by Nandini Vaish
It's an invention Mahatma Gandhi would be proud of. Bangalore-based engineer
R.S. Hiremath, 48, has developed a product that combines the fundamental
principles of the age-old charkha with the power of a dynamo. The result:
an electronic charkha which can light a bulb even as it spins fibre. .....
by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
A Palestinian presenter at Hamas's Al-Aqsa Television asks a little girl
on a program for kids, "What do you want to become when you grow
up?" .....
by The Times of India
In the first high-level contact with Pakistan since 26/11, foreign secretary
S S Menon on Thursday met his counterpart Salman Bashir in Colombo and
rejected his suggestion for resumption of composite dialogue till Islamabad
took credible steps to end terrorism. .....
by The Times of India
Foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said the ongoing interaction
between India and Pakistan over Mumbai attacks should not be allowed to
deflect attention from the larger issue of dismantling terror infrastructure
in Pakistan. .....
by The Economic Times
Pakistan army's Colonel R Saadat Ullah, who has been named as one of the
accused in the 26/11 chargesheet, is working with Special Communications
Organisation, a unit of the Pakistani army that looks after telephone
networks in PoK and northern areas. .....
by Y P Rajesh & Sagnik Chowdhury
One of the most intriguing aspects of the 26/11 attacks across Mumbai
has been the ease with which the 10 Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists navigated
their way around the financial capital, even though it is believed that
they were in the city for the first time. .....
by IBNLive.com
Militants behind last year's attacks on Mumbai used cell phones that were
activated in the United States and paid for with funds sent from Italy,
an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
Amity between a democratic India and a democratic Pakistan has proved
an elusive ideal. Democratic Pakistan has lacked the necessary resilience
to take on an over-ambitious military. India has no choice but to prepare
for the worst. .....
by Yahoo News
Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns
hinder cooperation with China. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
How long does it take for a nation-state to either collapse into utter
chaos and anarchy or fragment into pieces? The question has repeatedly
been raised in the context of Pakistan, a country living on death row
since its violent birth in 1947. This week's imposition of sharia law
in the Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province after an
Islamist insurgency has again revived these concerns. .....
by Saibal Dasgupta
The atheist Communist Party of China has recently signed an agreement
with Pakistan's main Islamic party, the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Chinese move
has given the oft-criticized JI some sort of international acceptability
while putting Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari under significant political
pressure. .....
by Koenraad Elst
On 25 and 26 September 2008, the Paris-based South Asia Multidisciplinary
Academic Journal (SAMAJ) held a conference about "outraged communities:
investigating the politicisation of emotions in South Asia". The
texts of the contributed presentations have now been published in the
December 2008 issue of SAMAJ (integrally on-line at http://samaj.revues.org).
.....
by Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
The recent surrender by the Pakistani State to the Taliban in the Swat
valley may well turn out to be a watershed in the history of the Indian
subcontinent. In terms of long-term impact, this may even overshadow the
recent Mumbai massacres. All signs point to the 'Talibanisation' of Pakistan.
.....
by Andrew G. Bostom
Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders will be in the United States this
week, arriving direct from Italy where he received the Oriana Fallaci
Free Speech Award. .....
by The Pioneer
The 'peace deal' between the Pakistani Government and the pro-Taliban
Tehreek Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi has already claimed its first victim.
In a chilling reminder of what the Taliban really stands for, a journalist
working for The News and Geo TV, Musa Khankhel, has been brutally murdered.
His body, riddled with several bullets and his throat slit, was found
in Matta sub-division of Swat Valley. .....
by The Times of India
Concerned by "religion inspired violence", the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad has shot off a letter to 13 Muslim organisations requesting them
to issue a fatwa declaring India as a friend of Islam, 'Dar-Ul-Amn', against
which 'jihad' should not be waged. .....
by Bula Devi
In a well known school in South Delhi, an eleventh standard student who
also happens to be the head boy of the school, brought a bottle of alcohol
and a bottle of cola to the school. He and his group of friends, including
girls [all from educated, well to do families], drank in the classroom
and eventually got so drunk that when the teacher came to the class to
teach, the girl students, with glazed eyes and flushed faces, started
questioning her, instead of the teacher taking them to task. .....
by MJ Akbar
Instead of banning opinion polls during election time, the Government
should ban subversive academic organisations like Kolkata's Indian Statistical
Institute. Opinion polls and exit polls are way off the mark, so why bother?
A ban only betrays the nervousness of a Government anxious to come back
to power, but uncertain about how this will happen. .....
by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
Ahmed Al-Sarraf cited in Al-Qabas (June 2, 2007) some passages from a
Kuwaiti school textbook taught at the first secondary grade. Here is an
English translation of passages from the book, "Jurisprudence",
page 38 .....
by Vir Sanghvi
If you have missed the controversy that led to the arrest of the editor
of The Statesman in Calcutta for offending religious sentiments - which
you might have, because the national media downplayed the issue - then
here's what it is about. .....
by The Pioneer
The Centre's decision to discontinue vaccine production at three of its
top-billing vaccine manufacturing PSUs got a rap from the Supreme Court
on Friday with the man facing the heat for his misadventure, Union Health
Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, asked by the court to justify his action.
.....
by Mark Steyn
'It is hard to understand this deal," said Richard Holbrooke, President
Obama's special envoy. And, if the special envoy of the so-called smartest
and most impressive administration in living memory can't understand it,
what chance do the rest of us have? .....
by Melaine Phillips
If anyone had doubted the extent to which Britain has capitulated to Islamic
terror, the banning of Geert Wilders a few hours ago should surely open
their eyes. Wilders, the Dutch member of parliament who had made an uncompromising
stand against the Koranic sources of Islamist extremism and violence,
was due to give a screening of Fitna, his film on this subject, at the
House of Lords on Thursday. .....
by B. Raman
Tibetan youth organizations in Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas
of China have kept up their campaign for the observance of the Tibetan
New Year's Day (Losar) on February 25, 2009, as a day of mourning in homage
to those killed by the Chinese security forces in the run-up to the Beijing
Olympics of August,2008, and March 10, 2009 .....
by Kanchan Gupta
There is sufficient reason to be worried about the gutless civilian Government
in Pakistan abjectly capitulating to the Islamic fanatics of Swat Valley
who have prohibited girls from attending school, ordered women to stay
at home, instructed parents to give their daughters as 'wives' to the
Taliban, begun flogging men in public squares, and will soon replace popular
entertainment by way of films and music with stoning victims of rape to
death in bazaars. .....
by Expressindia.com
Pakistan based banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, which plotted and
executed the Mumbai carnage, killing more than 170 people, had placed
India's financial hub among 320 potential targets around the world to
carry out commando-style terror attacks. .....
by The Times of India
A powerful explosion blamed by police on a suicide bomber killed more
than 30 people and injured at least 50 on Friday in the Pakistani city
of Dera Ismail Khan, according to residents and Pakistani television reports.
