May Month Articles
- A sorry tale of two films
- by The Free Press Journal
If there is a method to this madness it is not clear. The Bush administration
opted not to attend the proceedings of the Congressional sub-committee
on terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation on May 25. Members of the sub-committee
pointedly challenged Islamabad's announcement that the A Q Khan case was
closed. .....
- US perceptions of the
- by Nasim Zehra
If there is a method to this madness it is not clear. The Bush administration
opted not to attend the proceedings of the Congressional sub-committee
on terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation on May 25. Members of the sub-committee
pointedly challenged Islamabad's announcement that the A Q Khan case was
closed. .....
- UP defies Centre, refuses
to ban SIMI
- by The Pioneer
Yet another round of confrontation between the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh
Government seems to be brewing with the Samajwadi Party Government refusing
to back the ban on Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). .....
- Increase in quota will
divide nation: SC
- by R Venkataraman
In a caustic remark the Supreme Court said that the proposed increase
of OBC reservation would divide the great nation on the basis of caste.
.....
- After Nepal, Prachanda
plots mayhem in Bihar
- by Amarnath Tewary
Maoists threaten to abduct, kill politicians and film whole process ----
After virtually dethroning the Nepal King, the Maoists have now shifted
their focus to Bihar. At a recently held meeting in Rajgir, Nepali and
Indian Maoists sat together and chalked out a blueprint to create mayhem
in Bihar. .....
- Secular Terrorism
- by Premendra Agrawal
Secularism is a mask for Terrorist Govt. We discuss: The Da Vinci Code
Punjab Vs Gujarat Fanna, Terrorism of Religion Film Paint art Quota Scam
freedom against Hindus constitution & nationalism .....
- Marxist Freedom of Speech
- by Premendra Agrawal
Marxist who supported emergency speaks about freedom of speech.Supporters
of armed Maoist and Naxalites praise non-violence of MahatmaGandhi. The
person whose livelihood depends on falsehood is teachingtruth. Like these
ultapulta, Somnath Chatterjee preaches about freedomof speech, constitution
and fundamental rights. .....
- CPM puja: school shut
- by The Telegraph
CPM cadre forced a Rajarhat school shut some 15 minutes after classes
began this morning so that the students could attend a felicitation for
transport minister Subhas Chakraborty and local MLA Rabin Mondal. .....
- Ramayan Contest Winners
Announced
- by Balagokulam.org
The remarkably successful quiz contest "Kaun Banega Ramayan Expert"
(KBRE) in the United States of America is helping to fuel the Hindu Swayamsevak
Sangh's (HSS), continuing pursuit of excellence in youth leadership, Dharmic
education and service to society as it continues along its path as one
of USA's leading Hindu youth organizations. .....
- Change Of Faith Without
Push Or Pull Factor
- by P.N. Benjamin
Conversion has always been a sensitive and contentious issue in India.
The politics of conversion, which is pure and simple imperialism, is the
only intractable issue that divides Hindus and Christians in India. .....
- US says Saudi individuals
still funding terrorism
- by Caroline Drees
Saudi Arabia must do a better job at ferreting out major individual donors
who continue to fund terrorism abroad, including in Iraq, a top U.S. Treasury
official said on Tuesday. .....
- 'Caste' In The Same Mould!
- by T R Jawahar
Welcome to the 'casteless' egalitarian world of Christianity. Or at least,
that is what the board outside Evangelists Inc claims. Then what do the
above advertisements that routinely appear in very secular newspapers
point to? Well, they reveal what really one confronts behind the facade,
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but unfortunately
kept captive by an army of lies. .....
- Germans negative on Islam,
poll shows
- by Expatica Communications
Germans are growing increasingly negative over Islam and concern is rising
over the country's Muslim minority, a recently released poll shows. .....
- LeT loose in the state?
- by Somit Sen
The huge haul of RDX, AK-47s and other arms and ammunition from Aurangabad
and Malegaon recently has brought into focus the mushrooming of Lashkar-e-Toiba
modules in the Marathwada region in recent years. .....
- Comatose Florida teen
'best target we can dream of'
- by Aaron Klein
Daniel Wultz, a Florida teenager lying in a coma after being critically
injured last week in a suicide bombing at an Israeli restaurant, is the
"best target combination we can dream of - American and Zionist,"
Abu Nasser, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, one of the groups
responsible for the deadly blast, told WorldNetDaily. .....
- Role of civil servants
- by Kunwar Idris
The parliamentary form of government and a permanent civil service were
the common inheritance of India and Pakistan, or their colonial legacy
as we are wont to call it. Both institutions have survived in India but
not in Pakistan. .....
- Detainee Says He's Proud
to Fight U.S.
- by Ben Fox
A U.S.-educated Saudi accused of being part of an al-Qaida bomb-making
cell said Thursday he is proud that he fought against the United States
and doesn't want an attorney at his military trial. .....
- Equality of priestly opportunity
- by The Hindu
The decision of the Tamil Nadu Government to allow all qualified persons
irrespective of their caste to work as temple priests is an important
victory in the continuing fight against the social curse that is India's
caste system. In keeping with a 2002 Supreme Court ruling that non-Brahmins
(including Dalits, of course) can function as temple priests if they are
"well-versed and properly trained" in temple rituals, the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam Government has expressly provided for the appointment
of persons from all communities as archakas. .....
- Taliban back in contention
in Afghanistan
- by Rahimullah Yusufzai
Almost five years after being thrown out of power as a result of the US
military intervention in Afghanistan, the Taliban appear to have gained
sufficient strength in some remote parts of the country to resume public
executions of people convicted of murder by pro-Taliban Islamic courts.
.....
- Minority as moral majority
- by Swapan Dasgupta
In his compelling critique of majoritarianism and the impending "clash
of civilisations", Amartya Sen has argued that each individual embraces
a multiplicity of identities and not merely a religious one. In short,
we are all, in some way or the other, a minority. .....
- 15 lakh devotees visit
temple
- by The Indian Express
Serpentine queues and a wait for at least six hours in the sun did nothing
to deter the religious fervour of devotees· at the Siddhivinayak
Temple on Tuesday as they waited for a darshan on the occasion of Angaraki
Sankashti Chaturthi. .....
- Maoists will take Nepal
into Dragon's trap
- by Bulbul Roy Mishra
Driven by intense anti-monarchy hatred, the House of Representatives from
the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), headed by Premier G.P. Koirala of Nepal
Congress, unanimously passed a resolution on April 30, calling for election
to a Constituent Assembly. The NC should be cautious about whether a plot
is being hatched to finish off the achievements of the 1990 constitution.
Why must we jump for a Constituent Assembly? asked he. .....
- How Christian Evangelists
Target Hindu American Students
- by Francis C. Assisi
In a fictional account of a freshman year at an American State University,
author Chris Sherman tells us of an Indian-American student from the Midwest,
who is "born again" after a year of intensive prayer and prodding
by his evangelical Christian roommates. .....
- We have a situation, almost
everywhere
- by The Economic Times
Union minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal's recent admission
in Parliament that Left-wing extremists had overtaken terror outfits in
J&K both in terms of attacks and killings, underlines the stark reality
on the security front. .....
- Pakistan sheltering Taliban,
says British officer
- by Declan Walsh
A senior British officer accused Pakistan of allowing the Taliban to use
its territory as a "headquarters" for attacks on western troops
in Afghanistan as insurgents struck on multiple fronts yesterday. .....
- Ajmal's maths
- by The Indian Express
When we termed Badruddin Ajmal's Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF)
a 'Frankenstein' not so long ago, we never imagined that it would replicate
itself so quickly in the country's largest state. The emergence of the
Peoples' Democratic Front (PDF) in Uttar Pradesh, sponsored by a variety
of Islamic clerics, cannot but be perceived as a disquieting development
in a state that has suffered the worst consequences of communal polarisation
over the years. .....
- Selective amnesia
- by Sunita Vakil
The killing of 32 Hindus in the Doda district of Jammu and the eruption
of violence in Vadodara may not be two sides of the same coin, but both
are doubtlessly reprehensible acts that demand condemnation in the strongest
terms. Yet, both have evoked starkly different responses. .....
- Are the Kashmiri pandits
abandoned dregs & derelicts?
- by V Sundaram
During the last 15 years, as indeed not very different from our tragic
national history ever since the Arab conquest of Sind in the 8th century,
innocent and unarmed Hindus are being mercilessly murdered by the Mujahedins
of compassionate Islam in Jammu and Kashmir. .....
