But as a reply to why bin Laden was discovered living in relative comfort in the heart of Pakistan, not by the country’s own military or intelligence agencies but by the U.S., Prime Minister Gilani’s account falls far short of an adequate explanation. His characterisation of this failure as that of “all the intelligence agencies in the world” comes across more as an attempt to deflect blame than as a response born out of honest introspection by the Pakistan state. Even as a history lesson, Mr. Gilani’s statement was incomplete. No one pushed Pakistan into the first Afghan war; Pakistan’s military under General Zia ul Haq made a calculated choice to participate in it. Aside from the U.S. support, Saudi Arabia generously poured money into Pakistan to create a culture of jihad. After the war, the same military and its intelligence agencies decided to deploy some of those jihadists to establish a pro-Pakistan regime in Afghanistan, while others were despatched for the task of ‘liberating’ Kashmir from India. No Pakistan army chief has ever made an attempt to institutionally repudiate the Zia legacy.
The agreement is said to have been renewed in 2008, when the present Army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, was in charge. While the full truth about how OBL managed to hide in Abbottabad may never come out, it is time for the Pakistan military to face up to some truths about itself — and about its role in bringing the country to its present state.
The funeral prayer for Osama at the Makka Masjid in Chennai is highly deplorable. How can a person who is responsible for besmirching the reputation of Muslims globally be given even a semblance of respectful homage? This is notwithstanding the acts of aggression committed by the Americans. Would not conducting prayers for such characters send a wrong message? I hope that responsible sections of the community would roundly condemn this failing on the part of the mosque authorities concerned.
Kasim Sait,
He alleged that a conspiracy was on against Pakistan and that the powers had an eye on nuclear bombs in that country. He prayed for the safety of Pakistan. People shouted pro-azadi and pro-Osama slogans.
Protests erupted in the Batmaloo area soon after the funeral prayers. Masked youth clashed with police and CRPF personnel soon after Mr. Geelani addressed the gathering. The crowd called Osama a “martyr,” who sacrificed his life for the cause of Islam.
India is unlikely to make the mistake of allowing Osama bin Laden to sabotage this win-win process from his watery grave in the Indian Ocean. Apart from economic gains, greater trade will gradually enlarge the constituency of those in Pakistan who have a stake in the normalisation of relations with India.
What the U.S. did on Monday may have been effective but it remains a second-best solution to tackling terror on Pakistani soil. The fight against the entire syndicate of terror has to be waged by the Pakistani police and security forces, acting under the complete control of the civilian government there. This is a message India needs to emphasise to the U.S. and other allies and friends of Pakistan and it will be most effective if delivered with tact and restraint.
Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay was today elected Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and would take over the political duties relinquished by spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
43-year-old Sangay polled 55 per cent votes out of 49189, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes, Election Commissioner Jampal Chosang announced here.
Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay was on Wednesday elected “prime minister” of the so-called “Tibetan government-in-exile” and would take over the political duties relinquished by the religious leader Dalai Lama. A research fellow at the Harvard Law School, Mr. Sangay, aged 43, polled 55 per cent votes out of 49,189, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes, “election commissioner” Jampal Chosang said here. Tethong Tenzin Namgyal, a Stanford scholar, polled 18,405 votes, while Tashi Wangdi, the Dalai Lama's representative in Brussels, New York and New Delhi, finished third. The election was held on March 20.
Praising the German government for its aggressive approach to unearth black money stashed away offshore, he said that India “should be more aggressive because India seems like it is losing per capita much more tax than Germany.” Mr. Assange alleged that the Indian government's response to the WikiLeaks cables was “one of the worst in the world” and a “clear attempt to mislead the nation on what the cables were.”
Mr. Assange said the issue of stashing black money away in foreign banks was much worse than just local corruption as when money is pushed offshore, “...then every time they are selling rupees and the result is that the currency of the nation is debased... everything for all Indians becomes more expensive as a result of that transfer.”
