India News

Bhopal: An author of a book describing the concept of marriage as ‘a moral rape’ had a tough time on the release function when members of a cultural group publicly humiliated him, here on Friday.

 

Hundreds of activists belonging to Sankriti Bachao Manch  and ''Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarti Parishad (ABVP)  protested the launch ceremony of  Rishi Ajaydas’s Hindi book titled ''Vivah - Ek Naitik Balatkar'' (Marriage, a moral rape) as they found it an attempt to belittle the institution of marriage viewed highly in Indian culture.

 

They claimed the contents of the book is an insult to marriage institution and an attack on Indian ethos.

 

While manhandling the author Ajaydas, some activists tried to blacken his face, but police prevented them.

 

Speaking to ANI, Sanskriti Bachao Manch convener, Chandrashekhar Tiwari said: "If someone tries to launch an attack on our culture then we can even take more severe action than this. This was just a trailer and if someone attacks our culture then obviously we will not tolerate it.”

 

Love Guru Mukut Nath Chowdhary, the elderly man who married a student of his daughter’s age a few years ago, was supposed to launch the book.

 

"The book is in the interest of nation. These activists of VHP are trying to malign the nation besides heading the country towards hell whereas this book tries to give a right direction to the country," Chowdhary said.

 

Meanwhile, the state police have initiated an investigation into the incident.

 

Bhopal Superintendent of Police Sitaram Patidar said: "Police is investigating the matter and we will take appropriate action against all accused.”

Source ANI

New Delhi: Former Defense Minister George Fernandes and Rajya Sabha member has appreciated the 5^th Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet which was held in Rome between November 18 to 19 this year. 

 

Writing in the latest issue of  ‘the OtherSide’, Fernandes that it pleased him to notice the 5^th Convention being underway since he had established the first such group in India.

 

“We held our first convention at the Hamdard campus in New Delhi in 1994. It was the biggest effort from India after we had held the Tibet and Peace in South Asia Convention in New Delhi in 1989 to revitalize India’s conscience regarding Tibet. His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace prize just after this,” Fernandes stated.   

 

Fernandes mentions how his comrade Mohan Singh, presently in the Samajwadi Party, had made special efforts to put together India group. “It took many telephone calls by Mohan Singh, Jaya Jaitly, and Prof. Samdong Rimpoche, now Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, to gather 78 members of parliament from India and around the world. The New Delhi resolution of that convention became the basis for action all over the world by committed parliamentarians.”

 

Fernandes attended the second meeting of the parliamentarians’ convention in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania in 1995, the next in Washington DC in 1997.

 

Fernandes hoped the convention would achieve success in finding ways to move the Tibet issue forward in an effective manner, ‘leading to justice for all his Tibetan friends’. 

 

Meanwhile, the editorial of the ‘Other Side’ appreciated India’s stance on China’s objections to the visit of Dalai Lama to Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

 

The editorial “China, India and the Dalai Lama” stated that the country was justifiably annoyed at the bullying remarks of the Chinese establishment objecting to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The Prime Minister gently but firmly put the Chinese authorities in their place by reaffirming what officials had earlier stated—that Arunachal was an integral part of India and the Dalai Lama was an honoured guest who could travel where he wished.

 

“In a judgement of the Supreme Court in the early 90s, when Tibetan were indiscriminately arrested all over Delhi During Li Peng’s visit, it was clarified that all refugees in India have the same rights as Indian citizens do, except the right to vote. The Prime Minister reassuring the Chinese just now that Tibetans are disallowed from taking part in political activity goes against that spirit. Religious leaders in India routinely exhort people to political action, including issuing fatuas (diktats) to vote or go and build the Ram temple”.

Source ANI

Port of Spain: Explaining its position on why it supported the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution to prevent Iran from developing a uranium-enrichment facility in secrecy, official sources in the Indian delegation accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, said Friday that it did not mean that New Delhi approves, or thinks that a renewed punitive approach or imposing sanctions is the way to go forward on the issue.

Essentially describing the decision as "Background", the official sources said the Indian delegation "has taken careful note of the report of the Director General of the IAEA, Mohammad El-Baradei, on the implementation of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) safeguards agreement and the relevant provision of the (UN) Security Council resolution viz-a-viz s the Islamic republic of Iran."

The official sources further said that the coming weeks should be used by all concerned to expand the diplomatic space to satisfactorily address all the outstanding issues. They said that India firmly supports keeping the door open for dialogue and avoidance of confrontation.

"In recent months, we were encouraged by the new pathways of engagement that had opened up with Iran, including the recent meetings in Geneva and Vienna, which gave rise to hopes of constructive and productive results," the sources added.

Earlier this wee, while interacting with the president of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), Richard Haas, during a question and answer session that followed a speech to the august gathering in Washington, Prime Minister Singh had said: “As far as Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions are concerned, I have unambiguously said that I don’t support it. Iran is a signatory to the NPT (Nuclear Proliferation Treaty), and has a right to peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

However, be this as it may, Tehran also needed to understand that it has to meet its obligations under the same treaty, IAEA and UNSC guidelines on nuclear use, he added.

“If the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) passes a resolution, India has abided with it. Our hope is that whatever steps the United States and other countries take vis-à-vis Iran, it will yield results,” Dr. Singh told Haas during the interaction.

He also recalled meeting with an Iranian academic who had once been a student of his, and he had told him (Dr. Singh) that Iran is encouraged by the messages coming out of the Obama administration.

In his report, the IAEA Director-General has noted that while the agency has continued to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, there has been no movement on the remaining issues of concern that need to be clarified for the agency to verify the "exclusively peaceful nature of Iran''''s nuclear programme."
 
El-Baradei concluded in his report that Iran''''s failure to notify the agency of the existence of this facility until September 2009, rather than as soon as the decision to construct it or to authorize construction was taken, was inconsistent with that country''''s obligations under the Subsidiary Arrangements to its Safeguards Agreement.

He also said that Iran''''s late declaration of the new facility reduces confidence in the absence of the other nuclear facilities under construction in Iran which have not been declared to the agency.
 
The official sources said that India has consistently supported the right of all states to the  peaceful uses of nuclear energy consistent with the respective obligations that they have undertaken.

In Iran''''s case, which is a signatory to the NPT, it has all the rights and obligations that go with its membership of the NPT pertaining to the use for unclear energy for peaceful purposes.

We also underline the importance of full and effective implementation of all safeguards obligations undertaken by member states of hte IAEA.
 
Iran''''s failure to notify the agency of the new facility is not consistent with its commitments to the agency and is not helping in confidence building, official sources here said.

The IAEA resolution to prevent Iran from developing a uranium-enrichment facility in secret was unanimously passed by a 25-3 vote with six abstentions.

The resolution urges Iran to halt construction of the Fordow uranium-enrichment plant, located in a mountain bunker near the city of Qom immediately.

IAEA has also demanded that Tehran should immediately freeze the uranium-enrichment project.

Besides, the resolution asks Tehran to clarify the original purpose of the Fordow facility and to confirm that Iran does not have any more hidden atomic facilities or clandestine plants for any purpose.

Significantly, the latest IAEA resolution has also been supported by Russia and China, which have shied away from censuring Iran in the past.

The Russian and Chinese support to the IAEA resolution sends out a clear message to Tehran of the international disappointment about the secrecy and defiance surrounding its controversial nuclear program.

Russia and China both hold the power to veto possible international sanctions as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

The West is concerned that Iran is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons in violation of its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Meanwhile, the six countries that abstained from today'''' vote were Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa, and Turkey.

Azerbaijan was the only country on the IAEA board whose representative was absent when today''''s vote was taken.

Those who voted against the censure measure -- Venezuela, Malaysia, and Cuba -- are all developing countries in a bloc with Iran. They called the resolution provocative and counterproductive.

Iranian officials say the IAEA resolution will undermine its relations with the UN nuclear watchdog.

IAEA Director-General Mohammad el-Baradei said in Vienna before the vote that Iran has continued to make counter-offers rather than accepting the compromise deal.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Country’s stocks tumbled on Friday with the rupee weakened and bond yields fell as Dubai''s debt problems sparked concerns about corporate exposure.

 

Country’s share market is now facing the risk of foreign investors repatriating funds.

 

Speaking to ANI a stock market expert Sunil Shah attributed Friday’s fall to Dubai financial crises.

