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Uma’s supporters distraught
Advani asked me to quit, says Gaur
Cong to launch anti-CPM stir in WB: Pranab
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India set to market Brahmos missile
Women’s Congress for gender perspective
Speaker hopeful of women
quota Bill
Aspirational politics in Bihar: Jaitley
‘Treat Muslims as part of majority’
3 PWG activists held,
doctor shot dead
Another UP official on divine path
‘Boy Parvati marries Lord Shiva
Bardhan reminds Cong it lacks majority
States ‘not using’ funds for manual scavengers
How vulnerable are the Himalayas to quakes
Indian, Chinese warships to conduct drills
Zinta files defamation case
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Uma’s supporters distraught
Bhopal, November 27 The announcement in Delhi last evening that the BJP leadership in Delhi had selected state BJP President Shivraj Singh Chauhan to replace Mr Babulal Gaur as the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister came as a shock to Ms Bharti’s supporters. But their game has been thwarted by the party high command by taking advantage of their demand for a change of leadership. An angry Mr Prahlad Patel says that the party high command has (by selecting Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan) has “violated the tradition of the party constitution”. On the next line of action of the Uma loyalists, he says first a meeting of the Legislature Party should be held. A section of the party leaders fear that the election of Mr Chauhan as Leader of the Legislature Party may not be that smooth. Mr Gaur, meanwhile, told a press conference held at the Chief Minister’s residence this evening that he was prepared to vacate his Assembly seat if Mr Chauhan so desired. (Mr Chauhan is MP from Vidisha and will have to get elected to the Assembly within six months). |
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Advani asked me to quit, says Gaur
Bhopal, November 27 He said he was in the midst of a function at Indore yesterday when he received a call from Mr Advani asking him to resign as they (the party high command) had selected Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan to replace him. He said he faxed his resignation to Mr Advani this morning. The BJP Legislature Party is likely to meet on tomorrow to formally elect Mr Chauhan as leader. He is expected to take oath on Tuesday. A PTI report said Mr Gaur today alleged that supporters of Uma Bharti revolted against him as she wanted to regain power. Mr Gaur advised her to follow the BJP directives while discharging her duty as party’s General Secretary. “You all know the reasons for it (for Bharti supporters staging the oust-Gaur campaign). She wanted to become the Chief Minister. “That is why the campaign was carried out,” Mr Gaur said while replying to a volley of questions by reporters here. Asked if he will accept any proposal for becoming a minister in the Chouhan Cabinet, he said: “I am not ruling it out. I am yet to decide future course of action.” |
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Cong to launch anti-CPM stir in WB: Pranab
Kolkata, November 27 He said the CPM support to the UPA government at the Centre would not be of any consideration against the Congress’s anti-CPM stir in Bengal. “We are committed to fight against the CPM and other Left parties in the state, which will be stepped up in the coming days,” Mr Mukherjee said. The Defence Minister alleged that the party was convinced that its MP, Mr Adhir Chowdhury, had been implicated in a murder case and arrested on false charges at the instance of the ruling CPM. The party would fight against his arrest both legally and politically. He accused the state government of deliberating harassing leaders and workers of various political parties. Mr Mukherjee, who is also the WBPCC President, asked all district party leaders and workers to join the demonstration in support of Mr Chowdhury to be held at Behrampore tomorrow when he would be produced before the SDJM’s court for further hearing. He warned that any deliberate party absentee would be firmly dealt with. The WBPCC chief today met the party’s senior officials and other office-bearers at an urgent meeting held in the city to discuss the strategy to be adopted against the CPM on the Adhir issue and subsequently during the forthcoming Assembly poll. Yesterday he visited the Behrampore jail and spent about an hour with Mr Chowdhury. He assured him of all help and assistance for his release. The meeting was attended by almost all leaders of the two factional groups but the notable absentee was Mr Atish Sinha, the Behrampore MLA, who is also the leader of the Congress Legislative Party. Mr Sinha, stated to be a bitter Adhir enemy in Murshidabad district, has already said he would not participate any agitation in support of Mr Chowdhury. |
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India set to market Brahmos missile
