HVK Archives by Thread
Starting: Sat 03 May 1997 - 07:43:38 EDT
Ending: Sat 31 May 1997 - 10:31:28 EDT
Messages: 269
CBI chief may get marching order - Observer Political Bureau
- The Observer
- 1 May 1997
>>>The United Front on Wednesday appeared to be preparing the ground
for ouster of Central Bureau of Investigation director Joginder
Singh by demanding a high-level probe into 'leakage' of secret CBI
documents relating to draft chargehseet against Bihar Chief
Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav to leader of Opposition Atal Bihari
...
Somnath censured for role in LS fodder scam debate - Political Bureau
- The Economic Times
- 2 May 1997
>>>The CPI(M) general secretary, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, has
repudiated the line taken by the leader of the party in the Lok
Sabha, Mr Somnath Chatterjee alleging a nexus between the CBI and
the Bharatiya Janata p".
In what amounts to a virtual censure of Mr Chatterjee who had
...
Basu Govt still suppressing facts on Margi massacre - Udayan Namboodiri
- The Indian Express
- 2 May 1997
>>>The 15th anniversary of West Bengal's biggest ever case of mass
lynching was observed here on Wednesday by monks of the Ananda Marg
even as the Jyoti Basu government continues to conceal the facts on
the gruesome killing from the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC).
Facts are of essence in letter to PM: Vajpayee - Observer Political Bureau
- The Observer
- 2 May 1997
>>>Opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday demanded that
the Government must clarify whether the facts relating to the
fodder seam, which he mentioned in his letter to Prime Minister
Inder Kumar Gujral, were correct or not.
In a press statement, Mr Vajpayee said it was immaterial what his
...
Did Buddhism influence early Christianity? - N. S. Chandramouli
- The Times of India
- 1 May 1997
>>>Long before the word 'missionary' came to be synonymous with
Christianity, Buddhist monks were travelling across Asia, spreading
their master's teachings along the Silk Route from Khotan in the
east to Antioch in the west.
Indeed, many scholars hold that the religious traditions of the
...
Triumph of logistics - Manoj Joshi
- India Today
- 15 May 1997
>>>Reproduced Hundreds of times and even rendered in oil, the
photograph is deeply etched in the collective memory of the
subcontinent. It depicts Lt-General A.A.K. Niazi signing the
instrument of surrender of the Pakistan Army in Dhaka on December
16, 1971. Sitting next to him is the GoC-in-C, Eastern Command,
...
PMs - get elected first! - T.V.R. Shenoy
- The Week
- 4 May 1997
>>>Every Indian schoolchild has heard of Lord Curzon. His attempts to
browbeat the Indian nationalist movement by partitioning Bengal is
part of our history. But did you know that he was also a
participant in creating constitutional history in Britain?
In 1923 the Conservative Prime Minister Bonar Law was dying of
...
Time for teamwork - Ramesh Vinayak
- India Today
- 15 May 1997
>>>God, they say, helps those who help themselves. In a quiet corner
of God's earth in Solan district in Himachal Pradesh, residents
from two dozen villages helped themselves. But there was no
assistance from God or officialdom-who often think they are closer
to Him than most.
"I won't compromise" - I. K. Gujral - Aroon Purie and Prabhu Chawla
- India Today
- 15 May 1997
>>>In an exclusive interview. The new prime minister I. K. Gujral
spoke to Editor in Chief AROON PURIE and Executive Editor PRABHU
CHAWLA on a wide range of issues. Excerpts:
Q. What were your first thoughts when you were chosen to be the
prime minister?
...
Federal blackmail - Swapan Dasgupta
- India Today
- 15 April 1997
>>>April was the cruellest month for politicians anxious to avoid a
summer general election, but it did have its refreshing moments.
The two confidence motions generated some heat, a modicum of
passion and two memorable interventions. Pramod Mahajan brought the
House down with his description of a democracy that consigned the
...
The Maratha straw man - V. Shankar Aiyar
- India Today
- 15 May 1997
>>>He was once described as India's young man in a hurry After all
Sharad Pawar was only 38 years old when-without any remorse-he
usurped the chief ministership of Maharashtra from mentor
Vasantdada Patil. Indeed, it seemed then that the Maratha would
stop at nothing to ensure that Delhi's throne would be his. Almost
...
The week-mode opinion poll - R. Prasannan
- The Week
- 4 May 1997
>>>Market research agency MODE quizzed 1,300 people in Delhi,
Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad soon after Gujral was
made PM.
A majority in all the centres favoured mid-term poll, except in
Delhi which overwhelmingly supported the installation of the new
...
Chatterjee's concern at leakage of documents - Shahid K Abbas
- The Observer
- 3 May 1997
>>>Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran and best parliamentarian
of the year Somnath Chatterjee expresses concern over leakage of
important information the Central Bureau of Investigation in
sensitive corruption cases and questions the moral ethics of
Opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee in using such
...
The devil's advocate - Editorial
- The Observer
- 3 May 1997
>>>Somnath Chatterjee, veteran parliamentarian, dyed-in-red communist
and unflinching social crusader is an angry man today. Since
Communism is said to have been born out of anger against all social
evils, his anger, one would presume, must fit in with his role.
But not this time however. This time around the lawyer
...
Ideas and conduct - Editorial
- The Statesman
- 4 April 1997
>>>How do you fight what are called "communal forces" (read:
Hindu fanatics)? By simply not letting them form a
government anywhere? Is that all there is to fighting
communalism? If it is, then it is a manifestly
ineffective strategy as the recent developments in Uttar
...
Turkish police shut 8 illegal Islamic centres - AFP, Reuter
- The Asian Age
- 29 April 1997
>>>The Turkish police have closed down eight illegally operating Islamic schools
after the country's top body urged the government to step up a fight against
pro-Islamic radicalism, interior ministry officials said on Monday.
It was the first confirmed report of concrete action since the secularist Army
demanded a crackdown against an Islamic revival two months ago. Halting illegal
...
Army pulling out of key sector in Kashmir - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Hindu
- 28 April 1997
>>>After battling Kashmiri militants for about ' half-a-decade, the Army is preparing
to pull out of a key militancy-hit sector.
The troops deployed over a 90-km stretch of the Mohar sector on the outskirts of
the Kashmir valley will soon be replaced with the paramilitary Border Security
Force (BSF), defence sources said.
Where home-coming is not easy - O. N. Dhar
- The Hindu
- 28 April 1997
>>>A crucial question now facing the Jammu and Kashmir administration is the return
to the valley of lakhs of Hindus who were forced to abandon their hearths and
homes in the wake of Pakistan's proxy war in Kashmir in 1989-90.
Caught up in a political crisis, New Delhi has remained blissfully unaware of the
war of nerves that has been going on between the Government of Dr. Farooq Abdullah
...
Indian Muslims: Victims of secular diplomacy - Seema Mustafa
- The Asian Age
- 26 April 1997
>>>India has a fixation - a certain misplaced idea of secularism which makes it, on
the one hand, brutal to the minorities which, on the other hand, it vows to
protect. The Muslims are victims, being victims of the secular government of
India's discriminatory policies. Not just by bullets, for that one has the Shiv
Sena and its ilk, but by kindness. Where Muslim (non) issues and Muslim
...
CPM accepted change of PM to spare nation of fresh polls: Basu - Times of India News Service
- The Times of India
- 24 April 1997
>>>The CPM had revised its position to accept a change of Prime Minister only bowing
to public opinion against another general election, and to prevent the BJP from
taking advantage of the instability created by the Congress' withdrawal of support
to the Deve Gowda government, said West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu on
Wednesday.
Part of the same parcel - B. P. Singhal
- The Telegraph
- 24 April 1997
>>>The proposed uniform civil code has been resisted by political parties as well as
the minority community. Shrewd political calculations and fear of reprisals from
the minority community have deterred politicians. For the concerned community
itself, there is a single argument. Muslim marriage acid divorce being governed
by the shariat, the state is not constitutionally qualified to bring the community
...
Gujral has friends among all in the insurgency-hit Valley - Aasha Khosa
- The Indian Express
- 24 April 1997
>>>A familiar figure among Coffee House buffs and separatist politicians here, and
considered close to the state's first family, the Abdullahs, Inder Kumar Gujral's
entry as the country's Prime Minister has evoked expectations of reconciliation
and early peace in all circles of Kashmir.
"Given the Prime Minister's personal rapport with his Pakistani counterpart, we
...
Angry dalits keep Laloo out of Ambedkar mela - part I of II - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Asian Age
- 28 April 1997
>>>About 30 Dalit students of Dalit Students Front resorted to angry protests and
anti-Laloo slogans at the Gandhi Maidan here on Sunday and forced Bihar chief
minister Laloo Prasad Yadav to keep out from inaugurating the Ambedkar Mela
organised by the Scheduled Caste and Tribe Employees Association of Bihar
...
On coalition course - Murari Mohan Mukherjee
- The Telegraph
- 23 April 1997
>>>Four decades of rule by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty influenced the growth of the
Indian polity in three distinct ways. First, it provided the country the
political stability which enabled democracy to strike roots in Indian soil.
Second, owing to their personal charisma and personalized style of working, no
member of the dynasty felt the need to rely on the Congress to strengthen his or
...
Angry dalits keep Laloo out of Ambedkar mela - part II of II - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Asian Age
- 28 April 1997
>>>Bahujan Samaj Party president Kanshi Ram is in favour of early elections in Uttar
Pradesh and termed the present agreement with the BJP as a "marriage of
compulsion."
Talking to newsmen in Patna, he said that, "We want elections. We were compelled
to form this purely temporary alliance to teach the Congress and the United Front
...
A conscienceless community of black and white - Seema Mustafa
- The Asian Age
- 1 March 1997
>>>Delhi is a capital which is not just polluted but which tends to pollute the finer
senses. If desensitises, de-culturalises and encourages behaviour which justifies
the "Delhiwalla" description. Genuine concern is replaced with artificial
nothings, warm handshakes are turned into affected pecks on the cheek, ethnicity
is associated with the rather deliberate dhoti, sherwani or the big bindi and
...
A Punjabi bhadralok - Vrinda Gopinath
- The Pioneer
- 25 April 1997
>>>Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral may have remained a successful, safari-suited
builder and garment exporter and lifetime city councillor had it not been for a
contentious exhibition of paintings by his brother Satish Gujral. The latter had
just returned from Mexico with a certain repute as painter and muralist. Around
the time, the Government was commissioning, portraits of freedom fighters for
...
VHP plans major drive to stop Hindus converting - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Asian Age
- 27 April 1997
>>>The Vishwa Hindu Parishad plans to launch an elaborate campaign to check
conversion of Hindus into Christians and Muslims and bring back those already
converted into the fold of Hinduism.
For the purpose, the VHP will raise a force of 10,000 Hindu missionaries within
the next three years. They will be trained at special camps to be organised in
...
We'll overrule court decision on Ayodhya if adverse: Joshi - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Asian Age
- 30 April 1997
>>>Chief minister Manohar Joshi, who was grilled for another five hours on the second
and final day of cross-examination before the Srikrishna Commission on Tuesday,
said that in case of an adverse court judgement in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid
issue, his party will try and bring legislation to overrule the court decision.
