11.27.08
Posted in NEWS FROM INDIA at 8:55 am by YUDHISTRA
http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20081127/738/tnl-q-a-who-could-be-behind-the-mumbai-a.html
Militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades attacked luxury hotels, hospitals and a famous tourist cafe in India’s commercial capital Mumbai late on Wednesday, killing at least 101 people.
WHO IS BEHIND THE ATTACKS?
Witnesses say the attackers were young South Asian men speaking Hindi or Urdu, suggesting they are probably members of an Indian militant group rather than foreigners.
The attacks were claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen in an e-mail to news organisations. Deccan is an area of southern India.
Analysts say that while it is not clear whether the claim is genuine, the attacks were most likely carried out by a group called the Indian Mujahideen. The name used in the claim of responsibility suggests the attackers could be members of a south Indian offshoot or cell of the Indian Mujahideen.
* WHO ARE THE INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN?
Indian police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), but that local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.
SIMI has been blamed by police for almost every major bomb attack in India, including explosions on commuter trains in Mumbai two years ago that killed 187 people.
Police said the Indian Mujahideen may also include former members of th Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami.
* WHY ARE THEY SUSPECTED OF BEING BEHIND THE MUMBAI ATTACKS?
In an e-mail to various media in September, the group denounced Mumbai’s police anti-terrorist squad, accusing them of harassing Muslims.
“If this is the degree your arrogance has reached, and if you think that by these stunts you can scare us, then let the Indian Mujahideen warn all the people of Mumbai that whatever deadly attacks Mumbaikars will face in future, their responsibility would lie with the Mumbai ATS and their guardians,” it said.
The Indian Mujahideen have made credible claims of responsibility for most of the recent major attacks on civilian targets in India over the past two years.
The Mumbai attacks appear to have been carefully co-ordinated, well-planned and involved a large number of attackers. A high level of sophistication has also been a hallmark of previous attacks by the Indian Mujahideen.
The Mumbai attacks also focused clearly on tourist targets, including two luxury hotels and a famous cafe.
In May, the Indian Mujahideen made a specific threat to attack tourist sites in India unless the government stopped supporting the United States in the international arena.
The threat was made in an e-mail claiming responsibility for bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the tourist city of Jaipur. The e-mail, signed by “Guru Al-Hindi”, declared “open war against India” and included the serial number of one of the bicycles on which the bombs were left.
Witnesses in Mumbai say the attackers in Mumbai singled out Americans and Britons in their attacks.
* WHAT OTHER ATTACKS HAVE INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN CARRIED OUT?
The group first emerged during a wave of bombings in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in November 2007, sending an e-mail to media outlets just before some of the bombs exploded.
Their next attacks were the Jaipur blasts.
On July 25, eight small bomb attacks in the IT city of Bangalore on July 25 that killed at least one person and wounded 15. There was no known claim of responsibility.
But a day later, at least 16 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, killing 45 and wounding 161. Shortly before the blasts, an e-mail in the name of the Indian Mujahideen was sent to local media warning that people would soon “feel the terror of death” in the name of Allah.
It said the attacks were revenge for the Gujarat riots of 2002, when around 2,500 people, most of them Muslims, were killed by Hindu mobs. A later e-mail accused several state governments of harassing, imprisoning and torturing Muslims and threatened consequences if they did not stop.
In September, at least five bombs exploded in crowded markets and streets in New Delhi, killing at least 18 people.
The Indian Mujahideen sent out an e-mail moments after the first blast in New Delhi, saying the explosions were to prove its capability to strike in the most secure of Indian cities.
* WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE MUMBAI ATTACKS?
All previous incidents in which the Indian Mujahideen are suspected of involvement involved co-ordinated serial bombs.
The Mumbai attacks also show clear signs of co-ordination but were carried out by gunmen, some carrying grenades.
The tactics — a military-style assault on soft targets, singling out foreigners, and taking hostages — are rare and do not fit the usual methods of militant attacks on civilian areas.
However, similar attacks have been carried out before, notably the May 2004 attacks in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar.
