February Month Articles
- Continuing CPM savagery
: BMS man butchered
- by Organiser
Continuing its murderous orgy against the Sangh Parivar, CPM goons attacked
and butchered V.K. Shaju, Zonal Joint Secretary of BMS and a worker at
the Kerala Feeds Factory at Kallettinkara, near Irinjalakuda in Thrissur
district on February 12 in broad daylight at 7.30 am. ......
- Civil rights groups should
not defend Naxalites -Dr Raman Singh
- by Deepak Kumar Rath
The Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini organised a national seminar in New Delhi
on February 14, 2007 on "Innovative Strategies to Counter Naxalism:
Experiment of Salva Judum." The seminar was held in four different
sessions throughout the day which had eminent speakers drawn from a wide
spectrum of on-field workers to policymakers to law enforcers. ......
- Braving the heights
- by Claude Arpi
While India's political leaders are busy negotiating a 'deal' to demilitarise
Siachen, its people are showing utmost respect to one of the bravest soldiers
who rescued the glacier from Pakistani hands. Recently, I attended a function
at the district headquarters of Villipuram in Tamil Nadu to felicitate
Captain Bana Singh, one of the three living recipients of the Param Vir
Chakra. ......
- Cheney's Far From Sweet
Message To Musharraf - International Terrorism Monitor
- by B. Raman
After his official visits to Japan and Australia, the US Vice-President,
Dick Cheney, stopped over in Islamabad on February 26, 2007, for talks
followed by a lunch with President Pervez Musharraf. His plans to stop
over in Islamabad were not announced in advance by the Pakistan Foreign
Office and the US State Department due to concerns over likely threats
to his security in the background of the recent incidents of suicide terrorism
or attempted suicide terrorism in Pakistani territory. ......
- Cousins sought `training
in Jihad,' prosecutors say
- by Jeff Coen
Two Chicago-area cousins linked to a terrorism conspiracy last week traveled
to Egypt in 2004 and planned to head to Pakistan for military training,
federal prosecutors told a judge Monday. ......
- Tying Bharat Mata up in
knots!!
- by News Today
One of the greatest economists the world has ever known and one who is
in the run for Nobel Prize for revolutionary economics - Sitaram Yechury,
has come out with the following statement in his recent avant-garde article
titled 'Tying Bharat up in knots' in the Hindustan Times: 'The culmination
of the RSS's countrywide celebrations marking the birth anniversary of
its longest serving Sarsanghachalak, M S Golwalkar comes ominously close
on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the 2002 genocide in Gujarat. ......
- Intolerance will destroy
Irish society
- by Irish Independent
Sir - Philip Watt's letter (SI, 18/02/07) on Muslims in Ireland, whilst
maybe well meaning, skirted around the issue at hand which is: how can
Ireland avoid the problem, common in other EU countries, of rising radicalism
amongst young Muslims? ......
- Maoist thuggery
- by The Pioneer
The news from Nepal continues to get worse with each passing day. Although
the interim Government headed by Prime Minister G.P. Koirala now includes
representatives of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and claims to
be running the affairs of that country, in reality Prachanda's thugs were
calling the shots. This is evident from the manner in which farmland belonging
to the monarchy, which has been denuded of all authority and power, is
being grabbed by Maoists for "redistribution among landless farmers".
......
- Congress culture of arrogance
will lead to the party's doom
- by K. Natwar Singh
The Election Commission's announcement of the U.P.elections has put an
end to the insane and unseemly hurry of some sections of the Congress
Working Committee to impose President's rule in U.P.Full marks to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh for standing his ground and for once asserting
himself. Credit should also be given to M/s.Pranab Mukherjee and Law minister
Hansraj Bharadwaj for strengthening the hands of the Prime Minister. ......
- Aurangzeb Road
- by Fitzgerald
The Danish Embassy in India is located on Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi.
So there is still a road in India that is named after the most ruthless
and cruel of the many ruthless and cruel Muslim rulers, oppressor and
mass-murderer of Hindus. Why is there a road by that name? Change it,
for god's sake. ......
- Sleeping with the enemy
- by P R Ramesh
Beginning shortly after midnight on Sunday, TV channels were kept busy
airing images of burnt coaches of the Samjhauta Express, of charred bodies,
of children searching for parents and of grown-ups looking for their near
and dear ones. They and their families deserve our deepest sympathies.
......
- Congress, CBI collude
to help Mr 'Q'
- by The Pioneer
The political executive and the Central Bureau of Investigation have been
caught trying to protect Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi's interests
for the second time since the Congress came to power at the head of the
UPA Government. Early last year, the CBI had allowed Mr Quattrocchi to
walk away with Rs 21 crore after his London bank accounts, which had been
frozen in July 2003 after the then NDA regime had made out a case that
the money was part of the Bofors payola, were unfrozen. ......
- Govt's Q cover-up akin
to account defreeze plot
- by Abraham Thomas
The deliberate suppression of news about the detention of Italian businessman
Ottavio Quattrocchi for 17 days bears a stark similarity to the way the
Government kept under wraps its move to defreeze the two London bank accounts
maintained by Quattrocchi. ......
- Home-grown al-Qaeda plots
'rising in UK'
- by The Age
More than 2,000 home-grown al-Qaeda terrorists are plotting suicide attacks
in Britain, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing a secret intelligence
document. ......
- Four Into Two
- by M.J. Akbar
Do you know what Quattrocchi means in Italian? Four eyes. I have this
from an extremely reliable source. Actually, the source isn't that exciting,
but the information is correct. And what does Ottavio indicate? ......
- Mass marriage to bring
back Dalits to Hindu fold: TTD
- by NewKerala.com
One of the prime objectives of the mass marriages performed by the Tirumala
Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) was to bring Dalits into Hindu fold while
re-kindling their faith in ancient Vedic culture, TTD board chairman K
Karunakara Reddy said here today. ......
- Official abduction
- by The Pioneer
It was an incident even the Pakistani establishment's devoted fan club
in Delhi - hyperactive since the Samjhauta Express terrorist strike of
February 19 - would be hard put to defend. Seven Pakistani survivors of
the train attack were being treated at one of India's best medical facilities
- Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital. Many of them had serious burn injuries.
One seven-year-old boy was on the ventilator. ......
- Quattrocchi at last held
in Argentina
- by The Pioneer
The ghost of Bofors once again appears poised to return to the centrestage
of Indian politics with the detention in Argentina of Italian businessman
Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused in the Rs 64 crore gun deal scam. ......
- An open letter to Kasuri
- by B Raman
I read with interest the following agency report, dated February 22, 2007,
on some observations made by you regarding the need for co-operation between
the intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan: 'Intelligence agencies
of India and Pakistan will have to work together if South Asia is to live
in a civilised manner,' Pakistan said on Thursday, emphasising that such
a cooperation is possible if governments push it. ......
- Fanatics demand, we concede
- by Kanchan Gupta
Flipping through a recent issue of *Time*, I came across an interview
with Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz,
better known for his novels *Fatelessness, Kaddish for a Child Not Born*
and * Liquidation*. During the course of the interview, Kertesz, with
touching humility, makes two interesting points which are, in many ways,
inter-linked. In response to a question, he says, "It is not always
worthwhile to compromise." .....
