J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Panthers rake up Jammu bias issue 
Udhampur, June 20
After withdrawing support to the coalition regime on the issue of demilitarisation,the Panthers Party has started a campaign in Udhampur and adjoining areas, raking up the issue of discrimination against Jammu. Panthers Party leaders have been trying to make inroads into some new areas. Party's two MLAs - Harsh Dev Singh and Balwant Singh Mankotia have been addressing public meetings in different areas of Udhampur and Reasi districts. Bhim Singh is concentrating on some belts adjoining Udhampur district.

Withdraw award, J-K Grand Mufti urges Queen
Srinagar, June 20
The official Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Maulana Mufti Mohammad Bashir-ud-din Ahmad, today condemned in strongest terms the award of a British knighthood to Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, whose 1988 novel ''The Satanic Verses'' outraged many Muslims across the world.

Legends want classical music in school curriculum

Jammu, June 20 Music is medicine. It purifies mind and must be added as subject in schools. Legendary Carnatic vocalist, Padma Vibhushan Dr M Balamurali Krishna, who shared the stage with his contemporaries, Kathakali Gurus Kalamandalam Raman Kutty Nair and Kalamandalam Gopi at a panel.

Guru Kalamandalam Gopi performs kathakali at aSPIC MACAY function at Jammu University, Jammu, on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Anand Sharma

Suicide by soldier 
Rajouri, June 20
A jawan of the Army’s Medical Corps committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance, in border district of Poonch, this afternoon. Defence sources identified the deceased as P.L.Katarya of Medical Corps posted in a unit in Poonch. Cause of suicide was not known. — TNS

Panthers rake up Jammu bias issue 
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, June 20
After withdrawing support to the coalition regime on the issue of demilitarisation,the Panthers Party has started a campaign in Udhampur and adjoining areas, raking up the issue of discrimination against Jammu. Panthers Party leaders have been trying to make inroads into some new areas. Party's two MLAs - Harsh Dev Singh and Balwant Singh Mankotia have been addressing public meetings in different areas of Udhampur and Reasi districts. Bhim Singh is concentrating on some belts adjoining Udhampur district.

As the Panthers Party has stepped up campaign against discrimination against Jammu, Congress leadership seems to be on back foot. Panthers leaders in their meetings have been charging the Congress with yielding to Mufti Mohammed Sayed who, according to them, has been pursuing anti-national agenda.

Although elections in the state are scheduled to be held in October 2008, Congress leaders are worried at the Panthers Party’s campaign. Congress leaders aired apprehension if Panthers leaders succeeded in their campaign, party will find in difficult to retain its position in the Jammu region.

In the 2002 Assembly elections, the Panthers Party had won three Assembly seats in erstwhile Udhampur district- which now is bifurcated into two districts. “We have identified new areas in Udhampur and Reasi districts”, said a senior leader of the party and disclosed their only target was the Congress which has consolidated its position in the Jammu region.

“As far as Udhampur is concerned we are in dominating position. Our target is tomake inroads into some new areas adjoining this district”, he said and pointed out Bhillawar, Basholi, Bani, Ramban, Reasi and Arnas were the constituencies identified by the party for strengthening its base.

The Panthers Party has been planning a public meeting to cash in on decision of withdrawal of support to the coalition regime. 

Withdraw award, J-K Grand Mufti urges Queen

Srinagar, June 20
The official Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Maulana Mufti Mohammad Bashir-ud-din Ahmad, today condemned in strongest terms the award of a British knighthood to Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, whose 1988 novel ''The Satanic Verses'' outraged many Muslims across the world.

In a release here, he resented the action of Queen Elizabeth and declared that Rushdie was ''liable to be killed'' for rendering ''gravest injury'' to the sentiments of Muslims across the world by writing against the Prophet Mohammad.

The Grand Mufti urged the Queen and her government to withdraw the award and also apologise to the Muslim world for conferring the knighthood title on Rushdie.

He further appealed to governments across the world to ban and burn all the publications of Rushdie. The Mufti also asked booksellers and publishers not to sell books authored by Rushdie.

Rushdie was awarded the knighthood for services to literature in Queen Elizabeth's birthday honours list published on Saturday.

''The Satanic Verses'' had evoked violent protests by Muslims around the world because they said the novel committed blasphemy against Islam.

Soon after, the late Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa death warrant against Rushdie 
in 1989. — UNI 

Legends want classical music in school curriculum
Prabhjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 20
Music is medicine.It purifies mind and must be added as subject in schools. Legendary Carnatic vocalist, Padma Vibhushan Dr M Balamurali Krishna, who shared the stage with his contemporaries, Kathakali Gurus Kalamandalam Raman Kutty Nair and Kalamandalam Gopi at a panel discussion on ‘The Relevance of Indian Heritage in the 21st Century’as part of the SPIC MACAY's national convention here today said this.

It was a rare occasion as these icons of dance and music, who also included 99-year-old vocalist legend Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan and Kathak exponent Saswati Sen, shared common platform.

He could not pass VIII standard in school, Dr M Balamurali Krishna said music remained his education in his life.

Guru Kalamandalam Gopi to a query why kathakali dance form could not adopt modern or the present- day characters, said mythological characters like Rama, Krishna and Ravana had no match if one looked for an alternative from the medieval or modern era.

“Kathakali, which is a dance in character form, is so spiritual and traditional in nature for an artiste that he is not able to think or imagine beyond these traditional characters,” he explained.

Saswati Sen, a disciple of Padma Vibhushan Birju Maharaj, also said modern stories were “not so deep” as the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata from the artiste’s point of view. “Rigidity in Kathakali is relevant,” she said.

Sen, however, said school of Kathak had been successfully experimenting with the modern concepts like “an autobiography of an iron”. Also responding to queries like the relevance of the western classical music and its spread in India at pace over the Indian classical, Sen and Dr M Balamurali Krishna clarified there was not much difference between the western and the Indian classical music as far as the spirit of music was concerned. “Notes are the same but the difference is only the presentation with different instruments,” said Dr M Balamurali Krishna.

Earlier last night, Dr M Balamurali Krishna gave a splendid vocal peformance of Carnatic music and audience gave standing ovation to him during the show at Zorawar Singh auditorium at University of Jammu.

Kathakali exponents Guru Kalamandalam Raman Kutty and Guru Kalamandalam Gopi also enthralled the audience from the epic of Mahabharata, displaying the characters of Draupadi and Bhima.