by Manjari Mishra & Binay Singh
The tall, stately structure in pristine white with its imposing domes
and minarets springing out of paddy fields on Azamgarh - Varanasi highway
looks surreal. But the fact is Madrassa Jamia Islamia in Brinda Bazar
has always evoked the curiosity of the passersby. In neigbouring village,
Thanauli Muzaffarpur, 25 km from the district headquarters, the madrassa
inspires awe if not fear. .....
by The Times of India
If you are tired of the clamour and the extravagance of today's Puja,
you can take a break and visit the Das family on Seal Lane, off CIT Road.
.....
by KPS Gill
Much is now being made of the 'indigenisation' of Islamist extremism and
terrorism in India as purportedly opposed to the earlier Pakistan-backed
terrorist activities. It is crucial, at this juncture, to scotch emerging
misconceptions on this count. .....
by The Pioneer
As major Muslim outfits turn the heat on the Congress for police action
against the Delhi blasts accused, a jittery UPA is bending over backwards
to convince them of its "secular" credentials. .....
by Tarun Vijay
Do we get bad leaders in spite of having good people? If our people are
great, why do we have leaders who fail? Where are the people if the leaders
are not doing what we think they should be doing? .....
by John Bingham
Islamic extremists have warned of a wave of reprisals over a controversial
book about the Prophet Mohammed after the home of its publisher was firebombed.
.....
by Swapan Dasgupta
It is the avowed intention of "good politics" to separate the
individual from the issue. Unfortunately, despite my best endeavours I
have been unable to disentangle Professor Mushirul Hasan, the harried
vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, from the storm that has engulfed
India's Muslims. .....
by Joseph Pulikkunnel
Shri Joseph Pulikkunnel, the eminent scholar and Director of Indian Institute
of Christian Studies, is known for his maverick views on social issues
especially those pertaining to Christianity. He has sent us a copy of
his "Open Letter to the Protesting Bishops". In this letter
he unveils the duplicity of Bishops and the chemistry behind their demand
for reservations for the so-called Dalit Christians. .....
by Priyanka P. Narain
When Father William Premdas Chaudhary, the only Dalit priest in the Delhi
archdiocese, began highlighting the plight of his community three years
ago, his parish was taken away from him. .....
by Jehangir Ali and Rashant Pandey
The Delhi police has detained nine people, including five suspected Bangladeshi
nationals, for questioning in connection with the Mehrauli blast. The
five men were picked up from the Indira Gandhi International Airport by
the special staff of south district police, barely a few hours after the
blast. .....
by Kyle Jarrard
The first sound in the morning is crows, right at 5. Then we hear waves
off the Bay of Bengal slapping the shore. In the garden, a man meditates
while walking quickly over the lawn of the ashram guesthouse in the dark.
Along the shore, other men pace the beach in the silver jetty light. Fishing
boat lanterns like stars ride the black sea south to north. .....
by Paul John
The Surat SIMI conference, it is believed, was organized by an assistant
professor in Jodhpur University, Abdulhai Abdulsattar Silavat, with two
others whose names are still not known. The prime objective of this meet
was the recruitment of Muslim youth after the ban was imposed in September
2001. .....
by Aditya Ghosh
Prem Narayan Chauhan pats his oxen, pushing them to go a little faster.
Ziighrataram, ziighrataram chalanti, he urges them. The animals respond
to their master's call, picking up pace on the muddy path that leads to
his 10-acre cornfield. .....
by Reuters
Indian troops killed at least seven heavily armed militants from a Bangladesh-based
Islamist group in a gunbattle in Assam on Friday, a military spokesman
said. .....
by M. V. Kamath
In an unprecedented development the Jammu & Kashmir Government permitted
on July 18 a massive pro-Pakistan meeting in the heart of Srinagar held
by known Islamists, ignoring warnings from India's Intelligence Services
that such a step could lead to a disempowerment of state authority. .....
by The Pioneer
In rejecting the Justice GT Nanavati Commission report that inquired into
the Sabarmati Express fire at Godhra and the violence that followed in
Gujarat in February-March 2002, the Congress and its UPA allies, as also
the Left, have acted with expected cussedness. The Congress has described
the report as a "murder of democracy". .....
by Caesar Mandal
The terror trail has taken a sudden swerve towards Kolkata, with police
and intelligence agencies coming across a familiar name - Amir Reza Khan,
who is said to have played a key role in the recent serial blasts. Amir
- suspected to be a key functionary of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) - may
be living in Pakistan now, but he hails from a dingy lane in Kolkata's
eastern fringes. .....
by Balbir K. Punj
The recent serial bomb blasts across the country have got the "secularists"
busy in building smoke screens, raising red herrings and finding scapegoats
- all to save the real culprits. The terror machine in India has two faces:
The "underground" one which plans and executes the violent operations,
while the "over ground" face hides behind masks of human rights,
social activists and NGOs and operates under a common brand name of "secularism".
.....
by The Times of India
Five staff of a school in Chennai, including its principal, have been
arrested for distributing pamphlets "propagating" Christianity
and "degrading" Hindu gods in the city following complaints
by the BJP and Hindu Makkal activists. .....
by David Blair
India's defence ministry occupies the soaring colonnades of the Secretariat
Building, an imposing legacy of the British Raj in the heart of New Delhi.
.....
by M. V. Kamath
I have often wondered whether Christians realise how much offence their
missionaries give to non-Christians in India, mainly Hindus, by their
activities. .....
by MSNBC.com
About 150 Muslims were fired from a Grand Island, Neb., meatpacking plant
that has been embroiled in a prayer dispute, a Somali-American leader
said Friday. .....
by The Pioneer
After denying any links with any of the suspected terrorists arrested
by the police for the Delhi bombings of September 13, Jamia Milia Islamia,
the denominational university that neighbours the Jamia Nagar ghetto where
the Indian Mujahideen module was based, has finally been forced to admit
it was wrong. .....
by NewKerala.com
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday charged that some human rights
organisations were acting as the overground face of terrorist groups.