In another reply, he admitted that avenging the death of victims of the Radhabai
...
BJP leader plans reconversion of one lakh tribals - N D Sharma
- The Indian Express
- 28 April 1997
>>>First there were conversions. And now, if Rajya Sabha Bharatiya Janata Party MP
Dilip Singh Judeo has his way, there will be "reconversions"; as many as one lakh
of them.
The parliamentarian plans to "bring back" that many tribals of the Chhatisgarh
belt to the Hindu fold under his "Operation Ghar Vaapasi (Operation Return Home)"
...
Egypt philosopher accused of defaming Islam - DPA
- The Asian Age
- 3 May 1997
>>>One of Egypt's elder philosophers has been accused of defaming Islam in a new
controversy which could trigger a collision between universities and clergymen and
worsen a split in the official religious establishment, Al Azhar.
The Al Azhar's ulemmas (theologians) front issued a statement denouncing Dr Hassan
Hanafi, chief of the philosophy department at Cairo University and chairman of
...
Stain on the Pak uniform - Aabha Dixit
- The Indian Express
- 2 May 1997
>>>The dismissal of the Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Mansur-ul-Haque comes close on
the heels of the renewed allegations that several military equipment deals in the
recent past have been tainted with kickbacks. It follows the recent busting of a
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) gang of drug peddlers in the United States. These
incidents, taken together, have led to a serious image crisis for the Pakistani
...
Doctrine in the dock - Editorial
- The Telegraph
- 27 April 1997
>>>Not since Jawaharlal Nehru has India had a prime minister who comes to office with
as definite worldview as Mr I.K. Gujral. Many domestic issues will consume his
time, not least juggling the various political components of his party. But none
doubt the new prime minister will make time to pursue the foreign policy
initiatives he launched when he was steering the ministry of external affairs.
...
U.S. report confirms Pak. support to Kashmir ultras - Sridhar Krishnaswami
- The Hindu
- 2 May 1997
>>>The 1996 United States' State Department report on the "Patterns of Global
Terrorism" has stated that though the Government of Pakistan acknowledges that it
continues to provide only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri
militants, reports continued (in 1996) of official Pakistani support to the ultras
fighting in Kashmir.
Call of the conscience - Kuldip Nayar
- The Indian Express
- 28 April 1997
>>>For a long time Parliament has been immersed in small talk and petty politics of
rightists and leftists, communities and castes, they and us. Prime Minister Inder
Kumar Gujral has tried to retrieve it by refocussing the attention on the harmony
that the nation needs to make the landscape once again beautiful. His speeches
during the motion on the vote of confidence were a breath of fresh air. He spoke
...
Of monism and monotheism - Wahiduddin Khan
- The Pioneer
- 27 April 1997
>>>The major religions of the world can be divided into two broad categories - the
Aryan and the Semitic, with Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in the first and
Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the second. So far as their theological
aspects are concerned, there is a marked difference between these two kinds of
religions. While the Aryan religions are basically philosophy-based, the Semitic
...
Khojis in Rajasthan: BSF Sherlock Holmes checking infiltration - Rahul Bedi (Inter Press Service)
- The Asian Age
- 30 April 1997
>>>Every day at sunrise, constable Shaitan Singh, a Khoji or tracker with the Border
Security Force, diligently examines a stretch of sand running alongside the
wire-fencing border with Pakistan, for any tell-tale signs of infiltration. The
slightest disturbance in the sand raises the alarm for the 37-year-old tracker.
It tells him whether any human or animal has crossed the three-tiered barbed wire
...
Laloo's last days - Editorial
- The Free Press Journal
- 3 May 1997
>>>In spite of all the obstreperous whistling in the dark by Laloo Prasad Yadav for
courage, he is already a beaten man, thinking in terms of seek sing anticipatory
bail. That nobody is in a mood to offer him a decent way-out in New Delhi except
his resignation has been made again and again clear to him in the last three days.
His conspiracy theory has come unstuck. The Prime Minister has repeated his
...
Bangladesh: Fight for women's rights in an Islamic state - Shahnaz Anklesaria Aiyar
- The Times of India
- 2 May 1997
>>>Declaring that a practising Muslim cannot take a second wife without the written
consent of the first, Raushan Ershad, wife of former President H M Ershad has
brandished the Islamic card before her husband with a zeal that could have grave
repercussions for Bangladesh at a critical point in its history.
Publicly chastising her husband and his mistress of 14 years, the Jatiya Party MP
...
Krishna Menon - a birth centenary tribute - M. K. B. Nair
- The Free Press Journal
- 2 May 1997
>>>V. K. Krishna Menon is one of those who are not lost in a crowd. His face is
attractive in a Mephistophelian way. Piercing eyes, an aquiline nose, broad
forehead and dishevelled hair, his face has a fanatical glow. His., restless face
mirrors the quick thinking that is going on in his mind. Even more expressive are
his long fingers which can emphasise a point to supplement his precise words.
...
Will Gujral be able to do the job? - M. V. Kamath
- The Free Press Journal
- 1 May 1997
>>>Deve Gowda, the former Prime Minister-by-sufferance, has been telling whosoever is
willing to listen to him in the past few days what a wonderful job he did in the
ten months he was in power. Nobody would grudge him this indulgence. Every
deposed leader has his own trumpet to blow. He should be suffered in peace. But
the question is: how long will Inder Kumar Gujral last? CPM leader Harkishen
...
There's little need to bemoan the end of idealism - Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay (Senior journalist and commentator)
- The Pioneer
- 2 May 1997
>>>What was common to the speeches made by politicians of various hues during the
debate over Mr HD Deve Gowda's confidence motion? In fact, similarities in the
interventions of leaders from different parties were discernible not only on the
floor of the House but also in the "soundbites" that one heard since Easter Sunday
on various television channels. Had it not been for one's ability to recognise
...
Failure of the police - K. F. Rustamji
- The Hindustan Times
- 28 April 1997
>>>What a mess we have made of the criminal justice system. There is first a decline
in policing which is more serious than is known. Police lack the basic knowledge
of crime and criminals, with the result that they are unable to conduct proper
investigations and have to shoot down criminals, some of them petty and
undeserving of such harsh punishment, or make arrests indiscriminately. The way in
...
The fiercest fighter against colonialism - M. K. B. Nair
- The Free Press Journal
- 3 May 1997
>>>Nehru's declaration at the annual session of the Indian National Congress in 1930
that complete independence should be the goal of the Congress, was warmly welcomed
by the India League, though certain conservative sections of the Congress were
taken aback. The radical approach of Nehru regarding independence, as in matters
relating to problems of labour and the peasants and the need to mobilise the youth
...
A discordant note (letter) - G. V. Ashtekar
- The Indian Express
- 7 May 1997
>>>Sir, While people are busy discovering more and more virtues in our new Prime
Minister, Mr I. K. Gujral, I wish to sound a different note. First of all, his
was a choice' by the process of elimination and he lacks a popular base or
charisma though he is well educated and soft-spoken.
Past experience, however, shows that such choices have often proved to be quite
...
Labour landslide - Kashmir and the history books - Rashmee Z Ahmed
- The Times of India
- 7 May 1997
>>>The Labour Party's last ,historic landslide election victory in 1945 created real
history - history for the schoolbooks - because it played around with geography.
Prime Minister Clement Atlee's government granted independence to India and with
that began the dismantling of the gargantuan edifice of the British empire. Fifty
years on, an even more historic Labour landslide has swept Prime Minister Tony
...
Is it profane to pray? - P. Venugopal
- The Indian Express
- 7 May 1997
>>>Winds of reform are sweeping the Muslim women of Kerala, hitherto confined to the
cocoons of rigid Islamic laws and practices.
When the Imam of the famed Palayam Juma Masjid in Thiruvananthapuram, PKK Ahmed
Kutty Moulavi, took the historic decision to allow women to pray in his mosque, it
infuriated the conservative sections, but the Muslim women of the State by and
...
Taliban's interpretation of Islam draws flak - Parwez Hafeez
- The Asian Age
- 30 April 1997
>>>The Taliban surely know the art of keeping themselves perpetually in the news. As
soon as they burst upon the war-ravaged horizon of Afghanistan in late 1994, they
made headlines by notching up incredible victories against some Mujahideen
factions. By capturing one third of the turbulent country within five months of
their emergence from the seminaries of Baluchistan and NWFP, these
...
In Britain, the loser quickly goes his way - Warren Hoge
- The Times of India
- 7 May 1997
>>>There is nothing brisker about the British than the speed with which they despatch
defeated prime ministers.
On a day so rich in ceremony that the official tendering of the resignation to the
queen is still called the "kissing of hands", a prime minister is unceremoniously
turned out of the official residence at No 10 Downing Street within hours of being
...
Nude portrayal of goddess on Internet - Vijay Thakur
- The Statesman
- 4 May 1997
>>>After Pooja Bhatt's semi-nude photograph, it is the turn of gods and goddesses to
appear on Internet. A photograph of a nude woman posing as a Hindu goddess,
depicted as a sex symbol on the Internet, might create another controversy.
The picture of the woman, sitting on a stool like a goddess and carrying different
sex toys on her seven hands was created by Katharine Gates. Though there is no
...
Jethmalani and Shahabuddin on "Secularism"
JKLF men had campaigned for Blair in UK poll - Izhar Wani
- The Asian Age
- 6 May 1997
>>>The chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Yaseen Malik, said on Monday that
thousands of activists of his pro-independence Kashmiri group based in Britain had
campaigned for the Labour Party in the recent British general election.
He said the JKLF had decided to campaign for Labour after party leader Robin Cook,
now Britain's foreign secretary, had assured them that once in power Labour would
...
The origin of holy places - Mihir Mukherjee
- The Statesman
- 6 May 1997
>>>In the beginning, the world - most of it covered with "cusha" (long grass) lay
waiting for Mahadeva and his consort, Parvati, to take charge. They gambolled from
place to place in different incarnations, creating legends - several of which are
contained in the Scanda-purana and Visva-sarapracasa, or declaration of what is
most excellent in the world - which have an evident relation to the origin of
...
10,000 Dalits to embrace Buddhism - M. A. Hafiz
- The Hindustan Times
- 4 May 1997
>>>Fed up with the denial of their Fundamental Rights by the "oppressive but
ubiquitous, caste system, thousands of Dalits of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh
would embrace Buddhism at a function at Sarnath in Varanasi on May 22.
Over 10,000 Dalit men and women are expected to embrace their new religion as they
find Hinduism "too oppressive" to bear any more. This function would be followed
...
A dharmic challenge - Ram Swarup
- The Indian Express
- 5 May 1997
>>>India is celebrating fifty years of its Independence. It is also a good time to
do some stock-taking. India's struggle for Independence started modestly. The
Indian National Congress under which it was fought was launched with the blessings
of the British rulers. It was intended to provide a safe channel for any
political unrest. Perhaps, it had to be that way at that time; it provided a
...
