New Delhi, August 10
In a significant ruling defining the status of communities like Sikhs and Jains within the Constitutional frame work, the Supreme Court has declined to treat them as separate minority communities from the broad Hindu religion, saying encouraging such tendencies would pose serious jolt to secularism and democracy in the country.

“The so-called minority communities like Sikhs and Jains were not treated as national minorities at the time of framing of the Constitution. Sikhs and Jains, in fact, have throughout been treated as part of wider Hindu community, which has different sects, sub-sects, faiths, modes of worship and religious philosophies,” a Bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan said.

Disposing of an appeal by Bal Patil and others against the Bombay High Court order, seeking direction to the Union Government to notify “Jains” as a minority community under Section 2 C of the National Commission for Minority Act, the Bench said: “We do not find that any case is made out for grant of any relief to appellants in exercise of writ jurisdiction of the High Court and hence, the writ jurisdiction of this (apex) court.”

The High Court had rejected their plea.

Quoting from the provisions of the Constitution and the historic background on how the Constitution had come into existence after Partition, the court said: “Encouragement of such fissiparous tendencies would be a serious jolt to the secular structure of the constitutional democracy.”

“We should guard against making our country akin to a theocratic state based on multi-nationalism. Our concept of secularism, to put it in a nutshell, is that the state will have no religion,” the Bench held, while asking the National Minorities Commission to “gear up its activities” to keep all religious groups in right direction with “constitutional perspective, principles and ideals in its view”.

Mr Justice Dharmadhikari, writing the judgement for the Bench, said the Constitution had clearly laid down that “the state will treat all religions and religious groups equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with their individual rights or religions, faith and worship.”

The court said in various codified customary laws like the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act and other laws of pre and post-Constitution period, definition of “Hindu” included all sects, sub-sects of Hindu religion, including Sikhs and Jains.

It said if the argument for recognising every religious group within the broad Hindu religion as separate religious minority was accepted and such tendencies were encouraged, “the whole country, which is already under class and social conflicts due to various divisive forces, will further face divisions on the basis of religious diversities”.

“Such claims to minority status based on religion would increase in the fond hope of various sections of people getting special protections, privileges and treatment as part of constitutional guarantee,” the court said adding “a claim by one group of citizens would lead to a similar claim by another group and conflict and strife would ensue”.

The court further clarified that the framers of the Constitution had “engrafted” a group of Articles (25 to 30) in the Constitution recognising only Muslims, Christians, Anglo-Indians and Parsis as religious minorities at national level by taking into consideration the historic background on how these communities had emerged over a long period of time during the Mughal and British rule.

The court also said the Union Government, in its affidavit, had taken the stand that in accordance with the law laid down by the majority judgement in TMA Pai case by the apex court regarding the statues of minority educational institutions in the country, it had been left to state governments to decide as to where Jain community should be treated as minority.

The court also noted that in states like Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Uttranchal, Jains had already been notified as minority in accordance with the provisions of the respective State Minority Commission Acts.

New Delhi, August 10
Rejecting the action taken report (ATR) of the government on the Nanavati Commission report, the Opposition today demanded registration of cases against the guilty in the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 and additional compensation to the victims.

Initiating the debate on the adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa regretted that none of those guilty for the killing of 3000 Sikhs have been punished in the past 21 years and even those named by the latest Nanavati Commission are being shielded by the government.

“How come not a single person could be found guilty for such a big massacre which took place in the country’s Capital under the very nose of the government, led by a Prime Minister and a Home Minister,’’ questioned Mr Dhindsa.

Mr Dhindsa reminded the House that the Sikh community had made great contribution in the national freedom movement and in wars, but had been discriminated against from the very beginning.

He wondered whether the country, which always projected itself as the biggest functioning democracy of the world, could put under the carpet killings of innocent people, raping of women and burning of the old and infirm alive besides setting their properties on fire.”

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should realise how his community must be feeling over the denial of justice. I myself and the entire Sikh community had rejoiced over his (Dr Singh’s) nomination to the highest office,’’ Mr Dhindsa added.

By not taking action against the guilty, said Mr Dhindsa, the “Congress has lost all the goodwill, and has rubbed salt on the old injuries.”

