It is easier to go after a homegrown radical like Ms Rashid and debunk her hyperbole, for doing so helps the government perpetrate greater exaggerations. But Ms Rashid was not exaggerating the larger clampdown and crackdown on Kashmiri society. She had tweeted rumours that the Army had tortured four boys in Shopian in south Kashmir. No wonder, then, that in an absence of ground reports, rumour passes for fact among individuals like Ms Rashid. Given the government’s penchant to tightly control what the supposedly free media covers and publishes, perhaps this sudden drying up of news reports is a coincidence.

These exaggerations by the state come in a vacuum created in the last week by the dwindling reportage on Kashmir in the mainstream print media. Activist Shehla Rashid (Photo: File) On Wednesday, the Delhi Police filed an FIR against Kashmiri (and one-time JNU) activist Shehla Rashid on a local lawyer’s complaint against her for sedition. The Army denied it as baseless. Ms Rashid was guilty of hyperbole as less than a handful of Kashmiris have died during police action on protests after the August 5 announcement to end Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy; these have been collateral deaths, like the Noorabad boy who jumped off a bridge when the crowd he was in was chased by the forces, or the middle-aged man who died of suffocation when caught between tear gas canisters shot at Srinagar’s Eidgah. Or the greater exaggeration that all is ostensibly well because most telephone landlines have been restored when what matters to 99 per cent of the population is the continuing suspension of mobile telephony. 

Or the torrent of reports and commentary in the New York Times that is unflattering to New Delhi. As it is, our diplomats’ hands are full this month preparing for the United Nations General Assembly on the 27th and the UN Human Rights Commission starting Monday. It is like the greater exaggeration implied in the statement that not a single bullet has been fired — pellets have been shot at thousands of protestors, of whom hundreds have been treated in government hospitals. 

These have together occasioned mainstream politicians in the United Kingdom, the Travel Vacuum Bag United States and elsewhere in the West to express concern over human rights violations in Kashmir.. Briefing select domestic and foreign journalists on Saturday, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also denied it disingenuously: he said it was not the Army but the Central Reserve Police Force and the state police that was maintaining law and order in the Valley. 

These exaggerations by the state come in a vacuum created in the last week by the dwindling reportage on Kashmir in the mainstream print media. Presumably, neither regime-friendly lawyers nor the Delhi Police dare file FIRs against international news agencies; the risk is in the narratives that might spin out of control

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These two things that matters most in this business if you want to be lambi race ka ghoda. For script selection, I have a 4 out of 7 ratio which is a pretty good ratio. I am happy that my instinct is leading me in the correct direction.Don’t you think its only people within the industry and trade who compare an actor’s last film whereas audience don’t really think about a last hit or flop Yes of course! It’s only in the writing and the speaking there is a comparative study that this actor’s film worked and the other one didn’t. It’s not even your own career, it is your career compared to another actor’s career. You are not treated as an individual but a commodity. I have always said that you have to nurture new comers who are making unique choices. But what happens is everyone is out there to compare your films and say this one is not good enough, that one is bad. This keeps changing every Friday. You have to find consistency in the way you look at people when you write. We are pitted against each other like race horses. The race is very long and it’s still going on. The Khans are still running the race. The race is never ending but an actor has to find his own groove and his rhythm, find his audience. But that can happen only when people stop comparing you like chana. Yes, but I do agree the audience doesn’t care and they will not stop watching you after one flop. Otherwise Khatron Ke Khiladi also wouldn’t have got the kind of reaction it got. Television is a very ruthless medium and straight up you know whether you have worked or not. I was quietly confident about my ability. 

If I get shaken up by one flop then I will have to leave the profession. You become star on the basis of how you deal with failures.But aren’t you sensitive enough to at least feel the jolt See, if you don’t feel the jolt then there is something wrong with you. (Laughs) Sometimes you can pre-empt a film on how it will do so you are numb to it. Sometimes you are surprised by the negative reactions it gets. Sometimes you are prepared for it. Sometimes you watch the film and you feel the script was better than the film. Sometimes the film is better than the script. I saw Tevar, I won’t say it’s an outstanding film but I won’t say it’s a bad film. Any other given day and the film would have done another 15-20 cr easily. Going by the wave of mass cinemas and how they work, unfortunately the release date was such that mass cinema had died. The genre had just shut down for the audience and we were the last film. The hero heroine ( Arjun-Sonakshi) had the mass ability but it did jolt me because it was also my home production. Now may be a year and a half later Baaghi has come and it’s in the same space.