Golden thought: Let's celebrate the end of Raj too - M H Askari
- The Asian Age
- 5 May 1997
>>>In the general excitement of the celebration of the 50 years of Pakistan, the fact
that the year 1997 also marks the golden jubilee of the end of the British Raj in
the subcontinent appears to have been relegated to the background. In the various
programmes drawn up to mark the 50th anniversary of the birth of Pakistan, the
emphasis seems to be on the fact of partition rather than on the end of foreign
...
The making of Jinnah: Dracula and the immaculate conception - Aditya Bhagat
- The Pioneer
- 3 May 1997
>>>After umpteen hiccups the Quaid project producing a film on Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammed
Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan had got the green signal. But, barely had the
spools of celluloid rolled to capture Jinnah on the silver screen and perhaps
immortality that the Pakistan Government withdrew funding to the film. The
Government's move is due to the controversy which has dogged the project and the
...
Uncultured pearls of wisdom - Pramit Pal Chaudhuri
- The Telegraph
- 1 May 1997
>>>When they declared all quiet on the Cold War front, roughly three schools of
thought arose on the world order that would follow. One said the nation-state
would still reign. Another said small, non-state players would run riot. The
third said cultural ties, transcending nations, would determine the future of
international relations. Samuel Huntington comes from the third school. And sits
...
Land of killjoys - Amulya Ganguli
- The Hindustan Times
- 3 May 1997
>>>Whether it is the Miss World pageant or Enron or Kentucky Fried Chicken or the
Yanni concert, one can safely predict that a vociferous group will take to the
streets against it. lie reasons may vary from cultural pollution to imperialist
conspiracy to damage to the Taj, but the objective remains the same -to take up
cudgels against the foreign schemers and their Indian agents and drive them out of
...
Dawn at dusk - Lt-Gen. J.F.R. Jecob (Retd)
- The Indian Express
- 4 May 1997
>>>At 0915 hours on December 16, General Manekshaw spoke to me on the telephone
telling me to go to Dacca immediately to organise the surrender so that it
formally took place that same evening. I asked him whether the draft surrender
document we had sent earlier had been approved. When he evaded the question I
asked him to specify the terms on which I would negotiate. He told me not to be
...
A summer of conspiracies - Rajat Sharma
- The Indian Express
- 4 May 1997
>>>New Delhi has suddenly started looking like a city of conspirators. Bihar's Chief
Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav is convinced that former Prime Minister H. D. Deve
Gowda is conspiring against him with the help of the CBI. Deve Gowda believes
Laloo is in league with Congress President Sitaram Kesri and has stabbed him in
the back. Defence Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav is
...
A clear perspective - Mushirul Hasan
- The Pioneer
- 3 May 1997
>>>I wonder why journalists in India are generally not given to writing a coherent
and analytical account of what they feel and observe during their travels and
interactions with the world outside the newspaper offices. The business of
writing books should not be left only to the academia. Quite a few journalists
understand our past better than many historians. Likewise, many of them are well
...
Scripting a solution - N. S. Rajaram
- The Indian Express
- 4 May 1997
>>>The first cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, better known as the Harappan
Culture, was discovered by Indian and British archaeologists in 1921. Since then,
many more cities belonging to this fairly advanced civilisation have come to
light, yet so much about the people who inhabited theses urban centres remains in
the dark because the script they used, specimens of which are available in the
...
J&K militants recruiting women - PTI
- The Hindu
- 5 May 1997
>>>Militant groups in Kashmir. under instructions from Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) have hit upon a novel idea of recruiting women in their ranks
in a bid to sustain militancy in the border State.
"The fresh offensive of the ISI comes in the wake of increasing pressure from the
security forces and the difficulty in finding new recruits," senior Army officers
...
Brushing aside - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Pioneer
- 5 May 1997
>>>MF Hussain knows how to keep himself and his paintings in the limelight. But even
the bearded, barefoot painter has met his match in the publicity conscious Railway
Minister, Ramvilas Paswan. Hussain was to meet Paswan at his office, late last
week (is he planning to paint a railway engine?). But like all great artists,
time has no meaning for Hussain and the appointed hour was long past without him
...
'Pak. must give up its stance on Kashmir' - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Hindu
- 6 May 1997
>>>Conceding that "we must deliver" and "if we don't, there will be trouble", the
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, today asserted that his
Government was attending to the business of governance and that it would not be
easy to rebuild overnight "all that has been demolished in the seven years of
militancy." The Chief Minister was speaking at a meet-the-press" at the Press Club
...
Viceroy warned - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Hindustan Times
- 6 May 1997
>>>"If my feeble voice can reach Lord Mountbatten, I would request him to be just and
impartial and not to be caught, in the snare spread for him in the; Frontier,"
said Khan Abdut Ghaffar Khan while addressing a public meeting at Shabkadar
yesterday.
Badshah Khan said he was impressed by the Viceroy, when lie met him in Delhi. "I
...
Pak. women demand quota in legislatures - Amit Baruah
- The Hindu
- 6 May 1997
>>>Women activists demonstrated outside -the Pakistan National Assembly today,
calling upon parliamentarians to reserve at least 40 seats for women in the
217-member Lower House. The demonstration coincided with the National Assembly
beginning a fresh session.
An appeal distributed by the small group of women said: "Women's rights and human
...
Too many laws, little justice - Rakesh Shukla
- The Indian Express
- 6 May 1997
>>>Judges, ministers, Members of Parliament and sociologists have been periodically
proclaiming the need for change in the obsolete laws of India. In our fragmented
polity there ,appears to be a unique consensus about change in the law. Yet
nothing changes. Now, we have the Prime Minister I. K. Gujral himself, declaring
that certain outmoded laws are used just to harass people and the matter of
...
Virtually socialist - S. Prasannarajan
- The Indian Express
- 6 May 1997
>>>Millenarians are likely to mount a new palimpsest of salvation. The New Man of the
revolutionary pedigree is the loneliest of orphans in the market. His scripture
of instant nirvana is the least referred material in the archives of history. Not
that he has been reduced to a museum piece by the arrogant triumphalism of the
capitalist. Nor is it true that the spectral sorrow of Marx continues to magnify
...
Defiant Laloo will have to go - Shyam Khosla
- The Free Press Journal
- 7 May 1997
>>>It is a study in contrast between a virtuous President of an ideology-based party
and a populist chief of a casteist outfit. One the one hand, we have the
inspiring conduct of BJP Chief, Lal Krishan Advani, who lost no time in resigning
his seat in Lok Sabha and resolutely stood by his Bhishma Pratigya not to enter
Parliament till he was honourably cleared by the Court of the false charges in the
...
A prisoner of the Congress - M V Kamath
- The Daily
- 6 May 1997
>>>Poor Inder Kumar Gujral! No one will envy his job. He has just as much freedom to
function as a parrot in a cage. He is already a prisoner of the Congress and let
no one be in any doubt on that score. All the talk of a Coordination Committee
over and above a Steering Committee means just this: the Congress wants to
exercise power without responsibility and never mind who exercises such power
...
Crisis in criminal justice - I - N. R. Madhava Menon
- The Hindu
- 6 May 1997
>>>As we approach the third millennium and complete half a century of independent
governance, the nation's agenda is crowded with troubling issues of survival,
stability and development. But crime and corruption threaten the very foundations
of the republic. India is still not a country with a high incidence of crime
considering the size of the population and the changes it is undergoing. The
...
Labour theory of value - K. P. Nayyar
- The Telegraph
- 6 May 1997
>>>As Tory Blair walked into 10 Downing Street shortly after noon on Friday following
his meeting with the queen of England, an unlisted fax machine in his ground floor
private office started rolling out a message on Indian government letterhead,
conspicuous by its Ashoka pillar emblem. It was a one-page felicitation message
for Blair from the Indian prime minister, I.K. Gujral, one of the warmest
...
Meaningful talks with Pakistan - K. K. Katyal
- The Hindu
- 5 May 1997
>>>The significance of the symbolism is not to be minimised. Dialogue with Pakistan
was the last foreign policy matter that engaged the attention of the Deve Gowda
Government and it is going to be one of first subjects to be taken up by the new
dispensation. And that with one significant difference - the last round involved,
first, the Foreign Secretaries and then the Foreign Ministers, but now it will be
...
Sorry, no Indians please! - Gaurav Kala
- The Hindustan Times
- 11 May 1997
>>>After 50 years of Independence, a few establishments in the Capital want to
retain the colonial legacy by denying entry to people with dark skin. Some of
these establishments are located in the congested Paharganj area, a favourite with
the not-so-affluent tourist.
A perfume shop in the area, located a short distance from the mosque, displays a
...
U.S. deports Hamas leader to Jorden - New York Times
- The Hindustan Times
- 7 May 1997
>>>Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, the political leader of the Hamas movement jailed in
Manhattan for 22 months on suspicion of terrorism, was deported on Monday and
flown to Jordan aboard a U.S. military jet.
His release ended what had become an embarrassing case for both the United States
and Israel. Both nations had sought to keep him in jail, but did not come up with
...
Pak admits 38 terrorist camps exist - A. K. Dhar
- The Indian Express
- 12 May 1997
>>>A confidential Pakistan ,government report submitted to the erstwhile Benazir
Bhutto government had admitted the existence of 38 terrorist training centres from
where recruits were regularly sent on jehad missions to Kashmir, Bosnia. Palestine
and some African countries, media reports here said.
The report had claimed "because of broad spectrum of warfare activities, these
...
Sonia had threatened divorce if Rajiv entered politics: book - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Daily
- 12 May 1997
>>>Sonia Gandhi may have signalled her plunge into active politics by becoming a
primary member of the Congress party, but politics had long remained an area she
had been the most indifferent to, according to biographers of the Nehru-Gandhi
family, reports PTI.
On page 47 of his book. Nicholas Nugnet says." Following Sanjay's death, it was
...
Advani's yatra from Kranti Maidan - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Free Press Journal
- 10 May 1997
>>>The 55-day Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra by Bharatiya Janata Party President L K
Advani, would be flagged off from August Kranti Maidan on May 18 in Mumbai,
informed the BJP's All-India General Secretary, Pramod Mahajan.
Speaking to newsmen here on Friday, Mahajan said that the main purpose of the
yatra is to create an atmosphere which the country needs for celebrating its 50
...
A flag is not for joking - Editorial
- The Daily
- 12 May 1997
>>>A flag, any flag is not to be taken lightly. especially when it concerns a flag
of a regiment or a nation. Whole companies of the finest of man have laid down
their lives in any number of battles to uphold the honour and pride of the colours
of their regiment. This pride is multiplied a million times over when it comes to
the colours on the flag of a country. The Indian Scour is no exception to this
...
BJP warns against bid to stop rath yatra - Santanu Banerjee
- The Indian Express
- 11 May 1997
>>>The State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) threatened 'a bloodbath if either
the CPI(M) or Congress tried to stop Advani's Swarnajayanti Rath' which is
scheduled to reach West Bengal on June 22.
The top State leaders are convening a high-level meeting on May 16 to prepare the
party cadres at grass-root level to face any eventuality in case the Marxists and
...
