Crores of rupees spent to buy votes in bye election-Eenadu-10.3.12

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Hezbollah Quds link in attack on Israeli envoy – The Pioneer - 10.3.12

Syed Mohammad Ahmed Kazmi the Delhi-based freelance journalist who worked for Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and also as a contractual news reader with Doordarshan’s Urdu News has been found to be involved in the conspiracy that was hatched to attack the Israeli woman diplomat in New Delhi. His role was revealed after the Thailand Police searched the room rented by one Iranian woman Rohani Leila in Bangkok after the failed attack that had coincided with the attack on Tal Yehoshua-Koren on Aurangzeb Road on February 13.

Inv e  s t i g a t o r s   h a d   f o u n d Kazmi’s phone number from the house. Call records provedthat Kazmi was in regular touch with the module that threw a bomb at the car of Israeli Embassy. Leila was part of the module that had tried to a t t  a  c k   I s r a e l i   d i p l omats i nBangkok. Leila had fled Bangkok on February 5. Investigators say Kazmi was the main facilitator of the attack as he provided logistics to the bomber and helped in surveying the target in the Indian Capital. Highly-placed sources said on Friday that investigations are veering around to the very strong possibility of the involvement of Quds Force in the terrorist attack. Said to be a shadowy unit of the Iranian Army with backing from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, there is evidence to suggest that Quds Force has been trying to expand and stamp its importance. This force was created during the height of Iran-Iraq war. Quds helped Kurds against then Iraqi President Saddam Hussain. Out of action following the uprooting of Saddam’s regime in Iraq, the Quds Force now appears to root for Palestine. There are indications that Quds Force is waging a relentless war against Israel and their agents carried out a series of attacks in India, Georgia and also Thailand.  According to investigators, Kazmi had confessed to have provided logistics support to the module from Iran. Senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, who held a meeting with the Delhi’s Commissioner of Police, too confirmed that Kazmi has been identified as the facilitator of the hit squad. It was he who  provided all the necessary information, abetted and harboured the men who were tasked to target Israeli diplomats and their vehicles. Kazmi’s arrest came after the Special Team of Delhi Police pieced together the links in the run up to the conspiracy that was hatched way back on the early months of 2011. Kazmi emerged as the central figure for having provided logistical support to the bomber and that included their stay in the Indian Capital and surveying the area around the Israeli Embassy, an official said. Kazmi, anaccredited journalist with t  h e   P re s s   In  fo r m at  i on Bureau (PIB) had reportedly  pilled the beans regarding the attack. “His arrest is the turning point in the investigation,” a  senior Delhi Police officer said. Investigations have also found that the attacks in New Delhi, Tbilisi in  Georgia and Thailand were interlinked. It may be recalled that the Israel’s Ambassador to Thailand Itzak Shoham had then said that the New Delhi and Bangkok attacks were similar. Explosive devices discovered by the Bangkok Police were similar to those used on the same day (February, 13) against Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia. According to Itzak Shoham, Israel’s ambassador to Thailand.   Investigations by the Thailand Police had led to the identification of 28-yearold Rohani Leila who had fled Bangkok on February 5. Leila was part of the module with Saied Moradi who had his legs blown off while trying to bomb a taxi and a police party. Third accomplice of Leila and Moradi was caught by the Malaysian Police at Kuala Lumpur airport .

Foreign funds help NGOs fuel unrest India – The Pioneer – 10.3.12

I n the midst of the raging controversy over alleged financial support by foreign-funded NGOs to the anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam, a recent Home Ministry report shows that such  voluntary organisations are gaining massive funding from abroad for their activities in tribal-dominated States and North East.  According to the Home Ministry’s annual report of foreign contributions, approved by Union Home Secretary RK Singh on January 2012, as many as 2,325 NGOs are registered in the sensitive tribaldominated States like Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. These NGOs received around  600 crore during 2009-2010.

In North Eastern States, 816 NGOs have secured permission to accept foreign funds and they received 251 crore during the same period. It is interesting to note that vast majority of these NGOs are engaged in running indirect evangelic activities. Among these States, the highest money flowed into Odisha, which was ravaged by communal clashes over religious conversion of ethnic tribals in 2008. 215 crore has been pumped into Odisha through 1,240 NGOs registered in the State. In addition, much more money is understood to have been pumped into Odisha from similar NGOs registered in other States and metro cities. I n   t h e   r e p o r t ,   t he government admits that thorough checking of the accounts had been conducted only in the case of 12 NGOs nationwide.   T h e   c o n c e r  n   t  h a t   t  h e NGOs may have been engaged in money laundering and terror financing does not look farfetched. While tribal-dominated States are in the grip of Maoist violence, the North East is a veritable play ground for the anti-India insurgent groups.  As many as 465 NGOs a c  t i v e   i n   t  h e   N a x a l - h i t Jharkhand received around 160 crore during 2009-10. Similarly, NGOs operating in Chhattisgarh received  65 crore while those in the adjoining Madhya Pradesh received 143 crore from abroad. Among the North Eastern States, the highest foreign fund — 94 crore — came to Assam where as many as 253 organisations have permission to receive funds from abroad. The Centre has given permission to 500 NGOs to receive foreign funds for their activities — in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur and Mizoram.  These NGOs got around 140 crores in 2009-10 period. More NGOs are likely to face the Kudankulam backlash in the coming weeks.

