This Months Article

Starting: Wed November 1, 2000
Ending: Thu November 30, 2000

Messages: 135

• Bitter land, harassed people
• Chanchal Sarkar, The Pioneer, November 1, 2000
>>> The original name was Enemy Property Act and was directed at the Hindus of East Pakistan who migrated from that country leaving property behind.  After Liberation in 1971 it was widely expected that the law would be annulled but under Sheikh Mujeeb only the name was changed to Vested Property Act, the text remained as it is. ......
 
• Drawing the Line at Kargil
• The Indian Express, November 1, 2000
>>> The LoC is not vague or undefined as claimed by Pakistani spokesmen, noris it governed by the Lahore or Shimla declarations.  It was delineated bythe Cease Fire Line at the UN-sponsored Karachi Agreement as long back asJuly 1949, says B G VERGHESEPakistan has mounted an invasion of Jammu & Kashmir in the Drass-Kargilsector. ......
 
• Hizb loaded with ISI funds
• Dinesh Kumar, Times of India, November 2, 2000
>>> The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, with which the Centre had briefly engaged in abortive peace talks, is the single-largest recipient among the Kashmiri militant groups of funds from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, according to the Army. ......
 
• Mahant to go on fast-unto-death for Ram mandir construction
• The Indian Express, November 2, 2000
>>> Ayodhya - Annoyed with the ruling bharatiya janata party's ''dilly-dallying attitude'' on the issue of the Ram temple construction here, chairman of Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi trust Paramhans Ramchandra Das today announced plans to sit on a fast-unto-death here within a couple of days, reports UNI. ......
 
• JNU's mini-Stalins
• Editorial, The Pioneer, November 3, 2000
>>> Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who are also activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI), showed themselves in poor light when they pushed, jostled and abused a reporter of The Pioneer on Wednesday. ......
 
• Hating and aping India
• Aamna Haider Isani, The News International, November 3, 2000
>>> It would be incorrect to say that our masses breed a hatred for India.  Their way of life does not reflect animosity even though their words might.  In 1940, Japan suffered tremendously due to America's atomic attacks.  This should have been a good enough reason to keep hatred alive for infinite generations to come.  But if you ask them, the Japanese will surprise you with their attitude.  Instead of begrudging the USA, they are thankful. ......
 
• In a blue vein
• Nitin a. Gokhale, Outlook, November 6, 2000
>>> Mizoram, the tiny north-eastern state with a population of barely eight lakh, justifiably prides itself on being the most literate state in the country-having overtaken Kerala in the literacy sweepstakes a couple of years ago.  But today, the state faces a situation that's sent alarm bells ringing among its social and political leaders. ......
 
• The misunderstood RSS
• M.V. Kamath, The Free Press Journal, November 3, 2000
>>> The Vajpayee Government or call it the BJP-led government - has been one year and slightly longer in office and, sadly, the secularist voice is stilled.  Not quite, but substantially.  When it came to power there was talk about "secret agendas", about Fascist tendencies etc, etc.  Now, according to a poll conducted in behalf of the BJP-hating "The Hindustan Times," at least urban Indians think that Vajpayee's prime ministership is described as good by 44 per cent and excellent by 25 per cent. ......
 
• A discourse of the deaf
• Irfan Husain, Dawn, November 4, 2000
>>> Of late, there has been much discussion of the Two- Nation Theory in the national press.  Politicians, especially those from the three smaller provinces, have made critical noises about this principle that was the basis for the partition of India. ......
 
• Muslims in America Feel Betrayed
• Mansoor Ijaz, Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2000
>>> America's 6.6 million Muslims have finally come of age.  Last week, an umbrella organization of Muslims throughout the U.S.  united as never before and endorsed George W.  Bush for president.  The announcement marks one of the more compelling paradoxes of the 2000 presidential sweepstakes. ......
 
• Horror of Fundamentalism..SOS from Pakistan
• Students of Sindh University, November 5, 2000
>>> While we are busy in discussing the issues of international politics, IMF, World Bank, revolution, globalization, environment, provincial autonomy, nationalism and modern and classic literature the molvis, mullas, talibs, and religious fanatics are destroying ile already wounded Sindh, Balochistan and Seraiki belt of Pakistan, economically and socially. ......
 
• Basu an old friend of China, says CPC
• The Observer of Business and Politics, November 6, 2000
>>> The Communist Party of China on Sunday described outgoing West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu as 'a friend of China' and hailed his role in promoting Sino-Indian relations. ......
 
• Assamese general gets recognition after 300 yrs
• Samudra Gupta Kashyap, The Indian Express, November 6, 2000
>>> Lachit Barphukan, the greatest general Assam has ever produced, Will get the recognition he deserved - though it comes over 300 years too late.  A bust of the all-time great Assamese hero is being dispatched to the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla near Pune, where it is to be installed. ......
 
• Plan to Move Statues Has London in Broil
• T.R. Reid, Washington Post, November 6, 2000
>>> For most of the world, the age of imperialism is just a chapter in the history books, a tale of bigotry, conquest and plunder as Europeans used the gun and the gallows to impose Western rule on the peoples Kipling called "lesser breeds without the law." ......
 
• No Go NGO
• Editorial, The Times of India, November 7, 2000
>>> 'Have visa, will travel' has today become synonymous with the Third World NGO.  Indeed, poverty brokering has become a major growth industry.  The modern day NGO glides between the abject deprivation of his own home country to the gilded conference halls of western capitals guilt-tripping with practised ease the remorseful aid-giver.  Though this is not to suggest that all NGOs are riding to success on the back of poverty and misery, there have been more than a few wormy apples who have given the fraternity a bad name. ......
 