More Muslims than Anglicans in UK soon - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Indian Express
- 12 May 1997
>>>Muslims are set to outnumber Anglican Christians in Britain by the year 2002
throwing into question the UK's claim to be a Christian country, according to a
new study by a London-based research charity.
The Christian Research Association found that with up to 100 new mosques planned
here, there will be 4,000 more regular Islamic worshippers than Christians going
...
Saffron rath to rekindle swadeshi - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Telegraph
- 8 May 1997
>>>In a pre-election build-up, the BJP president, Mr L. K. Advani, will launch a
55-day-long Swaran Jayanti rath yatra from Mumbai's Kranti Maidan on May 18 to
"rekindle the patriotic spirit in people and .project an inspiring vision of
national reconstruction" to coincide with the 50th anniversary of India's
Independence.
Former AG criticises Thackeray for encounter death - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Free Press Journal
- 9 May 1997
>>>Former Maharashtra advocate-general Arvind Bobde on Thursday criticised Shiv
Sena Chief Bal Thackeray for advocating elimination of Mumbai-based gangsters
through police-managed encounters, reports UNI.
"This is nothing but state-sponsored terrorism", he said at a meet-the-programme
organised by the Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ). "Nothing survives in
...
Straight answers - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Times of India
- 5 May 1997
>>>Durga Bhagwat Gandhian and writer on her controversial statement that Babasaheb
Ambedkar shouldn't be perceived as the real architect of the Indian constitution
Why do you say Ambedkar is not the architect of our constitution? Isn't it an
irresponsible statement to make?
I do not make any statements till I verify that it is the truth. Rajendra Prasad,
...
BJP losing control - Editorial
- The Asian Age
- 12 May 1997
>>>The Bharatiya Janata Party, despite its brave front, must be aware of losing
control. Not just over a section of its constituency but also its regional
allies. Not a very happy situation. The BJP is facing quiet but tough opposition
from Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral in its citadel, namely Delhi. Mr Gujral,
being middle class and Punjabi has suddenly acquired a constituency amongst the
...
Friends of Gujral in Pak upbeat over Dilli bhai - Alistair Lyon
- The Asian Age
- 12 May 1997
>>>Fifty years ago Hindus slightly outnumbered Muslims in Jhelum, then a market town
of 40,000 which traded in salt and timber and served as a military outpost for the
British, who took the area in 1849.
The Hindu community, in which the family of India's new Prime Minister Inder Kumar
Gujral was prominent, left during the bloody upheaval of Partition.
Pakistan ready for 'step-by-step' settlement - P. S. Suryanarayana
- The Hindu
- 11 May 1997
>>>Pakistan today expressed willingness to opt for a "step-by-step," settlement on
the "core issue of Kashmir" and called for a "a lot more of confidence-building on
both sides," to attain the objective. The two countries have the "potential" to
do so, according to the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr. Gohar Ayub Khan.
Giving a glimpse of this new diplomatic mood in Pakistan's camp on the eve of the
...
History kept under the rug - Chanchal Sarkar
- The Hindustan Times
- 7 May 1997
>>>Most people imagine that journalists take a huge delight in tearing down,
destroying, taunting and thumbing their noses. In television pies apparently we
love to see the Berlin Wall being pulled down. Well that's all wrong. To describe
the disfigurement of the political system, the shameless dishonesty of the people
who run it, to see the serialwise downfall of our institutions in-education, law,
...
'Religion is a rallying point in U.S., India' - T. Rajagopalan
- The Hindu
- 5 May 1997
>>>A large number of American students in the United States remain "profoundly
ignorant" of the other parts of the world and even their close neighbours. This
is an irony since the U.S. itself is a nation of immigrants, according to Dr.
Laurence Moore, Professor of History, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
In pluralistic democracies, people from many places live and work and they need
...
The way of Christ is not un-Indian - Valson Thampu
- The Pioneer
- 11 May 1997
>>>Even those who caricature Christianity as a western religion know that the
biblical faith echoes the spiritual longings of India. From time immemorial, the
people of this sub-continent have been yearning to be led from darkness to light,
from falsehood to truth, from death to immortality. The Bible presents Jesus as
the light of the world and the giver of eternal life; Jesus described himself as
...
'Judgment on Christian divorce is a step in the right direction' - Saloni Meghani
- The Times of India
- 12 May 1997
>>>A recent judgment of the Bombay high court bas made it possible, for the first
time, for a Christian woman in Maharashtra to get a divorce on the ground that her
husband was cruel to her. Earlier, she could not get a divorce unless she proved
that apart from being cruel, her husband bad also deserted her or indulged in
adultery.
Gujral gives a clean chit to Saudis on Haj - Part I of II - UNI
- The Asian Age
- 9 May 1997
>>>Prime Minister I.K. Gujral on Thursday reiterated in the Rajya Sabha that the
Indian-goodwill mission to Saudi Arabia had not found any lack of arrangements by
that country for the Haj pilgrims.
He also agreed to table the information provided by the committee in the
Parliament if the members desired so.
Gujral gives a clean chit to Saudis on Haj - Part II of II - PTI
- The Asian Age
- 9 May 1997
>>>The Lok Sabha witnessed a furore on Thursday when some Janata Dal member rushed to
the well of the House protesting against the Chair's directive to Mr Sharad Yadav
to resume his seat.
Uproarious scenes erupted during Zero Hour, when Mr Ram Singh, who was in the
Chair, requested Mr Yadav to take his seat as he had made his point clear, Mr
...
Democracy will be the victim - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Observer
- 6 May 1997
>>>The last thing Indian democracy needs is a confrontation between major political
parties and the Election Commission. Unfortunately, that seems where we are
headed. All thanks to the reluctance of parties like the Congress and Janata Dal
to hold the much-deferred organisational elections mandated by, their respective
constitutions. This strange reluctance also suggests that these parties are more
...
Promote minority cause - Asghar Ali Engineer
- The Daily
- 8 May 1997
>>>When the Congress president Sitaram Kesri withdrew his party's support to the
United Front government headed by Deve Gowda, it appeared that the country had not
only been plunged into a deep political crisis but also that the secular forces
would face a setback. Things were going smooth under the UF government and hence,
everyone, Congressmen included, criticised what Kesri had done. Even the President
...
A Muslim women's secular sorrows - Seema Alavi
- The Indian Express
- 10 May 1997
>>>In secular democratic India a Muslim woman's efforts to write on issues concerning
those aspects of the Muslim Personal Law which impinge on her life are inevitably
constrained by the burden she carries of being also a member of the minority
community. Her attempts to express her hurt and anguish against social and legal
odds that she is told are juridically sanctified are punctuated by several
...
Just be yourself, Mr Gujral, that might work - Seema Mustafa
- The Asian Age
- 10 May 1997
>>>There is something in what Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah,
said. That talks between India and Pakistan can go up to a point, but not beyond
it so long as Kashmir remains the "core issue" for the neighbouring country. India
is quite happy to put it permanently on the back burner and go full steam ahead in
resolving issues of trade, commerce, bilateral relations which can bring down the
...
Sonia can take over the orphaned Congress but not the country - Virendra Kapoor
- The Free Press Journal
- 12 May 1997
>>>So the suspense is finally over. The inscrutable widow of 10 Janpath has at
last openly thrown her lot with the Congress Party.
>From an ordinary 'four anna' member to an active leader of the Congress will be
but one quick step. And it may come about sooner than most people think. For the
ambitious Italian-born heiress to the dubious Indira-Rajiv Gandhi legacy has been
...
Imperialism in pink - Kuldip Nayar
- The Indian Express
- 12 May 1997
>>>Two days before sweeping the polls, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said at an
election rally that Great Britain owed it to its rule over India to settle
Kashmir. He was, no doubt, making a last-minute effort for wooing the support of
the Pakistanis settled in England. But while doing so, he has enunciated a
principle that an imperialist power, despite the passage of time, does not change
...
The president's anguish - Kuldip Nayar
- The Hindustan Times
- 8 May 1997
>>>Reticent President Shankar Dayal Sharma has not yet forgotten the manner in
which the representatives of the United Front constituents had trooped into
Rashtrapati Bhavan some 11 months ago. Theirs was a vituperative protest against
the invitation to the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government at the Centre.
But his unhappiness is about their insinuation that he had preferred "communal
...
Negative role in politics - Bipan Chandra
- The Hindustan Times
- 7 May 1997
>>>Many political persons and commentators are bewildered by the political
approaches adopted by the BJP and the CPI-M in recent years. Both arouse
expectations of playing a positive role in national development and then belie
these expectations. What is not commonly realised is that the two cannot have a
healthy influence on Indian politics, constituted as they are ideologically at
...
No end to Pakistani belligerence
When was Sonia not a part of the Congress? - M. J. Akbar
- The Asian Age
- 11 May 1997
>>>It is not intelligent anymore to believe. The clever option is to be cynical,
particularly about politics. Politics is the panorama behind the curtain, the
vested interest behind the event, the shadow behind the word, the world behind the
gesture, the silence behind the phrase. What is apparent cannot be true; an
answer offered in the breadth of a newspaper headline is meaningless without
...
Kashmir and the SAARC process - Saeed Naqvi
- The Pioneer
- 11 May 1997
>>>The end to apartheid in South Africa, the West Asian peace process and the
Anglo-Irish agreement on the question of northern Ireland are all projects, at
various stages of conception and implementation, that acquired acceleration only
after the Cold War had ended.
The Partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan almost coincided with
...
A voice without - Damayanti Datta
- The Telegraph
- 9 May 1997
>>>(Tradition, Dissent and Ideology: Essays in Honour of Romila Thapar Edited by S.
Gopal and R. Champakalakshmi, Oxford, Rs 495)
The volume meant as a tribute to the eminent historian, Romila Thapar, by the
faculty and alumni of the history department of Jawaharlal Nehru University, has
been appropriately titled. It was Thapar who pioneered the trend of breaking out
...
Across borders - Chaman Nahal
- The Hindustan Times
- 11 May 1997
>>>For me, to go to Faridabad, crossing the Delhi-Haryana border, is excitement
enough; you can well imagine what an international border can do to me. The
Camelot you have been ever after might well be on the other side of the line - the
unfamiliar, the unattainable, the unimaginable.
But there are two ogres one has to always face before stepping into the paradisal
...
Sleeping through it all - Gyanendra Pandey
- The Asian Age
- 9 May 1997
>>>This account comes from a senior engineer who was an undergraduate in Amritsar in
1947. A horrifying tale of revenge killings and efforts to wipe out the "other"
community, it is unusual perhaps only for its honesty. Otherwise, it is just one
of the stories of what happened on both sides of the new international border,
among all communities. It is time for us to face up to the facts.
Nursing a delusion - Dina Nath Mishra
- The Observer
- 15 May 1997
>>>Congressmen waited for six years to see Sonia Gandhi's entry into their party.
The leaders are hoping that the party would regain the old glory of Nehru-Gandhi
era and recapture the lost power as and when the elections are held. According to
their game-plan, Sonia Gandhi has to be made an active member to make her eligible
for holding any post in the party. As the organisational elections are
...