 

“I would like to say market at 17,000 plus which was two days ago, where we saw levels of 17,000 plus was in a case little expensive, so we were going through consolidation phase that 17,000, 200-300 was a resistance king of level from there the market needed a trigger to go up to 18,000 but this news of Dubai financial crisis and ripple effect is now being felt today and we will have to see that whether this is resolved very soon or this going to take sometime,” he said.

 

Indian bond yields eased to near two-month low as risk aversion dominated market sentiment after Dubai''s debt problems revived concerns about the health of the global financial system.

 

Earlier in the day, in New Delhi, Union Commerce and Trade Minister Anand Sharma opined that the Dubai debt worries are unlikely to impact the country’s economy and the real estate sector.

 

Interacting with the media persons Sharma said: “India is a very large economy. I don''t think some development in the real estate in Dubai is going to impact the Indian economy. As far as India is concerned, the housing sector, real estate sector, construction industry is doing well.”

 

“They have definitely recovered and it is also confirmed by the increasing demand of the construction materials, cement and steel, these are the sectors, which are doing well," he added.

Source ANI

Bulandshahar (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday contended that the Supreme Court will decide whether to build temple or a mosque at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

 

Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of a public function here Yadav said, “There is no denying fact that a mosque used to exist at the site and only the apex court can decide the matter.”

 

"The mosque was there and the matter is there in court and let the court decide. If they want, they (Hindus) can build the temple two kilometers away from the mosque site," Yadav added.

 

Singh’s views gets significance as the Liberhan Report will come for discussion before the parliament from Tuesday.

 

Earlier in the day, in New Delhi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) president Ashok Singhal demanded that the Ayodhya issue should be resolved through a cabinet decision on the lines of the Somanath temple issue.

 

“If the then cabinet under the leadership of Nehru can resolve the Somanath problem with a decision, I demand the same should be followed for resolving the Ayodhya issue,” Singhal said.

 

During the next week the parliament is expected to be stormy as December 6, the day on which disputed structure was demolished was also round the corner.

Source ANI

Dharamshala: Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche on Friday blamed China of emerging as a training ground for the militants.

 

Addressing a two-day workshop of the 115th session of Indian Federation of Working Journalists in Dharamsala, Rinpoche said, many Maoists go to China, get training, money and arms from there and spread terror on Indian soil.

 

"Terrorism is not confined to Pakistan. Many militants go to China for training. They (militant organisations) have offices in Beijing, Bangkok, where many of these so called Maoists go from here (India), get trained there, get money and arms from there and spread terror after coming back from there," said Rinpoche.

 

The Tibetan PM, however, admired US President Barrack Obama''s concern about the Tibetan cause and said the closeness between China and US would not cause any harm to the Tibetan issue.

 

"Obama has done whatever he could and if something good comes out of it, then… but if there is no development even after his intervention, even then it is not going to harm the Tibetan issue," said Rinpoche.

 

Obama had called for a resumption of dialogue between the Dalai Lama''s envoys and China to resolve the Tibet crisis during his just-concluded visit to Beijing.

 

The Tibetan government-in-exile said last week it was willing to talk to China after Obama''s comments.

 

Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama have held eight rounds of talks, but little of substance has been achieved.

Source ANI

Ludhiana: Punjab Police seized at least one kilogram of cocaine worth 100 million rupees from Sahnewal village in Ludhiana district of Punjab state on Friday (November 27).

 

Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths of Punjab Police nabbed Seema Devi and Somu, both hailing from the neighbouring state of Haryana when the duo alighted from a Haryana Roadways bus at Sahnewal village.

 

While the police recovered 700 grams of cocaine from Somu, the rest of the contraband was recovered from Seema Devi.

 

Addressing the media persons, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukhchan Singh Gill, said that the duo is being interrogated to ascertain their source, target and also the network.

 

"Sahnewal police arrested two persons - Seema Devi and Somu. We have recovered one kilogram of cocaine in total from them. 700 grams were recovered from the man and 300 grams from the woman Seema Devi. Somu is the brother-in-law of Seema Devi. We have estimated the value of cocaine to be rupees 10 crore (100 million rupees) in international market. Cocaine is the costliest drug. We will know about the forward linkages subsequently after interrogation," said Sukhchan Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ludhiana.

 

The arrested duo -- Seema Devi and Somu-- have been booked under the, the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985.

 

The NDPS Act sets out the statutory framework for drug law enforcement in India.

Source ANI

Vienna (Austria): India on Friday supported the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog''''s governing body’s resolution that prevents Iran from developing a uranium-enrichment facility in secrecy.

 

On Friday, IAEA voted overwhelmingly to prevent Iran for developing a uranium-enrichment facility in secret.

 

The resolution, passed today by a 25-3 vote with six abstentions, urges Iran to halt construction of the Fordow uranium-enrichment plant, located in a mountain bunker near the city of Qom immediately.

 

IAEA has also demanded that Tehran should immediately freeze the uranium-enrichment project.

 

Besides, the resolution asks Tehran to clarify the original purpose of the Fordow facility and to confirm that Iran does not have any more hidden atomic facilities or clandestine plants for any purpose.

 

Significantly, the latest IAEA resolution has also been supported by Russia and China, which have shied away from censuring Iran in the past.

 

The Russian and Chinese support to the IAEA resolution conveys Tehran a clear message of international disappointment about the secrecy and defiance surrounding its controversial nuclear program.

 

Russia and China both hold the power to veto possible international sanctions as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

 

The West is concerned that Iran is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons in violation of its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 

Meanwhile, the six countries that abstained from today''''s vote were Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa, and Turkey.

 

Azerbaijan was the only country on the IAEA board whose representative was absent when today''''s vote was taken.

 

Those who voted against the censure measure -- Venezuela, Malaysia, and Cuba -- are all developing countries in a bloc with Iran. They called the resolution provocative and counterproductive.

 

Iranian officials say the IAEA resolution will undermine its relations with the UN nuclear watchdog.

 

However, the supporters of the move contend that they were provoked by the revelation in September that Iran had been secretly building a second uranium-enrichment facility for at least two years -- a subterfuge they said had raised suspicions there may be more secret Iranian nuclear sites that could be dedicated to making atom bombs.

 

IAEA Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei told media persons in Vienna before the vote that Iran has continued to make counteroffers rather than accepting the compromise deal.

 

"[Iran''''s] position -- conveyed to me orally a number of times -- is that they want a simultaneous swap between the fuel and their low-enriched uranium," el-Baradei said.

 

"They are ready to put this material under IAEA control in an island in the Persian Gulf -- [the Iranian island of] Kish -- under our control and custody. But that will not take the material out [of Iran.] The whole idea, as I explained to them, to diffuse the crisis is to take the material out [of Iran]."

 

Tehran, however, has repeatedly denied that it is trying to build nuclear weapons, claiming that its nuclear program is only for medical research and the peaceful production of nuclear energy.

Source ANI

New Delhi: In view of the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi, the Home Guards and Civil Defence Directorate has initiated a programme to train its personnel in spoken English.

 

Experts of British Lingua, a Delhi based English language training institution are aiding the personnel to polish their spoken English skills.

 

Briefing the media about training of personnel in speaking English,Home Guards and Civil Defence Deputy Director M S Upadhye, said the performance of the Home Guards personnel in the last 20 days has surpassed his expectation.

 

He added that the personnel have now started communicating in English.

 

"We are teaching the personnel how to speak in English and in the last 20 days, they spent five hours in learning English and they are performing very well,” Upadhye said.

 

“Infact their performance is more than what I was expecting and as a result the boys have now started to communicate in English with their colleagues and also do group discussion. It will have a good impact on others as well,” he added.

 

The British Lingua Managing Director, Birbal Jha, seemed pleased with the outcome.

 

"Keeping in mind our target - how to make them communicate with foreign visitors in English, to improve their pronunciation, their grammar knowledge and all the basics of English necessary for communication to help tourists, help them and give them direction, we are conducting the classes for them. Now also you will see them speaking in English and we feel very happy, Jha said.

 

The participants feel that the programme apart from helping them to improve English speaking skills, also boosted their self confidence.

 

Besides, the Home Guards volunteers are also being groomed to conduct themselves properly, courtesies, manners and etiquette, disaster and traffic management.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Government on Friday issued detailed guidelines in order to prevent age fraud in sports and ensure fair play.

 

As the National Code against age fraud in Sports is still pending the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry issued detailed guidelines to all sports federations, associations and bodies to ensure that overage players are not allowed to participate at any level of competitions.

 

The Ministry also advised the sports administration in the country to treat age fraud on the same lines as anti –doping measures as both amounts to cheating and violates basic spirit of sport.