• Sub-nation in a non-nation
• Sandhya Jain, The Pioneer, November 7, 2000
>>> There has been a discernible frisson of excitement in intellectual and political circles in the capital ever since the leaders of the Mohajirs, Sindhis, Baluchis and Pakhtoons met at Acton Town Hall in London recently and declared the demise of the two-nation theory. ......
 
• US accuses Pak of aiding Taleban
• Rediff on Net, November 7, 2000
>>> The United States has charged Pakistan with militarily aiding Afghanistan's Taleban in the militia's fight against rival factions in the country, and vowed to seek international support, including that of India and Russia, in containing global terrorism. ......
 
• Narayanan calls for study of Sanskrit
• The Hindu, November 8, 2000
>>> President K R Narayanan today said to study and disseminate Sanskrit among the people, not as an ideological fetish but as a living and rich language, would not only be a tribute to Kalidas, but a way of preparing ourselves for the future. ......
 
• The Triumph of Truth
• Arabinda Ghose, The Observer of Business and Politics, November 9, 2000
>>> October 31, 2000 was the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.  However, it will always be celebrated by the people of not only Gujarat but also of Western Madhya Pradesh and the region around Dhule district of Maharashtra as a virtual red letter day. ......
 
• A Shot in the arm for RSS concept of 'swadeshi church'
• Observer Political Bureau, The Observer of Business and Politics, November 9, 2000
>>> The RSS concept of a 'Swadeshi Church' received a shot in the arm, when an organisation representing dalit Christians, called for a debate on the issue within the community and accused the church of misleading the Christians about the idea.  "The church and their NG0s are misleading the Christian community by creating various kinds of misunderstanding and misconceptions on the idea of swadeshi churches advocated by RSS chief K S Sudarshan," R L Francis, president of Poor Christian liberation Movement (PCLM) said. ......
 
• Sting of geopolitical perfidy
• Cecil Victor, The Pioneer, November 10, 2000
>>> The threat by militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir to use surface-to-air missiles (SAM) to shoot down Indian aircraft should invite immediate and massive response from the Government of India if it is not to be perceived to be indifferent to territorial integrity and sovereignty. ......
 
• Pak to roll out 150 fighter jets
• Rahul Datta, The Pioneer, November 10, 2000
>>> The Pakistan Air Force will have an edge over the Indian Air Force (IAF) by the end of year 2003 when 150 FC-1 fighter jets start rolling out of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, near Ismalabad.  These jets will be an improved version of MIG-33. ......
 
• HC pulls up police for inaction in Imam's case
• The Hindu, November 10, 2000
>>> The Delhi High Court today asked police to explain what progress had been made after registering first information reports (FIRs) against Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed and his father Abdullah Bukhari for inciting Muslims against the Government.  Both have been booked for sedition under Section 124(a) of the Indian Penal Code. ......
 
• Communists Declare Holiday For Eucharistic Congress In South India
• Catholic World News, November 10, 2000
>>> The Communist party-led government in southern Kerala state has declared a public holiday today Friday on the occasion of the beginning of the three-day Jubilee 2000 Eucharistic Congress. ......
 
• 'Holy Mother' Delivers Message
• Paul Logan, Albuquerque Journal, November 10, 2000
>>> A woman many believe to be one of the rarest individuals on earth - a living saint - has come to Albuquerque to share her love. ......
 
• Peace activists pin hopes on India-Pakistan trade
• Muddassir Rizvi, www.pacificnews.org, November, 2000
>>> As guns spit fire along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan in the disputed Valley of Kashmir, the two neighbors recently signed a sugar trade contract. ......
 
• Vijayadashami Karyakram at Nagpur
• Shree Vishwa Niketan, November 1, 2000
>>> Full text of P.P.  Sarsanghchalakji's address:- The Sangh-Ganga that started flowing with the efforts of P.P.  Dr.  Hedgewar in Nagpur in 1925 with a mission to organise Hindu society has completed 75 years of activity awakening the Bharatiyas from their centuries long slumber.  This Sangh Ganga has not only reached all states; districts or tehsils, beyond that all development blocks and to many more villages but has also reached Hindus in 35 Countries. ......
 
• The misunderstood RSS
• M.V.  Kamath, The Free Press Journal, November 3, 2000
>>> The Vajpayee Government or call it the BJP-led government - has been one year and slightly longer in office and, sadly, the secularist voice is stilled.  Not quite, but substantially.  When it came to power there was talk about "secret agendas", about Fascist tendencies etc, etc. ......
 
• Reforms in Muslim Personal Law
• Asghar Ali Engineer, The Daily, November 6, 2000
>>> Women in general and Muslim women in particular are suffering because of denial of their rights in this patriarchal society.  The greater the degree of illiteracy, the &eater the lack of consciousness and, hence, the greater their suffering. ......
 
• Conversations: 'Muslims Have Been Reduced to a Pitiable Condition'
• Maseeh Rahman, CNN News, November 7, 2000
>>> Syed Ahmed Bukhari is the influential, newly installed Shahi Imam, or head cleric, of India's biggest mosque, Jama Masjid.  Taking up the post held by his father (the imamate is hereditaru) on October 14, he didn't waste any time: announcing plans to set up a new political party for the country's Muslims, while criticizing the treatment of minority religious groups. ......
 
• The Ethics of Proselytizing
• Rajiv Malhotra, The Infinity Foundation, November 8, 2000
>>> We have heard numerous talks at this event about the human rights problems related to White Supremacy groups, but do we have the courage to examine the possibility that there might be Christian supremacy groups as well, often camouflaged as proselytizers? ......
 
