Eugene Castelle (born 1960), also known as "Boopsie" and "Bubsie", is a New York mobster who served as a caporegime and then an underboss with the Lucchese crime family
A resident of Staten Island, Castelle operated loansharking and numbers racket activities out of a small storefront in the Bath Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn. Castelle also managed a group of narcotics distributors in Brooklyn. Castelle was a close associate of Lucchese mobster Joseph Tangorra. Castelle's crew allegedly divided the Bensonhurst drug trade with the Bonanno crime family's Bath Avenue crew, extorting payments from neighborhood merchants through intimidation and arson.
In 1997, Castelle was charged with bribing jail guards to smuggle food and steroids to Lucchese family members who were incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. However, the charges were eventually dismissed.
On November 12, 2000, Caselle and other Lucchese members were charged with two murder conspiracies and a drug, extortion, and loansharking operation that dated to 1987.
A resident of Staten Island, Castelle operated loansharking and numbers racket activities out of a small storefront in the Bath Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn. Castelle also managed a group of narcotics distributors in Brooklyn. Castelle was a close associate of Lucchese mobster Joseph Tangorra. Castelle's crew allegedly divided the Bensonhurst drug trade with the Bonanno crime family's Bath Avenue crew, extorting payments from neighborhood merchants through intimidation and arson.
In 1997, Castelle was charged with bribing jail guards to smuggle food and steroids to Lucchese family members who were incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. However, the charges were eventually dismissed.
On November 12, 2000, Caselle and other Lucchese members were charged with two murder conspiracies and a drug, extortion, and loansharking operation that dated to 1987.
The School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2005 (SSLEIA) is a package of six bills in the USA created in response to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute massacre.
Components
Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has combined several pre-existing bills into a package that provides for improvements in school safety and law enforcement. The package combines six bills previously reported to or by the Judiciary Committee, with some modifications, and was reported out of Committee by a unanimous vote on August 2, 2007. As amended, SSLEIA includes the following:
* The School Safety Enhancements Act (S.1217)
* The NICS Improvement Amendments Act (H.R. 2640)
* The Equity in Law Enforcement Act (S.1448)
* The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007 (S.376)
* The Prevention Resources for Eliminating Criminal Activity in our Neighborhoods (PRECAUTION) Act (S. 1521)
* The Terrorism Hoax Improvements Act of 2007 (S. 735)
Title I: School Safety Enhancements Act
This title addresses school safety concerns both at the elementary and secondary school level (K-12), and for college and university campuses. The K-12 portion adds tip lines, surveillance equipment, and capital improvements to schools as approved uses for an existing Justice Department grant program, and increases annual appropriation authorization for this purpose from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000. It also creates an interagency task force to develop advisory guidelines on school safety. The campus public safety portion authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety ($2.75 million annually), and creates a new Justice Department grant program to help pay for improved campus security at institutions of higher learning, with annual authorized appropriations of $50,000,000.
Title II: The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007
This title would substantially improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by providing far more mental health and other disqualifying records into the system. The bill more clearly defines what mental health records should be reported to NICS by federal and state authorities, and mandates all federal authorities to provide disqualifying information to the NICS system. As that the act would revoke the second amendment from veterans who have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, critics of the bill sometimes refer to it as the Veterans Disarmament Act. The bill does encourage, however, states and the federal government to implement legal programs for restoration of gun rights, if a person has recovered from any mental health disability.
The bill creates a "carrot" and "stick" approach for states to reach compliance targets in all disqualifying categories for gun possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and 922(n). The "carrot" in the bill is a waiver of the 10% matching requirement for states to qualify for the NCHIP grant program once states reach 90% compliance. The "stick" is a graduated penalty which could take away up to 5% of a state's Byrne grant funding if the state's do not meet certain compliance targets (3% penalty after 3 years, 4% after 5 years, and 5% after 10 years). The bill also authorizes up to $400 million a year over 5 years in new grant funding for improvements to the information technology and state compliance programs to ensure all states meet the 90% compliance goal for reporting records to NICS.
Title III: Equity in Law Enforcement Act
This title would provide Federal death and disability benefits, Byrne grants, and grants for bulletproof vests to officers serving rail carriers and at private colleges and universities. These officers are currently ineligible for these benefits and law enforcement grants.