You think the media in itself gets lost in this game of comparing actors Somewhere I think the media has to connect with the audience a little bit more and keep them in mind. I think each film should be treated individually as isolation.Do you see a contrasting vision of what you read in media and what the audiences are thinking Yes, sometimes. But they are fair most of the time. I am not saying media ko kuch pata nahi. Certain sections are pretty accurate. But there are some sections who write without having done their research. Its like, someone once wrote Gunday is a flop. Now weather you like the film or not, the film did 75 cr + so it cannot be a flop. 

I can understand you not liking the film but you can’t change the status of the audiences love for the film. That is when I find it silly. A lot of people make me feel that Finding Fanny didn’t do well. It wasn’t a trade box office blockbuster but where does an English film does Rs 30 cr here You should give credit that we did an experimental film and you can’t even count Finding Fanny in the hit and flop thing. Some films are not about hit and flop but about ‘even this is made in India’. Every film is not going to be 2 States.Then it must be very hard to understand how to keep up with what the audiences need It is. But there are your instincts and impulse while shooting the film which tells you that it is ending in a good space. See if you like the material of the director and it is similar to what it is being made into, you get to know. 

Actors come in thinking the director will pull it off. So many times good scripts are not executed well. Tevar I had estimated it would do around 60 cr and that was the only time I went wrong. Otherwise for all my other films I was pretty accurate.What’s the stupidest thing people think about actors Lot of people feel actors are arrogant and difficult to talk to. But when they meet us they tell us aap toh normal ho. Lot of people feel that we don’t have emotions and we are not affected by people passing by.Being a producers son, want to know your insight on the economics of the industry You think the movies off late are not doing the numbers they are expected to achieve Like do you think Ki and Ka, which did so well, could have gone another extra mile Or even a Kapoor and Sons But Kapoor and Sons was a very profitable venture. It was made around 37 cr I think, the film did 65 cr in India.But despite a good film, do you think it has still not achieved its full potential No, see film have ranges. 

 Every film cannot be beyond what its range is. Like Neerja has over performed if you look at it. Like Piku last year also over performed. That is when there is a genuine love like madness for a film. Ek wave aati hai, that the film is mind blowing. Woh apne potentional se jyada kar jaati hai. When a Piku is expected to do 55-60 cr and does 80cr that is the love of the audience beyond. But usse jyada kuch filmon ke range nahi hoti. Also you have to understand that the audiences are very different. City audiences are very different from the second tier city audience. Ki and Ka is made for a certain audience and we can’t play it in a single screen. Kapoor and Sons, Neerja you can’t play at a single screen. Airlift, even if it’s Akshay you can only play it in certain single screens. But despite that Airlift does 120 cr which is a huge number. Yes, the trend last year was not good. 

There were some unfortunate disappointments and every year has that.Go on It is also the ticket prices have become expensive. Less people step out to watch films. It’s only like if they hear good things they will go and see the film. Today average doesn’t cut it. After a month I will watch it on video on demand or on the internet. Or some channel will play it on satellite. Time pass doesn’t cut it so you have to give more than that to the audience.Sometimes actors also charge so high and the economics of the film go wrong making the recovery a big task For the past few years I can vouch for the fact that the younger generation has not done a film which is very front-loaded. I think we are also very conservative in our approach. 