Hindus target of mullah ire in Pakistan – The Pioneer – 8.3.12

Recent horror stories emanating from Pakistan indicate our Government’s abysmal failure to safeguard the rights of Hindus and Sikhs in the Islamic nation. Some pertain to abduction of girls, even married ones, and their forcible conversion to Islam; and others to kidnapping for ransom, extortion and killing on grounds of religion. The disappearance of Lata Kumar, a medical student from Karachi, and Rinkle Kumari, from a small town in Sindh, has elders worried as the authorities are unlikely to act against the abductors. Amarnath Motumal of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan paints a grim picture of routine kidnapping of females, who are forced to embrace Islam. Commission’s chief ZohraYusuf laments that the situation for minorities has worsened after the assassinations of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and Federal Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti early last year.

In Balochistan, half of the 50 or so people kidnapped for ransom, usually, over the past four years have been Hindus. Most were released through mediation, with great difficulty. Iranian Shias and the few Parsis in the region, other targeted communities,  have either migrated out or are in the process of doing so. Ali Eteraz, in ‘Protecting Pakistan’s Hindus’, published in the Guardian, dated April 11, 2008, avers — “Hindus in Pakistan have suffered grievously since the founding of the nation in 1947” — citing instances of brutal killings, usurpation of land, destruction of temples in  retaliation for the Babri  Masjid demolition, and general discrimination. Nobody, not even the most avid proponent of the politics of minorityism, can claim that Muslims or other minorities have suffered grievously since India gained freedom in 1947. As for communal riots, instigated by scheming politicos, they spare neither Hindus nor minorities.  One quotes again from the article to show how Hindus are viewed: “There are two levels of prejudice in Pakistan with respect to Hindus — the cultural and the legal. While it is difficult to say which one is more pernicious, cultural prejudice is certainly more difficult to uproot because it is perpetuated by religious supremacism,nationalism, stories, myth, lies, families, media, schooling and bigotry.Cultural prejudice has become part and parcel of language itself. Hindus are referred to as “napak.” Na means ‘un’ and pak means ‘pure.’ So, Hindus are turned into the impure, or unclean. Given that the word ‘pak’ is part of the word ‘Pakistan’— which means Land of the Pure — somebody’s impurity suggests that they are not really Pakistani”.

The writer states that from 15 per cent at the time of Pakistan’s creation, Hindu population has declined to two per cent. “Many have left, many have been killed, and  any have converted to other religions to protect themselves”. Here, leaders bend  backwards to woo Muslims as a vote bank. Union Minister Salman Khurshid’s drum-beating on a nine per cent Muslim-minorities quota before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll could not pre  v ent  hi s  wi fe  Loui s  e  Fe r n ande s Khurshid from losing in Farrukhabad. But Samajwadi Party’s bait of 18 per cent reservations in  overnment jobs and educational institutions for Muslims and other minorities seems to  have worked. Though the Sachar Committee report may have projected Muslims, the dominant minority group, in a sorry light and advocated urgent remedial measures for  uplift,  minorities living in India are not as desperately in need of affirmative action  as, say, Hindus, Christians or Ahmedis  in Muslim-majority Pakistan.

There, people from minority communities are made to feel like second-class citizens.  some would say third-class citizens, with few being able to make it big in business, arts, politics and administrative services. One lone judge of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Justice Bhagwandas, had to take oath on the Quran. Here, nonHindus have  shone in the whole spectrum of public life as top-ranking leaders, policy-makers, administrators, senior defence officials, show-biz personalities, professionals. No census or survey has ever shown the minorities to be among the most disadvantaged or poor.   It may be edifying to recall that the late Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities and a Christian, was killed last March because of his aggressive advocacy of the rights of minority groups.  He is credited with having pushed through a five per cent reservation for minorities in Government jobs. He also managed to institute an annual National Day for Minorities. Pakistani Hindus complain that none of their festivals merits a holiday.  As founder and president of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, a national network of all religious minorities, he took his job seriously.In consequence, he was gunned down like a common felon. But

here, human rights activists and political advocates of minority interests failed to condemn the killing even while they remain fixated on ‘Hindu terror’.

Over 50 Hindus have been kidnapped in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province—The Pioneer -5.3.12

Over 50 Hindus have been kidnapped in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province over the past four years, forcing members of the minority community to migrate to other parts of the country. Basant Lal Gulshan, the Human Rights and Minority A f  f a i r s   M i n i s t e r   f o r Balochistan, said over 50 members of the Hindu community we re   abdu c  t ed  a c ros s   t h e province in four years. “Among those are two assistants from my own pharmacy, abducted two days ago,” he said. “While Musharraf was in power for nine years, there were only seven instances of kidnapping,” Gulshan told The Express Tribune. The alarming increase in kidnapping of Hindus was confirmed by Balochistan Chief Secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri. Of a total of 72 people kidnapped in the past few months, 24 were Hindus, he said. Twenty-one people had either been released or recovered through the efforts of the Hindus themselves, Lehri said. B a l o c h i s t a n   Hom e Secretary Naseebullah Bazai too said incidents of kidnapping for ransom and other heinous crimes have increased in the province.