Title IV: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007
This title revises the procedure by which qualified retired law enforcement officers may be certified under existing law (18 U.S.C. 926C) to carry concealed weapons across state lines. To accommodate varying administrative circumstances from state to state, the title adds flexibility to the way in which a retired qualified officer may obtain the required certification demonstrating that the individual has met active duty standards for firearm carriage. For example, where a state law enforcement agency cannot conduct the required testing of a retired officer, that officer may obtain the testing and certification from a firearms instructor certified by the state to test active duty officers within the state.
The title also amends existing law (18 U.S.C. 926B, 926C) to clarify that Amtrak and executive branch police officers are law enforcement officers for purposes of LEOSA. Finally, this title reduces from 15 to 10 years the length of service requirement applicable to retired law enforcement officers seeking certification to carry concealed weapons, and no longer requires that an officer be entitled to “non-forfeitable” benefits for purposes of LEOSA. Finally, the title also contains a mandate for a study to be conducted by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). This provision directs the GAO to commence a study not later than six months following enactment to determine how many officers are certified for interstate concealed firearms carriage under the existing law (18 U.S.C. 926B, 926C), with specific direction to ascertain how many retired officers have used the new provisions included in the amendments made by the SSLEIA.
This bill was reported by the Judiciary Committee on May 17, 2007 and awaits consideration by the Senate. The Chairman has re-introduced this bill for consideration in this package.
Title V: PRECAUTION Act
This title creates a National Commission on Public Safety to examine existing information on crime prevention and intervention strategies, to identify those programs that are most promising for nationwide use, and to issue a preliminary report on its findings. Based on the preliminary report, the PRECAUTION Act will fund pilot programs, through the National Institute of Justice, to test the programs’ effectiveness at reducing violence at schools, and in home and law enforcement settings. The Commission will then issue a second report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot programs to help determine future priorities. Two-thirds of the PRECAUTION Act’s funding is youth-focused.
Title VI: The Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007
This title will be added to SSLEIA before the bill is reported to the full Senate. It: (1) expands 18 U.S.C. 1038, the terrorism hoax statute, so that it punishes hoaxes about any terrorist offense listed in 2332b(g)(5)(B) of title 18 (the U.S. Code’s official list of terrorist offenses); (2) increases the maximum penalties for hoaxes about the death or injury of a U.S. soldier during wartime; (3) expands current law’s civil liability provisions to allow first responders and others to seek reimbursement from a party who perpetrates a hoax and becomes aware that first responders believe that a terrorist offense is taking place but fails to inform authorities that no such event has occurred; and (4) clarifies that threatening communications are punishable under federal law even if they are directed at an organization rather than a natural person.
Components
Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has combined several pre-existing bills into a package that provides for improvements in school safety and law enforcement. The package combines six bills previously reported to or by the Judiciary Committee, with some modifications, and was reported out of Committee by a unanimous vote on August 2, 2007. As amended, SSLEIA includes the following:
* The School Safety Enhancements Act (S.1217)
* The NICS Improvement Amendments Act (H.R. 2640)
* The Equity in Law Enforcement Act (S.1448)
* The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007 (S.376)
* The Prevention Resources for Eliminating Criminal Activity in our Neighborhoods (PRECAUTION) Act (S. 1521)
* The Terrorism Hoax Improvements Act of 2007 (S. 735)
Title I: School Safety Enhancements Act
This title addresses school safety concerns both at the elementary and secondary school level (K-12), and for college and university campuses. The K-12 portion adds tip lines, surveillance equipment, and capital improvements to schools as approved uses for an existing Justice Department grant program, and increases annual appropriation authorization for this purpose from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000. It also creates an interagency task force to develop advisory guidelines on school safety. The campus public safety portion authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety ($2.75 million annually), and creates a new Justice Department grant program to help pay for improved campus security at institutions of higher learning, with annual authorized appropriations of $50,000,000.
Title II: The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007
This title would substantially improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by providing far more mental health and other disqualifying records into the system. The bill more clearly defines what mental health records should be reported to NICS by federal and state authorities, and mandates all federal authorities to provide disqualifying information to the NICS system. As that the act would revoke the second amendment from veterans who have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, critics of the bill sometimes refer to it as the Veterans Disarmament Act. The bill does encourage, however, states and the federal government to implement legal programs for restoration of gun rights, if a person has recovered from any mental health disability.
