One killed, 3 hurt in Kandhamal rehab centre blast

Updated on Sunday, September 27, 2009, 23:19 IST Tags:Kandhamal, Blast
Phulbani (Orissa): One person was killed and three others injured when a crude bomb being prepared at a rehabilitation centre in Kandhamal district exploded on Sunday. The incident occurred this afternoon when the crude explosive went off when it was being prepared by a man at a tent located in the middle of the rehabilitation centre at Nandagiri, 54 km from here, Kandhamal SP Praveen Kumar said.
Rejecting any communal angle into the incident, he said initially it appeared as if a miscreant hurled the bomb at the rehabilitation centre but probe revealed that it exploded in the tent occupied by one Patrasen Mallick. While Mallick and two others sustained injuries, another person whose identity was not yet known, died on the spot.
Mallick was hospitalised at G Udaygiri and the other two injured were discharged after administering first aid. Police, however, did not rule out possibility of Maoist involvement in the incident as the deceased did not belong to the rehabilitation centre. A subsequent search at the centre also led to seizure of four country-made guns, the SP said adding that police was investigating the matter. The police have intensified patrolling in the place. About 53 riot hit families who had lost their houses and refused to return to villages at Betikela due to fear, were provided land by the state government to set up a colony, official sources said. Of the 53 families, 40 were staying at the place in temporary tents while preparing to construct houses, they said adding that land dispute could be a reason behind the incident. Bureau Report
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Obviously bombs were being prepared in the rehabilitation centre. The government should own responsibility as it happened at a place they were supposed to monitor.

http://www.zeenews.com/news566737.html

Kashmir should be independent state: Gaddafi

24/09/2009
Betwa SharmaUnited Nations, Sep 24 (PTI)

In a diplomatic embarrassment to India, maverick Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says Kashmir should be an "independent state" and that countries like India should not be on board any expanded UN Security Council."Kashmir should be an independent state, not Indian, not Pakistani. We should end this conflict. It should be a Ba''athist state between India and Pakistan," the Libyan leader said raising the Kashmir issue in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly yesterday.Instead of his allotted 15 minutes, Gaddafi Donned in long brown robes and a black hat, spoke for nearly 100 minutes during which he slammed both the US and the United Nations, and described the Security Council as the terrorist council.Gaddafi opposed the expansion of the UN Security Council by including countries like India which, he said, would spur a "competition" with nations like Pakistan wanting to get in.In his first speech to the General Assembly, he said opening the doors of the UNSC for big powers would "add more poverty, more injustice, more tension at the world level"."There would be high competition between Italy, Germany, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Japan, Argentina, Brazil...," Gaddafi said.Stressing that there must be equality among member states, he noted that since India and Pakistan were both nuclear powers, if India had a seat then Pakistan would want one as well."We reject having more seats," said the Libyan leader since it would give "rise to more superpowers, crush the small people."He also called the Security Council a "council of terror," and demanded a compensation of USD 7.77 trillion for African nations for centuries of colonisation.

Venu10
#2
24 September 2009 11:41:27
He was the blighter who sought to be the King of all Arabs and who aspired to be the Caliph of worldwide Muslims with his little green book. But he was put in his place by President Bush after the Lockerbie bombing and was ready to be reduced to a vassal of the West. Now the West is propping him up as a good-guy and Britain compromised on Lockerbie. Let him invite the Hurriat Conference and their "Kashmiris" to set up independent Kashmir in Libya. Meanwhile India should prepare to retake Pakistan Occupied Kashmir by destroying Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3247504&ucid=205719#uc2Lst205719

What incursions? Listen to your leaders, Chinese envoy tells media

22/09/2009
New Delhi: Days after the Indian government asked the media to eschew "hype" over reported Chinese incursions, China's ambassador Zhang Yan Tuesday met Home Secretary G.K. Pillai here and tried to clarify the picture.
"Nothing is happening. You listen to your leaders," Zhang told reporters when asked about his nearly half-an-hour meeting with Pillai.
The Chinese ambassador's meeting came in the wake of repeated assertions by top Indian officials and the army chief that reported incursions have occurred due to differences in perception of the Line of Actual Control.
Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh downplayed the incursions amid reports about Beijng's unhappiness at the way Chinese border transgressions have been reported in the Indian media to conjure up a China threat.
Seeking to deflate hype over reported Chinese intrusions across the undemarcated border, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao Saturday stressed that there was "no significant increase" in incursions across all sections of the over 4,000 km border between the two countries.
"Contrary to the popular perception, the situation along the border has remained peaceful for decades," Rao said.
National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor also cautioned against the media hype and stressed that there was nothing alarming about the reported incursions.
Narayanan expressed concern, saying that if such reports continued, "someone somewhere might lose his cool and something might go wrong."
Underlining the developing nature of relationship between India and China, Rao, a former ambassador to China, said the leaderships of the two countries are in regular communication over important bilateral issues.
"We remain in constant touch over all mutual issues. The leadership-level understandings and communication remain open all the time," Rao said.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service

escapal l
How dare the Chinese envoy 'advise' our citizens and media to listen to those who act like the ostrich burying its head in sand for the storm to blow over. We should be once bitten twice shy and learn from our debacle in 1962. Then also the sly dragon kept parroting 'Hindi Cheeni bhai bhai' and walked in the NEFA , now Arunachal pradesh; and pat of Ladhakh. Then also our guards (The Military) had cautioned the PM and the Defence Minister but they were found wearing the tinted glasses of 'Panch Sheel'. Our first PM then could not live with the shame of this treachery. High time our leaders wake up to realities.

Ravish #2
The primary problem seems to be the absence of clear demarcation of Line of Actual Control. Let that be addressed first. Soldiers at the border can mistake It is not the first time soldiers on either side cross to the other side where there is lack of clarity. It happens between India and Pakistan too. Creation of panic will not help even as the Army Chief assures there is nothing serious.
Venu10
#3
22 September 2009 11:31:57
Our leaders, who are Congress leaders, have a history of meekly surrendering. They surrendered to the partition of our country and partnered with the Communists - who justified Chinese attack upon India in 1962 - to run the 1st UPA regime. They continue to partner with the Muslim League - which is the original villain of partition - to run the 2nd UPA regime. They lack the patriotic fervour so necessary to shore up the nationalistic morale of our countrymen. It is no surprise that they are conveniently shutting their eyes to Chinese antagonism. That is what they did in 1962 under the slogan “Hindi-Chini bhai bhai”. What we need to do is to pursue nuclear capability to wipe out China if it tries to poke its bloody nose into Indian affairs and ditto to others. We need a Kennedy who put the Russians in their place in the 1962 Cuban Missile crises.

http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3240448&ucid=204835#uc2Lst204835

Cassandra #4
22 September 2009 11:42:43
This was all that was needed, the Chinese telling the media to listen to its leaders! It's amply clear that China has nothing to fear, its greatest ally is the Indian Government itself. With such a wonderful spokesman for them the Chinese need never trouble to open their mouths. Likewise too with Pakistan.

I wonder what would have happened if some intrepid mediaman/woman had told the Chinese Ambassador that 'our' leaders couldn't be believed, that the whole government was in fact a pack of cowardly liars?