- Covering for Islam
- by Robert Spencer
On Sunday morning, a cab driver in Nashville named Ibrahim Ahmed picked
up two college students, Andrew Nelson and Jeremy Invus, at a city bar
and drove them to the campus of Vanderbilt University. Along the way,
the three got into an argument, apparently leaving Ahmed enraged: after
they paid their fare and left his cab, he tried to run down Nelson and
Invus. Nelson eluded the cab, but Ahmed hit Invus, who was seriously injured.
.....
- Buddha goes green
- by The Pioneer
It is ironical that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
should have offered to accord official status to Urdu as the State's second
language on a day that is commemorated on both sides of the Padma as 'Ekushey'.
Mr Bhattacharjee may have forgotten the significance of February 21 -
on that day in 1952 Bengalis of what is now Bangladesh braved bullets
to protest the imposition of Urdu as Pakistan's state language with the
explicit purpose of stamping out their cultural identity - but it remains
indelibly etched in the collective memory of the vast majority of Bengalis.
.....
- Pak forcelifts survivors
- by Pradeep Thakur, Indrani Bagchi
& Megha Suri
Seven survivors of the Samjhauta Express tragedy were forced on Thursday
to leave Safdarjung Hospital on short notice and taken away to a waiting
Pakistan Air Force aircraft to be flown back home. .....
- Diary list payments to
officials
- by Chitrangada Choudhury
The home Department has not responded to a three-month-old police request
to file charges of corruption against public servants who investigators
said received payoffs totalling more than Rs 1 crore for giving per missions
to buildings that replaced an Oshiwara slum. .....
- Ricochets From An Old
Gun
- by Lloyd Rudolph
Investigation and Trial. Rajmohan, an established scholar of contemporary
India, broke new ground in Gandhi scholarship by featuring Gandhi's private
life, including re-examining his relationship with Rabindranath Tagore's
niece, Saraladevi. Rajmohan Gandhi has a well-deserved reputation as a
scholar of contemporary India and his book enhances that reputation. .....
- Graph Of Civilisation
- by Namrata Joshi
At first glance, it's a beautiful necklace that would team perfectly with
your pale green tussar sari. A closer look reveals a more intricate loveliness.
The 28 chunky palm leaf beads have the Gita Govinda inscribed in their
brittle folds. Jayadeva's devotional classic, lyrics composed in praise
of Lord Krishna, find written expression in yet another exquisite form-that
of a fish-shaped, palm-leaf tablet. Apparently, the scribe completed it
in meena masha, the month of the fish, the last one in the Indian calendar.
.....
- Horseman Of The Apocalypse
- by Amir Mir
From the rugged, lawless terrain of the tribal areas out west to the spiffy
environs of Islamabad, the suicide bomber has made the whole swathe of
land his laboratory-devastating lives, ruining families, imparting a murderous
edge to humdrum existences. .....
- YSR pulls out gag order
- by Roli Srivastava
Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy withdrew on Friday the controversial
government order (GO), warning newspapers and their editors from carrying
news items that "slander" his government's image. .....
- Mumbai's great slum robbery
- by Chitrangada Choudhury & Gigil
Varghese
It has now been four months since Maharashtra Police officers asked the
state government for special investigators to probe a swelling tide of
complaints into what they see as a builder-bureaucrat nexus crippling
Mumbai's grand plan to remove slums. .....
- Covering for Islam
- by Robert Spencer
On Sunday morning, a cab driver in Nashville named Ibrahim Ahmed picked
up two college students, Andrew Nelson and Jeremy Invus, at a city bar
and drove them to the campus of Vanderbilt University. Along the way,
the three got into an argument, apparently leaving Ahmed enraged: after
they paid their fare and left his cab, he tried to run down Nelson and
Invus. Nelson eluded the cab, but Ahmed hit Invus, who was seriously injured.
.....
- Blogger gets 4 years for
insulting Islam
- by Nadia Abou El-Magd
An Egyptian blogger was convicted Thursday and sentenced to four years
in prison for insulting Islam, the Prophet Muhammad and Egypt's president,
sending a chill through fellow Internet writers who fear a government
crackdown. .....
- Pakistan's antiterror
strategy scrutinized
- by David Montero
For the sixth time in a month, Pakistan fell victim to a devastating suicide
attack on Saturday, heightening concerns about the stability of a pivotal
front in the war on terrorism. .....
- Significant finds at Dwaraka
- by T.S. Subramanian
Ancient structural remains of some significance have been discovered at
Dwaraka, under water and on land, by the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW)
of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Alok Tripathi, Superintending
Archaeologist, UAW, said the ancient underwater structures found in the
Arabian Sea were yet to be identified. "We have to find out what
they are. They are fragments. I would not like to call them a wall or
a temple. They are part of some structure," said Dr. Tripathi, himself
a trained diver. .....
- 'Rakhigarhi is the largest
Harappan site ever found'
- by ExpressIndia.com
The excavations in Rakhigarhi, situated in Hisar, Haryana, have pushed
back the history of civilisation by more than 500 years. "It is the
largest Harappan site ever found," said the director of Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi, Dr Amerendra Nath, while delivering
a lecture on 'Rakhigarhi - A Harappan Metropolis' at the ICSSR Complex,
Panjab University, today. The lecture was organised by the Department
of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, PU. .....
- 'Treat Hindu terror acts,
jihad on par'
- by Anupam Dasgupta
Two days after the Samjhauta Express blasts, social activist Teesta Setalvad
took potshots at the administration demanding that Hindu right-wing fundamentalist
groups like the RSS, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and VHP be banned. .....
- Horse-trading mantra
- by Soli J. Sorabjee
Horse-Trading, unethical means, defections are the favourite mantras of
governors for recommending President's rule in a state. The Wamuzo ministry
in Nagaland was dismissed on the ground of horse-trading and that MLAs
were allured by money as stated in the governor's report. The governor
of Karnataka recommended President's rule because "there was incredible
lack of morality, horse-trading, employment of unethical means and political
machinations". .....
- China's Filthiest Export
- by Jennifer L. Turner and Juli S.
Kim
The economic boom Deng Xiaoping sparked in 1980 brought millions out of
poverty and turned China into the world's factory. However, by following
in the footsteps of many western countries that opted to "pollute
first and clean up later," China built its economic success on a
foundation of ecological destruction. This environmental destruction is
threatening the economy, human health, and social stability, as well as
potentially causing irreparable damage to the water, soil, and forest
ecosystems. .....
- Govt starts communal quota
in development schemes
- by Akhilesh Suman
The Union Rural Development Ministry has taken the lead in awarding communal
quota in the country's development programmes. The Ministry has demarcated
separate fund for the minorities in its various ongoing programmes. .....
- Andhra plans 4 per cent
quota for Muslims
- by Omer Farooq
In a bid to provide reservations to Muslims in Government jobs and education
from the coming academic year, the Andhra Pradesh Government is planning
to come out with a new Ordinance soon. .....
- Urdu now 2nd language
in Bengal
- by Saugar Sengupta
After getting a bloody nose from the Jamat-e-Ulema-I-Hind in the peasants'
movement in Nandigram and realising that the agitation may affect the
ruling Left Front's minority votes, the West Bengal Government is planning
to win back Muslims through a host of schemes that include recognising
Urdu as the second State language, besides launching a massive publicity
blitzkrieg. .....