New Delhi, November 27 In the world of dirty politics which goes along with the arms deals and the murky side of the paybacks involved, India is being aided by two of the world’s most powerful arms manufacturing countries — Russia and Israel. India is pinning hopes on the supersonic Cruise missile Brahmos and the advance light helicopter Dhruv to make its presence felt in the international market as a serious arms manufacturing player. For, Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, chief controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and chief of the Brahmos project, marketing the missile is a task which brings out great inspiration in him. A joint Indo-Russian production, the missile is far superior to the subsonic missiles which all other countries have around the world and can hit the target at least four times faster than them, he says. Talking to a select group of journalists, Dr Pillai pointed out that Brahmos would be ready for market by 2007, the time by which both India and Russia would also have put at least 18 satellites in space as part of the Glonas project to help the movement and tracking of the supersonic missile. The world’s only supersonic missile is also considered to be superior than the American Tomahauk Cruise missiles. At a recent meeting between the defence officials of the two countries in Moscow recently there was also agreement on allowing India to market the missile as there are already enough inquiries with New Delhi with regard to it. Dr Pillai points out that there is a huge market available in the West Asia, Far-East, Africa and Latin America for India to sell these missiles. Brahmos Aerospace, the Indo-Russian joint venture based in New Delhi, which manufactures the missile in its factory in Hyderabad, has been exhibiting the weapon at various international shows, the latest being in Thailand last month. India has also made a presentation for Brahmos in South Africa and Chile. In fact, Chile could be the first buyer of Brahmos and has also shown an interest in Dhruv which actually showcases the Indo-Israeli defence cooperation. The multi-purpose machine, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and fitted with avionics from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), is being aggressively marketed by India and Israel under an agreement that’s the first of its kind signed by an Indian defence organisation. The anti-Israel lobby in India may not like it, but the strategy has put India in the international defence market, particularly in Latin America, with Chile showing the way. Chile has a longstanding defence relationship with Israel into which India has tapped successfully. “We submitted a joint proposal with Israel to the Government of Chile to sell the Dhruv helicopter,” say Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials here. “IAI has an office in Santiago (Chile’s capital) through which we work.” This happened just last year and the result was the current negotiation to sell 30 choppers. Dhruv has attracted international attention for two reasons. One, it’s probably the only multi-utility helicopter in the market, built for civilian as well as military use. Two, at Rs 20 crore apiece, it is the cheapest in its class. Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore are the other countries that have evinced interest in Dhruv. While Dhruv may be a certificate of India’s growing abilities in defence manufacture, Brahmos is a technological breakthrough. Based on Russian design, and with Russian engineering support, the missile has a cent per cent strike rate. It can be fired from a plane, submarine, ship, or land also. Russia and India have kept the range of Brahmos below 300km, with a maximum warhead weight of 300kg to ensure that it does not violate the Missile Technology Control Regime. |
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Women’s Congress for gender perspective
New Delhi, November 27 About 800 delegates from 61 countries are participating in the four-day long congress, being held in Asia for the first time. Also present on the occasion were Mrs. Jyotsna Diesh, Member (Development), Postal Services Board, of the Ministry of Communications, Spanish Carme Valls-Llobett, Chairperson of the first WWH Congress held at Barcelona in 1996, Brazilian Jussara Brito, Secretary-General of the 2nd WWH Congress at Rio de Janeiro in 1999, and Sweden-based Carina Bildt, Secretary-General of the last congress held in 2002 at Stockholm. Stressing on the universality of problems afflicting women across the globe, Mr Chatterjee added, “Pervasive and persistent patriarchal attitudes are an unfortunate legacy worldwide. Discrimination against women may be overt or subtle, yet it often works insidiously to reduce opportunities for them due to substantial degrees of resistance.” The First Lady of Finland, Mde. Liisa Piitulainen-Numminen, inaugurated the International Art Exhibition at the congress, featuring paintings and artworks from Nepal, Finland, Germany, India and other countries. For the first time, the congress is also featuring a unique crafts mela highlighting works of women artisans. A commemorative stamp was also released at the inaugural ceremony today by the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and IT, to mark the occasion. Delivering the keynote address at the congress, Gandhi Peace Prize recipient, Dr