.....
by The Times of India
The masterminds of 26/11 had plotted at least 20 attacks across the country,
according to western experts who mined the data stored in the computer
of leading Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Zarar Shah and sifted through the
email. .....
by The Indian Express
At least 32 people were killed and nearly 160 injured on Friday when a
suicide bomber blew himself up in the funeral procession of a Shia cleric
in the Pakistani city of Dera Ismail Khan, sparking angry protests which
prompted authorities to impose curfew. .....
by Maroosha Muzaffar
Caught between his passion for Cricket and his mother's allegiance to
a separatist movement, Class XI student Muhammad Bin Qasim is confused
as he packs his kit-bag, perhaps for good. .....
by Rohit Parihar
Manish Dixit, a young civil engineer, drives a Scorpio, uses the latest
cellphone and lives in a wellfurnished house. Sounds like another successful
professional? Yes, but with a difference: Dixit is a convicted murderer
serving a lengthy jail sentence in an 'open jail'. .....
by Tehelka
Ayurvedic treatments have great relevance today, as change in eating habits
and modern lifestyles have made even the very young prone to ailments
such as obesity, diabetes, spondylitis, arthritis etc. With over 80 years
of experience in creating a reputable brand of ayurvedic health centres,
the Kairali Group has earned the trusts of hundreds of satisfied customers
from all over the world. .....
by Rajendra P Kerkar
Mahashivratri - a festival dedicated to lord Shiva - will be celebrated
with much fervour across the country and state on Monday. Among the Hindu
triad, Shiva is believed to be the destroyer or re-creator and has traditionally
been worshipped by tribal communities. .....
by Amar Khan
Pakistan was founded to secure the socio-economic interests of Muslims.
Islamic factor was only in the mind of common Muslim mob of that age.
The founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was wine drinker and pork eater
himself, said on August 11, 1947 .....
by Ibrahim Lone
Let me begin by telling you what the war in Kashmir is about and what
not. Well for starters, the war in Kashmir is not about freedom, human
rights, equality, right to self-determination or anything that media normally
tells us. In truth, it is about Islam. Yes, what is going on in Kashmir
is the direct result of the commands that are enshrined in the Muslim
Holy Book, the Quran, and the commands of their Prophet. .....
by The Economic Times
Even as the government accepts that illegal infiltration from Bangladesh
is a reality and may have altered the demographic profile of some border
districts, it has refused to quantify the extent of the problem citing
its "clandestine" nature. .....
by K.S. Shaini
In the Vindhya Pradesh region, a part of Madhya Pradesh bordering Uttar
Pradesh, the birth of a girl child is considered bad news, as in many
parts of rural India. Women throw water on a burning chulha in an age-old
custom that symbolises the family's disappointment over the oppressive
financial burden the girl's birth traditionally brings. .....
by The Hindu
Opposing the takeover of the administration of the famous Nataraja temple
in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district from Dikshitar community by the state
government, Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy has said that
he would implead himself in an appeal proposed by the Dikshitars challenging
a single bench Judge's order paving the way for the government take over.
.....
by Murtaza Razvi
The Swat valley's steady descent into chaos, from a bustling leisure tourism
destination up until the '90s to a cultural wasteland now controlled by
a bunch of medieval-minded Taliban, tells a sorry tale of state complacence,
as it continues to fail. .....
by The Times of India
Sanjay Belsare did not look any less than a person working in corporate
world, wearing a suit, walking confidently and even talking in English.
Nothing he did made him look like any other autorickshaw driver you would
have seen. .....
by The Times of India
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has acknowledged that Taliban, with
whom his government reached a truce deal in the restive Swat valley days
ago, are "murderous thugs and militants" who "pose a danger
to Pakistan, the US and India". .....
by The Times of India
As the euphoria over Pakistan's "positive" response to the Indian
dossier on Mumbai attacks dies down, it is slowly becoming clear that
forcing Pakistan to act against the alleged perpetrators is going to be
even tougher than getting it to admit that these attacks were planned
in Pakistan. .....
by The Pioneer
In an otherwise bleak scenario, two good news stories published by this
newspaper serve to highlight the fact that there is no reason to lose
hope, at least not yet, although every additional day the UPA remains
in power further erodes the people's faith in Government. The first story
relates to young Kashmiris turning up in large numbers at the Army's recruitment
camp in Baramulla, which till recently was a hotbed of separatism and
terrorism. .....
by Srdja Trifkovic
With the ascension of Barack Obama in Washington, the proponents of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) are entertaining fresh hopes that the
United States will ratify the 1998 Rome Statutes and join 108 countries
that have signed up to the Court thus far. .....
by G. Parthasarathy
If expedience led the Americans to allow A. Q. Khan to go free two decades
ago, have they realised the dangers they could face by covering up the
Pakistan army's role in facilitating nuclear proliferation worldwide .....
by J. Ajithkumar
Rulers of any state would like to keep many things undefined. It is one
of the proven ways to perpetuate their reign by offering different interpretations
at different times for the same provisions even in a written document.
When written and approved in 1950, Indian Constitution was one of the
best written documents with all its provisions and omissions well deliberated
and concluded. .....
by Manjari Mishra & Binay Singh
The tall, stately structure in pristine white with its imposing domes
and minarets springing out of paddyfields on Azamgarh-Varanasi highway
looks surreal. .....
by Rahi Gaikwad
A sizeable number of the 21 Indian Mujahideen men, accused in cases of
various blasts in the country and against whom a charge sheet was filed
by the Mumbai Crime Branch here in a court on Tuesday, belong to Azamgarh
in Uttar Pradesh. .....
by Tunku Varadarajan
My fellow columnist Gordon G. Chang made a piquant point in this space
last week in his preview of Hillary Clinton's trip to East Asia--her first
trip abroad as secretary of state. Chiding her for what he regarded as
a scheduling misjudgment, he wrote that "she should have reserved
time for a stop-over" in India. I agree with him 100%. .....
by Organiser
According to the complaints of Hindu Nagas, the Christian missionaries
from Tamenlong in Manipur in collusion with their Barak Valley activists
have been converting the Hindus of Ujan Tarapur through allurements and
threats. .....
by Pranab Dhal Samanta
The Pakistan government's purchase of peace by acceding to the enforcement
of Shariah in the Malakand division of NWFP - this includes the Swat Valley
- has raised serious concerns in New Delhi on several counts - particularly
the Pakistan Army's apparent inability to squarely check the influence
of Pakistani Taliban that is now beginning to reverberate even in the
Punjab province. .....
by Paul Cheston
The Islamist extremist plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets using
British-based suicide bombers was directed from Pakistan, a court heard
today. .....
by Shaju Philip
Already reeling under several controversies, the Kerala Catholic Church
is facing fresh embarrassment from a tell-all autobiography written by
a nun who recently quit the Order alleging harassment from superiors.
