Category Archives: News

No sex please, we’re Indian

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As in all things, advertisements depict a rosier world than the one we actually live in. The Kama Sutra references in Manish’s post below make it seem like India is becoming more sexually liberal, but a recent story from the BBC points out that India is still quite repressed. In this case, a couple was threatened with jail for public indecency.

What did they do? They kissed … at their wedding:

An Israeli couple being married in India have found that you may not kiss the bride – the pair were fined $22 for indecency for their wedding embrace. A court in Rajasthan imposed the fine after Alon Orpaz and Tehila Salev had decided to get married in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Pushkar. Priests were offended when the couple kissed and hugged during the chanting of religious verses. The apologetic couple said they were unaware public kissing was banned.

The couple, who had met in India while travelling separately, paid the 1,000-rupee fine for “committing an act of indecency” to avoid a 10-day jail sentence. [Link]

[UPDATE: Reader Dhaavak points us to a recent AFP file photo of a young couple making out in a Delhi park. Check out their body language: he has his hands on his hips, and she’s fixing her dupatta.]

Nor is this the only case of legal action for absurdly minor PDA. Three years ago, Pune university enacted a ban on kissing, hand-holding or even cuddling on campus:

Action will be taken against couples found holding hands!

An Indian university has declared its campus a strict “no love” zone, declaring a ban on kissing and hand-holding on its grounds. The vice chancellor of western India’s Pune university, Ashok Kolaskar, says courting couples could damage the reputation and social values of the 100-year-old institution.

“Action will be taken against couples found holding hands, kissing or indulging in any form of public display of affection,” warns a notice signed by [sic] the Mr Kolaskar.  [Link]

Continue reading →

Chilling.

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The BBC discusses freshly-released camera footage which reveals that the London bombers did a dry-run nine days before their terrorist assault. Their July 7th attack murdered 52 people and injured 700 others.

CCTV images show three of the bombers entering Luton station, before travelling to King’s Cross station where they are also pictured…The three, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer and Germaine Lindsay, were conducting a carefully planned reconnaissance exercise, police said.

Someone finally got around to claiming evil. Why the delay?

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda has said for the first time the group carried out the attacks.
In a videotaped message aired on Arab television station al-Jazeera, al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the group had the “honour” of carrying out the attacks.

For shame. There is no honor in the slaughter of innocents.

:+:

Previous SM coverage: here, here, here, here… Continue reading →

Fight, for the Right, to Diwaaaali! (updated)

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diwalilamp.jpg.jpg This morning, the NYC Council Committee on Transportation held a hearing in relation to the suspension of alternate side of the street parking rules on the Hindu festival of Diwali.

This is a big deal. Alternate side of the street parking is rarely suspended, and affects anyone looking for a place to park in NY. Only 32 legal and religious holidays are recognized by the City. Scroll down here for a list. From the petition organizers:

The first step in the process is the proposed legislation to get approved at the hearing on September 20th. Then, the Mayor will have to sign it into law. It is critical that the Council Members and, in turn, the Mayor appreciate the interest in and support of this legislation. The more support shown for the legislation at this stage of the process, the more likely it is that the Mayor will not veto it.

According to the NYC Department of Planning,there are over 600,000 foreign-born persons of South Asian descent in the NYC metro area; this does not even include those of South Asian descent born in America…If NYC takes this step, other cities and municipalities throughout the country will have the precedent to do the same.[link]

Since ASotS parking is suspended on Sunday, most ethnic/national parades such as the Puerto Rican Day parade are held then. (Here is a complete list of NYC ethnic festivals – read and weep :P)

Suspending parking rules for Diwali would be a huge symbolic (and practical re: parades) recognition of South Asian contributions to the city. Please read more on what you can do to show your support. Stay tuned for updates.

Update: The Committee on Transportation unanimously approved it! From the organizer’s email:

The legislation will be voted on by the full NYC Council at the Stated Meeting on Wednesday, September 28. [If they] approve the legislation it will then go to Mayor Bloomberg to be signed into law. Then the Mayor will have 30 days to sign or veto the legislation…press conference at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 28, on the steps of City Hall.

Related posts:1, 2, 3. Continue reading →

Spy vs. Sipahi

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A new history of the KGB alleges that the Soviets had deeply infiltrated Indira Gandhi’s government in the 1970s. Based on the KGB’s own documents, the book argues that:

Russia’s feared KGB spy service penetrated all levels of the Indian government under Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and became a major cash backer of her Congress (R) party.