- Letters to PM, for the
record
- by Praful Kumar Singh
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, it seems, has a penchant for writing
letters for the record. Usually, these are timed with upcoming elections.
The politics of intervention in state policies - through letters leaked
on purpose - adopted by Ms Gandhi is aimed at controlling the mounting
public anger over different decisions taken by the UPA Government from
time to time. .....
- First among equals?
- by Jaya Jaitly
Today, we are left with the position of the chairperson of the UPA, which
is not designated through a rule or resolution of Parliament. Nor is there
any provision in the Constitution that provides for a post of chairperson
of a post-election alliance when the person is not the Prime Minister.
.....
- The Peace Train Blast:
Was Lashkar-E-Jhangvi Involved? - International Terrorism Monitor
- by B. Raman
It would seem that while the majority of the 68 passengers killed in the
explosions-cum-fire in two coaches of the Samjotha Express (Peace Express)
at Deewana, near Panipat, on the night of February 18, 2007, were Pakistani
nationals, more Hindus than Muslims were killed. This fact emerges from
a scrutiny of the proceedings in the Pakistan National Assembly relating
to the carnage. .....
- Profile Of A Terrorist
- by Investor's Business Daily
A new Gallup poll finds that richer, better-educated Muslims are more
likely to be radicalized. This explodes the myth of the poor, dumb terrorist.
.....
- A plea for sanity: A letter
sent to the President of the UCC
- by Dexter Van Zile
I write to you both in my capacity as Christian Outreach Director for
the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership and as a lifelong member
of the United Church of Christ. As you are aware, I have been highly critical
of the stance the UCC and other mainline Protestant denominations in the
U.S. have taken in regards to the Arab/Israeli conflict. .....
- RSS bid to make US-born
Indians 'confident'
- by Pawan Dixit
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has embarked on a mission to convert
non-resident Indians from 'American Born Confused Desi' (ABCD) into 'American
Born Confident Desi'. .....
- Samajwadi Party withdraws
support to UPA
- by The Hindu
As Uttar Pradesh inched towards possible imposition of President's rule,
the Samajwadi Party withdrew its support to the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) Government at the Centre. The party has 42 MPs in the Lok Sabha
and 16 in the Rajya Sabha. The Budget session of Parliament is due to
begin on February 23. .....
- Indian soldier died rescuing
passengers
- by Dawn
An Indian soldier onboard the fire-bombed train to Pakistan died while
rescuing trapped passengers from blazing carriages, officials said on
Tuesday. .....
- Laden's associates may
be behind train blasts
- by B Raman
It seems that while the majority of the 68 passengers killed in the explosions-cum-fire
in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express at Deewana, near Panipat, on February
18 were Pakistani nationals, more Hindus than Muslims were killed. .....
- Priests sell baptism certificates
- by IBNLive.com
Baptism is one of Christianity's most sacred rites symbolising purification
and a person's admission to the religion. But for some priests baptism
has become a money-spinner. .....
- India 360: Are priests
corrupt?
- by IBNLive.com
Baptism is a religious ceremony for purifying and initiating people into
Christianity. Once converted, the devotee receives a Baptism certificate
as proof of being Christian. .....
- NGOs And Their Accountability
- by P.N. Benjamin
Money has been flowing into the NGO sector, but very few of the charitable
outfits allow public scrutiny of their accounts. So, one of the recommendations
of the Veerappa Moily-chaired second Administrative Reforms Commission
is to bring the NGO-sector in the purview of the proposed three-member
Rashtriya Lokaukta. It has put the spotlight on the vexatious issue of
the accountability of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). .....
- NSCN-K puts Cong in a
spot - 'Imkong paid us Rs 5 lakh'
- by H. Chishi
Nagaland's worst-kept secret tumbled out today when the NSCN (Khaplang)
claimed to have received a "donation" from the Congress, thanked
it for being generous and conjectured that the party was courting it with
an eye on the elections next year. .....
- New worry: Are Maoists,
LeT in cahoots in J&K?
- by M Saleem Pandit
Between trying to maintain peace and improving its tarnished image
following the fake encounters, Army now has another headache to deal
with - a Maoist and Lashkar-e-Taiba nexus in Kashmir. .....
- Maoists hindering move
to democracy
- by Varghese K George
Sujata Koirala, a working committee member of the Nepali Congress, has
said Maoists have gone "out of control" and become an impediment
to the Himalayan country's transition to a full-fledged democracy. .....
- Surprising disclosure
- by The Asian Age
National security adviser M.K. Narayanan surprised the world, and more
so India, with his long speech at the security conference in Munich where
he disclosed for the first time that terrorists had manipulated the stock
markets to generate funds, and had used legitimate banking channels to
fund their operations. In a speech that can at best be described as a
major disclosure, he spoke of the Habib Bank in Pakistan as an established
banking channel. .....
- Musharraf a crook backed
by Bush: Thackeray
- by ExpressIndia.com
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Wednesday said India should have no relations
with Pakistan under any circumstances, and alleged that President Pervez
Musharraf has the tacit support of US President George W Bush. .....
- No quick fix solution
to Kashmir: Advani
- by ExpressIndia.com
Cautioning against any 'quick-fix' solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue,
the main opposition BJP told Pakistan that people of India would not accept
any surrender on Kashmir. .....
- Terrorists in North-East
India get support from America
- by Kunal Ghosh
The recent terrorist strikes in the USA on September 11, 2001, in which
the World Trade Centre and Pentagon were "crash-bombed" by large
airplanes, have brought a new resolve in the global community to root
out terrorism from all parts of the world. The Americans are playing a
leading role in building a world coalition against terrorism. This is
the best time to remind the Americans that Baptist Christian terrorists
are active in India's North-East and they derive their financial support
from the southern parts of the USA where the Baptist Church has a strong
following. .....
- Islamabad's Men in New
Delhi
- by H. Balakrishnan
I regret to state that the sum and substance of the Article is goading
'Hamlet' to continue in the Congress tradition of sacrificing National
Security interests at the altar of 'peace with Jhadistan at any cost'!!
.....
- A foreign policy challenge
- by G Parthasarathy
The year 2006 ended with India facing a strange dilemma in conducting
its foreign policy, when Iraq's Shia leaders, with American acquiescence,
executed former President Saddam Hussein. This untimely and unwise move,
with Iraq under foreign occupation is bound to increase sectarian tensions,
with the country hovering on the brink of a civil war. .....
- 'Malabar will turn into
Kashmir'-Congress Leader
- by Haindava Keralam
These words are not quoted from any leaders of Hindu organizations, but
by Former Minister Aryadan Mohammed in a meeting of the KAPT union. He
blamed the party for helping these forces become stronger under their
rule. .....
- Don't treat Mumbai, Malegaon,
Deewana blasts as isolated incidents
- by B Raman
Sixty-six innocent civilians were killed following explosions in two coaches
of the Samjhauta Express going from Old Delhi to Attari on the Indo-Pakistan
border around midnight on February 18. The incident took place near the
Deewana railway station, about 100 km from Delhi. This train was started
in 1975 to facilitate travel by poor Muslims in the two countries to visit
their relatives. .....
- Japan's Hindu linkages
still alive
- by RxPG News
One can also see the influence of the Indian epic Ramayana in the traditional
Japanese dance forms of 'Bugaku' and 'Gigaku'. .....
