked for his reaction to the Supreme Court judgement terming the Amendment unconstitutional on the grounds that the entire act was brought in to target former AIIMS Director P Venugopal.

Asked whether he would resign as demanded by the BJP following the Apex Court verdict, the Health Minister said there was no question of his resigning.

Asserting that the verdict was not a setback for him, Dr Ramadoss said he would comment only after getting a copy of the judgement and studying its details.

Earlier, Dr Ramadoss chaired a meeting of the senior officials of the Health Ministry following the Supreme Court judgement. The meeting was also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal. (UNI)

To be or not be to wacky, that’s the argument

NEW DELHI, May 8: Wacky titles and contents may sound interesting but such books have spawned more imitative work and might not entice readers who mostly like to gel with the protagonist’s actual life or share his or her dreams, feel some authors while for others they do make an impact.

"Topics may be at the discretion of the authors but at the end of it, books that connect to the readers sell," says Singapore-based Mainak Dhar, who wrote "The Funda of Mix-Ology", a novel dealing with the contemporary issues facing Indian youth.

"At times, relatively new authors find difficulty in getting publishers. Then the topic and title may come handy," Dhar said.

His book is about a young IIM graduate working in a MNC who finds nothing can prepare him for the stress and drudgery of day-to-day-life. Then he learns mixology, the art of making a good cocktail, and suddenly e discovers he can live a fuller life.

"Thus the title as the protagonist learns to live a fuller life through the fundas of mix-ology," says Dhar. Journalist-writer Shinie Antony, who recently released her book of short stories "Sance on A Sunday Afternoon", says: "Wacky topics are great for non-fiction or humour books. Some, of course, have done very well like ‘Freakonomics’ but such books have spawned more imitative work.

"With wacky, it is important to be original and deep. And there is that much more pressure on the author to keep up the wackiness till the end and not to waver in that wackiness anywhere in between."

On the title of her book, she says: "Sance is a calling out to spirits more living than dead here. And on a Sunday afternoon because Sunday is a day of leisure when one can wake up late and lazily evoke spirits. The caller, the medium, the spirit, all can get cosy."

She says her publishers Rupa helped her in selecting the title.

According to V K Karthika, publisher and chief editor of HarperCollins India, title is what makes the first impression on a reader.

"So yes, an out-of-the-way title would make an impact. Writing about a subject not, or less, written about would make for more interest, unless it’s such a niche subject that there would be few takers for it," she says.

To her, both publishers and authors are equally involved in choosing a title. "Sometimes, the title comes from the author, sometimes editors and authors brainstorm to come up with a mutually acceptable one. So yes, there’s equal involvement," Karthika says.

Another striking title is Soma Das’ "Sumthing of a Mocktail: at JNU where kurta fell in love with Jeans".

The book talks about three girls who step into Jawaharlal Nehru University to discover an unofficial dress code of ‘kurta-chappal-jhola’ and a mini-India that fast arranges itself into regional subgroups.

Roswitha Joshi, a German writer based in Delhi, says she has encountered two types of readers. "One are genuinely busy people who love to read but lack time. They have a short attention span and prefer short self-contained stories and books, which are easy to read ‘in between’.

"The second category consists of people with plenty of time, who like to escape into a world unlike their own to ‘loiter’ in it mentally. A segment of these people might prefer wackier topics for the sheer thrill of them," she says.

According to her wackier topics can only make it big if publishers promote these books forcefully as a ‘must read’ for those with a special taste-either advanced or the opposite.

"Otherwise, I do not think they are of advantage, because readers like to gel with the protagonist’s life and share his or her dreams," she claims.

Joshi is at present working on a sequence to her novel "Once More!"
where she shifts the main protagonists from Germany to India in the hope to create clashes and fusions of more or less civil individuals and not of entire civilisations. (PTI)

Soha Ali’s arms licence cancelled

GURGAON, May 8: The arms licence issued to film actress Soha Ali Khan, whose rifle was allegedly used by her father and former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi to kill a blackbuck, was cancelled today by a court here.

