Kolkata, August 7
Violence erupted again at Nandigram today following clashes between two groups of people belonging to the CPM and the Trinamool Congress in which firearms, bombs, lathis, bows and arrows and other legal weapons had been freely used.

At Singhur also two groups were again involved in violent clashes for the second day today, when the CPM was making a counter-agitation against the Trinamool Congress’ move in obstructing the progress of work at the Tata Motor’s plant, constructing the low-priced Nano cars. These cars will be in the market during the festive season in September-October in Kolkata.

The CPM today observed a 24-hour bandh at Nandigram and Khejuri in East Midnapore protesting against the killing of Monoranjan Mondal, a CPM district committee leader. Today also another CPM worker was shot dead by the Maoists, who were jointly opposing the bandh called by the TMC and the Krishi Bachaoo Committee (KBC).

The Maoists allegedly gunned down Mondal near his house at Sonachura on Tuesday night. There were again large-scale violence and clashes between the two groups in the Nandigram and Khejuri areas during the past 48 hours over the supremacy of control of the respective groups over the areas in which guns, bombs, lathis and other weapons had been frequently used.

The Trinamool Congress also observed a separate 12-hour bandh at Nandigram today demanding deployment of the CRPF and other paramilitary forces in the area for Nandigram for preservation of peace and normalcy in the area.

The KBC leader, Monoranjan Bhattacharyya and Subhendu Adhikera, both TMC MLAs denied that they were involved in the death of Mondal. They alleged that Mondal was killed due to the rivalry of the two groups of the CPM, which the CPM leader denied categorically.

Mamata Banerjee reiterated that they were not against Ratan Tata or Tata Motors but against the forcible acquiring of farm land for industries by the government. She alleged that there was an under-hand deals between the CPM and the Tata Motors for which over 1000 acres of farms land belonging to the poor farmers at Singhur had been forcibly acquired and handed over to the Tatas. She demanded the entire deal be brought out to the public.

New Delhi, August 7
To encash upon large presence of participants, visitors and media at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, India has launched widespread promotional activities in Beijing to bring ‘Incredible India’ in focus.

Tourism ministry officials say Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are an unparallelled opportunity for promoting profile of ‘Incredible India’ worldwide and showcasing the country as a tourism destination to international audience. China has emerged as one of the top 15 tourist generating markets for India. Tourist arrivals from China to India have been continuously increasing.

Officials say for the first time in 2006 China (Main) emerged as one of the top 15 tourist generating markets for India. It occupied 14th position with 1.4 per cent share in arrivals. Arrivals from China (Main) were merely 1,371 in 1981 but grew up to 62,330 in 2006 at a compound annual growth rate of 16.5 per cent.

Activities at Beijing will include a month-long advertising campaign in important subway stations and junctions with specially designed and illuminated images and creatives.

Advertisements would also be placed in major newspapers, including the China Daily and South China Post, during the Olympics which would also coincide with Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

An ‘India evening’ has been proposed on August 16 with the Indian embassy where invitees would include media personnel, major Chinese tour operators, as well as members of the delegation of the Indian contingent.

Other proposed events include an exhibition of Indian handicrafts and textiles and photographic exhibition on India by well-known photographer Mao Xiaoyu, who has lived and travelled extensively in the country.

Advertising campaigns are also being launched in other countries to coincide with the Olympics, notable amongst them being Russia.

Incredible India advertisements would be screened on giant digital screens at premium locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg between August 8 and 24. In addition, ‘Incredible India’ advertising spots would feature on the Euro News channel during the Olympics and would be aired in over 45 countries worldwide.

New Delhi, August 7
India is poised to sign bilateral social security agreements with the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Germany to protect the interests of Indian professionals engaged in high-end jobs.
According to official sources here, the agreements with these countries have been finalised and will be signed at mutually convenient dates in the near future.

The Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry has already signed a social security agreement with Belgium and is negotiating such accords with many other European nations, where Indian professionals are employed ieement protects the interests of expatriate workers on a reciprocal basis by providing for exemption from social security contributions in case of short-term contracts.

