Jaipur, October 14
With the Rajasthan High Court ordering a stay on 5 per cent quota for the Gujjars, the community, which fought a series of violent agitations for a pie in the government sector jobs, today finds itself at the crossroads once again.

The HC order hasn’t come as a surprise for the people in the state as right from day one when Rajasthan Governor SK Singh gave his assent to the Reservation Bill everybody knew that the 5 per cent quota for the Gujjars and 14 per cent for the economically backward classes (EBCs), which took the total reservation to 68 per cent in the state, would find it difficult to withstand judicial scrutiny. Interestingly, even the ruling Congress had opposed the Bill when it was introduced in the Assembly during the previous BJP regime in July last year.

However, in view of the approaching state Assembly polls in December 2008, the party deemed it fit to support the Bill on the floor of the House so as to avert any damage to its electoral prospects. Again, when the Gujjars threatened to tread the violent path for the third consecutive year in July this year, the Congress, aware of the constitutional hurdles in clearance of the Bill, initially talked of re-drafting the Bill. However, later the Congress leaders realised that holding the Bill for long was untenable and could cause bloodshed in the state, following which the Governor gave his assent to the Bill.

Interestingly, the Governor didn’t sign the Bill earlier due to the very same reason for which the High Court has ordered a stay on it.

Dismayed, the Gujjars have now put the onus on the state government to resolve the legal tangle in the issue. Many in the community see it as a conspiracy to stop the Gujjars’ entry in the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) which is expected to announce its results soon.

Aware of the thorny path ahead, the Gujjar leaders are treading cautiously and are avoiding a direct comment on the HC order. Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti Chairman Kirori Singh Bainsla said the Bill was passed during the previous BJP regime and it became an Act under the present Congress regime therefore it was the duty of the government to safeguard the interest of the community. He, however, remained tightlipped on their future strategy, including any possibility of the Gujjars reviving the agitation.

Prominent Gujjar leader Roop Singh said though they were not party to the case they might seek the court’s permission to put up their own lawyer for the hearing. 

Talking to the media after the meeting, Bainsla said, "Such things happen in a democracy and we should deal with it in a right manner. Gehlot has assured us that he will do his best in this regard. 

New Delhi, October 14
India today signed an agreement for civil nuclear cooperation with Argentina, making it the seventh nation to ink such an accord with this country after New Delhi secured a waiver from the nuclear suppliers’ group (NSG) to undertake nuclear commerce.

The agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy was among the 10 accords signed by the two countries following wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kichner during which they desired to establish strategic partnership between their two nations. The two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

The nuclear accord was signed by Vivek Katju, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Talana. India has already signed nuclear accords with the US, Russia, France, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Mongolia after the NSG amended its strict regulations in September last year to allow India to engage in nuclear trade and meet its growing energy needs.

A joint statement issued by India and Argentina after the visiting dignitary concluded her talks with Indian leaders said the two sides shared the view that civil nuclear energy could play an important role as a safe, sustainable and non-polluting source of energy in meeting rising global demands for energy.

“Taking into account their respective capabilities and experience in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, both India and Argentina have agreed to encourage and support scientific, technical and commercial cooperation for mutual benefit in this field,” it added.

India and Argentina, as active countries with a long tradition in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, reiterated their intention to develop, promote and cooperate in this field in accordance with their respective international obligations and commitments. They would make use of synergies existing between the two countries and the vast experience of their nuclear scientists and technologists.

The other nine accords signed between the two sides include: exchange of letters for business visa providing for five years multiple entry gratis visa for a single stay of 90 days; programme of cooperation in science and technology for 2009-11; MOU between ONGC Videsh Limited and ENARSA; MOU on sports cooperation; MoU on cooperation in the field of trade promotion and technology transfer in international trade; and agreement on outer space.

The two sides also agreed on the need to give a new impulse to multilateral negotiations in the area of disarmament, especially weapons of mass destruction.