 

Expressing serious concern over the matter, Ministry stated:  “In the recent past, incidents of age fraud committed by athletes, in some major tournaments and selection trials have come to the notice of the government, which is a matter of serious concern.”

 

“In order to ensure fair play , it is imperative that stringent action is taken against athletes found guilty of committing age fraud and also against their abettors. Government has therefore decided that all sports federations, associations  and bodies should take appropriate measures to check age fraud on the same lines as anti –doping measures as both amounts to cheating, which is violative of the basic spirit of sport,” communique stated.

Source ANI

Agartala: Dnyandeo Yashwantrao Patil on Friday took oath as 12th Governor of Tripura as he was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Guwahati High Court Chief Justice Jasti Chelameswar at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan.

 

D.Y. Patil, 74, who has been awarded a Padma Shri and has founded several educational and health institutions in Maharastra, replaces Dr. Kamla, the first woman Governor of  Tripura.

 

However, Dr. Kamla held office for only 43 days and has been transferred to Gujarat for remaining period of her term.

 

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, his cabinet colleagues, leaders of different political parties and top civil, army and police officials were present at the brief oath taking ceremony.

Source ANI

Guwahati: Following the ongoing counter-insurgency operation the militants have stepped up atrocities in Assam.

 

In the latest incident, twin blasts rocked the Nalbari district of Assam on Sunday (Nov.22) leaving eight persons dead and over 60 injured. 

 

Earlier, 12 oil tankers of a goods train were set ablaze by militants near Moriani. 

 

The blasts occurred in a gap of 40 minutes and rocked Nalbari, 70 kilometres from Guwahati on Sunday (Nov.22).

 

Chaos prevailed in the Nalbari Civil Hospital, where the injured and the dead were rushed after the incident. The seriously injured were referred to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.

 

Suspected ULFA militants triggered Sunday’s blasts in Nalbari. 

 

“Those, who kill innocent people and torture people every now and then, are the culprits and they need to be punished throughout their life………….we want that there should be talks… those who are doing this, and why they are doing this, has to be found…. the government should hold talks and ensure peace,” said Narendra Goswami, one of injured victims.

 

The authorities suspect the involvement of ULFA, but the outfit denied responsibility for the blasts.

 

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who was recently in the national capital, condemned the twin blasts and said people responsible for it would be apprehended and dealt with firmly. He said that ULFA was behind the attacks. 

 

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram recently informed the Rajya Sabha, the upper House of Parliament, that the Centre had prior inputs about the ULFA planning new strikes in Assam.

 

The Minister said the ULFA `is in disarray’ owing to intense pressure by security forces on the militants.

 

“Owing to the counter-insurgency operation, ULFA has come under tremendous pressure. Its leadership `is in disarray’. Key ULFA leaders are in prison. Recently two ULFA leaders surrender to the Indian security forces. There ULFA leaders are believed to be abroad and there are reports of serious differences among them. In this background it is our assessment that the recent incidents manifest the desperation of the banned organization – ULFA,” said P.Chidambaram recently.

 

In Assam, up to Nov. 15 this year, 1,196 militants have been neutralized `by way of arrests or surrender or they have been killed.

 

At least 282 kilogram of explosives and 630 weapons have been seized from militants till Nov 22.

 

Mindless violence like the blasts in Nalbari has once again shown the desperation of the militant outfits and the least concern for innocent lives.

Source ANI

North Cachar Hills (Assam): The surrender of `black widow’ militants has created a positive influence in North Cachar Hills district of Assam, and there has been a  gradual improvement in the security scenario. 

 

The markets are now flooded with people, railway services have resumed and rock concerts are drawing a huge number of people. 

 

No untoward incident has been reported in NC Hills since October 2 this year, when Jewel Garlosa faction of Dima Halim Daogah or `Black Widow’ laid down their arms.

 

Businessman and traders are happy as markets are filled with customers, which earlier remained empty because of frequent militant attacks.

 

People along with their families do not hesitate anymore to move of their homes for night stroll. Besides, the night trains have resumed service and work on Lumding-Silchar railway gauge project has commenced. 

 

The work on the 201-kilometre Lumding-Silchar project has been resumed by most of the companies who had earlier abandoned it.

 

“Since 20th October 2009, we have resumed the services at night as the law and order situation is under control. And it has been observed that the number of tourists have increased. And they are coming in large numbers. They are happy that the railway has now once again resumed its schedule,” said S Hajong, CPRO, NF Railways.

 

“Earlier the sale of goods had gone down as the number of consumers was less. But now things have changed. It will be good for us and we are happy about it,” said Ruban, a vegetable vendor.

 

With the situation improving in the region, people are beginning to enjoy life.

 

A rock concert organized by a local musician Morningkey Phangso in the Valley attracted large audiences.

 

“Earlier, we were always concerned about the security when we organize this king of program in the district of Assam. Actually due to many other reasons like you cannot travel around move around, but now since things have started settling down and peace is coming so this is in fact a very good initiative and now I believe that we can go everywhere to organize these shows,” said Morningkey Phangso, concern organizer, Haflong.

 

People in North Cachar Hills have realized that violence results in loss of lives and property and displacement of people.

 

Peace and harmony leads to all-round development of the region.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Commerce and Trade Minister Anand Sharma on Friday said that Dubai debt worries are unlikely to impact the country’s economy and the real estate sector.

 

Interacting with the media persons Sharma said : “India is a very large economy. I don''t think some development in the real estate in Dubai is going to impact the Indian economy. As far as India is concerned, the housing sector, real estate sector, construction industry is doing well.”

 

“They have definitely recovered and it is also confirmed by the increasing demand of the construction materials, cement and steel, these are the sectors, which are doing well," he added.

 

On Thursday, the global financial world was stunned when the state-run Dubai World announced that it would need to restructure its debt, estimated at USD 59 billion, to preempt default.

 

The Dubai World also asked creditors for a six-month deferment.

Source ANI

Hyderabad: The Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao has said Friday that an assessment of the impact of Dubai''s debt problems was needed before deciding on a response.

 

Interacting with the media persons here Rao said : "We should not react to instant news like this. One lesson of the crisis is that we must study the developments, and I think we must measure the extent of the problem there”

 

Commenting on its impact on India, Rao said : “I have requested my officials to study this, and if necessary we will certainly communicate in the public about what the implications likely are.”

 

Earlier in the day, stocks tumbled, the rupee weakened and bond yields fell as Dubai''s debt problems sparked concerns about corporate exposure and the risk of foreign investors repatriating funds.

 

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla expressed confidence that Dubai debt worries are unlikely to impact remittances to India from the region.

 

"I am not sure because the experts who are there, the remittances didn''t suffer during the period when the larger crisis was on So whether this should have an impact in terms of employment, in terms of salaries, and therefore in terms of remittances, is somewhat unlikely," he said.

 

On Wednesday, Dubai had said, it wanted creditors of Dubai World and property group Nakheel to agree a debt standstill as it restructures Dubai World, the conglomerate that spearheaded the emirate''s breakneck growth.

Source ANI

Panjim: Veteran film director Umakanth Thumrugoti says people want to see good movies with their entire family, and laments the lack of initiative in their direction.

 

Thumrugoti, a Disney Feature Animation veteran, recently directed the movie “7 Days in Slow Motion.” He was addressing the 40^th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here on Friday.

 

Talking about his film, Thumrugoti, said : “It’s a movie on severe academic pressure on children, and it has been told in an entertaining manner.”

 

“The movie involves comedy juxtaposed with drama,” he added.

 

This is the first film that Thumrugoti has shot in India. It won the audience award at Stuttgart’s Bollywood and Beyond, New Jersey’s South Asian Festival and the Special Recognition Award at Houston’s inaugural Indian Film Festival.

Source ANI

Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh): In protest against the rise in the prices of sugarcane, farmers in Uttar Pradesh''s Bijnor town have decided not to send their wards to schools.

They have also decided to boycott benefits available to their children through various government schemes.

"The government does not want to give us the right value of our produce, so we will also not take any favour from it. We have decided to stop sending our children to schools. This area has 30-35 primary, junior and high schools and over 1,000 children attend them. We have asked all these children to stay at home unless the government fixes the right value for our produce. We have also decided to stop our milk supply. While people consume 16-17 kgs of our milk, they want to loot our sugarcanes. We are also not in the mood to let our children take any polio drops distributed by the government," said Suraj Singh, a farmer.

All government schools in the area have closed due to the absence of the students.

