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Monday,
July 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Advani blasts Marxists for calling Shyama Prasad communal
Left rejects seer’s proposal |
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Lakshya looks up, Trishul back to drawing board ISRO misses grade PoK district opts for independence Jaish splits, fights over assets
Water cripples thousands in Bihar Well-equipped Maoists mow down cops
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Advani blasts Marxists for calling
Shyama Prasad communal Kolkata, July 6 Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, Union ministers Swami Chinmayananda and Dilip Gandhi, Gujarat and West Bengal Governors, Kailiashpati Misra and Viren J. Shah, respectively, and former Union Education Minister Pratap Chandra, besides several others were present. At the Netaji International Airport, the Deputy Prime Minister was received by the Governor, Mr Viren Shah, and Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee. Soon after landing, Mr Advani drove to Belur Math to pay respect to Swami Ranghanathananda, secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, whom he regarded as his first guru during his Karachi days. He said he was first an RSS worker and then a BJP leader. The Deputy Prime Minister lashed out a the CPM for boycotting the anniversary function and calling Dr Mukherjee a communal Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee had turned down the invitation. He said he would have been happy to see Marxist leaders at the anniversary function even though they differed the ideology. He said he himself volunteered to attend the cremation of Marxist leader E.M.S. in Trivandam after taking over as the Home Minister in May 1998 though he did not support his political ideology. Mr Advani also visited Swami Vivekananda’s birth place at Shimla in central Kolkata and also inspected the beautification programme of the Ganga embankment. Before returning to the Capital, Mr Advani met representatives of the two rival groups of the state BJP and advised them to iron out their differences and fight unitedly against the CPM. He also visited the Trinamool Congress office at Tiljala at the request of Ms Mamta Banerjee. |
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Tributes paid to Shyama
Prasad New Delhi, July 6 Parliamentary Affairs and Family and Health Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and union ministers Vijay Goyal, S.P. Gautam, Major-Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) paid floral tributes at the portrait of the founder in Parliament House. |
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Left rejects seer’s proposal New Delhi, July 6 While in favour of expediting the court verdict, the Left front said the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) was left with no option but to reject Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati’s “so-called peace formula’’ to resolve the Ayodhya issue. The CPI, the CPM and the All-India Forward Bloc (AIFB) said the rule of law and the democratic and secular fabric of the country had to be upheld. In a major setback to the mediation efforts, the AIMPLB working committee earlier in the day rejected the proposal sent by the Kanchi Shankaracharya. National secretary and spokesman of CPI Shamim Faizi said the board had no option but to reject the “so-called peace formula’’ as everybody in the Sangh Parivar was bent on the Muslims surrendering their right to the land’’
which they legally own’’. A compromise on the principles of secularism, the rule of law and supremacy of the judiciary could not be the subject matter of discussion. “Hence, the only way out is to get the court verdict expedited,’’ he said. Referring to the RSS bringing the Kashi and Mathura temple issues on the “communal agenda’’, he said this was violative of the law on maintaining a status quo of all religious places as enshrined after independence. —
UNI |
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RSS flays
Pope’s comment Kanyakumari, July 6 The Pope had made an uncalled for interference in the internal affairs of the country when he commented that “unfortunately, in some regions in India, state authorities had yielded to the pressures of (Hindu) extremists and had passed unjust anti-conversion laws and exhorted the Church to courageously continue with evangelisation”, the RSS national executive said in a resolution adopted at its ongoing conclave here. The Pope’s recent statement calling as “unjust” the anti-conversion laws promulgated in some states was highly condemnable and a direct challenge to India’s sovereignty, it said. It urged the government to lodge a protest with the Pope for exhorting Christian missionaries to carry on with their conversion activities, defying the law of the land. —
PTI |
