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February Month Articles

February Month Articles

  • Spinning power
    • by Nandini Vaish
      It's an invention Mahatma Gandhi would be proud of. Bangalore-based engineer R.S. Hiremath, 48, has developed a product that combines the fundamental principles of the age-old charkha with the power of a dynamo. The result: an electronic charkha which can light a bulb even as it spins fibre. .....
  • Middle East Mired in a Culture of Hatred
    • by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
      A Palestinian presenter at Hamas's Al-Aqsa Television asks a little girl on a program for kids, "What do you want to become when you grow up?" .....
  • India refuses to resume dialogue
    • by The Times of India
      In the first high-level contact with Pakistan since 26/11, foreign secretary S S Menon on Thursday met his counterpart Salman Bashir in Colombo and rejected his suggestion for resumption of composite dialogue till Islamabad took credible steps to end terrorism. .....
  • Pranab: Pak has much to do besides talks on 26/11
    • by The Times of India
      Foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said the ongoing interaction between India and Pakistan over Mumbai attacks should not be allowed to deflect attention from the larger issue of dismantling terror infrastructure in Pakistan. .....
  • Pak colonel in 26/11 chargesheet mans telecom network
    • by The Economic Times
      Pakistan army's Colonel R Saadat Ullah, who has been named as one of the accused in the 26/11 chargesheet, is working with Special Communications Organisation, a unit of the Pakistani army that looks after telephone networks in PoK and northern areas. .....
  • 26/11 The Indian hand
    • by Y P Rajesh & Sagnik Chowdhury
      One of the most intriguing aspects of the 26/11 attacks across Mumbai has been the ease with which the 10 Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists navigated their way around the financial capital, even though it is believed that they were in the city for the first time. .....
  • 26/11 attackers' phones traced to Italy, US
    • by IBNLive.com
      Militants behind last year's attacks on Mumbai used cell phones that were activated in the United States and paid for with funds sent from Italy, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday. .....
  • Indo-Pak amity proves elusive: India must be ready for worst
    • by Swapan Dasgupta
      Amity between a democratic India and a democratic Pakistan has proved an elusive ideal. Democratic Pakistan has lacked the necessary resilience to take on an over-ambitious military. India has no choice but to prepare for the worst. .....
  • Falling Out Together
    • by Swapan Dasgupta
      How long does it take for a nation-state to either collapse into utter chaos and anarchy or fragment into pieces? The question has repeatedly been raised in the context of Pakistan, a country living on death row since its violent birth in 1947. This week's imposition of sharia law in the Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province after an Islamist insurgency has again revived these concerns. .....
  • Pak's Jamaat signs deal with China's Communist party
    • by Saibal Dasgupta
      The atheist Communist Party of China has recently signed an agreement with Pakistan's main Islamic party, the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Chinese move has given the oft-criticized JI some sort of international acceptability while putting Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari under significant political pressure. .....
  • Outrage in South Asia
    • by Koenraad Elst
      On 25 and 26 September 2008, the Paris-based South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (SAMAJ) held a conference about "outraged communities: investigating the politicisation of emotions in South Asia". The texts of the contributed presentations have now been published in the December 2008 issue of SAMAJ (integrally on-line at http://samaj.revues.org). .....
  • Barbarians at the gate, are we ready?
    • by Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
      The recent surrender by the Pakistani State to the Taliban in the Swat valley may well turn out to be a watershed in the history of the Indian subcontinent. In terms of long-term impact, this may even overshadow the recent Mumbai massacres. All signs point to the 'Talibanisation' of Pakistan. .....
  • Geert Wilders and the 'Koran Ban'
    • by Andrew G. Bostom
      Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders will be in the United States this week, arriving direct from Italy where he received the Oriana Fallaci Free Speech Award. .....
  • A taste of Taliban rule
    • by The Pioneer
      The 'peace deal' between the Pakistani Government and the pro-Taliban Tehreek Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi has already claimed its first victim. In a chilling reminder of what the Taliban really stands for, a journalist working for The News and Geo TV, Musa Khankhel, has been brutally murdered. His body, riddled with several bullets and his throat slit, was found in Matta sub-division of Swat Valley. .....
  • Issue fatwa saying India a friend of Islam: VHP to Muslims
    • by The Times of India
      Concerned by "religion inspired violence", the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has shot off a letter to 13 Muslim organisations requesting them to issue a fatwa declaring India as a friend of Islam, 'Dar-Ul-Amn', against which 'jihad' should not be waged. .....
  • Young and drunk: Soon kids will start drinking when 15, some already do
    • by Bula Devi
      In a well known school in South Delhi, an eleventh standard student who also happens to be the head boy of the school, brought a bottle of alcohol and a bottle of cola to the school. He and his group of friends, including girls [all from educated, well to do families], drank in the classroom and eventually got so drunk that when the teacher came to the class to teach, the girl students, with glazed eyes and flushed faces, started questioning her, instead of the teacher taking them to task. .....
  • During UPA rule, 55 million pushed below poverty line
    • by MJ Akbar
      Instead of banning opinion polls during election time, the Government should ban subversive academic organisations like Kolkata's Indian Statistical Institute. Opinion polls and exit polls are way off the mark, so why bother? A ban only betrays the nervousness of a Government anxious to come back to power, but uncertain about how this will happen. .....
  • Saudi School Textbooks Incite to Hatred and Violence
    • by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
      Ahmed Al-Sarraf cited in Al-Qabas (June 2, 2007) some passages from a Kuwaiti school textbook taught at the first secondary grade. Here is an English translation of passages from the book, "Jurisprudence", page 38 .....
  • Stand up to the mullahs
    • by Vir Sanghvi
      If you have missed the controversy that led to the arrest of the editor of The Statesman in Calcutta for offending religious sentiments - which you might have, because the national media downplayed the issue - then here's what it is about. .....
  • SC raps Ramadoss hard on knuckles, issues notices
    • by The Pioneer
      The Centre's decision to discontinue vaccine production at three of its top-billing vaccine manufacturing PSUs got a rap from the Supreme Court on Friday with the man facing the heat for his misadventure, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, asked by the court to justify his action. .....
  • From Islamabad to Bradford
    • by Mark Steyn
      'It is hard to understand this deal," said Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's special envoy. And, if the special envoy of the so-called smartest and most impressive administration in living memory can't understand it, what chance do the rest of us have? .....
  • Britain capitulates to terror
    • by Melaine Phillips
      If anyone had doubted the extent to which Britain has capitulated to Islamic terror, the banning of Geert Wilders a few hours ago should surely open their eyes. Wilders, the Dutch member of parliament who had made an uncompromising stand against the Koranic sources of Islamist extremism and violence, was due to give a screening of Fitna, his film on this subject, at the House of Lords on Thursday. .....