"They said they will not send the children back to school unless a fair price of sugarcane is fixed," said Ajay Sharma, a teacher.

Last week, Parliament was adjourned following an opposition uproar over a demand to reduce sugarcane prices.

This year''s poor monsoon has ravaged created a shortage for the second consecutive year.

Source ANI

Shopian, Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir): Omar Abdullah drove on the historic ''Mughal'' road today, the road used by Mughal Emperor Akbar 400 years ago to travel to Kashmir.

The road links Shopian in Kashmir Valley with Poonch in Jammu Division.

The road is nearing completion and despite heavy snowfall, the work is continuing uninterrupted.

The State Chief Minister who drove on the historic road on a silver vehicle expressed his gratitude to the Central government for its support.

The government has funded more than 6 billion rupees for the project.

"We are trying to throw open the road for traffic by June-July next year. There will be no dearth of money needed to build the road as the federal government has decided to fund the project," said Abdullah.

The locals here said that transportation would become easier once the road is complete.

"This road will benefit us a lot as transport will become easier for people travelling to Poonch," said Ghulam Hassan, a local resident.

In AD 1856, Akbar led Mughal army had reached this mountainous road and defeated Yousuf Shah Chek, the king of Kashmir.

Source ANI

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): On the eve of the Eid-Al-Adha festival, the markets are abuzz with people on a marketing spree.

Also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, Eid-Al-Adha is an important day in the Muslim calendar, marking the end of the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

A visit to the holy city or haj is a must for Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

People living in Srinagar as well as those residing in far areas have all thronged the markets to shop amidst the rush of jostling and haggling for a bargain price.

They buy clothes as well as food items including meat, chicken, vegetables and confectionery.

"People are delving into extensive shopping spree for clothes and others things as they are very happy for the Eid festival that has come after two-and-a half months. Shopping is on in full swing," said G.S Parray, a customer.

Some shopkeepers claim to have recorded a record profit.

"It is natural that since it is a big day so people who used to buy half-a-kilogram of biscuit would now buy one kilogram. So there is a difference in sale. Earlier if we used to incur sale of 10,000 rupees per day now we can earn 20,000 rupees per day or even more than that. It''s a big day and with Allah''s blessings everyone does good sale during this time," said Manzoor Ahmad, a confectioner.

The delicious dishes cooked by the residents here on the occasion of Eid are fascinating.

Eid al-Adha, the festival of Sacrifice, commemorates Prophet''s readiness to sacrifice his own son in obedience to God.

According to the Holy Quran, God appeared in Prophet Ibrahim''s dream and asked him to sacrifice something that was most dear to him.

Prophet Ibrahim decided to sacrifice his own son, Ismail. However, when he put a knife on Ismail''s throat, God replaced his son with a goat through a miracle.

Consequently, it has become a tradition to slaughter livestock and feed the poor to mark the occasion.

Source ANI

Thrissur (Kerala): Artisans and craftsmen here are working round the clock to give finishing touches to a wooden temple to be shifted to the United States in December.

The temple is a 26 feet high structure made of teak wood and decorated with eight domes. It covers a total area of 1000 square feet.

The temple would be placed over pillars later. The structure is very ethnic with a modem touch to it.

According to Venu, the chief artisan, the sketch of the temple made by a contractor in Kerala, was approved and finalized by followers of the ISKCON society based in America around three years ago.

Each part of the temple has been polished at Cherpu and carved at a workshop.

Over ten workers, including specialized craftsmen are engaged in the completion of the temple''s doors, pillars and domes.

The artisans are working very hard, it being a Krishna temple. They have to explore the story from Hindu mythological scriptures related to Lord Krishna''s life in mural style apart from other gods and goddesses.

"This being Lord Krishna''s temple, we are paying extra attention to the carvings we are sculpting. We have carved stories related to Lord Krishna with Lord Vishnu''s ten incarnations also. We have also sculpted special sculptures on the pillars, which makes it a very different kind of work," said Sasi Kumar, a craftsman.

Once the work was half complete, the contractor sent a video clip and a few photographs of it to his counterpart in the United States, where the people were more than satisfied.

Source ANI

Panjim: Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) Director Kuldeep Sinha said here on Friday that the documentary film culture is fast catching up in India with the advent of digital technology.

 

Addressing a press conference at the India International Film Festival (IFFI) to promote MIFF –2010, Sinha said, every year over 40 documentary film festivals are being organised in different parts of the country by various organisations, which indicates the growing popularity.

 

The 11th edition of the MIFF is being organized by the Films Division will be held fromto February,3 to 9,  2010 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai.

 

The MIFF is rated as the world’s best and largest documentary film festival being manned by filmmakers.

 

Commenting on commercial influences over documentary films Sinha said:“Documentary is a very serious business as it creates future of the country. Documentary should not be commercialized and the Films Division takes it as a means to explore serious issues.”

 

Sinha said the MIFF has received 864 entries from 37 countries, which is an all time record.

 

“The Selection Committee consisting of eminent film makers, journalists and critics has already started previewing the films, the total duration of which crosses more than 400 hours,” he added.

 

Sinha also informed that from this edition of the MIFF, International and Indian competition sections have been merged into one competition section and a new award is being introduced for “Best Student Film or Video.”

source ANI

Port of Spain: Interacting with the Indian Diaspora on the sidelines of the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, the feeling that comes out is that they extremely proud and have fond memories of India, its culture and traditions, despite years and decades of living away from their motherland.

This feeling came out strongly during the reception hosted by the Indian High Commission for Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the eve of the CHOGM Summit.

Devendra Duggal, President of the Gurudwara Sahib in Trinidad and Tobago and former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Trinidad and Tobago, said there were just ten Sikh families in Port of Spain.

He said there was just one Gurudwara in the Tunapuna area, a two storied air-conditioned building.

“There is no granthi, but they follow all customs and traditions. The gurdwara has been there for 80 years,” Duggal said, adding that the Prime Minister, his wife and daughter are planning to visit there today.

Winston Dookeran, a political leader and an economist, is a third generation Trinidadian.

He said he has a sense of pride that Dr. Manmohan Singh was here in Port of Spain.

“Indians may have lost touch with the language, but not with the culture and traditions,” Dookeran said.

His wife Shirley Dookeran said that the Indian Diaspora has preserved Indian culture for several generations.

Their children have gone abroad, but they have the wealth of both traditions Indian and Trinidadian, she added.

Earlier, expressing his delight at attending a reception for the community hosted by High Commissioner Malay Mishra, Dr. Singh said he was happy to be here to participate in the CHOGM.

He said that whenever he meets people of Indian origin around the world, he celebrated not only India’s pluralism, but also its great civilisational inheritance.

"Indianness is like a large and all-encompassing banyan tree. It offers shade to everyone who comes in search of it. It has deep roots at home and branches that in turn go to great distances and strike roots there," adding the Indian community in Trinidad and Tobago has "demonstrated the unique liberalism and pluralism of Indian civilization" by successfully blending Indian culture and values with the local cultural and social environment.

Stating that India was on the move and reaching out to the world with confidence and in a spirit of live and let live, Dr. Singh said: "You (NRIs and PIOs) are, for millions of Indians, the most visible symbol of our own globalisation."

If the 21st century is being projected as the “Knowledge Century”, Dr. Singh said India today is viewed as a “Knowledge Economy” because of the reputation that the people of Indian origin worldwide have earned through their creativity and diligence.

Indians, he said, have travelled the world as both traders and teachers, and at one time in history, were the envy of the world. But, in the last twenty to thirty years, Indians have lost ground both because we failed to incentivise our institutions to become global players and because foreign universities became more aggressive in marketing.
Trinidad and Tobago is little India in the Caribbean, with around 41 percent of its population of ethnic Indian origin, and an equal percentage of African origin.
 
They are descendants of immigrants from India who went there when it was a British colony to work in the plantations there after the abolition of African slavery.
 
Starting from 1845, around 147,600 Indians went to Trinidad over a 70-year period traveling by boats for 36,000 kilometers,.  Many died on the way.
 
Most of them went from the present Uttar Pradesh and Bihar States on a 10-year contract but very few could return.  What is remarkable is that, unlike other countries like Guyana, ethnic Indians in Trinidad held onto their culture, establishing temples, masjids and a gurudwara, patterned on their Indian replicas. 
 
