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DAM Row
Hundreds held during protest against PM
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Navy joins search ops for boat tragedy victims
Centre summons UP, Bihar Principal Secys
Karnataka ex-CM Bangarappa dead
Voices against bauxite mining in AP get shriller
Another accused surrenders
Hundreds gather at Anna’s fast venue
Oppn in consultation to amend Lokpal Bill
In UP polls, it’s Rahul versus Akhilesh Yadav
North-East remained Cong citadel during 2011
NIA’s 26/11 chargesheet leaves Mumbai Crime Branch red-faced
Squatters occupy 12,000 acres of Defence land
A lonely Tagore was haunted by depression: New biography
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DAM Row
Chennai, December 26 Leading a 12-member delegation, Karunanidhi along with his daughter and party MP Kanimozhi met Singh at the Raj Bhavan here and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention to end attacks on Tamils in Kerala after the row erupted afresh following Kerala's insistence on building a new dam in place of the 116-year-old reservoir. “After listening to the delegation, the PM said the Centre would take all steps to ensure that the long-standing relationship between the two states is not strained and peace and normal life returns,” Karunanidhi said in a statement. According to Karunanidhi, Singh also said the Centre might examine the possibility of protecting the dam by itself. The DMK had early this month requested the chairman of the Supreme Court appointed Empowered Committee on the dam issue to deploy the Central Industrial Security Forces at the reservoir site, instead of the Kerala police. Alleging that the continued campaign by Kerala had resulted in many 'undesirable incidents' creating animosity between people of the two states, the memorandum said it had forced Tamils living in Kerala to leave that state. It also referred to the "sentimental outburst" of affected people of the state's southern districts, whose irrigation needs are met by the Mullaperiyar Dam, located in Idukki district of Kerala, but managed by Tamil Nadu on a 999-year lease. "This situation, unless contained and changed immediately, will lead to permanent strain and cleavage between the people of the two states," the memorandum by the DMK, a key UPA ally said. It also said the dam issue was before the Supreme Court and any effort by the Kerala Government to reduce the water level and attempt to construct a new dam “has to be viewed as an attempt to subvert the judicial process and deny justice to the people of Tamil Nadu”. — PTI
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Hundreds held during protest against PM
Chennai, December 26
DMDK leader A Vijayakant and a large number of his supporters were taken into preventive custody in the Saidapet area as they raised slogans against the Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit of the state. The police put the number of activists detained and then let off at over 750. The DMDK, however, said thousands were involved in the protests in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Tiruchirapalli and Karaikudi. In Chennai, the protesters waved black flags. Vijayakant led the protest in Chennai. As news of his detention spread, similar demonstrations erupted in the other towns. The DMDK condemned the Central government's "inaction" on the Mullaperiyar Dam row with Kerala, the refusal to halt work at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and on the Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka. Meanwhile, Tamil actor-director and founder-president of Naam Tamizhar Katchi, Seeman, was arrested today along with 300 of his partymen at Walayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border for picketing the road demanding that the Centre immediately find a solution to the dam dispute.— Agencies
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Navy joins search ops for boat tragedy victims
Chennai, December 26
Three boys, who were part of the 25-member group that boarded the craft, survived the mishap that occurred when the boat entered an area close to the sea mouth, where boating is banned. The boatman, a fisherman, also escaped. The police said five more bodies were recovered today, taking the total to 18 and search operations by fire and rescue personnel and local fishermen in coordination with the Navy were underway to locate the remaining bodies. The Navy said despite adverse weather conditions in the area, search operations were in progress in coordination with the civil administration. "Indian Naval Ships Cheriyam and FACT-84 with divers embarked have been deployed to locate survivors and search and rescue operations are on under the supervision of Commodore Amar K Mahadevan, Naval Officer-in-Charge (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry..." an official release said. — PTI
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Gandak Canal row
Patna, December 26 The canal has been shut for the past two months for structural repairs and renovation. Following a meeting between the Chief Secretaries of both states here on December 19, during which Bihar washed its hands off the raging controversy saying that it was solely the Centre’s decision to facilitate the renovation and restoration of the Gandak Canal system that originates in Nepal and passes through Bihar and UP, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati shot off a letter to the Prime Minister seeking his immediate intervention to restore water supply in the canal that had been adversely affecting the rabi crops in four districts. The letter also warns that if the matter was allowed to precipitate into a crisis, the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre would be fully responsible for it. The contents and the language of Mayawati’s letter indicate that the matter may snowball into a political controversy during the ensuing polls. On its part, the Bihar Government had also written a letter to the Union Minister of Water Resources explaining the situation and sought his guidelines on this issue. Bihar Minister for Water Resources Vijay Kumar Chaudhary told The Tribune that the Centre had to take a decision on this matter as the restoration of the Gandak Canal was fully funded by it.
