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This Student Helped Evacuate Hundreds Of Kashmiris After Pulwama

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NEW DELHI — If you’ve been following the news about the forced expulsion of Kashmiri students from Uttarakhand in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack last week, chances are that you have read about Khawaja Itrat.

The 21-year-old Kashmiri has been quoted in several Indian publications and the Washington Post, giving facts and figures about the number of students arriving at the shelter he set up in Chandigarh on Sunday.

While speaking with HuffPost India, during the course of the week, Itrat sounded frenetic, yet upbeat. “We have managed to arrange two buses to get the students out from Dehradun. This is good news,” he said on Tuesday.

These brief conversations always ended with him saying, “Ma’am, I’m very sorry but things are too busy right now. I promise to call you back.”

The mechanical engineering student, who founded the Jammu and Kashmir Student Organisation (JKSO) in 2017, was fielding 300 calls a day.

His organisation, he estimates, evacuated 700 to 800 students from Uttarakhand over five days.

How it started

On 14 February, a 19-year-old Kashmiri, Adil Ahmed Dar, rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into a convoy of security personnel, killing 49 soldiers in the Pulwama district. It was the deadliest attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir in nearly three decades.

As reports of the attack came in, and the death toll kept rising, Itrat braced himself for a backlash against Kashmiris. But he did not anticipate that hundreds of students would be forced to flee their hostels and rented accommodations in different parts of the country.

It was a few hours after the horrific attack in Pulwama that Itrat started receiving phone calls from students, who said that right-wing activists were threatening them and forcing their landlords to evict them within 24 hours. Many students, he said, hid inside their rooms and asked their landlords to put a lock on the door.

The cost of plane tickets to Srinagar skyrocketed and Jammu was under curfew. They were stuck.

The next day, JKSO released a helpline number and asked students to make their way to Chandigarh, which was relatively safe.

Itrat said that he asked Kashmiris living in Chandigarh to make room for the students arriving from Uttarakhand. “There were students living in three rooms, who moved into one room, and gave us two. We also collected money for food. We got bedsheets and mattresses,” he said.

Speaking to the media, Itrat said, helped the relief operations. As word spread, the Sikhs came to the rescue. They opened up four rooms in a local Gurudwara and invited the Kashmiris to eat at their langars.

On most days, Itrat said, he was too busy to feel emotional, but there were moments which were overwhelming. “I remember these students who came and said, ‘Food, please give us food. We have not eaten for two days,’” Itrat said.

“I felt horrible when students told me that they were so scared to leave their rooms that they had gone to the toilet in polythene bags for two days,” he said. “How can your heart not break when you hear something like that?”

Food, please give us food. We have not eaten for two days.

The biggest challenge, Itrat said, was convincing students to leave their rooms and make the road trip to Chandigarh.

By Monday, however, a system was in place. Students were either booking outstations cabs or finding a way to the two buses that the JKSO had arranged with the help of a Sikh group called Khalsa Aid. 

“The police in Dehradun helped a lot. There were reaching the places where the students were trapped and accompanying them to the outer city limit,” he said.

How can your heart not break when you hear something like that?

State of denial

Even as hundreds of students were fleeing from cities like Dehradun and Ambala this week, the state authorities refused to admit that Kashmiris were being targeted by right wing activists.

While one Twitter account of the CRPF (Central Reserved Police Force) gave out a helpline number for Kashmiri students who felt they were in danger, the next day, another CRPF account said that news of the Kashmiri students facing harassment was fake.

This denial continued despite video proof of threats and intimidation against Kashmiri students and traders in different cities of North India, and even while police officers — in some places — were acting swiftly to ensure their safety.

Celebrities like Anupam Kher and other persons with a large Twitter following forged a narrative of us versus them.

They said that reporting on the Kashmiri students, who were being harassed and forced to leave, somehow detracted from the sympathy one had for the families of the slain soldiers. This is a false and divisive narrative.

An even more illogical narrative was built around how wrong it was to support these students because Islamic militants had driven Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir in the early nineties.

Almost two dozen Kashmiri students have been suspended for posting offensive messages about the Pulwama attack. At least five have been booked for sedition.  The insensitivity of a few students, however, is no excuse for frightening hundreds of Kashmiris into fleeing their colleges.

Earlier this week, Vikas Verma, the convener of the Bajrang Dal in Dehradun, toldHuffPost India that he wanted “all” Kashmiri students out of Uttarakhand and they could return when the Indian flag was raised in every house in Kashmir.

Verma also said that the Bajrang Dal was tracking the social media account of Kashmiri students and preparing a “dossier” to submit to the police.

This vicious environment will only prevent Kashmiris students from completing their education and leading productive lives. 

Two colleges in Dehradun have said that Kashmiri students will not be admitted in the new academic year.

Time to think

On Wednesday, Itrat said, 200 students were dispatched for Jammu in 17 tempo trucks. Around 20 to 25 students were still at the shelter and another 15 to 20 were making their way to Chandigarh.

“That should be the last of them,” he said.

As operations wound down on, Itrat found time to think about the deadly attack that killed 49 Indian soldiers on 14 February and everything that had followed.

“All these days, my only thought was how to get people to safety,” he said. “I can only condemn the attack. I blame both the Indian army and the Kashmiri people. Kashmiri students are being crushed under this conflict.”

Itrat continued, “We come here to make our careers, to realize our dreams, but we are always made soft targets. I just want to say that this needs to stop.”

We come here to make our careers, to realize our dreams, but we are always made soft targets. I just want to say that this needs to stop.

Itrat, who lost his mother to cancer in 2008 and his father to a heart attack in 2011, lives with his elder siblings in north Kashmir.

Growing up in Kashmir was difficult but he prefers not to elaborate. First, he said, it would take too long, and second, there is nothing that has not already been said.

Did soldiers pave the way as he made his way to school and back — yes. Did they check his identity card — yes. Was he ever harassed by security forces — yes.

“There is not a lot that I can say. It wasn’t easy. It is a conflict area and there were hardships, but I was not radicalized,” Itrat said. “This conflict has been going on since 1947. India is doing politics. Pakistan is doing politics and it is the young people who are suffering.”

“When two countries like North Korea and South Korea can coexist, then why can India and Pakistan not find a way,” he said.

Even though Chandigarh feels safe, Itrat said that Kashmiris are always looked at differently. “Landlords say that they cannot rent to you because you are Kashmiri. People say hurtful things. Things like that,” he said.

The college student added, “But we have to keep coming here. There are only two or three professional institutes in Kashmir. We need exposure. We need a normal life.”

We need exposure. We need a normal life.

He wanted to join the NDA

Today, Itrat wants to grow the Jammu and Kashmir Students Organization, which he founded in 2017.

After completing his education, the mechanical engineering student wants to launch an online food delivery system like Uber Eats or Zomato in Kashmir.

Running a start up, however, was not always Itrat’s dream. For as long as he can remember, Itrat wanted to join the National Defense Academy (NDA).

“I thought that one can join after class 8, but it wasn’t so. Then, someone told me, you can join after class 10, but it wasn’t so. Nowadays, you can check everything on the Internet, but I did not have so much access back then. Finally, when I was in class 12, I was ready to join,” he said.

While family and friends had gathered for a wedding that same year, Itrat and his friends decided to sneak out for a drive at around eleven in the night.

“We were breaking the curfew. We were playing loud music in the car. Suddenly, we were surrounded by soldiers who were pointing flashlights in the car. They took our identity cards. They told us to get them the next day,” he said.

The meeting that Itrat had with an Army Major the next day changed the course of his life.

“When I told him that I wanted to join the NDA, he said things like, ‘Ghanta, you will join the army. Radicals like you are not fit for the NDA. You don’t have the brains.’ I was stunned.”

Even as he recalls that meeting after four years, Itrat sounds close to tears. “I wasn’t lying. It was my dream to join the NDA. I had bought all the books. This was an Army Major talking. I left my dream.”

