Want to ban burqa then outlaw 'ghunghat' too, says Javed Akhtar
Bhopal, May 2: Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar Thursday said he was not averse to enacting a law banning the burqa if it was accompanied with a similar action against the 'ghunghat' system prevalent among women in Rajasthan.
Akhtar's comment came in the wake of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Wednesday urging the Modi government to emulate Sri Lanka in banning the burqa on grounds of national security.
"If you want to bring a law banning burqa here (in India) and if it is someones view I have no objection. But before the last phase of election in Rajasthan, this government should announce a ban on the practice of `ghunghat' (covering of the face by Hindu women) in that state," Akhtar told reporters here.
"I feel that `ghunghat' should go and the burqa should go. I will be happy," he added.
Speaking further on the issue, the Bollywood veteran said, "Brother, I have little knowledge of the burqa as there were working women in my family and I haven't seen the practice at my home."
"Iraq is a very orthodox Muslim country but the women there do not cover their faces. The law in Sri Lanka (now), too, forbids face cover," said the celebrated screenwriter, a Padma Bhushan awardee.
In the editorial in party mouthpiece `Saamana', the Sena had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban the burqa and other face-covering garments in India considering the "threat" they pose to the nations security.
Sri Lanka's decision came in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in the island nation that killed over 250 people.
As the editorial created a flutter and drew sharp reaction from various quarters, a senior Sena leader said the editorial was not the official stand of the party, which is an ally of the BJP.
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ISRO launches Mission MITRA for safety of human spaceflight mission crew
Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO on Friday said it has undertaken mission MITRA in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh, from April 2 to 9, a first-of-its-kind team behavioural study for the benefit of human spaceflight missions such as Gaganyaan.
The mission, inaugurated by the ISRO chairman V Narayanan, was mainly for the crew safety and performance.
"Mission MITRA is a first-of-its-kind team behavioural study designed by ISRO and IAF-Institute of Aerospace Medicine to examine the physiological, psychological, and operational dynamics of Crew and ground teams functioning in a high-altitude environment," ISRO said in a statement.
This study is targeted to generate vital understanding on the team interoperability between crew (Gaganyatris) and ground control teams and the effectiveness of decision making under environmental & operational stress, the space agency said.
Noting that the crew safety and performance are the most critical elements of all Human Spaceflight Missions, ISRO said the ability of the crew to communicate effectively, adapt to stress, maintain psychological resilience and support one another determines the success and safety of any mission.
Analogue missions conducted under controlled yet realistic conditions are utilised to understand how crews perform under challenging conditions, it added.
The space agency said the high altitude of approximately 3,500 meters at Leh having the environmental conditions of hypoxia, low temperature, and isolation, is a natural analogue for spaceflight operations.
