by The Times of India
The Centre seems to have dangled a carrot, while at the same time wielding
a stick, to solve the problem of Taslima Nasreen. It appears that officials
of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) have suggested to her that she
move out of India before her visa expires in mid-February. ...
by Vishwa Mohan
UP, which witnessed the most jehadi attacks outside Jammu and Kashmir
in the past three years, is also home to the highest number of ISI-backed
espionage modules, the government has said. ...
by Subodh Ghildiyal
The cost of this nightmare could be at least Rs 100 crore. With a massive
bill lurking at its doorsteps, a national rally of panchayats planned
by Mani Shankar Aiyar's panchayati raj ministry in the capital, has babudom
tied up in knots. ...
by Rajat Rai and Sanjay Singh
Security agencies and the state police are investigating the role of Mohammed
Tuffail Hussaini, a Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) militant and mastermind
of the 1993 train blasts, in connection with Friday's serial blasts in
Uttar Pradesh. Hussaini's elder brother, Faizi Ahmed, has been called
for questioning. ...
by G Parthasarathy
When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, the United States emerged
as the world's sole superpower. The US remains the pre-eminent global
power, but is increasingly conscious of the limitations of its military
power. It realises that it has to act in concert with other influential
powers to achieve common goals. ...
by Wilson John
Gen Pervez Musharraf's successor as Army chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani,
is a former boss of ISI, has patrons in Washington, DC, knows politicians
who matter in Pakistan and meets other criteria set by the Americans ...
by The Pioneer
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on Monday reiterated that she wished
to return to Kolkata, putting the secular professions of the Left Front
ruling West Bengal to an acid test. ...
by Free Press Journal
A blame game has ensued between the Congress and the Left over the controversial
writer Taslima Nasreen. Even as the Centre refrained from making an official
statement on the issue, the Congress Party claimed that the West Bengal
government had objected to extension of her visa. However, the state government
was overruled by the Centre, it is further claimed. ...
by Rediff.com
After the Congress preferred the son of a cook of the Gandhi-Nehru family
as its candidate for an assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh's Solan constituency
ahead of the experienced Speaker Dharampal Thakur, the three-time legislator
on Tuesday filed his nomination as an independent. ...
by Rajesh K. Gogna
The citizens and the Human Rights organisations of India are deeply concerned
about violations of Human Rights of the Hindus and other religious minorities
in Malaysia who have been marginalized and are destined to remain permanently
colonialized. ...
by Free Press Journal
Exiled Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasreen, who was whisked away from Rajasthan
House late Monday night, has gone into hiding in Delhi under Centre's
security wrap. Personnel of the Central security agencies woke her up
from sleep well past midnight at the Rajasthan guest house, her temporary
abode for the last four days, and asked her to accompany them to a "safe
house" at an undisclosed location. ...
by Tarun Vijay
When Hindus gathered courage and protested in an unprecedented solidarity
on November 26 in Kuala Lumpur, they were crushed brutally by the Malay
police using chemicals in the water cannons. None of those who had put
up a united front against a cartoon created in Denmark felt anything bad
or condemnable in the injustices meted out to the Hindus in an Islamic
country. ...
by B Murali
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stumbled upon a gold mine
of history. It has unearthed two ancient temples, believed to be at least
a thousand years old, on the premises of the Chandragiri Fort 14 km from
here. ...
by Sandeep Unnithan
The station headquarters in Delhi Cantonment buzz with activity with phones
ringing and soldiers snapping at attention. An officer works three phones,
speaking to army units across the country while thumbing through a flight
schedule. This is a military operation with a difference. ...
by Fjordman
Although not a religious person myself, I am usually in favor of a revitalization
of Christianity in Europe. However, I sometimes have my doubts when I
see how many, too many, church leaders consistently end up on the wrong
side of issues related to Islam and Muslim immigration. ...
by B.R.Haran
India has been a soft target for the Pakistan and Bangladesh based terror-outfits
for quite some time. While Jihad on India has been the focus and main
agenda of the Islamic terrorists, Kashmir, Babri demolition and Gujarat
riots have become convenient reasons for the so-called liberals, secularists
and rights activists to justify the actions of the Muslim terrorists and
fundamentalists. ...
by Saradindu Mukherji
Implicit in J.S. Bandukwala's avoidance of a prefix or suffix to the "Sabarmati
Express train burning" 'Glimmers in dark Gujarat', is his understandable
reluctance to empathise with the 54 passengers burnt in Godhra. This betrays
his exclusive concern for his co-religionists. Moreover, the "horrible
post-Godhra killings" he refers to, are not as one-sided as he and
many others would like to project. ...
by The Hindu Council UK
Britain's first state-funded Hindu Primary school, set to open in Harrow,
north London, in September 2008, has outlined an admissions policy the
Hindu Council UK (HCUK) says may rule out applications from the vast majority
of British Hindu children in the area. HCUK is also concerned the policy
may cause division within the local Hindu community. ...
by The Times of India
Refuting charges from the saffron brigade that Marxists were appeasing
minority communities, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Monday
pointed to the Sachar Committee report to project his government's "weakness"
in taking up adequate measures for the uplift of the minorities. ...
by Datuk A. Vaithilingam
The Hindraf Rally this Sunday is a wake up call for all Malaysians. It
is clear that there are tens of thousands of disaffected Indians in Malaysia
who feel the Government is not protecting their best interests. The socioeconomic
disadvantages of Indians have become more pronounced in recent years,
with the increased urbanization of once rural areas and the move to cities
by many children of former rubber tappers and farmers. ...
by Syed Zarir Hussain
A 36-hour general strike called by tribals across Assam on Monday has
been marred by violence and arson with strike supporters killing one person
and injuring at least 20 others in sporadic incidents, officials said.