And Madame Foreign Secretary seems to have forgotten the infamous midnight summons in Beijing...

laljad#5

Trust Chinese to lecture the Indians yet again. As always our Congress veterans are quietly submitting and prostrating in front of these turncoat Chinese.

Why is our Hon PM not able to put spine in his speeches and instead of taking everything lying down, for once lay a claim to Tibet as being part of India for eons as was the case historically.

The Chinese with their clear ambitions and goals of 20 years hence have clearly laid Indian diplomats on the mat.

They have been claiming Arunanchal as part of PRC, grabbed Aksai Chin (J&K), collaborated with NE rebels in Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam to keep Indian forces on tenterhooks, exploited the Maoist movement by supply of arms and ammunition across 6 states, built solid foundation with Burma, taken key control and position in Sri Lanka with assistance in Military and Ports building. They have got a clear record of hand on gloves relationship with Pakis for as long as memory serves us right.

All in all, they have effectivly circled India from all directions. Can our policy makers and diplomats see through this garb and start calling spade a spade, instead of Sleeping with the Enemy?

kash225#6
Make Military Service Compulsory for all able bodied young boys & girls. It should have been done way back in 1962. Even USA/& western countries resort to 'Drafting' & 'Conscriptions' in times of need. It is high time India also does it. Its Time remains the whole year round for decades .It will give a sense of direction & purpose to our 'youth'. Instead we are encouraging our youth to 'master' expert crookery to level up with old & budding politicians. Who are not worth even 'pennies'.

syde mommad#7
Indian leadership is so engrossed in the convenience of their lives and are so steeped in corruption and lack of any sense of loyalty and integrity, that they cannot stand up and face up to the chinese. The commies in India are having a field day. Look at N Ram of The Hindu. He is gloating over this whole story. He ran an editorial in his newspaper asking who will gain out of this war hysteria? Why doesn't he use his influence over the chinese and question their policy of supporting Pakistan on all issues. There is no doubt that the chinese do not want the boundary with India demarcated until Indian's are reduced to weaklings who cannot take up issues from a position of strength. When that day does arrive the chinese will walk all over us and claim all the territory that they think is theirs and occupy it. Discouraged by the drubbing of the Leftists in the recent Lok Sabha elections (they could not win even 30 seats, and yet they are considered a mainstream political force! What a farce!), one strategic analyst in China even went to the extent of saying that India is a Hindu country that is deeply divided on caste lines and deserves to be split into 30 different sovereign states. With the likes of Mr N Ram around, surely the chinese will realize their ambitions some day. Perhaps we need Lord Krishna to take a new avataar to ensure the survival of India.

ranjanp#8

I find it very embarrasing of the fact that we have chosen a govt. that sees no alarm in acts of incursion by a neighbouring country and that too by China which has a history of deception. Our officials and leaders take a break from their slumber, review the situation and label it as "under control" as there is "no significant increase" in incursions across all sections and then they go back to sleep.

It is us, the people, who are responsible for choosing such people to rule us. If we remain divided in our hearts in the name of caste, religion, language etc, then I wonder what would happen if one day God gets fed up with our stupidity and grants us our wish. Those lines will come out of our hearts and become solid walls on land and we will die fighting our own brothers and sisters like mad dogs. HE already gave us one example by granting the partition of Pakistan and India - If Hindus and Muslems were truly united in their hearts, partition would have never happened. If we still do not learn, then we should only blame ourselves and no one else for the consequences.

I urge ALL INDIANS to remove the divide in our hearts first and treat everyone with kindness and love and develop brotherhood, and I guarantee that the rest of the things will fall in place automatically in due course of time.

Karunanidhi, state autonomy, DMK demand

Updated on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 22:46 IST
Chennai: Reviving DMK's demand for autonomy and more powers to states, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and party chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday asked the Centre to "clear the hurdles that came in the way" and called for granting official language status to Tamil.

"The Centre should clear the hurdles in this process and work towards ensuring autonomy for states," Karunanidhi said, presiding over the birth centenary celebrations of DMK founder C N Annadurai, attended by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.


Karunanidhi, whose party is a key constituent of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, reminded Mukherjee about his remarks as the chief of a regional party in West Bengal in early 1970s that federalism in the country could be safeguarded only if states were given more powers.

Mukherjee had then demanded amendment to the constitution to confer more powers to the states and prevent the Centre from infringing on the states' rights, Karunanidhi said.

"Now you are in a place where you can give us more powers," he told Mukherjee, who released the centenary commemorative coins of Annadurai brought out by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Karunanidhi said DMK was never against any language, including Hindi, but was only against its "imposition." He said the time had come for the Centre to make Tamil one of the country's official languages, a cause dear to Annadurai.

In his speech, Mukherjee lauded Annadurai for his contributions and recalled that all ministers and members would be in their seats in the Rajya Sabha on the day when Annadurai was scheduled to speak.

Observing that Tamil Nadu made a "higher contribution" to GDP though it had only six per cent of the country's population, he said it had emerged as "highly urbanised and industrialised with dominant industrial peace."

The Tamil language had withstood the onslaught of many other languages, he said.

Stating that the DMK came to power in 1967 with a "massive verdict" trouncing the Congress, Mukherjee said the latter was "rudely shaken and lost what was considered a natural right of governance in the state and at the Centre."

In 1967, it was only Tamil Nadu which gave a "decisive verdict to a political party (DMK) though Congress was unseated in nine other states where political parties had to cobble up a coalition to inflict defeat on Congress," he said.

Heaping encomiums on Annadurai, Mukherjee said he was a "tall leader and true democrat in Indian politics who championed rationalism and self-respect."

"He continues to be a role-model for many contemporary Indian politicians and will continue to do in the future," he said, adding Annadurai was also a good Parliamentarian.

Today's function marked the end of year-long birth centenary celebrations of Annadurai. Festoons and party flags fluttered and songs eulogising him were played in different parts of the state. Opposition AIADMK also celebrated the day with its chief Jayalalithaa releasing a special booklet on him.

Bureau Report


Reading Karunanidhi's demand for autonomy together with his release of hard-core Islamic Jihadis from prison indicate that he has long-term plans to collaborate with Jihadi plans of balkanization of India. Karunanidhi has moved from being anti-Hindu to pro-Jihadi to being a Jihadi himself. The DMK government must be dismissed.

http://www.zeenews.com/news563827.html

Left-wing extremism gravest threat to national security: PM

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday applauded the country’s police forces for effectively combating the menace of terrorism in the past one year, but cautioned that left-wing terrorism continues to remain the biggest threat to national security.

“We have achieved success in tackling terrorism in the past one year. Many terrorist modules have been busted during the period. There have been no terrorist attacks since November last year. However, I have consistently held that left-wing extremism is perhaps the gravest internal security threat we face. We have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing it. It is a matter of concern that despite our efforts, the level of violence in the affected states continues to rise," Manmohan Singh said while addressing the three-day conference of top police officers here.

Expressing concern over the volatile situation in the Northeast, Manmohan Singh said, "The situation in the northeastern parts of our country is far from comfortable. In two of the states -- Manipur and Assam -- current levels of violence give us cause for concern."


"In addition, extortion and intimidation have become a menace across most of the states in the region. It should be possible, I believe, to bring about a substantial improvement in the situation if there can be better security management," he said.

