Asaram wants special bed, gangajal in jail
Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail over the alleged sexual assault of a minor, in a trial court Thursday sought special facilities such as a personal bed, gangajal, some herbs and medicines, books and a few other items to carry out puja inside the jail premises.
Asaram's lawyer, Pradeep Choudhary, argued that he be permitted the requisition considering his age.
Choudhary told reporters that the demands were being made in a court as the jail authorities had refused to comply. He cited a rule that provided any prisoner reasonable facilities in the jail permitted upon the
discretion of the jail superintendent. "The facilities should be made available to my client considering his age. We had asked the jail authorities for the same but the request was turned down," Choudhary said.
The prosecution argued that Asaram was being checked by a medical team twice every day and was found to be physically and mentally fit and therefore such a demand did not hold ground.
The jail authorities did allow Asaram gangajal after he was shifted to the jail Monday evening but he had asked for more to take showers with it.
On the first day of his stay in jail, he was also permitted food from outside and his followers had got him fruits and sweets. But the authorities decided to deny him the special provisions considering his fitness. Officials said he was perfectly fine, was taking his usual medicines and hence did not need any additional herbs or medicines.
A decision on the matter is slated for Friday.
Meanwhile, co-accused in the case, Shiva, Asaram's attendant at the Manai ashram, told reporters on Thursday that he was being forced by Jodhpur Police to admit his involvement. Shiva alleged that the police had tortured him and pulled off his ponytail hurting his religious sentiments. He said the allegations on Asaram were a conspiracy by the Congress party.
Asaram's lawyer, Pradeep Choudhary, argued that he be permitted the requisition considering his age.
Choudhary told reporters that the demands were being made in a court as the jail authorities had refused to comply. He cited a rule that provided any prisoner reasonable facilities in the jail permitted upon the
discretion of the jail superintendent. "The facilities should be made available to my client considering his age. We had asked the jail authorities for the same but the request was turned down," Choudhary said.
The prosecution argued that Asaram was being checked by a medical team twice every day and was found to be physically and mentally fit and therefore such a demand did not hold ground.
The jail authorities did allow Asaram gangajal after he was shifted to the jail Monday evening but he had asked for more to take showers with it.
On the first day of his stay in jail, he was also permitted food from outside and his followers had got him fruits and sweets. But the authorities decided to deny him the special provisions considering his fitness. Officials said he was perfectly fine, was taking his usual medicines and hence did not need any additional herbs or medicines.
A decision on the matter is slated for Friday.
Meanwhile, co-accused in the case, Shiva, Asaram's attendant at the Manai ashram, told reporters on Thursday that he was being forced by Jodhpur Police to admit his involvement. Shiva alleged that the police had tortured him and pulled off his ponytail hurting his religious sentiments. He said the allegations on Asaram were a conspiracy by the Congress party.
Asaram wants special bed, gangajal in jail
Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail over
the alleged sexual assault of a minor, in a trial court Thursday sought
special facilities such as a personal bed, gangajal, some herbs and
medicines, books and a few other items to carry out puja inside the jail
premises.
Asaram's lawyer, Pradeep Choudhary, argued that he be permitted the requisition considering his age.
Choudhary told reporters that the demands were being made in a court as the jail authorities had refused to comply. He cited a rule that provided any prisoner reasonable facilities in the jail permitted upon the
Asaram's lawyer, Pradeep Choudhary, argued that he be permitted the requisition considering his age.
Choudhary told reporters that the demands were being made in a court as the jail authorities had refused to comply. He cited a rule that provided any prisoner reasonable facilities in the jail permitted upon the
Teenager gangraped by three cops in J-K, two arrested
A teenage girl was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by three police personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, about 70 kms from here.
J&K 'mass-rape' victims break silence, vow to fight
The girl was abducted from Talwara Migrant camp in Reasi on Thursday evening by Assistant Sub Inspector Mahesh Mehta, Satvir Singh, personal assistant to Reasi SSP, and Special Police Officer (SPO) Karnail Singh, a senior police official said.