The rise in kidnappings has forced Hindus to migrate from Balochistan to other parts of the country, Bazai told the media on Saturday. Balochistan and Sindh provinces have sizeable Hindu populations. Over the past few years, dozens of Hindus, most of them petty traders, have been k i d n app  e d   for   r an s  om   i n Balochistan. Several cases of forced conversion of Hindus have been reported from Sindh.

Human Rights Minister Gulshan said Hindus were targeted because the communityis perceived to be “financially well off but weak”. The Hindus are mostly traders and businessmen, and the community c om p r  i s  e s   t w o - t  h i r d s   o f  Balochistan minority population of 300,000, he said.  Most Hindus live in the Baloch-settled areas of Sibi, Nasirabad, Bhag and Dhadar, said Lehri. Most of the Kidnappings, however, take place in Kalat which is home to a major Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Kali, said the Chief Secretary. Those abducted are taken to Khuzdar, a tribal district  bordering Sindh, which has limited police presence, Lehri said. The district has the Levies militia but they are illequipped to confront kidnappers, he added. Contrary to popular perception, the abductors are not separatists, Lehri said. “These are common criminals, mostly unemployed men, who demand a high ransom for the Hindus,” he added.

Around 50 Hindu families have moved from Quetta to K a r a c h i   i n   t  h e   p a s t   t w o months, said Gulshan. More t  h a n   1 5 0   f a m i l i e s   a c r o s s Balochistan have moved out in the past few years. Most of t hem went   to   Indi a  on   a   visit visa but have not returned, he said. “The exodus may still be reversible. Most have left their business behind under caretakers or managers, and not sold them off,” Gulshan said.

B e s ide s  Hi ndus ,  ot he r minority communities who have been the target of crimes a r e   o n   t  h e i r   w a y   o u t   o f Balochistan. Zoroastrians, who are a negligible minority, no longer live in Balochistan, said Tahir Hussain of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Faridoon Abadan, a former provincial minister and owner of   Quetta Distillery, was kidnapped over 10 years ago and is yet to be traced. His wife Nilofer was the first woman to be kidnapped in Balochistan in February last year. She  was freed after paying 30 million in ransom and her family is now moving out of the  province. After severa l   h i g  h - p r o f  i l e   t a r g e t e  d attacks, the Shia Hazara community too is quitting the province. “Around 16,000 people from the Hazara or Persianspeaking community left Quetta last year,” Hussain said.

Beware the Bio-tech bill – The Pioneer – 5.3.12

Environmental activists are bracing fo r   a   c on f  ront  at  i on   w i t  h   t  h e Government over the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, which islikely to come up before Parliament during the Budget Session. The controversial BRAI Bill has been under scrutiny of various experts, as there has been widespread opposition to the Bill even when it was due to be tabled in the Monsoon Session of Parliament last year. There has been opposition from the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information towards this Bill as it even overrides the Right to Information Act (2005) and bypasses the citizens’ right to know and participate. The Bill has also been opposed by some MPs in the Lok Sabha, and they are likely to ramp up their opposition this time around. India has already witnessed a major public agitation on plans to commercialise the first genetically modified food crop, Bt Brinjal. The public pressure finally led then Union Minister for Environment and  forests Jairam Ramesh to declare an indefinite moratorium on the commercialisation process of Bt  Br  inj a l   in  2 0 1 0 .  But   t h e  Un ion Government and the biotech companies have found a way to circumvent such debacles and hence have proposed the BRAI Bill where the propagator becomes the regulator, thereby creating a scandalous cycle of corruption that jeopardises the health of the citizens, our agriculture and our environment. After the moratorium on Bt Brinjal  last year, the biotechnology industry is using extensive funds for ceaseless lobbying: Holding conferences through industry associations, etc. It is unfortunate that, when it is getting clearer and clearer by the day that GM crops rarely bring benefits to the farming  community in our country and have the potential to harm our health  and environment, the Union Government is going ahead with plans to lower the bar for GM crops’ approval through laws like BRAI. This shows the blatant nexus between multinational seed companies who are pushing their GM crops in India and our Government institutions. The role of law in biosafety is critical. But if the law itself promotes the use and application of an untested technology, then not only the text of the Bill but the very law-making process needs to be re-visited. At a time when the issue of corruption in Governmental decision-making has come centrestage, the BRAI Bill is one such example. Not only the national law but also international law is being either distorted or disregarded.

The BRAI Bill has been widely criticized for its undemocratic and promotional approach it has towards GM crops instead of taking a precautionary one. A legal assessment of the report done by Supreme Court lawyer Ritwick Dutta on BRAI and released by Greenpeace this month, highlights fundamental flaws and how BRAI fails to conform to several principles which form the core of Indian and international environmental jurisprudence. This includes absolute liability for hazardous activities, the ‘polluter pays’ principle, the ‘precautionary principle’, bonus of proof on those who want to change the status quo, effective public participation in environmental decision making and access to biosafety information.

“In compliance with the Cartagena protocol, India is under an obligation to ensure that its domestic laws are according to the provisions of the protocol. It appears from the preamble of the Bill that it adopts an adaptive approach, instead the main focus of the Bill should be the prevention of risks associated with modern biotechnology”, said Ritwick Dutta.