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Karnataka ex-CM Bangarappa dead
Bangalore, December 26 Bangarappa, suffering from kidney problem and diabetes, had been undergoing treatment since December 7. Union ministers SM Krishna and Salman Khurshid, Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, MP and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, state BJP president KS Eshwarappa and other dignitaries paid their last respects to him. Born on October 26, 1932, at Kubatur village of Shimoga district, Bangarappa's political career spanned over four decades. Though initially portrayed as a leader of the backward classes, the image got dented, thanks to his party hopping habits. He quit the Congress several times only to rejoin it, besides floating his own outfits and joining the Samajwadi Party and the BJP in between. Bangarappa, who first became an MLA on a Congress ticket in 1967, played a key role in installing the first-ever non-Congress government in Karnataka in 1983 when his outfit, the Karnataka Kranti Ranga, supported the then Janata Party government headed by late Ramakrishna Hegde. He became the Chief Minister of a Congress government in Karnataka during 1990-92. After he was removed from the post, he floated the Karnataka Congress Party that contested the 1994 Assembly elections and won 10 seats. Bangarappa was on the national political stage as a Lok Sabha member for three terms in 1996, 1999 and 2004. He won in 1996 and 1999 on the Congress ticket and in 2004 as a BJP candidate. He resigned from the Lok Sabha in 2005 and joined the Samajwadi Party. In the byelection, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha on the Samajwadi Party ticket. In 2009, he left the Samajwadi Party to join the Congress. He lost to BJP candidate BS Raghavendra, son of the then Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, in the 2009 parliamentary elections. Later, Bangarappa joined the JD(S) led by HD Deve Gowda. The state government has declared three-day state mourning over the death of the former CM. To allow people to pay their last respects to the departed leader, his body has been kept at his Sadashivanagar residence here. It will be taken to his native village Kubatur in Soraba taluk where the last rites will be held tomorrow evening.
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Voices against bauxite mining in AP get shriller
Hyderabad, December 26 The situation has turned volatile with the Maoists entering the scene and stepping up the anti-mining campaign. The local tribals, civil rights activists, environmental groups and Opposition parties have been opposing Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to exploit the abundant bauxite reserves. The state-owned AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) had signed agreements in 2007 to allot bauxite mining leases to Jindal South West Limited, which is part of OP Jindal Group, and ANRAK, a state-owned company of United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts. Those opposing the mining project argue that it would not only lead to environmental degradation but also displace thousands of tribal families. “The mining activity will render people homeless in 350 villages in three blocks and snatch the sources of livelihood of farmers and tribal communities,” Telugu Desam Party leader and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said. Ironically, when he was the CM, Naidu had given a go-ahead for bauxite mining in the area. However, his government had to drop the idea way back in 2000 after the then Governor Dr C Rangarajan advised the government against the mining activity in the region. Naidu’s TDP is now leading the Opposition against the mining. In a memorandum submitted to the Governor ESL Narasimhan, the Opposition party sought cancellation of the clearances given by the Union Environment and Forests Ministry. “The bauxite mining involves plunder of tribal resources for the benefit of two companies. This is a scandal bigger than the Obulapuram iron ore mining scam,” the memorandum said. Large tracts of land were being forcibly acquired from the locals and allotted to the private companies, it is alleged. The drinking water sources not only in agency areas but also adjoining areas in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts would get depleted and polluted as bauxite mining affects small rivers like Sarada, Champavathi and Gosthani that originate in the region, Opposition parties and environmentalists argued. The entry of Maoists into the campaign has further complicated the matters. The local resistance to bauxite mining has provided a handle for Maoists to stage a comeback in the state, which was once their stronghold. Stepping up their violence, the Naxalites recently gunned down a tribal youth, branding him as a police informer and warned that any politician supporting the mining lobby would meet a similar fate. The Maoists also attacked the staff quarters of the A Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) at Charapalle in Visakhapatnam district and left posters at the site, warning the authorities against taking up mining in the region. In view of the hostile atmosphere in the region following threats of protests and disruption, an expert committee of the Union Environment Ministry could not conduct the public hearing on bauxite mining.
