VOLUME 36 ISSUE 4 The VYK Newsletter October 2010 …Selvi, Manish Sisodia, Dr. Rajesh ... J. Sharma, D. Bhattacharya, Dr. V.P. Vaidik and Dr. Sujata Rao. The participants had one-week

Fifty years and marching on steadily. Thisquarter marks the beginning of Vishwa YuvakKendra’s 50 years of existence. Vishwa Yuvak

Kendra began its glorious journey five decadesdown the lane when the Indian Youth Centres Trustwas established on 10 August 1961. As the year ofthe Golden Jubilee celebration starts, VYK looksback at its past glory and plans for its shining futurewith the support and co-operation of all.

The Agro-based Entrepreneurship DevelopmentProgramme, Awareness Generation Programmeson Women Empowerment and GeneralEntrepreneurship Development Programme arethree important reaching-out programmes ofVishwa Yuvak Kendra. During this quarterthese three programmes were conductedin Assam in collaboration with the Societyfor North East Handmade PaperDevelopment (SNEHPAD).

The farmers group at Kunder Gaon,Jorhat, was more than willing toimprove its livelihood throughagro-related activities. Livestockfarming, mushroom cultivationand medicinal plantcultivation appealed to thefarmers. The students groupfrom four colleges of Jorhathad specific questionsto raise during thethree-day AwarenessGeneration Programme onWomen Empowerment. Non-inclusion of girl students in theNational Defence Academy course,social restrictions and limitationsimposed upon girls and thenegative impact of visualmodernisation were some suchissues. The participants ofGeneral EDP were unemployed

youth from Missamora and the nearby villagesof Golaghat district. Most of them aspired to dosomething in life, but lacked information andfacilities to learn and develop their skills. It wasobserved that the people at the grass-rootslevel were aware of the changing scenario of

developing India. They needed assistancein identifying their needs and achieving

their goals.Vishwa Yuvak Kendra also

conducted a Certificate Course inYouth Work, one of the mostpopular courses among NGOworkers and MSW students and atraining programme on Right toInformation during this quarter.

Suresh AmbekarDirector

Golden Years

view point

VO

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36 ISS

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The VYK Newsletter � October 2010 �

Nurturing PowerCertificate Course in Youth Work

2-3

The youth hasimmense potential to

bring changes

With the passage of time ithas been realised thatyouth work is required for

the holistic development of youngpeople of our nation. The youth hasimmense potential to bring changesand therefore there is a need fortrained youth workers. Consideringthe growing requirements indicatedby small as well as large youth andsocial welfare organisations involvedin youth work, and also afterstudying the important role oftrained personnel, especiallythose working in rural areas, inaccelerating the socio-economic andhuman resource development in ourcountry, the Vishwa Yuvak Kendrahas been conducting a CertificateCourse in Youth Work regularlysince 2003.

The seventh certificate course wasconducted from 1 July-8 August2010. The programme was acombination of academic sessions,library reference and field work.Thirty participants from 10different states that includedAndhra Pradesh, Andaman andNicobar, Assam, Bihar, Delhi,

Living were also a part of the coursealong with activities such asparticipation in group discussions,public speaking and debating.

Director, VYK, said that thepurpose of this course was to helpthe participants to understand thestructure of society and identifythe needs of the community, toplan and implement appropriateprogrammes. It was expected thatthe knowledge of skills andtechniques would enable theparticipants to discharge theirfunctions with greater competence.Apart from the in-house faculty,experts from various fieldsinteracted with the participants.Eminent resource persons wereDr. Samiksha Singh, Sunil Keswani,Selvi, Manish Sisodia, Dr. Rajesh(University of Delhi), Major GeneralSurat Sandhu, Dr. Rajesh (SPYM),Dr. Zeenat, Mayank Upadhyay,J. Sharma, D. Bhattacharya,Dr. V.P. Vaidik and Dr. Sujata Rao.The participants had one-week fieldexposure. During this period theydid a baseline survey of acommunity near Vasant Kunj.