A.T. Aryaratne, said, “We have polluted and endangered not only our environment, but also our spiritual psycho-sphere, which can bring about ill-will and implant ignorance. Where on one hand there is an unprecedented spurt in knowledge, unfortunately, the wisdom is lacking in this ever-changing world.” Dr Aryaratne, often called the Gandhi of Sri Lanka, is founder of Srilanka-based Sarvodya, one of the biggest voluntary organisations in the world training mothers on how to communicate with the conceiving baby. Elaborating on the congress theme, Dr Sunita Kaistha, Secretary-General, IV International WWH, “Among its main objectives, the congress aims to introduce the gender perspective into health, promote research, teaching, occupational health care and to spread gender awareness; promote social recognition and a higher profile of all jobs performed by women and improve working conditions; encourage creation of social, individual and legal resources to promote personal independence of women and improve their quality of life; and exchange knowledge and experience, strengthen ties not only between academic circles and trade unions, but also with feminist groups and health care professionals, both women and men.” |
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Speaker hopeful of women
quota Bill
New Delhi, November 27 Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Congress meet on “women, work and health”, the veteran Parliamentarian expressed this desire and pointed out that he was confident that the pressure from women’s groups and other concerned citizens would prove to be successful in empowering women in the political sphere in the near future. He added that India was committed to empower women socially, economically and politically. In his inaugural address at the meet, Mr Chatterjee said the proposal for reserving one-thirds seats in the state Assemblies and Parliament was in the process. |
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Aspirational politics in Bihar: Jaitley
New Delhi, November 27 Giving a detailed analysis of the recently held Assembly elections in Bihar at a party forum, Mr Jaitley said the RJD and its allies drew a blank in the Kosi commissionary where there is said to be 35 to 40 per cent Muslim and Yadav votes. An analysis of the results revealed that the NDA alliance got votes from all sections of society, the BJP leader, who was the party in charge of elections in Bihar, said. The BJP list of 55 winning candidates has 11 Dalit MLAs which was the highest number from all social classes, he pointed out, adding that the myth that “our party represents higher castes” had also been shattered. All sections of the Bihar society, including in the rural countryside, had developed aspirations and they wanted better life and that was one factor which influenced the electoral behaviour this time, Mr Jaitley said. While till now four southern and two western states were growing economically, other states like Bihar which had lagged on the development scale were beginning to evolve aspirations for development. In Madhya Pradesh in the last election and now in Bihar, developmental politics became an issue and that is why the NDA got a positive vote as we had sought vote for “Naya Bihar, Nitish Kumar (new Bihar, vote Nitish Kumar)”, the BJP leader said. The political parties would have to blend social polarisation and aspirational factors in their political approach in coming years, he said. Praising the role of the Election Commission which also made a contribution in free and fearless voting, Mr Jaitley said this time the “EC was less visible in media headlines but was present at polling booths that helped eliminate booth-capturing”. A common perception was that the Lok Janshakti Party cut into the RJD votes and it only harmed the UPA, but a deeper analysis showed that Mr Ramvilas Paswan had only damaged the NDA, he asserted. |
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‘Treat Muslims as part of majority’
Bhopal, November 27 The demand was contained in a memorandum submitted by Masajid Committee secretary Wasimuddin to the high-level committee constituted by the Prime Minister to prepare a report on the socio-economic conditions of the Muslims in the country. The committee, headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar (retd), met during its visit to Bhopal a large number of Muslim leaders, voluntary organisations and institutions engaged in the task of improving the socio-economic lot of the Muslim community. Mr Wasimuddin, in his memorandum, pointed out that the Muslims had been in the forefront during the fight for freedom and they should be considered as part of the majority and should be given the same facilities and privileges. Some of the other demands made by the 200-odd persons representing various sections of the Muslim community included setting up a Muslim university in Madhya Pradesh on the pattern of Aligarh Muslim University, reservations for Muslims in the government jobs, recognition of Shariat courts, payment of reasonable remuneration to Imams and Maulvis and arrangements for their education in the traditional Muslim “taleem”. |
