|N E W S D I A R Y |
INDIA
NCW SETS UP NRI CELL for Abandoned Women TO ALLEVIATE THE GRIEVANCES OF ABANDONED WOMEN Flooded with a number of complaints from women married to 'overseas' husband who abandon them shortly after the marriage can now breath a sigh of relief. National Commission for Women (NCW) has launched a special cell to receive and process grievances related to these women. Speaking on the occasion, NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas said, "Through this cell, we would also speak to all Indian missions abroad so that they maintain a register of Indian married couples in their country and check on them from time to time." She also stressed on the fact that to curb the nemesis, they are "trying to rope in local association and NGOs to help women who run into trouble in those countries." According to a report presented in the Parliament by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), about 55 complaints have been registered against NRIs for leaving their wives in 2008. The number this year has already reached the double figure of 42. The Commission was nominated as the mediating agency at the national level by MOIA on the recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women. The first overseas office at Indian Embassy in Britain has already started its functioning. Highlighting the role the embassies can play to assuage the stressed women, she said, "We urged that most embassies should keep some space for setting up a branch there. Maybe, that one person could give a phone call on a monthly basis to the women who arrive in the country after marriage to check if they are well."
India should Honour NRI MPs with GRATIS VISA: TARLOCHAN SINGH
OZ UNIVERSITIES WORRIED with Downfall in Number of Indian Students
TENURE OF VISAS TO SIKHS FROM AFGHANISTAN SHOULD BE INCREASED FROM THE PRESENT THREE MONTHS
REPERCUSSIONS OF UNABATED ATTACKS ON INDIAN STUDENTS IS SENDING SHIVERS TO OZ UNIVERSITIES
With a number of NRI Member of Parliament making their presence felt in a number of countries like Canada, UK, Malaysia and Singapore, Tarlochan Singh, chairman of the Minorities Commission as well as the chairman of the Media Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010, said that India should honour them by offering 'Gratis visas' to them. He also said that the NRI lawmakers from all around the world should be freely offered visas by the Indian government. Singh said that the Indian government should also issue visas to Sikhs from Afghanistan for a longer period, increasing it from the present tenure of three months. He also pointed out that the British government has already given citizenship to Sikh refugees from Afghanistan. He was also of the view that the Sikhs blacklisted after Operation Bluestar be allowed to visit the Golden Temple as a goodwill gesture so that they could join the mainstream NRI community. | SEPTEMBER 2009
According to a report in 'The Age', universities in Australia are fearing a steep decline in the number of Indian students' enrolments by 50 per cent for the next year. "What's aggravated the situation is the Indian media making it sound like racism rather than opportunistic crimes," La Trobe University's international office acting director , Abizer Merchant, was quoted as saying to the newspaper. La Trobe has approximately 1200 Indian students in its campus. According to Merchant, with this sort of mass action, Indian student registration for next year were set to halve to 300 following an incessant drop in enquiries and applications since the attacks continued in the months of May and June. But on the financial front, the university is not worried because of an upsurge in the enrolments of the Chinese students. Other universities such as Australian Catholic University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Swinburne University, Ballarat University are also facing the music.
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2009