.....
by Yahoo News
Samajwadi Party today said it has no problem with BJP if the saffron party
gives up its Hindutva issues, drawing a sharp reaction from the main opposition
party which said it cannot make sacrifice its ideology for short-term
political gains. .....
by ExpressIndia.com
After inking a deal with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government
for implementation of Islamic law in the Swat Valley, the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat
Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad, has expressed his desire of implementation
of a similar law over the whole world. .....
by Gururaj A. Paniyadi
The expression "Talibanisation of Mangalore" has put Union minister
for women and child welfare Renuka Chowdhury in a spot with the judicial
magistrate first class (JMFC), third court, Mangalore, directing the Mangalore
Rural police on Wednesday to file an FIR against her. .....
by Samudra Gupta Kashyap
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's announcement that he wanted New Delhi
to use its influence on the new regime in Bangladesh to demolish the camps
of the militant groups of Assam comes at a time when the United Liberation
Front of Asom (ULFA) has apparently developed a close alliance with the
ISI, HuJI and other Islamic forces active in the neighbouring country.
.....
by Sandhya Jain
Given its position that Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami lacks
the authority to recommend removal of his colleague Navin Chawla without
a Presidential reference, and the Law Minister's bald assertion that Mr.
Chawla will most likely be elevated as CEC in view of his current seniority,
it is not surprising that the UPA has decided not to act upon Mr. Gopalaswami's
January 16 letters to President Pratibha Patil. .....
by Al Goodman
Spanish police Tuesday arrested a Spanish soldier and his Russian girlfriend
for allegedly posting videos on the Internet promoting Islamic extremist
views and calling for attacks in Spain, a Ministry of Interior statement
said. .....
by The Times of India
All 21 alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists have been chargesheeted
for hatching the conspiracy to set off blasts in various cities including
Delhi, Bangalore and Surat. .....
by ExpressIndia.com
The world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden could be hiding out
in a walled compound in Parachinar, a town along the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border, according to a unique satellite-aided geographic analysis released
on Tuesday. .....
by Susan MacAllen
In Denmark, once-liberal immigration policies have forced huge governmental
change and zero tolerance for Muslim immigrants intent on turning Denmark
into an Islamic welfare haven. FSM Contributing Editor Susan MacAllen
reveals a shocking reaction there and lessons America must learn. .....
by Ashok Malik
During its National Executive meeting in Nagpur later this week, the BJP
needs to confront a compelling question: why has the party, in the words
of a senior functionary, 'lost momentum' in recent months? .....
by Chidanand Rajghatta
The US welcomed Pakistan's decision to acknowledge the involvement of
its nationals in the Mumbai terrorist attack and prosecute the masterminds,
but warned that "unless Islamabad takes sustained, concrete, meaningful
steps to allay Indian concerns about its support to anti-Indian militant
groups,'' peace talks between the two countries may not resume. .....
by Johnson T A
Separate investigations over the last two years into Indian Mujahideen-connected
Terror attack cases around India have gradually thrown up a mind-boggling
network of operatives working under a common leadership and drawing on
common resources for making bombs. .....
by The Asian Age
Pakistan's official response to the Indian dossier, delivered to India's
high commissioner in Islamabad on Thursday, confirms that India wasn't
crying wolf after the Mumbai terrorist attack. The verification by Islamabad
of the material supplied by this country reinforces every concern harboured
here that the outrage was the outcome of an extensive conspiracy planned
and executed by Pakistani nationals from Pakistani soil. .....
by Philip Bowring
Bangladesh democracy was revived last December in what by most accounts
was one of the fairest, best run elections seen anywhere in south Asia.
But after a stunning election victory, the new Prime Minister, Ms Sheikh
Hasina, has a tough task to translate the evident popular desire for democracy
into a government that is more effective, less corrupt and less prone
to a "winner take all" attitude to politics than its elected
predecessors. .....
by Balbir K. Punj
With Lok Sabha elections around the corner, theatre of the absurd is at
its best in the country. The CPI(M) supermo Prakash Karat is busy building
his Third Alternative, promising a stable government at the Centre with
a collection of several regional leaders, each of whom wants to be Prime
Minister, and the Marxists themselves split down the middle. .....
by The Asian Age
Swaths of western China that have large Tibetan populations have been
declared off limits to foreign visitors, local officials confirmed on
Thursday, ahead of the politically sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed
Tibetan uprising. .....
by Mumin Salih
There is little doubt that hijab has become as much a symbol of Islam
as the Crescent. The irony is that both of these two so-called Islamic
icons, widely believed to be Islamic, are, in reality, not parts of Islam.
.....
by The Indian Express
Civil liberties of terrorist or people who take to guns in order to harm
the sovereignty of India need to be separated from that of ordinary citizens
of the country, BJP leader Arun Shourie said in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
.....
by Andrew Bostom
In the wake of Britain's repulsive behavior towards Geert Wilders-barring
his entry to speak at a House of Lords showing of his sobering, realistic
film, Fitna, and demonizing him in uninformed press accounts, left, center,
and right, and pious denouncements by so-called British "leaders"
from across the political spectrum .....
by The Times of India
In what should scotch all doubts about who was responsible for the Samjhauta
Express blasts of February 2007 that killed about 70 people, US has approached
the UN to get a certain Asif Kasmani declared an international terrorist.