...
by Ravi Ladduwahetty
An eminent 34- member advisory group of Sri Lankan professionals have
cautioned that the Sethusamudram canal dredging project could have disastrous
environment impacts, particularly, maritime environment, for Sri Lanka.
......
by Indrani Roy Mitra
Kolkata, a city she made her home for the last few years, has seen violent
protests over her living in the city, and she was 'shifted' -- it is as
yet unclear whether of her own volition or not -- to Jaipur and then to
New Delhi. ......
by Swapan Dasgupta
When an edifice built on control begins to crumble, all sorts of peculiar
creatures start emerging from the cracks. The uninhibited exhibition of
hooliganism witnessed on the streets of Central Kolkata last Wednesday
provided a vivid illustration of the CPI(M)'s slow loss of control over
a State it has ruled uninterrupted for 30 years. ......
by Arindam Sarkar
Taslima Nasreen is happy her plight has been highlighted, but the author-in-hiding
says she does not want to become a victim of politics. She has been told
that she could become an issue for the BJP against the Congress and the
CPM in the Gujarat elections. ......
by Navajit Bhagawati
Islamic fundamentalism is raising its hood in Assam. VCDs and torchlight
is being circulated. The VCDs contain Islamic verses of the Al-Qaida chief
Osama Bin Laden. His image appears when torchlight is focused, threatening
the security of the area. ......
by Fox News
A British primary school teacher arrested in Sudan faces up to 40 lashes
for blasphemy after letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear
Muhammad. ......
by Rediff.com
Accusing the government of trying to disturb the social harmony by providing
reservation to converted Muslims and Christians, leader of opposition
Lal Kishenchand Advani on Monday said economic status should be the only
criteria for grant of quota. ......
by Subramanian Swamy
I oppose the rupture of Ram Sethu to dredge out a seabed furrow called
the Sethusamudram channel on religious, economic, environmental and national
security grounds. However, even if the project is economically viable,
which it is not, environmentally acceptable, and safe from the perspective
of national security, I will still oppose it, because breaking a 300-metre
wide passage through the Ram Sethu is sacrilegious. ......
by Bharti Jain
The 'guardians of minority rights' in Gujarat may cry themselves hoarse
over the alleged "omission" of over 2,000 Muslim voters from
the state's electoral rolls, but a correction drive undertaken by the
Election Commission earlier this month saw only 440 persons coming forward
to have their names included in the voters' list. ......
by The Telegraph
Police today used tear gas and water cannons to crush a banned rally by
more than 10,000 ethnic minority Indians - a rare street clash that exposed
Muslim Malaysia's deep racial divisions. ......
by The Pioneer
West Bengal's image as a secular and liberal State has taken a severe
beating with the CPI(M) forcing dissident Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen
to leave Kolkata simply because fanatical hooligans who ran riot in central
Kolkata last Wednesday willed it so. This is a double whammy. First came
Nandigram where the CPI(M)'s armed brigands let loose murder and mayhem
to recapture territory from comrades-turned-rebels opposed to Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's smash-and-grab industrial policy designed to
promote crony capitalism. ......
by Mark Bendeich and Clarence Fernandez
Malaysia's ethnic Indian community staged its biggest anti-government
street protest on Sunday when more than 10,000 protesters defied tear
gas and water cannon to voice complaints of racial discrimination. ......
by Rashmee Roshan Lall
The spiritual head of the Church of England has launched an extraordinary
defence of the British Raj, saying it was benign to India compared with
cack-handed American neo-imperialism in Iraq. ......
by Chandan Mitra
A London datelined report last week said that a school run by a Hindu
religious foundation had laid the criteria to qualify as a "practising
Hindu". Only those who fulfilled these would be considered for 30
generous scholarships offered by the Avanti Krishna School in Harrow on
London's outskirts. ......
by M.V. Kamath
In recent weeks, India has been under a lot of well-meaning criticism
by idealists for not doing enough to help establish democracy in its neighbouring
countries, especially Myanmar. But is that its job? First, consider this:
Who are India's neighbours? To the immediate west is Pakistan. To India's
north lie Nepal and, by extension, Tibet. To the East is Bangladesh and
further east, Myanmar. ......
by P Ramakrishnan
Aliran, at its 31st annual general meeting held in Penang today, has expressed
its horror at the heavy-handed way the police responded to the Hindu Rights
Action Force (Hindraf) assembly in Kuala Lumpur this morning. ......
by Rediff.com
In an affidavit before the Supreme Court the Union government recently
said the Ram Sethu was a natural formation, and in passing also questioned
the existence of Lord Ram. ......
by Dawn
Benazir Bhutto must take the responsibility for the deaths of 139 people
in an attack on her homecoming rally by exposing them to danger for the
sake of her own 'personal theatre', her estranged niece said. ......
by Mark Schliebs
More than a thousand messages of protest against the caning of a gang-rape
victim have been sent to the Saudi Arabian officials in Canberra - but
Embassy staff are remaining silent. ......
by The New Indian Express
A disciplinary action by a school here against a Class III student threatens
to snowball into a religious controversy. The student's father, Ganesh
Ram, a lawyer by profession, has approached the State Human Rights Commission
alleging discrimination against his son on religious grounds. ......
by Rediff.com
Pakistan has used a significant portion of the US aid since September
11 attack to arm itself for a confrontation with India instead of conducting
war on terrorism, says a strategic think tank. ......
by Christian Today
Three suspected al Qaeda militants, including two sisters, beheaded their
uncle and his wife, forcing the couple's children to watch, Iraqi police
said on Friday. ......
by Cindy Wockner
One of the key Bali Bombers has issued a chilling warning from his death
row prison cell, warning Australia "will be down next year".
