The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	BJP, SAD differ over verdict Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 12 Differences emerged between NDA allies — the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP — over the Supreme Court verdict rejecting the mercy plea of 1993 Delhi bomb blast accused Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar. While the BJP maintained that the court's order should be respected by all, the Akali Dal termed it an "unfortunate" development, which it would be appealing against. "It is an unfortunate judgment. We were hoping that the court would keep in mind the situation in Punjab at that time. We will appeal to the President to review the decision. We will also appeal to the PM to intervene," senior Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra was quoted as saying. BJP leader Balbir Punj, however, maintained that the punishment awarded by the apex court should be implemented. "There cannot be any exception. Those who dared to challenge the authority of the state and those who wage war against the state and conspire to destabilise the country should be ready to face consequences,” he said. His views were echoed by party's newly-appointed spokesman Captain Abhimanyu, who said the verdict of the Supreme Court should be respected by everyone. On the question of varying views emerging from the two NDA allies, who were also partners in the Punjab Government, on the issue, Abhimanyu said the BJP's views on terrorism were well documented. BJP sources refused to acknowledge that the sharp difference in opinion on the sensitive issue could become a cause of trouble between the two allies. "Political allies can have different views on an issue but that doesn't mean they will part ways. Obviously, they are catering to their vote bank," they added. The ruling Congress in the meantime played safe, saying that the party respected the SC verdict. "We respect the Supreme Court judgment. We respect any judgment of any court. We never intervene in any legal system," Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said. Bhullar was given capital punishment for the 1993 blast at the Youth Congress office in Delhi which left nine dead. The attack was targeted against then Youth Congress leader MS Bitta.
	1993 blast: Bitta pledges to expose security lapse Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 12 Anti-Terrorist Front chairman MS Bitta, who had sustained injuries in the bomb attack in Delhi in 1993, said he would try to expose those who were responsible for security lapse on the day of attack. Bitta said: “Bhullar is hanged or not. I do not bother. I bother for those who were responsible for security lapse that had caused bomb attack killing nine ITBP personnel and 25 injured. I was one of the injured.” “Immediately after I was appointed as president of the youth Congress in 1993, my security was withdrawn”, he said. Reacting against the death punishment to Bhullar, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh said all hopes of the Sikh community had shattered after the Supreme Court today rejected the plea of wife of Bhullar to commute his death sentence to life term. He said: “Bhullar’s case is a “split judgment” case. The judgment of death sentence was delivered by a three-member bench. Of the three, one asked to acquit him while two were in favour of giving him death sentence. Second important thing is Bhullar is not mentally fit. Authorities concerned should think of it”, Manjit pleaded. Thousands of Sikhs were killed during 1984 riots in Delhi but so far not a single accused had been punishment. Even 29 years after the riots, Sikhs have not been given justice, he said.
	Apex court order on Bhullar a jolt for Veerappan associates Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS Bangalore, April 12 The dismissal of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s plea by the Supreme Court to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea has come as a major setback for the four associates of slain forest brigand Veerappan whose mercy petitions were earlier rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee. In February, the Supreme Court had ordered stay on the execution of death sentence awarded to the four and linked their fate to that of the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case convict Bhullar. The gang members, awarded capital sentence for killing 22 persons, including policemen, by triggering a landmine explosion, also sought commutation of their death penalty to life imprisonment on the ground that they had undergone severe mental agony because of the eight-year delay by the President in deciding their mercy pleas, which were finally rejected on February 12. “We are working on it,” a senior prison department official of Karnataka said on the fate of the four Veerappan associates in the light of the SC decision today. The convicts are lodged at the Hindalga jail at Belgaum in Karnataka. The official said the Veerappan associates’ case was before a bench different than the one that heard Bhullar’s case. “The respondents, including the Karnataka Government, have been given notice by the court returnable within four weeks. We are now preparing the papers for reply,” the official said. He added that no date had been fixed as yet for the case to come up before the bench again. Delay in deciding mercy pleas is common to many cases, including the one of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru who was executed on February 9. In a petition pending in the Supreme Court, Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan have cited the 11-year delay in rejection of their mercy pleas to seek commutation of death penalty. The four Veerappan associates — Gnanprakasham, Simon, Meesekar Madaiah and Bilavendran — were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in January 2004 in connection with the killing of