Participating in the debate, Mr Sukhbir Badal called upon the Sikh MPs in the Congress to resign as their high-command had failed to take any action against those persons, who participated in the massacre of innocent persons.

Blaming the Congress’s anti-Sikh stand, he said: “The Sikh community around the world can never forgive H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar for mobilising and instructing the mobs to kill Sikhs. They should be booked under the anti-terrorist act.”

Rejecting the charges of the Opposition, Congress Chief Whip Pawan Bansal said: “Undoubtedly, the 1984 massacre is a blot on the country and the Congress will always repent for it. But instead of playing politics, Akalis should not consider themselves as the sole protectors of Sikh interests.”

Claiming that the government will take additional steps, he said: “The Akalis have been defeated in Punjab and Sikhs have reposed faith in the Congress party, which has appointed a Sikh as the Prime Minister.”

Participating in the discussion, Leader of the Opposition and BJP President L.K. Advani said: “If the government claims that there is no evidence of involvement of Congress leaders in the violence, it should answer who were responsible for the carnage.”

“Who gave the orders?” he asked while referring to the Commission’s observations that killing of such a large number of people happened because there was no fear of the police. 

New Delhi, August 10
The BJP today upped its ante against the Congress-led UPA government on the Nanavati Commission report asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to either distance himself from his party or apologise to the nation. It also asked the Prime Minister to get cases filed against the guilty and remove “suspected” ministers from the Union Cabinet.

“The Prime Minister is guilty of giving go-ahead to the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the commission. He can save his honour only by either distancing himself from the Congress or by making it apologise to the country for the riots,” BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj told newspersons here.

“He should ensure that cases are instituted against the guilty and remove suspected ministers from the Council of Ministers,” Ms Swaraj, who is also the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said.

Refuting the government argument that the commission did not give any specific recommendation against any Cabinet Minister and it cannot proceed on the basis of probability, the BJP leader asserted that the commission was a “fact-finding body” and thus not expected to deliver judgements.

“It is the job of the trial courts to pass judgements, not inquiry panels. The panel could not have done more than using terms like ‘very probable’ and ‘credible evidence’,” she said.

On the motion moved by the BJP on the commission report in the Rajya Sabha, which was not taken up today, Ms Swaraj said the Opposition would not allow the smooth functioning of the Upper House if the Government did not agree to discuss the motion under Rule 167, which provides for voting.

The motion moved by the BJP says: “This House rejects the Action Taken Report on the commission and called upon the Prime Minister to drop the ministers from the Council of Ministers against whom the commission has found ‘credible evidence’ and direct immediate prosecution of the persons indicted by the commission.”

Asked why the BJP did not mention its demand for apology from the Prime Minister in its motion, Ms Swaraj said the party had to avoid it due to “procedural technicalities” of Parliament.

New Delhi, August 10
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the second day today as a determined Opposition stalled proceedings demanding action against those indicted by the Nanavati Commission.

As soon as the House met for the day, the BJP and Akali Dal members were on the feet demanding immediate discussion on the report and action against the guilty.

Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said it could not be ascertained whether the Prime Minister would be available in the Rajya Sabha if discussion was taken up immediately.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said since Home Minister Shivraj Patil was present in the House for Question Hour, the discussion could start immediately and the Prime Minister could join later. However, some Congress members objected to discussion beginning straightaway. The Chairman adjourned the House for an hour and later for the day.

New Delhi, August 10
Congress MP Ashwani Kumar has said that the final outcome of the Nanavati report will be such as would be consistent with constitutional propriety and conveying the sensitivity of the people.

The MP, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi today, said the Congress “shall remain steadfast in preserving and respecting the sensitivity of the Sikh community.” “The decisions relating to the follow up (of Nanavati report) will not be determined by partisan considerations,” he said.

Mumbai, August 10
After the monsoon deluge, the city is facing the aftermath.

Water-borne diseases, including dengue, gastro-enteritis, malaria, leptospirosis and cholera, have claimed nine lives.

The police said here that six persons died at the Bhabha hospital in Bandra today just hours after they were admitted in a critical condition. All of them were living in slums in the western suburbs that were badly hit by floods. Though they were taking medication at home, their condition did not improve.