The bill creates a "carrot" and "stick" approach for states to reach compliance targets in all disqualifying categories for gun possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and 922(n). The "carrot" in the bill is a waiver of the 10% matching requirement for states to qualify for the NCHIP grant program once states reach 90% compliance. The "stick" is a graduated penalty which could take away up to 5% of a state's Byrne grant funding if the state's do not meet certain compliance targets (3% penalty after 3 years, 4% after 5 years, and 5% after 10 years). The bill also authorizes up to $400 million a year over 5 years in new grant funding for improvements to the information technology and state compliance programs to ensure all states meet the 90% compliance goal for reporting records to NICS.
Title III: Equity in Law Enforcement Act
This title would provide Federal death and disability benefits, Byrne grants, and grants for bulletproof vests to officers serving rail carriers and at private colleges and universities. These officers are currently ineligible for these benefits and law enforcement grants.
Title IV: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007
This title revises the procedure by which qualified retired law enforcement officers may be certified under existing law (18 U.S.C. 926C) to carry concealed weapons across state lines. To accommodate varying administrative circumstances from state to state, the title adds flexibility to the way in which a retired qualified officer may obtain the required certification demonstrating that the individual has met active duty standards for firearm carriage. For example, where a state law enforcement agency cannot conduct the required testing of a retired officer, that officer may obtain the testing and certification from a firearms instructor certified by the state to test active duty officers within the state.
The title also amends existing law (18 U.S.C. 926B, 926C) to clarify that Amtrak and executive branch police officers are law enforcement officers for purposes of LEOSA. Finally, this title reduces from 15 to 10 years the length of service requirement applicable to retired law enforcement officers seeking certification to carry concealed weapons, and no longer requires that an officer be entitled to “non-forfeitable” benefits for purposes of LEOSA. Finally, the title also contains a mandate for a study to be conducted by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). This provision directs the GAO to commence a study not later than six months following enactment to determine how many officers are certified for interstate concealed firearms carriage under the existing law (18 U.S.C. 926B, 926C), with specific direction to ascertain how many retired officers have used the new provisions included in the amendments made by the SSLEIA.
This bill was reported by the Judiciary Committee on May 17, 2007 and awaits consideration by the Senate. The Chairman has re-introduced this bill for consideration in this package.
Title V: PRECAUTION Act
This title creates a National Commission on Public Safety to examine existing information on crime prevention and intervention strategies, to identify those programs that are most promising for nationwide use, and to issue a preliminary report on its findings. Based on the preliminary report, the PRECAUTION Act will fund pilot programs, through the National Institute of Justice, to test the programs’ effectiveness at reducing violence at schools, and in home and law enforcement settings. The Commission will then issue a second report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot programs to help determine future priorities. Two-thirds of the PRECAUTION Act’s funding is youth-focused.
Title VI: The Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007
This title will be added to SSLEIA before the bill is reported to the full Senate. It: (1) expands 18 U.S.C. 1038, the terrorism hoax statute, so that it punishes hoaxes about any terrorist offense listed in 2332b(g)(5)(B) of title 18 (the U.S. Code’s official list of terrorist offenses); (2) increases the maximum penalties for hoaxes about the death or injury of a U.S. soldier during wartime; (3) expands current law’s civil liability provisions to allow first responders and others to seek reimbursement from a party who perpetrates a hoax and becomes aware that first responders believe that a terrorist offense is taking place but fails to inform authorities that no such event has occurred; and (4) clarifies that threatening communications are punishable under federal law even if they are directed at an organization rather than a natural person.
Govind Talwalkar is a former editor of Maharashtra Times, who is a recipient of the Lokmanya Tilak Award, instituted by the Government of Maharashtra, India. He was born on July 22, 1925.
Coming from a family with limited means Talwalkar graduated from the university of Mumbai while doing odd jobs at the same time to pay for his fees. Talwalkar family has a special place in Maharashtra. Govindrao's uncle Gopinath Talwalkar was a well-known poet and writer. His other uncle Sharad Talwalkar was a famous actor in Marathi films and on stage.