In a country that has never been short of self-proclaimed godmen peddling spiritual succour with commercial motive, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who passed away at the age of 84 at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh on April 24, 2011, stands out as a rare phenomenon — a spiritual leader whose mass following transcended linguistic, national, and religious boundaries, who channelised the fervour and quest of millions of devotees into giving and sharing, who steered clear of divisive political and communal activities all his life.
April 24, 2011
To,
The Reader's Editor,
The Hindu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Dear Sir,
Let us not reduce the ongoing-war of words between N Ram, the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The Hindu and the rest of the management team members to a battle within the corporate boardroom of the firm. What is going on is in fact a battle between N Ram and the readers of The Hindu.
Ever since N Ram took charge of the newspaper in 2003, organisations like Friends of Tibet and a dozen Tamil organisations in Tamil Nadu are fighting the anti-Tibet, anti-Tamil and anti-India stand of N Ram and his team of carefully selected journalists who were misusing the powers in the name of courageous journalism. Friends of Tibet was forced to launch a campaign called 'Save The Hindu' (www.friendsoftibet.org/save/) to fight the N Ram regime, a campaign which enjoyed the support of majority of The Hindu journalists. At the peak of the campaign when journalists employed with the newspaper came forward to support the campaign openly, N Ram threatened Friends of Tibet with criminal and civil defamation. In the meanwhile, hundreds of Hindu readers had stopped reading and subscribing the newspaper as a matter of principle. The activists of Friends of Tibet, TSAM and Tamil organisations like May 17 Movement had organised protests in front of the Kasturi Buildings in Chennai several times. We had written to the Hindu Ombudsman regarding our concerns which were never answered. (More details about Save The Hindu campaign and a case-study, please visit: www.friendsoftibet.org/save/)
We are happy that N Ram and his left-hand in journalism Shri Siddharth Varadarajan are finally exposed by their own men - Shri N Ravi and the sacked members. Friends of Tibet thank N Ravi for his bold and courageous statement criticising the "pronounced pro-China tilt of The Hindu newspaper, blacking out or downplaying any news that is less than complimentary to the Chinese Communist regime." We thank them because no one in the past had ever shown the courage to criticise the heavyweights and the captains of paid-news culture in Indian journalism.
Saving the 131-year-old national newspaper from the wrong hands is the responsibility of each and every reader and employee of The Hindu. Act now!
Friends of Tibet
I thereby set aside the decision taken by the board of directors on 20.03.2010 to the extent it reallocates the functions of the Senior Managing Director and direct that the position prior to 20.03.2010 shall be restored as far as allocation of departments concerning the 2nd petitioner is concerned.
But this extraordinarily brave woman, unlettered at the time of the monstrous crime, decided to defy societal taboos to take her attackers to court. It is disappointing that Pakistan's highest court has ruled against her. On April 21, a three-judge bench upheld, by a majority of two to one, the Lahore High Court's acquittal of five men accused of the rape (while confirming the life sentence to a sixth) on the ground of insufficient evidence. The verdict is unsettling for several reasons. In most of South Asia, for reasons that are well known, it is never easy for a woman to make a formal complaint of rape.
This verdict sets the bar for evidence so high — in contrast are the evidentiary requirements in a blasphemy case — that it can only act as further discouragement to rape victims seeking justice.
Hitting back at Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat for allegedly calling the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam a ‘family controlled party’, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Thursday sought to turn the tables on the Communist leader, reminding him that his wife is working with him in their party.
“I don’t know why Karat, a friend who found place in my heart, is spreading canards. I can’t find an answer to why he is doing like this,”
Very recently, those of us who were not privy to the deal making learnt to our shock that a major interview with A. Raja in defence of the telecom licensing policy published on May 22, 2010—that was referred to by the Prime Minister in his press conference--involved a direct quid pro quo in the form of a full page, colour advertisement from the Telecom Ministry that was specially and hurriedly cleared by the Minister personally for publication on the same day in The Hindu.