Bodies of the victims have been sent for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Health Department announced here that the prima facie cause of death seems to be one of several water-borne diseases.

More casualties have been reported from Thane, Badlapur and Dombivli outside Mumbai. According to state department officials, the cause of deaths include dengue and cholera. Water bodies in many of these places have been contaminated with sewage and garbage.

So far, the authorities have confirmed 19 cases of cholera, 30 cases of leptospirosis, 10 cases of dengue and 352 cases of hepatitis. Nearly 20,000 cases of diarrhoea and gastroenteritis have been reported from public hospitals in areas outside Mumbai. The number of people taking treatment from private practitioners could be higher, officials said.

Affected areas of Maharashtra include Thane, Pune, Ratnagiri, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Yavatmal and Ahmednagar.

Health officials have rushed to the Kalyan and Dombivli areas to reach out people afflicted with water-borne diseases. The emergency health teams are equipped with drugs and kits for detection.

Officials say, more cases of leptospirosis and dengue are likely to be detected in the coming weeks since these diseases have long incubation periods. Blood samples of suspected patients is likely to be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune thereby delaying treatment.

Meanwhile, the state government has ordered emergency fumigation of drains to contain the outbreak of diseases. Medical camps are also being organised on an emergency basis, Dr Vijay Satbir Singh, Public Health Secretary, said.

Shillong, August 10
Meghalaya is fast taking on Manipur with its normal life being affected by frequent bandh calls, road blockades and picketing over the past two months on the bifurcation issue of the Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education (MBOSE).

The trouble began in May this year after the decision by the ruling Congress government to appoint one secretary each for the MBOSE following some irregularities in holding examinations by the board.

With the headquarters of the MBOSE being located at Tura in the Garo hills, the Garo Students Union (GSU) strongly opposed the move by the state government to appoint one secretary each for Tura and Shillong as demanded by the Khasi Students Union (KSU).

The GSU and the Garo Citizens Forum even threatened to demand a separate state for Garos if a separate secretary was appointed in Shillong. This movement was backed by the former Lok Sabha speaker P.A.Sangma ,who hailed from Tura.

The vehement opposition from the GSU forced the state government to backtrack on the issue. Following a Cabinet decision in June, the state government appointed a high powered committee under the state Chief Secretary to review its decision and take holistic view on the issue of appointing one secretary each for Tura and Shillong for the MBOSE.

This enraged the KSU which started picketing in schools, colleges and government offices in the June-end ,disrupting the normal life.

But the situation turned for worse after the police arrested two prominent KSU leaders leading the agitation in the last week of July.

This prompted the KSU to call for a “Janata curfew “ from evening to morning from August 4, affecting the normal life.

New Delhi, August 10
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP President L.K. Advani and senior leaders of the party having RSS affiliation today attended a “guru dakshina” ceremony here, the first such event since ties between the two outfits came under strain over the Jinnah issue.

The leaders, including former BJP President Venkaiah Naidu and Pramod Mahajan, joined a number of party MPs for the early-morning RSS “shakha”, organised especially for the lawmakers, at BJP leader V.K. Malhotra’s residence here.

The participants saluted the saffron flag and placed an unspecified amount of cash in a sealed envelope as “guru dakshina” (offering to the teacher) before the flag.

Though it is an annual feature, the ceremony this year assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of RSS demand for Advani’s resignation as party President for his controversial statements in Pakistan on Jinnah.

Media was strictly kept out of the ceremony where RSS National Executive member Sripad Shastri, known for his ideological oratory, gave a lecture to them.

BJP leaders, after attending the ceremony, however, refused to attach any special significance to this year’s “guru dakshina” saying it was an annual affair.

“We don’t consider any person as guru and that is why we pay obeisance to the flag. ‘Swayamsevaks’ offer money to the Sangh in this ceremony as the organisation does not collect donations from each and everyone,” Mr Naidu told mediapersons after participating in the function.

“It is an annual event and since the MPs are in Delhi during this period of the year for the parliamentary session, the ceremony is held here,” Mr Naidu said.

Asked whether the RSS’ policy of putting ideology first contradicted with BJP’s personality culture, he said: “The BJP is a political party and it has a separate identity. It has to project personalities.”

