This Months Article
This Months Article
Starting: Thu February
1, 2001
Ending: Wed February
28, 2001
Messages: 199
-
Lord, save us from
rumours Virtue of scepticism
-
T. V. R. Shenoy, The Indian Express,
February 1, 2001
>>> In 1934 the province of Bihar
was shaken by a giant earthquake that left thousands dead in its wake.
Mahatma Gandhi mused aloud that it was the judgement of Heaven for mistreatment
of Harijans. ......
-
Kashmir's freedom
will pave way for establishing Islam in Pak, says Lashkar
-
Prakash Pillai, The Hindustan Times,
February 2, 2001
>>> Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, the Islamic
militant outfit waging jihad in Kashmir says the freedom of Kashmir will
pave way for establishing Islam in Pakistan. ......
-
You gotta have faith,
funds, says Bush, omits Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists
-
Aziz Haniffa, India Abroad News,
February 2, 2001
>>> Resident George W. Bush's "faith-based
initiative", designed to allow religious charities and non- profit organizations
to compete for federal funding in the battle against the nation's social
programs, has drawn criticism from groups keen to keep the church and the
state separate. ......
-
Hindu nationalists
mobilize for quake relief
-
Chris Tomlinson, The Associated
Press, February 2, 2001
>>> Saffron scarves flung around
their necks and pickaxes and shovels slung over their shoulders, the Hindu
nationalist volunteers walk the streets of Bhuj, collecting the dead. ......
-
Muslim cleric says
quake caused by govt. oppression
-
Kavita Bajeli-Datt, India Abroad
News, February 2, 2001
>>> A prominent Muslim cleric has
hit out at the Vajpayee government, saying its "oppression of poor and
minorities" were causing calamities in India. ......
-
An Uncultured Media
-
Editorial, The Navhind Times, February
2, 2001
>>> The Controversy over the media
coverage of the Maha Kumbh mela continues. The conflict is
between two streams of thought, one saying the media should be prohibited
from covering scenes of mass bathing at the sangam, the other saying the
media has the right to cover them, like it has the right to cover other
events. ......
-
Peel schools extend
helping hand to India's earthquake victims
-
Canada News Wire, February 2, 2001
>>> Peel District School Board
schools and locations are reaching out to help the tens of thousands of
children and families affected by the earthquake in Gujarat, India. To
help the people of India begin to rebuild their lives, board has declared
Friday, Feb. 9 as Helping Hands-India Earthquake Relief Day. ......
-
President of U.S.
Academy of Religion is Hindu
-
Sonia Chopra, Rediff on Net (US
Edition), February 3, 2001
>>> Vasudha Narayanan grew up in
conservative Madras where religion, culture, tradition, history, philosophy
and temples formed the backdrop of her environment. ......
-
Quake's stoic heroes
also feared as fascists
-
John Stackhouse, Globe and Mail,
February 3, 2001
>>> In the depths of crisis, India's
stoic men in khaki emerge, their discipline as famous as their uniforms,
their reputation as sure, they believe, as their nation's. ......
-
Silicon Valley groups
to raise $25 million for quake victims
-
Rediff on Net, February 3, 2001
>>> More than 25 Silicon Valley
organisations have joined hands to raise $25 million for the Gujarat earthquake
victims. ......
-
What next in Kashmir?
-
Editorial, Dawn, February 3, 2001
>>> The Indian government's decision
to withdraw some of its troops and heavy equipment from the Line of Control
in Kashmir is encouraging. The lowering of the militarization level in
a conflict-ridden region always proves beneficial for peace. ......
-
Gunmen Shoot Six
Sikhs in India's Kashmir State
-
Qaiser Mirza, The Associated Press,
February 4, 2001
>>> Gunmen killed six people in
a drive-by shooting and injured five others in India's violence-wracked
Kashmir state, police said Sunday. The attack took place late Saturday
in downtown Shrinagar as the victims were returning home from work, said
police officer Ghulam Hasan Bhatt. ......
-
Mother Tells of Ordeal
as a "Sex Slave" for NATO Soldiers
-
Moldavian, Zenit.org, February 4,
2001
>>> For Anna, a 28-year-old Moldavian
mother, a promise of work in Italy turned out to be the start of a nightmare.
......
-
Killer quake breathes
life into 'mythical' Saraswati river
-
Ravi S. Jha, www.thenewspapertoday.com,
February 5, 2001
>>> The Saraswati river -- the
missing third link in Allahabad's Sangam -- is making a sudden, pleasant
appearance in quake-injured Gujarat. Scientists say shifting of tectonic
plates in the Allah Bund fault area has led to a geographical osmosis
in the Rann of Kutch area, pushing the hitherto mythical Saraswati
over-ground in surprise spurts. ......
-
Indonesian Christians
forced into Islamic faith
-
Alex Spillius, The Telegraph, February
5, 2001
>>> The religious strife in the
Spice Islands has extended to the violent conversion of local Christians,
followed by involuntary and unanaesthetised circumcisions. Thomas Rusin,
a Roman Catholic villager, was given his new name - Hasim - at gunpoint
by a mob in a mosque. ......
-
Inside Jihad
-
Ghulam Hasnain, www.time.com, February
5, 2001
>>> Four bearded militants warm
themselves at a gas heater in an Islamabad safe house. A wireless set suddenly
crackles. "Our boys have entered Srinagar Airport," a grave, distant-sounding
voice announces. ......
-
Sikh body blames
India for Srinagar killings
-
www.jang.com, February 5, 2001
>>> The Indian government cannot
deceive the world conscience by blaming mujahideen for the killing of
eight Sikhs in Held Kashmir and the time is not far when songs of independence
would echo in Khalistan and Kashmir. These views were expressed by Chief
of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) Wadhawa Singh Babbar in a statement
issued from London on Sunday. ......
-
Verdict Signals Christian
Blood Is Cheap, Copt Warns
-
Zenit.org, February 5, 2001
>>> Muslims are now "encouraged
to kill Christians" in Egypt after a court this week acquitted most of
those accused of massacring Christians in January last year, a leading
Coptic cleric charged. ......
-
Vitriol from the
viceregal lodge of yore
-
Arvind Lavakare, Rediff on Net,
February 6, 2001
>>> Congressman K R Narayanan,
alias President of India, has been at his favourite pastime yet again --
hurling vitriolic barbs at the BJP-led coalition in the capital. ......
-
Vajpayee is a moderate:
Musharraf
-
Rediff on Net, February 6, 2001
>>> Describing Atal Bihari Vajpayee
as a moderate surrounded by hawks, Pakistan military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf
said he was prepared to invite the Indian prime minister to Islamabad in
a bid to resolve the Kashmir issue. ......
-
Two men and a ray
of hope
-
Wilson John, The Pioneer, February
7, 2001
>>> There are two men in the Vajpayee
government who stand apart for their stature, their initiative and integrity.
Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes.
......
-
Hurriyat's real face:
`Kashmir part of Pak'
-
Rahul Datta, The Daily Pioneer,
February 7, 2001
>>> The Centre's peace initiative
in Kashmir means nothing to the Hurriyat Conference hardliners and
one of its key members, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, telephonically addressed
a gathering of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) at Muridke near Lahore on
Monday. ......
-
'Dead bodies will
be returned if cricket team visits Pak.'
-
B. Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu,
February 7, 2001
>>> The Pakistan Chief Executive,
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, might have been sober in his speech
at Muzaffarabad on the occasion of `Kashmir Solidarity Day'
on Monday but militant organisations had a free run in their anti-India
tirade. ......
-
Press Release - Vishwa
Hindu Parishad, Gujrat
-
February 7, 2001
>>> Strongly objecting to the wild
allegations that Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers hijacked trucks carrying
relief materials, which appeared in the Indian Express and the Hindu, VHP
has decided to file defamation suits against both the publications. ......
-
US Senator questions
India sanctions regime
-
Agence France-Presse, February 7,
2001
>>> Influential US Senator John
Kerry on Wednesday added his voice to mounting calls for a review of US-led
sanctions on India, imposed after it conducted nuclear weapons tests in
1998. ......