The Argentine leader expressed shock over the terrorist attacks in Mumbai terrorist attacks and reiterated the need for intensifying global cooperation in combating international terrorism. 

Lucknow, October 14
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav today filed her nomination papers for the byelection to Firozabad Lok Sabha seat slated for November 7.

Senior party leader Amar Singh, wearing a mask due to his recent kidney transplant, accompanied Dimple, a first-timer. Husband Akhilesh Yadav and district unit president of the party, Azim Bhai, too, were present at the time of filing of nomination.

Thousands of SP supporters from neighbouring Agra, Aligarh, Etah and Mathura districts joined the nomination procession along with senior leaders like Shivpal Singh Yadav, Ahmad Hasan and Ramgopal Yadav.

The Congress has fielded film star Raj Babbar for the seat, the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) candidate is SP Singh Baghel while Bhanu Pratap Singh is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee.

Raj Babbar also filed his nomination papers today. He had narrowly lost the Fatehpur Sikri seat to BSP's Seema Upadhyaya in the May General Election. The bypoll to the seat was necessitated following Akhilesh Yadav vacating the seat after winning from both Firozabad and Kannauj seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

Lucknow, October 14
A key witness in the 2008 murder of a public works department engineer Manoj Kumar Gupta in Auraiya today alleged he had been threatened by accomplices of the prime suspect, BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari. He accused Tiwari of trying to influence proceedings in the case through threats and intimidation.

Chandra Deo Rai, another PWD engineer who was Gupta’s predecessor as executive engineer in Auruaiya, told the court of special judge Virendra Kumar that senior officers in his department were harassing him and asking him not to make any statement against the suspect.

Rai has submitted a complaint to the state government besides moving a petition in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC. He informed the special judge hearing the case that one RK Bajpayi, a contractor and associate of Tiwari, had called him up a day before Gupta’s murder on the night of December 22 last year to complain about Gupta having stopped his payments.

When the contractor threatened to “ruin” Gupta if his payments were not cleared, Rai had advised him to talk to senior PWD officials. Gupta met a tragic end by being beaten to death and his body was dumped at the police station the next day. According to Rai, Bajpayi had started off as a petty contractor but became an ‘A class’ contractor of the PWD within no time.

Gupta was reportedly killed for refusing to fulfill Tiwari’s demand for money for Mayawati’s birthday celebrations as well as for holding up payments of the local MLA’s “favourite” contractors on grounds of substandard work.

Hyderabad, Octoer 14
Red-tapism is proving to be a damper for a fascinating research project to “immortalise” the cell lines of the endangered tribes of Andaman and Nicobar islands.

A team of scientists from Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), led by Director Dr Lalji Singh, had sent a proposal to the Centre more than two years ago seeking permission to draw the blood samples of primitive tribes for clinical studies of their genome structure and “immortalise” their cell lines. However, the proposal is caught in a bureaucratic maze, still awaiting the nod by multiple ministries.

“The permission from multiple agencies is required for this project. The clearance was not given earlier but I am planning to write to the government again on the need to preserve the genome of these tribes for posterity,” Singh, who retired recently from the CCMB, told The Tribune in an interview here. Surviving for over 70,000 years without any exposure to modern civilisation, the tribes such as Onges, Jarawas and Sentinelese are considered the direct descendents of the set of human beings who migrated from Africa. These ancient tribes are fast vanishing and their population has come down to less than 250 now.

The genetic material of these ancient tribes reflected the “heritage of mankind” and could be of immense help in the search for medical cures for many diseases, Singh, who continues to work for the CCMB on Bhatnagar Fellowship, said. “These tribes are on the verge of extinction. Our aim is to preserve their genome by immortalising their cell lines,” the scientist, who pioneered DNA fingerprinting technology in India, said.

The scientists use a procedure called “epstein- barr virus transformation” to develop transformed cells, which will multiply externally.