He said the BJP and its policies were not discussed at the function. “It is a Sangh programme and we went there as ‘swayamsevaks’,” he added.

BJP leaders said the lecture by Shastri revolved around Sangh ideology, which promotes “sacrifice, patriotism and commitment to the society in general”.

“We are all ‘swayamsevaks’ and we will continue to follow its ideology till out last breath. We have learned a lot from the RSS and will never sever ties with it,” BJP Karnataka unit president Ananthkumar told reporters.

“Guru dakshina” is an annual ritual of the RSS in which “swayamsevaks” from all fields participate and is viewed as a reaffirmation of their commitment to the Sangh
ideology.

Kolkata, August 10
A section of Congress workers in West Bengal, led by two prominent MLAs Abdul Mannan and Sankar Singh, have revolted against the re-appointment of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee as state Congress chief and Pradip Bhattacharjee as its working president.

They allege that with the appointment of these two leaders, the same “coterie rule” would prevail in the state Congress as has happened in the past and would affect the party’s image and interest in the forthcoming state Assembly poll.

Mannan said if needed they would leave the party and float a separate front and fight elections against the CPM.

He claimed that a large number of party workers, including MLAs and district leaders, had agreed to join hands with them in protest against the reappointment of Mukherjee, who had been acting as a part-time president for the past three years when a competent and a full-time president was needed for revamping the state unit.

Some Congressmen have also demanded the bringing back of Mamata Banerjee to the party or forming an electoral alliance with the Trinamool Congress and other like-minded parties to fight against the CPM.

Former Trinamool Congress Mayor Subrata Mukherjee, who had recently rejoined the Congress, has already made a public statement in support of the formation of an electoral alliance with the party.

Former Railway Minister A.B.A Ghani Khan Chaudhury and Somen Mitra have also welcomed the proposal. Sudip Banerjee, once a closed associate of Mamata Banerjee, and Union minister for Water Resources Priyaranjan Das Munshi have also supported the idea of Mamata’s rejoining the Congress.

But so far there has been no positive response from Mamata to the Congress’s offer due to Congress’ close association with the CPM and other Left parties at the Centre.

Mamata on the contrary has invited “anti-CPM” Congress leaders and other workers to leave the party and join her’s.

She has also invited the Left front partners who have been treated like “slaves” by the CPM to join hands with her.

New Delhi, August 10
In a significant order aimed at ensuring free and fair assembly poll in Bihar, the Election Commission today directed the state government to transfer all those officers who have completed three years in a district.

The EC, in an order to the Bihar Chief Secretary, said, “No officer connected with elections, directly or indirectly, should be allowed to continue in the present district of posting if she or he is posted in home district or home district of spouse and has completed three years in that district during last four years.”The commission, in the interest of free and fair elections, has followed a consistent policy to ensure that officers, who are connected with the conduct of elections in the state, do not serve in their home districts or places where they have served for long, it said.

The instructions would not only cover officers appointed for specific election duties like District Election Officers, Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers but also other district-level officers like Additional District Magistrates, Deputy Collectors and Sub-Divisional Magistrates, tehsildars, block development officers etc, it said.

As far as the police officers were concerned, the instructions would cover IGs, DIGs, SSPs, SPs and sub-divisional heads of police, officers-in-charge of police stations (whether in the rank of inspector or sub-inspector) and Sergeant Majors.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Rashtriya Janata Dal members today met the poll panel and informed the commission that it was “discriminating” against RJD based on “pre-conceived notions and presumptions”.

A delegation of RJD MPs, who met Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, accused the EC of following different norms in Bihar even for replacing officers considered unsuitable.

“In such situations in other states, the Commission usually asks for a panel of officers from the state government. But in Bihar, the commission ordered transferring and posting particular officers by name. Why so? Why this discrimination against us,” the memorandum asked.

RJD President and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was not part of the delegation.

In a memorandum, RJD said “there are reasons which compel us to believe that most of the acts of the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the assembly elections-2005 appeared to have been guided by certain pre-conceived notions and presumptions, including the one that we get the mandate not because of the popular support of the people of Bihar but by misusing the administrative machinery and using muscle power.”

