India may allow women in ground combat roles in its army.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the supreme commander of armed forces, yesterday told the parliament that the government would allow women to serve in all fighter streams, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"In the future, my government will induct women in all fighter streams of our armed forces," the President said while addressing the joint sitting of both the Houses of Indian parliament on the first day of this year's budget session.

"Shakti, which means power, is the manifestation of female energy. This shakti defines our strength," the President said.

His remarks came some four months after the Indian government approved an Indian Air Force (IAF) plan to allow women to fly warplanes from June 2017. Three IAF women are undergoing training to become India's first female combat pilots.

The decision — a watershed in the Air Force's 83-year history — has been made on an "experimental basis" and the government will review it after five years.

The armed forces have so far been opposing the idea of women in combat roles on grounds of operational, practical and socio-cultural problems.

Renowned Indian actor Sridevi had ruled the silver screen with her exquisite presence and marvelous performances for decades. With a lengthy acting career spanning over five decades, the late actor had always managed to charm the audience through her near-perfect portrayals, making the fans laugh, and cry along with her, be it in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada or Hindi films.

Today marks the 60th birthday of the illustrious actor, who had left the entertainment industry grief-stricken, after her demise in 2018. Remembering the late actor Sridevi, let us look at five of her most well-known films today.

Mr. India

"Mr. India" is amongst Sridevi's most praised films which remains a children's classic even today. Directed by Shekhar Kapur, Sridevi plays the role of a reporter named Seema Sohni. The narrative of the film revolves around Arun Verma (Anil Kapoor), a compassionate man who takes care of orphans who have nowhere else to go. His life takes a unique turn as he finds an invisibility bracelet left behind by his scientist father.

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She drowned after passing out in bathtub

Now, Arun and Seema team up to stop the vicious crime lord Mogambo (Amrish Puri). Sridevi plays a romantic yet funny character in the film, which simply melts the hearts of the audience. "Mr India" was released in 1987.

Army

Directed by Raam Shetty, "Army" is another one of Sridevi's biggest hits which was released in 1996. Sridevi paired up with Shah Rukh Khan in this production. She played the lead role of Geeta, a newly wed wife of an army officer (Shah Rukh Khan), who is killed by the notorious gangster Naagraj. Now, Geeta is hellbent on getting her revenge and raises her own army against the evil forces of Naagraj.

"Army" features Sridevi, Shah Rukh Khan, Mohnish Behl, Ravi Kishan, and Danny Denzongpa, among others.

Chandni

"Chandni" was one of the biggest hits of 1989 starring Sridevi, Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Kanna in the central roles. The film was directed by Yash Chopra and features the life of Chandni Mathur who had to relocate to Mumbai after her husband (Rishi Kapoor) was paralysed in an accident, letting her go due to his physical condition. Afterwards, Chandni starts a new life Mumbai where her boss (Vinod Khanna) falls in love with her. Meanwhile, her husband also returns after being cured, now, Chandni is torn between her old and new love.

English Vinglish

"English Vinglish" is a women-centric film directed by Gauri Shinde, which premiered in 2012. Its amongst Sridevi's most recent and praised films throughout her career. The actor plays the role of a mother, Shashi Godbole, who is looked down on and mocked by her family for being unable to speak fluently in English. However, the housewife is now determined to change and joins a spoken English class.

"English Vinglish" is a heartwarming story of a mother who fights to reclaim her respect in her family and goes through a journey of learning and rediscovery which the audience will surely find relatable to their own lives.

The film also features Adil Hussain, Priya Anand, and Sujata Kumar, among others.

Mom

"Mom" was the last film Sridevi starred in before her demise in 2018. The film is also another fabulous hit that charmed the audience. Directed by Ravi Udyawar, the film features the story of Devki, a biology teacher whose daughter gets assaulted at a party. However, the four perpetrators of the crime walked scot-free from the court. Now, Devki takes it upon herself to investigate the culprits and get vengeance for her daughter.

"Mom" released in 2017, is also counted as one of Sridevi's praised portrayals. The production also casts Akshaye Khanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Sajal Ali, among others.