- Nepal: Maoists Training
Indian Insurgents?
- by Stratfor.com
Nepalese Maoists could be training Indian insurgent groups in eastern
Nepal, the inspector general of the Sashastra Seema Bal, Bihar Frontier
border patrol force, said May 16. The United Liberation Front of Asom
and the Kamptapura Liberation Organization have been looking for bases
from which to train and regroup since being thrown out of Bhutan and Myanmar,
respectively. .....
- The trouble with foreigners
- by Stan Goodenough
It was with dismay - though perhaps with less surprise than there would
have been, say, a year or two ago - that many in Israel heard of their
government's decision last Wednesday to approve a plan whereby the Rafah
crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt - a border the Sharon government
earlier insisted would remain closed unless Israel was able to control
who entered and left the area - could now be opened under the supervision
of the European Union. .....
- UP Muslims float party,
to contest poll
- by The Pioneer
Claiming to be "upset at being treated as a vote-bank by various
political parties over the years", a group of Muslim outfits launched
their own political outfit - People's Democratic Front - on Monday. .....
- An encounter with truth
- by K. Easwaran Nambudiri
Desecrated temples, decapitated idols, obscene graffiti on temple walls;
bulldozed houses and destroyed locality of minority Hindus; burnt pages
from sacred Vedic texts; couples being dragged to death after being tied
to a jeep and appeals by "non-communal" Muslims to surgically
remove the 'cancer' called Hindus. .....
- CPM shows its rougher
side
- by The Statesman
After winning 175 seats in the Assembly elections, the CPI-M is going
whole hog to establish its rule on Left Front partners again. .....
- Taliban in Valley
- by The Pioneer
The manufactured protest against the alleged sex racket that was recently
exposed in Srinagar is assuming an alarming dimension. This is not the
first time that a sex racket has come to light in India, nor is it surprising
that politicians and police officials were allegedly involved in Srinagar's
sex-for-money scandal. Which is not to suggest that the crime of forcing
teenaged girls into prostitution should be glossed over. .....
- Doctor held in Malegaon
for helping militants
- by Rediff.com
A 28-year-old doctor was arrested in Malegaon near Nasik early on Monday
for allegedly assisting the Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants from whose possession
a huge cache of arms was seized, police said. .....
- Cardinal Questions for
Muslims
- by Andrew G. Bostom
At the close of a compelling, thoroughly documented address (delivered
April 2, 2006, at The Legatus Summit, Naples, Florida) entitled, "Islam
and Western Democracies," Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of
Sydney, posed four salient questions for his erstwhile Muslim interlocutors
wishing to engage in meaningful interfaith dialogue .....
- Pakistani jihadi videos
thrive on execution scenes
- by Stuff.co.nz
The movie salesman was selling jihad to the converted. The buyers thronging
his stall on the sidelines of a late-night rally in the Pakistani capital
belonged to a crowd organised by a sectarian Sunni Muslim group. .....
- 'Pak ordered Suryanarayana's
killing'
- by IBNLive.com
In a dramatic development, the Taliban claimed on Sunday that it was directed
by Pakistan to kill kidnapped Indian engineer K Suryanarayana. .....
- Why Do We Reject Our Past?
- by Abdullah Rehman
I have been living in the UK since the age of 11. In this time I often
visit Pakistan or receive relatives who remain there. I am struck by the
general denial of any common history with the rest of the Indian subcontinent.
It has been mentioned that school textbooks claim that Pakistan was a
`Dark Place` until the `Light` of Islam; that people were oppressed by
the rigid caste system and exploited by the Hindu Brahmins. .....
- Obstruction As Ideology
- by Madhu Purnima Kishwar
NBA defines itself mainly through negative agendas - anti-dam, anti-liberalisation,
anti-globalisation, anti-WTO, anti this, anti that. The alternative development
paradigm Medha Patkar claims to represent has not yet offered any practical
and positive worldview or agenda for action. .....
- Islam and Western Democracies
- by Cardinal George Pell
In the aftermath of the attack one thing was perplexing. Many commentators
and apparently the governments of the "Coalition of the Willing"
were claiming that Islam was essentially peaceful, and that the terrorist
attacks were an aberration. On the other hand one or two people I met,
who had lived in Pakistan and suffered there, claimed to me that the Koran
legitimised the killings of non-Muslims. .....
- A.S.I. and planned death
of history
- by V Sundaram
Bijamandal Temple at Vidisha is one of massive dimensions comparable with
Konarak in Orissa. It was desecrated again and again since the days of
Sultan Shamsuddeen Iltutmish who first indulged in his iconoclasm at this
site. Then followed Allaudin Kilji. His record was bettered by Bahadur
Shah of Gujarat. Finally came Aurangazeb Alamgir a renowned champion of
human compassion and deathless humanity. .....
- Banned Bangla author slams
Dhaka
- by Rediff.com
A Bangladeshi author has accused Dhaka of "deliberately" delaying
the renewal of his passport and alleged that Islamic fundamentalists in
his country were "targetting" him for his "pro-minorities
and pro-India" writings. .....
- Mamooty turns green!!
- by SLB Pillai
Mammoty is considered to be one of the mega stars in this industry. He
not only rules the film world, but in the television, as well as the business
arenas. .....
- Mamooty fans or NDF fans?
- by Haindava Keralam
Thiruvananthapuram:NDF Islamic terrorist organisation from Kerala is opening
up new ways to recruit gullible youth.It has been widely reported that
the new recruitment is via Mamooty Fans club !Mamooty the megastar in
Kerala film industy is recently showing more interest towards fundamentalist
Islam and deviating from mainstream secular nature shown by him in his
recent years. .....
- Reunited: boys saved from
slavers
- by Marie Colvin
A senior member of an Islamic organisation linked to Al-Qaeda is funding
his activities through the kidnapping of Christian children who are sold
into slavery in Pakistan. .....
- Vatican Unease Over Islamic
Countries
- by Zenit.org
Persecution of Christians in Islamic countries makes the news almost daily,
and the Vatican is concerned. On May 17 Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary
for relations with states in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, spoke
to participants in the plenary session of Pontifical Council for Migrants
and Travelers. The May 15-17 meeting focused on the theme of migration
and Islamic countries. .....
- Hinduism's influence on
the United States
- by J. Michael Parker
Hinduism has more influence in American culture than its relatively small
membership would suggest, said an American-born swami who visited San
Antonio's Hindu temple last week. .....
- What is India's population
of other backward classes?
- by Arun Anand
Even as the government has decided to extend 27 percent reservation in
institutions of higher education to other backward classes (OBCs) from
June 2007, it is yet to ascertain the precise population of this community.
.....
- Politics of sympathy
- by The Indian Express
It is now ten days since the medical students of five medical colleges
in the Capital went on an indefinite hunger strike against the OBC reservations
in higher education proposed by HRD Minister Arjun Singh. While their
action has struck a chord among their cohorts and triggered a chain of
supportive campaigns by students across the country, the representatives
of the political dispensation at the Centre have chosen to display a conspicuous
imperviousness to their pliant. .....
- Hindi: A Bridge Across
Nation
- by Prantosh Das Gupta
I recently visited a comparatively small city, located in the South-West
coast of our country, and was highly enchanted by the cleanliness, amiable
manners of the people and above all, the quality of the transport as also
of the food - their cheap rates, et al. Hindi, however, remains a far
cry and it was a difficult task to communicate. .....
- Should India Freeze Peace
Dialogue With Pakistan?
- by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Peace dialogue between India and Pakistan cannot take place in a vacuum.
A peace dialogue necessarily has to be governed by demonstrated actions,
events and public utterances of political leaders of both India and Pakistan
. Further, a peace dialogue can only be sustained by a two way mutual
trust which can only emerge from sincere, genuine and transparently honest
motives and a will to move towards an enduring peace. .....
- The equals of men
- by Nanditha Krishna
I was recently researching the women of ancient India when I came across
a startling piece of information. Seventeen of the seers to whom the hymns
of the Rig Veda were revealed were women - rishikas and brahmavadinis.
They were Romasa, Lopamudra, Apata, Kadru, Vishvavara, Ghosha, Juhu, Vagambhrini,
Paulomi, Jarita, Shraddha-Kamayani, Urvashi, Sharnga, Yami, Indrani, Savitri
and Devayani. .....
