PATNA, India (Reuters) – Authorities in eastern India are distributing free radio sets to lower-caste villagers so that they can listen to music and news after a hard day’s work and improve their awareness, officials said Wednesday.
Officials of Bihar state are distributing transistors costing 400 rupees ($8) each among hundreds of “Dalits” or the formerly “Untouchables” who remain oppressed at the bottom of India’s ancient Hindu caste system.
“It (radio) will entertain the tired villagers with music and will make them aware about what is happening around with news,” Bihar’s Tribal Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, said Wednesday.
Manjhi said the move will empower the dalit villagers further and raise general awareness levels.
“You can listen to music, news and improve your areas of information if you have a radio at home,” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar added.
More than 16 percent of India’s 1.1-billion population are Dalits and they continue to face discrimination and injustice although untouchability now is a crime.
British troops are being encouraged by the Ministry of Defence to use Twitter and Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends.
In a “liberalisation” of its social networking policy, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that British troops are no longer required to seek permission to use the sites but asks personnel to use common sense over the amount of detail revealed.
The MoD said it would actively sponsor soldiers who are willing to tweet or blog about life in the military, with tips for engaging an online audience.
The new 13 page ‘Online Engagement Guidelines are part of the MoD’s ongoing digital engagement work, which recently saw an Armed Forces Day Facebook page attracting over 170,000 fans.
An MoD spokesman said: “This about troops having a little more freedom, a little more autonomy. The MoD’s new common sense guidance allows service personnel to talk about themselves and their work online, within limits and with advice to protect their security, reputation and privacy”.
The guidelines have been issued in the same week that the US Marine Corps banned its soldiers from any type of social networking as a security measure.
In an unclassified memo, the Marine Corps said social networks are a “proven haven for malicious actors and content” with a high risk for information exposure. The ban is expected to last at least a year.
By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent,Daily Telegraph
David Bailey recently caught up with the overall commander of NATO troops in South East Europe, Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, during a short visit he was making to Kosovo, to ask him about the recent notification of NATO troop reductions for KFOR (Kosovo Force).
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British troops are being encouraged by the Ministry of Defence to use Twitter and Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends.
