IRAN EMBROGLIO: PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

In 1989, Ayatollah Khamenei succeeded the original Supreme Leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. Before that he was president for two successive terms from 1981-1989.When he was president he was often at odds with the then Prime Minister, Ali Hossein Mousavi, whom he perceived as being left-leaning. However, as Mr Mousavi had the backing of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, their conflicting views on economic, social and religious policies were left to fester. One of Ayatollah Khamenei's first decisions, when he became Supreme Leader on the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, was to revise the constitution to abolish the post of prime minister.

Ayatollah Khamenei is often described as lacking the charm and popular support of his predecessor. He brought to the position of Supreme Leader the powers and contacts he had made as president and has cemented his position by developing networks in the various institutions and security forces in Iran.



In 1997 he famously clashed with Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a respected scholar who ranks higher in the hierarchy. Ayatollah Montazeri, who is also one of Iran's leading dissidents, questioned the powers of the Supreme Leader. This led to the closure of his religious school, an attack on his office in Qom and to a period of house arrest.



In August 2000, he sided with the Guardian Council in rejecting a Majlis (parliament) bill reforming the country's press law. According to him the current law had prevented the "enemies of Islam" from taking over the press and any re-interpretation of the law was not in the interests of the country. That led to scuffles in the Majlis and to a debate on the powers of the Majlis and the Guardian Council. The press bill was withdrawn.



In his inaugural address as president in 1981, Ayatollah Khamenei vowed to stamp out "deviation, liberalism, and American-influenced leftists". That set the tone for his leadership. When pro-reform students rioted in June 2003, Ayatollah Khamenei was quick to warn that such actions would not be tolerated. And he blamed the US for stirring up the trouble. "Leaders do not have the right to have any pity whatsoever for the mercenaries of the enemy," he said
in a speech.



In 2009, when the President Obama offered Iran a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement, Khamenei's response was muted. Addressing students a few days after the Iranian New Year message, he said he had seen no change in America's attitude or policy, singling out US support for Israel and sanctions against Iran. But he said that if President Obama altered the US position, Iran was prepared to follow suit.

Mir Hossein Moussavi

Mir Hossein Moussavi, the President of the Iranian Academy of Arts has not always been best known for his love of painting or poetry. Mr Mousavi was prime minister of Iran for eight years until the post was abolished in 1989. To describe him as a liberal as compared to Mr Ahmadinejad's would, however, be inaccurate. In 1988, the Economist called him a "firm radical".



like most Iranians in power, Mir Hossein Moussavi does not believe in the existence of Israel. He defended the taking of the American hostages in 1979. He was part of a regime that regularly executed dissidents. And as late as April 2009, he opposed suspending the country's nuclear-enrichment program but said it would not be diverted to weapons use.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

In 2003 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was an unknown entity when he became the Mayor of Tehran. He was not even that well known when he won the 2005 presidential election. The son of a blacksmith, he was born in 1956 in Garmsar, near Tehran, and holds a PhD in traffic and transport from Tehran's University of Science and Technology, where he was a lecturer.



Six of the 52 Americans who were held hostage in the US embassy in 1979 have accused Mr Ahmadinejad of being among those who captured them. He has denied his role in the episode. Several known hostage-takers - now his strong political opponents - also deny he was with them.



When he became mayor of Tehran in 2003, he curtailed many of the reforms put in place by his predecessors. Reformist President Mohammad Khatami had barred Mr Ahmadinejad from attending cabinet meetings, a privilege normally accorded to mayors of the capital.



He also repeatedly defended his country's nuclear programme, which worried the US and European Union. Once in power, he made a defiant speech at the UN on the nuclear issue and refused to back down on Tehran's decision to resume uranium conversion. He continued his defiance despite the reporting of Iran's nuclear programme to the UN Security Council and the possible threat of sanctions. Powerful figures such as former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani say Mr Ahmadinejad's confrontational approach backfired when Iran was reported to the Security Council.



Mr Ahmadinejad has called for an end to the Israeli state and has described the Holocaust as a myth. In October 2005, Mr Ahmadinejad made a statement in which he envisaged the replacement of Israel with a Palestinian state and called for Israel to be "wiped off the map", though this translation is disputed. During a speech at the UN in April 2009, he commented that Israel was a state founded on racist principles.




He also has a reputation for living a simple life and has campaigned against corruption.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Born in 1934 to a family of farmers, he studied theology in the holy city of Qom with Ayatollah Khomeini. He was imprisoned several times under the Shah.



Mr Rafsanjani was speaker in the Majlis (Iran's parliament) from 1980-89. In the last year of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, Ayatollah Khomeini appointed him acting commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He is seen as the main mover behind Iran's acceptance of the UN Security Council resolution which ended the war.



Mr Rafsanjani was president for eight years from 1987 and ran again in 2005. He lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the second round. He has been openly critical of the president since then. He has condemned Mr Ahmadinejad's economic policies, accusing them of having seriously damaged Iran.



As President, Mr Rafsanjani sought to encourage a rapprochement with the West and re-establish Iran as a regional power. His influence in Lebanon helped to bring about the release of Western hostages there in the early 1990s. Domestically, he pursued an economically liberal policy that critics said failed to deliver on social justice.



However, he opposed harsh Islamic penal codes and promoted better job prospects for women. His financial policies aimed to move Iran from the state-controlled economy of the Iran-Iraq war years to a more market-based system.



On the nuclear issue, he was in favour of negotiation with the West, but "not to accept bullying and imposition". He favored using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.



He has close links to Iranian industry and business and is considered to be the richest man in Iran. He was featured in the Millionaire Mullahs section of the Forbes Rich List in 2003. He has been accused of amassing a personal fortune due to his political connections - allegations that he has always denied.



He was a prominent backer of Mr Mousavi in the 2009 presidential elections when he stood against President Ahmadinejad.

Mohammad Khatami

Seyed Mohammad Khatami, the fifth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was born in Ardakan, in the central Province of Yazd in 1943. Son of respected Ayatollah Ruhollah Khatami, President Khatami graduated with an MA in Tehran and returned to Qom to follow up on his philosophical studies at Qom Seminary.



He began his political activities at the Association of Muslim Students of Isfahan University, worked closely with Ayatollah Khomeini's late son, Hojjatoleslam Ahmad Khomeini.



After the revolution in 1979 he replaced Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti as Head of Hamburg Islamic Center in Germany.



He represented Ardakan and Meibod constituencies in the first term of Majlis [Parliament] in 1980. He was also appointed head of Kayhan newspaper institute by late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1981, a post he later resigned.



In 1982, he was appointed as the minister of culture and Islamic guidance during the premiership of Mir Hossein Mousavi. During the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, he served different responsibilities including deputy and head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and chairman of the War Propaganda Headquarters.



He was once again appointed as the minister of culture and Islamic guidance by President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1989. Following his resignation in 1992, Khatami was appointed as cultural advisor to President Rafsanjani and head of Iran's National Library. In 1996 He was appointed as a member of High Council for Cultural Revolution.



He was elected as the fifth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in May 1997 elections by gaining almost 70 percent of the votes cast. And he was re-elected as president in 2001 election by greater mandate of Iranian people (almost 78% of the vote cast).



Mr Khatami speaks English, German and Arabic in addition to Persian. He has written a number of books and articles in different fields.

Ali Larijani

Ali Larijani is a conservative and is a close follower of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who appointed him to the Security Council in 2004 for a three-year term. In 2005 he was appointed the council's head by the new President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won an election in which Mr Larijani was also a candidate. But his openness towards negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme put him at odds with the president.



Ayatollah Khamenei had previously appointed Mr Larijani to head Iranian state radio and TV in 1994 - a post he held for 10 years. Before that, Mr Larijani served in President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani's government as Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance. His appointment to head the Security Council, replacing moderate, pragmatic cleric Hassan Rouhani, was seen as a signal that Iran was preparing to harden its stance on the nuclear issue.



As radio and TV chief Mr Larijani tried to curb foreign cultural influence over young Iranians by cutting imported programmes from schedules. In January 2004 this led some 150 reformist MPs to criticise IRIB for causing Iranians to turn to the foreign media.



Mr Larijani in turn has accused reformists of undermining Islamic values. According to him, "If reforms are not undertaken for the sake of religion, justice and morality, they do not constitute reforms”. And he has blamed reformists for corruption and neglect of the economy.



Larijani is one of the two representatives of the Supreme Leader to the council, the other being Hassan Rowhani. In his post as secretary he effectively functioned as the top negotiator on issues of national security, including Iran's Nuclear Programme .He is the current Speaker of the Iranian Majlis (Parliament).

The Army

The Atresh or Islamic Republic of Iran Army is estimated to have 650,000 personnel (220,000 conscripts and 430,000 professionals) plus around 300,000 reservists for a total of 950,000. Conscripts serve for 18 months and have limited military training.



Iran has two parallel land forces with some integration at the command level: the regular Artesh (Army), and the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also known as Pasdaran (IRGC). The Pasdaran was created by the clerics as a counter to the Atresh with the objective of preserving their rule over Iran.

IRAN ELECTIONS: PROOF OF FRAUD

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8110877.stm

Monitors from their campaign teams, who by law are allowed to oversee every polling station, were issued with invalid ID cards or refused entry.


There was a 10-fold increase in the number of mobile polling stations - ballot boxes transported from place to place by agents of the interior ministry, which was run by a close ally of Mr Ahmadinejad. They were out of the control of the local authorities and the representatives of the candidates, and nobody knows what they have done to them.


Early on polling day, the SMS network was shut down, that made people keep guessing about what was going on.


Then the interior ministry [where results from polling stations around the country are collated] started kicking out its own employees so that just a few personnel and the top officials were left


Despite the high turnout, the count was remarkably quick, and the results unusually consistent, with none of the typical variations between different regions and cities.


For example, in Mr Mousavi's home province of East Azerbaijan, which is known to have fierce regional and ethnic loyalties to the reformist candidate, he polled far worse than expected. And the liberal cleric Mehdi Karroubi polled 5% in Lorestan, despite having won 55% there in the first round of voting in 2005 when he also stood as a candidate.


In some provinces like Khoresan or Mazandaran the number of people who voted exceeded the number of eligible voters in those provinces. If they wanted to manipulate the election results as they have done before, they could have done it in a more elegant and delicate way. This was not a manipulation, this is a coup.



The Guardian Council, the country's highest supervisory committee is investigating 646 complaints of misconduct. It's an admission there were irregularities. The problem is, the Guardian Council is headed by a cleric, who is a far-right hardliner and known big supporter of Mr Ahmadinejad. Asking that body to review the ballot is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.

Delhi or Dilli: Gill Triggers Debate

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi-or-Dilli-Gill-triggers-debate/articleshow/4673797.cms#write

Why does Union sports minister M S Gill not change his own name to MS Dill. Only inept politicians with no constructive agendas can come up with a suggestion to change the traditional name of a city. If Gill really wants to improve Delhi, there is no dearth of areas he can focus his limited imagination upon. There is the law & order situation, the dilapidated govt schools, traffic chaos, unkempt markets & roads to name just a few. May be these issues are too mundane for the Minister to waste his time on! Changing Delhi to Dilli? Full marks to Mr Gill for originality of ideas!

IRAN PROTESTS: A GLOSSARY

Islamic Revolution

Despite economical growth, there was much opposition against the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, and how he used the secret police, the Savak, to control the country. Strong Shi'i opposition against the Shah, and the country came close to a situation of civil war. The opposition was lead by Ayatollah Khomeini, who lived in exile in Iraq and later in France. On January 16 1979, the Shah left Iran. Shapour Bakhtiar as his new prime minister with the help of Supreme Army Councils couldn't control the situation in the country anymore.



Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran on 1st February 1979. Ten days later Bakhtiar went into hiding, eventually to find exile in Paris. Processes against the supporters of the Shah started, and hundreds were executed.



On 1st April 1979, after a landslide victory in a national referendum in which only one choice was offered (Islamic Republic: Yes or No), Ayatollah Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic with a new Constitution reflecting his ideals of Islamic government. The constitution was some sort of a hybrid of democracy and unelected religious leadership. It appointed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini -- the leader of the revolution -- the supreme leader of the country. This was the Iranian Revolution.

Supreme Leader

Before Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989, he made it known that he wanted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to succeed him. Accordingly, Khamenei, 70, was appointed supreme leader for life in 1989. The supreme leader has the final say in all important matters of the country, such as ties with foreign nations or Iran's nuclear aspirations.



He appoints the Guardian Council - the country's election authority. He also appoints key posts in the intelligence services and the armed forces, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard. He also confirms the president's election. In theory, the supreme leader is appointed by a body of clerics whom voters elect. But in practice, this Assembly of Experts is subordinated to him.

Guardian Council

This is the most influential body in Iran and is currently controlled by conservatives. It consists of six theologians appointed by the Supreme Leader and six jurists nominated by the judiciary and approved by parliament. Members are elected for six years on a phased basis, so that half the membership changes every three years.



The council has to approve all bills passed by parliament and has the power to veto them if it considers them inconsistent with the constitution and Islamic law. The council can also bar candidates from standing in elections to parliament, the presidency and the Assembly of Experts.



Reformist attempts to reduce the council's vetting powers have proved unsuccessful and the council banned all but six of more than 1,000 hopefuls in the 2005 elections. Two more candidates, both reformists, were permitted to stand after the Supreme Leader intervened. All the female candidates were blocked from standing.



In the present crisis, opposition leader Moussavi has had to take his grievance to the Guardian Council. It has agreed to some vote recounts

Revolutionary Guard

Initially created under a decree issued by Khomeini on 5 May 1979 to protect the leaders of the revolution, over the years, it has broadened its scope. Today, it is directly under the control of the supreme leader and enforces the governments' Islamic codes and morality. The 200,000 strong Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG or Pasdaran) secures the revolutionary regime and provides training support to terrorist groups throughout the region and abroad. Both the regular military (the Artesh) and IRGC are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL). This new ministry was established in 1989.



There were other, perhaps more important, reasons for establishing the Pasdaran. The Revolution needed to rely on a force of its own rather than borrowing the previous regime's tainted units. As one of the first revolutionary institutions, the Pasdaran helped legitimize the Revolution and gave the new regime an armed basis of support. The Pasdaran, along with its political counterpart, ‘Crusade for Reconstruction’, brought a new order to Iran. In time, the Pasdaran would rival the police and the judiciary in terms of its functions. It would even challenge the performance of the regular armed forces on the battlefield. The IRGC consists of ground, naval, and aviation troops, which parallel the structure of the regular military. Unique to the Pasdaran, however, has been control of Iran's strategic oil fields and missile and rocket forces.



In late July 2008 reports originating with Iranian Resistance network said that the IRGC was in the process of dramatically changing its structure. In a shake-up, in September 2008 Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (Pasdarans) established 31 divisions and an autonomous missile command. The reported new structure was largely decentralized, with the force broken into 31 provincal corps, possibly to reflect a far greater internal role, with one for each of Iran's 31 Provinces.

Basij

The Basij was formed by order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in November 1979 and was intended to function as the nucleus of what the founder of the Islamic republic called "the army of 20 million" with the aim of defending the Islamic regime against both domestic and foreign threats.



The Basij (Persian for mobilization) is an omnipresent paramilitary organization with multifaceted roles, and which acts as the eyes and ears of the Islamic regime. It is present in schools, universities, state and private institutions, factories, and even among tribes.



Between 700,000-800,000 Basij volunteers were sent to the front during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War. They were used as cannon fodder when the Islamic regime, deprived of access to Western technology and arms, embarked on a series of disastrous human-wave attacks against Iraqi forces during the final years of the war. The sacrifice made by the Basij in the war with Iraq ensured that the force became one of the five main components of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), together with the army, navy, air force, and Quds Force. After the war, the Basij was reorganized and gradually developed into one of the Islamic regime's primary guarantors of domestic security.

The current commander of the Basij, Hasan Taeb, told the semi-official Fars news agency on November 25 that the force now numbers 13.6 million, which is about 20 percent of the total population of Iran. Of this number, about 5 million are women and 4.7 million are schoolchildren.

Young Voters

60 percent of the population of Iran is under 30. After the revolution, the leaders encouraged early marriage and large families, rewarding families with cars and television sets for each additional child. During the country's devastating eight-year war with Iraq, which began in 1980, the regime continued encouraging population growth, because more children meant more future soldiers. It is those children who are now coming of age.

IRAN PROTESTS: BEYOND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

The current situation in Iran is an eruption of a pent-up anger that has been building up for 30 years, from the very first inception of the Islamic revolution. The inner contradictions of an 'Islamic republic' seem finally to have caught up with it. There is much more to the unrest and protests in Iran than meets the eye. This massive outpouring of pro-Moussavi, anti-Ahmadinejad sentiments among a sizeable segment of Iranian population must be viewed in a larger context.


Two major student uprisings of 1999 and 2003 against the government, at a time when the fifth President, Mr Mohammad Khatami,was leading the country are relevant. Both uprisings were against a repressive Islamic system of governance. They were brutally suppressed, and failed due to a disconnect between the grass root agitating youth and political leadership of the time. Soon after the terror strikes of 9/11 in the United States, a sizable group of Iranian youth organized a candlelight vigil for the victims of 9/11, in obvious defiance of the Iranian government.


Viewed against the backdrop of periodic surfacing of peoples’ discontent, what we are now witnessing in Iran, might very well emerge as a major civil disobedience movement not just against Ahmadinejad, but in fact for more civil liberties, economic opportunities, human, civil and women's rights -- so far all within the constitutional boundaries of the Islamic republic. But this may in fact extend to target the non-democratic institutions within the Islamic republic, such as the office of the supreme leader and that of the Guardian Council.

Out of a population of 75 million and a total of 46 million eligible voters, some 40 million, upward of 80 percent, voted in this election, and a significant segment of them are against the draconian doctrine and policies of the Islamic republic, the economic calamities (double-digit inflation and endemic unemployment) of Ahmadinejad's domestic policies, and his belligerent positions on a range of issues, from the inanities of his denial of the Holocaust to his vacuous and flamboyant positions on a number of regional issues.


As Grand Ayatollah Montazeri has just said, this movement is challenging the very legitimacy of the Islamic republic. That the elections might or might not have been rigged is now a completely irrelevant.

ELECTIONS AND PROBE IN IRAN: FRAUD ALL

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Khamenei-orders-Iran-vote-fraud-probe/articleshow/4658913.cms#write

The elections in Iran were held on 12 Jun and results declared on 13 Jun. In Iran, elections are held on paper ballot (Not on Electronic Voting Machines) and counting should have taken more time. The complicity of the Supreme Leader in
declaring a win for Ahmadinejad is already established. The post election actions of the Iranian government also confirm the elections were an expensive fraud played out by the Guardian Council (comprising of powerful clerics) on the
people of Iran. Had the elections been a fair democratic exercise, the Supreme Leader would have ordered the probe before announcement of the election results, and not after street protests.



It is not possible that events such as massive demonstrations by students and supporters of pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi went un-noticed by Ali Khamenei and the Guardian Council. Neither the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei nor his Guardian Council can pretend to have been unaware of the election fraud. It is no secret that they are the real power behind Ahmedinejad. The following actions of the Government must have had the express sanction of the Ayatollah and his Guardian Council:

(a) Opposition leaders and protesting students arrested, including the brother of ex-reformist President Khatami.


(b) Local and international phone and text message services interrupted.


(c) Social networking and newspaper websites blocked.


(d) “Heavy electronic jamming" from inside Iran to disrupt its Persian TV service.


(e) International journalists arrested and asked to leave.


(f) Iranian newspapers did not carry reports of the violence.


(g) Internet sites being blocked by the state.


(h) Brutal beatings of students and protesters by Baseeji (Iran’s secret police that operates in civil dress).


(i) Farsi-language satellite broadcasts of Voice of America were blocked over the weekend. Access to the BBC's Persian-language satellite TV channel and the BBC's news website were also curbed.


(j)The Guardian Council had ordered printing of 53 million ballots for the elections, but only 39 million were used. Fourteen million ballots were missing.

Ever since the revolution of 1979 ushered in the Islamic Republic, Iran has been governed by a power structure that combines unelected clerics with an elected legislature and presidency. Under the revolution's principle of velayat e-faqi or
'guardianship of the jurisprudent,' ultimate political authority rests in the hands of the Shi'ite clergy, first among them the Supreme Leader, chosen by an unelected Assembly of Experts. Still, the regime always sought to affirm its
legitimacy through holding elections for parliament and the president.

The democratic element of Iran's system has functioned as an important safety valve for clerical rule by creating a managed channel for the release of popular frustrations. But now the Supreme Leader appears to have thrown his weight
solidly behind what many are charging is a carefully staged putsch by Ahmadinejad. "The willingness of the regime simply to ignore reality and fabricate election results without the slightest effort to conceal the fraud represents a historic shift in Iran's Islamic revolution.

All previous leaders at least paid lip service to the voice of the Iranian people. This suggests that Iran's leaders are aware of the fact that they have lost credibility in the eyes of their countrymen, so they are dispensing with even the pretense of popular legitimacy in favor of raw power. If the probe establishes there was indeed a fraud committed in electing the President, they too would be proved guilty of having accepted the results. On the other hand, if the probe justifies election of Ahmedinejad, it would only add fuel to the raging fire and justify people's anger against the ruling mullahs of Iran.

For the moment, it seems that by ordering a probe, the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council have maneouvered themselves between the devil and the deep sea.

ANOTHER POLITICIAN ATTEMPTS RESERVATION ROUTE

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/usrmailcomment.cms?msid=4624922&usrmail=jagdish.madan@gmail.com&mailon_commented=1

Mr Sharad Yadav should first aquaint himself with the views of the Indian society before promising to take poison. There is no argument against the need for upliftment of backward castes. However, the quota route to upliftment of the down trodden has always been exploited by short sighted, thick skinned politicians to shore up their sagging political fortunes rather than out of any sense of social justice. Mr Sharad Yadav is no different.

'WE ARE NO MORE THE SAME PEOPLE' BY VIR SINGHVI

I am reproducing below an article by Vir Sanghvi that I find most relevant. There may be differing views but nothing can refute the logic of Vir Sanghvi.

Few things annoy me as much as the claim often advanced by well-meaning but woolly- headed liberals to the effect that when it comes to India and Pakistan, "We’re all the same people, yaar." This may have been true once upon a time. Before 1947, Pakistan was part of undivided India and you could claim that Punjabis from West Punjab (what is now Pakistan) were as Indian as, say, Tamils from Madras.