Two arrested for raping minor in J&K
On a complaint of the girl's parents yesterday, police raided a house in Marhi area and arrested the ASI and SPO while Satvir managed to flee, the official said, adding the girl was also rescued.
J&K govt offers Rs 2 lakh for rape, Rs 3 lakh for rape in police custody
"We have launched a hunt to nab Satvir," Reasi SSP M S Chouhan said. Medical examinations of the girl had been done and she was produced in court and kept in a women's shelter, he added. The incident triggered protests by Talwara migrants who blocked roads and staged sit-in.
J&K 'mass-rape' victims break silence, vow to fight
The girl was abducted from Talwara Migrant camp in Reasi on Thursday evening by Assistant Sub Inspector Mahesh Mehta, Satvir Singh, personal assistant to Reasi SSP, and Special Police Officer (SPO) Karnail Singh, a senior police official said.
Two arrested for raping minor in J&K
On a complaint of the girl's parents yesterday, police raided a house in Marhi area and arrested the ASI and SPO while Satvir managed to flee, the official said, adding the girl was also rescued.
J&K govt offers Rs 2 lakh for rape, Rs 3 lakh for rape in police custody
"We have launched a hunt to nab Satvir," Reasi SSP M S Chouhan said. Medical examinations of the girl had been done and she was produced in court and kept in a women's shelter, he added. The incident triggered protests by Talwara migrants who blocked roads and staged sit-in.
Teenager gangraped by three cops in J-K, two arrested
A teenage girl was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by three police
personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, about 70 kms from here.
J&K 'mass-rape' victims break silence, vow to fight
The girl was abducted from Talwara Migrant camp in Reasi on Thursday evening by Assistant Sub Inspector Mahesh Mehta, Satvir Singh, personal assistant to Reasi SSP, and Special Police Officer (SPO) Karnail Singh, a senior police official said.
J&K 'mass-rape' victims break silence, vow to fight
The girl was abducted from Talwara Migrant camp in Reasi on Thursday evening by Assistant Sub Inspector Mahesh Mehta, Satvir Singh, personal assistant to Reasi SSP, and Special Police Officer (SPO) Karnail Singh, a senior police official said.
Jaya assets case: SC pulls up K'taka govt, stays trial
Censuring the conduct of the Karnataka government, the Supreme Court Friday stayed the trial proceedings in a Bangalore court against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in a corruption case.
A Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde ordered a stay on the proceedings while asking the Karnataka government to file its reply to her petition against the manner in which orders withdrawing the special prosecutor in the case was passed.
"It is not the way to deal with the matter. We want to now hear the matter fully. If trial is required to be brought to this court, we will conduct the trial too but we now want to hear it. It is too much...," observed a Bench, expressing its displeasure.
Jayalalithaa had approached the apex court second time in less than a fortnight on the decision of the state government to remove G Bhavani Singh as the prosecutor.
Previously on September 6, the court had simply disposed of the matter after the Karnataka government backtracked on the issue of directly removing Singh and also agreed to withdraw the contentious notification.
Admitting the procedural lapses, the government conceded before the SC that it was withdrawing the order to take off Singh as special public prosecutor in the case since it was issued without consulting the Chief Justice of High Court.
A Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde ordered a stay on the proceedings while asking the Karnataka government to file its reply to her petition against the manner in which orders withdrawing the special prosecutor in the case was passed.
"It is not the way to deal with the matter. We want to now hear the matter fully. If trial is required to be brought to this court, we will conduct the trial too but we now want to hear it. It is too much...," observed a Bench, expressing its displeasure.
Jayalalithaa had approached the apex court second time in less than a fortnight on the decision of the state government to remove G Bhavani Singh as the prosecutor.
Previously on September 6, the court had simply disposed of the matter after the Karnataka government backtracked on the issue of directly removing Singh and also agreed to withdraw the contentious notification.
Admitting the procedural lapses, the government conceded before the SC that it was withdrawing the order to take off Singh as special public prosecutor in the case since it was issued without consulting the Chief Justice of High Court.