.....
by ExpressIndia.com
Sri Lanka is wooing Indian tourists with 'Ramayana Package', which promises
to take visitors across the island nation on Lord Rama's trail. .....
by The Telegraph
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani today called for a national
debate on religious conversion, even as he rejected the idea of imposing
a ban on conversion. .....
by S Ahmed Ali
Roshan Khan, who is supposed to be guiding IM operatives from his base
in Pakistan, is believed to be the same Riyaz Bhatkal whose name figures
in the twin Gateway of India and Kalbadevi blasts of 2003. .....
by Virendra Parekh
As anti-missionary (not anti-Christian) violence is reported from some
parts of the country, we are once again witnessing the familiar charade
of public debate. A government that showed stoic indifference to a series
of terrorist acts that killed dozens in several Indian cities; stayed
mute when fanatic mobs desecrated the Tricolour on the Independence Day;
is alarmed by reported on churches in Orissa, Karnataka, and Kerala. .....
by Maloy Krishna Dhar
History is not the graveyard of the past. It is the mother of present
and womb for the future. Most current event analysers tend to disregard
the history and fail to link the present with the past. The same mistakes
are being committed by certain section of the media which claims to be
the fathers of sting-journalism. Small people attempting to paint a sinner
as saint commit colossal mistakes. .....
by Sanjay K. Jha
The BJP plans to highlight the "vindictive" Centre's double
standards and "dirty game" for its warning to party-ruled Orissa
and Karnataka under Article 355. .....
by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy
The ruin that Britain wrought' is the title of a book authored by Kulapati
K.M. Munshi, the founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and a great visionary
of pre-and post-independent India. .....
by Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui
Every time a deadly bomb goes off in some part of India and the police
begin to investigate, the road to suspects invariably leads to Uttar Pradesh,
fast emerging as the biggest terror hub in the country after Jammu &
Kashmir. Of the 54 major terror strikes in the country since 2000, at
least 45 had a direct link with UP, which itself was rattled by 14 blasts.
.....
by Eli Lake
In the aftermath of two major terrorist attacks on Western targets, America's
counterterrorism community is warning that Al Qaeda may launch more overseas
operations to influence the presidential elections in November. .....
by Duncan Gardham
A British Muslim was a senior al-Qaeda leader who kept a terrorist contact
book containing telephone numbers and emails written in invisible ink,
a court has heard. .....
by Bhavanishankar
Chief Minister, Shri B.S. Yeddyurappa-a quintessential politician with
keen acumen-was quick to realise that it could be the mischief of the
Opposition parties and vested interests were trying to engineer a crisis
in order to seek his government's dismissal on the grounds of collapse
of law and order machinery in the state. .....
by The Hindu
The Mumbai police have arrested five suspected members of the Indian Mujahideen.
While Afzal Mutalib Usmani (32) was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, Mohammed
Saddik Shaikh (31), Mohammed Arif Shaikh (38), Mohammed Zakir Shaikh (28)
and Mohammed Ansar Shaikh were apprehended from their Mumbai residences
on Tuesday night. .....
by IBNLive.com
Mumbai Police claim to have foiled a major terror attack with the arrest
of five alleged Indian Mujahideen activists on Wednesday. .....
by India Today
Terror strikes across the country leaving a trail of shattered homes,
broken spirits and victims floating in a forgotten limbo. They are left
to pick up the pieces, long after the spotlights have dimmed and the VIP
visitors moved on. .....
by Sam Daniel
It is being seen as a coup of sorts by a bishop. The administration of
the 128-year-old American College in Madurai has allegedly been taken
over illegally by the bishop. .....
by Rediff.com
Within hours of suspending two students who were arrested in connection
with the Delhi serial blasts, Jamia Millia Islamia University Vice Chancellor
Mushirul Hassan declared on Monday night that the university would defend
its students in court. .....
by Pramod Kumar
The five serial blasts in Delhi on September 13 left over 25 dead and
over 100 injured at three places-Gaffar Market, Greater Kailash Market
and two places in Connaught Place including Barakhamba Road and Palika
Bazar. Four live bombs were defused in Connaught Place and India Gate
areas. .....
by Mansi Choksi
Hyderabad. Jaipur. Bangalore. Ahmedabad. Delhi. Mumbai, which has probably
been hit harder by terror than any other Indian city, has this time around,
watched in silence as bomb blasts killed and maimed ordinary people in
other metros. Though the city continues to go to work, college and school,
it continues to shop and go to the cinema, the city's gut is uneasy. .....
by Deeptiman Tiwary and Vijay Zala
In what could be the first indication of an underworld connection to the
recent blasts in Ahmedabad and Delhi, suspects have reportedly told Gujarat
police that they were in touch with Rasool Parti, prime accused in the
2003 murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya in Ahmedabad.
.....
by The Times of India
The Justice Nanavati panel which investigated the Godhra train fire relied
mainly on the investigations of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set
up by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and headed by IGP Rakesh Asthana.
.....
by Organiser
There is the unique case of the Hindus of India's Kashmir: about 10 per
cent of the population in 1947, they have been reduced to a tiny number
(5,000). The rest numbering about 4,00,000 have been compelled to abandon
their home and hearth and made refugees in their own land. .....
by Tavleen Singh
With jihad having got unnervingly close to the 'Z' security boundaries
of Lutyens' Delhi, terrorism has finally become the subject of high political
concern. This is good. And if our intelligence agencies and policing systems
get the overhaul they badly need, it is better still. But meanwhile, a
new crisis is developing unnoticed that, in the end, could be as dangerous
as jihad. .....
by Communalism Combat
Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban has warned that boys and girls of its
suicide squad will launch "massive" strikes across the country,
including the commercial hub of Karachi, if military operations in Swat
and other tribal areas are not halted immediately. .....
by K Subrahmanyam
The massive explosion at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, not far from
the residence of the Pakistani prime minister, was a clear message to
the Pakistani army, civil society and political parties. The message was
delivered a few hours after President Asif Ali Zardari talked about his
three-pronged strategy to deal with terrorism. After the explosion, Zardari
vowed to eliminate the "cancer" of terrorism. .....