After getting the degree, Talwalkar joined an intellectual magazine. After that, he was invited by Mr. H.R. Mahajani, the then editor of Loksatta, a Marathi daily of Indian Express Group, to join Loksatta. He joined as a sub-editor of Loksatta. In those days the designation and the assignment of work were not clearly defined. Hence, even though designated as a sub-editor in the editorial section, Talwalkar started writing the editorials, editorial notes in the daily and the weekly edition of the paper. In fact, he wrote an editorial the first day he joined Loksatta at the age 23. He was greatly influenced by the writings of Lokmanya Tilak, M.N. Roy and many intellectuals.
While working in the Loksatta, he was offered the post of an assistant editor in the Maharashtra Times, a new Marathi daily to be launched by the Times of India group in 1962. He worked in this capacity for almost six years. Then he became the chief editor in the beginning of 1968. He retired in 1996. Thus, he was the chief editor of Maharashtra Times for twenty seven years. He was instrumental in making the paper most prestigious. That was the most glorious period for Mahaharashtra Times. He also established a record of the longest serving editor in the Bennett Coleman and Co. which owns the Times of India Group. The company is more than 150 years old. The Maharashtra Times has completed 46 years.
As an editor, Govindrao made his mark as an intellectual, interested in diverse subjects, such as politics, literature, social and economic problems, history, culture etc. and wrote on them with great scholarship. He made his paper an open forum for a healthy discussions on various subjects and problems facing the society. Several foremost intellectuals, social workers and writers willingly contributed. In fact it became a symbol of honour and prestige to write for his paper. Thus, in no time Maharashtra Times became a public and intellectual forum which set the agenda. He was always very generous and big hearted. He gave opportunity to express diverse views and opinions of all political parties, whether he agreed with them or not. This was the great journalistic and democratic principle he observed. He had friendly relations with people in all political parties. He never blocked anybody, though his kindness was not always reciprocated.
Govindrao Talwalkar is best known for his editorials and articles. It was acknowledged that Talwalkar had no peer as an editorial writer. He had a style which avoided flowery language. Late stalwart of Marathi, Mr. S.M. Mate had admiringly remarked that Govindrao had a felicity of pen. He did not invoke or appeal to the emotions but relied on arguments and appealed to the reason. In this he followed the tradition of Lokmanya Tilak & the great Maharashtrian saint Ramdas Swami, who made it a point to write in simple Marathi with a view to making difficult subjects easily understandable to the common readers, thus, educating them, while at the same time, his mastery and scholarship of the topic enabled him to make all salient points with gravitas which the scholars found praiseworthy. Several of his editorials and articles are published in books (Agralekh, Bahar, Pushpanjali, Lal gulag, Niyatishi karar etc.). He took to task many corrupt politicians. Chief ministers and ministers used to be in awe of him and many tried to create many obstacles for him and his family and get him removed but to no avail. Though he criticized politicians, he did so selflessly for the good of the public and not for any personal agenda or getting something for himself and he never had any personal animosity against anybody. As an editor, he exposed corruption and many scandals in politics, government agencies, universities, hospitals, social and public matters. Talwalkar retired in 1996 and settled with his daughters in the USA. Even so, he takes interest in the welfare of people in India. He was very pained by the farm crisis last year and wrote a scorching article criticizing the inaction of the Maharashtra government while many farmers were doing suicide. The chief minister had to respond.
Though Talwalkar always championed the causes of Maharashtra, he was never parochial. Being a scholar of history,Talwalkar thought of the state problems in the national context and the national problems in the world context. That was why Talwalkar had friends in the various parts of the country and also abroad, some of whom contributed in his paper.
Talwalkar wanted his readers to be well informed of the happenings in the whole of India and the world. Though proud of his mother-tongue, Marathi, he thought that his readers should know whatever best was produced in the literature in various languages. He, himself, started a column introducing books in English which was very popular. He wrote under the pseudonym Vachaspati. His articles on books have been published as collections - Vachta vachta, 1& 2.
After retirement he is still writing on various subjects and on books in literary magazines and papers. He writes regularly in the Asian Age, among others. He also keeps busy reading and writing books.