Jaya assets case: SC pulls up K'taka govt, stays trial
Censuring the conduct of the Karnataka government, the Supreme Court
Friday stayed the trial proceedings in a Bangalore court against Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in a corruption case.
A Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde ordered a stay on the proceedings while asking the Karnataka government to file its reply to her petition against the manner in which orders withdrawing the special prosecutor in the case was passed.
"It is not the way to deal with the matter. We want to now hear the matter fully. If trial is required to be brought to this court, we will conduct the trial too but we now want to hear it. It is too much...," observed a Bench, expressing its displeasure.
Jayalalithaa had approached the apex court second time in less than a fortnight on the decision of the state government to remove G Bhavani Singh as the prosecutor.
A Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde ordered a stay on the proceedings while asking the Karnataka government to file its reply to her petition against the manner in which orders withdrawing the special prosecutor in the case was passed.
"It is not the way to deal with the matter. We want to now hear the matter fully. If trial is required to be brought to this court, we will conduct the trial too but we now want to hear it. It is too much...," observed a Bench, expressing its displeasure.
Jayalalithaa had approached the apex court second time in less than a fortnight on the decision of the state government to remove G Bhavani Singh as the prosecutor.
Tension in Aligarh area after eveteasing incident
Tension gripped Atrauli area here after a girl was allegedly eveteased by three youths of a community.
The girl who was on her way to college was allegedly accosted and harassed by three motorcycle-borne youths yesterday, police said.
The girl raised an alarm and bystanders nabbed one of the youths, while the other two escaped, they said.
There was tension in the area following the incident as leaders of different saffron organisations reached there. Senior district officials soon rushed to the spot and
another culprit was nabbed.
Police said a strict vigil is being maintained at Atrauli and neighbouring villages.
Uttar Pradesh has been on tenterhooks since outbreak of violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts over an eveteasing incident.
The girl who was on her way to college was allegedly accosted and harassed by three motorcycle-borne youths yesterday, police said.
The girl raised an alarm and bystanders nabbed one of the youths, while the other two escaped, they said.
There was tension in the area following the incident as leaders of different saffron organisations reached there. Senior district officials soon rushed to the spot and
another culprit was nabbed.
Police said a strict vigil is being maintained at Atrauli and neighbouring villages.
Uttar Pradesh has been on tenterhooks since outbreak of violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts over an eveteasing incident.
Tension in Aligarh area after eveteasing incident
Tension gripped Atrauli area here after a girl was allegedly eveteased by three youths of a community.
The girl who was on her way to college was allegedly accosted and harassed by three motorcycle-borne youths yesterday, police said.
The girl raised an alarm and bystanders nabbed one of the youths, while the other two escaped, they said.
There was tension in the area following the incident as leaders of different saffron organisations reached there. Senior district officials soon rushed to the spot and
another culprit was nabbed.
Police said a strict vigil is being maintained at Atrauli and neighbouring villages.
Uttar Pradesh has been on tenterhooks since outbreak of violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts over an eveteasing incident.
The girl who was on her way to college was allegedly accosted and harassed by three motorcycle-borne youths yesterday, police said.
The girl raised an alarm and bystanders nabbed one of the youths, while the other two escaped, they said.
There was tension in the area following the incident as leaders of different saffron organisations reached there. Senior district officials soon rushed to the spot and
another culprit was nabbed.
Police said a strict vigil is being maintained at Atrauli and neighbouring villages.
Uttar Pradesh has been on tenterhooks since outbreak of violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts over an eveteasing incident.
Muzaffarnagar riots: Tales of tragedy and destruction unfold in refugee camps
Lisarh represented all that was good in Muzaffarnagar, dubbed the sugar bowl of India. It had the prosperity arising from the region's agrarian boom, and in its demographics, it had two communities living and working together in peace.
PHOTOS: Tales of tragedy in Muzaffarnagar relief camps
Haji Samiuddin, 65, of Lisarh represented all that Muzaffarnagar could have been. Having toiled in his fields for decades, he had ensured his children got a good education and saw them become owners of a saw mill. The family business was booming, and they were thinking of expanding.
