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| Sunday,
January 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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India scores diplomatic win Past must not obstruct ties: Li Peng Rs 70 lakh
seized from 8 ST officials US sanctions on science a mistake: Celeste Maximum alert sounded Kumbh Mela origin shrouded in mystery |
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Thapar, 7 others get sadbhawna awards President, PM
send greetings SC upholds life term of Khalistani ultra Morning after pills to avoid pregnancy Maneka stresses
more facilities for disabled Prasada’s condition
still critical
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India scores diplomatic win NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — India today seemed to have won another major victory on the diplomatic front with Australia deciding to resume the post of a military attache in its High Commission in New Delhi. Reports from Sydney today said that an Australian military attache would resume his post in India two years after he was ordered home in protest over the Pokhran nuclear tests carried out in 1998. What is more significant for India is the fact that the same post in Pakistan, which had also almost simultaneously carried out nuclear tests and from where again the defence attache was withdrawn in protest, will remain vacant. This defence analysts here said was a clear signal of Australia recognising India not only as a nuclear power but also its security concerns leading to the two blasts. On the other hand, the post remaining vacant in Pakistan was also a signal that Australia was not recognising the military regime in Islamabad, which had also been the case with most other countries. According to reports, Col Paul Power will return to New Delhi after being recalled in May 1998. He will resume his duties this month. Accordingly, an Indian counterpart is also expected to be posted to Canberra shortly. The Australian decision will come as a major boost to India which had launched a major diplomatic initiative with all countries to explain its viewpoint and reason to carry out the tests. Not only had India despatched its ambassadors to various countries to explain the viewpoint, but had also written to their Heads in this regard. Australian military attache resuming his post in New Delhi is also an indication that the military relations between the two countries were now normal and can lead to further cooperation between the two in the field of defence. A spokesman for the Australian Defence Minister John Moore said in Sydney that the reappointing of the military attache was part of the process of restoring military ties between the two countries. Incidentally, the Australian Defence Minister had visited India last year at the invitation of the Indian Defence Minister. The ties between the two were further cemented by the visit of Prime Minister John Howard to India last July. |
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Past must not obstruct ties: Li Peng NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — Visiting Chinese leader Li Peng today called for elevation of bilateral ties to a “new height” saying that problems left over from history should not become impediments in mutual ties and the “pressing task” was to promote better understanding and trust. Delivering a lecture on “Deepening understanding: fostering friendship and strengthening cooperation” here at the India International Centre , Mr Li Peng said: “We are required by reality to elevate China-India relations to a new height in the 21st century. As our common ground far outweighs our differences, the Chinese and Indian people have ample reason to develop friendship and become good neighbours and friends.” In an obvious reference to the long unresolved boundary issue, the second most powerful leader in the Chinese political hierarchy said: “We hope that farsighted statesmen of our two countries will demonstrate courage and make efforts to resolve these problems and differences.” “A positive development of Sino-Indian ties will create more favourable conditions for the ultimate resolution of these problems, Mr Li Peng, who is the Chairman of the National Peoples Congress of China, said. Terming India as an “important” neighbour of China, he said: “We have never taken India as a threat. Nor do we intend to pose a threat to other countries or seek any sphere of influence”. In the same vein, he added that developing good neighbourly and friendly relations with New Delhi “is our consistent guiding principle and an essential part of China’s foreign policy of peace with surrounding countries.” Even while the bilateral trade had grown ten fold, Mr Li Peng said the current level of commercial cooperation was far from the real potential of the two respective economies. “There is still huge potential to be tapped through our concerted efforts”, he stressed, expressing Beijing’s keenness to expand cooperation with New Delhi at international forums. Stating that the two neighbours had a major role to play in international affairs, the Chinese leader said the major task facing the international community was to promote the process of multi-polarity for world peace and ride the tide of globalisation for common development. The ongoing process of globalisation was widening the gap between the rich and the poor and was sharpening the contradictions between the north and the south”, he said emphasising on balanced and sustainable development of the world economy. “We need globalisation that leads to a win-win situation, allows co-existence and promotes common development of both developed and developing countries”, he pointed out. Presiding over the session, the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, Dr Najma Heptullah, said the world community should exploit the current year, declared as the “international year of dialogue among civilisations.” |
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Rs 70 lakh seized from 8 ST officials NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (UNI) — The CBI today seized Rs 70 lakh in cash and movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 1.62 lakh during raids at the offices and residences of eight officials of the Sales Tax Department of the Delhi Government. CBI sources said the raids were carried out by the sleuths of the bureau’s Anti-Corruption Branch after it registered cases against them for acquiring huge immovable and movable properties through corrupt practices. The sources said during searches at the residences of the accused, Rs 70 lakh in cash, immovable property worth Rs 1.40 crore and a bank balance of Rs 22 lakh, totalling Rs 2.65 crore were recovered.