- Stop filmi dialogue: Shotgun
to Aamir
- by The Times of India
Terming as 'highly irresponsible' Aamir Khan's attitude on the Narmada
issue, cinestar-turned-BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Friday demanded
apology for "hurting" the sentiments of the people of Gujarat.
.....
- Malaysian Hindus protest
demolition of temples
- by The Hindustan Times
Minority Hindus staged a rare protest on Thursday to condemn the demolition
of temples by authorities. About 50 protesters gathered on the sidewalk
outside the headquarters of Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and threatened to
file a civil suit against the government and local councils if the destruction
of Hindu temples doesn't stop. .....
- A deal to profit Sonia
and Left
- by Easwaran Nambudiri
In one of the most blatant and shameless acts of expediency in free India's
political history, the Congress-led UPA bulldozed through Parliament a
Bill purely and solely aimed at saving the coalition by exempting from
the purview of the Office of Profit several posts held by MPs of the Left
parties, on whose support it depends for survival. .....
- The bucks stop at the
altar
- by Sunny Verma
With 25 lakh temples spread across the country - compare this with just
15 lakh schools - religion matters most in India. And so does religious
tourism. .....
- Govt's apathy, not social
inequality, responsible for OBC backwardness
- by Rajeev Ranjan Roy
As the reservation versus affirmative action debate intensifies, there
are indicators that one of the main causes of backwardness of OBCs in
education is the Government's apathy in meeting its commitment, and not
social inequality. A case in point is the failure of the Government to
even pay scholarships to the deserving OBC students to excel in studies.
.....
- Interpol alert to arrest
Godhra prime accused
- by Pramod Kr Singh
Interpol has issued a red corner notice for the arrest of Salim Haji Ibrahim
alias Salim Paanwala, the main accused in the Godhra train tragedy, in
which 59 passengers were burnt alive on February 27, 2002. .....
- Changing our ways
- by Dr M S Jillani
The recent report of a US-based think-tank calling Pakistan is failed
state is one of those small instigations that the US establishment commits
every now to keep its lesser friends confused. In the present case, it
is the low point of the rollercoaster ride that started with the signing
of India-US nuclear deal. The cycle started with laudatory statements
indicating President Bush's admiration for President Musharraf. .....
- And the winner is Bonny
Jain
- by Arthur J Pais
If he could push a magic button, Bonny Jain, who has won the 2006 National
Geographic Bee and a $25,000 scholarship prize, would travel to Greece
tomorrow. "It is the place I really, really want to go," he
says. .....
- This speaker courts controversy
- by The Free Press Journal
The Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, clearly finds it hard to shun
his past political predilections while conducting himself in an impartial
and dignified manner as per the demands of the high constitutional office.
Indeed, a life-long Communist seeped in the party's orthodoxy, he was
a wrong choice for the Speaker's job, to begin with. .....
- Hindu American Foundation
Congratulates Hindu Seer for B.R. Ambedkar Award
- by The Hindu American Foundation
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) congratulated Hindu spiritual leader
Sri Shivamurthy Murugharajendra Swami for being awarded the prestigious
B.R. Ambedkar Award by the State of Karnataka, India. He was honored in
recognition of his contributions in the upliftment of members of the Scheduled
Castes (referred to by some as "Harijans" or "untouchables")
in India. .....
- Systematic ethnic clensing:
Hindus always become the victims
- by M. V. Kamath
There is one thing that nobody, not even the wisest among us can do: and
that is to re-live history. Like it or not, we have to live with it. We
have to accept the fact that a predominantly Hindu country was ruled for
some eight centuries by Islamic invaders and some of their tyrannical
successors and for another one hundred years by the British. .....
- Between Hysteria And Denial
- by K.P.S. Gill
Another bitter reminder of the relentless and expanding Pakistan-backed
terrorist enterprise to cause harm to India at every opportunity and in
every way possible has been delivered at Bangalore, with the attack at
the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, in which Professor MC Puri
was killed, and four others injured. .....
- The Pope Has Insulted
The Indian Supreme Court, Law Makers And Indian People
- Press Release
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) International President, Shri Ashok Singhal
has strongly objected to the Pope's interference in the religious matters
of Bharat (India). Shri Singhal said: "THE RIGHT TO UPHOLD ANCESTRAL
FAITH" should be a 'Fundamental Right' for inter-religious harmony
because if everybody accepts right to uphold ancestral faith, nobody would
convert people of other faiths. There won't be inter-religious conflict.
.....
- Former Haj House peon's
arrest key to terror trial
- by Maneka Rao
If this month's arrest of 11 suspected terrorists by the Anti-Terrorist
Squad (ATS) with a huge cache of arms and ammunition firmly establishes
the clear and present danger of Mumbai becoming a destination of terror,
the trail actually began with the arrest of a former Haj House peon and
three others in January. .....
- In caste country, some
kids leaving caste at home for IIT
- by J P Yadav
HRD Minister Arjun Singh, whose seat reservation proposals have kicked
up a row, could look at one private training institute in Patna which
doesn't charge a penny yet ensures students from extremely poor families,
OBCs and Dalits included, make it to IITs by beating competition, not
through quota. .....
- Bajaj Auto, TVS locked
in South American combat
- by The Economic Times
After fighting it out in India and Indonesia, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor,
will face each other head on in the South American markets as well. In
fact, both companies are trying to position their products as those between
expensive Japanese models and cheap Chinese vehicles. .....
- Amir Vs Feroze
- by Premendra Agrawal
"I am a proud Indian. India is a secular country. Muslims there are
making lot of progress. Our President is a Muslim, Prime Minister a Sikh,''
Feroze told the anchor when sought for a TV byte. Feroze Khan's entry
into Pak banned. Is Amir said any word on this issue? What did Mahesh
Bhatt, Rajiv Shukla and Ambika Soni say on this issue? .....
- Chimney Calling the Kettle
Black!
- by Shachi Rairikar
Pope's condemnation of India is uninvited and ridiculous. Isn't it ironic
that Pope, the head of the smallest independent nation in the world, which
is neither secular nor democratic and is governed by a religious head
elected by some cardinals, is advising religious freedom to one of the
largest secular democracies? .....
- US must stop aid to Pak:
Expert
- by IBNLive.com
Noted American expert on South Asian Affairs, Selig Harrison, has urged
the Bush Administration to withhold US aid to Islamabad until Pakistan
ceases military activity in Baluchistan. .....
- Papal bull
- by The Pioneer
The Pope has got it awfully wrong ---- No purpose is served by criticising
Pope Benedict XVI for pleading the cause of missionaries in India seeking
to harvest the souls of 'heathens'. As head of the Catholic Church the
Pontiff, variously referred to as 'Panzerkardinal' and 'God's Rotweiler'
for his ferocious commitment to promoting his faith, is within his rights
to castigate any attempts to curb the enthusiasm of missionaries. .....
- India must checkmate ISI
influence in Nepal
- by M V Kamath
So Nepal is going to be a democracy and the king has 'surrendered.' Parliament
has been resurrected and hopefully, things will work out and real peace
restored in the only 'Hindu' nation on earth. The Government of India
has been charged with not doing enough to restore normalcy in Nepal which
is professedly `Hindu,' but in past years has had a love-hate relationship
with India. .....
- Da Vinci: Cross with the
Code?
- by Sandhya Jain
It must have come as a surprise to Information & Broadcasting Minister
Priyaranjan Das-munshi that India's supposedly small Roman Catholic community
can field two hundred organisations to protest the screening of the Hollywood
blockbuster, Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel by
the same name. .....
- Not a murmer when 250
temples were demolished in Madurai
- by Organiser
The roads of the historic temple city Madurai, praised in ancient Tamil
literature, have got back their original glory with civic officials pulling
down more than 800 encroachments including 250 roadside temples, some
of them century old. .....
- Angry reaction to Hindu
plight
- by Arvind Lavakare
The latest carnage of 35 innocent Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir is part
of the scene that's all so deja vu since the last 20 years or so. .....
- Your Caste is not Immutable:
Choose What You Want to Be
- by Seema Burman
Caste has been misinterpreted as being hereditary whereas Krishna states
clearly in the Bhagavad Gita that caste is a classification of people's
potential. A single family might have children with qualities that are
suitable for Brahmins, Kshatri-yas, Vaishyas, or Shudras. .....
- Arms haul: Foreign hand
suspected
- by S Ahmed Ali
Investigations into the recent arms haul case, in which 43 kg RDX was
seized, took a sharp turn on Wednesday when the name of foreign militant
organisations cropped up. .....