.....
by M R Venkatesh
In a remarkable string of coincidences over the past fortnight or so,
the United Progressive Alliance government has successfully and repeatedly
denigrated our democratic institutions. Naturally, if the silence of our
intellectuals on this issue has left me intrigued, the response by the
opposition parties to the same has left me completely flummoxed. .....
by Amil Imani
"Love" is thought as virtue, while "hate" is considered
vice. But not all forms of love are good and not all hates are bad. If
you love to set buildings on fire, molest children, or steal, these are
obviously bad loves. If you hate racism, sexism or injustices of all sorts,
then these are good hates. .....
by Rajeev Sharma
Officiating Prime Minister Pranab Mukherjee is understood to have taken
strong exception to Na tional Security Advisor M K Narayanan's lavish
praise for Pakistan and has told him to refrain from acting as spokesman
of the government of India. .....
by Hindustan Times
In a suspected case of a love affair, five men barged into a home in northeast
Delhi and forcibly took away a 16-year-old girl with them after attacking
her family members who resisted them, the police said on Wednesday. .....
by Claude Arpi
"The year 2008 was an extraordinary one in the history of the People's
Republic of China. In that year China overcame a devastating earthquake
in Sichuan Province; successfully hosted the 29th Olympic Games and Paralympics
in Beijing; and greeted the 30th anniversary of the adoption of reform
and opening-up policies". .....
by Hindustan Times
More than 100 tribal separatists have surrendered before the authorities
in Tripura after fleeing from their bases in adjoining Bangladesh, officials
said in Agartala on Sunday. .....
by The Times of India
The Pakistan government and Islamic hardliners on Monday signed an agreement
to enforce Sharia law in the northwestern Swat valley, a provincial minister
told reporters. .....
by Seema Hussain
The arrest of two Manipuri militants in Guwahati has brought to light
the existence of a 15-year-old Islamic militant group from Manipur called
the People's United Liberation Front (PULF). The arrested-Noor Sana, 31,
and Zakir Hussain, 34-were living in a rented house in the Noonmati area
of Guwahati. .....
by Irish Independent
At the age of 13, Alfie Patten is not the youngest person in Britain to
father a child: four British boys aged 11 have become fathers over the
past decade. .....
by Rohini Mohan
In Jawaharlal Nehru's old home in Delhi resides a noble institution that,
for 45 years, has supported scholars and historians across the country.
Through its fellowship programme, the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum
and Library (NMML) has funded some of India's best academics such as historian
Ramachandra Guha and Chief Information Commissioner OP Kejriwal in their
pursuit of the highest standards of research. .....
by Craig Read
Critics of Islam usually demand a Western style reformation to drag the
Arab creation out of the 7th century pre modern pagan mind-set, into the
modern world. There is little chance of that happening. Islam is an ideology
- a political project first and foremost. .....
by Swapan Dasgupta
The 'cool' Gandhi and his equally cool band of young Congress MPs who
flaunt busy- looking mobile phones and network on Facebook are subtly
painted as the upholders of the Obama tradition in India. The young inheritors,
ranging from Rahul baba to Omar Abdullah, are made out to be India's literal
answer to Obama's "smart power". .....
by M.V. Kamath
Newly elected US President Barack Obama has now done better than British
Foreign Secretary David Miliband. The latter equates Pakistan-sponsored
terrorism with what he believes "solving the Kashmir problem".
There is no "Kashmir problem". .....
by The Hindu
A PIL has been filed in the Bombay High Court against a scholarship scheme
for religious minorities. The scheme, launched by Union Ministry of Minority
Affairs last year, provides for 20,000 scholarships on merit and income
basis for students from Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Parsi communities.
.....
by The Times of India
Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been granted a 14-day
judicial remand of the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks
and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, TV reports say. .....
by Omar Khalidi
India is seen as a shining example of a secular state but in reality the
Indian state actually privileges Hinduism over other religions and religious
communities. The Indian state is in fact the defender of the dharma for
at least five reasons. .....
by Sarah Whyte and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
At international interfaith meeting, religious leaders pledge global cooperation
and lash out at ills they say are afflicting their faiths. .....
by The Pioneer
The admission by Pakistan that its territory was used for launching the
26/11 fidayeen attack on Mumbai, in which at least 180 people were killed,
and that part of the conspiracy was hatched in that country, follows more
than two months of strenuous, often comical, denial by Islamabad. .....
by Shobori Ganguli
Indian intelligence may well have brushed the threat aside as "nothing
new", but the latest warning to India from Al Qaeda outlines the
supremely diabolical make-up of an outfit which the world's mightiest
military power has been unable to defang. Al Qaeda's military commander
Mustafa Abu al-Yazid has threatened that "India should know that
it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan. .....
by George Joseph
Who were the people of ancient Indian civilizations? Has archaeological
evidence confirmed the existence of common features of Vedic and Indus
culture(s)? .....
by Nazila Fathi
In a year of marriage, Razieh Qassemi, 19, says she was beaten repeatedly
by her husband and his father. Her husband, she says, is addicted to methamphetamine
and has threatened to marry another woman to "torture" her.
.....
by Matthew Rosenberg
There's a report on the Mumbai attacks that has been making the rounds
in Pakistan, e-mailed between friends in the last few weeks and occasionally
ending up on the desk of one official or another. Its title pretty much
sums up its content: "Mumbai: Dance of the Devil; Hindu Zionists,
Mumbai Attacks and the Indian Dossier against Pakistan." .....
by The Pioneer
Backing the 'hot pursuit' of Al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, Afghan
President Hamid Karzai has said he would fully support an American attack
at terrorist hideouts in the neighbouring country that is based on actionable
intelligence. .....
by Free Press Journal
After admitting that there was local support for the Mumbai terror attack
- something Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also hinted at - city
Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor on Thursday night backtracked on his
claim that some Indian nationals were among the 16 men wanted for their
role in the carnage. .....
by The Times of India
The US on Friday termed Pakistan's admission that the Mumbai attacks were
launched from its soil as an "important first step in the right direction"
and said it will "watch and help" to ensure that Islamabad completes
the investigation and prosecution in the case. .....
by Anuradha Dutt
Two senior Spanish diplomats are so enamoured of Varanasi that they are
determined to try their utmost to revive it. Mr Ion de la Riva Guzman
de Frutos, Ambassador of Spain to India, and Mr Oscar Pujol are engaged
in mobilising funds and technical expertise for developing the great pilgrimage
as a world heritage site. .....
by Alpita Masurkar
This will probably be one of the few Valentine's Day celebrations that
neither the Shiv Sena, Sri Ram Sene or any right wing political party
will oppose. .....
by The Times of India
Right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders, who is being prosecuted at
home for anti-Islam remarks, said he was barred from entering Britain
on Thursday after he landed in defiance of a government ban. .....
by Geetha Venkatramanan
An ardent devotee of Paramacharya - the walls of her T. Nagar apartment
are covered with his pictures - Mahalakshmi Subramaniam's mission is to
take up the renovation of temples that are in ruins. .....
by Ajitha Karthikeyan
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to knock on the doors of Sri Sathya
Sai Trust once again, seeking help to clean up the Cooum river which has
been reduced to a drainage from a fresh water source. .....
by The Pioneer
Saints have started reaching for the three-day Narmada River cleanliness
drive scheduled from February 21 at Budni ghat. Over 1500 saints have
already reached for the drive that is an initiative of the Saints community.