While briefing the Directors General of Police (DGPs) and Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) on key policing and internal security issues, Prime Minister Singh also spoke on cross-border infiltration along the international borders with Nepal and Bangladesh, infiltration through coastal areas and the need for developing better strategies and improving the surveillance and vigilance mechanism to check these activities.

The Prime Minister also complimented the police force for their role in conducting free and fair polls in various states. However, he said that there was an urgent need to address diverse national security related issues, as also the various operational, infrastructural and welfare-related problems faced by police in the country.

The Prime Minister also stressed on maintaining a good relationship, especially with the minorities, saying, "Special efforts must be made to make a relationship of trust between our police forces and minorities".

He also asked the top police brass to identify the causes why terrorist organisations were succeeding in distracting youth towards militancy.

“A large number of youth are indoctrinated into terrorist activities. We must not fail on this aspect, “he said.

Among other issues, the Prime Minister also endorsed Home Minister P Chidambaram’s earlier assertions that it was time to chalk out strategies to check circulation of fake currency notes, strengthening of intelligence apparatus, strengthening the National Police Mission, identifying corporate frauds and security arrangements for major events.

The Prime Minister also asked the top police brass to ensure better facilities to bottom level police personnel, filling the existing backlog in vacancies, and formulating and sharing of professional practices and processes in tackling challenges relating to crime control and law and order management.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday inaugurated the conference of DGPs and IGPs at Vigyan Bhavan and shared his experience gathered during the just concluded visit to the US where he extensively interacted with top security experts of that country.

Chidambaram expressed deep concern over terrorism emanating from across the border, saying it continues to remain a persistent threat to India’s security.

Chidambaram said groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad continue to plan terror strikes in India. He added that local support to Pakistan-based terror groups has not ended.

The minister also announced plans to set up a National Counter Terrorism Centre, assuring the government’s response to terror will be swift and effective.

The conference offers opportunities for generation and exchange of ideas on capacity building for the police in respect of manpower, training, logistics and advanced technology.


The PM has done well to warn the nation of the threat of Left Wing extremism. But this should not make us lower our guard against the equally dangerous Islamist extremism. It is best that the danger be identified together as Islamist-Communist terrorism and dealt with as a combined threat.

http://www.zeenews.com/news563618.html

Stampede in Pakistan kills 18 women, injures nine

14/09/2009

Islamabad: At least 18 women were killed and nine injured Monday in a stampede in Pakistan's southwestern port city of Karachi during a charity food hand-out, officials said.

The incident occurred in Karachi's Ghori Garden area, where many women had gathered to collect free flour and rice given away by a local businessman in respect of the holy month of Ramzan.

"We so far have 18 women dead and nine injured in the stampede," said Abdullah Sheikh, a senior police officer. He said most of the deaths were caused by suffocation following the stampede.

The dead and injured were brought to a crowded local hospital, where staff struggled to maintain peace and order as a large number of angry relatives also came to the hospital looking for their loved ones.

Various rich businessmen give alms during Ramzan, providing free foodstuff or cooked food for the needy in the evening for breaking their fast.

Deaths have occurred in the past at distribution points due to inadequate arrangements.

A 45-year-old man died Sunday in the eastern city of Lahore while trying to get subsidized flour.

Sheikh said the level of negligence in Karachi stampede should be investigated.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilnai ordered an immediate enquiry into the incident, while President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his "shock and grief," saying authorities should have taken measures to ensure the food distribution was safe.

Police detained the businessman, Chaudhry Iftikhar, who was distributing the free rations, for questioning.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service


K.Venugopal


#1


14 September 2009 16:35:32

A similar stampede happened in Lucknow in India many years ago when a BJP leader was distributing free sarees during an election rally.

http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3224417&ucid=200798

China slams Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal

Updated on Saturday, September 12, 2009, 08:47 IST
New Delhi: China has sought to provoke India once again by raising severe objection to the visit of Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh, parts of which it claims as its own. The Dalai Lama plans to visit soon the northeastern state, an aide said on Friday, in a trip that could again rile Beijing after it denounced his visit to Taiwan this month.
Chhime Chhoekyapa, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's aide, told news agencies that the Dalai Lama would be in Arunachal Pradesh in the second week of November. "He is going there for teaching. This has nothing to do with politics, there is nothing political about it," Chhoekyapa said. The intended visit has already sparked consternation in China, which claims about 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh along their border as part of its territory, and could become another irritant in ties already dogged by a border dispute. "China expresses strong concern about this information. The visit further reveals the Dalai clique's anti-China and separatist essence," Jiang Yu, the spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, said in a statement faxed to Reuters. "China's stance on the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh' is consistent. We firmly oppose Dalai visiting the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh'," Jiang said. The Dalai Lama's travel plan was announced a week after the completion of his visit to Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by Beijing. China denounced the trip. A visit to Arunachal Pradesh could now draw further attention to China's treatment of Tibetan activists and the Dalai Lama's calls for cultural and religious freedoms and autonomy. China considers the Dalai Lama a "splittist" who seeks to separate nearly a quarter of the land mass of the People's Republic of China. The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, denies the charge and says he seeks greater rights for Tibetans. India and China fought a short war in 1962 and, despite burgeoning trade in recent years, mistrust remains. This year, the two countries have faced off at multi-lateral forums, including Chinese objections to a $60 million Asian Development Bank loan for a project in Arunachal Pradesh. There have been incursions by Chinese soldiers patrolling the 3,500-km (2,200-mile) border, in air and on land. Bureau Report


If India does not put its foot down and tell China not to interfere in India’s affairs, China will start playing the big bully. China may be more powerful than India, but India is not a pushover either. If necessary, India must move its nuclear warheads towards China. However, India must be very clear that its enemy is not the Chinese people, but the Communist regime there, which India must seek to overthrow and set up a democratic and secular government by rallying the Buddhist forces in China.

http://www.zeenews.com/news562750.html

Nothing wrong with Gujarat affidavit: Chidambaram

NDTV Correspondent, Friday September 11, 2009, Washington

Home Minister P Chidambaram has said there is nothing wrong with the Gujarat affidavit. Speaking out for the first time on the controversy, he said the Gujarat government cannot try to use the home ministry affidavit to defend itself against charges of carrying out a fake encounter.The minister said the affidavit was only meant to be an intelligence input, not conclusive proof of guilt, much less a reason for killing anyone in cold blood. "What is wrong with the affidavit? To the best of my knowledge the affidavit says that intelligence inputs were shared with the Gujarat government. That affidavit must be read in context. You cannot read into it what it does not say. I think it is self-evident that intelligence inputs are not evidence, much less conclusive proof. They are just inputs. They are hared with governments on a regular basis. That is not evidence or conclusive proof. It gives leads to investigations further enquiry. If a state government acts as though intelligence inputs are evidence or conclusive proof, I am sorry for that government. "Certainly no one suggested that based on an intelligence input you should kill someone. I think too much is being attributed to that affidavit if it is meant to defend the government of Gujarat against the excesses that may have been committed by its police I am sorry for the government of Gujarat and the manner in which it runs its police administration."Earlier, the Congress said that the party might want the home ministry to have a re-look at the affidavit."We would certainly want the government to take a look and the government is fully entitled to a magisterial enquiry in the high court of Gujarat and the Supreme Court to explain, elaborate and interpret the affidavit given earlier," Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told NDTV.