But time has a way of moving on. And while the gap between our Punjabis (from east Punjab which is now the only Punjab left in India) and our Tamils may actually have narrowed, thanks to improved communications, shared popular culture and greater physical mobility, the gap between Indians and Pakistanis has now widened to the extent that we are no longer the same people in any significant sense.


This was brought home to me most clearly by two major events over the last few weeks. The first of these was the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on the streets of Lahore. In their defence, Pakistanis said that they were powerless to act against the terrorists because religious fanaticism was growing. Each day more misguided youngsters joined jihadi outfits and the law and order situation worsened. Further, they added, things had got so bad that in the tribal areas the government of Pakistan had agreed to suspend the rule of law under pressure from the Taliban and had conceded that sharia law would reign instead. Interestingly, while most civilised liberals should have been appalled by this surrender to the forces of extremism, many Pakistanis defended this concession.


Imran Khan (Keble College, Oxford, 1973-76) even declared that sharia law would be better because justice would be dispensed more swiftly! (I know this is politically incorrect but the Lion of the Punjab’s defence of sharia law reminded me of the famous Private Eye cover when his marriage to Jemina Goldsmith was announced. The Eye carried a picture of Khan speaking to Jemima’s father. “Can I have your daughter’s hand?” Imran was supposedly asking James Goldsmith. “Why? Has she been caught shoplifting?” Goldsmith replied. So much for sharia law.)


The second contrasting event was one that took place in Los Angeles but which was perhaps celebrated more in India than in any other country in the world. Three Indians won Oscars: A.R. Rahman, Resul Pookutty and Gulzar. Their victory set off a frenzy of rejoicing. We were proud of our countrymen. We were pleased that India’s entertainment industry and its veterans had been recognised at an international platform. And all three men became even bigger heroes than they already were.


But here’s the thing: Not one of them is a Hindu. Can you imagine such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you even conceive of a situation where the whole country would celebrate the victory of three members of two religious minorities? For that matter, can you even imagine a situation where people from religious minorities would have got to the top of their fields and were, therefore, in the running for international awards? On the one hand, you have Pakistan imposing sharia law, doing deals with the Taliban, teaching hatred in madrasas, declaring jihad on the world and trying to kill innocent Sri Lankan cricketers.


On the other, you have the triumph of Indian secularism. The same people? Surely not. We are defined by our nationality. They choose to define themselves by their religion. But it gets even more complicated. As you probably know, Rahman was born Dilip Kumar. He converted to Islam when he was 21. His religious preferences made no difference to his prospects. Even now, his music cuts across all religious boundaries. He’s as much at home with Sufi music as he is with bhajans. Nor does he have any problem with saying ‘Vande Mataram’.


Now, think of a similar situation in Pakistan. Can you conceive of a Pakistani composer who converted to Hinduism at the age of 21 and still went on to become a national hero? Under sharia law, they’d probably have to execute him.


Resul Pookutty’s is an even more interesting case. Until you realise that Malayalis tend to put an ‘e’ where the rest of us would put an ‘a,’ (Ravi becomes Revi and sometimes the Gulf becomes the Gelf), you cannot work out that his name derives from Rasool, a fairly obviously Islamic name. But here’s the point: even when you point out to people that Pookutty is in fact a Muslim, they don’t really care. It makes no difference to them. He’s an authentic Indian hero, his religion is irrelevant.


Can you imagine Pakistan being indifferent to a man’s religion? Can you believe that Pakistanis would not know that one of their Oscar winners came from a religious minority? And would any Pakistani have dared bridge the religious divide in the manner Resul did by referring to the primeval power of Om in his acceptance speech?


The same people? Surely not.


Most interesting of all is the case of Gulzar who many Indians believe is a Muslim. He is not. He is a Sikh. And his real name is Sampooran Singh Kalra. So why does he have a Muslim name? It’s a good story and he told it on my TV show some years ago. He was born in West Pakistan and came over the border during the bloody days of Partition. He had seen so much hatred and religious violence on both sides, he said, that he was determined never to lose himself to that kind of blind religious prejudice and fanaticism. Rather than blame Muslims for the violence inflicted on his community — after all, Hindus and Sikhs behaved with equal ferocity — he adopted a Muslim pen name to remind himself that his identity was beyond religion. He still writes in Urdu and considers it irrelevant whether a person is a Sikh, a Muslim or a Hindu.


Let’s forget about political correctness and come clean: can you see such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you actually conceive of a famous Pakistani Muslim who adopts a Hindu or Sikh name out of choice to demonstrate the irrelevance of religion?


My point, exactly!


What all those misguided liberals who keep blathering on about us being the same people forget is that in the 60-odd years since Independence, our two nations have traversed very different paths. Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam. It still defines itself in terms of Islam. And over the next decade as it destroys itself, it will be because of Islamic extremism.


India was founded on the basis that religion had no role in determining citizenship or nationhood. An Indian can belong to any religion in the world and face no discrimination in his rights as a citizen. It is nobody’s case that India is a perfect society or that Muslims face no discrimination. But only a fool would deny that in the last six decades, we have travelled a long way towards religious equality.


In the early days of independent India, a Yusuf Khan had to call himself Dilip Kumar for fear of attracting religious prejudice. In today’s India, a Dilip Kumar can change his name to A.R. Rahman and nobody really gives a damn either way. So think back to the events of the last few weeks. To the murderous attack on innocent Sri Lankan cricketers by jihadi fanatics in a society that is being buried by Islamic extremism. And to the triumphs of Indian secularism.


Same people? Don’t make me laugh.

CORRUPT MINISTER NEEDS TO BE FIRED

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt-probes-seat-for-sale-scam/articleshow/4614873.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Minister-denies-link-website-says-otherwise/articleshow/4614878.cms

Why blame the medical colleges that violate an SC order and state legislation banning capitation fee? Why not go deeper and see who is responsible for such violations? There is a live case where Chennai based Shree Balaji College asked for Rs 20 lakh, SRU demanded Rs 40 lakh for an MBBS seat. The colleges have 150 seats each. DMK MP and Union minister of state for information and broadcasting S Jagathrakshakan is the chairman of Shree Balaji Medical College and Hospital while SRU is run by a trust led by industrialist V R Venkataachalam.

The Balaji college administrative officer, Johnson, is on camera directing the student to meet ‘‘an agent’’ at the Shree Lakshmi Ammal Educational Trust at 29, Tilak Street, T Nagar, where “negotiations” for the capitation fee of Rs 20 lakh could be conducted. The college, he said, would at best allow parents to pay the capitation fee in three installments before January 2010, but he insisted that the amount would have to be paid “only in cash”.

MBBS students from these colleges have confirmed the entrance exam conducted by the colleges is an eyewash. Some NRIs paid Rs 75 lakh for a seat. For others, it was Rs 45 lakh. The whole higher education system in the country is blatantly being abused by a central minister. The Prime Minister would do well to remember his own words uttered while forming his new cabinet that it will not be ‘business as usual’ this time round.

The country can sincerely hope the probe into 'capitation fee issue' by HRD and Health ministries involving Balaji college owned by DMK MP and Union minister of state for information and broadcasting S Jagathrakshakan in Tamil Nadu is not an eye wash like the rest of them have been thus far. Since a member of the central cabinet is involved, it must be ensured that people's faith in the UPA is upheld by an honest and transparent probe and exemplary action against the culprits responsible. The expose proves that the Minister not only blatantly ignored Supreme Court's orders but is shamelessly denying his nefarious role in the scandal even after being exposed by media.

India gets its first woman Speaker- Meira Kumar

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-gets-its-first-woman-Speaker--Meira-Kumar/articleshow/4611805.cms

I wish the Congress had sited the right reasons for election of Meira Kumar as the speaker of Lok Sabha. After all she had served in various embassies around the world based purely on her capabilities as an IFS officer. Or were those appointments too conferred upon her because she is a dalit. Projecting her as a dalit for such a covetted post amounts to perpetuating the retrograde caste system in the country and does not behove a responsible political party like the Congress. It also denigrates Meira's credentials as a capable person and overlooks her vast achivements in life.

NOT THE TIME TO WRITE THE LTTE's OBITUARY

Brief History of LTTE

On 5th May 1976, five young men including Velupillai Prabhakaran, Seelan, Mahattaya, Ragu and Umamaheswaran formed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and were the first to be in the command structure of a five man council. Umamaheswaran was also chairman of the council while Prabhakaran was its military commander. When the original LTTE split and Umamaheswaran formed the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) the majority of tigers went with Umamaheswaran. A dejected Prabhakaran teamed up with the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) led by Thangathurai and Kuttimani for a while.



Prabakharan himself was In India for a long time. In his absence a triumvirate comprising Seelan, Mahattaya and Ragu ran the movement on ground. Prabakharan who was under house arrest in Madurai for the shoot-out with Umamaheswaran in Pondy Bazaar, escaped to Sri Lanka in 1983. Thereafter he asserted his leadership of the LTTE on ground.



The 1983 July anti-Tamil pogrom in Colombo saw the politico-military landscape change. Prabhakaran once again landed in Chennai (then Madras) and ran the LTTE from there. His cadres conducted guerrilla warfare in the North and East. There were different regional commanders but Ravindran alias Pandithar, a childhood friend of Prabhakaran was in overall charge of both provinces. Pandithar, based in Jaffna, was also both the military commander and political commissar for the district. He was the accredited LTTE “vice-captain”. Pandithar was killed in Atchuvely in January 1985. Thereafter Prabhakaran did not appoint an overall N-E commander. Instead he maintained contact with each individual regional commander. One reason for this was the LTTE leader’s caution. He did not want any single regional commander to become all powerful and pose a possible challenge to him in the future. Prabakharan returned to Sri Lanka in January 1987 and directed LTTE operations on ground.



In July 1987, Prabakharan nominated Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajah alias Mahattaya de-jure No 2 of the LTTE who was until then the Wanni regional commander. Prabakharan did so on the eve of his departure to India by air to meet Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi. The LTTE leader feared that something could happen to him in India. Therefore he wanted someone to run the LTTE if necessary.



Prabakharan also appointed Mahattaya as acting leader prior to his departure. He gave instructions that everyone should obey Mahattaya and that the acting leader could countermand any order sent by Prabakharan himself from India. This was because the LTTE leader suspected he may be detained by Indian authorities and could be forced to issue orders detrimental to the tigers. Prabakharan returned from India after the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed. He assumed leadership of the LTTE again but Mahattaya remained deputy - leader of the LTTE. Later Mahattaya was also made President of the LTTE’s political party called Peoples Front of Tamil Eelam (PFLT).




At one point serious differences emerged between Prabhakaran and Mahattaya. A “cold war” was on. The tiger leader asked his ex-Jaffna commander Sathasivampillai Krishnakumar alias Kittu to return home from abroad. Kittu however committed suicide on 16 Jan 1993 when the ship in which he was traveling got surrounded by the Indian navy in international waters. In December 1993 merchant vessel Yahata had left Phuket with a large consignment of weapons destined for Sri Lanka. 'Kittu' @ Krishnakumar Sathasivam, a close associate of LTTE supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran, led the operation and when the Indian Navy intercepted the ship, Kittu blew it up and drowned along with several of his crew members.




Had Kittu returned safely he would have been appointed deputy-leader and accredited as successor to Prabhakaran. There was, however, further trouble in the LTTE. Pottu Amman, the LTTE intelligence chief, “uncovered” details of an alleged conspiracy involving Mahattaya who had already fallen out of favour with Prabakharan. Mahattaya was accused of conspiring with the Indian RAW (Research and Analysis wing) to kill Prabhakaran and take over the LTTE. After prolonged incarceration Mahattaya was executed on 28 Dec 1994 along with 257 LTTE cadres who were thought to be his strong loyalists.




The highest decision making body of the LTTE was a central committee comprising 32 persons. These included all regional commanders and heads of different divisions. But Prabakharan called the shots and though a certain amount of discussion was possible, there was no vote taking. Ultimately the central committee approved Prabhakaran’s diktat unanimously. The central committee was a virtual rubber stamp.




The most senior tiger in the hierarchy was a non descript “Baby” Subramaniam @ Ilankumaran, the head of the LTTE’s education division. Ilankumaran hailing from Kankesanthurai is a founder member of the LTTE in 1976. He remained steadfastly loyal to Prabakharan. Despite his seniority Ilankumaran is not a fighting man. Until 1991 he spent most of his days in India and coordinated all propaganda and political activity for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu. He cultivated a whole lot of Tamil Nadu politicians and promoted the tiger cause. It was he who established links with MG Ramachandran, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Under present circumstances this Tamil Nadu connection would be perceived more as a liability than an asset by hardcore tiger elements. Also by nature and temperament the mild - mannered “Baby” is not likely to pursue power or hold on to it ruthlessly.

External Sources of Funds and Military Hardware

The LTTE used its international contacts to procure weapons, explosives, communications, and bomb making equipment. It exploited large Tamil communities in North America, Europe, and Asia to obtain funds and supplies for its fighters in Sri Lanka. It was involved in numerous trans national criminal activities, including partnerships with Pakistani heroin producers / traffickers, alien smuggling, extortion from Tamil families living abroad, and various forms of fraud.


In August 2006 following the European Union's (EU's) designation of the LTTE as a terrorist organization, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark announced their withdrawal from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).


The LTTE apparently procured much of its weapons from Cambodia, whose flourishing black market in arms is a legacy of the decades of civil war. In the early seventies, the United States supported the right-wing government in Phnom Penh, while China and North Vietnam supplied the resistance with munitions. China poured in even more weapons into Cambodia after the victory of the Maoist Khmer Rouge in 1975. Following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in January 1979, China, Malaysia, Thailand and the West supported the anti-Vietnamese resistance led by the Khmer Rouge while the Soviet bloc supplied Phnom Penh with explosives, machine-guns, surface-to-air missiles, rockets, rocket launchers and AK-47 rifles. Finally, a peace treaty was signed in Paris in 1991.


The first LTTE operations in Phnom Penh were run out of Rani restaurant, whose upper storey was a virtual arsenal. Downstairs, a secretary handled professionally forged passports and visas. The LTTE's primary arms buyer, Selvarajah Pathmanathan, aka T.S. Kumaran, was first seen in Phnom Penh in mid-nineties. Both the Indian and Sri Lankan authorities constantly urged Phnom Penh to clamp down on LTTE activities, but to no avail. And security officials in Bangkok pointed out that more than 10,000 fishing trawlers roam the seas around Thailand, making it almost impossible to curb smuggling. Besides, Tamil presence in Phuket is much older than LTTE, which established a base near Trang on the Thai coast south of Phuket in the late eighties. The leader of that base was a Tamil skipper from Singapore, identified as Vijay Kumar. It was a communications centre, complete with radio equipment, warehouses, and access to shipping.


The LTTE presence in southeast Asia had grown and it has a network of private shipping companies, trading firms, hotels and restaurants in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. After Kittu's death, most operations moved to Phuket and Ranong town on the mainland, where LTTE sympathisers teamed up with arms dealers of Thai and Burmese origin. Contacts were also established with Tamils on the bustling Silom Road in Bangkok.

LTTE Front Organisations

Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO). The TRO which has its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. Money collected ostensibly for post–tsunami relief and reconstruction projects in the North were actually used for financing LTTE weapons procurement programmes.


Tamil Coordination Committee (TCC). Active in Europe. At least 30 front and cover organisations in the UK, including the Tamil Center for Human Rights (TCHR), Human Rights for Tamils (HURT), Melrose Publishers, Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), Tamil Eelam Economic Development Organisation (TEEDOR) were used by the LTTE for its funds collection and coordination of weapons procurement.


People Against Sri Lankan Oppression (PASLO), Gauteng, which has branches throughout South Africa; the Movement Against Sri Lankan Oppression (MASLO), Cape Town and Durban; the Dravidians for Peace and Justice (DPJ), Gauteng, an offshoot of the PASLO; the Tamil Eelam Support Movement (TESM), Durban; the Peace for Sri Lanka Support Movement (PSLSM), Pretoria, an alliance of several groups.


The PSLSM, the latest front organisation to be established by the LTTE, was set up in March-April 1998. In an effort to wield greater influence, the LTTE also attempted to infiltrate other Tamil organisations in South Africa such as the Natal Tamil Federation, the South African Tamil Federation, the Tamil Federation of Gauteng and the World Saiva Council of Chatsworth.


World Tamil Movement (WTM). Now banned in Canada as a terrorist organisation.


U.S.-based Tamil Foundation. The head of the Tamil Foundation is also president of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in the United States.


LTTE Communication Centre in Norway is the most important for the rebel organization who daily send information from the jungles of the Wanni to Oslo the bustling capital of Norway, from which point, within a period of less than twenty four hours, it is put on the internet and distributed globally.


Tamil Youth Organization (TYO). Active in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France Germany, Holland, Italy, Malaysia, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.

The Indian Involvement

India had provided support to Tamil interests from the very conception of the secessionist movement. This was both as a result of a large Tamil community in South India, as well as India's Regional security interests which attempted to reduce the scope of foreign intervention, especially those linked to the United States, Pakistan, and China. To this end, India sought to make it clear to the Sri Lankan President, Jayewardene that armed intervention in support of the Tamil movement was an option India would consider if any diplomatic solutions should fail. Following the anti- Tamil riots of 1983, the Tamil rebel movement grew progressively strong and increasingly violent. LTTE emerged as the strongest of militant groups in Sri Lanka.



Operation Liberation


1985 saw the Sri-Lankan Government rearming itself extensively for its anti-insurgent role with support from Pakistan, Israel, Singapore and South Africa. In 1987, retaliating an increasingly bloody insurgent movement, Operation Liberation was launched by the Sri Lankan security forces against LTTE strongholds in Jaffna Peninsula, involving nearly four thousand troops, supported by helicopter gunships as well as Ground attack aircraft. In June 1987, the Sri Lankan Army laid siege on the town of Jaffna. As civilian casualties grew, India, which had a substantial Tamil population in South India, called on the Sri Lankan government to halt the offensive in an attempt to negotiate a political settlement.


Operation Poomalai


Failing to negotiate an end to the crisis with Sri Lanka, India announced on 2 June 1987 that it would send a convoy of unarmed ships to northern Sri Lanka to provide humanitarian assistance but this was intercepted by the Sri Lankan Navy and turned back.


Indian government mounted an airdrop of relief supplies over the besieged city of Jaffna. On 4 June 1987, the Indian Air Force mounted Operation Poomalai in broad daylight. Five An-32s of the Indian Air Force escorted by heavily armed Indian fighter jets flew over Jaffna to airdrop 25 tons of supplies, all the time keeping well within the range of Sri Lankan radar coverage. At the same time the Sri Lankan Ambassador to New Delhi was summoned to the Foreign Office to be informed by the Minister External Affairs, K Natwar Singh, of the ongoing operation. It was also made clear to the Ambassador that if the operation was in any way hindered by Sri Lanka, India would launch a full-force military retaliation against Sri Lanka. The ultimate aim of the operation was both to demonstrate the credibility of the Indian option of active intervention to the Sri Lankan Government, as an act of support for the Sri Lankan Tamils.


Faced with the possibility of an active Indian intervention, the Sri Lankan President, JR Jayewardene, offered to hold talks with the Rajiv Gandhi government on future moves. The siege of Jaffna was soon lifted, followed by a round of negotiations that led to the signing of the Indo-Sri-Lankan accord on 29 July 1987 that brought a temporary truce.

The Indo Sri Lanka Accord 1987

The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene. Under the terms of the agreement, Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the North and East provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were withdrawnto their barracks in the north, and the Tamil rebels were to disarm. The provisions of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 1987 also envisioned a referendum to decide if the Eastern and Northern provinces should remain separate or united

The Tamil groups, notably the LTTE had not been made party to the talks and initially agreed to surrender their arms to the IPKF only reluctantly. Within a few months however, this flared into an active confrontation. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) declared their intent to continue the armed struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam and refused to disarm. The Indian Peace-Keeping Force found itself engaged in a bloody action against the LTTE.


Yet another provision of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord stipulated that certain areas were to be recognized as Tamil majority areas, before any electoral democratic process got under way. This could have ensured that the election will occur in a neutral political environment and ensure a free and fair process that met international standards.


One of the key weaknesses of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord was that it lacked a common core of constitutional principles that would form the basis of a political settlement. Rather, it merely recognized that Sri-Lanka was "a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual plural society", which is merely a principle of political nationhood but not a statement of constitutional principles.

The Current Situation in North East Sri Lanka

The LTTE has been militarily decimated with most top level leaders including the dictatorial chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, killed. With the leadership vacuum in the LTTE, lower cadres in a state of disarray and the civilian Tamil population disillusioned with LTTE’s uncompromising stance for gaining a better political deal for the Tamils, the future of the hapless Tamil population is fraught with unimaginable hardships. Unless the International community, and India in particular, intervenes on their behalf to create the right pressure points upon a victorious and jubilant Sri Lankan government, the misery of war affected Tamils can only be compounded. Ironically, the LTTE, which waged a war ostensibly to protect the Tamils, has left them more vulnerable than ever before. While Prabhakaran and the LTTE strengthened the bargaining position of Tamils, they were simultaneously the biggest obstacle in the path of a negotiated settlement to the conflict.


With Prabhakaran's exit, Tamil obstruction to a negotiated settlement has been removed. When Rajapaksa opens negotiations with the Tamils, the latter will be in a weak position, weakened not only by the absence of the LTTE but also undermined by it. The LTTE systematically decimated a generation of Tamil moderate leaders and intellectuals. The input of people like Neelan Tiruchelvam and Ketesh Loganathan, intellectuals who were assassinated by the LTTE for daring to differ with its methods, will be sorely missed.

Factors Responsible for LTTE’s Defeat

1. hostile international environment that all non-state actors engaging in armed struggle encountered after the terror attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

2. Tagged with the terrorist label by several countries, the LTTE's global fundraising, its front organizations and the logistical network came under immense pressure.

3. "Colonel Karuna", joining hands with the government in the military operations against the LTTE.

4. in 2005 Rajapaksa became president. A hardliner, his orders to the armed forces were unambiguous: they were to fight the LTTE not to merely weaken it but to defeat it, to "finish it off" once and for all.

5. The seeds of the LTTE's destruction lay in the organization itself, in fateful decisions that by its leadership that set it on course towards oblivion.
(a) Its decision to assassinate former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu 1991 was perhaps its biggest blunder. It not only earned the LTTE the terrorist label from India, but also made India a permanent enemy. Its support base in Tamil Nadu was eroded and its logistical network dismantled. And worse, it resulted in a robust military cooperation and other links between India and Sri Lanka.