The KGB operation in India during that period was its largest in the world outside the Soviet bloc and it even had to create a new department to handle it… suitcases of money were regularly taken into Gandhi’s house to fund the Congress party, and in the 1977 poll which she lost, nine party candidates were KGB agents.[Link]

“It seemed like the whole country was for sale” — Former KGB general Oleg KaluginThe general argument here is nothing new, but these details had not been heard before and they’re causing quite a kerfuffle in India.

There is the claim, for example, that the KGB convinced Indira Gandhi to declare a state of emergency in 1975.

The book also points out that the CIA had tried to infiltrate the Indian government as well:

The inquiry “uncovered two occasions” during Jawaharlal Nehru’s prime ministry when “the CIA had secretly provided funds to help the Communists’ opponents in state elections, once in Kerala and once in West Bengal.” …  ”Both times the money was given to the Congress Party which had asked for it. Once it was given to Mrs Gandhi herself, who was then a party official. [Link]

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Back to the Dunce Corner

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The internets were alive this morning with the news that Sri Lanka was about to drop its age of consent from 16 to 13 (thanks Enivhsay): sepiagirlstanding1.jpg

government spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva, who is also the minister of health, told a weekly Cabinet briefing on Friday that the government was planning to lower the age of consent. He gave no reason, but said the proposal was approved “after much debate and a long review.” [link]

Ah, yes. Debate and review. Ve have heard the words, but the meaning is escaping us still. However, in a startling turnaround of events:

The government reversed its decision after a flurry of telephone calls from incensed citizens following the announcement, The Sunday Island newspaper said.

“There is no proposal, whatsoever, to reduce that to 13 or to any other age,” it quoted Dhara Wijayatillake, a secretary in the Ministry of Justice, as saying Saturday. [link]

Que rapido!! When did the Sri Lankan government start pay attention to “incensed citizens”? Did I miss something important during my time here in Amrika?

The Minister [Justice Minister John Senevirathne] said that the government is concerned of the increased number of young men detained in remand prisons as a result of sexual encounters with their girlfriends.

He said: “Many girls are requesting to release them saying the encounter happened with their consent.” [link]

Holy Mammajamma! I’ve missed so much!! Here I was, happily warbling away my speculative fantasies that Sri Lanka may be one of the more progressive South Asian countries…but this much? When I was a wee kella (er, ladki. Indocentric, what?) sex did not exist, no one had ever heard of it, and even if those damn suddhas (goras) couldn’t keep in in their pants, that was still no reason why we Sri lankans couldn’t quietly continue asexually budding. Encounter, bencounter! Sekshuval is a vestern invention, no?

So vat the bluddy hell is going on? Continue reading →

Nepal takes another step into the modern world

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I don’t understand the practice of hiding women away somewhere dirty while they’re menstruating. Men say a woman’s “impure” then. Hello? If she didn’t bleed, you never would have been born. If you’re going to have a segregation practice, shouldn’t it at least be something nice for a woman, like a Mikvah?

Women’s rights activists in Nepal have hailed a Supreme Court order to end discrimination against women during their menstrual cycle. 
Women in poor villages in much of western Nepal are forced to stay in dirty cow-sheds outside the home for four days during their monthly period. They are often given unhygienic food and suffer verbal abuse.
The Supreme Court has ordered the government to declare the practice as evil and given it one month to begin stamping the practice out. [Link]

That’s plain wrong, just like hitching a woman to a plow. You’ve still got a long way to go baby, and honestly, a legal change is just the first step.

p.s. Take it from me, Nepali men, yelling at a woman who has the cramps is just not a good idea.

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Mmm, yummy condescending Colonialism!

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If you’re on the east coast, consider turning off the Emmies and switching to Turner Classic Movies, right now. Sabu‘s “Black Narcissus“– I wrote about it in May– is on! Maybe some of you on the west coast will be able to catch it…

IMDB provides a plot summary:

Anglican nuns, led by the stern Sister Clodagh, attempt to establish a religious community in the Himalayas, and must battle not only suspicious locals and the elements, but their own demons as well.

Enjoy the “exotic” accents. They sure as hell ain’t South Asian. Continue reading →

Those legs are weapons of mass distraction, apparently.

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lose the socks, please.jpg Don’t these people have anything better to do with their time than pick on a teenager?

Police will provide a huge security detail for Indian tennis star Sania Mirza during a world tennis tournament in Calcutta next week.
The heavy security follows rumours that a radical Islamic group threatened to stop her playing in the tournament unless she changed her on-court dress.