Being a lifelong student of history, Talwalkar has written several books on modern history. He has read mountains of books and manuscripts and newspapers and published and unpublished documents. He is truly an authority on this. The book on the transfer of power in India ( Sattantar - 3 volumes ) is now running in the third edition. He has written books on the leaders involved in the freedom movement of India. These include Naoroji, Nehru, Justice Ranade, Tilak, biography of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. The books Naoroji te Nehru, Virat dnyani - M.G. Ranade, Tilak darshan, Bal Gangadhar Tilak. These books were awarded various prizes. Nek Nadar Gokhale is a biography of Gopal Krishna Gokhale in the context of contemporary historical times. He has also written this in English - Gopal Krishna Gokhale, his life and times. All his books were very well received for their information, insight, scholarship and style.
In the 1950s and afterwards India was compelled to take economic and technological help from the Soviet Union. This has created a class of journalists, who blindly follow and practice the creed of Soviet Union. They do not understand that Jawaharlal Nehru was essentially a nationalist and was never an advocate of the Soviet type of polity. That was why when it was fashionable to be a communist, Talwalkar remained an independent and wrote against the totalitarianism of the Right as well as the Left.
He was steeped in the humanist thoughts of M. N. Roy, George Orwell, Karl Pauper, Arthur Koestler, Kolakovwsky et al. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he toured the East European countries. He had discussions with those, who are known as authority on the subject in England and the US. He read several hundred books, unpublished documents, thousands of newspaper articles and journal articles and wrote a four volume book in Marathi on the rise and fall of the Soviet empire (Soviet samrajyacha uday ani asta - 4 volumes). This book was awarded Kelkar prize.
Talwalkar contributed articles to the English newspapers and weeklies such as the Times of India, The Telegraph, The Illustrated Weekly of India, Frontline, The Mainstream, Deccan Herald etc. For the past few years he has been contributing to the Asian Age. He used to regularly write an article in Marathi for a literary magazine Lalit, now he still contributes sometimes. He is not only honoured by several awards in Maharashtra but has also received the Durga Ratan and B.D. Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism and the Ramshatri Award for social justice.
Maharashtra Times had the stamp of the personality of Talwalkar. He and the paper could not be separated. Though he had an authority because of his writings and dedication, he believed in the devolution of power. He believed that in journalism power comes through the pen and not by following an agenda of any political party or ideological cult. Being very open minded and always ready to accept the reality, Talwalkar was never rigid. No wonder he has become an institution. A whole generation of Maharshtrians has been influenced and shaped by Govindrao Talwalkar's writings. BBC has a motto - inform, educate and entertain. Govindrao has set that example through his Maharashtra Times. It has been rightly observed that Govindrao has had the greatest influence over the literary, political, educational, social, cultural and intellectual fabric of post-independence Maharashtra for over forty years.
References
* www.tribuneindia.com/2006
* openlibrary.org/a/OL648941A
* http://www.rupapublications.com/client/Book/GOPAL-KRISHNA-GOKHALE--His-Life-and-Times.aspx
* www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060806/spectrum/book1.htm - 10k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.indiatogether.org/2006/jun/psa-pmvisit.htm - 62k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.worldcat.org/oclc/15435014
* www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1822/index.htm - 9k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDF130/ - 37k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.1stganeshfestival.com/section5/section5a1.html - 11k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.scholarswithoutborders.in/search_list.php?¤tPage17&sortByitem&fieldpublisher&fieldValue - 98k - Cached - Similar pages
* cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=223288 - 39k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.indianexpress.com/oldstory.php?storyid=85855 - 31k - Cached - Similar pages
* amritbazar.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/326871/Delhi/1/20/B - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/govind-talwalkar.aspx - Cached
* www.financialexpress.com/news/story/59184/d - 57k - Cached
* shahu.unishivaji.ac.in/syllabus/.../M.A/MARussian/M.A, Russian.pdf
Coming from a family with limited means Talwalkar graduated from the university of Mumbai while doing odd jobs at the same time to pay for his fees. Talwalkar family has a special place in Maharashtra. Govindrao's uncle Gopinath Talwalkar was a well-known poet and writer. His other uncle Sharad Talwalkar was a famous actor in Marathi films and on stage.
After getting the degree, Talwalkar joined an intellectual magazine. After that, he was invited by Mr. H.R. Mahajani, the then editor of Loksatta, a Marathi daily of Indian Express Group, to join Loksatta. He joined as a sub-editor of Loksatta. In those days the designation and the assignment of work were not clearly defined. Hence, even though designated as a sub-editor in the editorial section, Talwalkar started writing the editorials, editorial notes in the daily and the weekly edition of the paper. In fact, he wrote an editorial the first day he joined Loksatta at the age 23. He was greatly influenced by the writings of Lokmanya Tilak, M.N. Roy and many intellectuals.