......
by DW-World.de
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has said his government
is taking seriously a new threat contained in an Islamist video demanding
that Germany and Austria pull their troops out of Afghanistan. ......
by Swapan Dasgupta
It's still too early to pass any judgement over the efficacy of trying
to turn the clock back without undertaking an overhaul of the party's
basic belief systems. What seems clear, however, is that the Communist
endeavour to appropriate the liberal Hindu imagination has suffered a
monumental setback. ......
by Kanchan Gupta
Bengalis have this fascination for bhadralok Marxists, which is really
a contradiction in terms but has stood the CPI(M) in good stead in West
Bengal. As Deputy Chief Minister in the fumbling, bumbling United Front
Governments, Mr Jyoti Basu presided over the lumpenisation of West Bengal
politics and began the process of destroying West Bengal's industrial
infrastructure, which in the 1960s was not to be scoffed at. ......
by The Assam tribune
Calling the illegal migration of Bangladeshis and other foreigners as
the greatest threat to the indigenous people in the north eastern region,
North East Students' Organisation (NESO) Chairman Samujjal Bhattacharjee
has said the state and the central governments are turning deaf ears to
the problem. ......
by The Pioneer
The BJP on Saturday said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's refusal
to condemn the Nandigram mayhem, showed the real face of her party. "What
is shocking is the deafening silence of the Congress chief on the atrocities
on Muslims in Nandigram by their allies, the CPM," BJP spokesman
Ravi Shankar Prasad said. ......
by Swapan Dasgupta
In the fortnight before Diwali, Calcutta hosted some unlikely visitors
from the heartland of global capitalism. They came to the city for two
reasons: first, to get a feel of a state that has monotonously elected
governments headed by one of the most antediluvian Stalinist parties to
grace bourgeois democracy; second, to experience the interesting story
of a chief minister who has embraced market economics with the passion
he earlier reserved for socialist inefficiency. ......
by Times
A Pakistani student urged British Muslims to join jihad, or holy war,
in the Middle East and Afghanistan, a court heard today as the suspect
admitted to terrorism-related charges. ......
by Kanchan Gupta
Those acquainted with contemporary Bengali literature would agree that
dissident Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen is not a talented writer.
But there are few who would disagree that she is an extremely courageous
woman who has struck out at Islamic fanatics and mullahs whose sole passion
in life is to come up with the most perverse interpretations of the Quran
so that they can live out their dark fantasies born of obscurantism and
twisted notions of patriarchy. ......
by KPS Gill
A series of widely dispersed but very well coordinated explosions, within
minutes of each other, at the courts in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad
in Uttar Pradesh come as another reminder, within a long and continuing
series of such reminders scattered across the length and breadth of the
country, of the dangers of terrorism and India's inability to respond
coherently, proportionately and with sustained institutional commitment.
......
by Kinsuk Basu
The latest to flee Nandigram is the man the CRPF sent to restore normality.
Deputy inspector-general Alok Raj left Nandigram this morning, apparently
disgusted with state police's "partisan role". Local officers
have been freeing people nabbed by the CRPF while allegedly trying to
keep the central force out of the trouble spots. ......
by The Telegraph
The Congress today suspended Idris Ali for his role in Wednesday's street
riots even as Mamata Banerjee came under increasing pressure to act against
Sultan Ahmed, who had admitted his boys' role in the violence. ......
by Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay &
Caesar Mondol
A day after Kolkata was convulsed by rioting that even the Army found
hard to quell, government sources said there was mounting evidence that
the violence was planned and executed by Islamic militants and activists
with links to a terror group. ......
by Tavleen Singh
How interesting to see Islamism raise its ugly little head in secular,
Marxist West Bengal last week. And how interesting that those proud warriors
against 'communalism' that constitute the West Bengal government should
kowtow to the worst kind of religious fanatics by throwing Taslima Nasreen
out of the state on a midnight flight to Rajasthan. Tch, tch, tch! What
is happening to Marxists these days? ......
by D K Singh
On the day the West Bengal government said she "was free to come
back", Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen dismissed as "lies"
claims that she chose to leave Kolkata in the first place. ......
by Balbir K. Punj
West Bengal's Marxist cadres have kept the media out of Nandigram with
a ferocity that clearly betrays the nature of their activities in that
troubled land. Yet we do not find anguished journalists and their organisations
protesting this interference with the freedom of the press. ......
by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti
The custom followed for more a number of years, to celebrate Navaratri
festival on 'Durgadi' Fort and perform puja of 'Durgadi' Devi will be
banned for two days and Durgadi Devi temple will also remain closed during
Navaratri. The reason is, this year 'Idd' is falling during the Navaratri
festival and Muslims can not be disturbed at any cost. ......
by Hinducivilization
The Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts USA is a prime similar example. The
similar stoty of a shallow canal and its resulting problem on shipping
was experinced in the 1930s after the Cape Cod canal in Massachusetts
USA was open to shipping traffic. ......
by Haindava Keralam
Kindly place the following objections and suggestions to, and for the
implementation of the Sethusamundrum Channel Project (SSCP). I reserve
the right to question the objectivity as also raise the matter of heavy
bias and prejudice against the historicity of Sri Rama afflicting this
Committee later before the Supreme Court. ......
by Pervez Hoodbhoy
The war in Pakistan's tribal areas is being fought by Pakistan's army
under America's gun and on its orders. Many innocents have tragically
died from bombardment from the skies. Therefore, not surprisingly, Pakistanis
are angry and most feel it is not their war. ......
by S.Gurumurthy
"What is it that keeps the country down", asked the speaker.
