Author: Anil Malik

Yesterday a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud gave its verdict on the issue of  SAME SEX MARRIAGE. The SC’s refusal to accord legal recognition to marriage between persons of the same sex is a huge legal setback to the queer community in the country. Given the progress in law in recent years and the deepening of the meaning of individual rights, there was widespread expectation that the five-judge Constitution Bench would give the Special Marriage Act (SMA), a law that allows any two people to marry, a gender-neutral interpretation to include people belonging to the same sex. All five judges have chosen to leave it to the legislature to enact such a law. CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul have ruled that queer couples have a right to seek recognition for their union but declined to…

Pomegranates are round, red fruits. They feature a white inner flesh that’s packed with crunchy, juicy edible seeds called arils. They may be best known for their vibrantly coloured juice, but these unique fruits have a lot more to offer. Pomegranates are low in calories and fat but high in fibre, vitamins and minerals. Benefits include antioxidants, heart health, urinary health, exercise endurance, and more. Here are some of the health benefits of pomegranates: 1 Packed with nutrients– Overall, pomegranates are low in calories and fat, but high in fibre, vitamins, and minerals. They contain: Calories 23 Protein 4.7 gm Fat 3.3 gm Carbohydrates 52 gm Fibre 11.3 gm Vitamin C 32% of the daily value (DV) Folate 27% of the DV Magnesium 8% of the DV Phosphorus 8% of the DV It should be kept in mind that the juice of the pomegranate won’t provide much fibre and vitamin…

Recently I read an article on social media, which was regarding some unwritten rules for the SENIOR CITIZENS. After reading the same, I started thinking that this information should be available to all, whether you are a senior citizen or not. In case you are a senior citizen, you will relate to this information, and if you are still young or middle-aged, then you might have parents then you may share the same with them. Seniors are advised to follow these Rules: 1 As far as possible do not live with your children. If you are living with them, please do not get involved in their day-to-day lives. 2 Even if you are staying with them (or staying separately), please do not get involved with your grandchildren’s education. Their parents are the best judges to handle this. 3 Love, or at least tolerate your son-in-law or daughter-in-law, as it is…

Friends, you might have heard about intermittent fasting, when someone is discussing his/her weight loss program. While everyone talks about it, not many about the actual health benefits of this type of fasting. Intermittent is a diet regime that follows specific patterns of eating and fasting. Indeed, we have seen how much of our ancient culture is being reinvented as healthy fads nowadays. In India, fasting has always been common among people across regions and religions. Fasting aids a natural cycle of detoxification in our bodies is the belief behind these practices. This detoxification, in turn, aids the prevention of many diseases. Much literature is available about the benefits of intermittent fasting for young and middle-aged people. However, whether this type 0f fasting practice is suitable for seniors or not? Most things, especially concerning diet and exercise, may not work similarly in seniors as in youngsters. With age, people gain…

Friends, you must have not forgotten about the Coal Scam which happened about 10/12 years back during the regime of the UPA 2 government. The media went overboard at that time while covering this scam. Many politicians, govt officials, etc were implicated in this scam, and many of them faced court cases for their involvement in the scam. Recently three people were found guilty of their involvement in this scam, and they were  Vijay J Darda, his son Devendra Darda, and Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, director of JLD Yavatmal Energy Private Ltd. Jayaswal’s company was granted coal blocks in the states of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. Coincidently JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd was formed in 2006, and the promoter of this company was Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, who is related to Coal Minister Prakash Jayaswal in the then UPA government. Prakash daughter is married into a notable business family in Kolkata, headed by Ganesh…

A few days back, I wrote about Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and today’s blog can be considered a continuation of the same topic. PREVENTION/DELAYING OF DEMENTIA A lot of research is happening on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is one fear that many people hold within as they age. The fear of losing one’s memory and becoming completely dependent on others for everyday activities is terrifying. What we know is that there is no cure for dementia. However, research and studies have focused their efforts on trying to understand if certain activities, ways of life, supplements, etc., can help delay or prevent dementia. Here are some credible, interesting findings on dementia: A link has been found to a diet high in ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of dementia. Vigorous physical activity, whether done for leisure, regular household activity, or part of daily work, is linked to a lower risk…

  In today’s weekend blog, I am writing about an actress from Bollywood who happens to share her birthday with the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi and the late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, and actress is ASHA PAREKH. When she was at the peak of her career in the 1960s, people started calling her the HIT-GIRL, because most of her films were super hit/hit at the box office and were celebrating Silver Jubilee runs in the theatres. When her autography was published a few years back, the title of the same was ‘The Hit Girl’. Here are some unknown facts about Asha Parekh: 1 She started her film career as a child artist in Baap Beeti in the 1940s, her second film as a child artist was Aasmaan. This was the film in which legendary OP Nayyar made his debut as a music director, although he was doing some…

The most common form of heart disease is when the heart is not getting enough blood and oxygen supply. This can be due to the narrowing of the arteries due to ageing  or due to blockage by cholesterol plaques. In medical terms, it is known as Ischemic heart disease or coronary heart disease (CHD). The deaths and disability from CHD have more than doubled in the last 30 years. Chest pain, abnormal heartbeats, Heart attack, and Heart failure are some of the common complications of CHD. In the medical field, there are some solutions for CHD, and generally, they are going for bypass surgery, where a new artery is created by passing the blocked one or putting stents in the blocked arteries. Now many people have started following Yoga for the prevention of CHD or even after suffering their first heart attack to prevent further damage to the heart. YOGA…

Interfaith marriages in India have been a sensitive issue for ages, especially marriages between Hindus and Muslims. Our country’s law allows marriages between people of different religious faiths under the  “Special Marriages Act” of 1954. The applicability of the Act extends to people of all faiths including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Christians across India. Few years back, we came across a new term called ‘Love Jihad’. This term came into existence because too many cases started surfacing where Hindu girls were lured into love affairs by Muslim boys, and then the girls were forced to convert to Islam religion and were even used for terrorism-related activities. In many cases, after a few years, girls were forcibly given Talaq(divorce) on some flimsy issues. There were other cases where a Muslim boy lured a Hindu girl into a relationship, and then the girl was murdered. This year two high-profile cases…

Yesterday I read an article in the newspaper, which was really thought-provoking as I was not very aware of the topic because it was related to women. I am very sure that most men folk are ignorant about this subject, and the subject is “SANITARY PAD WASTE”. Since the sanitary pads manufactured by the organized sector contain plastic and, therefore, can not degrade naturally. Do we worry about what happens to them once they are thrown into dustbins? Most probably, they are likely to end up in a landfill where waste pickers have to sort through it with their hands. No one can deny that sanitary pads/napkins have been a boon for many Indian women, freeing them from the monthly ritual of washing and drying  their menstrual cloth. Rough estimates indicate there are 130 million women using sanitary pads, which generates about 120,000 tons of waste every year. The fact…