Gunmen attacked two oil industry installations and a foreign workers’ housing complex in the city, taking more than 50 hostages and killing 22 of them. The attackers asked hostages whether they were Christian or Muslim before deciding whom to kill.
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11.24.08
Posted in Cultural Council, NEWS FROM INDIA, THE SANGAM FOUNDATION at 10:21 am by YUDHISTRA
From – Epaper HT
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=24_11_2008_013_002&kword=&mode=1
WHEREVER IT began, the inhuman practice of female feticide and femicide finds absolutely no sanction in the fountainhead of Hinduism, the Vedas. Our Vedas extol and talk very highly of woman’s place in society The Vedic woman was a whole, indispensable and full partner of man in social life. The Vedas uphold the obvious, that this world, without women, will be useless. Besides, as a mother or mother figure, every family has to adore her The Aitareya Upanisad says, “Woman brings us up and so she should be brought up by all.” She is not a commodity or property of man but is his better self, a spouse and a partner. Both man and woman are divine and together they are eligible to perform sacrifice to the gods, yajna or anusthana. Both of them are complementary in their roles. Manu, much maligned by modern society, in fact frowns at all those males who cast an evil eye on women folk. In Vedic society, the woman was given the top position in the household of her husband. She was and remains the hub of family life. A house without a wife is a dark cave without daylight. She illumines everything. The Atharva Veda compares her to the ocean. Just as the ocean establishes its empire over the rivers, a wife enters a husband’s house to be a queen, an owner, the person to whom everything belongs. The Vedas respect her power to build heaven in her home and then in the world. She can say confidently, “Man calls me weak, but I am the one who can inspire strength in man. I have the same God in me and possess all faculties to conduct this world.” The Veda, amidst its liberal outlook towards woman in general, acknowledges her heavy responsibility She is the key to the health, happiness and harmony of the society she lives in. She is the cause and effect of all progress in the world. God will never forgive those who murder the girl child. Neither must man
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11.21.08
Posted in NEWS FROM INDIA at 2:52 pm by YUDHISTRA
http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20081121/1248/twl-freedom-for-pak-boy-with-bollywood-d_1.html
Pakistani teenager Nasir Sultan, who had crossed the Indo-Pak border to try his luck in Bollywood, was today released from a juvenile home at Faridkot near here for his return home.
The 16-year-old boy, who wanted to to meet his favourite actor Shah Rukh Khan, had crossed the border in Ferozepur sector in a school uniform and without travel documents on August 16. He was arrested by the BSF.
Nasir was lodged in the Faridkot juvenile home since then. The Union Home Ministry issued the orders for his release yesterday.
The boy was given a warm send-off from the juvenile home by the local police and civil officials, including Faridkot Deputy Commissioner V K Meena.
With tears in his eyes, he thanked the other inmates and also expressed the hope that another Pakistani boy Sunil, who is also lodged there, would be repatriated soon.
Nasir is expected to be handed over to the Pakistan Rangers at the joint check post at Attari near Amritsar later in the day.
He was a class X student in the government school in his village Chukiatan in Dir district of Peshawar.
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11.18.08
Posted in Inter Religous Harmony Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 9:59 am by YUDHISTRA
Swami Dayananda Saraswati organised the first Hindu-Jewish meet in February 2007 at
New Delhi. Facilitated by “The World Council of Religious Leaders” (http://www.wcorl.org),
this was a great event as both the Hindu and Jewish traditions, which do not have
aggressive programs of conversion, and advocated a way of life to accomplish the view.
• This Hindu-Jewish dialogue was aimed at highlighting common cultural features and
common philosophies behind the two religions while gladly accepting the differences. A
joint declaration was issued acknowledging the shared values of two traditions and for
deepening the bilateral relationship predicated on the recognition of One Supreme
Being.
• A second summit was held at Jerusalem, February 17-20, 2008. The Government of
Israel supported the meet and the entire Rabbinate and Jewish scholars participated in
the dialogue. The Hindu delegation consisted of members of the Hindu Dharma Acharya
Sabha, including representatives of Shankaracharyas. This second meet was as
extraordinary as the first one in that it emphasized and illustrated the importance of
honest dialogue between any two religious traditions to resolve seemingly irresolvable
differences. The Jerusalem meet concluded with a landmark declaration that Hindus
worship “One Supreme Being” and are not really idolatrous. The implications of this are
profound in content and far-reaching in effect.