-
Indian Embassy in
US receives quake contributions
-
The Hindu, February 8, 2001
>>> The Indian Embassy in Washington
and office of the Consul General, New York, have received a sum of $300,000
from both Americans and Indian-Americans for the Gujarat Earthquake Relief
Fund, Anil Choudhry, Minister, Community Affairs, said here today. ......
-
Dhaka pressed on
anti-Hindu law
-
Zubair Ahmed, BBC News, February
8, 2001
>>> Bangladesh has drafted a bill
to repeal a controversial 30-year-old law which enabled the state
to seize the property left behind by Indians. ......
-
Why is being a good
Hindu politically incorrect in secular India?
-
Pritish Nandy, Rediff on Net, February
8, 2001
>>> Last week I wrote about the
inaugural address by the new American President George W Bush and how he
referred in it, again and again, to God, the Bible and Christian values.
......
-
Sikh migration looms
large in the Valley
-
The Indian Express, February 8,
2001
>>> The central team that made
an assessment of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake
of massacre of six Sikhs on Feburary four has conveyed to Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee that the community would migrate from the state if
foolproof security was not provided to them. ......
-
Sharon demands Palestinians
halt `terror'
-
The Times of India, February 9,
2001
>>> A powerful car bomb exploded
in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem on Thursday, sending
tremors through Israel just two days after right-wing leader Ariel Sharon
was elected prime minister. ......
-
Bush advised to stay
away from Kashmir
-
The Hindustan Times, February 9,
2001
>>> A leading conservative think-tank
has advised the Bush administration not to get involved in the Kashmir
issue between India and Pakistan or attempt to mediate in the dispute.
......
-
What should we do
with China?
-
M V Kamath, The Free Press Journal,
February 1, 2001
>>> Li Peng, considered the second
most important man in China has come and gone making some right noises.
In all he spent nine days in the country. The belief is that he would not
have wasted nine long days in India if, in the end, he had nothing to offer
to India or get from India. ......
-
Advani sets a sterling
example
-
Deepak Sharma, The Pioneer, February
3, 2001
>>> He did not utter a word against
anybody. But he realised what had gone wrong and what had to be done. Unprecedented
destruction needs unprecedented attention. No wonder he rushed to Gujarat
for the third time within five days after the quake rocked the State. ......
-
'Everyone was working
for a common humanitarian cause' (Interview)
-
Swati Sucharita, The Times of India,
February 4, 2001
>>> Dr Hasmukh Vora, a gastroenterologist
surgeon attached to V. S. General Hospital in Ahmedabad, has just returned
from a relief camp set up by the Ahmedabad-based Adani Trust in Bhuj and
Bhachau. Dr Vora, who led a medical team there, also has the Latur experience
behind him. ......
-
'Govt should look
at credit lending, not charity for the quake victims' (Interview)
-
Pamela Philipose, The Indian Express,
February 5, 2001
>>> It has been called Bangladesh's
most successful export - the idea of a "grameen bank". For Muhammad Yunus,
60, founder of the original Grameen Bank, which after 26 years of existence
lends to some 2.4 million people - 94 per cent of whom are women - sees
credit as a basic human right and believes microcredit has the potential
of unleashing the creativity of people who are otherwise left out of the
loop. ......
-
Tale of Two States
-
Editorial, The Times of India, February
5, 2001
>>> The silver lining to the death
and destruction visited upon Gujarat is surety the electrifying response
to the tragedy. For evidence, just look at the juxtaposition of both aspects
on television channels and in newspaper reports. For every image of untold
devastation, there's been an equally potent opposite: Hope has indeed followed
in the footsteps of despair. ......
-
Round and about
-
Busybee, Afternoon Despatch &
Courier, February 5, 2001
>>> Last night, on Star News you
must have seen a foreigner, a member of one of the rescue reams, paying
handsome tributes to the people of Gujarat. ......
-
Musharraf pledges
support for Kashmiri militants
-
The Times of India, February 5,
2001
>>> Military ruler General Pervez
Musharraf on Monday renewed support for Kashmiris as Pakistan observed
a day of solidarity for the 12-year-old Muslim separatist campaign in Kashmir.
......
-
Dhaka pressed on
anti-Hindu law
-
Zubair Ahmed, BBC News, February
8, 2001
>>> Bangladesh has drafted a bill
to repeal a controversial 30-year-old law which enabled the state to seize
the property left behind by Indians. ......
-
A fragile ceasefire
frays more
-
Ashwani Talwar, The Times of India,
February 8, 2001
>>> It was always a fragile ceasefire.
The militants never accepted it and the security forces were increasingly
interpreting it the way it suited them. The gunning down of six Sikhs right
in the state capital has not made things any better. ......
-
Lessons at the Maha
Kumbh
-
Rajiv Chandran, The Indian Express,
February 8, 2001
>>> Visiting the Maha Kumbh Mela
definitely rates as one of the most profound experiences for my dancer-wife
Geeta and yours truly. To behold the throbbing energy and fervour of millions
of common people who had trudged on foot from their distant villages, propelled
merely by faith, was astounding. ......
-
Kaiser Doctor Joins
Rescue Mission in Bhuj
-
Viji Sundram, India West, February
9, 2001
>>> When Dr. Mihir Meghani trained
a couple of years ago in disaster medical relief, he didn't dream that
he would be providing it in a town that had been leveled by a powerful
earthquake. ......
-
Catholic RSS (letter)
-
M G Vaidya, The Times of India,
February 9, 2001
>>> This is with reference to the
editorial, 'Political Aftershocks' (Feb 2 (sic)), in which you have said
that "there are, however, unconfirmed reports from Gujarat that the ideological
bias of the RSS towards certain communities and castes is already evident
in the task of providing relief." Although this assertion is indicative
of the usual anti-RSS proclivity, we have been hurt by it. ......
-
In self-destruct
mode
-
Saeed Naqvi, The Indian Express,
February 9, 2001
>>> Just when New Delhi is contemplating
its response on Pakistan, comes the latest assessment by Standard and Poor,
placing Pakistan so far down in sovereign ratings as to be a cause for
general concern. ......
-
UN agencies praise
Gujarat for quake relief support
-
The Navhind Times, February 10,
2001
>>> The beleaguered Gujarat government
has finally something to cheer about with several international agencies
praising it for the support they received in alleviating the misery and
sufferings of those affected by the January 26 earthquake. ......
-
Bhujbal friend &
prime suspect in riots held
-
The Indian Express, February 10,
2001
>>> Shaikh Salim Abbas, who is
an associate of deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and a member of the
local peace committee, has been arrested by the police as the prime suspect
behind the recent riots in Nashik city. ......
-
Enough of ceasefire
in Kashmir - Focus needs to be shifted to the people
-
P. C. Dogra, www.tribuneindia.com,
February 10, 2001
>>> We are going through the third
month of ceasefire. It has been a very bold step. It sent the right signal
to the people of Kashmir and the rest of the world about the sincerity
of the Indian nation on finding an amicable solution to the Kashmir problem.
......
-
Hurriyat to open
four overseas offices
-
The Times of India, February 11,
2001
>>> The Hurriyat Conference would
soon be setting up four new offices abroad as part of its programme to
create awareness about the Kashmir issue, former chairman of the conglomerate
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said here Sunday. ......
-
Born in Georgia,
killed in Persia, found in Goa
-
Meenakshi Rao, The Pioneer, February
11, 2001
>>> She was the Queen of Georgia
in difficult times; she was the prisoner of the Shah of Persia in an even
more volatile era; she was publicly executed in Persia after she refused
to convert to Islam; a devout Christian, she was bestowed sainthood by
the Pope way back in the 17th century. ......
-
So many Pakistans
-
Dileep Padgaonkar, The Times of
India, February 11, 2001
>>> Not even the most hardened
cynic could have failed to warm up to the scene. Here was a group of Pakistanis,
most of them barely out of their teens, chatting with a few Indian journalists
for well over an hour. ......
