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| Saturday, June 24, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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India,
Germany hold meeting on terrorism Cong ridicules BJP demand
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Nehru’s stubbornness
created Pak: scholar Rlys may take action against
Chautala Nepalese PM to visit India From bus conductor to writer ‘Bheeshma’ battles for
life Ban on media entry to poll booths
flayed Hillary to attend Punjabi body
convention Monsoon advances into MP, UP
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India, Germany hold meeting on
terrorism NEW DELHI, June 23 - India has enlisted Germany’s support for the comprehensive anti-terrorism Convention proposed by it for adoption by the UN which enjoins upon state parties to prevent terrorist groups and terrorist training camps from operating in their territories. A delegation, which was here to attended the Indo-German joint working group on terrorism in the Ministry of Home Affairs, expressed full support for the convention, according to a ministry spokesman here today. India is making a concerted effort to get the convention adopted at the forthcoming U N General Assembly in an effort to isolate Pakistan. New Delhi has time and again blamed Islamabad of aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism and conducting a proxy war against India. Both India and Germany shared information of mutual interest and agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in combating international terrorism. The German delegation, which comprised Mr Klaush Neidhardt, Kriminal Director (South Asian Division), and Mr Werner Betmann, Kriminal Director (Asian Division), Federal Kriminal Police, also visited Srinagar and held discussions with senior state government official to get a first hand knowledge of the dimensions of trans-border terrorism in the state. The assurance assumes
significance as the Union Home Minister, Mr L K Advani,
during his recent tour to Europe, had sought support of
Israel, France and Britain to help India tackle
terrorism. |
Cong ridicules BJP demand NEW DELHI, June 23 — As the BJP gets down to highlight the days of the Emergency of 1975, the Congress today ridiculed the demand by the party that the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, should apologise for the move 25 years ago. The party today described the BJP campaign on the Emergency as "deliberate and politically motivated" and countered that the BJP should apologise for the "series of crimes" committed by the Sangh Parivar, including the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The country, party spokesperson Mr Anand Sharma, said was aware of that part of history and the subsequent verdict of the people. He said when Mrs Indira Gandhi was re-elected as the Prime Minister she had tendered unqualified apology for the excesses and subsequently the people gave massive mandate to her and her party. He said those who demand an apology should first apologise for the demolition of Babri Masjid, the brutal killing of Graham Staines and his two sons and communal riots in the country. The AICC general secretary, Mrs Ambika Soni, maintains that the decision taken by the Congress then was in response to the situation that existed then. "There were calls to halt running of Railways, blowing of bridges, asking the armed forces to rebel. The response of the government of the day was to such a situation" she said, adding that the party then later on amended the Constitution that makes it impossible to declare internal Emergency. She countered the BJP and its leaders, asking them what lessons they had learnt from the steps taken during the Emergency. "The human rights violations continue to occur at an alarming rate in states ruled by the BJP. What have these leaders who may have suffered then done now to improve the situation," she said. Mrs Soni said in her opinion for a democracy to be vibrant one requires institutions and open channels of communication, the absence of the latter resulted in the situation then. Mrs Soni, who was the
chief of the Indian Youth Congress then, said one must
not forget that eventually it was Indira Gandhi who
herself lifted the Emergency and paved the way for the
general election of 1977. |
Nehru’s stubbornness created Pak: scholar NEW DELHI, June 23 (UNI) —One of the top Islamic scholars in Pakistan has given a new twist to the never-ending controversy about the creation of Pakistan by arguing that it was created by Pandit Nehru’s "stubbornness’’ and not by Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s leadership. Dr Israr Ahmed, who has been an outspoken commentator on Pakistan’s political and religious affairs for the past two decades, said in Lahore that Jinnah had given up on Pakistan and it was Nehru’s "stubbornness" that ultimately created Pakistan. Urdu daily Khabrain of Lahore, which reported this, has written that Dr Ahmed described Muslims as the biggest hypocrites of the world and Jinnah was mentioned in this context. Pakistan was created in the name of what the Muslim League called the two-nation theory but in his very first speech to the constituent Assembly, Jinnah talked of secular Pakistan. Dr Ahmed said the first Law Minister of Pakistan was a Hindu and the first Foreign Minister, an Ahmediyya (then Ahmediyyas were considered Muslims in Pakistan). Dr Israr Ahmed
originally belonged to Jamaat-i-Islami which had opposed
the movement for the creation of Pakistan. |