• Judaism was born of the complete repudiation of idol worship and rabbinic literature
abounds with denunciation of idolatry. Due to an incomplete understanding, Hinduism
has been perceived by the Jewish traditions as idolatrous and promoting many gods.
For centuries, both the Hindus and Jewish people have experienced at the hands of
aggressive religions extremely violent consequences of wrong perceptions. The Historic
declaration made at the Jerusalem meet sets to rest the wrong notion that Hinduism is
idolatrous. The declaration reads: “It is recognized that One Supreme Being in its
formless and manifest aspects has been worshipped by Hindus over millennia. The
Hindus relate to only the One Supreme Being when he/she prays to a particular
manifestation. This does not mean that Hindus worship ‘idols’. They worship devataas
who are manifestation of the One Supreme Being”. The Chief Rabbi announced that it
was a matter of relief to know that their hitherto held perception was wrong. (On this
declaration one can read Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s article published by the media).
This declaration is indeed a hallmark declaration showing way for meaningful dialogue
between leaders of different religious traditions and to help remove wrong perceptions
arising from lack of understanding and / or misunderstanding.
• The 3rd Hindu-Jewish meeting will be held in 2009 in the US.
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Posted in Human Rights Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 9:31 am by YUDHISTRA
Reproduced from Mumbai Mirror November 18, 2008 page 4
NGOs march to minister’s office, start singing national anthem, force him to stand up
DANISH KHAN
A group of NGOs marched into a minister’s office at Mantralaya and sang the national anthem, forcing him to stand up. The incident happened on Monday when activists from various NGOs met Patangrao Kadam, minister for co-operation, rehabilitation and relief works.
As the group reached the office at the appointed hour, they were ushered into the conference room of the minister’s cabin. “Kadam was kind enough to grant us an audience, which is rare thing among ministers,” said Vijay Chauhan, a member of a social organisation, Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT).
The minister joined them and before discussions, the ministers’ aide instructed the group to keep the meet short as Kadam had a busy day ahead. But suddenly, without warning, members of the group and particularly Chauhan, insisted they sing the national anthem.
“I told him we never start any meeting without singing the national anthem. Kadam said there was no need for it and that discussions could start straightaway,” said Chauhan. But to everyone’s surprise, Chauhan started singing the anthem anyway.
“The minister had no option but to stand and sing along with us. We started putting forth our points after the anthem was over,” said I K Chhugani, member of social organisation PLEAD, who was part of the group. The meeting lasted 30 minutes with Kadam giving them a patient ear.
The group, who met to discuss state co-operatives issues, asked the minister to ensure administrators appointed by registrars were not incompetent or corrupt and that registrars act on complaints registered by members of co-operative societies. “We also asked him to ensure that corrupt registrars were transferred to non-executive postings, transparency be brought into the department and pending cases be expedited,” said Chauhan.
“He instructed principal secretary Dr Sudhir Kumar Goel, to look into the issues raised by us. We will meet him again after 15 days,” said Mukund Parekh, another member.
At the end of the meet, sixtyone-year old Chhugani even asked the minister his age. “Kadam told me he was 72, to which I mentioned we were all getting older and that we should do positive things so that our future generations have a better life,” said Chhugani.
When contacted Patangrao Kadam said: “I have asked my officer to look into their issues and if anybody is found guilty, necessary action will be taken.”
It is now to be seen if the NGO members sing the national anthem again, at the next meet
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Posted in Academic Council, Cultural Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 9:24 am by YUDHISTRA
Express Buzz [India], 15 Nov 2008
Andhras flourished during the time of Chandragupta Maurya much before
the advent of the Satavahanas, and were said to be as powerful as
Mauryans. They had 30 fortified walled cities way back in 300 BC, wrote
the Greek traveller Megasthenes in his Indika. In what could be an
exciting discovery, the State Department of Archaeology and Museums has
identified five of those 30 walled cities. The Department has found
physical evidence proving Megasthenes right and by the same token ––
throwing light on the existence of Andhras and Telugu language before
the Satavahana period.
