The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	IB ex-chief Haldar to begin peace process with NDFB Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, December 18 The Government of India has appointed former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief PC Haldar as its peace interlocutor to do the spade work for facilitating dialogue with the faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) led by Ranjan Daimary. Haldar has already met the NDFB chief Daimary in Nagaon district jail in Assam to hold preliminary discussion. The Bodo tribe insurgent group had earlier called for unilateral truce hoping for starting dialogue with the Government of India. The truce was called at the intervention of Bodo National Convention (BNC), a civil society banner organisation of Bodo tribes that also urged the Centre to start negotiation with the NDFB faction led by Ranjan Daimary. Daimary, named prime accused by the CBI in the case related to October 30, 2008 serial blasts in Assam, was arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to the BSF at the Dawki border in Meghalalya on May 2, 2010. The 50-year-old militant leader is the founder chairman of the NDFB that later split into two after the serial blasts of 2008.
	Despite Fukushima, nuke deal with Japan on track Ashok Tuteja/TNS New Delhi, December 18 Notwithstanding the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March this year, the prospects of a civil nuclear accord between India and Japan are bright, according to top diplomatic sources. The issue would be discussed when Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on December 28 for the annual India-Japan summit. However, the deal would be signed only after the countries have resolved all differences. The two PMs would discuss several other big ticket items during the meeting, the sources said. Indications are that a defence accord could be the crowning glory of the Japanese PM's visit. Japanese Ambassador to India Akitaka Saiki and senior officials of the External Affairs Ministry are finalising the agenda for the summit. Japan was dealing with the issue of civil nuclear cooperation with India very cautiously since New Delhi is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the sources said It is understood that Tokyo is seeking to build public opinion in Japan in favour of a nuclear accord with India, citing the advantages that will accrue to the country in terms of employment by entering the lucrative Indian nuclear market. India and Japan have been at odds over the provisions attached to their civil nuclear cooperation pact, including the one that bans the transfer of “sensitive technology” from Japan that could be used to develop atomic weapons. The two sides are divided over a provision that could give India the ability to reprocess spent nuclear fuel discarded by power plants, which would be built using Japanese machinery and materials, to extract plutonium. These differences have already prolonged negotiations over the pact. India has been demanding that the accord, which would set a legal framework for the peaceful use and transfer of nuclear power technologies, include a clause to ensure the deal’s conclusion would not hamper its nuclear weapons programme, a demand Japan has rejected. The talks on a nuclear pact with India had triggered an outcry in Japan from survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who expressed fears that the deal would hamper global efforts to realise a world without atomic weapons. In the event of an India-Japan nuclear deal not fructifying, American and French nuclear majors too would find it difficult to enter the Indian nuclear market. They can’t sell nuclear plant technology to India without the approval of Japanese industry.
	Jantar Mantar Ailing Air-India gets a new ‘doctor’ Anita Katyal It was once considered a plum posting but not any more. Given the poor health of the aviation sector in general and national carrier Air-India in particular, there are few takers for the Civil Aviation Ministry these days. But RLD chief Ajit Singh, who has now joined the UPA government, is clearly an exception. Undeterred by the challenges he faces as the new Civil Aviation Minister, he is quite gung-ho about his new charge. Even before he was sworn-in on Sunday, he had been speaking animatedly about his plans to turn around the ailing aviation sector which is going through its worst crisis. However, there are a fair number of skeptics who are no longer taken in by any grandiose revival plans. The previous two Civil Aviation Ministers (obvious reference to Praful Patel and Vyalar Ravi) had crash-landed, but this one is not going to take-off, remarked a senior Opposition leader. BCCI plans Pataudi Oration Taking a cue from Australia’s Sir Donald Bradman Oration, billed as an important feature of the country’s cricket calendar, the BCCI is planning to commence a Pataudi Oration from next year. Like the Australian event, which honours the memory and contribution made by the world’s greatest cricketer, the Indian version will honour India’s finest cricket captain, Tiger Patatudi, who died a few month ago. It appears appropriate since India, like Australia, is passionate about cricket. BCCI member and BJP leader Arun Jaitley has been in touch with Pataudi’s wife Sharmila Tagorein connection with this proposal and she is said to have responded enthusiastically to it. The details of the programme are still being worked out but the idea is to invite a national or international personality to talk about Pataudi’s place in Indian cricket and the game’s influence on the country. For the record, Rahul Dravid delivered this year’s Bradman Oration for which he received a standing ovation. Union ministers at receiving end Besides Home Minister P Chidambaram, other Union ministers, who are feeling the heat in Parliament, though not in the same degree, include Kapil Sibal, Jairam Ramesh and Anand Sharma. Bills piloted by Sibal, the latest being the Copyright Bill, are being routinely blocked in the Rajya Sabha by an aggressive Opposition. Jairam Ramesh also found himself at the receiving end recently when Opposition members did not allow him to speak for over 15 minutes when he was replying to a question on the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana. Eventually, the question hour had to be cut short by 10 minutes because of the Opposition din. Anand Sharma, however, had to face uncomfortable questions not from the Opposition but from his own party colleague PC Chacko.
