Firdause had recently started spending
time in front of the mirror, admiring herself in a salwar kameez or a sari.
She was only 14 but was expecting her husband of one month to come and
take her to his home soon. .....
One does not have to be a supporter
of the so-called Hindu Right to feel thrilled at the very mention of the
name of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, famously known as Veer Savarkar. His
fierce resistance to British Rule and the great sacrifices in the early
part of the 20th century were the stuff of legends. .....
Bahamas has sought information
from Indian authorities about Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi's
bank account linking him to kickbacks allegedly received by him in the
Bofors payoff case. .....
After years of failing to gain
substantial converts by degrading Hinduism and labeled it as "devil worship"
and "heathen idolatry", Christian evangelists have invented a new tactic:
hijacking Hinduism. .....
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Hindu
Religious Endowments M Satyanarayan has taken serious exception to leaflets
ridiculing the Krishna Pushkaram rituals, being distributed allegedly by
Christian organisations. .....
In a tranquil place like St Andrews,
there are not many distractions, so I have been reading lots of history
and trying to reflect on its lessons. For some time now, I have been interested
in the dynamics of Hindu- Muslim relations, and the impact of ancient enmities
and grievances on current Indo-Pak relations. .....
In a surprise U-turn, the Karnataka
government today told the High Court that it stood by a two-year-old Cabinet
decision dropping charges against former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Uma Bharti, against whom it had sought reopening of the rioting case in
May last in a Hubli court. .....
A leading Bangladeshi newspaper
on Monday criticised the government for failing to protect the minorities
and said that attacks, like the one against Hindu families last week, would
give the impression that the majority population is intolerant of minorities.
.....
To prove their sick theory that
Veer Savarkar had begged for mercy from the British to secure his release
from the Cellular Jail, the Communists like to flaunt a booklet published
by the Government in 1975 called Penal Settlements in Andaman authored
by RC Majumdar, the historian they otherwise dub as "communal". .....
Not just the BJP, some Left Front
leaders too are upset over petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's decision
to remove the plaque of Veer Savarkar's sayings from Cellular Jail Memorial
in Port Blair. .....
All right -- I lied a little --
not all of the past two week's arrests of big-time Al Qaeda leaders happened
in Pakistan -- one head-honcho did get arrested in UAE. But before the
Pakistanis get any heartburn -- no need to worry -- your record is still
perfect -- the arrested man is a Pakistani militant, named Qari Saifullah
Akhtar, head of the Harkat Jihad-e-Islami Al Alami. .....
As Indo-Pak discussions on terrorism
continue to make fascinating study, the attack on the Commander of the
Karachi-based V Corps (consisting of two infantry divisions, two armoured
and one infantry brigade), Lt General Alisan Saleem Hayat, on June 10,
2004, is understandably alleged to have been carried out by "Indian" national
Maqsood Ansari. .....
Pakistan has been funding terrorism
in Jammu and Kashmir by pumping in about Rs 500 million ($10.8 million)
annually, a four-year-long official study says. .....
The unfurling of the Pakistani
flag atop a religious place in Aterna village of Sonepat district in Haryana
has caused tension in the area, official sources said on Monday. .....
Hyderabad Police deserves to be
congratulated for having foiled a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) plot hatched with
two objectives. The first was triggering communal violence by blowing up
a Ganesh temple near the Secunderabad Railway Station during the forthcoming
Ganesh festival. .....
Three months after supporting the
Congress in its fight against the Telugu Desam Party (TPD), the Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen (MIM) has begun targeting the Congress government for its alleged
harassment of Muslim youth. .....
When 'ISI terrorist' Mujib Ahmed
walked out of the Visakhapatnam central jail as a free man on Independence
Day, the family members of the man he killed were shocked. .....
The Congress' promise to the minority
community on naming the Bhendi Bazar flyover after Muslim saint Hazrat
Makhdoom Ali Mahimi has upset the Bombay Parsi Panchayat. Hazrat Makhdoom
was born at Mahim six centuries ago. .....
Powerful military nations' intelligence
agencies, specially of the US, are keeping a close look to ensure that
'Buddha' doesn't surprise them with a 'third smile' in India. .....
It was perhaps the last file Chief
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde signed before the code of conduct came into
force on Tuesday. Ignoring objections raised by the Medical Education Department,
he cleared NOCs for granting deemed university status to Kolhapur's D.Y.