Gurgaon District Magistrate Rakesh Gupta cancelled the licence issued to Soha in November 1996 on the ground that she had not attained the mandatory age of 21 years when Soha applied for the licence.

According to the district officials, Soha was only 18 years old when she sought the licence. Under the Arms Act, a person has to be 21 years to get a weapon licence.

The DM, however, took no action against Soha. The original file relating to the licence has gone missing, the officials said.

They maintained that when she got her licence renewed in 2005, Soha did not make any reference to the weapon being allegedly used by Pataudi to hunt a blackbuck in adjoining Jhajjar district.

The District Magistrate, in his order, said that it was the "moral duty" on the part of Soha to have disclosed in whose possession the rifle was.

Soha’s counsel V Bhushan Arya told mediapersons that Soha may file an appeal against the District Magistrate’s order after getting its copy.

Arya claimed that she did not hide her age while applying for the arms licence in 1996 and while getting it renewed in 2005. It was the duty of the police to have verified such issues, he said. (PTI)

I want to be in movies forever: Dharmendra

NEW DELHI, May 8: His has been a long tryst with films, right from his debut in ‘Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere’ in the late 50s to his latest ‘Apne’, which featured him alongside his sons Sunny and Bobby on celluloid for the first time.

Today, even as cinestar Dharmendra completes a Golden Jubilee (50 years) in films, his love and passion for acting and cinema seems as strong as it was five decades ago when, as a young lad from Sanewar in Punjab, he came to the "city of dreams" Mumbai with stars in his eyes.

The last five decades may have seen him prove his mettle through a wide variety of roles in films traversing diverse genres-from the intensely romantic portrayals in ‘Raja Jani’, ‘Aaspaas’, ‘The Burning Train’ and the recent ‘Life In A Metro’ to his comic portrayals in ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Naukar Biwi Ka’, ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’ and ‘Dillagi’ to his "larger than life" action portrayals in ‘Sholay’, ‘Dharam Veer’, ‘Elaan-E-Jung’, ‘Tehelka’, ‘Main Inteqaam Loonga’ and the recent ‘Apne’, but the desire to be in front of the camera refuses to die.

"Acting and doing films is a passion. Exactly 50 years ago, I came to the city of dreams Mumbai to make it as an actor in films. It was my desire, through films, to give to the people of India the boundless love that nestled in my heart and, in turn, get their love.

"I am blessed that over the last five decades, I have been extremely fortunate to have received lots of love from cinegoers over the years which is what has made me what I am today. I want to continue in films for it is here that I got such tremendous love and affection from people. I want to continue to get the love of my fans,"the cinestar-turned-Lok Sabha MP told UNI here.

A five-decade-long illustrious career may have seen him prove his versatility through roles in films like ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Raja Jani’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Dharam Veer’, ‘Elaan-e-Jung’, ‘Loha’ and ‘Apne’ but Dharmender regrets that the awards have been eluding him despite the fact that he has given one of his best performances in films like Hrishikesh Mukerjee’s ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Anupama’ and ‘Satyakam’.

"A few years ago, when I was given a lifetime achievement award by Filmfare, I mentioned in my speech that every year I used to get suits prepared in anticipation that I would get an award that year.

"What surprised me, that, in initial years of my career, when I gave some of my best performances in ‘Satyakam’, ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Anupama’ and ‘Phool aur Pathar’, I did not get any award. In fact, it almost seemed that awards were allergic to me. Eventually, I became allergic to awards,"Dharmender says.

In this context, he informs that he did not want to receive the Lifetime Achievement award the year he was chosen for it by Filmfare.

"I did not want to receive the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award as I felt that it is like being relegated to a state of retirement, a word that is not in my dictionary. I want to be in films all the time. In fact, I still feel as young as I was when I just started out in films,"he says.

He may not have won the awards and the acclaim of critics, but for Dharmendra it is enough that the audience who thronged the cinema halls to watch his movies have over the years bestowed their love on him by making his films successful.