	Cops want Hazare to fast in Mumbai suburbs Anna has sought permission for a month-long fast near Nariman Point Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, December 18 The local police is all set to ask Anna Hazare and his team to shift his proposed indefinite fast in Mumbai to the suburbs, owing to security reasons, according to sources here. India Against Corruption (IAC), the organisation formed by supporters of Hazare, has sought permission to hold the month-long fast at the Azad Maidan in downtown Mumbai. The venue, which is bang opposite the Chhatrapati Shivaji train terminus, is strategically located with the headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on one side and the state secretariat at Nariman Point being stone’s throw away. According to sources, police officials have informally asked IAC to shift the protest elsewhere due to security reasons. “The police in the city will be stretched because of the year-end celebrations,” says a senior police officer. According to him, the police is worried about huge crowds converging to the southernmost tip of Mumbai from both the Churchgate and CST railway stations, clogging the busy arterial road nearby. Among the alternative venues suggested to Team Anna figures the Bandra-Kurla Complex in the suburbs. The state government is also likely to offer the MMRDA grounds at the BKC to Team Anna. “Officially, we have been approached for permission to undertake the fast at the Azad Maidan grounds. They could apply for permission to hold the programme at other grounds later,” says Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajnish Seth.
	I am still in Mumbai: Veena Malik Mumbai/Islamabad, Dec 18 Actress Veena Malik today denied reports that she had returned to Pakistan following her nude photo shoot controversy, saying she was resting in a suburban Mumbai hotel to recover from exhaustion. Against the backdrop of reports she had mysteriously disappeared, Veena said she had changed her hotel in Mumbai and switched off her mobile phone as she wanted to rest. She told Geo News she had been feeling unwell after working for up to 18 hours a day. The 33-year-old actress said she was now staying at Oakwood Hotel in Mumbai, a fact confirmed by the local police. Veena's conversation with Geo News marked her first contact with anyone in two days. Earlier, speculative media reports on both sides of the border had claimed Malik had crossed over to Pakistan via the Wagah land border. Reports further claimed the actress, wearing a burqa, had crossed the frontier on foot. But the police confirmed today that the actress is very much in Mumbai. "Veena Malik is in Oakwood hotel. She has registered by her real name Zahida and she has all the papers. She was unwell for a couple of days," Machendra Bodke of the Juhu police station told the mediapersons. Malik went “missing” two days ago after returning from a film shoot in Mumbai. Her manager Pratik Mehta told the media that her cell phone was turned off. The actress, who has been in and out of India for film and reality shows, was shooting 'Mumbai 125 kilometres' in Goregaon and left the shoot midway, saying she was not well. However, police said there was no missing person's complaint registered in this connection. Some reports had suggested that Malik had returned to Pakistan to renew her Indian visa but sources close to the actress said her visa was valid till December 24. — PTI
	PC takes back remarks against Kerala Govt Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 18 Home Minister P Chidambaram today withdrew his remarks on the controversial Mullaperiyar dam following sharp reaction from political leaders from Kerala. Describing as “unnecessary” the Kerala Government’s fears over the safety of the dam, Chidambaram had yesterday said the apprehension was nothing but a “bypoll fear.” “It was not my intention to hurt the feelings of anyone,” Chidambaram clarified today while retracting his statement. “Like some other speakers, I also made a passing reference to the forthcoming byelection. I take back that remark,” he said in a statement here. He said he continued to believe that the dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the reconstruction of the dam must be resolved in a spirit of cooperation and brotherhood between the people of the two states. Chidambaram advised the people to read his remarks in the context of his entire speech delivered at a Congress party meeting in Chennai. TAMILIANS safe, says Chandy Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy on Sunday said he had assured Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Pannerselvan that the Mullaperiyar row would have no effect on the Tamil-speaking people living in Kerala or coming to Kerala for work. — TNS