On the boil
* The situation has turned volatile with the Maoists entering the scene and stepping up the anti-mining campaign. The local tribals, civil rights activists, environmental groups and Opposition parties have been opposing Andhra Pradesh government's proposal to exploit the abundant bauxite reserves. *
Those opposing the mining project argue that it would not only lead to environmental degradation but also displace thousands of tribal families *
In view of the hostile atmosphere in the region following threats of protests and disruption, an expert committee of the Union Environment Ministry could not conduct the public hearing on bauxite mining
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Bhanwari case
Jodhpur, December 26 Umesha, the ninth person to be arrested in the case, is among the five against whom the CBI court has issued arrest warrants last week. He surrendered before DIG (Rajasthan Police) Girraj Meena, who is assisting the CBI in the case, and was handed over to the investigative agency, the police said. Umesha is being questioned, CBI sources said. Mahipal Maderna and Malkhan Singh (both Congress MLAs), Amar Chand (Bhanwari's husband), Sohan Ram, Baldev, Shahbuddin, Parasram and Sahiram have already been arrested. — PTI
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Hundreds gather at Anna’s fast venue
Mumbai, December 26 According to activists of the India Against Corruption (IAC), which is organising the fast, most of those who have turned up today have expressed their desire to volunteer their services. “People are signing up to help us in whatever way they can,” says Mayank Gandhi, coordinator, IAC, Mumbai. The volunteers have been entrusted with the task of guiding visitors and keeping trouble-makers out of the BKC grounds, according Hazare, who is expected to arrive in Mumbai late in the evening, will spend the night in the city before embarking on the fast tomorrow morning. Despite being troubled by cold and cough, Hazare has indicated that he would go ahead with the fast in Mumbai. His aides say doctors have allowed him to fast. Meanwhile, the Mumbai police has formed special security teams to prevent any untoward incidents at the venue. “Security personnel in plain clothes will coordinate with the organisers so that there is no untoward incident,” a senior police official said. The police is especially concerned that activists of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) may attempt to attack Hazare. The social activist had created a storm after a Delhi youth slapped NCP leader Sharad Pawar. “Just one slap,” Anna had reportedly remarked. NCP activists have threatened to beat up the activist for his remarks. Meanwhile, Hazare today told villagers of Ralegan Siddhi that he would sit Apprehending violence during his fast in Mumbai, Hazare has appealed to his followers not to get provoked. “There are some who are out to spoil the name of our agitation by indulging in violence. Please do not fall prey to their evil designs,” Hazare said. “You know how even sleeping women were attacked during Baba Ramdev’s agitation. Something like this could happen again. But we should not retaliate,” he said.