A young man in the audience replied unhesitatingly: "Undoubtedly
the institution of caste that kept the majority low castes and the society
backward" and added "it continues". ......
by Deccan Chronicle
Hindu Munnani leaders Rama Gopalan, D Kuppu Ramu and BJP leader and former
Union minister Pon. Radhakrishnan were among those arrested by the city
police on Tuesday for staging a demonstration in front of the Malaysian
consul general office here against the demolition of the Sri Mahamariamman
Temple at Shah Alam, Selangor in Malaysia. ......
by Lata Jagtiani
This is an invaluable collection of 38 essays on Hinduism and its place
in the India of yesterday, today and tomorrow. In the 'Preface', one finds
the reason why the book was compiled, "From political leaders to
corporate policy-makers all over the world, there is a desire to understand
what makes India click. ......
by Thuglak
This is the title of the poster published by Tamilnadu Government Tourism
Corporation. On this poster, with Rama and Lakshmana standing nearby,
an episode is depicted as a painting showing Vanara carrying large boulders
to construct a bridge in the ocean. ......
by Indrani Roy Mitra
Remember the Magaj Dholai Yantra (brainwashing machine) in Satyajit Ray's
masterpiece Hirak Rajar Deshe? The machine when applied to the king's
dissidents made them sing his praises. The present Left Front government
in West Bengal probably has taken a cue from the film. ......
by Deccan Chronicle
The explosion of Muslim anger on Kolkata's streets on Wednesday was not
sudden. Anger was brewing in the community for the past 15 days following
the publication of an "offensive article" in a pro-CPI(M) Bengali
magazine. Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has been keeping
a low profile ever since an attack on her at a press conference in Hyderabad
in August. ......
by Kanchan Gupta
For all his bravado, Mr Idris Ali, who heads a little-known Muslim organisation
that operates under the name of 'All-India Minorities Forum', panicked
when he saw his followers run riot in those parts of central Kolkata where
there's dancing in the streets every time Pakistan wins a cricket match
against India. ......
by Richard Owen
A Vatican-backed historian has attacked the film Elizabeth: The Golden
Age as a "distorted anti-papal travesty" that risks dividing
the West just when it should be rediscovering its "common Christian
roots" in the face of Islam. ......
by The Pioneer
It is extremely unfortunate that the All-India Minorities Forum, which
is really a Muslim outfit, should have led a violent agitation in Kolkata
on Wednesday ostensibly to protest against the atrocities committed by
the CPI(M)'s hoodlum brigade in Nandigram. ......
by Hinduism Today
What happens when 200 men and women, all sharing a profound love of Hindu
dharma, meet for three days in East Texas, site of John Kennedy's assassination
deep in the Bible Belt? The fifth annual Human Empowerment Conference
(HEC) concluded here today. ......
by Doris Lessing
While we have seen the apparent death of communism, ways of thinking that
were either born under communism or strengthened by communism still govern
our lives. Not all of them are as immediately evident as a legacy of communism
as political correctness. ......
by The Pioneer
Hungry men, women and children, rendered homeless after CPI(M) cadre began
to shoot and bomb their way into Nandigram this week, wailed in despair
as the early winter fog lifted on Thursday morning. Having escaped the
Marxist marauders with noting more than their lives, they cowered pitiably
under whatever shelter they had found. ......
by Sita Ram Goel
The next encounter between Hinduism and Christianity commenced with the
coming of Christian missionaries to Malabar after Vasco da Gama found
his way to Calicut in AD 1498. It took a serious turn in AD 1542 when
Francis Xavier, a rapacious pirate dressed up as a priest, arrived on
the scene. The proceedings have been preserved by the Christian participants.
......
by Adam Jones
Pope Benedict XVI's recent trip to Brazil seems to have done little to
shore up the Catholic Church's declining power in its Latin American heartland.
It went a long way, however, towards confirming Benedict's reputation
as a reactionary bigot. ......
by Saket Sundria
In a move that seems to substantiate longstanding apprehensions of the
villagers and BUPC activists in Nandigram, the state government today
changed the deployment of CRPF in a manner that will help the activities
of rampaging CPI-M cadres. CRPF officers complained yesterday about the
state police's non-cooperation. ......
by Richard Engel
I'd never been mistaken for a Taliban fighter before. I've been accused
of being a CIA agent, a Mossad spy, a crusader and a war profiteer, but
never a militant Islamic fundamentalist. I hardly look the part. ......
by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (USA)
Vijayadashami, being one of the most auspicious days for Hindus, is celebrated
with great fervor all across India, and many parts of the world. It comes
as the finale of the nine-day festival, Navaraatri. It assumes historical
significance in the wake of the fact that Lord Rama defeated the demon
king, Ravan on this day. ......
by Chennai Online
The political furore over Nandigram violence found its echo in the Andhra
Pradesh Assembly today with CPM and Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) members
resorting to a war of words, questioning each other's commitment to the
cause of minorities. ......
by K. R. Phanda
To reduce the impact of steep increase in the fuel prices on the quantum
of Haj subsidy provided in the Union Budget, the Ministry of Civil Aviation
is reported to have suggested an increase in the airfare charged from
Haj pilgrims from Rs 12,000 to Rs 16,000. ......
by Diwakar Raote
One month before riots that took place in Achalpur, Mufti Ismat, an active
member of SIMI arrested in Gujarat was holding meetings in Muslim areas.
