Souyma Swaminathan wins World Junior Chess Championship

Pune based Indian Soumya Swaminathan, achieved what only five other Indians have achieved in world chess - she has won the World Junior girls chess championship at Puerto Madryn, Argentina on Thursday, November 4.

The 20 year old woman grandmaster, tallied 10 points in this under-20 tournament. Soumya was seeded ninth in the tournament and needed a victory in the last round. This win has given her direct entry to the Women's World Championship.

“This is a big achievement. With this title, she will directly qualify for the junior World cup in Russia later this month. Almost every junior champion has performed well in the World Chess Championship. That is why this title is more prestigious”, said GM Abhijeet Kunte. Soumya has been training with Kunte's Academy for the past three years.

In the thirteenth and final round, Soumya defeated Kubra Ozturk of Turkey for a place in world history. She became the third Indian girl after Koneru Humpy (2002) and Dronavalli Harika (2008) to win the World Junior Girls championship. The World Junior title has also been won by Vishwanathan Anand (1987), P Harikrishna (2004) and Abhijeet Gupta (2008).

India has retained the girl's title this time. Soumya was tied for the first place with two others but had the better tie-break score to end up as a winner. All of them scored 9.5 points from 13 games. In the final round, she started on 8.5 points and Cori Tello was also on 8.5. But, Betul Yildiz of Turkey was better placed on nine points.

While leader Yildiz only drew against Orissa's Kiran Mohanty, Soumya and Cori Tello won their games to be tied for the first place on 9.5 points. When the official results were declared, Soumya had the higher tie-break score of 27314, higher than Cori Tello's 27250 and Yildiz's 27052. Soumya was in command in the event but a penultimate round defeat pushed her down from which she rose to win the tournament.

Soumya was born in Palakkad in 1989 and her family shifted to Pune. The city's chess administrator Joseph D'Souza said, "In her trip to Europe last year, she made five norms in one and a half months."

Saumya studies commerce at the BMCC College. She is studying on the scholarship provided by a petroleum company, Joseph informed. Soumya has won several national titles including the national U-17 in 2004 and the national junior titles in 2005 and 2008. Her rating is 2297 and she played at 2433 Elo and would be gaining about ten Elo points from this event.

At the tournament, she won eight games, lost two and drew three games for the title. The highest rated player she defeated was second seed Xiaowen Zhang of China. She did not face the top seed Mary Ann Gomes of Kolkata.

Wow! 60% special discount in rape

A rape is a rape after all whoever commits it. However, our age old Indian Penal Code framed by British in 1860 gives around 60 per cent discount in rape punishments and privileges to certain category of people. We have a woman President, a woman Speaker and a powerful woman Congress Chairperson. Still it is a shame that we encourage to give the concession for rape to police officers, medical superintendents and government officials by giving the maximum punishment of three years whereas a common citizen gets minimum seven years imprisonment.

Forget the illiterate women, how many educated women know about this ambiguity and discrepancy in our outdated law. When we will throw out the old laws with disparity and haziness and make new laws? Had something constructive and meaningful were done by making changing, amending and modifying the punishment for rape? Otherwise the time will record the celebrations in the centenary year of international woman's day were as Hippocratic. Are you listening dear women activists? Please rise and act now. Do you think Lalu Prasad YadavLalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh YadavMulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad PawarSharad Pawar, AshokAshok Chavan or even your local MLA or corporator will come forward to express their solidarity with you?

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), sexual offences in India are increasing year after year. Many sexual offences go unreported and not recorded. Therefore, based only on the reported sexual offences data of NCRB, we cannot understand the exact level of sexual offences occurred in India during a particular period. There are many drawbacks in our system.

Like anywhere in the world, sex workers play a vital role in India directly and indirectly in controlling sexual offences. In a move aimed at bringing sex workers into mainstream of society, on June 15, 2004 the then union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Kanti Singh announced that the UPA government was considering a proposal to introduce a licence system for sex workers across India. It remains a mere nice consideration-thought after six years.

There are more than 20 lakh sex workers in India now. Prostitution in India is tolerated to a certain extent so far as a prostitute practised her trade in private. In India the sale of one’s own bodily sex to a male customer by an adult woman on her own free will in her private premises is not illegal. However, organised prostitution is illegal.

