by The International Herald Tribune
After facing major protests in London and Paris as the Olympic torch made
stops on its journey to Beijing, the Chinese government is said to be
looking for a public relations firm to patch up China's image before the
2008 Games in August. In the spirit of the Olympic ideals, we are prepared
to help China - free of charge. .....
by Muzamil Jaleel
The most valuable identity document other than a passport, the electoral
photo-identity cards issued by the Election Commission of India, has been
procured by top Pakistani militants operating in Kashmir sending alarm
bells ringing through the security establishment as the state prepares
for elections later this year. .....
by Joeanna Rebello
Who knew the libertine Thai Massage, that reflexively translates into
promiscuity, owes its origins to a pious Indian called Jivaka Kumar Baccha?
"He was physician to Buddha's entourage and travelled with them to
the Far East, where he carried his method of healing,'' says Falguni Harkisandas,
who has not just brought the practice back home, she's also equipping
the visually-impaired to make a living from it. .....
by Bidyut Roy
Land development, irrigation projects, afforestation and roads, or any
labour involving earthwork for creating assets is eligible for mobilisation
of the rural jobless under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
under the NREG Act. But does renovating a CPM office in a remote village
qualify as a "scheme" under the NREGA? .....
by Joel Brinkley
The world's foremost human rights organization has ordered its envoys
to begin investigating people or groups around the world who abuse freedom
of speech by violating certain "moral" standards. The envoys
would rely on individual governments to define morality in their own states.
.....
by Sujoy Singh Roy
Members of some CPI-M controlled gram panchayats have allegedly started
campaigning for the forthcoming panchayat elections in a novel fashion
in various villages of Nadia district. .....
by Haindava Keralam
The Anti Hindu Marxist leaders of a SNDP union, paved way to desecrate
the purity of Sri Narayana Gurumandir by allowing the Christian Missionaries
to get inside it for their Anti- Hindu activities. .....
by The Pioneer
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) forwarded as many as eight letters to
the Petroleum Ministry for allotment of gas to the firms owned by the
two sons of Shipping Minister TR Baalu, but the Congress sees nothing
wrong in that! .....
by Bibhu Prasad Routray
The Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs,
in its recent report, has asked the Government to monitor the country's
eastern border, saying large-scale illegal migration from Bangladesh is
threatening the country's security and economy. .....
by Bhavna Vij-Aurora
A Dawood Ibrahim connection has blown the lid off a passport racket in
the Indian consulate in Dubai but the scandal has been swept under the
carpet as it threatened to open a can of worms involving senior officials.
.....
by The Pioneer
It is deplorable that in what amounts to yet another instance of the Union
Government shedding crocodile tears for Kashmiri Pandits, the Congress-led
UPA regime has announced a slew of sops worth Rs 16,000 crore for the
displaced community. The sudden surge of compassion for three-and-a-half
lakh people thrown out of their ancestral homes in the Kashmir Valley
by Islamic terrorists is obviously linked to the coming State Assembly
election. .....
by Virendra Kapoor
Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu in a candid
confession the other day admitted in the Rajya Sabha that he had indeed
been using his ministerial clout to get family firms cheap gas from Petroleum
Minister Murli Deora. Now, most MPs were not surprised that Baalu used
his influence. No. .....
by The New Indian Express
The Tripura government has ordered a CID inquiry into the alleged nexus
between Bangladeshi arms dealer,Mamun Mia and Tripura Minister Sahid Chowdhury
who resigned as the State Food and Minority Affairs Minister on Thursday,
official sources said on Saturday. .....
by The Hindu
A sea of devotees poured into the four Masi streets in the vicinity of
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here on Saturday to witness the car festival
on the 11th day of the annual Chithirai festival of the temple. .....
by Peter Scheer
A milestone of sorts was passed in the first quarter of this year when
China blew past the United States to become the biggest Internet market
in the world. At 225 million users and still growing at double-digit rates,
China's Internet is a business opportunity so grand and irresistible that
it can blind normally circumspect people to the moral compromises that
cooperation with the Chinese government inevitably entails. .....
by Sheela Bhatt
Retired officers of the Indian armed forces took out a rally in Gurgaon,
Haryana, on Sunday to protest against the sixth Pay Commission report.
The rally was held in Gurgaon as the Central government refused to allow
it to be held in New Delhi and didn't even allow them to lay a wreath
on India Gate to pay homage to soldiers who gave their lives for the country.
.....
by J.G. Arora
According to Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author of The
March of Folly, "disasters of history are the result of government's
folly and perverse persistence in pursuing the policies contrary to national
interests." .....
by Sandhya Jain
As water-starved Haryana urges the Oil and Natural Gas Commission for
drilling machines to rediscover the paleo channels in which the once-mighty
Saraswati may be flowing silently, it may solve one of the most vexatious
issues of Indian history. .....
by Saradindu Mukherji
The expose on the close relationship of Mr Shahid Chowdhury, the Communist
Minister in Tripura, and his Bangladeshi wife with various terrorist organisations,
including those based in Bangladesh, leading to his dismissal does not
shock any more. .....
by Free Press Journal
The recent revelation by a TV news channel that the Prime Minister's Office
had written as many as 10 letters on behalf of Union Road Transport Minister
T.R. Baalu to the Union Petroleum Ministry seeking to expedite out-of-turn
gas allocations to a company owned by his sons is just one example of
how the coalition partners of the Congress have been wringing the Prime
Minister's arm for favours in return for support. .....
by B R Haran
The five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, after a prolonged
battle upheld the 93rd amendment of the constitution providing 27% reservation
for the OBCs in Central Higher Educational Institutions in a supposedly
land mark verdict on 10 April 2008. .....
by Soniya Tripathi
"Do only girls have reputation and dignity? Don't boys have them
too," asks Pushpa Muralidhar Bhise (48), mother of Sagar (19), who
was falsely implicated by a minor for raping her. .....
by Richard Cuthbertson and Becky Rynor
Calling China "the worst human-rights abuser in the world,"
Tory MP Rob Anders is heading to Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday to meet with
the Dalai Lama to discuss concerns about the upcoming Olympics in China.