As the conversation ended on this somber note, Itrat said, “We try and come close to you but it is you who push us away.”


Farmers March To Mumbai Protesting 'Betrayal' By BJP Govts At Centre & State

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MUMBAI — The farmers’ long march from Nashik to Mumbai will continue after their leaders’ late night parleys with Maharashtra government to address their demands remained inconclusive, the march organisers said Thursday.

Farmers have embarked on a 180-km march from Nashik to Mumbai for the second time in the last 12 months to protest against what they termed as the “betrayal” of peasants by the BJP governments at the state and centre.

The Kisan Long March-2, expected to take over nine days to complete, is being organised by the CPI(M)-backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS).

The march could not be taken out Wednesday as police stopped many farmers from reaching Nashik, the AIKS claimed.

Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan met some AIKS representatives in Nashik Wednesday night.

“We held talks with the minister for over three hours. The government appeared positive to 80 percent of our demands. The minister said he would speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis first,” AIKS president Ashok Dhawale said.

Dhawale said Mahajan informed AIKS representatives that the assurances would be given in writing. “The AIKS has decided to go ahead with the march beginning Thursday morning till the government does so,” he added.

Dhawale said police were also present during the meeting with Mahajan. They (police) are not going to stop the farmers now, he added.

Mahajan could not be reached for his comment.

The AIKS has accused the government of not fulfilling assurances given to farmers last year after they marched between the two cities, seeking farm loan waiver, minimum support price for crops, irrigation facilities and provision of pension to agriculturists.

The AIKS also said it is opposed to the multi-billion dollar Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project which has seen several farmers along the proposed route approach court against land acquisition.

Supreme Court Agrees To Consider Pleas Seeking Review Of Its Rafale Verdict

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Representative image.

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it would consider listing of pleas seeking review of its verdict in the Rafale case.

The apex court on 14 December last year dismissed a clutch of PILs, including the one filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, saying there was “no occasion to doubt” the decision-making process of the Centre in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said four applications or petitions have been filed in the Rafale matter and one of them is still lying with the registry on account of defect.

“The combination (of the judges) of bench will have to be changed. It is very difficult. We will do something for it,” the bench, also comprising Justices LN Rao and Sanjiv Khanna, said when Bhushan sought urgent listing of the petitions in the Rafale case.

Bhushan said that the review petition filed by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was defective and other petitions had no defects to be cured.

He also said that besides the review petition, an application seeking perjury prosecution against some central government employees for giving misleading information to the court has also been filed.

Besides Bhushan, Sinha and Shourie had moved the Supreme Court Monday seeking initiation of perjury proceedings against central government officials for allegedly giving “false or misleading” information in a sealed cover in the high-profile Rafale case.

Brit Awards 2019: Beyoncé And Jay-Z's Tribute To Meghan Markle Was Instantly Iconic

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Beyoncé and Jay Z were not even present at this year’s Brit Awards but still managed to serve up one of the highlights of the evening. 

In a celebration of all-round brilliant people, they paid tribute to Meghan Markle, the Duchess Of Sussex, as they picked up the award for Best International Group on Wednesday night. 

Beyoncé and Jay Z paid tribute to Meghan Markle at the Brit Awards

The husband and wife duo sent in a recorded message to accept the prize, recreating a famous moment from their APESHIT music video. 

But instead of having the Mona Lisa on the wall behind them, they had installed a picture of Meghan. 

Needles to say, people were obsessed with it...

After the ceremony, Beyoncé posted on Instagram about her and Jay Z’s win for their work as The Carters, also extending their congratulations to “Melanated Mona” Meghan on her pregnancy. 

She wrote: Thank you to the Brits for the award for Best International Group. I won this award back in 2002 with my besties, Kelly and Michelle. How lucky am I to have been in a group with my other best friend, the GOAT Hova. 🙌🏾

“In honor of Black History Month, we bow down to one of our Melanated Monas. Congrats on your pregnancy! We wish you so much joy.”

Beyoncé and Jay Z’s award aired as part of a montage celebrating the best international acts. 

None of the recipients – including Drake for Best International Male and Ariana Grande for Best International Female – were present to collect the gongs, so bosses made the decision to pull them all together in a pre-recorded package. 

Meanwhile, there was a huge TV gaffe that revealed that The 1975 had won Best British Group and Album Of The Year before the ceremony had even begun. 

Karl Lagerfeld’s Cat Choupette Set To Inherit Sizeable Chunk Of Chanel Designer’s Multi-Million Fortune

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Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat Choupette is set to inherit some of the Chanel designer’s fortune.

The fashionista, who died on Tuesday at the age of 85, revealed before his death that he intended to leave a cut of his millions to the feline.

It’s believed Lagerfeld was worth more than £150million, which should go some way to help Choupette continue living the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed.

Choupette was rarely away from her owner's side.

As well as accompanying her owner on trips around the world (travelling in private jets, no less), the designer also revealed Choupette dined with him every night and slept next to him.

It is also rumoured that the spoilt moggy had her own bodyguard, personal chef and maid. 

When he was asked if he would leave his fortune to Choupette, Lagerfeld told Numero magazine last year: “Among others, yes. Don’t worry, there is enough for everyone.”

He added: “She has her own little fortune, she’s an heiress.”

And yes, it is actually possible for an animal to inherit cash, in German law at least, if the cat was nominated the ‘heir’ through an association or foundation.

Choupette originally belonged to the model Baptiste Giabiconi, but Karl took such a shine to her when she came into his life in 2011 that he reportedly refused to give her back.

The designer’s love for Choupette knew no bounds, and he even admitted he’d marry her if he could.

He told CNN in 2013: “There is no marriage, yet, for human beings and animals… I never thought that I would fall in love like this with a cat.”

Despite his love for cats, Lagerfeld’s use of fur in his designs meant he was a target of animal rights organisation PETA.

Just hours after his death was announced, the group posted a message on its official UK Twitter account, sending “condolences to our old nemesis”

“Karl Lagerfeld has gone,” they tweeted. “And his passing marks the end of an era when fur and exotic skins were seen as covetable. PETA sends condolences to our old nemesis’s loved ones.”

Climate Change Is Causing Ocean Colors To Intensify: MIT Study

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Scientists say the colors of the world’s oceans will intensify by the end of the century due to climate change, threatening the marine ecosystem from the bottom up.

The color of 50 percent of the ocean will change by the year 2100 because of changes in phytoplankton communities, according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study published earlier this month in Nature Communications. Scientists said the blue water in subtropic areas will appear more blue, while currently greener water near the poles will appear more green.

The phytoplankton, or algae, that scientists are talking about are small, vital marine organisms that can change in population depending on the ocean’s temperature, which several climate studies have shown is rapidly rising. The study used a climate model projecting changes to the ocean throughout the century and showed changes to the ocean’s color in a world that is 3 degrees Celsius warmer ― which scientists already predict will happen by 2100.

Water molecules absorb all parts of sunlight except for blue wavelengths, which are reflected out and give the ocean its blue hue. Phytoplankton have a green pigment called chlorophyll, so ocean surfaces with higher populations of phytoplankton appear greener and surfaces with fewer phytoplankton are more blue.

The study said climate change will cause phytoplankton to bloom in some ocean regions while reducing it in others, leading to changes in water color. Warming in subtropic areas could deprive phytoplankton of nutrients and decrease their population, but warming in polar areas could provide a better environment for them to grow. Scientists said the color changes will be too gradual for an average individual to notice over time, but the shift is a much bigger teller of other problems in the ocean.

“It could be potentially quite serious,” lead author Stephanie Dutkiewicz said in a press release. “If climate change shifts one community of phytoplankton to another, that will also change the types of food webs they can support.”

Phytoplankton make up the base of the marine life food chain, so a decrease in the algae could set off a reaction that affects the ocean’s fish populations. The algae also absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, so a reduction in phytoplankton could mean more carbon dioxide in the air.

