Mumbai, January 31
Simmering differences between the Shiv Sena and the top brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh came to a boil today with the senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi virtually asking the RSS to mind its own business.

“It is time to remind the RSS that Mumbai belongs to Marathi people only and they should get priority here,” Joshi told reporters. Known for his closeness to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav, Joshi’s statement is seen as a major snub to the RSS leadership that has traditionally been opposed to the tie-up between the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. “Mumbai has reached its glory because of the hard work of the Marathi people and they have full right over the city,” said Joshi. He added that the migrants to Mumbai should assimilate and live as Maharashtrians if they wanted to survive in the city.

Joshi’s remarks come after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s reported statement that Mumbai belonged to all Indians. Asking volunteers of the RSS to safeguard North Indian migrants in Maharashtra, Bhagwat yesterday said everyone has right over Mumbai. “Nobody can prevent Indians from moving to any part of the country in search of employment,” Bhagwat added.

This was confirmed by party spokesperson Ram Madhav. “The Sangh Parivar has asked its volunteers in Maharashtra to try and prevent the spread of anti-north Indian and anti-Hindi feelings,” Madhav was quoted as saying. Observers say, Joshi’s comments would not have come without the blessings of the Thackerays, who have been watching with alarm the elevation of Nitin Gadkari as president of the BJP. A known opponent of the BJP’s electoral tie-up with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Gadkari had even mooted aligning with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena before last year's Assembly elections in the state. The alliance between the two parties was put together by the late Pramod Mahajan and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde.

New Delhi, January 31
As voices against contentious Bt Brinjal steadily grow louder, agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan has called for a thorough analysis of benefits and risks of genetically modified vegetable in a credible manner before introducing it in the country.

Talking to The Tribune, Swaminathan said certain aspects about Bt Brinjal need to be ascertained before it is introduced in the country, especially the impact of the chronic dose over a long period of time on human health and its biodiversity aspect. “Risks and benefits from the point of view of bio-safety need to be analysed in a manner that satisfies public, political and professional credibility”. Calling for deeper public health and environment assessments and agriculture implications of the crop, Swaminathan said every technology had its benefits and risks. “Genetically modified crops are also a technology. But it all depends on our capacity to analyze its risks and benefits. We have to master how to analyse risks and benefits from the point of view of bio-safety… and whether risks are more than benefits or the other way round,” he adds.

He also says one or two varieties are not representative of a crop. “Chronic effect can become visible over a longer time, like in the case of cigarette smoking. Today these varieties of crop may be resistant to a disease but tomorrow they may break down, then the local varieties will be in serious trouble. The effect on health is not always visible immediately which is why long term gains and losses need be analysed before introducing genetically modified crops.”

Swaminathan is also not sure of mechanism used by the biotechnology regulator to give the clearance. “The GEAC was supposed to go through all data but we don’t have the kind of mechanism to do it in a transparent way”.

Food policy analyst Devinder Sharma also says terms of reference of the GEAC were diluted to such an extent that exact toxicity of Bt Brinjal could not be ascertained. “Animals grazing in Bt cotton fields have died or faced serious illnesses and introducing this technology into our own food is very risky for health, bio-safety and environment.”

As voices against Bt Brinjal grow louder, those in its favour are also gearing up to meet the challenge. Environmentalists say promoters of Bt Brinjal are soon likely to launch propaganda to demolish arguments against the GM vegetable. Bt Brinjal is made by inserting a toxin-producing gene from the Bt bacteria into the brinjal plant. India is the first country where seed companies are trying to introduce Bt Brinjal and indeed the first time a directly consumed vegetable is being modified.

Even different ministries of the government are divided over the issue. Recently Ramesh rebutted his senior colleague and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar over the introduction of Bt Brinjal on his stand that the clearance by the GEAC was final and the Centre does not have any say in it.

Pawar had said the GEAC’s decision on the introduction of Bt Brinjal would be final and the Centre does not have any say in the issue. However, the Environment Minister said the “expert panel may well be a statuary body but when critical issues of human safety are involved, the government has every right and in fact, has basic responsibility to take the final decision based on the panel’s suggestions.”