The plan schedules a string of high-level meetings on almost all issues — security, political and economic — to enable the five countries better coordinate their positions. They would initiate the plan with a meeting of National Security Advisers later this year in China.
Besides strongly pushing for a more equitable world economic order, the five nations frowned on the use of force by the West in Libya and supported the return of peace and stability in West Asia-North Africa according to the “legitimate aspirations of their peoples.”
I would say the best is yet to come
We will certainly take it up. We are in constant touch with the Pakistan government through our diplomatic channels.These are two different aspects. Peace talks will go on, cricket matches will go on and simultaneously our relentless efforts will continue to bring to justice all those responsible for the heinous crime.
I must say that India is not alone. I mean in our work we have exposed billions of dollars of corruption all over the world. And the First World is also not at all immune from it. Frequently we see the developing world corruption being facilitated by First World banks, which suck the money offshore and so on. And, in fact, India accounts for some of the highest amounts of deposits in Swiss banks, which must be questioned as to what that money is doing there.
Despite glib words of praise for the principle that motivates Anna, there is unmistakable chagrin among those in the corridors of power — whom he is challenging. They claim that they alone are vested with the authority to decide what kind of legislation should be drafted to tackle corruption in high places, and not the likes of Anna Hazare. They look upon him as an usurper who has to be put in his place somehow.
Yes and no. I think my answer would bridge both these concepts. The wounds of 26/11 have not healed as yet. I think we would do wrong to the people who lost their lives and the families that continue to grieve as a result of what happened so tragically in Mumbai, if we were to say that 26/11 is behind us. Obviously, the wounds of 26/11 will not heal easily. I think there is sentiment in this country in India and there is grief still which has not died. Let me put it this way. Our grief cannot die when it comes to 26/11
While the popular uprising in Yemen has splintered the security establishment there, with different military factions now in charge of different neighbourhoods in the capital Sanaa and the United States seeking to replace the Yemeni President with his No. 2, the Bahraini monarchy has employed foreign Sunni mercenaries that dominate its police force to fire on the predominantly Shiite demonstrators.
The resort to different standards and practices in the name of promoting human freedom, unfortunately, sends the message that any society's democratic empowerment is possible only if it jibes with the great powers' geopolitical interest. The fundamental issue is whether there should be a rules-based international order or an order pivoted on military might and driven by narrow, politically expedient interests of the most powerful.
In my opinion, if I have to tell the truth, they (Indians) will never have hearts like Muslims and Pakistanis. I don't think they have the large and clean hearts that Allah has given us," Afridi said during a talk show on Samaa news channel when he was asked about relations between the two countries.
"The Indian media has a very negative approach and very negative thoughts. The people may not be like that but I think the media had a very dirty role in spoiling relations between us and India."
Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily's announcement that the central government would ban the book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India had no justification in fact, law, or common sense. The threatened ban on the book — the contents of which Mr. Moily dramatically described as “heresy” — was based, at best, on a total misreading of it and, at worst, on no-reading but relying on grossly misleading reviews in a section of the western media.
Mark this day, we will henceforth publish a print version of such banned books for free as well as provide an online version for people to read via their laptops, Kindles, iPads, Gol Gappas, Masala Dosais and other devices.
The BJP's propensity to misuse Hindu nationalism and its not-so-hidden support to the Indo-U.S. strategic relationship, have been reinforced by the India Cables. However, the most amusing part is the glee of the Congress leaders in the BJP's discomfiture. Should they not worry about the corroborative evidence in the cash-for-votes scam provided by the earlier cables? Amid all the somersaults indulged in by the Congress and the BJP, should not we laud the sincerity and honesty of Prakash Karat who not only stuck to the declared ideological stand of his party during his interview referred to in the cable but has also been forthright on the happenings during the UPA-1 regime, which led to the Left's withdrawal of support?
The Embassy, in a cable to Washington the same day (31968: confidential), described Mr. Karat as a “talented and skillful leader who is well-aware of his political importance.”