.....
by Ranjit Roy
For the first time after three decades of unchallenged rule in West Bengal,
the leaders of the Marxist communist party are now scared to lose the
support of the Muslims during the ensuing panchayat poll scheduled to
be held in May this year. The scare has been clearly reflected in the
state budget proposals for 2008-09 that the finance minister, Asim Dasgupta
had placed in the Assembly on March 17. .....
by Jim Yardley
China appeared to bend to international pressure on Friday as the government
announced it would meet with envoys of the Dalai Lama, an unexpected shift
that comes as Tibetan unrest in western China has threatened to cast a
pall over the Beijing Olympics in August. .....
by Meetu Jain
Shipping and Transport Minister T R Baalu on Wednesday admitted he had
"used" his official position to seek allocation of gas for a
company owned by his family. .....
by Ajit Sahi and Papri Sri Raman
An emissary of the Dalai Lama Monday denied reports that the Tibetan spiritual
leader had called for self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir. .....
by James Slack
Police have foiled 15 terror plots since the turn of the century, with
suspects continuing to emerge from unexpected quarters, senior officers
said yesterday. .....
by The Jerusalem Post
Pakistan has released a pro-Taliban leader who sent thousands of fighters
against the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, officials said, in what appeared
to be part of efforts to broker peace with Islamic militants. .....
by New Age
Pakistan's military dictator Ayub Khan loathed 'crooked' Bengalis who
'have no stomach for self-criticism' and broadsided them for reverting
to 'Hindu language and culture'. .....
by Prafull Goradia
In 1979, a Pakistani journalist in Tehran interviewed Ayatollah Khomeini.
The occasion was the forthcoming anniversary of Pakistan Day namely, March
23. Understandably, Mohammed Ali Jinnah was a significant focus of the
occasion. The Ayatollah was all praise for the Qaid-e-Azam. He was brilliant
at arguments; he knew the British mind like the back of his palm; he inspired
faith in people and so on. .....
by Sandhya Jain
Press reports suggest that there are moves to help Nalini get an early
release from jail, where she has spent nearly 17 years. If she is released
before the statutory 20 years (which provision led to the release of Gandhi
assassin Gopal Godse), she may make her way to London, where her 14-year-old
daughter resides with Murugan's brother. .....
by Harendra De Silva
Christian evangelists are on a roll in Sri Lanka. During the past few
decades many reactionary Christian organisations originating in the west
have swept into Sri Lanka with the single aim of converting all non-Christians
to Christianity. .....
by Sanjib Chakraborty
The CPI-M has allegedly unleashed a reign of terror in Sasan area near
Barasat in North 24-Parganas just before the panchayat elections, forcing
12 Trinamul Congress candidates to withdraw their nomination papers till
Tuesday. The man behind all the terror tactics is allegedly none other
than Majid Master, a CPI-M strongman in the area. .....
by Philip Marchand
The faces on the screen, and the words they speak, are wrenching. Twenty-three
years ago this June, these people said goodbye to family members boarding
an Air India flight that never reached its destination in London. A bomb
planted by Sikh extremists exploded while the aircraft was approaching
the coast of Ireland. .....
by The Pioneer
The recent violence in Kerala's Kasargod district, which has taken four
lives and left scores injured, is highly unfortunate. It appears that
there was an altercation between some people over trivial issues during
a Hindu procession that led to a communal clash. Muslims threw the proverbial
first stone - a point that needs to be recorded because blame is often
placed at the doors of the majority community - and subsequently there
was retaliatory violence. .....
by Haindava Keralam
As the mystery behind the death of ASI Elias at Changanacherry NSS Hindu
school unfulrs,the bigger question that arises is : Who will pay for the
lifelong damages caused to the four innocents who were arrested, implicating
false charges of Murder as per the whims and fantasies of Home Minister
and his servant Police to protect SFI thugs. .....
by Stanley A. Weiss
It's tempting to dismiss as excessive the Indian government's efforts
to protect the Olympic torch run last week from Tibetans protesting the
Chinese crack down in their homeland - sealing off much of the historic
heart of this city, shrouding the relay in a veil of secrecy and surrounding
the flame with 15,000 police and soldiers. .....
by
Shri.D.Kuppuramu is district president of RSS Ramnad District, Convenor
of Rameshwaram Rama Sethu Protection Movement. He hails from a distinguished
family and his father is Shri.Durai Paandi and mother is Smt.Muthammal.