Patil Medical College and Nagpur's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. .....
"Mani Shankar Aiyar wants to wipe
out my father's name from the history and politics of India," said a visibly
irritated Vishwas Savarkar, the son of legendary freedom fighter
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. .....
It's not every day that the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security revokes a visa issued to a Swiss-national
scholar scheduled to teach at one of America's premier universities. But
this has just happened, and it's a good thing too. .....
The prisons department had alerted
the Andhra Pradesh government about 10-15 lifers, convicted in serious
offence, before they were granted remission on Independence Day. Each of
them were involved in pre-meditated crimes like murder, rape, dacoity,
robbery and extortion. .....
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Uma Bharati has continued her attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
In two letters written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Karnataka Chief
Minister N Dharam Singh from Dharwad Jail on Friday, Ms Bharati requested
them not to commit mistakes under "Italian pressure". .....
Two alleged Inter-Services Intelligence
agents and three suspected militants were arrested in the city last night,
setting off alarm bells in the security establishment here. .....
Armed mobsters with alleged links
to ruling BNP in a raid on a remote village under Pirgachha upazila in
the district on Monday torched 22 houses of minority Hindus, injured 20
villagers and looted cash, crops and cattle. .....
For most of the 20 years of ethnic,
religious and racial violence in Sudan, in which over two million people
have been killed and over four million displaced, the "international human
rights community" expressed relatively limited interest in this human tragedy.
.....
Within Washington's current administration
there exists a confluence of often opposing interests: evangelical Christian
ideology and neo-liberal economic theory. Evangelical interests in recent
years have pushed for the expansion of religious freedom, the abolishment
of sex trafficking and the protection/expansion of conservative social
values. .....
There is a proverb, "Words suffice
for the wise, but for a fool ." We do not wish to quote it verbatim.. In
the civilized world in which we live, it is not appropriate to behave or
talk like it. The rulers in Delhi are not aware of the Indian culture even
that extent. .....
The spontaneous resignation of
Ms Uma Bharati in response to a non-bailable arrest warrant issued by a
lower court at Hubli has expectedly revived the issue of tainted ministers
in the Union Cabinet. Rather than brushing aside the resignation episode
as a strategic move of the BJP to gain political mileage, the nation should
ponder whether it is time to identify the corrupt gene in the DNA of our
body polity and go for its mutation, as the country has suffered long enough,
since Independence. .....
The remaining Governors with an
RSS "taint" may soon be on their way out. The UPA government has decided
to weed out the remaining "hardline" Governors soon after Parliament's
Budget session is over, sources said. "The removal process will be initiated
soon after the Budget session as the government doesn't want any other
problem in the remaining few days of the session," said a senior Congress
leader. .....
People walk for a cause, sing for
a cause and play for a cause. Here they played cricket for a cause. At
a time getting a sizeable number of spectators for the game of cricket
in the US may be a major task, the India Development & Relief Fund,
not only attracted enough spectators, but raised $12,000 as well through
a cricket game. .....
"You have come from India, perhaps
that is why all these things are happening here now," said Bangladesh's
law minister, barrister Maudud Ahmad, to The Asian Age. He was referring
to the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed, and
there was not a trace of a smile on his lips when he made what appeared
to be an accusation. .....
Our friend Humayun Azad has gone
to a place where he could have a staid sleeping. He does not have to worry
about the constant barrage of threatening and menacing phone calls from
few his countrymen who never saw flowers in his writings; only the thorns
that adorned his creative works bothered them immensely. .....
The Great White North hardly registers
as a hotbed for Islamic political activity. Yet in the run-up to last June's
Canadian federal elections, Islamic lobbies exerted unprecedented pressure
on electoral candidates and actively pursued the emergence of a Muslim
voting bloc. .....
Egypt's highest religious authority
has ordered the banning and confiscation of two books written by U.S. and
Egyptian authors on grounds they violated Islamic principles and harmed
Islam's image, a senior cleric and newspaper reports said Wednesday. .....
In the early morning on July 9,
2004, a fire burned much of the Continental Spices Cash & Carry, a
grocery store in Everett, Washington, specializing in Pakistani, Indian
and Middle Eastern groceries. The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damages
but no injuries. On putting out the fire, police and firefighters found
a gasoline can, a spray-painted obscenity against Arabs and a spray- painted
white cross. .....
