The Iran Deal Is a Victory for Obama Diplomacy Over Bush Warmongering

     Photo: Jewel Samad/Getty Images

July 14, 2015

By Matthew Duss @mattduss

“I don't want to just end the war, but I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place.” That was Senator Barack Obama, speaking about Iraq in a 2008 primary debate. For a candidate who had seen his own campaign surge on the strength of his opposition to the Iraq war, it was a near-perfect distillation of the change he hoped to bring to America’s foreign policy discussion, long dominated by hawkish views that were shattering against the bloody reality of Iraq’s civil war.

During the 2008 campaign, Obama started—and won—a hugely significant debate about the proper uses of U.S. power. His declaration that he would not be afraid to talk to America’s enemies brought accusations of naiveté from both his Republican adversary John McCain and Democratic primary opponent Hillary Clinton, who would go on to begin implementing that same policy toward Iran as Obama’s first Secretary of State.

Ending that mindset has proven a difficult task. The idea that military force is decisive in a way that diplomacy is not remains a very attractive one, especially for politicians looking for cheap ways to appear tough. And to be fair, Obama has moved slowly on this, often frustratingly so. There are policy areas, particularly the use of drone warfare, where he has continued the commitment to the use of force. But Obama’s Iran policy is one in which the president has followed through on that central promise of his candidacy, and with great results. In short, Obama’s Iran policy is the anti–Iraq war.

The invasion and occupation of Iraq resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. troops and more than 100,000 Iraqis, including many times that number seriously and permanently injured. It cost American taxpayers trillions of dollars. It empowered both Iran and Al Qaeda in the region, and led to the creation of the Islamic State. Its negative repercussions will bedevil the region, and U.S. policymakers, for decades to come. Conceived by the Bush administration as a demonstration of American military power, it succeeded only in demonstrating its limits.

In stark contrast, the historic nuclear deal announced Tuesday in Vienna between the U.S. and its P5+1 partners and Iran demonstrates an alternative vision of the use of American power. It shows that our security and the security of our partners can be effectively advanced through multilateral diplomacy, and proves once again the importance of U.S. global leadership in addressing shared problems. Specifically, it achieves the central goal of blocking Iran's path to a nuclear weapon by dramatically reducing its capacity to produce nuclear fuel (something which continued to expand even under tight international sanctions), and by putting Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure under the most intensive inspections regime in history.

As a result of the deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency will have eyes on Iran's nuclear program at every level: mining, procurement, production, enrichment, etc. Not only does this deep visibility create a deterrent to cheating, but it also means that, when the intensive inspection period expires years from now, the IAEA will possess far more detailed information and understanding of Iran's program than any other in the world.

And by demonstrating to the Iranian regime that a positive change in its behavior can produce benefits, the deal could empower more moderate elements within Iran calling for broader reforms. This is one reason why the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has supported this diplomacy all along, and hailed the agreement this morning as “a victory of diplomacy and peace,” and why Iran’s hawks remain hostile to any agreement, a position they’ve long shared with U.S. hardliners. (It’s no secret why the most ardent supporters of the Iraq war have been the loudest critics of Iran diplomacy: The failure of the former and success of the latter utterly discredits their claims about how the world works.)

Frankly, if there were any justice, we would be seeing an outbreak of “Support Our Diplomats” bumper stickers. Americans rightly honor those who defend our security with military strength, and it’s time to accord the same to those who do it through effective and painstaking diplomacy.

To be clear, this agreement addresses one contentious issue among many that the U.S. and the international community have with Iran. Now that the deal is inked, the administration must articulate a more detailed strategy for confronting Iran’s regional troublemaking. There's precedent for this: The U.S. did it with the USSR, a far more powerful and threatening adversary than Iran, even as we were negotiating and implementing arms agreements. At the same time, the reality of post-Iraq war Middle East requires the U.S. and Iran to look for ways to confront shared challenges, particularly the growth of ISIS. There’s no “one-size-fits-all” policy for a region that’s increasingly fragmented. And the U.S. has no interest in taking sides in a sectarian Cold War.