He served as the Panchayat Board President of Pattanamkathan village from
1986 to 2006. His wife is Smt Damayanthi and Son Vendurai is a software
engineer, owns a business and his daughter is doing first year BE Computer
Science. .....
by Haindava Keralam
Devotees of Devi Kannagi who came for darsan for Chitra Pournami is outraged
by the attempt of social miscreants to desecrate the temple by dumping
Porottas and Beef Curry in front of the Temple. .....
by Thaindian News
Even as several major temples "obeyed" the diktat of the Tamil
Nadu government and avoided special worship, the laity here celebrated
Tamil New Year with usual gaiety Sunday. Just as the biggest Hindu Shiva
temple in Mylapore area here allowed people to offer special prayers,
the famed Vishnu shrine at Srirangam, 300 km south of Chennai and considered
a "heaven on earth", celebrated the occasion with pomp. .....
by K.P. Nayar
In the western hemisphere, ayurveda has a new celebrity follower. President
Pratibha Patil was bombarded with questions about the merits of ayurveda
on Thursday when she met Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa, the Mexican
President, on the second leg of her tour of Latin America. .....
by S. Sadanand
Politicians everywhere choose the easy way out to win elections. But nowhere
else do they behave more irresponsibly than in India. Distributing largesse
from public coffers to buy votes is an old habit of our politicians. Even
though they have no right to squander tax-payers' valuable funds, on the
eve of almost every election ruling politicians open the purse-strings
in the hope of buying votes of the targeted sections of the electorate.
.....
by R. Upadhyay
The recent arrest of SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) activists
and supporters followed by media exposure of their jehadi training camps,
widespread network in the country from north to south, its direct or indirect
involvement in almost all the Islamist terror attacks in the country and
link with various terror groups and their controllers in Pakistan and
Bangladesh has reaffirmed its jihadi character which I had discussed earlier
( vide paper no. 825 dated October 30, 2003 of this site). .....
by Alexandra Frean
A former teacher at an Islamic school, who alleged that it taught an offensive
and racist view of non-Muslims, has been awarded £70,000 by an employment
tribunal after winning his case for unfair dismissal. .....
by George Joseph
The Hindu Samaj Temple, currently under construction in the foothills
of the Ramapo Mountain in Mahwah, New Jersey, will rank among the biggest
Indian temples in the United States when opened to the public in August.
.....
by A Surya Prakash
Aided by an administration that is of late making anti-Hinduism an important
component of state policy, a small group of Muslim bigots in Chennai disrupted
an exhibition on Aurangzeb, the despotic ruler who destroyed hundreds
of Hindu temples in the 17th century, including the most sacred shrines
at Banaras and Mathura. .....
by The Australian
British police and security agencies are monitoring 30 terrorism plots,
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in extracts of a newspaper interview
released today. .....
by Satbir Singh Bedi
At the time of partition of the country, Sikhs were equally divided between
India and Pakistan on the basis of the location of their homes but they
were not welcome in Pakistan and were thrown out of their homes in Pakistan
by Muslims. .....
by Free Press Journal
We have done it again. Asked to bend, the Indian Government chose to crawl.
The way the Government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh genuflected itself
before the superior might of the Chinese ought to have shamed every right-thinking
Indian. In those short two kilometers on Rajpath, the Chinese flame that
is what it was, and not the Olympic flame as was being touted by the official
apologists singed all pretensions about this government putting national
pride and interest above everything else. Fear and paranoia torpedoed
all good sense. .....
by The Pioneer
The banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which intelligence
agencies believe has created the country's first home-grown terror network,
cooperates closely with a radical but legitimate Hyderabad-based Islamic
organisation called the Darsgah Jihad-o-Shahadat, going by the confession
of Amil Parvez. The police believe Parvez is a top SIMI activist; he was
arrested on March 27, along with 13 others. .....
by MSN News
The banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which intelligence
agencies believe has created the country's first home-grown terror network,
cooperates closely with a radical but legitimate Hyderabad-based Islamic
organisation called the Darsgah Jihad-o-Shahadat, going by the confession
of Amil Parvez. The police believe Parvez is a top SIMI activist; he was
arrested on March 27, along with 13 others. .....
by Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr
Ramanuja, the medieval philosopher-reformer, is less well-known than he
should be. The cognoscenti who claim to know about Indian philosophy,
both in India and the west, are only keen to show off their appreciation
of the stratospheric subtleties of the advaita philosophy of Sankara.
.....
by The Pioneer
With 17,000 policemen and commandos deployed on guard duty, doors and
windows of buildings that house the Government of India barred, the rooftops
of majestic monuments in Lutyens' Delhi sanitised and Parliamentarians
advised to go home early -- leading to a quorum being unavailable in the
Rajya Sabha -- the Olympic torch relay was both a nightmare and a cruel
joke. .....
by Neha Dewan, Purva Bhatia &
Surbhi Goel
He steps were teeming with hundreds of people. Gangaram stood there, stunned.