Amid raging debate over release of Bt Brinjal for commercial use, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan recently also supported the GM vegetable, saying that it was “safe for all”.

New Delhi, January 31
Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada today came out in defence of her mentor Amar Singh, who recently resigned from all party posts, while also appealing to the party leadership to prevent him from being maligned by his opponents.

Lashing out at detractors of former party strongman, she said they would be responsible if “anything happened to him”. “If anything happens to him (Amar Singh), those who have targeted him in the party will be responsible,” Jaya Prada said, coming out openly in support former SP strongman, who the party has now come to view as a liability. The Lok Sabha MP from Rampur and a close associate of Amar Singh, however, added she would not quit the Samajwadi Party.

Jaya Prada, who was backed by Amar Singh after former SP leader Azam Khan opposed her candidature from the seat during General Election last year, said despite poor health the former SP general secretary had worked selflessly for the Samajwadi Party and even campaigned for party’s candidates during UP elections and Lok Sabha polls.

The film actress-turned-politician had been the bone of contention between Amar Singh and Azam Khan, the most prominent face of Samajwadi party till recently. Incidentally, she is the third Bollywood personality from the party to come out in Amar Singh’s support. Immediately after Amar Singh resigned from all party posts, film star-turned politician Sanjay Dutt also resigned as the national general secretary of the Samajwadi Party. He was followed by Bhojpuri star Manoj Tiwari, who announced that he would follow Amar Singh wherever he went.

Questioning newly elected SP spokesman and general secretary Mohan Singh the right to seek his resignation, Jaya Prada asked “how could the statements he (Mohan Singh) had been making against Amar Singh be described as the party’s viewpoint”. She urged Samajwadi Party chief Mulyam Singh Yadav to check the newly appointed general secretary.

She said Mohan Singh had lost last year’s General Election and ever since he became the party’s general secretary last week, he had been attacking Amar Singh. Last week, Mohan Singh asked Amar Singh to resign as Rajya Sabha MP on moral grounds.

Jaya Prada said if Mohan Singh continues to attack Amar Singh, “then this will not be tolerated... How can a spokesman use his post to say such things about a senior leader. I respect party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. He is like a father figure to all of us in the SP and, though, I am too small a leader to speak to him directly on this matter, I urge him to intervene and stop such attacks on Amar Singh within the party,” she added.

Flanked by some SP MLAs, who had earlier come forward in support of Amar Singh, she was with the party and was therefore concerned about what was happening within it. When asked if she would consider leaving the party after being a victim of personal attacks, she said, “only strong women can enter politics as it is a tough arena...I have stuck on despite facing personal attacks,” she said.

She said Amar Singh should not have been blamed for bringing Kalyan Singh close to SP. “He is being criticised for every wrong decision taken by the party leadership. His critics were rewarded with posts within the party on his birthday (hinting at Mohan Singh’s selection as general secretary). However, I am not blaming Mulayamji for anything,” she said.

The actor-politician also said she would work with Amar Singh in Lok Manch, a non-political outfit that seeks to raise the problems of ordinary people. She also came out in support of Amar Singh on the issue of the creation of a new state of Purvanchal from the present Uttar Pradesh as well as the use of computers.

Amar Singh has resigned from all party posts in the Samajwadi Party. He is a Rajya Sabha member of the party.

Meanwhile, SP general secretary Ram Asresy Kushwaha is understood to have said in Lucknow that like Amar Singh, Jaya Prada too had become “history” for the party.

Guwahati, January 31
The All Assam Students Union (AASU) has demanded provision (optional) of DNA testing to prevent illegal Bangladeshi migrants from enlisting their names in the proposed updated National Register of Citizens (NRC), Assam, while announcing its decision to launch stir over inordinate delay in updating the 1951 NRC of the state on the basis of voters’ list of March 1971 as committed by the Government of India.

Adviser of the AASU, Dr Samujjal Bhattacharrya, said: “We were assured at the first ever Prime Minister-level meeting on the Assam Accord implementation on May 5, 2005, that the 1951 NRC in Assam will be updated by the end of September 2007 on the basis of March, 1971. But nothing has been done so far even as the separate directorate set up by the Assam government for updating the NRC is no longer functioning thereby exposing the indifference of the Assam government to keep the commitment given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.”