Ending the mindset that got us into Iraq isn’t the work of one presidency, but of a generation. That work received a huge boost today. The Vienna agreement is a victory for a better vision of foreign policy.

Matthew Duss is president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, based in Washington, D.C.

Source: newrepublic

ఎదిగినా ఒదిగుండే వ్యక్తిత్వం ఆమె సొంతం

 

గన్నవరం: భారత జట్టుకు ఆడి వచ్చిన ఏ క్రికెటర్‌కైనా ఎయిర్‌పోర్ట్‌లో కారు, స్వాగతం పలికేందుకు హంగా మా ఉంటుంది. కానీ టీమిండియా మహిళా క్రికెట్‌ జట్టు వికెట్‌ కీపర్‌, విజయవాడ క్రీడాకారిణి కల్పన పరిస్థితి మాత్రం వేరు. బెంగళూరులో ఐదు వన్డేల సిరీస్‌లో పాల్గొని గురువారం తిరిగొచ్చిన కల్పనకు స్వాగతం పలికేందుకు ఆమె తండ్రి, ఆటో డ్రైవర్‌ వెంకటేశ్వరరావు, ఆమె చదువుతున్న కళాశాల ప్రిన్సిపాల్‌, అధ్యాపకులు, విద్యార్థులు మా త్రమే వచ్చారు. అనంతరం తన తం డ్రి నడిపే ట్రాలీ ఆటో లో ఎయిర్‌పోర్ట్‌ నుంచి ఇంటికి బయలుదేరింది.  

Source: ఆంధ్రజ్యోతి

The government would have loved it if I had quietly slunk away, but that I was not willing to do: Amartya Sen

Amartya Sen speaks about his assessment of Modi's first year as PM, researching gender in the 1960s, his love for Sanskrit literature, and what judo can teach those who frame social policy.

      Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

Written by Amrita Dutta | New Delhi | Updated: July 8, 2015 7:53 am

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s new book is a collection of essays, brought out by the Oxford University Press in collaboration with The Little Magazine. In this wide-ranging interview, he speaks to Amrita Dutta about his assessment of Narendra Modi’s first year as PM, researching gender in the 1960s, his love for Sanskrit literature, and what judo can teach those who frame social policy.

The Country of First Boys is the title of your new book, a collection of essays. Could you talk a bit about what the phrase is trying to say?

When I was growing up in Bengal, it was a big thing: ‘Who is the first boy in class?’ It had to be a boy, and, second, he had to be a great achiever. And it didn’t matter what the others did. I found it very offensive, even as a child. There are three things here. One, there is a strong gender preference, which is characteristic of India, much more so than we often recognise. If you compare India with Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, not to mention China, we come out worse in female life expectancy, female literacy, female schooling, female survival. The previous government did not do enough, but the present government is doing less than enough.

The second thing is the concentration on the more successful and neglecting what happens to the rest. [Of course], we see great successes. Indians go abroad and run institutions, whether it be Microsoft or Deutsche Bank. On the other hand, there are a whole lot of people from whom we have no expectations, nor do they have any expectations from themselves. The third point is that success or failure depends a great deal on social stratification, on caste, class, community and so on.

A year on, how do you read the PM as a leader? Were some of your fears about Narendra Modi unfounded? Were some confirmed?

The positive thing about Modi, which I recognized even earlier, was that he was telling people: we can get things done. I admired it then, I admired it now. The problem begins with what it is that he wants to get done.

I think he has a wrong understanding of economic development. You can think of development as a process with human beings at the centre, or you can see it as a process with financial and industrial leadership [at the centre]. He definitely belongs to the latter [school of thought]. You need the financial leaders, no doubt, you also need the industrial entrepreneurs. But humanity has to be in the middle. The previous government also failed in that but they were trying to correct a bit with [schemes like] Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, funding for which has just been cut. Funding for school meals too has just been cut. I don’t think we recognise how out of tune India is with Asia, because the Asian model of economic development has been to combine the power of the market economy with human beings having the capability to lead a good life. There is some idea that you first become rich, and then raise the level of human development. But every country that has been successful, whether we look at Europe and America, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China or Thailand, has concentrated on raising human capability along with the power of market economy. We pay no attention to that, as if the quality of human beings is not central to human development. If India was bad at that earlier, it’s worse at it now.

