Indian Woman Jumps From Train

A young woman is in hospital in critical condition after throwing herself off a moving train in an attempt to escape molestation. It’s the latest in a number of incidents that have exposed the vulnerability of women in India.

The 25-year-old woman jumped from the carriage of a moving train after allegedly being molested by a soldier. The attack occurred on Thursday while the train was en route from Darjeeling to Delhi. The man groped her after she had visited the lavatory. After pushing him back, the woman jumped from the Brahmaputra Mail line train. The mother of two is being treated in hospital in the city of Patna.

“Her condition continues to be critical. A team of doctors is treating her. She has suffered injuries to her head and legs,” a police official told the IANS news agency.

 

A member of the Assam Rifles paramilitary force has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

It comes just weeks after a 23-year-old medical student was gang-raped on a bus in Dehli, while her male companion was severely beaten. She later died from her injuries in hospital.

The male companion has revealed more details of the tragic event. He recounted that in the immediate aftermath of the rape, no one responded to their cries for help.

Police and passersby left the mortally injured female student lying naked and bleeding for almost an hour.

“We kept shouting at the police, ‘please give us some clothes’ but they were busy deciding which police station our case should be registered at,” the Zee News network reported on Friday.

The allegations were denied by Joint Commissioner of Police (South West range) Vivek Gogia. Citing electronic logs and data from GPS tracking devices, Gogia said that police had received a report about two people lying on the road in a pool of blood at 10:21p.m.

Less than ten minutes later, two patrol vehicles arrived at the scene, with one leaving to carry the pair to a hospital at 10:39pm, the commissioner said. It took the van 16 minutes to reach the hospital.

The police official also said that no argument over jurisdiction occurred between the officers at the scene.

The rape case has resonated with the population as hundreds of thousands took to the streets to voice their anger over the attack and the lack of police response. The crowd demanded punishment for those responsible, as well as new laws to protect Indian women.

The rapists have been arrested. Five of the men detained have been indicted with gang rape and murder, and are likely to face execution. They will face a specially-established fast-track court on Monday. A sixth male is under 18 and will be judged in a juvenile court, despite the victim’s family’s plea for an adult trial, as he is believed to been the most brutal of the attackers. The victim’s father has also demanded new legislation on sex crimes to be named in honor of his daughter.

In an effort to provide more protection on transport routes and deter gangs operating on trains, India’s inspector general said the railway police have stepped up patrols. In 2012, police apprehended nearly 15 gangs and recovered 15 weapons from trains.

The problem of sexual violence against women appears to touch all levels of Indian society, as on Thursday the ruling Congress party in Assam state suspended a politician accused of rape. Police claim that Congress leader Bikram Singh Brahma was visiting the village of Santipur when he entered a local house and raped a woman at 2am. The villagers later attacked the politician and captured the footage on tape.

New Delhi has an infamous reputation as India’s rape capital, seemingly confirmed by a report in the Hindustan Times that documents more than 20 rape cases in the city since December 16th, the day of the rape and brutal murder of the 23-year-old medical student.

Source: RT

China’s Positive Ratings dip 9% in India, Remain High in Pakistan

BEIJING: China’s positive ratings in India have dipped with a new opinion poll showing 34 per cent of Indians view it favourably compared to 43 per cent in an earlier survey, but 85 per cent of Pakistanis rated it as a friendly nation.

The survey, conducted by US-based Pew Research Centre to gauge the world wide perspectives about China, showed that 52 per cent Indians viewed China unfavourably while 34 per cent gave it a favourable rating.

The new polls showed a nine per cent dip in the favourable rating enjoyed by China in India as an earlier survey conducted by Chinese firm Horizan research consultancy group between 2000 and 2009 showed that 43 per cent Indians considered China as a partner and 23 per cent regarded it as hostile.

Results of the PEW survey published in the state-run China Daily here showed an interesting pattern with Beijing receiving its best ratings in Kenya where 86 per cent viewed it favourably compared to 10 per cent negatively.

