Stories that Matter

Mothers and Motherhood 10 May 2015 08:05 PM, IST http://www.indiatomorrow.net/eng/mothers-and-motherhood Meira Paibi rally against illegal drugs at Tiddim Road on the night of March 1 2013 (Photo credit - Deepak Oinam) By  Anjuman Ara Begum , When everything failed, a writ petition filed by the widowed mothers of Manipur organized as  Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association, Manipur, sought constitution of a special investigation team to probe 1,528 alleged fake encounter killings in the state before the Supreme Court. Though the final judgment in the case in pending, the directives issued by the Supreme Court in the course of litigation is ‘positive. Widowhood or more appropriately widowed motherhood provided a strong platform creating social space for women to raise their voices for justice. In 2008, the state of Manipur witnessed a spree of extrajudicial executions allegedly committed by the armed police commandos and central armed f...

Assam to criminalise the practice of 'witch hunting' 13 May 2015 01:05 PM, IST http://www.indiatomorrow.net/eng/assam-to-criminalise-the-practice-of-witch-hunting Shanti Sandipurti, a victim of witch hunting who stays 9km from Bandgaon in Jharkhand. (Photo credit - Ramesh Pathania -LiveMint) By  Anjuman Ara Begum Guwahati, 13 May 2015: The Assam Government has finally got ready with the draft Prevention and Protection from Witch Hunting Bill, 2015 in an attempt to criminalise the evil practice of witch hunting prevalent in the state.  Witch hunting is killing of a ‘witch’, a superstitious customary practice prevalent among the communities of Rabha, Hajong, Mishing, Bodo, Adivasi etc. and mainly practiced in Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska, Sonitpur, Udalguri, Tinsukia, Dhemaji districts of Assam. Reports indicate that the practice is gradually spreading among other communities. Gender wise, most of the victims are females.  The Bill is an outc...