I can’t say I am disappointed, I was expecting that. Because they were playing up Gujarat, which may have had a high growth rate but has neglected the human side—recently the Economist ran an article on how its immunisation rates are lower than Bihar’s.

But what made me speak up at the time of the elections was my concern at the Hindutva elements in Modi’s agenda. You see that as an academic very much now, in the interference in the academic administration of the National Book Trust, where A Sethumadhavan has been replaced by an RSS ideologue, or at the Indian Council of Cultural Relations or the Indian Council of Historical Research. There has been that sectarianism [on display]. And despite rhetoric to the contrary, there have been cases of church burning, talk of ghar wapsi. India deserves better than that. In that respect, have I been reassured? I am afraid not.

What is happening at the Nalanda University now? Has some kind of a compromise been worked out?

What happened at Nalanda is a relatively nicer story than either it first appeared and also compared with what is happening to other educational/cultural institutions like ICCR or NBT or ICHR or for that matter TIFR, as well as what might be happening to the IIMs if the bill goes through. The board wanted unanimously me to continue as chancellor, but the government’s advice was clear: under no circumstances. Some people wanted to continue the battle but I thought that would be a mistake. First, because attention was being diverted to a personality issue. Second, it was clear to me that even if my friends in the board were to win in keeping me as chancellor, I could not be an effective leader because I would have to fight the government all the time. But I decided to make it a public affair so that it would be difficult to put a Hindutva ideologue in charge at Nalanda. The government did not want it to be made public at all. They would have loved it if I had quietly slunk away, but that, I am afraid, I was not willing to do.

Did anybody in the government reach out — the PM or the Minister of External Affairs — to you after you spoke out?

They couldn’t reassure me. The ministry of external affairs put out a lot of misleading statements, like ‘Amartya Sen was impatient. We would have liked him to continue’. But the minister did not say so. The minister spoke clearly to the members of the board and said that Amartya Sen wasn’t acceptable. Even if the ministry made public statements, they were at odds with what the minister was saying to the board. I think she was also trying to get a non-Sen solution, and we’ve got a good solution. [Former foreign minister of Singapore George Yeo has been appointed chancellor.] I am happy with the way it has turned out. If there’s one thing to learn from this, it is that in a democracy, if you are critical of the government, you have to express it. Sitting quietly and grumbling about it is not going to help. That’s not what democracy is for.

Could you talk a bit about your love for Sanskrit literature? What sense does it give you ancient Indian culture?

Sanskrit and maths were my favourite subjects in school. When the Nobel academy asked me to donate two items to its museum, I gave them Aryabhata’s book on maths, Aryabhatiya, which I had read in Sanskrit in school, and my bicycle. The bike I had used to collect data about the famine period. I would ride to farms in Bengal and get them to open their dusty rooms where they had kept their records. I used it even more while researching on gender and inequality, when I would go to villages near Santiniketan to weigh boys and girls under the age of five. (By the time girls were five, they had fallen behind in terms of weight.) I was very proud that I had become quite good at weighing children. I had a very good research assistant, the first Santhal in her village to get a BA. On one occasion, she called me to help her weigh a teething child. And I did it without getting bitten.

I get an extraordinary positive impression of the past, which makes me very proud. I get an impression of a very cerebrally active society — never as remarkable as the Chinese in observational science — but in the philosophy of science, and the speculation of it, very high brow. On the philosophy of jurispredence. In fact, my book Idea of Justice is based on a distinction that only Sanskrit scholars make, between niti and nyaya. I think Meghdootam is extraordinarily important to understanding Indian culture. But my favourite Kalidasa play is Mricchakatika — and it had a profound influence on my understanding of justice. I also like the Vedas, and I don’t think you have to be a passionate believer in Hindutva to like it — it is a great book. People don’t even recognise that it is not just a book on religion but also a book on human behaviour. Some of the verses are absolutely overpowering. But I don’t at all accept the view that the Vedas had interesting mathematics. It had some arithmetic puzzles, that is all.