His team from the CCMB, in association with Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT in the US, had recently published extensive studies to trace the genetic history of the Indian population.

“We have ICMR’s (Indian Council for Medical Research) permission for the project. But, we need clearances from the ministries of Home, Tribal Welfare and Environment and Forests, besides the administration of the Union Territory,” he said. In order to preserve the unique genetic material of these endangered tribes, their blood samples have to be transported within 24 hours of collection to the laboratory where facilities for developing the transformed cell lines exist.

“We need to create laboratory facilities in the islands because experiments on blood samples should start within 24 hours,” Singh said. Those who are opposed to taking up such a project argue that the tribes should not be used as “guinea pigs” for laboratory experiments. India is home to over 500 tribes and 70 of them are classified as primitive. Of them, the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar islands are the most endangered.

Guwahati, October 14
Union Home Secretary GK Pillai was on a two-day trip to Nagaland since yesterday to hold discussions with Naga leaders, government representatives and security officials to do the spade work for formulating a “broad-based political package” for Nagas to pave the way for an acceptable solution to the decades-old political conflict in the state.

Sources said the MHA official’s visit was being construed as a prelude to preparation for a “counter proposal” by the Centre in response to the charter of demands submitted by Naga rebel group NSCN (I-M) that has been engaged in peace negotiation for over 12 years now. The Centre wants to take into consideration views of a cross section of Naga civil society before preparing a counter proposal that will not be conditional. There will be an effort to arrive at a consensus over it.

The Union Home Secretary held meetings with the representatives of the Naga Hoho, the Eastern Naga People’s Organisation (ENPO), the Nagaland Christian Forum, the Naga Baptist Church Council (NBCC), the Naga Mother’s Association (NMA) and the Eastern Naga Women Organisation.

Naga civil society groups and political parties have been saying that permanent settlement to the problem could not be found by taking into confidence only one Naga underground group as the solution must be acceptable to all sections of the Naga society.

Opinion has been in favour of finding a solution for facilitating greater political and financial autonomy, safeguarding cultural and social traditions of Naga people.

The major hurdle in the path of arriving at a solution through negotiations with the NSCN-IM has been the outfit’s demand for physical integration of Naga inhabited areas of the North East, which hardly looks feasible given the opposition to it from various state governments in the region.

Pillai held meeting with the GOC 3 Corps of Indian Army, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his cabinet colleagues besides presiding over a review meeting of the state-level strategy group (SLSG) He also met senior state government officials and representatives of the Federation of Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and the Naga Students Federation.

New Delhi, October 14
Two senior Indian Defence officials today took on China, rather carried out a major military-diplomatic “pin-prick”. Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor announced help in building roads in Myanmar, a major ally of China, while the Indian Air Force today asserted that the ongoing work on six airstrips in Arunachal Pradesh would carry on and China “should have nothing….” to object.

This comes on a day when India’s External Affairs Ministry opened up a “verbal offensive” against China. The Indian Army Chief, who ends his three-day visit to Myanmar today, has announced help in providing building material and equipment to Myanmar in building its road infrastructure. Sources here said the announcement of Kapoor was made in Myanmar as he met the top leadership of the Military-Junta regime there. Both China and India enjoy good relations with Myanmar (formerly Burma) and have been competing for projects in the field of oil, gas, sea ports, road infrastructure and telecom.

The other notable part of the “verbal attack” against China came in the morning when IAF Vice-Chief, Air Marshall PK Barbora made it clear that that the IAF does not “fear” the Chinese military. Replying to queries on upcoming six airstrips in Arunachal Pradesh, Barbora said “We have not said anything against their military activities in Tibet. They should have nothing (to do)…. when we build defence capabilities in our areas”.

The Indian government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore to build six additional air strips in Arunachal Pradesh in order to have round-the-year movement of material and men. This will enable the landing of medium sized and large-sized transport planes, Barbora clarified when he was pressed for the size of the air strips.