by Rahul Tripathi
The terror module of Indian Mujahideen (IM) that Delhi police claimed
to have busted was helped in procuring bombs by a medical student from
Udupi in Karnataka, according to police sources. The town in that state
is a hub of commercial and educational activities. .....
by Muzamil Jaleel & Majid Jahangir
Almost 40 days after the killing of Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz
during the massive protest march along the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road
on August 11 - in which three other protesters were killed in police and
CRPF firing - the J&K Police have arrested three neighbours from Baramulla
for their alleged role in Aziz's killing. .....
by Shishir Gupta
As early as August 20, investigators from the Gujarat Police and the Intelligence
Bureau probing the Ahmedabad blasts, handed over a series of cellphone
numbers, including the one used by Atif alias Bashir, the alleged mastermind
of the Delhi blasts and one of the two men killed in the Jamia encounter
last Friday. .....
by Rahul Tripathi
'Mastermind' Atiq Ameen alias Bashir, who like many others involved in
the IMSIMI operations, hails from UP's Azamgarh, was determined to carry
on with his "war" against India and was apparently confident
of procuring and assembling the explosives needed to carry out his next
terror venture. Along with other bombers, he has come across as revelling
in the destruction and death caused by IM-SIMI. .....
by Smruti Koppikar
The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Mumbai and the Delhi police may be hot
on his trail but going by recent records, Abdus Subhan Qureshi or Tauqeer
may not really care. Tauqeer has all but severed ties from his work and
family life. His mother Zubaida says he hasn't been in touch with her
since 2001, and with his wife and two-and-a-half-year-old daughter since
2006. .....
by Rajeev Deshpande
The references in Indian Mujahideen's Delhi blasts email, and by its operatives
held in connection with Friday's Batla House shootout, to two "original"
18th century martyrs opens a revealing window into the ideological founts
that sustain and inspire the jihadi outfit. .....
by Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui
In a major breakthrough, investigators probing the recent serial blasts
in cities across India, including Delhi, have picked up some important
clues to link more than eight well-established but low-profile businessmen
to the widespread devastations. .....
by Medha Chaturvedi
Mohammed Shakeel, who had allegedly planted the bomb at Ghaffar Market
on September 13, was running ahead of "schedule'' on that fateful
Saturday. So, investigators claim, he decided to stop at India Gate, go
for a stroll and have an ice-cream. Only when the driver of the autorickshaw
Shakeel had hired said that he could not wait any longer, did the bomber
resume the journey. .....
by Rahul Tripathi
With the arrest of three more Indian Mujahideen-SIMI operatives for the
September 13 Delhi blasts, the police said the group's 'mastermind', Atiq
Ameen alias Bashir, had planned to deliver another deadly blow by carrying
out 20 bombings in the business district of Nehru Place. .....
by Rajeev Deshpande
The references in Indian Mujahideen's Delhi blasts email, and by its operatives
held in connection with Friday's Batla House shootout, to two "original"
18th century martyrs opens a revealing window into the ideological founts
that sustain and inspire the jihadi outfit. .....
by Sultan Shahin
The so-called Indian Mujahedeen have used in their notorious e-mails certain
Quranic verses to justify killing of innocent civilians. These are the
same verses that enemies of Islam's pacific and humane philosophy have
been traditionally using for centuries to demonise Islam. .....
by Amrita Singh
There was a time the Christian missionary spread the word of god in a
simple and direct way. He would step off a boat, make friends with locals
and after years of effort, count a sizable flock. .....
by DNA (Daily News & Analysis)
Reacting over the advisories sent to the BJP government by the Centre
on violence against Christians, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa
on Monday accused the Congress-led UPA of adopting a policy of double
standards. .....
by The New Indian Express
Appreciation and recognition for the woman constable from Ollur police
station, Aparna, who offered her three gold bangles for releasing a dead
body from a hospital, are flowing from other states with one of the leading
jewellery shops in Kolkata deciding to present her four gold bangles.
.....
by Shreerang Godbole
Post-Kandhamal, post-Mangalore, the issue of conversions has taken centre-stage.
"Christians are a persecuted, hapless minority"; "How can
a minority that accounts for less than 2.5% of the population pose a threat
to the 84% Hindus of the country?" is the general refrain. .....
by The Hindu
Seven days after the attacks on prayer halls and churches started in the
State, the Sangh Parivar on Sunday denied its role in the incidents. .....
by The Times of India
With the name of Uttar Pradesh surfacing as the breeding ground for terrorists
responsible for the attacks across the country, Chief Minister Mayawati
on Sunday blamed the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government. .....
by The Times of India
Arrested SIMI general secretary Safdar Hussain Nagori was in Hyderabad
last year for exploring the possibility of setting up a terrorist training
camp in Anantgiri hills forest range in Vikarabad, about 80 km from the
city. .....
by The Telegraph
According to the results of 90 local bodies announced by the State Election
Commission, the ruling BJD is in a position to form civic councils at
27 urban local bodies independently while its coalition partner was in
a position to form councils in eight towns. .....
by Hindustan Times
Muslims in India need to see through the inadequacies of the Sachar Committee
report, which is being used by Congress to woo the community as part of
their vote bank politics, BJP leader L K Advani said in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
.....
by N S Malik
Delhi lived through another horrific evening of jehadi terrorism on Saturday,
13 September. A series of bomb blasts rocked the city from one end to
the other. Each location had children, young men, women, elderly people
out on a Saturday evening. .....
by Robert Mendick
A militant Islamic sect banned by the Government as a threat to national
security has launched a campaign to radicalise teenagers in east London,
the Evening Standard can reveal. .....
by Danish Khan and Zahid Qureshi
Police have learnt that 7/11 serial blasts accused Ehtesham Siddiqui,
who has been lodged in Arthur Road jail since 2006, has used the time
to compile a handbook on the interrogation techniques of the Anti-Terrorism
Squad (ATS). .....