  • Tibetan Youth Disappointed With Obama & Mrs.Clinton
    • by B. Raman
      Tibetan youth organizations in Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas of China have kept up their campaign for the observance of the Tibetan New Year's Day (Losar) on February 25, 2009, as a day of mourning in homage to those killed by the Chinese security forces in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics of August,2008, and March 10, 2009 .....
  • Barbarians at the gate
    • by Kanchan Gupta
      There is sufficient reason to be worried about the gutless civilian Government in Pakistan abjectly capitulating to the Islamic fanatics of Swat Valley who have prohibited girls from attending school, ordered women to stay at home, instructed parents to give their daughters as 'wives' to the Taliban, begun flogging men in public squares, and will soon replace popular entertainment by way of films and music with stoning victims of rape to death in bazaars. .....
  • 26/11 masterminds had 320 targets on their hit list
    • by Expressindia.com
      Pakistan based banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, which plotted and executed the Mumbai carnage, killing more than 170 people, had placed India's financial hub among 320 potential targets around the world to carry out commando-style terror attacks. .....
  • Blast at Pak funeral kills 30
    • by The Times of India
      A powerful explosion blamed by police on a suicide bomber killed more than 30 people and injured at least 50 on Friday in the Pakistani city of Dera Ismail Khan, according to residents and Pakistani television reports. .....
  • LeT planned to hit 20 targets in India
    • by The Times of India
      The masterminds of 26/11 had plotted at least 20 attacks across the country, according to western experts who mined the data stored in the computer of leading Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Zarar Shah and sifted through the email. .....
  • Shia cleric's funeral march attacked, 32 killed
    • by The Indian Express
      At least 32 people were killed and nearly 160 injured on Friday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the funeral procession of a Shia cleric in the Pakistani city of Dera Ismail Khan, sparking angry protests which prompted authorities to impose curfew. .....
  • Militant mother stands between son and cricket
    • by Maroosha Muzaffar
      Caught between his passion for Cricket and his mother's allegiance to a separatist movement, Class XI student Muhammad Bin Qasim is confused as he packs his kit-bag, perhaps for good. .....
  • Open house
    • by Rohit Parihar
      Manish Dixit, a young civil engineer, drives a Scorpio, uses the latest cellphone and lives in a wellfurnished house. Sounds like another successful professional? Yes, but with a difference: Dixit is a convicted murderer serving a lengthy jail sentence in an 'open jail'. .....
  • Taking Ayurveda To The World
    • by Tehelka
      Ayurvedic treatments have great relevance today, as change in eating habits and modern lifestyles have made even the very young prone to ailments such as obesity, diabetes, spondylitis, arthritis etc. With over 80 years of experience in creating a reputable brand of ayurvedic health centres, the Kairali Group has earned the trusts of hundreds of satisfied customers from all over the world. .....
  • Devotees gear up to celebrate Mahashivratri
    • by Rajendra P Kerkar
      Mahashivratri - a festival dedicated to lord Shiva - will be celebrated with much fervour across the country and state on Monday. Among the Hindu triad, Shiva is believed to be the destroyer or re-creator and has traditionally been worshipped by tribal communities. .....
  • Pakistani Golden Eggs of Rotten Islam
    • by Amar Khan
      Pakistan was founded to secure the socio-economic interests of Muslims. Islamic factor was only in the mind of common Muslim mob of that age. The founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was wine drinker and pork eater himself, said on August 11, 1947 .....
  • Kashmir: The Legion of Terror
    • by Ibrahim Lone
      Let me begin by telling you what the war in Kashmir is about and what not. Well for starters, the war in Kashmir is not about freedom, human rights, equality, right to self-determination or anything that media normally tells us. In truth, it is about Islam. Yes, what is going on in Kashmir is the direct result of the commands that are enshrined in the Muslim Holy Book, the Quran, and the commands of their Prophet. .....
  • Govt admits to Bangla infiltration, but reveals no numbers
    • by The Economic Times
      Even as the government accepts that illegal infiltration from Bangladesh is a reality and may have altered the demographic profile of some border districts, it has refused to quantify the extent of the problem citing its "clandestine" nature. .....
  • The Good News
    • by K.S. Shaini
      In the Vindhya Pradesh region, a part of Madhya Pradesh bordering Uttar Pradesh, the birth of a girl child is considered bad news, as in many parts of rural India. Women throw water on a burning chulha in an age-old custom that symbolises the family's disappointment over the oppressive financial burden the girl's birth traditionally brings. .....
  • Swamy oppose take over of Nataraja temple by Govt.
    • by The Hindu
      Opposing the takeover of the administration of the famous Nataraja temple in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district from Dikshitar community by the state government, Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy has said that he would implead himself in an appeal proposed by the Dikshitars challenging a single bench Judge's order paving the way for the government take over. .....
  • A long winter in Swat
    • by Murtaza Razvi
      The Swat valley's steady descent into chaos, from a bustling leisure tourism destination up until the '90s to a cultural wasteland now controlled by a bunch of medieval-minded Taliban, tells a sorry tale of state complacence, as it continues to fail. .....
  • Modi flags off autos with a difference
    • by The Times of India
      Sanjay Belsare did not look any less than a person working in corporate world, wearing a suit, walking confidently and even talking in English. Nothing he did made him look like any other autorickshaw driver you would have seen. .....
  • Taliban pose a danger to US, Pak, India: Zardari
    • by The Times of India
      Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has acknowledged that Taliban, with whom his government reached a truce deal in the restive Swat valley days ago, are "murderous thugs and militants" who "pose a danger to Pakistan, the US and India". .....
  • Pak dallying on nailing 26/11 accused?
    • by The Times of India
      As the euphoria over Pakistan's "positive" response to the Indian dossier on Mumbai attacks dies down, it is slowly becoming clear that forcing Pakistan to act against the alleged perpetrators is going to be even tougher than getting it to admit that these attacks were planned in Pakistan. .....
  • Baramulla to Bastar
    • by The Pioneer
      In an otherwise bleak scenario, two good news stories published by this newspaper serve to highlight the fact that there is no reason to lose hope, at least not yet, although every additional day the UPA remains in power further erodes the people's faith in Government. The first story relates to young Kashmiris turning up in large numbers at the Army's recruitment camp in Baramulla, which till recently was a hotbed of separatism and terrorism. .....
  • The Super Judge
    • by Srdja Trifkovic
      With the ascension of Barack Obama in Washington, the proponents of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are entertaining fresh hopes that the United States will ratify the 1998 Rome Statutes and join 108 countries that have signed up to the Court thus far. .....
  • The A. Q. Khan network
    • by G. Parthasarathy
      If expedience led the Americans to allow A. Q. Khan to go free two decades ago, have they realised the dangers they could face by covering up the Pakistan army's role in facilitating nuclear proliferation worldwide .....