While working in the Loksatta, he was offered the post of an assistant editor in the Maharashtra Times, a new Marathi daily to be launched by the Times of India group in 1962. He worked in this capacity for almost six years. Then he became the chief editor in the beginning of 1968. He retired in 1996. Thus, he was the chief editor of Maharashtra Times for twenty seven years. He was instrumental in making the paper most prestigious. That was the most glorious period for Mahaharashtra Times. He also established a record of the longest serving editor in the Bennett Coleman and Co. which owns the Times of India Group. The company is more than 150 years old. The Maharashtra Times has completed 46 years.
As an editor, Govindrao made his mark as an intellectual, interested in diverse subjects, such as politics, literature, social and economic problems, history, culture etc. and wrote on them with great scholarship. He made his paper an open forum for a healthy discussions on various subjects and problems facing the society. Several foremost intellectuals, social workers and writers willingly contributed. In fact it became a symbol of honour and prestige to write for his paper. Thus, in no time Maharashtra Times became a public and intellectual forum which set the agenda. He was always very generous and big hearted. He gave opportunity to express diverse views and opinions of all political parties, whether he agreed with them or not. This was the great journalistic and democratic principle he observed. He had friendly relations with people in all political parties. He never blocked anybody, though his kindness was not always reciprocated.
Govindrao Talwalkar is best known for his editorials and articles. It was acknowledged that Talwalkar had no peer as an editorial writer. He had a style which avoided flowery language. Late stalwart of Marathi, Mr. S.M. Mate had admiringly remarked that Govindrao had a felicity of pen. He did not invoke or appeal to the emotions but relied on arguments and appealed to the reason. In this he followed the tradition of Lokmanya Tilak & the great Maharashtrian saint Ramdas Swami, who made it a point to write in simple Marathi with a view to making difficult subjects easily understandable to the common readers, thus, educating them, while at the same time, his mastery and scholarship of the topic enabled him to make all salient points with gravitas which the scholars found praiseworthy. Several of his editorials and articles are published in books (Agralekh, Bahar, Pushpanjali, Lal gulag, Niyatishi karar etc.). He took to task many corrupt politicians. Chief ministers and ministers used to be in awe of him and many tried to create many obstacles for him and his family and get him removed but to no avail. Though he criticized politicians, he did so selflessly for the good of the public and not for any personal agenda or getting something for himself and he never had any personal animosity against anybody. As an editor, he exposed corruption and many scandals in politics, government agencies, universities, hospitals, social and public matters. Talwalkar retired in 1996 and settled with his daughters in the USA. Even so, he takes interest in the welfare of people in India. He was very pained by the farm crisis last year and wrote a scorching article criticizing the inaction of the Maharashtra government while many farmers were doing suicide. The chief minister had to respond.
Though Talwalkar always championed the causes of Maharashtra, he was never parochial. Being a scholar of history,Talwalkar thought of the state problems in the national context and the national problems in the world context. That was why Talwalkar had friends in the various parts of the country and also abroad, some of whom contributed in his paper.
Talwalkar wanted his readers to be well informed of the happenings in the whole of India and the world. Though proud of his mother-tongue, Marathi, he thought that his readers should know whatever best was produced in the literature in various languages. He, himself, started a column introducing books in English which was very popular. He wrote under the pseudonym Vachaspati. His articles on books have been published as collections - Vachta vachta, 1& 2.
After retirement he is still writing on various subjects and on books in literary magazines and papers. He writes regularly in the Asian Age, among others. He also keeps busy reading and writing books.
Being a lifelong student of history, Talwalkar has written several books on modern history. He has read mountains of books and manuscripts and newspapers and published and unpublished documents. He is truly an authority on this. The book on the transfer of power in India ( Sattantar - 3 volumes ) is now running in the third edition. He has written books on the leaders involved in the freedom movement of India. These include Naoroji, Nehru, Justice Ranade, Tilak, biography of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. The books Naoroji te Nehru, Virat dnyani - M.G. Ranade, Tilak darshan, Bal Gangadhar Tilak. These books were awarded various prizes. Nek Nadar Gokhale is a biography of Gopal Krishna Gokhale in the context of contemporary historical times. He has also written this in English - Gopal Krishna Gokhale, his life and times. All his books were very well received for their information, insight, scholarship and style.