The study said it can take a while before scientists can properly predict how climate change affects phytoplankton communities, so the next best method is to pay attention to the ocean’s color changes.

“Changes are happening because of climate change,” Dutkiewicz told The Washington Post. “It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that. But the change in the color of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”

Modi 'Forgot' To Write Pakistan's Name: Congress Takes A Dig At India-Saudi Joint Statement

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NEW DELHI — The Congress on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the joint statement issued after his talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying the PM “forgot” to write the name of “terror nourisher” Pakistan in the document.

The statement, issued hours after the Modi-Crown Prince talks, said the two leaders condemned the Pulwama terror attack in the strongest possible terms and called on all countries to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy. However, it did not name Pakistan in this context.

“Modiji on 18 February said ‘the time for talks with Pakistan is over, and now action will be taken’,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.

“Modiji on February 20 saying—India and Pakistan will talk as Modiji has been trying for since May 2014,” he said, referring to a paragraph in the document that talked about the Indian and the Saudi sides agreeing on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan.

The prime minister “forgot” to write the name of “terror nourisher” Pakistan in the joint statement, Surjewala said.

The Crown Prince “appreciated consistent efforts made by Prime Minister Modi since May 2014 including Prime Minister’s personal initiatives to have friendly relations with Pakistan,” the joint statement said.

“In this context, both sides agreed on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan,” it said.

The talks between the prime minister and the Saudi Crown Prince came days after the 14 February attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

A Dystopian Future Where Bharat Is A Fatherland, And Women Are Addressed As ‘Devi’

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They ordered their favourite brain masala at the dhaba that had expanded and now called itself a café, written ‘kaif ’ in Hindi, and known as kaif to its customers. It had added a low rung of office workers to its working class clientele and a plastic menu of ‘continental’ choices. The time-honoured age-old irreplaceables were down at the bottom of the menu. Fortunately progress had not affected the brain masala, or the gular kebabs they could get nowhere else, or the rumali rotis that Rafeeq, the cook, made at their request. Prabhakar and Rahman went there for lunch when they wanted to catch up. It was far enough from the university to avoid meeting the VC’s busybodies and their favourite as far as food was concerned.

‘What was it all about? How did it go?’ Rahman asked and Prabhakar described the tea party.

‘For some reason Europeans feel they’re under siege, and the Master Mind thinks we’re under siege here. I kept wondering if I was hearing right. Why was I invited?’

‘You wrote a book,’ said Rahman. He signalled a server for more of everything.

‘You must be the last innocent left if you think a book is just a book. As it happens, and as you are always prompt to point out, you’re not the first person to have written this kind of book.’

‘What kind?’ Prabhakar’s bewilderment was complete.

‘A terrifying story like no other. Mary Shelley wrote one two hundred years ago,’ said Rahman.

Prabhakar had not heard of it. He waited for more.

’She wrote a novel in which a science professor called Frankenstein creates a grotesque uncontrollable monster out of chemicals and human remains. That’s what you’ve done, Prabhu. You’ve written a story in which good and evil change places. You’ve created a monstrous scenario.’

Prabhakar brushed that aside impatiently. ’But it’s a fantasy, Rahman, it’s an exercise of my imagination. You know that. I was spinning a yarn.’

‘So was Mary Shelley. Only her yarn stayed on paper. Yours might not.’

‘Good God, that would be a nightmare.’

‘It would.’

They paid their bill and went out behind the kaif to the kitchen to pay their customary homage to Rafeeq, and give him a small token of their appreciation for their feast. Rafeeq threw up his floury hands in resignation, indicating his
shrunken domain, now that it was shared with the ‘continental’ cook.

The following day it became official. Bharat was no longer Mata. From now on Bharat was Pitrubhumi. Fatherland. And from now on females above the age of seventeen would be addressed as Devi as a mark of respect in a culture which revered women.

Excerpted with permission from The Fate of Butterflies by Nayantara Sahgal, published by Speaking Tiger, 2019


Govt Employee's Foot Severed By Delhi Metro Train After He Falls On Track

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NEW DELHI — A 57-year-old central government employee on Thursday accidentally fell on the tracks of the Delhi Metro at Dilshad Garden Station and came under an approaching train following which his right foot got severed, police officials said.

The injured, identified as Zachariah Koshy, works with the Ministry of Textiles, and is a resident of Shalimar Garden in Ghaziabad, they said, adding he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

Earlier in the day police had received a call that a man had “jumped before a moving train” at the station, they said.

A Delhi Metro official had earlier suspected that it might have been a case of a “suicide bid”.

The incident took place around 9:15 am and the train was moving towards Shahdara station, he said, adding services were “briefly affected”.

“We have examined the footage of the incident, and there one can see that he accidentally fell on the tracks. He was there with his wife and standing very close to the edge of the platform. And, when the train was approaching he fell down and his feet got run over by it,” a senior police official said.

His right foot got severed in the accident and his left foot is also very badly injured, he said.

He is undergoing treatment at GTB Hospital where his son, Ajim, is present with him, police said, adding, further inquiry is in progress.

“We will record the man’s statement, once he is in a better condition,” the senior official said.

Due to the incident, services were affected on the Red Line between Dilshad Garden and Shahdara stations.

“Normal services were later restored,” the DMRC official said.

'We Want Kashmir, But Not Kashmiris': P Chidambaram On 'Depressing' Irony

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NEW DELHI — Some people want Kashmir to be part of India but don’t want Kashmiris to be part of Indians, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Thursday and asserted that the “irony of the situation is depressing”.

The former home and finance minister also took a dig at Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy’s statement that he favoured a call for the boycott of Kashmiri products and visiting the state as tourists.

“The irony of the situation is depressing. We want Kashmir to be part of India, but we do not want Kashmiris to be part of Indians,” he said in a tweet.

Chidambaram said the ‘Statue of Unity’, the 182 metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, located near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat, watches over the governor of Meghalaya and others who seem to think that Kashmiris have no place in India.

Patel, India’s first home minister, is known as a unifier of the country and is credited for merging over 560 princely states into the union of India.

There have been incidents of alleged threats to Kashmiri students and people studying or working in Dehradun, Jammu, Kolkata and Muzaffarnagar and other places, leading to some of them leaving places to go return to their homes in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alleged incidents took place after 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured last week in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir for which the Jaish-e-Mohammad has taken responsibility. The bus was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying CRPF personnel from Jammu to Srinagar.

Gully Boy: Zoya Akhtar On Her Politics, Alia's Violence & Ranveer's 'Brown-Face'

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MUMBAI, Maharashtra—At the Santacruz office of Excel Entertainment, things are self-consciously normal.

It’s a routine day. 

Their most recent production, Gully Boy, has opened to unanimously positive reviews and is raking in big numbers, becoming Zoya Akhtar’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed film so far, but the vibe of the office is casual as if everyone’s briefed to “play it cool.”

In her office, Akhtar is freezing, holding onto a cup of hot coffee. There’s a sense of relief on her face. She looks pleased in an understated, quiet way.

As we exchange pleasantries, I tell her I’ve seen the movie three times. “That’s what surprised me the most,” she says. “I didn’t expect people would go for repeated viewings! But that’s perhaps the best feedback a filmmaker can hope for.”

Which is true ― it’s been a while since a movie generated this kind of frenzy. As I set my dictaphone on, we settle down on the couch, and our interview begins.

Edited excerpts:

Gully Boy director Zoya Akhtar

Among the many things Gully Boy achieves is that it helps in mainstreaming a subculture that has existed purely on the margins. Was that one of your many motivations?

Yeah! Honestly, I am appalled that no music label or company did something like this - picked up their music. They did it on some level, but they didn’t do it in a way it should have been done. Putting money on these artists, pitching it, marketing it. And that’s why there is no indie scene, there is no scene which isn’t attached to Hindi cinema. It’s not okay to only have Bollywood as the dominant part of popular culture or arts. After a point, it gets really tedious.