Karnataka, Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradeshparticipated in this programme.

It was a residential course andduring the course, topics such asyouth and youth work, personalityenhancement, working withpeople, formation andmanagement of an NGO, socialand health issues of youth,enhancing resources andentrepreneurship developmentwere discussed. Libraryassignments, project proposalspreparation and so on were givenas after-class work. Fifteen-dayEnglish speaking and yoga classesby Sanjay Anand from Art of

3programme conspectus

Realising a DreamRight to Information

To create maximumawareness, sensitisation andeducation among the NGO

workers on the fundamentalconcepts and nuances of the Right toInformation (RTI) Act, the VishwaYuvak Kendra organised aprogramme on Right to Informationfrom 28-30 September 2010.

The programme was formallyinaugurated by Wajahat Habibullahby lighting the lamp. In hisinaugural address he stated that theRight to Information Act has itsspecial place in the legislation. Thiswas the dream of the Father of theNation who talked about power inthe hand of the common man. TheConstitution of India in article19(1)(a) guarantees freedom ofspeech and expression and theSupreme Court has held that thisguarantee includes the right toinformation. But till recently it wasalmost impossible to exercise thatright without using influence. Healso shared the survey result ofTransparency International, whichwas a matter of shame for India,where transparency andaccountability was lagging behind.Our Constitution, our laws andparticularly the RTI Act helps ifthere are any complaints, grievances

and the people are not gettingtheir rights. They have the rightto ask the concerned departmentsand authorities to get theinformation without any violence.In Delhi many examples can beshared in the case of ration card,widow pension and so on. By justasking a simple question about thestatus of their applications, their

work, which had been pending fora long time, can be done. The Actalso compels all Governmentoffices to keep all information ontheir website. The Government ofRajasthan has circulated a note to

Gram Panchayatsto disseminateinformation outsidetheir offices to makethe citizens awareabout theirprogrammes andpolicies, funds allottedand funds utilised.

The topics such asthe background of theRTI Act, scope andprovisions of the Act,citizens’ right underthe Act, machineries

under the Act, application andimplication of the Act,implementation of the Act—Problems and Challenges, weretaken up by Anjali Bhardwaj,Satark Nagrik Sangthan,M.S. Kasana, Former JointDirector, Institute of SecretariatTraining and Management, PankajK.P. Shreyaskar, Deputy Secretaryand Assistant Registrar, CentralInformation Commission, ManishSisodia, KABIR and Rajiv,Pardarshita. Forty-sevenparticipants from Bihar, UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,Karnataka, Manipur, Gujarat,Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjaband Delhi participated inthe programme.

Our Constitution,our laws and

particularly the RTIAct helps if there

are any complaints,grievances and the

people are notgetting their rights

Reaching Out

4-5

Assam is one of therichest biodiversityzones in the world

and consists oftropical rainforests,deciduous forests,

grasslands, bambooorchards and

numerous wetlandecosystems.

Assam’s biggestcontribution to the

world is tea

Assam

Assam is one of the richestbiodiversity zones in the world and has a wide array

of tropical rainforests, deciduousforests, grasslands, bambooorchards and numerous wetlandecosystems. Assam’s biggestcontribution to the world is tea.

Despite its rich natural resources,and the supply of up to 25% ofIndia’s petroleum needs, the growthrate of Assam’s income has not keptpace with that of the country.

Agriculture accounts for morethan a third of Assam’s income andemploys 69% of its workforce.Assam’s agriculture is yet to

experience modernisation in thereal sense.

With implications to food security,per capita food grain production hasdeclined in the past five decades.Productivity has increased marginally;but is still lower in comparison tohighly productive regions. Apart fromtea and petroleum refineries, Assamhas few industries of significance.The Assam Agriculture University islocated at Jorhat, Assam. It is theonly agricultural university amongthe Seven Sisters.