Will Mr. Chidambaram explain why a home-Ministry official was suspended over the issue of the affidavit? If the Home Ministry issues an affidavit that certain people are members of a terrorist organization, does it not prove that the Gujarat police had terrorists in their hands? Killing even certified terrorists without giving them a chance to go through the due process of law is no doubt an infringement of law. However, unless the police version that it was an encounter where the terrorists were on the verge of carrying out an operation is a fairy tale, the terrorists deserve no sympathy.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/nothing_wrong_with_gujarat_affidavit_chidambaram.php?page=1#postcommentarea

China plans to dominate India?

Nitin Gokhale, Thursday September 10, 2009, New Delhi

Chinese helicopters, troops and rock markings were recently found on the Indian territory bordering China. So, just what is China up to?Though India describes them as minor incursions, but it's worried about the design and the grand plan of the Chinese behind these.The aggressive patrolling, assertive transgressions and vituperative articles in state media aimed against India, is all part of the larger design to keep India off balance.And China is doing that currently through a large military exercise named Stride 2009. The military exercise involves 50,000 troops, tanks and aircraft.Beijing's intention is to practice moving divisions to the Indian border quickly, across thousands of kilometres from this far corner of China.A Chinese general bluntly says, "The unprecedented exercise is to improve long-range projection."In the last coupe of decades the character of the Chinese leadership has changed. After China's emergence as an economic superpower it's aiming to be a military superpower.So gone is the maxim "Hide your capability, bide your time" and adopting an openly aggressive stand is the new mantra.Three years ago, Chinese military laid down its goals and made them public:
By 2010: Target and coerce regional powers like Taiwan, Vietnam and India

By 2020: Be ready to take on Russia, Japan and Europe

By 2050: Match US capabilities
And it seems to be working towards its target. Taiwan, with it's Beijing-friendly government, is no longer a threat; Vietnam is focusing on its economic development and wants to avoid a confrontation; but India is still seen as competition because of its economic clout and soft power. And this brings us back to the border transgressions. New Delhi believes China isn't really that bothered about its simmering border disputes, but it's important to remember that China has settled the boundary issue with nine of its neighbours, except India.

India should align with Buddhist forces in China and overthrow the Communist regime to establish a secular democratic government in China to end all talk of either nation trying to dominate the other. This tendency to dominate is inherent in the ideologies of Communism, Islam and the Church.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/china_plans_to_dominate_india.php

Expelled for having a beard? Ridiculous, says court

NDTV Correspondent, Friday September 11, 2009, New Delhi

The Supreme Court has directed a convent school in Madhya Pradesh to take back a student, Mohammed Salim, who had been expelled for having a beard.In an interim order on Friday, the apex court issued a notice to the Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School in Vidisha and asked Mohammad Salim to resume his studies at the school.Reprimanding the school in strong words, the court said: "the student was not allowed in school just because he has a beard? Tomorrow Sikh students won't be allowed to study. Tomorrow you will say no fair complexion student should be allowed. You will say students with earrings will not be allowed. Prima facie, it's ridiculous."The case sparked a controversy earlier this year when the Supreme Court dismissed Salim's petition and Justice Markandeya Katju said the court would not allow talibanisation in the country.The judge later apologised and withdrew the dismissal order.On Friday, it was taken up by a two-judge bench headed by justice B N Agarwal .Salim is the son of a vegetable vendor. He had been studying at the government-aided Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School in Madhya Pradesh's Sironj town since class I. But in July 2008, Salim was rusticated by the school principal, Sister Teresa Martin, for refusing to shave his beard.Salim's contention was that Sikh boys were allowed to keep long hair and beards and so he could not be discriminated against.He first complained to the district authorities. When they rejected his appeal, plea, Salim moved the high court pleading that forcing him to shave his beard was against his fundamental religious right under Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees all citizens the right to freely profess, practice and propagate their religion. The Gwalior bench of the Jabalpur High Court dismissed his plea too saying that the school had a right to have its les.Salim then appealed to the Supreme Court.

No one should object to anyone sporting a beard or growing hair long. These are all personal preferences, never mind if some individuals consider it their religious duty. However, exceptions have to be made in factories where long hair may get entangled in the machinery. In such cases, either the hair should be covered or they should be duly shaved or cropped. This is also applicable in operating theatres and in sports. Probably the criterion of “hair getting entangled” ought to be a deciding factor as to the question of a mandatory shave.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/banned_over_a_beard_ridiculous_says_apex_court.php?page=1#postcommentarea

NSS boycotts function at Panmana ashram

Mata Amritanandamayi addressing the devotees at Panmana Ashram on the occasion of Sri Chattambi Swami Jayanthi celebrations on Wednesday.
Express News Service
First Published : 10 Sep 2009 04:44:42 AM IST
Last Updated :

KOLLAM: The NSS boycotted the Chattambi Swami Jayanthi celebrations held at the Panmana Ashram on Wednesday.
What provoked the NSS leadership to boycott the celebrations at the Ashram was the undue importance given to the programmes of Mata Amritanandamayi on the Jayanthi Day by the Ashram authorities.Mata Amritanandamayi was invited to the Ashram for the first time.
It was announced that NSS general secretary P K Narayana Panicker would inaugurate the 156th Sri Chattambi Swami Jayanthi celebrations at the Panmana Ashram. However, he did not turn up for the inaugural function. At the same time Panicker inaugurated the Jayanthi celebrations organised by the Karunagappally taluk NSS Union at Karunagappally.
NSS Union president N V Ayyappan Pillai, who was the chairman of the celebrations committee constituted by the Panmana Ashram, also did not attend the functions at the Ashram. He presided over the function organised by the NSS Union at Karunagappally. This is the second time in four years that the Karunagappally NSS Union is organising a separate function on the Jayanthi Day.
Panicker made a scathing attack on the Ashram authorities in his inaugural address of the Jayanthi celebrations organised by the Karunagappally NSS Union.
He said that the NSS would not allow to install anybody above Chattambi Swamikal. The Ashram authorities utilised the Jayanthi celebrations to honour someone else instead of organising the functions with much devotion to Chattambi Swamikal. In the pretext of the darshans of Chattambi Swamikal, the Ashram authorities tried to highlight some others, he said.
The NSS general secretary made it clear that his organisation was not against inviting anybody, but insisted that such invitations should not belittle the spiritual importance of the Jayanthi celebrations. He also alleged that NSS taluk union president, who was also the chairman of the Jayanthi celebrations committee of the Ashram, had not been consulted about the programmes.
According to sources, the NSS leadership was also not happy in giving prominence to the BJP-Sangh Parivar organisations in the affairs of the Ashram. Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya and BJP state president P K Krishnadas had been invited by the Ashram authorities to the function.
Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran, who was supposed to preside over the function, was also conspicuous by his absence. Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya, who is to be the chief guest, also did not turn up.
Swami Ritambarananda of Sivagiri Matt inaugurated the Jayanthi celebrations. BJP state president P.K.Kishnadas and others addressed the meeting.
The day’s proceedings started with Swami Prakashananda of Sivagiri Matt lighting the lamp.
In the evening, Mata Amritanandamayi visited the Ashram. She delivered the benedictory address and gave darshan to the devotees after participating in the bhajan.