The legal assessment also highlights the conflict of interest as the Department of  Biote chnolog  y  unde r   t he  Union Ministry of Science and Technology has proposed the BRAI Bill and its mandate clearly talks of promoting biotechnology in the country. This will only clear further impediments for the biotech companies who, critics says, will monopolise the Indian agriculture market. The current Bill also reduces the role of the State Governments to that of a recommendatory capacity without having any decision-making powers on the release of genetically modified organisms through field trials or assess the need for it in a particular State. Madhya  Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka have formally written to the Union Government opposing the current BRAI proposals. It violates the constitutional authority of the State Governments over agriculture through an expediency clause, experts have said. In one of the instances, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa, during the previous Budget Session in the State Assembly, announced that the Government will not “promote” GM crops and walked the talk by withdrawing budgetary provision. In a written speech circulated during a recent National Development Council meeting in New Delhi, she also reminded the Union Government that agriculture was a State subject and that the Union Government must not infringe into the powers of the States. However, the crux of the matter is that the draft Bill does exactly that. The latest to this list of States is West Bengal which has recently passed a resolution to ban the cultivation of GM seeds.  BRAI, experts have pointed out, also attempts to bypass the Right to Information Act under the garb of being “confidential commercial information” — a tool to smother all objections against genetically  modified crops. RTI has time and again helped activists and civil society expose or get information on field trials of GMOs at various areas, which will be impossible if BRAI becomes law.

Finally, the Bill lacks in long-term independent biosafety assessments which are essential to ascertain the safety of such risky technologies and their products.With farmers reporting mixed results with Bt Cotton, and with inconclusive science on the health impacts of GM food crops, there are no conclusive answers on why the Union Government wants to fast track the entry of GM into the country. The BRAI Bill should be withdrawn and replaced with a regulatory regime whose main mandate should be to safeguard the health of citizens, the environment and consider the various social, economic and cultural aspects. The amendments to the current BRAI Bill 2011 need to be made after engaging in a rigorous public debate with all the stakeholders.

100-cr boost for ancient Tibetan medicinal system-ToI-10.3.12

New Delhi: Sowa–Rigpa, the ancient Tibetan medicinal system believed to have been taught by Lord Buddha himself, is all set to get a major boost. 
    The Planning Commission’s working group on AYUSH (department of ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) for the 12^th five-year plan has proposed setting up of a Rs 100-crore National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa. 
    The institute will offer both under graduate and post-graduate courses, and clinical services through a well-equipped hospital. 
    The group has also suggested establishing a Central Council for Research in Sowa-Rigpa. Union health ministry officials said unlike other Indian systems of medicine and homeopathy, the Sowa-Rigpa has not been explored scientifically and standards of drugs, therapies and procedures are lacking. 
    “It is, therefore, proposed to develop an organizational set up mandated with scientific validation and standardization of Sowa-Rigpa to facilitate research in literary, drug, clinical areas and medicinal plants,” the Commission’s note said. 
    Sowa-Rigpa, commonly known as ‘amchi’, is one of the oldest surviving systems of medicine in the world, and is popular in the Himalayan region. It is practiced in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling, Lahaul and Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) and Ladakh. 
    The theory and practices of Sowa-Rigpa are similar to ayurveda, and also includes principles of traditional Chinese medicine. The Rajya Sabha had passed a Bill in 2010 to include Sowa-Rigpa under the Indian systems of medicine. 
    The Commission’s report said, “Sowa-Rigpa is in the hands of some institutes run by the Tibetan bodies in trans-Himalayan region. Some sort of financial support is provided to these institutions from the government. However, the infrastructural facilities there are not sufficient to meet the aspirations of the students who choose to study Sowa-Rigpa for a professional career. As Sowa-Rigpa has been accorded state patronage, a dedicated institute of the system is required that may lead to develop benchmark standards of education, patients’ care and postgraduate research and impart professional training to produce skilled manpower.” The committee has also asked for a Rs 50-crore allocation towards setting up of the Council. 
    “Presently, an institute for research in Sowa-Rigpa with a limited mandate is functioning at Leh under the aegis of Central Council for Research in ayurveda and siddha.” the report said. Sowa-Rigpa is popular in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Mongolia, Bhutan, some parts of China, Nepal and a few parts of erstwhile Soviet Union.

Girl caned for speaking Telugu in school-ToI-9.3.12

Visakhapatnam: In yet another instance of corporal punishment, a class IV student was allegedly beaten mercilessly by the school principal for speaking in Telugu in school three days ago. The incident came to light on Thursday when her parents lodged a complaint at Kancharapalem police station against the principal, MSM Murthy. 
    Murthy was arrested and booked under section 324 of Indian Penal Code. The 10-year-old girl, S Pavani, who is a student of MSM Public School at Muralinagar, was left with rows of welts on her left hand. The girl was sent to King George Hospital for medical treatment. 
    Pavani was called to the principal’s chambers on Tuesday after she was found conversing with her classmates in Telugu by the class leader. Murthy allegedly lashed her repeatedly on her left hand with a cane causing deep cut wounds which looked like blisters. The frightened girl told her mother Sujatha about the excruciating pain only on Thursday. Sujatha was shocked to see the bruises which the girl had been trying to cover up. The girl had suffered in silence for two days as she was threatened by the principal that she would be removed from the school if she ever told her parents about the incident. The girl told mediapersons that the principal had beaten her up mercilessly despite her pleas. “Pavani is in a state of shock and is too scared to go to school,” her father Poli Naidu, a mason, said. “The principal was arrogant and said Pavani had injured herself when we questioned him about the bruises,” he said. Naidu said he would not send his daughter to the school again. 
    People’s organizations and parents staged protests in front of the school after the news came out. TDP leaders demanded that the government withdraw the recognition of the school immediately. Telugu language proponents said the school management’s action was evidence of disregard for Telugu and demanded stringent action against the school.