In his meetings, there was planning of attacking Hindus of which the Intelligence
Bureau had submitted a report to the Government. ......
by Ravik Bhattacharya
It's been 10 days since Sabina Begum (name changed to protect her identity)
was allegedly gangraped by CPM men during "Operation Recapture,"
as first reported in The Indian Express today. But the Nandigram police,
who registered a case after the medical report confirmed the rape, say
they have not been able to visit the victim's house in Satengabari, the
scene of the crime that can yield crucial evidence in the case. ......
by Ravik Bhattacharya
Return home, take the local administration's help, Rs 1,000 for buying
household articles destroyed, Rs 5,000 for repairing damaged homes - that
was West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's call to the 10,000
villagers of Nandigram his CPM cadres evicted in what he called a "morally
and legally" justifiable step. ......
by The Indian Express
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday endorsed the entry of
CPI(M) cadres into Nandigram saying the opposition there had been "paid
back in the same coin". ......
by The Indian Express
BJP leader LK Advani on Tuesday seconded Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi's
harsh comments against the Left Front Government for the violence unleashed
by CPI(M) cadres in Nandigram. ......
by The Indian Express
In his book Inside IB and RAW: The Rolling Stone that Gathered Moss, former
RAW chief K Sankaran Nair has revealed that India paid $6 million as kickbacks
in the mid-1970s for a loan of $250 million from the Shah of Iran. But
it turns out that a greater sum - $11 million - was actually paid to agents
and the Shah's sister, Ashraf Pahlavi, by the Indira Gandhi government
to secure the loan. ......
by The Economic Times
An eye for an eye, Mahatma Gandhi had said, would turn the whole world
blind. But then, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is
no Gandhian. ......
by Mahendra Kumar Singh
In a significant move to enhance the legal rights of both adopted children
and the couples who give them a home, the Centre has changed the law to
allow non-Hindu parents to claim full parenthood instead of just "guardian"
status that they were allowed till now. ......
by The Indian Express
The Supreme Court on Wednesday put some searching questions to the pro-quota
petitioners for propagating reservations without excluding the "creamy
layer" saying this would not allow the disadvantageous class to come
up and may lead to "clash in the society". ......
by Arvind Lavakare
Even as a prominent TV channel, Aaj Tak, repeatedly aired its sponsored
Tehelka tapes "exposing" Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his
Gujarat government as Neros and mass murderers in the post-Godhra tragedy
of 2002, B.P. Singhal, former IPS and ex-Rajya Sabha member, sent out
to a newspaper his signed article that contained a nugget deserving entry
in the cartoon panels of Robert Ripley's Believe It Or Not! ......
by Rajib Chatterjee
Pay money, if you want to stay in your home or face the consequences.
This is the dictum of the CPI-M cadres in Nandigram who have now started
imposing fine on Bhumi Ucched Protirodh Committee supporters (BUPC) instead
of driving them out of their villages. Those who failed to pay were forced
to leave their homes. ......
by Sukumar Mahato
CPM leaders Tapan Ghosh and Sukur Ali, prime accused in the Chhoto Angaria
massacre, were welcomed with garlands and flowers by partymen as they
walked into jail on Wednesday. The two were also described as assets by
Dipak Sarkar, CPM's West Midnapore district secretary. ......
by The Times of India
As opposition BJP plans to disrupt Parliament proceedings on the Nandigram
issue, the Left parties decided not to allow it to be raised saying it
was a "state subject". ......
by M.V. Kamath
IT would be unfair to compare Clarke's book The Last Thousand Days of
the British Empire with Stanley Wolpert's Shameful flight: The last years
of the Bristish Empire in India and Alex von Tunzelmann's Indian Summer:
The Secrect History of the end of an Empire. ......
by M.S.N. Menon
Wahhabism is a creation of three disparate forces: 1) Muhammed bin Abd
al-Wahhab (d. 1792), an Arab evangelist, whose mission was to oust the
Turks from Mecca and Medina, 2) The Saud royal family, keen on a larger
Arab kingdom for itself and 3) The British bent on destroying the Ottoman
empire which was threatening Europe. ......
by Vicky Nanjappa
There was this talk that Bangalore was increasingly becoming like the
West. That the youngsters had started aping the West and there was an
indication that the culture of this once laid back city was changing.
......
by J S Rajput
The textbook debate in the Rajya Sabha brought out the national concern
beyond the Party lines. It is too naïve an assumption that the debate
has 'died without any perceptible effect' (Yogendra Yadav, IE, Aug.30).
A review committee has been constituted by MHRD. A new phase of the debate
has begun. It was sheer 'vindictive politics' when new textbooks prepared
during the period 2001-04 were summarily rejected and thrown out. ......
by J S Rajput
Just after a lapse over two years of 'desaffronized' and 'detoxified'
adventures in school education, the new textbooks are suddenly in focus.
Both the print and electronic media are reporting on the proposed contents
of some of the books. 'Children must learn contemporary context and historical
and political developments of the last six decades' is the conceptual
formulation being presented to the country. ......
by Rediff.com
The opposition National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday night accused West
Bengal's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist of declaring a war on
Indian state through its policy in Nandigram and charged the United Progressive
Alliance government of "Dhritarashtra-like inaction" on the
issue. ......
by The Indian Express
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday publicly endorsed the
entry of CPM cadres in Nandigram's villages and said that the Opposition
there had been "paid back in the same coin". ......
by Saroj Sharma
The run-up to the Assembly elections in Gujarat reveals the desperation
in the Opposition camps as they deal with the virtually invincible Chief
Minister Narendra Modi once again. This is evident from the fact that
it is Madame Sonia Gandhi herself who has decided to spearhead the campaign
in Gujarat instead of dispatching her understudy son Rahul Gandhi whose
posters had been plastered around the state weeks ago. ......
by Shyam Khosla
Several security experts and political commentators have underlined the
need for the Congress and the BJP to set aside their differences over
the nuclear deal and to forge a common front to defeat the communists
who, they believe, are undermining national interests. ......
by Rediff.com
Over 600 Dalits and Muslims have been killed in Nandigram, most of them
in the last week, claimed Dalit activist Dr Udit Raj, quoting a report
from the West Bengal unit of the Indian Justice Party and the All India
Confederation of SC/ST Organisations. Dr Raj is president of the IJP and
chairman of the confederation. ......
by The Indian Express
Urging Muslims to strive for 'quality education', All India Muslim Personal
Law Board Vice President, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq said on Monday that the
community needed to step out of madarsas. ......
by Rizwan Salim
On the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition (December 6, 1992),
it is important for Hindus (and Muslims) to understand the importance
of the event in the context of Hindustan's history, past and recent, present
and the future. ......
by The Times of India
An unsigned article published in a Left-sponsored Bengali magazine has
prompted the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to ban its autumn number.