Relatively young [at 57], he will be a powerful figure on the Indian political scene for years to come, and could play an increasingly important role in the formation of future Indian governments.”
The Marxist leader noted that land reform was the strength of the CPI (M) in West Bengal, “where it increased agricultural production, made the state into India's largest rice producer, and demonstrated that small farms can be productive.”
In India's northeast, for instance, Hindutva plays well because of public anxiety about illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh. With the recent improvement of Indo-Pak relations, he added, Hindu nationalism is now less resonant in New Delhi, but that could change with another cross-border terrorist attack, for instance on the Indian Parliament,
Pressed on the question of Hindutva, Jaitley argued that Hindu nationalism ‘will always be a talking point' for the BJP. However, he characterized this as an opportunistic issue
The problem with UNSCR 1973 is not the in-built ‘mission creep' but the fact that it is ultra vires. No resolution can violate the principles and purpose of the U.N. Charter. Article 2(7) is quite explicit: “Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.”
Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
Like the Iraqis who foolishly welcomed the American invasion of their country in 2003, the Libyans who wanted Operation Odyssey Dawn may well end up taking part in a tragedy of Homeric proportions.
Accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks, the cable ( 64794: confnoforn) sent on May 19, 2006 by Mr. Wolff reports that Mr. Malhotra criticised Mr. Sen for taking a confrontational approach to the U.S. government. Not just that. Mr. Malhotra indicated he had been sent specially to counter the Permanent Representative. He told the U.S diplomat that he had — and would use — a “direct line” to New Delhi to ensure U.S.-India co-operation in New York.
It quotes unnamed party sources as telling the Embassy that if “the UPA grants a pardon for Afzal or stalls his execution, the Congress Party will be portrayed by BJP leaders as weak on national security. If, however, the President lets him hang, some fear Congress may lose support from their traditional Muslim vote block on a national scale.”
Kashmiri Muslims feel sympathy for Afzal” and that his only crime was “buying a car.” (Afzal Guru was not a member of the team that attacked Parliament but had bought the Ambassador car which breached Parliament's first line of security.) “How does this warrant a death sentence?”
The cable suggests that the “easiest option for the Congress may be to delay Afzal's execution for years to consider his appeal for clemency.” This is exactly what has happened. In February 2011, Home Minister P. Chidambaram clarified in Parliament that Afzal Guru's mercy petition, filed on October 3, 2006, had not yet been forwarded to President Pratibha Patil.
The overemphasis on blogs, indicating the government's anxiety to control them; the ‘vagueness' of the reasons for which the government can block websites; and the utterly regressive move of introducing ‘intermediary due-diligence,' a favourite tool of repressive regimes against bloggers, is upsetting, says Shivam Vij, journalist, Kafila.
“The Internet community will always end up being smarter. India does not control the rest of the web, and people can write blog posts by sending just an email. The lesser fortunate ones will end up facing the ham-handed fist of these new guidelines,” Krish Ashok, a Chennai-based blogger
Arming the rebels would bolster Mr. Qadhafi's claim that a colonialist plot is being hatched.
Mr. McCain's suggestions sound very much like the threats the U.S. issued in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Aside from the flagrant illegality, such an adventure would take a horrifying toll on civilian population.
The kingdom banned all demonstrations saying they contradicted Islamic laws and society values, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry. The new clampdown came a day after about 100 members of the Shia minority staged a protest in the western region of the kingdom.
The proper course for a Prime Minister with a reputation for personal financial integrity would be to square with Parliament and the public on what it was that made him and his senior government colleague insist on, and rush through, the appointment of Mr. Thomas in defiance of morality, the law, and common sense.