(b) Misreading of the potential of the 2002 ceasefire and the talks that followed. Instead of seeing this as a chance to reach a settlement of the conflict, the LTTE saw it as an opportunity to rearm and regroup. It walked out of the talks and did everything possible to make the peace process fail. The war that followed was disastrous for the Tigers.

(c) It gravely miscalculated when it called on Tamils to boycott the 2005 presidential poll. The impact of that boycott saw Mahinda Rajapaksa win by a wafer-thin majority. Perhaps it thought that Rajapaksa as president would result in rallying Tamil support around the Tigers. It did not foresee that Rajapaksa would prove to be their nemesis.

(d) The LTTE appears to have believed its own propaganda. It believed it was militarily invincible. Its closing of the sluice gates of Mavil Aru in July 2006, inviting the vastly stronger armed forces to launch an offensive and at a time when international sentiment was not in its favor, can only be described as suicidal.

(e) The LTTE's use of suicide bombings, its intolerance of dissent, the recruitment of children and its utter disregard for human lives severely undermined support from foreign governments. It is proscribed in 32 counties

(f) The LTTE overestimated itself, even when its military capabilities were waning. In its desperation to hold onto territory and perceiving itself as a conventional army, it fought a defensive war when it lacked the numbers and the firepower for such a strategy. In the circumstances, defeat was inevitable. The LTTE defeated itself.

(g) Prabhakaran was uncompromising in his commitment to the creation of an independent Tamil Eelam. Perhaps too uncompromising for the good of the LTTE or the Tamil people whose interests he claimed to protect.

(h) There were political solutions, like the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 that provided the Tamils with a measure of autonomy. But such solutions Prabhakaran rejected as inadequate as they provided for "less than Tamil Eelam".

(i) Prabhakaran preferred returning to the battlefield time and again, uncaring of the large number of Tamils who were getting killed in the bloody wars. Over 70,000 people are said to have died in the 25-year-long insurgency. This might have been avoided had Prabhakaran been realistic and seriously explored a political solution.

(j) Perhaps the most important reason for the defeat of the tigers was the enforced "one family, one fighter" policy, forcing each family to provide at least one recruit to the LTTE. As 2008 progressed and the LTTE's military position deteriorated, it resorted to more aggressive recruitment, including of older teenagers. The LTTE required individuals to purchase the right to leave LTTE-controlled territory. It also used civilians as human shields. This effectively alienated the Tamils who had already paid a heavy price for LTTE’s intransigence in negotiating a truce.

Future of LTTE

With the demise of Appiah Annai and the semi-retirement of Thevar Annai and Basheer Kakka the only other senior from the pre-July 1983 days who is active in the LTTE in the Wanni is the dreaded Intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Pottu joined the LTTE in 1982. He was a “helper” long before that. All the other senior tiger commanders like Soosai, Bhanu, Sornam, Jeyam, Theepan, Balraj, Nadesan etc joined the LTTE after July 1983. Apart from Pottu’s seniority there is also another factor that makes him a serious contender for the crown. The only man who could have effectively challenged Pottu Amman for leadership was former Batticaloa-Amparai commander Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan alias Karuna Amman. Both of them were blue-eyed boys of the big boss and there was simmering tension between them. But Pottu emerged victor in the battle of the Ammans. Karuna was ejected as “thurogi” or traitor. In such a situation the succession stakes seem a virtual one - horse race. It would be difficult for Pottu Amman or any would be successor to “fill” Prabakharan’s shoes automatically. There has to be an interim period before such an eventuality. Two options are possible. One is for a leadership committee chaired by Ilankumaran to run affairs for some time. The other is for a cabal of senior tiger leaders to provide an informal collective leadership. Prabakharan’s wife Mathivathany was seen increasingly in public before the final phase of military operations against the LTTE. Her “influence” was visible in the overseas branches of the LTTE. Plum positions in the LTTE overseas branches and institutions had been given to her relatives. Their passport to success was Ms. Mathivathany Prabakharan.

Diaspora Reaction

The Diaspora which has invested much in the Eelam illusion [of a separate state for the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka] is distraught. It initially refused to believe the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran. It had contributed to the conflict and is equally responsible for present plight of the Tamils. It ignored the fact that other people's children were recruited to die in mosquito-infested jungles while the diaspora wrote out checks every month to salvage its conscience and placate the ghosts of 1983 [the year of ethnic riots in Sri Lanka]. Those who 'donated' funds out of a compulsion arising out of their kin being left alone back home by the LTTE will not be grieving for an end to the menace. Those who had been duped by the LTTE of the sincerity of their objectives are most likely to come to terms with ground reality with time.




As to the Indian politicians like Vaiko, P Nedumaran and others from Tamil Nadu who were LTTE stooges, they have been shown their correct place by the people of the State in the recently concluded Parliamentary elections. While the people of Tamil Nadu have always supported the Sri Lankan Tamils in pursuit of their legitimate political aspirations, they have proved that such support does not extend to a terrorist organisation that was responsible for the brutal assassination of their Prime Minister.

Furure of the Conflict

The LTTE no longer exists as a military organization and its military assets and capabilities have been destroyed. The LTTE is defeated, not dead. Several Tigers are bound to have escaped the armed forces and they will be thirsting for revenge. The war is over; but the ethnic conflict is not over yet. The grievances of the Tamils, and their alienation and anger that gave rise to militancy and organizations like the LTTE in the first place, remain unresolved. The issues that kept the insurgency alive for three decades are very much alive.




To imagine that elimination of Prabakharan and defeat of the LTTE would automatically result in the extinguishing of the ethnic problem would be a colossal blunder. Prabakharan and the LTTE did not create the Tamil problem. Sinhala chauvinist politicians created the problem. Prabakharan and the LTTE were by - products of the problem created through majoritarian hegemony.




Prabakharan was only two years old when Sinhala was declared as the sole official language of Sri Lanka. He was four years old when the 1958 anti - Tamil violence was unleashed. The LTTE leader was only seven years old when the non - violent Satyagraha of the Tamil Federal Party was brutally suppressed by deploying the army and detaining Gandhiyan leaders without trial. The rise of organizations like the Jathiya Hela Urumaya (JHU) show that the problem will not go away now that the LTTE is not there. The JHU advocates an ideology of a Sinhala Nationalist stance in its politics and advocates wiping out the Tamil tigers by force. It wants to maintain Sri Lanka's unitary constitution with meager devolution of powers to Tamils as a solution to the present conflict.




The Tamil National question can be solved only on the basis of justice and equality. Grievances of the Tamils have to be redressed and their legitimate aspirations addressed. As long as the Tamil problem remains unsolved, virulent expressions of Tamil ultra- nationalism like Prabakharan and the LTTE will continue to manifest in different forms.

The only guarantee to ensure that all this happens is to have the United Nations or a multi-national conference assist Sri Lanka in the capacity of an honest third party. There is an urgent need for a sound constitutional process, which is based on the principles of strong federalism, respect for the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and guaranteed protection of minority rights. Particularly at issue would be the status of minority rights to language, education, and religion, devolution of power, local control of law and order and budgetary autonomy. All of those sensitive issues lie at the core of legitimate Tamil demands for equality and equal treatment.




In addition, human rights abuses have been committed by both sides in the recent war, but the Sri Lankan government bears a special responsibility to face up to its accountability, both because a state always bears more responsibility for its conduct under international law and because it is after all the victor.




The Tamil community also needs to acknowledge a responsibility to reckon with the abuses of the LTTE, which was charged with the violation of grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, for example, by using civilians as human shields, and by drafting children as soldiers and suicide bombers.




Finally, reconstructing the war-shattered parts of Sri Lanka is going to be a crucial but a difficult process. The Tamil people need to see concrete improvement in their livelihood and economic security swiftly, in order to begin to trust the Sri Lankan government's intentions. That must be done without altering the ethnic balance on the ground and without exacerbating landlessness, which is already one of the main sources of tension.

Conclusion

To imagine that the elimination of Prabakharan and extinction of the LTTE would autmotically result in the extinguishing of the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka is a colossal blunder. Prabakharan and the LTTE did not create the Tamil problem. Sinhala chauvinist politicians created the problem. Prabakharan and the LTTE were by - products of the problem created through majoritarian hegemony. Prabakharan was only two years old when Sinhala was enthroned as the sole official language. He was four years old when the 1958 anti - Tamil violence was unleashed. The LTTE leader was only seven years old when the non - violent Satyagraha of the Federal Party was brutally suppressed by deploying the army and detaining Gandhiyan Tamil leaders without a trial. The rise of organizations like the Hela Urumaya show that the problem will not go away now that the LTTE has been decimated.


A durable solution to the Tamil National question can be evolved only on the basis of justice and equality. Grievances and legitimate aspirations of the Tamils have to be redressed and addressed. As long as the Tamil problem remains unsolved, virulent expressions of Tamil ultra- nationalism like Prabakharan and the LTTE will continue to manifest in different forms.

SPEECH BY DR APJ ABDUL KALAM

Former President of India DR. A. P.. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad

Why is the media here so negative?Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, ourachievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazingsuccess stories but we refuse acknowledge them--- Why?We are the first in milk production..We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.We are the second largest producer of wheat.We are the second largest producer of rice.Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into aself-sustaining, self-driving unit.

There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessedin the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It wasthe day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had takenplace. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper hadthe picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformedhis desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picturethat everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments,deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?

Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreignthings? We want foreign T Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreigntechnology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize thatself-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving thislecture,when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked herwhat her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developedIndia . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India Youmust proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highlydeveloped nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.YOU say that our government is inefficient.YOU say that our laws are too old.YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore Give him a name - YOURS. Givehim aface - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at yourInternational best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts onthe roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Undergroundlinks as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive throughOrchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road ) between 5PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parkingticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mallirrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah .YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs..650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop,'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know whoI am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and NewZealand. Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose agovernment and after that forfeit all responsibility.

We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not goingto learn the proper use of bathrooms.We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son's rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

The article is highly thought inducive, calls for agreat deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too..... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Lets do what India needs from us.

Speaker has a Much Larger Role

Mr Somnath Chatterjee is the speaker of the Lok Sabha and has the responsibility towards the nation. The party direction to him to quit is in poor taste, reflects the narrow outlook of the communists and will only highlight the desperation of the already disgraced Left whose priorities are out of sync with National interests. A case in point is the shameful Karat-Mayawati plotting to topple the Manmohan Sigh Govt.

FROM THE NEW YORK LANDMARKS PLOT TO THE MUMBAI ATTACK

Friday, December 5, 2008
In the context of Mumbai mayhem, a most relevant article by By Fred Burton and Ben West is reproduced.

On the surface, last week's attack on Mumbai was remarkable for its execution and apparently unconventional tactics. But when compared to a plot uncovered 15 years ago that targeted prominent hotels in Manhattan, it becomes apparent that the Mumbai attack was not so original after all.
The 1993 New York Landmarks Plot.
In July 1993, U.S. counterterrorism agents arrested eight individuals later convicted of plotting an elaborate, multistage attack on key sites in Manhattan. The militants, who were linked to Osama bin Laden's then-relatively new group, al Qaeda, planned to storm the island armed with automatic rifles, grenades and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In multiple raids on key targets combined with diversionary attacks, they aimed to kill as many people as possible.
The planned attack, which came to be known as the "Landmarks" plot, called for several tactical teams to raid sites such as the Waldorf-Astoria, St. Regis and U.N. Plaza hotels, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, and a midtown Manhattan waterfront heliport servicing business executives and VIPs traveling from lower Manhattan to various New York-area airports. The militants carried out extensive surveillance both inside and outside the target hotels using human probes, hand-drawn maps and video surveillance. Detailed notes were taken on the layout and design of the buildings, with stairwells, ballrooms, security cameras and personnel all reconnoitered.
The attackers intended to infiltrate the hotels and disguise themselves as kitchen employees. On the day of the attack, one attack team planned to use stolen delivery vans to get close to the hotels, at which point heavily armed, small-cell commando teams would deploy from the rear of the van. Stationary operatives would use hand grenades to create diversions while attack teams would rake hotel guests with automatic weapons. The attackers planned to carry gas masks and use tear gas in hotel ballrooms to gain an advantage over any security they might come up against. They planned to attack at night, when the level of protection would be lower.
The targeted hotels host some of the most prestigious guests in Manhattan. These could have included diplomats like the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who traditionally keeps an apartment in the Waldorf-Astoria, or even the U.S. secretary of state, who is known to stay at the Waldorf during U.N. sessions. They also host various business leaders. If successful, the attackers doubtless would have killed many high-profile individuals key to New York's stature as a center for financial and diplomatic dealings.
Meanwhile, the plots to detonate explosives in the Lincoln and Holland tunnels would have blocked critical transportation infrastructure, sowing chaos in the city as key escape routes were closed off. And VIPs seeking to escape the city via the midtown heliport would have been thwarted by the attack planned for that location. In fact, the heliport attack was planned to be carried out using watercraft, which also could have been used to target transport ferries, further disrupting transportation in and out of Manhattan. The New York City Police Department could plausibly even have quarantined Manhattan to prevent the attackers from fleeing the city.
With the city shut down and gunmen running amok, the financial center of the United States would have been thrown into chaos and confusion until the attackers were detained or killed. The attacks thus would have undermined the security and effectiveness of New York as a center for financial and diplomatic dealings. > > At the time, U.S. counterterrorism officials deemed that the attack would have had a 90 percent success rate. Disaster, then, was averted when federal agents captured the plotters planning the Landmarks attack thanks to an informant who had infiltrated the group. Along with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing just four months earlier, which killed six people but was intended to bring down both towers, the United States dodged a major bullet that could have been devastating to New York.
The Nov. 26 Mumbai Attack
A little more than fifteen years later, the Nov. 26 attacks in Mumbai closely followed the script of the New York plot. Militants armed with AK-47s, grenades and military-grade explosives carried out a very logistically sophisticated and coordinated attack on the financial capital of India.
Clearly, the Mumbai attack involved extensive preoperational surveillance. Attackers had maps of the targeted hotels, and according to the Indian Marine Commandos who raided the Taj Mahal hotel, the militants moved around as if they knew the hotel's layout by heart. Advance members of the attack teams had already taken up positions in the hotels, stockpiling firearms, ammunition, grenades and food that were quickly accessed and used to maintain the attackers' positions in the hotels. One of the attackers reportedly also had taken a job as an intern chef in the Taj Mahal hotel kitchen, so his movements raised less suspicion and he had a detailed knowledge of the entry points and corridors. For such attacks, preparedness is key, and escaping alive is a long shot. The attackers therefore must have been highly motivated and willing to die -- a rare combination that requires immense amounts of training and ideological zeal.
At least two teams entered the city by watercraft, breaking up into smaller groups as they made their way to the Taj Mahal hotel, Oberoi-Trident hotel complex and Nariman (also known as Chabad) House, a Jewish center in the same area of Mumbai. These tactical teams dispersed across the city, attacking prominent sites where foreign VIPs were sure to be present. They infiltrated the hotels through back entrances and kitchens, thus enhancing the element of surprise as they opened fire on guests in the dining areas and atriums of the hotels.
Beyond killing people and holding hostages in Mumbai's most prestigious hotels, other attack teams assaulted additional strategic sites in Mumbai, creating a sense of chaos and confusion over the whole city. Mumbai's main train station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, as well as Cama Hospital, offices of The Times of India newspaper, restaurants, a theater, and bars frequented by foreigners also were attacked. The attackers' excellent coordination -- the multiple attacks took place nearly simultaneously -- thus ensured maximum confusion and chaos, frustrating police responses. This could explain in part why operations like those at Nariman House and the hotels lasted for more than 48 hours.Similarities between New York and Mumbai
The similarities between the Landmarks plot and the Nov. 26 Mumbai attack are quite obvious. In symbolic terms, as the Mumbai attack unfolded, many onlookers said that an attack on Mumbai is to India what an attack on New York is to Americans. In more concrete terms, the targets, methods, weapons and geography involved were similar (if not identical), and the unconventional style of the attacks points to a common author.
U.S. counterterrorism forces in 1995 detained Landmarks plot mastermind Ramzi Yousef, who remains in U.S. federal prison. But his ideas obviously did not stay behind bars. This illustrates how a plan's initial failure does not mean the threat has been eliminated. Indeed, Stratfor observed in 2005 that the 1993 Landmarks plot (among others) should not be discounted, as al Qaeda or other terrorist groups are known to return to past targets and plot scenarios.
The similarities between the Landmarks plot and the Mumbai attack exist at several levels. The first relates to the target set. Both New York and Mumbai are the respective financial centers of their countries and home to their nations' major stock exchanges. In both cities, the planners had picked out high-profile soft targets -- sites that have less security personnel and countermeasures than, say, a military installation or key government building. Softer security means gaining access to strategic assets and people is easier. Stratfor has long stressed the importance of maintaining vigilance at soft targets like hotels that cater to international guests, as these are likely targets for militant Islamists. Both plans also involved infiltrating hotel staff and booking rooms in the hotels to gain inside information and store supplies.
The second similarity involves how both plans included peripheral targets to cause confusion and chaos and thus create a diversion from the main targets. In Mumbai, transportation infrastructure like the city's main railway station was attacked, and militants detonated explosive devices in taxis and next to gasoline pumps. Meanwhile, roving gunmen attacked other sites around the city. In a country where coordination among first responders is already weak, the way the attackers fanned out across the city caused massive chaos and distracted security forces from the main prize: the hotels. Attacking Cama Hospital also sowed chaos, as the injured from one scene of attack became the targets of another while being rescued.
A third similarity exists in the geography of the two cities. In both plots, the use of watercraft is a distinctive tactical similarity. Watercraft gave militants access at unconventional locations where security would be more lax. Both Mumbai (a peninsula) and Manhattan (an island) offer plenty of points where militants can mount assaults from watercraft. Such an attack would not have worked in New Delhi or Bangalore; these are landlocked cities where militants would have had to enter by road, a route much more likely to encounter police patrols. Being centers of trade and surrounded by water, both Mumbai and New York have high levels of maritime traffic. This means infiltrating the area from the water would raise minimal suspicions, especially if the craft were registered locally (as was the case in the Mumbai attack). Such out-of-the box tactics take advantage of security services, which often tend to focus on established threats.
A fourth similarity lies in transportation. In addition to using watercraft, both plots involved the use of deceptive vehicles to maneuver around the city undetected. The Landmark plotters used taxis to conduct surveillance and planned on using a delivery van to approach the hotels. In Mumbai, the attackers planted bombs in taxis, and at least one group of militants hijacked a police van and used it to carry out attacks across the city. Using familiar vehicles like taxis, delivery vans or police vans to carry out surveillance or attacks reduces suspicion and increases the element of surprise, allowing militants to stay under cover until the moment of attack.
An Off-the-Shelf Plan
As indicated, the striking similarities between the Landmarks plot and the Mumbai attack suggest that Ramzi Yousef and other early al Qaeda operatives who helped prepare the Landmarks plot in New York authored the Mumbai plan. Considering that the militants launched their original attack from Karachi, Pakistan, and the previous involvement of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency -- which has connections with al Qaeda leaders in western Pakistan -- it is very likely that al Qaeda in Pakistan at least provided the blueprints for this attack. On-the-ground operations like training, surveillance and the actual attack appear to have been carried out by the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba in connection with Indian Islamist groups.
Here we see more evidence of the existence of an ideological or strategic battle space that exists in the radical Islamist world, which has been greatly influenced by al Qaeda. Like a contingency plan that might sit on the shelf for years or decades before it is useful, terrorist plots (especially good ones) can have a long shelf life and be applied in various scenarios. In fact, plans that sit on the shelf longer might actually be more effective as security officials focus their attention on evolving threats and forget old ones.
Just because a plot has been disrupted, the threat has not been eliminated. Once terrorists happen upon a successful model, they are likely to follow that model. This can be seen in al Qaeda's return to the World Trade Center in 2001, eight years after the initial truck bomb attacks in 1993. It can also be seen in the fact that Mumbai has been the target of multiple attacks and threats, including train bombings in 2006 that killed approximately 200 people. Though the tactics might have differed, the target set remained the same. Various parts of the attack cycle can change, but rarely does an attack occur that is completely novel.
Ultimately, the biggest difference between the Landmarks plot and the Mumbai attack is that the Mumbai attack succeeded. The failure of the Landmarks plot probably provided key lessons to the planners of the Mumbai attack, who were able to carry out the stages of the attack without detection and with the full element of surprise. Gauging by the success of the Mumbai incident, we can expect similar strategies and tactics in future attacks.

WHO OWNS THE MEDIA IN INDIA ?

Recent Gujarat election have witnessed unaccountable money paid to media persons of both, print and electronic by Saudi Arabia to discredit Modi and the Hindutva forces, which Media did very faithfully without success.

There are several major publishing groups in India , the most prominent among them being the Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, The Hindu group, the Anandabazar Patrika Group, the Eenadu Group, the Malayalam Manorama Group, the Mathrubhumi group, the Sahara group, the Bhaskar group, and the Dainik Jagran group.Let us see the ownership of different media agencies.

NDTV: A very popular TV news media is funded by Gospels of Charity in Spain Supports Communism. Recently it has developed a soft corner towards Pakistan because Pakistan President has allowed only this channel to be aired in Pakistan . Indian CEO Prannoy Roy is co-brother of Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Communist party of India . His wife and Brinda Karat are sisters.

India Today which used to be the only national weekly which supported BJP is now bought by NDTV!! Since then the tone has changed drastically and turned into Hindu bashing.

CNN-IBN: This is 100 percent funded by Southern Baptist Church with its branches in all over the world with HQ in US. The Church annually allocates $800 million for promotion of its channel. Its Indian head is Rajdeep Sardesai and his wife Sagarika Ghosh.

Times group list:Times Of India, Mid-Day, Nav-Bharth Times, Stardust, Femina, Vijay Times, Vijaya Karnataka, Times now (24- hour news channel) and many more...Times Group is owned by Bennet & Coleman. 'World Christian Council¢ does 80 percent of the Funding, and an Englishman and an Italian equally share balance 20 percent. The Italian Robertio Mindo is a close relative of Sonia Gandhi.

Star TV: It is run by an Australian, who is supported by St. Peters Pontifical Church Melbourne.
Hindustan Times: Owned by Birla Group, but hands have changed since Shobana Bhartiya took over. Presently it is working in Collaboration with Times Group.

The Hindu: English daily, started over 125 years has been recently taken over by Joshua Society, Berne , Switzerland . N. Ram's wife is a Swiss national.