policemen and others at Palar near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border in 1993. They were initially sentenced to undergo life imprisonment by a Mysore court but the government moved the Supreme Court, which awarded them the death sentence. Their mercy pleas were pending since 2004 till these were rejected by the President. End of the road? * The four were sentenced to death by the SC in January 2004; their mercy plea was rejected by the President on February 12 * In February, the SC ordered stay on their execution, linking their fate to that Bhullar whose plea was rejected on Friday * They had sought commutation of death penalty to life term citing mental agony caused by the eight-year delay in deciding their mercy pleas by the President * They were convicted of killing policemen and others at Palar near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border in 1993
	Bhardwaj Murder 4 accused sent to police custody New Delhi, April 12 Four persons, including the two alleged shooters, accused in real estate tycoon Deepak Bhardwaj's murder case, were today remanded to three days police custody by a Delhi court after police said it needs their custodial interrogation to unearth the conspiracy. The two alleged shooters Purushottam Rana and Sunil Mann and Amit, the driver of the car in which the shooters had gone to the farm house of 62-year-old Bhardwaj, a local BSP leader, to kill him on March 26, were produced before the court after expiry of their 10-day police custody remand. Co-accused Pradeep, who had allegedly supplied the arms to Rana and Mann, was arrested yesterday and was produced before the court today. Metropolitan Magistrate Prashant Sharma remanded the four accused to police custody till April 15 saying that the matter is under investigation. “Admittedly, the matter is pending investigation. The places from where co-accused persons have to be traced out are out of Delhi. I have gone through the case diaries and disclosure statements of the accused persons. The said record is signed by me. “Keeping in mind the record placed before me, the accused persons who are present before me are sent to police custody for three days till April 15,” the magistrate said. Seeking extension of police custody of Rana, Mann and Amit, prosecutor Kamal Akhtar said that Rana in his disclosure statement has said that he can get alleged godman Pratibhanand, who is still absconding, from Delhi, Mathura and Haridwar. Regarding Mann and Amit, the prosecutor said they were part of the conspiracy and Amit had gone to meet co-accused Pradeep after the commission of the crime. The prosecutor said Pradeep had provided the country-made pistol to Rana and Mann and he had also recced the farm house at Rajokri in south Delhi where the crime took place. Police said Pradeep had procured the weapons from one Manoj, who is a resident of Uttarakhand, and he could lead the investigators to the arms' supplier. The investigating officer said that Rana, Mann went to meet Swami Pratibhanand before the crime and the conspiracy was hatched at Amit's residence. The prosecutor also told the court that these three accused had got recovered the weapons used in the crime from a canal and police has conducted raids at various places in Nasik, Mumbai and Ahmed Nagar for arresting Pratibhanand. He also said that more raids are to be conducted at Solan in Himachal Pradesh and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand in order to arrest the godman. He also said that all the accused persons have to be confronted for unearthing the entire conspiracy. — PTI
	4 Naxals, jawan, 2 others killed Gadchiroli (Maha), Apr 12 Four naxalites, a police jawan and two civilians were killed today in an encounter between the ultras and the security personnel in Sindesur forest of Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. Acting on a tip-off, commandos of anti-Naxal unit C-60 combed Sindesur forest area in Dhanora taluka and spotted a group of ultras who fired at them, triggering a gun battle at around 11 am, police said. The slain policeman has been identified as constable Govinda Farkade of Jairampur village of the district. The four Naxals and two civilians killed in the encounter are yet to be identified, police said. Search operations are still on in the forest area. — PTI
	Amethi, Rae Bareli lose 24X7 power supply Shahira Naim/TNS Lucknow, April 12 Round-the-clock power supply to Rae Bareli and Amethi, the constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi, has been stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Government, indicating a rift between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh Power Corp Limited (UPPCL) officials confirmed that the more than seven-month old arrangement was stopped last night. While officials were tight-lipped regarding possible political reason for stopping the arrangement, they said with the start of summer the gap between the supply and demand was rapidly rising. The acute shortage of power, approximately of around 43%, had forced some hard decisions, they said. Last night, the two VVIP constituencies lost their elite tag and had to suffer a four-hour power cut like any other non-VIP district. In August 2012, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had walked up to SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav inside the Lok Sabha to reportedly request him to ensure round-the-clock power supply to her and her son’s parliamentary constituencies. However, Congress MLA from Deoria AK Singh maintained that the 24X7 power supply was limited to the urban areas of the two constituencies. The vast rural areas did not benefit from the temporary largesse of the state government, he said. Officials, however, said the six VVIP constituencies of the Samajwadi Party are receiving round-the-clock power supply. They are Mulayam Singh Yadav’s constituency Mainpuri, daughter-in-law Dimple’s Kannauj, brother Shivpal Yadav’s Etawah district and senior cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan’s home constituency of Rampur. BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak said the decision to stop round-the-clock power supply to Rae Bareli and Amethi was purely political. VVIP tag off * Uttar Pradesh Power Corp Limited officials confirmed that the more than seven-month old arrangement was stopped on Thursday night. * Two VVIP constituencies had to suffer a four-hour power cut like any other non-VIP district * Officials were tight-lipped about possible political reason for stopping the arrangement. * Officially, the UPPCL maintained that due to acute power shortage of 43% some hard decisions had been taken