He said many musicians and sabhas were “thin-skinned” and “not used to robust criticism that musicians in western countries get all the time whether they like it or not.They want only favourable reviews, but that is decidedly not The Hindu's expectation,” he said, citing the guidelines evolved by the newspaper in consultation with critics for reviewing concerts and dance performances. He said the critic was an individual expert rasika and writer on music and The Hindu chose “its critics and respected their musical knowledge, integrity, independence, judgement and writing style.”
No amount of guidelines will help unless the right people are found. I completely agree that robust criticism is very necessary but it can be robust only when people are chosen very carefully and at the same time I do agree that musicians need to understand the role of critics. But one is not going to happen without the other.
We and tens of thousands of our readers, knowledgeable as well as lay (like me), think highly of our critics, most of whom are well schooled in Carnatic music or are experts. The majority of them, in fact, are not staff journalists.
The irony is that non-violence in Libya becomes the rubric for militarisation of foreign policy. After referring Mr. Qadhafi to the ICC, shouldn't India sign the Rome Statute and become an ICC member-country? Ideally, we should also persuade Mr. Obama, who admires Gandhiji, to revoke his predecessor's decision to pull the U.S. out of the ICC.
Philanthropy is not fascism and public commitment critical of the state administration should not be confused with a traitor operation. I therefore view Dr. Sen as eligible for tribute, not to be condemned for sedition. Was Gandhiji or other critics of the state that hardly cared to wipe the tears of the poor, guilty of sedition? There is often grave confusion between criticism of a government demanding its overthrow — not by violence but by positive service and commitment to the people. Operation patriotism is not sedition.
“The silver seemed to be very old, possibly over 100 years old. As many as 522 silver slabs, all in brick shape, have been retrieved. Each of the slabs weighs between 35-40 kg. We are continuing the investigation to find out how the stock landed here,” said Sanjay Kumar, Puri Superintendent of Police.
Defending party MP Ninong Ering, who allegedly called Ramdev "a bloody Indian dog" when the latter was attending a camp at Pasighat in East Siang district, APCC spokesperson Vishal P Nabam alleged
These revolts have immediately performed a kind of ideological house—cleaning, sweeping away the racist conceptions of a clash of civilisations that consign Arab politics to the past. The multitudes in Tunis, Cairo and Benghazi shatter the political stereotypes that Arabs are constrained to the choice between secular dictatorships and fanatical theocracies, or that Muslims are somehow incapable of freedom and democracy. Even calling these struggles “revolutions” seems to mislead commentators who assume the progression of events must obey the logic of 1789 or 1917, or some other past European rebellion.
This is a threshold through which neo-liberalism cannot pass and capitalism is put to question. And Islamic rule is completely inadequate to meet these needs. Here insurrection touches on not only the equilibriums of north Africa and the Middle East but also the global system of economic governance.
In the popular imagination, the Godhra train burning will also evoke horrifying memories of the genocidal pogrom against Muslims that earned Gujarat notoriety across India and round the world.
To praise the Internet for aiding truth-telling and, in the same breath, dismiss the discussion on free speech for websites such as WikiLeaks as a “false debate” is hypocritical. It can be credibly argued that the simmering discontent in Tunisia exploded in public anger when WikiLeaks published the cables on the U.S. ambassador's assessment of corruption by President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. The Tunisian uprising, then, was triggered by the WikiLeaks revelations, and fanned by the Internet. In a more connected world the key question before the U.S. is to define confidentiality.
Authorities detained activists Sunday, increased the number of police on the streets, disconnected some cell phone text messaging services and censored Internet postings about the call to stage protests in Beijing, Shanghai and 11 other major cities.
Police took at least three people away in Beijing, one of whom tried to place white jasmine flowers on a planter while hundreds of people milled about the protest gathering spot, outside a McDonald's on the capital's busiest shopping street. In Shanghai, police led away three people near the planned protest spot after they scuffled in an apparent bid to grab the attention of passers-by.