Indian Express: Divided into two groups. The Indian Express and new Indian Express (southern edition) ACTS Christian Ministries have major stake in the Indian Express and latter is still with the Indian counterpart.

Eeenadu: Still to date controlled by an Indian named Ramoji Rao. Ramoji Rao is connected with film industry and owns a huge studio in Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Jyothi: The Muslim party of Hyderabad known as MIM along with a Congress Minister has purchased this Telugu daily very recently.

The Statesman: It is controlled by Communist Party of India.

Kairali TV: It is controlled by Communist party of India (Marxist).

Mathrubhoomi: Leaders of Muslim League and Communist leaders have major investment.

Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle: Is owned by a Saudi Arabian Company with its chief Editor M.J. Akbar.

Gujarat riots which took place in 2002 where Hindus were burnt alive, Rajdeep Sardesai and Bharkha Dutt working for NDTV at that time got around 5 Million Dollars from Saudi Arabia to cover only Muslim victims, which they did very faithfully. Not a single Hindu family was interviewed or shown on TV whose near and dear ones had been burnt alive, it is reported.

Tarun Tejpal of < <http://tehelka.com/>Tehelka.com regularly gets blank cheques from Arab countries to target BJP and Hindus only, it is said.

The ownership explains the control of media in India by foreigners. The result is obvious. NOW YOU KNOW WHY EVERY ONE IS AGAINST THE TRUTH ! And we call ourselves secular !

DELHI BLASTS: SIMI AND INDIAN MUJAHIDIN

AMERICAN SPECIAL FORCES OPERATIONS IN PAKISTAN

ANSAL BROTHERS FNALLY GET 'CANNED'

Doomsday Experiment: The Hadron Collider

Pakistan: Mr 10% or 100% President

NSG Waiver: China and Left Sync

NANO: Singur Compromise

Judges' in Scam

ITS BIHAR AGAIN: WATER - WATER EVERYWHERE

Xinjiang: China's Wild Islamic West

Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which seeks independence for China's western Xinjiang region, has threatened to attack the Olympics and warned Muslims to avoid travel by planes, trains and buses used by Chinese during the games from 7th Aug to 23rd Aug. TIP is trained in terror camps maintained by Al Qaeda across the border in Pakistan. The threat came in Turkic language of the Uighurs, a Muslim minority with a population of about 8 million in Xinjiang Province of western China.
The militant group also issued videotaped threats and claimed responsibility for a series of bus bombings in China in recent months. The latest video features graphics similar to ones used earlier: a burning of Olympics logo and an explosion at an apparent Olympic venue. TIP justifies its holy war against the Communist regime's alleged mistreatment of Muslims, accuses China of forcing Muslims into atheism by capturing and killing Islamic teachers, destroying Islamic schools and China's birth control program that has forced abortions on Muslim women.



Xinjiang is China's gateway to hydrocarbon rich Central Asia and home to its plutonium mines that support China's strategic nuclear ambitions. The TIP threat, viewed against the region's importance and the timing of it during Olympics, is enough to establish its seriousness. China has seen a spate of bombings by Islamic fundamentalists in recent months. Considering the militant group's demonstrated ability to execute bombings and the propaganda value of terror strikes during Olympics, when the world media would be present in China, the threat seems credible.

Islamic Threat to Beijing Olympics

Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which seeks independence for China's western Xinjiang region, has threatened to attack the Olympics and warned Muslims to avoid travel by planes, trains and buses used by Chinese during the games from 7th Aug to 23rd Aug. TIP is trained in terror camps maintained by Al Qaeda across the border in Pakistan. The threat came in Turkic language of the Uighurs, a Muslim minority with a population of about 8 million in Xinjiang Province of western China.

The militant group also issued videotaped threats and claimed responsibility for a series of bus bombings in China in recent months. The latest video features graphics similar to ones used earlier: a burning of Olympics logo and an explosion at an apparent Olympic venue. TIP justifies its holy war against the Communist regime's alleged mistreatment of Muslims, accuses China of forcing Muslims into atheism by capturing and killing Islamic teachers, destroying Islamic schools and China's birth control program that has forced abortions on Muslim women.

Xinjiang is China's gateway to hydrocarbon rich Central Asia and home to its plutonium mines that support China's strategic nuclear ambitions. The TIP threat, viewed against the region's importance and the timing of it during Olympics, is enough to establish its seriousness. China has seen a spate of bombings by Islamic fundamentalists in recent months. Considering the militant group's demonstrated ability to execute bombings and the propaganda value of terror strikes during Olympics, when the world media would be present in China, the threat seems credible.

Impeachment of President Musharaff

The proposed impeachment of Musharraf on 11 Aug is a sham that is bound to fail. With three parallel power centres in Pakistan, The Army, the Parliament and the ISI exerting counter pulls, the outcome of such an exercise is not too difficult to predict. Particularly in view of the Army and the ISI being pro-Musharaff. Musharaff's recent statement declaring the ISI as Pakistan's second line of defence is a strong indicator. Both, the Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the ISI Chief Lt General Lieutenant Ehsanul Haq are handpicked, pro-Musharaff men who are likely play the 'impeachment game' according to rules setforth by Musharaff. The PPP of Asif Zardari and PML(N) of Nawaz Sharrief are building castles in the air by planning to impeach an Army man in Pakistan.

Arjun Sing: Get Well Soon

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Arjun_Singhs_condition_stable/articleshow/3309801.cms
I wish Arjun Singh a speedy recovery; but would like to know if he insisted upon being treated by doctors who joined the medical profession through the reservation quota. As a self proclaimed champion of the down trodden, this was a golden opportunity for him to set an example for other politicians of his ilk and silence those who accuse him of promoting reservation just to gain political space rather than out of any sense of social justice. So, did he grab the opportunity?

Public Lesson for Top Cop

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/753

Chhayamani Mohanty, mother of the 22 year old rapist Nitay Mohanty, helping the police to nab her culprit son is a contrast with another Mohanty of Orissa who dumped his duty to the public and helped his convicted Rapist son escape prison term. Hopefully, if the father and son hear of this news, it would turn their faces red with shame. It was exactly one year ago that Orissa government was forced to act against its Director General of Police (Home Guard) Bidya Bhusan Mohanty for helping his son Bitihotra (Biti) Mohanty who was facing a seven year jail term after being charged for criminal assault on a German tourist in Jaipur jumped parole in November 2006. The sequence of events in the case were.

On March 20, 2006 Rajasthan Police arrested Biti Mohanty on rape charges.

On April 12, a local court in Jaipur announced a seven years of rigorous imprisonment In November 2006, Mohanty appealed for a temporary parole in the court. The court allowed a parole period till Dec 04 but Biti Mohanty did not return after the end of the period.

On May 2007 the Jaipur court order Rajasthan police to arrest BB Mohanty with charges under IPC section 216 and 130.
BB Mohanty appealed in Jaipur session court for anticipatory bail that gave him a six week respite till May 31 st 07.
On May 28, Rajasthan Police sent a team to Orissa to catch the top cop but did not get any clue as he was on medical leave.

The cops would do well to learn a lesson in morality from Chayamani Mohanti.

HRD Minister Being Treated By Quota Docs?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HRD_minister_Arjun_Singhs_condition_stable/articleshow/3309801.cms

Arjun Singh must be flooded with 'Get Well Soon' messages after being admitted to the AIIMS for treatment of acute Cholecysitis (stomach ailment), cardio-artery disease, breathing trouble and kidney problem as a result of diabetes. As it is, the Minister was getting the similar messages even before people of this great country knew he was admitted in the hospital. I wonder if the doctors treating him examined his head for cerebral problem the poor Minster ails from. Are the doctors from amongst those whose cause he has all along been advocating?

Manmohan Singh and the Comrades

The Left parties have never shied away from sounding criticism of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, of whatever he tried to do, the US, the Indo-US nuclear deal, economic reforms, banking reforms and just about everything that makes a country tick. In fact, the CPM Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of West Bengal is on record having accused Manmohan Singh of being inefficient and incompetent. He added that West Bengal and the whole country are suffering due to Manmohan Singh's incompetence and failure to perform his duties and responsibilities as a Prime Minister on all fronts. He also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of neglecting the interests of the common man.

Prakash Karat and his communist buddies Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and AB Bardhan went a step further and said that the Prime Minister has ignored the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP). They have held him responsible for the rise in prices of essential commodities.

If the Left parties genuinely believed all the accusations they hurled at Manmohan Singh from time to time during the last four years, it is amazing they did not press for his removal and continued to support the Congress from the outside. By extension, they too are responsible for every folly they accuse Manmohan Singh of having committed. But ofcourse, you need to be men of character to admit your own role in any negative development.

As far as the Indo-US nuclear Deal is concerned, it is amusing to see the communists trying to implement Chinese agenda while talking about whats good for India. This may be the right time to remind the likes of pro-China Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Prakash Karat and AB Burdhan that the people of India are aware of China’s arrogant expansionist designs to encircle Indian waters from Gwadar to Coco islands. That It annexed Tibet in 1950, forcibly took possession of Aksai Chin in 1962, happily took an illegitimate 'gift' of Indian land from Pakistan, claims the entire Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and refuses to issue visas to resident Indians of Arunachal; not to mention the crude summoning of the Indian Ambassador at 2 AM for a routine protest. Inspite of the long history of Chinese belligerence, the communists in India only see the threat of US imperialism, BJP communalism and inefficiency of Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh’s great disappointment over failing to clinch the nuclear deal is well chronicled. Though this deal was not part of the NCMP, the Congress manifesto did promise to improve the strategic relationship with the US. Now that the issue is behind us with the trust vote in Parliament in favor of the UPA and by extension, in favor of the nuclear deal, all the NSG members except China have welcomed the development. The Chinese have left it to the Indian communists to sulk on their behalf.

The communist perception smacks of closed minds that refuse to see the brighter and more positive side of an emerging India and its brilliant Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh is a humble man and an acknowledged economist of international repute. For the first time since India gained independence, the PMO under Manmohan Singh has an exercise to monitor the implementation of the NCMP adopted by the UPA when it came to power on 22 May 2004. The various promises made and policies adopted in the NCMP have been itemized into 142 general and specific commitments. Then a report card of sorts has been prepared. This in itself is extraordinary as governments never bother to monitor the implementation of their political manifesto. It is intriguing that Manmohan Singh has made a sincere attempt to implement virtually all the promises. For instance, in the areas of employment, agriculture, tribal rights and the promises made to the minorities, Manmohan Singh’s Government has in effect gone according to the letter of the NCMP. Ofcourse, the effectiveness of his policies can be debated, as the implantation machinery, the beaurocracy, is renowned for its inefficiency and corruption. As far as the economy is concerned, the Prime Minister had anticipated the price rise a year ago as he carefully monitored global trends and rising oil prices. May be the comrades would like to blame Manmohan Singh for the global economic mess too!

Manmohan Singh clearly identified the potential to bring in comprehensive changes in the area of social legislation. From the time of his swearing in as the Prime Minister, he created a team of three IAS officers, including secretary, PMO, Pulak Chatterjee, to monitor the NCMP. He then held a monthly review meeting to track how far the promises were being kept. Purely in terms of running a government, this is unparalleled. Had the Left been able to successfully muster support against the UPA Government and engineer its fall, it would have been responsible for the mess in future energy scene in the country. In pursuit of the Chinese agenda, the comrades' liaision with a corrupt Mayawati, egoist Ajit Singh and opportunist Deve Gouda were thankfully frustrated by nationalists in the Parliament.

Serial terror Blasts in Bangalore and Ahemdabad

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad_blasts_38_dead_90_injured/articleshow/3283744.cms

Indian cities will continue to be targets of Pakistan sponsored terrorists as long as our politicians remain busy counting cash in Parliament and outside it. It is a matter of great shame that legal instruments, like TADA and POTA, to tackle the terror menace have been done away with by power hungry politicians just to please one community to create their vote banks. The country is not important for the calculating political class in India and Indians are their last priority. No wonder single bomb blasts have been replaced by serial bomb blasts. There is no limit to appeasement of one community at the cost of rest of the country, as long it ensures a win in elections for our intellectually malnutritioned politicians and their morally bankrupt political parties. If they can sell themselves to remain relevant, they will not stop at selling this great country to gain an advantage.

Speaker has a Much Larger Role

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/vote.cms
Mr Somnath Chatterjee is the speaker of the Lok Sabha and has the responsibility towards the nation. The party direction to him to quit is in poor taste, reflects the narrow outlook of the communists and will only highlight the desperation of the already disgraced Left whose priorities are out of sync with National interests. A case in point is the shameful Karat-Mayawati plotting to topple the Manmohan Sigh Govt.

Karat and Mayawati: Party above National Interests

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Karat_teams_up_with_Maya_to_take_on_govt/articleshow/3229726.cmsFour
years ago, with 60 MPs in Parliament, it seemed as if the Communists had finally arrived on India's national stage. Four years later, Prakash Karat's dream of the 'non-Congress' 'non-BJP' Third Front lies in tatters. The comrades refused to join the government and take on responsibility. They preferred to criticize from the sidelines. Prakash Karat joining hands with a corrupt Mayawati to topple the Manmohan Singh Government, forcing the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to resign and usher in a chaos that is against Larger interests of the country is bound to have a negative fallout for the communists in times to come.

Their second mistake was to have failed to come to terms with the new India. Economic globalization, despite consistent communist opposition, is raging through the country like a wildfire. There are lots of things wrong with this New India. It does not have the social conscience so badly needed, it is creating vast inequalities between rich and poor, it is pauperizing traditional trades and providing little hope for those scratching out worms from riverbeds or eating grass to survive. But this New India is also shaping itself into an avalanche of upward mobility. Prakash Karat and his comrades are trying to tame the avalanche. They have stalled pension reform, stalled banking reforms and for long stalled the privatization of airports without realizing that keeping airports as a state monopoly was only preserving it as a sector for the rich. That all over the world air travel is dirt cheap precisely because it is privatized.


No to nuclear deal, no to reforms, no to change, no to newness, no to price rise, no to America; negativism seems the only reflex action with the communists. The comrades’ contempt for change, constant lamentation, moral righteousness are incongruous in a country shouting 'Chak de India!' In 1997, the communists committed the 'historic blunder' of not letting Jyoti Basu become Prime Minister because they were unwilling to share power. Today they have committed suicide because they did not know how to use power.


A.B. Bardhan says, ‘Bhaad mein jaye Sensex’ (to hell with the Sensex) as he pours scorn on millions of middle class Indians who invest and trade. In Kerala the communists are factionalized in a way that makes even the Congress look good. In Bengal they badly misread the outcome of murder by CPI (M) cadre and their arrogance in Nandigram. Despite blatant coercion and violence, large numbers silently voted against the party. People have begun to question the corruption of district / village-level leaders and the Marxist cadre. Large scale acquisition of rural land has affected Muslims sharply for most of them are farmers.


In 2007, the communist protests against joint Indian and American naval exercises got little response from the public. This year their so-called campaign against the petrol price hike was largely ignored by the people.



Opposition to the nuclear deal once again shows their distance from India. Sure, it's a commercial transaction, but why is anything to do with commerce necessarily evil? Even at the height of the Cold War, two million Indians lived in the US. The links between India and America are so massive, that as a leading economist put it, the Indo-US nuclear deal is an offshoot of a long process of civic exchange with America, not the basis of it. Karat and his men hate America and wish India’s foreign policies to conform to their hatred. Their indignant and consistent opposition to the US has forced them to withdraw support to the UPA and resulted in chaos. History will record the sordid communist role in toppling the Manmohan Singh Govt, if that happens, and apportion blame for the current horse trading of MPs to Prakash Karat, AB Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and their cohorts.

Jaipur Terror: Politicians Still Busy With Policy of Appeasement

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Jaipur_blasts_SIMI_hand_suspected/articleshow/3047314.cms

In the past three years, this is the 21st terror attack outside Jammu & Kashmir. More than 400 people have been killed in the terror strikes since Oct 2005. India had more than 2,300 terrorism-related deaths in 2007 - about 10% of a worldwide figure of 22,000 terrorism-related deaths that year. The Jaipur attack might have been worse had three unexploded bombs not been defused in the walled city area. The macabre statistics pose a serious question to our corrupt, outdated and over burdened law enforcement and legal systems.

One of the suspects in the serial bomb blasts in Jaipur on 13th May has been identified as SIMI activist Abu Faisal. He had been arrested from a hotel in the Gwaltoli area of the Indore in 2006, but was later released on bail. Faisal has been actively involved in anti-national and illegal activities since his release and was absconding after March 27, 2007.

All District Collectors and Superintendents of Police in Rajasthan have been directed to complete within 30 days the process of identifying Bangladeshi migrants living with or without voter ID Cards and/or ration cards and get them verified. The procedures for deporting the identified illegal nationals could then be started. Did we have to wait for such an exercise to commence?

An outfit calling itself Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the mass murder in Jaipur. There is little doubt that the tag Indian Mujahideen is a smoke screen to camouflage Pakistani roots of jihadi terror and present it as a homegrown phenomenon. When Mohammed Jalaluddin - alias Babu Bhai, the "Indian operations commander" of the Bangladesh-based militant group, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji), at the time of his arrest - was arrested in Lucknow in 2007, he told his IB interrogators that Jaipur and Haridwar were few of the prime targets for terror strikes. Yet the terror strike could not be prevented! A native of West Bengal, Jalaluddin was trained in Bangladesh and then sent to unleash terror in India in 1999. He claimed involvement in the July 2006 serial train bombings in Bombay, in which 209 people were killed. His trial is yet to be concluded in the painfully slow legal labyrinths of the Indian legal system. It should not surprise anyone if another hijacking like the IC 814 in 1999, forces the government of India to release him in exchange for hostages; or execution of his sentence delayed by deranged politicians and power hungry political parties out to grab Muslim votes; never mind more such strikes in the country.

Based on Jalaluddin's confessions, India's Intelligence Bureau did issue advice last year, listing a number of cities like Jaipur that it said were on the "hit list" of the jihadis. When nothing happened for a few months, the warning found its usual place, in the garbage dump. Unfortunately, intelligence agencies rarely chase up leads to get more specific intelligence and when something like Jaipur happens, they refer to their old report to save their necks.

The Jaipur serial blasts must be seen in conjunction with the recent infiltration attempts in Kashmir, gun battles along the border, and the new democratic government of Pakistan’s promise to deport Dawood Ibrahim - the mafia don blamed for bombings in Mumbai in 1993, to India. The move has obviously not gone down well with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) as the agency has traditionally exploited Dawood Ibrahim’s criminal network to export arms, explosives, drugs and terrorism in Asia and elsewhere. The ISI now operates more through Nepal and Bangladesh, where they have developed a secure network of operatives who liaise with militant groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba or the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. The Huji and the Lashkars have scores of sleeper cells all over India ready to strike on direction of Pakistan’s ISI.

But the real strength of the Islamic jihadi groups responsible for explosions in Kashmir and other Indian states lies not so much in the "foreign hand" but in the proliferation of these "sleeper cells" within India. The need for laws like the TADA or POTA to curb terror menace was never so acute. The serial bomb blasts in Jaipur must be recognised as a national shame and a challenge by Pakistan’s ISI and Muslim terror outfits to all Indians. The impact of the dastardly crime must not be restricted to Rajasthan and the families of those killed. Localising such cowardly misdeeds by fanatics would amount to condoning the mass murder and encourage these medieval philosophers to repeat their sordid performance elsewhere. It is high time the Indian politicians stopped blaming “foreign hand” euphemism for Pakistan and discard all indirect references to countries involved in encouraging terrorism. Unless the calculating political establishment shuns all shallow vote bank politics and resolves to hold the terrorism bull by its horns, more Jaipur like strikes and scores more innocent deaths are just waiting to be reported.

Blast in SIMI Terrorists' Trial Court

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Explosion_in_Hubli_court_no_casualty/articleshow/3027753.cms

The explosion is an attempt to intimidate the judge hearing the case of seven SIMI terror suspects. Fortunately there are no casualties! The incident should strengthen state resolve to come down on the terrorists with an iron hand. SIMI’s twisted philosophy reflected in its slogan “Allah is our Lord, Qur’an is our constitution, Muhammad is our leader, Jihad is our way and Shahadat is our desire", is outdated and more suited to Pakistan and medeival arab states than to a modern and forward looking India. Its self delusionary beliefs that Osama bin Laden is an outstanding example of a true Mujahid, who has undertaken Jihad on behalf of the 'ummah' and that Israel's Mossad was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, render the fanatic outfit a misfit in any civilised society. SIMI’s intolerance for secularism, democracy and nationalism, keystones of the Indian Constitution, also loudly proclaim its deranged thinking and intellectual malnutrition.

The bombing incident in Hubli court must be taken seriously even if there are no casualties. There is no hiding the intention of the terrorists.

Meddling Communists Accuse the PM of Incompetence

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/PM_hindering_WBs_growth_Buddhadeb/articleshow/3027585.cms

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of West Bengal has a fantastic sense of humour accusing Manmohan Singh of being inefficient and incompetent. His assertion that West Bengal is suffering due to Manmohan Singh's incompetence, is also laughable. The communists might as well blame Manmohan Singh for the hooliganism displayed by CPM cadres in Nandigram. There is nothing new in the state not performing well under communist misrule. That is the story the world over, whether it was the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Cuba or North Korea. He should know that inflation is a world wide phenomenon and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is more than adequately capable of handling the situation for India. Perhaps Buddhadeb would prefer one of his comrades to handle the crisis like Kim Jong-Il is doing in North Korea – simply print more currency.

If the communists are not satisfied with the performance of Manmohan Singh and, in their perception, the whole country is suffering due to his failure to perform his duties and responsibilities as a Prime Minister on all fronts, the communists are to blame too. Why are they supporting the Congress at all and helping to have an incompetent Prime Minister? In any case, I wonder who appointed Buddhadeb a spokesperson for the whole country! The communists did promise outside support to the Manmohan Singh government but have only extended interference from all sides. If the Chief Minister is keen to have better governance in West Bengal, he should reign in his goons who went on a murderous spree in Nandigram, restrain the other meddling comrades from interfering in functioning of the PMO and come up with more intelligent suggestions than to do away with the posts of state governors.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has also accused the Prime Minister of neglecting the interests of the common man. Now isnt that too much coming from murderers of Nandigram? West Bengal has been under communist misrule for over three decades. It is not too difficult to comprehend the true reason for communists blaming Manmohan Singh for being the cause of all their ills.

