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Woman COBRA commando Usha Kiran break stereotypes to walk ramp

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Raipur: A set of two striking pictures of womens groups on a recent feature on career choices catches ones eye. One picture lines up some 30 beauties vying for Miss India contest and the other shows 32 commandos recruited to protect women from Maoists who have lorded pockets of Bastar region for nearly 52 years now.

It is more than three years since the battalion of women’s commandos was raised and trained rigorously in Bijapur district, about 422km south of state capital Raipur, in Bastar.

Brutal violations of tribal women in Bijapur district had earned security forces a strong condemnation from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The Commission had reported prima facie evidence of state police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel having raped and sexually assaulted 16 tribal women during a five-day operation in October 2015.

The commandos chosen for the battalion were local women who were familiar with the ethos and dialects. The idea was apparently to deal with the forces’ image crisis while rendering services to the community.

 

Woman commando, CoBRA commando, Commandos, Jungle Warriors CoBRA, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, CoBRA, Usha Kiran, Miss India contest, Maoists, Tribal women, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Regional news

 

The next step was to get elite officers who could lead them on the job. While women were being selected to command the women’s unit one candidate created a niche for herself by offering to work in a men’s unit.

Here began the story of Assistant Commandant Usha Kiran who earlier joined the 232 Mahila Battalion of CRPF in 2014 and then requested to be inducted into the COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) unit alongside men on special.

When offered a choice for posting, her options were Jammu and Kashmir, extreme left-wing state, or northeastern fronts. She was finally posted in Bastar region in Chhattisgarh which is under constant asymmetric warfare.

A judicious mix of beauty, brawn and brain distinguish Usha Kiran from others who chose to walk the ramp. Formerly a national triple jump athlete from Delhi, Usha is the first lady officer to join the Jungle Warriors CoBRA unit. No wonder then if the style magazine Vogue chose as the young achiever of the year in 2018.

 

Commando Usha Kiran from Delhi breaks stereotypes to join COBRA unit:

 

Vogue was effusive in praise for the young officer who dedicated the award to all security forces personnel saying: “This award, I’d like to say, this is not just for Usha Kiran. It is for every soldier, every force personnel who are literally putting their blood and sweat to maintain peace and harmony in the country.”

Fear was alien to her as she came from a family of armed personnel. Both her father and grandfather had served the forces. But she encountered it fairly early in career when her helicopter swooped into the remote CRPF camp to evacuate a grievously injured constable.

A loud blast had broken the jungle silence signalling one of those common attacks. Wounded and blinded by shrapnel from the blast, a constable asked: “Do you think I will ever see my daughter again?” words that would haunt Kiran for days.

“That day, I remember being scared. It was my first day at the camp in Bastar,” Vogue quoted her saying.

 

Woman commando, CoBRA commando, Commandos, Jungle Warriors CoBRA, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, CoBRA, Usha Kiran, Miss India contest, Maoists, Tribal women, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Regional news

 

Usha Kiran is also proud to be a role model for other young women looking to pursue a career in the forces. “If you have the power, then it becomes your obligation to encourage other women to be part of the forces… If you want to encourage and empower women, you just have to get out of their way. They will do the rest,” she says.

Usha said having education and a strong mind-set would give tribal women more power than possessing an AK-47 assault rifle. Tribals dread the times security forces visit villages in search of Maoists. It is reassuring when Usha Kiran is in the raiding party.

Her senior Sanjay Yadav said: “She helps the security forces during search and raid in Maoist-affected villages and secondly, her presence helps to counter Maoist propaganda of rape and molestation by security forces.”

Usha Kiran is one of only two women CRPF officers on duty in Bastar. Archana Gaura, the other woman officer, is in Kondagaon. Hailing from a Gurgaon-based family with ties to the CRPF –her grandfather and father were ex-personnel of the force-Kiran said the villagers feel comforted by her presence.

 

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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