 |
|
Outsourcing crime Some headway |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ready for take-off
Scars of Emergency
Better off
Change in Pak stand on Kashmir? Price of cracking confidence Defence notes
|
Outsourcing crime CALL centre work is actually the low-rung business in the IT hierarchy. But since it gives employment to over 3.5 lakh people in India, it is considered a sunshine prospect. By keeping awake at night while it is daytime in the West, young men and women manning these 600-odd centres earn a difficult, but fairly decent, living. However, it seems some of them are out to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. If the expose in The Sun of England is correct, an unscrupulous call centre employee sold confidential information of a thousand bank accounts of Britons for a pittance to the tabloid’s reporter, working undercover. The data could give criminals priceless access to the lives of unsuspecting victims, allowing them to clone credit cards and raid accounts. The corrupt worker reportedly boasted that he could sell as many as two lakh account details every month. The scandal has caused quite a furore in the UK, and rightly so. The breach of confidentiality could cause the booming call centre business to go bust. As it is, trade unions in the West are agitated over the loss of jobs to India and other Asian nations. The latest scandal will only add to the “ban-outsourcing” clamour. A few months back, employees of a call centre in Pune had been found to have stolen two lakh pound sterling from the accounts of New York-based customers. The latest allegation may prove very damaging if the Indian government does not step in quickly enough. The crime is blatant enough to be punished under existing laws. The government must act swiftly and come down heavily on the offenders — not just the individual but also the firm involved. If need be, data protection laws ought to be tightened. It will not do to say that a similar thing could have happened elsewhere too. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has done well by offering to work with authorities in the U.K. and India to investigate the scandal. As it has pointed out, the deed of the Delhi-based seller is not a trend. But it will not be easy to convince the account holders of that. |
|
Some headway THE Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Bangladesh that concluded on Wednesday reflected some change in the attitude of Dhaka. This may, in a way, be indicative of Bangladesh appreciating the value of realism in bilateral relations. The change may also have been caused by Bangladesh’s keenness to ensure that the SAARC summit, which has been rescheduled for November this year, is a success. The summit, which was to be held in February, was postponed because of the Government of India feeling perturbed over Dhaka’s insensitivity to New Delhi’s concerns, which had pushed relations between the two countries to a low. The two Foreign Secretaries agreed to clear many of their pending proposals which could contribute to improving the relations between India and Bangladesh. It is heartening that Dhaka has promised not to allow its territory to be used by anti-India forces like the North-East insurgents. The two countries have agreed to hold meetings of the joint working groups to sort out their boundary-related issues. India and Bangladesh now seem to be moving forward towards increased bilateral trade with improved rail and road connectivity. While there was progress in many areas, the two Foreign Secretaries could not find time to tackle some of the basic differences that have marked the relations between India and Bangladesh during the past few years. One issue that came up for discussion in New Delhi was the border fencing that India had to put up for stopping illegal migration from Bangladesh. In New Delhi’s view fencing the border is absolutely essential to check illegal migration. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is totally opposed to the fencing idea. It appears that their differences are unlikely to be resolved in the near future. In any case, India has already completed fencing along 352 km of the 856-km border. The fencing work, which began in 1989, and was recently stopped due to some objections raised by Bangladesh Rifles, may be restarted soon. |
|
Ready for take-off THE process of commercial leasing of the Delhi and Mumbai airports has gathered momentum with the go-ahead from the Centre’s Group of Ministers (GoM) on Thursday. The GoM had consulted the Attorney-General as well as the Solicitor General and both ruled in favour of the leasing proposal. The GoM clearance paves the way for circulation of the transaction documents among prospective bidders by July-end and the whole exercise of selecting the final bidders is likely to be completed by September. That is if the airport unions do not create hurdles.The Mumbai and Delhi airports account for 76 per cent of the profits of the Airports Authority of India. Their leasing to private parties is naturally opposed by the unions, which argue that the AAI is competent enough to run the airports. Global travellers today demand world-class facilities and services, in the absence of which the economy loses both business and tourist traffic to other countries. India’s civil aviation is at the takeoff stage. The country’s commercial airlines surprised global manufacturers by placing orders for 150 aircraft at the recent Paris air show. That the airports do not have sufficient space for the existing fleet is another matter. A massive plan is on to upgrade airports — some, at least, to global standards. The revamp of the Delhi and Mumbai airports alone would cost Rs 15,120 crore, though the removal of encroachments may delay it. The Mumbai Airport Authority has 1,875 acres, of which160 acres are under slums. Officially, modernisation of the two airports should be completed by 2010. Smaller airports, like those at Amritsar and Chandigarh, also need attention. With air fares falling, traffic from smaller airports is picking up and the airports need facilities to cope with the rush. There is a strong case for modernisation of the international airport at Amritsar to hasten its emergence as a regional hub. It is also high time that Chandigarh, which is attracting more domestic flights, was upgraded as an international airport. |
|
You miss 100 per cent of the shots you never take.