Agni pariksha - Varsha Bhosle
- The Sunday Observer
- 11-17 May 1997
>>>We know what an NRI is, but have you heard of the NIR? That's the Non-Indian
Resident, the desi species which will bend any which way in the name of
international peace and goodwill. With Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence
recommending to build and deploy Agni, the intermediate-range ballistic missile,
the doves are in a flutter. Basically, their argument goes like: India must sign
...
Secular India should not subsidies Haj - TV Rajeshwar
- The Observer
- 15 May 1997
>>>Over 300 Indian pilgrims to the Haj perished in the devastating fire at Mina on
April 15, 1997. The Indian pilgrims accounted for the maximum number of
casualties. When a large number of pilgrims assemble, such accidents can not be
totally averted. But this does not absolve the authorities of the responsibility.
We need not go into the details, but there are certain facts which have to be
...
Secularism in the time of Hindutva - Mushirul Hasan
- The Hindu
- 11 May 1997
>>>As the country celebrates 50 years of independence, we are bound to reflect on
the major theme of secularism. Already, scholarly journals and newspapers in
India and overseas have generated lively discussions on the strength and failings
of the secular experiment.
In recent years, many of the debates are centred on the arguments outlined in the
...
A spectre haunting Europe - Vijay Dutt
- The Hindustan Times
- 9 May 1997
>>>The recent recall of European Union envoys from Teheran following the conviction
in a Berlin court of eight Iranians, allegedly sent by their government to
assassinate four dissidents there and the steadfast opposition to the entry into
the EU of Turkey, are ominous signs of Western concern about the political content
and practices of jehad that are being applied outside the borders of the Islamic
...
The task of finding good leaders - M. V. Kamath
- The Free Press Journal
- 8 May 1997
>>>After roundly criticising Laloo Prasad Yaday and demanding his resignation as
Chief Minister of Bihar, a leading newspaper concluded by asking what is a
million-dollar question: "Are we to be ruled by men like these in the fiftieth
year of our independence?". And as many would no doubt say, that's a good
question. One answer is that we get the leaders we deserve. If all we deserve
...
Need to save Bamiyan heritage - Ram Dhamija
- The Pioneer
- 9 May 1997
>>>With the battle-lines in the Afghanistan civil was getting extended to valleys
and mountains north-west of Kabul, the Taliban's threat to destroy the Bamiyan
rock-face shrines and sculptures of Buddha becomes increasingly ominous. Once the
Bamiyan valley falls to the Taliban, the shrines will be in grave danger. And so
far, there seems to be no evidence that any effective international plan of action
...
Need for a shared perception - Mohan Guruswamy
- The Observer
- 10 May 1997
>>>In the poem Shikwa, Iqbal complaining to Allah writes: "Your blessings are
showered on homes of unbelievers, strangers all. / Only on the poor Muslim, your
wrath of lightning falls". Elsewhere in the same poem he laments: "What
injustice! Here and now are hours and palaces to infidels given; / While the poor
Muslim is promised everything after he goes to heaven". This sense of despair
...
Funds for missile research doubled - A Glance
- The Telegraph
- 11 May 1997
>>>India's missile programme is likely to receive a boost in the Ninth Five-Year
Plan, with the Centre doubling the expenditure for missile technology development,
reports our special correspondent.
The total allotted expenditure on missiles was Rs 227 crore in the Eighth defence
Plan. The Ninth defence Plan, as yet not officially announced, envisages spending
...
No, Mr President - Editorial
- The Hindustan Times
- 9 May 1997
>>>For a man who scrupulously followed the line of least resistance in the matter of
forming governments at the Centre since the last general election, Dr Shankar
Dayal Sharma's reported decision to invite Governors and leaders of political
parties to a conference to consider the course of action on this very subject is
an extremely unusual one. Not to put too fine a point on it, the President's
...
BJP meet takes stock of achievements - Express News Service
- The Indian Express
- 11 May 1997
>>>The State executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today patted itself on the
back for its recent successes at the local government body elections, which the
party described as definite gains.
The party's two-day executive meet the first major political event in Kudal, near
Shiv Sena minister Narayan Rane's constituency (Kankavli), will discuss the
...
Low-key bon ton - Nikhil Khanna
- The Pioneer
- 10 May 1997
>>>The residents of the upper class neighbourhood of Maharani Bagh are heaving a sigh
of relief. They have a Prime Minister next door. Inder Kumar Gujral may well
move into the PM's official residence soon, but Maharani Bagh can now be assured
of no power, no water shortages, no mosquito menaces and good-bye errant thieves.
Not that Maharani Bagh ever worried about these minor civic hitches - the area,
...
Sonia Gandhi's Congress - Editorial
- The Daily
- 10 May 1997
>>>Finally then Sonia Gandhi has taken a step towards accepting her responsibility as
a factor in Congress politics. Notwithstanding all the criticism regarding her,
Italian origins the fact is that she has lived in this country longer than she
ever did in. Italy. The fact also is that every Congressman was turning to her for
succour and solace in the face of the most disastrous performance by her party in
...
Enter Sonia - Editorial
- The Hindustan Times
- 10 May 1997
>>>It will not be an exaggeration to say that Mrs Sonia Gandhi's entry into the
Congress is an event of enormous significance for the party. After the tragic
assassination of her husband, there has not been any comparable occasion with the
potential of making such an impact on the organisation. Considering that the
Congress remains even in its present not very robust state a crucial player on the
...
Sonia's entry may split Cong: Mahajan - Express News Service
- The Indian Express
- 10 May 1997
>>>National general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Pramod Mahajan today
said the Congress will split vertically if Sonia Gandhi imposes her leadership on
the party. Mahajan was addressing a press conference here today.
Dismissing the news of Sonia formally joining the Congress as no surprise ("Sonia
had joined the party on March 21, and the Congress withdrew support to the Gowda
...
Citizens' due - Editorial
- The Free Press Journal
- 8 May 1997
>>>The new minister of information and broadcasting has begum well by declaring that
no clause in the new draft broadcast bill is "sacrosanct". One gets the feeling,
rightly or wrongly, that the earlier over-anxiety on the part of the then minister
to push the bill through Parliament is no longer there. The new minister's
declaration that it will be his endeavour to free the ministry from the minister
...
Facing India-bashers with panache - Chidanand Rajghatta
- The Indian Express
- 10 May 1997
>>>The Indian Government has rehired two Washington lobbying firms just in time to
face the annual Congressional attack from the Kashmiri and Khalistani separatist
lobbies in the United States, supported by lawmakers intent on punishing India for
its human rights and UN voting record by denying it foreign aid.
The firms, the Washington Group (a new name for the old firm of Rafaelli and
...
US slammed for 'biological assault' - Associated Press
- The Indian Express
- 8 May 1997
>>>The United States has acknowledged that a government crop duster plane had flown
over Cuba but denied it had used "biological aggression" against the
Communist-ruled island, as Havana has charged.
"The United States categorically denies the outrageous charges made by the Cuban
government regarding the alleged discharge of the 'thrips palmi' insect over Cuba
...
CPM to rewrite strategy after 33 years - Nirmal Mukherjee
- The Telegraph
- 8 May 1997
>>>The CPM will set up a Programme Commission to update the 33-year-old party's
programme. The earlier commission had failed to update the strategy before its
term lapsed, sources in the Politburo today.
The six-member commission was set up during the 14th party congress at Chennai.
The party general secretary, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, was convener of the
...
Dissecting Indian democracy - Justin George
- The Free Press Journal
- 11 May 1997
>>>This book is a tribute to the 50 glorious years of Indian independence. The
author has taken a dig at the various issues, pertaining to India's sovereignty,
and has brought to the fore, the inconsistency, which has remained the hallmark of
our approach to these issues.
The book could not have come at a better time; a year when all those babus who,
...
Cong. gets a shot in the arm as Sonia joins party - Askari Zaidi
- The Times of India
- 9 May 1997
>>>The Congress on Thursday announced that Ms Sonia Gandhi had become a primary
member of the party. Congress general secretary Oscar Fernandes and party
spokesman V.N. Gadgil told newspersons at the party headquarters here on Thursday
that Ms Gandhi had enrolled herself as a primary member of the party on March 21.
When asked why the announcement was being made so late, Mr Fernandes said it could
...
Men smart, women smarter - Sudipta Bhattacharjee
- The Telegraph
- 11 May 1997
>>>One would have thought that the passing of the Khasi Lineage Bill, codifying the
prevailing Khasi matriliny for the first time, would be a welcome move. But the
mood in Meghalaya, ever since the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC)
passed the legislation, has been as gloomy and thunderous as its environs on a
particularly deplorable monsoon day.
Bihar's TINA factor - Yogesh Vajpeyi
- The Indian Express
- 10 May 1997
>>>"Laloobabu ke ee kurasia das baras le na dhakachiyat," (Laloo Prasad Yadav's chair
cannot be snatched away for another 10 years), shouts Sona Devi of Biddhupur
village outside the Bihar Chief Minister's Anne Marga residence in Patna.
The 80-year-old woman from the ,Sonar caste (an OBC) gazes at Laloo sitting under
a mango tree on the lawns of his but-house. "Naja bhar dekh lelkai, ab jinagi
...
Keep quiet, Joginder Singh - Editorial
- The Free Press Journal
- 12 May 1997
>>>Bihar governor A. R. Kidwai's public complaint against the high-profile Director
of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Joginder Singh is well-founded. Singh has
made it his business to go to the Press before doing his duty. He seeks publicity
day in and day out. And thus opens himself to accusations that the apex.
investigative agency under him has become an instrument of political witchhunt.
...
'Canon to focus on photocopier segment' - Tony Fitzgerald
- The Pioneer
- 11 May 1997
>>>With A view to building its presence further in the country, the Japanese
multinational Canon Inc. set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India, approval of
which was received in February 1997. With its national headquarters in Delhi,
Canon India Private Ltd's prime objective is to increase the market support for
its current distributors.
Prove by deeds, rather than by words - M. K. Narayanan
- The Asian Age
- 12 May 1997
>>>There is no dearth of advice available on what requires to be done in Jammu and
Kashmir to effect a break with past patterns and ensure that the state returns to
the national mainstream. Advice is also forthcoming about the need for an
innovative and responsive approach to sort out political and economic issues and
overcome the psychological trauma of the past decade.
Voice and echoes - Rajeev Dhavan
- The Hindu
- 9 May 1997
>>>The Indian public interest law (PIL) is a rare species which arose like a phoenix
from the ashes of the Emergency (1975-77); and, in particular, the embarrassing
preventive detention case when the judiciary abandoned its review over detention
without trial. But, the rarity of our PIL does not just draw from the inventive
ways in which commissions are appointed by the courts which monitor relief. That
...
Nothing left - Editorial
- The Telegraph
- 7 May 1997
>>>The left is right only when it sees good sense. The problem is that the left
takes an inordinately long time to see good sense. Therefore, the decision of the
Indian left parties not to oppose the budget for 1997-98 is worthy of notice. The
left's rhetoric is still imbued with socialist ideas and ideals. But its political
praxis is nothing if not pragmatic. This alone explains the swings in the left's
...