Then with a sigh of reverence, he approached a barber and sat down, his
hands folded. It was a dream come true for this thirty-year-old farmer
from Chennai. Not everyday can you shave off your head in the mighty shadow
of the Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala. .....
by Free Press Journal
The recent revelation in a Chennai newspaper that the ruling DMK in Tamil
Nadu has appointed those with party links as Vice Chancellors of universities
in the state is a reflection of the extent to which politicians can play
havoc with such a crucial area as education. The newly-appointed VC of
Madurai Kamaraj University is the son-in-law of the state's Co-operation
Minister. .....
by Efrat Weiss
Two Palestinian employees detained mere days before they planned to lace
food at Ramat Gan grill bar with tasteless, odorless toxin .....
by Danish Khan and Deeptiman Tiwary
The narco analysis of Abdul Karim Telgi may have helped Mumbai police
immensely in cracking the multi-crore scam, but little does anyone know
that the tapes of the same analysis could have spelled doom for the Bangalore
Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) chief and other experts. .....
by ExpressIndia.com
The news that Tripura minister and CPM leader Sahid Choudhuri allegedly
had links with Bangladesh-based militant outfit Harkat-Ul-Jihad-Al-Islami
(HUJI) has not only embarrassed the party leadership in Bengal but has
also made it cautious, particularly about the certificates leaders have
issued to people endorsing their residential status. .....
by ExpressIndia.com
The Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was chased, abused and assaulted
as her convoy was allegedly attacked by a group of CPM activists in Nandigram
on Sunday. .....
by Phurbu Thinley
The Global Human Rights Torch Relay, scheduled to pass through 37 countries,
arrived in Minnesota (MN) State on April 16 on its America leg of the
ongoing relay. The torch arrived after passing through New York earlier
on Sunday. The organisers of the torch relay hope to draw attention to
human rights concerns in Tibet, as well as the Chinese government's persecution
of the Falun Gong, Buddhists, rights advocates and others. .....
by The Telegraph
Suspected CPM workers allegedly raped a 45-year-old woman in Nandigram,
a year after she was raped by another gang during the violence over land
acquisition. .....
by TN Raghunatha
Senior BJP leader LK Advani on Saturday lamented that the RSS "has
been a most misunderstood patriotic organisation" both in pre and
post-Independent India, despite having been a movement that "transformed
the society and thousands of youngsters." .....
by Akela
A day after we reported that the terror outfit planned to kill top narco
experts, it emerges that they had hatched a bigger plot to eliminate engineers
and planners to strike at our economy .....
by Hetal Vyas
Tiger Memon may be an outlaw, but his mother Hanifa -- acquitted in the
1993 blasts case about a year ago -- is knocking the doors of the Bombay
High Court to reclaim rights over an expensive family property located
at Mohammad Ali Road in south Mumbai. .....
by Rakesh Singh
With a Parliamentary panel expressing concern over the threat posed by
illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to nation's internal security, Government
is going to be under severe pressure for identifying and deporting them.
.....
by The Sydney Morning Herald
Inshallah, by the time you get this message I should have achieved one
of the two goals by the will of Allah. I sincerely apologise and pray
that you forgive me for keeping this from you. It was for your safety
and for the sake of the project. And after much deliberation I have decided
to write this message so that you are prepared to take the knock-on effects
of my actions. .....
by Tarique Anwar
Congratulating the government for 27% educational quota for Other Backward
Classes (OBC), the Indian Muslim League has demanded separate quota for
Muslims. .....
by Adam Fresco
The brother of an Islamic terrorist who drove a flaming Jeep into Glasgow
airport was convicted yesterday of failing to tell police about the mission.
.....
by Vicky Nanjappa
One of Bangalore's notorious traffic jams saved many lives on the fateful
night of December 29, 2005. This, and many more startling facts, was revealed
by Sabhahuddin, the man allegedly responsible for the Indian Institute
of Science attack, during a narco analysis test in Bangalore last week.
.....
by News Today
When the Ramar Sethu case came up for hearing on Tuesday, in the course
of arguments, the SC had asked two questions, 'Is Rama Sethu a place of
worship?' and 'Who goes to the middle of the sea and worships a place,which
is under the water?' .....
by Chennai Online
Contending that Ms Priyanka Vadra's recent visit to a high-security prison
in Vellore to meet the killer of her father Rajiv Gandhi was a criminal
offence, Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today asked the Tamil
Nadu government to prosecute her on the charge of tresspassing. .....
by The Pioneer
The contentious Ram Setu issue has once again attracted controversy, this
time in the Supreme Court. The questions raised by the Bench comprising
Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice RV Raveendran, while hearing
a bunch of petitions challenging the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project,
are gratuitous and in poor taste. .....
by Sheela Bhatt
Want to know who is the angriest man in New Delhi on the eve of the Olympic
torch's arrival in New Delhi? His name is Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan poet,
rebel and general secretary of the Friends of Tibet. .....
by The Christian Science Monitor
By refusing to talk to Tibet's Dalai Lama, China has set itself up for
yet another protest of the Olympic torch run, this time in India. But
in contrast, China's top leader held talks last Saturday with Taiwan's
incoming vice president. Does that receptivity to negotiations give hope
to Tibetans? .....
by
The Kerala High Court, on Tuesday, observed that the only solution to
end the violence in Kannur district seemed to be a timely intervention
by the Union government by deploying sufficient forces that "will
not yield to the political or plutocratic clout by those in powers and
out of power," quoting reports. .....
by S. Vijay Kumar
In a secretive visit to the Vellore Central Prison on March 19, Priyanka
Vadra met Nalini, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination
case, at the special prison for women. The issue has kicked up a controversy
as doubts have been raised about the legality of her meeting with the
convict. .....
by The Times of India
Making public secret intelligence gathered from Naxal documents from Chhattisgarh's
Bastar and Dantewada regions, the Centre on Tuesday made a strong pitch
for continuance of village self-defence groups - Salwa Judum - as a necessary
counterweight against red ultras' attempt to impose their writ on a huge
area. .....
by Marathi Daily 'Pudhari'
Minister Hasan Mushrif brought pressure on Police and forced them to apply
such clauses on the attackers of administrative officer that the attackers
would get bail in one day. As a protest of this act, warning has been
given by the Hindutvawadi organizations of observing Kolhapur Bandh on
13th, Sunday. .....
by Rediff.com
Safdar Nagori, the general secretary of the proscribed outfit Student's
Islamic Movement of India, was in Mumbai on July 11, 2006, when a series
of explosions in suburban trains claimed 187 lives and injured thousands.