	Wife swap charges stemmed from marital discord: Navy Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 12 Replying to allegations leveled by an officer’s wife, the Indian Navy told the Ministry of Defence that the officer, Lieutenant Ravi Kiran, had filed for divorce from his wife and her allegations stemmed from marital discord and were made after the divorce plea was filed. The Navy reply to the MoD gives a clean chit to the three navy officers who Sujata Sahu alleged had molested her in her husband’s presence, sources said. She also said she was asked to extend sexual favours to her husband’s superiors and caught him in a compromising position with the wife of a senior officer. The three-page reply lists out the four-year relationship between Ravi and Sujata and also mentions how she had lodged a series of complaints against Ravi since 2009. Defence Minister AK Antony had asked the Navy to submit a fact-sheet on the matter. Lieutenant Ravi Kiran and his wife, an IIT graduate, met on a social networking website and entered into a relationship. In 2009, Sujata filed a complaint to the Navy that Ravi Kiran had married her and was now ditching her. A probe conducted by a senior officer revealed that the duo was in a relationship. They also visited some places together, but in the middle of 2011 differences cropped up and Ravi suggested that they terminate the relationship as it had no future. In February 2012, Sujata lodged an FIR in Mumbai against Ravi Kiran and the senior officer who conducted the probe. In March 2012, Ravi and Sujata got married in an Arya Samaj temple and she withdrew the police complaint. Subsequently, she moved to Delhi where she was preparing for the civil services examination. In January this year, Sujata filed a complaint with the Vasant Vihar police in Delhi alleging ill-treatment at the hands of her husband. On March 28, Ravi filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty and a few days later Sujata lodged a complaint with the Kochi police alleging that she was molested by her husband’s colleagues and she was asked to extend sexual favours to his seniors.
	New law to prosecute sea pirates: Govt to SC New Delhi, April 12 The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that it will soon bring a legislation to ensure effective prosecution of pirates and taking all possible steps to bring back Indian seamen who are being held hostages. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, External Affairs Ministry said that the Piracy Bill 2012, prepared by it in consultation with the ministries of Shipping, Defence, Home Affairs and Law & Justice, has been approved by the Cabinet. “It is submitted that India does not currently have a separate legislation on piracy. Therefore, it was decided by the government to prepare a comprehensive domestic legislation on piracy in line with United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, 1982 at the earliest so as to ensure effective prosecution of the pirates and to act as a deterrent to pirates," the affidavit said. The Centre also said that it is helping the Somalian government in combating piracy. “India has been providing assistance to Somalia in its capacity building to enable it in combating piracy more effectively. It is not out of place to mention that India had contributed USD 3 million towards augmentation of the African Union Mission during 2011-12," it said. The affidavit was filed in compliance of the apex court order which had issued notice to the Centre on a PIL filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal seeking direction to the government to frame effective anti-piracy guidelines in the wake of increasing incidents of Indian seamen being held hostages by Somali pirates. Bansal alleged that number of incidents of hijacking of Indian ships in high seas is growing as the government has not adopted a proper mechanism to deal with such cases in an effective manner. — PTI
	India, Russia to cooperate in disaster management Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 12 India and Russia have signed a regulation defining the structure, functions and procedure of the joint commission which has been established by an agreement signed on December 21, 2010 in New Delhi in the field of emergency management. Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Puchkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters signed this agreement at Moscow, a statement of the Indian Government said yesterday. The agreement is expected to enable both the countries to help each other in the field of prevention and elimination of the consequences of emergency situations. The Indo-Russian Commission will ensure the implementation of the agreement for catalysing cooperation in the field of emergency management and contribute to the well being and safety of the people of both the countries in the event of disasters and also to exchange mutually beneficial scientific and technical information in the area of emergency management. The meetings of the joint commission will be alternatively held in India and Russia. The two countries already have inter-governmental joint commission that largely deals in Defence cooperation.