That is, electronic media chiefs and editors who have mostly adored Dr. Singh for nearly two decades. If even the largely free ride they gave him left him unnerved and defensive, it's a measure of how much things have changed. Not that the editors emerged looking better. If asking the right questions is at the heart of journalism, then somebody had a bypass. At no point did it occur to them that the corruption they questioned him on with some passion, flowed entirely out of policies and from a policy altar at which they have worshipped for years.
The dominant media have never once raised a peep of protest against the corporate plunder of public money, thanks to the government Dr. Singh presides over. Nor did they in this conference with the Prime Minister. So Dr. Singh is understandably peeved when asked about the petty cash transfers of the 2G scam to a handful of hucksters.
The United Progressive Alliance inherited this corrupt system and presided over its unprecedented expansion.
As an economist and a man of unquestionable integrity, Dr. Singh ...
When individual corporate houses attempt a short-cut, however, they
invariably corrupt the wider political edifice. Corrupt politicians come
and go. But unless the crony capitalists who use them are punished,
Indian democracy will continue to corrode.
The same Prime Minister whose silence and ambivalence on 2G was seen by the Opposition and the public at large as weakness and even complicity has pushed the Central Bureau of Investigation into summoning and questioning top industrialists like Anil Ambani, raiding Kalaingar TV, the business arm of a key political ally, the DMK, and sending A. Raja, who was Telecom Minister till some time ago, to the unwholesome confines of Tihar Jail.
The question, of course, is whether or not the CBI will persist in its endeavours. Are we being treated to an elaborate dog-and-pony show? Or does the agency's current activism represent a fundamental course correction for a system which has tolerated and thrived on corruption? If yes, does the Prime Minister have the political clout to see things through?
As an economist and a man of unquestionable integrity, Dr. Singh knew full well the revenue consequences of forgoing an auction for the allocation of 2G spectrum and recorded his unhappiness with the decision. If the Prime Minister were anyone other than Dr. Singh, one might be justified in treating his belated intervention in the 2G matter as an indication of his own involvement. In reality, the delay was the product of both his individual political weakness and his party's failure to understand the political implications of the scam.
Corrupt politicians come and go. But unless the crony capitalists who use them are punished, Indian democracy will continue to corrode.
Ms. Thapar elaborated on the diverse facets through which historians viewed the text. For this, she made a comparison of three different versions of the tale: Valmiki's Ramayana in Sanskrit, the Buddhist version contained in the Jataka Tales in Pali and the Jaina version in the ‘Paumacariyam' in Prakrit.
The BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are furious that Aseemanand and some other Hindutva names have emerged in recent terror investigations. The parivar has every right to demand that due process be followed in their cases. However, one wishes they had been similarly concerned about young Muslim boys jailed and charge sheeted without evidence.
That cannot be denied, however, is that 80 million Egyptians have spoken. Their right to democracy cannot be annulled; nor can their demand for it be resisted. It is Egypt's neighbours who know that best. In Algeria, protesters are defying bans on rallies. In Yemen, the people have won the President's assurance that there will be no father-son handover.
Kerala Council of Churches (KCC), the umbrella organisation of the various non-Catholic Episcopal churches in Kerala, has come out in support of Binayak Sen, who was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for sedition.
To express solidarity with the struggle taken up by Dr. Sen and his friends, KCC, jointly with MM Thomas Memorial Trust and Development Training Programme, will organise a meeting at 3 p.m. on February 9 at YMCA Hall, Thiruvalla. Philipose Mar Chrysostum Mar Thoma Valia Metropolitan will inaugurate. Kuriakose Mar Ivanios Metropolitan, vice president, KCC, will preside. Leaders of various human rights movements will speak on the occasion, the press note said.
As in Pakistan, support for religious political parties is not high but radical Muslim groups wield a disproportionate amount of street influence — and in this way succeed in shaping the responses of politicians and government officialsIt is no different in India. One might say there is a slight difference - not just the radical muslim groups but all muslim groups wield a disproportionate amount of street influence. So N.Ram's advice to Indonesia is equally applicable to India. But wait a minute, is N.Ram really advising muslims?