Ironically, the music of the streets has found mainstream recognition only after a film with the two top stars decided to incorporate it. 

When we were working on the film, we decided to not have any visual references to Hindi cinema. No renowned Hindi film musician. It’s not there in the film, it just doesn’t exist. We just wanted a world which hasn’t been eaten and has its own spaces left. There’s no posters, no reference to actors, nothing. There is no Hindi film industry/Bollywood in this film.

One of the things that stood out to me are the characters ― they all feel like they’ve had a lived experience of a life in ghettos. What was that process like?

Firstly, it’s a combination of things.

You have to work with actors that can act.

They have a process which they come in with and are ready to discard anything that they can to work. Secondly, I have a lot of help. Reema and I had the film memorised so we know our character arcs backwards.

We know exactly what the line is, what the tone in, what the pitch is, where the silences are. Then we had Vijay (dialogue writer Vijay Maurya) and two young boys from Dharavi who were rappers, one of whom played Chintu in the film.

They did additional dialogues and were on-set as dialogue supervisors throughout the film. They were there to see if it sounded right, if they wanted to change a word, they could. They knew the lingo. These guys would work with the actors, rap with them, talk to them, constantly.

Then we had hair and make up artists. No one cared to look pretty in the film. Alia didn’t wear make up half the time, she wore it only when the character had to wear it.

Actor Ranveer SIngh in a still from Gully Boy

It appeared as if Ranveer Singh’s Murad had been brown-faced to fit into the milieu. 

He came from a holiday in Maldives. He came back toasty. So when we started shooting that’s how he was looking but he started fading. Now we had to keep him toasty to keep the consistency. We would shoot from 7am to 7pm so he never even had the chance to swim and keep himself tanned. 

So you are saying the intention wasn’t to brown-face him so he looked like he lived in a slum?  

No! Because we didn’t do that to anyone. They can’t be peachy either though. There is a certain sun-spotting that comes when you live like that the whole time, spending a lot of time in the sun. They aren’t applying sunscreens. For someone like Amrita Shubhash (who plays Ranveer’s mother), she’s young but she looks like she’s lived. You don’t shoot in sequence so you have to keep it going. But no, I’m not a brown-facer, Ankur.

How much was Vijay Maurya’s contribution? The lines in the films are gems, they aren’t empty dialogue-baazi but give a sense of wisdom. Was it just him or did you write with him closely?

Reema and I write all our dialogues in English.

Vijay would then work on it and turn them into the language that it was required.

He wrote all the Hindi dialogues so the credit solely goes to him.

We just did the story and screenplay and wrote the dialogue in English. If we had to make an English film, we could make it today. It is dialogue ready to the last full stop.

But Vijay is unbelievable. To be able to take the tone and pitch and convert it and to change the metaphors and use it in that syntax, it’s a challenge.

He’s a really cool guy, he did that and at the end of the day we’re talking about kids and rapping. The millennials talk differently. So we did two to three sessions with them, MC Altaf, Kaam Bhaari, Emiway Bantai and Rahul.

We took them through the entire script. Like what would you say for “let’s get out of here”? They have a very hip slang and they’re all writers. There’s poetry in their everyday conversations.

There’s the lingo of the boys, then there is of the rappers and then there’s a separate style in which the families interact; like Safeena’s family was a bit upward.

I owe it to Anurag Kashyap. I was testing my dialogues and the Hindi is always done by my brother or my father since the last three films. But for this I needed someone who can nail the lingo as authentically as possible.

Kashyap recommended Vijay and after I sent him the first 10 pages of the script, he sent them back and it was slamming!

You have been unfairly criticised as a chronicler of posh pain. Do you feel with Gully Boy, that criticism will finally stop?

I don’t think it will shut. Three weeks later, my show, Made in Heaven, is dropping on Amazon and the same will come back again. Even when Dil Dhadakne Do came, I had already made Luck By Chance and Bombay Talkies. But if you’re only going to talk about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, then it’s your problem. I’m not the only person that has had wealthy characters in a movie. I have thought about it a lot. My theory is that characters in my film don’t look fake rich, there is an authenticity to their wealth.

I think the problem really is the value system, my characters aren’t apologetic about their wealth, nobody is. They don’t go back to certain moral values. There’s rich people everywhere in our cinema. Look at other films like Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo or Ae Dil Hai Mushkil or all the shows on TV where everyone is wealthy and have humungous houses with crazy staircases. But they don’t look wealthy! 

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in a still from the film.

As someone who comes from a place of enormous privilege what are the risks you take while examining socio-economic oppression? It is a slippery slope and it could easily become poverty-porn. How do you avoid such trappings?

When you make anything, you can’t hide your intention.

The intention that you make it with, the lens with which you look at it, will come through on screen.

You either make a point or you don’t make a point. You could be the biggest entertainer in the world and your politics will come through. I will see your film and I will know how you think.

Your politics will shine through. I didn’t make the film to feel sorry for them, I did it because I was inspired by them.

As a filmmaker, you choose a gaze. Like for Dil Dhadakne Do, I was looking at it from the outside. To me, it’s a subculture. They’re not my life but I am extremely interested in educated people, who are wealthy and have traveled the world and can get anything that they want. But all that they do is project. That film is about projection. It was an outward gaze from the dog’s point of view, like a human study.

In Luck By Chance it’s like a fly on the wall, like an insider.

With ZNMD it was more like you’re in the car with them, you’re on the journey with them, you are hanging with them.

With Gully Boy, it had, had, had to be inside looking out. It’s their story told from their point of view. That’s the only way it would work. 

You cannot make a film like this without being there and having them onboard. You have to make sure you respect their truth and stay authenticity to it because their art is completely honest. Their work is completely honest. It’s really about who they are, what their life is, what their journey has been, how the system treats them, how the world treats them and what they think of it. 

What about the sudden bursts of anger in Safina’s character. Where was that coming from?

Reema and I, find characters that have no shade quite boring.

You want to create wholesome characters. They needn’t be sassy, but somewhere they need to have complexity.

Let’s say, with Ranveer’s mother, she’s tolerating the abuse. And at one point, she leaves because suddenly there’s another man in the house who’s grown up. And it’s not like she’s walked off the marriage. Murad’s the one that’s done it. And she’s there, she’s happier. And the vibe is more relaxed at home, but the minute he disappears she doesn’t know what to do. So she calls up the husband. So, my point is, she is feisty but she is not turned into an independent woman overnight. She is a person. So there is that internal conflict. You hate and you love and that’s what life is. It’s this complexity which is what makes her believable.

With Safina, she is this supporting girlfriend. But who is she? Besides being his girlfriend? For us, she was very smart, extremely academically sound. She has grown up to be like her mother. She’s not like her father although she has got the medical thing from him and she respects him because he is educated, he’s working.

Now, she doesn’t have that much of respect for her mother, as a backstory. But, she’s like her mother. She has got the sass, the pushiness the dominance and the aggression of her mother. She was probably also a tomboy in school.

She hung out with all the boys in the school and class. But suddenly, because of her gender, when she hit puberty, she was made to change her behaviour - she had to change how she dressed, had to change who she spoke to, had to come home at a certain time while the boys had fun outside.

Life changed and there is a certain unfairness which comes when you are super bright, and super responsible and can handle and take on the world; but are curtailed solely because of your gender. That is very anger making. 

So we see her as somebody who is being oppressed, just because she’s a woman. And that has caused a lot of anger. Her mother is quite trigger happy with the slaps which you find out only later.

So you see where that violence is coming from. She’s internalised it.

Violence is communication - it’s a language. So if you hit somebody as a kid, they are more likely to hit others when they are older. So she’s that person.

The fact that she didn’t have the freedom, her insecurities over Muraad, which a lot of women feel, led to that manifestation. She knows she’s wrong. He’s knows she’s wrong. We know she’s wrong. But she hasn’t grown into dealing with it.

As a director it must be a joy to work with actors who just get what you want out of them.