When you started analysing women’s health and education with respect to economic growth, in the 1960s, what were the reactions?

I became interested in gender equality when I was in college at Presidency, Kolkata. Marx’s idea of false consciousness, I thought, applied to women. I also did a few papers when I was teaching in Jadavpur University. I was amazed not just at the inequality but the fact that people knew about it and took it for granted. Secondly, if you drew their attention to it, they would give you lectures about culture. I was told that this was a Western point of view, that Indian women do not think of themselves as individuals, but as an extension of their families. I had an argument at the Delhi School of Economics in the 1960s, and I said this was a form of ultimate denial of a person’s individuality, which is one of the huge possessions we have. That is the way inequality survives, by making underdogs become upholders of the inequality.

Are you working on any books right now?

I wrote a mathematical book when I was at the Delhi School of Economics, it was published in 1970, called Collective Choice and Social Welfare, which I hope I am not being immodest when I say that it had quite an influence in the literature that followed in economics. A lot of people have grumbled that I should write a follow-up. But then some people, including the big influence on my economic thinking, Kenneth Arrow, told me that it’s a classic, you can’t change it. So I have begun adding a few chapters to it, and I am about half-way there.

I am also writing something of a memoir, not to be confused with an autobiography. It is not about what happened, but about what I thought. I have reached the age of 12 or 13, so I have a long way to go.

You were around 11 when you first saw the ruins of Nalanda. What has the idea of Nalanda come to mean to you?

I remember being bowled over, especially at the sight of the excavations at the site. That’s when I thought I should do something about it. So my ability to lead the first stage of the Nalanda revival has been a fulfillment of a dream. The idea of Nalanda emphasises that human progress has always been linked to thinking, and not just doing. Secondly, that Indians were capable of building and running such a university at that time is a matter of considerable pride. They were teaching religion and philosophy, but also medicine, public healthcare, linguistics, certainly astronomy—in a way that is distinctly modern. Third, Nalanda attracted people from everywhere. They were ready to sit down together and discuss things together, resolve differences through discussion.

You have lived all your life on university campuses, haven’t you?

My father was a teacher, my grandfather was a teacher. One reason I haven’t retired even though I am 81 is because I love students, and they like me. Ultimately, when I look back on my life, the thing that I am happiest with is that I was a teacher.

You have written for decades on India’s education. What was your experience of school like?

I was very lucky because I went to a very nice school in Santiniketan. [Before that], I had a little over a year at St Gregory’s School in Dhaka, which was very keen on performance. After I got the Nobel, I visited the school. The headmaster said they had started a few scholarships in my name. He also said he got out my old exam scripts to inspire the students. Inspire, I said? ‘That was my hope,’ said the headmaster. But then he checked that my position in class was 33rd in a class of 36, and he wondered whether it was a good idea.

I have to say I became a relatively good student once I went to Santiniketan, where no one worried about grades, it was almost shameful to worry about them. One of my teachers described a classmate of mine: “She is quite an original thinker, even though her grades are very good.” I liked that aspect: there was no pressure to be a first boy.

Not only were there girls with me (I was in school in the 1940s) but my mother was also schooled there earlier. She was proud of the fact that she did judo there, 90 years ago. She must have been one of the first Indian women to do judo. She had a Japanese teacher, who for the first week, only taught them how to fall without hurting themselves. In some ways, the idea of what happens to those who fall seems to me not just an approach fit for judo, but for humanity at large—and for social policy.

Source: indianexpress

30 per cent of rural households landless, live off manual labour

T. C. A. Sharad Raghavan

Literacy, second most common form of deprivation.

Nearly 19 per cent of India’s rural population in 2011 lacked at least one of seven socio-economic parameters used to estimate deprivation that include source of income, the presence of an able and literate adult and quality dwelling.