Recalling sage Panini's 2,000-year-old
contribution to acoustics, the former Vice-Chancellor of Hyderabad University,
B.S. Ramakrishna, on Thursday said the sage's well-researched arrangement
of the alphabet of Devanagiri script was a unique effort. .....
Patriotism does not allow stipulating
pre-conditions. On the contrary, unconditional surrender of individual
interest to the national interest is the highlight of patriotism. .....
In a development that could put
the Congress-led UPA-government firmly on the defensive and boost the BJP's
morale, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti on Saturday sent her resignation
(the real one) to the BJP parliamentary board. .....
Since the end of the Cold War,
the United States underwent major strategic reassessments of its capabilities
and geopolitical reach around the globe. As the threat of a single force
-- the U.S.S.R. -- receded and then disappeared altogether, new challenges
arose. One such challenge was the relationship with several countries that
began to gain clout and importance on the world's political, military and
economic scene. .....
A teacher at an Islamic school,
who allegedly planted bombs and admitted being the mastermind behind arson
attacks in Thailand's troubled south, has been arrested after being linked
to separatist violence which has killed 300 people this year. .....
One thing we are supposed to welcome
in modern Britain is "diversity". The theory is that the mixture of races,
cultures and religions which we have more and more become is a source of
strength and should therefore be nurtured and celebrated. Although there
is a great debate about how strong the overarching idea of Britishness
needs to be for the diversity to work, there is clearly much to be said
for the theory. .....
In the ongoing Hindi-English row
between the Raj Bhawan and the Kalidas Marg, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh
Yadav has found support from an unexpected quarter -- the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP). .....
A Sikh body on Thursday said it
planned to move the International Court of Justice "to seek justice" for
the 1984 riots in which thousands of members of the community were killed.
.....
The State Government's statement
in the Assembly yesterday that there was no evidence of any ISI activities
in the State has snowballed into a major controversy, with the Opposition
taking the government to task over what it terms as an attempt to
mislead and misinform the House. .....
Powerful military nations' intelligence
agencies, specially of the US, are keeping a close look to ensure that
'Buddha' doesn't surprise them with a 'third smile' in India. .....
In spite of the opposition's obsession
with the 'tainted ministers' some of the questionable doings of Commerce
Minister Kamal Nath seem to have escaped public scrutiny. As a result,
he is said to have made the best of the opportunity to do very much what
he pleased unmindful of any scruples. .....
The University of Houston's College
of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization
run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. .....
In 1947, at the time of India's
Independence, Maharshi Aravinda made it clear that the Independence that
the country gained on August 15, 1947 was political Independence. The mantra
that led to Independence, according to him, was Vande Matram; this was
the mantra, he said, that had inspired uncounted number of patriotic Indians
to sacrifice themselves for the cause of Independence. .....
Nailing the propaganda unleashed
on alleged disappearances to malign the security forces, parents of a disappeared
person have found to their extreme happiness that their 'disappeared' son
is getting married in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). .....
Noted Bangladeshi writer Humayun
Azad, who was murdered in Munich, last Friday, had escaped an attempt on
his life in February this year. For quite some time, his liberal leanings
had made him the target of the country's growing tribe of Islamic fundamentalists.
His death has confirmed what India and the rest of the international community
had been fearing for quite some time: Bangladesh's civil society is under
siege. .....
Islamic teachers in southern Thailand
are 'brainwashing' students and there will be no quick end to the Muslim
insurgency there, Thailand's Prime Minister said yesterday, while police
reported four more slayings in the region's latest bloodshed. .....
Before this, Congress has many
times committed the sin of insulting patriots like Swatantryaveer Vinayak
Damodar Savarkar under the guise of so-called secularism. Now once again,
Union Minister for Oil and Natural Gas, Manishankar Aiyar tried to insult
Savarkar when lighting the Freedom Flame (Swatantrya Jyot) on 9th August
- Smritidin (day of remembrance) of Quit India movement in front of the
cellular jail in Andaman. .....
Penguin publication's launch of
Amitava Kumar's near book, Husband of a Fanatic at the British council
began much as expected - before it created an uncomfortable situation for
the author. .....
