Chaitra Shukla 13 Samvat 2068. Yugabda 5113: 16 April 2011

1. FESTIVALS: Akshaya Tritiya which falls on Vaishakh shukla 3 (May 6 this year) is considered one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu Calendar. The Sun and Moon are in exaltation; they are simultaneously at their peak of brightness on this day which happens only once every year.
It is the birthday of Bhagwan Lord Parasurama; the 6th incarnation of Vishnu; beginning of the ‘SatyaYug’; the day on which Vedavyas along with Ganesha started writing Mahabharata and also Ganga descended to earth on this day.
The word "Akshaya" means imperishable or eternal - that which never diminishes. Initiations made or valuables bought on this day are considered to bring success or good fortune. Buying gold is a popular activity on Akshaya Tritiya, as it is the ultimate symbol of wealth and prosperity. Bharatiyas celebrate weddings, begin new business ventures, and even plan long journeys on this day.
Jains observe longterm fast to commemorate their first Tirthankara Rshabhadeva and break their fast on Akshaya Tritiya with sugar cane juice.
In Orissa on Akshay Tritiya farmers start ploughing their land and construction of chariots for Rath Yatra begins at Puri.The day is generally observed by fasting and worship Lord Vasudeva with rice grains. A dip in the river Ganges on this day is considered to be very auspicious.In Bengal, on the day of the Akshay Tritiiya, "HalKhata" - a ceremony to start the new audit book is performed with the worship of Ganesha and goddess Lakshmi.
2. WELCOME SLOWDOWN: FOOT OFF THE POPULATION ACCELERATOR: For the first time since Independence, Bharat added fewer people to its population in the decade just ended than in the previous one. While decadal population growth rates have consistently been declining since the 1960s, the absolute addition in each decade was always higher than in the previous decade. That has now changed.
India added 181 million people to its population between 2001 and 2011 against 182 million in the preceding decade. However, even 181 million equals the total population of Brazil, the world's fifth most populous country.
A significant drop in the population growth of Bharat's most backward states is driving the sharpest ever decline in the country's population growth rates. For the last 30 years, Bharat's eight most backward states Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Orissa have grown at a constant rate, increasing their populations by a fourth every ten years. For the first time, growth rates have sharply dropped by over 4% in these states. In fact, population growth has dropped faster in these eight than in better off states.
3. RSS BACKS ANNA’S CIVIL MOVEMENT AGAINST GRAFT: With Hazare’s fast unto death giving sleepless nights to the Manmohan Singh regime, RSS sarkaryavah (general secretary) Suresh (Bhaiya) Joshi wrote a letter to the Gandhian praising his effort that “inspires countrymen”. Joshi informed Hazare that Sangh had recently passed a resolution against corruption that has brought a bad name to the country. “We appealed the people not only to support all anti-corruption initiatives; Sangh workers are taking part in these campaigns in different parts of the country,” Joshi wrote in the letter to Hazare.
Senior RSS leaders Ram Madhav and Madhubhai Kulkarni marched to Jantar Mantar and handed over Joshi’s letter to Hazare.
4. MENTIONED INDRESH’S NAME UNDER DURESS - ASEEMANAND: In a jolt to the investigating agencies, including the National Investigating Agency, Swami Aseemanand, branded as the mastermind behind the Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Samhjhauta Express and Ajmer Dargah blasts, has claimed that he was forced to specifically mention the name of senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar as a conspirator in these blasts.
In a startling revelation in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Ajmer, Aseemanand said he had never met Kalim, a youth undergoing imprisonment for his involvement in Mecca Masjid blast case, in Hyderabad jail. Aseemanand said he does not even know who Kalim was and the story about his meeting him was concocted by an assistant superintendent of police, TR Balaji, and was made part of his confessional statement, which he said was extracted under duress.
In his second letter to the CJM RL Moond Aseemanand said sleuths of these agencies, including CBI, NIA and ATS of Rajasthan had not only threatened to implicate his family members but also his disciples at his Shabari Ashram in Gujarat, if he refused to give a confessional statement and agreed to become an approver.
5. CHINESE TROOPS ALONG LOC IN POK: Despite the strong Chinese denial, Bharatiya authorities have now acquired "independent" confirmation about the increasing presence of Chinese troops along the line of control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir from none other than US security agencies.