Vishwa Yuvak Kendra conductedthe Agro-based EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Programme, AwarenessGeneration Programme on WomenEmpowerment and EntrepreneurshipDevelopment from 24 September-1 October 2010 in collaboration withthe Society for North East HandmadePaper Development (SNEHPAD).

5programme conspectus

The Agro-basedEntrepreneurshipDevelopment Programme

was conducted at Kunder Gaon,Titabor, Jorhat.

The Titabor sub-division of Jorhatdistrict is famous for its fertile landand quality rice production. KundarGaon is at a distance of fourkilometres from Titabor town and 14kilometres from Jorhat, districtheadquarters. Kundar Gaon is underNamchungi Gaon Panchayat andBaghchung Development Block.

Agro-based EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Programme

Topics Resource Persons

Promotion and Financing Farm Sectors Mayur Bora,in Assam—Role of NABARD DDM, NABARD

Soil Condition, Irrigation, Water Conservation Nobin Bora,and Application of Bio-fertilisers Convenor, ATMA

Entrepreneurship Development based on Dr. I.C. Baruah, Professor,Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Assam Agriculture

University

Utilisation of Agro-waste and Dr. Ajit Bordoloi, SeniorMushroom Cultivation Scientist, NEIST

Poultry Farming, Fish Breeding and Dr. Gokul Sharma,Animal Husbandry for Farmers Dairy Development

Technology Inputs in Agriculture and Dr. Dipul Kalita,Value Addition of Natural Fibre Scientist, NEIST

Cash Crop and Idea Generation Dr. Chandan Hazarika,in Agriculture Marketing Professor, Assam

Agriculture University

There are 87 households in thevillage and the total population is520. Almost all households areinvolved in paddy and vegetablecultivation, tea plantation andanimal husbandry activity. They allhave small ponds but there is notany planned irrigation system in

the village. People use both chemicaland bio fertilisers. The colour of landis black, the PH of the soil is slightlyacidic. However, agro-basedentrepreneurship is yet to developin the village.

The programme was formallyinaugurated by S.K. Pujari, ProjectDirector, DRDO, Jorhat. Pujariemphasised the need for creating amarket for the agro-based productsof Assam. Syed Altaf Hussain, Retd.Deputy Director (Industry) andVice-President of SNEHPAD, spokeon the scope of EntrepreneurshipDevelopment in the Agro Sector.Md. Naved, Programme Officer, VYK,shared his experiences with farmersof other states and encouraged theparticipants to look forward tobringing changes in agriculture.Apart from the discussion andinteractive sessions the participantshad an exposure visit to AssamAgriculture University.

A quiz on general knowledge andagriculture, conducted by Bani Bora,Programme Officer, VYK and PrakashThakur, Secretary, SNEHPAD, madethe concluding session lively andinteractive. Fifty participants attendedthe programme. Thakur dividedthe participants into five groupsaccording to their interests and futureplans and entrusted theresponsibilities of follow-upaction to each group.

Titabor is famous forits fertile land and

quality rice production

6-7

The Indian Constitutiongrants equality to womenand empowers the state to

adopt measures in favour of women.The laws, development policies,plans and programmes have aimedat women’s advancement indifferent areas. To enhanceawareness and to help womenunderstand the need forempowerment, the Kendraorganised Women Empowermentprogrammes at J.B. College, Jorhat,from 25-27 September 2010.

It was expected that byorganising such a programme in arenowned college, the messagecould be conveyed to a larger groupand more academicians could beinvolved in the programme.