by Hindustan Times
Delhi police Special Cell officer Mohan Chand Sharma who died battling
terrorists in New Delhi was a strong-willed man who pursued his goals
since childhood with determination till he achieved them. .....
by The Pioneer
In what appears to be contradictory to the claim made by Delhi Police,
their Gujarat counterpart on Saturday said that SIMI, which is allegedly
behind the recent serial blasts in the country, has various levels and
modules. .....
by Hemanth Kashyap and M K Ashoka
The 'sex scam' that rocked the city on Thursday has taken an intriguing
twist with the victim charging the pastor with secretly filming her sexual
acts and selling the tapes to foreigners. .....
by The Hindu
The Ulsoor police have arrested two persons, including a U.S. national,
on charges of attempting religious conversion, on Monday night. They have
been remanded in judicial custody. .....
by The Telegraph
Two of the suspected militants involved in today's Delhi shootout are
from an eastern Uttar Pradesh town which state police and intelligence
had kept under their scanner for the past five weeks. .....
by JihadWatch.org
In this we see the inevitable and logical outcome of the allegedly "reasonable"
accommodation of Muslim demands in American workplaces: "Somalis
are running our plant. They are telling us what to do." The company
has "no respect for the Spanish or white people. Many times we are
forced to pull extra count... I don't feel that is right." .....
by Praveen Swami
Investigators believe that the three terrorists shot in New Delhi's Jamia
Nagar on Friday were key actors in an Uttar Pradesh-based network which
constituted the logistical backbone of the Indian Mujahideen's nationwide
operations. .....
by The Times of India
At a time when most fathers would have stayed beside their sick son's
hospital bed, tend to his blood transfusion and ensure that the dengue
died down, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma rushed to Jamia Nagar from the
hospital to raid a house where terrorists were holed up. .....
by Parth Shastri
The successful operation leading to the gunning down of SIMI operative
Bashir alias Atiq who was involved in Ahmedabad and New Delhi blasts has
once again underlined the importance of co-ordination between intelligence
and investigative agencies at the Centre and in states. .....
by The Times of India
Friday's encounter in the Capital left no doubt on SIMI's hardline terrorist
character - far from claims of it being a cultural organization - as has
been maintained by the Centre and security agencies across the country
all along. .....
by S K Sinha
The unfortunate controversy over the 100 acre plot of waste forest land
at Baltal, which does not have a single tree and is unapproachable and
uninhabitable for seven months a year on account of heavy snow, caused
the fall of the State Government and posed a threat to national integrity.
.....
by The Pioneer
After raising hopes that it was ready to take hard measures to contain
terrorism, the Government on Thursday announced a series of token decisions
and ruled out bringing in any tough anti-terror POTA-type law. It was
also silent on strengthening the existing legislative provisions to strike
at the root of terror. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
Consider the social environment of Friday afternoon's raid that culminated
in bloodshed. It was pretty apparent that the terrorists chose this part
of Jamia Nagar as a safe hideout because it offered two layers of protection:
The logistical security of an over-congested locality and, equally important,
community protection. .....
by Rajeev Deshpande
Despite its unease over special anti-terror laws, the Manmohan Singh government
is moving to beef up its internal security credentials in the face of
a withering attack that it was ''soft on terror' after four episodes of
serial blasts in four different cities in the last three months. .....
by B. Raman
The events in New Delhi since the terrorist strike by the so-called Indian
Mujahideen (IM) on September 13 2008, which killed 26 innocent civilians,
should be a matter of concern for all right-thinking Indians. .....
by IBNLive.com
Prime Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said he didn't have "inflexible"
views on such laws and before that Veerappa Moily, chairperson of the
Administrative Reforms Commission, said that he was not averse to the
idea. But on Thursday Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan
Dasmunsi said he didn't believe stronger anti-terrorism laws were needed.
.....
by Google News
Thousands of Balinese in traditional outfits rallied on the Indonesian
holiday island Wednesday against an anti-pornography bill derided by critics
as a threat to local cultures. .....
by Dr. Anand Kumar
After returning from the 28th India-Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference
in Dhaka, the BSF chief A K Mitra disclosed that nearly 12 lakh Bangladeshis
who had entered India on valid papers have disappeared between 1972 to
2005. He was quoting this figure from the intelligence reports of the
West Bengal government. .....
by Michael Kohn
(09-18) 04:00 PDT Ulan Bator, Mongolia -- Mitch Tillman is an unlikely
savior. Six years ago, the Baptist missionary languished in an Alabama
jail, facing a prison sentence on drug charges. Today he builds hospitals,
feeds street children and saves souls in Mongolia. .....
by Nilanjana Bhowmick
Overseas Bengalis throughout the Diaspora are feverishly preparing for
Dasshera, arguably the world's biggest festival in terms of people participation,
in October. But Durga, the goddess at the heart of their festivities,
began her journey across the seven seas several months earlier from Kumortuli,
the nationally renowned potter's street in North Kolkata, where the vast
majority of India's giant Dasshera statues are created. .....
by Sunita Vakil
It would be erroneous to attribute the recent developments that led to
a virtual siege of Jammu & Kashmir to the land controversy alone.
In fact, the land given to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board was never the
real issue for the Valley separatists. Therefore, the allegation of Kashmiri
Muslims, who were egged on by the separatists, that there was some sort
of a conspiracy to change the demography of the region is bunkum. .....
by S. Gurumurthy
Wait only for five minutes from now! Wait for the Mujahideen and Fidayeen
of Islam who will make you feel the terror of Jihad. And stop them if
you can. Feel the havoc cast into your hearts by Allah, the Almighty,
face His Dreadful Punishment, and suffer the results of fighting the Muslims
and the Mujahideen. .....
by Matthew Rosenberg
Indian police battled suspected Islamic militants holed up in a house
in the country's capital Friday, killing two and arresting one before
the others escaped, police said. .....
by Caroline Gammell
Speaking after the sentencing of Britain's youngest terrorist, Shahid
Malik, the minister for International Development, said parents had to
be vigilant against the threat of radicalisation. .....