- Suspects tracked for 5
yrs
- by Mateen Hafeez
The suspected terrorists who were recently arrested in Malegaon for possessing
and transporting arms and ammunition had been on the police watch-list
for the past five years. .....
- Small towns, huge donations
- by The Times of India
While the rustic farmer may avail of tax incentives while living in relative
obscurity, he's competing with actors like Hema Malini and liquor baron
Vijay Mallya, at least when it comes to offering money to God. .....
- A disturbing development
- by The Free Press Journal
This had to happen. Having been wooed by various secularist outfits for
the en bloc Muslim votes, the selfstyled leaders of the community have
now turned bold and independent. And, instead of negotiating votes of
their co-religionists with various political parties at the time of elections,
they have now floated their own political party. .....
- Caste system and democracy
in India
- by Manashi Sarma
The institution of caste system, one of the basic pillars of the Hindu
society can be considered as old as the Hindu society itself. But over
the years, the institution has undergone a metamorphic change. .....
- Ethnic cleansing planned
to the last detail
- by Dina Nath Mishra
Recent killings of Doda Hindus are in continuation of more than half century
old systematic plan of de-Hinduisation of Kashmir Valley by Pak exported
terrorism and pan-Islamic fundamentalism. .....
- Where do Arjun, Sonia's
grandkids study?
- by Tavleen Singh
First, let us drop the pretense that Mr Arjun 27 per cent was acting on
his own when he announced his new quotas. In the Congress party and the
Manmohan Singh Government, nothing, absolutely nothing, happens without
Sonia Gandhi's authorisation. Everyone connected to political Delhi knows
this. Second, let us drop the pretense that the new quotas have anything
to do with education. They do not. .....
- Feroz Khan insults and
abuses in Pakistan
- by PakTribune.com
Recently, the entire cast of Akbar Khan's film 'Taj Mahal' was in Pakistan
to represent one of the first Indian films that will be screened in Pakistan
after a considerably long time. The Indian delegation consisted of many
members from the Khan clan, including Fardeen Khan and his wife Natasha.
Mahesh Bhatt was also a part of this honorable delegation along with several
other actors and government personnel. .....
- Pope targets India conversion
- by The Asian
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday appointed Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai the
prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (CEP). He
will oversee territory spanning 64 million sq km across five continents,
in areas "where Christianity is still young". .....
- Spires And Minarets
- by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray
Tony Brett's defeat in Oxford's council election was one of many small
details that passed unnoticed in the excitement over the gains that the
white supremacist British Nationalist Party made in a London suburb. But
it could mark a turning point in the reinvention of the town of dreaming
spires as a centre of Islamic piety. .....
- Terrorism laws come into
force
- by Politics.co.uk
The government's controversial Terrorism Act 2006 comes into force today,
creating a new offence of glorifying terrorism. .....
- BJP, RSS rubbish Pope's
remarks on religious intolerance
- by Outlook
Taking strong exception to certain reported comments by Pope Benedict
XVI on alleged religious intolerance in India, BJP and RSS today said
his remarks were irrelevant and exposed "ignorance" about Indian
traditions and laws. .....
- Are Brahmins the Dalits
of today?
- by Francois Gautier
At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other
Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody
talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the Brahmins,
for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so today?
.....
- Sony says no to disclaimer
at start of film
- by The Times of India
Sony Pictures has rejected the censor board's notification that a disclaimer
has to be put at the start and end of the film The Do Vinci Code to clarify
that it is a work of fiction. .....
- Hamas aide caught with
cash at Rafah border
- by Nidal Al-Mughrabi
Rival Palestinian forces faced off briefly at Gaza's border crossing with
Egypt on Friday after a Hamas official was caught with 639,000 euros ($804,000)
hidden in his clothing, authorities said. .....
- 'Police is targeting lawyers
who are supporting doctors'
- by Afternoon Despatch & Courier
After being beaten by police at Raj Bhavan, medicos have come forward
to support their lawyer friends who were fighting their legal battle and
were arrested. Lawyers Girish Talwar and Vijay Nair were called in at
the DCP zone II office for recording their statement. .....
- Terrorists Stayed in MLAs
Hostel
- by Suyash Padate
In what could be an embarrassment to the ruling Democratic Front (DF)
government, two MLCs and an MLA have come under the Anti-Terrorist Squad
(ATS) scanner for allegedly providing shelter to suspected terrorists
in their rooms at the Akashvani MLA Hostel near Mantralaya. .....
- History repeats itself
(Excerpt)
- by Coomi Kapoor
Protests over the movie version of Da Vinci Code have once again highlighted
the tussle between religious fanaticism and freedom of expression. It
is an old issue in India. In fact, a recently released book Enduring Legacy,
about eminent Parsis of the Twentieth Century, describes a debate on the
same subject which took place in the Parsi press 150 years ago which is
remarkably similar to the recent controversy over the publication of a
cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. .....
- Gleam of hope for the
BJP
- by Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar
On the face of it, last week's state elections represented a big victory
for the Left Front, a minor victory for the Congress Party, and a huge
setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Yet, one trend suggests a gleam
of hope for the BJP. .....
- Reserved for whom?
- by The Economic Times
One of India's leading news-magazines came up with a rather revealing
statistic the other day in its cover-story on the reservation issue. In
the 2005 medical entrance system in Tamil Nadu, out of a total of 1,445
seats in 12 medical colleges, 430 seats were available in open competition,
with the remaining 1,015 seats being reserved. Only 38 students from the
so-called 'forward' communities qualified in the open competition, as
compared to 321 BC, 57 MBC and 14 SC students. .....
- What's really up with
the govt of UPA?
- by R K Nandan
On May 14, while inaugurating in Delhi the complex of the Defence Research
& Development Organisation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for
the creating of a favourable working environment to retain within the
country the best talent in cutting edge departments. .....
- Constitution grants no
right to convert: SC
- by The Economic Times
The Vatican's stand that the fundamental right to practice and propagate
religion includes the right to convert was an issue considered and rejected
by the Supreme Court. .....
- ATS suspects arms, RDX
came from Hyderabad
- by Stavan Desai
Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) officials suspect that the consignment of arms
and RDX seized from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives in Aurangabad and
Malegaon last week came from Hyderabad. They also said that they now know
''precisely where the consignment had first landed in Maharashtra and
where it was to be stocked''. .....
- Come, Let us together
fight jihad, VHP's tells Pope
- by Pradeep Kaushal
The VHP has offered to team up with Pope Benedict XVI to fight their ''common''
adversary of Islamic terrorism. VHP president Ashok Singhal made this
offer to the Pope today, two days after the latter expressed serious reservations
about moves to ban conversions in certain parts of India. .....
- J&K Cong MLA, his
brother helped finance, smuggle explosives: Army
- by Muzamil Jaleel / Mir Ehsan
A senior Congress legislator who was a minister in the former Mufti-led
coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir and his brother have helped
finance and smuggle into the Valley the biggest ever haul of explosives
last year, according to a confidential report of the Army's Counter Intelligence
Unit. .....
- Waterholes of the hills
- by Ashwani Sharma
This summer when many parts of the country are facing a water crisis,
Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh appears to have put its parched past firmly
behind it. Small and marginal farmers of the drought-prone Hamirpur district
are managing their water resources and launching water harvesting projects
with much success. .....
- The New Threat
- by Prerana Thakurdesai
The battle against terrorism continues to throw up grim reminders of just
how serious the threat really is and the ever-changing geography of the
networks. That was rudely brought home in Maharashtra last week. A succession
of intercepts on the national highways that pass through the state revealed
that enough explosives, arms and ammunition were being transported to
bring back horrifying reminders of the 1993 serial Mumbai bomb blasts.
.....
- Deluxe Moksha
- by Namrata Joshi
It's an old family story. Years ago, when a grand-uncle decided to go
on a pilgrimage to Gangotri-Yamunotri, he was given a tearful farewell
by the entire community, as though he might never return home. .....
- 'It's Totally Voluntary
There'
- by Anuradha Raman and Sugata Srinivasaraju
Affirmative action (AA) in the US is universally considered a great success.
No wonder then that supporters of reservation in India ask: why can't
the country emulate America, arguably the ultimate paragon of meritocracy?
Why can't the private sector, instead of mulishly opposing reservation,
think of creative ways to satisfy the aspirations of groups at the bottom
of the social hierarchy? .....