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US sanctions on science a mistake: Celeste kolkata,
Jan 13 (UNI) — us ambassador to India Richard F. Celeste today virtually admitted that his government’s decision to stall all scientific projects involving Indian scientists after the Pokhran nuclear tests was a mistake. “I know this is not how you expect a us ambassador to speak, but I agree with you that it was a mistake to discourage a nuclear scientist like r. chidambaram whose work had nothing to do with weapons delivery,” Mr Richard Celeste said in reply to a question by an Indian scientist here. About 48 projects involving Indian scientists, including one on crystallography in which Mr Chidambaram was working, were affected in the aftermath of the Pokhran blasts in May, 1998, and the consequent us sanctions. “It was an emotional decision but certain sanctions imposed by the us government are mandated by law and policy decisions. So the scientific communities of the two countries should strengthen their bonds to enable both countries to benefit from each other,” Mr Celeste told the scientists during an interaction on “Indo-us cooperation in science” at the Bose Institute. He said the Glen Amendments in response to India’s decision to exercise its nuclear options were mandated by the us policy to discourage proliferation of nuclear weapons but in the way some genuine projects got stuck. “So it is the responsibility of India to look after its security. But we discourage proliferation and ask India to exercise greater restraint,” he said. Emphasising that science is the “new critical driver of the global economy”, Mr Celeste said India should keep in mind its one billion strong population while formulating scientific policies. He asked the scientists and the government not to ignore demographics while pursuing scientific goals. Stressing on a knowledge-based economy, Mr Celeste said: “Whether it is telecom or software or anything else it is the application of new knowledge. Now the distance between the laboratory and the market place has shrunk to almost nothing.” “Science and scientific enterprises have created one of the strongest bonds between India and America and presently 17 different us agencies are collaborating with India,” he said, hoping that the collaborative efforts would grow further in the coming days. “The scientific leadership of the two countries can now come together to undertake major collaborations with the setting up of the
US-Indian Science and Technology Forum last year at a cost of $ 7 million,” he said. |
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Maximum alert sounded KUMBH NAGAR, (Allahabad), Jan 13 (UNI) — Amid threats of attack by Kashmiri militant outfits, a “maximum security alert” has been sounded at the millennium’s first Mahakumbh which witnesses the first ‘shahi snan’ (royal bathing) tomorrow, expecting to see eight million people take dip at the sangam. The first ‘big event’ of the month-long mela begins tomorrow on the occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’. This will be the first of the three ‘shahi snans’. Senior Superintendent of Police (Kumbh) Alok Sharma said maximum alert has been maintained, keeping in mind the attack on Amarnath pilgrims last year. Army troupes along with helicopters, mine detection squads, bomb disposal wing and sniffer dog squads have been pressed into round-the-clock service in the mela area. The nodal officer of the mela, Mr Sadakant, claimed that all arrangements had been completed and security system beefed up for tomorrow. He said 1 lakh policemen would be deployed. Special training has been imparted to these personnel to man the crowd and prevent a stampede or gate crashing. The dispute between the various akharas over the timing of bathing is also an additional problem for the authorities, who are hoping for a last minute solution. In the past, such disputes have led to major confrontations. Mr Sharma said 40 companies of central paramilitary forces, a similar number of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), alongwith more than a dozen anti-sabotage teams, had been deployed in the mela area. The state government has spent a sum of Rs 20 crore to organise the mela. According to mela authorities, the ‘shahi snan’ tomorrow will start at around 5.30 and the first akhara to bathe will be Maha Nirwani Niranjani followed by others. Expecting heavy rush of pilgrims, the mela area has been increased by 20 per cent as compared to the 1989 Kumbh. This time, the mela is taking place in 1396 hectares of land which has been divided into four zones, 15 sectors, 28 police stations and 35 police outposts. Fifteen close circuit TV cameras have been installed at various key positions to detect and counter possible terrorist attack during the Mahakumbh. There is no news as yet of arrival of renowned Hollywood stars earlier expected to visit the city for the mega-event. Film personalities like Richard Gere, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Pierce Brosnan and ‘Beatles’ Paul McCartney, along with many industrialists and political personalities, were earlier slated to visit the largest religious congregation in the world. Mr Jeevesh Nandan, District Magistrate of Kumbh, said there was no confirmation till now of any foreign celebrity coming to the mela area. |
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Kumbh Mela origin shrouded in mystery kumbh nagar (Allahabad), Jan 13