"This love of the people for me and my films is my greatest award. Where is the need for any other award,"he says.

His five decades’ journey in tinseltown may have seen him earning a lot of accolades and fame but amid all this, Dharmendra comes across as an extremely humble person.

So, while many of the tinsel stars invest in a big way in the Indian Premier League or make a foray on the small screen, Dharmendrais content with his silver screen appearances.

"I am a simple man from a middle class family. I do not understand all this business of IPL. All I have known these last 50 years is films and have neither time nor inclination to embark onto any other territory. I just want to do films and nothing else,"he says.

Also, at a time when many cinestars are seen to go all out to generate media hype for themselves, Dharmendra, as his sons Sunny and Bobby have been seen to keep a low profile, often to the extent of being called "media shy".

The humility and media shyness displayed by Dharmender, and to an extent also his sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, may seem an oddity in today’s scenario in Bollywood where a majority of stars are known to be media savvy and often have the "media eat out of their hands" but Dharmendra is content being the way he is.

"I know that in today’s times, being "publicity-hungry" and "media savvy" is the given thing among film stars and is the overriding principle of show business but I somehow do not have it in me to go out of my way to give sound bytes to the media.

I am aware that because of this I may have lost out on a lot of media coverage but this is the way I am. I would rather have my work speak for myself. In any case, the audience appreciation and their love for my films is enough for me,"he says.

At present, Dharmendra is excited about what people in Mumbai filmdom describe as his "second innings" in Bollywood.

After the highly successful ‘Apne’ and the hugely acclaimed ‘Life In a Metro’ and ‘Johnny Gaddar’, Dharmendra is looking forward to a series of his films traversing across diverse genres.

"After ‘Apne’, Sunny, Bobby and I will be appearing in a comedy thriller called ‘Masters’, which will be directed by Anil Sharma (who also directed ‘Apne’). Further, I will be seen in three films being produced under my home production venture Vijeyata Films,"Dharmendra said. (UNI)

CIC asks Haj Committee of India to appoint PIO under RTI

NEW DELHI, May 8: The Central Information Commission has asked the Haj Committee of India (HCI) to appoint a public information officer under the RTI Act, saying the post should not remain vacant even for a day.

Information Commissioner O P Kejariwal expressed his displeasure over Assistant HCI instead of appellate authority, representing the body-established under the Haj Committee Act 2002 for making arrangements for the pilgrimage-in a hearing before the Commission.

"The Commission takes serious objection to this attitude of the appellate authority.... The Chief of the organisation is also directed to appoint a proper PIO as soon as possible. In fact, the post of the PIO should not remain vacant even for a day," Kejariwal said.

The CIC’s direction came, while hearing an RTI appeal of Jaipur-based Quomi Welfare Society secretary Shakilur Rehman, who had sought information relating to refund of amount to pilgrims belonging to Tonk district in Rajasthan.

During the hearing on the matter, the CIC noted that instead of the appellate authority, an assistant Shaikh Mohammed Ghouse had represented the HCI, prompting it to adjourn the case for May 16.

"The Commission would like to send a warning to the appellate authority that in case he is not present at the hearing without a valid reason, he will be liable for penal action," Kejariwal said.

Ghouse submitted that the earlier PIO was indisposed and a new officer was yet to be appointed in the organisation.

He submitted an authorisation letter from the appellate authority before the CIC stating that HCI would ratify his deposition. (PTI)

SC strikes down law that enabled Venugopal’s retirement

NEW DELHI, May 8: Noted cardiologist P Venugopal was today set to be reinstated as Director of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) by the Supreme Court which struck down a law to ease him out after a bitter row with Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

Venugopal challenged an amendment to the AIIMS Act that fixed the upper age of retirement of Director at 65 years, a step that forced him to relinquish office.

A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and H S Bedi upheld the appeal filed by Venugopal challenging the impugned law as being discriminatory and malafidely brought to superannuate him.