-
Should Vajpayee invite
Musharraf for talks? (Part - I)
-
Ayaz Amir, The Times of India, February
11, 2001
>>> The ball is in India's court
for once that cliche is a guide to clear thinking. It is for India to decide
whether it wants to remain stuck in a time warp or whether it wants to
inject some movement into a frozen situation. ......
-
Should Vajpayee invite
Musharraf for talks? (Part - II)
-
K R. Malkani, The Times of India,
February 11, 2001
>>> We have been discussing Kashmir
off and on for half-a-century without any result. There is no point in
heads of government meeting, re-stating their old positions, finding the
gulf unbridgeable and then going home, sadder and no wiser. Summit meetings
raise hopes, and when these expectations are stymied, there is recriminations
and matters get worse. ......
-
J&K militants
step up heat; use ceasefire to regroup
-
The Times of India, The Times of
India, February 12, 2001
>>> Militants attacked the house
of Jammu and Kashmir law minister P L Handoo in Anantnag on Saturday, a
day after 15 people were burnt alive in Rajouri district, even as there
were reports that militants were taking advantage of the ceasefire to regroup
and arm themselves with new weapons. ......
-
India refuses visas
for Afghan Hindus in Germany
-
The Navhind Times, February 12,
2001
>>> Hindu refugees fleeing religious
fanaticism and the civil war in Afghanistan may have found shelter in Germany,
but they have complained of extreme difficulties in securing visas to India.
......
-
India wary as China
steps over the thin red line
-
Rahul Datta, The Pioneer, February
12, 2001
>>> The army has expressed serious
concern over Chinese intrusions in the no man's land and de-militarised
zone in the Ladakh sector and construction of all-weather roads there.
......
-
Sikhs appeal to Muslim
separatists for protection in Kashmir
-
Agence France-Presse, February 12,
2001
>>> Prominent Indian Sikh leaders
appealed to Muslim separatist groups Monday to protect their community
in India's troubled Kashmir region following a massacre. ......
-
Residents chip in
for temple renovation
-
www.indiatimes.com, February 12,
2001
>>> The residents of Heravanadu,
Avandoor and Bettageri on Tuesday contributed their bit to the restoration
of a Shiva temple, which was explored recently. ......
-
Advani denies disparity
in distribution of relief goods
-
The Economic Times, February 12,
2001
>>> Union home minister L K Advani
on Sunday asserted that there was no discrimination in distribution of
relief material to the earthquake victims in Gujarat. ......
-
EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH:
Indians reach out to help homeland
-
Glenn Puit, The Las Vegas Review-Journal,
February 12, 2001
>>> Dr. Nutan Parikh is nearly
8,000 miles away from his native India, but he hasn't forgotten about those
he left behind in 1983. ......
-
Khatami warns hardliners
-
BBC News, February 13, 2001
>>> Iran's reformist President
Mohammad Khatami has issued a tough warning to conservative forces in country,
saying that security could get out of control if the people were deceived.
......
-
Vietnam Assails U.S.
Hearings on Religion - Calls It "Gross Interference"
-
Zenit.org, February 13, 2001
>>> Vietnam said that deliberate
attempts were being made to undermine rapprochement with the United States,
ahead of U.S. hearings on religious freedom in this Southeast Asian country,
BBC reported today. ......
-
Tears for fears -
Saisuresh Sivaswamy
-
Rediff on Net, February 13, 2001
>>> Cartoonists, if you stop to
think about it, are the essence of any publication. If a picture spoke
a thousand words, a good cartoon speaks much more than 1,000-odd word commentaries
we pen-pushers routinely churn out. R K Laxman, in my opinion, says in
that little cubicle on the front page of The Times of India much more than
what that paper's entire edit page does. ......
-
Militants killed
242 people after ceasefire in Indian Kashmir
-
Agence France-Presse, February 14,
2001
>>> Militants killed 242 people
in restive Indian Kashmir during the period of a unilateral ceasefire declared
by New Delhi, a state official said Wednesday. ......
-
China aiding Pak
produce nukes
-
Rahul Datta, The Pioneer, February
14, 2001
>>> China is actively helping Pakistan
to produce weapons grade Plutonium from spent fuel despite assurances to
the United States of America that it would desist from supplying nuclear
weapon technology to a third country. ......
-
'No community can
live in isolation'
-
Cyril D'Cunha, The Times of India,
February 15, 2001
>>> With `sons of the soil' demanding
a share in the pie of government set-up, the question of identity in terms
of religion, language and tradition becomes all too crucial. ......
-
Rehabilitation Projects
-
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gujarat Pradesh,
Bhukamp Sahayata Samiti
>>> Blueprint of Rehabilitation
Projects in the Quake-affected Areas of Gujarat ......
-
Rehabilitation Projects
-
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gujarat Pradesh,
Bhukamp Sahayata Samiti
>>> Blueprint of Rehabilitation
Projects in the Quake-affected Areas of Gujarat ......
-
Qur'an: A Work of
Multiple Hands?
-
Denis Giron, www.infidels.org
>>> [The Qur'an] is strikingly
lacking in overall structure, frequently obscure and inconsequential in
both language and content, perfunctory in its linking of disparate materials,
and given to the repetition of whole passages in variant versions. ......
-
Statement by Shri
Mohan Bhagwat, General Secretary, R.S.S
-
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, New
Delhi 110055
>>> The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
takes a very serious view of the cold blooded murder of four of its workers
on Saturday, 10th February, 2001, at Sonakhali village under Basand police
station in South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. ......
-
Top journalists receive
tips on coverage from Dalai Lama
-
Audrey Ronning Topping, Earth Times
News Service, February 2001
>>> The Dalai Lama has offered
some unique advice to leading members of the world media: "Journalists
should have a long nose, an elephant's nose, so you can sniff all around,
above and below. You should investigate with a sincere motivation. You
should investigate everyone, even me!" ......
-
Testing political
waters
-
Seshadri Chari, Organiser, February
4, 2001
>>> The Kumbh mela is no ordinary
event. The Mahakumbh certainly is not. Needless to say, it has turned out
to be the major event in the beginning of the millennium. Besides, being
the first in the new millennium, this Mahakumbh is occurring after one
hundred and forty four years. ......
-
A futile controversy
-
Shyam Khosla, Organiser, February
4, 2001
>>> Separatist elements among the
Sikhs and the Communists, who are always on the look out for a half a chance
to spread venom and cause disharmony among Punjabis, have raised a totally
unwarranted and futile controversy about Sikh identity. ......
-
'I'd rather risk
death by opening my shop than beg'
-
Rediff on Net, February 5, 2001
>>> The roof could come crashing
down on Mukesh Shah's head at any moment, but the Indian businessman says
he would rather risk death by opening his shop in the quake-hit Indian
town of Bhuj than beg on the streets. ......
-
Taliban fighters
'massacre 300 Shia Muslims'
-
Ahmed Rashid, The Telegraph, February
7, 2001
>>> At least 300 people were massacred
by Taliban forces last month when they re-took a remote area in central
Afghanistan inhabited by Shia Muslim Afghans who are opposed to the Sunni
Taliban, United Nations officials fear. ......
-
Senator Urges New
Course With India
-
J.M. Shenoy, Rediff on Net (US,
Edition), February 13, 2001
>>> The problems that America has
with China should hasten the creation of a closer relationship with India,
a powerful Republican senator said as he made a passionate plea for "across-the-board"
close relations between New Delhi and Washington. ......
-
Bengal: Escape into
magical realism
-
Premen Addy, Business Line, February
13, 2001
>>> ``I have seen the future and
it works,'' is the remark attributed to an enthusiastic visitor to the
Soviet Union in the 1920s. A few years later, Sydney and Beatrice Webb
described the USSR as a ``new civilisation''. ......
-
Countering militancy
-
Editorial, Dawn, February 14, 2001
>>> The government's decision to
ban the collection of funds by jihadi organizations is a step that has
been long overdue. One only hopes that the government is aware of the enormity
of the task that confronts it, given the religious parties' assertive spirit
and organizational strength. ......