— Wayne Gretzky
|
Scars of Emergency SOME scars do not go away. They remind a nation of the rough period it has gone through. One ugly mark on the face of India is the Emergency. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed it in June 30 years ago. She wanted to suppress the demand for her resignation after the Allahabad High Court unseated her on a poll offence. Not only did she suspend fundamental rights but also put one hundred thousand people behind bars without trial. Press was gagged and effective dissent smothered. There was a general erosion of democratic values. Because of the Janata Party’s squabbles, its government fell to enable her return to power within three years. That probably explains why some of the scars have stayed on. She did little to revive the institutions she had destroyed. They still have not regained their health. Yet, the worse is the tinge of authoritarianism which the governments since then have come to acquire. State chief ministers are particularly bad. They behave like Mrs Gandhi, aggressive and vindictive. Had political parties tried to curb the ills which came to the fore during the Emergency, some scars would have disappeared by now. But they have done little. The Congress in the last three decades has not been interested in finding out what went wrong because it would have meant finding fault with IndiraGandhi. The rest of the governments were merely coalitions which had supporters of the Emergency as their ally. Justice J.C. Shah was the only person who examined the excesses committed during the Emergency. But his recommendations were not even considered because soon after he submitted his three-volume report, Mrs Gandhi came back to power. Still those recommendations are worth a debate. He said: “The circumstances in which the Emergency was declared and the ease with which it was accomplished should be a warning to the citizens of the country.” He specially drew the government’s attention to the manner in which the police was used and allowed itself to be used for purposes which were questionable. He warned: “Employing the police to the advantage of any political party is a sure source of subverting the rule of law.” This is what has happened. Some senior retired police officials, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a few days ago to follow up Shah’s concern, requested him to make the police accountable. The officials also wanted every victim of communal riots to be compensated. Manmohan Singh proposed yet another law to determine the responsibility of the police. What the government does not realise is that the people’s confidence in the police and other wings of the administrative machinery has been shaken. What do they infer when they find in the Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet the same old faces that were part and parcel of the extraconstitutional machinery under Sanjay Gandhi? Top Congress leadership is no different. And there is no evidence that it has changed. Knowing well the barbarities committed during the Emergency, the Congress spokesman had the temerity to say that those who vilified the party for the purchase of Bofors gun should apologise. The case has failed on technical grounds. The government-controlled CBI has come to the Congress rescue. There is no doubt that Rajiv Gandhi had opened a “parallel channel” for the payoffs when the contract terms specifically had precluded middlemen or agents. In fact, an apology is due from the Congress which detained opponents and critics without trying them in courts. Some 20 months of their precious life got wasted in jail. Even college boys and girls were denied examination because they dared to protest. How would the Congress make up for the loss which the victims and their families suffered? Scars on the Indian face became indelible after Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death. Until the end of the sixties, Jawaharlal Nehru’s liberalism animated the country. There was only one ugly mark — the communist government’s dismissal in Kerala — when Mrs Gandhi, as the Congress president, forced it on Nehru to his regret. Then the culture was different. Certain things were not done. There was a “Lakshman rekha”. Mrs Gandhi was the first prime minister to cross it. Since then the governance has become devoid of values and principles. The alarming aspect is the weakening of public opinion. People are still afraid to speak out. They are afraid of repercussions. In fact, protest has vanished from the Indian scene. It reflects sheer helplessness, not acceptance. The bureaucracy was India’s armour. It is now full of chinks. After having lost its “chastity of independent functioning” during the Emergency, it has become a tool of tyranny in the hands of rulers. The ethical considerations inherent in public behaviour have become generally dim and, in many cases, beyond the mental grasp of public functionaries. No administrative reforms commission (Manmohan Singh’s proposal) can set things right until the government servants realise that they can be dismissed. Institutions like the judiciary and the media also did not come up to people’s expectations during the emergency. The first threw the egg on its face when it upheld the Emergency and said that fundamental rights could be suspended. It is still trying to live down that verdict and some of the subsequent judgments have retrieved its prestige to a large extent. However, its “interference” in the Jharkhand assembly proceedings has raised fresh doubts. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterji is right in saying that the judiciary should not cross the “Lakshman rekha” drawn between it and the legislature. The media men, to use L.K. Advani’s words, began to crawl when they were only asked to bend. Things have improved since in the sense that they can express their opinion freely. But now their efforts have got directed towards amusing readers, not informing them. Very few in the media have any social obligation. The top looks too comfortable to pose any challenge if it ever came to something like the Emergency. The worst wound that has been inflicted is the credibility that the erstwhile members of the Jan Sangh, the Hindutva elements, got because of their arrest during the Emergency. They are out and out communal but they try to parade themselves as pluralistic. I thought the BJP had decided to be different when I read Advani’s remark that Jinnah was secular. But I was proved wrong. Advani has turned out to be a false god. He has lost his credibility on the one hand and has put the party still more at the mercy of the RSS. He has no choice left. He will be driven out of the party if he ever pursues what flickered in his mind in Pakistan. Maybe, I was trying to indulge in wishful
thinking. |
Better off WHAT a pleasant surprise, Dr Subramaniam! Seeing you after ages. Please come in”, I said as I opened the door to an old colleague of mine. We hugged each other. As we walked into the drawing room, he broke the news: “I have become a grandfather”. “You mean you have become a Nana? where are the sweets?” I asked as I hugged him. He did not seem excited. Something was missing. “Is everything okay”, I asked He took a deep breath and said: “I need some money as a loan. I mean not from you, but if you could recommend me to some bank manager it will be fine”. “How much do you need”, I asked. He did some calculation and said: “Rs 50,000. I know it is a big amount, but my prestige is at stake”. It is okay, I said. Do you want to buy some gift for your daughter ? “No this is for the people who come and sing in your house. I don’t know what you call them. But they create quite a nuisance if they are not given the amount they demand”, he said. “You are going to give Rs 50,000 to them? Have you gone off your rocker?” I exclaimed. He seemed serious. His explanation was that the first group had demanded Rs 20,000. Then the second group had come to say that they would settle for nothing less than Rs 11,000. “Besides, there are small groups of ladies. For them also I need Rs 10,000.Otherwise they will not bless my child and our family will be under a curse”, he said. I tried my best to convince Dr Subramaniam. Finally, I promised to be with him on the day the singing party, as he called them, came calling. I was at Dr Subramaniam’s house on that Tuesday. A group came and started singing in a loud voice. I could see sweat on my friend’s face. They continued to sing and surrounded my friend. It was non-stop entertainment for about 40 minutes. Then the leader of the group said: “Eh scooter te mai lae jana hai”. This is when I butted in: “Eh scooter tere lai hi hai, jado marji, lae javi”. My friend said: “No, how is it possible? I don’t have any other vehicle”. The group leader then said: “Achha agar scooter nahin dena tan do truck ittan (bricks) de devo”. My friend asked: “What is he saying now”. I replied:”Just relax” After singing for another 10 minutes, the group decided to call it a day. They leader said: Sanu hun bhejo” I told the leader: “Doctor sahib ne sari umar sewa vich laga diti. He has not saved any money.” The leader appeared to be stunned: “Enay Vaday doctor, te jeb khali”. “Yes, this hospital is a missionary institute. They pay very little to doctors”, I told the leader of the group. For a moment all was quiet. Then the leader held the child and sang a song of blessing. They prayed for the long lilfe of the child. “Give whatever you want”, said the leader. After accepting Rs 500 and a box of sweets, the singing party left. But I overheard their parting remarks: “Doctaran nalo taan assi hee changey
han”. |
Change in Pak stand on Kashmir? PAKISTAN President Pervez Musharraf, after his meeting with our Prime Minister in the US, has come out with his set of solutions to the Kashmir problem one after the other. On the face of it, he has accepted the view of our Prime Minister that he has no mandate to change the boundaries and that there cannot be another division of the country on communal lines. However, he has very cleverly repackaged the old Pakistani stand. No new thinking. Appreciating the views of our Prime Minister, the General is neither asking for a plebiscite nor a “division of J&K on communal lines.” In fact, he is asking for much more. He has already projected the permission from the Government of India to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference to visit Pakistan as his one victory. In his interview to Daily Times, he says: “I feel the true representative of Kashmiris is the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the APHC. We feel that there is a trilateral arrangement where Kashmiris become part of the dialogue process. Now the Kashmiris are the APHC and there are Pakistan and India. So once they visit us and they also talk to the