People Web International

By Manashimaya Duttagupta, PWI Reporter National Capital Territory Delhi
 
Honor Killing is defined as a death that is awarded to a woman of the family for marrying against the parent’s wishes, having extramarital and premarital relationships, marrying within the same gotra or outside one’s caste or marrying a cousin from another caste.

The word awarded is used here because the very name suggests that. Personally, I think and believe that it shouldn’t have been honor killing because the name in itself has the two words which basically are widely different in meaning. When a person is killed as a punishment, the term “honor killing” should not have been used with the word honor rather it should have been ‘disgraceful killing’ because it is an act of vengeance, usually death committed by male family members against female family members who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family.

At times, a woman can be targeted by her own family members for variety of reasons including refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, sometimes victim of a sexual assault, seeking divorce – even from an abusive husband. The mere perception that a woman has dishonored her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.

The loose term ‘Honor Killing’ which should be strongly condemned and criticized, applies to killing both males and females in cultures that practice it. Male persons can also be the victims of honor killings by members of the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship.

In the Indian society, particularly in North India, women are regarded as a personal property. In some states like West Bengal, honor killings ceased about a century ago and are non-existent in South India and Western States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Indian state of Punjab and Haryana is known for incidents of honor killing.

The recent 2010 shocking incident of honor killing in the National capital where a couple and a woman were murdered by their own brothers/brother-in-law condemn and think that activism is needed to reform the prevalent system from the root.

The story goes as Monica, a Gurjar had married Kuldeep, who was a Rajput, and their families did not approve of the alliance. Both of them belonged to the Wazipur village of Delhi. Shobha, Monica’s sister, on the other hand had a relationship with a boy of another caste and had reportedly helped her sister to elope with a man belonging to another caste.

According to police, the accused Ankit Chaudhury, Mandeep Nagar and Nakul Khan murdered their sisters Monica and Shobha and brother-in-law Kuldeep for bringing dishonor to their families by marrying outside their community. Their relatives often criticized them that their sisters have found their partners from a different caste and therefore there was a lot of pressure on them and that’s why they did this.

The brutal crime that’s being committed in the name of honoring their family values infact has brought dishonor to their own family, their community and their country. When will they understand that love, peace and friendship amongst human beings by crossing all barriers of national and international race, culture, caste, religion will in true sense make them humane and will free them from the shackles of their narrow thoughts, making them more richer and morale in a democratic country like India.

Contact: nct.delhi@peoplewebinternational.com

By Anita Mathew Perumal, PWI Reporter Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI, INDIA - The entrepreneurial urge, driven by his passion and sense of commitment brought Mr. Valliappan Raju from Botswana back to Chennai. With a mission in mind it took him two years to set the ball rolling.

Media Arts & Science College is the only dedicated college in India to have a degree program in Animation, Gaming and Film Studies with collaboration from both, an Indian University and an International University.

With no capital in hand, no venture capitalist funding, Mr. Valliappan Raju, the Director of MASC took this bold step with the support from his family and his bankers to lay the foundation for this college in the year 2008.

The young generation of today is bubbling with knowledge and creativity. The founding member inspired by the talent and enthusiasm of these youngsters and also convinced of the great demand all over the world for professionally qualified Animators and Gaming Developers decided that MASC will not just be another academy but instead will be a college for Media studies.

MASC is associated with Manonmanian Sundranar University in Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu, which is recognised by University Grants Commission, Govt. of India and National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The degree awarded by the university is valid globally. The degree programmes at MASC offers integrated programs with their partner Universities abroad.

The college initially started in the year 2008 and offered only animation training that year but  in the year 2009, MASC opened doors to the Degree, Post graduate and diploma courses in various disciplines: Computer Arts and Media, Gaming, Film studies and Animation Arts.

MASC is an English medium, co-educational college with state of the arts facilities. They have both local and international faculties and have also implemented EDUSAT, video conferencing aided learning to assist in the interactive sessions.

MASC has a high quality curricula and the method of teaching is of international standards. The total number of students for the graduate and diploma courses is 120 and the ratio of lecturer to student is 1:20.

The post graduate course in film studies has a strong support of the film fraternity in Tamilnadu. Both, the post graduate and diploma students will undergo their internship with leading international animation studios with whom MASC has signed up.

MASC has also signed an MOU with the University of Wales, Newport in the United Kingdom whereby the students have an opportunity to extend their education if they qualify prescribed credits. Both the universities allow their students for a global exchange programme.

The majority of the students are from outside the city of Chennai. By November, 2012, the college will move over to a bigger campus with residential and other recreational facilities, all provided within the campus.

MASC is a unit of Rama Nama Educational Trust and is supported by a very aggressive Advisory and Governing Council of personalities from the field of Education, Media and Advertising and the Films.

Today, with a growing demand world over for qualified Animators and Gaming Programmers, MASC is all geared up to bring forth the best in this field.

For more details on MASC, log on to www.masc.asia

-- by Anita Mathew Perumal - PWI Reporter Tamil Nadu - tamil.nadu@peoplewebinternational.com

CHENNAI - An article, ‘Exploring city life on foot’’ captured my attention in our local newspaper.

From then on one thing led to another and I finally arrived at the office of Human trip India which is a part of a non-governmental organisation SPEED Trust.