India has already signed labour protection agreements with Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE. A labour protection agreement with Malaysia is also on the anvil. Similarly, such agreements have also been finalised with Oman and Bahrain.

Besides, the ministry is pursuing a proactive policy to transform the emigration system into a simple, transparent, humane and orderly process. These reforms seek to empower the emigrants through specific interventions on the domestic, bilateral as well as multilateral fronts.

Indian emigrants, other than white- collar workers, have so far been typically less educated, low-skilled and ignorant about the relevant laws, procedures, foreign culture and language. That makes them vulnerable to lure, cheating at the hands of agents and exploitation at the hands of employers.

Sources observed that the emigration process needed transformation into a more orderly economic process offering a win-win situation for all stakeholders. Emigration laws required to be modernised to bring about greater transparency, better regulation and deterrent punishment. The ministry was taking remedial measures on these fronts.

New Delhi, August 7
Tough negotiations are on between Indian and US officials over the draft of the document that Washington proposes to submit to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to seek exemption for India amid reports that some of the members of the 45-nation grouping are arguing that New Delhi must adhere to the NPT and the CTBT if it was to be given waiver for undertaking nuclear trade.

Washington has been trying to convince New Delhi to give up its insistence on ‘clean unconditional exemption’ as that could complicate matters at the NSG meeting to take up India’s case.

Officials here indicated that the NSG would have at least two meetings to consider the waiver for India. The first meeting is scheduled for August 21 while the second could be held in early September before the 123 agreement, along with the determination by the US President, goes to the US Congress for ratification so as to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal.

They said: “The NSG members want two meetings as that would enable them to formulate their stand on the draft circulated by the US concerning the proposed waiver for India. It is a sensitive matter for them and their decision to go slow is quite understandable.”

The officials said the safeguards agreement at the IAEA meeting in Vienna might have come through without any major hitch, but the process at the NSG could be a “tough going”.

There are countries like Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand and Austria, which are strong votaries of non-proliferation, and have openly been arguing in favour of prescriptions for India while giving it a waiver.

In fact, even Japan, which is likely to support India’s case for waiver, has said India should sign the NPT and the CTBT.

Countries like France are engaged in quiet diplomacy with those expressing reservations about giving exemption to India without any conditions.

The officials said it was a gigantic task to bring all NSG members on board and support the waiver for India, given the divergent views of the member nations. Unlike the IAEA, the NSG works by consensus and any member could veto the move to make exception in the case of India.

The Indian establishment is also trying to make a realistic assessment on the stand of individual members on this crucial issue at the NSG. However, New Delhi feels that because of its impeccable track record on non-proliferation and its serious commitment to disarmament, the NSG members will end up supporting the proposed waiver.

New Delhi, August 7
The forthcoming Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer “Singh is Kinng” got a green light from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) after the DSGMC asked the producer Vipul Shah to insert a disclaimer and an apology.

Akshay Kumar, accompanied by Vipul Shah and Maharashtra Legislative Council member Charan Singh Sapra, descended on the historic Rakabganj Gurdwara here this morning to meet members of the Sikh community.

Paramjit Singh Sarna, chief of the DSGMC, told reporters that Shah had been asked to insert an apology at the start of the movie that the portrayal of Akshay Kumar as a Sikh with cut beard in some scenes was not to hurt the Sikh community. The actor today explained to the Sikhs that in the last scene of the movie, he appears as a Sikh in the manner they should appear.

Sarna said he had received phone calls from Mumbai-based Sikh organisations who had seen the movie and were satisfied that nothing derogatory was mentioned about the Sikhs.

He also asked the actor to appear in another movie in which his portrayal should be as a true Sikh. Incidentally, “Singh is Kinng” is the second movie after “Border” released more than 11 years ago, where the lead hero is a turbaned Sikh.

In “Border”, Sunny Deol played the role of Brig K.S.Chandpuri (retd).The movie was a big hit of Bollywood.

Muzaffarnagar, August 7
A Bijnor court today sentenced 12 people to one year imprisonment for making ‘derogatory and casteist’ remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and beating up four Dalits, who protested against the remarks.