When they left the shores of India, some carried with them copies of the Tulsidas Ramayana, the Hanuman Chalisa, and the Bhagwad Gita. The Muslims had with them copies of the Quoran in Urdu.  These helped them to hold on to their religion.  Hinduism for most of the Trinidadians today is derived from the Tulsidas Ramayana. 
The island had around 100 families of non-resident Indians, mostly professionals - doctors, engineers and the like.  Ispat, owned by Laxmi Mittal, who is now one of the richest persons across the globe, employed many of them. Laxmi Mittal took over an ailing steel plant around 1990 and has now developed a non-oil industrial complex.  Later the Essar group won a contract to build a 1.2 billion steel plant. 
 
Indian goods are popular, but the cost is prohibitive. The complaint, often heard, was that the Government of India did not have any facility to transport them to the Caribbean region. The university in the island is associated with Indian counterparts like Manipal and promotes specialized courses. The people of Trinidad are also keen to come to India for higher studies-including study of religion, to become ''qualified'' teachers in religious institutions in the island territory.   
 
Ethnic Indians have earned a name for themselves, the foremost being V.S. Naipaul.  Today, many Trinidadians have become doctors and engineers and occupy important positions in the island territory and in the United States and Canada.

Source ANI

Port of Spain: The lone Gurudwara Sahib in Trinidad and Tobago will have a distinguished visitor when Gursharan Kaur, the wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, visits the place on Friday, along with her daughter. 

The President of the Gurudwara Sahib, Sardar  Devendra Duggal, is keenly looking forward to the visit of Gursharan Kaur along with the ten families of Sikhs in the country.  

Located in the Tunapuna area, in the middle of the island country, the Gurudwara is 80 year old, and is regularly visited by the Sikh and Hindu communities based nearby. 

The Gurudwara used to be an old house where the Granth Sahib was placed.  Recently it was renovated and according to Duggal, who retired as a permanent secretary of the Trinidad Government, the two-storied new building is air-conditioned. 

Like Hindu temples and mosques in this island country of 1.3. million people, of whom 41 percent are of Indian origin,  descendants of plantation labour from India, the Sikhs have no permanent ''religious teachers'', or Granthis. 
 
The Gurudwara has a Sunday service.  Sikh families and their neighbors visit it during this period and read portions of the Granth Sahib and share their lunch.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) International president Ashok Singhal revealed here on Friday that he had face to face meetings with former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao thrice to solve the Ramjanmabhoomi issue.

 

Addressing a press conference here, Singhal said all these meetings were arranged by  ‘Dhirubhai,’ apparently referring to the former chairman of the Reliance Group, Dhirubhai Ambani.

 

However, when asked specifically about this reference, Singhal refrained from answering.

 

Singhal also said there were many Rambhakts inside the Congress Party and claimed, “They extended hearty support to the Ayodhya movement.”

 

Commenting about the indictment of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the Liberhan Commission Report, Singhal said: “Atalji was associated with the movement, but he was not present on December 6, 1992 at Ayodhya.”

 

He claimed the Ayodhya movement was a saint’s movement and not a political one.

 

“It was a movement initiated and guided by saints. It was never a political one,” Singhal said.

 

The Ayodhya issue should be resolved through a cabinet decision on the lines of the Somanath temple issue, he said.

 

“If the then cabinet under the leadership of Nehru can resolve the Somanath problem with a decision, I demand the same should be followed for resolving the Ayodhya issue,” Singhal said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, has said that he has received a large number of representations with regard to a bauxite mining project by the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC).

Ramesh said the projects are now being examined by his Ministry for approval or rejection, and therefore, there was no ambiguity.

 "I have been receiving a large number of representations in regard to the project for bauxite mining by the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) through Vedanta, a private mining company in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Orissa. The total amount of forestland proposed to be diverted is 660.749 of which around 353.14 ha is in the Niyamgiri reserved forest. Concerns have also been raised on the impact that this project will, interalia, have on livelihoods of tribal communities," said Jairam Ramesh.

The project application was received in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoE and F) on February 26, 2005. The MoE and F gave ''in-principle'' approval for this project on December 11,2008 under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. This ''in-principle'' approval is to be converted to a final approval after the fulfillment of stipulations contained in the ''in-principle'' approval.

As the representations started coming in, the MoE and F had on August 6, asked the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, Bhubaneshwar to investigate the complaints that the project activities have started even without the final approval of the Central Government in violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The site was inspected and the site inspection report was submitted on August 16,2009.

The site inspection report found that construction activity had begun in the non-forest revenue land, which is a violation of the guidelines issued by the MoE and F.

On August 3, 2009, the MoE and F had issued a binding guideline to all State Governments that application for diversion under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 would be considered only after all due processes contained in the Scheduled Tribe and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 have been fully and satisfactorily completed.

A letter was subsequently issued by the MoE and F to the Orissa Government on November 3, 2009 directing the State to comply with the provisions of the Scheduled Tribe and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 and provide evidence for the compliance before the Centre could examine conversion of the ''in-principle'' approval to final approval.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram applauded the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on its 70th anniversary here on Friday.

Chidambaram inspected a CRPF guard of honour, included one contingent of women, retired personnel and the Rapid Action Force.

He said the paramilitary force has been at the forefront, but added that its personnel, needed to adapt to the changing environment in different states.

"The CRPF is in the forefront on behalf of the government in facing up to the challenges. While the ground situation and working environment are different in different parts of the country, in some there are problems relating to changing environment and CRPF has to quickly adapt to the changing environment," said Chidambaram.

He further said that technology should be the cornerstone of modernisation of the CRPF.

"While we should be firm, decisive, and unrelenting in dealing with those who indulge in violence, we should show a great degree of sensitivity, patience and maturity when we deal with poor people and especially the tribal people. The enhanced security requirements are to be met squarely with increased capacity building measures, professionalism and sharing of intelligence inputs with all the stakeholders. Technology should be the corner stone of your modernisation policy," Chidambaram added.

Chidambaram presented awards to the CRPF personnel and to families of the slain personnel.

The CRPF was created in 1939 at Neemuch, in Madhya Pradesh, with the primary task of lending a helping hand to princely states to maintain law and order.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Abbas Kazmi will continue as the lawyer of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Kazmi was allowed to continue after he apologized to the court.

Special Judge M L Tahaliyani had put a question mark on his continuation, finding him guilty of lying.

On Thursday, while closing the case of the prosecution, Ujjwal Nikam submitted a formal list of witnesses whose affidavits would be submitted and won''t be called in for interrogation.

Kazmi denied having any knowledge of the list.

After his apology, the judge withdrew the comment calling him a liar.

Source ANI

Kanpur: India's splendid performance in every department of the game fetched it a victory against Sri Lanka on the fourth day of second Test being played here. It was India''s third biggest win in Tests.

India knocked off the last six Sri Lankan wickets today to defeat Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs.  Sri Lanka put up 229 runs and 269 runs in the first and second innings of the match. India had scored 642 runs.

Harbhajan Singh claimed three wickets, while Pragyan Ojha got two wickets.

India now leads the series one nil. Fast bowler S Sreesanth was adjudged the man of the match for claiming six wickets during a 33 over spell.

Friday''''s victory was India''''s 100th Test victory.

Should India win the Mumbai Test, it will join South Africa at the top of the ICC Test rankings.

Source ANI

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari today greeted the nation ahead of Id-ul-Zuha, which will be celebrated tomorrow.

In her message, Patil said: "On the auspicious occasion of Id-ul-Zuha, I extend my greetings and good wishes to all my fellow citizens.

"May this festival enrich our composite culture and strengthen our unity and harmony and inspire us to work for the well-being of all", she added.

Ansari said the festival commemorates the spirit of sacrifice shown by Prophet Ibrahim and reaffirms the truth that from man''s complete willingness to sacrifice springs divine grace and compassion.

"May the noble spirit of the day bring lasting happiness to mankind," he added.
Eid-ul-Zuha or Baqr-e-Eid marks the end of the Hajj.

Source ANI

Port of Spain: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, arrived on Thursday afternoon from Washington to attend the attend the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here.

The CHOGM will be formally declared open at the National Academy for Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain today.

The focus of this meeting is expected to be on the internationally troubling issue of climate change. Representatives of member nations are expected to establish the Commonwealth''s position on the problem ahead of next month’s United Nations Climate Change Talks in Copenhagen.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen will be the special guests at the deliberations related to climate change. Rasmussen will be chairing the UN talks in Copenhagen.

CHOGM''s taking up of the climate change issue is of significance to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other small island developing states within and out of the Commonwealth,as global warming has led to an increasing threat of rising sea levels and severe damage to their economies.

The CARICOM has urged developed nations to abide by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that was agreed to in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 to effectively reduce the degree of their greenhouse emissions.