  • Suicidal Secularism
    • by J. Ajithkumar
      Rulers of any state would like to keep many things undefined. It is one of the proven ways to perpetuate their reign by offering different interpretations at different times for the same provisions even in a written document. When written and approved in 1950, Indian Constitution was one of the best written documents with all its provisions and omissions well deliberated and concluded. .....
  • Madrassa that arouses suspicion, inspires awe
    • by Manjari Mishra & Binay Singh
      The tall, stately structure in pristine white with its imposing domes and minarets springing out of paddyfields on Azamgarh-Varanasi highway looks surreal. .....
  • Most IM men from Azamgarh
    • by Rahi Gaikwad
      A sizeable number of the 21 Indian Mujahideen men, accused in cases of various blasts in the country and against whom a charge sheet was filed by the Mumbai Crime Branch here in a court on Tuesday, belong to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. .....
  • Obama Should Visit India--Soon
    • by Tunku Varadarajan
      My fellow columnist Gordon G. Chang made a piquant point in this space last week in his preview of Hillary Clinton's trip to East Asia--her first trip abroad as secretary of state. Chiding her for what he regarded as a scheduling misjudgment, he wrote that "she should have reserved time for a stop-over" in India. I agree with him 100%. .....
  • Pak-Taliban truce rings alarm bells in New Delhi
    • by Pranab Dhal Samanta
      The Pakistan government's purchase of peace by acceding to the enforcement of Shariah in the Malakand division of NWFP - this includes the Swat Valley - has raised serious concerns in New Delhi on several counts - particularly the Pakistan Army's apparent inability to squarely check the influence of Pakistani Taliban that is now beginning to reverberate even in the Punjab province. .....
  • Ex-nun's confessions set to rock Kerala Church
    • by Shaju Philip
      Already reeling under several controversies, the Kerala Catholic Church is facing fresh embarrassment from a tell-all autobiography written by a nun who recently quit the Order alleging harassment from superiors. .....
  • No problem if BJP gives up Hindutva issues: SP
    • by Yahoo News
      Samajwadi Party today said it has no problem with BJP if the saffron party gives up its Hindutva issues, drawing a sharp reaction from the main opposition party which said it cannot make sacrifice its ideology for short-term political gains. .....
  • Pak 'sharia' chief wants Islamic law for entire world
    • by ExpressIndia.com
      After inking a deal with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government for implementation of Islamic law in the Swat Valley, the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad, has expressed his desire of implementation of a similar law over the whole world. .....
  • FIR against Renuka for 'Taliban' remark
    • by Gururaj A. Paniyadi
      The expression "Talibanisation of Mangalore" has put Union minister for women and child welfare Renuka Chowdhury in a spot with the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), third court, Mangalore, directing the Mangalore Rural police on Wednesday to file an FIR against her. .....
  • Terror's safe haven across the other border
    • by Samudra Gupta Kashyap
      Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's announcement that he wanted New Delhi to use its influence on the new regime in Bangladesh to demolish the camps of the militant groups of Assam comes at a time when the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has apparently developed a close alliance with the ISI, HuJI and other Islamic forces active in the neighbouring country. .....
  • UPA's overt political bias
    • by Sandhya Jain
      Given its position that Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami lacks the authority to recommend removal of his colleague Navin Chawla without a Presidential reference, and the Law Minister's bald assertion that Mr. Chawla will most likely be elevated as CEC in view of his current seniority, it is not surprising that the UPA has decided not to act upon Mr. Gopalaswami's January 16 letters to President Pratibha Patil. .....
  • Spanish soldier arrested over 'jihad' videos
    • by Al Goodman
      Spanish police Tuesday arrested a Spanish soldier and his Russian girlfriend for allegedly posting videos on the Internet promoting Islamic extremist views and calling for attacks in Spain, a Ministry of Interior statement said. .....
  • Chargesheet filed against IM terrorists
    • by The Times of India
      All 21 alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists have been chargesheeted for hatching the conspiracy to set off blasts in various cities including Delhi, Bangalore and Surat. .....
  • Osama most likely hiding in Pak: New scientific study
    • by ExpressIndia.com
      The world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden could be hiding out in a walled compound in Parachinar, a town along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, according to a unique satellite-aided geographic analysis released on Tuesday. .....
  • Salute the Danish Flag - It's a Symbol of Western Freedom
    • by Susan MacAllen
      In Denmark, once-liberal immigration policies have forced huge governmental change and zero tolerance for Muslim immigrants intent on turning Denmark into an Islamic welfare haven. FSM Contributing Editor Susan MacAllen reveals a shocking reaction there and lessons America must learn. .....
  • The shadow Opposition
    • by Ashok Malik
      During its National Executive meeting in Nagpur later this week, the BJP needs to confront a compelling question: why has the party, in the words of a senior functionary, 'lost momentum' in recent months? .....
  • Pak has to earn India's trust, says US intel chief
    • by Chidanand Rajghatta
      The US welcomed Pakistan's decision to acknowledge the involvement of its nationals in the Mumbai terrorist attack and prosecute the masterminds, but warned that "unless Islamabad takes sustained, concrete, meaningful steps to allay Indian concerns about its support to anti-Indian militant groups,'' peace talks between the two countries may not resume. .....
  • The Bhatkal Connection
    • by Johnson T A
      Separate investigations over the last two years into Indian Mujahideen-connected Terror attack cases around India have gradually thrown up a mind-boggling network of operatives working under a common leadership and drawing on common resources for making bombs. .....
  • India needs whole truth from Pak
    • by The Asian Age
      Pakistan's official response to the Indian dossier, delivered to India's high commissioner in Islamabad on Thursday, confirms that India wasn't crying wolf after the Mumbai terrorist attack. The verification by Islamabad of the material supplied by this country reinforces every concern harboured here that the outrage was the outcome of an extensive conspiracy planned and executed by Pakistani nationals from Pakistani soil. .....
  • Hasina needs to address Bangladesh paradox
    • by Philip Bowring
      Bangladesh democracy was revived last December in what by most accounts was one of the fairest, best run elections seen anywhere in south Asia. But after a stunning election victory, the new Prime Minister, Ms Sheikh Hasina, has a tough task to translate the evident popular desire for democracy into a government that is more effective, less corrupt and less prone to a "winner take all" attitude to politics than its elected predecessors. .....
  • In Black & White - Marxists and their theatre of the absurd
    • by Balbir K. Punj
      With Lok Sabha elections around the corner, theatre of the absurd is at its best in the country. The CPI(M) supermo Prakash Karat is busy building his Third Alternative, promising a stable government at the Centre with a collection of several regional leaders, each of whom wants to be Prime Minister, and the Marxists themselves split down the middle. .....
  • Tibetan areas closed to visitors till late March
    • by The Asian Age
      Swaths of western China that have large Tibetan populations have been declared off limits to foreign visitors, local officials confirmed on Thursday, ahead of the politically sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising. .....