The AASU leader stated that updating the NRC was a must to purge the voters’ list of the state of names of illegal Bangladeshi migrants and ‘the ruling Congress being the protector of Bangladeshi migrants is trying to stymie the effort to update the NRC leaving us with no other option but to launch agitation to press for updating the NRC.’

He also flayed opposition political parties for maintaining stoic silence over the issue of updating the NRC and the burning issue illegal migration from Bangladesh.

Taking a dig at the government for leaving out provision for DNA test while updating the NRC, he said, “The Centre had assured the AASU and people of the state to keep an optional provision for DNA test to check illegal Bangladeshis trying to enter their names in the NC through submission of fake information and document. But the gazette notification published for NRC update has no mention of it.”

The AASU leader said the students body would continue to mount pressure on the government to keep the provision for optional DNA test as well handing out exemplary punishment to those who would dare to submit faker documents and wrong facts to get their names included in the NRC.

Assam government spokesperson and Cabinet minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma affirmed that the government was committed to the NRC update assurance, though several formalities were taking up some time. However, on the AASU’s insistence for DNA testing, Dr Sharma said it would be an impractical option. He said, “A single DNA test takes 14 days time. It will take several years if we go for DNA testing of lakhs of people.”

The AASU demands that government should set up a few DNA testing laboratory in the state to expedite the process of DNA testing, if required, during NRC updating process. 

New Delhi, January 31
Fencing at the Indo-Bangladesh border has pushed thousands of Indians in the 'no man's zone', even as the fenced villagers complain of lack of basic amenities and curbs on their movement in the Indian mainland, official documents have said.

Fencing at the border to check infiltration from Bangladesh into India is supposed to be done 150 yards (137 m) away from the zero line, which is not followed at many places and is done about a kilometre away from it, thus leaving precious Indian land on the Bangladesh side.

“It has been brought to the notice...that the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) and the National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) have been constructing the composite type fencing...without taking any care for the distance of the fencing from the zero line,” Deputy Commissioner Karimganj M Angamuthu said in a note (dated May 18, 2009) on the status of Indo-Bangladesh Border Road Cum Fencing in Karimganj district (Assam), citing irregularities adopted in the fencing procedure.

“The existing border-cum-fencing...was constructed at varying distance of about 900 m, 700 m, 500 m and 300 m from the zero line of the international border and at some place fencing was constructed at about 400 m to 1,000 m away,” the note added.

“Due to this a huge number of families have fallen outside the fencing and a huge quantum of Indian land has fallen in 'no man's zone',” Angamuthu's note said. The people's ingress to Indian mainland has been restricted by the BSF for four times a day, timings being 6-7 am, 9-10 am; 1-2 pm, 4-5 pm.

“By fencing of 150-yard border territory to Bangladesh side, India has practically disowned 149 villages with a population of about 90,000 in a vast tract of land,” RS Mooshahary, former State Information Commissioner, Assam, and former director general of the BSF, said in an article hosted on the Assam Information Commission website.

“The people and their property are clearly at the mercy of another country as fencing impedes the exercise of sovereign jurisdiction by India. At places, fencing has divided the homesteads, fishponds and the village markets rendering people’s life miserable,” Mooshahary added. The Centre does not have any rehabilitation scheme for the fenced Indian villagers.

RTI activist Anoop Prakash Awasthi, who ventured there in a reality research with the Delhi-based Centre for Civil Society, said, “A humanitarian crisis is brewing in the name of national security and relocation of fenced population in Indian mainland only can reduce their perils.” Home Ministry told in a reply to RTI query that “no rehabilitation Scheme (for the border people) has been envisaged by this department.”

“No such programme like NREGA is functional here. We cannot sell our bamboo, as no material is allowed to pass through the BSF-manned gates from fenced Indian land to Indian mainland. We do not have drinking water. We fetch water from the pond. We do not want moon but a hand pump,” Abu Baqar, a resident of Lafasail village of Krimgang, said.