.....
by Ram Setu Raksha Manch
"My attention was especially drawn to the chapter about the bridge
between India and Sri Lanka, the bridge which is hidden in the depths
of the sea. Although invisible in our eyes (But not to *NASA satellites*)
the bridge is a part of world and human heritage and this is why public
awareness needs to be raised about the significance and establish it on
a global level. .....
by Priyanka P. Narain
A report by a government-appointed committee on the Sethusamudram project
says adequate research has been done to understand the underwater geology
and marine environment off India's southern coast, including one study
to examine the "controlled blasting" of the Adam's Bridge and
after-effects. .....
by The Indian Express
The Forum of Artistes, Cultural Activists and Intellectuals has launched
a website that documents its convention in the backdrop of the land acquisition
in Singur and Nandigram. .....
by
Shri L K Advani leader of the opposition, Lok Sabha has sought immediate
intervention by the centre to put an end to the unabated violence unleashed
by CPM storm troopers against the BJP / RSS workers in Kerala. Shri Advani
has taken up the issue with the Union Home Minister, Shri. Shivraj Patil.
Responding to Mr. Advani's plea, Shri Patil has assured him that the centre
has taken cognizance of this mindless violence and would take steps to
restore normalcy in the violence torn districts of Kerala. .....
by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Five RSS activists have been killed and scores grievously injured in renewed
attacks by the CPM cadres since 5 March 2008 in the North Kerala district
of Kannur. Houses of more than 40 Swayamsevaks have been destroyed in
this violence. .....
by Organiser
What constitutes news to our secular English-language press? When the
police in Chennai behave like rowdies, it hardly makes news. Think of
this: French journalist Francois Gautier's Foundation Against Continuing
Terrorism (FACT) had painstakingly put together a collection of 40 miniatures
that told the story of Aurangzeb's rule. .....
by Arthur J Pais
As many Hindu parents in America and Canada know too well, you just cannot
be prepared for all the questions your child has to face in the school.
Questions like: Why do Hindus worship the cow? Are Hindu Gods always married
to many women? Why do Hindus worship idols? .....
by Sonia Jabbar
Is Tibet a nuisance for India, and when it negotiates with China on the
border issue, should India unhesitatingly sacrifice Tibetan interests
to secure our own? While there has been much talk about the burden of
hosting the Dalai Lama and 1,85,000 Tibetan refugees for 50 years, few
have acknowledged India's debt to them and why repaying that debt is not
only a moral imperative but a strategically self-interested one. .....
by Dipankar Gupta
Now that the Supreme Court has skimmed the OBC off its "creamy layer",
it has made it difficult for Mandal-fattened politicians to lick their
chops. No matter how brave a front OBC caste activists may affect, they
have little option but retreat to their chaupal where they can safely
let their worry lines show. .....
by Tufail Ahmad
The Ahmadis are a religious movement founded in the late 19th century
by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908), a spiritual leader from the town of
Qadiyan, now in the Indian Punjab. Although they consider themselves Muslims,
many Muslims reject them because of the Ahmadis' belief that their founder
received divine revelation. .....
by Daniel Pipes
The future of Europe is in play. Will it turn into "Eurabia",
a part of the Muslim world? Will it remain the distinct cultural unit
it has been for the past millennium? Or might there be some creative synthesis
of the two? .....
by The Times of India
Manipur has the highest number of terror outfits, followed by Assam and
Jammu and Kashmir, according to a list prepared by the Union Home Ministry
in consultation with state governments and intelligence agencies. .....
by Abraham Thomas
Once quota for Other Backward Classes is approved for Central educational
institutions, the Government "will likely target" private unaided
institutions. .....
by Dhiraj Kumar Nath
The title of the book is most meaningful as it relates the stories and
events that actually took place to deprive the minority community of its
rights and titles of property ownership. A research based book, it is
outstanding in nature as it provides an account, with facts and figures,
of how the protective security of the minority has been ignored for years
together and how the minority community has been unable to enjoy the property
handed down to it from one generation to another. .....
by Pranab Dhal Samanta
Former chief of the Students Islamic Movement of India Safdar Nagori,
arrested in Indore last month, is said to have told his interrogators
that he regards Taliban's Mullah Omar as the "true caliph" of
the Muslim world and that he was working to establish links with him through
NRI contacts in the Gulf. .....
by The Pioneer
Against the backdrop of Left parties sustained attack on UPA Government
on price rise issue, Congress on Saturday hit back saying its outside
supporters have not made any 'real suggestions' on how to deal with the
inflation except for seeking a ban on futures trading on commodities.
