Author of Sthraina kaamasuthram K R Indira speaking at the Jaipur Lit Fest, said Vaatsyayana's 2000-year-old Kamasutra teaches that a man can forcefully have sex with a woman, then marry her, a lesson that is against the concept of women's security and encourages the treatment of a woman as an object.

Furthering the argument, moderator and author Urvashi Butalia said the internationalisation of the text over the years has created a problematic situation for women and has led to patriarchal attitudes becoming deeply embedded in men.

Citing an example Indira recalled the poor response she received to a recent survey about the sexual life of educated and working women, saying even today, so-called empowered women are not ready to face their own sexuality.

[ Back to Top ]

Fresh data from the Health Ministry shows that one of every four persons living in the urban slums of Chennai suffers from diabetes, which is three times higher than the national average of around 7 percent.

Medical experts say poor eating habits, the high consumption of fried foods and a sedentary lifestyle is the main reason for the rise among the urban poor who generally did less physical activity than their rural counterparts.

The union health ministry has targeted screening in urban slums in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Assam and must identify positive cases and refer them for treatment.

[ Back to Top ]

India's majestic military might was displayed on the 64th Republic Day parade down the road from Rajpath to the Red Fort, as the audience braved the winter chill and cheered loudly, especially when the ballistic Agni-V missile rode regally on a road mobile launcher.

Lt General Subroto Mitra led the military and police contingents through Rajpath where President Pranab took the salute for the first time. Guests at the parade included Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, VP Hamid Ansari, Defence Minister A K Anthony, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other political and military leaders.

After the 21-gun salute and unfurling of the flag the fly past began with four army helicopters, military vehicles, horse-mounted columns of Cavalry, Infantry and Regiments.Various states participated with their themes, students and folk dancers performed various dance forms. The breathtaking parade ended with a flypast of India's best aircraft.

[ Back to Top ]

A fire broke out at a pandal in a sector of the Kumbhmela and soon engulfed an adjacent tent, injuring some 19 people including two women, some seriously. Some people have been referred to a city hospital and the rest are undergoing treatment at a temporary hospital set up at the Kumbhmela grounds.

Officials say prima facie the fire seems to have been caused by a gas cylinder leak.

The fire was brought under control after half an hour.

[ Back to Top ]

President Pranab Mukherjee approved the conferment of the country's highest civilian Padma awards, including 4 Padma Vibhushan, 24 Padma Bhushan and 80 Padma Shri Awards. The awards are given in various disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc.

24 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons in the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and posthumous awardees. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day each year and are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime in March or April.

The 4 Padma Vibhushan awardees are Raghunath Mohapatra of Odisha, S Haider Raza of Delhi, Prof Yash Pal of Uttar Pradesh and Prof Roddam Narasimha of Karnataka.

The Padma Bhushan awardees include Sharmila Tagore, the late Rajesh Khanna, the late Jaspal Singh Bhatti, Adi Burjor Godrej, and Rahul Dravid. Among the Padmi Shri awardees are Sridevi Kapoor, Lakshmi Narayana Sathiraju, Vandana Luthra, Kalpana Saroj, Dr Ganesh Kumar Mani, Christopher Pinney, Ritu Kumar and others.

[ Back to Top ]