(UNI) — No one knows for sure how the Kumbh Mela, which draws multitudes from all across the world, acquired its present form. The word Kumbh means “pot” and refers to the puranic history of the pot of nectar that arose from the churning of the milk ocean by the gods and demons. The term Kumbh finds mention in ancient Hindu scriptures and is used as an indicator of global welfare, particularly when the conjugating Jupiter, sun and the moon are in aquarius for sanctification. At other places, it symbolises a water supplier in droughts, endower of prosperity on earth, a congregation of sadhus gratifying the earth with their sermons, an act of giving a sigh of relief to the earth by accumulating noble deeds (punya) and destroying the ignoble ones or sins to bring about global welfare. Even though the word Kumbh finds its mention in the Vedic texts, it is not fully known when the mela acquired the present form and who was its real founder. Neither the dharma shastras nor any of the puranas mention the mela. There is no mention of it in our ancient inscriptions and writings. Chinese pilgrim Huen-Tsang who visited and stayed in the country from 629 to 645 ad has not mentioned anything about the conduct of the mela in his writings. However, he does mention a somewhat similar gathering at Prayag that used to be organised every five years during the regime of Emperor Harshvardhan in which kings, monks and the common people used to participate. Some people believe that the mela was started by either Emperor Harshvardhan himself or Adi Guru Shankaracharya. In the recent times, a British writer Sidney Low, who visited Prayag along with the Prince and the Princess of Wales in 1906, wrote about Kumbh: “Nothing more impressive, picturesque and pregnant with meaning and significance can be witnessed in India”. He further wrote: “Until you have looked upon one of these tremendous gatherings of humanity, many aspects of Indian life and character may be hidden from you”. According to mythology, during the scramble between the gods and the demons for the possession of amrit (nectar) that followed the churning of the milk ocean, the amrit from the Amrit Kumbh (pot of nectar) fell at four sites, Prayag, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik. Since the event lasted 12 divine days, equal to 12 human years, each of the above-mentioned four places host the festival of Kumbh after a gap of 12 years. The mela is held every three years by rotation at the four holy places, Prayag (Allahabad), Hardwar, Ujjain and Nasik. The last mela was held at Hardwar in 1998 while the next one will be held at Ujjain in the year 2004. The mela at Prayag is held during the month of January and February and the bathing is held on the new moon day when the Jupiter is in Aries and both the sun and the moon are in capricorn. |
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Thapar, 7 others get sadbhawna awards NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — Union Health Minister C.P. Thakur has honoured eight persons with the Aruna Asaf Ali Sadbhawna awards for outstanding contribution in the fields of communal harmony, health, education, music and propagation of values. The recipients of the award are Padam Bhushan Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (Islamic literature and communal harmony), Dr Surendra K. Kaushik (service for development and education of women), tabla maestro Ustad Kadar Khan, Dr S. Farooq (education and national integration), Dr K. Kumar (ayurveda), Mr Onkar Singh Thapar, All-India General Secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal, Mohammed Abad Alvi, Board of Directors, State Bank of India, and Dr Aslam Javed. The awards conferred by the All-India Minorities Front carry a memento, a certificate and a shawl. The front plans to give these awards every year. Speaking on the occasion, the Health Minister said literacy was a solution to numerous problems. He said population control was the responsibility of not just one community but everybody. The health and family welfare melas held last year drew an overwhelming response from members of the minority community who turned up for operations, he said. |
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President, PM
send greetings NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (UNI) — The President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister have greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti and Pongal tomorrow. In his message, President K.R. Narayanan extended warm greetings to the people and wished them every happiness and prosperity. Vice-President Krishan Kant said these festivals marked the beginning of the auspicious period of “uttarayana” and the harvesting season, underlining the Indian society’s close bonding with nature. “The rituals and festivities associated with Sankranti are not only part of age-old traditions of our country, they are time-tested means of promoting the values of sharing, generosity, goodwill and benevolence in the community,” he said. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee expressed the hope that the festivals of Pongal and Makar Sankranti would bring wellbeing and prosperity for the people and peace and happiness for one and all. |
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SC upholds life term of Khalistani ultra NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence awarded to hardcore Khalistan terrorist Lal Singh and his accomplice by a designated TADA court in Ahmedabad. The apex court, while upholding the designated court’s conviction of all the five arrested by the CBI in 1992 on charges of hatching a conspiracy to cause disruptive activities in the country in connivance with Pakistani intelligence, however, reduced the sentence of three other accomplices of Lal Singh to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. The CBI investigations had revealed that Lal Singh and his accomplice had hatched a conspiracy with Pakistani intelligence and smuggled in a huge quantity of arms and ammunition into the country for setting up a base in Ahmedabad to carry out terrorists and disruptive activities for creating Khalistan, the agency said. The activities of the group came to light after Lal Singh was arrested in July, 1992. Besides Lal Singh, the CBI arrested Mohammed Sharief (a Pakistani national), Tahir Jamal, Saqib Nachan and Shoib Mukhtia and recovered arms and ammunition worth crores of rupees from them. All five were tried by the designated court which sentenced them to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld their conviction and ordered that Lal Singh and Sharief would undergo a lifer while the sentence of the other three was reduced to 10 years. |