Additional District Sessions Judge Shiv Sharma while handing down the verdict in the 10-year-old case also imposed a fine of Rs 4,000 each on the convicts.

The judge held them guilty under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

According to the prosecution, the incident took place at Ranipur Nangla village on March 21, 1997 when the four Dalits were beaten up for protesting against the derogatory remarks made by the 12 convicts. — PTI

New Delhi, August 7
A politically isolated BJP had to sue for peace and reconciliation at the all-party meeting on the current violent agitation in Jammu and Kashmir at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence here yesterday.

But with pressure from its Jammu constituency, the BJP appeared clearly uncomfortable with a complete climbdown on the issue. A meeting of its senior leaders held at Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani’s residence here today decided to continue the agitation.

Also the BJP is still not ready to send its representative with the all-party delegation, scheduled to go to the state to talk to the agitators in the next few days. A party leader said, “We have to take into account various aspects and how the government is going about handling the issue before we decide to send our representative with this delegation.”

The BJP, participating in the agitation through its front organisation the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti (SASY), has been seeking the restoration of 100 acres of forest land acquired in Kashmir valley around the Amarnath shrine later returned by Governor N.N. Vohra. It has also been insisting on the removal of the Governor. In the all-party meeting on Wednesday, BJP president Rajnath Singh had sought to be excused from the government’s peace initiative by declaring that the government ought to talk to the Sangharsh Samiti directly. It had done so earlier on three occasions.

But at the all-party meeting almost all parties, including the NDA allies, got together and supported the government’s desire for peace and return of normalcy, leading to an almost complete isolation of the BJP on the issue.

JD-U president Sharad Yadav was the most vocal in urging all parties to understand the sensitivity of Jammu and Kashmir and the need to prevent any further communalisation of the issue. Yadav had publicly spoken a day earlier criticising the communalisation of the issue.

Even the Shiv Sena adopted a reconciliatory approach. While their representative began by stating that he agreed with Rajnath, he also underscored the need for peace and reconciliation. The Akali Dal, too, distanced itself from the BJP line, assuring the government all cooperation in lifting the blockade on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, near Pathankot.

The Left parties, so far critical of what they term the government mishandling the issue, nevertheless stressed the need to remove blockades and start immediate negotiation, according to CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan.

Facing opposite pressures from its Jammu constituency on the one hand and the other political parties on the other, the BJP is reluctant to let go this political opportunity. It returned to its original stand here on Thursday stating that “a negotiated settlement is possible only if the government shows its readiness to correct its earlier mistakes.”

It has extended an assurance of sorts to the government by stating “the BJP is of the opinion that the situation will normalise soon provided the government adopts a pragmatic position that redresses the core grievances of the people.” But simultaneously it remained firm on carrying on its countrywide “jail bharo” agitation from August 11 to 13.

New Delhi, August 7
The government is likely to send an all-party delegation to Jammu on Saturday for a dialogue with those agitating there to press for revocation of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.

Home minister Shivraj Patil talked to BJP leader Arun Jaitley and invited the BJP to participate in the visit, BJP sources said. Other political parties have also received the invitation, sources said.

The all-party convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday on the violent protests on Amarnath land transfer row had resolved to open channels of communication with the agitators in Jammu.

The BJP held a meeting of its top leaders this evening to decide the future course of action on the issue.

Earlier in the day, a meeting of BJP’s core-committee decided to go ahead with the three-day all-India agitation on the Amarnath land row from August 11.— PTI

New Delhi, August 7
Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, in his capacity as President of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, today thanked Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for ensuring “smooth movement of trucks” in Punjab coming from or bound for Jammu and Kashmir.

Appreciating Badal’s "personal efforts in ending blockade on the national highway," Soz also urged the Punjab Chief Minister to further examine the position with respect to movement of trucks on the stretch between Gurdaspur and Mukerian.

“There were reports of continued disruption and blockade on the stretch and he (Badal) said that the Punjab Government had issued unambiguous orders that nobody would be allowed to block the highway and sufficient para-military forces had been deployed on the national highway,” Soz said.