-
Thackeray wants Pakistan,
India to 'live and let live'
-
Nusrat Javeed, www.jung.com.pk,
February 15, 2001
>>> Defying his venom-spitting
reputation, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has proposed a "live and let
live" policy to Pakistan. "Our problems can only be addressed if the two
countries realise that "enough is enough and time has come to live and
let live," Thackeray told at his high-security residence. ......
-
If detecting criminals
violates the ceasefire, we can't help it'
-
The Indian Express, February 15,
2001
>>> The Jammu and Kashmir police
have been under fire for the past five weeks for alleged custodial killings
and violation of the unilateral ceasefire. In fact, the police's counter-insurgency
wing, the Special Operation Group, is being singled out as the public enemy
No 1. Director General of Police Ashok Kumar Suri, who took charge in November
last year, tried to clear the air withNAZIR MASOODI. ......
-
Why ban Basant festivities?
-
Editorial, Dawn, February 15, 2001
>>> The Karachi administration
has banned the celebration of Basant in District South, thereby effectively
prohibiting all major hotels and exclusive clubs from organizing any events
to mark the advent of spring. ......
-
Kashmir: dangers
and prospects
-
Prof. Khurshid Ahmad, Dawn, February
15, 2001
>>> The Kashmir movement has entered
a critical and decisive phase. It is, therefore, imperative to analyze
the current situation in the light of global trends, twists and turns of
diplomacy and conditions prevailing in the country; and to identify the
dangers facing Pakistan and the Kashmir movement. ......
-
Pakistan changes
Kashmir tack
-
Alexander Evans, BBC News, February
16, 2001
>>> Pakistan has signalled a subtle
shift in its Kashmir policy, moving away from a position that has held
for over 50 years. ......
-
Tackling the culture
of jihad
-
The Guardian, February 16, 2001
>>> Pakistan's military regime
has earned the wrath of the country's religious militants by warning that
it will crack down on their fund raising and the widespread use of illegal
weapons. ......
-
Malaysian clerics
rant against Bollywood
-
The Times of India, February 16,
2001
>>> A national body of Muslim clerics
has urged the Malaysian government to limit television airtime for Indian-made
Hindi movies because they promote "immoral values," news reports said on
Thursday. ......
-
Chargesheet against
Bukhari soon, says Delhi govt
-
The Times of India, February 16,
2001
>>> Chargesheet against former
Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Abdullah Bukhari in a sedition case for
allegedly making anti-national speech will be filed soon as investigation
has been completed, the Delhi High Court was informed on Friday. ......
-
Intelligence agencies
apprehensive about security as relief pours in
-
Ajay Kaul, Rediff on Net, February
16, 2001
>>> As relief supplies continue
to pour into quake-devastated Kutch, intelligence agencies fear that some
anti-national elements may also enter this sensitive border area, which
may be detrimental to the national security. ......
-
Rattling our cage
-
Irfan Husain, Dawn, February 17,
2001
>>> Rattle the gorilla's cage and
watch it explode with fury, shaking its enclosure but unable to reach its
tormentor. Rattle it harder and the beast will beat its chest in rage,
hurting only itself. ......
-
Clinton mobilising
relief for Gujarat
-
The Times of India, February 17,
2001
>>> Former US president Bill Clinton
has agreed to serve on the board of the American Indian Foundation (AIF)
formed by prominent US-based Indians here to render relief to quake-hit
victims of Gujarat by adopting villages. ......
-
Zero-Tolerance Islam
in Northern Nigeria
-
Zenit.org, February 17, 2001
>>> The introduction of Islamic
law, or Shariah, in many of the northern states of Nigeria is making life
difficult for Christians. ......
-
Trigger Happy: Arms
Sales fall, but not in third World
-
Zenit.org, February 17, 2001
>>> Arms exports have been declining
since the end of the Cold War, but the Third World is buying a bigger share
of the weapons. ......
-
Hizb threatens to
target families of Indian troops
-
The Times of India, February 17,
2001
>>> The Hizbul Mujahideen has threatened
Saturday to target families of Indian troops in retaliation for the deaths
of civilians. ......
-
British Muslims 'fear'
new terrorism law
-
Naresh Puri, BBC News, February
19, 2001
>>> The legislation bans fundraising
and support for groups deemed terrorists and British citizens who incite
terrorist activities abroad could now face arrest. ......
-
Kabul agrees to extradite
Osama to Saudi Arabia
-
Rauf Klasra, Dawn, February 19,
2001
>>> Afghanistan has agreed to extradite
Osama bin Laden to his home country Saudi Arabia for trial on charges of
terrorism, Dawn learnt from authoritative sources here on Sunday. ......
-
What are Islamic
fundamentalists doing in porn sites? The CIA tells you...
-
Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, The Hindustan
Times, February 19, 2001
>>> Now we know how jehadis get
their kicks. CIA chief George Tenet let it out of the brown paper bag during
a session with US Senators. Osama bin Laden and other Islamicists, it seems,
use cyberporn to send messages secure from Western intelligence's peeping
Toms. ......
-
NLFT kills four RSS
activists
-
Nitin Gogoi, Rediff on Net, February
19, 2001
>>> The banned National Liberation
Front of Tripura has killed four Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks
it had held captive since August 1999. ......
-
Pakistani Journalists
May Face Death for Publishing Letter
-
Barry Bearak, New York Times, February
19, 2001
>>> That calamitous night, the
editor left in charge of the newspaper's letters page was a heroin addict,
just a few days out of detox. ......
-
Islamic sympathisers
targeted by new law
-
Sky News, February 19, 2001
>>> New anti-terror laws come into
effect on Monday, which could be used to target groups using Britain as
a base for terrorist acts. ......
-
RSS for negotiated
settlement to Ayodhya tangle
-
PTI, The Hindu, February 20, 2001
>>> The RSS today said it preferred
a negotiated settlement to the Ayodhya tangle even as it indicated that
Kashi and Mathura continued to be on the Sangh Parivar agenda. ......
-
It's anger for some,
adventure for others and headache for poliice
-
Muzamil Jaleel, The Indian Express,
February 20, 2001
>>> They are not trained militants,
they don't carry Kalashnikovs but the police and security forces find it
difficult to tackle them. They are the children of the Valley, who have
taken to the streets grabbing the easiest available weapon -- stones. ......
-
Shivaji dominates
Agra Fort now
-
Deepak Sharma, The Pioneer, February
20, 2001
>>> It was yet another historic
moment. One that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb would have never thought of.
After 335 years, a grand and imposing statue of Shivaji was installed just
in front of the Red Fort, Agra where Chatrapati Shivaji was once imprisoned
by Mughal monarch. And guess who unveiled the statue? None other than the
Union Home Minister L K Advani. ......
-
Bush's Call to Church
Groups to Get Untraditional Replies
-
Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times,
February 20, 2001
>>> After eight years in prison,
Joseph Fabio now lives in a halfway house next to a funeral home here,
where counselors have helped him steer clear of drugs, find a job in a
gas station and contain the uncontrollable anger that earned him a murder
sentence at age 18. ......
-
An Unprecedented
Pitch to Italian Political Leaders
-
Zenit.org, February 20, 2001
>>> The Vatican has begun an unprecedented
series of meetings with leaders of all political parties to express the
concerns of the Catholic electorate. ......
-
An Unprecedented
Pitch to Italian Political Leaders
-
Zenit.org, February 20, 2001
>>> The Vatican has begun an unprecedented
series of meetings with leaders of all political parties to express the
concerns of the Catholic electorate. ......
-
Pakistan pins hopes
on US intervention: Nuclear fuel for India
-
Dawn, February 20, 2001
>>> Pakistani diplomats here hope
that the Bush administration will seriously pursue the issue of nuclear
fuel supplies to India by the Russian Federation that was underlined by
the State Department last week. ......
-
Vinod Khanna chips
in to build a 'commune'
-
Kingshuk Nag, Times of India, February
21, 2001
>>> Usually a lot of hype surrounds
the activities of filmstars, even if it involves raising funds for charity.