Many NGOs, social scientists, workers from medical profession and sociologists opined that the Women and Child Development Minister should take initiation to legalise prostitution in India. Though the previous Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Choudhary encouraged this thought endorsing her views at different platforms, no decision has been taken in this matter until now.

The British introduced the written Indian Penal Code in 1860 and their aim was to make it best suitable for their own needs and to take advantage of the situation at all time to rule India. The Constitution of India adopted on 26th November, 1949 and came into existence on 26th January, 1950. Later on, though we have made many amendments, modifications and additions in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 the sexual offence section has not changed substantially suitable to the independent citizens of India and the current time.

Every day we come across with the news of rape, molestation, sexual abuses, blackmailing for sexual favours etc. In my opinion, there is imprecision, disparity and divergence while discussing the sexual offences in the Indian Penal Code. Due to this disparity, ambiguity and loopholes, Indian female folks largely are suffering and fall victims of sexual offences and hence the sexual offences are increasing year after year at an alarming level.

It is a pity that after 60 years of independence we still follow the very old 1860 British Indian Penal Code sections for sexual offences, which are conveniently made as law for their benefits. IPC 375 deals with rape and the nature of rape is described in six different ways. An exception states, “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” The Manipur state later amended the age clause of the wife from “fifteen years” to “thirteen years”.

Indian Penal Code Sections 376, 376A, B, C and D deal with the punishment for rape. Here we can see the disparity and haziness. Whoever, except in the case provided for by sub-section (2), commits rape shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term of which shall not be less than seven years but which may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine unless the woman raped is his own wife and is not under twelve years of age, in cases, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both.

The sub-section (2) describes if a police officer rapes a woman in custody, a public servant rapes a woman subordinate taking advantage of his official position, being on the management or staff of a jail and rapes a woman, being the management and staff of a hospital and rapes a woman, commits rape on a woman knowing her to be pregnant, commits rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age—in all these cases the punishment shall be normally with a description for a term not exceeding three years. A rape is a rape irrespective of it committed by an ordinary person, police officer, doctor, government officer, jail superintendent or a priest and generally, the punishment should not be discriminated. Our judicial system, legal experts, sitting and retired judges, advocates, sociologists, social workers, intellectuals, writers, journalists, NGOs, ministers, parliamentarians, elected members of legislature assembly and civic bodies, public servants, teachers and people from all walks of life should study the sexual offences scenario in India in detail and actively take part to debate and review the sections of IPC 375, 376 and 376A to D and appropriate additions, changes or amendments to be made by the parliament and if necessary new sections to be added in the Indian Penal Code to contain the sexual offences. We must complete the task in a time-bound manner within six months. The rewriting the sexual offences sections of IPC should be vision, soundness and to uphold the integrity, unity and security of the nation.

It should never be a mere outburst of egoism, generalisation of an exceptional case and appeasement of cheap political tantrum aiming the vote bank. I recall an incident occurred few years back. There was an interesting scene at a futile meeting of a Group of Ministers in New Delhi. The then Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Choudhary wanted that if any man found in a brothel with a minor girl to be charged with rape or attempt to rape and to punish for a minimum period of seven years, and the responsibility to prove his innocence would lie with the accused. The Group of Ministers (then) headed by Home Minister Shivraj PatilShivraj Patil, Minister of Science and Technology Kapil SibalKapil Sibal, Panchayati Raj Minister Mani ShankarShankar Aiyar, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira KumarMeira Kumar were among others besides Renuka Choudhary. All opposed Renuka’s proposal and in retaliation, it is believed, she accused her male colleagues of being “chauvinists”.

The punishment for sexual offences should be reviewed and stringent measures to be taken by rising the punishment period and fine and bring parity and conducting fair, unbiased and transparent trials with a fixed time frame, but by applying common sense, practical methods and wisdom.

Nevertheless, there is a ray of hope for sexual offence victims. The government has already cleared a proposal with bold changes in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The major changes of the proposal are completion of the trial within two months after examination of witnesses begins (and adjournment will not be granted), as far as practicable a woman judge to hear cases, investigation of case at victim’s residence and as far as practicable by a woman police officer, questioning of the victim in presence of her parents or a social worker of the locality at the location of their choice and court not to take cognizance of an offence under IPC section 376 (punishment for rape) where such offence is alleged by a man’s wife who is under 18 years of age. The proposed legislation was to get parliament nod earlier and if the legislation is passed, it will be a landmark in the history of punishment for sexual offences and the law in India.