Jorhat is one of the mosthistorically and geographicallyimportant places of Assam as itwas the last capital of the AhomKingdom. This place is also knownas the cultural capital of Assam.Jorhat is internationally famous forMajuli, the biggest river island andis a two-hour drive from KazirangaNational Park, home of the one-horned rhino. It is outfitted withmany national level institutionssuch as the Regional ResearchLaboratory (presently NEIST), RainForest Research Institute, CentralEri and Muga Research Institute,

WomenEmpowerment

Sharma. The programme wasformally inaugurated byDr. Anmona Bora, Head, EnglishDepartment, J.B. College. Apartfrom discussions on issues related towomen empowerment, there weregroup discussions and presentationsby the participants who alsointeracted with successful womenentrepreneurs of SNEHPAD.Thirty-five participants from fourcolleges of Jorhat, C.K.B. CommerceCollege, J.B. College, JorhatCollege and P.J. College, took partin the programme. The participantshad informative and interactivesessions with Bani Bora, VYK faculty.

Topics Resource Persons

Status of Women in India, Need for Bani Bora, ProgrammeWomen Empowerment Officer, VYK

Women Empowerment through Mayur Bora,Economic Independence DDM, NABARD

Economic Issues Related to Empowerment Dr. Muchumi Konwar,of Women in Assam HOD, Economics,

DCB Girls College

Women and Primary Health Care Dr. Minakshi Thakur

Women Empowerment through Education Dr. Archana Bhattacharjee,HOD, English, Kakajan College

Socio-economic Empowerment Dr. Labanya Majumdar,Issues of Women in Assam Retd. Dean, AAU, Jorhat

Tea Research Institute, MedicalCollege, Engineering College,Assam Agricultural University andso on. As a place of educational

excellence, studentsfrom the entirenortheast come tostudy here.

On behalf ofJ.B. College, theprogramme wasco-ordinated byDr. Bolin Hazarika,Head, PoliticalScience Department,along with facultymember Subhasish

7programme conspectus

Unemployment is one ofthe most crucial problemsin Assam and Northeast

India, creating socio-economicimbalance in the region. Offencessuch as theft are increasing andyouth are getting attracted towardsinsurgency. The tendency of suicideis also increasing among youths.Such a major problem cannot besolved merely by creating someGovernment jobs. People must gofor effective entrepreneurship sothat various sources of employmentgeneration come out of it.

To create awareness, sensitiseand motivate unemployed/underemployed youth to take up

entrepreneurship as self-reliantventures, Vishwa Yuvak Kendraconducted a GeneralEntrepreneurship DevelopmentProgramme at Missamora villageof Golaghat district from27 September-1 October 2010.

General EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Programme

Topics Resource Persons

Entrepreneurship: Meaning and Md. Naved, Programmeits Relevance Officer, VYK

Selection of Project and Project Viability T. Sahai,Extn. Officer (Industry)

Scope for Agro-based Industries in Bharat Deori,Golaghat District with Special Reference to SDO (Agriculture)Animal Husbandry Activity

Preparation of Bankable Projects and Sailen Das, DDM,Banking for New Entrepreneurs NABARD, Golaghat

Experience Sharing with a Jogen Bora,Successful Entrepreneur Successful Entrepreneur

Business Development through Dr. C.N. Saikia,Utilising Technological Inputs Retd. Deputy Director,

RRL (NEIST)

Missamora village is underDergaon Development Block ofGolaghat District. The village issituated almost in the midst ofDergaon and Golagat town. Themain livelihood of the area is paddyand sugarcane cultivation. Theyproduce high quality molasses.However, monkey menace is a majorproblem in the area.

The jute rope making cluster isnear the village. The totalpopulation of the village is about1,400 and literacy rate is 86%. About40% of educated youth are totallyunemployed and 25% are partiallyemployed. Most of the partiallyemployed are engaged inagriculture, small business andprivate service. There are manysocial organisations in the village

such as clubs, mahila samitis andSHGs. The villagers producesufficient vegetable for theirown consumption.