......
by The Pioneer
Nandigram's unending tragedy appears to have been totally ignored by those
responsible for maintaining law and order in West Bengal and those charged
with the responsibility of ensuring the State Government does not stray
from its obligations under the Constitution of India. As the CPI(M), whose
militia has been relentlessly unleashing terror in Nandigram ......
by S. Aravindan Neelakandan
Deepavali is the Festival of Light celebrated by Indian religious traditions
-- Vedic, Jain and Sikh. Multi-level mythologies and history have made
the festival cherished in the memories and lives of the billion-strong
Indian communities. It is the Festival of Light, and light symbolizes
many things positive, including primarily freedom. ......
by Dibya Jyoti Borthakur
The indigenous Assamese Muslim students' community here in Nagaon have
demanded detection and deportation of all illegal migrants not only from
Bangladesh but also from other countries, who came to Assam after March
25,1971. ......
by The Assam Tribune
In a prompt rebuttal to Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi's allegation, AGP
president, Brindaban Goswami charged the Congress with playing vote bank
politics. The Chief Minister does not want a permanent solution to the
foreigners' problem because the Congress stands to gain by raking up the
issue, he countered. ......
by Earth Times
Six people, including four separatists and two civilians, were killed
in separate attacks in Manipur even as union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta
visited the state to review the security situation, officials said Thursday.
A police spokesperson said paramilitary troopers of the Assam Rifles gunned
down three militants near Sora village in Thoubal district Wednesday.
......
by The Assam Tribune
The State Government's lackadaisical attitude in finalising the modalities
of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has emerged as the most serious
threat to the indigenous communities. While expressing this concern on
Wednesday, the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) told media-persons
that the Tarun Gogoi Government had exposed its anti-people nature by
turning its back on the indigenous people. ......
by Yahoo News
The only Hindu judge and one of the senior-most judges of the Pakistan
Supreme Court, Justice Rana Bhagwandas, was not allowed to celebrate Diwali,
the festival of lights, with his family. ......
by Swapan Dasgupta
The most intriguing feature of this Diwali was the absence of candles
on the Wagah border. The declaration of "Emergency plus" across
the Radcliffe Line didn't prompt our well-heeled "Pako-philes"
to show solidarity with those who are resisting General Musharraf's last
ditch attempt at survival. Those who earlier signed petitions demanding
the release of each and every convicted Pakistan-sponsored terrorist suddenly
chose to be silent. ......
by The Pioneer
The proposed visit of Defence Minister AK Antony to Israel will, apart
from underscoring the strategic relationship between the two countries,
send out the right political message to Tel Aviv. For far too long New
Delhi has been shy to acknowledge that Israel is a major supplier of India's
defence requirements -- it's second after Russia -- and, more important,
a reliable partner which has stood by us at our time of need. ......
by Sunanda K Datta-Ray
The festival of lights may be a festival of darkness for Malaysia's more
than two million Hindus, mainly descendants of plantation workers with
a scattering of white-collar migrants, who are mourning the demolition
of an old temple. What causes dismay is how quickly their leader was persuaded
to withdraw even the muted protest he was planning with no word of apology
from any leader of what is still portrayed as a "moderate" Muslim
nation. ......
by Prem Ranjan Dev
The Indian civilisation is an unending procession of festivals. When one
sees Shivaratri, Holi, Teej, Gangour, Baisakhi, Janmashtami, Ramanavami,
Dussehra, Dipawali, Ramalila, Durgapuja, Rathayatra, Ganesa Chaturthi,
and so on, one is simply amazed not by their pageantry alone, but also
by the devotion and fervent feelings of those who celebrate them with
great enthusiasm in the name of divinity. ......
by Yahoo News
A 70-year-old woman's body has been lying in a Kolkata morgue for the
past one week as her children have approached the Calcutta High Court
to decide whether she should be buried or cremated. ......
by The Telegraph
Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi has dropped a Diwali bombshell on the CPM's
victory parade in Nandigram, voicing his dismay at the manner of "recapture"
that he termed "unlawful and unacceptable". ......
by Imran Ahmed Siddiqui
The spectre of a showdown looms over Sonachura - the epicentre of the
Nandigram rebellion - with CPM cadres and the rival resistance group openly
preparing to wage war. ......
by Radha Sharma
After a long time, this Diwali has brought happiness into the lives of
Panchal sisters, who lost their parents in the Godhra Sabarmati train
carnage of 2002 and have been poster-girls of grit and determination as
they struggled to get a foot-hold in the society on their own. ......
by Balbir K. Punj
On November 1, 2007 CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat "vowed"
to oppose a "strategic alliance" between India and the United
States because he saw such an "alliance" as an attempt to "counterbalance"
and "encircle" China. It is obvious that while India's concerns
do not figure in Comrade Karat's book, China's interests are central to
his thinking. ......
by The Pioneer
The CPI(M) has once again demonstrated its utter contempt for the law
of the land and its total disregard for the role of the state in enforcing
that law. Indeed, reports from Nandigram in West Bengal bear evidence
to how Marxist hoodlums, armed with sophisticated weapons, have become
a law unto themselves and replaced the police and other law-enforcing
agencies. ......