• The other rogue state
• Khalid Duran, The Washington Times, November 11, 2000
>>> Few Americans are aware that Pakistan today resembles rogue states such as Iran and Sudan in terms of brutal treatment of its minorities.  Some U.S. decision-makers still pin hopes on Gen.  Pervez Musharraf, who took control of Pakistan last year.  But Gen. Musharraf does little to convince the world of his sincerity in wishing to change things. ......
 
• Countering Pak 'hacktivism'
• Arvind Lavakare, Rediff on Net, November 14, 2000
>>> A few days ago, an Indian from the USA sent an e-mail pleading that three specifically named rediff.com columnists work in tandem with rediff.com folk to highlight what he calls "the growing danger of hacktivism". ......
 
• Hidden Patterns
• Varsha Bhosle, Rediff on Net, November 14, 2000
>>> What I do best is collate information and draw inferences therefrom.  The week after I wrote about the threat to Kashmir's Shia community in The Sipah-e-Sahaba factor, http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/oct/23varsha.htm Shia leader Agha Sayeed Mehdhi was assassinated in a landmine blast at Magham. ......
 
• Naga group training Gorkha youth in Kalimpong, says WB police
• Express News Service, The Indian Express, November 14, 2000
>>> The West Bengal police today claimed that it has got definite evidence of the presence of some Naga insurgent group in Kalimpong area of Darjeeling, where they were involved in imparting arms training to Gorkha youths. ......
 
• Govt's new syllabus may lead to allegations of 'saffronisation'
• Sharad Gupta, The Indian Express, November 14, 2000
>>> The release of a draft curriculum by the Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi for school education in the country tomorrow to mark Children's Day, may trigger off allegations of saffronisation of education. ......
 
• Osama Bin Laden II emerges to sponsor Islamic extremism
• The Indian Express, November 15, 2000
>>> Islamic extremists have got another Osama Bin Laden! Moscow's popular daily, Nezavisimaya Gazeta , has quoted Omar Baqr Ahmed, a Britain-based Syrian, as having told a news conference in London he had forwarded a hundred thousand pounds to Muslim fighters in Chechnya and that the international Islamic outfit he headed had militant training centres both in the UK and the US. ......
 
• Extremists confess to training in Afghanistan
• Rediff on Net, November 15, 2000
>>> A number of Muslim extremists detained by the Chinese authorities have confessed to have undergone militant training in Taleban-controlled camps in Afghanistan.  A Novosti dispatch quoted Dr Rau Rongzu, head of a Chinese delegation to an Islamabad seminar, as having echoed his country's concerns over an emergent Islamic extremism in the autonomous region of Xinjiang-uigur, in its north-western flank. ......
 
• US cautions China, Russia, India over Asia security
• Reuters, The Hindu, November 15, 2000
>>> China, India and Russia could risk regional security as they seek greater roles in Asia, the United States military has said. ......
 
• Fiji court orders Chaudhry's return
• BBC News, November 15, 2000
>>> The High Court in Fiji has ruled that the government of the deposed Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, should be reinstated. ......
 
• Court orders Chaudhry's reinstatement
• Rediff on Net, November 15, 2000
>>> The government of deposed prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry must be reinstated, the high court in Fiji has ruled. ......
 
• Can India and China ever be real friends?
• M V Kamath, Free Press Journal, November 16, 2000
>>> Can India and China ever really be friends? Or are they bound to live in years to come, in mutual distrust? That question was on the anvil when leading officials both from China and India met for a frank face-to-face discussion on the issues confronting them at a get-together held under auspices of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) at Manipal last week. ......
 
• Republican Ed Royce is India Caucus co-chairman
• Ramesh Chandran, The Times of India, November 16, 2000
>>> As widely anticipated, Congressman Ed Royce was appointed as the Republican co-chairman of the influential Congressional Caucus for India on Tuesday night.  He replaces James Greenwood.Fortynine-year-old Royce, reputed for his fortitude and energy on the floor, is seen by the Indian-American community as a splendid choice owing to his bipartisanship in a deeply-riven US Congress, where the Republicans hold a wispy majority over the Democrats. ......
 
• Tied to camels: Kids in UAE continue to suffer
• dpa, Dawn, November 17, 2000
>>> Shortly after sunrise and again before sunset every day Sheizad and the other little riders are strapped to the backs of camels for endless hours of training at the racetracks amid the sand dunes and glittering skyscrapers of this rich Arab emirate. ......
 
• Fundamentalists protest against Malayalam play
• Rosamma Jose, Mid-Day, November 17, 2000
>>> The Malayalam play Savamtheenikal, which angered the Arab word, has created ripples in Kerala too.  Fundamentalists are up in arms against the MI Higher Secondary School for Girls at Puthuponni in Malappuram district for staging the play at its youth festival. ......
 
• India asks 10 US Christian missionaries to leave
• Rediff on Net, November 17, 2000
>>> The Indian government has asked 10 Christian missionaries from the United States to leave the country by Sunday, a Press Trust of India report said on Friday. ......
 
• Jinnah must be rolling in his grave
• The Friday Times, November 17, 2000
>>> Nusli Wadia may be the grandson of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-i-Azam, but he lives in India, and is proud to be an Indian, according to British journalist David Gardner who interviewed Wadia in Bombay recently ......
 
• Pakistan rolls out its tanks, missles for sale
• Kamal Siddiqi, The Indian Express, November 18, 2000
>>> It is only Pakistan's first international defence exhibition, but it's left the hosts and participants impressed.  Thousands of visitors thronging the ``IDEAS 2000'' defense show, being held in Karachi, have been coming away stunned with the range of locally-manufactured weapon systems and equipment on display. ......
 
• Us Company once again insults Hindus
• Ashish Kumar Sen, The Asian Age, November 18, 2000
>>> Respect for Hindu deities just hit rock bottom.  Sittin' Pretty Designs, a Seattle-based company, is marketing toilet seats decorated with images of Lord Ganesha and Godess Kali. ......
 