	JEE Mains held sans admission formula Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, April 12 It is imperative for bodies that conduct examinations to disclose the exact criteria for selection of candidates in a particular entrance test before the examination is held. A piquant situation has arisen this year with an important examination for admission to central technical institutions having been conducted even before the formula to select candidates has been agreed upon. The Central Board of Secondary Education conducted the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) last Sunday to select the top among 14 lakh students for entry to all centrally funded technical institutions except the 15 IITs. Although it has been known that JEE Mains’ merit list will be drawn on the basis of the combined score of students in this test to the extent of 60 per cent and school leaving examinations to the extent of 40 per cent, the formula for normalisation of school marks has not yet been finalised. Last year, the HRD Ministry had formed a high-level committee to finalise a formula to normalise scores awarded by different state school boards in India after the directors of 30 National Institutes of Technology agreed to induct students based on JEE Mains’ merit list. There are 40 boards and marks they give differ hugely. While the Uttar Pradesh board is tough, certain other boards are generous in awarding marks, creating huge variations in the marks obtained by students in different states. The normalisation formula was to ensure that every student’s score is normalised to one level and no one is put to a disadvantage. A meeting held yesterday under the chairmanship of HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju to discuss the matter remained inconclusive. Two formulae were debated but none agreed upon. Raju said: “We will finalise the formula within this week.” But he is away to Germany on a trip and won’t be back by the weekend. NIT Directors said the delay was being caused to ensure the perfect normalisation mechanism. “We will again meet next week to finalise the formula,” Sameer Das, Director, NIT Jalandhar said. The IITs had last year refused to join JEE Mains regime and instead decided they would use JEE Mains only to screen the top 1.50 lakh students and put them to another test - JEE Advanced - later. IITs had however agreed for the first time to give weightage to school marks in selections by agreeing that only those among the screened would make the grade who figure in the top 20 percentile of their respective school board examinations this year. A top scorer in JEE Advanced would not enter IITs if he fails to be in the top 20 percentile in his school board results. Selection criteria * The CBSE conducted the JEE Mains on April 7 to select top candidates among 14 lakh students for centrally funded technical institutions except 15 IITs * This year, the merit list will be drawn based on the combined score of students in JEE Mains and school leaving examinations * However, the formula for normalisation of school marks has not yet been finalised
	HC stays setting up of IT city in Lucknow Tribune News Service Lucknow, April 12 In a major setback, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has stayed till further orders the Uttar Pradesh government’s ambitious plans for setting up the information technology city in Lucknow on the 992 acres of government land at Chak Gajaria farms on Sultanpur Road. Responding to a PIL filed by a NGO ‘We the People’ citing environmental reasons, a division bench of Justices Uma Nath Singh and Satish Chandra have stayed the state government from relocating the farm, its livestock, felling of trees or any sort of construction till further orders. While restraining the state government from proceeding with any activity disrupting the ecological balance, the court has given the state a week’s time to file a counter-affidavit. The case has now been listed for April 19. General secretary of the NGO and local lawyer Prince Lenin in his petition had pleaded for the quashing of acquisition of the 992-acre environmental park called ‘Chak Ganjaria Farm’ which according to the petition is the natural environmental habitation of several protected species such as peacocks, deer, jackal, parrots, owls, and sparrow. He had also sought an order to prevent the felling of trees. There exist thousands of trees of various indigenous varieties like neem, sheesham, peepal, babul, bargad, jamun, mango and singhdi. The court has stayed the shifting of the bull sperm collection/storage centre at the farm which is one of the few places where the indigenous Sahiwal cow is bred.