Samiuddin and his wife are now dead, killed and dumped inside their burning home. And Lisarh, a village that was on the cusp of becoming a town, will now never be the place it was.
***
Samiuddin's eldest son Saeed Hassan remembers each detail of the last time he met his father. It was the morning of September 7. Things had been worsening, and they had heard of the Jat mahapanchayat being held that day in Sakheda, 35 km away. "The Jats have gathered in lakhs. Our friends are leaving and so should we. These are dangerous times," Hassan had said.
Akhilesh Yadav: The man in the muddle
Samiuddin found this incredulous. "We have lived here all our lives, half the youngsters here have grown up sitting in my lap. Nobody will harm us here," he said.
Hassan says he told him that it was no longer about the villagers. "This is about politics and things we are not connected to."
However, Samiuddin insisted on staying. "You go son, you have your children to think about," he said. "You mother and I were born here and come what may, we will die here."
His mother Hamida, age 58, had added, "I cannot leave your father's side. Jahan bhi jao khuda to sab jagah hai (Wherever you go, god is everywhere)."
PHOTOS: Tales of tragedy in Muzaffarnagar relief camps
Haji Samiuddin, 65, of Lisarh represented all that Muzaffarnagar could have been. Having toiled in his fields for decades, he had ensured his children got a good education and saw them become owners of a saw mill. The family business was booming, and they were thinking of expanding.
Samiuddin and his wife are now dead, killed and dumped inside their burning home. And Lisarh, a village that was on the cusp of becoming a town, will now never be the place it was.
***
Samiuddin's eldest son Saeed Hassan remembers each detail of the last time he met his father. It was the morning of September 7. Things had been worsening, and they had heard of the Jat mahapanchayat being held that day in Sakheda, 35 km away. "The Jats have gathered in lakhs. Our friends are leaving and so should we. These are dangerous times," Hassan had said.
Akhilesh Yadav: The man in the muddle
Samiuddin found this incredulous. "We have lived here all our lives, half the youngsters here have grown up sitting in my lap. Nobody will harm us here," he said.
Hassan says he told him that it was no longer about the villagers. "This is about politics and things we are not connected to."
However, Samiuddin insisted on staying. "You go son, you have your children to think about," he said. "You mother and I were born here and come what may, we will die here."
His mother Hamida, age 58, had added, "I cannot leave your father's side. Jahan bhi jao khuda to sab jagah hai (Wherever you go, god is everywhere)."
Muzaffarnagar riots: Tales of tragedy and destruction unfold in refugee camps
Lisarh represented all that was good in Muzaffarnagar, dubbed the
sugar bowl of India. It had the prosperity arising from the region's
agrarian boom, and in its demographics, it had two communities living
and working together in peace.
PHOTOS: Tales of tragedy in Muzaffarnagar relief camps
Haji Samiuddin, 65, of Lisarh represented all that Muzaffarnagar could have been. Having toiled in his fields for decades, he had ensured his children got a good education and saw them become owners of a saw mill. The family business was booming, and they were thinking of expanding.
PHOTOS: Tales of tragedy in Muzaffarnagar relief camps
Haji Samiuddin, 65, of Lisarh represented all that Muzaffarnagar could have been. Having toiled in his fields for decades, he had ensured his children got a good education and saw them become owners of a saw mill. The family business was booming, and they were thinking of expanding.
Kajol: I am a lazy actor
Actress Kajol, who is now set to make another comeback to the big screen, says she is a lazy actor.
Kajol, 39, took a sabbatical from full-time acting in 2001 and returned to films with the 2006 romantic thriller "Fanaa". But, afterwards she was only seen in cameo
appearances.
Also Read:
Kajol likely to make a comeback in husband Ajay Devgn's film
She was last seen in a prominent role in Karan Johar's home production "We Are Family" (2010).
"I am lazy... I can't do more work or films beyond some extent. Two films a year is enough for me so that I feel I am working. I don't think of any film as mine till I start shooting for it. After I start working then it is mine... It is a healthy attitude," Kajol told PTI in an interview.