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3 PWG activists held,
doctor shot dead
Patna, November 27 The development comes close on the heels of the arrests of 10 Ranvir Sena activists from Jehanabad late last night. Talking to the media, DGP Ashish Ranjan Sinha said a good number of arms and ammunition was recovered both from PWG cadres and Ranvir Sena
activists." Interrogation of both PWG cadres and Ranvir Sena activists were on”, he said. For the
police, the arrests assumed significance in the wake of the Jehanabad jailbreak incident on November 13 where over half of the 650 inmates fled following an attack by over hundreds of Maoists, which shook the administration. Sources in the police informed that during a meeting with senior police officials today Chief Minister Nitish Kumar categorically stated that the job of the police was not only to act after an incident, but also to prevent it from happening. “The Chief Minister asked to strengthen the intelligence network in view of the common international border with Nepal and also of common borders with three states, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and east Bengal,” the sources added. The sources further disclosed that while the Chief Minister was concerned about the activities of the Maoists on the Bihar-Jharkhand border, he also wanted to strengthen vigilance on the Bihar-Nepal border too keeping in view the activities of the Maoists in that country. “The border with UP was mostly being used by criminal gangs and abductors,” the sources added. Mr Nitish Kumar took exception to six killings and three abductions within 48 hours of the NDA assuming power in the state. He reportedly assured the high-ups in the police of all assistance from his end, including modernisation of the force, and asked them to act without any fear or favour. The law and order is the top priority for the Chief Minister, who has resolved to establish the rule of law in the state within next three months. However, even as the administration started acting firmly against the criminals, some miscreants today shot dead one doctor, Rajesh Tiwari, at Chapra in broad daylight. Meanwhile, Mr Rameshwar Paswan, JD(U) MLA, was inducted as a minister in to the 26 member NDA Cabinet at a brief function at Raj Bhavan today. The Governor, Mr Buta Singh, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Rameshwar Paswan, who was included in place of the scam-tainted minister, Mr Jitan Ram Majhi, who was dropped on Friday night. Mr Majhi was dropped on the very first day by Mr Nitish Kumar following the revelation of a pending corruption case against him related to an “education scam” in 1999, when he was a minister of state in the Cabinet headed by Mrs Rabri Devi. The first session of the 14th Bihar Assembly will begin tomorrow with the oath-taking ceremony of the elected MLAs. The session will continue till December 7. The new Speaker will be elected on November 30. Senior BJP MLA Bhola Prasad Singh will act as protem Speaker. Governor Buta Singh will address the joint session of the Assembly, comprising MLAs (Lower House) and MLCs (Upper House) on December 1. |
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Another UP official on divine path
Lucknow, November 27 Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation General Manager (Technical) Gyanendra Pratap Singh has declared himself “God” and claimed that a year ago, “Bhagwan Shankar” blessed him with his ‘darshans’ and bestowed upon him divine powers. He also claimed to have established a “direct contact” with Lord Shiva with whom he “converses on the phone every day”. As a result, his phone bill reads more than Rs 25,000, well beyond the entitled limit of Rs 2,500. Gyanendra Singh avows to be “Bhagwan Gyanendra Pratap Singhji Maharaj” and has got posters printed of himself to endorse the claim. The photos, which show him attired in divine finery and with a halo, have also caught the attention of his seniors. The Transport Department has set up a three-member inquiry committee to look into the complaints against him and strict action would be taken against him soon, UPSCTC managing director Umesh Sinha said. Together with Gyanendra Pratap Singh running up a huge phone bill, “misuse of office, official vehicle, dereliction of duty and financial irregularities form the basis of the ongoing inquiry and if proved guilty, he might be in for trouble”, Sinha said. The report of the department is expected next week. After the institution of the inquiry, one of the posters that used to adorn his office has gone missing and the staff say he has been attending office regularly. Unlike Panda, he dresses normally to office. But after hours, he wears long robes blessing followers at his house. Like Panda, he has been pulled to the family court by his wife Seema Singh demanding maintenance for herself and their two young children and accusing him of mental and physical violence. That apart, his wife and office colleagues contest his claims of divinity, calling it a “mere drama to serve his ulterior motives”. Panda’s wife Veena Panda too had also dragged the IG to court for maintenance and he hit the headlines after making an appearance dressed as a woman.