It just ups the game, man. It’s not only about your leads. Just that dining table scene at Vijay Maurya’s house. Vijay Raaz, and Amruta Subhash, and Ranveer.  I didn’t have to do anything. It’s quiet a scene. They just nail it. It elevates the writing because they bring so much to the table. They bring such nuance to it. It’s very yummy to have good actors. Work is simple then.

So there is this interesting sort of situation that happens in at least 2 scenes that i remember, where there is tension which is quickly neutralized with humour. Like when the second wife says “Mereko acha laga” after Murad’s gotten slapped by his father. The mother comes and says “kya bol rahi thi voh?”

And the second was when was the dining table scene where Vijay’s wife says - “Tum ghazal kyu nahi gaate?” right after Murad’s mother has asked for financial help.

Tension and sudden eruption of laughter.

Let’s say the ghazal scene - There are a lot of people, in the audience, that actually might think he’s right. People who would actually think that Murad should be focusing on work, getting his life together. What is he doing? And that’s a point of view.

But the minute you put this in, you realize how absurd it is. There is an absurdity to people telling a person that - why don’t you do this? It’s better.

Humour is a sweet pill. You can say things more effectively. I can turn around and say that the aunt and uncle are stupid and absurd, by introducing this one line. 

Because if he remains angry, people still will agree with him. The humour suddenly makes you feel like - It’s silly. It just does that.

Whereas with the other family, she (second wife) comes and says I liked it. And she did like it, and she is young and flirty and slightly guilty that she got him slapped. The thing with the mother represents how everyone is just so caught up in their own shit, in their own politics that you got to fend for yourself.

He has just been slapped up, but what she has just picked up is the stepmother whispering in his ear? She’s probably thinking, are they getting close? 

Everyone is just fending for themselves.

I understand that with the second wife you wanted to create and heighten the marital discord, but would be the motivation of Vijay Raaz to get another wife in a crammed up room where they can barely survive?

There is not motivation, people survive anywhere. People are survivors. The way we look at it is that he works at this home, she’s a maid there, they had an affair and she wanted to legitimise it. It’s an economic decision. If he wanted to leave his first life, he would have but he can’t. It’s not simple to separate, it’s expensive. He will have to look for a new place. So he just gets another wife home.

How about the montage of the night when they go about spray-painting in the night. The song reminded me about Jeena isi ka naam hai... and you romanticise Bombay to the hilt by giving it a dreamy, otherworldly quality to it.

Yes! There’s something 50s about it. There’s something waltzy. It’s got an old jam. Ankur Tewari and me were wondering what to put in the song which was out of the protagonist’s sonic palette. We wanted something surreal, whimsical and dreamy. It’s a peep into another space, a flight of fantasy. There’s a bit of romance into, yes.

You shot a lot on JJ flyover which, I have always believed, lends itself so well to a cinematic reality. 

 I love JJ flyover. I am obsessed with it. I have been looking into people’s homes in JJ Flyover since college! I was in Xavier’s and I would look into people’s worlds. It’s one of the most cinematic spots in Bombay city. It’s gorgeous! 

There’s also the Lower Parel flyover that I spotted, which again looks surreal in the night.

That one is cinematic because of the buildings with the lights and the concrete. Also, with that stretch you can go from rich to poor. The landscape changes, like, all of a sudden.

Which blends with the song and the montage which is essentially a very anti-capitalism statement in itself. How did you decide to weave that into the film?

There is an interesting connect with Sky and him. She is a privileged person but she is conscious. She has a bleeding heart. She lives abroad but loves her city. There are things about it that bother her.  They are equals because they are musicians. Art is very neutralising. You can just sit there and connect and everything else is irrelevant. There is some conscious aspect to his rap as well. The concerns are different, she is talking about body dysmorphia and skin colour, racism and nature and he is talking about roti kapda, makan and internet. They’re both from the same side. It’s eye opening to him as well. He wouldn’t react to Fair and Lovely but he gets it. There is a distinction but also a similarity.

Is Sky an extension of your alter ego? In many ways, you are a privileged ally to the movement who has an empathetic gaze, just like her. Did you see it like that?

I guess you could say that. Yeah. Possibly she could be my alter ego. 

About the politics of the film, you have already said that you used Azadi in a different context and one can choose to do so, but it does dilute the potency of the song by compromising its core components.

Tomorrow if you say, Kamla Bhasin is talking about women rights, she’ll use the song in a different way. If someone is talking about military, it would be something else. Your film has to make sense. If I had put caste politics into this, people would be like, what? Why is she talking about this? 

But if your protagonist is a lower class Muslim boy, politics of hate, or the rise of Hindutva, directly affects him. 

No, it’s a very different space. When you are a Muslim, you’re already out of the caste system in a sense. You can’t bundle it all into one, it’s much more nuanced.

But given that your film is set in contemporary times, don’t you feel it is a good opportunity to foreground the political realities of our time?

No, it has to foreground the political reality of my film. If I had gone that way,, you would’ve been out of the story. You wouldn’t be in the film, you’d be thinking about other things. You have to understand that it’s not in the tapestry of the film. I would happily make another film on that.

Murad faces opposition from his father, his uncle, his impoverished state. But never any kind of communal forces. As a minority, I felt that his religion, would directly thwart his social and economic growth.

The thing is it’s about what you choose to say and how you would put it out. I want to make a film that appeals and makes sense to people on another level. There is a certain sense of fear, yes. The fact that they are minorities and it does bracket them in a lot of things that happen but that is not the film. The point is that you want to go in there and look at them as real people and not something else, not as ‘others.’ Class oppression has a wider spectrum, it is not just because you are Muslim. It would’ve made it just a Muslim story which it’s not. It’s not just about that. You have to take it thematically. Every film can’t be about everything.

People react because that class thing is very personal, the minute I had done something else, it would have been diluted.

You wouldn’t have felt this. It’s a larger narrative. There are passing things but that’s not what the story is. The class oppression is prevalent across the board.

I think making Murad a driver was a great artistic choice as it creates a space where the class difference is at its most obvious. 

Absolutely. You’re sitting in your car and you are on your phone and you will go ― no, no I am alone. You pretty much think you’re alone but you’re not. It’s not a robot driving you. It’s not an invisible person. But you have made them invisible. If I made the film about other things, we would would’ve lost that.

 

 

Let’s talk about Siddhant Chaturvedi’s MC Sher, who, according to many is the top performer of the film. How did you go about directing him?

He’s a very sweet 24 year old boy but he’s a supreme actor. He just works hard. He was writing and listening to music all the time. We do workshops with actors where we find their pitch and he nailed it completely. He’s just kind of affable. We wanted Sher to be a big guy, like you don’t want to mess with him, but not intimidating. He’s open, he’s lion-hearted, but kind and approachable. Hip hop is bigger than him and you. It’s like you meet a filmmaker who you get inspired by, but not jealous. It’s a healthy feeling of helping everyone. He’s interested in  the entire scene growing and not just him. Rest is the fact that he acts very, very well.

Gully Boy is your most political film so far. However, two of the film’s actors - Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh ― recently said in an interview that they are apolitical or politically apathetic. Given the current climate in the country, can artists, who have historically been a community of dissenters, afford to be remove themselves from politics?

In a democracy, one can take any stance. There are many ways to look at it. In an ideal world, we should have the freedom of speech to say what we want without being harassed. But let’s be real ― we are not. Which makes them immensely vulnerable. So if they say something they’re in trouble, if they don’t, they are in trouble. It’s their right to take a stance. It’s your right to judge or not agree. I’m not in their shoes. I don’t know what comes around. Should one be upset with them because they didn’t say what I wanted to hear? No. I don’t think it’s fair for me to ask them why they didn’t take a position that I wanted to them to take.

Zoya Akhtar Addresses Ranveer's 'Brown Face' In 'Gully Boy', Says It Wasn't Intentional

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Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boyopened last week to great reviews and greater numbers at the box office. While the exceptional performances by Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Varma didn’t go unnoticed, neither did Singh’s brown face. 