But here is film star-turned-politician Vinod Khanna in Gandhidham, busy
setting up a `commune' for the quake-affected, and nobody other than the
locals knows anything about it. ......
-
Who is Hindu?
-
Rakesh Bhatnagar, www.indiatime.com,
February 21, 2001
>>> Though the terms "Hindu" ,
"Hinduism" and of course, "Hindutva" have assumed significance in the current
socio-political set up, it however remained a crucial proposition for the
Supreme Court to define it in a manner to suit the various laws governing
the community. ......
-
Muslims threaten
to topple Trinidad government
-
The Jang, February 21, 2001
>>> Port of Spain, Trinidad - The
leader of a radical Muslim group which tried in 1990 to overthrow Trinidad
and Tobago's government said his group is poised to launch another coup.
......
-
Ceasing to impress
-
Anil Narendra, The Pioneer, February
21, 2001
>>> The "moderates" may be calling
the Jammu & Kashmir ceasefire an Indian victory. They may be trying
to convince the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that Pakistan
stands isolated, and that the day may not be far when General Pervez Musharraf
will fall on his knees and beg him for a settlement of the Kashmir problem.
......
-
Chinese Uighur militants
killed in Kashmir: Report
-
The Times of India, February 21,
2001
>>> Indian troops shot dead four
Uighur militants from China's northwestern Xinjiang province in Kashmir
last month, media reported on Wednesday. ......
-
And now, Chinese
jehadis
-
Shishir Gupta, The Hindustan Times,
February 21, 2001
>>> India and China now seem to
have a common enemy: Islamic fundamentalism. In the third week of January,
the Indian armed forces gunned down four mercenaries in the Rajouri sector
of Jammu and Kashmir. The odd thing was the militants had mongoloid features.
......
-
5,000-year-old Harappan
site razed
-
Hitarth Pandya, The Asian Age, February
1, 2001
>>> The 5,000-year-dld Harappan
site near Dholavira in Gujarat has been totally destroyed in the earthquake,
There is no news about the fate of five Bhuj sub-circle officials of the
Archaeological Survey of India, who were posted at the site. ......
-
Round and about
-
Afternoon Despatch & Courier,
February 5, 2001
>>> Last night, on Star News you
must have seen a foreigner, a member of one of the rescue reams, paying
handsome tributes to the people of Gujarat. ......
-
Musharraf under
pressure from Pakistan's Islamists: analysts
-
The Free Press Journal, February
5, 2001
>>> As angry mobs of religious
students set fire to a popular cinema in the northwestern Pakistani city
of Peshawar last week, many observers saw more than just a thriving business
going up in smoke, reports AFP. ......
-
Operation Bhuj!
-
Afternoon Despatch & Courier,
February 5, 2001
>>> I've experienced earthquakes
before in Israel, Mexico and California... but none so severe! Friday,
January 26, I was lazing in bed, when the various bells in my 22nd-floor
apartment on Peddar Road started tinkling. ......
-
Essentially secular
-
Editorial, The Asian Age, February
6, 2001
>>> Hope was regenerated from death
and decay, from the stink of rotting bodies amidst the rubble in Gujarat.
Communal hostilities were buried in the tragedy and humanity was given
a chance yet again to establish its supremacy. ......
-
Our seismologists
venture where Japanese fear to tread
-
A.K.R. Hemmady, Organiser, February
11, 2001
>>> Indian seismologists undeterred
by a woeful lack of supporting data due mainly to inadequate scientific
where withals, not only go ahead to predict earthquakes but also draw rather
profound statistical conclusions. ......
-
CPM atrocities against
Muslims continue
-
S. Chandrasekhar, Organiser, February
11, 2001
>>> The CPM's claim of being the
sole saviour of the minorities received a strong blow with the reports
of violence and destruction let loose by their goons on Muslim pockets
of Kozhikkode district like Nadapuram and the nearby areas coming out.
......
-
The birth of Jesus
- A Legend
-
Fr. Nettiyadan, Organiser, February
11, 2001
>>> Christian religious tradition
is not necessarily scientific or rational. The ongoing battle between science
and religion cannot be missed. The rejection of the authority of the Church
was necessary for the development of science. ......
-
Remarks uncalled
for
-
Shyam Khosla, Organiser, February
11, 2001
>>> It is no surprise that President
K.R. Narayanan's stringent criticism of the "consultation papers" released
by the Constitution Review Commission and his totally unwarranted comparison
of the proposal to introduce "indirect" elections to President Ayub Khan's
discredited concept of "Basic democracy" has kicked up a big row. ......
-
RSS meet at Muslim
area in Delhi creates tension
-
The Asian Age, February 15, 2001
>>> Tension gripped the Muslim-dominated
Khajurikhas area of northeast district on Tuesday morning following the
RSS insistence on holding its shakha meeting at the Ram Lila Grounds. However,
the Delhi police claimed that the situation was under control. ......
-
UK diagnosis of
Ayurveda leaves India with hiccups
-
Sanchita Sharma, The Indian Express,
February 15, 2001
>>> India House in London is seething
over what is seen as a big snub to Indian medicine by Britain. The House
of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, in its sixth report,
recently dismissed ayurveda as "unscientific". ......
-
Syed clarifies!
-
Syed Shahbuddin, BJP Today, February
16-28, 2001
>>> Apropos Shri T.R. Gopalan's
letter in your issue of December 16-31, 2000) asking me to clarify my thoughts,
I must try to remove his confusion. ......
-
Battle concrete
- Army plays a hero's role
-
B. Krishnakumar, The Week, February
18, 2001
>>> On February 4, a team from
the 12 Engineering Regiment was at work in Bhuj struggling to pull down
a five-storey building that seemed to be leaning on thin air. Implosion
was not feasible given its precarious tilt. ......
-
Acts of living and
survival
-
Shobha De, The Week, February 18,
2001
>>> The story of the devastating
earthquake in Gujarat is the story of women. Those who survived it. And
those who are now putting their shattered homes and lives together. ......
-
In Kutch, Muslims
prefer relief provided by VHP
-
Milind Ghatwal, The Indian Express,
February 20, 2001
>>> The Muslim clergy in Kutch
have boycotted the Ahmediyas, a Pak-based Muslim group, asking its members
not to accept any relief from the latter. Muslims do not recognise
the Ahmediya sect and accuse it of blasphemy. ......
-
Gurudaspur lends
a helping hand to Gandhidham
-
D V Maheshwari, The Indian Express,
February 20, 2001
>>> If you are a quake-hit person
with no roof over your head and in search of a decent shelter, then the
one set up by the people of Gurudaspur, Punjab, at the port-town of Gandhidham
under the supervision of film actor Vinod Khanna is not a bad place to
live in. ......
-
'Wrong policies'
prompt top Bengal CPM leader to quit
-
Santanu Banerjee, The Indian Express,
February 21, 2001
>>> Close on the heels of the expulsion
of rebel leader Saifuddin Chowdhury and the ensuing ruckus in the party,
yet another party leader, this time South 24.-Paraganas district committee
secretary, Samir Putatunda, has quit saying the "widening ideological cleavage
had become unbridgeable." ......
-
No commitment made
to re-build mosque: Rao
-
The Navhind Times, February 21,
2001
>>> The former prime minister,
Mr. P V Narasimha Rao, on Tuesday told the Justice Liberhan Commission
of inquiry that there was no commitment from his government to re-build
the Babri mosque demolished in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 on the same
place. ......
-
An involved mindset
-
J. N. Dixit, The Indian Express,
February 21, 2001
>>> I visited Pakistan late January
last to participate in a conference in which the Islamabad Policy Research
Institute and the Delhi Policy Group on Nuclear Risk Reduction participated.
......
-
Gujarat quake disaster:
help came from all: RSS to the forefront
-
M V Kamath, The Free Press Journal,
February 22, 2001
>>> There is something very touching
about the manner in which nations, organisations, institutions and individuals
have responded to the disastrous earthquake in Gujarat that has already
taken several thousand lives and left behind thousands more injured or
orphaned. ......