Kolkata, August 7
A fire that broke out at the state government’s secretariat at the Writers Buildings today burnt a large portion of the Block E, which was accommodating the relief, rehabilitation, municipal, land records and finance departments.

Incidentally, the affected block was close to the Chief Minister’s office in the protected area and adjacent to the fire-brigade minister’s chamber and the cabinet meeting rooms at Rotanda.

The fire that broke out around 6a.m. and lasted for over three hours had burnt down several official records, documents and other valuable papers.

Though the cause of the fire was not immediately known, fire brigade officials and the police suspected that it could be due to the short circuit from the computers which were not plugged off and they ran unmanned throughout the night.

But the fire could also be due to the leakage of a gas cylinder used in the staff canteen on the ground floor. The security staff on duty, however, said a kerosene stove, which was lighted up for preparing morning tea at the canteen had caused the fire.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee, along with state fire-brigade minister Pratim Chatterjee visited the affected block around 11 am.

New Delhi, August 7
A meeting of all chief secretaries and all DGPs of the country here tomorrow promises to be a keenly watched one, where several states are expected to give their diverse view, and even oppose the proposed federal investigating agency that the Home Ministry wants.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that has convened the meeting says the meeting is to discuss the need to respond to incidents of bomb blasts and develop a strategy in this regard. Sources said one of the major points would be the fact that several states, like Punjab, that have historically opposed an iron cast role for the Centre, are expected to pitch in with a demand to strengthen the intelligence gathering mechanism and not accept a federal agency. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already made it clear that the federal agency was not required.

Notably one issue, which even the MHA has not missed, is the shortage of intelligence gathering officers. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has as many as 28,000 men. Out of this, only about 4,000 are in active field duties. Way back in 2001, it was accepted that 5,000 more sleuths would be recruited. However, so far, the successive governments have managed to sanction only 1,400 posts. Various experts estimate that the IB needs at least 50,000 sleuths and this is not possible without having multiple units at the state level. For this, manpower needs to be drawn from the state police.

The agenda of the meeting, which is to be chaired by home secretary Madhukar Gupta, is to exchange ideas on preventive and precautionary measures to address potential threats to internal and national security. Besides this, the process of investigation and prosecution will also be discussed.

The MHA while putting forth its views will tell the DGP’s and the chief secretaries that the blasts are the work of groups that have found support from some local elements. The selection is of soft targets and explosives are used with the intent to cause maximum damage.

New Delhi, August 7
It has taken Independent India 60 years to welcome Bhagat Singh into Parliament. But part of the pain caused by this delay is sure to be eased by the chosen timing of the martyr's arrival.

All bronze, he will walk into the Parliament precincts this Independence Day, and stand next to the statutes of Indira Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose. Thankfully for history, Bhagat will be sporting a turban and not a hat in his 18-foot statute, to be unveiled on August 15 by the President of India.

The details of the ceremony have been finalised, and relevant communications sent out by office of the Lok Sabha Speaker, who said that the statute was being installed in line with the aspirations of people and parliamentarians.

The unveiling ceremony will be attended by Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, among others. Bhagat’s sculptor Ram V. Sutar is also expected to come. Notwithstanding the joy of bringing home the martyr, the fact remains that response in the matter has been delayed. Earlier, the plan was to install Bhagat Singh's statute last year, which marked the 100th birth anniversary of the martyr. But the issue of the appearance of Bhagat in the statue caused controversy, with Sikh MPs strongly critical of erecting a statue sporting a hat.

Akali Dal MPs, including party president Sukhbir Badal and parliamentary party leader S.S. Dhindsa, wrote to the Speaker on November 20 last, saying, "We would like to warn that if Bhagat Singh is shown in a distorted image, sentiments of the Sikh community might be expressed in such a way that it would be difficult to control them." All the Akali Dal MPs requested that Bhagat's statue bore a turban.