A mediaperson asked The IAF Vice-Chief that if the IAF “feared” an adverse Chinese reaction to it upgrading of the six existing advanced landing grounds in Arunachal Pradesh into fully paved airs strips for operating heavier transport aircraft. To which he replied that the IAF mandate was to improve the ALGs, helipads and also the IAF air bases in the border state, Barbora said.

On further strengthening of air defence in the Northeast he said the IAF was acquiring more 'Akash' medium range Surface-to-Air missile squadrons for deployment in the Northeast. This is apart from the Sukhois that it would base at Tezpur and other air bases there.

For the Northeast the IAF has two squadrons of Akash at present. “We are asking for more to upgrade our air defence capabilities. It is a good missile and we have also asked for some improvements in it," Barbora said.

He opined that the Chinese reactions to the Prime Minister's visit to the border state should be "read between the lines," as democratic elections were taking place in the state.

A highly respected human rights organisation acting as a watchdog for commonwealth countries has condemned the Maoist violence in Jharkhand, Bihar and Maharashtra.

Reacting to the rise in violent activities of Maoists, especially during their two-day bandh on Monday and Tuesday, and the beheading of a police intelligence officer in Jharkhand last week, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) said “such mindless bloodshed cannot be justified.”

Former Editor B. G. Verghese is the chairman of the New Delhi-based CHRI.

On Sunday, during the Maharashtra Assembly election campaign, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned that the government won’t be a “silent spectator” to extortion and murders by Maoists in several states. At the same time, Singh said the government was ready for a dialogue with the Naxalites “if they give up violence.”

But the Naxals responded with “more violence” during their two-day bandh in several states where they are operating. The bandh call was for several states where Red Rebels have been operating against the Centre’s warning to curb their “people’s movement” by force.

“The CHRI condemns the killings and gory violent means being adopted by Maoists in the last few days. The merciless beheading of the police officer in Jharkhand and the brutal murder of 18 policemen in Gadchiroli is shocking and such mindless bloodshed cannot be justified as a means to achieving any end in a democracy and the perpetrators need to be brought to justice before the law,” a spokeswoman of the CHRI told The Tribune.

The CHRI urged the Maoists to abjure the path of violence and come to a common negotiating platform to resolve grievances within the democratic frame of the Indian polity.

“At the same time,” the spokeswoman said, “the CHRI urges governments at the Centre and states to arrive at an early resolution of the conflict by exploring all channels of negotiations with the Maoists”

“We also believe that the recent promise of the Union Home Minister to wipe out the Maoists will not solve the problem. A resolution can be brought about only by genuine negotiations and providing just solutions to long-standing grievances. The governments at the Centre and state levels need to generate confidence among the people that they are equal partners in the process of conciliation. Without this, the mindless cycle of violence will continue consuming innocent lives and will hold back democracy and developments in large parts of the country,” the CHRI advised.

New Delhi, October 14
Ties between the Union Human Resource Development Ministry and IIT Federation appear good at the moment, but their remaining so in future would depend on the outcome of the IIT Council meeting slated for Monday.

IIT Council, the highest decision-making body with regard to issues related to the IITs, would discuss the outstanding concerns of the federation, which recently called off its strike following assurance from the government on redressal of pay and flexibility matters.

But that does not mean the agitation has been permanently withdrawn, with sources in the federation today telling The Tribune that they had deferred further action on the matter till the meeting of the council.

In fact, the executive committee of the faculty forum of IIT-Delhi met here yesterday and said, “We discussed the Sixth Pay Commission resolutions and the comments received from the faculty on the draft resolution. Any further decision on the issues of pay scales will be taken after the IIT Council meeting on October 19.”

The federation is worried that all past assurances from HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, and consequent discussions on salary, promotion and recruitment policy with IIT directors, remained in informal sphere.

“We still have nothing in black and white and that is a cause of concern for us,” a federation member today said, adding the directors had promised to take their concerns to the IIT Council. “The minister has already said that the council will take a positive view of things,” the faculty members said.

