Women to rule 158 villages in Kutch Saturday, December 1, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
RAJKOT: The earthquake-ravaged border district of Kutch is poised for a dramatic change. With 2002 fast approaching, about 158 villages in 10 talukas of this far-flung and second largest district of the country would have women at the helm of affairs.
This is perhaps the first time that the border district would have such a large number of women in command as the countdown for the village panchayat elections begins. The 'sarpanchs', or village headmen, in these 158 villages would be women.
It is sheer coincidence that the Kutch women would head the village panchayats during the Women's Empowerment Year, that too in a big way.
The present president of Kutch district panchayat is a woman, Jagrutiben Shah, the daughter of former state finance minister Babubhai Meghji Shah.
The panchayat election process in 480 villages of Kutch district has already begun as part of the statewide exercise to hold panchayat polls in 10,368 villages on December 23.
The posts of 'sarpanchs' in 10 talukas of Kutch have been reserved for women. In Abdasa taluka 28 out of 81 villages will have women 'sarpanchs', while in Gandhidham two out of seven villages will have women 'sarpanchs'.
The number of villages where women would occupy the 'sarpanchs' post in other talukas of Kutch are Mandvi -- 19 out of 62; Mundra -- 6 out of 19; Anjar 11 out of 29; Bhachau -- 16 out of 50; Nakhatrana -- 25 out of 66; Bhuj -- 27 out of 85 and Lakhpat -- 9 out of 27.
The phenomenon of a woman occupying the ruler's position at the village level is not new to this border district. Several Kutch villages have women 'sarpanchs', including Jawaharnagar and Dhaneti in Bhuj.
However, it is too early to say how many of these 158 villages, ready to elect the fairer sex to the top post in the village, will have 'samras' status. A clear picture will emerge only after December 3, the last date for filing nominations.
All said and done, the border district of Kutch is set to write a new chapter in history.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Saffron Brigade at the receiving end Saturday, December 1, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
GANDHINAGAR: The Congress seems to be hitting the BJP and the VHP with the same weapon: Hindutva. Call it the saffronisation of the main opposition party in Gujarat. But the new Leader of Opposition in the assembly Naresh Rawal would prefer to call it a 'Dharmayudhha'.
He has taken up the issue of a book published under the alleged auspices of the General Administration Department, government of Gujarat, making references to Hindu gods and goddesses that 'hurt' the sentiments of the people of north Gujarat.
The book, Gujaratnu Prasiddh Yatradham Bahuchraji (Gujarat's Famous Pilgrimage Bahuchraji), has been written by senior VHP activist Narottam Vanand, former dean at South Gujarat University. It tries to shatter some 'myths' around the origin of goddesses after whom temples are named in the state.
For example, the book says Bahuchraji Mata's vehicle was a kukkad (cock), not a mayur (peacock) as is generally believed. About Goddess Ambaji, the book quotes folklore which state that her name was Ambika and she was born to Sarvadev and Satyawati, a Brahmin couple.
She was married to Shubhshanker, a Brahmin of Kodinar. Once a sadhu came to seek alms at her house and Ambika gave him something to eat. Enraged, her husband threw her out of the house. Ambika left home and went to the hill-top where a temple of Nemijin was located and ended her life by jumping from the peak. Her husband, filled with remorse, also ended his life in the same way. In her next birth, Ambika became a Goddess.
Rawal felt the book made derogatory references to Kshatriyas and Brahmans, too.
Goddess Mahakali at Pavagadh, the book says, was born in a Gurjar family. Once when a Badshah's army was camping near the village, she had the curiosity to see the king. She went to the camp on the pretext of selling curd. When the king saw her, he was attracted to her and kept her captive. The woman was released but her mother-in-law refused to take her back saying she had been violated.
The book has been brought out by the Bahuchraji Mataji Temple Trust whose management vests with the state administration. Rawal said the book gives a distorted version of Goddesses and brings them down in people's esteem. He said when he was at Bahuchraji recently, people took strong exception to the book. He talked to the Mehsana collector, who has printed 5,000 copies (of which 200 have been distributed) to stop further distribution.
Demanding an inquiry into its publication, Rawal said, "There is already Talibanisation of education, here it is Talibanisation of religion. The six earlier editions of the book were mere collection of songs praising the Goddess. The seventh edition turned out different, and what a departure!"
The book carries a foreword by veteran VHP leader and linguist K K Shastri. Suggesting that every village in Gujarat had a Goddess of its own, it says the names of many Goddesses are after villages. The book goes into the epistemology of Khodiyarmata, Ambamata, Mahakali and so on.
A semi-scholarly work that seeks to make a maiden attempt in search of folk traditions behind religion, the book makes as many as 19 research references as the bases of all that it contains. The references include folk literature book Bahucharsmruti by Rajendra Modi, the folk songs by Vallabh Bhatt as collected by Manjulal Majmudar, Durbashakar Shastri's book on Gujarat's pilgrimage centres, Gujarat Sarvasangrah by poet Narmadashankar Lalshankar, Umashankar Joshi's Purano ma Gujarat, and several others.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Samras 'failure' figures at BJP meeting Saturday, December 1, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
RAJKOT: The lukewarm response to the Samras scheme of Chief Minister Modi figured prominently at the district BJP executive meeting which began at Wankaner on Friday.
The meeting was attended by home minister Gordhan Zadaphia and newly-appointed general secretary Dilip Gandhi.
According to BJP sources, the executive meeting discussed ways to counter the Congress onslaught in the gram panchayat elections.
The executive meeting was also attended by large number of pro-Keshubhai loyalists. Though the Modi-Keshubhai 'cold war' did not figure at the meeting, insiders said that some of the Keshubhai loyalists were keen on regrouping by staying on in the Modi Cabinet.
According to the sources, the pro-Keshubhai group _ Zadaphia, Mahendra Padaliya, minister of state for rural development Mohan Kundaria and Rajya Sabha MP Lalit Mehta _ expressed unhappiness at the CM sidelining them.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Police bust UP-based gang of robbers Saturday, December 1, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
SURAT: With the arrest of six gangsters on Friday near Pandesara, the city police claimed to have busted a UP-based gang of robbers.
The police also recovered four country-made revolvers and nine live cartridges from them. The six have been identified as Rambabu Dubey, Rajkumar Yadav, Shyam Dharamdas Dubey, Mulayam Jagrup Yadav, Rajanpatra Chaudhary and Sagar Kirtan Gaud. Acting on a tip-off, the police nabbed them while they were moving suspiciously in the LIG housing colony at Pandesara.
They had planned to loot a bank in the area, the police said.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Book on heritage released Saturday, December 1, 2001
SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: 'Managing our Cultural Heritage', a book authored by Xavier Greffe, was released on Friday at the NID campus during a seminar organised by the AMC, the government of France and HUDCO for revitalisation and preservation of the Walled City of Ahmedabad and the heritage buildings therein.
Greffe, while speaking to 'The Times of India' said: "The book (translated from French to English by Latika Sahgal) will help conservationists understand that private houses having heritage value could be a source of different types of activities. These ancient structures in Ahmedabad can attract heritage tourists, provide important physical references to future architects."
The French author said that maintenance and remodelling of the heritage structures without harming their old-world charm will generate employment and skilled artisans can transfer the know-how to others.
The first three chapters of 'Managing our Cultural Heritage' deal with economic dimensions related to cultural heritage and the chain of jobs and resources these sites generate. The next three chapters are devoted to the management of heritage-related resources and the last section shows why markets do not permit an optimal allocation of funds and a suitable level of activities, especially in urban areas.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
