Q@9: National Herald Case, India’s Deal With Headley and More
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1. National Herald: Did Sonia, Rahul Benefit? Jairam Ramesh Argues No
On 19th December 2015, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son (also party Vice President) Rahul Gandhi, and others are to appear in a trial court responding to a summons in the National Herald case.
While rejecting their plea against the summons, the Delhi High Court had scathingly said that the conduct of Congress office-bearers “smacks of criminality.”
A question everyone is asking thanks to Subramanian Swamy’s assertions is if Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi have benefited financially in the deal.
Senior Congress member, Jairam Ramesh, explains.
2. Forcing a Spouse to Stay in a Sexless Marriage Is Unjust
When couples tie the nuptial knot, they swear to be at each other’s side in sickness and in health. So should a husband be allowed to wriggle out of this commitment when his wife is afflicted with a serious disease?
Answering the question in the negative, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently ruled that just because a wife is carrying Hepatitis B (perceived to be a sexually transmittable disease) and, hence, her husband is apprehensive about maintaining sexual relations with her, he does not have a legally valid case for divorce, writes Saurav Datta.
3. 26/11: India’s Deal With Double Agent David Headley Is Baffling
Considering that any intelligence that David Coleman Headley might supply India will necessarily be exponentially dated, it is hard to make sense of a special court in Mumbai granting a conditional pardon to the key Mumbai terror plotter and even making him a witness for the prosecution.
For Headley’s part though, he has once again pulled off a crafty deal to save himself more trouble by agreeing to turn approver for India reportedly in return for disclosing the role played by his handlers from the Pakistani military and intelligence services, writes Chicago-based senior journalist, Mayank Chhaya.
4. King George V’s Announcement of Delhi as Capital Stunned Many
The year was 1911. The date: December 12. The venue: Coronation Park, New Delhi.
And the honourable attendees included King George V and Queen Mary.
It was on December 12, that the then-King-Emperor caught the whole nation off guard when he announced the move of India’s capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
Divyani Rattanpal writes about the ceremony that made Delhi the national capital.
5. Rajinikanth’s Biggest Box-Office Disasters (Yes, That Happens Too)
Superstar Rajinikanth, who turned 65 today, has had his share of failures and even though they don’t make much of a difference in his illustrious career, these films have been a huge disappointment to his fans.
Karthik Kumar brings you some of the over-hyped Rajinikanth films that failed miserably at the ticket window.
6. Modi-Abe Aboard Bullet Train, But India Needs High-Speed Upgrade
An agreement on the Rs 98,000-crore bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is the highlight of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India.
The project will be financed with a 50-year yen loan at 0.1 percent, which includes a moratorium on interest payments for the first 20 years.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s aides say the train will be viable with rates that are one-and-a-half times the current AC first class fares, or nearly Rs 3,000.
That is Rs 6 per km.
Moving trains to a higher speed, comfort and safety band will have more impact than a showcase project like this, writes Vivian Fernandes.
7. Aching Saina Faces Tough Call With Olympic Year on Horizon
Pain is a professional hazard in sport. You learn to ignore it. Or embrace it. Over the last week, at the Super Series finals in Dubai, Saina Nehwal quietly gasped in agony every time she lunged for a shot. Now think for a minute about the process in badminton. Play shot. Sprint to be in position for the next. Lunge. Play shot. Repeat.
“I thought I could make it but my legs just wouldn’t let me,” Saina said after losing her last qualifying match to Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying to miss out on a semifinal spot.
But why was Saina in Dubai at all if her body was crying out for recuperation? Clearly, external factors played a role, writes Gaurav Kalra.
8. RainbowMan: Aye Item, Suzette! The Woman Who Was Always Judged
The verdict in deceased rape survivor from Kolkata, Suzette Jordan’s case was announced on December 11, 2015. Three of the five rapists were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
After a successful fight, Jordan felt suffocated sometimes, and sometimes alienated because of our ways of worshipping her courage, writes RainbowMan Harish Iyer.
I am referring to her courage to not just speak up against a ghastly crime, but to also give the unseen victim a face and a character, writes the LGBT activist.
9. Mumbai’s Red-light Zone: Clean-up, or Property Grab?
Ladies of the night, strutting outside ‘cages’, are moving out. Brothels have diminished by half, if not more.
Centuries-old eateries serving the best Mughlai cuisine money can buy have shrunk in size and number. Bhatiyaras or chefs cooking biryani on firewood have packed up.
And the sound of ghungroos no longer ring in the air.
The big red-light clean up in Mumbai gets murkier by the night, writes Khalid Mohamed.
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