India's army has taken control of a key canal that supplies water to Delhi, the capital's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said.

Protesters from the Jat community demanding job quotas in neighbouring Haryana state seized the Munak canal.

The blockage and damage to water treatment plants led to a disruption of supplies to Delhi.

Sixteen people have been killed and hundreds wounded in three days of riots, a senior official told the BBC.

Hundreds of water tankers are being despatched across Delhi and schools are closed after supplies from a canal were sabotaged during violent protests.

The army took control of parts of the canal on Monday morning, but it's unclear how long repairs will take.

Why are the Jats angry?

-The land-owning Jat community is relatively affluent and has traditionally been seen as upper caste.

-They are mainly based in Haryana and seven other states in northern India.

-Comprising 27% of the voters in Haryana and dominating a third of the 90 state assembly seats, they are a politically influential community. Seven of the 10 chief ministers in Haryana have been Jats.

-The Jats are currently listed as upper caste but the demonstrators have been demanding inclusion in caste quotas for jobs and education opportunities that have been available to lower castes since 1991.

-In March 2014 the Congress-led national government said it would re-categorise Jats as Other Backward Castes (OBC), opening the way to government job quotas.

-But India's Supreme Court turned it down in 2015, saying that the Jats were not a backward community.

-As jobs have dried up in the private sector and farming incomes have declined, the community has demanded the reinstatement of their backward caste status to enable them to secure government jobs.

Kejriwal said the army was "trying to assess in how much time water would reach Delhi and whether any damage had been done to the canal".

Protesters went on the rampage despite a curfew and the deployment of the army, which is reported to have opened fire on them in the districts of Rohtak and Jhajjar.

The violence forced the closure of several key roads and national highways, and paralysed the railway system in north India.

Senior administration official PK Das told BBC Hindi that 16 people had died and about 300 were injured, among them several policemen.

After days of violence, the government in Haryana announced on Sunday that it would table a bill granting the demands of the Jat community in the state assembly.

Meanwhile, India's federal government has said it will set up a top-level committee to look into the grievances of Jats.

The banks along the river Shitalakshya flooded on a regular basis. During the rainy season, most villages around the area turned into islands. Temporary pathways made with bamboos were quite common. But it would also require special training to cross those narrow footbridges. Two bamboo poles were set side by side on top, and a pair posted at the bottom to hold them up. It was not unusual to find one of the bamboos missing after reaching the middle of the bridge. The moment you step on such a structure, you would find it shaking like a small boat with no boatman. The wooden ones were no better. Since goats and cows also used these footbridges, within a year after their construction, they just fell apart. Standing on weak wooden poles, they rattled like the teeth of old people. Water raged beneath the pathways.

Kolimoddi was a local village guard in this area. When he was in his early 20s, he had started working as a dafadaar with the Union Board. Since then, he had been known as Kolimoddi Dafadaar. Now he was almost sixty with graying hair and beard. In his younger days, he was skilled in the traditional stick fighting. He still kept shoulder-length hair, the way a professional lathial would have it. He was the leader of the guards and the locals called him "dafadaar saab." He led a simple life and was popular among children. Once a week, he presented himself at the police station and was respected by all.

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However, Kolimoddi was not well-off. He owned a thatched hut and a kitchen room covered with palm leaves in a small yard. The land in front of the house was used to cultivate Ayurvedic medicines that brought good price in town. A small portion of the land was also used to cultivate paddy, but that only provided food for about two months. He had a wife and three children and he earned a small salary from his job. There were a few mango, jackfruit, guava and betel nut trees that brought in some extra money. His wife also had a cow and a goat along with a few chickens and they somehow managed. Yet, he never borrowed money and was known as a jolly man who always had a smile on his face. He was regularly seen at the tea-stall of the local bazar.