Special Public Prosecutor Ms. Rohini
Salian yesterday shocked the species MCOC court when she submitted a letter,
expressing her willingness to withdraw from the Ghatkopar bomb blast trial.
.....
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is
widely admired for his transparent personal honesty, his impatience with
the trappings of power and his intense commitment to the public good. But
more than him, we owe it to the cause of healthy public life and good governance
to put the record straight on issues having a direct bearing on them. .....
The fate of the December 2, 2002
Ghatkopar blast trial hangs in the balance. Public prosecutor Rohini Salian
told the POTA court yesterday that she wants to withdraw from the case.
She asked the court to adjourn the case till the state government appoints
a new prosecutor. .....
Local party workers of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) have accused officials of Kasturba Marg police station
of harassing them by registering false cases against them. .....
Ever wanted to be a part of an
adventure, complete with lost city, hidden treasure, crumbling temples
and screeching monkeys? Well, here's your chance, says Rupa Gopal. .....
As the skies opened up over Kerala,
the last week of July saw the state's political weather turn stormy. The
Left student and youth organisations took to the streets to protest the
government's education policy that allegedly forced engineering student
Rajani S. Anand to commit suicide on July 22. Arrests and police action
led to violence and arson. And not just against government property. .....
As he sits all by himself at his
Ashtchaap Kirtan Sangeet Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, Vithaldas Bapodra makes
for a symbolic picture. It is a lonely battle, but the 80-year- old exponent
of Haveli Sangeet is determined to do his bit. Although there are few takers
for this traditional form of devotional music, he is not deterred. It has
only spurred him into trying to bring the dying strains back to life. .....
Amid suicides by debt-ridden farmers
and the growing apathy towards agriculture, a bunch of retired folk in
small-town Kerala have discovered an alternative: flower power. Growing
jasmine in the backyard or on a terrace has suddenly taken on visibility
as a sustainable option. The pioneer: K. Gopalakrishna Pillai, a low-profile
retired lic clerk who took to jasmine cultivation in 1997 in North Parur,
Ernakulam district. When he started out, he was at the mercy of vendors
who didn't compensate him for his labour. .....
Suspending Amarnath Yatra for three
hours, troops on Wednesday foiled a terror plan to strike the pilgrims
by recovering a 12 kg Improvised Explosive Device on Jammu-Srinagar National
Highway, officials sources said. .....
A huge biography of British statesman
Sir Stafford Cripps, has been brought out. Although it is mentioned that
if India had accepted in 1943 Sir StattSri Aurobindo was born on the 15th
August 1872 in Calcutta, he spent his first years at Rangpur (now in Bangladesh)
and at the age of 5 is sent to Loreto Convent school in Darjeeling. .....
One of the questions that neither
the Bush administration nor the Musharraf government has so far investigated
is the involvement of Pakistan's military in the proliferation activities
of nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. .....
"The Third Eye, according to Indian
mythology, symbolises a hidden power and potential unleashed on the world
for the good of human society. In the context, Third Eye, the title of
the festival, aptly describes the power of Asian Cinema," says the press
brochure of the Third Eye Asian Film Festival, which is slated to be held
in Mumbai from August 21 to 28. .....
Number of Islamist extremists in
the world, as estimated by moderate Muslim leaders, about 12 million. Number
of fundamentalist sympathizers: 120 million. That's one and 10 percent
of the world's Muslim population of 1.2 billion. Then there's the number
who trust Osama Bin Laden more than President Bush: a majority in Muslim
countries whose populations total 450 million. .....
Susanne Jacobsmeyer, a member of
the West County Assembly of God in a St. Louis suburb, voted for George
W. Bush four years ago, but mostly out of loyalty as a Republican and not
with much passion. .....
Politics is the last resort of
the scoundrels - so goes the saying. Although it is not true about each
and every politician under the sun, yet the recent political scenario of
India gives an impression that quite a lot of such elements have taken
shelter in the political arena which is undoubtedly a very unhealthy and
ominous sign for the future of the nation. .....
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
has decided to take legal action including a criminal one against Union
HRD Minister Arjun Singh. The RSS is accepting his challenge. .....
In a converted soap factory near
the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, in a studio down a hallway paved with glistening
whorls of mosaic glass and up three steep flights of wood stairs, a motley
collection of dancers were gyrating and chanting on Saturday as they summoned
the powers of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning and the arts. .....