- Teachers beat boy for wearing
rudraksha mala
- by Vijay Times
Two teachers of a private school near here landed in trouble after they
allegedly snapped the " rudraksha mala" worn by a student and
also beat him up for wearing it police said. Cases have been registered
against Armstrong and Neethianand on charges of beating up K. Saravanachandran
of class seven at C.K Mangalam near here, police said. .....
- Pakistan Has Key Role In
Saudi-Sponsored 'Sunni-Block'
- by Syed Saleem Shahzad
Pakistan will play a pivotal role in a Saudi-devised strategy to build
a strong Sunni block to counter the perceived growing influence in the
Middle East of Shiites led by Iran, diplomatic sources in Islamabad have
told Adnkronos International (AKI). The strategy includes the creation
of a multinational Muslim peacekeeping force comprising troops from core
Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) member states, said the sources,
speaking on condition of anonimity. .....
- Parzania, the late entrant
in pseudo-riot politics
- by Vaidehi Nathan
The secularists fit the description of the 'corpse-eating ants.' They
feed on the dead, conduct commerce over it and out of the profit wear
crowns and build palaces, not to speak of careers. There have been many
a TV journalists who have won awards for the coverage of the Gujarat riots,
by repeatedly showing only the wailing Muslim. .....
- A time to heal
- by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Dalits allowed inside temples in Bhilwara and Jagannath Temple in Orissa
is a welcome development. Places of worship should be open to all communities
and religions. Nobody has a right to bar people from entering the house
of God. Unless the savarnas and the Dalits effect a reconciliation, society
will suffer from cycles of revenge and counter-revenge. .....
- India, Pakistan seek peace
after bombing
- by Matthew Rosenberg
Leaders of India and Pakistan pressed ahead Monday with their peace process,
hours after twin bombs - apparently intended to disrupt their relations
- sparked a fire that killed 66 people aboard a train that links the two
rivals. .....
- India doesn't buy Pak 'promise'
on Siachen
- by Rajat Pandit
The ice on the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge region will take some more
time to melt. With the trust deficit with Islamabad yet to be bridged,
India is not too impressed with Pakistan's "promise" that it
will not grab positions vacated by Indian soldiers on the glacial heights.
.....
- Shudder street
- by Imran Ahmed Siddiqui
A profusely-bleeding French tourist, Chimgainy Yoan, was found in Sudder
Street on the night of February 4, his throat slit. His story is a heady
cocktail of dope, drink and disaster. But not as heady as the street.
.....
- Looking back at history
- by Rana Siddiqui
Not often does an exhibition of Indian paintings serve a historical purpose.
Hardly a painting exhibition in Delhi now has any recall value either.
The only recent venture that comes to mind is Mahakranti, an insightful
exhibition of 120 historical cartoons covering the period from 1855 to
1860. Mounted by Professor Pramila Sharma, it aimed at showing the conspiracy
that triggered the 1857 Uprising. .....
- Indian civilisation '9,000
years old'
- by Rajyasri Rao
Marine scientists in India say an archaeological site off India's western
coast may be up to 9,000 years old. The revelation comes about 8 months
after acoustic images from the sea-bed suggested the presence of built-up
structures resembling the ancient Harappan civilisation, which dates back
around 4,000 years. .....
- Hobson's choice for UPA
Govt
- by Swapan Dasgupta
The Opposition, it is often said, doesn't win elections; Governments lose
them. In the past three months, the Opposition has done nothing spectacular
to alter the terms of the political debate. Unlike, say the period from
1990 to 1994, when the BJP set the agenda through the Ram Janmabhoomi
movement, the political battles of today are being fought on the agenda
of the UPA Government. .....
- The truth about Aurangzeb
- by Francois Gautier
Fact, the Trust which I head, is holding an exhibition on 'Aurangzeb as
he was according to Mughal documents', from February 16 to 20 at New Delhi's
Habitat Center, the Palm Court Gallery, from 10 am to 9 pm. .....
- SIMI a secessionist outfit:
SC
- by ExpressIndia.com
In a stinging observation, the Supreme Court described the banned Students
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as a 'secessionist movement'. .....
- Give peace a chance
- by Irfan Husain
It almost comes as a surprise to learn that one of the most influential
books in the world, particularly in the field of warfare, was written
well over 2,000 years ago. Sun Tzu's Art of War has come to be recognised
as an essential work for generals and commanders, as well as for rulers.
More and more, it is being studied by corporate executives for tips about
leadership qualities. .....
- Seva and Hindu organisations
- by Hindu Vivek Kendra
One of the canards against Hindu organisations is that they do not undertake
any seva to the community. The reason for this canard is that the objective
of the secular intellectuals is to demonise Hindu organisations and in
the process demonise Hinduism. .....
- First Attack by Al Qaeda
in Japan?
- by Alexis Debat and Maddy Sauer
There was a scare today at a U.S. military base outside Tokyo when two
small explosions occurred shortly after 11 p.m. there. While no one was
injured, investigators are looking at the possibility that it was an attempted
terrorist attack. .....
- The Not-So-Great Commission:
A Brief Analysis of WCC's Missionary Code Plan
- by Tim Mitchell
The other day, I was looking around www.Crusadewatch.org when I found
an article about a Christian group that's determined to implement a new
code of conduct for missionaries. The World Council of Churches (WCC)
held a meeting in Geneva in early January 2007 to discuss guidelines that
will reduce aggressive evangelism that stirs conflicts in regions such
as Africa and India with majority populations that are not Christian.
.....
- Kashmir militants feel
the squeeze
- by Barbara Plett
During a recent trip to Pakistan, the head of a Kashmiri alliance demanding
freedom from Indian rule made waves by calling for an end to the armed
struggle. .....
- Politics of Dalit Conversion
- by SandeepWeb.com
This BBC report barely manages to conceal its glee over a recent farce
ceremony where "hundreds of Hindu Dalits" converted to Buddhism
or Christianity. .....
- People must point out
my mistakes: Modi
- by The Times of India
Is Hindutva icon Narendra Modi sounding increasingly circumspect and politically
correct as elections in Gujarat approach? Has he stopped talking about
minority appeasement, for instance? No, says the man himself. "My
language is what it was." .....
- Kashmir Compromised &
Pandits Forgotten ?
- by Pawan Durani
I would surely be recommending the autobiography of General Musharraf
to everyone. And Indians in particular. Not for the reason that you would
imagine that it is well written, not for the reason of its wide publicity,
but for the reason that it gives an insight into the cunning and non trustworthy
behavior of General Musharraf. .....
- The mysterious saga of
Sister Khadijah
- by Sean Webby and Brandon Bailey
Khadijah Ghafur sat silently in hijab and correctional jumpsuit, facing
a judge, a lengthy prison term and the complete collapse of her elaborate
plans. .....
- Why Left takes Islamism
lightly
- by Daniel Pipes
Those of my political outlook are alarmed by Islamism's advances in the
West. Much of the Left approaches the topic in a far more relaxed fashion.
.....
- One Year Later, Golden
Mosque Is Still in Ruins
- by Marc Santora
It has been a year since Sunni insurgents ripped a hole in the glorious
dome here of one of Iraq's most sacred Shiite shrines, shattering its
72,000 golden tiles and unleashing a tide of national sectarian bloodletting.