In the beginning of the war in the year 1971, the Khan senas had taken over the police station. The Dhaka-Chittagong highway was close by and the army came to take control over the roads. A school house that stood near the highway was occupied by the military. On some nights, people heard sounds of gunfire. Apparently, the freedom fighters appeared on and off and swiftly disappeared after killing the enemies. The military had made the local people stand in line at the bazar to question about the Mukti bahini, but to no avail.

A few days ago, something terrible had happened. There were some Hindu families that lived on the south-west side of the Bazar. Even though the area was wild and the paths serpentine, the women of the area were very careful about being seen near the river. The Khan senas were not to be trusted.

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Yet, on that particular afternoon, two women, a widow and her young daughter on their way back home from the river, had met with five of the patrolling soldiers. The women ran for their lives, but they were thoroughly wet and the five starving beasts chased after them. Finally the men caught up with the poor women who had taken shelter at the primary school house. There was nobody in the school premises except for a rat which also ran off at the sight of the two women and their perpetrators.

The women could be heard screaming for some time, but then they fell silent. When their victims finally lost consciousness, the victors emerged with smug smiles on their faces.

They got on the main road, and suddenly, there were sounds of gunfire. One of the soldiers dropped dead and another was wounded. Leaving a dead comrade behind, the men ran for their lives. Since that day, they started a mission of finding the freedom fighters.

That is how Kolimoddi ended up with them. He was forbidden to go home during the day and was allowed three taka per day for lunch. Did the army turn him into a razzakar? Kolimoddi did not know that. He accompanied the army men with a typical smile. If anyone reproached him, he just replied mildly, "I work for the government."

One Wednesday, Kolimoddi was asked to guide ten soldiers on an expedition. It was a village where most were Hindus. Apparently, many outsiders had come in there and they were all suspected as Indian spies. Around 11 in the morning, they crossed a field and a small village. The sun was shining brightly. A boy with several cows was seen on the field.

"Mukti! Mukti!" One soldier cried.

"Where?"

"On our right."

Kolimoddi tried to say that it was just a boy. But they replied, "Shut up, you son of an infidel!"

They all fired together. The entire area shook and Kolimoddi Dafadaar watched the sixteen-year-old son of his childhood friend Saijoddi Khalifa, crying out for the last time for his mother and fall down.

"One Mukti down! Let's move forward."

"Ji, huzur!" replied Kolimoddi and walked forward.

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By this time the people in the vicinity had heard about the expedition. When the army along with Kolimoddi went to the next village, they saw that it stood like an island. The villagers had hidden themselves in the submerged paddy fields in small boats. Those that could not afford boats, had found refuge among the water reeds.

They could not find a single person. The houses were empty as if some epidemic had hit the village. Even the dogs and cats were not to be seen. The men spotted a goat and they agreed to take it with them so that they could have a feast later.

Around 12 noon, the commander ordered, "Halt."

They were near a wooden pathway. It rose on both sides and there were green paddy fields beyond it. They could see the top of village houses on the other side, but to enter the village they would have to cross the bridge.

"Isn't there any other way?" cried one of the men. Kolimoddi shook his head.

The army men were unwilling to climb the half-broken pathway and asked Kolimoddi to go forward. The old man climbed up the steep structure. There was no supporting bamboo on the side. But for the villagers, it was a normal thing. Children climbed over it and jumped into the water often.

Kolimoddi walked on while his feet danced unsteadily on the rotten planks and bamboos. He called out to the soldiers, "Come along, Sirs."

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But the men kept on looking at his lower limbs. Kolimoddi pranced forward like an expert actor. He reached the top part of the bridge and looked down where the planks were gone giving a glimpse of the rushing water.

Suddenly, he screamed, "Mukti! Mukti!" A body fell into the water along with pieces of rotten wood.

Guns roared from the other side and before the army could take position, a few of them were already dead. There was no battle. The soldiers were trying to flee the scene.

He was seen again on 16 December by the road side tea-stall among his friends all of whom were freedom fighters. He still wore his old uniform and people identified him as Kolimoddi Dafadaar. (abridged)

Abu Jafar Shamsuddin was the recipient of Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1968 and Ekushey Padak in 1983.

Sohana Manzoor teaches English at ULAB.