• Doctor faces death row for talk in Pak on Mohammad
• The Decaan, November 19, 2000
>>> A doctor and a teacher at a medical college in Islamabad, Younus Shaikh, is in prison facing the death penalty under the blasphemy laws of the land.  He was arrested by the police on October 4 for pointing out that Mohammed became a Prophet at the age of 40, and till then his parents were not Muslims. ......
 
• JNU elects ABVP union chief
• UNI, The Indian Express, November 19, 2000
>>> The prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, long considered a red bastion, has gone the saffron way this year with the BJP-affiliated ABVP bagging the coveted post of the JNU students union president, but the left party sympathisers say their vote base is intact. ......
 
• Hizb asks Pakistan to invade India, carve out Kashmir
• Deccan Chronicle, November 19, 2000
>>> A militant group demanded Saturday that the Pakistan Army cross the disputed border to aid "freedom fighters" in Indian-administered Kashmir. ......
 
• No differences between RSS and NDA: Sudarshan
• Dilip Chaware, The Times of India, November 19, 2000
>>> Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshan has denied that there were differences between the RSS and the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. ......
 
• Was Prof K N Panikkar lying?
• Hindu Vivek Kendra, November 19, 2000
>>> I very much appreciate receiving your bulletins from the NETWORK OF CONCERNED HISTORIANS (NCH).  I respect the valuable work that you do reporting the condition of historians who face persecution.  Most of the things broadcast by your organization are very valid and urgent.  But I must point out something that does not belong in your report. ......
 
• Mujahideen being trained in Birmingham for jihad
• L. K. Sharma, The Times of India, November 20, 2000
>>> Birmingham has emerged as one of the training centres of Mujahideen.  Two arrests, seizure of explosives and a media interview by a Mujahideen trained in Britain, confirm this.  It has brought to focus the fact that UK is being used by Islamic terrorists. ......
 
• Pak directs its troops to stop Jammu border fencing
• B L Kak, The Daily Excelsior, November 20, 2000
>>> Pakistan's military leadership will not allow India to erect barbed-wire fencing along the International Border (IB) in Jammu region. ......
 
• Christ and the Northeast
• Francois Gautier, The Indian Express, November 20, 2000
>>> Jesus Christ was a great avatar of Love and his message of compassion, charity, of caring for one and other, is even more relevant today, in these fast and merciless times of ours, than it was 20 centuries ago. ......
 
• Shittin' Gritty
• Varsha Bhosle, Rediff on Net, November 20, 2000
>>> By now you've all read about Sittin' Pretty Designs' toilet seats bearing images of Ganpati Bappa and Kali Ma, who are the only two deities featured in the company's "Sacred Seat Collection" suite.  Meaning, only Hindu deities are sacred, or, only Hindu deities deserve to embellish toilet seats, or, only Hindus take affronts lying down, or in this case, sitting up. ......
 
• Waking up the Kumbhkaran
• Francois Gautier, www.india.com, November 6, 2000
>>> To my knowledge, only two foreign journalists have stayed so long in this country: Mark Tully, who as you know was for long the South Asia BBC correspondent and myself. ......
 
• Harkat threatens attacks on Indian Army: PTI
• Rediff on Net, November 12, 2000
>>> The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a militant outfit dominated by Afghan and Pakistani mercenaries, Tuesday threatened massive attacks on Indian Army camps during the holy month of Ramzan irrespective of the cease-fire declared by New Delhi. ......
 
• Sena to BJP: Don't abandon Hindus
• Vaibhav Purandare, The Asian Age, November 13, 2000
>>> The Shiv Sena has attacked its alliance partner, the BJP, for "abandoning" Hindutva and labelled its demand for a separate state of Vidarbha as "hypocritical." ......
 
• Armed with saffron
• The Asian Age, November 13, 2000
>>> The increasing political space, which forces representing the saffron brigade have acquired, is having its inevitable spin-offs.  The conscious and deliberate attempt being made by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to permeate the Indian armed forces with what many consider to be its divisive ideology is a case in point. ......
 
• Advanced society discovered in Amazon
• John Noble Wilford, The Asian Age, November 16, 2000
>>> While other archaeologists spend their careers looking for "lost" cities, Dr Clark Erickson of the University of Pennsylvania Museum keeps a practiced eye out for "lost" landscapes. ......
 
• Govt.  rejects order reinstating Chaudhry
• Reuters, The Indian Express, November 16, 2000
>>> Fiji's High Court on Wednesday ordered the pre-coup administration of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry reinstated, but the military and its interim government promptly rejected the ruling. ......
 
• Cabinet makes Divorce Act suitable for Christian women
• The Indian Express, November 17, 2000
>>> To mitigate the hardships faced by Christian women in divorce matters, the Union Cabinet today initiated steps for bringing suitable changes in the outdated Indian Divorce Act, 1869, by approving the Indian Divorce (amendment) Bill, 2000 which will be introduced in Parliament during the winter session. ......
 
• Archaeologists dig up evidence of a green Saurashtra
• Parag Dave, The Indian Express, November 17, 2000
>>> Imagine a Saurashtra that is green everywhere, where there are large sweet water bodies and rivers flow, where there in range of flora and fauna that can rival of other part of the country and an average rainfall much higher than what it is today. ......
 
• The party got over in Kargil
• Shobori Ganguli, The Pioneer, November 18, 2000
>>> Personal dreams, the most easily shattered, possess immense potential to hurt; the pain is however beyond the threshold of endurance when an entire nation's dreams are shattered. ......
 