“Under the IAY (Indira Awaas Yojana), only one special package to four districts of Tripura has been sanctioned for the fencing-affected people on the recommendation of Ministry of Home Affairs,” Ministry of Rural Development said in reply to an RTI seeking information about any compensation /rehabilitation scheme meant for the people hit by fencing. There is also no pending proposal for compensation and rehabilitation of the affected people, the Ministry informed.

Fencing started on the Indo-Bangladesh border in 1986 and around 2677.81 km of the total sanctioned 3436.59 km has been fenced till December last year, according to a Home Ministry data. Fencing is being carried out in the states of West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya and is scheduled to complete by March 2010. India-Bangladesh border is 4095.7 km, the longest international border India shares with any country. — PTI 

Ahmedabad, January 31
Second phase of computer based CAT-2009 concluded today with around 2,000 candidates appearing for the re-test at 26 centres across the country, convener of examination at IIM Ahmedabad said here.

“CAT-2009 second phase concluded today with around 2,000 odd candidates appearing for the re-test today. On day one of the second phase yesterday, 65-70 per cent out of the 7,400 candidates appeared for re-test,” convener of CAT-2009 at IIM-A Satish Deodhar said.

“With the conclusion of second phase, it seems that it was a minuscule segment of students who made large noises about the technical glitches,” Deodhar said. “The results of CAT-2009 are scheduled to be declared in third week of February,” he added. “It will take at least 10 days for uploading the results, so a call on declaring CAT-2009 results early than the scheduled date can only be taken after that,” sources at IIM-A said.

Directors of all the IIMs are slated to meet next month to review the newly introduced computer-based CAT. A total of 2.41 lakh students had applied for CAT in 2009.

While 2.16 lakh candidates could appear in the test during the 11-day testing window last year, nearly 10,500 odd students could not take on the exam in first phase due to virus attacks and hardware problems and had opted for re-test. The CAT glitches were attributed by the IIMs and Prometric, the American firm jointly conducting the test, to virus attacks and some hardware problems.

Computer based CAT-2009 in first phase was marred by technical glitches from the very first day as students faced problems in logging on to the computers at various centres across the country. — PTI

Chandigarh, January 31
Faced with growing obsolescence of its air defence equipment, the Army has stepped out to acquire quick reaction surface-to-air missiles and self-propelled anti-aircraft systems. Requests for information to global vendors were issued this week. These follow a recent move to seek vendors to upgrade older anti-aircraft guns already held by the Army.

The bulk of the Army’s air defence equipment dates back to the 1970s and the 1980s. While most of its static anti-aircraft guns are outdates, some equipment like the Schilka self-propelled guns and the SA-9 missiles are in need of upgradation. Older missiles systems like the SA-6 and SA-8 are also in need of replacement.

Many experts are of the opinion that the present level of air defence coverage provided to field formations is inadequate and requires urgent attention. Field formations are not being given the priority they deserve and forward echelons may lack effective protection against enemy aircraft.

The army is seeking quick reaction missiles having a range of over 15 km and a ceiling of at least 6 km. The missile should have a reaction time of under six seconds and should be able to engage aerial target from hovering helicopters to aircraft flying at speeds up to 500 metres per second.

Besides having surveillance and target tracking capability while on the move, the Army wants that the missile system should also have the ability to fire and guide a salvo of two or more missiles.

Electronic counter-counter measures, NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection, night vision devices, onboard navigation systems are other features required in today’s battlefield environment. The Army is keen that the prospective missile systems be compatible for mounting on high mobility vehicles already in service and be capable of transportation on the existing Indian Railways rakes.

The other weapon the Army is looking for is a self-propelled system having a combination of anti-aircraft missiles and guns. One such system, the Russian Tunguska, is already in service with the Army Air Defence.

Qualitative requirements laid down for this system include a range of at least 5 km for the missile and 2,500 m for the guns. Other parameters include detection, tracking and engagement of aerial targets at night and in poor visibility, climate controlled crew cabin and NBC protection.

The primary role of Army Air Defence (AAD), the youngest arm of the Army, is to provide cover to mechanised formations during manoeuvers. For this requires a mix of platforms having a high degree of mobility across varied terrain and the capability to engage targets in adverse weather and light conditions.