Indian Government which we will try to facilitate, we shall have a trilateral arrangement going”. The Government of India has never agreed to any such proposition that the APHC be made a third party to the Kashmir dispute. Now the General says India has conceded the Pakistani stand of trilateral dialogue on Kashmir. At an Iftar dinner on October 26, 2004, the General had said that India and Pakistan would consider the option of identifying some regions of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, demilitarise them and grant them the status of independence or joint control or under the UN mandate and that the solution could not be found by insisting on plebiscite or converting the LoC into a permanent border. Again addressing the valedictory function of the South Asia Free Media Association Conference, the General said: “Given India’s sensitivities of its secular credentials, a solution to the Kashmir issue cannot be on the religious basis” and added “identify region in Jammu and Kashmir demilitarise it, provide maximum self-governance and make the borders irrelevant.” The Pakistan President linked demilitarisation and an end to excesses to the need to end terrorism and militancy. He has raised four propositions — demilitarisation, maximum self-governance, and end to terrorism in the valley linked to the withdrawal of the Indian armed forces and stoppage of alleged excesses and, thereafter, the status of the region. According to General Musharraf, the regions are Jammu, Rajouri-Poonch, Kashmir valley, Kargil and Ladakh in our J&K while PoK and northern areas are in Pakistan. Let us examine this. Can we afford to remove our armed forces from Jammu when we are facing the Pakistan army on the Sialkot border. We have not forgotten the Pakistan operation Gibraltar of 1965. The plan of Field Marshal Ayub Khan was to capture Akhnoor and squeeze the valley out of India by cutting it off from Jammu. Demilitarise Rajouri and Poonch. Poonch Muslims, now settled in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad will overwhelm the local population and engineer its merger with Pakistan. We should not forget that Poonch Muslims have been the backbone of all Pakistani operations for capturing Kashmir. They were the first to rise in revolt against the then Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947. They formed the Azad Kashmir battalions, which infiltrated into J&K in 1965. As regards the demilitarsation of the Kashmir valley, Pakistan could not ask for more. It is a dream fulfilled. What are the jihadis waiting for? It is a lifetime opportunity. They will not let it go whatever the USA or any other Western nation says. Jihadis will overwhelm the valley. Unlike the tribal invasion of 1947, it will be a covert operation. As per a report by Karl Vick and Kamra Khan titled “Rollback on their lips, Kashmir on their mind” “Privately senior Pakistani officers describe the militants as a vital component in Pakistan’s defence posture, a fifth column in waiting trained to mount rearguard actions against an advancing Indian Army.” One senior military source said “which army in the world can wage war when it is being attacked by its own people from right, left, centre and rear”. “Once hostilities break out, can anyone perceive any other scenario for the Indian army in Kashmir” and that “the recent ban on infiltration is regarded as a tactical move rather than a policy shift”. Demilitarise Kargil and Ladakh and forget Siachen. How can we defend our borders with China? In 1962, while proposing a Chenab formula, the then Foreign Minister of Pakistan, the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, promised a passage for the Indian army for defending its borders with China. In such a situation even the defence of Himachal Pradesh will become untenable. All these formulae of the General are the modified forms of the Chenab formula, which is a division of J&K on communal lines. It was floated by the Prime Minister of PoK, Sardar Sikandar Hyat Khan, in May 2003 and called upon both Delhi and Islamabad to seriously consider the division of J&K with the Chenab marking the boundary on the lines of the Owen Dixon proposal in 1950. It had the support of the Pakistani establishment and the media. It is said that this proposal was discussed by then US Ambassador Richard Celeste with the Government of India. Hurriyat also proposed the trifurcation of J&K, according to which Hindu-dominated Jammu and Buddhist majority Ladakh would remain with India. A unified PoK and the Kashmir valley would attain semi-sovereign status under the dual control of India and Pakistan. All these proposals relate to the three ethnic regions in the Indian J&K for which, the General is proposing demilitarisation, giving them maximum self-governance. It means conceding all that Pakistan has been demanding since 1947. Except Jammu and Ladakh, all these regions will go to Pakistan whether through the rout of condominium, joint control, the UN mandate or even semi-independence. Let me add here that the late Sheikh Abdullah had been projecting condominium as the only solution. The dual control where the defence and foreign affairs remain the joint responsibility of Pakistan and India, Kashmir remaining independent in all other spheres would create more antagonism. India bereft of any armed support and with jihadis ruling the roost in the valley, it would lead to more blood-letting between India and Pakistan with a distinct possibility of war. That is why the General has started asking for an international guarantee for any agreement that is arrived at between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani establishment is quite aware that because of the nuclear threshold achieved by both nations, the international community will want some kind of formula to be evolved to avoid a nuclear war between us. That is why President Musharraf is coming out with all kinds of proposals. It is an attempt to show Pakistan as very reasonable and India a very rigid country. |