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I never performed for money: Bismillah Khan Varanasi, July 6 In a signed press statement given here, the Ustad said: “Whenever I went on foreign tours, besides performing in big cities, I also performed in smaller cities and schools, as my aim was not to earn money, but to popularise Indian classical music.” The maestro, in his late 80s now, said he loved India, her people and her music and not money. “I am at the crossroads of my life. It is my desire to serve classical music with shahnai till the end of my life,” said Ustad Bismillah Khan, who recently received a financial help of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Rs 1 lakh each from the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the Congress. —
PTI |
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Lakshya looks up, Trishul back to drawing board Bangalore, July 6 The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADE), a Defence Research and Development Organisation outfit, conducted the first trials of the digital reusable aerial target vehicle at the Interim Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in April. The ADE officials said the trials of a digital Lakshya with a camera on board, which would be used for reconnaissance purposes, were successful. Presently, the analog version of the PTA is with the Indian Air Force and Navy, and a limited series order is under production for the Army. With the digital system fitted on Lakshya, the unmanned aerial vehicle can fly and carry out its task without the intervention of a pilot on ground. The onboard computer would enable it not only to be a target vehicle, but also send signals for faster recovery. Dr Aatre said the future of warfare would have unmanned aerial vehicles as one of the mainstays, including for battlefield surveillance, real-time target engagement and assessing battlefield damage. Though India was not equipped with unmanned underwater vehicles, the DRDO Director General said the technology existed and, in a couple of decades from now, unmanned ground vehicles would be reality. Dr Aatre said future unmanned combat air vehicles could be used for “Kamikaze” attacks on enemies. Meanwhile, allowing the armed forces to buy similar class of missiles from Israel, the DRDO has shelved the ambitious short-range surface-to-air missile programme “Trishul” and downgraded it into a research and development effort for not being able to meet the requirements. “We have allowed Barak to be bought (from Israel),” Dr Aatre said, but declined to comment on the technological drawbacks of the Rs 300-crore Trishul missile project. He said: “We are improving the technology, and on the day we have mastered it, we will go to the users.” He said the recent tests of the missile at the Interim Test Range in Chandipur, on-sea were an effort to solve technological problems. He also said, the failure of Trishul would not have bearing on the other missile programmes. “The missile, one of the five developed by the DRDO since 1983, is powered by solid fuel and can deliver a 15 kg warhead up to 9 km,” an official said. —
PTI |
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ISRO misses grade New Delhi, July 6 ISRO, that has been launching INSAT communication satellites for over two decades does not figure either in the main list of top 20 satellite operators or in the supplementary list of five operators that are on threshold of commercial success. The ranking is done annually by the Washington-based international weekly “Space News” on the basis of gross annual revenue earned by the satellite operators around the world. —
PTI |
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PoK district opts for independence New Delhi, July 6 According to a press note issued by the All-Party National Alliance (APNA), in a survey carried out in Rawalakote district of the PoK, over 95 per cent had favoured independence rather than accession to Pakistan. APNA had, earlier, said it would hold a phased survey in all districts of the occupied Kashmir, including areas like Gilgit and Baltistan that had been annexed by Pakistan. The amalgam, along with the Gilgit-Baltistan National Alliance (GBNA) (of political parties in Northern Areas), has been demanding inclusion in talks between India and Pakistan when the issue of final dispensation of the Kashmir issue comes up. APNA, that has been carrying out the survey with GBNA, criticised the “puppet” rulers of PoK for coming out with a formula to complicate the Kashmir issue further. “We reject the Chenab or any other formula that goes against the identity, re-unification and independence of Kashmir,” the press note said. —
PTI |