Venugopal had contended that the amendment was brought with the sole purpose of removing him from office due to his differences with Ramadoss.

Senior counsel and former Law Minister Arun Jaitley had contended on behalf of Venugopal that the Act was illegal as the Delhi High Court had in March last year upheld his continuation in the post and the matter was pending in the apex court. But the Centre in the meantime brought the amendment in Parliament, he said.

The law was enacted after a no-holds barred confrontation between Venugopal and the Health Minister over the control of the prestigious institute.

In effect, the judgement would mean that the Government is now under an obligation to bring back the Director. (PTI)

Cbinet re-shuffle on
cards in Haryana: Hooda

KARNAL, May 8: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today did not ruled out the possibility of a reshuffle in

the state cabinet after the byelections.

He indicated indirectly that some ministers might be dropped on

the basis of their performance. "So changes will be made after the by-polls in the state in the cabinet," he said.

Talking to media-persons here, the Chief Minister claimed that the congress party would win all the three byelections at Indri, Gohana and Adampur assembly constituency on the basis of

various developmental activities executed by Haryana Government during the last three years.

He claimed that the shortage of power would be done away within 2 years.He said that the state Government was purchasing power at the rate of Rs 9 per unit from other sources in order to meet the demand.

He assured that even all the agricultural land of the state

would be irrigated during the season.

The Chief Minister said that it was good to have disqualified

three MLAs of the constituencies where byelection were being held, because these MLAs were not taking interest in development

of their area.

Hooda said that all the announcement made by him were fully

executed by the Government.

The pending amount of the farmers, which was due from the last regime with the Bhadson sugarmill, were being paid by the mill management now. (PTI)

Husband hands over wife to paramour

MIRZAPUR, May 8: A man permitted his wife and mother of his four children to marry her paramour in Jamalpur area here.

The incident took place in Pratappur village last evening, when a 35-year-old woman accepted in village panchayat her affair with a 25-year-old youth of Ghazipur.

The husband compromised after he failed to cease the woman’s meetings with the youth and permitted his wife in written to go with her lover, in front of Deputy Superintendent of police (DSP) and station incharge.

The Panchayat also permitted the woman to take her four children with her. (UNI)

Politics not my field: Nana Patekar

KOLHAPUR, May 8: Cine actor Nana Patekar says as politics is not his cup of tea, there was no question of joining the same.

Talking to newspersons here today, Mr Patekar said he had received several offers to join politics but he had refused since it was not his field.

Asked about the recent anti-migrant campaign in Maharashtra, Mr Patekar said a person should be bestowed with voting rights depending upon his or her duration of stay at a place. If this happens, there will be no conflicts, he said.

Mr Patekar said the Government should undertake infrastructure development so as to prevent migration of people to the cities.

He was also very concerned about the traffic congestion on city roads. Mr Patekar suggested that there should be a limit on the number of vehicles that a family could purchase. This would ease the traffic situation, he said.

Mr Patekar stressed that Marathi films were regaining their lost glory as as evident by the quality films that were being produced by newcomers.

However, when his attention was drawn to the fact that two studios-Jaiprabha and Shalini-here in Kolhapur city had closed down, Mr Patekar said both studios were privately owned so, the owners had every right to decide whether to sell them off.

Incidentally, Jaiprabha studio was owned by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar and Shalini studio by Maharaja of Devas. (UNI)

Kalam releases Hindi weekly

NEW DELHI, May 8: Former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam has released a new Hindi weekly, ‘Shukrawar’, here.

After releasing the magazine at his residence on Tuesday, Dr Kalam said media has to play an important role in the development of the country. "Media will play a major role in helping India emerge as a developed country in the year 2020," he added.

The former President said while good publicity helped in development, bad publicity affected the contributions made in the direction. He asked the journalists to contribute in the development of the country by awakening the society through their writings.

When Dr Kalam was offered a memento on the occasion he said he would have preferred books instead.

Shrikant Tripathi is the editor-in-chief of the magazine. (UNI)