I treat every film individually and things take time to change. Content is getting better by the day. Films don’t do so well in India because we have a diverse audience. Not every film will connect with everybody. There are few pan India films that come out every year. The Urban middle class is coming to multiplex more often. That is where the main money is in the theatres. If just by pure multiplex numbers, if Ki & Ka, Kapoor and Sons and Neerja have done this much, imagine the potential if you continue working this way. In the next 5 years, multiplex will even command better numbers.In a movie crazy country like India, we have such limited screens (around 5000 screens) Like China has twice the number of screens See, the pay structure of China is very different. People are making lot more money to watch a film there. In India, not everybody is making that kind of money. They have to feed their families. India, the rural states, we have very few theatres. 

I don’t think we have more than 5000 screens which are not enough to feed the population. Hardly 1 percent of the population goes to see the film. That is primarily because of ticket pricing. Today, there are so many other avenues of entertainment now. People have grown up watching films for 30 and 50 rs. Recessions or not, picture toh utne ki he hoti thi. Balcony 50, stall was 25-30 rs. Slowly it went up to 100 rs which was a lot. They are used to being entertained at a certain price. You buy popcorn and samosas now and half your salary is gone. Going to multiplex today can cost a family of 4 straight 4000 rs. So now instead of watching 4 movies a month, they are just watching 1. That has been the biggest difference.

For an actor to be well informed about the current trends or identify what the audience wants, do you have friends with whom you these long discussions We are all aware of who is making what as we are part of the industry. We do lose a little bit of connect as we don’t go to the theatres to see our film. That’s the big difference and we need to go more often. But one needs to be open minded, travel the country, meet people, hear them, what they like and what they are talking about. 

That is what keeps me corrected. I always pay attention to what age group is reacting to.Do you randomly take off on unplanned trips Does your profession give you that window Not as much as I should. Not in India because the problem is that you take off abroad, you need more time. You can’t just take off for 2-3 days. You never have that time to take off for 10-15 days in a stretch. You get a weekend off and you want to sleep it off. But last year I went to Goa alone for a few days. May be this year after I finish Half Girlfriend I will try and do it again.Varun, Alia, Sidharth have an option to pitch themselves for any scripts that come to Dharma Productions. At YRF (they manage Arjun’s career), do you have that option I think in YRF what happens that the director decides with Adi which actor he wants and then you are offered the film. 

You are allowed to decide if you want to do it or not. That’s how it functions for me from Day 1 at YRF. There is no first right to refusal that I am better for this. I don’t go and sit with Adi and pitch myself. He is the one who has made me and he knows my skills. I am sure in Dharma, it must be in a different way and here it is in a different way., are truly liberal, allowing for abortion any time during the pregnancy on request of the woman — for social reasons and foetal abnormalities. 52 per cent, including inter alia France, the UK, Austria, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and even our neighbouring country Nepal, allow for termination beyond 20 weeks on diagnosis of foetal abnormalities.The proposed amendments also make provisions for contraceptive failure to apply to all women and men, removing the marriage criterion that is otherwise not applicable to any other condition for termination Travel Vacuum Space Bag under law. Laws in 23 countries, including countries as diverse as Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Denmark, Ghana and Zambia etc.The then progressive law has today lost its relevance in light of recent technological advancements. Another critical factor to be aware of is the significant improvement in diagnostic techniques for determining foetal abnormalities incompatible with life.

The proposed amendments to the MTP Act in 2014 included, one, a proposal to expand the provider base and allow AYUSH providers, nurses and ANMs to conduct early terminations after training, and, two, increasing the gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for vulnerable categories of women further to a recommendation from the National Commission for Women. For more information visit www. There is an urgent need to identify gaps in ensuring availability of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services for women and preventing deaths and disabilities.org). Women are owners of their bodies as well as caretakers of their families.(The author is executive director of Ipas Development Foundation, an NGO that has been working closely with the government at the national and state levels for over a decade to increase women’s access to comprehensive abortion care with the purpose of reducing deaths and disabilities faced by women.Globally: 56 mn abortions are done every year.Recent cases in the Supreme Court have brought out the debate on diagnosis of foetal abnormalities and women’s agency to exercise their reproductive rights for termination of pregnancy.India: 11.Women’s groups have strongly argued for reducing regulation of pregnancy outcomes for women and allowing women to be the judge for the course of their pregnancy.ipasdevelopmentfoundation. India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971.