Nevertheless, if the controversial Sexual Offences (Special Courts) Bill, 2010, introduced in Parliament two weeks back, gets a nod, a woman in her position could land in a right legal mess.

The Bill, which is touted as being gender neutral, proposes the introduction of a new section — 376 (E) — to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, on unlawful sexual acts. “Whoever touches directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of another person (not being the spouse of such person), with sexual intent and without the consent of such other person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both,” it says.

The Bill does not specify the sex of the victim. So in effect a man can accuse a woman — or another man — of sexual abuse. But ironically, the Bill has its seeds in the 172nd report of the Law Commission of India, and recommendations drafted by women’s groups around the country, spearheaded by the National Commission for Women (NCW).

References

· Indian Penal Code 1860 and its various amendments.

· National Crime Records Bureau

· Sexual Offences (Special Courts) Bill, 2010

· National Commission for Women (NCW)

Published in the Afternoon News in 2009

Snobbish Sarvadesi Days

Barring to present day visual and print media emperors who are gargantuan and bestowed with abundant resources, technology savvy personnel equipped with modern visual, sound, communication and printing technology and wide marketing and distribution network, Sarvadesi was a very small Malayalam magazine published from Bombay. T.A. Jose started Sarvadesi in 1979. He was a modest, gentle, meek, honest and positive person. Sarvadesi bid adieu from the publishing arena in 1989 after an illustrious, glorious and wonderful 10 eventful publishing years. What was so special in Sarvadesi and how 10 publishing years, a small period compared too many a decades and even century old publications, differentiated? Which qualities make Sarvadesi imperative?

Many publishers will claim that they are giving family publications. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Sarvadesi was probably the first real family monthly magazine published in Malayalam from outside Kerala. T.A. Jose was working with Albright Morarjee Co. Ltd., Ambernath, and was staying in the same vicinity. As he was working, he made his classmate and friend K.J. Antony as the official Editor of Sarvadesi. Famous writer and playwright Ezhikara Ambjujakshan edited the first three issues of Sarvadesi.

I was fortunate to associate with Sarvadesi from the beginning. I met T.A. Jose personally after three issues and from that moment, I become the family member of Sarvadesi and T.A. Jose. He is very much to me – a friend, guide, philosopher, advisor, motivator, helping hand, mentor and above all an elder brother. Until date, I never addressed him Josetta, but I adore him rather than any of my related brothers and relatives. We had an amazing match up and mental rapport. I got the first remuneration in my life from T.A. Jose for publishing my story in Sarvadesi. Really, it was a treasured moment.

After retirement T.A. Jose shifted to his native place at Kattur in Thrissur District and now lives there. I worked with Sarvadesi behind the curtain without any by-line credit, but with full freedom. When I am with T.A. Jose, I will lose myself and used to forget the circumstances while carrying on our discussions on Sarvadesi and various other matters and persons. We shared many secrets-- evil and good, vice and chief – of a good many literati, which we never exploited or ever used for character assassination of anyone.

Any modern printing facilities and digital typesetting were not available at that time. Sarvadesi was printing in a treadle press with handpicked Malayalam letter types in St. Joseph’s I.S. Press, Thrissur. At least 10-12 days prior to publishing date all matters were ready in the press. Yet, Sarvadesi managed to cover current Bombay local news, reports on literary meetings, dramas, dance programmes and all cultural, religious and literary activities with equal importance and published on time. All these 10 years Sarvadesi published all issues regularly without skipping a single issue. Sarvadesi’s valuable platform benefited too many established as well as young and budding writers, performing artistes, actors, singers, upcoming dancers and journalists. The first feature on Nache Mayuri fame Sudha Chandran Sudha Chandran written by Soman Alappuzha, who died in Mumbai on May 30 2010, published in Sarvadesi about her first performance after the accident, which brought to her to the limelight. Similarly, one of the good features on Mata Amritandadamayi was published in Sarvadesi a quarter century ago. Bhart award winner great actor Premji was the proof reader of Sarvadesi at that time.

