Indian News Briefly | DesPardes.com

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 - Outrage and protests mounted in India Wednesday after TV channels showed police officers repeatedly slapping, punching and pulling the hair of young women on a date in a public park in a north Indian city.

Indian media reported one couple was so humiliated by the police action in front of TV crews they have not returned home.

"Is falling in love wrong? Who gave the police the right to beat and hit people and misbehave in such a manner," a woman in Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh state told Aaj Tak television news.

Since Tuesday, shocked TV viewers in India have been watching images of female officers pummeling and abusing crying young women in Meerut in what the media is calling "moral policing."

TV footage also showed male policemen with sticks surrounding the scared women and taking them to women officers who beat them. Several of their male companions were beaten also.

The police operation, termed "operation Romeo," in a popular park in Meerut Monday was touted by police as a move to prevent sexual harassment of women.

It turned out to be something very different.

In Meerut, students shouting "Down with police dictatorship" have staged demonstrations and burned effigies of police officers.

The outcry, including from women groups, has forced the police to suspend two women officers and probe the incident.

One of India's most conservative states, Uttar Pradesh is also one of the most crime-ridden, known for gangs indulging in murder, extortion and kidnapping. People in Meerut are amazed that police have the time to go after dating couples.

Some defended the right of young people to date in parks.

"Nobody should be allowed to bother them as long as they are not indulging in obscene acts," local lawmaker S.P. Agarwal said.

Young couples in cities often meet in parks as dating before marriage is frowned upon by many Indian parents but they are harassed by police who threaten to report them or ask for bribes. (Reuters)

Indians relatively more chaste

DEC 21: Indians had sex 75 times a year against the global average of 103 and the top-ranking Greeks with 138, according to 2005 Durex Global Sex Survey.

Japan came last with 45, the survey said.

As many as 46 per cent of Indians surveyed said they were satisfied with their sex life, against the 44 per cent global average, the survey said.

While the global average for the number of sexual partners was nine, Indians reported three, the lowest, compared with China's 3.1 and top-scoring Turkey's 14.5.

The condom company surveyed 317,000 people from 41 countries for its findings.

Viagra debuts in India

DEC 20: Pfizer Ltd. - the Indian unit of Pfizer Inc, on Tuesday launched blockbuster drug Viagra in the country, aiming to treat some of the estimated 90 million Indians suffering from erectile dysfunction.

The estimated market size is about 750 million to a billion rupees.

A 50 milligram tablet is priced at 463 rupees and 100 mg at 594 rupees a tablet, on par with prices in other Asian countries, but more than 10 times the price of generic alternatives. The drug will be imported from France.

Team India worth $70m

Ganguly

New Delhi, Dec 20 - India's cricket team will be sponsored for a whopping 3 130 million rupees (about $70m) over the next four years, an official said on Tuesday.

Indian domestic airline Air Sahara, a subsidiary of the national team's current sponsors Sahara India group, won an open bid invited by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The deal marks a large increase from the previous sponsorship agreement of 780 million rupees (about $17m) for the last three years, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.

It covers a minimum of 44 Test matches and 110 one-day internationals the Indian team will play over the next four years, starting with the tour of Pakistan from January 6.

"Team India is a brand on the rise and very popular with sponsors," Shah told AFP. "We are very satisfied with the deal."

The players will wear the Air Sahara logo on the chest and arm at matches and during practice and travel.

Sahara India spokesperson Abhijit Sarkar said the company was delighted to renew its contract with the Indian team.

"Sahara today is synonymous with Indian cricket," he said. "We got value for money during the deal that is coming to an end now."

The new BCCI regime, headed by political heavyweight Sharad Pawar, hoped to raise another $80m a year through the sale of television rights for international matches in India.

Bids for the TV rights will be finalised by the end of the month, Shah said.

Cricket-mad India, with huge television audiences, is the biggest market for the sport in the world. (News24)

Malaysia allows online visas to Indians

Dec 19: Malaysia today allowed Indian nationals to apply for visas and temporary employment visas online from March one next year, Deputy Premier Najib Razak told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

Currently, Indian nationals can apply for tourist visas when they arrive at the Kuala lumpur International Airport here. Visa approvals will also be given online, Razak said without elaborating.

More than 115,000 Indian tourists visited Malaysia from January to June this year.

In another move to shore up tourist arrivals, foreign students in Malaysia would be allowed to work as tour guides. Students who spoke Arabic, Spanish, Korean, French, Russian and other languages were welcome to apply for temporary work permits, it was announced.

Film traces Christ's journey to India

DEC 18: Seeking to throw light on an obscure and controversial phase in the life of Jesus Christ, a Mumbai city film-maker has made a documentary tracing the messiah's fabled travel to India where, some scholars say, he breathed his last.

Subhrajit Mitra, a software engineer is maker of 'Unknown Stories of the Messiah' due for release this season.

He has been making films since he was a student of standard XII, said he hit upon the idea about two years ago. "I was shooting a film on Indian Tourism in Ladakh when I was told that manuscripts depicting Christ's travel to India and his subsequent death existed in the nearby Hemis monastery. That set me thinking.

The research took more than 18 months."

Sehwag to lead India in 3rd Test

DEC 17: Virender Sehwag will lead India in the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka from Saturday after captain Rahul Dravid was ruled out with gastroenteritis.