	Pak snoopers spoof Defence number to cull info Ajay Banerjee/TNS New Delhi, April 12 Indian agencies have detected high-level snooping by Pakistan intelligence operatives who reportedly spoofed a landline number of a Defence establishment in central Delhi to extract information on the deployment and movement of troops, and rotation of regiments. Officials reported the matter to Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh in the first week of March as attempts were made to extract information soon after the Hyderabad blasts on February 21. The Army has issued a fresh set of instructions, including a detailed list of do’s and don’ts, to be followed while handling telephone calls originating from landline numbers. Attempts have been made in the past to snoop on sensitive establishments using mobile phones and landline numbers but this is the first case where a phone number of a Defence establishment has been spoofed to extract sensitive information. Sources say calls have been made to individuals from a state-owned MTNL landline number installed in the “Defence zone” on the Race Course Road. The callers usually seek information over the phone which is then used to “connect the gaps in information by enemy agencies”. Inquiries by Indian agencies revealed that number “011-2301xxxx” was spoofed and calls were made by Pakistan operatives sitting across the border. The person receiving the phone call would see the Delhi landline number on his caller ID. The establishment is located close to the 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of the Prime Minister. The numerical “2301” is the four-digit code of the MTNL telephone exchange of central Delhi and the same series of numbers works in the South Block atop the Raisina Hill, housing the ministries of Defence and External Affairs besides the Prime Minister’s Office. “The caller disguises himself as an officer of RAW, IB, Army or IAF,” says the advisory issued by the Army. The (Defence zone Delhi MTNL number) “leads the recipient to accept the caller as genuine on face value”, it adds. The advisory goes on to direct that all landline phones must have a caller ID to identify the incoming call number. It adds: “Calls have to be terminated in case of any doubt and the information has to be passed on to the military intelligence unit.” All operators who receive calls have been asked to request for the caller’s number and call back on that number for authentication. “Even if the caller is identified, the call should be transferred to the officer about whom the information is being asked for.” All Army Commanders have been asked to sensitise the persons handling phone calls about not to be “taken in” by such calls. Calling for trouble * MTNL landline number installed in the Defence zone on the Delhi’s Race Course Road spoofed to make calls * Pak operatives sitting across the border try to extract info using the number after the Hyderabad blasts in February * Army Chief informed in the first week of March * Issues advisory on procedure to be followed while answering calls from landline numbers
	UP proposes sops for filmmakers Lucknow, April 12 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has proposed major sops in order to attract filmmakers who shoot films in the state. A cabinet meeting presided over by the CM has proposed amendments in the 2001 film policy to include these incentives. Now any Hindi film which carries out 75 per cent of its shooting in Uttar Pradesh would receive a grant of 25 per cent of the film cost to the maximum amount of Rs 1 crore. This benefit would also be extended to films made in dialects like Awadhi, Brij, Bundeli and Bhojpuri. If any such film shot in UP receives any award then the incentive for such a director’s next UP-based venture would be increased to Rs 1.25 crore. The state government also announced the setting up of a committee of experts who would evaluate the film proposals and scrutinise the likely budget for such films. In recent years, Uttar Pradesh, especially Lucknow, has become a popular destination for filmmakers. At the moment, ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ director Tigmanshu Dhulia is shooting ‘Bullet Raja’ in town. Shooting for ‘Dedh Ishqia’, the sequel to the Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi starrer ‘Ishqia’ is also on in neighbouring Sitapur. — TNS
	NDFB leader gets bail in serial blasts case Bijay Sankar Bora Tribune News Service Guwahati, April 12 Hardcore militant Ranjan Daimary, self-styled chairman of the outlawed Bodo tribe militant group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the prime accused in the Assam serial blasts that had killed 98 people and left over 400 maimed on October 30,2008, was granted bail by the Kamrup Sessions Court here yesterday. Daimary, alias D R Nabla, however, has five more cases pending against him for which he has been fighting for bail. He will be able to walk out of the jail only if he gets bail in all these cases. The dreaded militant leader whose group was responsible for numerous incidents of violence in Assam in the past three decades, is currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail. “The CBI case for which Daimary was granted bail by the Kamrup Sessions Court yesterday relates to the serial blasts of October 30, 2008 that took place at three places Guwahati and Kokrajhar Barpeta Road and Bongaigaon towns in Assam. There are however five more cases against him for which we are pleading for bail. These include four TADA cases and one case filed by the Special Operations Unit (SoU) of the