• Analysis: Muslim voters offer tricky opportunity for GOP
• UPI, Steve Sailer, November 18, 2000
>>> Because Latinos and East Asians --America's largest new immigrant groups -- voted solidly for Al Gore, Republicans had been searching for a spot of good news about the voting trends of America's fast growing immigrant population.  They finally found it in a new poll indicating that Muslim Americans voted heavily for George W.  Bush. ......
 
• Ram row raked up in Pak
• The Free Press Journal, November 19, 2000
>>> Barely a month after the controversial October 3 visit to India by a three-member delegation of the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) and earlier statements by the party's supremo, Altaf Hussain, the party secretary general, Dr Imran Farooq, has stoked the flames again by describing "Ram" as a great name in the history of world religions. ......
 
• Gore-China Connection alive and kicking!
• Barry Schweid, Associate Press, November 21, 2000
>>> The Clinton administration Tuesday welcomed a pledge by China not to help other countries develop ballistic missiles and responded by waiving economic sanctions on Chinese companies that assisted Pakistan and Iran in the past. ......
 
• Nadeem plays the communal card
• H S Rao, Rediff on Net, November 21, 2000
>>> Playing the communal card, Bollywood music director Nadeem Akhtar Saifee, facing extradition proceedings in connection with audio king Gulshan Kumar's murder, said he would not receive a fair trial in Bombay as he was a Muslim. ......
 
• US imposes missile sanctions on Pakistan
• Tahir Mirza, Dawn, November 22, 2000
>>> The United States on Tuesday announced sanctions under the Missile Control Technology regime against the Pakistani Ministry of Defence and the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Organization (SUPARCO) while lifting similar sanctions against China. ......
 
• Fresh US sanctions will not hurt Pakistani arms exports, says general
• The Indian Express, November 22, 2000
>>> A top Pakistani general on Wednesday shrugged off fresh US sanctions on the South Asian nuclear power's missile technology, saying they would not affect defence exports. ......
 
• Origins of Thanksgiving not at Plymouth Plantation (Letters To Editor)
• Dr. Gene Norman, The Green Bay Press-Gazette, November 22, 2000
>>> On Nov.  13 in the Lifestyle section of your newspaper, you published a brief story, "Thanksgiving a myth?" You are correct that Thanksgiving was NOT from the generosity of the native people at Plymouth Plantation.  So where did it originate? ......
 
• Five shot dead in Kashmir
• BBC News, November 22, 2000
>>> Five people have been shot dead in Kashmir in the first major incident since the Indian Government offered a ceasefire for the forthcoming holy month of Ramadan. ......
 
• 'Hindutva is the quintessence of Indian nationalism'- (Interview - K N Govindacharya)
• Rediff on Net, November 22, 2000
>>> K N Govindacharya complains that wherever he goes journalists quiz him about his study leave.  The former general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party is currently on a one-and-a-half-year study leave to document his understanding of rural India.  As part of the exercise, he intends visiting all Indian villages to interact with ordinary rural populace and intellectuals. ......
 
• Another Hindu Family Lands from Pak
• Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, The Indian Express, November 22, 2000
>>> Another Group of Hindu migrants from Pakistan have landed in Rohtak this week, apparently having fled due to religious persecution.  The seven-member Hindu family from Pakistan reached this village on Sunday.  Officially, they are said to be visiting their relatives, but indications are they will stay put. ......
 
• RSS camp for NRI Hindus next month
• Times of India, November 23, 2000
>>> In an effort to give a boost to its overseaes activities, the RSS will hold a conference at Uttan near Bhayander where it has built a sprawling training complex. ......
 
• The RSS syndrome
• G. S. Bhargava, The Pioneer, November 23, 2000
>>> The natural allies of the exploiters were the Christian missionaries.  Christianity in India is as old as St Thomas; but with the coming of the Europeans it became inextricably bound up with imperial domination.  Who said this? ......
 
• A shrill cry for appeasement
• Arvind Lavakare, Rediff on Net, November 23, 2000
>>> "I recall how in the past Muslims contributed to the League propaganda of the two-nation theory and how they took part in League politics. It was to put an end to this dual loyalty that we agreed to create Pakistan so that those who preferred to abide in that faith can find a place where they can pursue it.  In India there is no place for such persons. ......
 
• Indian counsel rejects Nadeem's claims of bias
• H S Rao, Rediff on Net, November 23, 2000
>>> Counsel for the Government of India has rejected the claim of Bollywood music director Nadeem Akhtar Saifi, facing extradition proceedings in connection with cassette king Gulshan Kumar's murder, that as a Muslim he would not receive a fair trial if he returned to Bombay. ......
 
• Christian missionary perfidy in India: M.V. Kamath
• M.V. Kamath, www.india.com, November 24, 2000
>>> Should Amitabh Bachchan ever be gasping for want of suitable questions to ask on his Kaun Banega Crorepathi show, here's one that he can try out. What happens when an irresistable force acts upon an immoveable body? Here are four possible answers: (a) Nothing. There's a stalemate. (b) An explosion (c) Laughter all round and (d) Bitterness on the part of both. ......
 
• Hindu Maharaja in the court of the global emperor:
• Syed Shahabudin, www.india.com, November 24, 2000
>>> When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Foreign Minister in 1977, for his first address to the senior officers of the Ministry, he walked in, sat silently, pensively for a few minutes and then expressed his sense of pride at occupying the chair once occupied by Jawaharlal Nehru.  I recall the dramatic moment when he identified himself with Nehru's vision of India and of its place in the world.  Today at the pinnacle of power, he has totally abandoned that vision. ......
 
• Even Jesus would not object!
• Tarun Vijay, Rediff of Net, November 24, 2000
>>> I live near the Gole market church in Delhi.  For the last four years, my wife, two children and I visit the church during Christmas.  Never have we said anything critical about Jesus or Christianity to our children.  We would like them to grow up in an atmosphere, free from hate and acrimony. ......
 