It is to be hoped that Indonesia, which has moved ahead politically and economically with much speed after getting rid of Suharto, will tackle the intolerance with the same determination it has shown in dealing with the Islamist terror group Jemaah Islmiyah.You bet not. "It is to be hoped" by who? N.Ram is not even hoping to see a change in Indonesia's radical muslim groups.
In a similar vein, massive crowds in Egypt's second city of Alexandria chanted, “He must go!” As people, not all of the same ideological persuasion, poured in to protest, some held aloft pictures of the former Presidents, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat. In Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, home to the famed pyramids, a few thousands assembled to protest. Unwilling to slacken the momentum, some pro-democracy activists in Cairo said they would march to the rail station to pursue and persist with a sit-in until Mr. Mubarak relinquished office.
The Left parties have expressed support for the people of Egypt and urged the Union government to take a clear stand endorsing the will of the people.
The CPI(M) said the U.S., which was notorious for engineering “regime change” in countries that did not act at its behest, should be warned not to interfere with the will of the people of Egypt.
“The Egyptian people will not accept anything less than the immediate removal of Mubarak from power. It is only with this step that there can be a transition to a democratic set-up based on the wishes of the people,” a CPI(M) Polit Bureau statement said.
By one reckoning, 40 per cent of kerosene is stolen during transportation from depots to retail outlets. Estimates of the value of this organised racket, which also sees quite a bit of the kerosene used to adulterate diesel, exceed Rs.10,000 crore a year nationally. The fraud seems to be growing in direct correlation to the rise in fuel prices.
The crackdown that is on now and the arrest of all ten suspects in the murder of Mr. Sonawane are positive signs. The hope is that Union Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy's resolve to curb the adulteration menace will not prove short-lived. A great deal of work waits to be done on the ground, and a start can be made by acting on the Supreme Court's 2001 suggestion of an additional agency to carry out independent checks and actions in the fuel sector.
Mr. Mardi said Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje was not quizzed but only asked about the source of the money. But he said he was not aware of it, Mr. Mardi added. However, his spokesperson asserted that it was money received through offerings and donations and not illegal money. Police had recovered foreign currency equivalent to Rs. 7 crore during raids on the trust backed by Karmapa and arrested the main accountant Shakti Lama.
a grant (Hajj subsidy) violated Articles 14 and 15 and in particular Article 27 (freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion).
India was a country of great diversity and “if we wish to keep our country united, we need to have tolerance and equal respect for all communities and sects. It is due to the wisdom of our founding fathers that we have a Constitution, which is secular in character and which caters for the tremendous diversity in our country.”
If only a relatively small part of any tax collected is utilised for providing some conveniences or facilities or concessions to any religious denomination, that would not be violative of Article 27. It is only when a substantial part of the tax is utilised for any particular religion would Article 27 be violated.
This refers to the editorial “Trouble-making in Kashmir” (Jan 27). Thank god, the BJP Ekta Yatra ended peacefully. Nevertheless, the editorial rightly cautions against further political exploitation of the people in the Valley as that would be “worse than a crime.”
Pope Benedict XVI said in a decree that a French nun's recovery from the Parkinson's disease was miraculous, the last step needed for beatification. A second miracle is needed for the Polish-born John Paul II to be made a saint.
The 57 states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, led by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt, have proposed a United Nations resolution, “On Combating Defamation of Religions.” It is but a Trojan horse to promote a fundamentalist agenda and enforce blasphemy laws and other discriminatory pieces of legislation. It is intended to legalise threats and violence against minorities and other vulnerable groups, as Human Rights Watch of Pakistan has pointed out.
Attackers kill and wound Christians and Ahmadis, in particular, and burn down their homes and businesses. The authorities arrest, jail, and charge members of minority communities, heterodox Muslims and others with blasphemy and related offences because of their religious beliefs. In several instances, the police have been complicit in harassing, and framing false charges against, members of these groups, or have stood by as they were attacked.
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