- Al-Qaeda-linked militants
kill 12 in Iran
- by The News International
Al-Qaeda-linked guerrillas executed 11 men at a roadside in southern Iran
and strung a wounded 12-year-old boy from an electricity pylon before
fleeing to mountain hideouts, police said on Sunday. .....
- Terror hits BJP rally
in Doda
- by Mohit Kandhari
Two Bharatiya Janata Party workers were killed and at least 35 injured
when terrorists hurled a powerful grenade on a party procession near the
Doda bus stand on Saturday. .....
- Pandering to Hurriyat
will not end but worsen Kashmir's woes
- by Sumer Kaul
The Hurriyat Conference, which calls itself the true representative of
the people of Kashmir, refused to attend the round table called by the
prime minister in February. Unfazed by the rebuff, Dr Manmohan Singh invited
the Hurriyatists for exclusive bilateral talks last week, thus further
pandering to their foreign-tutored egos. .....
- Exclusive: M15 Infiltrated
By Al-Qaeda
- by Vincent Moss
Terrorists from al-Qaeda have infiltrated Britain's security services,
the Sunday Mirror can reveal. Bosses at M15 believe they unwittingly recruited
the Muslim extremists after the July 7 suicide bombings in London last
year which killed 52 people. .....
- Brutal lathi-charge
- by The Free Press Journal
Even the chief minister had to admit it. From what he saw on TV, the Mumbai
police used brutal force on the striking junior doctors and medical students
for holding a protest satyagraha near Raj Bhavan. The beating was so merciless
that policemen seemed to attack the doctors to settle some old scores.
.....
- Why no stern warning to
Gulam Nabi Azad?
- by V Sundaram
Recently the Vadodara Municipal authorities removed some unauthorised
structures like many temples and one Dargah, on the orders of the Gujarat
High Court, in Vadodara City. There were no communal clashes when the
temples were removed as per Court orders. Only when a particular Dargah
was removed, there were violent protests from many Muslims of the area
and subsequently it led to communal clashes resulting in the loss of many
lives and property. .....
- Jainas, cream of Hindu
society
- by Sandhya Jain
The Union Minister for Minority Affairs' determination to impose minority
status upon Jainas has come as a shock to a community that has long regarded
itself as the cream of Hindu society. Obviously, Mr AR Antulay is only
continuing the UPA policy of fragmenting the nation by offering reservations
to Muslims in Congress-ruled states and extending 27 per cent reservations
to OBCs in higher education. .....
- UPA Govt insensitive to
ethnic cleansing in J&K: BJP
- by India Monitor
Doda killings rocked both the Houses of Parliament on Monday, with the
BJP-led Opposition accusing the UPA Government of being indifferent to
the campaign for "ethnic cleansing" in the Jammu and warning
it against 'delimilitarisation' of J&K. .....
- 'Westerners associate
Buddhism with therapy'
- by Avijit Ghosh
Brazil is widely perceived as an overwhelmingly Catholic nation. But since
the 90s, Buddhism in general and Zen in particular, were adopted by its
national elite, media and popular culture as a set of humanistic values
to counter rampant violence and crime in Brazilian society. .....
- Don't Soft-Pedal On Kashmir,
Needed A Fresh Thinking
- by Varun Gandhi
The Hurriyat is a bunch of wily non-representatives self-styling themselves
as leaders and refusing to participate in the electoral process. They
are completely anti-India. Yet one wonders why the government pays for
their security and permits them to dine with the Pakistanis? .....
- The Hindu worm must turn
to catch them by the scruff
- by Radha Rajan
For comic relief, the Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Prakash
Jaiswal offered gratuitous advise to the Gujarat DGP, instructing him
to "act professional". Shri Narendra Modi did not bat an eyelid
and declared again that the law will take its own course against the offenders
"irrespective of their religion", calmly sent the strong signal
that he reposed confidence in his police to act correctly and came to
Mumbai for Mahajan's funeral. .....
- Christian funds for Puri
shrine
- by Soumyajit Pattnaik
Christians are barred from entering the Jagannath temple at Puri but a
Geneva-based Christian lawyer has donated nearly $400,000 (Rs 1.78 crore)
to the shrine - the amount is more than the total donation received last
year. .....
- Authors: Objective knowledge
- by Khuzaima Fatima Haque
Fifty-Nine years down the road and the story of partition is still a political
ideological dilemma for many. Numerous views abound when westerners, Indians
or even Pakistanis write about this political event. Objectivity stands
to be an 11 letter word guarded by nationalistic endeavour. In this environment
of political disdain, a historian, Kamran Shahid, who is rather young
for the title, manages to create a niche for his individualistic thinking.
.....
- The Da Vinci tsunami
- by V Sundaram
The Supreme Court while granting bail to Kanchi Sankaracharya indicted
the then Tamilnadu Government for having foisted a case on Kanchi Sankaracharya
in gross violation of the established tenets and spirit of criminal law.
When Kanchi Sankaracharya was arrested in November 2004 on Deepavali Day,
the UPA Government in New Delhi maintained an attitude of 'strategic',
'suave' and 'secular' silence. .....
- Pressure on multi-faith
Malaysia
- by BBC News
Malaysia is considering its multi-cultural credentials after a crowd of
Muslims on Sunday broke up a meeting called to defend the rights of religious
minorities. .....
- For your body and soul
- by Chandragupta Amritkar
How would you like to spend a week in Lonavala for Rs 2,500? Add to this
breakfast, lunch and dinner at no additional cost. For relaxing how about
some yoga exercises, again at no additional cost. Seems unbelievable.
But it is true. "Yes, we do provide this facility at this price.
But it's meant for only those who genuinely interested in yoga and meditation.
.....
- Red card's scam comes
to light in Bihar
- by Ajay Kumar
A Major seam to the tune of over Rs 1,400 crore, relating to the alleged
misuse of subsidised rations and short supply of foodgrains meant for
people below the poverty line during the erstwhile RJD rule in Bihar,
has come to light. .....
- Arms haul biggest ever
in the state
- by The Times of India
Apart from the RDX, ten AK47 assault rifles and 2,000 bullets were seized
from the Tata Sumo that the three men had abandoned while fleeing. Addressing
journalists at the state police headquarters in Mumbai, deputy CM R R
Patil said it was the biggest ever seizure by the anti-terrorism squad
(ATS) in the state. "The source of the consignment and its destination
is being investigated," he added. .....
- Manhunt is on for terror
ally
- by Mateen Hafeez
Officers of the antiterrorism squad (ATS) in the city have said the three
suspected terrorists arrested in Aurangabad on Wednesday were carriers
transferring firearms and ammunition from one place to another. The police
are now on the lookout for a man from Beed who was supervising the delivery.
.....
- Scandal In Srinagar
- by Aijaz Hussain
Sex rings, politicians, policemen, prostitution, scandal. It is encounters
of a different kind that have dominated the headlines in Srinagar, and
even though no active militants were involved, the issue is explosive
enough. That is mainly due to the cast of characters involved: underage
girls, bureaucrats, politicians, police officers and security officials,
all caught, literally, with their pants down, on CDs circulating in the
Kashmir Valley. .....
- Broadway in Bihar
- by Sheokesh Mishra
Round the corner, rundown cinema halls offer B movies at Rs 10 a pop per
patron. Here, unbelievably, a 104-seat state-of-the-art auditorium screens
films by auteurs like De Sica, Godard, Fellini, Kurosawa, Truffaut, Bergman,
Antonioni, Welles and Chaplin to people who, when they aren't watching
1920s classics, lap up recent masterpieces like Zhang Yimou's The Hero
while clustered on a sofa. .....
- '3 LeT suspects have links
with legislator'
- by Mahesh Mhatre
Three of the alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants connected with the
recent arms and RDX seizure in Aurangabad and Malegaon have strong links
with a Maharashtra legislator, according to police sources. .....
- LeT suspects left car with
Malegaon doc
- by The Times of India
The five Malegaon men arrested on Saturday in the Aurangabad arms case
include Afzal Khan, Mushtaque Ahmed, Riyaz Ahmed alias Raju and Javed
Ahmed, besides the homoeopathic doctor Shareef Shabbir. Sources said they
are alleged synipathisers of the banned organisation Students' Islamic
Movement of India. .....
- Police recover more weapons
from Manmad
- by The Times of India
In a major breakthrough in the Aurangabad terrorists' case, the anti-terrorism
squad (ATS) on Saturday recovered 50 hand grenades, one AK47 rifle and
200 bullets hidden under a culvert, five kilometres from Manmad on the
Manmad-Ahmednagar highway The cache is believed to be part of the consignment
which was seized from a Tata Sumo in Aurangabad on Tuesday. .....
