India Ink: Newswallah: Long Reads Edition

In Down to Earth, Alok Gupta analyzes the damaging effect violence has had on Bihar’s efforts to empower women and advance self-governance. The article argues that although the Bihar government announced a 50 percent quota for women in the panchayat (village council) in 2006, it has not helped in bringing about true empowerment for women. Instead, men force their homemaker wives to contest elections as the husbands continue to make all the decisions.

As sarpanchs (village council leaders) and mukhiyas (district leaders) have the power to approve development projects and administer social welfare programs, the posts are highly coveted. Often violence is used to discourage women from contesting elections. Mr. Gupta lists a number of incidents in which women standing for village council elections or their husbands were attacked, murdered and mutilated. In the three village council elections since 2006, 191 people were killed in Bihar before and during elections.

Rising violence along with continued gender discrimination have undermined the efficacy of the quota system for women in village council leadership. “In the past five years, the number of widowed mukhiyas and sarpanchs has spiraled, casting doubt if the Bihar government’s efforts to empower women were merely yet another political sop,” Mr. Gupta concludes.

In Tehelka, Kunal Majumder weighs in on last month’s events in Bangladesh, where young Muslim activists took to the streets of Dhaka protesting the Islamist political group Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh in an assertion of secularism and nationalism.

The protests were triggered on Feb. 5 when the War Crimes Tribunal, instituted by the government to try those accused of committing atrocities in Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971, handed down a life sentence to Abdul Kader Mollah, who was convicted of rape and mass murder. Many Bangladeshis had expected a death sentence for Mr. Mollah, who is often called the “Butcher of Mirpur” for slaughtering 344 people.

In response to the sentence, four bloggers in their 20s — Imran H. Sarkar, Mahmadul Haq Munshi, Maruf Rosul and Amit Bikram Tripura — organized a protest near the National Museum adjacent to Shahbag Square. Within days, students from other universities joined the protest, which grew exponentially. The protesters demanded the death sentence for the perpetrators of war crimes, a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, which are associated with the war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s liberation struggle, and a ban on enterprises controlled by the Jamaat.

Mr. Majumder compares the youth protesting at Shahbag Square to the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Pakistan, where young Muslim populations massed on the streets. However, the critical difference in Bangladesh, Mr. Majumder writes, is that the young Muslims’ demands were extremely un-Islamic.

“A young generation of Bangladeshis set out to recapture the legacy of their country’s birth and reclaim the narrative of 1971, taking ownership of an event that occurred well before this generation was born,” Mr. Majumder writes. “Young Muslims came out on the streets, angry and impassioned. They were not advocating or emerging as the vanguard for Islamism; they were opposing it.”

In Open, Rahul Pandita critiques the draft Jammu and Kashmir Police Bill 2013, which empowers local police and reduces police accountability. He notes that while the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, has often publicly denounced the Armed Forces Special Powers Act that grants armed forces impunity, the draft Kashmir Police Bill gives similar powers to the state police. The bill, which has already stirred controversy in the Kashmir Valley, allows police personnel to bypass the district magistrate in law-and-order disputes.

Other controversial parts of the act include allowing a police officer “not authorized by rank or jurisdiction” to keep a person in custody for six hours before a competent officer takes over and the authorization to create “village defense committees” and appoint civilians as special police officers.

While the chief minister has said that the bill will only be passed after it goes through the state cabinet and both legislative houses, Mr. Pandita argues that Mr. Abdullah’s inaction with regards to the bill has hurt himself by giving his opponents plenty of ammunition in this debate.

Read More..

Kelly lifts No. 3 Duke past No. 5 Miami 79-76

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Ryan Kelly had waited two months for the chance to help his Duke teammates reclaim the form that made them the nation's top-ranked team.

He returned with a stunning performance that shook up No. 5 Miami and left his own Hall of Fame coach struggling for the right words.

The senior scored a career-high 36 points in his return from a foot injury that had sidelined him since January, helping the third-ranked Blue Devils beat the Hurricanes 79-76 on Saturday night in a matchup of the Atlantic Coast Conference's top teams.

"I guess I was ready for it," Kelly said. "That's all I can say."

Kelly knocked down 10 of 14 shots — including 7 of 9 3-pointers— for the Blue Devils (25-4, 12-4 ACC), who avenged a blowout road loss in January by grinding out a tough win in Cameron Indoor Stadium. He also went 9-for-12 from the foul line and pulled down seven rebounds in 32 minutes.

It left Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski joking to reporters that he was interested to read how they'd describe Kelly's big night.

"I mean, me saying 'spectacular' or whatever doesn't do his performance justice," Krzyzewski said. "One for the ages. Probably as good a performance as any player has had — a Duke player has had — in Cameron."

Kelly's performance was the highlight of a game that certainly lived up to the teams' lofty rankings and their status as the league's best. Miami led by seven in the first half and by two at the break, while Duke never led by more than five until the final 3 minutes.

Quinn Cook added 15 points, including a 3-pointer that gave Duke a 10-point lead with 1:55 left.

But the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-2) made a frantic rally and missed two 3s in the final seconds to tie it. Shane Larkin came up short on the first over Kelly. Durand Scott ran down the rebound and fired a pass to the left corner to Rion Brown, whose final 3 clanged off the rim as the horn sounded.

Kelly's season-high was 22 points and his career-best was 23 points before Saturday. He had missed 13 straight games with the right foot injury, though he had been gradually increasing his work in practice in recent days before going right back in the starting lineup Saturday.

"I just knew I was going to play my hardest," Kelly said. "Honestly, though, more than anything it was just going to be whether I could hold up with my breathing. I haven't played any games in a long time, and being in a game is a lot different from being in practice or anything you can do. But I think I held up all right."