Not a single brick of the mosque has been moved since. .....
- Journalism, ethics and
society
- by M.V. Kamath
We are living in another world, not the world of Mahatma Gandhi, who has
been quoted as saying that "the sole aim of journalism should be
service". Were he alive today he would be laughed out of court. Service
is for the birds. .....
- India's proud scientific
heritage
- by M.V. Kamath
When a suggestion was made some time ago that Vedic Mathematics should
be introduced as a subject for study at the college level in India, there
was a lot of derisive laughter among some of our pseudo-intellectuals,
not to speak of 'secularists' whose knowledge of Sanskrit was questionable
and a sense of inquiry non-existent. The idea had to be dropped in the
face of determined opposition. .....
- PM's latest sop: Muslim
villages first
- by Rajeev Ranjan Roy
Already facing flak for pursuing appeasement policy and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's 'Muslims first remark', the Centre is set to embark on
another pro-minority scheme that could trigger fresh controversy. .....
- Our mosques are importing
jihad
- by Mary Ann Sieghart
Gina Khan is a very brave woman. Born in Birmingham 38 years ago to Paki-stani
parents, she has run away from an arranged marriage, dressed herself in
jeans and dared to speak out against the increasing radicalisation of
her community. .....
- A troubling look inside
radical Islam
- by Jonathan Last
Ross, he was a young counterterrorism expert just breaking into print.
I had edited some of his work. He seemed like a normal fellow. But as
we spoke, he told me a remarkable story. .....
- Militants 'forged' ID of
Army man to buy SIM, set off cell-bomb
- by Majid Jahangir
A J&K police investigation into a militant attack, where a roadside
bomb was triggered by a mobile phone in Baramulla last year - the first
such attack in the Valley - has sent alarm bells ringing across the security
establishment. It has been found that militants fraudulently procured
the cellphone's Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card on a fake Army man's
name, photograph in uniform, unit name, address and even faked a certificate
with a stamp of his superior, a Lieutenant Colonel. .....
- Karunanidhi and Sai Baba
- do symbols matter any more?
- by M. Anand
Karunanidhi, the only confirmed atheist among our political long distance
runners, has virtually diluted his anti-God and anti-Godmen stand when
he shared a public platform with Sathya Sai Baba, the Godman with probably
the largest number of followers in this country. And went on to equate
him with the Almighty since he was noble hearted and was serving humanity.
.....
- Across Arab World, a Widening
Rift
- by Anthony Shadid
Egypt is the Arab world's largest Sunni Muslim country, but as a writer
once quipped, it has a Shiite heart and a Sunni mind. In its eclectic
popular culture, Sunnis enjoy a sweet dish with raisins and nuts to mark
Ashura, the most sacred Shiite Muslim holiday. Raucous festivals bring
Cairenes into the street to celebrate the birthdays of Shiite saints,
a practice disparaged by austere Sunnis. The city's Islamic quarter tangles
like a vine around a shrine to Imam Hussein, Shiite Islam's most revered
figure. .....
- CBI finds the going tough
in 'political cases'
- by Vishwa Mohan
Political cases are proving tough nuts for CBI. Though the agency is working
round-the-clock on cases like the Nithari killings, it is having to duck
and weave when it comes to "regime-sensitive" cases like those
involving railway minister Lalu Prasad, BSP supremo Mayawati and former
Chattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi. .....
- Caste-based politics
- by M.V. Kamath
First it was ideology that separated Indians. The Indian National Congress
under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru wanted "a socialist pattern
of society" whatever that meant. That the socialist pattern turned
out to be a pattern for bureaucratic corruption is another matter. At
least Nehru was sincere and whatever errors and mistakes he might have
made he still deserves our respect for giving a lead to the setting up
of Non-Alignment Movement and at home the Indian Institutes of Technology
and Management. .....
- ISI's new strategy
- by Wilson John
The arrest of a Nepalese gun runner in Baramullah early this month is
unraveling clues that confirm the expanding network of terror in and around
India, aided by Pakistan based terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Tayyeba
(LeT) and the ISI. .....
- D'Souza Knows Not
- by Private Paper
I greatly appreciated your just and thoughtful critique in "The Enemy
at Home." As a woman from South Asia, originally from a "traditional
Muslim" community, and now domiciled in the U.S., I have much to
say to Mr. D'Souza - but feel there's no use in doing so. I have seen
him on TV and believe he will not be open to a differing opinion, not
even if it comes from a Muslim woman from one of the cultural groups at
the heart of his thesis. So I address this to you. .....
- Liberties aid the enemy
within
- by Paul Murray
The spotlight this week on the imperialist Muslim group Hizb-ut-Tahrir
has shown Australians the very personification of the enemy within. .....
- Teens raped at gunpoint
- by The Telegraph
A gang of five raped two tribal teenagers of the same family holding their
relatives at gunpoint in a Murshidabad village last week. .....
- How to Evangelize Tibetan
Buddhists in the West
- by Michelle Vu
As thousands of Tibetan Buddhists and admirers of the religion prepare
to welcome the Dalai Lama this spring to the United States, a missionary
group is setting out to educate Christians about the eastern religion
and how to share Christianity with Buddhists. .....
- It's an open letter
- by Muslim-Refusenik
The Trouble with Islam Today is an open letter from me, a Muslim voice
of reform, to concerned citizens worldwide -- Muslim and not. It's about
why my faith community needs to come to terms with the diversity of ideas,
beliefs and people in our universe, and why non-Muslims have a pivotal
role in helping us get there. .....
- Muslims aren't the only
voters
- by Swapan Dasgupta
Opinion makers, such as they are, hunt in a pack. It, therefore, probably
needed the Mumbai municipal poll results to persuade the less compliant
section of the editorial class that Manmohan Singh's claim to be regarded
as the Indian of the Year is feeble and that opinion poll results don't
always translate into reality. .....
- Govt-Kalam ties fraying
at edges
- by The Times of India
President A P J Abdul Kalam's decision to return the file seeking elevation
of Justice Jagdish Bhalla to the Kerala High Court marks a certain fraying
of relations between Rashtrapati Bhawan and government as the father of
India's missile programme nears the end of his tenure as the President.
.....
- Karunanidhi and Sai Baba
- do symbols matter any more?
- by M. Anand
Karunanidhi, the only confirmed atheist among our political long distance
runners, has virtually diluted his anti-God and anti-Godmen stand when
he shared a public platform with Sathya Sai Baba, the Godman with probably
the largest number of followers in this country. And went on to equate
him with the Almighty since he was noble hearted and was serving humanity.
.....
- Soniaji, if you really
care about the aam aadmi...
- by Tavleen Singh
If Sonia Gandhi were no longer on speaking terms with her handpicked prime
minister, you might understand the rationale for writing him a letter.
If he were getting too big for his tiny boots you might understand why
he needed to be publicly admonished. What other reason could have prompted
his boss to write an admonitory letter to our gentle Sardarji and then
leak it to the press so that the whole country now knows that Soniaji
is displeased with allowing more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the
retail sector? .....
- Muslims demand benefits
- by Akhilesh Suman
Thousands of Pasmanda (OBC and Dalit) Muslims gathered here on Saturday
under the banner of All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaj to demand speedy implementation
of Sachar Committee Report and to protest against the "conspiracy"
of the elite upper caste Muslims to deny them the benefits of reservation.