They are keen on better salary structures, better promotion policy and full flexibility on issues of recruitment and promotion, something which Sibal promised them on October 2. No formal commitment was, however, made -- an act that led the federation to petition their cause with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The PMO is learnt to be on the side of the faculty, which said they will see whether to revive the agitation. “But we will wait for the decisions of the council where all the directors and chairmen of Board of Governors will be present. We hope the council will be able to address our concerns,” a federation member said.

New Delhi, October 14
Two senior Indian defence officials today took on China, rather carried out a major military-diplomatic “pin-prick”. Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor announced help in building roads in Myanmar, a major ally of China, while the Indian Air Force today asserted that the ongoing work on six airstrips in Arunachal Pradesh would carry on.

This comes on a day when India’s External Affairs Ministry opened up a “verbal offensive” against China. The Indian Army Chief, who ends his three-day visit to Myanmar today, has announced help in providing building material and equipment to Myanmar in building its road infrastructure. Sources here said the announcement by Kapoor was made in Myanmar as he met the top leadership of the military-junta regime there. Both China and India enjoy good relations with Myanmar (formerly Burma) and have been competing for projects in the field of oil, gas, sea ports, road infrastructure and telecom.

The other notable part of the “verbal attack” against China came in the morning when IAF Vice-Chief, Air Marshall PK Barbora made it clear that that the IAF does not “fear” the Chinese military. Replying to queries on upcoming six airstrips in Arunachal Pradesh, Barbora said “We have not said anything against their military activities in Tibet. They should have nothing (to do)…. when we build defence capabilities in our areas”.

The Indian government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore to build six additional air strips in Arunachal Pradesh in order to have round-the-year movement of material and men. This will enable the landing of medium sized and large-sized transport planes, Barbora clarified when he was pressed for the size of the air strips.

When a mediaperson asked if the IAF “feared” an adverse Chinese reaction to it upgrading of the six existing advanced landing grounds in Arunachal Pradesh into fully paved airs strips for operating heavier transport aircraft, he replied that the IAF mandate was to improve the ALGs, helipads and also the IAF air bases in the border state, Barbora said.

On further strengthening of air defence in the northeast he said the IAF was acquiring more 'Akash' medium range surface-to-air missile squadrons for deployment. This is apart from the Sukhois that it would base at Tezpur.

For the northeast, the IAF has two squadrons of Akash at present. “We are asking for more to upgrade our air defence capabilities," Barbora said.

Dehradun, October 14
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court today sent the three policemen who were allegedly involved in the fake encounter of MBA student Ranbir Pal in Dehradun in July this year to 14-day judicial custody.

Anuradha Garg, Special Magistrate, pronounced the orders. The defence lawyer of the policemen sought an early hearing of their case.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI had arrested Station Head Officer GD Bhatt, constables Ajit and Santosh Jaiswal yesterday late in the evening.

The 22-year-old student from Gaziabad was shot dead by the Dehradun police on July 3 in Ladpur forests. After the incident, the Uttarakhand police had claimed that Ranbir had fled with a sub-inspector’s pistol and was shot dead during an encounter. Later it was found that it was a fake encounter and the state government ordered a CBI inquiry.

Interestingly, during investigation the CBI came to the conclusion that Ranbir and his accomplice had indeed come to Dehradun with the purpose of committing dacoity. But after being confronted by Sub-Inspector GD Bhatt, they scuffled with him and after beating him up mercilessly, the two of them fled. But Ranbir was caught alive by the police.

The CBI had registered cases against 14 policemen in the case.

The arrest by the CBI came close on the heels of the petition filed by the charged policemen in the Nainital High Court to stay their arrest.

But the court issued notices to the CBI returnable in two weeks on the petition on Tuesday. After the petition was admitted and notices issued, the CBI arrested three of the accused policemen last night.