I had started many good relations and friendships during Sarvadesi days. Solomon Joseph, Ezhikara Ambujakshan, Pamman, Soman Alappuzha, R.M. Kooliyat, Edayali Gopalakrishnan, Leela Sarkar, Balakrishnan, M.G. Radhakrishnan, Prabhashankar, Meghanadan, Cheppad Somanathan, Dr. T.R. Raghavan, Pappanamcode Prabhakaran, V.T. Gopalakrishnan, Sankaranarayanan, Manasi, Dr. Venugopal, Kamal Jasapara, P.V. Nayar Agra, C.V. Saseendran (Sasi Edanadan), Sriman (K.S. Menon), Viswanathan Palloor, Vasu Kakkanad, N.K.N. Chammanad, E.K.K. Nayar, Kottayam Pushpanath, K.D. Chandran, Premlal, Orma Menon, N. Rajasekharan Nair and Uzhavoor Sasi are to name a few among them. Before I come to Bombay names like Solomon Joseph, Ezhikara Ambhujakshan, Pamman and Jayanthi JayanthiGeneral Stores, Dadar West were familiar to me through Malayalam publications and radio plays.

I don’t remember when I first met Solomon Joseph. But we met only few occasions. But, before meeting him, I heard a lot good things about him from T.A. Jose. I think K.J. Antony and T.A. Jose must have told to him about me. Solomon Joseph was very kind, affectionate, and friendly and treated me like a brother. Sarvadesi was the only Malayalam publication at that time from Mumbai except the Visalakeralam published by The Bombay Keraleeya Samaj, Matunga. Solomon Joseph opined once, Visalakeralam was fitting to frame and keep it in a glass box as a (an) (useless) antique.

Solomon Joseph was a good orator. I recall the inaugural meeting of Mahakeralam, the first Malayalam Daily from Mumbai, at Mysore Association Hall, Matunga. Solomon Joseph who inaugurated the daily was the sole attraction of the function held on a working day at 9.00 a.m. in Matunga. Because Solomon Joseph was inaugurating the daily, meeting held with packed audience on a working day at 9.00 am. I heard from the mouth of great Mathewkuttychayan (K.M. Mathew of Malayala Manorama) that once through Solomon Joseph’s articles only Malayalam readers knew about Hindi film world. His language and style was very simple, fascinating and attracting to all. Perchance Solomon Joseph would be the first writer from Bombay who had a membership in the most prestigious Sahithya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham Limited, Kottayam, and published books under SPCS and received the highest royalty percentage in the world. Many writers who could not become SPCS members envied him. But, Solomon Joseph was standing like a colossus in front of them. In my opinion, the revered writer did not get his deserved recognition in his lifetime.

On another occasion, I shall write more about Solomon Joseph and high and mighty Sarvadesi days.

V.G. Nair means Very Good Nair

This is about a very ordinary, humble, simple and down-to-earth, but an extraordinary and amazing personality called V.G. Nair.

Who is V.G. Nair? Like any previous generation Malayali from Kerala V.G. Nair arrived in Bombay in search of a livelihood. The youth has a strong will and ready-to-do any job attitude. After searching for job and doing some odd jobs, he joined as a waiter in Ananda Bhavan Hotel near to HMV, which is now Axis Bank fort branch, next to Laxmi building. Anand Bhavan Hotel, the pure vegetarian south Indian hotel run by Iyer and Sons is a landmark in fort area. The current name of the building where Ananda Bhavan situated in the ground floor is Sheri House. The National Hindu Hotel and Lodging situated opposite fort market is the parent institution, which was probably the only place in the city that served unlimited vegetarian meals for a fixed economical price.

In the mid 1970s, I was living at Ulhasnagar. The Ulhasnagar Malayali Association had two offices, one in camp number four near Venus cinema and the other in camp number three near the Bharat Stores and Malayali tailor Rajan’s shop. I was staying in camp number three in a single self-contained rented long room. We were four roommates and I was the rented-room owner. I.V. Chandran, who is my childhood friend and neighbour in native village Pullut of Kodungallur Taluk and presently residing with his family at Dombivli. Gopalakrishnan who was nicknamed by me as Gokru taking the first Malayalam alphabet ‘Go’ from the formal part of his name Gopala and ‘Kru’ from the later part of his name Krishnan and SukumaranSukumaran were the roommates. Now Gopalakrishnan settled in native place and Sukumaran took VRS and returned to native place. Except Sukumaran, all were bachelors. Sukumaran’s family was in his native place Azhikode, near Kodungallur.