Through the film Singh, who played Murad, looked visibly darker as if his faced had been bronzed so that he ‘looked’ the part of someone who lives in Dharavi, the biggest slum in Mumbai. 

Akhtar, in an interview with Huffpost India, confirmed that Singh’s face had indeed been darkened, but apparently only because he had a tan when he began shooting. 

“He came from a holiday in Maldives. He came back toasty. So when we started shooting that’s how he was looking but he started fading. Now we had to keep him toasty to keep the consistency,” Akhtar said. 

However, she said the intention wasn’t to make Singh look darker. “We didn’t do that to anyone. They can’t be peachy either though. There is a certain sun-spotting that comes when you live like that the whole time, spending a lot of time in the sun. They aren’t applying sunscreens. For someone like Amrita Shubhash (who plays Ranveer’s mother), she’s young but she looks like she’s lived. You don’t shoot in sequence so you have to keep it going. But no, I’m not a brown-facer.”

Gully Boy is based on the lives of Indian rappers Naezy and DIVINE, who grew up in the slums of Mumbai.  

PM Learnt Of Pulwama Attack, But Kept Shooting For Film, Alleges Congress

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NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park for his “propaganda and publicity” till the evening of February 14 despite the Pulwama attack taking place in the afternoon that day, the Congress on Thursday alleged, citing reports in a section of the media.

There was no immediate reaction from the Prime Minister’s Office and the BJP over the allegations.

The opposition party also accused BJP president Amit Shah of “politicization of terrorism” in his speech in Assam following the attack in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force’s convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama.

Shah, while addressing a public rally at Lakhimpur in Assam, had said that the sacrifices of the 40 CRPF personnel will not go in vain as there is a BJP government at the Centre now and it, unlike the previous Congress dispensation, will not “compromise” on any security issue.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, launched an all-out attack on the government and the prime minister over the Pulwama terror strike.

In his hunger for power, the prime minister has forgotten “raj dharma” (duty of governance), he alleged.

Citing media reports in Hindi news papers, Surjewala gave a timeline of events saying the terror attack happened at 3:10 PM on February 14 with the Congress reacting at 5:15 PM.

“The prime minister also knew about it, yet the PM, a person who claims himself to be a pseudo nationalist, continues to shoot a film (for Discovery channel) for self propagation in Corbett National Park in Ramnagar,” he claimed.

He alleged that the prime minister continued to “enjoy boat rides” with the camera crew and later ensured that there is slogan shouting by BJP people in his favour there.

“The prime minister continues to eat chai, samosas at seven o’ clock at government expense in a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn’t eat their food,” the Congress spokesperson said.

On one hand the country was picking up the “pieces of our martyrs”, on the other hand the prime minister was doing his “propaganda and publicity”, he claimed.

“Can such conduct be expected from the prime minister of a country. The prime minister should have been chairing the cabinet committee on security immediately and should have taken action, instead of shooting films,” he said.

Surjewala said that the Congress party had shown restrain as directed by party president Rahul Gandhi, but it was important to raise issues of such conduct that “insults martyrs”.

“The Congress party and the entire nation stands united with our armed forces as also our government in every step that they take in tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. We are determined in that resolve even today,” he said.

The Congress leader said that questions must be asked about the gross intelligence failure of this government and on the “priorities of a prime minister who on a sensitive time like this has gone on a foreign tour to South Korea instead of tackling terrorism”.

Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati Announce Details Of Seat-Sharing In UP For 2019 Polls

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The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday announced the details of their seat sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. 

In Uttar Pradesh, the SP will contest 37 seats and the BSP 38 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats.

The parties had announced their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 polls last month. 

The seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli, according to NDTV, have been left untouched for Congress as promised by BSP chief Mayawati. The remaining three seats are expected to go to Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal.

The 37 seats in the SP quota include Kairana, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Badaun, Bareilly, Lucknow, Etawah, Kanpur, Kannauj, Jhansi, Banda, Allahabad, Kaushambi, Phulpur, Faizabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Varanasi and Mirzapur.

The BSP will contest from Saharanpur, Bijnor, Nagina, Aligarh, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Dhaurahara, Sitapur, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Kaiserganj, Basti, Salempur, Jaunpur, Bhadohi and Deoria, among other constituencies.

(With PTI inputs)

Social Media Companies Won't Be Allowed To Abuse Citizen's Data To Influence Elections: Ravi Shankar Prasad

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MUMBAI — India will hold wide consultations with internet companies before finalising rules to regulate content on social media but will not hold back from framing laws that safeguard national interest, the country’s technology minister said.

India, one of the world’s biggest internet markets, in late December proposed rules that will compel platforms such as Facebook, its WhatsApp messenger service and Twitter to remove within 24 hours unlawful content, such as anything that affects the “sovereignty and integrity of India”.

The draft rules have prompted intense lobbying by technology companies, which say the proposals “impose burdensome obligations”.

The rules, if implemented in their current form, are also likely to raise costs for companies by requiring them to monitor online content around the clock.

New Delhi, which is in the process of finalising the so-called intermediary rules, will be fair to all stakeholders, technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters on the sidelines of an IT conference in the financial capital of Mumbai on Wednesday.

“We’ll be fair, we’ll be objective, but India’s sovereign right to frame rules and laws will always be there,” he said.

The draft rules also come at a time when India, the world’s largest democracy, heads for a general election before May and social media becomes a hotbed for circulation of fake political news.

Social media giant Facebook this month said it is toughening its advertising policies to create more transparency ahead of the vote. It also expanded its fact-checking network.

Rival Google has also conducted scores of workshops across the country to train journalists to verify news.

“As a minister, I want to assure that a social media company shall not be allowed to abuse the data of Indians to influence elections,” Prasad said.

 

President Ram Nath Kovind Approves Triple Talaq Ordinance

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Representative image.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday approved the triple talaq ordinance that makes the practice of instant triple talaq by Muslim men a penal offence.

The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday given its nod to re-issue the contentious ordinance.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley noted that it is among those ordinances and bills which had been passed by the Lok Sabha but could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha due to continuous protests by opposition parties.

A bill on the ordinance making the practise of ‘talaq-e-biddat’ (instance divorce) void and an offence is pending in Rajya Sabha. The bill will lapse on 3 June with the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha.

Opposition parties and some community leaders have claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife is legally untenable. The government has asserted that it provides justice and equality to Muslim women.

The government has promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice.

Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and would attract a jail term of three years for the husband

A Bill to convert the earlier ordinance, issued in September, 2018, was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December and was pending in the Rajya Sabha

Since the Bill could not get parliamentary approval, a fresh ordinance was issued.

(With PTI inputs)

What It Looks Like To 'Share' A Bathroom When You're In A Relationship

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Compliments will get you everywhere in a relationship.

Artist Priscila Barbosa, who created the cheeky illustration below, can certainly vouch for that. The artist lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with her partner of five years and three cats. Needless to say, things can get a little crammed in their space, especially in the bathroom.

Here’s how their morning routine usually goes: 

“He asks me to go a little bit to the side, I ask him to use another mirror, and the fight is repeated every time!” she told HuffPost.

Barbosa admits she’s a little feistier than her S.O., so she can usually elbow her way in front of the mirror. A well-placed compliment does wonders, too, though. 

“Usually, a good way to get rid of him with love is to just say say that he already looks really handsome!” she joked.

Well played, madame. 

Barbosa has previously illustrated for HuffPost what it’s like to share a bed with an S.O. and the struggle to find something to wear, even if your closet is full to the brim with clothes. To see more of her work, follow her on Instagram and Tumblr, or visit her website

Love Illustrated is a HuffPost comic series that captures the realities of modern love. HuffPost has partnered with Tumblr’s Creatrs, a collective of their most talented artists, to create this original illustrated series. Oath, HuffPost’s parent company, also owns Tumblr. 