by Jonathan Evans
The main national security threat that Britain faces today is from Al
Qaeda and its associated groups. But before we look at the violent manifestation
of that threat in the UK, we need to remember where this comes from. The
violence is the product of a much wider extremist ideology, whose basic
tenets are inimical to the tolerance and liberty which form the basis
of our democracy. ......
by Sarah Lyall
Britain's chief domestic intelligence official said Monday that at least
2,000 people in Britain posed a "direct threat to national security
and public safety" because of their support for terrorism, an increase
of 400 in the last year. ......
by The Hindu
Historical evidences are aplenty to show that the Rama cult took birth
and evolved in the south, the `Dravida' country, and later got assimilated
into the religious psyche of the North, says Suvira Jaiswal, historian.
There are also inscriptional evidences to dismiss the attempt to link
the rise of the cult of Rama to `Muslim' invasion of India in the 12th-13th
centuries, she says. ......
by The Hindu
That A Mega scheme such as the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP),
which is bound to change the face of regional shipping and affect the
lives of thousands of fishermen, should not be put through without an
informed and many-sided debate is a rule of developmental prudence. ......
by Zee News
If the frequent seizure of arms and arrest of militants in Meghalaya is
any indicator, this Northeastern state bordering Bangladesh has turned
out to be a safe haven for arms dealers, besides being a transit route
to Bangladesh. ......
by Sarju Kaul
Every successive American government, from President Jimmy Carter to incumbent
President George W. Bush, has turned a blind eye to Pakistan's nuclear
programme and allowed Islamabad to build nuclear facilities at Kahuta,
near Islamabad, and assemble a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons by diverting
US aid money ......
by Diwakar Raote
One month before riots that took place in Achalpur, Mufti Ismat, an active
member of SIMI arrested in Gujarat was holding meetings in Muslim areas.
In his meetings, there was planning of attacking Hindus of which the Intelligence
Bureau had submitted a report to the Government. ......
by Navajit Bhagawati
Even As Osama Bin Laden urged the Muslim community of Assam to launch
the fight for an Islamic state in Assam, two bombs have been recovered
in Mukalmuwa police station area, in the Nalbari district of Assam. ......
by Luit Neil Don
Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, in his latest video, has mentioned about
Assam and Kashmir while calling upon the Muslims to wake up and launch
the fight for an Islamic state. Laden's 15-minute videotape was beamed
on Al-Jazeera, a sattelite channel. ......
by Laura Strickler
CBS News has learned Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican
on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six prominent televangelist
ministries for possible financial misconduct. ......
by Dr Gautam Sen
Mr Karunanidhi appears to be blissfully ignorant of these realities as
he tries to resurrect the ghost of 'Periyar' and re-enact the public humiliation
of Sri Ram, forgetting that till the parting of ways in 2004, the DMK
was an ally of the BJP and was not particularly discomfited by the idea
of Sri Ram which is central to the idea of India. ......
by Geetha Rao
''The Mahabharata is not about good and evil - instead, it teaches you
that life is grey. Defining the grey is not easy because it is deeply
rooted to the context. So, negotiate the grey.'' ......
by The Times of India
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday told Muslim
activists that his organisation was willing to join hands with them to
tackle the problem of the poor. Thackeray received a 31-member delegation
of Muslim activists at party headquarters Sena Bhavan in Dadar. ......
by Tavleen Singh
As someone who is convinced that Indian Communists serve as a Chinese
fifth column in our beloved Bharat Mata, I look for every chance to expose
their treasonous behaviour. Generally, it's hard to catch our comrades
red-handed. Unlike the common or garden variety of Indian politician,
Communists tend to be clever creatures full of obfuscation, ideological
mumbo-jumbo and deception. ......
by Yassin Musharbash
The Interior Ministry of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is
taking a new tack in the fight against homegrown terrorism. It's using
a comic book -- complete with colorful images and "youthful"
language -- to battle nasty jihadism. ......
by Rediff.com
Over 700 top United Nations officials, ambassadors, members of US Congress,
and luminaries of different faiths paid tributes to spiritual guru Sri
Chinmoy, who passed away last month. ......
by K Anurag
Sixty-eight militants, 66 belonging to the banned United Liberation Front
of Asom and two from All Adivasi National Liberation Army on Thursday
laid down arms and swore by the Indian Constitution to work for preservation
of integrity and unity of the country in a function held at 4th Assam
Police Battalion headquarters in Guwahati. ......
by Premen Addy
Michael Wood's six-part documentary, recently telecast by BBC to mark
the 60th anniversary of India's independence, is a triumph of television.
Camera and narrative, themes and events, have been woven into a seamless
robe of the story-teller' s art. The colossal canvas of the sub-continent
with its blend of beguiling colours and its larger-than- life characters
is a challenge alike to intellect and imagination. ......
by Alan Hunter
One of the outstanding scholars and translators of contemporary China,
Professor Wang Zhicheng of Zhejiang University, agreed to undertake the
translation and to find a publisher. Readers of Vedanta Kesari might be
interested to know why Professor Wang undertook this great task ......
by B. P. Singhal
"It was a well planned 'GENOCIDE'", "it was 'POGROM'",
"it was state sponsored 'TERRORISM'", is what they had said
in screaming headlines day after day after day in 2002, in the Delhi based
"SECULAR" English dailies and the "SECULAR" electronic
media. ......
by Assam Tribune
The Assam Public Works (APW) on Friday came down heavily on the Assam
United Democratic Front (AUDF) allegedly for scheming to destroy Assam
under the veneer of minority politics. The APW also did not spare the
peace brokers and asserted that some of them were raking in the moolah
taking advantage of the situation. ......
by Yahoo News
The government Friday decided not to increase the airfare for Haj pilgrims
this year despite the increase in fuel prices and the resultant hike in
airfares the world over. ......
by Alex Perry
Signs abound that Bangladesh has become a safe haven for Islamic jihadis-including
Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters fresh off the boat from Afghanistan ......
by Khushwant Singh
At the recent Book Fair in Delhi there was a stall selling Islamic literature.