Arjun Singh Put in His Place

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Congress_snubs_Arjun_Singh_again/articleshow/3025511.cms

The Congress has finally begun to put its 'dead wood' in the right place. Arjun Singh has always had a long rope in the Party and this was the right moment to remind him of his standing in the establishment. Cronies like him, whose caliber doesn’t match his political ambitions, can only fetch a bad name to the Party and the government.

Quixotic Anbumani and His Moronic Supporters

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Venugopal_back_at_AIIMS_within_hours/articleshow/3022799.cms

With a frustrated Anbumani Ramadoss still the health minister, it is unlikely that the Supreme Court's direction will see a prompt implementation. The political establishment that supported Anbumani in his nefarious 'remove Venugopal' campaign is also not going to be too keen in restoring Venugopal his legitimate position back to him in a hurry. Under the circumstances, Dr Venugopal can be excused for overlooking the red tape and assuming charge at the AIIMS. The action will, ofcourse, infuriate the already incensed PMK and Left parties. Hopefully, the morons who cheered Anbumani on during his quixotic venture will refrain from doing any further damage to their already shattered image.

Constant Sources of Embarrassment for the PM

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Aiming_at_Venugopal_Ramadoss_hit_PM/articleshow/3023205.cms

The decent Mr Manmohan Singh will do well to remember that it is better to have wise enemies than to have foolish friends. Once again, Anbumani Ramadoss, with the support of trouble making Left, has landed him with an embarrassment over the 'Remove Venu Amendment' to AIIMS Act of 2007. It would be too much to expect the thick skinned PMK and the Left, who were mainly instrumental in pushing through the personal vendetta amendment in the Parliament, to feel any shame by the Supreme Court verdict quashing it. These are parties who have collected the worst in the country to form their respective ranks.

Known for its opportunistic bent of mind, the PMK advocates bifurcation of Tamil Nadu on caste lines, was part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government from 1999 to 2004 and then switched sides, and loyalties, to dump the NDA to join the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004. In Tamil Nadu it has the Communist Party of India as a major political partner; hence the blind support extended by the Left in Anbumani Ramadoss’ personal battle against Dr Venugopal, in total disregard for democratic norms and all sense of decency.

The Left Front comprising of Communist party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)], Communist Party of India (CPI), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), is a rigidly disciplined totalitarian outfit which depends on murderous cadres and which has no real patience with democracy and dissent. The Left has rigidly opposed the Indo – US Nuclear Deal, has a sordid record of governance in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, opposed any economic reforms that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed, acted as China proxy in the country, proposed strengthening of under performing public sector, supported divisive policies like reservation in higher education and jobs, and, after the Nandigrm episode, is generally considered as the party comprising of goons. No wonder the CPM is plagued by increasing dropouts, and problems in getting whole-timers? The communists have even made a ridiculous proposal to establish a pro-China regional alliance.

To top it all they have questioned the conduct of the Governor in West Bengal in switching off the lights of Raj Bhawan when Kolkata was forced to endure one of the frequent power cuts. They have even raised a doubt over the necessity of having the post of governors in states. Sixty years on, India can in fact, legislatively do away with the communists and the likes of Prakash Karat, D Raja, AB Burdhan and Sitaram Yechury. With friends (read coalition partners) like these, there cannot be anything but embarrassment, shame and disgrace for the Prime Minister and his party.

AIIMS: Supreme Court Verdict Not Enough for Shameless Anbumani Ramadoss to Resign

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Venugopal_back_at_AIIMS_within_hours/articleshow/3022799.cms

Supreme Court striking down the discriminatory law that facilitated the removal of cardiologist P Venugopal as the Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a slap on the face of Mandal II Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. There was little doubt that the AIIMS Act was amended by Parliament at the behest of Anbumani Ramadoss just to satisfy his vendetta against Dr P Venugopal. A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and H S Bedi upheld the appeal filed by Dr Venugopal challenging the law as being discriminatory and purposely brought in to superannuate him. He had contended that the amendment was brought with the sole purpose of removing him from his office due to his differences with Ramadoss. The Supreme Court held that the Act was illegal as the High Court had in March last year upheld his continuation in the post and the matter was pending in the apex court. But Anbumani Ramadoss supported by the likes of Arjun Singh, RK Dhawan, Laloo Prasad Yadav and the ever trouble maker communists of Left, in the meantime, brought the amendment in Parliament. Ramadoss sacked Venugopal in November 2007 after parliament passed the law and it received President Pratibha Patil's assent.

It may be recalled that Anbumani Ramadoss, ever since he became the Health Minister, had functioned with a single point agenda of removing Dr P Venugopal from AIIMS, ignoring the more important responsibilities his position demanded. Most of his tenure was spent in eroding the premier medical institute and demolishing its reputation as a medical centre of excellence. It is amazing that the Health Minister was not bothered by 51% vacancies in the posts of doctors in government hospitals, 7% children in Madhya Pradesh dying before they reached their first birthday, 60% children in the country under the age of three being malnourished and total absence of planning in rural health; but had occupied himself with low level vote bank politics of reservation, gaining cheap publicity by constant interference in domains he is unfamiliar with, and ofcourse his main objective of ridiculing and removing Dr P Venugopal.

As Health Minister, he even accepted the post-graduate medical degrees of five English speaking nations: Britain, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. The Medical Council of India (MCI), the apex medical education regulating body of the country does not recognise it. As per an act of parliament, MCI is the 'medical education recognising body' of the country. The health ministry cannot take a decision on foreign degrees completely by itself. Ramadoss’ ministry unilaterally recognised the post-graduate medical degrees without any reciprocal arrangement with those countries. He never bothered to explain the weird logic of his action.

Anbumani Ramadoss proposed quota for other backward classes (OBCs) in institutes of higher learning. Indian Medical Association(IMA) has been at loggerheads with the minister over the issue. Other hair brained schemes proposed by Anbumani Ramadoss included MBBS students to serve one year in rural India before being awarded a degree. According to him, compulsory rural service is the best way to set right the anomalies in public healthcare. He has conveniently ignored the fact that the students are not trained to serve in the villages and that rural health cannot be treated so casually, particularly when most Government funding goes to provide the best healthcare for urban India. Relying on students to provide healthcare amounts to giving second-class treatment to rural India. There is indeed a pressing need to correct the imbalance of doctors in rural and urban areas. But for that, the Minister should have concentrated on improving the 'Healthcare Centres' and their infrastructure instead of putting the cart before the horse and sending novice doctors there. Rural and socially disadvantaged people tend to have far more serious and complex medical problems that need more knowledge, expertise and experience. These problems are certainly beyond the capacity of young, unsupervised doctors. But that did not disturb Anbumani Ramadoss.

Instead of concentrating on his job instead of expressing an opinion on issues that he is totally clueless about, Anbumani Ramadoss busied himself proving his creative genius by devising ways to rid the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of its Director, P Venugopal by pushing through an ordinance in the Parliament. A case in point is the Minister’s refusal to sign the degree certificates, a demand put forward by the agitating medical students in 2006. The flimsy ground for refusal to sign the document cited by the Minister that the signature on the certificates of Registrar Dr Sandeep Aggarwal, whose appointment he contended was illegal, is sufficient proof of his indifference to the plight of the young doctors who had no degrees to apply for a job. The fact that the resident doctors ended their strike on a promise of immediate issuance of their degree certificates by AIIMS administration, albeit minus the Minister’s signature, should have pleased the Minister as it had taken the initiative to solve a problem that was solely in his domain. Instead, the Minister chose to place his ego above the careers of the affected doctors and the problems of AIIMS, whose President he happened to be. To add insult to injury, Anbumani Ramadoss is a typical hypocrite has been mouthing niceties about the Dr P Venugopal. He may have succeeded in fooling the constituency that elected him. He is naive if he thinks he can fool the whole country by his 'Nothing Personal' comments on the Venugopal issue. The people can see him clearly for what he is.

It is a shame that other politicians of dubious public record, like RK Dhawan, Arjun Singh and Laloo Prasad Yadav joined Anbumani Ramadoss’ efforts to dislodge P Venugopal and interfere in the AIIMS. Given that Anbumani Ramadoss has shamelessly refused to resign and continues to be the Health Minister and President of AIIMS, the relief is bound to be temporary in nature. For, the Minister’s earlier belligerent stance towards the Institute’s Director P Venugopal and his penchant for interfering in the normal functioning of the Institute has once again been revived. The fact that Delhi High Court had earlier ruled in favor of the Director of AIIMS in the dispute did nothing to deter a bitter Ramadoss from bulldozing his ways in the AIIMS. That belligerence is set to grow with the Supreme Court verdict. The country can expect more mischief from a frustrated Health Minister.

Police Serves Only Politicians and Criminals

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/6-yr-old_beaten_to_death_in_W_Bengal/articleshow/3009490.cms

A six-year-old boy was beaten to death by a neighbour at a village in Murshidabad district of West Bengal on 3rd Apr 2008, while three policemen present there stood as mute spectators. Inspite of the villagers pleading with them to intervene, the policemen did nothing to stop the heinous crime from being committed. Following the incident, women of the village came out of their homes with sticks and damaged two police vehicles parked at the spot. District police authorities suspended the three constables who were present when the child was being beaten up, along with an assistant sub-inspector who had also gone to the spot. Somehow, the story sounds familiar!

The incident of a serious crime being committed, this time a child being beaten to death, in the presence of the police without the latter taking any preventive action, is not new. Neither is people taking the law into their hands a new development in the country. Unfortunately, the police going through the sham drill of suspending the guilty policemen is also an old police trick to put the incident in the cold storage. It is only a matter of time before the policemen are reinstated, maybe at some other location. One cannot find fault with the police in the country detrminedly sticking to its track record!

Unless the role of the policemen is treated at par with abetment to murder and exemplary action, with a committed intent to stem the rot, taken against them there will be no let up in criminals roaming freely and the police continuing to remain a rag tag outfit meant to serve only politicians and criminals.

OBC Quota: Politicians in a Hurry

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Centres_order_on_OBC_quota_in_IIMs_challenged_in_HC/articleshow/3005452.cms
Hope the contention of the alumni association of IIMs that the Supreme Court judgement, which while upholding the OBC reservation policy, had said that it would not be applicable to the higher educational institutions, is upheld by the High Court. The government seeking more time to go through the supreme court judgement before responding to the contentions of the Association of IIMs is indicative of the fact that Arjun Singh, always in a hurry to advance his political ambitions of becoming the prime minister, had not even bothered to study the judgement before ordering implementation of his OBC agenda in higher education.

The nefarious designs of ambitious politicians like Arjun Singh, Anbumani Ramadoss, RK Dhawan, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mayawati to meddle with quality education in the country need to be demolished in the larger interests of the country.

The President and All her Kin

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_denies_breach_of_protocol_by_Presidents_son/articleshow/3002351.cms

President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Singh Shekhawat has denied any breach of protocol by him while accompanying his mother on an official visit to Latin America. According to him it was okay to go around on his own even when tax payers finance the trip of the President and her family. If he was so inclined, he could have got a direct flight from Delhi to Florida – and avoided the national embarrassment. Surprisingly, even the President’s office has found "nothing wrong" with wasteful expenditure of exchequer’s money and the utterly uncouth behavior of the President’s son.

To make matters worse, Rajendra Singh Shekhawat’s hollow explanation that he was a mere "visitor" to some of the programmes he had attended and that there was "nothing to discuss" during the visits, raises more questions about his having been included in the President’s entourage in the first place. The President and her son have seen nothing wrong with the son making a trip on the side of the President’s official trip on his own expenditure. Did the President’s son also pay for the officer of the Indian Embassy in Washington to go and receive him at Miami where he was on a private trip? The arguments in favor of the President and her son may sound convincing to the Congress and its UPA allies who were keenly instrumental in replacing Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam with Pratibha Patil, but do not seem to hold much water for their countrymen. That such goings-on have occurred during the tenures of KR Narayanan and Shankar Dayal Sharma, both Congress nominees, only gives an insight into the Congress culture of selecting the wrong people for the wrong reasons to head responsible positions they lack the merit to hold. Shankar Dayal Sharma, incidentally, holds the distinction of being the only President who refused to vacate the Rashtrapati Bhawan at the end of his tenure, unless an alternative accommodation was suitably prepared to him.

The least the shameless politicians of Congress and its UPA allies can do is gracefully apologize to the nation to stem the growing controversy surrounding the highest office of the land. It would be futile to expect the President’s office and Rajendra Singh Shekhawat to extend such a grand gesture as both have already found nothing amiss in their conduct.

The Congress and UPA Choice: National Embarrassment

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Presidents_son_defies_protocol/articleshow/2998067.cms

In a serious breach of protocol, President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, who accompanied his mother on her recent trip to Latin America, disappeared for a day on April 17 to conduct personal business in the US, keeping his Mexican hosts in the dark. Shekhawat was missing from the banquet hosted by Mexican President Felipe Calderon at Castilo de Chapultepec, where a seat was reserved for him.

The lapse was casually explained away as Shekhawat having gone to Florida to visit the university. The MEA also vaguely mentioned his having borne the expense of his journey from Mexico to Florida. As if that was an acceptable enough reason for treating a presidential invitation in the host country with such abandon. In any case, Shekhawat’s name would have been included in the seating plan at the banquet after an acceptance of the invitation by him.

During the same three nations tour of South America, there were reports of the President having walked passed the host country’s national flag without paying the customary compliment. Is it any wonder then that the presence at her address in the host country’s Parliament was inadequate?

Why can’t political parties accept a person of proven merit, like N. R. Narayana Murthy, Kiran Bedi and many more, for the highest office of the country? It is as if they are determined to soil the prestige of the office of the Indian President just to promote their respective party interests. The incident once again confirms that party interests are above national interests for our calculating politicians.

India can thank the Congress and its UPA partners for the national embarrassment.

Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Criticised by Bureaucrat Over The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kalam_erred_on_Office_of_Profit_bill/articleshow/2970756.cms

An office of profit is a term used in a number of national constitutions to refer to executive appointments. A number of countries forbid members of the legislature from accepting an office of profit under the executive as a means to secure the independence of the legislature and preserve the separation of powers. The term is used in Article 102 (1)(A) of the Indian Constitution which bars a member of the Indian Parliament from holding an office that would give its occupant the opportunity to gain a financial advantage or benefit.

The controversy started with the disqualification of Ms Jaya Bachchan as Rajya Sabha MP on the ground that she was holding an office of profit as chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council. This turned the spotlight on many other MPs as well and in 2006, Indian National Congress President and MP, Sonia Gandhi, had to to resign from several posts under pressure from opposition who asserted that the posts were 'offices of profit' and thus unlawful.

The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, also referred to as the Office of Profit Bill was passed exempting 56 posts from the purview of disqualification. The politicians came up with this instrument to save the fifty odd MPs from the possible disqualification from their respective offices of profit. The President, Mr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, returned the Office of Profit Bill asking Parliament to reconsider it taking into account the legal propriety of its application with retrospective effect.

As expected, corrupt politicians ignored Kalam’s advice to observe legal propriety and The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, was introduced on May 17 and passed on the same day by voice vote without any detailed discussion. The Bill was sent to the President on May 25 for assent and it is common knowledge that besides obtaining expert views, APJ Abdul Kalam personally studied the Bill before sending it back for reconsideration by the Parliament. Exercising his power under Article 111 of the Constitution, the President wanted the Bill's focus to be on evolving a comprehensive criterion, which would be just, fair and reasonable, and applied across all States and Union Territories in a clear and transparent manner.

To achieve the noble objective of ensuring that the lawmakers of the country at the Center and States, who are sworn to uphold the law and Constitution, discharge sacred trust which the people reposed in them, in a fair and impartial manner, the Constitution mandated that the Members of Parliament (MPs) and the State Legislatures should not, during their tenure, hold any 'office of profit' under the Government, so that they would not be 'obliged' to the Executive. Unfortunately, the Constitution also empowered the Parliament and the State Legislatives to identify those `offices of profit' which would be exempted from disqualification. This power has been unabashedly used by the politicians to create a host of offices of profit for themselves which were saved from constitutional disqualification and made a mockery of the Indian Constitution.

APJ Abdul Kalam’s then Secretary P M Nair, now accusing him of sitting over the issue for 17 days and asserting that Kalam was duty bound to give assent to the bill when it came to him a second time, is a blatant and disgraceful attempt by an opportunist to please the Congress and improve his future prospects. His statement that he had advised the then President verbally and in writing to clear the bill amounts to an ill concealed effort to clear himself from the responsibility for the delay in signing of the Bill by APJ Abdul Kalam. That the President said he was going by his conscience is obviously not enough for the sycophant babu to refrain from criticising the best President India has had after independence. It is the collective responsibility of corrupt politicians and sycophant bureaucrats, like Mr PM Nair, that India is stuck with undeserving people occupying the highest post in the country.

Mounting Rape Incidents: Is Mob Fury the Answer?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi_woman_gangraped_in_moving_car/articleshow/2958077.cms

This is one more in a long chain of disgraceful and preventable incidents. Unfortunately, barring updating of rape statistics in the capital no effective action will be taken by those responsible for maintaining law and order in the Capital. Even the culprits who committed the bestial crime will be out on bail before long, if they are caught at all. The judiciary will make nonsense of the trial by dragging it on till the witnesses are bought, murdered or simply harassed by having to drag their tired feet to the courts every so often and turn hostile, unless the media keeps the tragic memory alive. Then there is always the possibility af a 'Ram Jethmalani' helping to keep the culprits / rapists out of jail. The number of sexual assaults in New Delhi has increased 22 percent over last year, yet there is no visible effort on part of the political establishment to check the menace. It is as if they are either not interested or will be shaken out of slumber only after they themselves are affected, as happened when the Parliament was attacked. Why blame mobs taking the law into their hands to punish the guilty?

Priyanka's Benign Gesture to a Repentant Nalini Sriharan

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/I_met_my_fathers_assassin_Priyanka/articleshow/2952959.cms

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by Thenmuli Rajaratnam alias Dhanu, a suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Siriperumbudur near Chennai in a conspiracy hatched by Velupillai Prabhakaran and his intelligence Chief Pottu Amman on 21 May 1991. Anton Balasingham, LTTE's chief ideologue, was to later declare to NDTV that the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was a monumental historical tragedy which the LTTE regrets. He tried to justify the senseless and brutal act by saying that “We were not very happy with the political solution proposed by India in 1987 because it did not satisfy the political aspirations of our people”. That, in LTTE’s view, was reason enough to extinguish a bright Indian leader along with 17 other innocent lives. The horrific mentality of the LTTE was revealed in the fact that it had entrusted the task of filming the physical liquidation of Rajiv Gandhi to Haribabu, a local photographer who also perished in the blast at Siriperumbudur. Anton Balasingham even had the temerity to call upon the Government of India and the people of India to be magnanimous and put the past behind and to approach the Sri Lankan ethnic question in a different perspective. He did not specify what that perspective might be.

During the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, 25 LTTE cadres, including Sivarasan, the one eyed jack, Subha and others committed suicide in order to block the progress of investigation. While LTTE has a proven record of mindless violence, murder and thirst for blood, and may have forgotten its own cadres who committed suicide to conceal its sordid role in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the terrorist organisation expected India to forget and forgive the event and promote its cause in Sri Lanka.

S Nalini Sriharan, then 33, was arrested on 14 June 1991 along with her husband Sriharan alias Murugan, a hardcore LTTE militant. A local girl, and the only living member of the five-member assassination squad at the blast site, she faced maximum number of charges including providing cover to belt-bomb assassin Dhanu and her standby Subha, accompanying the duo to a textile shop to purchase the churidar which Dhanu wore to conceal the bomb. She was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to death. An appeal against the sentence was turned down by the Supreme Court. While in custody she gave birth to a female child who now lives in London. It was a compassionate Sonia Gandhi who appealed to the President for clemency and got the sentence reduced to a life term.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi’s daughter, visited the assassin Nalini Sriharan to come to terms with a tragedy which affected the family deeply. It was her way of coming to peace with the violence and loss that she had experienced. Though there might be different perceptions on the issue since the person involved was one of the brightest stars on the Indian political scene of that time and the nation may not be as forgiving, it was a daughter’s poignant attempt to see life on a much larger canvass and comprehend the motivations that drove Nalini Sriharan to participate in the macabre plot to eliminate her father. By all accounts, the grand gesture has helped both, the daughter as well as the assassin. Priyanka has forgiven Nalini for her father’s murder and the latter has felt cleansed of all her sins.

Priyanka’s visit to Nalini Sriharan must only be seen in that light and no other meaning attached to it. Rajiv Gandhi’s brutal assassination was a colossal national loss; it was a much greater tragedy that befell his daughter too. Rajiv Gandhi's daughter should have the right to come to terms with her personal loss and her method for it must be respected.

UK Seeks These Pakistani Islamic Clerics' Help

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/UK_monitoring_30_terror_plots/articleshow/2949643.cms

With terror networks and active terror plots galore in Britain, the Interior Ministry has accurately assessed the threat to UK. Its proposed proactive scheme to deal with the menace effectively and strengthen legal tools for law and order machinery is overdue already. Home secretary Jacqui Smith could not have been more correct when she pointed out the futility of waiting for another 7/7 before rushing to initiate appropriate measures to deal with elements opposed to peace and harmony in the country.

However, all the good intentions of the Interior Ministry will be negated if they bring in ‘moderate Islamic clerics’ from Pakistan to assist British imams in combating extremism in their communities. The UK might as well import good terrorists to reform the bad ones. There are no ‘moderate clerics’ in Pakistan. The Home Secretary would do well to pull out a BBC documentary from its archives titled ‘The Islamic Blowback’ dealing with the role of Pakistan in growth of Islamic extremism in Asia before heading to Pakistan to look for ‘moderate Muslim clerics’.

MP Abdul Wahab Stoops Further: Wont Apologise for Misconduct

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I_wont_apologise_MP_to_pilots/articleshow/2949058.cms

The Indian Muslim League MP Abdul Wahab is right in saying that there was no question of any apology from him and that he had done nothing wrong. Why should he apologize when his party is ready to stand by his uncouth conduct and fight the battle for him? Besides, the other politicians too have been true to form and supported his boorish high handedness in the aircraft. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has no call to expect any graceful or decent behavior from an elected politician. This is not the first time an elected representative of the people has placed his king sized ego before civilised behavior. MP Abdul Wahab fully justifies the kind of conduct people expect from an elected politician.