The first socio-economic and caste census in India since 1934, the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), was released here on Friday by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Among the crucial findings of the exercise, conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development, was that about 30 per cent of rural households are landless and derive a major part of their income from manual, casual labour. The second most common form of deprivation was literacy with close to a quarter – 23.5 per cent — of rural households having no literate adults above the age of 25.

Releasing the census, Mr Jaitley said the findings would form the basis for States and the Centre to take policy decisions on schemes and programmes. “It provides a basis for helping to target groups for support and for policy planning,” he added.

However, the data released on Friday pertained only to the socio-economic parameters of the SECC 2011. The detailed caste-based data that will include figures for the Other Backward Classes will be placed before Parliament.

“Although it is called the Socio Economic and Caste data, the release so far has been of only the socio-economic data. The detailed caste-based data has not yet been released. However, Parliament has asked for this data, and so it will be placed before them at some point. At that point, it will be made public," said National Statistical Commission Chairman Pronab Sen.

Deprivation, not income

The extent of and approach to deprivation captured by the SECC 2011 contrasts with the poverty estimates of the erstwhile Planning Commission, which were income-based. As per the Commission’s last estimate, in 2011-12, 25.7 per cent of India’s rural population was below the poverty line ie. with an income below Rs. 816 per capita per month.

Dr Sen, told The Hindu that the poverty estimates of the Planning Commission and the SECC were not comparable. “This census measures deprivation on the basis of what a household does not have as against the Planning Commission’s poverty estimates that looked at the income an individual does have,” he said.

Source: thehindu

శ్రీ కౌముది జూలై 2015

Why Love Should Come After Marriage

Posted by: Praveen Kumar

Relationship experts opine that the best way to enjoy marital bliss is to marry someone first and then fall in love with that person after marriage. Well, today there are so many couples who date just to break up soon after for the slightest reasons.

May be this is the reason why experts suggest to marry first and love later. Well, when you are dating someone, you would naturally try to see reasons for not committing to that person because you are not tied down yet.

But marriage is a committed relationship. So, you would naturally try to see more reasons to stay with the person unless you really hate that person. Maybe, that is the reason why some find falling in love after marriage a better option. So, there are some advantages of arranged marriage too.

Also, in the dating world, you tend to have so many choices. This would make you a bit confused about what you really want in your partner.

Why Falling In Love After Marriage Is Better

Commitment Is More Important In Marriage

In dating, romance comes first. But in marriage, commitment comes first. It is a fact that relationships last longer due to commitment and not romance.

Marriage Considers Many Factors

When the marriage is an arranged one, many factors are considered by both the parties. In dating, romance dominates the relationship. In such cases, a person tends to get carried away by the emotions. The chances of a relationship going wrong would be more when you are emotional.

Stability Plays A Role

We marry to gain some stability and also to start a family. When stability is ensured, romance can gradually enter the picture to make the bond more beautiful. When we are young, we tend to think that romance is the only important thing to consider but stability is a factor that influences the shelf life of a relationship.

Loving Your Spouse Is Easier

As you tend to stay with your spouse under the same roof, the chances to get intimate would surely increase. This makes it easier to fall in love with your partner after marriage.

Source: boldsky

Foods For Weak Memory And Heart Problems

Posted by: Iram Zaz  Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Heart and brain are the vital organs of our body. In today's life, weak memory and heart problems are a common problem. Almost all people forget the things that we are untented to do on urgent basis. People also suffer from increased cholesterol level and high blood pressure. 

This is mostly due to deficiency of essential nutrients important for brain and heart. People are addicted of eating wrong type of food (junk and processed foods) that increase cholesterol level which causes heart problems. These artificial foods also damage your brain and cause weak memory.