-
New-Age Ki Culture
Lures Christians in South Korea
-
ZENIT.org, February 23, 2001
>>> The Church in South Korea is
warning Catholics about the Ki culture, a New Age-style movement that mixes
health programs with faulty religious ideas. ......
-
Children of a Lesser
God
-
Rajeev Srinivasan, Rediff on Net,
February 23, 2001
>>> The rantings of one T John,
an erstwhile minister in the Karnataka government, are now well known:
he claimed that "God was punishing Gujarat and Orissa for attacks on Christians."
......
-
Militants in conversion
confession
-
The Telegraph, February 23, 2001
>>> The outlawed National Liberation
Front of Tripura has admitted that its policy of forced conversion of Hindu
tribals to Christianity had backfired. The outfit also blamed a former
advisor for its religious policy. ......
-
House concerned
over 'Greater Bangla' move
-
www.assamtribune.com, February 24,
2001
>>> Members of the State Assembly
today expressed serious concern over the proposal mooted by a section of
Bangladeshi intellectuals to divide India to form a confederation comprising
Bangladesh, North-east States of India and West Bengal. ......
-
VHP leaders meet
PM
-
The Hindu, February 24, 2001
>>> Senior Vishva Hindu Parishad
(VHP) leaders today met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and demanded
immediate return of the land acquired by the Government in Ayodhya and
removal of all legal obstacles to pave the way for the construction of
the Ram temple there. ......
-
India lowest contributor
of greenhouse gases: UNEP
-
The Hindu, February 24, 2001
>>> India is the least contributing
nation to the greenhouse gases while the United States contributes the
most, an UN environment agency has said. ......
-
Courageous Archbishop
Brings a Red Hat to Dublin
-
Zenit.org, February 25, 2001
>>> Archbishop Desmond Connell
may have been made a cardinal last week for the same reason he is such
a controversial figure in Ireland: his robust defense of Church teachings.
......
-
The Remains of Days
Past
-
Soutik Biswas, Outlook, February
26, 2001
>>> It's a truly majestic 18th
century palace, ironically flanked by a modern-day 500,000-litre water
tank. If you ignore this brick-and-mortar monstrosity, the Darbargadh in
Morbi-a bustling 800-year-old trading outpost for some 230 villages in
western Gujarat-is a revelation: fine ashlar masonry-masonry of hewed or
square stone-on handsome yellow sandstone where strains of neo-Gothic and
Graeco-Roman styles clash happily in a high noon of eclecticism in architecture.
......
-
Hope In Hell
-
Sudeep Chakravarti, India Today,
February 26, 2001
>>> Hope and renewal. If these
didn't follow devastation, death would be replaced by despair-and that
can be just as deadly. Almost four weeks after the earthquake, Gujarat
is still coming to terms with what was and what is. ......
-
Mother Courage
-
Ratiben Govinda & Sudeep Chakravarti,
India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Every day, for the past three
weeks, Ratiben Govinda has conducted a ritual. Awakening in the darkness
of dawn in a shelter made of tattered plastic sheets and jute, she wakes
her five children and washes them. ......
-
Flower Child
-
Riddhi Dangar & Sudeep Chakravarti,
India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> She has 14 stitches across
her scalp. She is four. And she is the symbol of hope for an entire village.
Riddhi Deodan Dangar crawled out of the rubble, bleeding, screaming-and
alive. She haltingly recounts the day, gently urged by grandmother Hiruben.
"The house started to move, then it became like the night. And then I remember
nothing." ......
-
City Light
-
Bharat Shah & Uday Mahurkar,
India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Bharat Shah has a 7 a.m.-to-eternity
job, and it doesn't seem to get any less trying. When you are the vice-president
of Anjar Municipality, it comes with the turf. Then again, maybe not. Shah
has simply chosen it to be this way. ......
-
Three Good Reasons
-
Gita, Hardik, Chandni & Uday
Mahurkar, India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> Prabhulal and Rukmanibai Panchal
live in double dread. One, having to lie to their three grandchildren that
their parents are alive, that they have "gone to Una to buy medicines".
The other, coming to terms with the realisation that retirement will have
to wait a few years now; they have the children to bring up. ......
-
Heart & Soul
-
Dawa Tsering & Uday Mahurkar,
India Today, February 26, 2001
>>> The group sings a song in chorus,
a lilting melody of freedom that no outsider can understand. But they know
it must mean something for there to be so much emotion. "In our dream last
night we were in our beloved Tibet/ But when we woke up we found ourselves
in India/ We miss Tibet/ So let's get together and get what we desire:
Tibet." ......
-
Afghan statues face
destruction
-
BBC News, February 26, 2001
>>> The Taleban condemn statues
as false gods and idols Afghanistan's ruling Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammed
Omar, has ordered the destruction of all statues in the country, including
ancient pre- Islamic figures. ......
-
Overseas Indians
welcome UK anti-terrorism laws
-
The Times of India, February 26,
2001
>>> The new anti-terrorism laws,
designed to prevent extremist groups from using British soil as a base
to incite violence overseas, have been welcomed by Overseas Indian Congress,
saying it would act as a damper on those raising funds and promoting the
cause of militants, among other places, in Kashmir in the name of 'jihad'
(holy war). ......
-
Vajpayee assures
support to Fiji's Chaudhry
-
The Times of India, February 26,
2001
>>> Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee on Monday assured ousted Fijian premier Mahendra Chaudhry that
the Indian government would give "full consideration" to some of the proposals
made by him. Chaudhry is seeking international support for the restoration
of democracy in his country. ......
-
Russia to stand
by nuclear fuel commitment
-
The Times of India, February 26,
2001
>>> Russia has assured India that
it will fulfil its commitment to supply nuclear fuel for Tarapur atomic
reactors despite the US demand for its cancellation. ......
-
Are we being taken
for a ride?
-
M.V. Kamath, Organiser, February
28, 2001
>>> With so much talk about a peace
initiative on Kashmir does anyone know what exactly the situation is as
of now? What does Pakistan want? What do the various parties in Jammu and
Kashmir want? And what is it that India is prepared to give? ......
-
RSS wants unity,
not uniformity of religions
-
M.G. Vaidya, Organiser, February
28, 2001
>>> Reports published in a section
of media after the recent meeting of RSS leaders with the members of national
Minority's Commission in New Delhi have created confusion that the RSS
by recognising Sikhism as a separate religion, has changed its stand. ......
-
Rebuild Kachchh
-
Seshadri Chari, Bharatiya Pragna,
February 2001
>>> It is ironical that one of
the industrially advanced States, Gujarat, has the most backward district,
Kachchh. The dubious distinction this district enjoys is of facing a famine
every two or three years. ......
-
"New Age fascism":
Review of an exercise in Marxist defamation
-
Koenraad Elst, Bharatiya Pragna,
February 2001
>>> "New Age" is a (by now obsolescent)
container term referring to a galaxy of post-Christian religious groping,
with various sources of inspiration including humanistic psychotherapy,
Hindu-Buddhist meditation, Sino-Japanese "gentle" martial arts, Tantric-Taoist
transformation of sexuality, astrology, holistic medicine, and some more.
......
-
"If you can convert,
convert how the Vedic culture is spreading throughout the world"
-
Bharatiya Pragna, February 2001
>>> Pragna: Today's spiritualism
does not attract the youth. They see too many don'ts.. opposition to material
life completely... in spiritualism. Are spiritualism and materialism two
totally opposite ideas? ......
-
Indology and Racism
-
Subhash Kak, Bharatiya Pragna, February
2001
>>> Our narratives about the past
are scraps of evidence joined with the glue of imagination. So there can
be many narratives and many retellings as the vocabulary changes with time.
This is all ancient history can be and we should be satisfied with that.
It is sensible to accept that our reconstructions of the past are subjective.
......
-
A Few Friends In
Deed
-
Gautam Chikermane, Outlook, February
12, 2001
>>> What can an individual do?