Congress: Dont Panic Over Price Rise, Party creates Other Worries

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/No_need_to_panic_over_price_Cong/articleshow/2948036.cms#write

The Congress is right! There is no need to worry on the price rise issue when the very livelihood is being put at stake by the Party pitching for reservation in private institutes. So the picture would only be complete with prices going through the roof and admissions of children, even after they slog and do well at school, being jeopardised by Congress busy collecting votes to ensure its hold on power at the centre. The Congress will stop at nothing to capture votes, even if it means ruining the lives of meritorious students! Doing well in studies is the one aspect that parents emphasize upon their children in order to ensure their bright future. Even that is not acceptable to the power hungry Congress scum like Arjun Singh and some of their equally retarded UPA partners.

Reservation: Congress Gone Berserk

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cong_pitches_for_OBC_quota_in_pvt_institutes/articleshow/2947997.cms#write

The politicians have gone berserk on the quota issue. With Congress having lost all sense of correctitude with its emphasis on caste promotion instead of merit in education, the people must teach these supporters of caste system in India the lesson of their lives in the next elections. But then, this was the expected course after the retrograde Supreme Court ruling on the issue. The next elections must throw these divisive politicians out who are bent upon promoting mediocrity in place of excellence. VP Singh, the biggest proponent of Mandalisation, going out of the country to get quality treatment for his ailment has not taught any lesson to our selfish vote seekers. What a disgrace!

Reservation Road to Personal Ambition: Politicians in a Hurry

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/OBC_quota_HRD_ministry_keen_on_swift_rollout/articleshow/2942767.cms

As expected, the Supreme Court verdict has spurred Arjun Singh to speed up work on the Bill designed to extend the quota to unaided and private institutions. The legislation was put on hold after SC had stayed reservation in the central institutions. Not that it will help him achieve his lifelong ambition of becoming the Prime Minister, with Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mayawati chasing the same dream. The damage to the country and the education system are least of his concerns right now, time being at premium for the ‘Minister in a hurry’.

The Supreme Court’s insistence on keeping the creamy layer out has not helped Lalu Prasad Yadav, RamVilas Paswan, A Ramadoss or Mayawati, as they would have liked to see a more complete destruction of higher education in the country. No half measures for these perfectionists! Not satisfied by ruining the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) by constant interference, Anbumani Ramadoss has gone beyond expressing his dismay at the Supreme Court excluding the creamy layer and has promised to keep the issue alive in Parliament until the damage is irreparable. With active support from Laloo Prasad Yadav, he is bound to achieve spectacular results, to the detriment of the nation; all in the name of a sham being passed of as ‘social justice’.

In blind pursuit of their personal ambitions, these politicians have failed to foresee the divided and caste ridden country they will pass on to the next generation. The damaging potential of Mandalisation of the country has completely escaped the imagination of politicians who refuse to see beyond their own selfish and immediate personal political ambitions.

27 % OBC Reservation: Politics Win Over Social Justice

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Supreme_Court_approves_27_OBC_quota/articleshow/2940232.cms

The main reason for India emerging out of economic wilderness is its large educated genext. Imagine the heights we can achieve if the next generation is equipped with quality education based on merit and free from interfering vote seekers like Arjun Singh, Anbumani Ramadoss, Laloo Prasad Yadav and D Raja who won’t think twice before taking the country to dogs with their reservation agenda. If these witless and self seeking politicians were seeking a 27 per cent quota for the deserving out a sense of social responsibility, the folly would have been forgivable. Unfortunately, the Congress and its communist allies have willingly joined the race for vote politics with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to win the reservation race. That in the bargain the country faces a retrograde future, is of no consequence to them as long as their position in power is ensured. The plight of meritorious candidates deserving admission in these institutes is understandable. But their numbers are small and cannot hold any quid pro quo for the politicians, hence must suffer the unjust treatment silently, now that even the Supreme Court has dashed all their hopes.

The Supreme Court upholding 27 per cent reservations for the OBCs in central educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) is bound to encourage calculating politicians to rely on vote-bank politics to make their way to power rather than quality performance. The only saving grace in the Supreme Court ruling is the exclusion of the creamy layer and children of MPs and MLAs from the 27 % quota. But the country can trust the politician-babu combine to find ways to circumnavigate the Supreme Court rider.

Although the issue has been settled once and for all by the Supreme Court ruling, there is still a way to show dissent for the reservation policy. The people must identify the politicians and political parties favoring the policy and ensure their defeat in the next elections. Arjun Singh, Anbumani Ramadoss, RK Dhawan, Laloo Prasad Yadav, D Raja, Mayawati are some of those who advocate reservation to make a career; Congress, RJD, BSP and the Left parties would bid for reservation again, not out of any sense of social justice, but to win elections and gain power.

Apparantly, Rajeeve Goswami and others who lost their lives in 1989-1990 fighting against reservation were mere sacrificial lambs for the political predators and unconcerned political parties.

Arrogant MP Deplaned for Harrasing Passengers

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Offloaded_MP_wants_Pilot_punished/articleshow/2935208.cms

This is another example of high handed behavior by an elected politician where he does not find anything wrong in making fellow passengers wait for him and delaying a flight to make a grand entry before the aircraft can get on its way. Instead of being apologetic, the Rajya Sabha MP and Dubai-based businessman PV Abdul Wahab has threatened to move a privilege motion in Parliament against Flight Captain Rajat Rana who forced him to disembark from the plane in Kozhikode. The Indian Union Muslim League MP did not stop at issuing threats, but also called the Captain of the flight a glorified driver. Such arrogant and uncouth behavior of our politicians is nothing unusual and must be put down firmly in Parliament where the MP intends to raise the issue.

Flight Captain Rajat Rana deserves credit for taking a stand in the interest of other passengers and showing the MP his place, off the plane. It is heartening to note that the ICPA has extended full support to the pilot and not cowed down before his uncalled for threat. Kozhikode airport manager Srinivasan Rajachandrasekhar should draw a lesson from the Flight Captain and the investigation of the incident that he has promised should only focus on the conduct of the MP. Being rich and member of the Rajya Sabha does not automatically entitle the MP to enter the cockpit of the aircraft. He deserves to be taken to task for abusing his position and harassing other passengers on board the plane.

Ingrate Behenji Attacks Rahul Gandhi

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2933362.cms

Hope the Congress has learnt a lesson in who to support next time. A corrupt Mayawati is known to stoop to unimaginable levels for political gains. It is the same ungrateful Mayawati whose prosecution was averted by Congress through a pliant Governor of Uttar Pradesh. Wrong thing to do in the first place! The Congress has no one else to blame for the Mayawati attack on Rahul Gandhi. Its own sins have returned to haunt it in uglier forms than the act of preventing a corrupt politician from being put behind bars.

Income Tax raids at the residences of Mayawati's sister Munni Devi, her brothers Subhash and Anand and brother-in-law Narendra Pal Gautam, have failed to deter Mayawati in any way from openly demanding more money from her Party MLAs. Mayawati is so confident about the loyalty of her 'vote bank' that in public meetings she has accepted that she takes money from Thakur-Brahmin candidates to run her party. For the first time, she audaciously gave tickets to 89 Brahmins. It is indeed unprecedented in the caste-ridden society where social prejudices and identities are at the very core of political action-reactions. She doesn't care for niceties and sophistication and is openly contemptuous of middle class sensitivities over issues like corruption. Accused of converting the mission initiated by the Late Kanshi Ram into a Machinery to print currency, she is under investigation for her past misdeeds of corruption, continues to accumulate unaccountable wealth and, ofcourse, power.

On 20 May 2007, Behenji issued a Government notification under which out of 22 offences covered under the Prevention of Atrocities on AC/ST Act, on which legal action is required to be taken under this Act, only two offences,viz. murder and rape have been retained and the rest of the twenty offences have been excluded. The rest of the offences like derogatory remarks against Dalits,forcible occupation of their lands, bonded labour, false evidence against Dalits, eve teasing, will be tried under the ordinary law of the land. Paradoxically, in 1999, Mayawati had alleged that BJP Government supported atrocities on Dalits. So much for her claim of being the champion of the down trodden!

Even as she accuses Rahul Gandhi of purifying himself after meeting ‘Dalits’, she cannot avoid acknowledging the contribution made by Nehru family that opened up chances for those like her. Her big drawback is that she has formed the government twice in the past with the help of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Both times she stabbed Bhartiya Janata Party in the back. Her credibility on issues like secularism, corruption, democratic norms and the constitutional rights of backward classes is less than inspiring.

With her track record, it is amazing that the Congress put itself, and its reputation, on line to prevent Mayawati’s prosecution for corruption. Guess its payback time, Mayawati style!

Pakistan: Visa Free Travel Trap

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pak_may_drop_visas_for_Indians_Sharif/articleshow/2926699.cms#write

Pakistan considering visa free regime for Indians travelling to that country is a generous offer, particularly since there is no reciprocal expectation. However, India would do well to take it with a pinch of salt given the history of Pakistanis coming to India and going underground as well as the fact that Pakistan still maintains terror infrastructure hostile to India, on its soil.

BJP Investing in Indisciplined Politicians for Power

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/BJP_takes_back_Khurana_before_polls/articleshow/2925758.cms

The over ambitious Madan Lal Khurana who was twice thrown out of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has been reinducted into the party with some misplaced notion of the event doing the political party any good in the elections due early next year. On his part, Madan Lal Khurana has smartly refused to comment on his reinduction into BJP until the party clearly defines the future it has chartered for him. The erstwhile Chief Minister of Delhi was expelled from the party for indiscipline, publicly criticising BJP President Lal Krishna Advani in April 2006 over the Kandahar hijack episode and expressing inability and discomfort at serving with him. Khurana had often spoken against the party leadership and joined Uma Bharati’s party, Bharatiya Jan Shakhti. Wonder what has changed since the time he was thrown out of BJP? Has his discipline improved or has the BJP decided to overlook his anti party activities of the past? Maybe a few years in total political oblivion have taught him to be more tolerant towards Advani, if he is to get anywhere near his ambition to regain lost political relevance.

Of late the 'Dilli Ka Sher' (May God forgive whoever coined that title for him) created news for himself by espousing the cause of traders who had been operating their business outside of law and facing sealing of their shops operating from residential areas. That is the best he could do to earn some publicity for himself. The cranky politician does not mind traders breaking the law and reducing the Capital to slums, if that reserves a place for him in active politics.

The BJP hopes to return to power with the likes of Madan Lal Khurana next year. All the best to the party; they will need it with such people forming their ranks!

Rape in Lawless Capital: Corrupt Politicians, Inept Law Enforcers

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2924588.cms

What a pity such incidents recur at frequent intervals and there is no end in sight as the agencies responsible for maintaining law and order in the country continue to display a disgraceful performance. The law makers too are busy filling their pockets with total indifference towards the people who elected them. The saddest part of the sordid event is yet to come; the culprits will be granted bail in a couple of days. It is as if the law exists for the criminals and not for the ordinary law abiding citizens. The corrupt politicians who should be formulating stricter laws to check the growing menace of crime in the country, are incapable of thinking beyond their own political survival; hence the frequent walkouts from Parliament / State Assemblies during business hours. The courts too would pitch in by delaying the trial, to the advantage of the criminals. Is it any wonder the people take law into their own hands to punish the guilty?

Muslim Xinjiang: China's Wild West

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Now_a_rebellion_in_Chinas_west/articleshow/2921322.cms#write

This is not the first instance of Muslim trouble in Xinjiang Province in North West China. The Province borders Pakistan and has active sympathisers and assistance from across the border in fomenting secessionist ambitions. With 26,700 mosques in the Province, the Uighur Muslim have historically been the predominant ethnic group in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, also known as the 'wild west of China'. The Uighurs have often accused China of conducting a campaign of repression against its Sunni Muslim minority. China's war on terror is concentrated on Xinjiang. Pakistan Army is known to have trained the Uighurs along with other jihadi groups in a camp near Mirpur in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. A radical Islamic independence group, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement is active in the area and has active support from Pakistan’s ISI created terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jamaat-e-Tablighi and Jamaat-e-Islami.

The Muslim protest in Xinjiang is indicative of China’s problems with ethnic and religious minority groups in the country’s vast western regions, where there is a long history of unhappiness with Chinese rule. Beijing has sought to pacify them with economic development programs and suppress dissent with heavy police presence. According to Chinese official version, the Uighurs are using the Beijing Olympic Games as an opportunity to attract international attention to their causes.

The province borders eight separate countries. Foreign fighters, including members of the Taleban, have been captured here. There is a sudden influx of Arabic grammar books in the region so that the people can read the Koran better. The resident Uighurs discreetly disclose to outsiders that they are not afraid of the communist Chinese, that they are only afraid of Allah.

Officially, the Chinese loudly proclaim that they hope to keep all their heritage and customs alive, like ethnic cuisine and dress. But one part of their heritage is actively discouraged in school: Islam. It is clear authorities seek to contain religion within tight parameters. Sermons that advocate behavior that contradicts Chinese law or Communist policy are banned. Government-approved Muslim clerics, or Imams, are not allowed to criticize the Chinese government's family planning policies, for example, if they want to keep themselves and their followers out of trouble. The Uighurs are encouraged to join the Communist Party, a prerequisite for career advancement, and are required to disavow religion and declare themselves atheists.

Northern Xinjiang is rich and fertile, and it has known oil deposits. In 1940, Uranium deposits were located in Bortala, Daladi, Kashgar and Altay Shan in Xinjiang. The region’s importance for China can also be gauged from the fact all of China’s nuclear weapons were tested in Xinjiang. China has flooded the province with Han Chinese. In 1950 Uighurs were 94% of the population - they are now less than half. The indigenous Muslims resent large scale influx of Han Chinese in the area and accuse China of deliberately disturbing the region’s demographic balance.

Democratic Pakistan: Steadfast with Terror

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Pakistan_continues_to_train_terror_outfits_India_/articleshow/2911337.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Kashmiris_must_be_involved_in_resolving_dispute_Pak/articleshow/2920702.cms Sticking to the old and oft repeated position on Kashmir, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a weekly news briefing on 2nd Apr that "Pakistan's position is very clear that Kashmiris are a party to the dispute and must be involved in its resolution". Earlier, similar opinion was expressed by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani and members of his Cabinet.

When questioned on Indian National Security Advisor M K Narayanan's comments that Pakistan is still maintaining terror infrastructure inimical to India, Sadiq repeated the familiar lie, "We strictly follow the policy of non-interference in neighboring states” – A statement that amounts to a blatant denial by Pakistan of its involvement in creating the Taleban for interference in Afghanistan and supporting Lashkar-e Toiba, Al Badr and Jaish-e-Mohammed for terrorist strikes in India. It is clear that restoration of democracy in Pakistan has had little impact on its policy of using terror as a state instrument against India. The West is still to catch up with the fact that it is this very terror infrastructure that indoctrinates the terrorists with jihadi philosophy for strikes in Europe, trains them and exports them to Europe. Most terrorists apprehended in Europe have revealed during interrogation that they had been to Pakistan prior to participating in their nefarious activities on European soil.

Pakistan’s post elections approach to terrorism is set to follow the same old double standards it has always had. Conditional cooperation with the West to extract maximum economic benefits and continued maintenance of the ISI reared terror groups to inflict ‘death by a thousand cuts’ on India. Fortunately for India, the policy is fraught with grave consequences for Pakistan itself, some of which have already begun to extract a price from the terror host nation in terms of a raging insurgency in Balochistan and loss of state control in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The West is aware of the existence of terror infrastructure in Pakistan but has mistakenly convinced itself that it is not directed towards the West. The impact of such myopic approach to terrorism is already visible in Europe. The cold blooded murder of Theo Van Gogh in his own home country, Holland, and the unruly Islamic demonstrations in Brussels, London and other European cities is only the foretaste of more gruesome developments to come. Construction of the world’s largest mosque in London, right next to the proposed site of a 2012 Olympic stadium, should not come as a surprise to anyone.

While the West has hypnotized itself with the idea of ‘political correctness’, Pakistan and other like minded Muslim countries have displayed no such qualms. Some of these countries, in fact, pretend to be on best of terms with the US and the West. India would do well to keep its guard and not expect much help from the West. Infact, the situation seems to be veering towards the West needing help in tackling Islamic fundamentalism.

Nandigram Loss of Life: Just a Political Setback for CPM

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/CPM_admits_its_plagued_by_desertion/articleshow/2915560.cms

Is it any wonder that the CPM is plagued by increasing dropouts, and problems in getting whole-timers? It is a clear sign of good sense finally prevailing in the country. It also indicates that most people dislike the negativity associated with the communists and the present lot of their leaders. In a country where the public sector has traditionally under performed, the communists are advocating the very system be strengthened.

That the party seeks to enforce stricter guidelines for whole-timers and a more stringent method of giving out memberships, is laughable, to say the least. Referring to the communists’ abominable conduct in Nandigram, CPM has admitted that the quality of members has come down lately. But the communists have failed to admit that the performance of the party cadres reflects the personality of the party’s leadership. That CPM considers the shameful murder of innocent people in Nandigram by its rabid cadres a "weapon in anti-CPM propaganda" also reflects the pedestrian mentality of the CPM leadership. Loss of innocent lives in Nandigram means little to Prakash Karat than a political setback to his party’s inflated ambitions.

The CPM attributes growing factionalism in the party to inability of cadres and senior leadership to settle grievances within established party forums. The communists have also expressed their distaste for cadres carrying their intra-party squabbling to the media. The communists are shy of the media is well known, particularly when the reports contain some negative content. The Chinese controlling foreign press in Tibet is a live example. They would prefer the muck to remain below the proverbial carpet.

When other states are leaving no stone unturned to invite investors to come and contribute in their economy and development, the communists have perversely advocated that private investors should not be loaded with too many concessions. Only complete morons will be attracted by the latest communist philosophy on investment in communists ruled states.

The communists, in their analysis of the dropout rate, have missed a major point. The dropout rate is much higher in states like Kerela and Tamil Nadu because these states have a higher literacy rate. There is another point that starkly comes across – communism thrives in states where education has still not reached desired levels.

Hats off to an Upright Mustaqin

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai_man_gets_rapist_son_10-yr_jail_/articleshow/2915039.cms#write

Mustaqin has proved beyond any doubt that he is an honest and upright Indian citizen by helping the law punish his own son for a heinous crime. But the incident once again highlights a pressing need for review of lax laws in the country that permit bail to a rapist. Suppose Mustaqin had not helped the police to apprehend the fugitive criminal, some other children would have fallen victim to the rapist. The aim of laws must not only be to punish the guilty, but also to act as deterrent against commitment of crime.

Congress Discovers Mayawati is Corrupt

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cong_slams_BSP_hints_at_alliance_with_SP/articleshow/2911988.cms

The Congress is pretending to have only recently realised that Mayawati is corrupt, depending entirely on short public memory ofcourse. It was the same Congress leadership which conspired with a pliant governor of UP to prevent prosecution of Mayawati on corruption charges. But the Party was then keen to get rid of APJ Abdul Kalam and needed the support of Mayawati for that. Involvement of Mayawati in the Taj Corridor scam, her hob nobbing with criminals and ordering frequent transfers of police and IAS officers is old news. The Congress pretending this is a recent discovery would amount to deceiving their own selves.

CPM Speaks Chinese Again

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/CPM_for_long-term_alternative_to_Cong_BJP_/articleshow/2911926.cms#write

Bravo! CPM is not in favour of cobbling a "cut and paste" third front for elections and wants to establish a long term political alternative to the Congress and BJP. With the communists’ sordid record in Nandigram, stubborn opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal and a ridiculous proposal to establish a pro-China regional alliance, it is easy to relate their stance to the old adage ‘if wishes were horses the communists would rule’. The comrades have not even bothered to elaborate on ‘anti-people content of economic reforms’ of the Congress. Perhaps they have assumed that the people have no choice but to agree with their ideas of whats good for India. So far, all the communists have uttered is only beneficial to China and Pakistan.

Sitaram Yechury thinks communalism is a big threat to integrity and unity of the country. This guy deserves all the credit for originality of ideas. That apart, it is amusing to see the communists trying to implement Chinese agenda while talking about whats good for India. This may be the right time to remind the likes of pro-China Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Prakash Karat and AB Burdhan that the people of India are aware of China’s arrogant expansionist designs to encircle Indian waters from Gwadar to Coco islands. That It annexed Tibet in 1950, forcibly took possession of Aksai Chin in 1962, happily took an illegitimate 'gift' of Indian land from Pakistan, claims the entire Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and refuses to issue visas to resident Indians of Arunachal; not to mention the crude summoning of the Indian Ambassador at 2 AM for a routine protest.

Inspite of the long history of Chinese belligerence, the communists in India only see the threat of US imperialism. It is not possible to convince them of the most serious threat posed by the dragon just to the north.

Indo-US Nuclear Deal: China Proxy Spews Venom

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Karat_proud_of_N-spanner/articleshow/2910506.cms

The 19th CPM party congress being held in Coimbatore from 29 Mar 2008 onwards has an opening message for the country. Prakash Karat is proud of the CPM record – does that include what his party did in Nandigram? He did not mention.

Karat even made a plea to "progressive" forces in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to forge an alliance against US. Was China deliberately left out or has Prakash realised he would be barking up the wrong tree by assuming that anything connected with China can be “progressive”? CPI general secretary A B Bardhan, who also spoke, said Left's position on the nuclear deal remained unchanged. The venom in Prakash Karat’s speech against the US must have prompted his communist comrade to put in his two penny worth too! So, is the opposition to the nuclear deal because of the US or is it just plain negative reaction to anything the UPA does? None of them have mentioned.

Interestingly, the recent criticism of China by the US on the issue of human rights in Tibet coincides with the adverse comments against the US offered by Prakash Karat. The perfect match in the timing of the US offering advice to China on the Tibet issue and Prakash Karat suggesting formation of a regional alliance against the US cannot be coincidental, given that the Chinese have always suspected that the Indo-US nuclear deal was the US' quid pro quo for an Indian willingness to co-operate with the US in countering the growing Chinese power in the Asian region. It is well known that Pakistan has close ties with China and opposes the deal. By aligning themselves with Pakistan and China to oppose the Indo-US nuclear deal, the communists led by Prakash Karat, D Raja, AB Burdhan and Sitaram Yechury have once again exposed that they are anything but proxies of these belligerent neighbors of India.

Even the bitterest opponents of UPA will not accuse the Manmohan Singh government of hiding its intention to go ahead with the deal. Wonder why then the communists have waited patiently till the fag end of this government’s tenure to suggest formation of an anti US regional alliance?