|
Price of cracking confidence Such information would allow criminals to rip-off identities of the victims and allow them to raid accounts, or even clone credit cards. At risk were account holders in Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds TSB. In the USA last week, in what is widely thought to be the largest data-security breach till date, MasterCard International had admitted that information on more than 4 crore credit cards may have been stolen. The sheer scale of this electronic theft is staggering, and had once again exposed the Achilles heel of modern electronic banking — when things go wrong, these really go bad. Of those exposed accounts, nearly 13.9 million are for MasterCard-branded cards, the company said in a statement. Some 20 million Visa-branded cards may have been affected and the remaining accounts were other brands, including American Express and Discover. MasterCard and Visa both say they have notified their member banks of the specific accounts involved so that the banks can take action to protect cardholders. Both crimes are being investigated. There has been the predictable outcry from traditional anti-outsourcing sources like trade unions. Outsourcing had its origins in manufacturing and was traditionally about procuring services or products (such as the parts used in manufacturing a motor vehicle) from an outside supplier or manufacturer in order to cut costs. Basically, outsourcing is getting something done outside the company. With multi-nationals gaining ground, outsourcing became more attractive, if it was done in a nation where the wages were low and the workforce not so well organised. The only reason that outsourcing, whether in manufacturing, software development or call centres, exists is because it is more efficient and cost effective to outsource certain things. There are always security concerns about outsourcing and it is incumbent on the companies taking up outsourcing work to build effective systems to ensure that safety is not compromised and confidentiality is maintained. Everyone wants to save money, but not at the cost of safety. There are over three lakh call centre workers in India and they work at one-fifth the wages in the West. Though the IT Act 2000 was one of the early legislation against cyber crime, it focussed on e-commerce and it needs to be updated to keep pace with the changing IT scenario, especially regarding the integrity of data. While the outsourcing industry suffered a blow earlier in April when 12 persons were arrested in Pune for allegedly transferring a total of Rs 1.5 crore from Citibank into their own accounts, the fact that they were quickly identified and promptly arrested got kudos from the West. Industry representatives and governments have to work together in the electronic global village. The quality of staff in Indian call centres has got high appreciation, but security breaches are taken much more gravely in the West than in India. Nasscom is right when it says: “We believe that any case of theft or a breach of a customer's confidentiality must be treated extremely seriously." There are enormous gains to be made in human resource development, in savings and in effective utilisation of manpower. Lax security can fritter away all such gains. Data theft is, today, more significant than any pilfering of physical goods. It is high time that the gravity of this is realised and steps are taken to prevent it. Security must be both proactive and prompt. With the cyber world wired as it is today, nano-seconds matter. The two incidents have again brought to focus the fact that pitfalls of the real world caste their shadow on the cyber world. Real answers lie in creating an environment that reassures potential customers, whose confidence has taken a swerve battering. |
|
Defence notes by Girja Shankar Kaura HINDUSTAN Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which has been doing pioneering work in civil aviation and defence, made a major impression at the recent Paris air show, specially with the President of France, Mr. Jacques Chirac, visiting its display area. The President appreciated the excellent products on display, specially the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv and Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) developed by HAL. The President was received by Mr Shekhar Dutt, Secretary, Defence Production, Mr Dilip Lahiri, Ambassador of India in France, and Mr Ashok K Baweja, Chairman, HAL. HAL participated in the Paris Air Show in a major way for the first time, displaying, among others, the time-tested work-horse Cheetah, re-engined to Cheetal configuration for superior performance. While Dhruv evinced a lot of interest, specially from Latin American companies it was the IJT which stole the show with its 100th flight.