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Oppn in consultation to amend Lokpal Bill
New Delhi, December 26 Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who may open the debate on behalf of the Opposition, is expected to move the amendments, while urging the government to accept their demands, pass the Bill and restore its credibility, indicated BJP sources. While BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Husain refused to state what and how many amendments the BJP was planning to move to this Bill, he mentioned five main issues on which his party will oppose the government draft. These include the issue of federalism pertaining to the Lokayuktas in the states, the demand for relaxing government control over the CBI, the composition of Lokpal and its search committee including the earmarking of quota in the committees which the Bill has set at not less than 50 per cent, and most important, the allocation of minority quota in the Lokpal. Shahnawaz said, “It is not clear whether the government is sincere or it deliberately wants to kill the Bill because so far, the Congress has been taking two steps forward and four steps back.” He indicated that the crux of BJP amendments would be on the lines mentioned in the dissent note to the Standing Committee report. He also said that his party was speaking to the Left and other non-NDA parties like the BJD as well and was trying to work out a common strategy to oppose the Lokpal Bill in its present form. He also indicated some behind-the-scene negotiations with the government though the BJP leader refused to divulge the details saying, “If the government listens to our sane counsel, then that will also be good for them,” adding “I think the government may not insist upon rejecting all our demands.” But while the CPM and its Left ally, the CPI, were likely to move amendments on relaxing government control over the CBI and the question of federalism, it cannot be seen standing with the BJP on the question of caste and community quota in the Lokpal and minority reservation. This is one issue on which the BJP is getting isolated because its trusted allies - the JD-U and the Akali Dal - too have no choice but to oppose a BJP amendment on this score, admitted a BJP leader privately. So in effect, there are two major issues on which there is virtual unanimity among Opposition leaders cutting across party lines: CBI and federalism. There were some indications that while the government was willing to concede some more on the CBI issue, as for the invocation of Article 253 of the Constitution for the appointment of Lokayukta in the states which the Opposition perceives as an attempt to usurp the powers of the states and threaten the federal structure, the government seemed confident of being able to convince the House of the necessity of invoking this Article for the sake of honouring international commitments.
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In UP polls, it’s Rahul versus Akhilesh Yadav
New Delhi, December 26 This set of elections will decide how far the Opposition campaign of inflation and corruption has influenced the voter against the Congress. Also, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has plunged himself totally into the Uttar Pradesh poll. In the last general elections in 2009, the Congress won 22 seats emerging as number one. Now, it has to be seen whether the voters have really started looking at the Congress under Rahul’s leadership as a viable political force or whether they would make the fine distinction between national and regional demands. The least the Congress hopes to achieve in Uttar Pradesh, particularly after stitching an alliance with the Jat leader RLD chief Ajit Singh and offering a sop of 4.5 per cent reservation to Muslims from the OBC quota, is to do well enough in western UP, and encash among other things on Rahul’s forays into Bhatta Parsaul and adjoining areas during the anti-Mayawati agitation of land-owning castes of western UP to leverage the formation of the next government. But any improvement in Congress fortunes, if at all, could impact other players in Uttar Pradesh, most importantly, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP). In fact, there is a considerable overlap in aspirations and the vote bank of the SP and Congress in this election. Already, Rahul’s attempt to spirit away Muslim voters poses a threat to the SP, which has remained on top of UP politics with the Muslim and OBC vote bank. In the 2009 general elections, there was considerable disenchantment with Mulayam Singh among Muslims for a number of factors, including his flirtation with former Hindutva icon Kalyan Singh and patronising Amar Singh at the cost of established socialist and Muslim leaders in his party. But Mulayam Singh is a quick learner. Apart from getting rid of Amar Singh, he persuaded his erstwhile Muslim comrades to rejoin him. But most of all, seeing the popularity of Rahul Gandhi among the youth, he encouraged his son Akhilesh Yadav, an IT post-graduate from Australia, to lead the party. He appointed him the president of the UP state unit. Akhilesh Yadav toured the length and breadth of UP on his bicycle (the party’s election symbol) attracting and inspiring youth to follow him. This election is a test for Akhilesh Yadav as much as for Rahul Gandhi. The questions that this election will answer are whether Muslims are returning to the SP notwithstanding Rahul’s campaign and who, between Rahul or Akhilesh, is more successful in attracting the youth of UP. If Congress fortunes improve, these may further hit the plunging lifeline of the BJP because that would imply greater desertions of upper caste votes from the BJP camp. Already in 2007 and then again in 2009, a good deal of upper caste had lost all hope in the BJP. In 2007, they voted Mayawati in droves and in 2009, a considerable number migrated to the Congress. It has now to be seen whether Uma Bharti and Anna Hazare, threatening to campaign against the Congress, will arrest the migration of the upper caste voter from the BJP. As for the BSP, there is an anti-incumbency factor, no doubt. But that is offset by the recognition of Mayawati as a strong and determined leader who brooks no nonsense, who has generally kept law and order under control and therefore her captive vote bank of Dalits and OBCs don’t seem be moved by all the media campaign against her. Mayawati will continue to be a big player, maybe retain the highest number of seats, though perhaps unable to form a government on her own this time.