The programme was formallyinaugurated by Pronob Baruah,Project Director, DRDA,Golaghat. Prakash Thakur,Secretary, SNEHPAD, spokeabout the programme objectivesand encouraged the participantsto get maximum benefits. Thirty-seven unemployed youth fromnearby villages participated inthe programme. Md. Naved,Programme Officer, VYK,discussed risk taking and productidentification during theinteractive sessions.

8-9

We are immensely happy toshare that one of ourmember organisations—

Society for North East Hand MadePaper Development (SNEHPAD),Jorhat (Assam)—has been honouredwith the National Award forexcellence in service for promotingthe Village Industries Sector by theKhadi and Village IndustriesCommission, under the Ministryof Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises, Government of India,on 31 August 2010 at VigyanBhawan, New Delhi. PrakashThakur, Secretary, SNEHPAD,received the award.

SNEHPAD was established in2005 under the guidance of acommittee headed by the thenDeputy Commissioner, Jorhat, in thepresence of the representatives ofKVIC, Mumbai, DI&CC, Jorhat,DRDA, Jorhat, NABARD and banks,

AwardingExcellenceCongratulations SNEHPAD

to manage the UNDP/KVICProjects on Handmade Paperand to popularise them inthe northeast region foremployment and incomegeneration. The ManagingCommittee is headed byRetd. Joint Director (Agri)Jatindranath Das as theChairman. Syed Altaf Hussain,Retd. Deputy Director(Industry), is the Vice Chairmanand Prakash Thakur theSecretary. The Society has beenlegally registered under SR ActXXI of 1860. It got affiliation bythe Khadi and Village IndustriesCommission in 2007.

Anjoli Bora, 30, used toprepare jute material,

after receiving training fromSNEHPAD. Observing heraptitude for learning,SNEHPAD nominated her forVishwa Yuvak Kendra’s five-week-long Certificate Coursein Youth Work 2009 in Delhi.Interaction with resourcepersons and participantsfrom different states helpedher in developing hercommunication skills andconfidence. From a learner,Anjali became a successfultrainer in DRDA, KVIC andNABARD’s programme. Sheearns about ten thousandrupees a month.

AimingHigh

Prakash Thakur,Secretary, SNEHPAD,

received the award

I am not looking for asmall job for my survival

any more. My work has gotrecognition and it has givenme appreciation, my family

is happy.

glory

9field notes

Amresh, Shantappa, Maheshand Naresh, students ofMSW, fourth semester, from

Inamdar MSW College, Gulbaragaand Naresh M. Nayak, AmareshL. Itgikar, Mahesh S. and RampurShantappa, MSW students fromGulbarga University, Karnataka,successfully completed theirone-month Block Field WorkTraining programme from 24 Juneto 23 July 2010.

During this period of BlockField Work, they studied thebackground of Vishwa YuvakKendra, its structure, capacities andfunctioning. They organised focusgroup discussions and groupmeetings with young peopleand women on child labour,immunisation and health andhygiene in the Netaji Nagar SlumCommunity. They also conductedliteracy classes for non-schoolgoing children and participatedin a weekly health camp, which washeld every Saturday.

Fielding HopesBlock Field Work

As an observational tool, theystudied the past and presentactivities run by VYK ascommunity development projects.They were also oriented aboutproject planning and designing,implementation, monitoring andevaluation, the technique of fundraising, organising of varioustraining programmes and someadministrative tips of NGOs.

The students were supervisedby Vikas Kumar, ProgrammeOfficer, VYK.

VYK had been working onhealth, literacy and incomegeneration in the SarojiniNagar Community for the last10 years. As the communitywas being relocated before theCommonwealth Games, it wastherefore decided to shift itsactivities to Harijan Basti inVasant Kunj. The communityhas around 200 hutments witha population of approximately1,800. As per the findings of abaseline survey, the people ofthe community are deprived ofmajor basic amenities. Mostof the children do not go toschool and the health andeconomic status of the peopleis also very low. Vishwa YuvakKendra organised its firsthealth camp in the communityon 9 October 2010, wheredoctors examined the patientsand medicines were provided.The Kendra is planning amassive awareness campaignon health and education to befollowed by literacy andvocational classes for girlsand boys.

