‘Crown of Glory’ For Bengal’s Durga Puja
West Bengal has got a new “Crown of Glory”. On Wednesday, the UNSECO added the state’s largest annual festival—the Durga Puja—to its “Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. The last time an Indian festival got this recognition was the Kumb Mela in 2017 and Yoga in 2016. Traditional brass and copper craft of Punjab got the recognition in 2014, while Manipur’s Sankirtana ritual singing got it in 2013. The Chhou folk dance of Purulia district of West Bengal got this recognition in 2010, along with Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala and Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan. Kutiyattam Sanskrit theatre, Ramlila, Tradition of Vedic chanting and Buddhist chanting of Ladakh have also got this recognition. Incidentally, the cultural heritage tag for the Durga Puja festival has also been a subject of political campaign in the state. In 2019, the then BJP president Amit Shah had said during an election campaign in the state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to get the tag for the festivities.Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also repeatedly said that she wanted UNESCO inscription.
‘Enjoy Rape, If It’s Inevitable’
After an outrage over Karnataka Congress MLA K. R. Ramesh Kumar’s shocking remark on rape, the party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that since the former has apologised, the matter should not be dragged further. “Kumar shouldn’t have said this, he’s an experienced politician, a two-time Assembly Speaker, but there is no appreciation for whatever he said about women. Since he has apologised, let’s not drag the matter,” said Kharge, the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and a Congress stalwart from the southern state. Kumar made the comment on Thursday during the ongoing session of the state assembly in Belagavi, about 500 km from the capital, Bengaluru. “There is a saying that if rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it. That’s exactly the situation into which you are,” Kumar said on the floor of the House, while interacting with the speaker, Vishweshar Hegde Kaderi. As his comment stoked a controversy, Kumar apologised, tweeting in his defence that it was an “off the cuff remark”. Earlier, Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress’ chief national spokesperson, denounced the “exchange of highly objectionable and insensitive banter between the Speaker and the senior MLA”.
Child pornography: US Man Sentenced to 540 Months
India needs toughest laws—like the USA—for sex offenders, especially for those who indulge in children’s pornography. Such laws may also take care of persons like Karnataka Congress MLA Ramesh Kumarwho has shocked the nation by uttering in the Assembly: “Enjoy rape, if it’s inevitable”. Briann Athony Gilbert (34), of Maryland, has been sentenced to a total of 540 months, or 45 years, in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for two counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography. Upon his release from prison, Gilbert is required to register as a sex offender. The case was investigated by the FBI. “Not only did the defendant commit egregious acts of abuse against two children, aged 2 and 7, in his community, but he also recorded and exploited the abuse and trauma of young victims on the Dark Web,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. According to court documents, in August 2020, Gilbert uploaded and advertised at least two video files to an online bulletin board dedicated to child pornography hosted on the Tor network, a computer network specifically designed to facilitate anonymous communication over the internet. The videos depicted sexual acts between Gilbert and an approximately seven-year-old girl victim. During his house search in September 2020, video-recorded sexual acts between him and the victims in his bedroom and at her residence approximately five times between January 2019 and August 2020 were found. He also stated he recorded sexual acts between himself and another victim (2) at the time.
‘Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work’
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday released a book, “Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work”, authored by well-known film director, Rahul Rawail. Naidu complimented Rawail and co-author Ms Pranika Sharma for bringing out the remarkable memoir of legendary filmmakerand actor Raj Kapoor, who is acclaimed as the greatest showman of Hindi cinema. “Most of Raj Kapoor’s films carried a crucial life lesson, depicted with great nuance and singularity. I truly miss the cinema of that era,” Naidu said. Raj Kapoor’s early films showcase an influence of Charlie Chaplin and his character of the Tramp. Raj Kapoor’s persona of the tramp was simple, honest and endearing, leading to his worldwide popularity. Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951) and Shri 420 (1949) are among Raj Kapoor’s early films which were not only blockbusters at the box office, but had timeless melodies which are popular even today, Naidu said. Well-known film personalities Randhir Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, columnist, Suhel Seth, Ms Meenakshi Singh from Bloomsbury India, were among others present at the event.