Union HRD minister Arjun Singh,
who is spearheading a vehement campaign against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh, had called on a senior functionary of the RSS at Allahabad soon
after resigning from the Narasimha Rao government. .....
Susanne Jacobsmeyer, a member of
the West County Assembly of God in a St. Louis suburb, voted for George
W. Bush four years ago, but mostly out of loyalty as a Republican and not
with much passion. .....
Swami Dayananda Saraswati is in
many ways like the Hindu religion itself of manifold purpose and use. An
articulate spokesperson of all things religion. A profound thinker on issues
of human importance. A sage of wealthy wisdom. A catalyst for social welfare.
A global messenger of peace and prosperity. He is all these plus some more.
.....
Anti-Semitic attacks in Britain,
mainly carried out by Muslims, will reach record levels this year, say
Jewish groups which accuse the Government of inaction. .....
The handsome young Nepali of Kashmiri-descent
has a captivating smile, and an enchanting sense of hospitality. That is
if you are able to meet him. .....
If Bangladesh President Khaleda
Zia thought that the regime change in India would earn her respite
from New Delhi's consistent protests about the unabated influx of immigrants
from her country, she was mistaken. .....
Inder Kumar Gujral, 85, was a minister
in the Government of India for nine years, our foreign minister for one
year and ultimately our prime minister for 11 months. However, his reputation,
such as it is, is not about his political expertise but about his erudite
lectures at seminars and conferences. .....
The annual trek in Kashmir to one
of Hinduism's holiest shrines has seen a record 217,000 pilgrims despite
violence elsewhere in the disputed Muslim-majority territory, official
figures showed Friday. Officials are expecting 300,000 pilgrims to make
the arduous journey to the Amarnath cave shrine by the ritual's close in
late August. .....
A convention was held on August
8, 2004, on the eve of the 52nd anniversary of the `Quit India' movement.
It was a National Convention on Secularism, not about the Quit India movement.
.....
Dr. Eric Ormsby, a Professor of
Islamic Studies at McGill University wrote a book review of Feisal
Abdul Rauf's "What's Right with Islam," which appeared in the Wall Street
Journal on Wednesday, August 4, 2004. .....
In September 2000, eminent Pakistani
historian Mubarak Ali wrote an article, "How Many Qasims, Ghaznavis, and
Ghoris Do We Need?" analyzing the valorization of Arabs and Turks who ravished
the land that is now Pakistan, in school textbooks. .....
The international Border Pillar
No 1280 near Muktapur, 15 km from Dawki, along the Indo-Bangladesh border
has disappeared mysteriously. According to residents in the area, the Bangladesh
authorities have already erected a similar pillar at a spot which is 100
metres within the Indian territory. .....
On 3 August 2004, Muslim Bengali
settlers from Kalabanya of Aimachara Union under Bakal sub-district slain
an indigenous couple of Dhandachara village of Bhushanchara Union under
Barkal Thana in Rangamati hill district. .....
A delegation of minority communities
from South India, led by Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, has
urged the Centre to give representation to the minorities not only in education
and government jobs but also in armed forces, especially riot police, which
deals with communal violence. .....
Just 10 minutes had passed since
I had dropped from the edge of the boat and into the shimmering blue
water that lapped at the edge of a cove. In that interim, I had fallen
on my face, my side and my rear a hundred times. .....
by Farhan Bokhari, Stephen Fidler
and Roula Khalaf
A week before Pakistan's first
nuclear tests in May 1998, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif received a
late night telephone call from a Saudi prince. India, Pakistan's arch-
rival, had conducted nuclear tests that month and Mr Sharif was weighing
the consequences of following suit. .....
Story in full DETECTIVES investigating
what is believed to be the biggest fraud in Scottish criminal history believe
it could have been prevented if a unit created to tackle the threat of
Asian gangs had not been disbanded over fears that it could be seen as
persecuting ethnic minorities. .....
Populism invariably has fiscal
and electoral consequences. The Akali government of Punjab gave free electricity
to farmers, but it created resentment amongst the general populace that
rich farmers were unduly benefiting from it. Not only did it hurt the state
by depriving worthy development projects of support, it is held responsible
for the defeat of the Akalis in the elections that followed. .....
