Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Minor girls paraded naked in Indian village to please rain god

Minor girls paraded naked in Indian village to please rain god

A VILLAGE in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh remained witness to a shocking incident earlier this week as six minor girls there were paraded naked as part of a ritual to please the rain god. The incident has caused a massive outrage across the country.

A video footage of the incident which happened in a drought-stricken village in Damoh district in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, which faces water scarcity, was shared on social media. In that, the naked girls aged below 10 were seen carrying heavy wooden flails with a frog tied to them.


It was also seen that local women accompanied the girls by singing devotional songs and collecting grain from each household, before donating the food item to a local temple.

India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the state police said they launched a probe into the matter and action would be taken against the person who had recorded and shared the video footage.

Meanwhile, the girls’ parents said that they had given permission to their daughters to take part in the ritual but the minors alleged that they had been forced, The Telegraph reported.

“It is a tradition here that can be termed superstition. We will investigate. In case we come to know about force being used against the children while they are paraded naked, we will initiate action,” a policeman from Bundelkhand was quoted as saying by the daily.

The incident was heavily slammed on social media platforms like Facebook where many sought actions against the organisers of the event. One called the organisers “brainless” and demanded their arrest so that they did not repeat it.

According to a 2007 study conducted by the Indian government, over half of the country’s children reported that they had been sexually assaulted. One in five kids have undergone serious sexual abuse.

One Thomson Reuters Foundation poll published in 2018 termed India as the most dangerous place in the world for a woman, ahead of war-ridden countries like Afghanistan and Syria.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less