— PTI |
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‘Boy Parvati marries Lord Shiva
Lucknow, November 27 The ceremony, at which Priyabrata was attired in bridal make up, was attended by hundreds of people, including businessmen and government servants. Music and fireworks were also there and the marriage procession started from Gadadhar Nayak’s residence on Thursday night. Gadadhar Nayak, a retired bank officer staying at Arad Bazar in Balasore, said that he too had been directed in his dreams by Lord Shiva to perform the marriage and hence the “baraati” started from his house. A priest accompanied the idol and he put the “sindoor” on the forehead of Priyabrata at his father Ashok Das’ house in the Barabati area. Priyabrata was seated on the marriage altar and all rituals were performed in the presence of a huge gathering. Priyabrata said he had been worshipping Goddess Bhagwati (another name for Goddess Parvati) and had been feeling like a woman for sometime now. “I felt as I am Lord Shiva’s wife and one day the Lord came in my dream and asked me to marry him,” reveals Priyabrata. There are many local people who are willing to take his story. Some of them said Priyabrata was the incarnation of Goddess Bhagwati and he had been doing miracles by curing people of diseases. “My son said he felt like a woman by heart and mind and wanted to be Lord Shiva’s consort. I also worship Goddess Bhagwati. On June 27, 2004, I had the goddess in my dream who asked me to solemnise this marriage. I also marked changes in Priya’s mind and body and he was more like a woman than a man,”says the hotelier father, who is proud to have been the father of Lord Shiva’s bride. Nayak too is very happy to be the groom’s father in this marriage. Although many dismissed it as a superstition, none opposed it and his powers of curing people of ailments were also
discussed during the ceremony. To add to the mystic development, the “father-in-law” took the newly-wed couple to his home on Friday. He said Priyabrata would be treated as his daughter-in-law. During the marriage ceremony, which was performed as per the Bengali tradition, the baraatis and other guests were treated with a sumptuous vegetarian dinner. New dresses were purchased for the family members of the “bride”, “bride-groom” and the guests. The guests also came with gifts, including cash. However, it is not a one-time marriage. The “bride’s” father said the marriage ceremony in the same fashion would be repeated every three years as desired by Goddess Bhagwati. |
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Bardhan reminds Cong it lacks majority
New Delhi, November 27 “Some Congress ministers forget that they are in a coalition. They forget they have only 145 seats, they behave as if they are in a majority,” Mr Bardhan said addressing a massive rally of its trade union wing AITUC here. He said the Congress should tread carefully as it did not have the majority to run the government. “Samajhke chalo, sambhalke chalo, you have only 145 seats and you don’t have a majority,” he added. “Don’t destroy existing Public Sector Units, which has triggered economic development in the country. If you want to bring in foreign investment, do it but it should not be at the cost of our navaratna PSUs,” Mr Bardhan said. He opposed foreign investment in insurance, banking, finance and retail sectors, terming them as life-lines of Indian economy. He said “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram must understand that we are not supporting them for implementing such policies.” He also opposed the proposed Pensions Bill and the hire and fire policy pursued by private companies. Earlier, addressing the rally, which kickstarted the 38th annual session of AITUC, its leader Gurudas Das Gupta gave a clarion call for workers to unite and “struggle” against the “anti-people” policies of the government. He called for unity among all trade unions irrespective of their party affiliations for what he called a struggle against “exploitation of workers” by the government. |
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States ‘not using’ funds for manual scavengers
New Delhi, November 26 The commission has also suggested amending the definition of manual scavengers, as it does not include thousands of Railway workers who clean human excreta from tracks on railway stations. During its visits to various parts of the country over the past year, the commission found that several states had not used money allotted to them under the scheme for the rehabilitation of scavengers and had diverted it to other heads. The states had not furnished utilisation certificates under the National Scheme of Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers and were unable to take further grants. While Gujarat had unutilised funds to the extent of Rs 17 crore under the scheme, Bihar in fact returned its grants under the scheme last year due to its inability to produce utilisation certificates for funds received earlier. The commission found several municipalities and district administrations flouting the norms relating to safai karamcharis. The municipality in Khurja (Uttar Pradesh) had not paid salaries to safai karamcharis for nearly six years and owed them Rs 8 crore. Of the 261 posts for safai karamcharis in the municipality, 59 were vacant. Even in a city as plush as Hyderabad, the condition of safai karamcharis was found to be miserable. The commission found