New Delhi, January 31
With over 40 per cent of people in India still living on less than $1.25 (around Rs 60) a day, India now stands third in terms of the highest proportion of extremely poor people in South Asia, next only to Nepal and Bangladesh, with corresponding percentages at 54.7 and 50.5, respectively.

The latest UN Report on the World Social Situation 2010, released globally in the Capital yesterday, places India below Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka in terms of extreme poverty. Pakistan is the only nation in the sector to have achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting poverty by half between 1990 and 2015. It had 73 per cent of the people in ‘extreme poverty’ 15 years ago; it now has 22.6 per cent as against its MDG target of 29.3 per cent.

India is lagging on the front, and must have an annual poverty reduction rate of 4.7 per cent (between 2005 and 2015) against 1.4 between 1990 and 2005 if it wants to meet the MDG target of 27 per cent; so far it has touched only 41.6 per cent. Rural India has 43.8 per cent of the people in extreme poverty as against 36.2 per cent in urban areas.

This underlines the need for inclusive growth in India, as stated by the UN report, which credits China, and to some extent India, for reduced global poverty in the past two decades when the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day came down from 1.9 billion to 1.4 billion.

“It is the success of China and East Asia and to some extent India that has largely driven global poverty trends downward,” states the report, cautioning India against income inequalities which have hit poverty reduction targets. Added to that is South Asia’s inability to generate decent work for poor people to lift them out of poverty.

That explains why South Asia is now the poorest block in the developing world, housing 43 per cent of its 1.4 billion poor; it saw increased absolute number of people living in extreme poverty from 548.3 million in 1981 to 595.6 million in 2005. The raise is attributed to increase in population and the failure of economies to effect structural changes. While manufacturing accounts for 35 per cent of the GDP in China, it contributes just 17 per cent in Bangladesh and 28 per cent of the GDP in India and Pakistan.

No wonder the world report lauds China for its rapid economic growth, sustained by land and economic reforms, for steering East Asia and the Pacific out of extreme poverty and making it the only region to have achieved its MDG target on poverty. China has just 15.9 per cent people on less than $1.25 a day as against 84 per cent in 1981. Its 2015 MDG target was 30.1 per cent; it has achieved more than it had set out to, and five years ahead of time.

Also, in 1981, China and East Asia had 57 per cent of the world’s extremely poor people; now they have just 23 per cent. By contrast, South Asia which housed 29 per cent of the world’s poor 20 years ago, now houses 43 per cent.

“In East Asia and the Pacific, strong economic growth and structural changes, particularly in China, have been important contributors to the region’s phenomenal reduction of poverty. In contrast, halving poverty remains a huge challenge in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, which actually saw a significant increase in the shares of people living on less than $ 1.25 a day between 1990 and 2005,” concludes the report. It adds that there would be many more poor people if the wider definition of poverty which factors in deprivation and social exclusion was to be considered.

New Delhi, January 31
In the wake of unabated violence, a high-level Central team will visit the Bodo-dominated areas in Assam on February 10 and review the prevailing law and order situation there. The team, headed by Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai, will visit Kokrajhar and hold a meeting with top officials of the Assam government, the paramilitary forces and others and review the steps taken to stop violence in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) areas.

Sources said violence in the BTC areas had increased abruptly -- 74 per cent -- in 2009 compared to the previous year, primarily due to the fratricidal clashes among the different Bodo groups. In 2008, 110 persons were killed in Assam due to insurgency-related violence but in 2009, 194 persons -- mostly in the BTC area -- lost their lives. “It is a serious situation in Bodo-dominated areas. Violence has to be put to an end urgently,” an official said.

The Centre is particularly worried over the fact that despite a large number of militants belonging to the NDFB and almost all the members of the erstwhile Bodo Liberation Tigers surrendering their arms, violence continued unabated. “The violence reflects the fact that illegal arms (are) easily available in the BTC areas and many young people are still attracted to insurgency,” the official said.

Alarmed by the violence, Home Ministry officials on Thursday held a meeting with Assam's Principal Secretary (Home) Subhash C Das and took stock of the situation there. The Centre is also worried that in the run-up to the forthcoming elections to the BTC, the violence among different Bodo groups may increase.