He missed a 3 on Duke's first possession, but knocked one down 2½ minutes in and never looked rusty.

"Well, I thought we prepared for Ryan Kelly but obviously not for that Ryan Kelly," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. "He was sensational from start to finish."

Miami had beaten Duke 90-63 in January and had already clinched at least a share of the ACC regular-season title with the Blue Devils' loss at Virginia on Thursday night. Miami will win its first ACC crown outright by beating either Georgia Tech or Clemson at home this week.

But Saturday's game was about more than just the league standings or the chance to avenge that blowout loss for the Blue Devils. Rather, this was their chance to reclaim some momentum for March with Kelly's return.

"The thing (the win) does for us is it gives us a chance over the next few weeks to transition to the NCAA tournament," Krzyzewski said. "We're just running a little bit different race than anybody else right now. And it doesn't mean everything's OK, but it's a lot better."

Duke was unbeaten with nonconference wins against Kentucky, Louisville and Ohio State when Kelly went down against Clemson in January. It was during Kelly's absence that Duke suffered 27-point loss at Miami on Jan. 23, a game that saw the Hurricanes romping unchecked through Duke's passive defense and even slapping the floor in an apparent jab at the Blue Devils' tradition.

The 6-foot-11 forward was averaging 13 points and five rebounds, and stretched defenses with his outside shot to open space for Mason Plumlee inside.

Fittingly, he started the spurt that finally put the Blue Devils ahead for good. First he hit a pair of free throws, then knocked down a 3-pointer over Kenny Kadji with the shot clock winding down to push Duke to a 58-56 lead with 9:13 left. Plumlee followed with a short hook to cap the 7-0 run for a 60-56 edge.

Duke extended its lead with another 7-0 burst, with freshman Rasheed Sulaimon scoring a pair of driving baskets before Cook's 3 that appeared to have Duke in control.

Miami fought back, getting a 3-pointer from Trey McKinney Jones to make it a one-possession game with 1:06 left. But in addition to those late misses, Larkin also had a costly turnover when he threw away a sideline pass to Brown with Miami trailing by just two with about 30 seconds left.

"This is the type of game that everybody lives for," said Durand Scott, who scored 12 for the Hurricanes. "You can't really get mad at this. We went out there, we played our hardest, we're proud of ourselves, and our team did the best that we could. We just fell short a 3."

Duke shot 52 percent, with Kelly's big day offsetting Seth Curry's struggles (seven points on 2-for-8 shooting) and Miami's domination on the boards that led to a 20-4 edge in second-chance points.

Larkin scored 25 points to lead Miami, while Kenny Kadji added 17 points and 10 rebounds. But big man Reggie Johnson had a miserable night by going scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting and picking up his fourth foul in the first minute after halftime.

Read More..

In Filing, Casino Operator Admits Likely Violation of an Antibribery Law

 In its annual regulatory report published by the commission on Friday, the Sands reported that its audit committee and independent accountants had determined that “there were likely violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions” of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

 The disclosure comes amid an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into the company’s business activities in China.

 It is the company’s first public acknowledgment of possible wrongdoing. Ron Reese, a spokesman for the Sands, declined to comment further.

The company’s activities in mainland China, including an attempt to set up a trade center in Beijing and create a sponsored basketball team, as well as tens of millions of dollars in payments the Sands made through a Chinese intermediary, had become a focus of the federal investigation, according to reporting by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in August.

 In its filing, the Sands said that it did not believe the findings would have material impact on its financial statements, or that they warranted revisions in its past statements. The company said that it was too early to determine whether the investigation would result in any losses. “The company is cooperating with all investigations,” the statement said.

 The Sands’ activities in China came under the scrutiny of federal investigators after 2010, when Steven C. Jacobs, the former president of the company’s operations in Macau, filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit in which he charged that he had been pressured to exercise improper leverage against government officials. He also accused the company of turning a blind eye toward Chinese organized crime figures operating in its casinos.

 Mr. Adelson began his push into China over a decade ago, after the authorities began offering a limited number of gambling licenses in Macau, a semiautonomous archipelago in the Pearl River Delta that is the only place in the country where casino gambling is legal.

 But as with many lucrative business spheres in China, the gambling industry on Macau is laced with corruption. Companies must rely on the good will of Chinese officials to secure licenses and contracts. Officials control even the flow of visitors, many of whom come on government-run junkets from the mainland.

 As he maneuvered to enter Macau’s gambling market, Mr. Adelson, who is well known in the United States for his financial and political clout, became enmeshed in often intertwining political and business dealings. At one point he reportedly intervened on behalf of the Chinese government to help stall a House resolution condemning the country’s bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics on the basis of its human rights record.

 In 2004, he opened his first casino there, the Sands Macau, the enclave’s first foreign owned gambling establishment. This was followed by his $2.4 billion Venetian in 2007.

 Some Sands subsidiaries have also come under investigation by Chinese authorities for violations that included using money for business purposes not reported to the authorities, resulting in fines of over a million dollars.

 Success in Macau has made Mr. Adelson, 78, one of the richest people in the world. He and his wife, Miriam, own 53.2 percent of Las Vegas Sands, the world’s biggest casino company by market value. Last year, Forbes estimated his fortune at $24.9 billion.

 Mr. Adelson became the biggest single donor in political history during the 2012 presidential election, giving more than $60 million to eight Republican candidates, including Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, through “super PACs.” He presides over a global empire of casinos, hotels and convention centers.

Michael Luo and Thomas Gaffney contributed reporting.

Read More..