Mine-protected vehicle The Ordnance Factory, Medak, has developed a Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) with a Remote Control Weapon Station (RCWS), which was inspected by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently. Recently, it was subjected to an lED blast by terrorists in Chhattisgarh and after the blast the security personnel sitting inside the vehicle were found safe. Encouraged by the success of this vehicle, the ordnance factories took up another project of mounting RCWS on the vehicle. In the weapon station, a gun of 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm or 14.5 mm can be mounted. The station is equipped with a camera and day and night vision devices with Gyro’s so that the gun remains homed on the target. The operator sitting inside the vehicle can focus on the target on his computer and fire with the help of a joy stick. As a result, the target can be destroyed by a single shot and the troops sitting inside the vehicle are safe against grenade attacks, small arms fire and detonation of mines/explosive devices. The gun along with the camera and sights can rotate 360 degrees. Each vehicle costs about Rs 55 lakh.
The French connection HAL has got the government clearance for setting up a joint venture with the French SNECMA Moteurs to produce components for aero-engines. The joint venture with 50:50 equity participation will have an initial investment of Rs 50 crore. The proposed company will start production in a year and is expected to boost exports. Snecma is also working with Gas Turbine Research Establishment for further development of the Kaveri engine for “Tejas”, the country’s indigenous light combat aircraft. The French company has already signed three contracts with HAL, including one for the co-development and co-production of “Shakti” engines to power Dhruv. |
|
From the pages of Menace of touts
It must be admitted on all hands that toutism has become a regular pest in Lahore, and all who take part in checking the evil lay the public under obligation. It is impossible to describe the amount of fraud and deception that touts practice upon unsuspecting village litigants who arrive here with the view to seek redress of their wrongs from the Chief Court of the Panjab. The Chief Court Bar Association has been all along fully cognisant of the evil and taxed their brains to find a means to remedy it. But all their attempts have hitherto proved perfectly abortive.... It appears to us that the cry against toutism will continue to be ineffectual as long as there are people to encourage it. The legal practitioners perpetually bewail the evil and yet it is some of their own men who patronise touts. It is not easy to conceive how, under the circumstances, outsiders can help them in any way. |
In order to be really happy, it is necessary to refrain from comparing the present with the past and the past with the future. If we continue doing so, we will destroy our past, present as well as the future; for we will not be able to enjoy anyone of them to their full. Therefore, we should live in the present and experience happiness whole heartedly. —Book of quotations on Happiness I would go to the sacred places of pilgrimage and bath there, if by doing so I could win His love and grace. But bathing alone is of no use, it it does not please Him. There are many ways by which we can try to win Him over. Only we have to work towards that end by listening to His voice. Meditating on Him we can develop priceless faculties of the mind and the soul. —Guru Nanak Restraint of the eye is good. So is restraint of the ear, nose, tongue, speech and thought. He who is restrained is freed from all pain. Curbs help the self realize self. So curb yourself as the great rider curbs the noble steed. —The Buddha So long as you consider yourself separate from God, you will not realise Him. How can He be separate, when He dwells in the temple of your heart? —Book of quotations of Hinduism Objects of Pleasure may be short-lived but they can certainly dissipate Man’s strength. —The
Upanishads  |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
TWO security breaches have highlighted international vulnerability, and have really brought the notion of a global village to the fore. The British tabloid, The Sun, reported that one of its reporters had obtained details of thousand accounts and numbers of passports and credit cards of British bank account holders for Rs 2.5 lakh from a young IT worker identified as Karan Bahree, who works for Infinity e-Systems, Gurgaon. Earlier, he worked for IBM-Daksh.