.....
- With friends like these
- by The Economist
As George Bush prepares to send more troops to Iraq, his critics all over
the Western world are bringing more protesters onto the streets-and the
range of people who are angry enough to fill the icy air with chants of
rage seems broader, and in some ways stranger, than ever. .....
- 'Women's issues important
while implementing Sachar'
- by Rediff.com
Problems faced by Muslim women in the country must be taken into consideration
while implementing the recommendations of Sachar Committee, the chairman
of the National Commission for Minorities said on Saturday. .....
- Minister resigns, son takes
over
- by The Asian Age
Jharkhand health minister Lal Hemandra Pratap Dehati on Friday resigned
from the UPA government, and his son Bhanu Pratap Sahi was sworn in as
minister in the Madhu Koda government. .....
- 2 posts for Montek in global
bodies
- by Deccan Chronicle
The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
holds two other posts in US-based organisations: one is with the Commission
on Growth and Development set up by the World Bank, and the other is under
the US Institute of International Finance to oversee capital flows and
fair debt restructuring in emerging markets. .....
- The victimhood trap
- by Husain Haqqani
The world's 1.4 billion Muslims seem overwhelmingly enraged by the war
in Iraq and the suffering caused by US military intervention. But there
appears to be little outrage against the sectarian bloodletting that has
led to more Iraqi casualties than war directly involving American troops.
.....
- Rao days come to haunt
PM
- by The Economic Times
Former West Bengal finance minister Ashok Mitra's revelations about the
role of American pressure in the selection of the finance minister in
PV Narasimha Rao's government in 1991 were on Monday used by the BJP to
corner Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. .....
- Oh my God! What a change!
- by B.R. Haran
When His Holiness Sri. Sathya Sai Baba visited the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
M.Karunanidhi at his residence, some of us felt that he should have avoided
the visit and some of us felt that, this visit could bring in a change
in the mentality of the Dravidian leader. I also received a few responses
for my previous write-up (Dravidianism surrenders to Hinduism! .....
- A deal we're ignorant of
- by Kanchan Gupta
Never mind the bunkum about peace and good relations between Pakistan
and India that one gets to increasingly hear from neo-converts to Sufiana.
At the ground level, little has changed in Pakistan and as much was evident
on Monday when rallies were organised across that country to mark 'Kashmir
Solidarity Day'. .....
- Appropriating Gandhi for
personal glory
- by Virendra Kapoor
It was a party conference funded by the tax-payers. The recent two-day
meet in New Delhi on the rather lofty theme of 'Peace, Non-Violence and
Empowerment: Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century' cost the Government
tens of crores of rupees. Delegates from far and near were flown in and
housed in five-star comfort, far removed from the much-vaunted Gandhian
simplicity. Foreign dignitaries from some 80-odd countries and a couple
of Nobel laureates came down for the conference timed to mark the centenary
of the Mahatma's Satyagraha in South Africa. .....
- Afghan schools take on
the Taliban
- by Laura King
Even before the winter wind had scattered the ashes of their village school,
the people of this poor hamlet in eastern Afghanistan decided they had
to fight back. .....
- Enter the Dutch 'Infidel,'
Faithful to Herself (Q.& A. with Ayaan Hirsi Ali)
- by Laurie Goodstein
As a 22-year-old Somali Muslim, Ayaan Hirsi Ali disappeared en route from
Nairobi, Kenya, to an arranged marriage in Canada, and fled to the Netherlands.
A decade later, she won a seat in the Dutch Parliament, where she became
known as an advocate for women and a critic of Islam. She collaborated
with Theo van Gogh on a movie that depicted abused women with passages
from the Koran written on their skin. .....
- Gunbattle In Delhi Area
- by The Asian Age
The special cell of the Delhi Police has claimed to have arrested four
alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists - one Pakistani national and three
Kashmiris - after an encounter in which about 50 rounds of bullets were
fired from both the sides. However, no one was injured in the cross-firing
and all the terrorists were arrested. .....
- Sanjay Dutt greeted by
protests at TADA court
- by Syed Firdaus Ashraf
As actor Sanjay Dutt arrived at the special TADA court in Mumbai on Tuesday
morning, he was met by protesting families of the other accused in the
1993 Mumbai blasts case. .....
- 71% say they're proud to
be Indians
- by Rashmee Roshan Lall
Nearly two-thirds of all Indians are fiercely proud of 'Mera Bharat Mahaan'
but more than half of India believes the caste system is a "barrier
to social harmony" and is holding the country back, according to
a BBC poll to be published on Monday. .....
- German Indologist claims
to have decoded Indus scripts
- by Zee News
Renowned German Indologist and scientist of religion, Egbert Richter Ushanas
today claimed that he has unravelled the mystery of Indus Valley scripts
by decoding major seals and tablets found during various archaeological
excavations. .....
- It could have been a bloody
Monday in Delhi
- by Rediff.com
It could have been a bloody Monday for Delhi had the four Jaish-e-Mohammad
militants, who were planning multiple strikes at crowded markets, not
been arrested from the national capital territory after a late-night encounter,
police claimed. .....
- To Tame The Wild
- by Saikat Datta
A few months ago, Dattaraj Khandeparker, a taxi driver-cum-guide at the
Doodhsagar Falls in Mollem, South Goa, couldn't tell one spider from another.
To be honest, he couldn't have cared less as he took batches of tourists
through the Mollem National Park, something he had been doing for the
last three years. But a chance meeting between him and other guides at
Mollem and the range forest officer, Amar Heblekar, changed their lives.
Heblekar decided to turn this motley band of high-school dropout tour
operators into wildlife experts. .....
- This inner voice too needs
hearing
- by Tavleen Singh
My inner voice has been giving me a hard time again. In this new dawn
of shining secularism, when ''succular'' (sic) thinkers, writers, artistes
and politicians tell us daily that India's social fabric has been saved
from being ripped asunder by the ''communal'' BJP, my inner voice has
been urging me to speak up. Stand up, it says, and point out that the
word Hindu is being used as a term of abuse. .....
- Appeasement takes hold
again in Europe
- by Paul Sheehan
Last September Robert Redeker, a French high-school philosophy teacher
and author of several scholarly books, published an opinion piece in Le
Figaro entitled "What should the free world do in the face of Islamist
intimidation?" .....
- Patna as Azimabad?
- by Dipak Mishra
Bihar's "name game" politics received a fresh lease of life
on Sunday when RJD chief Lalu Prasad made a demand to change the name
of Patna to Azimabad. .....
- Struggle unfinished
- by Expressindia.com
His humble and practical bearings put you at instant ease. For, years
of patriotic struggle and a charitable disposition have made Mohan Ranade
a name to reckon. One of the leaders of the Goa Liberation Movement, 77-year-old
Ranade, goes down memory line to relive the struggle. .....
- Caste-based politics
- by M.V. Kamath
First it was ideology that separated Indians. The Indian National Congress
under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru wanted "a socialist pattern
of society" whatever that meant. That the socialist pattern turned
out to be a pattern for bureaucratic corruption is another matter. At
least Nehru was sincere and whatever errors and mistakes he might have
made he still deserves our respect for giving a lead to the setting up
of Non-Alignment Movement and at home the Indian Institutes of Technology
and Management. .....
