Child’s right to identify father, right to property added to Devadasi Bill: Report
Bengaluru: Two important additions have reportedly been made to The Karnataka Devadasi (Prevention, Prohibition, Relief, and Rehabilitation) Bill drafted in 2018. The updated Bill now ensures that children born to Devadasis can identify their fathers and have the right to inherit property from both parents.
A copy of the Bill shows a holistic approach, with a focus on prevention, prohibition, relief and rehabilitation, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday. The current Act primarily focuses on prohibition of the Devadasi practice found in fifteen districts of the state.
The Devadasi system is a religious practice where girls from marginalised communities are dedicated to god. This practice often leads to them being forced into sexual slavery for life.
Seven years after it was drafted, the Bill is likely to be tabled in the Assembly in the upcoming Budget session, added the report. The Women and Child Development Department has prepared the Cabinet note and sent it to 20 other departments for feedback.
While the Devadasi practice was banned in Karnataka through the Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act 1982, the regressive practice continues in some areas, albeit secretly.
Under the current system, male partners of Devadasis do not have to acknowledge the child as his own or take any paternal responsibilities. The new Bill, as cited by DH, proposes that any child born to a Devadasi will have the right to identify their father (Section 5). Additionally, the child of a Devadasi shall be entitled to inherit and succeed to the property of both parents (Section 8).
“From prevention to rehabilitation, every aspect has been taken care of in the Bill. Multiple departments have a role in the rehabilitation exercise. We are waiting for confirmation from them. Once that is obtained, we will place it before the Cabinet. The Bill is likely to be tabled in the coming Assembly session,” Shamla Iqbal, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, was quoted as saying by DH.
The Bill also highlights the role of multiple government departments, including health, education, skill development, and social welfare as implementing agencies and collaborators to support Devadasi welfare initiatives.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