While many developed nations have complied, particularly with respect to the production of chlorofluorcarbons (CFC) used extensively in aerosol propellants, it is increasingly clear that several have not.

The negative impact on climate change on small island developing states is and will be huge. It could lead to land erosion caused by abnormally rising tide levels and an adverse effect on fish stocks triggering migration.

The unrestricted use of fossil fuels such as coal, along with the cutting down of forests for their wood is also a matter of concern to the CARICOM and may be deliberated upon during this year''s CHOGM because of its adverse impact on the ozone layer.

The CHOGM is held every two years in different member states in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, and is chaired by that nation''s prime minister or president.

The 2009 meeting will see Britain''s Queen Elizabeth II making an appearance as the Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth''s son, Prince Charles, represented her at the last meeting.

From 1944 until 1971, the meetings were known as Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conferences and were generally held in London, although the Commonwealth leaders met in Lagos in 1966.

The first CHOGM was held in January 1971 in Singapore, where the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed on a set of ideals which are embraced by all members and provide a basis for peace, understanding and goodwill among all nations and people. Since then, CHOGMs have taken place on a biennial basis.

CHOGMs have attempted to orchestrate common policies on contentious issues and current events, with a special focus on issues affecting member nations.

Meetings of associated committees usually take place in the weeks preceding the CHOGM. These include the Committee of the Whole, which consists of senior officials. The Commonwealth Ministers'' Action Group on the Harare Declaration and the Ministerial Group on Small States may also meet. Their recommendations are considered at CHOGM.

Parallel special events involving non-government organizations, business and youth now coincide with each CHOGM. Action plans are developed at these events to complement official Commonwealth statements.

The last CHOGM took place in 2007 in Kampala, the capital of east African nation Uganda.
 
In anticipation of the CHOGM, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has ordered all schools and public offices to be closed on Friday.

The judiciary has also decided to close the Port of Spain High Court and the Port of Spain Magistrates Court on that day.

Most of the ministries are situated in Port of Spain, including that of Finance, Planning, Housing, Works and Transport, Attorney General, Sports, Public Utilities, Energy, Trade and Public Administration.

Only managers of the Parliament would be coming out to work in order to prepare to host Secretary General William Shija of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CHOGM’s sister body.

Trinidadians here have welcomed the undeclared holiday, the third this week.

Source ANI

Tirumala: Newly married Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty sought blessings at the Tirupati temple here today.

Dressed in a golden red sari, Shetty paid her respect to the deities along with her husband, Raj Kundra, sister Shamita Shetty and a few other relatives.

She made the trip amidst tight security. While she did pose for the media standing alongside her husband, Shetty did not entertain any queries from the media, preferring to keep a safe distance.

Shilpa Shetty married London-based businessman Kundra in a star-studded glittering ceremony in Khandala on November 22.

Shetty and Kundra met in London soon after she had shot to fame as the winner of the British reality show ''''Celebrity Big Brother'''' in a controversial 2007 season.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Friday said the nexus between China and Pakistan in the military sphere is an area of serious concern.

Delivering the Presidential address at the 44th Foundation Day Celebrations of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) here, Antony said we have to carry out a continuous appraisal of Chinese military capability.

He hoped that China would reciprocate India''s trust-building initiatives.

"We are hopeful that China will reciprocate the initiatives aimed at mutual trust-building and understanding. We have to carry out continuous appraisals of Chinese military capabilities and shape our responses accordingly. At the same time, we need to be vigilant at all times," he said.

Antony said Pakistan is yet to demonstrate willingness to take speedy action against terrorists and international criminals.

"Pakistan must put an end to terror activities emanating from its soil. However, the terror infrastructure on the ground remains intact - and is actually thriving," he added.

He further said we have taken several steps for enhancing the capacity-building of our Armed Forces to meet new and varied challenges. However, we will remain steadfast in our pursuit of regional and global peace.

"It is here that a committed pool of strategic thinkers and policy analysts need to undertake quality research. We will need high-quality research papers and studies of on a wide array of subjects to counter information or misinformation campaigns," he said.
 
"The role of organisations like IDSA in providing such qualitative inputs to assist policy formulation can never be underestimated," he added.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The visit of Dr Manmohan Singh to Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean has been long overdue. Trinidad and Tobago is little India in the Caribbean, with around 41 percent of its population of ethnic Indian origin, and an equal percentage of African origin.
 
They are descendants of immigrants from India who went there when it was a British colony to work in the plantations there after the abolition of African slavery.
 
Starting from 1845, around 147,600 Indians went to Trinidad over a 70-year period traveling by boats for 36,000 kilometers,.  Many died on the way.
 
Most of them went from the present Uttar Pradesh and Bihar States on a 10-year contract but very few could return.  What is remarkable is that, unlike other countries like Guyana, ethnic Indians in Trinidad held onto their culture, establishing temples, masjids and a gurudwara, patterned on their Indian replicas. 
 
When they left the shores of India, some carried with them copies of the Tulsidas Ramayana, the Hanuman Chalisa, and the Bhagwad Gita. The Muslims had with them copies of the Quoran in Urdu.  These helped them to hold on to their religion.  Hinduism for most of the Trinidadians today is derived from the Tulsidas Ramayana. 
 
My association with Trinidad and Tobago commenced when I was offered the assignment of establishing the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Cultural Cooperation in Port of Spain in 1996 after I had finished serving as Information Advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir Government.
 
The setting up of the center in Trinidad was to fulfill a promise made by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she had visited that country in 1968. 
 
It was something looked forward to by the people of Trinidad and Tobago, a country inhabited by 1.3 million people of whom 41 percent were of Indian origin.
 
When I arrived in Port of Spain in 1997, the Prime Minister of the country was Basdeo Pandey, an ethnic Indian.  He offered an abandoned bungalow in a former cane plantation to house the Cultural Centre.
 
The bungalow was located at Caroni, in the middle of the island. It was near to the university area and the Indian settlements.  I got the same renovated, and established a library, a hall each for teaching dancing, music and tabla, which could also serve as place for holding seminars. 
 
It was very educative for me to study how the Hindus had preserved their culture.  Like India, each village in the country had a temple and a mosque.  There were over 150 temples and around 100 mosques, many of them located next to each other.
 
The Hindus of Trinidad had imbibed a great deal from church traditions. All Hindus of a locality used to get together for a ''Sunday Service'' when a chapter from the Tulsidas Ramayana or Bhagwad Gita would be read. At the end, there would be a puja and offerings would be made to the deity.  The participants normally brought some food along with them from home and shared it with others.
 
Right in the centre of the country is a sprawling area, which is called Diwali Nagar, where the whole island gathers to celebrate Diwali and other festivals.  The island had three FM radio stations playing popular Bollywood tunes round the clock and almost every theatre used to screen Hindi films regularly. 
 
People were fond of music. Those of African origin had the steel band and the Calypso, and those of Indian origin used to sing Indian music or a mixture of Indian and local tunes, called the ''chutney'' or the ''pitchkari''.
 
The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Cultural Cooperation has been running courses in dance, instrumental music and tabla regularly, besides participating in the activities of local organisations, the most important being the National Council of Indian Culture, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha and the Hindi Prachar Sabha.  
 
Indian dance and music are popular in Trinidad.  The island has its own brand of Indian music called ''Chutney'', which is similar to what has been developed in Bollywood. 
 
The island had around 100 families of non-resident Indians, mostly professionals - doctors, engineers and the like.  Ispat, owned by Laxmi Mittal, who is now one of the richest persons across the globe, employed many of them. Laxmi Mittal took over an ailing steel plant around 1990 and has now developed a non-oil industrial complex.  Later the Essar group won a contract to build a 1.2 billion steel plant. 
 
Indian goods are popular, but the cost is prohibitive. The complaint, often heard, was that the Government of India did not have any facility to transport them to the Caribbean region. The university in the island is associated with Indian counterparts like Manipal and promotes specialized courses. The people of Trinidad are also keen to come to India for higher studies-including study of religion, to become ''qualified'' teachers in religious institutions in the island territory.   
 
Ethnic Indians have earned a name for themselves, the foremost being V.S. Naipaul.  Today, many Trinidadians have become doctors and engineers and occupy important positions in the island territory and in the United States and Canada. 
 
Trinidad is an oil-rich country.  Many people of Trinidad would like to visit India to see the place of their ancestors.  The scope for expanding tourism is enormous, if only there are direct flights from India.
 