  • Politics Behind the Hijab
    • by Mumin Salih
      There is little doubt that hijab has become as much a symbol of Islam as the Crescent. The irony is that both of these two so-called Islamic icons, widely believed to be Islamic, are, in reality, not parts of Islam. .....
  • No rights for terrorists, says Arun Shourie
    • by The Indian Express
      Civil liberties of terrorist or people who take to guns in order to harm the sovereignty of India need to be separated from that of ordinary citizens of the country, BJP leader Arun Shourie said in Ahmedabad on Saturday. .....
  • US names Pak man for blasts on Samjhauta
    • by The Times of India
      In what should scotch all doubts about who was responsible for the Samjhauta Express blasts of February 2007 that killed about 70 people, US has approached the UN to get a certain Asif Kasmani declared an international terrorist. .....
  • How the UPA devalues democracy
    • by M R Venkatesh
      In a remarkable string of coincidences over the past fortnight or so, the United Progressive Alliance government has successfully and repeatedly denigrated our democratic institutions. Naturally, if the silence of our intellectuals on this issue has left me intrigued, the response by the opposition parties to the same has left me completely flummoxed. .....
  • Good Hate, Bad Love
    • by Amil Imani
      "Love" is thought as virtue, while "hate" is considered vice. But not all forms of love are good and not all hates are bad. If you love to set buildings on fire, molest children, or steal, these are obviously bad loves. If you hate racism, sexism or injustices of all sorts, then these are good hates. .....
  • Mukherjee Tells Nsa To Pipe Down
    • by Rajeev Sharma
      Officiating Prime Minister Pranab Mukherjee is understood to have taken strong exception to Na tional Security Advisor M K Narayanan's lavish praise for Pakistan and has told him to refrain from acting as spokesman of the government of India. .....
  • Family attacked, minor girl kidnapped in Delhi
    • by Hindustan Times
      In a suspected case of a love affair, five men barged into a home in northeast Delhi and forcibly took away a 16-year-old girl with them after attacking her family members who resisted them, the police said on Wednesday. .....
  • Will the Ox be as auspicious as the Rat?
    • by Claude Arpi
      "The year 2008 was an extraordinary one in the history of the People's Republic of China. In that year China overcame a devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province; successfully hosted the 29th Olympic Games and Paralympics in Beijing; and greeted the 30th anniversary of the adoption of reform and opening-up policies". .....
  • Pak signs pact with Taliban, enforces Sharia law
    • by The Times of India
      The Pakistan government and Islamic hardliners on Monday signed an agreement to enforce Sharia law in the northwestern Swat valley, a provincial minister told reporters. .....
  • Manipur: Rebels fight for a separate Islamic state
    • by Seema Hussain
      The arrest of two Manipuri militants in Guwahati has brought to light the existence of a 15-year-old Islamic militant group from Manipur called the People's United Liberation Front (PULF). The arrested-Noor Sana, 31, and Zakir Hussain, 34-were living in a rented house in the Noonmati area of Guwahati. .....
  • Controversy In Nehru's Home
    • by Rohini Mohan
      In Jawaharlal Nehru's old home in Delhi resides a noble institution that, for 45 years, has supported scholars and historians across the country. Through its fellowship programme, the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) has funded some of India's best academics such as historian Ramachandra Guha and Chief Information Commissioner OP Kejriwal in their pursuit of the highest standards of research. .....
  • Myths about the Ideology called Islam
    • by Craig Read
      Critics of Islam usually demand a Western style reformation to drag the Arab creation out of the 7th century pre modern pagan mind-set, into the modern world. There is little chance of that happening. Islam is an ideology - a political project first and foremost. .....
  • Inheritor Rahul is no agent of change
    • by Swapan Dasgupta
      The 'cool' Gandhi and his equally cool band of young Congress MPs who flaunt busy- looking mobile phones and network on Facebook are subtly painted as the upholders of the Obama tradition in India. The young inheritors, ranging from Rahul baba to Omar Abdullah, are made out to be India's literal answer to Obama's "smart power". .....
  • By aiding Pak, US is aiding terror
    • by M.V. Kamath
      Newly elected US President Barack Obama has now done better than British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. The latter equates Pakistan-sponsored terrorism with what he believes "solving the Kashmir problem". There is no "Kashmir problem". .....
  • PIL against scholarships for religious minorities
    • by The Hindu
      A PIL has been filed in the Bombay High Court against a scholarship scheme for religious minorities. The scheme, launched by Union Ministry of Minority Affairs last year, provides for 20,000 scholarships on merit and income basis for students from Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Parsi communities. .....
  • Pak to question 26/11 'mastermind' Lakhvi
    • by The Times of India
      Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been granted a 14-day judicial remand of the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, TV reports say. .....
  • Why India Is Not A Secular State
    • by Omar Khalidi
      India is seen as a shining example of a secular state but in reality the Indian state actually privileges Hinduism over other religions and religious communities. The Indian state is in fact the defender of the dharma for at least five reasons. .....
  • Buddhist, Hindu clergy convene in Cambodia
    • by Sarah Whyte and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
      At international interfaith meeting, religious leaders pledge global cooperation and lash out at ills they say are afflicting their faiths. .....
  • A partial admission
    • by The Pioneer
      The admission by Pakistan that its territory was used for launching the 26/11 fidayeen attack on Mumbai, in which at least 180 people were killed, and that part of the conspiracy was hatched in that country, follows more than two months of strenuous, often comical, denial by Islamabad. .....
  • Dealing with Insane Pakistan
    • by Shobori Ganguli
      Indian intelligence may well have brushed the threat aside as "nothing new", but the latest warning to India from Al Qaeda outlines the supremely diabolical make-up of an outfit which the world's mightiest military power has been unable to defang. Al Qaeda's military commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid has threatened that "India should know that it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan. .....
  • The Indus Civilization demystified
    • by George Joseph
      Who were the people of ancient Indian civilizations? Has archaeological evidence confirmed the existence of common features of Vedic and Indus culture(s)? .....
  • Starting at Home, Iran's Women Fight for Rights
    • by Nazila Fathi
      In a year of marriage, Razieh Qassemi, 19, says she was beaten repeatedly by her husband and his father. Her husband, she says, is addicted to methamphetamine and has threatened to marry another woman to "torture" her. .....
  • Seeing Mumbai From Pakistan
    • by Matthew Rosenberg
      There's a report on the Mumbai attacks that has been making the rounds in Pakistan, e-mailed between friends in the last few weeks and occasionally ending up on the desk of one official or another. Its title pretty much sums up its content: "Mumbai: Dance of the Devil; Hindu Zionists, Mumbai Attacks and the Indian Dossier against Pakistan." .....
  • Karzai backs Obama's concept of hot pursuit
    • by The Pioneer
      Backing the 'hot pursuit' of Al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he would fully support an American attack at terrorist hideouts in the neighbouring country that is based on actionable intelligence. .....