However, we are also blessed with some best foods that improve function of both heart and brain. These foods will not only improve your memory power and concentration but will also keep your heart healthy. Have a look at some best foods that keep your heart and brain healthy


Walnuts
They are also rich source of omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamin E. Some people even say that the shape of walnut inside resembles human brain. Walnuts remove all the deposited plaque from the arteries and prevent the risk of stroke and heart attack

Rosemary
It contains carnosic acid which offers protection from brain and heart damage. It prevents memory loss and also protects your heart from the damaging effects of free radicals.

Pistachio Nuts
They are rich in thiamine (vitamin B1) which helps in keeping your heart and brain healthy. They increase memory power and concentration. They keep your blood vessels flexible and prevent heart diseases.

Almonds
They are rich in antioxidants, vitamin B6, E and omega 3 fatty acids. They increase the memory power and decrease bad cholesterol level. Therefore, you must eat handful of almonds daily to prevent heart problems and to increase mental concentration.

Avocado
It is rich in good fats that are must for a healthy heart and brain. It helps in enhancing memory and also heals many heart diseases. It sharpens your memory by increasing the blood flow to the brain.

Gooseberry (Amla)
It is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Vitamin C in amla increases immunity and helps in the healing process of the body. It also increases the blood flow to the brain and heart and protects them from damage. You can have amla juice or amla jam

Onion
It is rich in antioxidants known as quercetin. Onion also increase blood flow to brain and heart. Thus, onions help to supply all the essential nutrients to these vital organs. If you add onions in you daily daily or in salads, your brain and heart will be healthy.

Black Seed (kalonji)
Black seeds are rich in antioxidants and protect the brain and heart from free radical damage. They improve memory and concentration. They also prevent high blood pressure and heart diseases. Have black seed powder after mixing it with honey to enhance it's taste.

Blueberries
They are rich in antioxidants that provide protection to brain and heart from damage. They increase mental power and increase blood flow to the heart.

Fish
Fatty cold water fish like salmon, tuna and trout are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. They protect your heart and improve brain power as omega 3 is important for both.

Red Apple
Apple skin contains high amounts of antioxidants such as quercetin. Red apples contain anthocyanin, which sharpens memory and also prevents heart damage. It is also useful for people suffering with weak memory and heart.

Sage
It is beneficial for those who have weak memory and a risk of heart attack due to increased cholesterol level. It improves concentration, relaxes the mind and protects your heart from damage.

Pumpkin Seeds
They are rich in zinc and omega 3 fatty acids which decrease cholesterol and sharpens your brain. Pumpkin seeds increase concentration and sharpens weak memory.

Honey
No food can compete honey in it's health benefits. It is used for almost all ailments. From cold remedy to increasing the sperm count. It is rich in almost all essential nutrients. It contains all B vitamins, antioxidants, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium etc. Therefore it is best for your heart and brain. It increase memory and the fructose sugar present in it supplies energy to brain.

Dates And Figs
Dates and figs are rich source of phosphorus and other essential nutrients also. They increase memory, concentration and protect the heart from damage.

Beetroot
It increases blood flow to the brain and heart, thereby it enhances memory and keeps your heart healthy. Apart from this it is good for overall health and also increases hemoglobin level.

Source: boldsky.com

శ్రీ కౌముది జూన్ 2015

8 Fascinating Wedding Traditions Around the World

Katie Waldeck

May 31, 2015

What event typifies a culture better than a wedding? Read on for some of the most unique wedding traditions across the globe. Do you have a great wedding tradition in your family or culture? Let us know about it in the comments!

1. Kenya: Spitting on the Bride

The Maasai people of Kenya have what is perhaps one of the most unique matrimonial customs on the planet: the father of the bride actually spits on the bride’s head and breasts after the ceremony! And it’s not just in wedding ceremonies, either—in Maasai culture, spitting is a way to show respect to others.

2. Lebanon: Late Nights

In much of the world, it’s customary for the newlyweds leave the ceremony before many of the guests. That’s not the case in Lebanon, however; in this Middle Eastern nation, it’s customary for the happy couple to stay until every single guest has left.

3. South Korea: Wedding Ducks

Many Korean couples receive carved mandarin ducks as a wedding gift. It’s believed that mandarin ducks mate with their partners for life, and that ducks symbolize peace and fertility.