Your Genetics Might Affect Fertility More Than You Think

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Fertility rates in the United States dropped to a record low in recent years. Researchers aren’t entirely sure what’s causing the trend. Some theorize the dropping fertility rates are a result of women waiting longer to have kids and opting to focus on their education and careers instead. Others argue it’s a reaction to our nation’s economic uncertainty, while many are convinced men’s declining sperm counts are partly to blame.

Most of these hypotheses are situational, of course. But there’s another cause that many should consider, which is the underlying question of genetics and how it plays a factor when people do decide to have kids. How much of our fertility boils down to what we inherited?  

It’s estimated that approximately 50 percent of infertility cases are caused by genetic issues. Family history plays a definite role when it comes to certain conditions that can lead to infertility. Aside from that, scientists are still working to discover how else genetics can affect fertility problems.

Here’s what they know so far on how your genes may or may not come into play:

Chromosomal abnormalities and genetic diseases can decrease fertility

Let’s start with what we do know for certain, which is that many people are unable to conceive or carry a pregnancy successfully to term due to genetic and chromosomal abnormalities. What this basically means is some individuals have inherited a condition that may either stunt sperm cell development or make it nearly impossible for an embryo to successfully implant or develop normally in the uterus.

There are chromosomal deletions, where part of a chromosome is missing, and mutations, which involve changes in DNA. There are also translocations, when chromosomal pieces attach to the wrong chromosome. There can be inversions, where the chromosome is upside-down, and then something called aneuploidy, in which there are too few or too many chromosomes. Genetic disorders may be harbored by the parent so they can be passed down, or they can happen in the fetus spontaneously ― without any rhyme or reason.

“Sometimes, a person can have all of the genetic information — there’s nothing missing or duplicated so they don’t have any apparent health concerns — but it can cause an issue with fertility if there’s a structural change in those chromosomes,” Marie Schuetzle, a certified genetic counselor and reproductive genetics team lead at InformedDNA, told HuffPost.

If someone is a carrier of an irregular chromosome, his or her embryo could receive either missing or extra genetic information, which could result in a miscarriage or other reproductive concern, Schuetzle said. It’s worth noting that these abnormalities can occur at random in a fetus from chromosomally normal parents, but several are passed down between generations as well. For example, if your mother has one X chromosome that’s abnormal, you have a 50 percent chance of inheriting that irregular X chromosome, the National Institutes of Health states.

There are also a handful of rare, inherited single-gene diseases, like fragile X syndrome, cystic fibrosis (CF) and Tay-Sachs disease, that can lead to fertility problems and potentially cause fertility issues.

“CF is associated with infertility in males due to abnormal or absent vas deferens [tubes that sperm pass through] causing reduced or absent sperm in the semen,” Schuetzle said. “CF has little to no effect on female fertility. However, ifvery ill and/or underweight, some may have irregular or absent ovulation.”

The quality and quantity of sperm can be affected by genetics, but it’s not likely

Doctors are typically unable to identify what, specifically, causes most sperm production irregularities (which, in fertility jargon, is referred to as male factor infertility).

“The family risk, when we are dealing with just a mild male factor or even a moderate male factor, is likely minimal,” said Shaun Williams, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at RMA of Connecticut.

Most experts agree that the vast majority of minor sperm issues are caused by environmental and lifestyle factors. There are some severe genetic abnormalities in males that can lead to severely low sperm counts or lack of sperm production. These genetic disorders are inheritable. Often, though, these severe sperm abnormalities cause absolute infertility and, therefore, won’t be passed down to future generations just by intercourse alone.

Endometriosis and fibroids — which can cause infertility — have multiple causes, one of which could be genetics

In the U.S., about 1 out of 10 women lives with endometriosis, a painful inflammatory condition in which the lining of the uterus grows outside the womb. Of those who have endometriosis, 30 to 50 percent typically struggle with infertility.

There is no cut-and-dry answer for how much of endometriosis is a result of your genetics. Rather, this condition is considered to be multifactorial, meaning there are environmental, inherited and acquired factors at play.

“With endometriosis, the genetics are incompletely understood,” Williams said. “There’s probably multiple genes involved, so it’s hard for us to identify that specific genetic cause. In general, there is an increased risk if you’ve got first-degree family members [with endometriosis].”

If, for example, your mother or sister has endometriosis, you are approximately five to seven times more likely to to be diagnosed than those who don’t have a close relative with it. But that doesn’t imply certainty: Just because a family member has endometriosis does not mean you will get it also.

The same goes for fibroids, which are small, benign tumors that grow on the inside of the uterine cavity and prevent an embryo from attaching. If your mother or sister has fibroids, you have a slightly higher risk of having them as well ― but, again, it’s not a guarantee. And certain populations, such as African-Americans, are about three to four times more likely to develop uterine fibroids, Williams said.

The age of menopause tends to run in families

The age and speed at which eggs decline likely has a genetic component as well. Some health experts believe that when your mother experienced menopause is one of the best predictors of when you will go through menopause.

“Age at menopause does tend to correlate very well between family members,” Williams said. “Not always, but there is an underlying genetic control over how many eggs someone is born with and how rapidly those eggs are exhausted. If you have a family member who has experienced menopause at an earlier age, then you are at a higher risk of experiencing that same early loss of reproductive potential.”

Some experience primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), in which menopause begins before age 40. Research has found that in 10 to 15 percent of POI cases, there was an immediate family member with the condition.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome can cause fertility problems and is typically a genetic condition

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal imbalance causing cysts and irregular periods, is one of the most common causes of infertility. Studies have shown that PCOS is heavily influenced by genetics, though there are environmental contributions as well.

“There definitely is a genetic predisposition for PCOS that’s probably higher than the other conditions [endometriosis and fibroids],” Williams said. “Some studies have shown that up to 40 percent of siblings may have some similar hormonal changes or issues consistent with PCOS.”

But while there is a much higher likelihood that you may have the same hormonal issues if you have a relative with PCOS, whether you will actually experience infertility because of those issues is hard to say, according to Williams. Experts have yet to find a direct link connecting everything ― genetics leading to PCOS leading to infertility ― in one straight line.

Bottom line: We still have a lot to learn when it comes to genetics and fertility

Some experts say researchers still don’t know what causes infertility in about 20 to 30 percent of cases, meaning ovarian reserve, sperm function, fallopian tubes and the uterus are all tested and appear to be functioning normally. Some doctors suspect these cases may somehow be related to behavior and lifestyle factors, like nutrition, weight, exercise and even stress levels. However, many experts believe that most medical conditions that can lead to infertility or trouble conceiving have an underlying genetic predisposition that increases the likelihood of their occurrence.

“I think infertility — whether it’s male factor or ovarian function or uterine function — all may have an underlying genetic basis that we don’t fully understand,” Williams said.

In the future, researchers hope to identify and understand the genetic patterns and combinations in all individuals who experience infertility. Then, doctors can improve how each condition is diagnosed and treated.

We’re not there quite yet, though. If you have a family member with any of the above conditions — or if you’re experiencing irregular symptoms or missed periods — it’s worth seeking evaluation and possible treatment sooner rather than later if you intend to get pregnant.

People In Okinawa Live Longer Than Almost Anyone On Earth. Here's What They Eat.

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Goya Chample is a regional dish of Okinawa Prefecture. It includes cooked bitter melon and eggs.

South of mainland Japan lies Okinawa, a group of islands known as the “land of the immortals.” Residents here have among the longest life spans and the islands have the highest rates of centenarians in the world. Two-thirds of those who reached 100 were still living independently at the age of 97, according to one study. Okinawans have also been found to have low rates of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

As researchers try to understand the reasons for the unusually long and healthy lives of these island residents, they have become convinced that their diet is a key component.

The traditional local diet ― rich in vegetables, soy products and seafood ― was highlighted by scientists from the Eat-Lancet Commission in January as one that closely resembled their “planetary health diet: guidelines for a diet that works well for human health and for reducing the environmental impact of our food choices. 