Asked what keeps her in demand despite not being in the limelight, Kajol said, "May be I am away from work, that is why I am in demand. I am working for more than 20 years, but I have done little work, handful of films. There are others who do three times or four times more films than I do."
And now she is set to return with husband Ajay Devgn's home production.
"It is a nice script and story but nothing to talk about it as of now.... It is too premature," she says.
But she also added that she will not be seen regularly in films as family is her priority now.
"Definitely I will not do films regularly. I will take time off. I don't want to do film just for the heck of it. I have a full life; I have a husband, two kids, house, a production company and other things.
Kajol, 39, took a sabbatical from full-time acting in 2001 and returned to films with the 2006 romantic thriller "Fanaa". But, afterwards she was only seen in cameo
appearances.
Also Read:
Kajol likely to make a comeback in husband Ajay Devgn's film
She was last seen in a prominent role in Karan Johar's home production "We Are Family" (2010).
"I am lazy... I can't do more work or films beyond some extent. Two films a year is enough for me so that I feel I am working. I don't think of any film as mine till I start shooting for it. After I start working then it is mine... It is a healthy attitude," Kajol told PTI in an interview.
Asked what keeps her in demand despite not being in the limelight, Kajol said, "May be I am away from work, that is why I am in demand. I am working for more than 20 years, but I have done little work, handful of films. There are others who do three times or four times more films than I do."
And now she is set to return with husband Ajay Devgn's home production.
"It is a nice script and story but nothing to talk about it as of now.... It is too premature," she says.
But she also added that she will not be seen regularly in films as family is her priority now.
"Definitely I will not do films regularly. I will take time off. I don't want to do film just for the heck of it. I have a full life; I have a husband, two kids, house, a production company and other things.
Kajol: I am a lazy actor
Actress Kajol, who is now set to make another comeback to the big screen, says she is a lazy actor.
Kajol, 39, took a sabbatical from full-time acting in 2001 and returned to films with the 2006 romantic thriller "Fanaa". But, afterwards she was only seen in cameo
appearances.
Also Read:
Kajol likely to make a comeback in husband Ajay Devgn's film
She was last seen in a prominent role in Karan Johar's home production "We Are Family" (2010).
"I am lazy... I can't do more work or films beyond some extent. Two films a year is enough for me so that I feel I am working. I don't think of any film as mine till I start shooting for it. After I start working then it is mine... It is a healthy attitude," Kajol told PTI in an interview.
Asked what keeps her in demand despite not being in the limelight, Kajol said, "May be I am away from work, that is why I am in demand. I am working for more than 20 years, but I have done little work, handful of films. There are others who do three times or four times more films than I do."
Kajol, 39, took a sabbatical from full-time acting in 2001 and returned to films with the 2006 romantic thriller "Fanaa". But, afterwards she was only seen in cameo
appearances.
Also Read:
Kajol likely to make a comeback in husband Ajay Devgn's film
She was last seen in a prominent role in Karan Johar's home production "We Are Family" (2010).
"I am lazy... I can't do more work or films beyond some extent. Two films a year is enough for me so that I feel I am working. I don't think of any film as mine till I start shooting for it. After I start working then it is mine... It is a healthy attitude," Kajol told PTI in an interview.
Asked what keeps her in demand despite not being in the limelight, Kajol said, "May be I am away from work, that is why I am in demand. I am working for more than 20 years, but I have done little work, handful of films. There are others who do three times or four times more films than I do."
20-year-old NRI out partying in Kalkaji found dead
A 20-year-old NRI was murdered in Kalkaji, Southeast Delhi, on Saturday. Police said the NRI, Anmol Sarna, was in the capital on a vacation and was to return to the United States next month.
NRI found murdered at Mahimasinghwala
According to police, Anmol was out partying with his friends in an upmarket residential society in Kalkaji on Friday night. Around 1 am, he was taken to AIIMS with several grave injuries to his face and body. His parents and were informed and by the time they reached the hospital, Anmol succumbed to injuries, police said.
Quoting AIIMS doctors, police said Anmol's injuries appeared to have been "caused by a blunt object". Police have registered a case of murder but are yet to make any arrests. They are questioning Anmol's friends with whom he was partying.