In the Caribbean and South America, there are a number of places where ethnic Indians have settled. India can expand its trade and commerce and promote tourism in the whole of South America and the Caribbean.  For this, the country needs ocean liners - only then can trade and tourism be promoted.  Will Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - once Chairman of the South Commission -- initiate the process?
 
I. Ramamohan Rao, former  Principal Information Officer, Government of India.                                                    
e-mail: raoramamohan@hotmail.com

Source ANI

Nashik (Maharashtra): Pravin Mahajan, who is undergoing life imprisonment for murdering his brother and late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, was on Friday granted a 14-day parole to meet his wife Sarangi.

Sarangi is reportedly not keeping well.

He will shortly be leaving Nashik jail for his residence in Thane.

Pravin was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Mumbai court in December 2007 for killing his elder brother Pramod at his home in Worli April 22, 2006.

Pravin has been lodged at the Nashik Central Jail here following the life imprisonment sentence.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today accepted the offer of the Mizoram Home Minister Pu R. Lalzirliana to visit Mizoram from 4 to 11 December 2009 or any other dates convenient to the State government.

In a press held in Aizawl on 22 November 2009 in response to the press statement of the ACHR on the recent attacks on the Bru minorities, Home Minister Lalzirliana stated "ACHR representatives are
most welcome to come to Mizoram and see the facts and ground realities by themselves."

In a letter to the Home Minister of Mizoram, the ACHR welcomed the invitation as a positive step and expressed its intention to visit the State should "the government of Mizoram make necessary arrangement for
adequate safety and security for the Fact Finding Team".

ACHR stated that "In order to ensure "absolute independence, impartiality and objectivity", it has constituted a team of five member Fact Finding Team chaired by Miloon Kothari, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. Other members include Suhas Chakma, Director of ACHR; Ms Dashalene Karbetang, Advocate and Human Rights Activist, Meghalaya; Nava Thakuria, eminent journalist and General Secretary of Guwahati Press Club, Assam; and Mr Bamang Tago, Chairman of Arunachal Citizens Rights.

"The Investigation Team has representation from most North Eastern States and headed by a former United Nations expert from India. The members are well known in the field of human rights both in the North East region and the world." - further stated ACHR.

The Fact Finding Team shall visit the affected areas and meet all sections, including those involved in relief and rehabilitation, interview all the communities, representative of the civil society groups, including the MZP and YMA and the officials of the government of Mizoram as well as those who recently fled to Tripura.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Mumbai''s Crime Branch Chief, Rakesh Maria has said he is ready to quit from his post over allegations in a book that he didn''t do enough to provide security cover for slain senior cops Hemant Karakare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar.

He has expressed a desire to meet Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil on the matter.

Maria is believed to have sought consent to counter allegations made against him in a book co-authored by Vinita Kamte, the wife of ACP Ashok Kamte who was shot dead on the night of the 26/11 terrorist attacks.

Maria was in charge of the police control room that night, when Kamte, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and Anti-Terror Squad Chief Hemant Karakare asked for additional cover to counter the terrorists near Cama Hospital.

In her book titled ''To The Last Bullet'', Vinita Kamte has alleged that Maria mishandled operations, causing the death of Kamte and his colleagues. She says her allegations are based on police logs that she won access to through the Right to Information Act.

Kamte says that after the attacks began, Hemant Karkare asked for reinforcements, but it took too long to arrive. She also says that Maria diverted her husband to Cama Hospital from the Trident, where he was headed.

The Kamte vs. Maria verbal war comes after reported differences were aired about the Mumbai Police.

Source ANI

Panaji: Noted Bollywood artiste Om Puri has made truce with his wife, Nandita Puri after the much-publicised spat between the couple ever since the latter penned a biography on the veteran actor titled ''''Unlikely Hero: The Story of Om Puri''''.

The actor clarified his stand on the book by standing alongside his wife Nandita here on Thursday.

He said: "While writing the book, she was very objective and detached from being a wife. She looked at the book as the author and she has done a wonderful job. She has brought out every single detail of my life. She has stripped me in public and I am very happy to be stripped by my wife."

Om Puri had earlier spoken to the media blaming his wife for unnecessarily hyping his sexual encounters with maid while publicising the book.

Nandita also downplayed the recent tension between the couple.

"As I wrote it and moved ahead in the book, I came to know many things from his friends and colleagues in India and abroad, which I did not know earlier. It made me see the man he is, away from what I have perceived him as all these years. It is a very simple book and everybody should read it," she said.

The book depicts Om Puri''''s determination and perseverance in cutting through deep-rooted prejudices in the Indian film industry.

The book is compilation of his childhood, his work, success and achievements in India and abroad, on and off the screen.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Keeping in mind the problems of the minorities, the National Commission for Minorities has set up a Toll Free MTNL Telephone number 1800 110 088 for their benefits.

This will make the jobs of the members of the minority community easier as they can get their grievances registered and can also share vital information concerning the minorities.

The help desk will provide information about the functions and activities of the Commission and smooth the progress of the enquiry.

Source ANI

Ranchi: The campaigning in Jharkhand is gaining momentum for the second phase of elections.

In the second phase, the polling will be held in second of the next month in 14 of the remaining 55 constituencies.

The leaders of various political parties are attending to the election meetings in different parts of the state.

In the mean time, the Election Commission has ordered repelling at two booths in Pakur assembly constituencies.

The campaigning for the first phase of the five-phased polling for the Jharkhand Assembly ended on Monday (November 23).

The first phase of the poll took place on November 25 for 26 of the 81 seats.

Four former ministers, six former MPs and a former Speaker was among the 470 candidates in the fray during this phase.

During the first phase, 30 constituencies voted. In the third phase seven seats will vote, and 14 and 15 constituencies will vote in the fourth and the fifth phase.

The counting will be held on December 23.

Source ANI

Chennai: Fake deodorants worth 20 million rupees were seized by Customs department officials here on Thursday.

Acting on a tip off, the Docks Intelligence unit of Customs and the Central Excise intercepted two consignments of containers, which had come from China.

"These were all manufactured in China wherein it has been printed as made in U.K, made in South Africa and these are all fake products and spurious ones," said C Rajan, Commissioner of Central Excise, Chennai.

Reportedly, the first container had 59,424 pieces of fake Denim deodorants and the second container was stuffed with 59,424 pieces of fake Charlie deodorants.

Further investigation is on to nab the culprits and the network of trade in spurious items.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev taught the art to doctors here on Thursday.

Doctors from over 26 countries are attending the two-day International Symposium on Medicinal and Nutraceutical Plants.

Addressing the gathering, Ramdev said the practice of yoga could lead to a disease-free society.

"Yoga is a science and all the doctors who have faith in Indian medicine and Indian values it will be a matter of pride for them that they are attending this Symposium. We gave the world the knowledge of the medical science when the world was ignorant of it and even today we are capable of giving the humanity a diseases free life," he said.

Source ANI

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): Octopus Commandos, the anti-terror wing in Andhra Pradesh, arrested four suspected ISI agents here on Thursday from a private hotel located on the Mangalam road on the outskirts of the temple town.

The arrested have been shifted to Hyderabad for further interrogation on the instructions of the higher authorities.

The first commando unit of the Octopus was formally commissioned at Tirumala by former Director General of Police S S P Yadav in view of the increasing threat perception to the pilgrim-choked shrine visited on an average by about 65,000 pilgrims from India and aboard daily.

Source ANI

Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex toppled over 451 points in early trade on hectic selling by funds in line with feeble global indications and concerns over Dubai''''s debt.

The Sensex that had witnessed two big losses earlier this month, fell by 451.63 points to 16,403.30 points in the first ten minutes of trading.

In the similar manner, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty tumbled by 140.50 points to 4865.05 points.

The brokers said the selling focus was more on banking and realty stocks after Dubai''''s debt troubles invigorated apprehension about the global financial system and upset the markets across Europe and Asia.

Source ANI

Palampur (Himachal): Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said that the world must learn religious harmony from India.

Addressing the three-day long 18th annual conference of the Vitreo-Retinal Society of here on Thursday, he said the religious harmony is still very much alive in India. So this rest of the world must learn that."

The Tibetan spiritual leader also spoke about the significance of eyes, the most important organ. He also released a book on the occasion.

About hundred eye surgeons from across the country and abroad have gathered at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) here. They are here to deliberate over the new skills and inventions in their field.

"We need to update our self with the latest technologies which come in our field, which is a very fast changing field. So this is a place where they all come and share their experiences, the new studies and the research," said Rahul Sharma, Organising secretary of the national conference of Vitreo-retinal society of India.