Widely used foods in Okinawa include sweet potatoes, green leafy or yellow root vegetables, tofu, bitter melon and modest amounts of seafood, lean meat, fruit and tea. A typical meal might be miso soup, vegetable stir-fry with a side dish of seaweed and an accompaniment of freshly brewed jasmine tea.

Overall, it is a low-calorie, high-carbohydrate ― mainly due to the sweet potatoes ― moderate-protein and nutrient-rich diet, with sparse amounts of meat, refined grains, sugar and dairy. And one that has made Okinawans typically shorter and leaner, with one study finding that the ratio of protein to carbohydrates in the Okinawan diet (1:10) is nearly identical to the ratios in diets found to optimize life span.

An Okinawan woman in traditional clothing. People on the islands have among the longest life spans in the world.

Dietitian Shelley Maniscalco, president of the consultancy Nutrition on Demand, said Okinawan eating habits have many strengths, even if she doesn’t suggest people follow the exact diet. 

“It’s high in fruits and vegetables which we know confer many health benefits ― likely more than we even know at this time; it’s high in plant protein; contains seafood; and is rich in whole grains. These qualities are consistent with what we know to be a dietary pattern that encourages health and longevity,” she said.

In contrast, the typical U.S. diet lacks dietary fiber and a number of other nutrients. It also contains too much saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar and salt. While many Okinawans practice what is called hara hachi bu, which means eat until you are 80 percent full, many Americans consume a high number of calories. This kind of diet increases the risk of obesity and age-associated diseases including heart disease, cancers and Type 2 diabetes.

People don’t have to switch over completely to the Okinawan diet to gain the health benefits. “The important thing to remember is that we can adapt underlying principles of another culture’s cuisines to our own regional diets,” said Whitney Linsenmeyer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “In other words, someone trying to follow the Okinawan diet may have a hard time finding the plentiful fish and native vegetables of Okinawan cuisine in a landlocked state, but can generally adapt the principles of a diet rich in green, leafy vegetables and lean protein.”

But, even so, moving our diets closer to this kind of diet is beyond many Americans at present, said Maniscalco, either out of choice or food insecurity.

“To me, the real issue in helping individuals move toward healthier dietary patterns is the blatant disconnect between what people know and what they do. The reasons for this disconnect are diverse and essentially different for everyone, but will include cost for some, availability for others, and a lot of practical issues for most such as time, perceived difficulty, competing priorities,” she said.

And while there are an estimated 40 million Americans who are struggling to afford the food they need to eat on a daily basis, following a healthy diet like the Okinawan one can be done on a budget, said Melissa Halas-Liang, dietitian and media representative for the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“I’ve done meal planning for college students with costs less than a $1.50 per meal,” she said.

As well as diet, researchers say we also must remember not to overlook other factors that undermine healthy longevity including a lack of physical activity and high alcohol intake ― the Okinawan diet includes a physically active life and the occasional consumption of locally brewed brandy.

Another much-discussed factor in explaining the long and healthy lives of the Okinawan population is well-being and purpose.  

“Social role and sense of belonging are seen as important as people get older. In each of the world’s so-called blue zones these strong social networks are a big part. It’s difficult to quantify that, but certainly people who have stronger networks and who feel they have a role appear to suffer less from age-related diseases,” said professor John Mathers, a director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University.  

For now, though, well-being remains a less-discussed predictor in comparison to diet. “This may be due to the fact that diet is a relatively tangible measure of health, whereas the influence of social networks or gratitude may be harder to measure,” Linsenmeyer said.

It will also never be a substitute for a healthy diet, said Halas-Liang.

“It’s important to connect and feel part of something bigger than yourself, making a difference, feeling like part of a community and sharing and growing with others. But if you’re doing all this while drinking a liter of soda a day or sitting at a desk job and not moving after it, it’s probably not going to enable you to feel your best or have the energy to connect,” she said.

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Omar Abdullah Hits Out At PM, Congress Over Silence On 'Systematic Targetting Of Kashmiris'

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SRINAGAR — National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit out at both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition Congress for not speaking out against the “systematic targetting of Kashmiris” in various parts of the country following the Pulwama terror attack last week.

Addressing a press conference, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said he had been looking for a statesman but only found politicians, and asserted that the country needs an alternative to the BJP, not BJP’s B-team.

“We didn’t have much expectation from the BJP but we had expectations from the prime minister. We had hoped he would keep politics aside and say something,” he told reporters.

“While the PM is silent, it is sad the country’s largest opposition party’s leadership also remained silent,” Abdullah added, a week after 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on 14 February.

Abdullah also asked Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to ensure the security of Kashmiri students who were forced to return home following alleged threats and attacks in several parts of the country after the terror strike.

“There is need to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students who have returned home fearing attacks on them,” he said, adding that arrangements should be made so they don’t suffer academic losses.

The people of Kashmir, Abdullah said, were expecting to hear two words of sympathy and moral support from the Congress.

“Today, they had a press conference where everything was talked about. But they should have talked about the systematic targetting as well. These are the very forces that Congress is fighting with words and want to defeat... We regret the Congress has not raised its voice against these forces effectively,” he added.

Asked if the BJP was behind the attacks on Kashmiris, the National Conference vice president said he had no firm evidence to suggest it.

“But there definitely is a silence,” he said, recalling that then prime minister Manmohan Singh appeared on national television on 27 November, 2008, one day after terrorists struck Mumbai in what has come to be known as the 26/11 terror siege.

“Manmohan Singh... called for calm and called for ensuring that there is no attempt to take the law in one’s own hands, that there will be no selective targetting of a particular community,” he said.

While the scale of the 26/11 attack was far greater than the Pulwama bombing, the people of Jammu and Kashmir were experiencing the fallout, he said.

“It would not have been unfair to expect our current PM to take out a leaf from Manmohan Singh... and appeal to the country to not do this. This is a prime minister who has said those who criticise the new train should be punished.

“For some reason, criticising a train is more worrisome to our prime minister than assaulting and demonising an entire community. Now this is a prime minister, whose priorities, I am sorry, I fail to understand,” he said.

Asked about the timing of the attacks on Kashmiris, Abdullah said it would be shortsighted on his part to suggest the forthcoming elections have nothing to do with it.

Responding to a question on whether the Congress was keeping silent due to elections, Abdullah said he hoped that was not the case.

“To my mind that would be a great disservice to this country. The country needs an alternative to the BJP, not BJP’s B-team. I would expect and hope the Congress and all other like minded parties and right minded parties take a strong stand against this systematic targetting of Kashmiris,” he said.

According to Abdullah, talks with Pakistan cannot be held in the backdrop of attacks such as the one in Pulwama.

“They (the Pakistan prime minister and administration) may offer dialogue but talks cannot be held in the backdrop of Pulwama like attacks. You (Pakistan) need to take some concrete measures there,” he said.

Referring to Modi’s comments of stern action after the Pulwama attack, Abdullah said such a response was not possible in the current scenario.

“Our PM has talked about a ‘muh tod jawab’ but such a reply is not possible in the current situation... Particularly now with the Pakistani PM having said that not only will Pakistan think of responding but will respond.”

Referring to the withdrawal of security to 155 political persons, including separatists, he said, I am not aware of anybody misusing security.”

“Security was provided by successive governments based to threat perception. Two prominent separatist leaders who at some point of time advocated dialogue were killed by militants. Withdrawing security to mainstream political activists will prevent them from occupying the political space. I have already said this is a regressive step and should be reviewed. Else, we will go to court,” he added.

Abdullah also criticised Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy for backing the boycott of “everything Kashmiri” and said it was unfortunate.

Citing attacks in Chhattisgarh, he said no one called for punishing people in the state.

″...Why are we being punished? Just because we are the only Muslim majority state in the country?” Abdullah asked.

Incidents of selective targetting of Kashmiris will lead to further alienation of people in the state, he warned.

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