The study is part of a project taken up to find the 30 walled cities
mentioned by the Greek traveller and historian in his travelogue.
“Though the Andhras were mentioned in books dating back to 1,000 BC, we
have physical evidence like coins and pottery only from the Satavahana
period (200 BC – 200 AD). Our research based on Indika of Megasthenes
strengthens the theory that the Andhras existed before the Satavahanas.
Excavation of these sites will provide more physical evidence on
history, administration, language, customs and traditions of our
ancestors,” said P Chenna Reddy, Director of Archaeology and Museums
Department.
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11.06.08
Posted in Inter Religous Harmony Council, NEWS FROM INDIA at 10:48 am by YUDHISTRA
Udupi, DHNS:
http://www.deccanhe rald.com/ Content/Nov32008 /state2008110298 502.asp
Pejawar mutt seer Vishweshateertha Swamiji has stated that the Mutt is ready to give mantra deeksha to the Dalits provided they are ready to accept certain conditions.
He said in a release that the Pejawar Mutt has never neglected the Dalits and is still ready to admit them into the folds of ‘savarniyas’ of Hinduism. But they need to follow certain rules like Basavanna imposed on those who accepted ‘linga deeksha’, he added.
Many Dalits are being converted into Buddhism, despite Buddhism being a part of Hinduism. It is improper to convert Dalits into Buddhism for the sole reason that it discourages caste system, he stated.
“It is better if the Dalits join Arya Samaj, propagated by Dayananda Saraswathi, than convert to Buddhism, the tenets of which are questionable,” the seer suggested.
Dalits will not benefit much by joining Buddhism. Even after conversion, they have to live in Dalit colonies and their status may not change. Instead they become minorities. They can join the revolutionary Arya Samaj that challenged caste system being a part of Hinduism, he advised.
If any injustice is practiced against Dalits in villages or temples such cases should be reported to the Pejawar Mutt. The Mutt or its representative will visit the place and arbitrate, he assured adding that he would personally join their movement if it becomes inevitable. The seer will be present at Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha on Kathriguppe Main road in Bangalore at 6 pm on November 3. Anybody can meet him personally and discuss the issue, he stated.
J Venkatasubramanian
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Posted in Media Council at 10:43 am by YUDHISTRA
He had overseen the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers, stripped the epaulettes off a Pakistani general’s shoulder, something no one before or after him had ever done, and made him sign an Instrument of Surrender at the very spot where Shiekh Mujibur Rahman had declared freedom of Bangladesh about nine months earlier.
Thirteen years later, the same man ran for his life on the streets of Delhi. On October 31, 1984, “I alongwith Air Chief Marshall (retd) Arjan Singh (and two others) left the house of Patwant Singh but immediately saw on our way mobs attacking the Sikhs … Within 15-20 minutes we returned,” the retired general Jagjit Singh Aurora told the Nanawati Commission.
“It was shocking. I K Gujral was furious and said it is shameful that the man who led the country to its biggest victory needed protection,” prominent Supreme Court lawyer H.S.Phoolka told me. Aurora and his wife had to spend the night of November 1, 1984 at the residence of Gujral. “It was apparent that the government of the day was not interested at all in protecting the lives and properties of citizens,” Aurora stated on oath before the Commission.
It could not have got any more shameful.
But dignity came naturally to Aurora. He looks composed in the picture as Lt Gen AAK Niazi signed the surrender. “He looked composed when he barged into the house of India’s Home Minister PV Narasimha Rao on November 1, 1984 to demand action to stop rioting,” Phoolka said. And he looked composed and happy when General Niazi’s daughter-in- law came to meet the Auroras years after the surrender.
Just before his death, a depositor of a Delhi-based company, Hindustan Financial Management Ltd, filed a case naming Aurora as accused, Aurora’s counsel argued that he was no longer associated with the company, but the Patna judge refused the anticipatory bail application. No one from the Indian government spoke up to say that a giant cannot be insulted by any pygmy.
It could not have got more embarrassing.