Deputy speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal also took up the issue with the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Now that the stand of Sikh MPs as well as history has been vindicated, they are happy, so is Malwinderjit Waraich, the official biographer of Bhagat Singh. It was Waraich who presented unflinching evidence in the first place to prove that historically, turbaned Bhagat was the real Bhagat. Waraich supported his contention on two fronts, the first being historical, which favoured Bhagat's turbaned look. The group picture of National College at Lahore, which is the rarest image of a young Bhagat, features the martyr in a turban. Besides, there are only three available pictures of Bhagat, from which the sculptor could have created a portrait. 

New Delhi, August 7
The seven-member MPs’ panel investigating the cash-for-vote CDs and audio tapes has decided to summon Sudhendra Kulkarni, a member of the core group of Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani. Kulkarni was an important functionary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) when Atal Bihari Vajpayee headed the NDA government at the Centre.

The panel today met to record statements of three BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahaveer Bhagora, who walked into Parliament on July 22 with wads of currency notes, claiming these were paid to them to abstain from the voting during the confidence motion.

While Bhagora could not make it to the depose due to indisposition, rest of the two were present and cross-examined by the panel, which showed them tapes and made them hear the audio also.

Sources said the deposing MPs had a tough time facing difficult questions. The panel pointed out to them the discrepancy in the tapes submitted as evidence and the transcript, to which the MPs admitted that the transcript had been prepared by Sudhendra Kulkarni, said sources. They added that the two MPs looked visibly nervous and failed to answer satisfactorily many of the queries posed to them.

That was when the panel decided to summon Kulkarni. It might have to call some more important people connected with the episode, said the source, refusing to spell out the names of those under panel’s scrutiny.

New Delhi, August 7
Two of the three BJP MPs, who stunned the nation by displaying wads of currency notes totalling Rs one crore in the Lok Sabha a few hours before the July 22 trust vote, were today questioned by the seven-member parliamentary panel on different aspects of the cash-for-vote scam, including the veracity of the CDs that allegedly contained visuals to prove the bribe charge.

While Ashok Argal and Faggan Singh Kulaste deposed before the panel for nearly two-and-a-half-hours, third MP Mahavir Bhagora could not appear before it as he is recuperating from a bypass surgery.

Panel chairman Kishore Chandra Deo said the audio and video CDs were “quite clear”. However, Argal and Kulaste told media persons that the tapes regarding the sting operation had been tampered with. Panel sources said such an allegation was not levelled before it by the two MPs.

The two MPs, who jointly deposed before the committee, contended that their version was not recorded in the tapes.

Earlier, both MPs insisted that they would appear together as they had given a joint complaint to the Speaker.

During the deposition, the committee asked the two MPs to substantiate their charge that money was given to them as bribes to vote for the Manmohan Singh government on July 22. — UNI

Dehra Dun, August 7
A traffic constable on duty at a busy junction in Dehra Dun had to bear the burnt of the alleged highhandedness of a senior leader of the ruling BJP on Monday last. When the constable confronted Anil Goyal, treasurer of the Uttarakhand BJP and close aide of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, for allegedly violating traffic rules, there was an argument.

Another senior BJP leader Umesh Aggarwal, chairman of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), arrived on the scene. The uniform of the constable was torn. Later in the evening, adding to the insult, the traffic constable was suspended by his superiors. This was an isolated incident involving members of the ruling BJP with the upholders of law and order in the state.

Ever since the BJP came to power in the state, people close to the ruling party were allegedly taking law in their hands, demoralising the police force. A senior BJP minister of the Khanduri government found himself in a controversy over his role in the release of an accused from the custody of police on March 18, in Rudraprayag district. Another ruling party legislator Arvind Pandey was accused of allegedly releasing a suspect from police custody.

While these BJP leaders deny these charges, the Nainital High court took cognisance of these two incidents and had issued show cause notices to them.

Last month, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhya Parishad (ABVP) workers in Dehra Dun stormed a police station and allegedly thrashed a rape accused, who was in police custody. Meanwhile, there has been no progress in the gang-rape of a Dalit girl by the BJP leaders.

The Opposition Congress said the pressure being exerted on the police in the gang-rape of a Dalit girl involving ruling BJP leaders had led to demoralisation of the police force. 