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flashback
2011
Guwahati, December 26 Tarun Gogoi rewrote the history by becoming the first Congress Chief Minister to win three Assembly elections on the trot in Assam making mockery of forecast made by poll pundits about a possible debacle of the Congress party in the hands of combined strength of the opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the BJP. Gogoi, who has been heading the Congress government in Assam since 2001, proved that his ‘achievements’ on socio-economic development front during the past ten years and the ‘promises’ for further development in future were taken more seriously by voters than the opposition’s campaign aimed at whipping up an anti-incumbency wave through media blitz. Gogoi weathered many a storm to script third consecutive electoral victory in one of the most troubled states in the country. In the way, he had to overcome the complex socio-political equations and aspirations of different social groups. In Manipur, the most troubled state of the region, Congress veteran Okram Ibobi Singh is leaving no stone unturned to win power for the third time in a row in the upcoming election on January 28. He has been travelling length and breadth of the state, especially valley districts, covering 40 out of the total 60 Assembly seats in the later part of the current year to flaunt his government’s success achieved against all odds. Absence of any formidable opposition party is giving the ruling Congress an advantage in the next election. As the Congress was riding the high tide in Assam, the party lost Dorjee Khandu, the Chief Minister of the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh in a helicopter crash on April 30 while he was travelling from Tawang to Itanagar. Khandu’s death created a leadership crisis in the Arunachal Pradesh Congress. A bitter race within the party for the hot seat took root. Though the party high command chose flamboyant leader Jarbom Gamlin as the successor of Khandu, it did not go down well with some seniors in the party. Trouble started brewing with a section of legislators projecting senior minister and state PCC chief Nabam Tuki as the alternative to Gamlin. The dissidence virtually brought the functioning of the Gamlin government to a standstill. The AICC leadership had to finally bow to the pressure of dissidence camp and replace Gamlin with Tuki on November 1 to end the political instability. In Meghalya, where instability is a hallmark, incumbent Congress Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has been able to steer the coalition government since he took charge in 2009 replacing veteran Congress leader DD Lapang. However, Sangma, who was the fourth Chief Minister since the 2008 election in the hill state, was kept on his toes by his detractors within the party notwithstanding the support he received from the party high command. On the other hand, it has been a smooth sailing for Congress Chief Minister Lalthanhawla after he won poll in 2008.
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NIA’s 26/11 chargesheet leaves Mumbai Crime Branch red-faced
New Delhi, December 26 The 60-page chargesheet filed by the NIA on Saturday before a special court in New Delhi details reconnaissance activities carried out by Headley, 50, of the targets attacked by Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists on November 26, 2008 that left 166 people dead. The Mumbai Crime Branch had accused Ansari and Sabbauddin of providing details of the targets attacked by the LeT during 60-hour gunbattle and had to face embarrassment twice when the trial court and the Bombay High Court acquitted the two saying there was no evidence against them. Mumbai Police former commissioner Hasan Gafoor and then Crime Branch in-charge Rakesh Maria, presently head of the Anti-Terror Squad had repeatedly claimed that Ansari and Ahmed had carried out reconnaissance of various targets attacked by Lashkar terrorists on November 26, 2008. In its revision petition, the Crime Branch had again claimed that Ansari and Ahmed had played a role in providing details to the Pakistan-based terror outfit about the targets attacked by terrorists in Mumbai. The NIA has given details about how every target attacked by LeT terrorists was scouted by Headley, at present lodged in a Chicago jail. The investigation agency has gone into the role of Headley and eight others, including Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed, 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and two serving Pakistani Army officials. But it has not mentioned a word about Ansari or Ahmed or the claims of Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal D Nikam, who said the 10 LeT terrorists entered the country's financial capital with the help of hand-written maps drawn by Ansari. The statement of Headley, who was recruited by the Lashkar, to the US authorities and NIA before a magistrate, which forms as one of the annexures of the chargesheet, talks about his role in carrying out the survey of the locations attacked by terrorists on 26/11. This had left the Mumbai Police red-faced and punctured their theory of criminal conspiracy involving only Ansari and Ahmed. The claims by Nikam about terrorist entering into Mumbai with the help of hand-drawn maps provided by Ansari was rejected by the trial court saying better maps were available on Google and that the hand-drawn map, recovered from one of the killed terrorists, was fresh and had no wrinkles on it. The high court concurred with the view taken by the Sessions Judge that the map recovered from the killed terrorist’s pocket should have some wrinkles on it and blood spots as the LeT terrorist was badly injured in the gunfight. — PTI
Bank, phone details from Pak sought
The 100-page document has been annexed with the 60-page chargesheet filed against Headley, LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, two serving Pakistani Army officers and others. It has sought details from the authorities in Islamabad about the details of a bank account from where money was transferred into accounts of the Pakistani-American and other accused.