Jagad Guru Ramnaresh Acharya and Madhav Dasji from Mumbai would also reach
to provide their support for the drive. .....
by Vivek Deshpande
Whenever Vidarbha's farm crisis is debated, the blame is often thrust
on the farmers themselves. But three farmers from Yavatmal - the district
saw maximum farmers' suicides, 222, in 2006 - have finally proved their
critics wrong. .....
by Kamran Haider & Stephen Graham
Denial after denial later and barely weeks after it sacked its National
Security Advisor for saying that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks
could be from Pakistan, Islamabad took the first step today towards admitting
the facts. .....
by K. Subrahmanyam
The Pakistani media alleges that the release of Dr A.Q. Khan from his
house arrest is meant to comply with a widely popular demand and also
to demonstrate to the Pakistani public that the Zardari Government is
not subservient to the US. .....
by The Indian Express
A blanket of exasperation has settled over South Block, with Pakistan's
consistently evasive responses to the Mumbai Terror attack dossier. This
week the Defence Committee of Pakistan's cabinet belied expectations that
it would issue a substantive reply, and instead alluded to further queries
to be put to the Indian investigators. .....
by The Indian Express
Poland promised to issue international arrest warrants for Taliban militants
after the apparent beheading of a Polish engineer in Pakistan, and officials
charged that elements within the Pakistani Government shared blame for
the killing. .....
by The Indian Express
Piling up pressure on Pakistan, US President Barack Obama on Tuesday made
it clear that the US will not allow havens for al-Qaeda and Taliban in
tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, and asked Islamabad to take "control
of the situation". .....
by The Indian Express
A daily wage labourer was killed and five labourers were injured on Tuesday
in a clash following their demand for 100 days of work under the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The incident took place at
Raninagar block in Murhsidabad. .....
by Zeeshan Haider & Shubhajit
Roy
In the first direct message to India by the al-Qaeda, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid,
commander of its operations in Afghanistan and ranked behind No. 2 Ayman
al-Zawahiri, has warned of more attacks like the one on Mumbai, and said
its economic interests would be targeted if it retaliates against Pakistan.
.....
by Kanchan Gupta
Even before the full horror of the fidayeen attack on Mumbai, which was
launched late in the evening on November 26 and lasted for the next 62
hours, had begun to sink in, Islamabad sought to distance itself from
the terrible bloodbath. .....
by Ganesh Nadar
Slumdog Millionaire has received tremendous international recognition
and highlighted Mumbai's underbelly. While some hail it as a grand endorsement
for the city, others think of it as a sorry stereotype. .....
by Sheela Bhatt
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor on Thursday stated on record
that Indians were involved in the terror attack on Mumbai last November.
.....
by The Pioneer
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party continued to trade charges on Wednesday
even as the seat-sharing dialogue has come to a halt and both sides seem
to be exploring other options. SP general secretary Amar Singh would meet
Sharad Pawar on Thursday to discuss the possibility of forging together
an alternative alliance. .....
by Subir Bhaumik
The editor and publisher of a top English-language Indian daily have been
arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims.
.....
by Tarun Vijay
Nandita, the director and scriptwriter, has tried to be as honest and
candid with the celluloid as her deep-rooted commitment to her political
ideology. Terrifyingly impressive is the way she uses silence as a tool
to etch her message on the viewers' minds. The actors live the characters
they represent. And she admits frankly, "It's a political movie."
.....
by Chidanand Rajghatta
Poland has joined the ranks of countries accusing Pakistan of inaction,
if not outright complicity in terrorist activity, following the beheading
last week of a Polish national by the Pakistani Taliban. .....
by Free Press Journal
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Monday lashed out at the
Congress, saying if his party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was charged with
corruption, "so could Sonia Gandhi or even Manmohan Singh",
signalling further strain in their already troubled alliance talks. .....
by PC Sharma
The justification of terrorist activities by certain quarters on the basis
of religion or ideology has been deprecated in clear terms by the United
Nations Declaration of Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism.
Further, the UN resolutions adopted under the title "Human Rights
and Terrorism" have "unequivocally condemned all acts .....
by Abraham Thomas
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) acted under the Centre's directive
in seeking to bail out Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in the
disproportionate assets case. The CBI's admission in the Supreme Court
on Tuesday sent shock waves among legal luminaries, with senior advocate
KTS Tulsi even saying the CBI "has sold its soul". .....
by Vicky Nanjappa
The Karnataka police may have cracked the Bangalore blasts case, but it
has also revealed the functioning of a deadly Kerala module. .....
by Christian Telegraph
A British woman who has fostered more than 80 children over ten years
has been disqualified from service as a caregiver after a teenage Muslim
girl in her charge converted to Christianity, reports Catholic News Agency.