During the Kokrajhar visit, the Central team will also review the development projects being undertaken by the BTC and inaugurate the newly-constructed building of its headquarters.

The BTC was constituted following a Memorandum of Settlement signed on February 10, 2003, by the Assam government, the Union government and the Bodo Liberation Tigers. The jurisdiction of the BTC was extended to around 3,000 villages and the BTC has been given legislative powers over 40 subjects. The accord provides for an executive council comprising a maximum of 12 executive members, including a chief and a deputy chief, with adequate representation to the non-tribal population. — PTI 

New Delhi, January 31
Holding as "unusual" the conduct of a mother, the Supreme Court has confirmed the life sentence on a woman who axed to death her four-year-old son. “Motherhood is one of the most precious gifts endowed upon mankind and there is no relationship more pristine and pure than that of a mother and her child. No mother in normal circumstances can tolerate even a scratch on the body of her child,” a bench of justices P Sathasivam and H L Dattu observed in a judgement.

The apex court passed the judgement while dismissing the appeal of a tribal woman Satna Bai, charged with axing to death her minor son Kannilal in Chhattisgarh's Ambikapur district on August 18, 1996.

“The appellant was found standing near the body of her son with a bloodstained axe in her hand. The normal reaction for any mother would have been to go hysterical and clutch the body of her son. But, what is the reaction of a mother in the present case? As stated by PW (petitioner witness)-1 and PW-2 in their evidence, who came near the scene of occurrence on hearing the cries of Anita and Sumitar (two other witnesses), the accused tried to flee from the scene of the crime before being restrained,” the apex court said.

Though there was no direct evidence, the prosecution relied upon the evidence of the accused's relatives Heera Bai (PW1) and his wife Balobai (PW-2) who on hearing shrieks rushed to the accused's house and found Satna Bai standing near the body with blood-stained axe and clothes. The bench said this kind of reaction and lack of remorse would not have been forthcoming had she been innocent as claimed. According to the prosecution when she tried to escape, she was caught by Balobai even as Heera rushed to the police to report the incident.

The Sessions Court convicted and sentenced her to life imprisonment. The high court confirmed the sentence, following which she appealed before the apex court. As the accused was illiterate, the apex court appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter who took the view that since there was only circumstantial evidence, Satna should be given the benefit of doubt. However, the court rejected the argument. — PTI

New Delhi, January 31
Less than a fortnight after India and Bangladesh had a “fruitful” meeting that is being termed as “historic”, India’s closest economic and military rival China is all set to finalise a deal with Bangladesh which could have a severe long-term impact on our security.

Security and intelligence agencies have tipped-off the Indian government that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is all set to visit China, where she will sign a deal on direct road and rail link between Chittagong (in Bangladesh) and Kunming.

Located in the land-locked Yunan province in south-eastern China, Kunming is a very large military and air base. The road and rail network will pass through Myanmar and run close to the eastern borders of Tripura and Mizoram, before it enters Bangladesh, sources said. India, on the other hand, has an abysmal rail network in the north-eastern states.

Such road and rail access means that the Chinese troops can cross over from mainland China to areas very close to India in no time.

Bangladesh will also give China direct land access to two of its sea ports through these road and rail links.

Once this is done, China will have a presence at sea on all sides of India. Already on the west front, it is having a major stake in Gawadar port near Karachi; and a major base at Hambantota in Sri Lanka to the south.

China’s famous policy for India called the “string of pearls” is aimed at surrounding India with bases on all sides. Separately, sources point out that China is in the process of acquiring a military base in Pakistan.

A road link from Kunming into India was part of the 1999 “Kunming initiative” by four countries - India, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The deal has ever since been put on the back-burner by India. Notably, the take-off point in India, Ledo in Assam, was closer to Kunming by road than it was to Kolkata.

This is not the first time that a South-East Asian country is using the two competing giants - India and China - to further its own cause. Nepal has already roped in China for all practical purposes in its military training and infrastructure building. In Myanmar, the fight over procuring drilling rights for gas fields has often led to diplomatic stand-off between China and India.