But Aurora remained composed. It was his nature.
“My father was a soldier, but he could tell the most wonderful of fairy tales. For him, my mother was the most beautiful woman till her very end when she was very old. We learnt from this man of war what love is all about,” Aurora’s daughter Anita Kalra said, as she stood by the side of a frame which has a picture of Aurora watching Niazi signing, a picture which is a full stop in the nation’s memory.
“My father was fond of telling us a story of a dead Pakistani soldier from whose pocket he found a letter from his wife. So poignantly had the wife beseeched the soldier husband to return home safe and sound that papa’s eyes would well up with tears w hile telling us the story. He could never complete it. Now, he never will,” Kalra said. Nor will he ever tell us anymore how it feels like to run on the Delhi roads for one’s own life, particularly after one has saved the life of a nation.
What India does to its heroes?
25 October 2006
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Posted in Media Council at 8:39 am by Sangam group
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For any further info contact:
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11.05.08
Posted in AGRICULTURE COUNCIL, NEWS FROM INDIA, Scientific Council at 11:09 am by YUDHISTRA
http://epaper.asianage.com/Asian/AAge/2008/11/05/index.shtml
OPPOSITION TO THE cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops is growing in Orissa. Social organisations and farmer leaders have stepped up their protest against the state government’s move to encourage large-scale farming of these crops. The protesting organizations and leaders have been visiting premier educational institutes, including leading universities of the state, and sensitising the students about the “dangers” and “risks” involved in Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjaj cultivation. “Despite the state government’s official declaration not to encourage GM crops, Bt Cotton has been extensively cultivated in Orissa. Cotton is not a food crop, yet the toxicity of this genetically modified (GM) crop has been so severe that thousands of domestic animals and cattle have died from grazing in cotton fields in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. The persons handling the crop have come down with severe allergies,” says Debjeet Sarangi, secretary of Living Farms, a Bhubaneswar based social organisation.
The state government is ready to conduct field trials of Bt brinjal next month, a food crop. Commercial roduction of the crop will be allowed next year. Quoting research works, Mr Sarangi informs that experiments on rats have shown that consumption of GM food can have very serious effects like damage to the immune system, organ defects and interference with digestive enzymes, fertility, stunted growth, stomach lesions and ulcers and damage to the intestinal wall.
“Clearly this is highly unethical large-scale experimentation on human beings. The government must not allow GM seeds in the state,” he observes. During a week-long campaign titled “I Am No Lab Rat” from October 16 to 22, Living Farms, farmers and eminent public figures visited Utkal University in Bhubaneswar and a host of other educational institutes across the city with a well decorated vehicle that carried hoardings and posters depicting ill-effects of the GM seeds. The response to the campaign against genetically modified food and crops was according to the perception of the students on the issue.. For many of them, it was a completely new concept.
Some said they had heard about Bt Cotton and its adverse impact but were unaware that the same technology was being adopted for food crops as well. The students enquired in detail about the process of genetic modification. They were horrified when they were told by the campaigners that genetic alterations were being made in everyday food like brinjal, okra,cabbage, cowpeas, papaya and rice. “Till now we knew about the dangers of junk food, a habit we indulge in occasionally, but now if our daily food is tampered with and made toxic what are we going to eat? Pesticide has shown its dark side. We had hoped the government would think of naturally grown organic food as the alternative. Why are they doing this to us?” questioned the students.
Students of botany and zoology said they were already aware of the dangers of genetic modification and maintained that GM seeds cultivation was highly unethical and had an effect on the overall environment besides the known health hazards. They were surprised to know that such crop also had adverse effects on soil health.
Through the campaign, the organisers collected thousands of signatures on a petition that was sent to the Union health minister seeking a ban on GM foods. “We would request you to kindly gauge the seriousness of the situation and respond as a concerned citizen to make the campaign a success and thwart the devious designs of a few powerful industries,” the petition said. Prior to the recent campaign, the farmer leaders had sent petitions to the Prime Minister, agriculture minister and Union forest and environment minister urging them to protect and conserve biodiversity, environment and health, with due consideration to ethical,
social and cultural issues involved with the application of modern biotechnology.
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