The team management has also included Wasim Jaffer and Mohammad Kaif in the 12 for the match.

Dravid was admitted into a local hospital on night after he complained of nausea and weakness. He was said to have not fully recovered from the viral fever that threatened to keep him out of the second Test in Delhi.

The 12-member Indian team: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

Big B discharged; advised rest

MUMBAI, DEC 17: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who underwent abdominal surgery at the Leelavati hospital, was discharged from the hospital this morning, following three weeks of post-operational treatment.

Dressed in a white 'kurta-pyjama', Bachchan stepped out of the hospital with his children Shweta and Abhishek and was also accompanied by his close friends- Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh and industrialists Anil Ambani and Subroto Roy, reports PTI.

The 63-year-old megastar looked weak, but was cheerful as he stepped out of the hospital.

He first greeted the waiting media persons with folded hands and then waved to them before getting into his car. He then headed straight to meet his mother Teji Bachchan, residing at 'Prateeksha' bungalow in Juhu.

This was the first time since Amitabh's near-fatal accident on the sets of hindi film 'Coolie' in 1982 that he has spent about three weeks in hospital.

However, even as his fans heaved a sigh of relief while catching a glimpse of their favorite actor looking in good health today, Leelavati Hospital vice president Dr Narendra Trivedi told UNI that the actor has been advised a week's bed rest and asked to resume his normal activities gradually.

Other media reports said he has been advised a month's rest. Bachchan was suffering from diverticular disease - a condition caused by inflammation of the colon.

On December 14, Dr Trivedi had said that Bachchan has ''recovered completely'' from a 'life-threatening' illness following the treatment he received since November 29.

However, sources said Bachchan, who starred in 2005's biggest hits like 'Black', 'Waqt', 'Bunty aur Babli' and 'Sarkar', as well as the popular gameshow 'KBC 2' is likely to be away from the studio arc lights for nearly a month.

The son of a Hindi poet, Bachchan quit his job as a freight broker in Calcutta and set off for Bombay in pursuit of a career in the movies.

Meanwhile, the actor's latest film 'Ek Ajnabee' was released last week while his home production 'Family', directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, will hit the screens on December 23.

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Chappell behind Ganguly ouster?

KOLKATA, DEC 16: The decision to drop Sourav Ganguly from the Test squad was reportedly taken after a meeting between Team India coach Greg Chappell and the selection committee chairman Kiran More during the second Test in Delhi where Chappell, among other things had observed Ganguly did not fit in team�s scheme of things in the long term.

The coach had also reportedly insisted on a regular place for Yuvraj Singh. However, according to sources, the elegant left hander from Bengal is all set board the flight to Pakistan.�Nobody has ruled him (Ganguly) out. Even More also said it is not the end of the road for him. He can always come back for the Pakistan tour. Then again it�s the selectors� prerogative and we don�t want to interfere,� Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary, Niranjan Shah told this newspaper on Friday.

Asked when the squad for Pakistan tour would be announced, he said: �Maybe it�s on the fourth or fifth day of the third Test in Ahmedabad. But we have not finalised that yet. We will have to talk to the selectors on this.�

Meanwhile, as Ganguly�s ouster gets political, BCCI mandarins are busy in a damage control exercise. Former Board president, I.S. Bindra has already taken up cudgels for Ganguly and with president Sharad Pawar saying he will talk with the selectors before the team for the Pakistan tour is picked, the grapevine is abuzz that a directive is likely to be issued. Mr Shah, however, rejected that possibility.

The southpaw himself has refused to comment. �I am not talking to anyone in the media. I have no comments to offer,� he said on the day. But his sacking has already created resentment within the board with two of its committee members threatening to quit. Chief of the East Zone wing of the National Cricket Academy, Gopal Bose has demanded the selectors �redress the wrong done� to Ganguly.

�It�s a grave issue. The entire country is angry. It�s murder in the cathedral,� Bose said. Raja Venkat, a member of BCCI�s media committee said: �Selectors have committed blasphemy by omitting Ganguly.� Stronger reactions came from West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who questioned the �intelligence� of those responsible for Ganguly�s ouster.

�This is unjust. An insult to both Sourav and to all of us. I have discussed the issue with Mr Sharad Pawar and told him nobody can accept such a decision. Let�s see what happens now,� Mr Bhattacharjee said. Union defence minister, Pranab Mukherjee too has termed the decision �unfortunate�.

As protests continue in Kolkata for the third day, Ganguly has opted to rest at home. The Cricket Association of Bengal had requested him to play the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. The player too gave it a thought but ultimately decided against it. �He needs a few days to regroup. We honour his sentiments,� CAB joint-secretary Sharadindu Paul said.

Cricket Association of Bengal president, Jagmohan Dalmiya has appealed to Mr Pawar to reinstate Ganguly in the squad for the third Test in Ahmedabad commencing on Sunday. �Last evening, I saw your reactions on television when you expressed your �shock� at Sourav�s omission. Since you have realized that Sourav should not have been dropped from the team I would earnestly appeal for your kind intervention in the matter and advise the honorary secretary to reinstate Sourav for the Ahmedabad Test,� Mr Dalmiya wrote. He also cited several examples when secretaries sought for the president�s approval before announcing the Indian team for the home series. (Source: Deccan Chronicle)