An A certificate for the Aligarh trailer? Censor board chief Nihlani’s sanskar makes no sense

When I heard my young gay brother, Apurva Asrani lament that Pahlaj Nihlani of the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) said the subject of his film Aligarh was “not what a family can go and watch together” I nearly fell off my chair. Obviously our ‘sanskari’ censor board chief is not even reading the newspapers.

Just to refresh his memory let me inform him of the evidence presented to Justice Verma who consulted a wide range of feminist groups, NGOs and even government departments regarding the sad demographics of rape; the data was damning; most of the rapes of women in our society happen within families and are committed by men who are friends, family or known to the girl. The biggest danger to our women comes from within the ‘sanskari’ environment.

I know this is very ‘sanskari” but there is worse. My organisation, the Humsafar Trust, publishes what are known as “tracking studies”, of its main interventions in the community. These are scientific studies of the Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavior and Practices (KABP) conducted every 18 months to understand what we are doing. They are presented to our staff and all people interested in what is happening in our population on the ground.

Over eight such studies have been conducted and they offer a consistently horrible figure, which we have shared with UNICEF and UNESCO. In very one of them, the age when the young first have their sexual encounter (called sexual debut) is below 15 years. Most of the time, this is with friends and, again, it happens within families ­ with cousins, brothers and neighbours. All this, dear Nihlani, is very ‘sanskari’. So what’s your excuse for giving an ‘A’ certificate to Aligarh and justifying it with your foolish remarks?

To make matters worse you allowed the most god-awful derisive dialogue on homosexuality in Mastizaade, Kya Kool Hai Hum, Grand Masti (which was pronounced as ‘G***d Masti’ in the theatres). I am surprised a serious subject that handles same-sex relations is being given an ‘A’ certificate because it is “not what a family can go and watch together’. I don’t understand you Pahlaj Nihlani. What kind of double standards are you displaying in the censor board and is this really true-blue ‘sanskari’ at all?

I happen to be an old man of 68. I also happen to be a very family-oriented gay man who is very proud of his kin. Not a single nephew or niece has ever said I am not ‘sanskari’. In fact, they all love my pork vindaloo and dhansak dal and regularly plead they be allowed to visit. You can check my Facebook account to see how ‘sanskari’ I am and how gay family interacts with my biological family. Never once has my homosexuality come in the way of my ‘sanskari’ life and I dare you to show me even one relative – okay there is one but less said about her the better – who is really bothered about my private life. I want to know how and why you have used ‘family’ and located all your regressive views within it.

Indian families are changing very rapidly. Just a generation ago we were a huge joint family with over three generations living under one roof. Within 50 years, I am alone, though not lonely. I have not only my biological family but a new kind of family, a gay family, which is equally ‘sanskari’ to me. Both families are the most moderate and religious ones I know. The gay family is equally religious and they go to their respective temples, mosques and churches, though I am an atheist and still call myself Hindu (that’s allowed in Hinduism if you read the Darshanas).

In Aligarh, too, Professor Siras, the protagonist, insists he is very devoted to his family and is shown as a very religious man. Yet he is hounded by people like you – though he loves such things as Lata Mangeshkar songs, Marathi literature and poetry and its culture. And yet you think his life story on film in “not what a family can go and watch together”?

Okay, let’s approach this in another manner. I have one of Mumbai’s top mental health experts on my panel at Humsafar Trust. He says that he has approached the RSS leadership in Nagpur with tales of how so many ‘pracharaks’ come to him with their sexual issues. Guess what they are about? He has urged the Sangh leadership to tackle these issues in a humane and compassionate manner and the whole lot has refused to even consider them. It’s the same with other religious groups and organisations.

They don’t care for their own Sangh ‘Parivar’ ka problems. How ‘sanskari” is that? As someone close to the Sangh, do you think you can ask them to see Aligarh and understand what a Brahmin like Siras went through? Don’t you think you should let the general public know about the problems of the society of which it is a part? They should be part of the Bharatiya sanskari parampara. Integrated into the big Bharatiya family: heterosexual, homosexual, transgender or bisexual.

My plea to you is stop using your sanskari excuse and let the whole family see this film. You won’t regret it.

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Vigilance Judge who ordered probe against Kerala CM seeks voluntary retirement

The vigilance enquiry commissioner and special judge Thrissur, SS Vassan, on Friday sought permission of the high court to retire from service. The judge had sought permission to retire from service on May 31, 2016, though he is officially due to retire in 2017, according to the court sources.

The judge had invited the wrath of the Congress-led ruling UDF combine in Kerala by ordering enquiries into the charges of corruption against the chief minister Oommen Chandy, and three other ministers, CN Balakrishnan (Cooperation), K Babu (Excise) and Aryadan Muhammed (Power).