Nothing, I thought, and let the statistics-thousands of men, women and
children dead, towns turned to rubble, crores damaged-smother my sensitivity.
Until Vikrant happened. ......
-
The Benign Foreign
Hand
-
Sanjay Suri, Outlook, February 12,
2001
>>> When grisly TV pictures conveyed
the mammoth scale of devastation in Gujarat, Indian expatriate families
promptly drove down to the Swaminarayan temple in Willesden and the Kutch
temple in Kenton, London, donating what is perhaps the most disposable
of items: old and discarded clothes. ......
-
VHP to file defamation
suits against newspapers
-
The Free Press Journal, February
14, 2001
>>> The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
has decided to file a suit against 'The Hindu' and 'The Indian Express'
for carrying stories alleging the VHP of adopting communal stance while
doing rehabilitation work in earth quake-affected Gujarat. ......
-
Statement by Sarkaryawah:
-
Shree Vishwa Niketan, February 16,
2001
>>> Following statement was issued
by Ma. Mohan Bhagwat on February 15th 2001: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
takes a very serious view of the cold blooded murder of four of its workers
on Saturday, 10th February 2001, at Sonakhali village under Basanti police
station in South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. ......
-
Earthquake in Gujarat:
-
Shree Vishwa Niketan, February 16,
2001
>>> Despite yeoman effort by one
and all rendering assistance to affected people, lot is yet to be done.
It is unfortunate that some of the English Newspapers have not been able
to overcome their hate bias against all that RSS & VHP does. ......
-
Our visit to Earthquake
Victims in Gujarat
-
Sr Seema S.H.M., The Examiner, February
17, 2001
>>> We have been well informed
through various media regarding the disastrous earthquake of Jan. 26th,
2001 which has taken the lives of over a lakh of people and thousands of
people are wounded as well as unimaginable destructions of high rise buildings
and other losses of movable and immovable properties. ......
-
Innocents pay
-
Editorial, The Economic Times, February
19, 2001
>>> The situation in Kashmir, we'd
suggested earlier, was ill-described by the term 'ceasefire'. 'Muted fire',
we argued, was a better description of the reality in the Valley. Recent
incidents suggest that even muted fire is increasingly becoming a euphemism
for what is happening. ......
-
'Greater Bangladesh'
idea angers Assam
-
Wasbir Hussain, February 22, 2001
>>> Here is an uproar in Assam
over a "Greater Bangla" proposal mooted in a Net discussion by a group
of Bangladeshi intellectuals, who feel that a loose political confederation
comprising Bangladesh, West Bengal and the seven northeastern states is
indeed feasible. ......
-
India lowest contributor
of greenhouse gases: UNEP
-
The Hindu, February 24, 2001
>>> India is the least contributing
nation to the greenhouse gases while the United States contributes the
most, an UN environment agency has said. ......
-
Jehad in Kashmir
to continue, says Pakistan
-
PTI, Hindustan Times, February 24,
2001
>>> Pakistan has said it considered
Kashmir as its "unfinished agenda" and that Islamabad wanted jehad (holy
war) in Kashmir to continue. ......
-
Uproar among Fiji's
Hindus about denial to perform last rites
-
Shailendra Singh, India Abroad,
February 25, 2001
>>> Here is uproar in Fiji's Hindu
community in the capital here over another family being stopped from scattering
the cremated remains of a family member along a shoreline. ......
-
Kashmiris See Little
Hope In Extended Cease-Fire
-
Pamela Constable, Washington Post,
February 25, 2001
>>> On one side of this northern
Kashmir village on Friday, hundreds of Sikh men blocked the highway with
bonfires and burned a bus. Enraged by the shooting of a Sikh police driver,
reportedly by Muslim guerrillas, they chanted, "Down with the cease-fire!"
and "Down with Pakistan!" ......
-
Osama conundrum:
the fourth option
-
Ijaz Hussain, Dawn, February 25,
2001
>>> Following the imposition of
the second instalment of sanctions against the Taliban government for their
refusal to extradite Osama bin Laden and to close the alleged terrorist
training camps in Afghanistan, there were widespread demonstrations by
the religio-political parties in Pakistan, a steep rise in the prices of
daily necessities in impoverished Afghanistan and a large exodus of refugees
towards Pakistan. ......
-
Peaceful democracy
or violent zealotry?
-
Kunwar Idris, Dawn, February 25,
2001
>>> It is a continuing paradox
of Pakistan's politics that every new declaration on democracy takes it
closer to authoritarianism. That was the result of Ayub's basic democracy
as also of Zia-ul-Haq's Islamic brand. ......
-
Crime against Humanity
-
Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> Close on the heels of massacre
of six Sikhs at Mahjoor Nagar in Srinagar, the horrible incident of burning
alive 15 members of three families of Gujjar Bakerwal b y the Pakistan-sponsored
terrorists have put the advocates of jehad in Kashmir in a tight spot.
......
-
Terrorism - A boon
for some
-
Khajuria S. Kant, Organiser, February
25, 2001
>>> Twelve -year-long terrorism
in Jammu and Kashmir, which has so far claimed thousands of innocent lives
and rendered lakhs homeless, is turning into a boon for some highly influential
hawks who have their access to the corridors of power in both the State
and the Centre. ......
-
Where will Laden
strike next?
-
Muzaffar Hussain, Organiser, February
25, 2001
>>> The name Osama bin Laden strikes
instant terror in the minds of everyone everywhere. He is a Saudi Arabian
millionaire banished from his motherland for terrorist activities. He took
shelter in Sudan. ......
-
RSS and VHP win
people's hearts
-
Shyam Khosla, Organiser, February
25, 2001
>>> "Saffron is the colour of help',
says a letter to the Editor in The, Pioneer. "The lads in Khaki knickers
are once again among the first to offer relief to the calamity struck"
announces a headline in Outlook that is no friend of the RSS. ......
-
Four RSS swayamsevaks
brutally murdered in West Bengal
-
Organiser, February 25, 2001
>>> Four RSS swayamsevaks were
brutally murdered at Sonakhali village under Basanti police station in
South 24 Pargana district on February 10. The swayamsevaks had gone there
to organise a meeting of RSS members on February 11. So far no one has
been arrested by the police. ......
-
Kerala to get Rs.2.5
billion holistic health village
-
Sanu George, India Abroad, February
25, 2001
>>> A bureaucrat in Kerala has
roped in a spiritual leader to establish a Rs.2.5 billion holistic health
village in the state. ......
-
New Face Of Terror
-
Zahid Hussain, India Today, February
26, 2001
>>> You can see the fire of Islam
glowing in his eyes. His words hit you like jabs, there is so much directness
in them. Hafiz Mohammed Sayeed wants One World, One Religion. Even if that
means blood must flow in the valleys and mountains of Kashmir, Chechnya,
Bosnia, wherever, all the time. ......
-
SC issues notice
to Medha, Arundhati
-
Press Trust News, The Indian Express,
February 27, 2001
>>> The Supreme Court today issued
notices to Narmada Bachao Andolan leaders Medha Patkar and Booker prize
winner Arundhati Roy on a petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings
against them for staging demonstration before the apex court and allegedly
using derogatory language to lower the dignity of the court. ......
-
Kashmir and the
Hindu ethos
-
Sandhya Jain, The Pioneer, February
27, 2001
>>> It is truly ironical that Dr
Farooq Abdullah, variously berated as a playboy and non-resident politician,
should have emerged as the principal proponent of India's civilisational
ethos. ......
-
US human rights
record in 2000
-
(Released by the Information Office
of China's State Council on Tuesday, Feb 27, 2001)
>>> Since the beginning of the
20th century, the voter turnout for congressional elections has ranged
between 30 and 60 percent. Meanwhile, the highest voter turnout
rate for presidential elections, which are regarded as major US political
events, stands at 65 percent. ......
-
All we are breaking
are stones: Taliban
-
The Times of India, February 27,
2001
>>> The leader of the Taliban Islamic
militia in Afghanistan on Tuesday shrugged off international condemnation
of his order to destroy ancient Buddhist statues, saying "all we are breaking
are stones." ......