It said the EC seemed to have been influenced by a campaign by a section of “elite intelligentsia” to malign the image of Lalu Prasad and the party.

Chennai, August 10
Tiger task force chairperson Sunita Narain has favoured coexistence of tigers and human beings in a report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Talking with mediapersons here yesterday, she defended the recommendation and argued that one must “make peace with the impoverished people who feel that tigers are being protected at the cost of their rights and interests”.

Citing the example of Sariska in Rajasthan, she said one of the reasons for the tiger reserve facing an unprecedented crisis was the fact that relations with the local community “broke down and they became hostile towards tigers”.

She admitted that the report contained a dissenting note by noted conservationist Valmik Thapar, who felt that such coexistence was impossible and the task force should not have recommended measures that went against the spirit of conservation.

Ms Narian said: “We have recommended large areas to remain inviolate for tigers, and we do not oppose relocation programmes, but there is no way that all villages in tiger reserves can be relocated.”

She said in the last three decades of Project Tiger’s existence, only 80-odd villages had been relocated from the 28 reserve forests in the country.

She said: “There are another 1,500 villages, 250 of which are within core areas of tiger reserves. Relocating them will cost at least Rs 660 crore. The estimate was based on the relocation package without any land costs, and if land costs were included the burden would be Rs 11,000 crore.”

Ms Narain said people were facing daily harassment from conservationists and forest guards, hence forcing them to turn “anti-tiger”.

She said: “They did not feel part of either the conservation effort or the tourism economy built around these reserves. In this context, the country has no choice but to make peace with the communities.”

Therefore, the task force has recommended that instead of an approach that stresses on more guns and guards as the response to the tiger conservation crisis, a new programme should be formulated under which local communities should be given a share in tourism earnings and a role in collaborative management.

Ms Narain said: “We have to broaden the constituency of the tiger, and this is why we have not accepted the view that tiger conservation should be left to an empowered committee working under the Supreme Court’s supervision.”

“We have recommended a solution within the government system,” she added.

She felt: “Conservation should not be the preserve of the few,” and added that it should involve everybody, including state governments that administered forest lands.

New Delhi, August 10
India and Pakistan today agreed to hold technical-level talks next month on finding out ways to boost air and shipping links which, if all goes well, may result in the entry of private airlines in the subcontinental skies and emergence of the hitherto-unknown concept of third-country shipping between the two neighbours.

This was decided by the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries — Mr S N Menon of India and Syed Asif Shah of Pakistan — who concluded their two-day talks today. A joint statement, released at the end of the talks, mentioned the following three agreements:

Aeronautical talks would be held in Pakistan in September 2005 to review the existing Air Services Agreement.

A bilateral meeting to review the Shipping Protocol of 1975 would be held in Pakistan in September 2005.

The second meeting of the Joint Study Group (JSG) would be convened at an early date in Islamabad. The JSG meeting would be preceded by the meeting of the Sub-Groups on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and Customs Cooperation and Trade Facilitation to formulate recommendations for consideration by the JSG.

The two countries also expressed the hope that fibre optic link between Amritsar and Lahore would be established and made operational at the earliest. The aeronautical hold the potential of ending the monopoly of Indian Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the coming months. These talks will also address the need for more flights between the two countries. Today, the condition is that all flights between the two countries get full a week before the departure. Overall, this will mean an “open skies” policy between India and Pakistan.

The shipping talks raise the spectre of better and more effective shipping links between the two countries if the 30-year-old archaic Shipping Protocol is amended in view of today’s realities. Under the Protocol, only bilateral cargo trade can be picked up by Indian and Pakistani ships.

The next month’s talks would try to hammer out a procedure which can conjure up a spectre like this: an Indian ship sailing off from Mumbai, picks up goods from Singapore, and delivering this consignment at Karachi, or vice-versa in the Pakistani context. What is more, the amendment of the Shipping Protocol would also give birth to a genunie third-country shipping regime, meaning that a Swedish ship can load at an Indian port and unload the goods at a Pakistani port. Its converse may also be true.

Discussions between the Commerce Secretaries were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. The two sides recognised the scope for further increase in bilateral trade and discussed further measures to enhance mutually beneficial economic and commercial cooperation.