Though far less common in modern ceremonies than it once was, traditionally, the duck carvings actually have a place in the ceremony. Before it starts, the ducks, minus the necks, are wrapped in cloth and carried into the ceremony. The bride then puts the wrapped ducks on the table when she enters, and, after the ceremony, the mother of the groom throws the ducks at the bride. If she catches it, she’ll have a boy; if she doesn’t, a girl.

4. India: Stealing Shoes

Known as Joota Chupai, or, quite literally, “stealing shoes,” this Indian wedding tradition involves the eldest unmarried woman from the bride’s side of the family stealing the shoes of the groom. At the start of the ceremony, the groom removes his shoes when he enters the mandap (similar to a western wedding altar) and the young women of the bride’s family find a clever place to hide them. The groom then offers a “ransom” of some sort, often pocket money, to get them back. It’s a fun tradition that’s meant to symbolize the uniting of two families.

5. Germany: Log Cutting

In Germany, the bride and groom saw a log in half immediately after the ceremony. Known as baumstamm sägen, the log sawing is symbolic of the first major hurdle the two face as a couple.

6. Greece: Crowns

Crowns are a mainstay of a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony. These crowns, tied together by ribbon, represent the union of two families, two souls and the creation of a new kingdom. During the ceremony, the priest switches the crowns back and forth between the bride and groom and, wearing the crown, the bride and groom follow the priest around the altar 3 times. The removal of the crowns represents the end of the ceremony.

 

7. Romania: Kidnapping the Bride.

In Romania and many other Eastern European countries, the bride can expect to be kidnapped by the family of the groom. It’s all in good fun, though: a little bit of alcohol or a song, or even a little money is enough to meet the “ransom” demand.

8. African Americans: Jumping the Broom

A popular ritual for African American couples, jumping the broom almost certainly has its roots in traditional African tribal weddings, particularly in Ghana. It’s a way to honor your heritage and join two families. After African Americans were legally able to marry, the practice of jumping the broom went out of favor. It didn’t gain popularity until the landmark television miniseries “Roots” depicted it. You can read more about the fascinating and heartbreaking history of jumping thebroom here.

Source:  care2

How Indian Girls Are Winning Their Way Out of Arranged Marriages

by Kevin Mathews | May 30, 2015

Rights for women in India are notoriously abysmal, and a lot of that starts with how Indian families force their young daughters into marrying strangers. While there is a law in the country forbidding Indian girls from marrying before the age of 18, it’s a fairly nominal rule considering that nearly half of all girls in the country are wed before 18 anyway. Finally, however, some of these girls are starting to escape these marriages and regain their autonomy in Indian courts.

Though urban areas have mainly eradicated underage weddings, the custom still flourishes in rural areas and remote villages. At this point, basically all Indians are well aware that these marriages are illegal, but that hasn’t stopped them from continuing with this practice. Many communities resent that Indian politicians have tried to impede on centuries-old traditions and continue to arrange underage marriages in defiance of the law.

As a result, 47 percent of girls in India are married by the age of 18. Young brides miss out on a lot of opportunities because of these sham weddings. They must quit school and become mothers before they are mature enough to handle this responsibility. Although economic opportunities are not plentiful for women in the country, they are especially stifled for girls trapped in these marriages.

When the law against child marriage was first implemented, it included a clause that unions where one or more of the participants is underage could be annulled. However, given prevailing societal norms against female empowerment and divorce, no one dared to try to contest these marriages. Women who divorce are practically considered lepers, and the court proceedings for divorce are unnecessarily long and expensive, undoubtedly designed to discourage people from pursuing them.

All that changed in 2012 when Kriti Bharti, a psychologist and children’s rights advocate, met Laxmi Sargara, a teenage girl whose parents married her back when she was just one. When she reached 16, the age where she was supposed to move in with her husband, Sargara learned that his family had been so abusive to another bride that she killed herself, obviously worrying her.

