oppn parties Turmoil In Mollywood

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Turmoil In Mollywood

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2024-09-01 06:42:10

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

The Malayalam film industry has been thrown into turmoil after the release of the Justice Hema committee report. The report has been filed after a delay of five years - the Kerala government had been forced to form the committee after Women in Cinema Collective, an umbrella organisation of women film artistes in the industry took up the issue of sexual harassment faced by them in the wake of abduction-and-sexual-assault case (when a popular actor alleged she was kidnapped and sexually molested) that rocked the film industry in the state in 2017. Actor Dileep was charged by Kerala police in the case.

Following the release of the report, several women working in the industry have come forward to narrate several incidents of sexual harassment by celebrated and powerful actors, producers and directors, among others. The immediate fallout was that director Ranjith resigned as chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and actor Siddique as general secretary of Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes after allegation of sexual misconduct against them. The Kerala government has formed a 9-member - including 4 women - team of senior police officers to examine the revelations in the report. These are positive developments and will bring relief to the large number of women artistes, some of whom have accused the male members of the industry of treating them like sex workers.

For long, accusations of sexual harassment by women, specifically when the accused was a powerful figure, have been dismissed as "her word against his" and the alleged perpetrator has been allowed to go scot free in most cases. This must change. Veteran actor Mohanlal has come forward to say that the entire industry is responsible for the plight of the women artistes. If the Justice Hema committee report and the action that follows is able to change this mindset, and if henceforth such allegations are treated with the seriousness they deserve and the women are assured of a fair and speedy investigation, it would be a major achievement. The rich and powerful get the courage to treat women either as chattel or as sex toys only because they know that they will not be punished. But if investigations are carried out impartially, justice is dispensed in fast track courts and the accused are punished as per law, this courage will vanish and women will be safe. It will also encourage more women to come forward and report such incidents.