  • Gafoor does a Modi on 26/11
    • by Free Press Journal
      After admitting that there was local support for the Mumbai terror attack - something Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also hinted at - city Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor on Thursday night backtracked on his claim that some Indian nationals were among the 16 men wanted for their role in the carnage. .....
  • Pak admission on Mumbai attacks, first Important step: US
    • by The Times of India
      The US on Friday termed Pakistan's admission that the Mumbai attacks were launched from its soil as an "important first step in the right direction" and said it will "watch and help" to ensure that Islamabad completes the investigation and prosecution in the case. .....
  • Prelude to eternal life
    • by Anuradha Dutt
      Two senior Spanish diplomats are so enamoured of Varanasi that they are determined to try their utmost to revive it. Mr Ion de la Riva Guzman de Frutos, Ambassador of Spain to India, and Mr Oscar Pujol are engaged in mobilising funds and technical expertise for developing the great pilgrimage as a world heritage site. .....
  • Dutch anti-Islam politician turned away from Britain
    • by The Times of India
      Right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders, who is being prosecuted at home for anti-Islam remarks, said he was barred from entering Britain on Thursday after he landed in defiance of a government ban. .....
  • Committed to projects of social welfare
    • by Geetha Venkatramanan
      An ardent devotee of Paramacharya - the walls of her T. Nagar apartment are covered with his pictures - Mahalakshmi Subramaniam's mission is to take up the renovation of temples that are in ruins. .....
  • TN to take Sai Baba's help to clean up
    • by Ajitha Karthikeyan
      The Tamil Nadu government has decided to knock on the doors of Sri Sathya Sai Trust once again, seeking help to clean up the Cooum river which has been reduced to a drainage from a fresh water source. .....
  • Saints take initiative to clean Narmada
    • by The Pioneer
      Saints have started reaching for the three-day Narmada River cleanliness drive scheduled from February 21 at Budni ghat. Over 1500 saints have already reached for the drive that is an initiative of the Saints community. Jagad Guru Ramnaresh Acharya and Madhav Dasji from Mumbai would also reach to provide their support for the drive. .....
  • Reaping riches in suicide zone
    • by Vivek Deshpande
      Whenever Vidarbha's farm crisis is debated, the blame is often thrust on the farmers themselves. But three farmers from Yavatmal - the district saw maximum farmers' suicides, 222, in 2006 - have finally proved their critics wrong. .....
  • From Pakistan, says Pakistan
    • by Kamran Haider & Stephen Graham
      Denial after denial later and barely weeks after it sacked its National Security Advisor for saying that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks could be from Pakistan, Islamabad took the first step today towards admitting the facts. .....
  • The great deception
    • by K. Subrahmanyam
      The Pakistani media alleges that the release of Dr A.Q. Khan from his house arrest is meant to comply with a widely popular demand and also to demonstrate to the Pakistani public that the Zardari Government is not subservient to the US. .....
  • Same difference
    • by The Indian Express
      A blanket of exasperation has settled over South Block, with Pakistan's consistently evasive responses to the Mumbai Terror attack dossier. This week the Defence Committee of Pakistan's cabinet belied expectations that it would issue a substantive reply, and instead alluded to further queries to be put to the Indian investigators. .....
  • Pak govt elements must share blame for beheading: Poland
    • by The Indian Express
      Poland promised to issue international arrest warrants for Taliban militants after the apparent beheading of a Polish engineer in Pakistan, and officials charged that elements within the Pakistani Government shared blame for the killing. .....
  • Clash over NREGS jobs, one killed in West Bengal
    • by The Indian Express
      A daily wage labourer was killed and five labourers were injured on Tuesday in a clash following their demand for 100 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The incident took place at Raninagar block in Murhsidabad. .....
  • Al-Qaeda warns India: Hands off Pak or else
    • by Zeeshan Haider & Shubhajit Roy
      In the first direct message to India by the al-Qaeda, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, commander of its operations in Afghanistan and ranked behind No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, has warned of more attacks like the one on Mumbai, and said its economic interests would be targeted if it retaliates against Pakistan. .....
  • Keep the heat on till Pakistan begs
    • by Kanchan Gupta
      Even before the full horror of the fidayeen attack on Mumbai, which was launched late in the evening on November 26 and lasted for the next 62 hours, had begun to sink in, Islamabad sought to distance itself from the terrible bloodbath. .....
  • The vegetable seller who became a millionaire
    • by Ganesh Nadar
      Slumdog Millionaire has received tremendous international recognition and highlighted Mumbai's underbelly. While some hail it as a grand endorsement for the city, others think of it as a sorry stereotype. .....
  • Congress cheats allies, uses and throws them, says Amar
    • by The Pioneer
      The Congress and the Samajwadi Party continued to trade charges on Wednesday even as the seat-sharing dialogue has come to a halt and both sides seem to be exploring other options. SP general secretary Amar Singh would meet Sharad Pawar on Thursday to discuss the possibility of forging together an alternative alliance. .....
  • Pair held for 'offending Islam'
    • by Subir Bhaumik
      The editor and publisher of a top English-language Indian daily have been arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims. .....
  • The new proselytizers
    • by Tarun Vijay
      Nandita, the director and scriptwriter, has tried to be as honest and candid with the celluloid as her deep-rooted commitment to her political ideology. Terrifyingly impressive is the way she uses silence as a tool to etch her message on the viewers' minds. The actors live the characters they represent. And she admits frankly, "It's a political movie." .....
  • Angry Poland accuses Pak of fostering terrorism
    • by Chidanand Rajghatta
      Poland has joined the ranks of countries accusing Pakistan of inaction, if not outright complicity in terrorist activity, following the beheading last week of a Polish national by the Pakistani Taliban. .....
  • If Mulayam is corrupt, so is Sonia: Amar Singh
    • by Free Press Journal
      Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Monday lashed out at the Congress, saying if his party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was charged with corruption, "so could Sonia Gandhi or even Manmohan Singh", signalling further strain in their already troubled alliance talks. .....
  • Protecting human rights while waging war on terror
    • by PC Sharma
      The justification of terrorist activities by certain quarters on the basis of religion or ideology has been deprecated in clear terms by the United Nations Declaration of Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism. Further, the UN resolutions adopted under the title "Human Rights and Terrorism" have "unequivocally condemned all acts .....
  • Centre told us to save Mulayam: CBI
    • by Abraham Thomas
      The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) acted under the Centre's directive in seeking to bail out Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in the disproportionate assets case. The CBI's admission in the Supreme Court on Tuesday sent shock waves among legal luminaries, with senior advocate KTS Tulsi even saying the CBI "has sold its soul". .....
  • Angry Poland accuses Pak of fostering terrorism
    • by The Times of India
      Poland has joined the ranks of countries accusing Pakistan of inaction, if not outright complicity in terrorist activity, following the beheading last week of a Polish national by the Pakistani Taliban. .....