Anmol's family told police that on Friday evening, a friend had called Anmol to invited him to a party the friend was hosting.
4 real estate agents found murdered in farmhouse
Anmol's cousin Akhil said, "The party was being held at the flat of a common friend in Kalkaji. They picked up Anmol from Kailash Colony on Friday evening. Around 11.30 pm, Anmol's mother received a missed call from one of his friends, who was at the party. When his mother called back, no one answered. Around
1 am, Anmol's mother received another call from the mother of the friend in whose house the party was hosted. She informed auntie that Anmol had a stomach ache and that they were taking him to hospital," Akhil said.
NRI found murdered at Mahimasinghwala
According to police, Anmol was out partying with his friends in an upmarket residential society in Kalkaji on Friday night. Around 1 am, he was taken to AIIMS with several grave injuries to his face and body. His parents and were informed and by the time they reached the hospital, Anmol succumbed to injuries, police said.
Quoting AIIMS doctors, police said Anmol's injuries appeared to have been "caused by a blunt object". Police have registered a case of murder but are yet to make any arrests. They are questioning Anmol's friends with whom he was partying.
Anmol's family told police that on Friday evening, a friend had called Anmol to invited him to a party the friend was hosting.
4 real estate agents found murdered in farmhouse
Anmol's cousin Akhil said, "The party was being held at the flat of a common friend in Kalkaji. They picked up Anmol from Kailash Colony on Friday evening. Around 11.30 pm, Anmol's mother received a missed call from one of his friends, who was at the party. When his mother called back, no one answered. Around
1 am, Anmol's mother received another call from the mother of the friend in whose house the party was hosted. She informed auntie that Anmol had a stomach ache and that they were taking him to hospital," Akhil said.
20-year-old NRI out partying in Kalkaji found dead
A 20-year-old NRI was murdered in Kalkaji, Southeast Delhi, on
Saturday. Police said the NRI, Anmol Sarna, was in the capital on a
vacation and was to return to the United States next month.
NRI found murdered at Mahimasinghwala
According to police, Anmol was out partying with his friends in an upmarket residential society in Kalkaji on Friday night. Around 1 am, he was taken to AIIMS with several grave injuries to his face and body. His parents and were informed and by the time they reached the hospital, Anmol succumbed to injuries, police said.
NRI found murdered at Mahimasinghwala
According to police, Anmol was out partying with his friends in an upmarket residential society in Kalkaji on Friday night. Around 1 am, he was taken to AIIMS with several grave injuries to his face and body. His parents and were informed and by the time they reached the hospital, Anmol succumbed to injuries, police said.
My mom and i share the same husband
As a child in rural Bangladesh, Orola Dalbot, 30, liked growing up around her mother's second husband, Noten. Her father had died when she was small, and her mother had remarried. Noten was handsome, with a broad smile. "I thought my mother was lucky," Orola says. "I hoped I'd find a husband like him." When she hit puberty, however, Orola learned the truth she least expected: She was already Noten's wife. Her wedding had occurred when she was 3 years old, in a joint ceremony with her mother. Following tradition in the matrilineal Mandi tribe, mother and daughter had married the same man."I wanted to run away when I found out," says Orola, sitting in the sunbaked courtyard of her family home in north-central Bangladesh. "I was shaking with disbelief." Orola's mother, Mittamoni, now 51, told her she must accept it. Among the Mandi, a remote hill tribe in Bangladesh and India, widows who wish to remarry must choose a man from the same clan as their dead husband. The only single males, however, are often much younger. So the custom evolved that a widow would offer one of her daughters as a second bride to take over her duties including sex when the daughter came of age.
"My mother was only 25 when my father died. She wasn't ready to be single," says Orola, swathed in a vibrant blue pashmina. The tribe offered Noten, then 17, as Mittamoni's new husband, on the condition that he marry Orola, too. "I was too small to remember the wedding I had no idea it had taken place," Orola says. Devastated to discover that she was expected to share her own mother's husband, she says, "My mother already had two children with him. I wanted a husband of my own."