-
America's silly
move over Tarapur
-
Inder Malhotra, Afternoon Despatch
& Courier, February 27, 2001
>>> After several positive statements
and promising indications about its determination to maintain the upswing
in Indo-US relations, the month-old Bush administration has made its first
false move. It is as hurtful as it is unnecessary. Its baneful consequences,
to be discussed in detail presently, are already becoming obvious. The
incipient mischief needs to be nipped in the bud in the best interests
of both sides. ......
-
'We'll stay here'
-
Saurabh Shah, Mid-Day, February
27, 2001
>>> When the siren blew at 8.46
am in Bhuj calling for two minutes of silence, on Monday morning, we were
in Bhachau, 77 km away from Bhuj. Exactly a month ago, 18,122 people were
killed in a deadly earthquake in the Kutch district. ......
-
PM raps oppn for
playing politics: Gujarat quake
-
The Navhind Times, February 28,
2001
>>> In an unusual display of anger
and outrage, the Prime Minister, Mr. A B Vajpayee, today lambasted the
opposition on the floor of the Lok Sabha for belittling the efforts of
the Keshubhai Patel government in Gujarat in handling the serious problems
arising out of the devastating earthquake in the state. ......
-
"Pakistan wants
India to concede more areas beyond LoC"
-
www.indya.com, February 28, 2001
>>> Pakistan is of the view that
a solution to the Kashmir issue lay in India ''conceding'' more territory
beyond the Line of Control (LoC) and not by converting the LoC
into an international border. ......
-
The Haj subsidy:
A Himalayan shame
-
Bipin Patel (London)
>>> How absurd, if not sad, that
India is the only country in the world that provides a subsidy to its second
biggest majority for pilgrimage to Mecca; in the pretext of her constitutional
obligation (of secular) and latter enacted as the Haj Act, way back in
1959! Thanks to Janab Jawaharlal Nehru, who chose to give this gift to
the second biggest majority! ......
-
The Minority Situation
in Bangladesh
-
Mayer Dak, February 2001
>>> Members of the minority communities
in Bangladesh continued to be subjected to all kinds of extreme tactics,
including murder, abductions and rape of women designed at forcing them
to quit their 'homeland', which they love so intensely. ......
-
Rising out of its
Own Ashes
-
Chetna Galla Sinha and Jayant Diwan,
Manushi, Jan-Feb 2001
>>> Since the families of both
of us come from Kutch, we felt we had to go and figure out for ourselves
ways in which we could be of help to victims of the devastating earthquake.
We reached Gandhidham on February 7. ......
-
Inside Jihad
-
Ghulam Hasnain, Time Magazine, February
5, 2001
>>> Four bearded militants warm
themselves at a gas heater in an Islamabad safe house. A wireless set suddenly
crackles. "Our boys have entered Srinagar Airport," a grave, distant-sounding
voice announces. "Pray for them. It has now been 15 minutes." ......
-
Probe in Bukhari
case over, chargesheet to be filed soon
-
The Asian Age, February 17, 2001
>>> The Delhi government told the
high court on Friday that a chargesheet against the former Shahi Imam of
Jama Masjid, Syed Abdullah Bukhari, in a sedition case for making anti-national
remarks during a speech will be filed soon as the investigation had been
completed. ......
-
Building brick by
brick
-
Seshadri Chari, Organiser, February
18, 2001
>>> The worst earthquake in fifty
years that rocked Gujarat on the Republic Day has now been identified as
the severest one, measuring 8.1 on Richter scale. The magnitude of the
quake, as is evident from the devastation, can also be gauged from the
fact that areas from Peshawar to Chennai and Nepal to Mumbai and beyond
felt the tremor. ......
-
Delhi medicos laud
relief work by RSS, VHP
-
Pramod Kumar, Organiser, February
18, 2001
>>> "We had the impression that
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are
the organisations launching movements only for temple construction. ......
-
Bangladesh Judiciary
strikes Mullah's fatwas
-
Muzaffar Hussain, Organiser, February
18, 2001
>>> Bangladesh High Court has struck
down all fatwas made by the motley mullahs of the country. Now a man cannot
divorce his wife merely by repeating verbally talaq twice in the country.
The bench of Justice Ghulam Rubbani and Justice Najm Ara Sultana has issued
a warrant of arrest against Maulana Azizul Islam for dissolving the marriage
of a Muslim couple. ......
-
It's business as
usual for 'hi-tech jehadis'
-
Rajesh Kumar, The Pioneer, February
21, 2001
>>> Kashmiri militants never leave
their "fellow jehadis" in the lurch. Finances are never a problem
when it comes to their legal battles in various courts here.
And their well-oiled machinery ensures that their lawyers don't ditch them
midway. ......
-
Greater Bangladesh
proposal angers AGP
-
Nitin Gogoi, Rediff on Net, February
22, 2001
>>> The ruling Asom Gana Parishad
has lodged a protest with the Union Home Ministry over a proposal for creation
of a greater Bangladesh, comprising seven north-eastern states, West Bengal
and Bangladesh, mooted by some Bangladeshi intellectuals. ......
-
Hard Times, Soft
Budget
-
Dewang Mehta, The Times of India,
February 23, 2001
>>> It's time again for finance
minister Yashwant Sinha to unfold the budget 2001. Last year, in fact,
the minister virtually swept the IT industry off its feet with his thoughtful
financial plan. It was as though the minister had been conducting an IT
philharmonic, specially "tuned" to the requirements of the rapidly growing
software and hardware sectors. ......
-
Fading red
-
Editorial, The Indian Express, February
23, 2001
>>> Saifuddin Chowdhury's Party
for Democratic Socialism (PDS) is unlikely to set the Hooghly on fire.
But to dismiss it as the 44th political party - as a senior Marxist leader
tried to do on Wednesday - is an attempt at covering up the CPM's embarrassment.
......
-
The pressure on
Hindus for religious conversion on rise in Pakistan
-
www.webduniya.com, February 25,
2001
>>> Jaisalmer. The Hindus residing
in Pakistan, are being highly pressurized for conversion, after the military
rule there. Due to a strong movement initiated by the conservative Pakistani
organisations for last two-three years, the residing Hindus are leading
a fearful life. ......
-
Saudi says govt
subsidy to Hajis is un-Islamic
-
Jyoti Malhotra, The India Express,
February 26, 2001
>>> India's annual subsidy incurred
on the Haj pilgrimage, amounting to Rs 150 crore this year, has been criticised
by none other than the government of Saudi Arabia, which believes the subsidy
goes against the spirit of the Shariat. ......
-
Spirituality, holidays,
sacrifice as envisioned by a swami
-
V Ramaprasad, The India Express,
February 26, 2001
>>> Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda
Saraswathy of Trivandrum recently in Mumbai to bless devotees at the Rama
Dasa Ashram at Badlapur. He had earlier visualised the construction of
a magnum Hanuman prathishta at the same site. ......
-
Renovating the idea
that's India
-
Rakesh Sinha, The Pioneer, February
27, 2001
>>> Somnath temple is ready to
celebrate its golden jubilee. And during the Ayodhya debate in Parliament
and subsequently in his article, "Musings from Kuamarakom," Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee extrapolated his argument from the speech of Dr Rajendra
Prasad, then President of India, on May 11 1951 ......
-
Indo-Russian nuclear
deal
-
Kamal Matinuddin, www.jang.com.pk,
February 27, 2001
>>> The recent decision by Moscow
to provide nuclear fuel for India's Tarapur Nuclear Reactor will further
encourage the Hindu fundamentalist government in New Delhi to use its nuclear
fangs to brow beat its neighbours. ......
-
PM nails Oppn 'lies'
on quake relief
-
The Economic Times, February 28,
2001
>>> Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who was in a combat mode today, demolished the Opposition's charge
of discrimination during relief operation in earthquake devastated Gujarat
and accused his party's rivals with politicising every activity of governance.
......
Last Article date:
Wed
February 28, 2001
Archived on: Wed
February 28, 2001
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