- LeT link would be away
for month
- by The Indian Express
The Delhi police say Muhammed Ali Chippa was a Laskhar-e-Toiba terrorist
trained in Pakistan. But to his family members, he was the responsible
son - quiet and dutiful, taking good care of his six sisters and mentally-retarded
elder brother. He recently asked one of sisters, recently widowed, to
come and stay with the family again. .....
- Ultras target BJP rally;
two killed, 39 wounded
- by The Indian Express
Barely 13 days after having killed 19 Hindus in Kulhand area, militants
struck once again killing two more Hindus and injuring 39 others when
they lobbed a grenade on a BJP's protest rally, which was demanding adequate
security for minority community members in the region. .....
- 4 days after RDX haul,
cops seize arms in Nashik
- by The Indian Express
Four days after three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives were arrested with
a huge cache of arms and explosives in Aurangabad, the state Anti-Terrorist
Squad (ATS) in a joint operation with the Nashik (rural) Police on Saturday
morning recovered an AK-47 rifle with two magazines, 50 hand grenades
and 200 cartridges in the Ankai fort area. .....
- A Failed State of Understanding
- by Husain Haqqani
Official Pakistan has reacted angrily, as it always does, to two recent
suggestions that the situation in the country might not be as rosy as
painted by General Musharraf and his cohorts. Pakistan was rated as ninth
on the 2006 Failed States Index developed by the U.S. Non-governmental
Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine. .....
- A shocking silence
- by The Indian Express
As the stir launched by medical students over quotas threatens to spread-with
junior doctors having joined in, and the Indian Medical Association calling
for a nationwide medical shut-down today-an intriguing question raises
its head: why are Left parties, usually so very eloquent about police
brutality and high-handedness, maintaining a discreet silence over what
was clearly a gross over-reaction on the part of the police in its handling
of striking medical students in Delhi and Mumbai? .....
- Sanctuaries of terror
- by Kit Collier and Malcolm Cook
The presence of insurgent or terrorist sanctuaries in non-belligerent
countries is one of the most intractable, explosive issues in international
relations. .....
- Narmada The Pride Of India
- by Anirban Banerjee
The Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada will be generating 1450 Megawatts
of electricity and irrigate 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land.
The Narmada project once completed will boost the economy of Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra. .....
- Manmohan Talks Peace Over
River Of Hindu Blood
- by Prakriiti Gupta
Thirty-eight-year old Gilo Devi is fighting a battle for survival at Jammu
hospital ignorant of the fact that she is a widow and also lost her daughter.
Her three-month old son cries bitterly looking for mother piercing the
deadly silence of ICU unit of hospital. She is one of the victims who
fell to the bullets of Islamic terrorists who perpetuated a naked dance
of death killing at least 38 Hindus at two separate places in Jammu and
Kashmir. .....
- UPA Provoking a Hindu Backlash
- by Shyam Khosla
UPA Government's response to Muslim mob violence over the demolition of
a Sufi dargah at Vadodra is most disconcerting. Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Union
MoS for Home who rushed to the town to garner Muslim votes under the garb
of having a first hand assessment of the law and order situation in the
disturbed town, had no word to deplore violence against officials and
policemen performing their duties, not to talk of innocent Hindus who
had nothing to do with the demolition work. .....
- Communist Double-Standard
- by Balbir K. Punj
The Marxists of India are running with the hare, and hunting with the
hounds. At a time the Maoist guerillas are wreaking havoc across central
India, a CPI leader, Atul Kumar Anjaan, advises government of India to
release 60-70 Nepali Maoists leaders lodged in Indian jails. Sitaram Yechuri,
who attended the opening session of the Nepali Mahapanchayat, has also
said that the CPI (M) would pressurise the Indian government to release
the Nepali Maoists languishing in jails of India. .....
- 'How does it matter now
who was responsible?'
- by Ravleen Kaur
It was twenty-one years ago. Munshi Ram's servant found a transistor in
neighbouring Yamuna Pushta and got it home. Munshi Ram's wife Sundari
switched it on. The next thing he knew Sundari, their four-year-old son
Dinesh and a neighbour were dead. .....
- Mizoram 'serious' about
influx of Bangladeshis
- by The Hindu
Recently I saw a programme on one of the Indian TV news channels relating
to the so-called imperative public need for Government of India to reciprocate
the warm and friendly overtures of Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. The interviewer
went so far as to say that why should the Government of India be under
the impression that every act of terrorism in India emanates from Pakistan.
.....
- Pak's true secularism
vs India`s pseudo-secularism
- by V Sundaram
Recently I saw a programme on one of the Indian TV news channels relating
to the so-called imperative public need for Government of India to reciprocate
the warm and friendly overtures of Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. The interviewer
went so far as to say that why should the Government of India be under
the impression that every act of terrorism in India emanates from Pakistan.
.....
- RSS Activist brutally murdered
in Thiruvananthapuram
- by Vishwa Samvad Kendra Kerala
In the early hours of Tuesday, RSS Karyakartha and Chirayankeezhu Taluk
Kaaryavaha, Sunil Kumar(36)was brutally murdered by a group of assailants.
They came in a Qualis van and stabbed to death. while he was on his way
to take the bundle of Janmabhumi papers. .....
- Kosovo consternation
- by James "Ace" Lyons Jr.
Among the most important priorities of U.S. global policy is combating
the international traffic in drugs and in persons (often a euphemism for
women and children forced into prostitution). .....
- Pandering to Hurriyat will
not end but worsen Kashmir's woes
- by Sumer Kaul
The Hurriyat Conference, which calls itself the true representative of
the people of Kashmir, refused to attend the round table called by the
prime minister in February. Unfazed by the rebuff, Dr Manmohan Singh invited
the Hurriyatists for exclusive bilateral talks last week, thus further
pandering to their foreign-tutored egos. .....
- Height of folly
- by Vikram Sood
The story doing the rounds in Delhi is that in another exhibition of generosity,
India is about to withdraw from the Saltoro Ridge (commonly referred to
as the Siachen Glacier) in the interest of peace, but without securing
the country's strategic interests. .....
- We won't foist cases against
Kanchi seers: DMK
- by T S Sreenivasa Raghavan
Senior Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi
can now breath easy, with DMK deciding not to follow the "repressive"
policies of the Jayalalitha government. .....
- Conversion of minor girl:
HC orders inquiry
- by The Times of India
The high court here on Thursday, while dismissing a habeas-corpus petition,
has directed SSP Lucknow and Allahabad to conduct investigation into the
whole episode of conversion of a minor Hindu girl into Islam and thereafter
solemnising her nikah. .....
- Taking Ayurveda to the
rest of the world
- by Rediff.com
London will play host to a two-stage exposition on the benefits of traditional
Indian medicine on May 15, when an official team of experts will make
a presentation on Ayurveda to the European Medicines Agency. The aim is
to present evidence relating to the scientific basis of Ayurveda and the
potential it holds for global health care. .....
- Terror suspect numbers
soar
- by Antony Barnett, Jamie Doward and
Mark Townsend
The number of Islamic terror suspects in Britain being targeted by the
security service MI5 has soared to 1,200, a 50 per cent rise since the
London suicide bombings last July. .....
- Give me justice or kill
me too
- by Prashant Rupera
Three days after the communal riots took away her only son, Indu Shah
(55), a widow, is still wondering what forced the rioters to kill the
only earning member of her family Shah's son Biren (27) was stabbed to
death on May 1 and now she is demanding that the culprits should be punished.
.....
- How reservations fracture
Hindu society
- by Rajeev Srinivasan
The recent fuss about caste-based admission quotas to educational institutions,
as well as the threat to force industry to adopt mandatory quotas, inflames
people's passions. But considered in context, reservations a. are needed
only because of poverty perpetuated by the establishment, and b. have
become principally a tool to divide and rule Hindus. .....
- Mumbai police foil Ellora
terror bid
- by IBNLive.com
The anti-terrorist squad of the Mumbai police seized a huge cache of explosives
and weapons in raids conducted at various places in the Aurangabad district
late on Tuesday night. .....
- UK MPs take aim at India
- by Seema Mustafa
A group of British parliamentarians have come together to set up a "Parliamentarians
for National Self-Determination" body that will seek to get international
recognition of self-determination as a fundamental human right. India
is a clear target, with the organisers listing "Punjab, Nagas, Manipur,
Tamils and Kashmiris" in their list of movements seeking self-determination.
