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Monday,
February 17, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Dharamdas to move SC Kashmiri Pandits dismiss NCM
proposal Sahitya Akademi being politicised:
writers Civil service ‘facing’ identity
crisis |
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Parties out to woo rebel CPM MP A unique water filter
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Dharamdas to move SC Lucknow, February 16 The former member of the nyas is likely to submit his plea in the apex court on February 18. At a press conference here, Mr Dharamdas said it would be mentioned in the petition that the nyas had no
existence as it was an unregistered organisation. "We will also urge the court not to entertain political groups like the VHP in such a crucial issue involving the sentiments of both the Hindu and Muslim community." Alleging that the only aim of the Centre’s petition was to gain people’s support in the name of the Ram temple, he said it was done keeping in mind the next year’s general elections. He also cautioned the people against the "vested forces of the ruling alliance and the VHP" and alleged that they were trying to create communal disturbance in the country by raising the Ayodhya issue just after the Gujarat poll. "It is only a political exercise for the coming Parliament elections in nexus with the VHP and other groups in order to get a majority in the next general elections." "Everyone knows that not an inch of the land could be transferred or given to anyone as per the law of 1993, but still the government is trying to rake up the Ayodhya issue to garner political support," he alleged. He said Section 6 of the Ayodhya Special Area Acquired Land Act, 1993, clearly stated that no part of the land could be handed over to anyone till a final decision on the Ayodhya dispute was taken. Mr Dharamdas also said he believed that the Centre’s application would be rejected and after that the present government will ask the people to give them full support so that they could win 315 Lok Sabha seats, enabling them to change the Parliament Act of 1993. Mr Dharamdas, taking a dig at the proposed ‘Dharma Sansad’ called by the VHP from February 22, termed it as "Adharma Sansad" as none of the "genuine sadhus or saints are participating in it." He claimed that all 18 akharas and representatives of the four sects of Hindus had refused to participate in the VHP conclave which aimed to announce the future programme of the Ram Temple movement to benefit the BJP government at the Centre. The mahant also said both the BJP and the VHP were trying to conduct a ‘rehearsal’ of the Gujarat experiment in the country by organising the ‘Dharma Sansad’.
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Kashmiri Pandits dismiss NCM
proposal New Delhi, February 16 The Kashmir Samiti president, Mr Sunil Shakdher, told TNS here today that the constitution of the cell would not answer any purpose. "We want our seat in the commission to be restored. I approached the President, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to ensure that former member, V.K. Dhar be granted an extension." Mr Shakdher said he had written a letter to the NCM Chairman seeking time to discuss problems being faced by the displaced community. The samiti president drew attention to the fact that registration of Kashmiri migrants was discontinued in 1992. "Registration would facilitate identification and enable our children to avail themselves of reservations in schools and colleges." Responding to the samiti’s demand to include Mr Dhar in the commission, the NCM Chairman, Mr Tarlochan Singh, said: "Reconstitution of the commission is the prerogative of the government. The National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, mandates a seven-member commission. We don’t have the authority to add a member. But the commission can have an advisory group to look into the problems of Kashmiri Pandits. We plan to set up a Kashmir cell after seeking the opinion of Kashmiri representatives and experts. We are willing to include Mr Dhar in the cell." The NCM Chairman said he had not received any letter from the samiti. |
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Sahitya Akademi being politicised:
writers New Delhi, February 16 “This is very unfortunate that an institution like Sahitya Akademi, which was established to promote, encourage and patronise the literature being produced in the Indian languages and to create deep understanding among the litterateur of the country, is now being badly politicised,” the statement issued by Maheep Singh, a known figure in Punjabi literature said. Some people have tried to monopolise the institution and due to their non-literary and partisan attitude the prestige and honour of the esteemed institution has been lowered to the extent that many prominent writers feel deeply pained at the situation. “Any caucus which tried to control the affairs of the Akademi with its ulterior motives should not be allowed in its nefarious game,” said the statement. “We appeal to fellow writers to rise to the occasion and not allow the people to control its affairs by remote control,” the statement said. The signatories to the statement include Ram Darash Mishra, Devendra Issar, Kamleshwar, Keki Daruwala, Sunil Gangopadhyaya, Shaharyar, Balraj Komal, Abdul Kalam Azmi, Sunita Jain, Padma Sachdev, Vachaspati Upadhyay, Jagdish Chaturvedi, Narendra Mohan, S.S. Noor, Harbhajan Halwarvi, Surjit Pattar, Vijay Dan Detha, Kusum Ansal, Pratap Sehgal, Shafey Kidwai, Wahab Asharfi, Mal Chand Tiwari, Karanjit Singh, Pratibha Ray, Chandra Kant Mishra and Shashi Sehgal. |
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Civil service ‘facing’ identity
crisis New Delhi, February 16 “The civil servants are expected to toe the line of their political bosses and behave as if they are meek and submissive agents to carry out orders,” he rued, while speaking on the topic “Civil Services Today” at the annual lecture of the Capital Foundation of India on Friday evening. “And if they dare to revolt they have to face transfers or are denied promotion or recognition. Transfer is a colonial concept. It can be very humiliating and makes one feel as if he has committed a crime. If a civil servant who has school-going children is transferred twice or thrice a year, his family life is affected. And if he observes that his colleagues are better-off for compromising with the politicians, it does have a telling effect on him and he may succumb to pressures,” Mr Hota said. He urged the political bosses not to misuse transfers as a tool to take revenge and said they should understand that “deployment is the most important aspect of extracting the best out of a civil servant.” The UPSC Chairman also expressed concern over the weak social base. Even though every year adequate number of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes make it to the service, the merit list reflects a vast regional imbalance, he said. “Of the 304 universities in the country only six or seven universities, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, corner most of the positions in the merit list— almost 90 to 95 per cent. For example, he said, in 2001 Delhi University had 14.15 per cent of successful candidates, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University at 7.68 per cent. Other universities in the descending order were Panjab University, University of Rajasthan and University of Lucknow. The IIT, Kanpur had tenth place in the list. Among the first 10 universities, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Osmania University were the only two from the South, whose students competed successfully. The figures are pretty disturbing, he said. “If this lop-sided trend continues and our civil service does not have minimal representation from all parts of the country and all sections of society on a long-term basis, it will create problems for governance. It can lead to a feeling of alienation,” he stressed. |
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Parties out to woo rebel CPM MP Kalkata, February 16 On the other hand, Ms Mamata Banerjee has met the MP at his Salt Lake residence and requested him to join the Trinamool Congress. Both leaders also exchanged views on the formation of a joint front in the state and fight against the CPM in the forthcoming panchayat elections. Dr Pramanik, the CPM MP from South 24 Parganas recently revolted against the party leadership for “sheltering” corrupt party men, who allegedly siphoned off about Rs 2 crore from on his MP fund by forging his signature and other official documents. |
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A unique water filter Dehra Dun, February 16 Addressing mediapersons during a demonstration of the water filter today, Dr Sharma said the water filter developed by him through exhaustive research also helped maintain the prescribed standards of safe drinking water. Mr Sharma said the equipment had received a certificate of approval from the IIT, New Delhi, and
BHEL. |
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MLA’s father killed in Bihar Nawada (Bihar), February 16
Karimpur (West Bengal), February 16 |
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