by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai
Raju Gouda of Ucchangi Durga in Davanagere district has changed his religion
twice, but not his name. He was born a Veerashaiva and converted to Christianity
in his 20s. .....
by The Times of India
Facing criticism for the recent spate of attacks on churches in Karnataka,
the BJP government on Tuesday ordered a probe into the flow of foreign
funds to some organisations saying that the money was being used for converting
Hindus into Christianity. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
The conflict between national sovereignty and the 'international architecture'
of modern existence has been the source of unending heartburn in the post-War
world. Europe was the first to confront it during transition from the
Common Market to the European Union. .....
by Tarun Vijay
Again the same old stories, the same threats and same resolve of politicos,
like wet, squeezed paper. We told you so, at that date and time, but you
didn't listen. We asked for a stringent law. Our intelligence department
was warned, yet no one acted. .....
by Robert Satloff
Gallup says only 7 percent of the world's Muslims are political radicals.
Yet 36 percent think the 9/11 attacks were in some way justified. .....
by Rediff.com
The Students Islamic Movement of India, Wikipedia informs us, was formed
in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI --
the 'liberation of India' from Western materialistic cultural influence
and to convert it into an Islamic society -- makes it an enemy of the
State of India. .....
by Mohua Chatterjee
At BJP's national executive, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has
been at the centre of action, delivering a much-noticed speech to his
colleagues and leading a sharp attack on the government's handling of
internal security. TOI asked Modi about the media projecting him as a
BJP mascot, a rung below L K Advani. .....
by Edward Wong
Local governments in a Muslim desert region in western China have imposed
strict limits on religious practices during the traditional Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan, which began last week, according to the Web sites of
four of those governments. .....
by Anand Raj Singh
Chief Minister Mayawati announced on Thursday that the state government
has decided to withdraw the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Ordinance
(UPCOCO) because of the Centre's discriminatory attitude. .....
by The Times of India
In what seems to be a case of one wing of the government proposing and
the other disposing, the home ministry has not found any wisdom in national
security advisor M K Narayanan's suggestion favouring states having their
own anti-terror laws. .....
by News Today
Recently there has been violence in areas of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and
Karnataka and some places of worship of Christians have come under attack.
On the face of it, they will look like concerted attacks on the minority
community by the forces of Hindutva. .....
by Expressbuzz.com
The Bajrang Dal, which has been in the eye of the storm for their alleged
involvement in attacks on churches in Mangalore and neighbouring districts,
has denied the charges, saying that they were only supporting those fighting
against conversions. .....
by Arif Mohammed Khan
Human beings are like limbs of one another, as they are created from the
same essence. When one limb is hurt the other limbs cannot be but in pain.
You who are indifferent to the suffering of others do not deserve to be
called a man. .....
by Sanjoy Hazarika
A high court judgment on illegal migrants from Bangladesh has once again
raised the thorny issue of influx into the Northeast, especially into
Assam, where it has always been a sensitive matter. .....
by S. Karmakar
The biggest massacre of civilian population after World War II was committed
in former East Pakistan, now called Bangladesh, by the Pakistani Army
during the 1971 war of liberation. .....
by The Indian Express
The terrorist strike in Delhi last Saturday was waiting to happen. Intelligence
agencies, it transpires, had information about a possible bombing. Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi had communicated to the Union Government
the findings of the investigation into the July 26 terrorist strike in
Ahmedabad which clearly highlighted the jihadi plan to attack Delhi. .....
by The Indian Express
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday reviewed the country's internal
security situation with senior party leaders but significantly Home Minister
Shivraj Patil, who is under attack from various quarters over the handling
of terrorism, was conspicuous by his absence. .....
by Praveen Swami
Uttar Pradesh authorities stonewalled efforts to arrest three Students
Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operatives who are emerging as key suspects
in Saturday's serial bombings in New Delhi, highly placed police sources
have told The Hindu. .....
by The Pioneer
As the nation mourns the dead in Delhi blasts and watches with disbelief
TV footages of Home Minister Shivraj Patil changing dresses thrice within
three hours after the Saturday tragedy, pressure mounted on the Government
to revamp the country's internal security set-up and put in place a tougher
anti-terror law. .....
by The Pioneer
In revealing that he had informed the Prime Minister, the Home Minister
and the National Security Adviser that a terror strike on Delhi was imminent,
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has laid bare the joke that passes
for the UPA Government's anti-terror strategy. .....
by The Indian Express
Terror seems to have come a full circle in the national capital which
was rocked three years back by serial blasts in busy Sarojni Nagar area
of South Delhi. .....
by R L Francis
The tragic turn of events in Kandhamal in Orissa once again highlights
the urgent need for church authorities to immediately halt the fraudulent
conversions of India's Tribal and Dalit populace, which are causing so
much heart-burning and cultural anxiety. .....
by Sushant Sareen
In recent weeks, a seditious assault has been launched on the will of
the Indian nation by rootless liberals, "mobile republics",
and amoral columnists, who are exhorting India to "think the unthinkable"
and concede the demand for Azadi in Kashmir. .....
by Nava Thakuria
The militants from Assam are not only taking shelter in Bangladesh, but
they had also invested money in the local media. It is suspected that
the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has taken stakes in a popular
English daily publication. The Daily Star, a Dhaka based newspaper had
reportedly received money from the leaders of ULFA at the initial stage.