• Muslim rebels slit the throats of five Hindus in Kashmir: police
• Associate Free Press, November 24, 2000
>>> Suspected Kashmiri Muslim separatists Friday slit the throats of five Hindus who they had kidnapped in Indian-ruled Kashmir, three days after the murder of five Sikh and Hindu truckers, police said. ......
 
• Nazis 'drowned boy for being part-Asian'
• Toby Helm, Electronic Telegraph, November 25, 2000
>>> Revulsion at the crimes of neo-Nazi racists gripped Germany yesterday after it emerged that two young men and a woman had been arrested on suspicion of murdering a six-year-old half-Iraqi boy in a swimming pool. ......
 
• Chronic criticism of RSS and Indian secularists:
• Prof. Rakesh Sinha, www.india.com, November 25, 2000
>>> RSS Chief K.  S.  Sudarshan's suggestions to Christians and Muslims to Indianise themselves has been mischievously interpreted as a "pernicious campaign" against minorities and an attempt to "metamorphose India" into theocratic state.  Such criticism is predictable from the Islamists, Missionaries and communist sources but even the 'secularists' have also been harping upon it. ......
 
• Pak group plans to impose Islamic judicial system
• UNI, The Hindustan Times, November 25, 2000
>>> Defying rule of law, a prominent religious group of Pakistan, Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), has announced that it will impose Islamic system in 20 cities across the country by 2001 and has directed people to withdraw cases from courts and file them before 'qazi courts' or face death.  In Dogdara village of Dir district, people who do not withdraw their cases from courts and file them before qazi courts, will face death penalty.  People would be asked to go to mosques for justice. ......
 
• Supreme dharm of non-violence
• Harish C. Gaur, The Pioneer, November 25, 2000
>>> Ahinsa is one of five codes of self-restraint in Patanjali's yog; others being the truth, non-stealing, continence, non-avariciousness.  These are initial steps that lead to concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyaan) and trance (samadhi). ......
 
• Islamic fundamentalism changing Assam security scenario
• Nirendra Dev, Rediff on Net, November 27, 2000
>>> Emergence of Islamic fundamentalism has given a totally new twist to the security scenario in Assam with a large section of the disgruntled Muslim population being lured by over a dozen militant groups, says Chief Minister P K Mahanta. ......
 
• Ask India to pull out troops from Kashmir, Harkat tells US
• Daily Excelsior, November 27, 2000
>>> Kashmiri militant group Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen has urged the US to ask India to withdraw troops from Jammu and Kashmir, instead of suggesting that the outfit respect the truce offer by New Delhi. ......
 
• Media does not have guts
• Jaya Jaitly, www.india.com, November 27, 2000
>>> There is something very strange about our public responses to issues, especially the reaction, or the lack of it on certain occasions.  Remember Water? Not the drought in Gujarat, or the lack of clean drinking water in most villages, but the English semi-intellectual, semi-social film which director Deepa Mehta tried to film in Varanasi? ......
 
• Islamic Fundamentalism giving new twist to Assam militancy
• The Nav Hind Times, November 28, 2000
>>> Emergence of Islamic fundamentalism has give a totally new twist to the security scenario in Assam with a large section of disgruntled Muslim population being lured by over a dozen militant groups, says the Chief Minister, Mr. P. K. Mahanta. ......
 
• Doctor faces death row for talk in Pak on Mohammad
• The Deccan Herald, November 19, 2000
>>> A doctor and a teacher at a medical college in Islamabad, Younus Shaikh, is in prison facing the death penalty under the blasphemy laws of the land.  He was arrested by the police on October 4 for pointing out that Mohammed became a Prophet at the age of 40, and till then his parents were not Muslims. ......
 
• International Islamism
• B.Raman, Seminar on Islamic Terrorism at New Delhi, November 25, 2000
>>> What a person thought yesterday and expresses today, he or she may do or attempt to do it tomorrow.  By carefully monitoring and analysing the thoughts of yesterday and the words of today, one may be able to have advance warnings of the likely happenings of tomorrow. ......
 
• Mistreatment of Gypsies
• The Observer of Business and Politics, November 27, 2000
>>> A year ago, a town in the Czech Republic made international news when it erected a wall separating its Gypsies from the rest of its citizens.  While Gypsies face discrimination in most of Eastern and Central Europe, their lot is not that much better in the West. ......
 
• Steps on to propagate Vedic studies in NE
• Anujata D Talukdar, Assam Tribune, November 27, 2000
>>> As you near the building, your ears are filled with the sound of Vedic slokas being chanted in unison by young boys.  Had it not been for the urban setting you could have been excused for mistaking it for a hermitage of the ancient times.  But then this is the heart of Guwahati where a brave attempt is being made to preserve for posterity what is being gradually sidelined. ......
 
• Day one: 11 killed; Hizbul unrelenting
• The Pioneer, November 28, 2000
>>> Guns failed to fall silent as 11 people, including five militants and four security personnel, were killed and 22 injured on the first day of Ramzan ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday even as people in the Valley saw a ray of hope in the Centre's peace initiative. ......
 
• Ceasefire, cricket and Kashmir
• Saisuresh Sivaswamy, Rediff on Net, November 28, 2000
>>> What do you do when someone has unleashed untold violence against you, your family, covets what is yours and tries to destroy everything that is dear to you? I pretty well know what I would do. ......
 
• American Muslims a new force
• Larry Witham, The Washington Times, November 28, 2000
>>> American Muslims began the Ramadan month of fasting last night as a remarkably well-organized religious minority. ......
 