Only the naïve will be surprised
by the concern expressed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in
its latest report on our part of the State which is under the neighbouring
country's illegal occupation and is locally known as 'Azad' Kashmir. It
has observed that the Pakistani intelligence agencies are interfering in
the region. .....
Thoughts on issues of current interest
[my comments - as an Indian citizen - within square brackets], including
instances of some double standards of our public figures, especially in
the construction of Indian identity (all those Macaulayan myths, and the
hypocrisy that is Nehruvian secularism). .....
In articles written by Islamic
clerics, the clerics herald the imminent conquest of Rome by Islam, in
accordance with the prophecy of Muhammad. The issue is also discussed in
Friday sermons. Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, one of the most influential
clerics in Sunni Islam, often makes this claim in his religious rulings
and on his television programs. .....
Over 2,500 Muslims of Delhi under
the banner of two nationalist Muslim organisations-My Hindustan and Bharatiya
Muslim Parishad-staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, protesting
against the vote-bank politics of pseudo-secularists in the name of the
terrorists killed in Gujarat recently. It was the first protest by the
Muslims in the country against terrorism. .....
In 2002, the spokesman for FBI
director Robert Mueller memorably described the American Muslim Council
(AMC) as the "the most mainstream Muslim group in the United States." A
year later, the Catholic bishops called the AMC "the premier, mainstream
Muslim group in Washington." .....
It started off as two innocent
sounding club-nights at different venues in Leicester that had been marketed
as the buzzword in music and dance - a night that the two different organisers,
Radia and R33CE, had hoped would have Leicester's Indian youth flocking
to it in droves. But instead, they had insults, threats and abuse hurled
at them in heaps. .....
A long-running feud between rival
factions at a Birmingham mosque is believed to be behind two murders, including
the fatal shooting of a 35-year- old man at a gym last week. .....
It has long been a staple of Islam
that Muslim martyrs will go to paradise and marry 72 black-eyed virgins.
But a growing body of rigorous scholarship on the Koran points to a less
sensual paradise - and, more important, may offer a step away from fundamentalism
and toward a reawakening of the Islamic world. .....
There was hardly any element of
surprise when the national media and television channels turned a blind
eye to the gruesome torching of Aadikanta Daliya, a Dalit and BJP worker,
in presence of his wife, children, villagers and the State police by the
CPl(M) workers in West Midnapore district of Bengal as narrated by S Gurumurthy
in his article, "Had Daliya not been a Hindu..." (Op-ed, July 12). .....
Even the Congress leaders are confused
by the method of working of PM Manmohan singh. He does not meet the political
leaders. He does not discuss on political matters nor he takes political
decisions. Parliament House was witnessing heated discussions for nearly
1 week. But Manmohan Singh was not ready to speak on this subject. He has
involved himself completely in meetings with officers and disposing of
the files. .....
If the kimono or chicken curry
eventually join the maple leaf, the hockey stick and the beaver as Canadian
icons, then so be it. Thus goes the thinking of multiculturalism, the official
doctrine of the government for nearly 50 years, and by now a value ingrained
on the broader society. .....
A city-based group of scientists
has staked claim to a major breakthrough in the treatment of leukemia,
or blood cancer The scientists, who are with the Indian Institute of Chemical
Biology (IICB), have identified a molecule in betel leaf (paan) which can
be effective in killing blood cancer cells. .....
Nearly everyone who either lived
through it or even experienced it tangentially has one interesting Emergency
story. Last week, as the ideological detoxification campaign moved to newer
heights, I was reminded of a conversation I overheard between two faculty
members in the corridors of Delhi University's arts faculty, some 29 years
ago. 'There is a problem in the Sanskrit department,' said one of them,
'most of the teachers have been arrested.' .....
The Indian Army claims to be confronting
a new problem along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir--teenaged
terrorists, some as young as 13 or 14, wielding sophisticated arms. .....
May 16: Four militants and a civilian
killed and two jawans injured in Kashmir. Two Pakistani militants and an
Army jawan killed in Rajouri.. Terrorists kill one civilian in Banihal.
.....
Plaid Cymru has strengthened its
links with Wales' Muslim community by campaigning for the provision
of halal food in the capital's schools. Councillors tabled a motion
at a Cardiff Council meeting calling for halal meals to be offered
to all the city's schoolchildren by January 2005. .....