Mr. Albert Selvakumar, Manager-Operations of Human Trip India, enlightened me on the humanitarian work SPEED Trust does for the upliftment of the slum dwellers.

SPEED - SLUM PEOPLE EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT was founded in the year 1999 and registered as SPEED Trust in 2004 by Mr. Philip Malet of French origin and his Indian wife Denise. This organisation aims at supporting both, the economically and socially deprived women and children from the slum area of Gandhi Nagar-Sathyavani Muthu Nagar in Chennai, comprising of more than 2,600 families. The priority of SPEED Trust is to inculcate a sense of confidence and responsibility in order to understand the dignity of Labour. Mr. Philip, the founder, emphasised that the sole responsibility of SPEED Trust lies in educating the women, who are either widows or deserted. These women are not financially independent and are most often ill-treated by their husbands. The income they earn working as house maids is hardly anything to take care of their families or to even educate their children.

As the saying goes, when you educate a woman, you educate a family. With this mantra in mind, SPEED Trust today has provided fantastic opportunities for these women and their children. In a city where the auto rickshaw drivers are traditionally men, this organisation today has shown these women that they too can earn a living, educate their children and live in dignity. These women benefit from the auto training which is given for a period of 3 to 6 months and once they pass the driving test, SPEED not only helps them to procure a license, but also buys them a vehicle provided they are responsible enough to pay back a monthly sum until they have the full ownership of the vehicle.

The children of these working women have a crèche, established by SPEED Trust. The children of these families are also encouraged to join schools of certain standard, so the crèche prepares the little ones in order to be admitted in proper English medium schools. The older children have an evening tuition centre, computer classes, library and various extracurricular activities. The education of these children is sponsored by SPEED Trust and the Trust also provides educational loans up to professional courses. The schooling rate is 80% as against an average of 50% in the other slums of Chennai. The school drop outs are provided with vocational training. SPEED Trust has a family follow-up programme to ensure the children attend school regularly. The families are also provided with a Universal health insurance plan.

SPEED Trust also has a home for the Orphan and Abandoned children.

VARNAJALAM, yet another venture of SPEED Trust is a slum showroom that markets the old traditional wire baskets, recycled bags made of rexine and jewellery made from recycled newspaper. All this is made by around 50 disadvantaged and physically challenged women who work for a daily wage and for which the raw materials are provided by the organisation. These products apart from having a market in India are also exported to all over the world through BALADARSHAN, a fair trade export company which is a part of SPEED Trust and is a member of the World Fair trade organisation. Mr.K.S. Prasad is the Products Development Manager for VARNAJALAM and has been associated with SPEED Trust since the year2007.

Behind all these various programs, in charge is Mr.Philip Malet, a humble and dedicated soul who made Chennai his home 12 yrs ago not knowing that he would be one among the many chosen to serve these slum dwellers here in Chennai and to help them live a more meaningful and fulfilling life. However, he hopes that our country will soon become less dependent on foreign contributions both physically and financially and looks forward to more Indians contributing towards a child’s education.

Today, SPEED Trust in partnership with fair tourism agency HUMAN TRIP INDIA has 15 Auto rickshaws with lady drivers, 11 of which are used by Human Trip India that provide an opportunity for tourists from world over to discover Chennai in a unique way.

With the support and help from NGO’s such as SECOURS POPULAIRE and INDE EDUC ‘ACTIONS from France, HAPPY KIDS, an NGO from Switzerland and BNPPARIBAS bank from Chennai, SPEED Trust moves on to educate and empower many  more helpless and deserving women and children who are the future of our country.

For more details log on to www.humantripindia.blogspot.com or http://baladarshan.blogspot.com.

To contact SPEED Trust: speedtrustindia@gmail.com

-- by Anita Mathew Perumal - PWI Reporter Tamil Nadu - tamil.nadu@peoplewebinternational.com

MC Junior Girls Middle School, Singhpura is one of the schools that have emerged as one of the landmarks in adapting the teaching methodologies that I wanted my teachers to follow in schools that I have been supervising in my area. I am quite happy with their performance and I asked the teachers about the condition of the school before and after the adoption by CARE Foundation.

The story they narrated was quite interesting. The school before the adoption was famous for its brutal activities. The children used to get frightened by thinking only of sending to this school by their parents. They remember the time when the parents prefer sending their children to a private school rather then sending them to a government school. Beating up students for no particular reason was the normal practice; teachers used to carry a thick stick with them to frighten children and at times were also beaten up by the teachers. There were hardly any studies conducted by the teachers. Instead the time was utilized for personal favours, like asking students to bring eatables from homes and students were forced to press the legs, feet arms and hands of the teachers to pamper them. They were told not to speak anything against the teachers to any one visiting the school.

However when CARE adopted this school in 1999, the scenario of the school was changed. The people living in the vicinity for the first time witnessed that the teachers teach. At that time there were less than 100 students in the school.  Slowly the strength improved and now the school runs in two shifts. The teachers are very motivated and the students are inspired by the teachers. Here there are certain teachers who willingly speak in English through out the day. The newly developed culture is truly admiring for the community members and the CARE staff also.

-- by Asma Fakhr - PWI Reporter Punjab, Pakistan - punjab.pakistan@peoplewebinternational.com