I think the present leadership of NSS, who would like Nairs to believe that they are not Hindus, are also trying to appease Christian and 'secular' forces after Chatambi Swamigal's masterpiece Christu Matha Chetanam was recently translated into English brilliantly and is gaining a wide readership. The NSS leadership needs to re-read Swamigal’s magnum opus and discover that Swamigal was a proud Hindu and realize that NSS would do well to follow the footsteps of Swamigal.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=NSS+boycotts+function+at+Panmana+ashram&artid=eWHLh9TE0tM%3d&SectionID=lMx%2fb5mt1kU%3d&MainSectionID=lMx%2fb5mt1kU%3d&SEO=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A%2f07OVZOOEmts

Understanding the Sangh Parivar's new tactics

Last updated on: September 09, 2009 10:31 IST

Dr Walter Andersen, an American expert who wrote the seminal book on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh titled Brotherhood of Saffron and was among the first to predict that the Bharatiya Janata Party would rise to power in India on the wings of its Hindutva ideology, has said the recent attacks by the RSS on the BJP leadership, particularly Lal Kishenchand Advani [ Images ], it totally out of character. Andersen, who headed the South Asia division of the Intelligence and Research Bureau at the State Department for several years, said the RSS holding Advani responsible for the Lok Sabha debacle and its assailing the party leadership for creating a controversy with Jaswant Singh's [ Images ] expulsion for his book praising Jinnah and taking the pressure off Prime Minister Mamohan Singh over signing of the Indo-Pakistan Joint Statement in Sharm-el-Sheikh, was highly unusual for the Sangh Parivar. "Generally, this kind of washing of dirty linen in public is highly unusual in the Sangh Parivar and violates one of its central positions on the importance of social solidarity of the group," he said. Andersen, now associate director of the South Asian Program at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, told rediff.com: "Often it was the metaphor of the family that is used to explain the organisation, but something has changed and there are a few things that are critical," that has perhaps brought about this transformation.
He argued that when the BJP emerged as a governing party at the Centre in 1998-2004, and in several large states, "This brought all sorts of people outside the narrow Sangh perimeters into the party."
"Power also proved to be a temptation even for the more ideological, either because of a chance for exercising power or getting money."
Andersen said, "One has only to read the more committed Sangh newspapers and journals over the past decade to understand the angst over the impact of these temptations. Some have even argued that it would be best to stay aloof from the temptations of power entirely -- ironically sort of the view of Mahatma Gandhi [ Images ] and the Congress immediately after independence."
He said, compounding this irony was that the argument by Sangh Parivar that "appeals to the same deep current of selflessness and Sonia Gandhi [ Images ], it should be recalled, gained enormous respect from her decision to stay out of the top ranks of power."
Andersen said, "The new sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat, is perhaps the most politically inclined head of the RSS since its founder Keshav Baliran Hedgewar some eight decades ago."
He pointed out that Bhagwat "has been taking a more active role than any previous sarsanghchalak since Hedgewar and that is having an effect in the party. Hedgewar, it should be recalled, was an active member in the Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha." Andersen said, there was no doubt Bhagat was 'a superb organiser and chief administrator as the general secretary of the RSS', in his previous avatar "and he, like Hedgewar, is also very close to the pracharaks, who are the full time workers and the steel frame of the RSS and who form such a crucial base in all the affiliated organisations, such as the BJP."
He said although Bhagwat has often claimed "to be above mere politics," there was no denying that "he has spent his official life as an intermediary between the RSS and the BJP and issuing political statements, like a younger leadership is needed in the BJP and his criticism of Advani's role in the campaign."
Andersen, who in an earlier interview, immediately following the election results, had told rediff.com that the defeat of the BJP signalled the end of the political road for Advani and like ailing former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee [ Images ], would soon be put out to pasture, said the most recent salvo against Advani by the RSS was obviously to promote a revolt and bring in a new leadership in the party.
He said the recent criticisms by the RSS, specifically targeting Advani, was seemingly "to favour advancing either Arun Jaitley [ Images ] or Sushma Swaraj [ Images ], both relatively young BJP figures, to the forefront of the party or Madhya Pradesh [ Images ] Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who has twice been chief minister and led the BJP to significant victories in this large Hindi-speaking state."
Andersen predicted that in the coming months and years "the RSS will play a more important role in vetting candidates, BJP officials and even policy," and added: "With the senior leadership under attack by the RSS, others have taken advantage of the opportunity to jump on the senior leadership and their presumed poor management of the party during the recent parliamentary campaign," and the other controversies that had emerged, including the Jaswant Singh furore.
He also said that the BJP's problem was further exacerbated because the party 'has no huge charismatic figure like Vajpayee to lead the party to redefine itself in a fast-changing India, much more prosperous and more actively engaged in world politics'.
Andersen said that Vajpayee also had immense credibility because he "was a senior RSS pracharak in an organisation that respects seniority."
He explained that "within the sangh parivar, the RSS leadership -- the pracharaks -- view themselves as somewhat morally superior to others and Vajpayee could not be lectured due to his senior position."
Andersen said it also helped that Vajpayee had "a manner of the wise old man that once could identify with and none of the older senior leadership possesses this quality. Furthermore, Vajpayee was a Brahmin and that high caste ranking still counts for something. So, given this relative power vacuum there is more open fight for power and an effort apparently by Bhagwat to fill a vacuum, despite all his disclaimers about this." Regarding Jaswant Singh, and his expulsion by the BJP and then his being dismissed as a non-entity by the RSS, which led to Singh counter-attacking and describing the RSS as comparable to the white supremist Ku Klux Klan in the US, Andersen said it should not be forgotten that "Jaswant Sngh was never a member of the RSS or its affiliates when he joined the party. He had no real base in the pariwar, who did not support his appointment to a cabinet position by Vajpayee, but Vajpayee could get away with this because of his stature."
Andersen said, "When this book came out, it was time, in a sense, for the long knives to come out against him, particularly since he had criticised former Home Minister Patel, an icon for the sangh leadership. He praised Jinnah, still a demonised figure for many Indians and certainly for much of the Sangh Parivar."
He opined that Singh may have done so because "he may have genuinely felt that the Congress refusal to compromise with Jinnah on centralisation drove Jinnah reluctantly to support a separate state of Pakistan." Andersen also said that "Jawant may also have felt that his criticism of Nehru for ultimately supporting partition would find a receptive audience in the Sangh Parivar since it has been a virtual doctrine of the parivar that partition was a tearing apart of the sacred soil of Mother India."
"But it did not -- and if you recall, Advani got into deep trouble for his praise of Jinnah, but could come out of it relatively well as he is a RSS pracharak with long years of service to the organisation and the parivar. In addition, one must keep in mind, Jaswant's close relationship with Nusli Wadia, Jinnah's grandson," for which he was now been attacked in the wake of the publication of his book as someone who could never be trusted.
Andersen said, "My guess is that Jaswant's long and close friendship (with Wadia) influenced his thinking about what Jinnah was trying to achieve."
On the question of whether the BJP was imploding, Andersen said, "The short answer is that it is going through an internal shakeup, and there might be some significant departures -- either forced or voluntary -- but I doubt that it will disintegrate, as some of the interpretations of 'imploding' seem to imply."
"The bottom line is that the BJP is still going through something of a post-election shake-up and how well it emerges from this depends keeping the loyalty of the core parivar base group while working out cooperative arrangements able to bring in new groups into the party and allies to the National Democratic Alliance. Vajpayee could do this. Advani not nearly as well."
Andersen said there was no assurance "if the next generation would do better, but the BJP needs to advance itself as an opposition party with distinct views on issues of importance to Indians, and especially the urban middle class Hindu base that has been the party's major support group."
But he predicted, "The party is likely to experience major turmoil before it reconstructs itself -- though I am relatively confident that it will do so."