During this periodof Block Field Work,

they studiedthe background

of VishwaYuvak Kendra, its

structure, capacitiesand functioning Improving

Lives

Constitutional andLegislative Provisionsfor Women in India

Constitutional ProvisionsThe Constitution of India not only

grants equality to women but alsoempowers the State to adopt measures ofpositive discrimination in favour ofwomen for neutralising the cumulativesocio-economic, educational and politicaldisadvantages faced by them.Fundamental Rights, among others,ensures equality before the law,equal protection of law, prohibitsdiscrimination against any citizen ongrounds of religion, race, caste, sex orplace of birth, and guarantees equality ofopportunity to all citizens in mattersrelating to employment. Articles 14, 15,15(3), 16,39(a), 39(b), 39(c) and 42 of theConstitution are of specific importancein this regard.

Constitutional Privileges(i) Equality before law for women

(Article 14)(ii) The State not to discriminate

against any citizen on grounds only ofreligion, race, caste, sex, place of birth orany of them (Article 15(i))

(iii) The State to make any specialprovision in favour of women andchildren (Article 15 (3))

(iv) Equality of opportunity for allcitizens in matters relating toemployment or appointment to anyoffice under the State (Article 16)

(v) The State to direct its policytowards securing for men and womenequally the right to an adequate meansof livelihood (Article 39 (a); and equalpay for equal work for both men andwomen (Article 39 (d))

(vi) To promote justice, on a basis ofequal opportunity and to provide freelegal aid by suitable legislation orscheme or in any other way to ensurethat opportunities for securing justice arenot denied to any citizen by reason of

economic or other disabilities(Article 39 A)

(vii) The State to make provision forsecuring just and humane conditionsof work and for maternity relief(Article 42)

(viii) The State to promote withspecial care the educational andeconomic interests of the weakersections of the people and to protectthem from social injustice and all formsof exploitation (Article 46)

(ix) The State to raise the level ofnutrition and the standard of living ofits people and the improvement ofpublic health (Article 47)

(x) To promote harmony and thespirit of common brotherhood amongstall the people of India and to renouncepractices derogatory to the dignity ofwomen (Article 51 (A) (e))

(xi) Not less than one-third(including the number of seats reservedfor women belonging to the ScheduledCastes and the Scheduled Tribes) of thetotal number of seats to be filled bydirect election in every Panchayat to bereserved for women and such seats tobe allotted by rotation to differentconstituencies in a Panchayat(Article 243 D (3))

(xii) Not less than one-third of thetotal number of offices of Chairpersonsin the Panchayats at each level to bereserved for women (Article 243 D (4))

(xiii) Not less than one-third(including the number of seats reservedfor women belonging to the ScheduledCastes and the Scheduled Tribes) of thetotal number of seats to be filled bydirect election in every Municipality tobe reserved for women and such seatsto be allotted by rotation to differentconstituencies in a Municipality(Article 243 T(3))

(xiv) Reservation of offices ofChairpersons in Municipalities for theScheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribesand women in such a manner as thelegislature of a State may by law provide(Article 243 T (4))

Legislative ProvisionsTo uphold the Constitutional

mandate, the State has enacted variouslegislative measures intended to ensureequal rights, to counter socialdiscrimination and various forms ofviolence and atrocities and to providesupport services especially to workingwomen. Although women may be victimsof any of the crimes such as ‘Murder’,‘Robbery’, ‘Cheating’, etc, the crimes,which are directed specifically againstwomen, are characterised as ‘CrimeAgainst Women’. Broad classification oflegal rights for women are as follows:

DowryThe Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

says, “Dowry means any property orvaluable security given or agreed to begiven either directly or indirectly by oneparty to a marriage to the other party tothe marriage; or by the parents of eitherparty to a marriage or by any otherperson, to either party to the marriageor to any other person, at or before orany time after the marriage, inconnection with the marriage of the saidparties but does not include dowry ormahr in the case of persons to whom theMuslim Personal Law (Shariat) applies.The expression ‘valuable security’ hasthe same meaning as in section 30 of theIndian Penal Code (45 of 1860).”