.....
by Swapan Dasgupta
For China, the global furore over the Olympics torch has proved both an
embarrassment and an opportunity. The embarrassment stems from the international
focus on its 'inhuman' rights record, its dismal record of bolstering
authoritarian regimes and, of course, its "cultural genocide"
in Tibet. .....
by Premen Addy
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is the wrong man in the wrong
place at the wrong time. Faced with the lurid spectacle of a Muslim rabble
in Kolkata demanding the expulsion from India of Bangladeshi writer Taslima
Nasreen, he made a chivalrous call in the dead of night at the safe house
in which she was quartered and 'persuaded' her to leave the country for
more welcoming shores. .....
by Mohsin Mulla
The city remained tense for few hours on Friday afternoon, when the Hindu
activists and the Muslim groups roughed up in the city. The Iossue boiled
up with the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) destroying an illegally
constructed madrassa in Kanan Nagar slum area in the city. .....
by The Pioneer
The BJP on Saturday demanded a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's remarks that the increase in prices
was the "handiwork" of traders sponsored by the saffron party.
.....
by The Times of India
China's leaders do not understand the principles of democracy. That's
understandable. Their comrades in India also don't seem to appreciate
democratic values. This is unfathomable. .....
by T S Sreenivasa Raghavan
Thousand members who belong to Dalit Christian community will officially
get reconverted into Hinduism on Monday in Tirunelveli town in a colourful
function being organized by Hindu Monks Tamil Nadu Council. .....
by Tavleen Singh
This is not a column that discusses cinema, but this week I make an exception
because of a film I have just seen, which inadvertently exposes the myth
of 'moderate' Islam. I went to see Khuda Kay Liye not just because it
is the first Pakistani film to be released in Indian cinemas since anyone
can remember, but because I gathered from reviews that it was a reflection
of moderate Islam. .....
by Dennis Prager
The long-suffering Tibetans have been in the news. This happens perhaps
once or twice a decade. In a more moral world, however, public opinion
would be far more preoccupied with Tibetans than with Palestinians, would
be as harsh on China as it is on Israel, and would be as fawning on Israel
as it now is on China. .....
by The Telegraph
State-aided Christian missionary schools are accusing the government of
bias for exempting madarsas from reserving teaching posts for SC and ST
candidates. .....
by The Pioneer
The Supreme Court on Thursday held caste as one of the determining but
not the sole factor to decide social and educational backwardness of an
individual. .....
by Webindia123.com
In what could be the fastest growing online petition, people across the
world - from Rio de Janeiro to Rome and New York to New Delhi - have signed
up to mount pressure on China for a dialogue with Buddhist spiritual leader
the Dalai Lama on Tibet. .....
by Webindia123.com
Not even an hour was lost in the just concluded first session of the 12th
Gujarat assembly, setting a precedent for legislators across the country,
says Speaker Ashok Bhatt. .....
by Yahoo News
The students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) might be an indigenous
banned terror outfit but the roadmap to its ideological/political objectives
seems global. It draws inspiration from Mullah Mohammed Omar, the reclusive
head of the Taliban and one of the world's most wanted jihadi terrorists,
and his ally and Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. .....
by TamilNet
Malaysian government's refusal to free M.Manoharan, who was elected to
Selangor State Assembly in the last elections but still kept in custody
under the Internal Security Act, is condemned by the opposition Democratic
Action Party (DAP), reported AFP on Sunday. .....
by Paul Jerard
Anger is such a powerful, negative emotion. It is much similar to an amusement
park ride you wish you had never tried. Many of us believe anger must
just run its natural course. How could Yoga really help you with anger
management? .....
by Shivanand Shukla
Maoists damaged electric poles leading to a virtual blackout in more than
150 villages in the insurgency prone Bijapur of Bastar region, police
said on Sunday. .....
by B Raman
I read with great interest your detailed reply to your relatives, friends,
admirers and Tibetan activists in which you have justified (external link)
your decision to be one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at New Delhi
on April 17. .....
by JokesFromIndianLeft.blogspot.com
The Left Government in West Bengal is not new to Mass Murder of Innocent
Citizens. Nandigram is just the latest in the series. Before Nandigram
it was the Morichjhapi massacre of the 1970s, featured in Amitav Ghosh's
Hungry Tide. There, it was East Bengal refugees in the Sundarbans who
were cordoned off, fired on and the survivors evicted. The cost in lives
is still unaccounted, but it is likely that thousands were killed. .....
by The Pioneer
Following a Supreme Court observation against arming of civilians under
the Salwa Judum movement, the Chhattisgarh Police has strongly refuted
allegations that the volunteers of the anti-Maoist movement have been
armed by the State. .....
by The Telegraph
Two Bangladeshi children, who were taken away from their parents after
being caught sneaking into India and sent to a separate detention centre,
can now expect a reunion, though for a short while. .....
by Tini Tran
Confined to house arrest for seven months, Chinese activist Hu Jia still
managed to use the Internet and telephone to chronicle the harassment
of dissidents in his country before he was hauled off to jail last December.