.....
by The Times of India
Giving a new twist to probe into Mumbai attacks, Pakistan is now alleging
that there were "elements in India" who helped carry out the
strikes and wants its investigators to be provided access to them. .....
by The Times of India
Poland has joined the ranks of countries accusing Pakistan of inaction,
if not outright complicity in terrorist activity, following the beheading
last week of a Polish national by the Pakistani Taliban. .....
by Chidanand Rajghatta
US President Barack Obama put Pakistan on notice on Monday over its widely
perceived sponsorship of terrorism, saying ''it's not acceptable for Pakistan
or for us to have folks who, with impunity, will kill innocent men, women
and children.'' .....
by Saurav Basu
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award for national service. The order
was established by Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of India, on January
2, 1954. Today, there are 41 Bharat Ratna winners in India, the last being
Bhimsen Joshi. And yet, there are noticeable absentees. Mahatma Gandhi,
the most conspicuous but since he was already elevated to the "father
of the nation", his posthumous soul automatically opted out of the
race. .....
by Rafia Zakaria
Lulled into catatonia by pervasive helplessness, Pakistanis can do little
except deny that violence exists or stubbornly insist that even if it
does, it means little. .....
by The Pioneer
Islamic religious leaders owe it to their faith and community to issue
a fatwa against terrorists claiming shelter in Islam, says Dharma Raksha
Manch in this appeal .....
by A Surya Prakash
Some sections of the chatterati, which are obviously not well-groomed
in the democratic tradition, have been trying relentlessly over the past
week to whip up public sentiment against Chief Election Commissioner N
Gopalaswami for recommending the removal of his colleague, Mr Navin Chawla,
for his avowed pro-Congress leaning. .....
by Hiral Dave
The historic Dwarkadheesh Temple, situated in the ancient town of Dwarka
on the banks of the Gomti, will soon have protection from the vagaries
of weather, age and bio-degradation. The Archaeological Survey of India
is carrying out chemical treatment on the 1,400-year-old nij mandir, the
main temple structure. .....
by The Pioneer
With Pakistan saying it needs more information on Mumbai attacks to pursue
probe, India on Tuesday criticised it for talking through the media and
asked it to seek officially whatever it wants. .....
by Sreenivas Janyala
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has opened the doors of its prestigious
Vedic schools to Scheduled Caste and non-Brahmin students. Considered
sacred, admission to Vedic schools was restricted only to Brahmins and
the TTD's decision goes a long way in its attempt to shed its image of
a caste-rigid organisation. .....
by Vicky Nanjappa
The assault on the daughter of an MLA and her friend at Mangalore has
taken a new turn with the Democratic Youth Federation of India claiming
responsibility behind the incident. .....
by David Stokes
During a recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, President Obama
indicated that his administration is in fact moving away from the of the
phrase "war on terror." Recognizing that "we have a battle
or a war against some terrorist organizations," he sees those groups
as not "representative of a broader Arab community." .....
by Expressindia.com
A leading Islamic seminary has issued a decree declaring the BSP slogan
of 'Jai Bhim' as un-Islamic and violative of Shariat. .....
by Mouparna Bandyopadhyay
Terror strikes at the heart but cannot quite kill the spirit. This is
exactly what a group of Jewish tourists from the US are out to prove.
.....
by The Pioneer
The issue of the abduction of and attack on Shruti, daughter of CPI(M)'s
Manjeswaram MLA CH Kunhambu, and a Muslim boy while travelling by bus
from Kasaragod to Mangalore inside Karnataka territory on Friday is set
to turn into a political controversy with the BJP alleging that the MLA
has been using own daughter to gain political mileage. .....
by The Pioneer
Army chief General Deepak Kapoor feels the armed forces are an "unattractive"
career option for the country's youth and is looking at steps to counter
that image. .....
by Free Press Journal
The Pakistan government is evidently trying to shield its intelligence
outfit the ISI and the 'non-state actors' like the Lashkar-e-Taiba from
responsibility for the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed
180 lives. The attempt by the Federal Investigation Agency to pin the
blame for the ghastly attacks on a banned militant group in Bangladesh,
the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen-al Islami, is utterly clumsy and hastily crafted.
.....
by News Today
'Hindu Dharma has its soul in 'contribution' that is giving and one should
not stop oneself being a 'consumer' and should also contribute, spiritual
leader Swami Dayananda Saraswati has said. .....
by News Today
In a shocking incident, which has been reported, around forty people have
been involved in a drunken revelry inside a TTD guest house in Tirumala-Tirupati.
Two persons, who are alleged to be associates of TTD Chairman and Liquor
Baron D K Adikesavulu Naidu, are believed to have brought them in. .....
by The Pioneer
In the immediate aftermath of last November's terrible fidayeen attack
on Mumbai, the Congress declared that it was determined to combat terrorism
and make India a safer place for both its citizens and visitors. To demonstrate
its determination, Mr Shivraj Patil was removed from the Ministry of Homes
Affairs and this all-important portfolio was given to Mr P Chidambaram
who .....
by Ashok Malik
In nominating movie star Sanjay Dutt as its Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow,
the Samajwadi Party has by all accounts taken its rivals by surprise.
As is well known, Dutt was implicated in the Mumbai bombings case of 1993.
.....
by Dawn
Norway's leading opposition Progress Party slammed on Thursday what it
termed the "gradual Islamisation" of the country after an order
allowing policewomen to wear the Islamic head scarf if they so wished.
.....
by Hamaraphotos.com
A large number of Tribals in Tripura recently celebrated the Ganga festival
to worship the holy river Ganga, which is revered by millions of Hindus
in India and across the world as a divine river. .....
by Mir Ehsan
Kashmir's Fruit Growers, who organised massive protests for opening of
the Srinagar-Muzuffarabad road for the trade activities, now have stopped
sending their apple consignments to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). .....
by Balbir Punj
It may not surprise long-time political observers that the Congress has
sought to defend Election Commissioner Navin Chawla after Chief Election
Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommended his removal from office. .....
by The Times of India
The top leaders of ULFA have close links with Pakistan's intelligence
agency ISI and have been enjoying patronage of Bangladeshi spy agency
DGFI, a former senior leader of the banned outfit claimed on Friday. .....
by The Times of India
India on Friday said the United Nations should ensure that Pakistan fulfills
its commitment to end terrorism emanating from its soil. External affairs
minister Pranab Mukherjee said he had apprised UN secretary-general Ban
Ki-moon on Thursday about the details of the Mumbai attacks which were
carried out by elements based in Pakistan. .....
by The Pioneer
In the immediate aftermath of last November's terrible fidayeen attack
on Mumbai, the Congress declared that it was determined to combat terrorism
and make India a safer place for both its citizens and visitors. .....
by The Pioneer
Terror infrastructure in Pakistan is "existing and active",
according to Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor, who puts the number of terror
camps there in between 30 and 50. .....
by Heidi Vogt
No one knows who brought the book to the mosque, or at least no one dares
say. The pocket-size translation of the Quran has already landed six men
in prison in Afghanistan and left two of them begging judges to spare
their lives. They're accused of modifying the Quran and their fate could
be decided Sunday in court. .....
by G. Parthasarathy
Ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on New York and Washington forced
an American-led coalition to militarily oust the Taliban in Afghanistan,
Pakistan has provided shelter to Taliban political leaders in Baluchistan
and allowed the Taliban military leadership and cadres to regroup and
rearm in the Tribal Areas of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). .....
by P.N. Benjamin
Christians are thoroughly muddled over the business of conversion. They
don't want to quit this field of clover. However, think for a moment.