.....
- Former Army man working
for ISI held
- by The Indian Express
A former Army man allegedly working for the Pakistan's ISI was arrested
from Jogbani in Bihar on the Indo-Nepal border leading to busting of an
espionage ring involved in passing country's defence documents. .....
- Taking sides in Vadodara
- by Darius Nakhoonwala
The more I read editorials, the more I wonder why those who write them
are paid so much. Any blogger would do just as well. .....
- MEP Chris Davies steps
down in Jewish row
- by Helena Spongenberg
The leader of the British liberals in the European Parliament, Chris Davies,
resigned under pressure last night after it was revealed he had exchanged
insulting emails with a Jewish constituent in the UK. Mr Davies will stay
on as an MEP however. .....
- Aamir Khan slams Narendra
Modi
- by Rediff.com
Bollywood star Aamir Khan, who had to face the ire of the Bharatiya Janata
Party and the Congress workers in Gujarat when he had joined the protest
against Narmada Dam last month, has slammed the Narendra Modi government
for its alleged failure to control violence in Vadodara recently. .....
- Advani alleges ethnic cleansing
in Jammu region
- by Sify.com
Criticising the Centre's "weak policies" to deal with terrorism
in Jammu and Kashmir, senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday said there
was a conspiracy to engineer the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in the Jammu
region. .....
- Refugees in homeland
- by Vivek Gumaste
Despite the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir - the massacre
in Doda being the most recent - we, like ostriches, have ducked from making
a conscious effort to ignore the tragic reality. The Kashmiri Pandits,
who constitute a minority in the Muslim majority State, are the original
inhabitants with a culture and tradition that dates back to 5,000 years.
.....
- Vadodara-stoking communal
sentiments
- by S R Ramanujan
While commenting on the Vadodara violence consequent on the demolition
of the mazaar of the sufi saint Chisthi Rasheed-ud-din, both the Home
Minister Shivraj Patil and Union Home Secretary V K Duggal, besides the
predictable rhetoric on such occasions, made a cryptic comment on the
media,that it should be restrained in its reporting (words to that effect).
.....
- British justice hijacked
- by Leo McKinstry
Mr Justice Sullivan is lucky he is not facing a prosecution for perverting
the course of justice after his extraordinary decision to give a bunch
of Afghan hijackers the right to settle in Britain. The High Court judge's
ludicrous ruling makes a mockery of the law, treats the public with contempt
and sends out the message that our country is a haven for gun-toting hostage-takers.
.....
- Naxals threaten peace marchers
in Gadchiroli
- by Pradip Kumar Maitra
After terrorising the participants of Salwa Judam (peace campaign) in
neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Naxalites of the CPI (Maoist) faction have
threatened peace march activists in Gadchiroli district with dire consequences.
.....
- Vote for… Whome?
- by Tavleen Singh
Sonia Gandhi's campaign for re-election from Rae Bareilli brought back
for me memories of why, ever since I became a political journalist, I
have opposed dynastic democracy. Back then there was only one dynastic
political family at the national level so I was accused of being anti
the Nehru-Gandhi parivar. There are still those in the media who call
me a Sonia-baiter', something I have never understood the meaning of.
.....
- Islam Is as Islam Does
- by Barbara J. Stock
There are people in America who still do not realize that our country
is at war. This is astounding considering all of the threats that Islamic
terrorists and leaders have been issuing lately. These unenlightened folks
consider President Bush the enemy, so Bush is actually fighting a war
on two fronts. .....
- 'Be honest', Swami to Sonia
- by Subramania Swamy
The Janata Party advocates cell in Uttar Pradesh will seek the rejection
of Ms.Sonia Gandhi's nomination for contesting as a candidate in the Rae
Bareli Lok Sabha by-poll on the ground of admitted perjury. .....
- Jaiswal evokes Vadodara
Violence?
- by Premendra Agrawal
Is Actor Feroze communal? Why brutally murdered of Kashmiri Pandits? Who
forced to drink urine? Can Police be divided as secular and non-secular?
Stop headcount of Muslims in Army. .....
- Fiction as fact
- by The Pioneer
Congress panders to fanatics ---- The Supreme Court's stay order on Thursday,
putting on hold further demolition of illegal structures described as
"places of worship", may have fetched a temporary reprieve for
fanatics in Vadodara who have nothing but contempt for authority. .....
- Search for Hindu Agenda
- by Subramanian Swamy
A virile Hindu Agenda must have two components: [1] What Hindus should
believe in and do, to qualify to be a good Hindu; [2] What Hindus, being
the overwhelming majority of the nation's population, should be obliged
to do for the religious minorities and what Hindus have a right to expect
from them in the national interest. .....
- Modern Islam: A Culture
Of Crybabies
- by Vrindavan Das
India and Pakistan, Taiwan and China, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Three multi-ethnic
Democracies and three tyrannical Dictatorships. Who does America Support?
Pakistan instead of India, China instead of Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia above
and beyond Israel. .....
- Congress-sponsored 'Negationism'
- by V Sundaram
The Supreme Court yesterday has stayed the Gujarat High Court order which
directed authorities to take immediate steps to remove all religious structures
encroaching on public space without any discrimination. This order has
been passed by the Supreme Court after a petition was moved by the Government
of India seeking an immediate stay of the ongoing demolition drive in
the State on the ground that it feared that the Vadodara conflagration
would spill over into other States as well. .....
- The etiology of pessimism
- by Robert Spencer
Can you feel the gloom? I can. The President insists that "we are
winning the war on terror," but as Americans are becoming more informed
about Islam, and about the nature of the global jihad, and with that knowledge
comes the realization that in the face of various aspects of this immense,
life-and-death challenge, our leaders are responding either improperly
or not at all. .....
- U.S. official: Bin Laden
likely hiding in Pakistan
- by MSNBC.com
A top U.S. counterterrorism official said Saturday that parts of Pakistan
are a "safe haven" for militants and Osama bin Laden was more
likely to be hiding there than in Afghanistan. .....
- This is war, not terrorism
- by JG Arora
It is shocking that though through its well-planned terrorist attacks
and demographic aggression, Pak-Bangla combine is waging a unilateral
war against India, Indian government is treating the same as a routine
law and order problem, and not responding to it. .....
- Goan devotees walk on fire
to prove purity
- by Webindia123.com
The day long festival that honours the Goddess ''Lairai Mata'', is a night
when Goa does not sleep. After offering prayers to the Goddess, devotees
walk over smouldering embers to wash away their sins. And it is said that
only those who are pure, have no burnt feet. .....
- India will not keep quiet:
Advani to Cong
- by ExpressIndia.com
Accusing the Congress of 'completely surrendering itself to the politics
of minorityism', senior BJP leader L K Advani on Friday said the policy
of religion-based reservations was an assault on the 'basic spirit' of
the Constitution and reflected a 'dangerous new mindset' in the ruling
party. .....
- RSS, a beacon of humanity
Shaik Mahaboob
- by The Hindustan Times
In a pluralistic society like India with various religious, cultural and
ethnic groups inhabiting the country from time immemorial, the RSS stands
for unity and integrity of India. .....
- Freedom of lying
- by Premendra Agrawal
Teesta Setalwad writes in the times of india 'Murder of Sufi Soul'; after
that Javed Anand writes in the Hindustan Times "There's a Taliban
in Gujarat". They write to evoke minority sentiments and to cover
America's statement: laden is in Pakistan. .....
- Buddhism: India's spiritual
gift to the world!
- by Sujoy Dhar
Some time during the sixth century BC, a wandering ascetic sat to meditate
under a tree in the vast plains of northern India, resolving not to rise
until he had attained the ultimate knowledge of spiritual enlightenment.
.....
- Govt to classify Jains
as 'minority'
- by Jayanth Jacob
Despite the Supreme Court's direction against any addition to the list
of "notified minorities," the Centre is drawing plans to give
Jains the status of a religious minority. .....
- NBA turns vicious, takes
on the law
- by The Pioneer
A day after losing the legal battle to stop the construction work of Sardar
Sarovar Project (SSP), the Narmada Bachao Andolan on Tuesday gave a call
for a "fight to finish" and launched a vicious campaign against
the Supreme Court, the Union Government and the media." .....
- Planned sabotage of the
Constitution
- by V Sundaram
At the instance of the Congress party playing its usual wicked game of
petty chicanery behind the curtain, Jaya Bachchan was disqualified in
a huff by the President of India on the advice of the Election Commission.