• Ceasefire Day 1: 4 soldiers among 14 killed
• Mukhtar Ahmad, Rediff on Net, November 28, 2000
>>> Just hours after a unilateral ceasefire came into force in Jammu and Kashmir, at least 14 people, including four soldiers and nine militants, were killed while over a dozen security personnel were wounded seriously in the valley in a series of blasts and encounters. ......
 
• Israel-India deal may affect truce
• Jawed Naqvi, Dawn, Karachi, November 28, 2000
>>> Israel announced a spy plane deal with India on the eve of a rare Iraqi vice-presidential visit to New Delhi from Monday as also right in the midst of sensitive peace moves over Kashmir, raising eyebrows in both camps, official sources said. ......
 
• India feels threat of Balkanisation
• Luke Harding, Island Newspaper, November 28, 2000
>>> As India struggles to maintain a ceasefire in Kashmir, its territorial integrity comes under yet more threats, this time from secessionists in the south of the country, reports Luke Harding ......
 
• 'Without Pakistan's consent, a ceasefire is difficult'
• Rediff on Net, November 29, 2000
>>> Within days of taking over as the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, India's biggest mosque, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, has created a political storm. The cleric has hit the headlines with controversial statements on the brokering of peace in Jammu & Kashmir and forming a new political party, exclusively for Muslims. ......
 
• 46 killed for refusing to convert to Islam, activist claims
• Agence France-Presse, November 30, 2000
>>> An Indonesian Christian activist claimed yesterday that 46 people had been slaughtered on a small island of the Malukus chain for refusing to convert to Islam.  "We have received reports that on Kasiui Island, in the Watubela Island group, four Christian hamlets were razed by Muslim attackers from the surrounding islands earlier this week," said Sammy Weileruni, a lawyer with the Maranatha Christian centre. ......
 
• Pakistan Gets $596 Million From IMF
• Kathy Gannon, The Associated Press, November 30, 2000
>>> After tough negotiations, the International Monetary Fund agreed Thursday to give cash- strapped Pakistan a $596 million loan. ......
 
• The Rediff Interview/Mizoram CM Zoramthanga
• Rediff on Net, November 30, 2000
>>> For 20 years -- from 1966 to 1986 -- Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga was second in command of the Mizo insurgents during militancy in the northeastern state.  As an underground leader, he travelled to various places including China and Pakistan to procure weapons for the Mizo National Front that waged a war against the Indian State. ......
 
• Marxist Road to Nowhere - Flawed ideology, misplaced zeal
• Hari Jaisingh, The Tribune, November 30, 2000
>>> Where does communism stand amidst the sweeping thrust of globalisation and liberalisation? How potent is it in today's changing yearnings and priorities? As an ideological concept it may still be relevant. ......
 
• More than 20 killed in Assam attacks
• Subir Bhaumik, BBC News, November 30, 2000
>>> At least 21 people have been killed in attacks by separatist militants in India's north-eastern state of Assam. ......
 
• Hizb is flush with ISI funds
• Dinesh Kumar, The Times of India, November 2, 2000
>>> The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, with which the central government briefly engaged in peace talks, was the single largest recipient of Pakistani ISI funds among the militant groups and has been operating with a "sound financial management" in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Army. ......
 
• The grand architect
• Jagmohan, The Hindustan Times, November 3, 2000
>>> No one in modern India has achieved so much in so many directions in such a short time as Sardar Patel.  He demonstrated in no uncertain terms that "things are revolutionised, not by creating revolutions on the streets but by causing practical solution of the existing problems". ......
 
• Saraswati: River Beyond the Myth
• V G Rao, The Times of India, November 13, 2000
>>> The sacred literature of every, religion abounds in parable, and semantically loaded symbolisms, usually contrived for easy, comprehension of spiritual ideas by lay followers.  Hindu texts are no exception to this convention. ......
 
• Vatican Claims Religious Superiority
• Muzaffar Hussain, Organiser, November 19, 2000
>>> The Vatican has now come out loud and clear that according to its faith there is no salvation to followers of other religions and only the Catholic Church can grant salvation, though it has not been put so bluntly. ......
 
• India holds the key to western salvation
• Francois Gautier, Organiser, November 19, 2000
>>> Francois Gautier, French journalist and photographer is the political correspondent, in India and South Asia for, Le Figaro the largest circulated French newspaper.  He is married to an Indian and has lived in India for the past 30 years, which has helped him to "see through the usual cliches and prejudices on India", to which he himself subscribed for a long time as most foreign (and sometimes Unfortunately, Indian) journalists, writers and historians do. ......
 
• Democracy key to Pak survival (Interview)
• P V Thomas, Newstime, November 19, 2000
>>> Biyyathil Mohyuddin Kutty is a senior political leader in Pakistan.  A Malappuram-born Keralite who migrated to Pakistan during the partition, he is based in Karachi and has the distinction of having served jail terms in all military regimes, except the current one. ......
 
• The Vedic-Harappan Connection
• N.S. Rajaram, Organiser, November 19, 2000
>>> The last quarter of the twentieth century saw major advances in our understanding of ancient India.  Beginning with the discovery of the Vedic Sarasvati river by the late V.S.  Wakankar, it has reached a new stage following the decipherment of the famous and difficult Indus script (or the Harappan script) by Natwar Jha in collaboration with this writer. ......
 
• Shades of Mussolini!
• Hiranmay Karlekar, Newstime, November 19, 2000
>>> There was never any doubt that Sonia Gandhi would be over-whelmingly elected Congress president on November 12. ......
 
• Politics of fisticuffs
• Editorial, The Asian Age, November 24, 2000
>>> Politicians have been known to cross the realm of verbal abuse into direct assault on many, an occasion in the past.  It is rarely an occasion for comment, with the media taking these frequent physical interactions very much in its stride. ......
 