Journalist held for attack on Israeli diplomat’s car-ToI-8.3.12

New Delhi: An Indian journalist working for an Iranian publication was arrested on Tuesday night in connection with the terror attack on an Israeli diplomat on February 13. Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi (50), who was arrested from his residence at B K Dutt Colony in South Delhi where he lives with his family, is alleged to be part of an Iranian group which carried out the attack and helped the attackers with logistics. 
    Two computers, a laptop, his Maruti Alto car, mobile phone and $1,250 in cash was recovered. Highly placed sources said he had even helped conduct reconnaissance missions of the Israeli embassy and provided his car to the bombers. 
    Kazmi, sources said, confessed to helping the bombers and being part of the “conspiracy”. “He was in regular touch with the main conspirators for over a year and helped them at every step,” a source said. 
    The arrest backs the Israeli claim, made soon after the attack, that Iran was the perpetrator, a development which will further strain India-Iran ties. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson, however, was tight-lipped, merely saying, “The investigation which led to arrest of one person is also pursuing several other leads. No conclusions can be drawn at this stage.” 
    The case, which had gone silent, was reportedly cracked on the basis of inputs provided by Thailand, where the same Iranian group accidentally set off three blasts on Feb 14, which injured one of them. Increased surveillance in thewake of this intelligence led the police to Kazmi, a Press Information Bureau (PIB) accredited journalist. “There is a definite link between the Bangkok blast of February 14 and New Delhi attack,” said a top official. 
    Police have also recovered the black Hero Honda Passion Pro bike used in the attack, from the Karol Bagh area, where it was rented by the main bomber on the same day. According to the police, the bombers came to New Delhi 15 days before the attack and stayed in a hotel in Paharganj, where they prepared the bomb. One of them tailed the Israeli diplomat’s car on February 13, sources said. 
    The police also recovered a moped from Kazmi’s residence which had been hired by the bombers from Haryana and used for recces of the Israeli mission about four days before the attack. The main bomber, sources said, left the bike at Kazmi’s house on February 14 and fled to Iran. 
    Delhi Police brass did not name any country or the bombers, though sources claimed they had identified the bombers. During the raid on Kazmi’s house, the police also recovered a photograph where the main bomber is seen with Kazmi at a function. 
    The investigations revealed that Kazmi was in touch with a group of four to five Iranians, apparently in the age-group of 30 to 40 years, for over a year. The planning for the attack was done some time around February 2011 and the main bomber, who stuck the “sticky bomb” on diplomat Tal Yehoshua’s car on February 13, had even stayed for almost a month last year in Delhi and discussed the plan with him. The bomber had also visited Kazmi’s residence several times. Kazmi was reportedly promised a handsome amount for helping in the attack. In fact, he had received the first installment of $5,000 from the suspected group. 
Scribes’ body for Kazmi’s release 
    The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has condemned the arrest of journalist Syed Mohammed Kazmi and demanded his release. Kazmi has been arrested in connection with last month’s attack on the car of an Israeli diplomat in Delhi. The DUJ said Kazmi must not be victimized because he worked for Iranian publications. In a statement, DUJ said, “Kazmi is a professional journalist, a Urdu news anchor for Doordarshan and has worked for numerous Urdu newspapers.’’

Simi men now in social activists’ garb-ToI-8.3.12

Hyderabad: State intelligence officials are claiming that several members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) have joined the Popular Front of India (PFI) and that it was this controversial organization that was behind some recent communal disturbances in the state including last year’s Adoni riots. 
    The PFI, which shot into national prominence when two of its members chopped the hand of a Kerala Christian professor in June 2010 on the charge of blasphemy, claims to be a neo social movement for a new India for equal rights to all Indians, and is a confederation of Muslim organizations in India, as stated on its website, and is active in south India. Formed in November 2006, the PFI includes the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), the National Development Front (NDF), and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP), which are active in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, respectively., 
    Although PFI claims to be an organization working for only the socio-economic, cultural and political empowerment of the deprived and the downtrodden, state intelligence sources say it is under their scanner for possible militant activities including terrorism. Sources in the police department said PFI is making every effort to win over the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh by taking up issues which are emotive and sensitive to their feelings. Specifically, it is concentrating on rural areas where the Muslim population is dominant, they said. 
    “The activities of PFI are widespread in Rayalaseema, especially in Kurnool district, where it is incidentally headquartered. Though its presence in Hyderabad is presently restricted to some pockets like Chandrayangutta and Shivarampalli, its activities are slowly spreading. However, the backward villages of the state where Muslim population is dominant is their focus area of operation where they take up programmes like ‘Sarva Siksha Grams’ or ‘School Chalo’. But the sole purpose of these activities is to lure Muslim youth towards PFI,” the sources said. 
    After the alleged role of right-wing Hindu activists surfaced in the Mecca Masjid blast, members of PFI have been suspected of having pasted anonymous posters under the caption ‘Save India Day’ in Old City, Kurnool, Nellore and Kadapa districts saying that innocent Muslims were harassed and arrested while the real culprits were ignored. PFI chief denies Simi links 
    According to the police, at their various meetings held in Vijayawada, Nandyal, Kurnool and Nellore, PFI members are said to have pitched for counter attacks by the minority community on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The PFI has also been demanding that those responsible for the Babri Masjid demolition should be brought to book. When contacted, PFI state president Mohammed Arif Ahmed told TOI that no member of the banned SIMI had joined PFI. “If police have any proof of identification against any of our members as being former members of SIMI, let them produce it. The allegation is baseless and made to defame our organisation,” Arif Ahmed said. Referring to the Adoni incidents that took place four months ago, the state PFI chief said members of his organization were deliberately framed by the Kurnool police. “As per the Constitution, we are working for the uplift of backward communities, especially Muslims. It is an effort to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots,'' Arif Ahmed said. However, the cops continue to insist that PFI has an ulterior destructive motive.