The situation was doubly unjust in Orola's eyes because ethnic Mandi women usually choose their own partners. The tribe's matrilineal structure means that women are the heads of household, and all property is passed down the female line. Women make the first romantic move and propose marriage. "I was excited about finding the right man," says Orola.
In recent years, many observers assumed the mother-daughter marriage custom had died out. Catholic missionaries have converted 90 percent of the tribe's 25,000 Bangladeshi members, and many once-accepted Mandi practices are now taboo. These include the rare custom of "groom kidnapping," in which Mandi women abduct potential husbands. Yet, while there are no official figures, one local leader claims there are "numerous" families who still follow the mother-daughter custom. "People stay quiet about it because having more than one wife is frowned on by the church," says Shulekha Mrong, head of Achik Michik, a powerful women's group run by Mandi female elders.
Today, Orola Dalbot is the mother of three children with Noten: a 14-year-old boy, a 7-year-old girl, and an 19-month-old girl. (Orola's mother has a son and daughter with Noten.) The family lives in a cluster of mud houses in a village with no running water. The nearest town consists of a single row of ramshackle stalls selling cooking oil and candles. Orola and Mittamoni jointly own a few acres of land, from which they make a modest living cultivating pineapples and bananas
The three-way marital arrangement grew tense when Noten began sleeping with Orola when she was 15. "My mother knew it was inevitable that we'd have sex. But he quickly began to prefer me to her, and she hated it," Orola says. In a whisper — Mittamoni is nearby — Orola relates how her mother once slipped some wild herbs into her food to make her vomit. "While I was ill, she seized the chance to spend the night with Noten. She really loved him."
The rivalry ruined their mother-daughter bond. "She stopped being my mother," Orola says. "I couldn't turn to her for advice anymore. I felt betrayed and abandoned." Orola rebelled against her new role, taking off on solo day trips to the district capital of Madhupur to go shopping and watch Bengali movies. "I used some of the family money to buy gold jewelry," she says. "I knew I'd never have a man of my own to buy gifts for me, so I bought some for myself."
Orola became alienated from her girlfriends as well. "They spent all their time gossiping about boys, and I couldn't join in," she says. Since Mandi communities are usually very close-knit, her intense isolation drove her to consider suicide. But she soon became pregnant with her first child, giving her "a new purpose," she says.
Mittamoni, a statuesque woman, listens without apparent emotion as Orola talks. Does she feel guilty hearing Orola's words? "No, I don't," says Mittamoni. "The marriage was necessary. I couldn't have managed alone after my first husband died." Noten was the only bachelor available — most Mandis marry around the age of 18 — so she had no choice but to allow him to wed Orola as well. "It was our clan elders' decision, not mine," she adds. She says she protected Orola until she grew up, and that sharing a husband was tough for her, too. "I had to step aside when Noten grew affectionate with Orola, and that was very painful," she says. Noten, who is also present, throws his hands in the air as if to say, "Don't put me in the middle of this." The gesture is so lightning fast that it's obvious he uses it on a regular basis.
But the point of co-marriage is not simply to satisfy the husband's sexual needs. Most marital practices around the world that involve multiple spouses have more to do with power and economics than sex, and the Mandi tribe (also known as the Garo tribe) is no exception. Since the Mandis are matrilineal, the idea that a man should marry a widow and her daughter is designed to safeguard the property-owning female lineages of both sides of the family. A Mandi marriage represents the consolidation of wealth between two clan lines. As a widow, Mittamoni was obliged to remarry within her first husband's clan to ensure that the union remain intact. The point of her daughter's marrying the same man helps guarantee two things: first, that the family has a fertile young woman to produce children to add to its wealth, and second, that the wife's clan holds onto its power, as her daughter protects her property when she dies.
Female elder Shulekha Mrong, a majestic-looking woman in a burnt-orange sarong, understands such clan issues, yet she opposes mother-daughter marriages. "The custom is a great injustice against young girls," she says. "They're denied choice, and it's psychologically damaging to share a husband with their own mother." She cites recent cases where young women have bolted from such arrangements, fleeing to Dhaka to work as maids or beauticians. "Mandi girls want to have genuine love relationships these days," she says.