In order to avoid the fate of Jaya Bachchan, Sonia Gandhi made the so-
called "supreme sacrifice" of resigning her seat in the Lok
Sabha. .....
- Betrayal at Brandeis
- by Robert Spencer
Brandeis University began in 1948, according to its mission statement,
"under the sponsorship of the American Jewish community" in
order to "embody its highest ethical and cultural values." In
this age of the ascendancy of the academic Left, it is in danger of becoming
the polar opposite of those noble aspirations: a useful idiot of the global
jihad. .....
- Radical Islam -- globalization
for losers
- by Los Angeles Times
Osama Bin Laden's ratings are falling. His latest pronouncement was a
yawn. His scripts could use a rewrite. "Infidels" this, "crusaders"
that. Blah, blah, blah. We've heard it all before. .....
- What Ails Afghanistan?
The Answer: Pakistan
- by Chris Patten
Four and a half years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan is still
highly unstable. And it seems to be getting worse rather than better.
Every few days now, the resurgent Taliban carry out another deadly attack
on school children, aid workers, or local or international security forces.
It is a grim return on the outside world's huge investment in Afghanistan.
.....
- Bangla to Pak via Iran:
New terror route
- by Aman Sharma
The interrogation of the two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists arrested in Delhi
on Monday has revealed a new route for terrorists-from India to Pakistan
and back via Bangladesh and Iran. .....
- Valley of death and despair
- by Cecil Victor
The latest set of selective killing of Hindus in Doda and Jammu by Pakistan-trained
terrorists underscores a continuing genocide of minorities in Jammu &
Kashmir. Human rights organisations, which are quick to attack the armed
forces for violations in the fog of war, need to understand the intent
and purpose of such cold-blooded murders. .....
- When right to life is questioned...
- by RK Ohri
Run, Hindu, Run" was the chilling message conveyed by jihadi outfits
when they killed 35 Hindus, including women and children, in Jammu &
Kashmir on May 1. These gruesome killings have been carried out for the
umpteenth time as part of the diabolical programme of ethnic cleansing
launched at the behest of the Pakistani Army's ISI. .....
- 'Give Muslims quota, freebies
or else...'
- by The Financial Express
The Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Shah Bukhari today met
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with demands for an economic package for
riot-hit Muslims on the line of one given to victims of 1984 anti-Sikh
riots and reservation of jobs for Muslims in central and state governments.
.....
- Imam men scuffle with media
- by The Asian Age
Jama Masjid's Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Tuesday had an ugly scuffle
with mediapersons outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 7, Race Course
Road residence when they persisted in questioning him on the reservation
policy. A complaint has been registered at the Chanakyapuri police station.
.....
- Narmada report biased,
Chauhan writes to PM
- by The Pioneer
After the Centre-State spat in the courtroom over the rehabilitation of
those displaced by the Narmada Valley Project, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chauhan in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has
alleged that the Central ministerial team "lacked the objectivity"
that is expected from ministers of the Indian Government. .....
- Peace with Pak, on what
terms?
- by M. V. Kamath
One never knows what goes on behind the scenes when an American President
calls on Delhi and Islamabad. What actually did transpire when President
Bush discussed matters with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? And what
transpired when Bush held talks with General Musharraf? .....
- Terror of Secularism!
- by V Sundaram
The great nationalist and intellectual Sita Ram Goel asked the pertinent
question: Why are we not asking whether Islam believes in "secularism",
whether Islam believes in religious toleration, whether Islam believes
in the peaceful coexistence of communities? .....
- Ideology and Race in India's
Early History
- by Padma Manian
Probably without realizing it, World History textbooks often take sides
in an ideologically charged controversy over the role of race in India's
early history. Their account of the so-called Aryan invasions may reflect
nineteenth-century Eurocentric scholarship that privileged lighter skinned
peoples over darker skinned ones. .....
- The riotous media story
- by Swapan Dasgupta
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, a handful of TV channels tried their utmost
to trigger communal riots in Gujarat, if not the rest of India. I happened
to be in West Bengal on the days Vadodara was said to be burning, and
it was clear as daylight that the media was bent on stirring things up.
.....
- Part of me died when I
saw this cruel killing
- by Hala Jaber
Even by the stupefying standards of Iraq's unspeakable violence, the murder
of Atwar Bahjat, one of the country's top television journalists, was
an act of exceptional cruelty. .....
- The spirit of coexistence
- by Dr M S Jillani
The bombing of Sunni Tehrik's Milad-e-Nabi Conference at Karachi was important
in many ways: It happened on an occasion that is sacred to all Muslims;
it took place in spite of workers who had proven their efficiency only
weeks before by holding one of the most peaceful mammoth processions in
Karachi's history .....
- Who is stoking communal
fire?
- by A Surya Prakash
A week ago two Indian States - Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir and Hindu
majority Gujarat - were in the news for all the wrong reasons. In Jammu
and Kashmir, Islamic militants shot dead 32 members of the minority Hindu
community in cold blood. Having "cleansed" the Kashmir Valley
of Hindus, the terrorists are now hoping to achieve similar success in
other regions of the State. .....
- What will it take, Mr Prime
Minister?
- by Lalit Koul
Wonder what these numbers refer to? Yes, these numbers refer to the innocent
people who have been massacred by Islamist terrorists in the state of
Jammu & Kashmir during last few years. And this is not a comprehensive
list by any means. .....
- Da Vinci film put on hold
in India
- by IBNLive
The film version of Dan Brown's controversial bestseller, The Da Vinci
Code, was all set to hit Indian theatres on the 19th of May, simultaneously
along with its worldwide release. .....
- The 104th Constitution
Amendment Bill is dangerous
- by Subhash Kak
The supposedly liberal values that are the driving force behind politics
in India -- especially of the United Progressive Alliance government --
are shrinking the public space for autonomy and free association. .....
- The Quagmire of Caste Reservations
- by Aruni Mukherjee
On April 28th, human resources development minister Arjun Singh apologised
to the students who were protesting outside his office in New Delhi, and
were manhandled by the security officers there. However, he refused to
offer any assurance that he would seriously reconsider his proposal which
he has submitted to the union cabinet of reserving 27% of seats in premier
educational institutions across India for the caste sub-groups labelled
as 'other backward castes'. .....
- Men who have marked mumbai
- by Dippy Vankani
The man Mushiruddin Salauddin Siddiqui, 37, trained in handling explosives
at a terrorist camp near Karachi in Pakistan, has told Mumbai police there
are at least 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba sleeper cells in Mumbai, each comprising
10-12 members, awaiting an opportunity to strike. .....
- Six types of wealth
- by D. Murali
It may seem inappropriate to talk about wealth, immediately after learning
about meditation. But that's what His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar does
in Wisdom for the New Millennium, from Jaico (www.jaico books.com). The
penultimate chapter of his book is titled `What is meditation?' and the
last, `Six types of wealth and four pillars of knowledge.' .....
- J&K: Kulhand residents
recount militant horror
- by Anil Bhatt
Bhod Raj and Gian Singh will never forget the night when a group of militants
herded them along with other Hindu residents of Kulhand village into two
small rooms and unleashed a volley of bullets that left 19 people dead.
.....
- Here nudity is not nakedness
- by M F Husain
We Indians are proud to create a civilisation of art and culture, enshrined
in the sanctity of the Ajanta and Ellora caves and temples for the last
5,000 years. Here the goddesses are pure and uncovered. Here the nudity
is not nakedness, it's a form of innocence and maturity. Take the monumental
form of Mahaveera and the carvings of Khajuraho. They evoke spirituality.
.....
- Terror alert at Kaiga N-plant
- by Pramod Kumar
The Centre has strengthened the security cover for the Kaiga Atomic Power
Plant in Karwai district of Karnataka following intelligence warnings
about a possible terrorist attack. .....
- An oxymoron for our times
- by Jonathan Fenby
We may find that 'the peaceful rise of China' is a phenomenon visible
only through rose-tinted spectacles. China has always demonstrated wishful
thinking, from the Great Wall, which was never quite what it was imagined
to be, to the celebration of the supposedly caring, paternal nature of
Mao Zedong. .....
- Remains of terror
- by Mamta Upadhyaya
Forget human beings, even Gods have fled the Valley. Once a paradise on
Earth, as described by poet Firdaus, Kashmir today is no less than a virtual
hell and stands as a perfect picture of gore and terror. .....