Ongole bull losing ground in state-ToI-8.3.12

Its Population Falls As Farmers Not Keen Any More To Raise The Rare Breed

Ongole: The world famous Ongole bull is struggling for survival. This rare and exceptional breed of farm animal has registered a steep drop in its numbers as, unlike in the past, farmers are no longer keen to rear it. And it is this change in their attitude which has now come to pose a serious threat to the breed’s existence. 
    But that is not all since neither is the government doing anything to promote and conserve this breed. The population of Ongole bulls in the country — AP has 80% of them — is less than 5,000. Emphasising on the need to have the Ongole bull preserved, former minister R Damodar Reddy has said that the government should take steps for the conservation of the bull by launching such measures as the supply of semen free of cost. 
    It does not help its cause either that the Ongole bull is yet to receive a patent with the state bio-diversity board still at work on the documentation of the bull’s genes. 
    “It is believed that the animal migrated from Africa via Pakistan to the northern parts of India before settling down on the river stream of Gundlakamma near Ongole,” explains a senior official form the animal husbandry department. He said that the bull comes from the same stock as the Zebu of Africa. “Short horns and a fatty hump are the typical features of this bull,” he added. 
    According to scientists, the animal developed some unique characteristics upon settling down in the Ongole region. The Ongole bull is quite a standout variety and is easily differentiated from other breeds for its eyelid, hump, ear tips, rear joints, bottom grip, muscles as well as body colour. 
    “It is quite costly to maintain an Ongole bull and, to add to it, revenues from the animal are minimal,” an official said. 
    The Ongole bull’s semen is available at government labs — at Lam farm near Guntur, in Visakhapatnam and Nandyal. Government farms at Chadalavada (Prakasam district), Mahanandi (Kurnool) and Chintala Deevi (Nellore), too, are rearing the animals and their numbers here could be around 1,500. 
    “Labour shortage in villages, breaking down of joint families, mechanization and high cost of rearing are the main reasons for the decline in the numbers of the Ongole bull,” principal scientist (animal breeding and genetics) R Vinoo told TOI. He said that the success of this rare breed fully depended on patronage from farmers since they were ready to provide them with semen. “Right now, we have with us nearly 2 lakh doses of semen. But where are the patrons?” Vinoo asked. 
    But recent campaigns by model-farming advocate Palekar and yoga guru Baba Ramdev promoting cow milk and milk products have had a positive impact on farmers. “Some farmers are looking to keep at least one bull on their farms,” said A Venkatramaiah of Nakirekallu village, owner of an Ongole bull. 
    Mekala Lakshminarayana, recipient of the President’s award for model farming, has said that the animal population could see a jump were the farmers to only return to time-honoured cultivation practices and shun fertilizers.

Cong Razed In Biggest State, Punjab, Goa; Holds Manipur Dead Heat In U’khandMixed Fortunes For BJP –ToI – 7.3.12