Dehra Dun, August 7
Maninderjit Singh Bitta, president of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front, has alleged that the politicians of the Kashmir valley, particularly Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, are playing into the hands of Pakistans' Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on the Amarnath land transfer issue.

Bitta, who was here to attend a function of the Vishwa Jan Jagriti Mission against terrorism, alleged that politicians were basically behind all trouble whether it was Punjab or elsewhere.

”We demand that a panel of eminent judges should go into all these incidents where hundreds of innocents have lost their lives due to terrorism," he said. Without naming his own party Congress, Bitta said politicians for their vote bank politics are not acting decisively against terrorism.

"The union government was seen dithering on the issue of death sentence of Afzal Guru or Devinder Pal Singh, involved in the bomb attack on me," he added.

Mussoorie, August 7
This Independence Day would be special for Mussoorie as the popular hill resort would celebrate freedom from polythene bags on that day. The Municipal Board of Mussoorie has decided to impose a blanket ban on the use of polybags in the city with effect from August 15.

The move comes in the wake of recent efforts by the officer trainees at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, who have been advocating for efficient solid waste management in the town.

Amidst murmurs of discontent amongst local shopkeepers, the local authorities have decided to take stringent measures wherein a monetary fine of Rs 500 would be imposed on shopkeepers and that of Rs 50 on individuals, who are found using polybags.

According to Municipal Board chairman O.P. Uniyal, polythene bags pose immense environmental hazards, particularly to fragile hill ecosystems.

BRIEFLY

Breakthrough in ‘psycho’ murders
CHENNAI: The police has claimed to make a breakthrough in cracking the case of “psycho” murders in the city by arresting two persons, who have allegedly admitted to killing of five persons along with their gang members for money. The other gang members are still at large. — PTI

Students of nursing on strike
BERHAMPUR: Students of a nursing college here resorted to an indefinite strike on Thursday demanding that a third-year student, who went missing from the hostel on Wednesday, be recovered. The student has been missing since she came to know that she had failed in examinations. She had sent an SMS to one of her room mates stating that she would not return. — UNI

Six LTTE militants held
Rameswaram: Six LTTE militants and their accomplice in Tamil Nadu have been arrested on Thursday in connection with the seizure of 26 ‘acid cans’ near here on July 30, the police said. Inspector Thiagarajan of ‘Q’ branch dealing with extremist activities said their contact Muniasamy, an Indian national, also had been taken into custody at Nagatchi in Ramanathapuram district. The police seized two outboard motors stolen by them at Athiaman here, the officer said. The ‘acid cans’ were seized at Durgah Valasai, he said. Those arrested are Kirubakaran, Jagan Premkumar, Viji, Subasiddhan and Sasi. — PTI

Sexual abuse case dropped
Bhubaneswar: Orissa Human Rights Commission(OHRC) on Thursday dropped the case regarding the allegation of sexual harassment against former Speaker Maheswar Mohanty by suspended lady marshal of the state Assembly Gayatri Panda. OHRC Chairman Justice R.K. Patra said no credible evidence could be produced by Panda during the hearing to substantiate her allegation against the former Speaker. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on April 1 requested the OHRC Chairman to conduct the probe into the sexual harassment charges against Mr Mohanty, who quit from the Speaker post on August 31 last year following protests from the Opposition members. — UNI

Jayalalithaa moves SC
New Delhi: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Union government and state of Tamil Nadu to take steps to retrieve Kachatheevu, an island off Rameswaram coast from Sri Lanka. It is a small barren uninhabited island measuring 285 acres in Palk Strait of Rameswaram, a part of Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. It was ceded to Sri Lanka under Indo-Sri Lanka maritime agreement 1974. On July 23, 1974, the then Foreign Minister late Swaran Singh made a statement in Parliament that the claim of Sri Lanka on the island has been recognised by India. — UNI

Big B missing home
MUMBAI: Superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who is on a tour to the US and UK, is feeling homesick. “It’s been three weeks. But the pain of absence from your personal surroundings begins to eat in. Its another four weeks to go,” Big B wrote on his blog on Thursday. — UNI