.....
by ZeeNews.com
Concerned over the growing presence of fundamentalist elements in neighbouring
Bangladesh and their intent to sneak into the Northeast, NCP leader P.A.Sangma
has blamed the Centre for 'not doing enough' to counter the threat. .....
by Ram Madhav
For days, one TV Channel ran visuals of how Christians have been targeted
for violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district. Several other so-called national
channels too joined the chorus sufficient enough for Mombattiwalas (candlelight
activists) to plunge into the ring and declare that 'entire Orissa', if
not 'entire India', is in the grip of violence unleashed against 'innocent
minorities' by 'Hindu nationalists'. .....
by Amrita Singh
There was a time the Christian missionary spread the word of god in a
simple and direct way. He would step off a boat, make friends with locals
and after years of effort, count a sizable flock. .....
by The Telegraph
Shodashi Mahotsav, a special programme observed in memory of VHP leader
Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, was performed at Chakapada in Kandhamal, some
270km from Bhubaneswar, amid unprecedented security. .....
by J. Binduraj
As the managing partner of the Janavedi Transport Corporation (JTC), Somaraj
has little time to spare. The 28-year-old, who controls assets worth over
Rs 2 crore, oversees two bus terminals and 22 buses which travel most
of the main routes in and out of Pooyapilli village of Ernakulam district,
Kerala. All this he manages, while doubling up as a driver or a conductor
on one of the buses the corporation plies. .....
by Josh Gordon
Australia has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad"
by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light
bushfires as a weapon of terror. .....
by K N Pandit
Accession of Jammu & Kashmir State to the Indian Union on 27 October
1947 came about in abnormal conditions. Tribesmen of the North West Frontier
Province swept into the valley on Pakistan's behest, the British and NWFP
Governor having drawn a discreet roadmap for the incursion in the early
summer of 1947. .....
by Sayed Salahuddin
Archaeologists have discovered a 19-metre (62-foot) Buddha statue along
with scores of other historical relics in central Afghanistan near the
ruins of giant statues destroyed by the Islamist Taliban seven years ago.
.....
by Edward Wong
Local governments in a Muslim desert region in western China have imposed
strict limits on religious practices during the traditional Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan, which began last week, according to the Web sites of
four of those governments. .....
by Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi
(retired)
On a cold and dark night somewhere high up in Ladakh, a group of officers
and jawans were huddled together in a tent that was made livable by a
stove. The mood was a mix of anxiety and humiliation. .....
by Yahoo News
Authorities in China's Muslim-populated far northwest province of Xinjiang
are seeking to prevent mass prayers and the distribution of religious
material as part of a security crackdown for Ramadan, government notices
said. .....
by Rediff.com
Seven persons were seriously injured as the convoy of Bharatiya Janata
Party member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath was attacked on Sunday by angry
protesters while he was on his way to address an anti-terrorism rally
in Azamgargh district of Uttar Pradesh. .....
by Ashok K. Mehta
Tomorrow starts India's battle for the Nuclear Suppliers' Group waiver
for wining the 123 Agreement with the US. Never before has so big a political
investment been made for clean energy security. .....
by Vivek Deshpande
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia today said that the
VHP is firm on going ahead with its programme to pay tribute to slain
Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda on Septemger7. Charging that the Orissa
government was either not going after the culprits behind the murder or
hiding them under Christian pressure, he dismissed the claim by the Orissa
Archbishop that he was organising the asthikalash (urn)yatra for Laxmanada.
Hindu seers take sarnadhi and are not cremated, pointed out Togadia. "So
there is no question of an urn procession." .....
by The Indian Express
Exactly four days after Chief Minister Mayawati alerted the UP Police
about possible moves to disturb religious harmony in the state before
the next Lok Sabha elections, communal tension gripped eastern UP's Azamgarh
district following a clash between the supporters of Gorakhpur MP Yogi
Adityanath and residents of Azamgarh's communally sensitive Takiya locality
on Sunday afternoon. .....
by The Times of India
A new study has found that the Hindus belonging to lower (scheduled) castes
are unofficially declared as "untouchables" and are given a
second-grade-citizen treatment. Their kids are made to clean the school
premises and are forced to sit on back benches. .....
by Sumit Ganguly
Though the situation in Kashmir remains fraught, the immediate crisis
has subsided. Amidst calls from otherwise thoughtful and responsible commentators
about granting Kashmir the right of self-determination one needs to carefully
examine the meaning and the case for self-determination. .....
by Arun Sharma
Biro Devi is obsessed with the main gate. The frail 70-year-old steps
out every few hours to check if the thick iron lock is in place before
hobbling back into the bullet-riddled house. That morning on August 27,
when three armed militants barged in and held eight members of the family
hostage for 17 hours, the gate was left open. .....
by Debabrata Mohanty
Shankaracharya of Puri Goverdhan Peeth Swami Neeschalananda Saraswati
on Friday slammed the Naveen Patnaik Government and leaders of all political
parties, calling them enemies of the Hindu religion as the state Government
sealed all entry points to Kandhamal district ahead of a prayer meeting
held for slain VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. .....
by The Indian Express
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said that Pakistan
is using US aid meant for the war on terror to "prepare for a war
against India". He will hold Islamabad accountable for these massive
funds and increase pressure to bust terrorist safe havens if he becomes
President, Obama said on Fox News. .....
by Johnson T A
The BJP Government in Karnataka has issued notices to government-aided
Catholic schools in the state for staying shut on August 29 to protest
the violence against Christians in Orissa. The notices from the state
Education Department have asked schools to explain why they declared a
holiday without prior permission from the Government, in contravention
of the Education Department's rules. The closure disrupted academic process,
it further stated. .....
by Jagdeep Dhankhar
Beyond doubt, India is one of the worst sufferers of terror attacks during
the past few decades. On account of the menace of terrorism India's social
harmony got disrupted and its integrity challenged. Recent terror attacks
in Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad once again brought into sharp focus
the urgent need to have zero tolerance on terrorism and an effective counter-terrorism
legislation in place. .....
by Ashok K. Mehta
Tomorrow starts India's battle for the Nuclear Suppliers' Group waiver
for wining the 123 Agreement with the US. Never before has so big a political
investment been made for clean energy security. .....
by Prakash Nanda
In recent weeks, many "liberals" have argued in leading Indian
publications such as The Times of India and The Hindustan Times that if
Kashmiris (Muslims naturally) do not want to remain with India, they should
be allowed "azadi," i.e., to secede from the Union of India
and join the previous breakaway rogue-nation called Pakistan. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
Like the proverbial bad penny, secularism has re-entered the public discourse
with gusto. Concerns over the agitation in Jammu over a land transfer
to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board, the pro-azadi stir in the Kashmir valley,
the Hindu-Christian strife in Orissa and the revelations of an Islamist
hand in the terrorist strikes in Jaipur and Ahmedabad have coalesced to
produce another outcry over India's secular future. .....
by Mid-Day
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has given evidence to a British
probe agency against an alleged frontman of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim,
which may result in freezing of Rs 50 crores of the latter's assets. The
British agency had sought the CBI's help in the case. .....
by The Times of India
Three heavily-armed militants were killed as army troops guarding the
Line of Control (LoC) foiled a major infiltration bid in Tangdhar sector
of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, a defence spokesman said. .....
by Josy Joseph
Was Kenneth Haywood, whose cover was blown by an extremely savvy terrorist
group that hacked into his internet connection, an undercover operative?