- American pie in Nepal
- by Sandhya Jain
On January 28, Delhi's unpretentious Paharganj locality played host to
thousands of Nepali Maoists, almost half of whom crossed over from the
neighbouring country, while the rest were already residing in India. Held
under the banner of the Nepali Jan Adhikaar Suraksha Samiti (Bharat),
the 4700-strong gathering included representatives from each of the Himalayan
kingdom's 75 districts, most being the cadre of the Nepal Communist Party
(Maoist). .....
- Guv's remarks against Sanskrit
cause students to rebel
- by The Times of India
Governor T V Rajeswar would not have imagined that his well-meaning advice
to students of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU) for career building
would invite their uncontrolled ire, forcing him to leave the place unceremoniously
under security cover. .....
- The longest-running reality
show
- by Sarah Kass
Why are the Palestinian people the world's only permanent refugees? Why
do the hundreds of millions of dollars the UN and the European Union invest
in the Palestinian people year after year result not in Palestinian prosperity
but only in persistent Palestinian poverty? .....
- Dravid attends RSS function;
Left unhappy
- by Sutirtho Patranobis
The Left parties have expressed their displeasure over Indian cricket
team captain Rahul Dravid attending a function organised by an RSS-affiliated
body in Nagpur in January. .....
- 'When did yoga become fascist?'
- by Hindustan Times
We ran a news item about how the left parties had an issue or two about
Rahul Dravid attending a "Surya Namaskar " session. Many people
wrote in to express their dismay. .....
- Can't trust them!
- by Afternoon Despatch & Courier
When the Government of Karnataka took over the management of religious
places in the state for five years, little did the people know that it
would result in the closure of 15,000 places of worship. The Right to
Information Act helped concerned citizens find out what happened in the
course of five years. .....
- Stop pandering to separatists
- by G Parthasarathy
The Manmohan Singh Government appears to believe that separatists, armed,
financed and trained across our borders, can be won over by a policy of
appeasement. This was evident in the approach to ULFA in Assam, which
was let off the hook by an ill-advised ceasefire when the Army had its
cadre on the run. There is a similar approach to the separatists of the
"moderate" All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Jammu & Kashmir.
.....
- Hindu businessman kidnapped,
killed in Pak
- by The Times of India
A Hindu businessman has been kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan's Sindh
province, and police suspect the killing could be part of a campaign by
the banned Harkat-ul-Mujahideen militant group to target Hindus in the
region. .....
- Religious mapping over,
ministries asked to use data
- by Rediff.com
Ahead of the possible tabling of the action-taken report on the Sachar
committee findings in Parliament, more than a dozen ministries are being
asked to use a new religion-based demographic statistics for executing
minority welfare programmes. .....
- Will secularists of India
counsel like Irfan Hussain in Pakistan?
- by S. Gurumurthy
"Seen through Hindu eyes, the Muslim invasion of their homeland was
an unmitigated disaster. Their temples were razed, their idols smashed,
their women raped, their men killed or taken slaves. When Mahmud of Ghazni
entered Somnath on one of his annual raids, he slaughtered all 50,000
inhabitants. Aibak killed and enslaved hundreds of thousands. .....
- Beauty of secularism
- by The Colonel
When I was working with a publication group, I visited the famous
Sabarimala temple in connection with the release of a book on this
temple. The chief priest of the temple was very courteous and allowed
me to go as far as a Christian like me was permitted. .....
- An Indo-Arab blunder?
- by Mustafa El-Feki
When I compare how India used to view the Palestinian question, back when
I was counsellor to the Egyptian Embassy in New Delhi 25 years ago, with
how it does now, I cannot help but wonder how things change. I was posted
in New Delhi in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when India was a major
supporter of the Palestinian cause. The very idea of having diplomatic
ties with Israel was offensive to most Indians. .....
- Politics dominates Satyagraha
celebrations
- by Sunil Prabhu
At a conference on Monday to mark 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha,
international leaders attended but the Indian opposition was left out.
The NDA was not invited for the function. .....
- Who owns the Mahatma?
- by Kanchan Gupta
Nothing in Johannesburg bears the remotest resemblance to what this South
African city looked like a hundred years ago. At least, the images captured
in records of the time are far removed from what we see today, as are
the social and political realities that separate today's South Africa
from that which shaped the destiny and politics of an unheard of Gujarati
lawyer who is now remembered across the world as Mahatma Gandhi. .....
- India's top bureaucrats
to need US seal of approval
- by Jatin Gandhi
Indian bureaucrats now need an American stamp of approval before they
can qualify as top brass. Starting this year, three US-based universities
will train officers at different stages of their careers and only those
who get a 'satisfactory' report will be empanelled for promotion. .....
- Squaring the imperial circle
- by Premen Addy
Albert Einstein was reported to have said that god never played dice with
the universe. May be not. But the President of the Immortals, as the novelist
Thomas Hardy chose to describe Him, does permit Himself the occasional
joke on us lesser beings. .....
- Carnage in Assam-II
- by Jagmohan
Exasperated by the attitude of the Central and the state governments,
a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Sarbananda Sonowal,
former president of All Assam Students Union, challenging the validity
of the IMDT Act. In its order of 15 July 2005, the court declared the
Act unconstitutional. .....
- Carnage in Assam-I
- by Jagmohan
For the ghastly drama enacted during the last few days in Assam, in which
about 70 innocent persons were done to death in cold blood, the United
Liberation Front of Asom is squarely responsible. But no less responsibility
rests upon those who, by virtue of their vote-banks-politics and acts
of misgovernance, have brought this organisation into being and allowed
it to develop its lethal fangs. .....
- Gandhi's truth
- by The Pioneer
When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, while addressing 3,000 Indians who had
gathered at Empire Theatre in Johannesburg on September 11, 1906, proposed
that the discriminatory Transvaal Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance should
be opposed through passive resistance, few would have realised that he
was unveiling a novel political philosophy that would, in the years and
decades to come, have a profound impact on leaders across the world. .....
- Weaving a New Dream
- by Shalini S. Sharma
Weavers from remote villages of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Assam recently
got a chance to showcase their talent at no less a place than the very
mecca of fashion-Paris. This, thanks to Rangsutra, a company which has
brought 1,000 weavers from these regions together as shareholders in the
organisation. Each, with a capital of Rs 1,000, embarked on a journey
of weaving their dreams into reality in 2004. .....
- The Law In Stone
- by Madhavi Tata
It's a seat of justice like no other-not a court, panchayat or the neighbourhood
police station, but a large black rock sitting in the middle of Chinnapachila
village in Visakhapatnam district. Named Peddarayi/ Dharmapeetham by the
villagers, it is believed to possess divine truth-eliciting properties.
Locals come to the Peddarayi with their disputes and find them being resolved
in minutes. .....
- Woven In The Master's Image
- by John Mary
When 'master' weaver P. Gopinathan laid the foundation for his handlooms
in a Kerala village some 30 years ago, there were very few inducements
to cushion his start-ups. The government tax rebate for handloom fabrics
and Khadi and Village Industries Board grants were the sole incentives.
Gopinathan organised women, gifted them his small plot to set up looms
and taught them weaving. .....