Do they really want their Hindu and Muslim friends to join the churches?
Listen in at their Pastorate Committee meetings. .....
by ExpressIndia.com
Home Ministry is perturbed over the continuous reports of overstaying
and disappearance of Bangladeshis after their arrival in the country with
more than 70,000 people travelling on valid documents still missing since
2006 in addition to illegal immigrants. .....
by News Today
The face-off between CEC Gopalaswami and the Election Commissioner Navin
Chawla has resulted in a conundrum at a critical time when the nation
is about to go for polls. The government is in a piquant situation and
it has to handle it deftly and decide in the interest of the nation. .....
by The New Indian Express
Nearly 40 Hindu organisations will showcase their activities at the 'Hindu
Spiritual and Service Fair 2009', in the city for three days, starting
Friday. .....
by Chennaionline.com
The Chennai chapter of the Delhi-based Global Foundation for Civilisational
Harmony (GFCH) will organise a three-day Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair
2009 here starting February six. .....
by The Pioneer
Pakistan's probe into the Mumbai attacks is likely to indicate that the
incident was the handiwork of a network of Muslim fundamentalist groups
in South Asia as investigators have found evidence of a Bangladeshi connection,
according to a media report. .....
by Johann Hari
The right to criticise religion is being slowly doused in acid. Across
the world, the small, incremental gains made by secularism - giving us
the space to doubt and question and make up our own minds - are being
beaten back by belligerent demands that we "respect" religion.
.....
by Gopu Mohan
Observing the death anniversary of late chief minister C N Annadurai,
the ruling DMK will offer 31 special pujas at various temples on Tuesday.
Ironically, Annadurai was an atheist and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's
son, M K Stalin, named after a Communist leader, will be attending the
maximum number of pujas - three, including one at a temple near the party
headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. .....
by Sudeep Paul
In 1960, the late Israeli satirist Ephraim Kishon viewed Israel as a land
rebuilding the Tower of Babel. India is that Tower of Babel. The post-1992
diplomatic bonhomie has set to rest decades of mutual discomfort, shyness
and curiosity; decades when one compared Nehruvian socialism and Israeli
Labor socialism or Indian and Zionist nation-building, but from a distance.
Then it was the Hindu Right and Jewish Right. .....
by Free Press Journal
If the image of the Election Commission has taken a beating, it is the
controversial Election Commissioner Navin Chawla who is clearly to blame.
Given his poor record as a bureaucrat, and his close ties to the Congress
Party, Chawla, in the first place, should not have been nominated to the
post. For, an election commissioner not only should be free and fair,
but must also appear to be so. .....
by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Brian Murphy
A woman accused of helping recruit dozens of female suicide bombers looked
into the camera and described the process: trolling society for likely
candidates and then patiently converting the women from troubled souls
into deadly attackers. .....
by Soli J. Sorabjee
Reference to Constitutional Assembly debates and constitutional provisions
is necessary to understand the issues involved in the current Gopalaswami-Navin
Chawla controversy. Part XV of the Constitution was expressly enacted
to entrust the responsibility of holding free and fair elections to an
independent Election Commission. .....
by Prafull Goradia
Apropos Mr Irfan Husain's article "Imran Khan vs Darwin", published
by The Pioneer on January 21, 2009, Darwin's theory of evolution, the
views expressed by Mr Imran Khan, and the comments by Mr Husain can be
looked at from a third, more accurate angle. .....
by Expressindia.com
It seems the global economic meltdown has not even spared the Hurriyat
Conference (HC) which said the amalgam has wound up all its district offices
and slashed funds to its 26 general council constituents by 50 per cent.
.....
by Radha Rajan
"Politics is the ideal of the kshatriya, and the morality of the
kshatriya ought to govern our political actions", wrote Aurobindo
in 'The morality of Boycott', the last article in his masterly and unparalleled
exposition on Passive Resistance in April 1907. The BJP leadership would
do well to sit up and pay heed to these words. .....
by The Times of India
Spanish police arrested 15 people, including four Indians and one Pakistani,
suspected of forging passports and other documents for al-Qaida on Tuesday,
according to news reports. .....
by Manjari Mishra
If Chand Mohammad becomes Chandra Mohan once again, where does it leave
Fiza? Though the former Haryana deputy CM - who's serenading his first
wife after the high-voltage conversion and nikah drama last December -
would like to keep both women happy, the ulema are certainly not amused.
.....
by Sandhya Jain
Sonia Gandhi and her former Left comrades are in the dock in the current
turmoil in the Election Commission, although it is true that the crisis
began with BJP's petition to President APJ Abdul Kalam seeking removal
of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla on grounds of his pro-Congress affiliations.
.....
by Hindustan Times
Joining the debate over Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation
to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader L K Advani has presented a detailed case on his blog in support
of the CEC. .....
by RK Misra
A warrant for the arrest of Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar
has been issued after she failed to honour summons by the Metropolitan
Court in Ahmedabad. The court has directed the police to arrest and produce
her before him on February 27. .....
by The Pioneer
A court in Kozhikode on Saturday acquitted all the 17 accused in the case
relating to the attack on a group of Christian charity workers at a colony
in Mambazhakkad Meethal, Olavanna in the district in 2004. Fast Track
Court judge Dharmarajan acquitted all the accused, all of them RSS-BJP
workers, on the basis of the Prosecution's failure to prove the crime.
.....
by Vicky Nanjappa
The attack on a group of women in a Mangalore pub, allegedly carried out
by members of the Shri Ram Sena, has sent shockwaves across the country.
