indian
We are group of bloggers of Indian origin, who are more concerned about Human Rights, Environment, Free Speech, Rights of marginalised people like Dalits ( Untochables ) Tribals, Minorities, Women and Children, Peace, Arms Controle, and fair Media.
INDIA FACTS:
With more than a billion people, India, our country is of striking contrasts. India accounts for 40 per cent of the world's poor and its fiscal deficit is one of the highest in the world. Almost half of Indian women are still illiterate; about 40 million primary school-age children are not in school.
The level of child malnutrition in India is among the highest in the world, higher even than some countries in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, India has the highest number of street children in the world.
According to the National Human Rights Commission, as on 30th June 2004, there were 3,32,112 prisoners in Indian jails out of which 2,39,146 were under trial prisoners. That’s more than 70 per cent.
India remains at one of the lowest position(105) with RSF's Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006.
Hindu upper caste men, who constitute just eight per cent of the total population of India, hold over 70 per cent of the key posts across newsrooms in the country. The so-called twice-born Hindu castes dominate 85 per cent key posts despite constituting just 16 per cent of the total population, while the intermediary castes a represent meagre three per cent.
The Hindu Other Backward Class groups, who are 34 per cent of the total population, have a share of just four per cent in the Indian newsrooms. Muslims, who constitute about 13 per cent of the population, control just 4 per cent top posts while Christians and Sikhs have a slightly better representation. But the worst scenario emerges in the case of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) (CSDS study, 2006).
India has been ranked as the worst performer by Transparency International on its global Bribe Payers Index 2006.
Upper caste Hindus ( Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas) who is lesser than 20 per cent of the Indian population controles 80 per cent of the jobs in the new economy, (software, biotechnology, and hotel management).
The man who killed Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948, Nathuram Vinayak Godse was Brahmin. He was a former member of RSS, a fascist organization. RSS is the Hindu-supremacist organization that has fueled many anti-Dalit, anti- minorities violence in the country.
India’s subordinate courts have a backlog of over 22 million cases while the 21 high courts and the Supreme Court have 3.5 million and 32,000 pending cases (2006) There were 13 judges for every million people. The upper castes remain above the law based on their socio-economic status and dominant representation in the judiciary.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, only 31 per cent criminal trials are completed in less than a year. Some take even more than 10 years. 220,000 cases took more than 3 years to reach court, and about 25,600 exhausted 10 years before they were completed. (2002)