Section 304 B, IPC: (1) Where thedeath of a woman is caused by any burnsor bodily injury or occurs otherwise thanunder normal circumstances withinseven years of her marriage and it isshown that soon before her death shewas subjected to cruelty or harassmentby her husband or any relative of herhusband for, or in connection with, anydemand for dowry, such death shall becalled “dowry death”, and such husbandor relative shall be deemed to havecaused her death. For the purpose of thissub-section, “dowry” shall have the samemeaning as in section 2 of the DowryProhibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961).

(2) Whoever commits dowry deathshall be punished with imprisonment for

10-11

11reach

a term which shall not be less thanseven years but which may extend toimprisonment for life.

Section 113 A, Indian Evidence Act:Where a married woman commitssuicide within seven years of hermarried life and it is shown that herhusband or his relatives had treated herwith cruelty, it would be presumed by theCourt that her husband or relatives hadaided (abetted) her suicide.

Section 174, Code of CriminalProcedure: Police to enquireand report on suicide, etc. (1)

When the officer in charge of apolice station or some other policeofficer specially empowered by theState Government in that behalfreceives information that a person

has committed suicide,or has been killed byanother or by an animalor by machinery or byan accident, or has died

under circumstancesraising a reasonablesuspicion that someother person hascommitted an offence,he shall immediatelygive intimationthereof to the nearestExecutive Magistrateempowered to holdinquests, and, unlessotherwise directed byany rule prescribedby the StateGovernment, or byany general or

special order ofthe District or

Sub-divisional Magistrate, shall proceedto the place where the body of suchdeceased person is, and there, in thepresence of two or more respectableinhabitants of the neighbourhood, shallmake an investigation, and draw up areport of the apparent cause of death,describing such wounds, fractures,bruises, and other marks of injury asmay be found on the body, and statingin what manner, or by what weapon orinstrument (if any) such marks appear tohave been inflicted.

(2) The report shall be signed bysuch police officer and other persons,or by so many of them as concurtherein, and shall be forthwithforwarded to the District Magistrate orthe Sub-divisional Magistrate.

(3) When there is any doubtregarding the cause of death, or whenfor any other reason the police officerconsiders it expedient so to do, heshall, subject to such rules as the StateGovernment may prescribe in thisbehalf, forward the body, with a viewto its being examined, to the nearestCivil Surgeon, or other qualifiedmedical man appointed in this behalfby the State Government, if the stateof the weather and the distance admitof its being so forwarded withoutrisk of such putrefaction on theroad as would render suchexamination useless.

(4) The following Magistrates areempowered to hold inquests, namely,any District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Magistrate and any otherExecutive Magistrate speciallyempowered in this behalf bythe State Government or theDistrict Magistrate.

The Indecent Representation ofWomen (Prohibition) Act,1986

An Act to prohibit indecentrepresentation of women throughadvertisements or in publications,writings, paintings, figures orin any other manner and formatters connected therewith orincidental thereto.

The Commission of Sati(Prevention) Act, 1987

An Act to provide for the moreeffective prevention of the commissionof sati and its glorification and formatters connected therewith orincidental thereto.

Whereas sati or the burning orburying alive of widows or women isrevolting to the feelings of humannature and nowhere enjoined by anyof the religions of India as animperative duty;

And whereas it is necessary totake more effective measure toprevent the commission of sati andits glorification.