These technologies do not require services of specialist doctors, and world over there is a trend now towards task-shifting for safe abortion to other cadres of healthcare providers. But, women of this country are still waiting for the legislature to take a decision, making it a reality.Another significant feature of the proposed amendments is that no upper gestation limit for termination of pregnancy would apply in case of diagnosed foetal abnormalities incompatible with life.Under Section 5 of the law, upper gestation limit of 20 weeks does not apply when it is necessary to conduct terminations any time during the pregnancy to save the woman’s life.Case studiesMarch 2017: The Supreme Court rejected a plea made by a 37-year-old woman from Maharashtra to terminate her 26-week-old foetus on the ground that it suffered from Down’s syndrome after a medical board advised it. Chief among these is the lack of access to safe abortion services, apart from a general lack of awareness among women, particularly those in rural and remote areas of the country.There is a need to also focus on strengthening programme implementation strategies and community level action on abortion.It is estimated that 11.5 million abortions take place in India every year, a significant proportion of the global annual figure of 56 million. The Supreme Court has recently intervened in cases where women have sought abortion because the foetus is deformed, triggering demands to allow women to determine the course of their pregnancies. This is a matter of concern in modern times, when, as the WHO states, "When performed by a skilled provider using correct medical techniques and drugs, and under hygienic conditions, induced abortion is a very safe medical procedure”. 

The decision to continue a pregnancy (or not) is very personal and women have their reasons for the same. The court held that abortion of the foetus was only permissible within 20 weeks. Research shows that even today, less than 20 per cent of women are aware that abortion is legal in India. India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971. Newer and safer technologies that make abortion a very safe out-patient medical procedure that can be completed using manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) or a combination of prescription drugs (medical abortion) are considered to be the gold standard today. Unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths in India. In India, unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths. As there was no risk to the life of the pregnant woman, the court denied the petitioners the right to abort the foetus. 

This is in line with international standards and global recommendations.Abortion has been legal in India by virtue of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, passed in 1971, which allows for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation for a broad range of conditions including when continuation of pregnancy is a risk to her physical or mental health, if pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, foetal abnormality, or failure of contraceptive method used by a married woman or her husband.Unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths in India20% women are aware that abortion is legal in India.When this law was passed over four decades ago, the only available technology for termination of pregnancies was dilatation and curettage (D&C) — now an outdated invasive medical procedure — that required the use of anaesthesia for removing products of conception using a metal curette.If we look at abortion laws in the rest of the world, 60 countries have laws prescribing gestational limits.

This proposal underscored additional challenges faced by some categories of women like survivors of rape and incest, very young women, women with disabilities etc. Today, it must amend the law and bring it in line with international standards and global recommendations. While arguing very strongly for provisions for managing pregnancies with confirmed foetal abnormalities incompatible with life, it needs to be understood that less than two per cent of women experience such a situation in their pregnancy. The decision about when to have children, the number of children and how to care for them, is theirs and theirs alone.We need to address these social barriers and strengthen women’s access to safe abortion services, and hold ourselves accountable for the needless deaths and disabilities faced by women in a liberal legal environment. Today, the government must bring it in line with international standards and reflect both medical advances and the rights of women over their own bodies. Recent court cases reiterate the need for increasing the gestation limit to 24 weeks for such and more vulnerable categories of women. The stigma around abortion takes precedence over the law and becomes a compelling factor leading women to choose unsafe pathways for termination of pregnancy when they should have access to the same, free-of-cost, from public health facilities.India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971.5 mn abortions take place every year.July 2009: The Supreme Court allowed a mentally-challenged rape victim who doctors said had a maximum IQ of a nine-year-old to give birth to her baby, saying nature will "take care” of the orphan mother and child.In 2008, the Bombay HC denied a woman, whose foetus had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, permission to abort her 26-week foetus. The Supreme Court held that Down’s Syndrome is not a life-threatening condition, and that there is no physical risk to the mother from the pregnancy. The safety provisions in the law, including provider definition, training requirement, opinion etc, were defined keeping women’s safety in light of this technology, are truly liberal, allowing for abortion any time during the pregnancy on request of the woman — for social reasons and foetal abnormalities. 52 per cent, including inter alia France, the UK, Austria, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and even our neighbouring country Nepal, allow for termination beyond 20 weeks on diagnosis of foetal abnormalities.The proposed amendments also make provisions for contraceptive failure to apply to all women and men, removing the marriage criterion that is otherwise not applicable to any other condition for termination Travel Vacuum Space Bag under law. Laws in 23 countries, including countries as diverse as Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Denmark, Ghana and Zambia etc.The then progressive law has today lost its relevance in light of recent technological advancements. 