• Perfidious neighbour
• Editorial, Newstime, November 25, 2000
>>> Nabbing of four Pakistani terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba who had arrived in Thane, a city on the outskirts of Mumbai metropolis, on a mission to blast the residence of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, the 'RSS headquarters in Nagpur and other select targets like oil installations is yet another reminder that this country cannot afford to lower guard against a perfidious neighbour bent on creating havoc of communal disturbances and economic ruin in India through a ceaseless campaign of terror, violence and destruction. ......
 
• Church betrayed 'Dalit' Christians
• R L Francis, Organiser, November 26, 2000
>>> About one crore Dalit Christians of India feel cheated by the Church which converted them to Christianity with the assurance that they would be given equal rights and status in the community.  But now Dalit Christians are more untouchable in Christianity than they were in their original faith, said the President of Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM), R L Francis. ......
 
• Mysterious 4700 Year Old Temple Site Found In Wales
• David Keys, Rense.com, November 26, 2000
>>> Archaeologists have discovered a mysterious 4,700-year-old temple that is the largest Stone Age structure ever found in Western Europe.  More than a half a mile across and covering 85 acres, the site in mid-Wales is 30 times the size of Stonehenge. ......
 
• Rama in the veins of Indian Muslims and Christians
• G.N.S. Raghavan, Organiser, November 26, 2000
>>> Secularist brigade's inadequate literacy of the in India's history and culture is betrayed by its outraged reaction to the reminder by the RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S.  Sudarshan of the Hindu ancestry of Indian Muslims and Christians. ......
 
• Secularism Sufiyana Style
• Satiricus, Organiser, November 26, 2000
>>> It is time for Swadeshi freaks from Sarsanghchalak Sudarshan to swayamsevak Satiricus to hang their ignorant heads in shame.  The day the Sarsanghchalak made his call for a Swadeshi Church, the crass communalism of the rabid RSS was revealed to a shocked, secular world. ......
 
• US, Russia to impose embargo on Taliban
• Evelyn Leopold, The Asian Age, November 30, 2000
>>> Despite UN efforts to start peace talks in Afghanistan, the United States and Russia want to impose an arms embargo against Afghanistan's Taliban rulers but not ban weapons reaching fighters opposing them. ......
 
• Unschooled in Pakistan
• Ardeshir Cowasjee, The Asian Age, November 30, 2000
>>> No one denies that the bigots in Pakistan outstrip by far the educated.  No government since: the government of the founder of the nation has acknowledged the fact that the educated have a natural ascendancy over the bigots and that therefore something has to be done to eradicate the dangerous deficit. ......
 
• Pak militants inspired by success of Taliban
• Jack Redden, The Asian Age, November 30, 2000
>>> The black-bearded mullah complained that exhorting Pakistanis to reject cable television and its contaminating Western programmes had failed, so the time was near for Muslim militants to take matters into their own hands. ......
 
• Vandals target temple site
• Express & Star News Paper, November 30, 2000
>>> Vandals have smashed down the walls of a £1 million temple and community centre being built in Smethwick, causing damage put at £10,000.  Community leaders have condemned the "misguided, week minded" thugs and say they are very much hurt by the attack on the Durga Bhawan site in Spon Lane south. ......
 
• Israel rejects UN human rights report
• The Asian Age, November 30, 2000
>>> Israel on Tuesday rejected -a report by UN human rights chief Mary Robinson accusing Israeli security forces of using "excessive force" against Palestinians during two months of unrest. ......
 
• Muslims plea not to allow Ayodhya congregation
• The Free Press Journal, November 30, 2000
>>> Many Muslim organizations including the acting state president of the All-India Muslim Majlis have written letters to the Prime Minister and the UP chief minister not to allow any congregation in Ayodhya on December 6 on the occasion of the eight anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. ......
 
• Toilet Seats Sport Hindu Gods
• Nirshan Perera, Rediff on Net, November 16, 2000
>>> Sittin' Pretty, a Seattle-based manufacturer of designer toilet seats, may find itself in the hot seat with the Hindu community in the days ahead. ......
 
• Mystery Woman Insulted Hindu Gods
• Nirshan Perera, Rediff on Net, November 17, 2000
>>> The owner of a company that sells toilet seats decorated with images of Hindu gods is a well-known tattoo artist and lesbian activist. ......
 
• Toilet Tempest is an Empty House
• Nirshan Perera, Rediff on Net, November 21, 2000
>>> I'm standing on the doorstep of what some think is a vast right-wing Christian conspiracy against Hinduism. ......
 
• Pictures of deities on US toilets stuns RS
• Rediff on Net, November 21, 2000
>>> Pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses have been pasted on lids of toilet seats in the United States to deliberately hurt the religious feelings of Indians, the Rajya Sabha was informed Tuesday. ......
 
• Our Company Didn't Mean to Offend Hindus
• Lamar Van Dyk, Rediff on Net, November 21, 2000
>>> The reality of our company is that we are two women.  Two women who make these toilet seats, lovingly, with our own hands, in our own home.  If you look closely at the selection available, with the exception of Lord Ganesh, all of the images we are using are representational of the female gender. ......
 
• Toilet Designer Apologizes to Hindus
• Nirshan Perera, Rediff on Net, November 22, 2000
>>> For the past two days, I'd been knocking on Lamar Van Dyke's door.  The woman who summoned the wrath of Indians around the world by making whimsical toilet seats depicting Hindu gods was hiding behind drawn blinds, pulled curtains, for good reason: she was afraid, and just a bit disoriented. ......

Last Article date: Thu November 30, 2000
Archived on:  Thu November 30, 2000