While the enquiries against Chandy and Muhammed were in the solar scam cases, the complaints against Babu were in connection with the bar bribery case. Balakrishnan is facing probe in the allegations of corruption in the Consumer fed, which falls under the Cooperation Department,

The high court judge Justice Ubaid on Friday froze the probe against the chief minister and power minister with several adverse remarks against Vassan for the order issued by him on Thursday. Justice P Ubaid had said that the vigilance judge had not adhered to the legal principles while ordering probe based on a complaint which had been submitted without any supportive evidences.

Justice Ubaid had also stayed the probe order against minister Babu on Thursday.

According to the vigilance court sources, Vassan had sent in the request for retirement in the morning on Friday before Justice Ubaid pronounced stay order in the probe order against CM and power minister and made the adverse remarks against him (Vassan).

The sources said the judge had cited only "personal reasons" for seeking early retirement, and not mentioned any displeasure over the latest developments.

"In fact he was planning to seek permission for retirement for quite some time because he wanted to pursue some spiritual missions, and all these developments only coincided," the sources said.

The high court officials said they were yet to receive the "voluntary retirement request" of Vassan, and the vigilance court sources also confirmed that it was likely to reach the high court only on Saturday or Monday as it had been sent by post.

A section of the Youth Congress activists had conducted a demonstration on Thursday with a coffin to protest against the judgement of Vassan against CM and power minister.

At least two ruling-combine leaders, T Siddique of the Congress and Johny Nelloore of the Kerala Congress (Jacob) had made open statements alleging that Vassan had CPM links.

Minister KC Joseph, a close associate of Chandy, even went to the extent of demanding probe against Vassan to find out whether he was part of the conspiracy to unseat the UDF government, after the high court order came on Friday.

In an indirect reference to the "coffin demonstration" conducted by the Youth Congress activists, the judge said in the open court on Friday morning that he was the same judge who was present on the previous day and not a "reborn person".

He said he had already told his family that he would like his body to be consigned to flames in the traditional way, and not kept in the freezer or buried in the coffin.

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All-Round India Win Maiden Twenty20 Series Versus Australia in Melbourne

Fifties from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, backed up by excellent work from the spinners, helped India achieve their first-ever Twenty20 series in Australia.

India recorded their first ever bilateral series triumph on Australian soil as they clinched the Twenty20 rubber by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead with a comprehensive 27-run victory in the second match, riding on an all-round show in Melbourne on Friday.

Put in to bat, India relied on brilliant innings by Rohit Sharma (60) and Virat Kohli (59), along with a useful 42 by opener Shikhar Dhawan, to post a formidable 184/3.

Defending the target, the Indian bowlers put up a fine collective effort to rip through Australia's middle order and restrict the hosts to 157/8 in 20 overs.

The Indians thus took a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, which ends on Sunday in Sydney. This was India's first ever bilateral series win Down Under. The Indians had earlier won a tri-series in 2007-08 and the Benson and Hedges World Championship in 1985.

The triumph is a remarkable turnaround for the Indians, who suffered a humiliating 1-4 debacle in the preceding ODI series.

In today's match as well, it was a turnaround of sorts by the bowlers, who withstood the early onslaught to make good recovery.

Australia Get Off to Fast Start

Chasing 185, Australia got off to a rollicking start as Shaun Marsh (23) paired up with skipper Aaron Finch (74 runs, 48 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) at the top.

India opened with Ashish Nehra (0-34) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-37), but instead of rotating the bowlers at the beginning like in Adelaide, the two were persisted with for the first six overs.

And they bled runs as the 50-mark came up for Australia in 31 balls. As soon as the power play got over though, Ravindra Jadeja (2-32) was brought into the attack and things started happening, though not in India's favour. Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed a regulation stumping of Marsh, while at the other end Finch completed his 6th T20I fifty off just 27 balls, bringing it up with a six off R Ashwin (1-27).

Sloppy Fielding, but Spinners Wreck Havoc

Thereafter, Finch survived thrice, enjoying dropped catches in two overs, one each by Umesh Yadav, Rishi Dhawan and Shikhar Dhawan, in the ninth and 10th overs respectively. The bowlers continued to suffer and the only bright spark was when Hardik Pandya finally caught Marsh at long on.

It was also perhaps the turning point. The all-rounder removed Chris Lynn (2) in the next over, caught behind. Yuvraj Singh (1-7) had Glenn Maxwell (1) stumped in the 12th over, Dhoni not missing this time.

While the 100-mark came up for Australia, Shane Watson (15) looked like staying at the wicket and giving support to Finch, who continued hitting big as he was suffering from a hamstring problem.

The duo added 20 runs and were looking to calm things down. But Jadeja took a stunning reflex return catch off Watson in the 15th over.

And the match swung in India's favour finally when Finch was run out off a superb throw from Jadeja again at extra cover, finding the Australian skipper just short as Dhoni disturbed the bails.

It was an uphill task thereafter, with 61 runs still needed, and wickets continuing to fall at regular intervals. Jadeja was again in the mix, with James Faulkner (10) stumped in the 17th over, and the equation stood at an improbable 40 off the last 12 balls.