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Jaish splits, fights over assets New Delhi, July 6 According to Pakistani weekly The Friday Times, the JeM split after Masood Azhar expelled 12 leaders, including outfit’s Karachi-based Ameer Abdullah Shah Mazhar. Masood Azhar informed the Punjab government about his decision about two weeks ago which led to a serious conflict between the two groups and was followed by the occupying of prestigious Masjid-e-Bataha in Karachi by the rival group of Azhar. “Masood Azhar was made the chief of JeM by religious scholars who later deprived him of that position,” Abdullah told the weekly and claimed that the religious scholars did not want him to continue as the head now. “Maulana Umer Farooq who is (heading militant activities) in Kashmir now, is our Ameer and I am the secretary-general... Masood Azhar has nothing to do with the organisation,” Abdullah said. The breakaway leader said their “main difference with Masood Azhar is that he deviated from the cause of Jihad...our party was created for doing Jihad and we are not ready to compromise on that.” Quoting sources, the weekly said that the home department of the Punjab government was going to take action against the breakaway group by arresting its senior leaders. The two groups were, meanwhile, clashing with each other to gain control over the
assets of the outfit. — PTI |
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Muslim to coordinate Mansarovar Yatra New Delhi, July 6 Mr K. Saleem Ali, Inspector-General of Police (Headquarters) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), posted at the force’s headquarters here, is the nodal officer coordinating the arrangements of the pilgrimage in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam. Assisted by his colleagues, including Additional Inspector-General J.V.S. Chaudhry and the DIG of Kumaon range, he has been working hard for the past one month to put in place a foolproof arrangement for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims, especially in the wake of a recent threat call given by Maoists. The ITBP, which acts as coordinator between the MEA, the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and the Air Force to plan and handle the Yatra, will assist the pilgrims to fulfil their dream of Kailash Mansarovar darshan. From Gunji, ITBP provides security cover to the pilgrims up to Lipulekh Pass and back for which the troops accompany every batch of pilgrims on the tortuous route. A 1978-batch IPS officer of the Manipur cadre, Mr Ali hails from Tamil Nadu. He joined the ITBP on deputation a year ago and served the force as Inspector-General of Police, in charge of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. In March, 2003, he was posted as IG (Headquarters). Addressing the first batch of Mansarovar yatris, who are leaving for the three-phase yatra on July 8, Mr Ali assured them of all help from the ITBP for the successful completion of the yatra. He informed the yatris that apart from security arrangements, the force has also established medical and disaster-management camps all along the yatra route beginning from Mirthi to Lipulekh Pass. The yatra this year begins on July 8 and would conclude on September 25, during with 10 batches of pilgrims comprising 15 to 30 pilgrims each will complete the yatra in batches. As part of the arrangements, the ITBP has installed two satellite phones at Budhi and Tawagh. The ITBP’s control room at Gunji will be in constant touch with the security personnel in Chinese territory to keep track of the movement and well-being of the yatris on the Chinese side. |
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125-year-old to go on Haj Jaipur, July 6 At an age when people would retire twice from service, Habib Miyan is counting the number of days left for his Haj. He is also waiting eagerly for someone from the Guinness Book to come and record his age. ‘’I can’t see any longer. But I remember it all,” he says lying at a charpoy at his home in a resettlement colony on Jaipur’s outskirts. A clarinet player in the royal band of the erstwhile Jaipur state, he remembers that he was 10 when the Nawab of Aligarh died during a visit to Jaipur — that was 123 years ago. Surrounded by his great grandchildren, other members of his extended family and admirers, he celebrated his 133rd birthday a few weeks ago. A certificate issued by a Deputy Registrar of the erstwhile Jaipur state, however, records his date of birth as May 20, 1878, which makes him 125-year-old. Habib retired from the royal band of Jaipur state in 1938 and 65 years later, he still receives a small pension. Media reports on his ‘’133rd birthday’’ in May, when he expressed his desire to go on Haj, drew the attention of a British businessman of Indian origin who sent him Rs 2.70 lakh so that he might undertake his pilgrimage. Now, with the Haj form filled up, he is waiting for the day when he could undertake the long-awaited trip to Saudi Arabia. ‘’May God bless this man who has made it possible for me to go to Mecca,’’ he says about the young British businessman, Mr Aijaz Ahmed. Habib loves to talk and is full of anecdotes about the erstwhile royalty. Son of a water-carrier in the court of Sawai Ram Singh, he recalls how during Sawai Madho Singh’s reign, a munshi once stood up against the ruler’s diktat. He resigned rather than break the law to please his king. Social etiquette was followed in the past. People had respect for one another. ‘’Women and children would not talk back to you the way they do today. Different communities lived in peace,’’ he says. Habib can walk without support, yet his two grandchildren Chuttan and Mehmood would accompany him on the Haj. “Time is the biggest winner,’’ he says looking into the distance, his blind eyes shining in the dim light, ‘’You accept whatever it gives you.” —