On Sargara’s behalf, Bharti appealed the court to end the marriage. Though these annulments were unprecedented, the judge agreed that the law was on the book and granted her an annulment. After this initial success, Bharti went to court advocating for many more child brides and has won 28 annulments. Generally speaking, Bharti finds that comparing dates on birth and marriage certificates is sufficient to show judges that the girls had been married illegally.

It’s not always so easy. Right now, Santadevi Meghawl has been trying to escape a marriage she wants no part in. As an infant, she was married to a 9-year-old boy. Now that Meghawl is a teenager, her husband’s family is demanding 1.6 million rupees ($25,000 USD) to give her an annulment. The husband has also threatened Meghawl’s life if she pursues an annulment in court. Meghawl is standing her ground, though, and vows to escape the marriage so she can study to become a teacher instead.

Continued victories in these court battles will be critical for cutting down on further child abuse. If Indians know that a reluctant bride will be able to later annul the marriage in court, it will begin to discourage them from forcing girls into these situations in the first place.

Source: care2

శ్రీ కౌముది మే 2015

శ్రీ కౌముది ఏప్రిల్ 2015

శ్రీ కౌముది మార్చ్ 2015

Caste determines spending on food, choice of work: NSSO

Rukmini S.



How much and what people eat and what work they do differs significantly by caste, new data from the National Sample Survey Office show. However, these differences are likely to be correlated, rather than caused by caste.

The NSSO released two new reports this week: one on household consumption expenditure by a social group and the other on employment and unemployment by a social group. The data show that while food takes up a larger share of the total expenditure of Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC) households, compared with those if Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and “others,” the food items that the different social groups spend on, changes with caste. Higher castes spend significantly more on milk and milk products. But spending on cereals and eggs and meat does not change significantly by caste in absolute terms. Among non-food items, higher castes ramp up their spending on education and rent, the data show.

While in general SC and ST households spend substantially less than OBC and upper caste ones, substantial regional differences exist, the numbers show. The total consumption expenditure of a rural SC household in Tamil Nadu is more than that of an upper caste household in rural Bihar, while that of a rural SC household in Kerala is almost as much as that of an upper caste rural household in Gujarat.

SC households are most likely to be engaged in casual labour in rural areas, but in regular wage jobs in urban areas, the data show, while OBC and upper caste households are more likely to be self-employed or in salaried jobs.

While the new data do not have information on wages, earlier research by Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairperson of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, had shown that even among casual labour, SCs have lower wages. “This should be seen as correlation rather than causation,” a senior NSSO official explained of the new data, asking not to be named.

“SC and ST households are among India’s poorest, and both the occupational profile and consumption patterns should be seen as a function of poverty,” the official added.

Source: thehindu

‘Babri demolition and Clean Ganga mission share an ideological thread’

Bageshree S.

‘Science too has become a target now’

Demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Clean Ganga Mission share a common ideological thread, even though the latter is subtle and therefore easily accepted by people, argued S. Settar, eminent historian and the former chairperson of the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR).

Speaking at a national seminar here on Saturday organised by the All India Save Education Committee, he said: “All animals, all books and all rivers are sacred. Why make any distinction?” The subtle ideological campaign of cleaning Ganga, he said, is more dangerous than the blatant bringing down of a monument.

He regretted that cow today has become “more important than a human being” and yajna is being projected as an environment-cleansing act. Such “absurdities”, he said, were being propagated by people worried about knowledge becoming accessible to all and the power over it slipping out of their hands. The Indian way has always been “to possess and protect knowledge, but not to part with it,” said Prof. Settar.

With a “committed rightist” at the helm of ICHR now, whose area of study was the Mahabharata , one can expect “Kurukshetra for the next few years,” said Prof. Settar.

He said that while history has always been the target, science too had become a target now, with highly regarded scientific platforms making space for “absurd arguments”.

Satyajit Mayor, Director at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, said that making claims about scientific advances in ancient India is easy and leads to an “ignorant happiness” that we had everything in the past. However, “such chauvinism is completely irrelevant” in the realm of scientific reasoning, he added.

Source: thehindu