Parvin Rema, 36, agrees. When she was 13, she and her widowed mother jointly married an 18-year-old man. "I thought my life was ruined after the wedding," she says. "My mother was 36. I didn't understand why she wanted such a young husband." But Parvin, a feisty character with a prematurely lined forehead, quickly used her wiles to become the household's alpha female. "My mother slept with our husband for the first three years. But as soon as I was old enough, I made sure he lost interest in her. I cooked him delicious curries and never refused him sex."
After a few years, she gave birth to a daughter, Nita, who is now 14. Motherhood brought powerful emotions to the surface. "When I look at Nita, I can't believe my mother forced me into this kind of marriage," Parvin says. "I feel angry and sad. How could she do that to her daughter?" Parvin is determined to make sure Nita has more life choices. "Nita is so full of hope," says Parvin. "I want her to go to college, and to decide who and when she marries."
Nita is currently studying hard at school, where she is teased by her classmates because of her unusual family setup — another reason Parvin fervently wants the tradition abolished. But she also wants her daughter to be proud of her Mandi heritage. "Mandi women have run this tribe for centuries," she says. "Now it's up to Nita's generation to ensure we run it even better in the future."
My mom and i share the same husband
As a child in rural Bangladesh, Orola Dalbot, 30, liked growing up around
her mother's second husband, Noten. Her father had died when she was small, and
her mother had remarried. Noten was handsome, with a broad smile. "I
thought my mother was lucky," Orola says. "I hoped I'd find a husband
like him." When she hit puberty, however, Orola learned the truth she
least expected: She was already Noten's wife. Her wedding had occurred when she
was 3 years old, in a joint ceremony with her mother. Following tradition in
the matrilineal Mandi tribe, mother and daughter had married the same man.Finding Power Behind the Wheel
Most of what we hear about Iran these days is worrisome, but there's at least one upbeat movement afoot: the rise of the female race-car driver. Last June, Zohreh Vatankhah (left) and her navigator, Afsaneh Ahmadi (right), entered a multipart rally race in Iran, along with four other women's teams.
The race began near Tehran, shifted to the desert, then returned to the capital, where the winner (not Vatankhah) received $300. (Winnings per race can reach $1,000 — not a bad day's pay, considering Iran's average annual household income is $7,500.)
Though their numbers have steadily increased since 1979, women racers in Iran still must follow the strict Islamic dress code, covering their hair and bodies while driving. But no one said they couldn't paint their cars pink....
The race began near Tehran, shifted to the desert, then returned to the capital, where the winner (not Vatankhah) received $300. (Winnings per race can reach $1,000 — not a bad day's pay, considering Iran's average annual household income is $7,500.)
Though their numbers have steadily increased since 1979, women racers in Iran still must follow the strict Islamic dress code, covering their hair and bodies while driving. But no one said they couldn't paint their cars pink....
Finding Power Behind the Wheel
Most of what we hear about Iran these days is worrisome, but there's at
least one upbeat movement afoot: the rise of the female race-car driver.
Last June, Zohreh Vatankhah (left) and her navigator, Afsaneh Ahmadi (right), entered a multipart rally race in Iran, along with four other women's teams.
The race began near Tehran, shifted to the desert, then returned to the capital, where the winner (not Vatankhah) received $300. (Winnings per race can reach $1,000 — not a bad day's pay, considering Iran's average annual household income is $7,500.)
Though their numbers have steadily increased since 1979, women racers in Iran still must follow the strict Islamic dress code, covering their hair and bodies while driving. But no one said they couldn't paint their cars pink....
The race began near Tehran, shifted to the desert, then returned to the capital, where the winner (not Vatankhah) received $300. (Winnings per race can reach $1,000 — not a bad day's pay, considering Iran's average annual household income is $7,500.)
Though their numbers have steadily increased since 1979, women racers in Iran still must follow the strict Islamic dress code, covering their hair and bodies while driving. But no one said they couldn't paint their cars pink....
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