Founded in the year 1992, the Vitreo-retinal society of India, promotes the practice and research of the diseases of retina and vitreous.

The conference concludes on Saturday.

Source ANI

Port of Spain: External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna, who is accompanying the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on his visit to the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, has said that India would be more than willing to talk to Pakistan, but only after authorities in that country took concrete steps to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai to justice and dismantled the terrorist infrastructure on its soil.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of a reception hosted by the Indian High Commission for the Prime Minister and Indian Diaspora here, Krishna said: " The idea of talking is to engage a nation. We have already said that we would be willing to do that provided Pakistan does what it has promised to do (bringing to justice perpetrators of mumbai). So, far there has been no requests for a meeting from their side. Let''s see."

Krishna''s comment came as unconfirmed rumours were doing the rounds that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi could undertake a visit to New Delhi, but sources in the Pakistan High Comission in the Indian capital, when contacted today, said no such planned visit was on the anvil in the forseeable future.

Last week, addressing the South Asian Economic Integration conference organised by FICCI, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) and his ministry, Krishna had said cross-border terrorism and anti-India activities from neighbouring territories have impacted on the process of South Asian regional cooperation at all levels.

Krishna said: "Issues such as cross-border terrorism and incidents of anti-India activities from territories of our neighbouring countries have impacted on the process of regional economic engagement, connectivity and people-to-people contacts. Whereas prospects for cooperation are bright, a realistic assessment indicates that these prospects have, to an extent, become captive to the security situation," he added.

South Asia, he said, must move beyond the security issues that it is bound by, and take steps to promote an era of mutual trust, mutually reinforcing growth and development.

Source ANI

Port of Spain: Speaking informally with the media at a reception hosted for him and the Indian diaspora here last evening by the Indian High Commissioner, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh,said that his evening with the Obamas at the state dinner in Washington on November 24 was "magnifiscent".

He said he "was never going to forget the evening all my life".

He also said he deeply appreciated the warmth and meticulous planning that the Obamas had put for the evening.

He was also appreciative of the thought that went into preparing the guest list and the fact "that people of Indian orgin" were there in such large numbers, made him "very proud"
 
Gursharan Kaur, the Prime Minister''s wife said: "It was wonderful" when asked about the state dinner

The menu served at the White House was almost totally vegetarian.

Prepared by award-winning Ethiopian=Swiss Chef Marcus Samuelsson along with White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, it featured foods like Red Lentil Soup and Roasted Potato Dumplings.

The Singhs are considered to be an ”abstemious vegetarians”.

The menu was as follows: Potato and Eggplant Salad; White House Arugula with Onion Seed Vinaigrette;
Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese; Roasted Potato Dumplings with Tomato Chutney; Chick Peas and Okra; Green Curry Prawns; Caramelized Salsify with smoked Collard Greens and Coconut Aged Basmati;

Dessert included Pumpkin Pie Tart; Pear Tatin; Whipped Cream and Caramel Sauce;Sparkling Chardonnay; Petis Fours and Coffee; Cashew Brittle; Pecan Pralines; Passion Fruit and Vanilla Glaces
Chocolate-Dipped Fruit.

The 320-person guest list at Tuesday’s event was in some ways a traditional amalgam of politicians, diplomats, celebrities and heavyweight presidential campaign donors.

It included Hollywood movie moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, as well as members of Obama’s Chicago inner circle of fundraisers, among them Penny Pritzker, chairwoman of his national campaign finance committee, and Paula and Jim Crown, who ran his Illinois finance committee.”

There were also dozens of Indian-Americans on the list, attesting to that group’s (communities) heightened profile.

They included Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo Inc.; author Deepak Chopra; TV medical journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta; and Louisiana Republican-and possible 2012 Obama challenger-Governor Bobby Jindal and Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria.

Source ANI

Port of Spain: India is the voice of developing nations on the issue of climate change, said Shyam Saran, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Climate Change.

Interacting with the media here on the sidelines of a reception hosted for Prime Minister Singh and the expatriate Indian community, Saran said there must be equitable burdenship of member nations.

"We are not negotiating a new agreement in Copenhangen. It''s on the Bali and UN round. All countries should share burden. CHOGM is basically developing nations, so, it is here that they will express the voice explicitly," Saran said.

Saran''s comment came as Commonwealth leaders from 53 member nations, mainly former British colonies, begin their three-day 21st summit meeting here from today.

Host Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said the meeting aims to send a firm message in favor of cooperation to limit global warming ahead of U.N. climate change talks due in Copenhagen on December 7-18.

"We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month ... what we can do is raise our voices politically," Manning told a news conference on Thursday.

Manning also said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish President Lars Lokke Rasmussen would join a special discussion session on climate change to be held by the Commonwealth leaders on Friday.

He said the Commonwealth''''s wide membership, bringing together wealthy industrialized nations like Britain, Canada and Australia with some of the world''''s smallest and most vulnerable states, made the group especially "reflective of world opinion" in the climate change debate.

Although most nations are not very hopeful of a final binding legal climate treaty text coming into effect in Copenhagen, prospects for a broad political agreement have improved by public promises of greenhouse gas curbs by China and the United States.  President Obama has even said that he would be attending the Copenhagen meet, giving it a higher profile.

Meanwhile Commonwealth Secretary General Kamlesh Sharma said it would be up to the Commonwealth leaders to decide on the effectiveness of their fight against global warming, but he added "If I get a very clear direction, the happier I''''ll be".

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that CHOGM leaders must agree on ’a strong statement on the dangers of letting climate change continue unchecked’.

Dispelling misgivings about the relevance of CHOGM and its expected climate change declaration, he said: "Our collective opinion is respected across the world. But like any international organisation, the Commonwealth must evolve to remain relevant. In Port of Spain this year, we have a real opportunity to demonstrate such relevance by agreeing a strong statement on climate change-something made more significant given the Copenhagen summit in December."

Source ANI

Port of Spain: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Thursday said that his government is taking concrete steps to widen the scope of educational and business opportunities for both Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) as New Delhi is keen to tap the wellspring of Indian creativity and enterprise from around the world.

"Our ability to do so will depend on our ability to forge partnerships, on the one hand, and our ability to provide the proper environment for the flowering of such partnerships at home. Our Government is committed to cementing a new bond of mutually beneficial collaboration between India and people of Indian origin around the world," Dr. Singh said in his address to the Indian community here.

"Education and business are the two major arenas through which we are reconnecting with people of Indian origin worldwide. But the cornerstone of our interaction remains our shared culture – both ancient and modern," he said.

Expressing his delight at attending a reception for the community hosted by High Commissioner Malay Mishra, Dr. Singh said that he was happy to be here to participate in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

He said that whenever he meets people of Indian origin around the world, he celebrated not only India''s pluralism, but also its great civilisational inheritance.

"Indianness is like a large and all-encompassing banyan tree. It offers shade to everyone who comes in search of it. It has deep roots at home and branches that in turn go to great distances and strike roots there," adding the Indian community in Trinidad and Tobago has "demonstrated the unique liberalism and pluralism of Indian civilization" by successfully blending Indian culture and values with the local cultural and social environment.

Stating that India was on the move and reaching out to the world with confidence and in a spirit of live and let live, Dr. Singh said: "You (NRIs and PIOs) are, for millions of Indians, the most visible symbol of our own globalisation."

If the 21st century is being projected as the “Knowledge Century”, Dr. Singh said India today is viewed as a “Knowledge Economy” because of the reputation that the people of Indian origin worldwide have earned through their creativity and diligence.

Indians, he said, have traveled the world as both traders and teachers, and at one time in history, were the envy of the world. But, in the last twenty to thirty years, Indians have lost ground both because we failed to incentivise our institutions to become global players and because foreign universities became more aggressive in marketing.

"I am conscious of the fact that an important demand of the overseas Indian community is to secure access to educational opportunities in India. That is why our Government has been widening educational opportunities for people of Indian origin in India.I want all those people of Indian origin who have never been to India to make a pilgrimage and discover the new India that is in the making," the Prime Minister said.
 
"I invite you to be active partners of a new India and walk with us in finding new pathways of development and progress. I invite you to feel the love and affection of Mother India and feel the warmth of her embrace," he added.

"I do think the Indian diaspora can emerge as a major global network for the tourism and travel trade. There are many people of Indian origin on the US mainland who would be happy to come to these islands for business and holiday. There are win-win possibilities in this kind of business activity," he said.

Source ANI