  • No doubt terrorists have safe havens in Pakistan: Obama
    • by Chidanand Rajghatta
      US President Barack Obama put Pakistan on notice on Monday over its widely perceived sponsorship of terrorism, saying ''it's not acceptable for Pakistan or for us to have folks who, with impunity, will kill innocent men, women and children.'' .....
  • National awards: the secular connection
    • by Saurav Basu
      Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award for national service. The order was established by Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of India, on January 2, 1954. Today, there are 41 Bharat Ratna winners in India, the last being Bhimsen Joshi. And yet, there are noticeable absentees. Mahatma Gandhi, the most conspicuous but since he was already elevated to the "father of the nation", his posthumous soul automatically opted out of the race. .....
  • The new normal in Pakistan
    • by Rafia Zakaria
      Lulled into catatonia by pervasive helplessness, Pakistanis can do little except deny that violence exists or stubbornly insist that even if it does, it means little. .....
  • Chawla should step down
    • by A Surya Prakash
      Some sections of the chatterati, which are obviously not well-groomed in the democratic tradition, have been trying relentlessly over the past week to whip up public sentiment against Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami for recommending the removal of his colleague, Mr Navin Chawla, for his avowed pro-Congress leaning. .....
  • Historic Dwarkadheesh Temple to get protection from nature's elements
    • by Hiral Dave
      The historic Dwarkadheesh Temple, situated in the ancient town of Dwarka on the banks of the Gomti, will soon have protection from the vagaries of weather, age and bio-degradation. The Archaeological Survey of India is carrying out chemical treatment on the 1,400-year-old nij mandir, the main temple structure. .....
  • Ask officially whatever you want: India to Pak
    • by The Pioneer
      With Pakistan saying it needs more information on Mumbai attacks to pursue probe, India on Tuesday criticised it for talking through the media and asked it to seek officially whatever it wants. .....
  • Tirupati Vedic schools open doors to Dalits
    • by Sreenivas Janyala
      The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has opened the doors of its prestigious Vedic schools to Scheduled Caste and non-Brahmin students. Considered sacred, admission to Vedic schools was restricted only to Brahmins and the TTD's decision goes a long way in its attempt to shed its image of a caste-rigid organisation. .....
  • Would You Turn Your Cheek to a Terrorist?
    • by David Stokes
      During a recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, President Obama indicated that his administration is in fact moving away from the of the phrase "war on terror." Recognizing that "we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations," he sees those groups as not "representative of a broader Arab community." .....
  • Fatwa against BSP's 'Jai Bhim' slogan
    • by Expressindia.com
      A leading Islamic seminary has issued a decree declaring the BSP slogan of 'Jai Bhim' as un-Islamic and violative of Shariat. .....
  • Attack on MLA kin snowballs into political row
    • by The Pioneer
      The issue of the abduction of and attack on Shruti, daughter of CPI(M)'s Manjeswaram MLA CH Kunhambu, and a Muslim boy while travelling by bus from Kasaragod to Mangalore inside Karnataka territory on Friday is set to turn into a political controversy with the BJP alleging that the MLA has been using own daughter to gain political mileage. .....
  • Bangla mastermind theory has no takers
    • by Free Press Journal
      The Pakistan government is evidently trying to shield its intelligence outfit the ISI and the 'non-state actors' like the Lashkar-e-Taiba from responsibility for the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed 180 lives. The attempt by the Federal Investigation Agency to pin the blame for the ghastly attacks on a banned militant group in Bangladesh, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen-al Islami, is utterly clumsy and hastily crafted. .....
  • Become givers, not takers: Spiritualists
    • by News Today
      'Hindu Dharma has its soul in 'contribution' that is giving and one should not stop oneself being a 'consumer' and should also contribute, spiritual leader Swami Dayananda Saraswati has said. .....
  • Protect the sanctity
    • by News Today
      In a shocking incident, which has been reported, around forty people have been involved in a drunken revelry inside a TTD guest house in Tirumala-Tirupati. Two persons, who are alleged to be associates of TTD Chairman and Liquor Baron D K Adikesavulu Naidu, are believed to have brought them in. .....
  • Security on discount
    • by The Pioneer
      In the immediate aftermath of last November's terrible fidayeen attack on Mumbai, the Congress declared that it was determined to combat terrorism and make India a safer place for both its citizens and visitors. To demonstrate its determination, Mr Shivraj Patil was removed from the Ministry of Homes Affairs and this all-important portfolio was given to Mr P Chidambaram who .....
  • Whose candidate is Sanjay Dutt?
    • by Ashok Malik
      In nominating movie star Sanjay Dutt as its Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow, the Samajwadi Party has by all accounts taken its rivals by surprise. As is well known, Dutt was implicated in the Mumbai bombings case of 1993. .....
  • Party fears 'Islamisation' of Norway
    • by Dawn
      Norway's leading opposition Progress Party slammed on Thursday what it termed the "gradual Islamisation" of the country after an order allowing policewomen to wear the Islamic head scarf if they so wished. .....
  • Tribals of Tripura celebrate Ganga festival
    • by Hamaraphotos.com
      A large number of Tribals in Tripura recently celebrated the Ganga festival to worship the holy river Ganga, which is revered by millions of Hindus in India and across the world as a divine river. .....
  • No money from PoK, so no apples: Kashmiris
    • by Mir Ehsan
      Kashmir's Fruit Growers, who organised massive protests for opening of the Srinagar-Muzuffarabad road for the trade activities, now have stopped sending their apple consignments to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). .....
  • Congress backs loyalist Navin
    • by Balbir Punj
      It may not surprise long-time political observers that the Congress has sought to defend Election Commissioner Navin Chawla after Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommended his removal from office. .....
  • 'ULFA haslinks with ISI, Bangladesh spy agency'
    • by The Times of India
      The top leaders of ULFA have close links with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and have been enjoying patronage of Bangladeshi spy agency DGFI, a former senior leader of the banned outfit claimed on Friday. .....
  • Ensure Pakistan fulfills promise to end terror, India tells UN
    • by The Times of India
      India on Friday said the United Nations should ensure that Pakistan fulfills its commitment to end terrorism emanating from its soil. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said he had apprised UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Thursday about the details of the Mumbai attacks which were carried out by elements based in Pakistan. .....
  • Security on discount
    • by The Pioneer
      In the immediate aftermath of last November's terrible fidayeen attack on Mumbai, the Congress declared that it was determined to combat terrorism and make India a safer place for both its citizens and visitors. .....
  • 2 Afghans face death over translation of Quran
    • by Heidi Vogt
      No one knows who brought the book to the mosque, or at least no one dares say. The pocket-size translation of the Quran has already landed six men in prison in Afghanistan and left two of them begging judges to spare their lives. They're accused of modifying the Quran and their fate could be decided Sunday in court. .....
