Child sex abuse: The horror show stats and signs to watch out for

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As the country reels under the sheer number of cases of child sexual abuse and brutal sexual attacks on little children, it bears repeating that India has a history of violence towards children and girls (of all ages). Child sex abuse is not a new phenomenon. And the statistics here in the country are particularly grim. A 2007 landmark report by the govt found that 53.4 per cent of children surveyed had suffered some form of sexual abuse. What experts across the board tell us is that the perpetrators are often known to the child, to the family. A lot of child abuse is going on within the four walls of our homes. From Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding, to the media reports coming to light every day, the only glimmer of hope, seems to be that we're starting to acknowledge the scale of the problem. And yet,....

Sexist is as sexist does

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The MLA who told the national kabaddi women's team coach that she should wear appropriate clothes - that is, a sari instead of shirt and pants ("shirt-pant" is really the last domain of the Indian male, according to one school of thought) - should really face some sort of action. Unfortunately it wasn't him, but the coach Sunil Dabas who reportedly fainted, and needed medical help. This after MLA Rao Dharam Pal told her this in public, though he now claims that he didn't mean to humiliate her, only to tell her, in a paternal sort of way, and through her, spread a good message to the students at a college he was addressing. It doesn't take a genius to realise that this is really the wrong climate to make idiotic, sexist remarks, disparaging women or women's choice of clothes. In fact, after decades of "putting up with"....

Aghast at New Delhi

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It's no surprise that our national capital is a horror story - or a series of horror stories that play out, often far from the limelight. Often we turn away. Women duck their heads and scurry away. I see it, I do it. I mean, I use public transport, and despite heaving a huge sigh of relief at the efficacy of the metro, am well aware that metro stations are the weakest link. I've been stared at, scoped out, and am always on my guard. If I'm not, I know that I'll be blamed. "She was asking for it" has morphed beyond syndrome into cliche. I've not been groped on the metro, thank goodness, not like DTC buses of yore... not like years ago walking back from Defence Colony market to the house I was renting in C block. Not that there was anyone to hear me yelp (I couldn't....

On the election trail: race for White House

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A hectic day in - just hours to go now till we know who the next US President is going to be. There's a lot of rhetoric, I can tell you, and a lot of talk of the final moments...Both sides are going to be at it till the very end. CNN-IBN will be looking to hit a polling station too, in Massachusetts (a state that votes Democrats and is seen as "blue" but is far from uniformly "blue", we learn today, with some areas like S Massachusetts conservative). If we luck out, we'll be getting you updates from Elizabeth Warren's (almost-certain-to-be according all popular wisdom doing the rounds) victory party. (And here's a big thank you to the US State Dept for helping us foreign press get some access!) Warren is fighting for the Senate seat from sitting Senator Republican Scott Brown. This is....

Aung San Suu Kyi in the house

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Aung San Suu Kyi has been drawing the crowds right through her US trip. It's the pro-democracy activist and Nobel laureate's first trip to the States since being released from house arrest in 2010. Suu Kyi, who met US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has received a Congressional medal of honour, and yet says - incredibly disarmingly - that she is here, at Columbia University, to interact with young people and ask them for advice and their suggestions. She receives a standing ovation as she enters Columbia's Low Memorial Library, that is packed to capacity with more than 400 people and assorted press. Some of the audience members are distinguished personalities themselves, Nobel laureate Mohd Younus is spotted on his way out, and I think I caught a glimpse of IPCC chief RK Pachauri in the crowd as well. But The Lady is here to meet....

On Rushdie (being Joseph Anton)

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Salman Rushdie seems in his element, chatting to a crowd, reading from his own work in his sonorous voice - pitch-perfect, except when the mikes fail him, the lapse almost imperceptible. He seems to have an ear for a joke, a laugh, working his crowd really well, inviting them in, and who doesn't like to be made to feel part of an inside joke, anyway! His legacy isn't ever in doubt, his confidence in that legacy helps makes him quite the power performer, and yet he doesn't come across as a huge snob. It's always a relief to note that some of the most wonderful voices, the biggest names, also wear it so lightly. But then with writers, you don't expect the sort of movie star baggage we've grown accustomed to with our pop icons. What's clear is that Rushdie transcended that writer tag long ago -....

The right to bear arms

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Another morning, news of another shooting. This in New Jersey, where an employee returned after his shift to shoot out the store he worked at, where his co-workers were getting ready for business, getting ready to open at 6 am. He killed an 18 year old girl and a 24 year old boy before killing himself, is what reports are saying. The gunman's age? Just 23. The shooting outside the Empire State Building heralded the start of this bloody week. A disgruntled employee shot dead a former co-worker, pumping bulletins into his lifeless body - as eyewitnesses told me. He was well-dressed, hiding his weapon till then...and was shot by police (who, Mayor Bloomberg admitted, were responsible for injuring several civilians in the cross-fire). In any other country, these would be considered local "news" - violent crimes specific to a neighbourhood, or city or state. But with the....

What's to celebrate about India?

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The annual India Day Parade in New York and the flashy display of all that patriotism by NRIs made me start to wonder what it's all about. Watch it here: The annual India Day Parade in New York Yes, many of us are proud of our culture (as much as we know of it), our heritage and history (often selectively taught to us). Watching people on Madison Avenue throng the food stalls and order bhel puri and inhale the chicken biryani and such, I thought to myself yes, well, we can take pride in our food too. It's a "domestic cuisine", a writer of note told me recently, and I never thought to put it like that, but yes it's true. But the state of the nation? How can you be proud of that? Beyond the empty rhetoric. "You can't be Indian and not be....

Of loving and leaving Bhutan

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Bhutan is one of those places that just leaves an imprint - but as I write that, I think of other places visited, people met, and wonder what the difference is. Gross National Happiness index apart, what is it about the Bhutanese that leaves such a mark? Well, we undoubtedly met a remarkably charming bunch - including brief encounters with royalty - but the landscape itself is breath-taking. There's something about being in the shadow of such magnificent mountains. Mountains and prayer flags ... that'll do it, every time Photograph by Nishat Hayat From the airplane, if you've done your booking right, you'll be sitting on the left side of the plane as you fly in, and on the right side of the plane as you leave Bhutan. The helpful Druk Air pilot will point out the Annapurna range of mountains, Kanchenjunga, and the majestic....

The hills are alive: hugged by the Queen, blessed by the Abbot

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The sound of music resonated in the most unlikely fashion - After being treated to a dose of "high culture" music, if you'll allow me that distinction, on Sunday evening by Bhutanese singer Sonam Dorji and Pakistani musician and writer Ali Sethi, Monday evening saw Delhi-based band Eka rocking a pretty massive crowd of Bhutanese youth! This at the picturesque clock tower in what seems to be the heart of town. Pockets of the crowd, sitting patiently on the steps at least half an hour before the concert began, went fairly wild - or as wild as we've seen in these parts. What's pretty amazing is that they knew almost all the songs - from Rock On to songs from Taare Zameen Par...Arshad Warsi got the crowd going, from on-stage as well. I think it's interesting, a little disturbing? Not just for the older Bhutanese who talk of....