Protests against police gain momentum
The Hindu
Congress, BJP accuse the force of misogyny
Anti-Government protests over the “police apathy” to victims of crime, particularly women and children, seemed to escalate on Thursday.
Congress workers clashed with the police in Aluva, accusing the Circle Inspector of prompting the suicide of a dowry harassment victim by beating her in front of her in-laws in the local station house.
Mofiya Parveen, a law student, was found dead in her house the next day. Her “suicide note”, that damned the officer’s response to her grievance, arguably belied the pro-victim policing image actively promoted by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government.
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”