PRESIDENT PRESENTS "STREE SHAKTI PURUSKAR 2008-09"

(PIB NEWS) Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away Stree Shakti Puruskar for year 2008 and 2009 to eminent personalities drawn from diverse fields and launched the National Mission for Empowermewnt of Women. The President struck a personal note when she said that the launch of the Mission gave her the happiness of fulfilment of a dream. She thanked the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for his support for the Mission and acceding to her desire for the Prime Minister to Chair the Mission. Smt Patil said this is a gift to women on the occasion of Women’s Day.The President said that all round development of women require that both economic and social empowerment is taken care of. She said that for meaningful participation of women in the economic process they should have access to credit at low rates.Deputy Chairperson of Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Pointed out that gender perspective is integral part of the 11th plan and launch of the mission will lead to better implementation of the gender specific programmes. Minister of State (independent Charge) Smt Krishna Tirath thanked the president for envisioning the Mission and providing unflinching support for it. The Minister said that the winners of the Stree Shakti Puruskars are a source of inspiration for us and it is important that thir example should be made known more widely.On the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th of March, the Government of India presents national awards called the Stree Shakti Puraskars as a measure of recognition of achievements of individual women in the field of social development. The awardees have been nominated by state governments and selected by a national level Screening Committee.There are six awards instituted in the name of eminent women personalities of Indian history like Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar, Kanngi, Mata Jijabai, Rani Gaidenlou Zeliang, Rani Laxmibai and Rani Rudramma Devi. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh and citation and is awarded to a woman who has excelled in providing support and rehabilitation to women and children, upliftment of women in tribal areas, empowering women to enable them to participate in political life, has worked with women in distress or has shown an exemplary courage in her life.
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PRESIDENT OF INDIA, presenting the "Stree Shakti Puruskar 2008" to Hyderabadi Women Mrs. Mahjabeen,

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Stree Shakti Puruskar 2008 to Mrs. Mahjabeen (Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh), in New Delhi on March 08, 2010.The Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Women and Child Development, Smt. Krishna Tirath, the Minister of State of External Affairs, Smt. Preneet Kaur and the Chairperson, National Commission for Women, Dr. (Miss) Girija Vyas are also seen.
(Photo by No:CNR-30728)
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Women’s quota bill ‘anti-Muslim’,'anti-Dalit’: Mulayam

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav Sunday termed the women’s reservation bill “anti-Muslim” and “anti-Dalit”, and said it will restrict chances of members of these communities getting elected to legislatures.“When states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi or Orissa rarely elect even a single Muslim, the reservation for women will further minimise the chance of a Muslim ever getting elected from these places,” he said at a press conference here.Opposing the reservation bill in its present form, he contended that the quota for Dalit women will actually eat into the quota for Dalits, “depriving Dalit men”.Slamming the stand of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are supporting the bill, Mulayam Singh said: “Their stand clearly reflects that they are hand in glove and their real intent is to harm the larger interests of Muslims, Dalits as well as backwards”.In a reference to the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), he remarked: “There are certain political parties in the country which are dominated by women whose word is law in their respective parties but did they ever care to allocate 30 per cent tickets to women? If they wanted, they could have even given away 50 per cent or even 100 per cent seats to women, but they never did so”.                     (thanks to way2online)

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Telangana lawyers boycott courts

Hyderabad,8.Mar, Lawyers in Andhra Pradesh’s Telangana region Monday boycotted the courts to protest attacks on them by activists of the Telugu Desam Party(TDP).Acting on an appeal by the Telangana lawyers’ Joint Action Committee, the lawyers did not attend work in the High Court and other courts, demanding the arrest of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu and TDP activists involved in theattack.Raising anti-TDP slogans, the lawyers staged a protest on the road outside the High Court, leading to a traffic jam. They also demanded that Naidu tender an apology to the lawyers.Similar protests were held in other courts here and in nine other Telangana districts.Seven lawyers were injured when TDP workers attacked them for disrupting Naidu’s speech at a protest programme organised against price rise by TDP and Left parties at Indira Park here Saturday.The pro-Telangana lawyers were demanding that Naidu make his stand clear on the issue of a separate Telangana state. Naidu rejected the demand for an apology. His party alleged that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had instigated the lawyers against Naidu.Police registered cases against Naidu and TDP workers but did not arrest anybody.Security was tightened at the NTR Trust Bhavan, the headquarters of TDP here and at all TDP offices in the region, in view of the threat by lawyers to lay siege to the party offices.“We are demanding the arrest of Chandrababu Naidu and his party workers for the attack on lawyers,” G. Rajverdhan Reddy, a leader of Telangana lawyers’ JAC, told reporters.

(thanks to way2online)
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Terrorists may attack airports during peak hours: CISF

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Monday said that terrorists may attack airports during peak hours to cause maximum damage.“There is a view that chances of hijack by terrorists are very few. So they can attack the airports from the city side during peak hours to cause maximum damage,” CISF Additional Director General M.S. Bali told reporters here.“We have taken preventive measures. We have deployed personnel at the city side at the Delhi and Mumbai airports,” he said. Similar measures could be taken in other airports too.The central paramilitary force guards 57 airports, Delhi Metro and other vital installations. It has more than 120,000 personnel.                                                      (thanks to way2online)
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Unbearable pain for family of Indian boy who died in Australia

The family of three-year-old Gurshan Singh Channa is dealing with “unbearable pain” over his death, a councillor said Monday while paying respects to the boy whose body was found far from his home in this Australian city.Gurshan’s body was found on Wildwood Road Thursday night after a massive search following a complaint by his parents who were staying in Lalor, over 20 km away.Darebin councillor Tim Singh Laurence said charges laid Sunday night against part-time taxi driver Gursewak Dhillon had helped ease the family’s pain.Dhillon is alleged to have placed the child in the boot of his car unconscious, but still alive, Thursday. He lived in the same house as the boy and his parents and several other people.“Obviously they (Gurshan’s parents) were dealing not only with the unbearable pain of losing a three-year old toddler, but dealing with the anxiety of not knowing what had happened to their child.“With the police announcing progress in the case it gives some relief to them but the pain of losing a child remains,” Australian news agency AAP quoted Laurence as saying.It was still unclear as to how the boy was rendered unconscious; an autopsy has failed to determine a cause of death.Gurshan arrived in Australia in January with his parents. The family was due to return to India as his father Harjit Singh Channa failed to find work in Melbourne.Singh and his wife Harpreet Singh Channa gave statements to police Friday but officials say they are not suspects.Gurshan’s death had caused an uproar in India, with New Delhi Friday describing the incident as “most unfortunate”.There have been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia, with one of them proving fatal. Nitin Garg was fatally stabbed Jan 2 while on his way to work in this city.   (thanks to way2online)
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