According to the survey conducted in 22 nations from April 7 to May 8 this year, China understandably enjoyed high positive rating of 85 per cent in Pakistan. Only three per cent of Pakistanis interviewed gave unfavourable rating to China, projected as all-weather friend.

The rising Asian power, however, received mixed ratings across the world. Thirty six per cent viewed China unfavourably in United States against 49 per cent, 46 per cent regarded it positively in Britain against 35 per cent, 41 per cent against 59 in France.

China received good ratings in Russia too where 60 per cent viewed it favourably compared to 29 per cent negative perceptions.

Among the countries where China was viewed mostly negatively was Japan which has historic disputes with China. Sixty nine per cent Japanese viewed China unfavourably compared to 26 per cent otherwise.

In Germany, 61 per cent viewed China negatively compared to 30 per cent and 61 per cent view Beijing negatively compared to 20 per cent in Turkey.

Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who co-chaired the Pew global attitudes project, noted at a Washington news conference on Thursday that China is regarded highly as a result of the country’s fast economic growth. “Their star is clearly rising,” she said.

In addition to China’s economic growth rate, Albright attributed the trend to the increased willingness of the Chinese side to “be a part of the solution to global issues”, which include the world economic crisis, Korean Peninsula denuclearisation and the Iran nuclear issue.

“A lot more people now know about China and have been to China,” she said, citing the Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai Expo as examples of China’s improved “visibility” on the global stage, which promotes a better understanding of the country.

A Beijing-based international analyst Pang Zhongyin said the result of the poll is nothing new and Beijing still needs to step up efforts to strengthen communication with the world.

Being the “factory of the world”, China has contributed a lot to the world economy and its influence has kept growing, especially after the global financial crisis, Pang said.

“And such emerging economic power is unfortunately accompanied by misgivings from other countries and we need to convince the world that China is not what they imagine,” he said.

Pang emphasised the importance of public diplomacy, saying the Chinese government, from the top leader to the ordinary diplomat, has gradually taken the idea in mind.

He noted that Premier Wen Jiabao’s recent interactions with local people during his visit to the Republic of Korea and Japan is a good example of extending the message that China is not a threat.

Pakistan’s Nuke Arsenal Bigger, More Advanced Than India

After racing ahead of India in ballistic and cruise missiles Pakistan seems to be surging ahead on the nuclear front too according to the recent statistics of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

A series of recent estimates by international nuclear watchdogs and reputed think tanks hold that Pakistan has a total of 70 to 90 warheads compared to India’s 60 to 80.

Pakistan already posses far superior delivery systems than rival India which include F-16s, long-range ballistic and cruise missiles as well as an advanced second strike capability. With a range of between 2000 km to 3,500 km, Pakistan’s Ghauri and Shaheen (Hatf Series) nuclear-capable are capable delivering nuclear warheads to any part of India. The 4,500km Shaheen III will also be able to hit Tel Aviv once inducted.

In contrast, India has had a series of failed missile tests recently and the only nuclear-capable ballistic missile in India’s arsenal which can be said to be 100% operational as of now is the short-range Prithvi missile (150-300km). Though the 700-km Agni-I and 2,000-km-plus Agni-II ballistic missiles are being ‘inducted’ into the armed forces, the earliest when these missiles can be ‘fully-operational in the numbers required’ is by 2012.

India’s status as a nuclear power has also been described as a “myth” by the scientist who carried out its controversial hydrogen bomb tests in 1998.

He said the device had only “fizzled”. The claims by the test director K Santhanam have provoked an outcry in India which treasures its nuclear status as a symbol of its power in Asia where it has been locked in an arms race with both Pakistan and China.

SIPRI estimates there are a whopping 22,600 active, inactive and stored nuclear warheads around the globe, out of which Russia has more than 12,000 warheads, US has 9,600, France comes third with 300, followed by UK with 225 and Israel has an arsenal of 80 warheads. A. Moin