Nationalistic goals of RSS

by Venu Gopal on Sep 10, 2009 03:48 PM Hide replies

The RSS began various organizations in different fields of activity in order to advance the nationalistic cause in all fields of social activity. Jan Sangh was built-up by the RSS to advance the nationalistic cause in the field of politics. That role was subsequently taken up through the BJP. If the BJP becomes a mere political party in the electoral ring for the sake of power, RSS would have to build another party to attain its nationalistic goals in politics.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/sep/09/understanding-the-sangh-parivars-new-tactics.htm

Dr YSR was a very devoted Christian'

September 07, 2009 14:36 IST
Pulivendula, in south central Andhra Pradesh, where Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy [ Images ] grew up, falls in the Nandyal diocese.
The Reddys were prominent Christians in this district. YSR's family converted to Christianity when his grandfather was influenced by British missionaries; the late chief minister was a third generation Christian.
Reverend Dr P J Lawrence, the bishop of the Church of South India's Nandyal diocese, remembers Dr Reddy:
Dr YSR, as he was affectionately known, was a member of the Protestant Church of South India. He was a committed Christian. His father Raja Reddy was also a Christian. They worshipped at the CSI church in their hometown, Pulivendula.
Dr YSR was a very devoted Christian, always attending church whenever they were in their hometown.
Incidentally, Dr Reddy and I studied at the Veerasaiva College in Bellary (eastern Karnataka bordering Andhra Pradesh). We were contemporaries in college.
I had the privilege of attending their (YSR's family's) last Christmas function. There were many family members there and also preachers. It is a very big family of more than 500 close relatives.
Dr YSR read the Bible and prayed every day with Christian discipline. His mother was a very devout lady. She prayed for his success in the first election. Dr YSR always acknowledged his mother's prayers for his success.
There is no doubt he is with the Lord in heaven. He loved people and people poured their love on him.
It was the people's love that got him elected (as chief minister) for a second term. He had implemented many good programmes for the people in the state.
Dr YSR was a very charismatic leader. Not only a great leader, but a legend and an icon.
We had very cordial and friendly meetings whenever I met with him. I met him recently to invite him to my diocese in October and we were expecting him to come as the chief guest for the 125th anniversary of the SPG high school, Nandyal.
He has helped a lot of Christians, especially Dalit Christians. He recently gave a gift to all Dalit Christians by passing a legislative order giving them the same benefits (as Dalits).
He leaves behind his son Jaganmohan Reddy [ Images ], the MP from Kadapa, recently elected. He also has a daughter married to Anil Kumar, a well known young evangelist.
Dr Lawrence spoke to Vaihayasi P Daniel


Hindus fear conversions as their flock gets depleted. But while the missionaries are on a mission to convert Hindus, Christianity itself appears getting converted to Hinduism, as a recent survey in America revealed, where more that 76% of churchgoers had beliefs akin to Hindu beliefs and contrary to Christian beliefs, like being reborn after death, God being approachable in many ways, that Jesus is not the only truth etc. Hinduism, in short, is the most influential religion in the world today and it appears that within 100 years, Abrahamic religions would be studied more in museums than actually lived.

http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/sep/07/dr-ysr-was-a-very-devoted-christian.htm

Ishrat Jahan encounter not fake: Gujarat govt

Updated on Tuesday, September 08, 2009, 18:35 IST Zeenews Bureau
Ahmedabad: Refusing to subscribe to the observations made in the Tamang Report about the alleged ‘fake’ encounter of four persons including teenaged Ishrat Jahan in 2004, the Gujarat Government has decided to challenge the report. Addressing a press conference, state government spokesperson Jay Narayan Vyas said, “Justice Tamang report is invalid and the Gujarat government will challenge it,” adding that the “encounter was not fake.” He also claimed that the report was prepared in a “hurry”, without giving Gujarat government a chance to express its views. Questioning the report’s findings, Vyas termed it as “bad in law” saying that the accused were not given an opportunity to explain their stand. “Normally, in the process of tenet justice an opportunity will be given to the accused to present their stand. But in this case, a judicial magistrate has not given any chance to the accused,” Vyas said. “The Committee was asked to give the report around November 2009 but the committee submitted it within a month of its constitution.” “The report quoted the Cr PC 176 of the IPC to probe this incident. But the 176 allows only the custodial deaths and it was not a custodial death. How can they probe under this clause? None of the sub clauses mention about probing for the encounters, so we will challenge the whole report. Hence, it is not valid for us,” said Vyas.
He also dragged the Centre into the whole issue by revealing that the Home Ministry in its report had accepted that Ishrat Jahan and her partners were involved in plans to carry out terror strikes in Gujarat and Maharashtra, he added. A few days after the incident, a section of media carried out a news report stating that Ishrat and the others killed belonged to their organisation, added Vyas. As per the Tamang report, four persons-- Ishrat, Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Kumar Pillai, Amjad Ali alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani--killed in an encounter on the outskirts of the city on June 15, 2004, were not linked with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashker-e-Toiba, as claimed by the police.BJP defends ModiBJP today defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying he cannot be held responsible for everything that happens in the state. "Why should Modi take a call?....Do you think anything that happens in any state, the Chief Minister is responsible? If anything happens in the national capital, is the Prime Minister responsible?" senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said in reply to a question on whether Modi should be held accountable for the Ishrat Jahan encounter. Naidu accused the media of suffering from "Modi-mania". "How is the Chief Minister concerned with this (Ishrat Jahan case)? Let law take its own course," he said. BJP’s national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad referred to the affidavit filed by the Centre which had accepted that Ishrat Jahan and her partners were involved in plans to carry out terror strikes in Gujarat. ”No one can deny that this country is not under terror threat. LeT operatives are active in India,” he said.