there were only 250 safai karamcharis for 821 government schools in the city and they were being paid a measly salary of Rs 80 per month. It found the absence of separate toilets as a reason for the large dropout rate among girls. In another shocking instance, the commission found that dry latrines still existed in Huti gold mines in Karnataka. It found that manual scavenging was being done at the place for the past 30 years despite the nationwide ban on it. With no reliable information on the extent of manual scavenging, Commission chairperson Santosh Chowdhary has suggested that the Centre should order a fresh survey to get the true picture of the extent of the problem. She said the conclusions of the NSSO’s 1989 survey on manual scavenging and that of 1991 census were contradictory in several respects. Ms Chowdhary said there was also a need to verify claims of state governments about the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. The commission has succeeded in its efforts to get safai karamcharis included in the Schedule of Minimum Wages Act. “It reinforces the right of safai karamcharis to receive minimum wage even under contract system,” Ms Chowdhary said. The commission is opposed to the contract system of employment for safai karamcharis, who rank almost the lowest in parameters of income, health, sanitation and education. The commission recently submitted a three-monthly progress report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Among other things, it has recommended declaring the Gandhi Jayanti as Safai Karamchari Divas and lifting ban on recruitment of safai karamcharis. |
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How vulnerable are the Himalayas to quakes
New Delhi, November 27 Numerous villages on both sides of the border are till today grappling with the monumental tragedy, people attempting to come to terms with nature’s wrath, even as help trickles in from government and private organisations. Help as usual has come in late, is imbalanced, with some sections benefiting and many others left high and dry. Many people are today re-building their lives with the bare minimum they have available around them rather then from surplus coming from either the government or multilateral agencies. What brought on this tragedy? Clearly a phenomenon that geologists are well aware of and have been studying for sometime, it is the building up of tremendous stresses along the main thrusts that line the Himalayas that have brought about this tragedy. The Himalayas suffer from what geologists describe as ‘slip defecit,’ in plain language a lack of earthquakes to release the great stress that is accumulating there. The Kashmir region accumulated tremendous stresses over the years and for aware seismic observers, this has been a dangerous spot for sometime. Geologist J.K. Bhalla explains that, “it is the building up of stresses on account of the Indian plate subducting under the Eurasian plate that causes pressure to build up causing earthquakes.” Further, the Indian plate is moving north into China at the rate of 5 cm a year, this collision of tectonic plates nets increasing stress and vulnerability for great earthquakes cutting across the Himalayan range. Bhalla further stresses that, big thrusts and faults cutting across the Himalayas are the main features along which the above mentioned “seismic stress” accumulates. S.N. Bhattacharya and J.R. Katyal from IIT Kharagpur list the most crucial thrusts and faults that line the Himalayas in a paper titled, ‘Seismicity of the Himachal Himalaya: Constraint from Local Seismic Network.’ These being the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) that separates the lesser Himalayas to the North and the Siwalik belt and the Main Central Thrust (MCT) that separates the Higher Himalayas to the north and the lesser Himalayas to the south. In addition, there are numerous smaller faults also that add to the vulnerability of the entire Himalayan region like the Valkrita Thrust (VT) and the Jwala Mukhi Thrust. The most critical areas are the ones located between the MBT and the MCT, the natural ground of the great Kangra earthquake of 1905 which is seismically very active today. This area has to date seen 6 damaging earthquakes and can be the site of another great earthquake. The other vulnerable zone lies north of Shimla and the threat also extends from the MBT near Dehradun to the upper Sutlej valley in Himachal Pradesh. If the Kashmir region and Himachal are vulnerable to danger from earthquakes, the northeast Himalayan belt is not free of it either. In a paper titled ‘Geodynamics and Seismicity of Northeastern Indian and the adjoining areas’ former director of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) , D. R. Nandy, writes that, “Northeastern India and its adjoining areas are located in the northern collision and eastern subduction domains of the north drifting Indian plate and are characterized by active tectonic movements causing intensive seismicity in this region.” Geologists feel that the vulnerable areas in the northeastern Himalayan belt are the Meghalayan plateau and the Mikir Hills, the Indo-Myanmar belt and the Bengal basin. |
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Indian, Chinese warships to conduct drills