In the 1950s and afterwards India was compelled to take economic and technological help from the Soviet Union. This has created a class of journalists, who blindly follow and practice the creed of Soviet Union. They do not understand that Jawaharlal Nehru was essentially a nationalist and was never an advocate of the Soviet type of polity. That was why when it was fashionable to be a communist, Talwalkar remained an independent and wrote against the totalitarianism of the Right as well as the Left.
He was steeped in the humanist thoughts of M. N. Roy, George Orwell, Karl Pauper, Arthur Koestler, Kolakovwsky et al. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he toured the East European countries. He had discussions with those, who are known as authority on the subject in England and the US. He read several hundred books, unpublished documents, thousands of newspaper articles and journal articles and wrote a four volume book in Marathi on the rise and fall of the Soviet empire (Soviet samrajyacha uday ani asta - 4 volumes). This book was awarded Kelkar prize.
Talwalkar contributed articles to the English newspapers and weeklies such as the Times of India, The Telegraph, The Illustrated Weekly of India, Frontline, The Mainstream, Deccan Herald etc. For the past few years he has been contributing to the Asian Age. He used to regularly write an article in Marathi for a literary magazine Lalit, now he still contributes sometimes. He is not only honoured by several awards in Maharashtra but has also received the Durga Ratan and B.D. Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism and the Ramshatri Award for social justice.
Maharashtra Times had the stamp of the personality of Talwalkar. He and the paper could not be separated. Though he had an authority because of his writings and dedication, he believed in the devolution of power. He believed that in journalism power comes through the pen and not by following an agenda of any political party or ideological cult. Being very open minded and always ready to accept the reality, Talwalkar was never rigid. No wonder he has become an institution. A whole generation of Maharshtrians has been influenced and shaped by Govindrao Talwalkar's writings. BBC has a motto - inform, educate and entertain. Govindrao has set that example through his Maharashtra Times. It has been rightly observed that Govindrao has had the greatest influence over the literary, political, educational, social, cultural and intellectual fabric of post-independence Maharashtra for over forty years.
References
* www.tribuneindia.com/2006
* openlibrary.org/a/OL648941A
* http://www.rupapublications.com/client/Book/GOPAL-KRISHNA-GOKHALE--His-Life-and-Times.aspx
* www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060806/spectrum/book1.htm - 10k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.indiatogether.org/2006/jun/psa-pmvisit.htm - 62k - Cached - Similar pages
* www.worldcat.org/oclc/15435014
* www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1822/index.htm - 9k - Cached - Similar pages
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RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS IN INDIA
Rights of older persons are the entitlements and freedom claimed for senior citizens i.e.above 60 years of age.
The 2001 census has shown that the elderly population has crossed the 100 million mark.
It has been found that many older people in India are not aware about the human rights of older persons,due to high prevalence of illiteracy and lack of awareness.This being one of the major reasons of violation of the older persons rights in India.
Surveys have found that every 6th person living in urban areas in the country does not get proper food, every third old person does not get proper medicine or health care in old age and every second old person does not receive due respect or good treatment from family member or society.
In today's situation of urbanization where women are joining the workforce the roots of joint family system are eroding very fast.Majority of the older people have spent most part of their life with their joint/extended families are on the verge of isolation and marginalization in the old age.. In rural areas the older members of the family i.e. people who are above 60 years of age are respected more and are considered a strong part of the family as the joint family system is still in their roots. In villages 46.91% of the older men and 50.1% of older women are from joint families. In rural areas 13560 out of 29000 rural elderly have joint families.
FACILITIES FOR OLD PERSONS IN INDIA
1. IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH
Many government and also private hospitals provide concessions to the older persons in the treatment of the diseases like cardiac problems, diabetes, kidney problems, blood pressure, joint problems and eye problems. There is also a condition for separate queue for reservations of bed in the hospitals and many more such things.
2. IN THE FIELD OF TRAVEL
Indian railways give 30% concessions in the ticket prices to all the persons aged 60 years and above. It is 50% for women aged more than 60 years. They have to show their age evidence.