  • Obama looks afresh at Afghanistan
    • by G. Parthasarathy
      Ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on New York and Washington forced an American-led coalition to militarily oust the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan has provided shelter to Taliban political leaders in Baluchistan and allowed the Taliban military leadership and cadres to regroup and rearm in the Tribal Areas of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). .....
  • The Crusade Behind Conversions
    • by P.N. Benjamin
      Christians are thoroughly muddled over the business of conversion. They don't want to quit this field of clover. However, think for a moment. Do they really want their Hindu and Muslim friends to join the churches? Listen in at their Pastorate Committee meetings. .....
  • More than 70,000 Bangladeshis missing: India
    • by ExpressIndia.com
      Home Ministry is perturbed over the continuous reports of overstaying and disappearance of Bangladeshis after their arrival in the country with more than 70,000 people travelling on valid documents still missing since 2006 in addition to illegal immigrants. .....
  • Chawla must go
    • by News Today
      The face-off between CEC Gopalaswami and the Election Commissioner Navin Chawla has resulted in a conundrum at a critical time when the nation is about to go for polls. The government is in a piquant situation and it has to handle it deftly and decide in the interest of the nation. .....
  • Hindu outfits to showcase service projects
    • by The New Indian Express
      Nearly 40 Hindu organisations will showcase their activities at the 'Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair 2009', in the city for three days, starting Friday. .....
  • Three-day 'Spiritual fair' in the city from Feb 6
    • by Chennaionline.com
      The Chennai chapter of the Delhi-based Global Foundation for Civilisational Harmony (GFCH) will organise a three-day Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair 2009 here starting February six. .....
  • Pak investigators find Bangla link to Mumbai attacks: Report
    • by The Pioneer
      Pakistan's probe into the Mumbai attacks is likely to indicate that the incident was the handiwork of a network of Muslim fundamentalist groups in South Asia as investigators have found evidence of a Bangladeshi connection, according to a media report. .....
  • Why should I respect these oppressive religions?
    • by Johann Hari
      The right to criticise religion is being slowly doused in acid. Across the world, the small, incremental gains made by secularism - giving us the space to doubt and question and make up our own minds - are being beaten back by belligerent demands that we "respect" religion. .....
  • 'Rationalist' DMK turns religious
    • by Gopu Mohan
      Observing the death anniversary of late chief minister C N Annadurai, the ruling DMK will offer 31 special pujas at various temples on Tuesday. Ironically, Annadurai was an atheist and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's son, M K Stalin, named after a Communist leader, will be attending the maximum number of pujas - three, including one at a temple near the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. .....
  • Two Towers of Babel
    • by Sudeep Paul
      In 1960, the late Israeli satirist Ephraim Kishon viewed Israel as a land rebuilding the Tower of Babel. India is that Tower of Babel. The post-1992 diplomatic bonhomie has set to rest decades of mutual discomfort, shyness and curiosity; decades when one compared Nehruvian socialism and Israeli Labor socialism or Indian and Zionist nation-building, but from a distance. Then it was the Hindu Right and Jewish Right. .....
  • Navin Chawla and the biased media
    • by Free Press Journal
      If the image of the Election Commission has taken a beating, it is the controversial Election Commissioner Navin Chawla who is clearly to blame. Given his poor record as a bureaucrat, and his close ties to the Congress Party, Chawla, in the first place, should not have been nominated to the post. For, an election commissioner not only should be free and fair, but must also appear to be so. .....
  • 'Mother' of Iraqi women bomber network arrested
    • by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Brian Murphy
      A woman accused of helping recruit dozens of female suicide bombers looked into the camera and described the process: trolling society for likely candidates and then patiently converting the women from troubled souls into deadly attackers. .....
  • On whose word?
    • by Soli J. Sorabjee
      Reference to Constitutional Assembly debates and constitutional provisions is necessary to understand the issues involved in the current Gopalaswami-Navin Chawla controversy. Part XV of the Constitution was expressly enacted to entrust the responsibility of holding free and fair elections to an independent Election Commission. .....
  • Reason, faith and ignorance
    • by Prafull Goradia
      Apropos Mr Irfan Husain's article "Imran Khan vs Darwin", published by The Pioneer on January 21, 2009, Darwin's theory of evolution, the views expressed by Mr Imran Khan, and the comments by Mr Husain can be looked at from a third, more accurate angle. .....
  • Hurriyat feels recession heat, lays off staff
    • by Expressindia.com
      It seems the global economic meltdown has not even spared the Hurriyat Conference (HC) which said the amalgam has wound up all its district offices and slashed funds to its 26 general council constituents by 50 per cent. .....
  • War clouds over the Election Commission
    • by Radha Rajan
      "Politics is the ideal of the kshatriya, and the morality of the kshatriya ought to govern our political actions", wrote Aurobindo in 'The morality of Boycott', the last article in his masterly and unparalleled exposition on Passive Resistance in April 1907. The BJP leadership would do well to sit up and pay heed to these words. .....
  • Four Indians held in Spain for Qaida links
    • by The Times of India
      Spanish police arrested 15 people, including four Indians and one Pakistani, suspected of forging passports and other documents for al-Qaida on Tuesday, according to news reports. .....
  • Deoband slams Chand Mohammad, calls him lowly
    • by Manjari Mishra
      If Chand Mohammad becomes Chandra Mohan once again, where does it leave Fiza? Though the former Haryana deputy CM - who's serenading his first wife after the high-voltage conversion and nikah drama last December - would like to keep both women happy, the ulema are certainly not amused. .....
  • Election Commission: Sonia & Left in the dock
    • by Sandhya Jain
      Sonia Gandhi and her former Left comrades are in the dock in the current turmoil in the Election Commission, although it is true that the crisis began with BJP's petition to President APJ Abdul Kalam seeking removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla on grounds of his pro-Congress affiliations. .....
  • Advani argues for Chawla's removal
    • by Hindustan Times
      Joining the debate over Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani has presented a detailed case on his blog in support of the CEC. .....
  • Arrest warrants issued against Medha Patkar
    • by RK Misra
      A warrant for the arrest of Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar has been issued after she failed to honour summons by the Metropolitan Court in Ahmedabad. The court has directed the police to arrest and produce her before him on February 27. .....
  • Attack on nuns: All 17 accused acquitted
    • by The Pioneer
      A court in Kozhikode on Saturday acquitted all the 17 accused in the case relating to the attack on a group of Christian charity workers at a colony in Mambazhakkad Meethal, Olavanna in the district in 2004. Fast Track Court judge Dharmarajan acquitted all the accused, all of them RSS-BJP workers, on the basis of the Prosecution's failure to prove the crime. .....
  • A Deoband Madrassa in the Heart of Germany
    • by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
      Wolfgang Borgfeld, who, after converting to Islam, changed his name to Muhammad Siddiq, established an association called "The House of Islam" south of Frankfurt. The "House", previously a hotel containing tens of rooms and several halls for seminars and conferences, is financed by the Saudis and Kuwaitis. .....