Mulayam-Akhilesh Crush Cong 224-28: Now, UPA Faces Even Greater Uncertainty

    Uttar Pradesh, by virtue of its monstrous size, has always been the mother of all state elections. But this time around, it was invested with even greater importance because of Rahul Gandhi’s brave decision to stake his personal appeal on it. 
    In the event, Congress’s big bout before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections turned into a big rout on Tuesday as Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party crushed Mayawati’s BSP and Rahul’s aspirations for scripting his party’s resurgence in UP. Congress also lost in Punjab — which it was tipped to win — and Goa, and fell short of the majority mark in Uttarakhand. 
    Congress fared miserably, managing only 28 seats in UP — just six more than its disastrous score five years ago. The performance was, in fact, worse than the worst-case scenario drawn up by the party, raising a big question mark on the effectiveness of Rahul as a vote-catcher. Coming after the party’s rout in Bihar two years ago, the UP debacle appeared to underline the limits of the appeal of the party’s mascot. 
    A win in tiny Manipur can hardly be a consolation for a party that was looking for a big bounce from what it thought would be a Super Tuesday. It was banking on a win in Punjab and Uttarakhand as well as a perceptible improvement in UP to bring some respite for the UPA government at the Centre, which has been hit by scams and is hamstrung by a growing perception of inaction. 
    The results have put paid to any hopes of the UPA regaining an upper hand in decisionmaking, and in negotiations with assertive allies like Mamata Banerjee. Mulayam’s victory means that Congress cannot hope to automatically get the SP to play the buffer against Didi’s maverick ways. 
    While the UPA can expect the support of the 22 BSP members in Lok Sabha since Mayawati won’t want early elections, its space for manoeuvre will remain cramped not just in pushing through big-ticket economic reforms but also on contentious measures like the NCTC. The results may have also queered Congress’s chances of getting its own nominee elected in the presidential elections in July. 
SP men attack journos 
    On a day when the SP promised it would not associate with goons, its workers attacked journalists in Jhansi. The violence started after SP candidate Chandrapal Singh Yadav was found trailing by over 4,000 votes to BSP candidate Krishna Pal Singh Rajpoot. Some 1,500 SP supporters pelted stones and assaulted journalists when they began reporting the violence, forcing them to lock themselves in a school room. 
    WHAT THEY 
    SAID THEN… 
We can form government in UP on our own strength DIGVIJAYA SINGH | FEB 8 
We’ll win over 125 seats and I will talk to you on Tuesday DIGVIJAYA | TO A TV ANCHOR, MARCH 3 
We will win more seats than in 2007. Just look at the number of people at my rallies MAYAWATI | ON FEB 19 
Today I hold the master key to power MAYAWATI | ON FEB 21 
We are winning...(But) even if you give 2 or 4 seats to the Congress, we will not ally with thieves and goondas RAHUL GANDHI | ON FEB 5 
AND NOW… 
I led the campaign, so I take responsibility. We fought well, but the results were not so good. Organizationally, we are not where we should be in UP. Our fundamentals were weak…We haven’t done well in all of UP (when asked about Congress’ debacle in the Gandhi family’s home turf of Rae Bareli) RAHUL GANDHI | ON MARCH 6 
We couldn’t convert the attraction of the people for Congress into votes and shares. This shows the failure of the organization, state leadership and myself… Rahul Gandhi was not projected as CM, his litmus test will come when he is projected as PM DIGVIJAYA SINGH | MARCH 6 
Politics is like that. We lost last time, but won this time. We may lose again. Similarly, Rahul has lost this time but may win tomorrow... There will be no politics of revenge, no breaking of statues. Those who want to enjoy these spaces can do so AKHILESH YADAV | MARCH 6 No clear national winner
    But while Congress was a loser, the results did not throw up a national winner, highlighting once again the political fragmentation that has compelled patchwork coalitions at the Centre and prevented successive regimes from taking bold decisions even on issues that cry out for attention. 
    The Congress’s torment was caused by two father-son duos, Mulayam-Akhilesh in UP and Parkash-Sukhbir Badal in Punjab, as they moulded a winning formula of projecting change with continuity. 
    SP’s 224 seats is the biggest-ever for any one party in the last two decades. It surpassed BJP’s tally in 1991, won on the back of a surcharged Ram temple movement (also Uttarakhand had not been formed then and the UP assembly’s strength was 425). The victory was facilitated by the solid support of Muslims to the SP as well as the appeal of a sober Akhilesh among sections that have historically been opposed to SP and on whom Rahul had banked. 
    Even as SP more than doubled its tally by 128 from 96, and BSP crashed to 80 from 206, Congress and BJP (which slipped to 47 from 50) were reduced to the status of ‘alsorans’ in a state where both must do well if they wish to lead a coalition at the Centre in two years’ time. The success of Akhilesh along with those of B C Khanduri in Uttarakhand and Manohar Parrikar in Goa disprove those who consider moderation and sobriety a handicap in politics. 
    Congress’s defeat in Punjab was a shocker, even if not on the scale of UP. The Badals defied the entrenched revolving-door pattern in Punjab where power has changed hands every five years. The Badal & Badal show helped ally BJP to show up as retaining power in Punjab and cover up the magnitude of its failure in UP.

Putin wins, Russia erupts in protest-ToI-6.3.12

Global Monitors Say Election ‘Skewed’ To Favour Winner

Moscow: European election observers issued a harsh critique of the Russian presidential election on Monday, saying that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s victory was preordained and unfair because of overwhelming bias in the television media and the use of government 
money and resources in support of his campaign. 
    Putin, who has already served eight years as president and four years as PM, won a new six-year term on Sunday with an official tally of 63.75% of the vote. He has already suggested that he might run again in 2018, potentially extending his tenure as Russia’s pre-eminent leader to 24 years, on a par with Brezhnev and Stalin. 
    The observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said that the election was heavily tilted in Putin’s favour, and that incidents of voter fraud and other irregularities were not as significant as the overall framework of the campaign, which they said gave opposition candidates little chance. 
    “Conditions were clearly skewed in Putin’s favour” while the vote count was “assessed negatively in almost one-third of polling stations,” they said. 
    Their observation came as a teary-eyed Putin told tens of thousands of his supporters, “I promised you we would win, and we won...We have won in an open and honest battle. We proved that no-one can force anything on us.” 
    Hours later, thousands gathered for a massive rally in Moscow to challenge Putin’s victory, chanting ‘Shame!’ and ‘Russia without Putin!’” “The campaign has been unfair, cowardly and treacherous,” said opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky, denied registration for the race on a technicality. 
    Sergei Udaltsov, an organizer, urged protesters to stay on Moscow’s iconic Pushkin Square until Putin steps down. “If it was a free election, why have they flooded the city of troops?” Udaltsov shouted to the crowd, which responded with cries: “They fear us!” NYT & AGENCIES 
Khodorkovsky case will be reviewed 
    President Dmitry Medvedev held out an olive branch to opposition protesters, telling Russia’s prosecutor general to study the legality of 32 criminal cases, including the jailing of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Medvedev also told the justice minister to explain why Russia had refused to register the liberal opposition movement PARNAS. REUTERS