.....
by Rediff.com
Banned Students Islamic Movement of India chief Safdar Hussein Nagori
on Monday admitted before police officials that a meeting of important
leaders of the outfit took place at Ujjain just before the Mumbai train
blasts, which claimed a large number of lives. .....
by M R Venkatesh
The 6th Pay Commission report was submitted to the government on March
24. It has once again brought the issue of a grand design to keep India
poor by subsequent governments back to the fore. .....
by The Indian Express
Thirteen years after the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute was
set up in Kolkata at the initiative of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,
it was forced to close down indefinitely on Tuesday following continued
protests by cadres of the CITU, the CPI(M)'s trade union arm. .....
by Express India
Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has refused to carry the Beijing
Olympic torch during its run through the Indian capital later this month
in protest over China's crackdown on recent protests in Tibet, a sports
official said Tuesday. .....
by Prafull Goradia and K.R. Phanda
The Jamdani Revolution by Krishnan Srinivasan is a week by week account
of his assignment as India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh during 1989-1992.
In this period, he had the opportunity of interacting with politicians
and bureaucrats at the highest level. His meeting with the Indian netas
and babus in particular, bring out the person behind the persona. .....
by The Times of India
They knew it would be risky to exhibit a homoerotic version of Christ's
Last Supper, but curators at museum of Vienna's Roman Catholic cathedral
weren't ready for a barrage of angry messages and calls to be shut down.
.....
by Bharti Jain
Amid allegations of the Centre interfering with functioning of the Election
Commission through an 'embedded official,' a brazen instance of the ruling
side's attempt to influence the Commission has come to light. Sources
in the EC said a top functionary of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
had approached the Election Commission to drop the Belgian award case
against Congress president Sonia Gandhi. .....
by Tamilnet
Malaysian government's refusal to free M.Manoharan, who was elected to
Selangor State Assembly in the last elections but still kept in custody
under the Internal Security Act, is condemned by the opposition Democratic
Action Party (DAP), reported AFP on Sunday. "It shows that Prime
Minister Abdulla Ahmed Badawi's administration has not really heard the
voice of the people in the March 8 political tsunami to change towards
a more democratic and accountable Malaysian society. .....
by Dr.Abdul Ruff Colachal
Not many people doubt the tacit understanding between the so-called secular
and democratic parties like the Congress party and the overtly anti-Muslim
communal parties like the BJP. Anti-Muslim agenda seems to be common in
both these streams, but Congress party quite effectively hide it from
public view, especially from the Muslims. Historically, BJP emerged form
Congress foundations in Delhi state. .....
by J N Raina
China need not stiffen its muscles to confront the Tibetan spiritual leader
Dalai Lama in India. Its surrogate, the Communist Party of India (Marxist),
is doing enough at its bidding to browbeat the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize
winner. .....
by Kapil Datta
A man was reportedly thrashed by his in-laws in the Sector 18 market on
Tuesday night for refusing to change his religion, the victim claimed.
He has been admitted at Vinayak Hospital. .....
by Malayindians.blogspot.com
Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar, who is being held without trial under
the security laws, has been hospitalised after being denied medication
for diabetes, his lawyer said today. .....
by East India Watch
After Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), its now Bangladesh's
directorate general of forces intelligence (DGFI) that has become a concern
for the security agencies. .....
by Balbir K Punj
What is tumbling out of the SIMI cupboard is a glimpse of the countrywide
network of about 20,000 youngsters brainwashed to believe that through
terror they can convert India into an Islamic country. As disclosed by
Riyazuddin Nasir, SIMI leader Safdar Nagori had instructed his followers
thus: "Jihad is our path. India is to be liberated by converting
it to dar-ul Islam by either forcefully converting everyone to Islam or
by violence." .....
by Brahma Chellaney
Beijing's provocations against India continue unabated. Arrogant authoritarianism
blinds China to counterproductive actions. Surprisingly, India plays into
Beijing's hands and compounds the indignities. Recent instances underscore
the manner India is being belittled from within. What is discreditable
is not that Beijing summoned the Indian ambassador post-midnight, but
that the envoy - a distinguished woman diplomat - docilely turned up at
the Chinese foreign office at 2 a.m. .....
by Soumya Murag
Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma is the oldest of the world's living faiths.
Though its origin is dated between 10,000 - 7,000 BCE by most historians,
its traditions extend back before recorded history. Despite its antiquity,
Hinduism is interestingly still a living and growing religion and has
global acceptance. There is no founder to give credit to its discovery
and establishment. .....
by A Surya Prakash
Although the announcement of a debt relief package for farmers in the
2008-09 Union Budget has raised the hopes of the farming community, a
good percentage of the 40 million beneficiaries may be in for a disappointment
because of the inherent flaws in the Government's proposals. .....
by Shantanu Guha Ray
If you ask Raj Loomba what prompted him to help widows in distress across
the globe, you will not get an instant answer. Loomba, sitting in his
flat decorated with pictures of world leaders and him, will look dazedly
at you and weep. "For my mother," he says, regaining his voice.
Pushpawati was in her forties when she had to forego her status, her coloured
saris and expensive jewelry, when she lost her wealthy husband. .....
by Ambreesh Mishra
Terrorists as portrayed in movies or the grainy shots of training camps
follow a stereotype: heavily bearded, intense, hooded eyes and the demeanour
of a remorseless killer. .....
by Uday Mahurkar
As one crosses the Surajbari bridge, gateway to Kutch from Gujarat, the
skyline comes as a surprise to anyone who is familiar with the area. Instead
of a sparsely populated, arid landscape, it now boasts of a series of
modern factories churning out the best known brands in the country. .....
by Rahul Tewari
As the most famous face in Indian football, skipper of the national team
and one who stood by his players, Baichung Bhutia has been known in soccer
circles as "Captain Courageous". .....
by Sandeep Unnithan
In January, Brigadier Y.P. Bakshi was shot dead by unknown assailants
in Meerut. Poignantly, his death has given new hope to five strangers.