  • Charging Geert Wilders: A Defining Moment
    • by Melanie Phillips
      So the inevitable has now come about in the teetering civilization of Europe, and it has happened first in the Netherlands. One of the supposedly most liberal societies on th e planet wants to criminalize someone for telling the truth. The BBC reports that Dutch Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders is to be put on trial .....
  • 19 BSF outposts get power supply
    • by The Times of India
      Border Security Force (BSF) deployed on Indo-Pak border in Kutch district is thanking Chief Minister Narendra Modi profusely. After his visit on New Year's day, life seems to have changed for the better for those manning the border outposts, especially at Koteshwar, Vigokot and Rann of Kutch which Modi visited. .....
  • Mosques in Europe -- where's the reciprocity?
    • by Laina Farhat-Holzman
      President Barack Obama mentioned reciprocity: mutual respect between the Muslim world and America. Not much reciprocity in Europe, where some governments are already putting up white flags as clever Islamists attack their basic institutions. .....
  • A defensive war
    • by Eric Cantor and Steny Hoyer
      During this difficult war in the Gaza Strip, we stand with Israel. Why? Because we have been to Israel. We have seen Sderot. .....
  • Where science meets spirituality
    • by Kumar Chellappan
      There is going to be a con fluence of science and spirituality at Rameswaram. Starting February 4, visitors to Rameswaram will get a panoramic view of the Bay of Bengal and some of the exotic uninhabited islands thanks to a high power telescope installed at the Vivekananda Memorial at Kundhukal near Pamban. .....
  • Baba sparks controversy
    • by R Akhileshwari
      The popular Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has kicked off a controversy by criticising the appointing of 'unworthy' persons to head religious bodies like Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams that runs the richest temple in India of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala. .....
  • 26/11: More clues point to Bengal connection
    • by Rajib Chatterjee
      A team from Maharastra police, that recently came to the city, found that the man arrested in connection with the terror attack on 26/11 had obtained his driving licence from Hooghly. .....
  • Chawla's appointment was wrong
    • by S Gurumurthy
      "When facts are against the litigant, argue the law" - this is the lawyers' strategy in courts. Those who fault the Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation for removing Navin Chawla, one of the two election commissioners, seem to adopt this strategy. .....
  • Contempt for the truth
    • by The Pioneer
      India's Muslim clergy, or at least a vast section of it, clearly disregards both the truth about homegrown jihadi terror and the danger posed by agitprop anchored in theology. It is equally indifferent to national sentiment and popular mood inflamed by repeated attacks by terrorists who claim their deeds are aimed at furthering their faith. .....
  • Easy and unfair
    • by News Today
      Even while the Election Commission was not confirming the finalisation of the dates, Election Commissioner S Y Quarishi announced in London that the general elections would be held between 8 April and 15 May. .....
  • Tackling Terrorism: A Questionable response?
    • by Saurav Basu
      Terrorism in the name of one particular religion is haunting humanity today. Two months have elapsed since 26/11 and the masterminds behind the attack are still at large. Why the Indian government and security agencies have failed to safeguard the lives and properties of innocent Indians and when can we put a full stop to terror? .....
  • Naidu promises separate corporation for Christians
    • by The Hindu
      A separate corporation will be opened in the State to provide protection to all the Christian properties, renovate churches, and provide amounts to larger number of Christians to travel to Bethlehem, said Telugu Desam Party President Nara Chandrababu Naidu. .....
  • Benefactors of Pakistan
    • by Zorawar Daulet Singh
      Post-Mumbai South Asian diplomacy has exposed New Delhi's lack of leverage on Pakistani behaviour. Rather, Pakistan's traditional benefactors, specially the United States and China, continue to hold sway when it comes to influencing their protégé's external behaviour. It is only apt then to reflect on this persistent external intervention into the subcontinent's affairs. .....
  • Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
    • by Ashley J. Tellis
      Statement of Ashley J. Tellis Senior Associate Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Committee on Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs January 28, 2009 Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Senator Collins, and Members of the Committee. .....
  • Employ other options
    • by Brahma Chellaney
      Ever since the Pakistani-scripted Mumbai terrorist assaults, it was clear that diplomacy alone would not make Pakistan sever its ties with terror groups, especially if it was not backed by forceful pressure. Yet New Delhi chose to fire only empty rhetoric. .....
  • Chawla gave info to Congress leaders: CEC
    • by Akshaya Mukul
      Accusing election commissioner Navin Chawla of leaking inside info, CEC N Gopalaswami has cited the 2005 Bihar polls during which the Congress and the RJD had accused then advisor to the EC K J Rao of having called them Pakistanis. .....
  • US think-tank warns of more attacks on city
    • by S Balakrishnan
      The Rand Corporation, a highly-respected US think-tank, has warned of more terror strikes in India in the "forseeable future''. It has also stated that the 26/11 Mumbai attack had "local assistance''. TOI was the first to report about the Lashkar-e-Taiba "fidayeens'' getting local support to carry out their operation. But investigators are still to explore the local angle. .....
  • Elect among equals
    • by Ramaswamy R. Iyer
      The points that have been made in the criticism of the chief election commissioner's recommendation of the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla include the following: the election commission is a body of equals, and the CEC is only one among equals .....
  • Iran's secret purges
    • by Caroline Samandari
      Two weeks have passed since I heard the alarming news: Aziz Samandari, my cousin in Tehran, was arrested in a pre-dawn raid by Iranian intelligence officials. To date, no formal charges have been framed, and he has been denied both access to a lawyer and visits by relatives. .....
  • Reason, faith and ignorance
    • by Prafull Goradia
      Apropos Mr Irfan Husain's article "Imran Khan vs Darwin", published by The Pioneer on January 21, 2009, Darwin's theory of evolution, the views expressed by Mr Imran Khan, and the comments by Mr Husain can be looked at from a third, more accurate angle. .....
  • Kashmir isn't Bosnia
    • by Rajiv Dogra
      But Barack Hussein Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, may be tempted to expand his role and bully India into toeing a dangerous line to serve American interests in the region. This could happen soon if Obama fails to deliver on the home front .....
  • VS gears up for final showdown all alone
    • by Shaju Philip
      While the battle in the Kerala CPI(M) has reached a flashpoint, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan finds himself beleaguered instead of his rival Pinarayi Vijayan who is facing corruption charges in the Lavalin scam. .....
  • Amnesia grips lib-left media
    • by Kanchan Gupta
      The outrage over a bunch of hooligans describing themselves as foot soldiers of 'Sri Ram Sena' attacking young men and women at a Mangalore pub called Amnesia on January 24 is entirely justified. It is hogwash to suggest, as the Sri Ram Sena and its chief, Pramod Muthalik, have done, that the hoodlums were merely protesting against "dancing and drinking (by women) which is against Indian tradition and culture". .....


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