Nepalese PM to visit India NEW DELHI, June 23 — The Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr G.P. Koirala, is expected to officially visit India sometime at the end of the next month. This was announced today by a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, while briefng newspersons about a meeting between the Nepalese Foreign Minister, Dr Chakra Prasad Bastola and the Foreign Secretary, Mr Lalit Mansingh. The spokesman said Dr Bastola told the Foreign Secretary that contrary to media reports the credential presentation ceremony of the Indian Ambassador designate, Mr Deb Mukherjee had been fixed for today evening. Today was the earliest opportunity for the presentation of the credentials after the King Birendra Bikaram Shah recovered from his illness. Earlier, Mr Mukherjee
was due to present his credential on June 16. |
Rlys may take action against
Chautala NEW DELHI, June 23 — Northern Railway is contemplating action against the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala for allegedly trespassing on railway property at the New Delhi railway station late on Thursday afternoon. Sources in Northern Railway confirmed that Mr Chautala stepped out of his car at platform number 1 to board the Kalka-bound Shatabdi Express. Mr Chautala’s car is said to have entered the platform from the state entry road. Sources in NR described the incident as "absolutely unprecedented". They said they had not heard from Mr Chautala on the matter but would write to him before taking any action. Sources said when the
Deputy Station Superintendent objected the Chief
Minister’s guards reportedly apologised. They
explained that Mr Chautala’s leg had been operated
upon and it was not advisable for him to walk in a
downpour. The Deputy Station Superintendent reportedly
told the security guards that if they had sought
permission, the Railways would have made necessary
arrangements. |
From bus conductor to writer AHMEDABAD, June 23 (PTI) — If one has a trundling bus as a muse, then a puncher can do for a pen. 51-year-old Chatur Solanki, has weilded both with a dextriety that has catapulted this bus conductor to fame as a writer. It is a different matter though that his 70 Gujarati novels which are mostly pulp fiction interlaced with a fair degree of anecdotes of sex, romance and violence and sell like hotcakes, have done little to shield him from the disparaging looks of the so-called litterateurs. Solanki, a matriculate with the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) has also written a Gujarati biography on Babasaheb Ambedkar. But today he is most known as the story writer of Gujarati film "Mahiyar ni Maya", which is based on his novel "Ladli". "Yet Gujarati litterateurs are finding it tough to recognise me as one of their ilk," rues Solanki. "The reason they give is my dacoit-centred stories and the violence perpetrated by my protagonists was not literature." "I have often argued whenever I get a chance to meet Gujarati writers at Sahitya Parishad meetings to which I am also sometimes invited that violence was also depicted in our great epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. "But have they lost their sheen because of the violence in them. I have no qualms in admitting that I write to entertain people. But the characters are not drawn from out of the world. They are from the same social milieu to which we belong. So to say that my writings were not literature is far removed from truth." Solanki, who has an "understanding" wife and three brilliant children, one of whom is an environmental engineer, describes himself as a typical bus conductor on duty: "I give a mouthful of expletives to heady passengers and when I am over with it (duty), I am a totally different person." Son of poor mill worker, who had a large family to support, Solanki considers it needless to talk about his privation during his childhood and later years. His aspiration to be an electrical engineer remained unfulfilled but a chance shooting of a Gujarati film, where he saw actress Asha Parekh in his teens, stoked a different kind of fire in him. "I was bewitched totally by her beauty and wanted to join the film industry. That the dream would be realised through the rides aboard the municipal transport bus at the age of 51, I never knew," he says referring to the Gujarati film based on his novel. The same producer of the film "Mahiyar ni Maya" has approached Solanki to write a fresh story for his new Gujarati film and has already scripted four episodes of Gujarati sitcom. Monetarily, he has not
earned much through his prolific writings and got only Rs
10,000 for the adaptation of his novel to a film. But the
khaki flannelled writer feels that "writings have
given an outlet to my creative propensity." |
‘Bheeshma’ battles for life MYSORE, June 23 (UNI) — Ganesha, the oldest pachyderm in Indian zoos, is ailing and battling for life in the Mysore zoo. The authorities have been striving hard and monitoring the health of the elephant, called "Bheeshma" of the zoo, round the clock in the hope that the pachyderm will be on its legs again. The veterinarians in the zoo are worried as the elephant is not able to take the fodder. It is fed intravenous fluids and kept in a steady state by feeding bread and sweet lemons. But they are worried as the elephant, weighing over 4.5 tonnes, might develop bed sores. As a precautionary measure, it has been provided with a bed with neem leaves to ensure that it does not contract infections. "The sheer weight and lack of movement could result in secondary complications like bed sores." "It is difficult even for human beings to put up with bedsores. We hope that the elephant will not develop such complications", one of the doctors commented. It is also being fed with antibiotics. The doctors say that arthritis was the cause of the elephant collapsing suddenly a few days ago. Mahouts have been putting in special efforts in the fond hope that their ward would be the star attractiion in the zoo. It is a poignant scene to watch his better half, Padmavathy, helplessly witnessing Ganesha suffering the pain. One of his song, Rajendra, was donated to Sri Lanka by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee a couple of years ago. The tusker had yielded ivory rive times, weighing about 25 kg, and the government had earned about Rs 2.5 lakh by selling it. The authorities said the late Jayachamaranjendra Wodeyar was impressed with Ganesha and wanted it to be the royal elephant at the palace. Unfortunately, a small white patch on the right leg went against the well-built tusker. Maybe superstition forced the King to donate it to the zoo owned by him in 1951. The elephant, captured