While the civil rights of citizens must never be curbed and India must not become a police state, we must not become naive and forget that India has many enemies, not just in the form of our Islamist neighbors but also among those who share the same anti Hindu ideology within India and their fellow travelers in hating India and Hinduism - the communists, whether in China, Nepal or Kerala. Therefore in the name of civil rights India must not become a soft state. The police and men in uniform must be seen as a force to protect India from its enemies and they must be empowered to take the law in their hands if this is necessary to curb the power of anti-Indian forces. Merely being a force that seeks to arrest culprits is calling them to act only after a crime has been committed. They must have pro-active powers and be empowered to act even on a hunch, even if at times they are proved erroneous - as long as they are by and large spot on is enough to ensure that anti-Indian forces would not have a free run in India. Specific cases of police indiscretion must be gone into but this should not result in the powers of the police to act arbitrarily if necessary being curtailed. This will only be at the cost of the nation's integrity.

http://www.zeenews.com/news561713.html

China, a bigger threat than Pak for India

CNN-IBN
Chinese incursions on the Indian territory have been increasing but India seems powerless to stop them. Earlier this year, a Chinese helicopter violated Indian airspace in Ladakh. Recently, the word 'China' was painted on rocks near the Ladakh border.
The Government says these intrusions take place because the India-China border is not clearly demarcated in this area. But China does not accept what India believes is the existing border.
The Ministry of External Affairs has also said that these incursions are not an issue and violations of airspace are simply navigational blunders by helicopters because the borders are not well-defined.
And that leads us to the question that was being asked on CNN-IBN's Face The Nation: Is China India's greatest threat in the region?
To try and answer the question on the panel of experts were CPI (M) leader Nilotpal Basu; Defence Analyst and Rear Admiral (Retd) Raja Menon; and former diplomat G Parthasarathy.
At the beginning of the debate 90 per cent of the people who voted in agreed that China was India's greatest threat in the region, and only 10 per cent disagreed.
China: India's greatest threat?
G Parthasarathy kick-started the debate saying, "With regard to the Ministry of External Affairs, I can say that they are making the same mistake which Jawaharlal Nehru made – pretending a problem does not exist when it does. In 2002, we were preparing to exchange maps with China over what is the Line of Control. China backed off because they did not want to define the Line of Control then. Then we went into a new pattern of border talks. After 2005, they have become very aggressive on their claims in Arunachal Pradesh, saying the whole of Arunachal is South Tibet and they are pushing this in international forums as well. Now since the Line of Control is not demarcated, the Ministry of External Affairs is saying it cannot be regarded as intrusions from the Chinese point of view."
He added that the fact of the matter was that the number of incidences and the level of penetration after 2005 have increased and Chinese troops deployment have increased.
He further stated, "There are statements on Chinese websites which say that they will divide India into 30 parts. The latest is that they have been training an army in Manipur."
The reality is that China wants to expand itself geo-politically in South Asia. The question is: Is there a difference in perceptions in the way defence forces see it and in the way diplomats see it especially since the Army Chief has been saying that strong measures have to be taken against these incursions.
Raja Menon said that a problem like this with China is potentially dangerous.
"The Chinese have a saying called 'teaching a lesson'. It is a part of their strategic vocabulary. As far as they are concerned, 1962 was not about grabbing territory but it was about teaching India a lesson. They don't believe that we should talk, because until one finishes talking, one can't use force. They feel that using force is part of negotiations, so we are in a dangerous situation here," he said.
He said that most armed forces around the world were brought up to believe that war was another form of diplomacy but that there was a thin dividing line. For the Chinese, he said, that dividing line did not exist.
"Mao had said that armed forces and negotiations were compatible, on the same plane," Menon stated.
Parthasarathy added here that the way China was supplying nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan, equipping Pakistan's air force with 150 front range aircraft, showed that China obviously has a policy of containment of India.
India playing into America's hands?
Parthasarathy stated, "All I am saying is that let's be realistic and not keeping saying Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai, that they are our comrades."
Communist Parties in India have an ideological affinity to China but did they feel now that the national interest of both the countries was on a collision course?
To this Nilotpal Basu said, "I think in no way can the patriotism of Indian communists be questioned. In 1962, we had pointed out that there was a border dispute between the two countries which needed to be resolved through a dialogue process. Unfortunately, though China has come around to seeing our point of view, in the last few months we have been hearing this extreme China bashing by India. I think it is coincidental with the increasing tendency towards multi-polarity in the world today. There are forces in India which want the global uni-polar architecture to continue even though Americans are losing a lot of leverage they had earlier, post the financial meltdown."
"China has resolved border disputes with 27 countries and we hope that saner council will prevail and we should be able to resolve our dispute peacefully through a dialogue process so that the full scope of the multi-polar world can be got. There are so many forums on which India and China can come together - like WTOs and climate change forums - and contribute more positively to the architecture of the contemporary world," he added.
What he was trying to say was that India was playing into America's hands.
Parthasarathy said, "Let me put it this way - it is China which has endeavoured to spoil our relations with the US. Let's not forget they teamed up with Nixon in 1971 in Mao Tse Tung's time. Secondly, I agree with Nilotpal Basu that we have to engage with the neighbour - especially a powerful one which is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council. But we cannot ignore Chinese behaviour when they lay claim to an entire state in India, when their military strength leads close to our deployments at the border, when they are arming Pakistan and when they go to the United Nations and block the declaration that Lashkar-e-Toiba is a terrorist organisation. What has China got in common with the Lashkar-e-Toiba to block it in the UN?"
"Let us be very, very clear that China is a great country, a powerful neighbour and we have to live in peace, we have to seek cooperation. But if China plays balance of power politics and it plays according to its own rules, then we have to look out for our own interests," he added.
Parthasarathy said, "We need a multi-polar world, I agree with Mr Basu, but not on Chinese terms."
China ruthlessly pursuing own interest?
The panelists said China is not a democracy, it plays by its own rules and it doesn't care about international rules.
There was an article which came out in the China International Institute of Strategic Studies which said: “India should be broken up into 20-30 independent nation states by China, that the Indian state is nothing but a Hindu religion state based on caste exploitation, that China should support ULFA and that there should be another Bengali nation next to Bangladesh.”
These statements don't assure India about Chinese intentions. Nilotpal Basu defended China's position saying that there were millions of crazy people roaming around cyber space and nobody has control on them.
"If we take all these things seriously, then no one can save us," he stated.
Raja Menon interrupted here saying, "We don't have to take seriously, the things that people say but we do have to take seriously what they are doing here on the ground. This whole business of them making Pakistan a nuclear power began in the mid '80s, when India was not threatening anybody and we had a slow growth rate. We started growing only after 1991. But they calculated in 1985 that we needed to be kept south of the Himalayas. They started the whole thing."
Parthasarathy said, "China is a challenge because it wants to be the unquestioned great power of Asia on its own terms. They have started deploying their Navy in Indian Ocean. India will take years to match that but for the first time they are seeing a potential in India - provided India plays its diplomatic cards well. They are very concerned about what India is doing in South East Asia, they are very concerned about the way we are making inroads into Myanmmar."
Don't underestimate China
Parthasarathy said the only way to win the respect of the Chinese was to grow at 10 per cent per annum for the next 10 years, have five nuclear submarines and have a very strong military force.
"China respects hard military power. Not soft power. They acknowledge our soft power and they are quite envious about it but they still don't see how we can convert that into usuable military hard power. And if we don't have hard power, we don't matter to the Chinese," Menon stated.
Parthasarathy agreed saying China had a measure of contempt, mystification and envy as far as India was concerned.
"They are our neighbour, we have to engage them, but let us engage them from a position of strength - economic and political. Let us have no illusions of this bhai-bhai business. Keep your options open, work with China on various levels, but never underestimate their inclination to use power and be ready for it," he said.
China is a country which is not a camp follower, it negotiates on its own terms. Is this a foreign policy paradiem which India should emulate?
To this Basu said, "No country can emulate another on a one-to-one correspondence basis. Chinese foreign policy is independent, I agree, but I feel Sino-Indian relationships would have surged much further if the shadow of the US had not clouded the atmosphere. All this talk is suiting American interest the most. No single power will dominate the world in the 21st Century. It has to be a multi-polar world. There is unfortunately a display of raw and mighty power to redesign the world on uni-polar lines. We need a more democratic interaction with China."
Parthasarathy begged to differ saying the Chinese dealt very well with the US. "It is very rarely that you will find China not agreeing to a resolution put forward by the US in the Security Council. China used the US against us during the Bangladesh conflict, after our nuclear test and it was China working with the US which stymied our permanent seat with the UN Security Council."
"We are not using the US against China. It's the other way round. They have a relationship with the US which is independent and which is why Hillary Clinton and Obama regard it as the most important country in the 21st Century. Let's be real," he stated.
Menon said that no one in their right senses was looking at a war between India and China.
"We are saying we cannot be pushed and we must have a strategy to ensure we don't get pushed," he concluded the debate by saying.
Final results of the SMS/Web poll: Is China India's greatest threat in the region?
Yes: 91 per cent
No: 9 per cent