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Squatters occupy 12,000 acres of Defence land
Hyderabad, December 26 The Ministry of Defence ordered the survey following large-scale encroachment on 17.56 lakh acres of land owned by it. It had identified around 12,000 acres of land that was encroached illegally in eight sectors in different parts of the country. "The total defence land holding in the country is 17.56 lakh acres, out of which 1.6 lakh acres is in 62 cantonments. Now, the extent of encroached land is little over 12,000 acres which has happened historically.... They took up for survey in about eight circles. The survey report should be (out) by the end of this financial year," Raju said. Close to half of total land occupied by squatters are reported to be in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Raju said the Defence Ministry was taking all steps to conserve its valuable land by computerising all the land records. Defence Minister AK Antony held two meetings in this regard and ordered a resurvey to be done for all defence lands, he added. Raju replied in the affirmative when asked if the private sector in the country was hesitant to venture into the Defence sector because of staggering costs, longer project time and complex technologies, "Quality norms are stringent and volumes are low and inconsistent. Unfortunately, many of these factors are true. To be successful, we need excellent talent pool, including engineers, good infrastructure, high quality standards and the ability to deliver goods that suit various climatic conditions and widely difficult locations," he said. The minister was chief guest at a function in which Avantel, a city-based firm, handed over 12 units of mobile satellite service (MSS)-based communication systems to Boeing. The US aircraft maker will use these systems in its P-8i reconnaissance aircraft to be supplied to the Indian Navy. — PTI
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A lonely Tagore was haunted by depression: New biography
Kolkata, December 26 Incidentally, one of Tagore's worst spells of depression was in 1914, a year after his book of poems 'Gitanjali' brought him sudden international fame as he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 prize in literature. "Another such bout of depression is recorded in Tagore's letters in October 1914... Earlier to that, in May 1914, he had one of his worst spells of depression," the book says, disclosing a part of the poet's life rarely examined by Tagore scholars. Published by Penguin India, the biography portrays him as a man who was deeply sceptical, self-critical and struggled handling the turmoil and conflicts in his "inner life". According to the author, Tagore was always chased by loneliness ever since his childhood as reflected in his memoirs 'Jiban Smriti' and 'Chhele Bela'. In a letter to his confidant Charles Freer Andrews, the bard says, "I was very lonely - that was the chief feature of my childhood - I was very lonely. I saw my father seldom; he was away a great deal... I was kept in the charge of the servants of the household after my mother died." Even as a young man, he spent a great deal of his life in solitude as he had to supervise the rich Tagore family estates in north Bengal, and stay on his boat on the river by the sand-flats for months together with no other companion than servants and boatmen. "Sometimes I would pass many months absolutely alone without speaking, till my own voice grew thin and weak through lack of use," Prof Bhattacharya quotes Tagore as having written to his friend once. On the spell of depression which lasted for three months in 1914, the book quotes his friend Andrews as saying: "He (Tagore) told me afterwards that the mental pain he experienced soon after his arrival (for a retreat at Ramgarh) was almost equivalent to death agony. He had hardly expected to survive it." — PTI
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Bangalore, December 26
New Delhi, December 26
A Letters Rogatory sent to Pakistan seeking specific computer, bank and telephone details in connection with the role of David Headley and eight others in the Mumbai attacks is part of the chargesheet filed by the NIA against the LeT terrorist.
"In January 1915, Tagore again speaks of a 'breakdown', 'deep depression', but in February he claimed to have been healed in the solitude of the boat he inhabited on the banks of the Padma (river) in north Bengal," says Prof Sabyasachi Bhattacharya in his book 'Rabindranath Tagore: An Interpretation'.