Assam Police,” the militant leader’s lawyer Manas Sarania said. Daimary was arrested by Assam Police in May 2010 subsequent to his apprehension in Bangladesh. He was named as the mastermind of the serial blasts in the CBI chargesheet that altogether has 22 names. Fourteen of them, including Daimary, are in currently judicial custody. The court while granting bail to the militant leader in the serial blasts case has imposed as many as eight conditions, which include one that debars him from giving interview to the media. “The court has also directed the Assam government to provide him security in case there was any threat to his life after his release,” his counsel Sarania said. He will have to pay Rs 3 lakh as bail amount and provide two sureties of like amount. The NDFB chief had moved the bail petition on December 20 last. There has been pressure from a coordination committee of civil society groups among Bodo tribe on the government for release of Daimary from jail so that peace talks could be started with the group headed by him. Centre’s peace interlocutor and former IB chief P C Haldar has been in touch with Daimary in jail. dreaded militant * Daimary has five more cases pending against him for which he has sought bail * Will walk free only if he gets bail in all cases * The militant leader's group is responsible for numerous incidents of violence in Assam over three decades and is lodged in Guwahati Central Jail
	Baisakhi gains global significance Overseas Punjabis have helped spread the festivities across the world Prabhjot Singh Chandigarh, April 12 Celebrated on April 13 every year, Baisakhi marks the birth anniversary of the Khalsa, the pure. It has traditionally been correlated to the start of the harvesting season (of wheat crop) in North India, reflecting in the process great socio-economic strides the farming community of the North has made. Besides, for many Indian communities, it marks the start of a New Year. On April 13, 1699, 10th Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh chose the historic town of Sri Anandpur Sahib for the launch of the Khalsa. It was on this day that five devout had volunteered to sacrifice their lives in response to a call made by Guru Gobind Singh. The five - Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh, Bhai Mukhan Singh, Bhai Himmat Singh and Bhai Sahib Singh -later had the distinction of baptising Guru Gobind Singh after their own captivation at a special congregation held at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib. Though main religious celebrations are held at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib (Sri Anandpur Sahib), the Golden Temple (Amritsar) and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo), Sikhs all over the world mark the festivities not only by holding special congregations in gurdwaras but also in a global show of their progress in the social, political and economic fields as followers of one of the most recent and modern religions. Since Sikhism had its origin in Pakistan - Nankana Sahib, the birth place of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev - groups of the devout also visit Sikh shrines there as part of the Baisakhi celebrations that are held in the second week of April every year. After almost 230 years of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Gobind Singh had given the Sikhs a new identity of the Khalsa by introducing the concept of Saint Soldier. Baisakhi celebrations' global significance can be measured from the ever-expanding number of cosmopolitan and metropolitan cities the world over that reverberate to the beats of bhangra and display of the traditional martial art of "gatka" as part of "Nagar Kirtan processions" or Sikh parades. Sikhs take pride in claiming themselves to be one of the most affluent minorities in the world. While Sikhs in India have Nagar Kirtan processions and special congregations on Baisakhi, overseas Punjabis make it special with lavish celebrations. There, Nagar Kirtan processions or Sikh parades alone do not mark the celebrations. They, in fact, come as a socio-cultural package comprising competitions in games, sports and cultural events, besides the holding of special religious congregations that continue for weeks together. The holding of community kitchens, illumination of the entire route of the procession and distribution of literature about Sikhism, besides updated copies of telephone and business directories, have come to stay as an integral part of celebrations. One of the latest additions to the event witnessed in some major North American cities has been the use of smaller aircraft for showering floral petals over the processions. Besides major Commonwealth nations such as England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, several other countries have accorded recognition to some of the major Sikh festivals in general and Baisakhi in particular. This year, for example, the Malaysian government has allowed Sikhs a day off on Baisakhi. In 1999 when the entire world celebrated the tercentenary of the Khalsa, Canada became the first country other than India to take out a commemorative stamp to mark the event. In the US, Sikh parades are taken out in almost every major city, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Yuba City. In England, besides London, they are organised in several cities, the biggest being in Birmingham. Since then Baisakhi celebrations inside parliaments and state assemblies have become a regular feature not only in Commonwealth countries but also in some European and African nations.