The threat said to be from China has to be correctly identified as threat from Communism in China and we must seek to end China's communist rule by strengthening the Buddhist movement in China. This is applicable to Nepal also, which has become anti-India since it was overtaken by the communists. Pakistan of course has been an enemy of India since the day of its birth because of its Islamist mindset. Till India recognizes that its real enemies, both within and without, are the Communists and Islamists, we will be dealing with the problem erroneously. We have to vibrantly propagate democracy and secularism the world over to overcome communism and Islamism in the long run.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/china-a-bigger-threat-than-pak-for-india/100882-3.html

Gujarat HC lifts ban on Jaswant’s Jinnah book

Updated on Friday, September 04, 2009, 14:59 IST

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi: Gujarat High Court on Friday overturned the state ban imposed on expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh’s book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence. Setting aside the ban, HC opined that there is no ground to ban the book. The ban curtails fundamental rights, the court said. The state government had contended the contents of the book tarnished Sardar Patel’s image. The government alleged that certain references about Sardar Patel in the book were an attempt to defame the image of Vallabhbhai Patel as they questioned his patriotic spirit. “Jaswant Singh's book questions role of Sardar Patel during the partition of India as well as his patriotic spirit. This is an attempt to tarnish the image of Patel who is considered the architect of modern united India,” a statement issued by the state government had said. "It is a bid to defame Patel by distorting historical facts," it charged. However, Jaswnat has been maintaining all along that there is no basis on which his book could be banned. He had called the ban on his book a ‘ban on thinking’.
Expressing his joy at the High Court judgement, Jaswant said, “I am absolutely thrilled to hear the judgement. I feel vindicated now.” Taking a dig at Gujarat government for banning his book on flimsy grounds, he quipped, “Why did the court have to intervene at all. My book is no pornography. I have not used any foul or abusive language in my book.” The senior BJP leader, Jaswant Singh, had written a book on Jinnah which was released last month and is selling like hot cakes but he drew flak from his party for the same. However, he was expelled from the party before the release of the book. The expulsion of the former external affairs minister in the BJP-led NDA regime caused a stir within the party and leaders called for the reinstatement of the leader into the party after he served the party for more than 30 years.

The BJP did not want to be seen as condoning the eulogizing of Jinnah and denigration of Sardar Patel. The issue before it was not the freedom of speech, the issue was political correctness. No one can deny that political correctness, though often whimsical, is a valid matter. The High Court has rightly upheld the right to freedom of speech. Both entities - the BJP government and the High Court carried out the roles that were expected of them - the upholders of political correctness and freedom of speech respectively. Both have made their points. Now let’s get on with the reading!

http://www.zeenews.com/news560812.html

Advani likely to step down as leader of Opposition

CNN-IBN
Published on Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 16:44 in Politics section
New Delhi: Sources have told CNN-IBN that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L K Advani, is likely to step down between November 8 and December 25 this year.
It is L K Advani's birthday on November 8, and he will turn 82. December 25 is BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday.
Sources have also said that Advani will have a say in who will be the next BJP President.
Advani worked out his exit plan after meeting RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. He had also consulted former RSS chief K C Sudarshan.
He will now be NDA chairman after stepping down from his current post.
Sources say thatL K Advani is a lonely man today. Colleague after colleague - people who were with him in the Vajpayee government - are now questioning his credibility. While the Kandahar hostage crisis is almost a decade old now, the issues it has raised have been aimed directly at the man who has prided himself on being the BJP's Loh Purush (Iron Man).
Former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and former defence minister George Fernandes have stated categorically that L K Advani was present at the Cabinet Committee on Security meet held on Kandahar.
They say that Advani was in the know of the plan to swap terrorists for hostages on the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC814.
The Kandahar controversy could not have come at a worse time for Advani. Ever since the 2009 election defeat, there has been a question mark over Advani continuing as the BJP's leader of Opposition.

As Advani is obviously hale and hearty, he should continue as leader of opposition for the 5 year term. Why should anyone in the BJP have a problem with this? There is no parliamentarian today who can match his capacity and experience. He will no doubt continue to spellbind parliament with his charisma and precision of expression. I for one want to see more of Advani and not less. BJP will soon have a new president as per its constitution and they can elect someone as young as it gets. Organizational excellence at all levels is what BJP should aim at. Political dividends will inevitably come its way.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/advani-likely-to-step-down-as-leader-of-opposition/100492-37.html

Tata's new plan: Talk endlessly for Re 1

Updated on Tuesday, September 01, 2009, 20:41 IST

New Delhi: Indian call charges touched a new low today with telecom operator Tata Teleservices' new tariff plan that allows CDMA subscribers unlimited hours on local calls for just Re 1. In the new 'Pay-Per-Call' plan, the company has moved away from the usual practice of charging on a one minute-pulse basis. Instead Tata Teleservices pre-paid CDMA subscribers will be charged Re 1 for all local calls and Rs 3 for long distance calls, regardless of the duration.
Tata Indicom and Teleservices subscribers would be able to avail of the plan by paying a daily fee of Re 1 or Rs 30 monthly and call rates would also apply on mobile to landline and to calls made to other networks. The plan also offers subsidised rate for SMSes or short message service at Re 0.50, for both local and national SMS. "Pay-per-call will change the pricing paradigm in the telecom space and endless talks does not mean the caller will misuse the facility as there will be monitoring of the calling pattern of subscribes once any abuse of the scheme is noticed. Usually a caller talks for 405 minutes on a local call and three minutes on STD", said Tata Teleservices managing director Anil Sardana. Vineet Bhatia, the company's chief operating officer for Delhi and head of the northern region said, "The service gives consumers freedom to talk to their hearts' content without any of the hassles they face on the charging front." The service is available on all new Tata Indicom connections for Rs 99 with a validity of 10 years, and on one-time recharge of Rs 96 for existing customers. The company expects volumes to make up for the loss of average revenue per user in this plan. TTSL's CDMA service is pan-India and has a subscriber base of under 40 million. Bureau Report


Tatas are real do-gooders. But with their too-good-to-be-true schemes, they may unintentionally be swamping the roads and airwaves with their 1 lakh rupee cars and 1 rupee non-stop-talk calls. Any, cheers to you, Tata.

http://www.zeenews.com/news560092.html