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Water cripples thousands in Bihar Patna, July 6 A large number of villages in several districts are affected with fluoride pollution and there are reports of arsenic poisoning in some other districts, the state government said in the state legislative Assembly Thursday. “Tests were carried in villages of Nawada, Jamui, Gaya, Munger, Begusarai and Araria and drinking water there was found contaminated due to presence of fluoride more than the permissible limits”, Jamuna Ram, Minister of State for Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED), said in the House. Fluoride is a chemical used to clean teeth but which, in a different dose, can serve as rat poison and if used can cause serious disorders in humans. Arsenic in drinking water is also said to cause damages to vital human organs. The PHED Minister said that the state government had distributed fluoride filters to the affected villages. Earlier the state government had ordered probe into the complaints of arsenic in water in some villages of Bhojpur district. The Samata Party legislator, Maheshwar Singh, said that people are getting crippled because of fluoride in drinking water. A village named Kachhariadih in Nawada district has 300 people, including 50 children, who cannot walk without sticks or parental support. There is another village in Gaya district with same crippling status caused by fluoride in the water. Around 5000 villagers are facing hardships for want of safe drinking water in Semaria village of Bhojpur district as water here contains arsenic. Officials admitted of at least 12 persons being afflicted with skin diseases, liver cirrhosis, first stage cancer, kidney, eye and mental problems. Villagers told that the number of affected persons is 50. The Bhojpur District Magistrate Mr Sanjay Kumar, said that 166 hand pumps out of the 204 in the villages were found to contain arsenic and had already been declared unfit for drinking. “A probe has been ordered to ascertain the level of arsenic”, he said. In the state of Bihar where 24 out of 38 districts are flooded for at least four months, safe drinking water is a challenge for the government. Still there are thousands of villages where people are still forced to drink water from age-old wells and even rivers. “People of Bhiknathori area of West Champaran district are forced to drink river water as there is no other source of drinking water”, BJP legislator Bhagirathi Devi complained in the state Assembly Thursday. |
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Well-equipped Maoists mow down cops Patna, July 6 The outlawed Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) had killed the sub-inspector along with other two in the attack on the police station and threw the body on the raging fire of his own house. For the family of martyred Suresh it was a double blow as his elder brother Rajendra Paswan was also killed recently in an MCC attack on Doranda police station in neighboring Jharkhand state. The police officials attempt to console the family members and say that they would get compensation money soon. “The kin of the martyred police officials will be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh (a million) each”, Neelmani (single name), IG, Operations said. The compensation, however, does not ease the pains of the fellow cops who maintained that senior officials did not pay heed to the demands of better arms to them. “Suresh Paswan had been demanding better arms for the last two years as he was in the hit list of the MCC for his bravery and honest actions”, injured cops told reporters after the ambush. He fought till his last breath and as died he chanted, “Do not surrender ..keep fighting. I am going.Jai Hind.Jai Hind”, said Chandravati Pandey, a fellow cop. “We fought with whatever we had against an army of the extremists who were better armed. We fired all our 1100 rounds of ammunition that we had in our stores and the Maoists could win the game only because we had no ammunition left”, said the cops. Senior police officials admitted that in most cases the cops are killed as they have poor arms that are no match to the sophisticated rifles of the Maoist killers. |
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