Letters to the Editor: ACA working module

The last T20 international hosted by ACA at Dr Bhupen Hazarika Stadium between India and South Africa reflected the unprofessional working module of the ACA led by its secretary Devajit Saikia. During the match lights of one tower went off which halted the match for 15-20 minutes. In another incident, a snake appeared on the field during the match. In the press address after the conclusion of the match the ACA secretary, without any regret, tried to wash off the two incidents as if nothing had happened. He said that snakes appeared in different venues across the world. The ACA got three to four months to prepare for the match. The State government and the BCCI extended their full cooperation. In such a situation, there cannot be any room for mistakes. It is only due to lapses on the part of the ACA officials Assam had to hang its head in shame. On an earlier occasion, this ACA team made Assam a laughing stock when one smart shower led to the abandonment of the match. At that time, ACA officials exposed their organising incapability by not having the proper ground coverage equipment. A proper investigation should be conducted why food, water and beverages were sold four to five times above the MRP.

Pratuljyoti Buragohain,

Guwahati.

The killing of 125 people in stampede in Indonesia

Kanjuruhan stadium, which has a capacity of 42,000 people, was fully packed and enjoying the football game. Arema FC in their home ground lost shockingly to Persebaya Surabaya with a score of 2-3, and the angry fans decided to hoard the stadium and started creating a violent situation. And the police interrupted. In my opinion, as soon as the police interrupted with tear gas, the angry fans reacted negatively and even more violently. There were so many fatalities caused because of a very child-like situation that could have been brought under control. The stadium and football authorities should have managed the situation more civilly, and that could have saved the lives of the 125 people and so many fatalities after the incident. I and all the other empathetic readers sent condolences to the families of the lost ones.

Sanskriti Dubey,

Christ University, Bangalore.

Durga Puja

Durga Puja or Dusshera is celebrated all across the world with joy and happiness. Durga puja is very important for the Hindus. People celebrate it with great joy and happiness. It is also celebrated over the win of Goddess Durga on Mahisasura. It is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Orissa. Nepal and Bangladesh also celebrate Durga Puja. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashwin which coincides with September-October of the Gregorian calendar. Generally, Durga Puja is a 10-day festival of which the last 5 days are of great importance. The puja is performed in public places and later features a temporary stage. The festival is also marked by scripture, recitations, performance arts, revelry etc. Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed under UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2021. As per the Hindu scriptures, the festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahisasura. It epitomizes victory.

Manish Kashyap,

B Borooah College, Guwahati

Domestic violence against women has been considered a severe public health problem. Domestic violence seems virtually unreported to police, except for some of its worst manifestations. This makes domestic violence the most critical category of violence against women, for which systematic data is lacking. Survey findings suggest that approximately 40 per cent of women in India who have been married have been subjected to spousal violence. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, have intensified. Comparing the state-level percentages of NCRB data with the NFHS-5's percentages of married women aged 18-49 years who have experienced spousal violence will help us determine the extent of under-reporting domestic violence incidents. It is important to note that the NFHS responses might also be subject to biases if the survey is conducted in the presence of other household members or if the respondent is unsure of the consequences of her response. Despite this, due to the absence of inhibiting factors associated with the actual filing of the complaint, under-reporting is likely to be lower in NFHS than in statistics from the NC B. The NFHS-5 also echoes the stark reality of domestic violence in India (see figure 1): 44% of women respondents in Karnataka have experienced spousal violence, followed by Bihar (40%), Manipur (39.6), Telangana (36.9), Assam (32%), and Andhra Pradesh (30%). Lakshadweep (1.3%), Nagaland (6.4%), Goa (8.3%), and Himachal Pradesh (8.3%) have the lowest violence among all the states surveyed. Comparing these estimates with the proportion of women who have filed complaints under Section 498A of the IPC, we note that there is systematic under-reporting of domestic violence incidents in 14 of the 20 or 70% of the states. Reporting under Section 498A is as low as 0 in Lakshadweep and Nagaland, whereas NFHS-5 statistics suggest otherwise. The most considerable under-reporting seems to be occurring in Bihar, Karnataka, and Manipur, where the prevalence of domestic violence is around 40% or higher, while reporting is less than 8%. Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana Tripura, and West Bengal have higher percentages of case filings than self-reported incidences of domestic violence.

Though National Crime Records Bureau has put domestic violence at the top of the list of violence against women, the survey found that in the first place, there is hesitation about registering an FIR and, when written, protection officers. Magistrates and advocates are not prompt in their responses. The legal and government agencies often dismiss such cases as domestic/private affairs and take no cognizance.

Conducted in the year 2021, the survey documents best practices, gaps, challenges, and failures in implementing the special law between 2015 and 2019.

The report has found that domestic violence cases in the country are gravely underreported as most girls and women hesitate to file a lawsuit against their paternal families due to a lack of social and legal support in terms of shelter and economy.

"Jharkhand's dowry-related murder incidents are 1.5 times more than the national average of 1.1. Cruelty against women by husbands and marital families also alarmingly increased in the years 2018 and 2019 before dropping in 2020, which is highly possible due to underreporting in the pandemic and lockdown," The reasons so many cases go unreported are personal (embarrassment, fear of retaliation, economic dependency) and societal (imbalanced power relations for men and women in society, privacy of the family, victim-blaming attitudes).

For most of us, the very idea of domestic violence leads us to visualize a meek woman being battered and bruised by her dominant male partner. Even though it holds in approximately 60% of cases, more than 40% of these victims are males. However, it is a distinguished fact that when it comes to being victims of violence in a domestic set-up, men are not unscathed from it. An experiment conducted in 2012-2013 interviewed 1000 males in the State of Haryana. Out of these, 51.5% of the males had suffered abuse at the hands of their wives or intimate partners, while none reported such abuse. Moreover, the World Report on Violence and Health, 2002 reported a suicide rate of 18.9 for men due to interpersonal violence as opposed to 10.6 for women. In terms of victims of homicide, the rate was 13.6 for men in contrast to 4.0 for women. This makes it evident that the male community chooses either endurance or death over seeking help.

Sukanya Sharma,

Christ University, Bangalore.

The era of 5G networking

As soon as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 5G network in our country at the 6th edition of India Mobile Congress, an era of high-speed mobile network systems begins in our country. And the dream of millions of people comes true.

We dream of a progressive nation where most of our work should be performed through artificial intelligence. It could be possible only when we can avail of the benefit of high-speed internet facilities in every corner of the country. It's happy to note that 5G services will begin in the country by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. If so, then the scenario of global technology will completely change with the introduction of artificial intelligence and the Internet of things. It will bring a revolution or remarkable or dramatic change in all sectors, like industry, medical or health, education, agriculture, banking, transportation or communication, defence, etc. Everywhere artificial intelligence is being largely or widely used.

Now, the million-dollar question is: can the 5G network assure us to provide all the safety measures in all sectors for the greater interest of the country? Or can we get rid of cybercrime or cyber-attacks? Is a 5G network widely available in all corners of the country at an affordable cost for all sections of people? If the government bounds or pressurizes 5G network providers to provide some plans at an affordable cost for students as well as teaching faculties to make it students oriented, then a large number of students in our country will be benefitted.

Indrajit Sarma

(indrajitsarma1mail.com)