After the consent of his family, the war veteran's liver was transplanted
into a terminally ill 14-year-old, his kidneys were transplanted to two
soldiers, eyes were received by another and heart valve was given to a
one-year-old infant. "I'm back from the jaws of death," says
Lance Naik Sukhvinder Singh, who was bed-ridden two years ago. .....
by B V Shiva Shankar
Rajya Sabha' deputy chairman K Rehman Khan violated the spirit of the
Indian Constitution by attending a party meeting yesterday. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
Ruthlessly ambitious Indian politicians are loath to assume responsibility
for the ministry of external affairs. The job may be associated with pomp,
photo ops, meeting interesting people, travels to unusual places and a
lot of fine dining. However, the political rewards of persistent jet lag
are few. Unless it happens to be linked to the tiresome western neighbour,
the electorate doesn't care a fig for foreign policy. .....
by The Times of India
Terror suspect Sabauddin has confessed to the police in Bangalore that
he masterminded the December 2005 terror strike on the IISc which he executed
at the behest of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a top police officer said on Saturday.
.....
by Rajeev Srinivasan
In Tibet, Communism is wiping out an Indic faith, Tibetan Buddhism. In
Jammu & Kashmir, Islam is wiping out another Indic faith, Hinduism.
But any comparison between the two situations is erroneous and entirely
out of place .....
by D Sreenath
The efforts of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to woo back sections
of society drifting away from the Hindu fold seem to be having an impact,
if the response of fisherfolk to a recently- concluded programme was anything
to go by. .....
by The Infinity Foundation
Most of us college-educated Indians were taught that inefficient technologies
and low productivities pervaded through long ages in practically all parts
of India," states Dr. S.K. Bajaj, director of the Centre for Policy
Studies, a Chennai think tank. In the 1920s Gandhi's Young India presented
some proof of a rich and prosperous pre-British India. .....
by Claude Arpi
The recent riots on the 'Roof of the World' have triggered a flurry of
reactions. While Indians in general defend the plight of the Tibetan people,
some (read Beijing's comrades) believe that it is "an internal affair
of China" and that Delhi should scrupulously follow the principle
of non-interference in its neighbour's affairs. .....
by Priyadarsi Dutta
Some may find Bhaichung Bhutia's refusal to carry the Olympic torch a
morality pantomime. But it compares well with the 1968 Olympics 'Black
Power Salute' performed by Tommie Smith and John Carlos after winning
gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-metre sprint at Mexico
City. .....
by Rakesh Singh
The Pak-Saudi intelligence alliance is pressurising the caretaker Government
in Bangladesh to bolster the Islamist outfits and insurgent groups with
a view to create trouble in the North-East States. The caretaker Government
in Bangladesh had taken some measures to contain the radical outfits as
well as Indian insurgent groups after it came to power. .....
by NS Rajaram
Tibet and Jammu & Kashmir offer striking examples of a self-absorbed
leadership placing personal glory ahead of national interest. India is
still paying the price for these blunders by being the only country of
its size without a recognised border with its giant neighbour. .....
by Claude Arpi
An event which may look negative at first sight can also trigger positive
collaterals. We have listed 10 encouraging aspects of the recent unrest
in Tibet and the subsequent Chinese muscled clampdown. .....
by The Pioneer
In what has all the makings of a major scandal, if not a scam, the Union
Government has been charging a road cess on petrol and diesel but cannot
account for the astronomical sums thus collected over several years from
the people. These have certainly not been used to improve the road infrastructure
in the country for which ostensible purpose the cess was imposed. .....
by The Times of India
China has accused Muslims in the nation's northwest of trying to start
a rebellion, following what an exile group said were peaceful protests
against injustices under Chinese rule. .....
by Claude Arpi
It's not just India which has preferred to go soft on Tibet. Western countries
have adopted a similar policy. The slavish attitude of most Governments
has emboldened a brutal China to indulge in what the Dalai Lama calls
'cultural genocide' in Tibet. .....
by NS Rajaram
50 years after independence, India is still without recognised borders
with China. While it is easy to blame China for intransigence, new information
has come to light suggesting that Indian leaders also missed opportunities
when favourable conditions presented themselves. They pursued a course
of idealism for world peace while what the national interest demanded
was flexibility and pragmatism. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
The Congress has become the Gandhi family business with party members
playing the role of either long-standing retainers or professional employees.
In this set-up, competence and performance are not altogether discounted
but take second and third place to loyalty. The `family' is above scrutiny;
it can do no wrong. Those are the club rules of the Congress. Take it
or lump it. .....
by Rajat Pandit
Chinese troops have intruded a dozen times since January into Indian territory
in the strategic Pangong Tso lake area in eastern Ladakh as part of Beijing's
continuing aggressive posture all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
.....
by Anubhuti Vishnoi
Activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), arrested by
the Madhya Pradesh police last Thursday, have told police that they planned
to target top BJP leaders, including L K Advani and Narendra Modi, because
they believed these leaders were linked to the destruction of the Babri
Masjid and the post-Godhra riots. .....