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Morning after pills to avoid pregnancy NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare plans to include emergency contraceptive services in the national family welfare
programme. Implementation of the proposed move will also serve to achieve the primary objective of the National Population Policy of addressing the needs of contraception. The ministry also plans to hold a national consultation on the subject on the basis of the recommendations of a two-day consortium which ended here on Friday. The consortium was organised by the Indian Society for Study of Reproduction and Fertility, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. The Secretary, Family Welfare, Mr
A.R. Nanda, told TNS here that the government would explore the possibility of introducing the post- coital methods of contraception in government hospitals with all precautions. “It looks like we can start the pilot project from urban settings in a phased manner,” he said. Mr Nanda said that health experts from the public and private sector, obstetricians, gynaecologists and reproductive health specialists will participate in the consultation. The national planning welfare programme began in India in 1952. It was only in 1966-’67 that contraception was given focus. Stressing the need for introducing emergency contraceptive services in the
programme, Mr Nanda said, “Emergency contraceptives are needed to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Abortion is not a happy option and lacks safety. Emergency contraceptive or the `morning after pills’ for women have to be taken within 48 hours to avoid pregnancy. They are not sold without prescription. The government may consider making such contraceptives available in condom vending machines.” Mr Nanda pointed out that male scalpel vasectomy became negligible after the Emergency. “It was negligible from 1976 to 1995. It has picked up to 2 per cent now.” He drew attention to the National Family Health Survey -2 (NFHS-2) findings on use of contraceptives. The survey found that only 48 per cent of married women were using some method of contraception at the time of the survey. A Delhi-based
gynaecologist, Dr Sapna Chopra, told TNS that the move to introduce emergency contraceptives is welcome. “Emergency contraception is good, provided it is supervised and is an informed choice. The most effective `morning after’ pill, mifetrestone RU 486, is not easily available in India.” Dr Chopra hoped that use of emergency contraceptives will help bring down the rate of abortion.
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Maneka stresses
more facilities for disabled NEW DELHI, Jan 13 — The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms Maneka Gandhi has ordered the issuance of a notification to ensure disabled persons’ free access to hotels, railways, buses and schools. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal ministry for monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Disabilities Act, 1995. According to conservative estimates, 5 to 6 per cent of the country’s population is affected by disability. Close on the heels of this order issued sometime back comes a somewhat similar initiative by the Delhi-based Disability Rights Group (DRG) which is planning a disability audit of all public buildings to see how disabled-friendly they are. Ms Gandhi seems unimpressed by the DRG initiative of a disability audit and feels that it is redundant in the face of the government order. “Our order to ensure a free environment to the disabled is in keeping with the spirit of the Disabilities Act.” DRG convener Javed Abidi told TNS that accessibility will be on the top of the DRG agenda this year. “We will go to town on the issue of accessibility. We plan to constitute a cross-disability group comprising six to 10 disability activists to work out the modalities for executing the plan. To begin with, we will issue notices to all public buildings as banks, income tax office, passport office, schools, colleges, universities, libraries, cinema halls, temples to tell us how disabled friendly they are.” The DRG convener said in the absence of penal provisions in the Act, provisions that favour the interests of the disabled are being violated.
Prasada’s condition still critical NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI) — The condition of senior Congress leader Jitendra Prasada today continued to be “very critical” with doctors attending on him describing the lookout for recovery as “grave”. Mr Prasada’s prognosis remains grave. He continues to be in deep coma, on a ventilator with intravenous drips and on required medication. His urine output is dropping and blood pressure remains low,” Apollo Hospital said in a medical update here. Mr Prasada, who was admitted to Apollo Hospital on January 9 after he suffered brain haemorrhage, has not shown any significant positive change in the past 24 hours, it said. Meanwhile, Jitendra Prasada’s younger brother Jayender Prasada has been shifted out of the neuro intensive care unit after he was diagnosed “clinically stable” and responding well to the treatment, it said.
ED searches Bharat Shah’s premises MUMBAI, Jan 13 (PTI) — Officials of the Enforcement Directorate today carried out search operations at the residential and office premises of Bollywood financier and leading diamond merchant Bharat Shah, who is in police custody for his alleged links with the underworld. The searches were conducted following taped conversation in Mumbai police’s custody indicating transfer of money through hawala channels, ED sources said here.
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Order extended on ex-minister’s property Memon’s bail extended till Feb 15 Masked men loot arms NLFT ultras kill
tribal youth 13 ANVC ultras
lay down arms Adulterated ghee
racket unearthed 3 gangsters killed
in encounter Witness turns hostile
in Laloo case Varsity staff’s threat
on legal action |
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