	The Second Buddha’ on celluloid Man Mohan Our Roving Editor New Delhi, December 18 It is a dramatic story, ‘The Second Buddha’, shot across the spectacular Himalayas and icy deserts of Ladakh. As part of the 52-part ‘Spectacular India’ series on the country’s cultural heritage, Doordarshan is ready to showcase its latest film, ‘The Second Buddha’, on Guru Padmasambhava who, as per the legend, actually introduced Buddhism across the trans-Himalayas. The 25-minute film has been produced by renowned art historian and photographer Benoy K. Behl. It unveils the turn of events that spread Buddhism across the Himalayan region, from where it moved to several Asian nations. The film’s preview was screened here today. While Lord Buddha gave birth to Buddhism, common Buddhists across the world are not well versed about Guru Padmasambhava, who actually established the religion across the Himalayan kingdoms and the trans-Himalayan region in the eighth century. This is the story of the man from Nalanda University, who swept across Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh 13 centuries ago. He bestowed upon it a Buddhist culture, which continues till today. The religious leaders of Buddhism see Guru Padmasambhava as one of the most fascinating personalities in the world’s history. They worship him as ‘the Second Buddha.’ The film-maker Behl ‘repeats’ his journey across the cold deserts of Ladakh and Spiti valley. Guru Padmasambhava, with his magic and flamboyant masked dances, dominated the roof of the world completely in his time. The great Guru, in the power and majesty of his mission, had travelled across the highest mountains of the world. He had traversed 2,000 km of inhospitable, high-altitude desert, to spread the message of Lord Buddha. “These are regions where oxygen is scarce in the thin air and often it is difficult to breathe. Mountains reach for the skies and even the hundreds of passes he would have had to cross, are often higher than 15,000 feet,” Behl told The Tribune. “For the film shooting,” he says, “the crew traversed such inhospitable region to capture this great story being told for the first time, and only because of faith in Padmasambhava the people here remain Buddhist till today.” According to Behl, the writings of Padmasambhava showed that he was a visionary, revolutionary thinker, well-versed in traditional Buddhist practices but had no patience with dull and tedious rituals. He spoke from his own personal experience of the truth. The truth has to be heard from a Guru. The truth may always remain the same, but it has to be re-lived by each person. Behl is known for his pioneering work in the documentation of the vast art heritage of India. He has taken over 35,000 photographs and made a hundred documentaries on art history. “The Second Buddha is a labour of love and perhaps the best film I have ever made,” claims Behl.
	China war: No records of Nehru writing for Israeli help New Delhi, December 18 The External Affairs Ministry has said it has no records of any "purported" letter written in 1962 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to his Israeli counterpart David Ben Gurion seeking help during the Sino-India war. Responding to an RTI application filed by activist Subhash Agrawal, the MEA said diplomatic relations with Israel were established only in 1992 and therefore, the ministry has no information on the same. The issue had come before the Central Information Commission following an appeal filed by Agrawal, who demanded a copy of the letter along with the file notings which went into drafting it. Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi agreed with the response given by the External Affairs Ministry saying since "information sought is not available and hence, cannot be provided". Basing his queries on a media report which claimed that Nehru had turned to Israel for help during the 1962 war, Agrawal had sought to know from the ministry the content of the letter, the response of Gurion and any other communication exchanged between both the countries. — PTI