As the Chinese stance against the Tibetans hardens and the world opinion veers against the Chinese, the Friends of China too are likely to step up their anti US machinations. Never mind if these friends are Indian communists or Pakistanis, never mind if their efforts harm the larger Indian interests; theirs is to serve the Chinese masters irrespective of any other consideration. The world is likely to hear a higher pitch of Indian communists resonating Chinese agenda as the Beijing Olympics draw closer, in order to offset adverse publicity the Chinese generate by murdering even more Tibetans. Seeing their unquestionable loyalty to the Chinese cause, the Chinese can easily substitute the Mascots for the Beijing olympics with Indian communists.

Law and Order Machinery: A Disgrace

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad_Man_hits_wife_in_court/articleshow/2910609.cms#write

So much for state of law and order in the country! The criminal takes the law into his hands with the judge watching and beats his wife up with an iron rod. Shows how much respect there is for law and order machinery in the country. And why not, the judge even grants him bail after the shameful incident. Incidents like these cause immense despaire and make one wonder if there is at all any hope for the hapless citizens in our country.

Earth Hour: Making a Difference

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth_Hour_An_hour_of_difference/articleshow/2908411.cms#write

Observing the ‘Earth Hour' when the world switches off all non essential power between 8 and 9 pm on March 29, is a most positive, though tiny, step in the right direction to tackle the problem of ‘Global Warming’. It underlines the importance of individual participation in the effort to confront the looming catastrophe facing the planet. It would have been much more productive if other media, including the electronic, had taken it upon themselves to contribute towards generating awareness about the subject among the population. The response would have been beyond imagination.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on 31 March 2007 that is estimated to have cut Sydney's mains electricity consumption by between 2.1% and 10.2% for that hour, with as many as 2.2 million people taking part. There is no doubt that India can beat that record, provided the issue is widely written and talked about to rouse people’s interest in the event.

With the government comprising of half witted politicians, it is only the private corporate initiative that can serve the desired purpose.

Minister Cancels China Trip

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_dates_were_a_problem_Kamal_Nath/articleshow/2904705.cms#write Commerce Minister Kamal Nath almost sounds defensive when he says that his trip has not been called off because of any diplomatic reasons but because of problems in dates. The Minister seems to be scared of expressing Indian anger at the Indian Ambassador in Beijing being summoned at 2 AM for a routine matter. Does that mean China can treat India with the disdain it has shown for us and our ministers will hesitate even to so much as protest? It would be wrong to expect much from a minister with less than sterling record. In Mar 2002, the Supreme Court Bench imposed a fine of Rs 10, 00,000 on Kamal Nath for damaging the environment by building a motel on the bank of river Beas near Kulu-Manali in Himachal Pradesh. The court had directed the Himachal Pradesh government to take over the area and restore it to the original conditions.

No one in his right mind would advocate going to war with China over the issue of Ambassador Nirupama Rao being summoned well past midnight on 21 Mar by the Chinese Foreign Ministry to register its protest over a group of Tibetans storming the Chinese Embassy in Delhi. But to let the Chinese treat India and Indians with the contempt and get away without India even frowning, would tantamount to showing how gutless we are as a people. Unfortunately, the scum (politicians) passing off as our leaders is determined to ignore larger Indian interests in pursuit of maintaining their own political relevance.

Nuclear Deal: Left Will Never be Ready

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Left_not_ready_for_N-deal_Karat/articleshow/2888545.cms#write

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers24%5Cpaper2330.html

Prakash Karat’s statement conforms to the Resolution adopted by the Left on 20 Aug 2007. Interestingly, this time he has made the effort to reason out the rigid stance taken by the Left on Indo-US nuclear deal. Reasons for this change are not far to seek, and generally conform to the change in the attitude of the Chinese. Of late, while Chinese Government spokespersons have avoided outspoken comments on the Indo-US nuclear deal, they have found other means to criticise the deal and to discourage India for going ahead with it. The Left is an obvious proxy for the Chinese.

This negative attitude is caused by the Chinese suspicion that the Indo-US nuclear deal was the US' quid pro quo for an Indian willingness to co-operate with the US in countering the growing Chinese power in the Asian region. This suspicion was strengthened when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided not to attend the summit meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) as an observer at Shanghai in June, 2006. The SCO is a Chinese initiative with a focus on countering drug-smuggling and terrorism.

Pakistan initiated a campaign to counter the Indo-US deal at two levels. First, they said it will be discriminatory to Pakistan if it was not made applicable to it too. Second, it will create a military nuclear asymmetry in the sub-continent by enabling India to divert its domestic stock of fuel for military purposes, while using the imported fuel for civilian purposes under international safeguards.

Musharraf requested the Chinese leaders during his State visit to China in February 2006, for Chinese assistance in the construction of six more nuclear power stations, with a capacity of 600 or 900 MWS each. The Chinese reportedly agreed in principle to supply two stations of 300 MWs each to be followed later by four more. This again figured in the General's bilateral discussions with Mr.HU in the margins of the SCO summit in June 2006.

Since then the Chinese have come round to declare that the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal is a bilateral issue between India and the US. The more guarded Chinese position to the bilateral discussions between President George Bush and Mr.Hu at Hanoi in the margins of the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Organisation on November 18 and 19, 2006. During these bilateral discussions, Mr. Bush is believed to have pointed out to Mr.Hu that the Chinese supply of new nuclear power stations to Pakistan could not be projected as a continuation of the Chinese assistance to Pakistan under a 1985 bilateral co-operation treaty under which CHASHMA I and CHASHMA II were given and hence would need the clearance of the NSG. Mr Bush was also reported to have referred to the Pakistani rejection of repeated requests from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to hand over Dr. A. Q. Khan for an independent interrogation and pointed out that the Chinese supply of the new power stations could encourage Pakistan's non-cooperation with the IAEA.

Beijing, which has been projecting itself as a responsible and co-operative interlocutor of the US, Japan and South Korea on the question of North Korea's nuclear test and has won praise for its role in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table, did not want this positive image to be dented by disregarding the reservations of Mr Bush relating to the supply of new power stations to Pakistan. It, therefore, changed its stance at the last minute.

Against the overall backdrop of the emerging strategic picture, it is interesting to see the Left take on the mantle on behalf of the Chinese and continue their obduracy in opposing the Indo-US nuclear deal. At the same time, with an eye on elections next year the Left leaders have very smartly decided to credit the people of India with some intelligence and decided to back their opposition to the deal with some reasons too. Should the Congress come up with satisfactory explanation to objections raised by the Left, Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and AB Burdhan will collectively come up with still more objections to the deal, with active assistance of the Chinese, naturally.

UP serial blasts accused fielded for by-polls

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/UP_serial_blasts_accused_fielded_for_by-polls/articleshow/2888150.cms

So whats wrong in a serial blasts accused being nominated to contest for Lok Sabha? As it is, the Lok Sabha has criminals of every hue including murderers, scamsters, rapists, thugs and fraudsters. Nomination of Maulana Hakim Tariq Quasmi, accused in the serial blasts in civil court premises in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad in Nov last year, only completes the picture on the Indian political canvass. The National Loktantrik Party (NLP)’s national president Arshad Khan deserves to be congratulated for making such an educated choice of party candidate for Lok Sabha. Maybe he could not find a single person more suited for the responsibility from amongst the large population of the largest state in the country.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati – herself an accused in a ‘disproportionate assets case’ – is also keeping pace with the happenings in her state by ordering a judicial probe into the arrest of Quasmi from Barabanki by the Special Task Force. She is obviously not convinced that criminals like Maulana Hakim Tariq Quasmi belong behind bars. In her zeal to garner Muslim votes in the state, she seems to accept anyone with any background suitable for entry into politics from her state. Behenji also seems to believe that the electorate of Uttar Pradesh desreves to be represented by criminals.

High Court Admits DSA Case Against Laloo and Rabri

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HC_admits_appeal_against_Lalu-Rabri/articleshow/2883927.cms#write

The Patna High Court admitting for hearing, the appeal by Bihar government challenging the acquittal of Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi in a disproportionate assets case, has come rather late. Laloo Prasad is about to complete his ministerial assignment in the central cabinet and the country has had to do with a minister whose integrity has always been questionable.

It is the country’s misfortune that an eminent lawyer, known for hiring out his talents to criminals, was responsible for manipulation of law to defend the tainted minister and his wife who had looted Bihar and are solely to blame for the backwardness of the state.

The TOI has wrongly described the situation as a set back to Laloo Prasad and his wife. It has take one year for just the decision to admit the ‘Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the duo in the High Court; Laloo Prasad would most likely complete a few more damaging tenures as a minister before any worthwhile verdict is passed against the fodder scam accused and his wife. In the mean time, witnesses will disappear, judges transferred, governments change and memory of his misdeeds dumped into the dustbin of history. Of course, while this is happening, Laloo has brilliant lawyers like Ram Jethmalani to bank upon to murder the law of the land.

Dalai Lama's Appeal

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2877989.cms

China has not only cleverly extracted an appeal from the Dalai Lama, it has also reafirmed Indian opinion that it has solid support from its minions, the Left, in India. Why else were the Left leaders quiet in the Lok Sabha when opposition to Chinese crackdown on Tibetans was being discussed.

Federal Rate Cuts: Only Few Benefitted

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7300017.stm

The Federal Reserve has cut key interest rates a number of times and is scheduled to cut these rates again on Tuesday by a whopping one per cent. But the banks are not passing these rate cuts to the borrowers in the same scale. The efforts on part of Federal Reserve to bail out financial institutions and banks are widely reported, understandable and welcome. But it is not clear how these efforts help the hapless homeowners and other affected citizens. Apart from the 'stimulus package' that also gives homeowners a token tax relief, the fed rate cuts do not seem to benefit the people at large. Will the Feds kindly explain to consumers why it takes so long for their efforts, like the interest rate cuts, to trickle down to those for whom their efforts mean the difference between relief and agony.

Already, some homeowners have lost their homes and were forced to move into tented colonies. Some, in sheer desperation, burnt their own homes down. Unless the homeowners benefit from the Fed rate cuts substantially and the banks too cut lending rates, foreclosures and people losing their homes is a tragic story whose end is still not in sight.

Tibet Unrest: Chinese Response

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/poll/2871582.cms

The peaceful demonstrations of budhist lamas cannot last before the guns and tanks of communist China. Communist China has precedents of extreme brutality against unarmed people to suppress any idea that opposes communist ideology. Remember the tanks and heavy guns used by Peoples Liberation Army(Chines Army) troops in the massacre of unarmed students at the Tiananmen Square in 1989. Now too, there are reports of the PLA being deployed in Lhasa and areas around the Tibetan city to crush budhist unarmed protests. Communists, anywhere in the world, have displayed little patience for dissdence. China will be no exception!

NUCLEAR DEAL: THE LEFT's SHORTSIGHTED APPROACH

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_committed_to_nuke_deal_says_Ronen_Sen/articleshow/2860629.cms#write

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6107916.stm
Even as the talks with IAEA are going on in Vienna, the CPM asserted the government should take the next step on the Indo-US nuclear deal only on the basis of the UPA-Left Committee's findings. The findings must be made public so that the people too have a say in the matter.

Current trends show that demand for power is set to grow by 53% by 2030. But oil supplies show signs of running down. Natural gas stocks - in recent times the fuel of choice for electricity generation are also showing signs of depletion. Coal, the fuel of the industrial revolution, remains relatively abundant; but coal produces more greenhouse gas emissions for the energy it gives.

But if government delivers on promises to push cleaner and more efficient supplies, growth in demand could be restrained by about 10%. Greater use of nuclear power could be a "valuable option" to cut imports and curb CO2 emissions. The additional nuclear power plants would also have the advantage of being less vulnerable to fuel price changes than coal or gas-fired generation, helping to enhance the security of electricity supplies.

Given that world energy demand, and more particularly electricity demand, is increasing, we need sources of electricity supply that are safe, affordable, with abundant fuel and are environmental benign. The virtues of nuclear power in all of those respects are obvious. The additional upfront costs involved are quickly outweighed by savings in fuel expenditure. A shift to the nuclear energy would serve all three of the principal goals of energy policy: greater security, more environmental protection and improved economic efficiency.

Under the circumstances, the ultimatum by the government's Communist allies to make its stand clear on the agreement and opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal indicates an extremely shortsighted approach to India’s long term requirements.

Scarlett Murder: Cong MP Bames Family

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cong_MP_blames_family_for_crime_against_Scarlett/articleshow/2860108.cms

Trust a politician to blame the ghastly rape and murder of 15-year-old Scarlett, a British national, in Goa, on the victim’s family. To add insult to injury, another politician, this time a woman, who saw nothing amiss in MP Shantaram Laxman Naik’s heartless statement on the latest in a series of crimes against tourists in India. Shantaram Laxman Naik is the same Congress MP who had voiced his concern about possibility of scrapping the MPLAD funds when gross misuse of the funds by MPs had come to light. His concern did not reflect any worry about further misuse of public money, for reasons that are very obvious. Extending willing support to Shantaram Laxman Naik is Minister of tourism, Ambika Soni, whose department had filed an affidavit questioning the existence of Lord Rama in the recent row over the Sethusamudram. The affidavit reflects her total disregard for public sentiment. These two politicians of dubious public standing have once again laid bare the callous attitude of the Indian politicians by making statements that reflect on the character of the Indians. Hats of to our democracy that throws up the worst among Indians. Fortunately the duo were correctly checked by Vrinda Karat from bringing further disgrace to our great country.

The Congress' Election Miscalculations

Chandan Mitra could not have painted the picture more accurately. In its misplaced euphoria “the Congress does believe it is on a comeback trail having outwitted the Left on the nuclear deal and outflanked other adversaries on the populism index. With time the “feel good” factor generated by the budget may evaporate once farmers realise that all their loans are not actually going to be written off; that no government can order private moneylenders to stop recovering dues. Prices, which have been rising steadily for the last few years, may start galloping upwards adding to anti-incumbency sentiment”.

If the government dares the Left to withdraw support over the nuclear deal, the Congress can climb the high moral ground and claim it sacrificed political power in order to deliver nuclear power to every homestead. Indians, being confirmed suckers for the “sacrificial lamb” theme, will return Congress to office, hopefully minus the shackles of the disruptionist Left.

However, the Congress seems to have brushed certain unpalatable facts under the political carpet which the voters will hopefully remember. It was the Congress that disregarded the peoples’ choice and denied APJ Abdul Kalam a second term in office as the president. Then again, it went all the way to ensure that prosecution of a corrupt Mayawati was not sanctioned by the Congress nominated Governor of Uttar Pradesh. It was the Congress that inducted tainted politicians as ministers in the central cabinet; obligations of coalition governance notwithstanding.

When people, especially in rural areas, troop to the polling booth, caste rather than economics is on their mind. This is not necessarily the ideal situation, but true never-the-less. The Congress can thank their political partners like Laloo Prasad Yadav, M Karunanidhi, Mayawati and Arjun Singh for ensuring that the damaging caste system is kept alive in the country. The system they tolerated all along will ensure that their ambitions of absolute power at the centre are effectively curtailed.

The obdurate Comrades

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_will_fall_if_it_signs_N-deal_CPM/articleshow/2843635.cms#write

The Left’s objection to revival of the Indo-US nuclear deal was expected. The country must admire the Left for rigidly sticking to its Resolution adopted on 20 Aug 2007 to oppose the Government on the ‘Deal’. Last year, the Left had also opposed holding of a joint Indo-US Naval exercise called 'Malabar War Games', for some inexplicable reason. It was a fantastic opportunity for the Indian Navy to train alongside state of the art navies of advanced countries like the US and Japan. Interestingly, China too had opposed it. For that matter, it is difficult to recall if the Left has ever supported any new initiative of the Manmohan Singh government.

By now it has become standard practice for the Left to oppose any initiative the govt takes. So where is the outside support it talks about? The people of India too are fed up of Prakash Karat, AB Burdhan, D Raja and Sitaram Yechury. Why dont they propose any alternatives that are acceptable to them and beneficial for the nation at the same time? Their list of 'donts' never seems to end anywhere! It would not be out of order to say they promised the Govt 'outside interference' and not support of any kind.

The Left all along insisted the government press the ‘pause button’ on the Indo-US nuclear deal. It is time the nation pressed the ‘mute button’ on the Left. But then, that would eradicate the difference between the Left and the rest of this great country

MUSHARRAF’S RELEVANCE TO THE WEST

With the fair and free elections to Pakistan’s Parliament and four Provinces behind and the formation of a new democratic government already underway, the fate of a politically weakened Musharraf hinges crucially on the perception of the West about his relevance to its war on terror. Ever since 9/11, Musharraf has seemed to the West as their only hope in Pakistan and who has handed over hundreds of Al Qaeda terrorists to the US and positioned almost eight divisions (80,000 troops) on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to stop Taleban’s trans border incursions. In return he has got billions in aid from the west for an economically weak Pakistan.

On the other hand, He provided safe havens to Al Qaeda and Taleban leadership in Quetta, concluded controversial deals with tribal extremists and allowed Islamists to propagate ideas of jihad and Sharia. His dual approach to towards terrorists-nabbing those inimical to the US and appeasing others-has, unfortunately, been justified by the West as a consequence of his trying to prove his indispensability in the war on terror. Such a short sited approach to the most serious threat facing the civilised world is bound to fire back at some later stage.

The West seems to have swallowed Musharraf’s plea that democracy in Pakistan must be tailored to local conditions – in short the democracy that keeps him in power rather than the global norm of democracy. In so doing, the West has ignored the fact that Musharraf has all along contributed to the Pakistani State promoting jihad through non-state terror apparatus, in Afghanistan and India. They still see his relevance in the worldwide matrix of Islamists challenging the West. The West has also winked at his failure to recalibrate the mullah-military alliance that cannot have entirely broken down after Operation Silence in Islamabad in Jul 2007. There is a strong argument for dismantling the unholy nexus as Pakistan now has a nuclear bomb on the shelf-not in the basement, the armed forces have been modernised and the economy is on the mend. Pakistan clearly does not need the mullahs anymore. Besides, they have become the main problem for Pakistan by their desperate attempts to derail the Indo-Pak peace process, dangerous efforts to provoke American retaliation and enforce their narrow self-serving brand of Sharia in Pakistan.

Under the circumstances, a pragmatic politico-military alliance needs to stem the growth of religious radicalism and reverse the trend started by a similar alliance in the 1980s. The West would do well to recall that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had supported the Operation Silence against Jaish e Mohammed terrorists hold up in Lal Masjid. The fact that PPP has emerged as the strongest contender for power and that the NWFP has rejected the mullahs in that Province should help the West to encourage a working relationship between the current military establishment and PPP.

That Musharraf joined the war on terror after being arm twisted by the US is well known; what should also be obvious to the US and the West is that his private deals with the tribal militants was responsible for strengthening the stranglehold of Islamic extremists leading to a phenomenal increase in terrorist activities in the region. It would be prudent to formulate a policy that does not alienate the population of Pakistan in order to prolong Musharraf’s stay in power.

123 AGREEMENT, HYDE ACT AND THE INDIAN PREDICAMENT

Nuclear technology has an intrinsic strategic connotation irrespective of the background context, and even its civilian usage envisaged in the Henry J Hyde India – US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Act signed into law by the US President George W Bush on 18 December 2006, is no exception. As such, the Act and the formal agreement to follow between the two countries, informally christened as the 123 Agreement (in reference to Section 123 of the American Atomic Energy Act 1954 under which it will be negotiated) is ultimately more about the overall strategic relationships India and the USA wish to build, rather than exclusively about access to sensitive technology. The core issue in this engagement with the United States is not so much about purely civilian use of nuclear energy, but overwhelming strategic objective of preservation and maintenance of the country’s indigenous nuclear weapons programme under all circumstances.

Under the American legislative system, the Hyde Act is an essential preliminary proceeding before attempting to induce any modifications in one of the most sensitive and inviolable precepts of American national security – nuclear non-proliferation. Successful conclusion of the 123 Agreement between India and the USA is a sine qua non for negotiations with the 45 nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the international custodians of nuclear materials and technology, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the watchdogs over nuclear proliferation. The USA, along with Russia, China, England and France, is a founder member of the NSG and NPT, and also one of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It remains a heavyweight in international negotiations, Iraq and the War on Terror notwithstanding. These negotiations would allow the NSG to allow country-specific exemptions for transfers of nuclear materials and technology to India as a non – signatory to the NPT and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), regarding safeguards on Indian nuclear infrastructure declared civilian. Meanwhile, negotiating the 123 Agreement has become time sensitive to both India and the United States as the American presidential elections are due in Nov 2008, with a possible Democrat incumbency, who may not be as supportive of the Hyde Act as the current administration. The Indian Parliamentary elections are also scheduled for early 2009. In this context, the deadline given by US Senator Joe Biden recently, saying June, possibly July, was absolutely the last minute the deal could go to Congress, is relevant.

there are strong misgivings in India about the fine print of the Hyde Act which appear to indicate shapes of some of the things to come, as for example, the clear directive to the Government of the United States to adhere to the parameters of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in all transactions under the Act – in effect a nuanced reiteration of the basic Clintonian non – proliferation dictum “Cap, Roll back, Eliminate”.

The Hyde Act is a domestic US legislation, whose main function is to allow nuclear cooperation with India. It's an enabling legislation. It's the 123 agreement that is binding on the US and India. There is no contradiction between the two. The operative heart of the Hyde Act incorporates three permanent and unconditional waivers from relevant provisions of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954. In layman terms, the Hyde Act allows the US Administration to engage in civil nuclear cooperation with India, waiving the following requirements:

(i) That the partner country should not have exploded a nuclear explosive device in the past; this waiver is necessary because India exploded a series of nuclear explosive devices in May 1998;

(ii) That the partner country must have all its nuclear facilities and activities under full-scope safeguards; this waiver is necessary because India has a strategic programme which would not be subject to international safeguards; nor would its indigenous R&D programme.

(iii) That the partner country is not currently engaged in the development and production of nuclear explosive devices; this waiver is required because there is no freeze or capping of India’s strategic weapons programme. It is an acknowledgement that we will continue to develop and produce additional strategic weapons.

These three permanent and unconditional waivers are significant because they acknowledge that we have an ongoing strategic programme. No restraint on this programme is envisaged as a condition for engaging us in civil nuclear energy cooperation. Just juxtapose this with the UNSC Resolution 1172 of June 6, 1998, which called upon us to stop, roll back and eliminate our strategic programme and join the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. There are several extraneous and prescriptive provisions in the Hyde Act which India does not agree with and in negotiating the 123 Agreement India has been careful to exclude these. If the US Congress considers the 123 Agreement as being in contravention with their own understanding of the Hyde Act, the agreement would be voted down. If the US Congress does approve the 123 Agreement, this would confirm that the provisions of the agreement are what would govern the commitments of the two sides.