The 150-mark came up in the 19th over, but the hosts finished well short of the target once again.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Blast Australia

Earlier, Sharma (60 runs, 47 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) and Kohli (59 not out, 33 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) struck quick-fire half-centuries as India eased to 184/3.

This was after Australia won the toss and elected to field first. The hosts made six changes to their line-up in a bid to test bench strength as also filling up for a few players who have already left to prepare for the New Zealand tour.

Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Andrew Tye, Scott Boland and John Hastings came into the side in place of David Warner, Steve Smith, Cameron Boyce, Travis Head, Kane Richardson and Shaun Tait. India, on the other hand, went in with an unchanged line-up.

Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (42 runs, 32 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) got off to a slow start, with Shane Watson (0-17) and Andrew Tye (1-28) opening proceedings for Australia.

They made a lot of bowling changes initially in a bid to mix things up, and it worked for a little bit as only 12 runs came off the first three overs. But the two batsmen opened up thereafter, playing shots all over the park as the run-rate shot up.

Despite the slow start, they brought up the 50-mark in the sixth over, adding 50 runs in the next four overs. They continued to push on and India closed up on the 100-mark in the 11th over itself, when Dhawan was caught trying to reverse-sweep Glenn Maxwell (1-17).

It didn't stop Rohit though and he brought up his eighth T20I fifty off 37 balls in the next over.

At the other end, Kohli started off from where he had left in Adelaide, up and running in no time. He took the onus of scoring on himself, and hit John Hastings (0-35) for three boundaries in the 13th over, the bowler suffering throughout the innings.

The duo put up 46 runs for the second wicket in no time, scoring at 9-plus per over during the five overs they batted together.

But against the run of play, Rohit was run-out in the 16th over, as Kohli refused a second run after hitting the ball to the deep. India were placed at 143/2 at the end of the 16th over then, as skipper MS Dhoni (14) walked in to provide the final flourish.

The two batsmen upped the ante further as the run-rate didn't come down below the 9-per-over mark, adding 38 runs off just 22 balls, pushing the score past the par-score on a relatively slower wicket than Adelaide.

In the meantime, Kohli completed his 11th T20I fifty off only 29 balls, in the 20th over, his second successive fifty of the series and his sixth 50-plus score in seven innings on this tour.

Ten runs came off the last over, and 41 off the last four, as Dhoni was caught at long-off off Tye while India coasted to a big finish. Suresh Raina (0 not out) was the unbeaten batsman, while Scott Boland (0-30), James Faulkner (0-35) and Nathan Lyon (0-15) were the other bowlers used.

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Supreme Court Asks Centre To Set Up Panel To Look Into Nurses' Grievances

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to set up within four weeks an expert committee to look into the grievances pertaining to service conditions of nurses employed with private hospitals and private nursing homes across the country.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice A R Dave also asked the Centre to consider making a law based on the recommendations which would be given to it by the expert committee on the issue.

The bench also comprising Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and Adarsh Kumar Goel, then disposed of the petition filed by a nurses' body seeking various reliefs to ensure welfare of nurses working with private medical care institutions.

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Gold Retreats From 12-Week High as Wall Street Rises

London: Gold fell by 1 per cent on Thursday as Wall Street rose on the back of a rally in oil prices, with bullion investors quick to cash in gains from the Wednesday's rally to 12-week highs.

US stocks opened higher as oil rebounded on talk of a concerted response to low prices by Russia and OPEC producers, a day after the Federal Reserve gave little indication of slowing the pace of future rate hikes.

Spot gold was down 1 per cent at $1,114.25 an ounce at 1509 GMT (8:39 p.m. in India), while US gold futures for February delivery were down $1.40 an ounce at $1,114.40.

Gold leapt to a 12-week high of $1,127.80 an ounce late on Wednesday after the Fed kept interest rates unchanged and said it was "closely monitoring" global economic and financial developments, while keeping an optimistic view of the US economy.

"(Gold) did jump very much higher overnight, so we're seeing some selling into that rally right now," Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler said. "We're getting up towards the $1,130 level and there's some fairly significant technical resistance once we get up to $1,136."

The threat of rising US interest rates was a key factor driving gold down 10 per cent last year, but expectations of the pace of hikes were rolled back this month as financial markets were hit by a wave of volatility.

That has helped gold rise 5 per cent in January so far.

"If investor sentiment deteriorates, lower yielding assets are in demand, gold being one of them," ABN Amro said in a report.

Higher rates lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.

The dollar was a touch lower against the euro on Thursday, but stock markets, which had been weak in Europe, opened higher in the United States after a sharp rally in oil prices.

Oil soared after a Russian official said Saudi Arabia has proposed that oil-producing countries cut production by up to 5 per cent each. The comments sent Brent crude up more than 8 per cent, and US crude up nearly 8 percent.

Among other precious metals, silver was down 1.7 per cent to $14.23 and platinum was down 1.2 per cent at $869.36. Palladium was down 0.2 per cent at $494.75.

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