Friends who went round the stalls told me that among the hottest sellers
was Answer to Non-Muslim Common Questions About Islam by Dr Zakir Naik
(Madhur Sandesh Sangam). ......
by Free Press Journal
In a move to keep the good equations struck with China during the just-concluded
Beijing visit of Congress president Sonia Gandhi going strong, all Union
Ministers have been advised, in a top secret letter delivered at their
residences around midnight on Thursday, to keep off the felicitation of
Dalai Lama here on Saturday. ......
by Dr S Krishnaswamy and Dr Mohana
Krishnaswamy
We are at the tail end of a fascinating journey through history, in a
time machine that took us back 2500 years, and often brought us back and
forth to the 21st Century. We made several trips in 2006 - first, for
research and then for filming a television documentary serial titled Indian
Imprints to be telecast on Doordarshan's national network. ......
by Kanchan Gupta
Every time I visit Kerala, which I have been doing quite frequently these
past two-and-a-half-years, I am struck by the rapid Islamisation of 'God's
Own Country'. The rain-gorged verdant plains and hills along the lush
Malabar coast are fast turning into the billious green of radical Islam.
......
by Swapan Dasgupta
In April 1972, while walking aimlessly down Free School Street, a friend
and I chanced upon a hawker selling forms that would enable travel between
the newly-liberated Bangladesh and India. Being plain bored - it was that
waiting period between the end of school and beginning of college - we
completed the formalities, secured the necessary endorsements and persuaded
our parents that a trip across the border would be educative. ......
by The Times of India
According to a new book by two British journalists, Adrian Levy and Catherine
Scott-Clark, Pakistan readied nuclear missiles for use against India during
the Kargil war. These revelations are alarming, all the more so because
they correspond more and less with another behind-the-scenes account of
the war that had been published earlier by Bruce Riedel, a National Security
Council staffer in the Clinton administration. ......
by KPS Gill
In the aftermath of the Assam Assembly elections where the Assam United
Democratic Front (AUDF), a coalition of Muslim parties in the State that
came into existence just months before the polls, captured 10 seats, there
is now a focused effort, particularly among the more communal-minded Muslim
leaders, to extend this experiment to other parts of India. ......
by The Assam Tribune
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today claimed that overall law and order situation
in the State had been improving. The surrender of the militants of various
outfits in a growing number has been an indicator to this, he said. ......
by Amit Sengupta
Northeast India is a rich abode of natural beauty and bounty encompassing
the seven sister states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the adjacent hilly state of Sikkim. But
it is a strange fact that such a vast territory of the country remains
poorly represented in the national consciousness. ......
by Neha Seth
Thursday is the twenty-third anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
Now a new book levels serious charges against top Congress leaders implicated
in the riots. The book, When A Tree Shook Delhi, authored by journalist
Manoj Mitta and lawyer HS Phoolka will be released later this week. ......
by Sanjay Upadhya
Patterns of a resurgence in cooperation between Islamic extremists and
radical communists -- faint in some places, more pronounced in others
-- are emerging. While much of the current focus is on parts of Europe,
South Asia could emerge as the principal arena for a communist-jihadist
alliance. ......
by N K Singh
Now that many cases are pending before the Supreme Court, now that a commission
headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court is seized of the issue,
my stand is that I should not talk about the subject (of 2002 riots).
I do not want that any statement of mine should influence either the Supreme
Court or the judicial commission ......
by Tarun Vijay
"When an American leader goes down a certain road, he stakes his
prestige on the ability to get it executed. So in that sense, it [failure
of the nuke deal with India] would undoubtedly be a setback," Henry
Kissinger. ......
by Daily Times
During the 1990s Pakistan's annual growth rate averaged about 3 percent.
The main reason for this was the low level of domestic and international
business confidence in the economy coupled with financial mismanagement.
Indeed, foreign investment and remittances were dropping and privatisation
proceeds, where available, were being squandered. ......
by Deccan Chronicle
The Committee of Eminent Persons on Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project
is holding public sittings in Chennai, but there is nothing public about
it. The committee proceedings began on Monday at the Malligai bungalow
on Greenways Road, where most state ministers and high court judges live
and the question that is agitating the public and the Sethu scholars alike
is why the media is being kept out. ......
by News Today
The Sham and Slovenly Callous Committee (SSCP) of Eminent Persons is functioning
like a Secret Civil Eerrorist (Terrorist only against the Hindus!) Organization.
Though it is called a public enquiry, no member of the public is allowed
to watch the proceedings. ......
by BK Verma
This refers to the articles, "Will stingers be stung" by Chandan
Mitra, "Gujarat has outgrown riots" by Swapan Dasgupta, and
"Half truths don't help Muslims" by Kanchan Gupta (October 28).
......
by Judi McLeod
It wasn't the patter of the incessant rain hitting the window panes of
his hotel room in Washington, D.C., it was more his wanting the new day
to start sooner. ......
by Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Dr Manmohan Singh's lament against democracy goes on and on. As the father
of the pro-US strategic policy shift culminating in the Indo-US nuclear
deal, the Prime Minister has been gravely distressed by the determined
opposition led by the Left and backed by the majority in Parliament, to
his crowning achievement. He first took a philosophical stance. ......
