Contents:
- Centre seeks guidelines on execution of convicts
- India Drops 10 Ranks in Democracy Index
- NIMHANS study stresses on need for a national suicide prevention strategy
- Siddi community has been thriving through music and dance
CENTRE SEEKS GUIDELINES ON EXECUTION OF CONVICTS
Why in news?
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 22nd January moved the Supreme Court to frame guidelines to execute death penalty of condemned prisoners within seven days of rejection of their mercy petitions.
Background
The move comes amid various pleas filed by convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case that have delayed their hanging.
The four convicts are on death row since 2013 after a trial court ruled against them. Multiple curative petitions and mercy pleas filed before the President of India have been rejected.
INDIA DROPS 10 RANKS IN DEMOCRACY INDEX
Why in news?
The latest edition of the Democracy Index by economic intelligence unit, spells gloom for India.
The world’s biggest democracy slipped 10 places in the 2019 global ranking to 51st place
More about survey
The survey attributes the primary cause of “the democratic regression” to “an erosion of civil liberties in the country”.
India’s overall score fell from 7.23 to 6.9, on a scale of 10, within a year (2018-2019)
NIMHANS STUDY STRESSES ON NEED FOR A NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGY
Why in news?
- For every death by suicide in India, there are more than 200 people with ‘suicidality’ and more than 15 suicide attempts.
- Suicidality refers to thoughts, plans, attempts and acts inflicted by oneself with an intent to end life is more prevalent at 5.1% than death by suicide at 0.024% among adults aged 18 years and above, thereby emerging as another public health problem that is unrecognized.
Difference between suicide and suicidality
- Suicide is the act of deliberately ending one’s own life (fatal outcome), whereas suicidality refers to all thoughts, plans and acts of suicide without a fatal outcome and thus excludes those acts of suicide that resulted in death.
- Even though suicidality excludes death by the above definition, the morbidity associated with suicidality can be more than many other health problems including mental health problems.
- Moreover, the co-occurrence of suicidality with mental health and other chronic problems, and even in adverse social situations is a matter of serious concern.
Demographic factors
- The analysis showed that the occurrence of suicidality in women (6%) was higher than in men (4.1%) across all the surveyed States.
- It was found to be more common among individuals with poor Income as compared with the individuals belonging to other income quintiles.
- Moreover, the occurrence was found to decrease with increase in income (from low to high income quintile) indicating the major role of socioeconomic factors in suicide prevention
SIDDI COMMUNITY HAS BEEN THRIVING THROUGH MUSIC AND DANCE
For the Siddi community of North Karnataka, music and dance lie at the centre of its cultural identity
More Information:
- The Siddis of Karnataka, are an ethnic group who descended from the Bantu-speaking people of Southeast Africa.
- They were brought to India by Portuguese merchants about 400 years ago
- Today, about 50,000 Siddi people live all over India, of which, more than a third live in the northern parts of Karnataka. They speak their own language called Siddi Basha, and having lived in Karnataka for generations, they are also fluent in Kannada.
- They were recognised as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in 2004, by the Government of Karnataka
- They are widely known for their expressive dance form Siddi Dhamal, which portrays their community life.
- While women sing a repetitive song pattern, the men usually play the dammam — a percussive instrument which looks similar to a mridangam, but is made of wood and deerskin on the sides