- Bull's Eye
- by Rajinder Puri
As India relentlessly proceeds towards acquiring superpower status, Indians
are being encouraged to seek out-of-the-box solutions to hasten progress.
In my own humble way, I too have proposed a measure to help improve governance.
.....
- Jesus in 'yogic posture'
to adorn church hall
- by DNA
In a fusion of Indian and Western spiritual streams, an idol of Jesus
Christ resembling the Buddha meditating under a 'bodhi' tree is to be
consecrated in a Church prayer hall at a lakeside hamlet near here shortly.
.....
- Marine militants
- by J Dey
Intelligence reports with the Mumbai police indicate that 500 Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) terrorists trained by the Pakistan Navy and the Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI) will attack prime targets in the city on January 26. The terrorists
will infiltrate the city posing as fishermen, gaining entry into India
from Kori Creek in the Rann of Kutch. .....
- Suicide attack in Islamabad
hotel kills 3
- by Rediff.com
Three persons were killed and five others injured on Friday in a suicide
bomb attack at Marriot hotel in Islamabad, where the Indian High Commission
planned to hold a Republic Day reception later in the evening. .....
- Teaching English in Japan
- by interac-lds.blogspot.com
Interac is the biggest provider of assistant language teachers for government
schools in Japan. They earn 500,000 Yen (5,000USD) per teacher per month
and pay him 250,000 salary. Where does the rest of the money go? You'd
never guess. .....
- Metallurgy in ancient Bharatam
was advanced
- by TR Anantharaman
Eminent Metallurgical engineer and former rector of the Banaras Hindu
University Prof TR Anatharaman said that ancient India contributed a lot
in the field of metallurgy. .....
- Hindu temple supports Muslim
women
- by Naveen Nair
Fifty-three-year-old Jameela and 17-year-old Ansila are both Muslims but
their lives revolve around a Hindu temple at Cherthala in Kerala's Alappuzha
district and the Raja Rajeswari temple has become the only support for
the two women. .....
- Cattle smuggling for slaughter
unchecked
- by Rashme Sehgal
NGOs, including People For Animals (PFA) and People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (Peta) India, are up in arms against the police and the Society
for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for failing to stop the large-scale
smuggling of animals into the capital for purposes of slaughter. Activists
from Peta and PFA believe several thousand animals are being crammed into
lorries and being brought into the capital every night. .....
- Bangladeshi criminals take
refuge in Kolkata: Reports
- by Zee News
Most of Bangladesh's underworld dons, wanted criminals and politicians
with godfather image have taken refuge in Kolkata, the capital of West
Bengal, to escape the on-going police raids, media reports claimed. .....
- Christian Yoga, Clergy,
and Faithful of Christianity Indirectly Promoting Traditional Yoga
- by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati
Whether there is or is not such a thing as "Christian Yoga,"
it has become a quite controversial topic recently. Many so-called Yoga
teachers claim that Yoga is just a physical fitness or alternative health
program, and therefore has no conflict whatsoever with Christianity. Meanwhile,
many Christians argue that Yoga is a religion and should therefore not
be practiced in any form by the Christian faithful. Still other Christians
bridge both of these views by creating a new category that they call "Christian
Yoga." .....
- Dinesh the Dhimmi
- by Serge Trifkovic
Nearly two years ago the Jihadist lobby in the United States made a concerted
affort to have my book The Sword of the Prophet banned from National Review
Online. Jihadi activists gathered around CAIR claimed the book defamed
Islam and its "prophet." When it did not get immediate satisfaction
from National Review, CAIR instructed its partisans to pressure the Boeing
Corporation to withdraw its advertisements from the magazine. .....
- Talks offer & 'threats'
- by The Telegraph
Hours after the Jamait Ulema-i-Hind chief said he was ready for talks
with the chief minister if sent a written invite, Siddiqullah Chowdhury
was allegedly threatened with "dire consequences" for addressing
rallies against land acquisition. .....
- Pakistan Taleban vow more
violence
- by BBC News
Pro-Taleban militants have been strengthening their hold in Pakistan's
tribal areas following controversial peace deals with the authorities.
Haroon Rashid of the BBC's Urdu service is one of the few reporters working
for a Western media organisation with access to the area. .....
- 'Yoga lite' stretches into
public schools
- by CNN News
In Tara Guber's ideal world, American children would meditate in the lotus
position and chant in Sanskrit before taking stressful standardized tests.
.....
- The Left is onside with
hate
- by Pamela Bone
Why is it, asks British journalist Nick Cohen, that apologies for a militant
Islam, which stands for everything the liberal Left is against, come from
the liberal Left? Why are you as likely to read about the alleged conspiracy
of Jews controlling American foreign policy in a literary journal as in
a neo-Nazi hate sheet? .....
- Veil off - one woman's 'life-changing'
decision
- by Yahoo News
Egyptian ex-fashion model Naira El-Sheikh wore 'hijab', the Islamic headscarf,
for more than five years. Her friends considered her 'an icon' for choosing
'piety' over anything else. .....
- Why are we embarrassed to
show love for India?
- by Jyoti Sharma
Why is it that Indians do not wear love for their country on their sleeve
the way Americans, British or Australians do? Unlike a US citizen who
would wear 'Proud to be an American' tee to work, why does an Indian keeps
his tri-colour toting zeal confined to a Team India match? Why don't we
see more Indians wearing clothes, turbans or even bindis and dupattas
in the colours of the nation? Why is it that no building proudly wears
the Indian flag on its exterior a la the Nasdaq? .....
- Kalam on why Sanskrit is
important
- by Syed Amin Jafri
President A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday termed Guru Raghavendraswamy of
Mantralayam as a 'divine soul' and recalled the rich cultural heritage
of Sanskrit in Indian history. .....
- Koran in each gun box -
Kerala arms haul
- by S. Chandrasekhar
Loudly proclaiming that they are alive and kicking and that they have
graduated from stone age swords and axes to automatic assault weapons,
the jehadis of Kerala have once again, marked their presence. In the biggest
haul of arms in Kerala, Customs and Police officials seized 35 pistols
and 47 air-guns from among a container consignment of 817 boxes on January
8. .....
- The new amma in Karunanidhi's
life
- by Veeraraghav T M
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi, said to be a hardcore atheist
and who had on several occasions reprimanded party men for flirting with
religion now seems to have no problems with spiritual leaders. .....
- Hindu body in US flays Centre
for ignoring Kashmir
- by The Times of India
A US-based Hindu rights group has accused successive Indian governments
of paying scant attention to the Hindu minority in Jammu and Kashmir where
they are suffering "grievous violation" of human rights. .....
- Yediyurappa defends Virat
Hindu Samajotsavas
- by The Hindu
Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa wondered why the Virat Hindu Samajotsavas
were being criticised when scores of Muslims and Christians were participating
in the event. Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, in an indirect
reference to president of the Janata Dal (Secular) H.D. Deve Gowda's criticism
of the Virat Hindu Samajotsava, he said critics should not view the event
wearing "political" glasses. He made it clear that the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) was not organising the samajotsava. .....
- UPA communalises economy
- by Balbir K. Punj
Ignoring the advice against the vivisection of developmental expenditure
along communal lines, the UPA government is proposing that 15 per cent
of all such expenditure, section wise, should be allotted to Muslims.
It is being said that this rule would apply only in districts where there
is a Muslim population of at least 25 per cent. .....