Late Hiteswar Saikia, former Chief
Minister once declared that there were 30 lakh Bangladeshis in Assam, but
later on he withdrew his statement. Now Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi says
that there is not a single Bangladeshi in Assam. One day, we will be governed
by Bangladeshis. .....
Manmohan Singh confuses me completely.
Yes, I know he wears a trademark blue turban, is an economist par excellence,
speaks softly and wields a big stick. Oh yes, he's also the Prime Minister
of India. .....
While I see some limited evidence
of progress in the 9/11 Commissioner's understanding of the global jihad
we are facing, ultimately their report resorted to the same tired and ahistorical
canards that distort the mainstream tradition - indeed which are central
to Islam - of jihad war. .....
Deterioration in situation on the
ground in Kashmir of late, is a matter of serious concern. Violence
has increased manifold. It continues to take heavy toll of the civilians,
political activists and the security forces' personnel. The Deputy Chief
Minister had a miraculous escape when terrorists attacked him in the heart
of the city. .....
God may not hold board meetings,
but the boardroom is certainly seeking an audience. To optimise performance
by channelling their minds to a 'higher' level the corporate buzzword
has moved beyond the realms of brainstorming. Most are now seeking to satiate
a soul-search and looking for wisdom that only a guru can impart. .....
Barely five months ago, Congress
leaders alleged that the Vajpayee Government made former CBI director
P C Sharma a member of the National Human Rights Commission as a reward
for dropping conspiracy charges against L K Advani in the Ayodhya
case. The party would he eating its words now. .....
We are disheartened to read the
comments made by Ravi Zacharias on Hinduism and Buddhism during his interview
with Shakti Bhatt [India Abroad, June 25, 2004, A29]. His misrepresentations
of the essence and principles of these spiritual traditions reflect his
own ignorance and bigotry rather than any deficiency within Hinduism and
Buddhism. .....
As India nears its 57th year of
independence we ought to analyse as to how far India has been successful
in breaking itself free from the shackles of slavery. No doubt India has
made progress in some fields, we have been producing some of the finest
professionals who are employed in various countries around the world.
.....
When militants struck at a restaurant
in Pahalgam on June 12, the tourist industry in Jammu & Kashmir was
literally shell-shocked. It was hitherto believed that militants would
not do anything that would harm the industry, which is run by their own
kith and kin. But it was proved wrong. .....
The mastermind of the Bali bombings,
Imam Samudra, has issued a message to Australians saying he is a winner
following the blasts which killed 202 people. .....
The Commerce Ministry can throw
all the figures it wants at us about the export of software, textiles,
leather, gems & jewelry etc,. but I am beginning to wonder if somewhere
at top of the heap is a sector that defies numbers and nomenclature. .....
The word "Hindutva", etymologically
as also judicially construed by the Supreme Court, means Hinduism. Nevertheless,
it has been assigned the following pejorative meaning in the latest edition
of the Concise Oxford Dictionary: "A very strong sense of Hindu identity,
seeking the creation of a Hindu state." .....
The Home Office recently invited
a delegation from Hindu Council UK for a consultation on the oncoming legislation
for "Ministers of Religion from abroad". A persistent demand has been made
from all quarters to ensure that only qualified persons should be allowed
entry. .....
Religious rights campaigners, buoyed
by a UN call for an end to repression of minorities by majority religions,
today urged the world body to tackle persecution of ''apostates'' in Muslim
countries. .....
God may not hold board meetings,
but the boardroom is certainly seeking an audience. To optimise performance
by channelling their minds to a 'higher' level the corporate buzzword has
moved beyond the realms of brainstorming. Most are now seeking to satiate
a soul-search and looking for wisdom that only a guru can impart. .....
Barely five months ago, Congress
leaders alleged that the Vajpayee Government made former CBI director P
C Sharma a member of the National Human Rights Commission as a reward for
dropping conspiracy charges against L K Advani in the Ayodhya case. The
party would he eating its words now. .....
Deterioration in situation on the
ground in Kashmir of late, is a matter of serious concern. Violence
has increased manifold. It continues to take heavy toll of the civilians,
political activists and the security forces' personnel. The Deputy Chief
Minister had a miraculous escape when terrorists attacked him in the heart
of the city. .....