Arms & the mahatma - No place for pacifism in security - K Subrahmanyam
- The Times of India
- 8 May 1997
>>>In the 50th year of Indian independence it is appropriate to reflect on the
transition of the British Indian Army to the Indian Army. The 2.7 million-strong
army's contribution to the victory over Nazism, fascism and Japanese militarism
was next only to that of Russia, China, the US and Britain and led to India
becoming a founder member of the UN even without its being independent. The Indian
...
Gujral's first slip - Editorial
- The Pioneer
- 8 May 1997
>>>In appointing Professor Bhabani Sengupta as officer on Special Duty the Prime
Minister made an error of judgement the implications of which will haunt him for a
long time to come. It is not just that the good Professor holds views that are at
complete variance with the national consensus. Rather, the problem lies with the
Prime Minister's sense of judgement. It lies with the message the Prime Minister
...
Majority averse to Sonia's entry - Pioneer News Service
- The Pioneer
- 11 May 1997
>>>An opinion poll conducted by the psephological group C-Voter for The Pioneer on
the political implications of Ms Sonia Gandhi joining the Congress has revealed
that though the mood is upbeat among 75 per cent of the party supporters, who feel
the Congress stands to gain, two-thirds of the voters do not endorse her plunge
into politics, while a large chunk maintains that the era of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty
...
Paradigm shift in India - T. K. Oommen
- The Hindustan Times
- 10 May 1997
>>>The coalition governments led by Mr Deve Gowda and Mr I. K. Gujral are invariably
described as conglomerates of 'regional parties', while the Congress and the
Bharatiya Janata Party are referred to as 'national parties. Incidentally, the
Constitution qualifies India as a 'Union of States'. None of these usages accord
well with' accepted definitions of regions, nations or states. It is not only that
...
How long will the Congress support UF? - A. N. Dar
- The Free Press Journal
- 9 May 1997
>>>In the first months of his office there should be little reason for the Prime
Minister to feel apprehensive about the support he will get from his alliance
partners. They are grateful that they have spared themselves from another
election. You can even feel the sigh of relief. All the units of the United Front
have affirmed their resolve to support him. So also has the Congress. Nor will
...
Broadcast policy, Making the 'autonomous' body truly autonomous - Ashish Mullick
- The Times of India
- 10 May 1997
>>>Perhaps the most important area in the proposed broadcast law is the structure of
the Broadcast Authority of India (BAI). The general feeling is that the provisions
in the broadcast bill draft are at sharp variance with the intended objectives of
the planned legislation since they contradict the very foundation of the entire
exercise-the need to deregulate.
Constituting a house of cads - J. Sarma Sarkar
- The Telegraph
- 8 May 1997
>>>The Indian Parliament has been empowered to pass necessary laws enjoined in the
Constitution - Article 11 - or the directive principles- Articles 38-50. But
Parliament has failed to follow up the law of citizenship as directed in Article
11, which has left the problem of refugees and infiltrators unsolved. The law of
citizenship is concomitant upon democracy. Increased representation signifies the
...
On the defensive - Ajoy Bose
- The Pioneer
- 9 May 1997
>>>Barely a fortnight after Inder Kumar Gujral was pitchforked into the Prime
Minister's chair, there are disturbing indications that he is allowing himself to
be intimidated by his elevation to the top job.
He had assumed power amidst widespread scepticism about whether a gentleman
politician would have the required savvy to run such a ramshackle and volatile
...
The berate dictator - Sunanda K. Datta-Ray
- The Telegraph
- 10 May 1997
>>>It is not every day that formal charges are framed against a former prime minister
of the world's biggest democracy It is not every day either that allegations of a
massive scandal hang like the sword of Damocles over the head of the president of
the ruling coalition's dominant partner. Change is implicit in every moment. Yet,
we may be moving towards some sort of watershed, providing we recognize the signs
...
A loyal PM? - M L Kotru
- The Free Press Journal
- 11 May 1997
>>>I have this well-known cartoonist friend who has an amazing capacity to make the
weirdest of forecasts. The other day he came out with one that he himself
acknowledged must rank among the weirdest of the weird. Said he, "You know this
acceptability factor (of I K Gujral as Prime Minister) scares me. It has dangerous
potential." Now, both of us have watched Gujral from close quarters for nearly
...
Kesri's secret account abroad - Delhi Dateline
- The Free Press Journal
- 11 May 1997
>>>Sitaram Kesri complains that for nearly four decades in politics until the time
he became the Congress President, there was not a single case of wrong-doing
against him. Now overnight he faces grave charges of misdemeanour and violation of
the law in not one but several cases. Kesri clearly is oblivious to the
commonplace saying that a politician is confronted with his past the moment he
...
A practical, Vedic approach to training and development - Ian Brown
- The Hindu
- 10 May 1997
>>>Currently most business gurus, from Tom Peters to Bill Gates, project that by
the next century, organisations will be compelled to understand that their most
valuable asset is (and always has been) the collective creative intelligence of
their members. The growing focus on HRD activities, the continual spate of
articles advocating and explaining TQM and reengineering, and the convergence of
...
Sonia Gandhi's entry - Editorial
- The Free Press Journal
- 10 May 1997
>>>After years of silence, hesitation and yes and no, Sonia Gandhi has decided to
cross the Rubic on. Her enrolment as a primary member of the Congress, as Kesri
has gone out of his way to underline primary member, has changed several power
equations in the Congress. In fact, the current power balance has been clearly
upset. Not only in the Congress but the very survival of the Gujral government
...
We shouldn't let Govt be run by courts, says Gujral - Coomi Kapoor
- The Indian Express
- 11 May 1997
>>>Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral would like to see a debate initiated in
Parliament - and outside - on whether the current phenomenon of filing Public
Interest Litigation (PIL) has not got out of hand. His fear is that "some
remedies are more dangerous than the disease."
In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express today, it was clear that the PIL
...
US to keep constant eye on Valley - Seema Mustafa
- The Asian Age
- 13 May 1997
>>>US ambassador to India Frank Wisner, who was accorded red-carpet treatment by
the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir, has just returned from the state after
reassuring Hurriyat leaders, and other "contacts" developed over the past several
years, that the US will continue to "pay attention" to Kashmir.
Mr Wisner's visit was in the nature of a farewell to Jammu and Kashmir as he will
...
Politics versus politicking - Sitaram Yechury
- The Hindu
- 12 May 1997
>>>It was indeed a remarkable coincidence that during the recent weeks of political
uncertainty, the Royal Shakespearean Company came to India, for the first time, to
celebrate 50 years of our independence with a performance of "The Comedy of
Errors"!
A high voltage drama unfolded in the capital after the Congress chief, Mr. Sitaram
...
Victim of untouchability - M. N. Buch
- The Hindustan Times
- 12 May 1997
>>>It is an unfortunate fact that whereas Manu laid down his law centuries ago
there is a new Manuvad prevalent in India ,in which everyone belonging to one
political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is considered an untouchable. Why is
a party which is recognised by the Election Commission so considered? This party
heads the government in Rajasthan and Delhi, is the senior partner in the
...
A favourite has not friend - Arvind N. Das
- The Telegraph
- 13 May 1997
>>>India's 12th prime minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, is known for his sophistication,
tact and diplomatic finesse. In an era when boorishness is fast becoming the
characterizing feature of politics, it is indeed rare to have a politician who
speaks softly and does not carry a big stick. To that extent, the nation had good
reason to heave a sigh of relief when Gujral - and not someone who is involved in
...
CBI loses vital Bokaro scam diary - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Telegraph
- 9 May 1997
>>>The diary of mafia don Bharat Singh, a vital piece of evidence in the Bokaro Steel
Plant scandal, is missing from the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI).
It contained names of politicians and top officials of the Steel Authority of
India Limited (SAIL), Bokaro Steel Plant, the police and the Central Industrial
...
Sonia's entry puts an end to Cong. leadership crisis, says Moopanar - The Times of India News Service
- The Times of India
- 10 May 1997
>>>Sonia Gandhi's entry put an end to the leadership crisis in the Congress, said
Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) president G.K. Moopanar. "She will help consolidate
the Congress into a stable party," the TMC leader told reporters on Friday.
He was less forthcoming when asked whether it would change TMC's equation with the
Congress, considering that Mr Moopanar and his partymen held Ms Gandhi in high
...
JD most degenerate lot: minister - Express News Service
- The Indian Express
- 12 May 1997
>>>The contentious election to the Karnataka Janata Dal president's post seems to
have left the party unit in the mood for self-introspection. At a function to
felicitate the finally chosen chief on Saturday, JD leaders were candid in their
assessment of the party's organisation and its standing with the public.
No other party has degenerated to the level the JD has done, thundered Union
...
Call to amend article 356 - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Daily
- 12 May 1997
>>>The Federal Front component of the United Front has strongly advocated amendment
of Article '356 to provide for various safeguards against misuse of the provision
enabling imposition of President's rule in states and for greater devolution of
finances to the states, reports PTI.
Participating in the meeting of the standing committee of the inter-state council
...
Vaghela Govt faces threat of withdrawal of Cong support - Free Press News Service
- The Free Press Journal
- 8 May 1997
>>>The six-month old Shankar Sinh Vaghela. Government in Gujarat is in trouble with
the threat of imminent withdrawal of Congress support.
The Congress High Command is being approached for permission to withdraw support
in the light of a unanimity at Tuesday's meeting of the party MLAs in Gandhinagar
that the Congress was losing its base because of alleged machinations by Vaghela.
Sonia move alters equation sin Cong.(I) - Harish Khare
- The Hindu
- 10 May 1997
>>>Mrs. Sonia Gandhi's enrolment as a primary member of the Congress(I) was bound
to cause a certain amount of excitement among the partymen. There has been the
predictable rush among senior leaders to be seen as hailing her decision. Also
predictably the development has been seen as having fundamentally altered the
equations within the Congress(I). Predictions of a rival power centre have been
...
Sonia's entry puts UF Govt in spot on Bofors - Pioneer News Service
- The Pioneer
- 10 May 1997
>>>The entry of Ms Sonia Gandhi Into politics at a time when the Bofors pay-off case
is hotting up, is likely to put the fledgling Inder Kumar Gujral Government in yet
another tight spot.
The developments in the Congress have resulted in a fresh speculation over the
longevity of the new United Front (UF) Government. It is felt that the
...
Sonia's entry has not changed Cong-UF ties: PM - Interview - Coomi Kapoor
- The Indian Express
- 11 May 1997
>>>Prime Minister I K Gujral believes that there - are bound to be contradictions
in a coalition government but a common minimum programme can be worked out.
Following are the extracts from Coomi Kapoor's interview with Gujral.
Q: Isn't it a near impossible task to manage the contradictions within the United
Front government?
...
Qazi for glasnost in Indo-Pak talks but not on Kashmir issue - Jyoti Malhotra
- The Indian Express
- 8 May 1997
>>>Though Pakistan does not have a single-point agenda for the forthcoming talks
between Prime Ministers I K Gujral and Nawaz Sharif, Kashmir will provide the
context in which that agenda can be articulated, Pakistan's High Commissioner to
India Ashraf Jahangir Qazi said here today.