A 'critical element' of the agreement to ensure that the US cannot be accused of violating its NPT obligations, is embedded in Article 14 of the agreement, which allowed either party to terminate the agreement on one-year written notice. Throughout the negotiations, India consistently defended its right to reprocess the nuclear fuel under the agreement. The administration ultimately accepted Indian demands, but distinguished between the right and an entitlement to the US assistance in pursuit of reprocessing activities. In fact, any action on reprocessing will depend on the conclusion of a subsequent agreement, as required by section 131 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

Commenting on the issue, K. Subrahmanyam says the opponents and supporters harp on the Hyde Act. Supporters say the agreement does not mention the Act at all, and that its provisions are binding not on India, but only on the US. The US legislation has binding and non-binding provisions, and the US administration implements only the binding portions. The US president, in his signing statement, has made it clear that he would ignore the non-binding provisions of the Act. According to Article VI of the US Constitution, as interpreted by the US Supreme Court, obligations of an international agreement supersede provisions of domestic law. That should allay any apprehensions in Indian minds about the applicability of binding provisions in the US law.

The Indian objective is not merely to seek the US as a partner but also to enable India to have a wide choice of partners in pursuing nuclear commerce. We cannot attain it without the US taking the lead. Yes, Russia and France are friendly countries and extremely keen to engage India in nuclear commerce, but even they would not go against an established NSG policy.

The Hyde Act is considered by some as a "nuclear triumph" for India, while some dub it as an infringement on her sovereign rights. It is strongly believed that the "growth constraint would by and large be removed for civilian nuclear power if the ultimate agreement emerges as wished for. Nevertheless, we must look at the Hyde Act with an eye on the future rather than being bogged down by the sour past of Indo-US relations. While not succumbing to "outside pressure," we should look at the Deal from the perspective of "paying something to get something in return." And its execution calls for "statesmanship" at every level of governance on both the sides.

FRIVOLOUS CASE AGAINST SANIA MIRZA DISMISSED

http://sports.indiatimes.com/Court_rejects_plea_against_Sania/articleshow/2840966.cms

Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissing the petition filed in a Bhopal court seeking registration of a case against tennis star Sania Mirza for allegedly disrespecting the national flag during a tournament in Australia is a welcome development. CJM Ajay Shrivastava, who had issued summons to Sania on January 7 directing her to appear in person for hearing on the petition accusing her of disrespecting the tricolour during the Hopman Cup tournament in Perth, should have known that the Centre's permission should be sought before registering any case as the incident had taken place in a foreign country.

In any case, having brought so many laurels to the country and adding India’s name to the tennis world honour rolls, she could not have done what she has been frivolously accused of. Hope the petitioner would have got the message!

What Should Indian Railways do to Improve Quality of Services?

http://o3.indiatimes.com/mytimes/archive/2008/02/27/4895907.aspx

Last year Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav had been trumpeting from atop the Red Fort that he had earned Rs 21,578 crores during 2006-7 for the railways. This year the figure is in the range of Rs 28,000 crores. As it had later turned out, the turnaround story was one third true, one third media hype and one third jugglery of figures. A close scrutiny of railways accounts for 2006 -2007 revealed a net profit of Rs 11,000 crores. Even this amount was earned at the expense of unsuspecting passengers and at risk to their safety. A large amount of money reflected as profit was not available to be ploughed back. Part of it was suspense account, money promised to the railways but not yet in its kitty. This year too the accounts presented by Laloo Prasad Yadav need greater and detailed scrutiny. If he is found to have repeated the same jugglery of accounts, the best way to improve the Indian Railways would be to throw him out of the ministry.

See My earlier post: Indian Railways Turnaround: A Myth

Ram Jethmalani Does it Again

Ram Jethmalani omitted to mention before the Delhi High Court that the victims of the Upahaar fire tragedy were themselves to be blamed for leaving the secure environs of their respective homes and heading for the movie hall owned by the Ansals. According to him all criminals in the Capital are innocent and all citizens are the culprits creating mischief for his clients. His assertion that people appearing before the court and media with blood shot eyes was responsible for miscarriage of justice, undermines the caliber of judges hearing the case and competence of the media to see through such ploys.

His loyalty to his infamous clients can be gauged from the kind of cases he has taken-up, such as defending the killers of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, people involved in market scams (Harshad mehta and Ketan Parekh), and a host of gangsters, and smugglers as well as the British girl Daisy Angus who was acquitted of hashish smuggling after five years in jail, the defense of Manu Sharma, prime accused in the Jessica Lall murder case.

Speaking at the third Palkhivala Memorial Lecture at the IMAGE auditorium in Chennai on 10 Sep 2003 on "The Judicial System - need for urgent reforms and Uniform Civil Code", Ram Jethmalani said that in the 1970s when he asked Palkhivala to appear on his behalf in a case against Indira Gandhi's Government, which had filed a case against RJ for a speech he made to the Kerala bar against the emergency, Palkhivala obtained an injunction which gave Jethmalani the time to leave the country for political asylum in the United States. Much later, Ram Jethmalani was to declare that he regarded Nani Palkhivala as the Joseph Schumpeter of India for his efforts at initiating creative destruction. He was not wrong; Nani Palkhivala should have allowed the state to arrest him. Or better still for India, Ram Jethmalani should have stayed on in the US and spared his already harassed countrymen the ignominy of having to see him defending criminals again.

SUBPRIME PLUNGE: HOMEOWNERS’ PREDICAMENT- FACTS AND FICTION

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/02/29/rogue.debt.collectors/index.html

Introduction
Democrats have long argued for lending policies that allow easier mortgage credit to low-income families to help remove an important obstacle to achieving financial security. Republicans tend to frame their support for homeownership as part of their drive to create an "ownership society" in which everyone owns a piece of the country and can share in its prosperity. The result has been a range of policies that promote homeownership while generally neglecting renters.

In the dynamic U.S. economy, where job security is a relic of the past, workers frequently have to move to maintain or advance their careers. Since large transaction costs (typically close to 10 percent of the sale price) are associated with buying and selling a home, it generally does not make sense for someone to buy a home unless he or she can stay in it for a substantial period. The situation is even worse if the home purchase price was driven up in a speculative bubble, as was the case with many homes in recent years. Not only will some home buyers incur large transaction costs, but in today's market they are also likely to be forced to sell their houses for less than they paid.

While there are losers in this story, there are winners too. The transaction costs borne by home buyers are income for those in the real estate industry. A serious housing policy should recognize that renting can be a better option for many Americans, especially for tens of millions of families with low and moderate incomes. The country cannot allow its housing policy to be determined by ideology or the interest groups that benefit from this ideology.

Facts

· The subprime mortgage crisis, a sharp rise in home foreclosures, started in the United States in late 2006 and became a global financial crisis during 2007 and 2008. House prices fell at their fastest pace in 13 years in February 2008.
· Loan incentives and a long-term trend of rising housing prices encouraged borrowers to assume mortgages, believing they would be able to refinance at more favorable terms later.
· Major banks and other financial institutions around the world have reported losses of approximately U.S. $140 billion as of February 2008.
· The subprime crisis also placed downward pressure on economic growth on economies around the world.
· The downturn in the housing market has resulted in a significant decline in new home construction and housing prices.
· The risks to the broader economy created by the housing market downturn was the primary factor in the 22 January 2008 decision by the U.S. Federal reserve to cut interest rates and the economic stimulus package signed by President Bush on 13 February 2008.
· FOR five months, it has been clear that rising delinquencies and foreclosures, coupled with higher interest rates and declining home price appreciation, would undermine the market for mortgage securities. Yet it took the Administration until Jan 2008 to react to this looming financial crisis.
· The subprime crisis has not been averted. In fact, it is worsening and threatens to tip the economy into a recession.
· On the contrary, many Fed officials counted on the housing boom to prop up the economy after the stock market collapsed in 2000.
· Eventually the U.S. economy will weather the storm.

Fiction
· The efforts of the Federal reserve in cutting interest rates and the economic stimulus package signed by President Bush on 13 February 2008 have brought relief to homeowners.
· The interest rate cut by Federal reserve is being passed down to the consumers.
· The banks and lenders have changed tac and are adopting a more humane approach towards harassed borrowers. Some collectors have resorted to threatening to have the person arrested, making improper bank withdrawals, intimidating people and making harassing phone calls.
· Most people are aware of their rights when it comes to dealing with intimidating lenders.

Homeowners / Borrowers’ Rights

· A debt collector cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree.
· You cannot be contacted at work if the collector knows your employer disapproves.
· If you don't want to hear from a debt collector, write a letter telling them to stop. By law, they have to. Remember, the debt won't go away and you can still be sued.
· The debt collector can contact your attorney -- if you have one. If not, your friends and family can be asked about how to get in touch with you.
· A debt collector can't misrepresent the amount of your debt.
· A debt collector also cannot use profane or threatening language
· Debt collectors can't say that they will put a lien on your property or file a lawsuit unless the agency really means to do that and it's legal.
· Collectors can't legally claim federal benefits, such as Social Security or your retirement accounts, like your IRA or 401(k).

Conclusion
Subprime lending is highly controversial. Opponents have alleged that subprime lenders have engaged in predatory lending practices such as deliberately lending to borrowers who could never meet the terms of their loans, thus leading to default, seizure of collateral, and foreclosure. There have also been charges of mortgage discrimination on the basis of race. Proponents of subprime lending maintain that the practice extends credit to people who would otherwise not have access to the credit market.

The borrowers facing a crisis and facing foreclosure or needing to sell their properties are advised to know their rights, have patience and hold on for the situation to improve; and improve it shall. In the meantime, renting out property is the option that needs to be explored for current housing problem to blow over. The Federal authorities too can explain to consumers why it takes so long for their efforts, like the interest rate cuts, to trickle down to those for whom their efforsts mean the difference between relief and agony.

Uphaar Tragedy: Jethmalani Defending Ansals

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Uphaar_case_Jethmalani_starts_defending_Ansal_brothers/articleshow/2827477.cms#write

Ram Jethmalani, who was sacked as law minister to avert an impending executive -judiciary confrontation and the very devil's advocate who had picked up the cudgels for Manu Sharma-murderer of Jessica Lal, has now proposed more money to the kin of Upahaar tragedy in order to save the Ansal brothers from a prison term. Maybe he has assumed everyone would do for money what he is willing to. Maybe he owed some obligation to the Ansals too. Some questions bother me- should he have lost a dear one in the tragedy, would Ram Jethmalani have accepted more money (in his case Honey) and forgiven the Ansals? Would he have been smiling at the thought of his kin having been brutally suffocated to death by criminal negligence and greed of the Ansals or would his eyes be tearful too, while recalling the incident before media or anyone else? Maybe he would smile if was given more honey. What use is being an exceptional lawyer if you are a lousy human being?

Who Cares About the Budget?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Who_cares_about_the_Budget/articleshow/2821055.cms

With the budget session almost imminent, it is ironic that our politicians are busy calculating equations for the next elections and ignoring the vital importance of constructive contribution to the discussion on issues that should have been their bread and butter. The important issues before the government have always been lost to party politics and the ‘credit game’. In the last seven years, 2003 is the only year in which the number of hours spent in the House on discussing the proposed Budget exceeded the time lost to interruptions. Yet ministers like PR Dasmunsi are mainly concerned about the opposition grabbing the credit for the good budget, if it indeed that. Politicians of his ilk are scared to step out of the box and, for once, take an initiative with only the people in mind.


The Issues

Equi-distribution of wealth – Creation rural employment plan, which guarantees 100 days of work for one person in every poor household, was the priority of the government. The plan was the government's attempt to address some of the countryside's biggest problems - poverty and unemployment. Having already spent some $3bn on this scheme over the last two years, its performance has not met any rural expectations. Obviously the implementation of the scheme was riddled with corruption and has been anything but perfect.

Rising Food Prices - While the middle class is relatively immune to such price rises, for almost half of India's population that lives on less than $2 a day, it is vital for the government to keep prices in check.

Looming Inflation – The inflation for the year was recorded at 4.35%, because of rising prices of fruits, vegetables and lentils. The price of wheat has almost doubled. The real challenge for the government would be to try and curb inflation even though it means putting the brakes on India's growth story.

Encouragement to Entrepreneurs – India’s hi-tech start-ups are a place where angels fear to tread. The government can be the initial risk-taker and step in to fill that gap, at least until they are big enough to attract outside funding. The funding gap has arisen because hi-tech entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon in India. In this context, Wipro chairman Azim Premji’s statement that “it would be years before India could come up with a global gadget like the iPod, because it has been so focused on ‘low hanging fruit’, and developing services rather than products” is relevant.

Rising Naxal Menace - With naxal menace spreading from Orissa, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh to Chattisgarh, it is high time the government allocated resourcses to tackle the desease on priority.

The Courts - The condition of our courts and resultant lack of effective justice delivery system is in shambles. The legal infrastructure must be developed and vacancies of judges must be filled up to avoid incidents of people taking the law into their own hands and dispensating what they consider is justice. The issue does need to be addressed on a war footing.

Law and Order Situation - The law and order situation is a matter of grave concern, especially in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; claims to the contrary by local politicians not withstanding. The problem, if ignored at this stage, is only likely to turn ugly.

Wide Range of Options
· Be first in line to buy and test new ideas.
· Give tax breaks to investors who back new startup companies.
· Simplify the paperwork for small firms.

Conclusion
Unfortunately, none of these offer a rapid solution to a government that will be heading to the polls next year. With politicians worried about the credit for any work done, it is unlikely they would have the wisdom or the patience to do much about it. As it is, Lok Sabha in recent years has spent less and less time discussing the Budget. As a result an overwhelming majority of the government’s expenditure plans have been passed by Lok Sabha with no discussion on them in the House. Given that the demands for grants now total in the region of Rs 18, 00,000 crore a year, an enormous amount of expenditure being sanctioned without adequate legislative scrutiny amounts to abuse of voters’ confidence in their elected representatives. The Times of India’s heading ‘Who cares about the Budget’ is apt; certainly the people elected to care about such matters have more vested occupations in mind

CALLOUS POLITICIANS, INDIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Farm_sops_Cong_fears_oppn_will_take_credit/articleshow/2820877.cms#write

It is shamefully obvious that both the Congress led ruling alliance as well as the opposition are only thinking about themselves, the next elections and grabbing the credit for the sops expected for the farmers in the Union Budget. The elections next year are more important to our calculating politicians than the plight of the farmers. The frequent reports of Indian farmers committing suicide mean little to the callous politicians beyond the smell of another political opportunity. Inspite of the Prime Minister having made several trips to the Vidharbha region and promised effective steps to help out the farmer community, the trend has not been arrested.

The collective low mentality of our politicians and their total disregard for the actual issue at hand-the well being of the farmers- is reflected in the statement of Parliamentary Affairs minister P R Dasmunsi when he said that the opposition is trying to send out a message that if the budget is good, then it is because of their effort. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data from studies between 1997-2005 reveals that - and this is a conservative estimate - 1.5 lakh farmers committed suicide all over India with countless farmers abandoning agriculture. Why should it matter to him what the opposition thinks? If the budget is good for the farmers, his government would have justified its existence, at least for a deserving segment of the population. But that is of least importance to the minister who had joined hands with Anbumani Ramadoss to oust the Director of AIIMS disregarding the detrimental impact his actions would have on the finest medical institute in the country. With such lopsided priorities and twisted approach of our politicians to the country’s problems, is it any wonder that farmers continue to commit suicide and some people even go hungry in grain surplus India?

DEOBANDI ISLAMIC FATWA

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Deoband_meet_Terror_un-Islamic/articleshow/2814090.cms

The Deobandi Islamic revivalist movement was started by the 150-year-old Darul-Uloom Deoband madrassa in Saharanpur India and spread to other countries. Deobandis follow the fiqh of Abu Hanifa and Abu Mansur Maturidi's thought in Aqidah and Kalam which is characterised by a strict adherence to the Sunnah and an emphasis on Sharia.

Muslim scholars at the leading Wahabi madrassa declared that “Islam is a religion of mercy for all humanity. Islam sternly condemns all kinds of oppression, violence and terrorism. It has regarded oppression, mischief, rioting and murder among severest sins and crimes. Islam prohibits killing of innocent people.”

The declaration is a welcome development considering the terror related incidents all over the globe, and, recently involving Indian Muslims. The declaration will help Indian Muslims to see that terrorism is not sanctioned by Islam and also convince the world of the difference between Indian Muslims and those hailing from Pakistan and elsewhere.

RELEVANCE OF MOB VIOLENCE IN DISPENSATION OF JUSTICE

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mob_fury_Murder_accused_thrashed_in_Bihar_/articleshow/2807542.cms http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6992711.stm

Ravi Kumar, receiving treatment after being arrested for stabbing another man to death in Bihar’s Hajipur District on 24 Feb 2008, was dragged from his bed by the crowd with a rope tied to his hands and being kicked until he stopped moving. The local police was present on the scene but chose to ignore such blatant violation of law, the very purpose of their being.

A similar case occurred in the State on 19 Feb 2008, when a mob lynched an alleged rapist in a village in Saran district. In 2007, a man accused of stealing in Bihar was lynched and dragged behind a motorcycle by a crowd with active help of policemen. There is an unending list of incidents where the people took law into their own hands to deliver what they perceived as instant justice.

The attack was the latest, but not the last, in a series on suspected criminals in the country. India's legal system is mired in bureaucracy and corruption, and it can take years for a case to be heard and a trial to be concluded. In most cases, it is virtually impossible to get the police to register a ‘First Information Report’ (FIR). The progress of a case or otherwise depends mostly upon two of the most damaging elements of the Indian legal system – ‘Jan Pehchan’ (influence and connections) and ‘Ghoose’ (graft). There are honest and efficient individuals in the system no doubt, but they are few and far between and not enough to make a difference for the better. The frequent cases of mob fury, vigilantism and violence are a sign of growing frustration with judicial delays and reflect absence of public confidence in the police force. When justice becomes distant and elusive, alternative platforms surface to deliver so-called justice through muscle power and / or mob violence.

With criminals making politics a safe bastion in the country, the line dividing law makers and law breakers has been obliterated. Politicians with criminal backgrounds/connections oppose any attempt at reform and set the state law and order machinery in order. Unfortunately, even established political parties like the Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have not refrained from depending on criminals for making their way to power. How else can the presence of the likes of Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mayawati and a host of others in Parliament and state assemblies be explained? The Vohra Committee report paints a grim picture of criminal elements in politics and has made various suggestions, as has the National Committee on the Review of the Working of the Constitution. Based on this information, the Election Commission of India has filed a number of proposals for the consideration of the Government.

The judiciary has also made directives concerning the writ petitions filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms [ADR] and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties [PUCL] in May 2002. The central government failed to take any legislative initiatives to bring greater transparency to elections in response. However, the Election Commission of India mandated disclosure of criminal records of electoral candidates--including convictions, charges pending and cases initiated, financial records and assets and liabilities of a candidate, their spouse and other close relatives.

To circumvent this order, the government drafted an ordinance with provisions expressly in violation of the Supreme Court’s directives and Article 19 (1) of the Constitution of India. On 16 August 2002, the government sent the ordinance for the president’s approval. However, concerned citizens and activists got together under the banner of the National Campaign for Electoral Reforms and pressured the President to refer the matter under Article 143 of the constitution to the Supreme Court. The President returned the ordinance to the Indian parliament for reconsideration on 23 August 2002. But the cabinet reiterated its position against disclosure of details of the candidates for election and simply returned the ordinance to the President, who had no other option by law but to promulgate it. For his efforts, the then President, Mr APJ Abdul Kalam was denied a second term in office by the Congress, even when all opinion polls showed he was the people’s choice.

The Lok Satta, PUCL and ADR challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance in the Supreme Court, which on 13 March 2003 struck down the amendment brought in by the ordinance by holding that Section 33B of the Representation of People’s Act of India is unconstitutional. It also held that the parliament cannot abridge the right of the citizens to know about the candidates and for all practical purposes declared that the notification issued by the Election Commission of India must be made law.

The political parties of India have a moral and legal responsibility to weed persons with criminal records or pending allegations out of their ranks. Their minimum duty is to provide citizens with a genuine choice for representatives, not persons seeking to use state resources to defend themselves and their cronies. The dismal choice of candidates offered by the political parties leaves little hope for the future of India’s claim to be the world’s largest democracy.

Plight of Air Hostesses on Deccan Air Flight

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Airhostess_molested_on_Deccan_flight/articleshow/2806428.cms#write

The two culprits who molested an airhostess on board a Deccan Air flight from Jaipur to Kolkata could not have been on a pligrimage. They may have said that just to mitigate their offense. That they deserve the maximum punishment, goes without saying; unfortunately they will be out on bail no sooner than later. As long as our judiciary and police force remains weak and ineffective, we will continue to read about a repeat of such incidents in your columns. It may be worth finding out if the duo are affiliated to any political party. Such affiliations do embolden the criminals in the country.

KOSOVO DECLARES INDEPENDENCE FROM SERBIA

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7255400.stm#upup

Created out of the ashes of Austria-Hungary's defeat in WWI, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - changed to Yugoslavia in 1929 - was in theory a single autonomous state, but ethnic tensions were not far from the surface.

After invasion and a series of overlapping civil wars in WWII, a lid was kept on national aspirations by the creation of a federation of six nominally equal republics. In Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina were given autonomous status. But from 1991 Yugoslavia fell apart.

A series of splits saw the bloodiest fighting in Croatia and Bosnia. A peace deal created the self-governing Bosnian Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) and Muslim Croat Federation. Kosovo become a UN protectorate after inter-ethnic fighting and NATO bombardment in 1999. Serbian security forces were driven out of Kosovo in 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign aimed at halting the violent repression of ethnic Albanian separatists.

In 2003 Yugoslavia disappeared from the map of Europe. Replaced for a short time by the looser union of Serbia and Montenegro, the latter broke away in 2006. Two years later, Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians declared independence from Serbia.

The UN Security Council is divided over how to respond to Kosovo's move, and it has failed to agree on any action. Serbia insists it still has sovereignty of Kosovo under UN Security Council resolution 1244 of international law.

Britain, France, and Italy were among the first to recognise Kosovo's independence. Germany and Austria too have accepted Kosovo as an independent country. USA had earlier recognised Kosovo and declared it would soon establish diplomatic relations with it.

Kosovo's independence is likely to set a dangerous precedent for secessionist movements in Asia, Europe and beyond.