Another critical factor to be aware of is the significant improvement in diagnostic techniques for determining foetal abnormalities incompatible with life.The proposed amendments to the MTP Act in 2014 included, one, a proposal to expand the provider base and allow AYUSH providers, nurses and ANMs to conduct early terminations after training, and, two, increasing the gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for vulnerable categories of women further to a recommendation from the National Commission for Women. For more information visit www. There is an urgent need to identify gaps in ensuring availability of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services for women and preventing deaths and disabilities.org). Women are owners of their bodies as well as caretakers of their families.(The author is executive director of Ipas Development Foundation, an NGO that has been working closely with the government at the national and state levels for over a decade to increase women’s access to comprehensive abortion care with the purpose of reducing deaths and disabilities faced by women.Globally: 56 mn abortions are done every year.Recent cases in the Supreme Court have brought out the debate on diagnosis of foetal abnormalities and women’s agency to exercise their reproductive rights for termination of pregnancy.India: 11.Women’s groups have strongly argued for reducing regulation of pregnancy outcomes for women and allowing women to be the judge for the course of their pregnancy.ipasdevelopmentfoundation. India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971.These technologies do not require services of specialist doctors, and world over there is a trend now towards task-shifting for safe abortion to other cadres of healthcare providers. But, women of this country are still waiting for the legislature to take a decision, making it a reality.Another significant feature of the proposed amendments is that no upper gestation limit for termination of pregnancy would apply in case of diagnosed foetal abnormalities incompatible with life.Under Section 5 of the law, upper gestation limit of 20 weeks does not apply when it is necessary to conduct terminations any time during the pregnancy to save the woman’s life.Case studiesMarch 2017: The Supreme Court rejected a plea made by a 37-year-old woman from Maharashtra to terminate her 26-week-old foetus on the ground that it suffered from Down’s syndrome after a medical board advised it. Chief among these is the lack of access to safe abortion services, apart from a general lack of awareness among women, particularly those in rural and remote areas of the country.There is a need to also focus on strengthening programme implementation strategies and community level action on abortion.

It is estimated that 11.5 million abortions take place in India every year, a significant proportion of the global annual figure of 56 million. The Supreme Court has recently intervened in cases where women have sought abortion because the foetus is deformed, triggering demands to allow women to determine the course of their pregnancies. This is a matter of concern in modern times, when, as the WHO states, "When performed by a skilled provider using correct medical techniques and drugs, and under hygienic conditions, induced abortion is a very safe medical procedure”. The decision to continue a pregnancy (or not) is very personal and women have their reasons for the same. The court held that abortion of the foetus was only permissible within 20 weeks. Research shows that even today, less than 20 per cent of women are aware that abortion is legal in India. India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971. Newer and safer technologies that make abortion a very safe out-patient medical procedure that can be completed using manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) or a combination of prescription drugs (medical abortion) are considered to be the gold standard today. 

Unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths in India. In India, unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths. As there was no risk to the life of the pregnant woman, the court denied the petitioners the right to abort the foetus. This is in line with international standards and global recommendations.Abortion has been legal in India by virtue of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, passed in 1971, which allows for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation for a broad range of conditions including when continuation of pregnancy is a risk to her physical or mental health, if pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, foetal abnormality, or failure of contraceptive method used by a married woman or her husband.Unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths in India20% women are aware that abortion is legal in India.When this law was passed over four decades ago, the only available technology for termination of pregnancies was dilatation and curettage (D&C) — now an outdated invasive medical procedure — that required the use of anaesthesia for removing products of conception using a metal curette.If we look at abortion laws in the rest of the world, 60 countries have laws prescribing gestational limits.This proposal underscored additional challenges faced by some categories of women like survivors of rape and incest, very young women, women with disabilities etc. Today, it must amend the law and bring it in line with international standards and global recommendations. 