in 1949 in a khedda operation in Mysore was tamed and was
used for palace functions before being handed over to the
zoo. The Mysore zoo has a good record in breeding animals
though the image took a beating following the death of a
large number of birds and animals a couple of years ago. |
Ban on media entry to poll
booths flayed CALCUTTA, June 23 — Press photographers and reporters will not be allowed to enter the polling booths and cover election process during elections in Calcutta and Bidhannagar municipalities on Sunday. This "unprecedented step" taken by the state Municipal Commissioner, Mr A Majumdar on the eve of elections has surprised mediapersons, political parties, government officials and others who have strongly criticised and protested against the decision. The Chief Minister, Mr Jyoti Basu, however, welcomed the step and said "he (Mr Majumdar) has taken the right step". But the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharya was not happy with the decision and said, "I don’t know why such a decision has been taken. The commission did not consult us before taking such step." The Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee and WBPCC (I) leader, Ghani Khan Chowdhury vehemently criticised the decision. The state BJP leader and the Union Minister, Mr Tapan Sikdar also flayed the decision. Ms Banerjee asked the journalists to defy the order and do their jobs, and assured them of full support by the Trinamool Congress. Two separate public litigation cases had been filed at Calcutta High Court today by Bartaman and Ananda Bazar Patrika respectively against the commission’s decision but these were rejected. Today was the last day
of campaigning for the elections to the Calcutta
Municipal Corporation and Bidhannagar Municipality. |
Hillary to attend Punjabi body
convention NEW DELHI, June 23 — The 29th annual convention of the International Punjabi Society will be held in New York on July 11. The US First Lady Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton, will be the chief guest on the occasion, a statement said. The Premier of British
Colombia, Mr Ujwal Dosanjh and a minister in the Canadian
Government, Mr Herb Dhariwal, would be among the 2,000
odd delegates attending the convention. The society,
which has branches in 13 countries plans to open new
branches in a number of other countries also and would
launch its own website in near future to highlight its
activities, the release added. |
Monsoon advances into MP, UP PUNE, June 23 (PTI) — Forecast valid until the morning of June 25: Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at many places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar plateau, coastal and south interior Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep, at a few places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Orissa, Bihar plains, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, south Konkan and Goa, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and at isolated places over the rest of the country outside north Rajasthan, Gujarat state, north Konkan and north Madhya Maharashtra where weather will be mainly dry. Heavy rainfall warning: Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Maghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura and West Bengal and Sikkim during next 48 hours. Southwest monsoon has further advanced into most parts of west Madhya Pradesh, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, rest Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Haryana and Punjab, Northern limit of monsoon passes through 20 degree N/6 degree E, Dahanu, Indore, Agra, Ambala, Ludhiana and Jammu. The trough on sea level chart passes through northwest Rajasthan, southwest Uttar Pradesh, Bihar plateau and northeast bay and extends in the lower levels. A cyclonic circulation between 3.1 and 5.8 km a.s.l. lies over north Gujarat region and neighbourhood. The cyclonic circulation over southeast Uttar Pradesh and neighbourhood extending upto 1.5 km a.s.l. has become less marked. Southwest monsoon has been vigorous in Assam and Meghalaya and active in sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Bihar plains and Haryana, at a few places in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Bihar plateau, east Uttar Pradessh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Konkan and Goa, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalseema, Tamil Nadu, coastal and south interior Karnataka and Kerala and Lakshadweep and at isolated places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, west Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra and Telangana. Mainly dry weather prevailed over the rest of the country. Day temperatures were
above normal in some parts of Saurashtra. They were
appreciably below normal in Punjab. |
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