The 'moral' brigade allegedly assaulted and molested the women, claiming
that their actions were against Indian culture. .....
by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
Wolfgang Borgfeld, who, after converting to Islam, changed his name to
Muhammad Siddiq, established an association called "The House of
Islam" south of Frankfurt. The "House", previously a hotel
containing tens of rooms and several halls for seminars and conferences,
is financed by the Saudis and Kuwaitis. .....
by Melanie Phillips
So the inevitable has now come about in the teetering civilization of
Europe, and it has happened first in the Netherlands. One of the supposedly
most liberal societies on th e planet wants to criminalize someone for
telling the truth. The BBC reports that Dutch Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders
is to be put on trial .....
by The Times of India
Border Security Force (BSF) deployed on Indo-Pak border in Kutch district
is thanking Chief Minister Narendra Modi profusely. After his visit on
New Year's day, life seems to have changed for the better for those manning
the border outposts, especially at Koteshwar, Vigokot and Rann of Kutch
which Modi visited. .....
by Laina Farhat-Holzman
President Barack Obama mentioned reciprocity: mutual respect between the
Muslim world and America. Not much reciprocity in Europe, where some governments
are already putting up white flags as clever Islamists attack their basic
institutions. .....
by Eric Cantor and Steny Hoyer
During this difficult war in the Gaza Strip, we stand with Israel. Why?
Because we have been to Israel. We have seen Sderot. .....
by Kumar Chellappan
There is going to be a con fluence of science and spirituality at Rameswaram.
Starting February 4, visitors to Rameswaram will get a panoramic view
of the Bay of Bengal and some of the exotic uninhabited islands thanks
to a high power telescope installed at the Vivekananda Memorial at Kundhukal
near Pamban. .....
by Mark Townsend
The security services have intercepted up to 100 suspects posing as postgraduate
students who aim to acquire weapons material and expertise .....
by R Akhileshwari
The popular Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has kicked off a controversy by criticising
the appointing of 'unworthy' persons to head religious bodies like Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanams that runs the richest temple in India of Lord Venkateswara
in Tirumala. .....
by Rajib Chatterjee
A team from Maharastra police, that recently came to the city, found that
the man arrested in connection with the terror attack on 26/11 had obtained
his driving licence from Hooghly. .....
by S Gurumurthy
"When facts are against the litigant, argue the law" - this
is the lawyers' strategy in courts. Those who fault the Chief Election
Commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation for removing Navin Chawla,
one of the two election commissioners, seem to adopt this strategy. .....
by The Pioneer
India's Muslim clergy, or at least a vast section of it, clearly disregards
both the truth about homegrown jihadi terror and the danger posed by agitprop
anchored in theology. It is equally indifferent to national sentiment
and popular mood inflamed by repeated attacks by terrorists who claim
their deeds are aimed at furthering their faith. .....
by Rediff.com
The chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, US Congressman
Howard Berman, has said that he is closely reviewing all American assistance
being provided to Pakistan and that "to the extent we are going to
provide security assistance, it should be focused on counter-terrorism,
not rekindling an arms race in South Asia." .....
by Vicky Nanjappa
When Ajmal Kasab and his co-murderers were handpicked for the Mumbai terror
operation nine factors were taken into consideration. .....
by News Today
Even while the Election Commission was not confirming the finalisation
of the dates, Election Commissioner S Y Quarishi announced in London that
the general elections would be held between 8 April and 15 May. .....
by Saurav Basu
Terrorism in the name of one particular religion is haunting humanity
today. Two months have elapsed since 26/11 and the masterminds behind
the attack are still at large. Why the Indian government and security
agencies have failed to safeguard the lives and properties of innocent
Indians and when can we put a full stop to terror? .....
by The Hindu
A separate corporation will be opened in the State to provide protection
to all the Christian properties, renovate churches, and provide amounts
to larger number of Christians to travel to Bethlehem, said Telugu Desam
Party President Nara Chandrababu Naidu. .....
by Zorawar Daulet Singh
Post-Mumbai South Asian diplomacy has exposed New Delhi's lack of leverage
on Pakistani behaviour. Rather, Pakistan's traditional benefactors, specially
the United States and China, continue to hold sway when it comes to influencing
their protégé's external behaviour. It is only apt then
to reflect on this persistent external intervention into the subcontinent's
affairs. .....
by Ashley J. Tellis
Statement of Ashley J. Tellis Senior Associate Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace Committee on Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs January 28, 2009 Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Senator Collins,
and Members of the Committee. .....
by Brahma Chellaney
Ever since the Pakistani-scripted Mumbai terrorist assaults, it was clear
that diplomacy alone would not make Pakistan sever its ties with terror
groups, especially if it was not backed by forceful pressure. Yet New
Delhi chose to fire only empty rhetoric. .....
by Akshaya Mukul
Accusing election commissioner Navin Chawla of leaking inside info, CEC
N Gopalaswami has cited the 2005 Bihar polls during which the Congress
and the RJD had accused then advisor to the EC K J Rao of having called
them Pakistanis. .....
by S Balakrishnan
The Rand Corporation, a highly-respected US think-tank, has warned of
more terror strikes in India in the "forseeable future''. It has
also stated that the 26/11 Mumbai attack had "local assistance''.
TOI was the first to report about the Lashkar-e-Taiba "fidayeens''
getting local support to carry out their operation. But investigators
are still to explore the local angle. .....
by Ramaswamy R. Iyer
The points that have been made in the criticism of the chief election
commissioner's recommendation of the removal of Election Commissioner
Navin Chawla include the following: the election commission is a body
of equals, and the CEC is only one among equals .....
by Caroline Samandari
Two weeks have passed since I heard the alarming news: Aziz Samandari,
my cousin in Tehran, was arrested in a pre-dawn raid by Iranian intelligence
officials. To date, no formal charges have been framed, and he has been
denied both access to a lawyer and visits by relatives. .....
by Prafull Goradia
Apropos Mr Irfan Husain's article "Imran Khan vs Darwin", published
by The Pioneer on January 21, 2009, Darwin's theory of evolution, the
views expressed by Mr Imran Khan, and the comments by Mr Husain can be
looked at from a third, more accurate angle. .....
by Rajiv Dogra
But Barack Hussein Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, may be tempted to expand his role and bully
India into toeing a dangerous line to serve American interests in the
region. This could happen soon if Obama fails to deliver on the home front
.....
by Shaju Philip
While the battle in the Kerala CPI(M) has reached a flashpoint, Chief
Minister V S Achuthanandan finds himself beleaguered instead of his rival
Pinarayi Vijayan who is facing corruption charges in the Lavalin scam.
.....
by Kanchan Gupta
The outrage over a bunch of hooligans describing themselves as foot soldiers
of 'Sri Ram Sena' attacking young men and women at a Mangalore pub called
Amnesia on January 24 is entirely justified. It is hogwash to suggest,
as the Sri Ram Sena and its chief, Pramod Muthalik, have done, that the
hoodlums were merely protesting against "dancing and drinking (by
women) which is against Indian tradition and culture". .....