Balakrishnan, the vice-president of Ulhasnagar Malayali Association, who is presently living in Kalyan east, was our neighbour in camp three. Opposite to our room Karuthedathu Subramanian Ravindran of Hawkins Pressure Cooker and his brother were staying. I also gave him a nickname as Karuthedan. At that time, I become the member of Ulhasnagar Malayali Association and office bearers of the association asked me to take charge of the editorship and start association’s handwritten Malayalam magazine titled UMA. The name UMA was made by taking the first words from Ulhasnagar Malayali Association. It resembled like a Malayali name and was easy to remember.

During the editorship of UMA, one day I met V.G. Nair, a handsome man in white pants and slack shirts, in the association office at camp four. I did not know much about that good-built, ever smiling and energetic man at that time. We met again at some occasions, exchanged smiles and made few casual chats. Incidentally, V.G. Nair’s sister MadhaviMadhavi wrote poems and regularly contributed to UMA handwritten magazine. V.G. Nair and I simply know each other at that time by face was our only relation.

After few years, one day I was dining around 1.15 p.m. at Anand Bhavan Hotel in fort. I saw five people with a red flag picketing in front of the Hotel and shouting slogans in Hindi and “Inquilab Zindabad, Inquilab Zindabad” against the owner of the Hotel. A well-built youth was the leader in white shirt and white paints. His full sleeve shirt was evenly folded carefully and artistically with one and half inch width fold till the elbow. I have been told by the manager of the hotel that they are the dismissed staff and demanding for compensation and more wages. The well-built youth was V.G. Nair. But, I could not easily recognize him as Madhavi’s brother V.G. Nair instead I thought, the face of this person is familiar to me.

With a meager compensation of less than Rs. 10,000 received from the Anand Bhavan Hotel owner V.G. Nair built his present business empire of more than 100 crores. With his strong will power and desire to become somebody, in 1982 he started steel vessel business at Ulhasnagar. He flourished day by day and the rest is history. The trust and mere trust reposed by his customers, hard work and his promise to deliver were the main capital. If V.G. Nair gives a word or promises verbally, that is a more powerful instrument than any written record. This honesty, time management and promptness in service made him the multimillionaire V.G. Nair of today.

After a gap of few years, we met again. He is a voracious reader in Malayalam, Tamil and English and a good speaker and listener. Before he starts his Jewrllery Shop, the entire cash dealings were doing by him personally. I had witnessed his amazing memory power at many occasions. I remember one occasion when I was sitting with him, not opposite the table, but just next to his cash counter and near to his left hand. He was talking to me seriously and with the same seriousness handling each and every visitor with ease. When he was operating the business at a single point, he quickly recognized all his regular customers. He could recognize all 6000 plus members of his vessel scheme or chit scheme by name with their family history, name of his/her father or husband, brother, sister, children and their years old dealings with him. Now VGN group has grown greatly and the entire transactions are computerized and he divided the responsibilities to his Managers and General Managers. Customers feel at home when they visit any establishments of VGN group and they have the affection of meeting a family member when they meet V.G. Nair personally.

The most important thing is the easy access of V.G. Nair to a customer. When people become rich, they start telling more and more lies and blunders to show that they are very big. However, V.G. Nair is the same humble and simple person without any change whom I met first around three decades back. Very few people can possess such character and integrity.

V.G. Nair is Very Good Nair to all his staff members and their family members, his all customers and their family members and all his friends. Few years back, Kairali TV Aswamedham fame G.V. Pradeep in a public function at Chembur, where V.G. Nair was sharing the dais, openly acknowledged his generosity, philanthropy and honesty and said that V.G. Nair means Very Good Nair to him. Professor Parambil Jayakumar once told me that he was the first person who called V.G. Nair as Very Good Nair. Well, now I would like to interpret it in Malayalam as Valare Gunangalulla Nair and I think I can claim the patent for this interpretation.

I compiled a Marathi-English-Malayalam Dictionary, a unique Dictionary in four parts with pronunciation guide, pronunciation of important and difficult words, Marathi Grammar in Malayalam and an appendix. My day and night hard work of many years was the result of Marathi-English-Malayalam Dictionary. I have become bankrupt and my life was miserable at that time. I am thankful to V.G. Nair, the Managing Director of V.G.N. Jewellery Pvt. Ltd and Chairman of V.G.N. Group of companies, who helped me by ordering a good number of copies and giving the full amount in advance to release the Dictionary from the press.

Really, V.G. Nair is a gem of man.