Awesome. Let’s harass one of the few decent athletes India has, it’s a fantastic way to thank her for reaching the fourth round of the US Open.

The radical Islamic group in question is the Jamiat-e-Islami, they claim they haven’t threatened her at all.

“These are rumours, we have not threatened to stop Sania or anybody else from playing,” he said.
“Though it is true that the kind of dress Sania wears offends us – we don’t expect a Muslim girl to wear such skimpy clothes in public.”

Look. If you want to be offended by something Sania wears while playing tennis, go after what’s REALLY outrageous– those horrid black socks she likes. Priorities, people!

Understandably, Sania’s safety is important to the authorities who are taking all threats very seriously.

“We cannot take a chance with the security of someone like Sania,” Calcutta’s additional police commissioner Gautam Chakrabarty said.
“We have deployed the best of our women police, nearly a hundred of them, to guard her both on and off the court and we have made special arrangements to frisk all spectators attending the tournament,” he said.

What does sweeeet Sania have to say about all this nonsense?

Sania Mirza has refused to be drawn into the controversy, merely asking forgiveness “for whatever I have to do on court as an 18-year-old.”

She didn’t write something irreverent about the Prophet Muhammad. She didn’t molest a mullah. She doesn’t have strange hair and a penchant for criticizing Islam. Don’t get it twizzy– she is not the enemy. Continue reading →

Food for Ogling, er, I mean, Thought

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I believe I lead a call for more sexy sepia men on the Mutiny, but now that a reader sent in some pics, (thanks Ananya) I’m not sure what to think. (mental note: research loopholes and plausible deniability) sepiaPETAchili.jpg

Over on the right, we have John Abraham, the 6’1″, half-Keralite/half-Parsi, 1999 winner of Gladrags Manhunt India. Let me hasten to add that he’s now fast becoming an established Ahctor with roles in Dhoom, Water, Viruddh and the soon-to-be released Baabul, among others. The last two with none other than the Daddy-O of Hindi cinema, his excellency Amitabh Bachchan.

As an avowed vegetarian, Abraham recently posed for a PETA India campaign to release caged birds, (see the sexy results below), but it’s this latest poster promoting vegetarianism that caught our tipster’s eye. “Abraham appears dressed in green onions, chilies and what looks like green peas,” s/he succinctly writes. Am I the only one rather turned off by this pic? I dunno, but a scallion grass skirt covering a man’s tender parts entirely makes me lose my appetite. For anything. And what’s with that highly ridiculous crown of chilies? Is this a pun on hotness?

“I’m against cruelty of any kind. That’s why I’m associated with PETA and work against cruelty to animals. Though I’m not the moral police, I’d like people to be considerate to other living beings,” he says. [link]

Sure, sure, but what about cruelty to men, eh? I think forcing a man to wear vegetables surely counts in that category. Continue reading →

Good ice cream can be a spiritual experience

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The new Brit blog Pickled Politics links to a funny story that you just have to see to believe:

The design on the lid apparently looks like the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic.

One customer told the Sun the design was “sacreligious”. BK says: “As a result of feedback our supplier is amending the design.” MCB’s Inayat Bunglawala: “We commend the sensitive and prompt action to prevent any hurt being caused to the religious sensibilities of others.”

It beggars belief that the Muslim Council of Britain keep giving credence to these stupid stories with their own quotes. For god’s sake, it only gives the impression that all Muslims are hyper-sensitive. BK should never have changed this, I haven’t seen a single campaign or email about this issue.

The Scotsman fills in the ridiculous details:

The offending lid was spotted in a branch in Park Royal last week by business development manager Rashad Akhtar, 27, of High Wycombe.

He was not satisfied by the decision to withdraw the cones and has called on Muslims to boycott Burger King. He said: “This is my jihad. How can you say it is a spinning swirl? If you spin it one way to the right you are offending Muslims.”

A Muslim Council spokesman said: “We commend the sensitive and prompt action that Burger King has taken.”

Mmmmm.  Softserve ice cream.  Obviously Akhtar has never got his swirl on otherwise he’d know that, that is in fact what a tight spiral on a softserve cone looks like.  My college dorm at UMich had a softserve ice cream machine.  Every day I’d come back from the gym and make two glasses of softserve milkshakes with dinner.  Intending no offense I ask you, is it so wrong to be reminded of God when contemplating the goodness of ice cream?

Continue reading →