While arguing very strongly for provisions for managing pregnancies with confirmed foetal abnormalities incompatible with life, it needs to be understood that less than two per cent of women experience such a situation in their pregnancy. The decision about when to have children, the number of children and how to care for them, is theirs and theirs alone.We need to address these social barriers and strengthen women’s access to safe abortion services, and hold ourselves accountable for the needless deaths and disabilities faced by women in a liberal legal environment. Today, the government must bring it in line with international standards and reflect both medical advances and the rights of women over their own bodies. Recent court cases reiterate the need for increasing the gestation limit to 24 weeks for such and more vulnerable categories of women. The stigma around abortion takes precedence over the law and becomes a compelling factor leading women to choose unsafe pathways for termination of pregnancy when they should have access to the same, free-of-cost, from public health facilities.India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971.5 mn abortions take place every year.July 2009: The Supreme Court allowed a mentally-challenged rape victim who doctors said had a maximum IQ of a nine-year-old to give birth to her baby, saying nature will "take care” of the orphan mother and child.In 2008, the Bombay HC denied a woman, whose foetus had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, permission to abort her 26-week foetus. The Supreme Court held that Down’s Syndrome is not a life-threatening condition, and that there is no physical risk to the mother from the pregnancy. 

The safety provisions in the law, including provider definition, training requirement, opinion etc, were defined keeping women’s safety in light of this technology, are truly liberal, allowing for abortion any time during the pregnancy on request of the woman — for social reasons and foetal abnormalities. 52 per cent, including inter alia France, the UK, Austria, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and even our neighbouring country Nepal, allow for termination beyond 20 weeks on diagnosis of foetal abnormalities.The proposed amendments also make provisions for contraceptive failure to apply to all women and men, removing the marriage criterion that is otherwise not applicable to any other condition for termination Travel Vacuum Space Bag under law. Laws in 23 countries, including countries as diverse as Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Denmark, Ghana and Zambia etc.The then progressive law has today lost its relevance in light of recent technological advancements. Another critical factor to be aware of is the significant improvement in diagnostic techniques for determining foetal abnormalities incompatible with life.The proposed amendments to the MTP Act in 2014 included, one, a proposal to expand the provider base and allow AYUSH providers, nurses and ANMs to conduct early terminations after training, and, two, increasing the gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for vulnerable categories of women further to a recommendation from the National Commission for Women. For more information visit www. There is an urgent need to identify gaps in ensuring availability of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services for women and preventing deaths and disabilities.org). Women are owners of their bodies as well as caretakers of their families.