There are also conditions of lower birth for older persons and also separate counters for booking and cancelling tickets to avoid rush in the counters.
Indian airlines provide 50 % concessions in its economy class, terms and conditions applied.
Whereas Air India provides 45 % .older persons in wheel chairs are allowed to board the plane first.
3. IN THE FIELD OF BANKING
Indian government gives high rate of interest to its older persons on certain saving plan which are run by the post offices and other private bank.
4. IN THE FIELD OF HOUSING
Government provides housing facilities like old age homes and recreational or educational centers. These centers provide the older persons with trainings to spend their free timings in various activities in which they are interested in. Most recreational centers have fitness clubs, yoga centers, parks, spiritual sessions, picnics, food fests for the health and entertainment of senior citizens. Some old age homes also have libraries other activities like music classes, arts and crafts, quizzes, indoor games. These activities help the older people to lead life in a totally new spirit and they also help improving the health and mental stability.
DIFFICULTIES FACED BY OLDER PERSONS IN THESE AREAS
1)physical and mental health
2)community care
3)social care
4)Housing;
5)Transport;
6)Employment;
7)Income;
8)Education And Leisure;
9)Utilities And Consumer Protection;
10)Access To Information; And
11)Decision-Making
<references>
http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/world/2011/Study%20on%20Human%20Rights%20in%20india.pdf
http://www.gits4u.com/renew/snrctz1.htm
Rights of older persons are the entitlements and freedom claimed for senior citizens i.e.above 60 years of age.
The 2001 census has shown that the elderly population has crossed the 100 million mark.
It has been found that many older people in India are not aware about the human rights of older persons,due to high prevalence of illiteracy and lack of awareness.This being one of the major reasons of violation of the older persons rights in India.
Surveys have found that every 6th person living in urban areas in the country does not get proper food, every third old person does not get proper medicine or health care in old age and every second old person does not receive due respect or good treatment from family member or society.
In today's situation of urbanization where women are joining the workforce the roots of joint family system are eroding very fast.Majority of the older people have spent most part of their life with their joint/extended families are on the verge of isolation and marginalization in the old age.. In rural areas the older members of the family i.e. people who are above 60 years of age are respected more and are considered a strong part of the family as the joint family system is still in their roots. In villages 46.91% of the older men and 50.1% of older women are from joint families. In rural areas 13560 out of 29000 rural elderly have joint families.
FACILITIES FOR OLD PERSONS IN INDIA
1. IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH
Many government and also private hospitals provide concessions to the older persons in the treatment of the diseases like cardiac problems, diabetes, kidney problems, blood pressure, joint problems and eye problems. There is also a condition for separate queue for reservations of bed in the hospitals and many more such things.
2. IN THE FIELD OF TRAVEL
Indian railways give 30% concessions in the ticket prices to all the persons aged 60 years and above. It is 50% for women aged more than 60 years. They have to show their age evidence.
There are also conditions of lower birth for older persons and also separate counters for booking and cancelling tickets to avoid rush in the counters.
Indian airlines provide 50 % concessions in its economy class, terms and conditions applied.
Whereas Air India provides 45 % .older persons in wheel chairs are allowed to board the plane first.
3. IN THE FIELD OF BANKING
Indian government gives high rate of interest to its older persons on certain saving plan which are run by the post offices and other private bank.
4. IN THE FIELD OF HOUSING
Government provides housing facilities like old age homes and recreational or educational centers. These centers provide the older persons with trainings to spend their free timings in various activities in which they are interested in. Most recreational centers have fitness clubs, yoga centers, parks, spiritual sessions, picnics, food fests for the health and entertainment of senior citizens. Some old age homes also have libraries other activities like music classes, arts and crafts, quizzes, indoor games. These activities help the older people to lead life in a totally new spirit and they also help improving the health and mental stability.
DIFFICULTIES FACED BY OLDER PERSONS IN THESE AREAS
1)physical and mental health
2)community care
3)social care
4)Housing;
5)Transport;
6)Employment;
7)Income;
8)Education And Leisure;
9)Utilities And Consumer Protection;
10)Access To Information; And
11)Decision-Making
<references>
http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/world/2011/Study%20on%20Human%20Rights%20in%20india.pdf
http://www.gits4u.com/renew/snrctz1.htm