23 Nov 10 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Zhao Lianhai, the father of one of about 300,000 children poisoned by tainted milk in 2008, has dropped his plans to appeal according to his lawyers. Last week, he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for organising support groups and a campaign for compensation. The lawyers claim they have been told their services are no longer required. Today, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that Lianhai may be released on medical parole, but failed to mention when this may happen.
22 Nov 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The Muslim Brotherhood has said that more than 1,000 of its members and eight of its candidates have been arrested ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections. Over recent days the group’s supporters have clashed with security forces in several cities. The Muslim Brotherhood is banned from the elections but it bypasses restrictions by putting up their candidates as independents. This tactic proved successful in the 2005 elections and the brotherhood currently control a third of the seats in parliament. The arrests have been criticised as part of a wider government crackdown on opposition electioneering.
17 Nov 10 | Uncategorized
Following last summer’s decriminalisation of gay sex in India, the transition from legalisation to widespread acceptance has not been seamless. Bollywood has tackled this taboo directly with last week’s release of Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun. It is the first Indian film to show a gay kiss, and its director claims that it is also the first to offer a realistic perspective of a homosexual relationship.
The crew started filming last year following June’s welcome ruling and the first draft arrived in the editing room seven months ago. The opposition that has met the film’s director, Sanjay Sharma, and leading man Kapil Sharma, may reflect the fact that full decriminalisation of homosexuality still relies on the judgement passing through the Supreme Court.
Firstly, despite the director’s expectation that his film would escape significant sanitisation, the censors were quick to swoop. Kapil Sharma has said, “the censor board has cut 50 per cent of the kissing and love-making scenes between me and my screen-partner. They’ve also cut the shots of back nudity. Just a glimpse of the butt is there.”
There have also been expressions of regret and self-censorship amongst some of the cast, although Sharma insists playing gay was worth it. Yuvraaj Parasher who plays Kapil’s gay lover has been ostracised and disowned by his family, and some cast members seem to have distanced themselves from the project during the build up to its release.
The BJP, the ever outraged right wing Hindu nationalist party, have been making their fury known. Members of its zealous youth wing have laid siege to Sharma’s house and he has received numerous threats from individuals and organisations. In October, these threats caused a delay in the film’s release date.
And it transpires that a number of cinemas have got cold feet about screening the film. On Monday, several multiplexes in Mumbai announced they will not be showing it because the film is not compatible with the values of the family audiences they wish to attract.
Although the acting has not met with universally positive reaction, the film is not without its supporters in India, especially amongst gay activists. It is due to be released in Britain next year.
16 Nov 10 | Index Index, minipost
A film that was banned in 1975 was finally shown at the Kolkata Film Festival, only to be pulled after a single screening following a stay order from a Sikkim court. Satyajit Ray’s documentary Sikkim, commissioned by last king of Sikkim, was banned when the Himalayn kingdom became part of India. After its first screening on Wednesday, the Art and Culture Trust of Sikkim filed a case for copyright infringement which was upheld by the state’s High Court.