The author is executive director of Ipas Development Foundation, an NGO that has been working closely with the government at the national and state levels for over a decade to increase women’s access to comprehensive abortion care with the purpose of reducing deaths and disabilities faced by women.Globally: 56 mn abortions are done every year.Recent cases in the Supreme Court have brought out the debate on diagnosis of foetal abnormalities and women’s agency to exercise their reproductive rights for termination of pregnancy.India: 11.Women’s groups have strongly argued for reducing regulation of pregnancy outcomes for women and allowing women to be the judge for the course of their pregnancy.ipasdevelopmentfoundation. India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971.These technologies do not require services of specialist doctors, and world over there is a trend now towards task-shifting for safe abortion to other cadres of healthcare providers. But, women of this country are still waiting for the legislature to take a decision, making it a reality.Another significant feature of the proposed amendments is that no upper gestation limit for termination of pregnancy would apply in case of diagnosed foetal abnormalities incompatible with life.Under Section 5 of the law, upper gestation limit of 20 weeks does not apply when it is necessary to conduct terminations any time during the pregnancy to save the woman’s life.Case studiesMarch 2017: The Supreme Court rejected a plea made by a 37-year-old woman from Maharashtra to terminate her 26-week-old foetus on the ground that it suffered from Down’s syndrome after a medical board advised it. Chief among these is the lack of access to safe abortion services, apart from a general lack of awareness among women, particularly those in rural and remote areas of the country.There is a need to also focus on strengthening programme implementation strategies and community level action on abortion.It is estimated that 11.5 million abortions take place in India every year, a significant proportion of the global annual figure of 56 million. The Supreme Court has recently intervened in cases where women have sought abortion because the foetus is deformed, triggering demands to allow women to determine the course of their pregnancies. This is a matter of concern in modern times, when, as the WHO states, "When performed by a skilled provider using correct medical techniques and drugs, and under hygienic conditions, induced abortion is a very safe medical procedure”. The decision to continue a pregnancy (or not) is very personal and women have their reasons for the same. The court held that abortion of the foetus was only permissible within 20 weeks. Research shows that even today, less than 20 per cent of women are aware that abortion is legal in India. India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971. Newer and safer technologies that make abortion a very safe out-patient medical procedure that can be completed using manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) or a combination of prescription drugs (medical abortion) are considered to be the gold standard today. Unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths in India. In India, unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths. As there was no risk to the life of the pregnant woman, the court denied the petitioners the right to abort the foetus. This is in line with international standards and global recommendations.Abortion has been legal in India by virtue of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, passed in 1971, which allows for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation for a broad range of conditions including when continuation of pregnancy is a risk to her physical or mental health, if pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, foetal abnormality, or failure of contraceptive method used by a married woman or her husband.Unsafe abortion is the third biggest cause of maternal deaths in India20% women are aware that abortion is legal in India.When this law was passed over four decades ago, the only available technology for termination of pregnancies was dilatation and curettage (D&C) — now an outdated invasive medical procedure — that required the use of anaesthesia for removing products of conception using a metal curette.If we look at abortion laws in the rest of the world, 60 countries have laws prescribing gestational limits.This proposal underscored additional challenges faced by some categories of women like survivors of rape and incest, very young women, women with disabilities etc. Today, it must amend the law and bring it in line with international standards and global recommendations. While arguing very strongly for provisions for managing pregnancies with confirmed foetal abnormalities incompatible with life, it needs to be understood that less than two per cent of women experience such a situation in their pregnancy. The decision about when to have children, the number of children and how to care for them, is theirs and theirs alone.We need to address these social barriers and strengthen women’s access to safe abortion services, and hold ourselves accountable for the needless deaths and disabilities faced by women in a liberal legal environment. Today, the government must bring it in line with international standards and reflect both medical advances and the rights of women over their own bodies. Recent court cases reiterate the need for increasing the gestation limit to 24 weeks for such and more vulnerable categories of women. The stigma around abortion takes precedence over the law and becomes a compelling factor leading women to choose unsafe pathways for termination of pregnancy when they should have access to the same, free-of-cost, from public health facilities.India was one of the 15 countries that passed a liberal abortion law in 1971.5 mn abortions take place every year.July 2009: The Supreme Court allowed a mentally-challenged rape victim who doctors said had a maximum IQ of a nine-year-old to give birth to her baby, saying nature will "take care” of the orphan mother and child.In 2008, the Bombay HC denied a woman, whose foetus had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, permission to abort her 26-week foetus. The Supreme Court held that Down’s Syndrome is not a life-threatening condition, and that there is no physical risk to the mother from the pregnancy. The safety provisions in the law, including provider definition, training requirement, opinion etc, were defined keeping women’s safety in light of this technology

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In 1415, King Henry V is reported to have inspected the English fleet before it sailed for war with France, thus beginning the tradition of fleet review by the head of state. The PFR or IFR is a grand ceremony where the President sails in a ship designated as the presidential yacht and inspects the warships at anchorage.Another timely and relevant event is Defexpo 2016, which is being held for the first time in Goa from March 26 to 31.

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