"For us, Kashmir provides the context in which the talks will take place. To ask
...
Home, defence ministries blamed for armsdrop - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Telegraph
- 8 May 1997
>>>The Committee on Government Assurances has come down heavily on the ministries of
home affairs, defence and civil aviation for their inability to prevent the
Purulia armsdrop in December 1995, despite having prior information of it.
In a report presented to the Lok Sabha, the committee has pointed out the failure
of all agencies to detect the aircraft which flew into Indian airspace, stopped at
...
Sonia party - Editorial
- The Indian Express
- 10 May 1997
>>>Sonia Gandhi has merely exercised her right as an Indian citizen when she joined
the Congress as a primary member. Her Italian ancestry is not germane to the
issue and few would, therefore, find fault with her on this.. However, the plunge
she has taken gives a lie to her claim that party politics has not been her cup of
tea. Whether the primary membership is a step to bigger posts in the Congress or
...
Manipur DIG gunned down - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Telegraph
- 10 May 1997
>>>Unidentified assailants gunned down the deputy inspector-general of the special
security bureau, A.C. Kumar, at Lamphelpat here this morning. One of his
bodyguards was also killed.
The 50-year-old officer, also the deputy inspector-general of Village Volunteer
Force, Manipur-Nagaland division, was on his routine bicycle ride when the killers
...
BJP bills 1997 as organisational year
'Adil Shah's general was assigned to kill Shivaji' - PTI
- the Asian Age
- 10 May 1997
>>>Recent studies have proved that Adil Shah's general, Afzal Khan was assigned the
specific task of killing Shivaji by adopting any means, but the plot boomeranged
with the assailant himself falling Prey to the "tiger nails" of the Founder of
"hindvi swarajya."
This controversial episode, which gave rise to many disputes as well as
...
Upper castes throw spanner in BJP works - Ajay Singh
- The Pioneer
- 9 May 1997
>>>Aggressive Upper Castes are upsetting the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) applecart
in Bihar where the party is desperately trying to co-opt various caste groups
emerge onto the political centre-stage.
The party leadership is trying to lure away a significant section of the Most
Backward classes (MBCs) to the Hindutva fold following their disenchantment with
...
Another yatra - Editorial
- The Times of India
- 20 May 1997
>>>Seven years after his Ram rath yatra swept the BJP to unscaled heights, Mr Lal
Krishna Advani has set off again, this time with new territories to conquer and a
newer rallying-cry on his lips. Not that there haven't been other yatras in
between - there was a Delhi-chalo one just last year - but this seems the party's
most ambitious yet both in terms of the objective at hand and the area to be
...
Fera violators in for shock as Fema won't be retrospective - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Telegraph
- 13 May 1997
>>>The proposed Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema), which is to replace the
existing Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (Fera), will not have retrospective
effect.
Top government officials said the controversial legislation, which allows parking
of funds abroad in a more liberal manner, will be effective from the day the Bill
...
Parsis struggle in grim battle against extinction - Madhavankutty Pillai
- The Asian Age
- 14 May 1997
>>>Prosperity, the brain-drain, education, women's emancipation and urbanisation are
taking their toll on the Parsi community in India, which is decreasing at an
alarming rate and if the community's population trend continues, in 150 years,
there may be no more Parsis.
The main reason paradoxically is believed to be the urbanisation and prosperity of
...
Bureaucracy bashing - Madhav Godbole
- The Times of India
- 14 May 1997
>>>"Uttar Pradesh", i.e. India, i.e. Bharat" was the common saying till a few years
ago. It may not be so any longer in terms of its hegemony in national politics,
but it continues to lead, or rather mislead, the country by its example in various
fields. The latest in such trail-blazing actions has been yet another onslaught on
the civil services in that state by the newly-installed BSP-BJP government. And,
...
Early intellectual resistance to British colonial rule. - J. V. Naik
- The Indian Express
- 9 May 1997
>>>Prof. R Coupland wrote, "Indian nationalism is the child of the British Raj."
The fact is, the British imperial rule in pursuit of its own interests unwittingly
created conditions that gave rise to Indian nationalism which was unique in many
ways. It was nationalism that activised Indian people for putting an end to the
alien rule and for a new ordering of their society.
Absence of negatives - Vir Sanghvi
- The Afternoon
- 11 May 1997
>>>There was a time when you only became prime minister of India if you were dynamic,
charismatic, nationally popular and competent. The Nehru-Gandhis had charisma on
their side. Lal Bahadur Shastri was competent. Morarji Desai was one of India's
best known politicians and a former deputy prime minister when he moved into South
Block in 1977. And Vishwanath Pratap Singh had led the crusade for cleanliness in
...
Mulayam would have been better choice - Interview - Harkishen Singh Surjeet - Seema Mustafa
- The Asian Age
- 10 May 1997
>>>CPI(M) general secretary Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet has earned the reputation of
being a formidable politician who does not allow ideology to blunt his political
skills. He has played a key role in ensuring that the United Front does not stray
from the ideological path which formed the basis of its creation, and does not
mince words when it comes to speaking his mind on issues of concern. Former Prime
...
'Its when the disease is at its worst that you want the strongest - Jay Mazoomdaar
- The Sunday Observer
- 11-17 May 1997
>>>Tirunellai Narayanaiyer Seshan ruled India's rulers with an iron fist using his
constitutional authority as chief election commissioner. After retirement,
Al-Seshan, as he was nicknamed for his watchdog tactics as election chief, now
wants to do the real thing - he wants to be the President of India: if not, the
prune ministership is good enough. Reason: the country is going to the dogs.
The second-class Sex - Editorial
- The Times of India
- 19 May 1997
>>>The male political class has repeatedly displayed its extreme aversion to ceding
any more political space to women, but the ferocity with which the women's
reservation Bill was opposed in the Lok Sabha on Friday was unexpected. In a
shocking breach of party discipline, Prime Minister I ]K Gujral was shouted down
by his party members in language which crossed all norms of decorum and decency.
...
Jainism & relativity - Chaturvedi Badrinath
- The Times of India
- 15 May 1997
>>>The Jaina perspectives of syadavada hold that a proposition is true only
conditionally and not absolutely. This is because it depends on the particular
standpoint, naya, from which it is being made; that logically a thing can be
perceived from at least seven different standpoints, saptabhangi-naya; which lead
us to the awareness of the many-sidedness of reality, or truth, anekanta-vada.
Religious attention to detail - Atreyee Sen
- The Telegraph
- 16 May 1997
>>>This book was born out of the social and scholarly concerns of sociologist T.N.
Madan. The author is disturbed by religious assertiveness in recent decades and
the declining fortunes of secularism.
He begins by tracing the origins of the concepts of ideology secularism and
religious pluralism to their Western roots. The belief in the universal validity
...
Vacuum in politics - Amulya Ganguli
- The Hindustan Times
- 17 May 1997
>>>Nature abhors vacuum, as every schoolboy is taught. In Indian politics, however,
misgivings remain about how the space vacated by a declining Congress will be
filled. It is not a new fear. Among the early claimants for the empty spot were
the Leftists, and one of their stalwarts, M. Basavapunniah, expressed his
apprehensions about the post-Congress scenario way back in 1985.
How to create a golden age of Hindu culture - Rizawan Salim
- The Hindustan Times
- 18 May 1997
>>>Over the past 4000 years, the supremely imaginative Hindus have created a culture
so abundant with awe-inspiring architecture and vigorous sculpture, alluring
dances and spell-binding music, amazingly potent mind-body disciplines and a
wholistic medical system, recondite philosophical doctrines, arcane fortune
telling systems, epics of vast scope densely textured with meaning, comprehensive
...
Vision of a Hindu nation - John Norris
- The Sunday Observer
- 18-24 May 1997
>>>Vinayak Damodarpant Savarkar, better-known as Swantantryaveer Savarkar, lived to
the ripe age of 83, when he gave up his life by resorting to a fast in the spirit
of Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram. Despite ill-health and weakness due to old age,
Savarkar astounded doctors by Surviving 22 days with little damage to his
deteriorating body. It may have been the result of his yogic powers, but more than
...
Lack of Muslim leadership - Asgar Ali Engineer
- The Daily
- 16 May 1997
>>>It is said that Muslims lack proper leadership and are hence facing colossal
problems. But this coin be said of the whole country. It is certainly true that
lack of quality leadership is not a good omen. There have been plenty of
politicians but hardly any statesman in the post-Independence India. The
politicians give priority to personal power and have no hesitation sacrificing the
...
Refuge in cynicism - Sham Lal
- The Telegraph
- 15 May 1997
>>>The revolution made by VI. Lenin gave up the ghost in 1991 with much less agony
than that suffered by the old woman in the opening scene of Ingmar Bergman's
horrifying Cries and Whispers. The engine of the Maoist revolution in China was
put in reverse gear within a few years of the great helmsman's death, with the
country's top leaders trying hard to forget having ever talked of painting the
...
A democratic front - Satyapal Dang
- The Pioneer
- 15 May 1997
>>>With India entering into an era of coalitions, a number of new issues -
constitutional as well as political - have been thrown up. Some BJP leaders have
demanded that "outside support should not be considered as support for determining
as to whether or not a government commands the support of the majority". But if
such were the constitutional position, we might have had to go in for another Lok
...
In the name of the Lord - Varsha Bhosle
- The Sunday Observer
- 18-24 May 1997
>>>Parochial as one is, it wasn't long before I went looking for traces of apla
Maharashtra on the Internet. What I found has put the fear of Christ in me: At
the site of the Louisiana-based Bethany World Prayer Center, there's a detailed
analysis of Marathis - with a view to converting the same to Christianity. Don't
worry, we ghaatis aren't special: The same treatment's given to others: There are
...
Church luring Gujarat tribals to Christ - Sunil K Poolani in Saputara
- The Sunday Observer
- 18-24 May 1997
>>>Bhavarsinh Hasusinh Suryavanshi is a king. No buts about it. But his subjects
respect another king: Jesus Christ.
Suryavanshi, king for the last 13 years, is the 22nd in the line of Bhil kings who
ruled Linga, a village 28 km from Saputara, in Gujarat. He still receives a
monthly privy purse of Rs 3,400, and the two sipahis appointed by him are paid Rs
...
Next, Mahabharata will be between Congress, BJP - Syed Shahabuddin
- The Pioneer
- 16 May 1997
>>>The drowsy humble farmer HD Deve Gowda came out of Karnataka, almost out of the
blue, to become the Prime Minister of India. Now, he has been sent back to
Karnataka, "unwept, unhonoured and unsung". Notwithstanding his emotion-laden vow
to rise from the ashes and stage a comeback, he stands discarded for good, thrown
into the dustbin of history. But, despite the rise and fall of Mr Deve Gowda, the
...
Enter Sonia exit glasnost - Vidhya Subrahmaniam
- The Times of India
- 21 May 1997
>>>Six years after it passed into the hands of a 'commoner', it is back to the Gandhi
family fold for the Congress and back to singing "ours is not to reason why, ours
is but to do and die" for Congressmen. The lull immediately following Mrs Sonia
Gandhi's induction as primary member has predictably proved deceptive and the
faithful are banding together across the country, pledging to be led by her and
...
