The Beautiful Life

Of late, the dominant and influential Maratha community has been taking out silent rallies across the state over making changes in the Atrocities Act and reservation in education and employment.  Prakash Ambedkar, party leader of Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh spoke on why reservation is not the answer for development of the Maratha community and stressed on reviving the cooperative movement which has played a significant role in addressing the concerns of the farmers, who are primarily Marathas. Some edited excerpts of the interview: One of the demands made at the Maratha rallies is the modification of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Do you think there is a misuse of Atrocities Act? They are not clear on what needs to be modified in the Atrocities Act. There was a discussion in Parliament on the Atrocities Act, where the necessary changes were sought. I checked the papers but neither the Maratha MPs nor the NCP leaders have mad...

Pavan Amara, a student nurse based in London, was raped when she was a teenager. The incident turned her life upside down and it took her a long time to come to terms with it. She started to look for support but found few useful options. Amara contacted several women in a similar position to discuss how they felt about sex, body image and healthcare after the trauma. To her surprise, she was far from alone. She found that every single one of these women was seriously affected. Following which she set up ‘My Body Back’ in London, a project that supports women who have experienced sexual violence, focusing particularly on issues of body image and sexuality, helping them to reclaim their bodies as their own. Recently she started the first maternity clinic for victims of sexual assault and rape. In an email interview, Pavan states that the UK and other developed countries are still relatively backward and blinkered when ...

Pradeep Purandare is a former Associate Professor (Irrigation Management), Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI), Aurangabad and has worked as an expert member on the Marathwada Statutory Development Board. At present he is a member of the committee on Integrated State Water Plan, chaired by K P Bakshi, additional chief secretary. In an interview with Chitra Sawant , Purandare warns of an ecological disaster in the offing, if the present uncontrolled exploitation of rivers continues unchecked. Edited excerpts Maharashtra has enacted nine irrigation-related water laws. Of these, only one has formulated the required rules. Maharashtra has adopted a State Water Policy in 2003. It was supposed to be revised every five years. However, that revision has yet not been done. Meanwhile, National Water Policy has been revised in 2012. In the absence of rules for the other eight acts, there is hardly any implementation of the acts. The work of issuing necessar...