Qaida attack on Yemen army leaves 139 dead -ToI-6.3.12

Sanaa (Yemen): Sneaking across the desert behind army lines, al-Qaida militants launched a surprise attack against military bases in south Yemen, killing 107 soldiers and capturing heavy weapons they later used to kill more troops, officials said on Monday. 
    The military officials said at least 32 of the militants were killed in Sunday’s fighting in Abyan province and scores were wounded from both sides. Medical officials in the area confirmed the death toll figures. They said that the poor services in local hospitals accounted for the death of many soldiers who suffered serious wounds. 
    The high death toll among the troops is believed to be the highest on record in battles fought by the army against al-Qaida militants, emboldened by the political turmoil roiling the impoverished Arab nation for more than a year. 
    The militants’ attack appeared to be al-Qaida’s response to a pledge by Yemen’s newly inaugurated president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to fight the Yemeni branch of the terror network. 
    The military officials said the militants’ surprise attack outside Abyan’s provincial capital Zinjibar also led to the capture of 55 soldiers. The captives were paraded on the streets of Jaar, a nearby town that has been under al-Qaida’s control for about a year. AP 
Gunmen in disguise kill 27 cops in Iraq 
    Suspected al-Qaida gunmen, some wearing army uniforms, raged through a western Iraqi city on Monday in a pre-dawn shooting spree that killed 27 policemen, including two officers killed executionstyle. The assault saw insurgents in military uniforms simultaneously attacking two checkpoints in the east and west of Haditha before storming other security posts and raiding the homes of the two officers.

Oz state unveils a tougher burqa law – ToI- 6.3.12

Canberra: Muslim women in Australia’s most populous state will have to remove veils to have their signatures officially witnessed under the latest laws giving New South Wales officials the authority to look under religious face coverings. 
    State attorney general Greg Smith said in a statement on Monday that beginning April 30, officials such as justices of the peace and lawyers who witness statutory declarations or affidavits without making identity checks will be fined 220 Australian dollars ($236). 
    “If a person is wearing a face covering, an authorized witness should politely and respectfully ask them to show their face,” Smith said. 
    The government on Monday began an information campaign to ensure the public and officials were aware of the new penalties. 
    The laws are a response to a court case last year in which a Sydney woman was convicted of falsely claiming that a traffic policeman had attempted to remove her veil. 
    A judge overturned the conviction because the official who witnessed the false claim did not look under the veil of the person who made it, so the judge was not certain that the defendant was responsible. AP

China defence budget tops $106bn – ToI – 5.3.12

With 11% Increase, Its Military Spending Now Is Three Times That Of India

Beijing: The Chinese government on Sunday announced a 670.27 billion yuan ($106.4bn) expenditure on defence, which is three times India’s budgetary allocation for 2011-12. 
    The budgetary estimates, which will soon be approved by the National People’s Congress (NPC), is “reasonable and appropriate” in light of China’s rapid economic development and steady increase in revenues, said NPC spokesman Li Zhaoxing. This is the first time ever that China’s defence spending has topped $100bn. 
    Li, who is a former foreign minister, said China’s main military spending apart from on equipment is on services, training, and maintenance. “China is committed to the path of peaceful development and follows a national defence policy that is defensive in nature. China’s military will not in the least pose a threat to other countries,” Li said. The share of defence expenditure in the country’s gross domestic product has dipped from 1.33% in 2008 to 1.28% in 2011, Li said, and added, “The US and UK spend more than 2% of their GDP.” 
    Reacting to this, Maj Gen (retd) Dipankar Banerjee of the Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies said, “This is very high allocation if you consider that nearly 50% of Chinese military spending is not shown in the defence budget.” 
    A substantial part of expenses by China’s domestic public security bureau and infrastructure investments by provincial governments have military purposes, he said. The country’s defence spending grew by a low rate of 7.5% in 2010 before rising to 12.7% in 2011, when the budget was put at $91 billion. 
    The 11.2% increase comes at a time when Chinese authorities have announced plans to drastically slow down growth rate to 7.5% of GDP as compared to 9.2% in 2011. China, which has the world’s largest standing army of 2.3 million, had been hiking its defence budget by double-digits during most part of the last decade. 
    The official media quoted Wen Bing, a researcher with the People’s Liberation Army Military Science Academy, as saying, “The Chinese government will not make a drastic response to, or overreact to, the so-called worsening of global security.”

RamDev baba planning to open 1 lakh swadesi retail stores in India—Eenadu – 2.3.12

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In 1 year 7,500 people killed in Syria – Eenadu – 1.3.12

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Water levels sinking dangerously – Eenadu -- 1.3.12

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In Seven years of violence 69,000 people killed in Iraq

\œä@Áx £ÏÇ¢®¾©ð 69 „ä© «Õª½ºÇ©Õ: ƒªÃÂú

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