The Protection of Women FromDomestic Violence Act, 2005

Definition of domestic violence:For the purposes of this Act, any act,

omission or commission or conduct ofthe respondent shall constitute domesticviolence in case it:

(a) harms or injures or endangers thehealth, safety, life, limb or well-being,whether mental or physical, of theaggrieved person or tends to do so andincludes causing physical abuse, sexualabuse, verbal and emotional abuse andeconomic abuse; or

(b) harasses, harms, injures orendangers the aggrieved person with aview to coerce her or any other personrelated to her to meet any unlawfuldemand for any dowry or other propertyor valuable security; or

(c) has the effect of threatening theaggrieved person or any person relatedto her by any conduct mentioned inclause (a) or clause (b); or (d) otherwiseinjures or causes harm, whether physicalor mental, to the aggrieved person.

54

21

voices

BEST MEDICINE

Teacher: What is the chemical formula for water?

Student: h.i.j.k.l.m.n.o.

Teacher: What?

Student: Yesterday you said the formula was ‘h to o’.

Chief Editor: Suresh Ambekar, Director, VYK Editor: Bani Bora, Programme Officer, VYKPublished by Director, Vishwa Yuvak Kendra, Circular Road, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110 021.Tel: 23013631-35. Email: [email protected]: www.vykonline.org. Created by Studio Orange-Write Media.

H2o

Congr

atul

atio

ns

Winner ofquiz no. 10:

Purabi Lahon,Kuouri Pukhuri,Jorhat, Assam

Readers, here are five questionstaken from this newsletter. All youhave to do is select the rightoption and send it to us [email protected]. The winnergets an exciting prize!

3

Jorhat is internationallyfamous for:

a. The biggest river island

b. White Bear

c. Sword Fish

Who or whatemploys 69%of Assam’sworkforce?

a. Industries

b. Cinema

c. Agriculture

Which dreamof Mahatma Gandhi’shas been recently fulfilled?

a. Right to Information

b. Right to Peaceful Existence

c. Right to Free Speech

The Protection of WomenAgainst Sexual Harassmentat Workplace Bill, 2007

A Bill to provide for preventionand redressal of sexual harassment ofwomen at the workplace and for mattersconnected therewith or incidentalthereto. Some of the crimes againstwomen are:

i. Rape (Sec. 376 IPC)ii. Kidnapping and Abduction for

different purposes (Sec. 363-373)iii. Torture, both mental and physical

(Sec. 496-A IPC)iv. Molestation (Sec. 354 IPC)v. Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 IPC)vi. Importation of girls (up to 21 years)

Special Initiatives for Women(i) National Commission for

Women (1992)In January 1992, the Government set

up this statutory body with a specificmandate to study and monitor allmatters relating to the constitutionaland legal safeguards provided forwomen, to review the existing legislationto suggest amendments wherevernecessary, etc.

(ii) Reservation for Women in LocalSelf-Government (1992)

Constitutional Amendment Actspassed in 1992 by Parliamentensures one-third of the total seatsfor women in all elected offices inlocal bodies whether in rural areasor urban areas.

(iii) The NationalPlan of Action for GirlChild (1991-2000)

The Plan of Actionis to ensure survival,protection anddevelopment of thegirl child with theultimate objective ofbuilding up a betterfuture for the girl child.

(iv) National Policyfor the Empowermentof Women (2001)

The Department ofWomen & ChildDevelopment inthe Ministry of Human ResourcesDevelopment has prepared aNational Policy for theEmpowerment of Women in theyear 2001. The goal of the policy isto bring about the advancement,development and empowermentof women.

The sun does not shine there, nor do themoon and the stars, nor do lightning shine.

All the lights of the world cannot becompared even to a ray of the inner light of

the Self. Merge yourself in this light oflights and enjoy!

Who has immense potential tobring changes?

a. Rahul Gandhi

b. Manmohan Singh

c. Youth

Which organisation is celebrating50 years of existence?

a. VYK

b. KAS

c. SNEHPAD