Was his intention in India just to evangelise people on behalf of his
radical church group, or was he up to something more sinister? .....
by Anand Bodh
"Unhone aate hi uncle ko goli maar di. Hum sab dar gaye aur kitchen
mein chale gaye. Phir terrorists ne hum sab ko peechhe ke kamre mein bandh
kar diya (As soon as they came in, they shot uncle. We panicked and ran
into the kitchen. Then we were locked in a room)," recalled Sheetal.
.....
by R. Upadhyay
Going by the account of the educational and economic background of a number
of suspects of terror blasts in recent years provided by Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh police it appears that Islamist terrorism
in no more only the career of uneducated and economically backward Muslim
youths. .....
by P R Ramesh
In the mid-90's, PV Narasimha Rao chose of all places Ouagadougou in Burkina
Faso to reiterate that the "sky is the limit" as far as autonomy
to Kashmir was concerned. No single statement has done as much damage
for the Valley and those four words became the benchmark for negotiations
with secessionist mobs for successive Central governments. .....
by Nava Thakuria
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), formed in 1979 to fight for
a 'Sovereign Socialist Asom', today faces a peculiar and embracing situation.
The civil societies, advocacy groups with political parties and student
organizations of Assam have come to the streets raising their voices against
the hundred thousand illegal Bangladeshis living in the State. .....
by The Times of India
It is perhaps the most powerful proof yet of terrorist build up on the
International border. TV channel TIMES NOW has accessed security footage
that shows terrorists camping along the International Border in Jammu
and waiting for the opportune moment to strike. As reported time and again,
it is Pakistani troops who are aiding this exercise. .....
by H.S. Mehtani
In 1960, I joined Durgapur Steel Plant in West Bengal. The educated class
of Bengalies was proud to say that 40 per cent of revenue to national
exchequer was collected from Kolkata. It was true because of the economic
development in the eastern region of the country during British rule.
Number of industries like tea, oil, jute and steel plants were established
in West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Orissa. .....
by Compreligion.sulekha.com
Idiotic Indian and State Governments that did not heed to the Prophetic
words of John Dayal: John Dayal declared: "The recommendation made
by the NCM team that visited Orissa in January, 2008 that the State Government
must look into the speeches of Swami Lakshmanananda to determine whether
they amount to incitement to violence does not appear to have been acted
upon." .....
by Barbara Starr
U.S. military forces landed at a compound in Pakistan to battle targets
linked to recent attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a senior U.S.
official confirmed Wednesday. .....
by Jyoti Lal Chowdhury
The Centre and the state government have their own political expediency
to look at the issue. The 'alarming' situation of 1911 today has assumed
an 'explosive' and 'volatile' dimension. .....
by The Times of India
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday criticised the UPA government,
saying the Centre lacks commitment to tackle terrorism in the country.
.....
by B. R. Haran
'Secularism' in Indian parlance is farcically unique. 'Secularism' is
synonymous with 'anti-Hinduism' in India, that is Barath, which comprises
85% Hindus and 15% others. In this Hindu Barath at present, the most influential
section is the 'Secular Brigade', which comprises of almost all political
parties (except BJP), all media houses, both print and electronic (except
a very few) and most of all intellectuals and artists (again with an exception
of very few). .....
by Prof. ND Batra
Ms Arundhati Roy, writing in The Guardian (UK) about the trouble in Kashmir,
makes an interesting self-observation, with an aura of exceptionalism,
saying, "For someone like me, who is not a Muslim", the Islamic
idea of freedom is hard to accept. Ah! But what if she were Muslim? .....
by Amulya Ganguli
As the only open society which has been surrounded for prolonged periods
by military juntas, monarchies, communist and feudal regimes, India's
uniqueness was reflected not only by its democracy, but also by its constant
engagement with concepts of autonomy to reduce tension in its more restive
regions. .....
by Kanwal Sibal
The current turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir began with the blatantly communal
reaction in the valley to the decision to transfer a mere 40 hectares
of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board for creating temporary structures
for the convenience of the pilgrims. That the valley Muslims could at
all believe that this decision could have the potential, even remotely,
to change the demographics of Jammu and Kashmir, is astonishing. .....
by G. Parthasarathy
For the past four years separatist outfits and leaders in the Kashmir
Valley have been pampered in the mistaken belief that they can be made
to see reason by magnanimous gestures. The country is today paying the
price for such misguided beliefs. .....
by Sandhya Jain
Ignited Hindu men, women and children, who sustained a 61-day agitation
for the restoration of land allotted to create temporary facilities for
pilgrims to Sri Amarnath shrine, and the very thought of a blockade-that-never-was
had Jammu & Kashmir's majority population in visible sweat. .....
by Kumar Chellappan
"The new alignment proposed for the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel
Project (SSCP) is no better in terms of economy and environmental protection.
Even after different permutations and combinations, this project is destined
to be doomed because it does not make any sense" .....
by Rediff.com
Expressing doubts over the Maoists' claim of having killed leader Lakshmananda
Saraswati, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday insisted that 'a sect of
Christians' was behind the murder that has sparked widespread rioting
in Orissa. .....
by Arvind Lavakare
When several of our mainline English dailies recently splashed what they
thought was the novel headline, "Jammu vs Kashmir", on account
of the unprecedented angst and anger in the Jammu region of J & K
state over the denial of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board, I was amused.