Anarchy in Bihar - Yashwant Sinha
- The Hindustan Times
- 20 May 1997
>>>Bihar is always in the news for the wrong reasons. The same is true today. There
has been a lot of news about Bihar in the recent days on account of the CBI
investigation in the fodder scam, the alleged involvement of Chief Minister Laloo
Prasad Yadav and his antics in the wake of the CBIs decision to charge-sheet him.
Different views have been expressed about the case but the preponderance of
...
Parliament's new ascendancy in foreign policy-making - Prakash Nanda
- The Times of India
- 20 May 1997
>>>Unlike in the past, the Indian Parliament now seems to be influencing the foreign
policy-making process a great deal. The latest manifestation of this trend is the
resignation of Mr Bhabani Sengupta from the Prime Minister's Office.
Irrespective of the merits or otherwise of the circumstances under which Mr
Sengupta, who was believed to have been appointed by Prime Minister I.K. Gujral as
...
Noakhali's darkest hour - Andrew Whitehead
- The Indian Express
- 20 May 1997
>>>On the outskirts of the once mainly Hindu village of Jayag is a zamindar's house,
ringed by fish ponds and patrolled by monitor lizards so large that the hens
squawk in alarm at their approach. The house is now an ashram - the centre of
social development programmes, of handicrafts, and community schemes. Every
morning and evening, people gather for a prayer meeting in a room which still
...
War against corruption - Madhav Godbole
- The Hindu
- 19 May 1997
>>>In the last few months, Maharashtra saw an upsurge in the public outcry against
corruption. Mr. Anna Hazare, social worker engaged in village uplift, took a new
avatar to wage a relentless war against the growing, all-pervading evil in
government and society at large. A person of Gandhian ideology, of impeccable and
sterling character and Of Simple living, he fired the imagination of the people.
...
Parliament's new ascendancy in foreign policy-making - Prakash Nanda
- The Times of India
- 20 May 1997
>>>Unlike in the past, the Indian Parliament now seems to be influencing the foreign
policy-making process a great deal. The latest manifestation of this trend is the
resignation of Mr Bhabani Sengupta from the Prime Minister's Office.
Irrespective of the merits or otherwise of the circumstances under which Mr
Sengupta, who was believed to have been appointed by Prime Minister I.K. Gujral as
...
Till cruelty do us part - Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre
- The Indian Express
- 20 May 1997
>>>Cruelty, physical and mental, is now ground enough for a Christian woman to obtain
a divorce. Last fortnight, the Bombay High Court (BHC) recognised cruelty and
desertion as independent grounds for the dissolution of a Christian marriage.
The court struck down Section 10 of the Indian Divorce Act which stated that a
Christian wife had to necessarily prove adultery along with cruelty or desertion
...
An inch and a court yard - N. R. Madhava Menon
- The Telegraph
- 20 May 1997
>>>That the Indian government proposed a legislation to curb what it called the
"frequent and indiscriminate" use of public interest litigation stresses the
importance the latter has assumed for constitutional governance. For indifferent
civil servants and corrupt politicians, PIL has been a source of insecurity For
the litigant public, it is an instrument to wrest justice and accountability. For
...
US rules out intervention in Kashmir - Seema Sirohi
- The Telegraph
- 22 May 1997
>>>The Clinton Administration ruled out any intervention in Kashmir
but strongly urged Pakistan to move forward to bring about a
resolution of the problem, throwing its weight behind the recent
progress reported from the Male summit.
Pakistani foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan met US secretary of
...
BJP no longer untouchable: Advani - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Hindu
- 21 May 1997
>>>The fodder scam in Bihar has implications for the future of the
main constituent of the United Front, Mr. L. K. Advani, BJP
president. has said.
"The probe has been dragging feet for quite some time and the BJP
and its ally in Bihar, the Samata Party, will continue to mobilise
...
Folly of reservations - C. P. Bhambhri
- The Hindustan Times
- 23 May 1997
>>>The Constitution (Amendment) Bill which provides for 33 per cent of
reserved seats for women in the Legislatures has not been openly
opposed by any political party or group because everyone wants to
be branded as progressive by empowering the effectively
disenfranchised women of India. The only opposition to the Bill
...
Blair-ing advice on Kashmir - Rakshat Puri
- The Hindu
- 21 May 1997
>>>Fifty years ago Britain's Labour government under Clement Attlee
raised a persisting stink of conspiracy in relation to events and
arrangements in Jammu-Kashmir. Half a century on another Labour
Prime Minister in Britain, Tony Blair, wants Britain to "accept its
responsibility as the former imperial power" and use "its good
...
RSS breaks new ground for BJP - Ashutosh Mishra
- The Pioneer
- 19 May 1997
>>>More than its own ideological appeal, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) seems to owe its popularity in the backward districts of the
State, mainly western Orissa, to the sustained social service drive
launched in the region by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and
its sister organisation.
Lost Saraswati found in Thar desert - Gayatri Ramanathan
- The Sunday Observer
- 25-31 May 1997
>>>Two senior scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Dr S M
Rao and Dr K M Kulkarni, claim to have traced the course of the
River Saraswati, which, according to legend, was lost in the Thar
desert of Rajasthan.
According to Rao and Kulkarni, the river, originating from the same
...
'We need to know ourselves in order to deal with the world' - Ratnottama Sengupta
- The Times of India
- 24 May 1997
>>>His mornings are devoted to writing. That might explain the
reflective strain in Nirmal Verma's oeuvre. It is there in his
short stories, Parinde, Jalti Jhaari, Pichhli Garmiyon Mein, Beech
Bahas Mein. It pervades his novels Vey Din, Lal Teen ki Chhat, Ek
Chithda Sukh, Raat Ka Reporter. It is the stuff his essays are made
...
President and a 'political' meet - part I of II - Subhash C. Kashyap
- The Hindustan Times
- 19 May 1997
>>>There can be different opinions about the necessity, desirability
and the timing of the conference of Governors and political party
leaders convened by the President, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma on June
2 and 3. To impute motives to the Head of the republic, however,
can only be indicative of the depths to which our minds and
...
President and a 'political' meet - part II of II - Jagmohan
- The Hindustan Times
- 19 May 1997
>>>I do not think that the President has been well-advised in calling
a meeting of the Governors and leaders of the political parties to
discuss the course of action that may be taken by the
constitutional head in case, after the elections, no single party
secures an absolute majority in the legislature. The move will set
...
Immigrants swell ranks of British middle class
Arafat threatens to execute Arabs who sell land to Jews - Christopher Walker in Jerusalem
- The Times (London)
- 22 May 1997
>>>Israel is to appeal to the United Nations Committee on Human Rights
against the decision by Yassir Arafat's Palestinian Authority to
impose the death penalty on any local Arab who sells land to Jews.
The Israeli move yesterday came after the suspected murder of two
West Bank land agents by Palestinians in Ramallah and the
...
West side story Asian style - Rifat Malik
- Evening Standard (London)
- 22 May 1997
>>>If you go looking for trouble any weekend in Slough's busy
shopping centre, you will find it, sooner rather than later.
Saturday afternoons regularly feature rival Asian gangs exuding
collective bravura and menace. The wrong word, an inadvertent
glance and tempers flare. Vigilant security guards disperse the
...
Leading lights - Part IV of IV - D V Prasad Rao
- The Sunday Observer
- 25-31 May 1997
>>>DAYANAND SARASWATI
Dayanand Saraswati was born Moolshankar, to a pious tehsildar in
Morbi, Gujarat, on 12 February 1824. At a very early age, he
mastered the four Vedas. At the age of 14, he spent Mahashivaratri
in prayer and fasting, anxious for the promised revelation.
...
Leading lights - Part III of IV - D V Prasad Rao
- The Sunday Observer
- 25-31 May 1997
>>>RAJA RAMMOHAN ROY
Rammohan Roy has been called the first 'modern man' in India. This
is because his point of view, his way of looking at the society at
large and his fellow men were radical and far ahead of his times.
Rammohan Roy was born on 22 May 1772 in Radhanagar, a village in
...
Leading lights - Part II of IV - D V Prasad Rao
- The Sunday Observer
- 25-31 May 1997
>>>ANNIE BESANT
Annie Besant was born in England in 1847. She married at 20, but
her growing disillusionment with her marriage and the desire to do
something substantial led her to separate from her husband and take
up writing. This brought her into contact with the Free Thinker
...
Scandal: Blair can act, Gujral cannot - Farrukh Dhondy
- The Asian Age
- 22 May 1997
>>>The only free food is on a hook. From Fishy Proverbs
My first
impression of London, driving in on the air terminal bus in the
mid-Sixties, wide-eyed and expectant was that the houses are tiny,
uniform and antiseptic like a film set rather dm a city. In a few
...
Leading lights - Part I of IV - D V Prasad Rao
- The Sunday Observer
- 25-31 May 1997
>>>Raja Rammohan Roy, Dayananda Saraswati and Keshab Chandra Sen,
among others, weaved a crucial social revolution in the 19th
century. D V Prasad Rao takes a look at their contributions.
The second half of the 19th Century was marked by a strong wave of
reform activities in religion and society in India, the path of
...
VHP challenges Pawar to prove charge - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - The Hindu
- 27 May 1997
>>>The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today challenged the Congress (I) leader.
Mr. Sharad Pawar, to prove the charge levelled by him that the
organisation had got funds from sources in various countries
abroad.
Addressing a press conference here, the VHP general secretary,
...
Stateless in India - Khajuria S. Kant
- Organiser
- 11 May 1997
>>>Some twenty thousand Hindu families from Pakistan who migrated to
this place after Partition riots are still a stateless people.
Successive governments in Jammu and Kashmir have ignored their
persistent claims for citizenship.
The National Conference (NC) manifesto had specifically mentioned
...
A secular BJP - Editorial
- The Statesman
- 24 May 1997
>>>The BJP was never seriously in the race that saw Mr I K Gujral
breasting the tape. Is this a sign of maturity from a party
chastened by its misadventure of May 1996? Partly. But it is not
as if it did not try. Only, the regional satraps were as wary of
the BJP as they were 10 months back. Disappointed BJP leaders may
...
Terrorists infiltrate J&K administration - Posted By Ashok V Chowgule - Organiser
- 11 May 1997
>>>At least 5000 employees of the Jammu and Kashmir Government are
said to be involved in the Pak-sponsored terrorism. A large number
of them are stated to be at the pay-roll of ISI and other agencies.
The most-affected are the police force and the school teachers.
Amongst such employees there are several engineers and doctors.
...
Is Rushdie Worth Defending? - Francis Bennion
- The Secularist
- 1996 November-December
>>>Courtesy : Ethical Record, London, September 1996
TRANSCRIPT OF TELEVISION INTERVIEW WITH FRANCIS BENNION
Q. You say that Mr. Rushdie is not worth defending. Why?
A. Because he has let the side down.
Q. What "side" do you mean?
...
"Govt answerable to Parlia