New Delhi, November 27 As is the case always in bilateral series of exercises this time round the Chinese ships will be coming to the waters of Kerala for the exercises. The first round of exercises was held off the shores of Shangai and for this round China will be sending a missile destroyer, Shenzhen, and supply ship Weishanhu. However, it will be the first time that the Chinese forces will join manoeuvres in the Indian territory. “These will be exercises at a very basic level as we still know very little about each other,” according to Indian Navy officials. The Chinese warships will sail into Indian waters following weeklong manoeuvres with the Pakistani Navy to train for search and rescue missions. Next week’s naval manoeuvres at Kochi will be the latest in a flurry of military drills India has conducted this year with the forces of major nations like France and the USA as part of its efforts to establish its role as a regional power. Though military ties between India and China went into a tailspin following their brief but bitter border war in 1962, Beijing has given clearance to its defence establishment to forge closer ties with India’s armed forces. China’s Ambassador Sun Yuxi said last month that fighting terrorism and piracy in regional waters could be the focus of future joint military exercises. He also pointed to several other indicators of the burgeoning military relations, including the exchange of observers for exercises and high level visits. |
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Trying to forget apartheid by forgiving it
Panjim, November 27 A striking example of the latter genre is “Red Dust” from South Africa, which presents the real face of apartheid in all its blood and gore. The Tom Hooper-directed film is one of the most forceful in the competition section and has already won the Audience Award at the Miami festival. After apartheid rule made way for democracy there, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed so that anyone who had committed atrocities could come clean and claim amnesty. It was exactly the opposite of a criminal court. Someone who owned up to his crimes was allowed to go free. The commission was to be a healing instrument, but some of the wounds were so deep that it was not possible to heal them through this magnanimous gesture. Also, there were enough police officers who were just not willing to tell it all as was expected of them. New York prosecutor Sarah Barcant (played competently by Hilary Swank) comes home to Smitsriver to represent the interests of the local community in a commission hearing for a former local police officer, Dirk Hendricks. In this case the most important testimony is by Alex Mpondo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who had been tortured brutally by Hendricks. She hopes that Mpondo’s account will force Hendricks to reveal the whereabouts of a missing man, and bring others involved in the case to justice. The courtroom drama unfolds in a gripping manner and many secrets of the troubled past of the wounded country tumble out. This is Tom Hooper’s first feature directorial debut. Almost all films
made by Dev Anand during the past two decades are only slightly better than trash. But when you confront him with this sharp decline, you approach the matter delicately: “Dev Sahib, the films you made in the past two decades are no patch on your earlier offerings. What is the cause of this decline?” You don’t expect the legendary Dev to agree with you fully but at least you think he will acknowledge that there has been a sli-pup. Wrong! He dismisses the assessment
lock, stock and barrel and insists that it is just that he is breaking new grounds and sometimes his films happen to be ahead of times. Nor does he reveal how he makes up the phenomenal losses that most of these films suffer. All that he would say is that God sends him money whenever he needs it. Now he is all pepped up about his forthcoming “Mr Prime Minister”, which he says will be the essence of 60 years of his experience. Famous last words? In his view, Indian problems can be solved greatly if there is a two-party system. Is he ready to burn his fingers with politics again? No way. What is the most difficult aspect of filmmaking? Incorporating songs in them. These days he is also busy giving final touches to his autobiography. Those tearing their hair at the lack of facilities at the current venues of the festival can take heart. Goa Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane says a permanent complex for holding film festivals will be ready in about two years at a sprawling 25-acre complex in Dona Paula. This joint venture between the Government of Goa and private sector would have a 4,000-seat convention centre, offices, committee rooms, various other facilities and modern communication system. A North-South expressway will make it easily approachable from Goa. Godspeed. |
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Zinta files defamation case
Mumbai, November 27 The case was filed in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dilip Joshi, who has posted the matter for hearing on December 13. Zinta had refused to speak on the matter when the story broke out in July in Mid-Day, saying she did not want to comment until the authenticity of the tapes was proved. A police report had recently declared the tapes as “not genuine,” as the voices did not match those of Salman and Zinta. Following this, the actress decided to file a defamation complaint.
— PTI |
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video: Deewane Huye Paagal premieres at IFFI in Goa. (