.....
by Murali Krishnan
Former Jammu and Kashmir governor Lt. Gen. (retd.) S.K. Sinha has accused
the government of going out of its way to "appease" separatists
in the valley when it should have countered their "absurd propaganda"
that land transfer to the Amarnath shrine board was going to change the
demographic profile of Kashmir. .....
by Kanchan Gupta
Astonishing ignorance laces the arguments, proffered by bleeding heart
lib-left intellectuals and politicians who insist that secularism means
denial of Hindu rights, in defence of religious conversions through deceit,
allurement and coercion. "The Constitution guarantees Christian missionaries
the right to convert people to Christianity," we are told. .....
by Kanchan Gupta
On Monday, March 20, Assist News Service, based in Lake Forest, California,
USA, which circulates news about the work of evangelists around the world,
put out a story by Michael Ireland, its chief correspondent, headlined
'India's Prime Minister launches investigation into arrest and persecution
of Indian Christians'. .....
by Wilson John
The pro-azadi slogans we hear and the Pakistani flags we see in the Kashmir
Valley are self-contradictory. Or are they? What Farooq, Malik and Shah
dream of is no different from what Geelani hopes for: Kashmir becoming
Pakistani territory .....
by Barry Rubin
The Italian government, it has just come to light, let Palestinian terrorist
groups operate freely in its country from the 1970s onward as long as
they promised not to attack Italians. As former President Francesco Cossiga
explained, the agreement with the PLO and PFLP was that if you "don't
harm me... I won't harm you." .....
by V.P. Malik
On August 8 when Syed Ahmed Shah Geelani was shouting pro-Pakistan and
religious slogans in Srinagar, about 100 km to the north, Colonel J. J.
Thomas with his quick reaction team was trying to prevent Pakistani terrorists
from entering J&K. Thomas and his two colleagues were killed in that
encounter. .....
by Ratnadeep Banerji
"Even during our short stay, what was more than evident was how deeply
the mind of the people of this country has been influenced by the stories
of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. We have read in our Geography books how,
when fauna and flora migrate to a favourable soil, they multiply and spread
more luxuriantly than in their original habitat. In the same way people's
minds here have been overlaid by the epic stories. .....
by Ratnadeep Banerji
Cambodia or Kambodia is veritably the English transliteration of the French
name Kambodge implying for Sanskrit Kamboja. The Funan kingdom existed
in the 1st century BC as a pre-Angkor Indianised Khmer kingdom located
around the Mekong Delta with its capital at Vyadhapura. Funanese culture
was a blend of native beliefs and Indian ideas with Sanskrit as the court
language. .....
by Ratnadeep Banerji
Agama Hindu Dharma believes in one Supreme Being and that all the gods
like Brahma as the creator, Vishnu as the preserver and Shiva as the destroyer
are manifestations of this Supreme Being. Lord Shiva is worshipped under
different forms such as Batara Guru and Maharaja Dewa and often closely
related with the Sun in Kebatinan that is the local form of Hinduism and
even in the genie lore of Muslims. .....
by Tehelka
Q.: Has the AFSPA succeeded in achieving its goals in the past 50 years
of its implementation in the Northeast?
A.: The question is motivated. Don't examine the issue in isolation. There
would have been total chaos had the AFSPA not been in place. This is not
an ideal situation but it is definitely not the worst situation possible.
The law isn't bad, but we need to examine its implementation under these
trying circumstances. .....
by Ambreesh Mishra
He goes boldly where even the able-bodied men fear to tread. For Mukul
Gupta, the disability of lower limbs is hardly a handicap when it comes
to discharging his official duty-as a tehsildar recovering land illegally
being held by the high and mighty. .....
by Ayesha Khan
Perhaps it is the times we live in. Tragedies now engender anniversary
celebrations. There's a new social class of vocal, visible victims. And
publicly parading pain is the new thing. So in Gujarat on August 26, a
month after the Ahmedabad blasts, there were functions, official and NGO-sponsored.
.....
by Deepak Khajuria
Sheetal, Arshil, Kajal and Vipan would like to forget Wednesday as quickly
as possible, but they probably never will. Three militants in khaki who
locked the children in a room and threatened to put bullets in their heads
if they so much as wept have, in 17 blood-soaked hours, scarred them for
life. .....
by Ishfaq Naseem
Twenty-three-year-old Sanjogita and her mother Asha Devi were inconsolable.
A day after the terror attack at Chinore, women had gathered at their
house to mourn the death of Sanjogita's father, Naseeb Singh. A retired
Subedar Major, Naseeb had just returned home after buying milk when he
heard gunshots. He ran out and only a few blocks away from the house,
he was shot at. He died grappling with one of the militants. .....
by The Indian Express
The Bihar Government on Thursday accused the CBI of having taken a "complete
U-turn" in the disproportionate assets case against Railway Minister
Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi. .....
by Shishir Gupta
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday declared the Bihar floods a
"national calamity" and announced immediate assistance of Rs
1,000 crore for rescue and relief operations and 1.25 lakh tonnes of foodgrains.
.....
by Ravik Bhattacharya
While violence rages across Kandhamal district, in the ashram, where its
spark was lit when Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others were
killed on August 24, the adults are angry, the children traumatised. .....
by Bashir Pathan
On Friday, as Chief Minister Narendra Modi left for New Delhi to meet
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and underline the need to have a legislation
to curb terrorist activities in the state, particularly in the wake of
July 26 blasts, the issue of the Gujarat Control of Organised Crimes (GUJCOC)
Bill triggered a fresh spat between the ruling BJP and the Opposition
Congress in the state. .....
by Balbir K. Punj
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's interview to a Delhi
newspaper draws the curtains on the real issue in the on-going crisis
in Kashmir Valley. "Kashmir can survive as an independent nation,"
the Hurriyat chief claimed. "Much smaller places are surviving as
a nation, why can't we?" he countered all those who doubt that the
state can remain economically-viable as an independent entity. .....