Highly placed sources in the government told that US intelligence agencies have confirmed to Bharatiya authorities about the increasing presence of Chinese troops all along the LoC.
The chief of the Northern Command, Lieutenant General K T Parnaik, had come out in the open with the disclosure about Chinese soldiers being based in PoK. The Chinese foreign ministry, however, denied this even describing these reports as baseless and ridiculous.
While Pakistan too has described these reports as baseless, it is now well documented that Chinese troops have been around in PoK since late 2009 when they arrived in the Gilgit-Baltistan area supposedly to rebuild the Karakoram highway. According to Bharatiya agencies though, these troops are no longer restricted to this area and that they are now also present in what Pakistan describes as "Azad Kashmir".
6. LITERACY RISES BY 9.2%, NOW 74.04%: Bharat's effective literacy rate has recorded a 9.2 percent rise to reach 74.04 percent, according to provisional data of the 2011 census.
Effective literacy rate in the 2001 census was 64.83, which improved to 74.04, said Registrar General of Bharat and census commissioner C Chandramauli.
Interestingly, literacy rate improved sharply among females as compared to males. While the effective literacy rate for males rose from 75.26 to 82.14 percent marking a rise of 6.9 percent, it increased by 11.8 percent for females to go from 53.67 to 65.46 percent.
Kerala has the highest literacy rate at 93.91 percent followed by Lakshadweep at 92.28 percent. Bihar is at the bottom of the ladder with literacy rate of 63.82 followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 66.95.
7. FIRST HINDUISM SUMMIT IN CANADA HIGHLIGHTS THE SCIENCE OF HINDUISM: Over 50 questions about Hinduism from a 200 strong audience, with 65 of them online, made for a lively Hinduism Summit held on April 11 by Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA) at Vishnu Mandir in Toronto.
Mr. Dewang Gadoya, a Hinduism supporter, reminded the audience of Adi Shankaracharya’s words that Dharma is that which brings worldly progress of every being, causes progress in the spiritual dimension and keeps the social system in excellent condition.
Ms. Kristen Mandziuk from Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF), Dr. Bhartendu Srivastava, Pandit Roopnauth Sharma also spoke at the occasion. Dr. Doobay, spiritual leader of the Vishnu Mandir, published an insightful souvenir in the tradition of Hinduism.
The Hinduism Summit concluded with passing of resolutions including one urging the Canadian government to investigate the ongoing human rights violations against the Hindu and minority communities in Bangladesh. .
8. BALOCHISTAN CELEBRATES BHARAT'S VICTORY OVER PAKISTAN IN WORLD CUP CRICKET: Baloch people in many towns and cities across Occupied Balochistan celebrated the victory of Bharat over Pakistan in the world cup semifinals in Mohali .A traditional dhol cha'ap or music and dance was spontaneously organized in Khuzdar, which is regarded as the political and cultural center of Balochistan.
A second cultural town, Sibi also presented the look of a festive city and firing in the air continued till late night. Such firing is common pratice to express public joy in many parts of southwest Asia. Jubiliant crowds also took to the streets in the coastal Baloch cities of Turbat and Panjgur.
9. BHARATIYAS GET THE THIRD LARGEST CHUNK OF A MILLION US GREEN CARDS: As the US’s “green card fever” continues to rage, Bharatiya nationals have received the third largest number out of the little over one million new cards issued during 2010, granting legal permanent residency status.
Mexico, the US’s southern neighbour that accounts for the highest number of both legal and illegal immigrantsIt is followed by China and Bharat, While Mexicans received 139,120 green cards, Chinese and Bharatiyas got 70,863 and 69,169 respectively, according to figures put out by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
People from five countries (Mexico, China, Bharat, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic) accounted for nearly 38 per cent of all new legal permanent residents in 2010.
10. EYE ON CHINA, NAVY BOOSTS EASTERN COMMAND: With an eye on China as well as in keeping with Bharat's "Look East" policy, the Navy is slowly but surely bolstering force levels on the eastern coast with new warships, aircraft and spy drones as well as forward-operating bases (FOBs).
Additions to the ENC, which has around 50 warships at present, include the new indigenously-manufactured stealth frigate INS Shivalik packed with weapons and sensors and the 16,900-tonne INS Jalashwa, the huge strategic sea-lift amphibious warship second only to aircraft carrier INS Viraat in size.
Bharat is acquiring 12 P-8I aircraft, the first of which is slated for induction by early-2013, from the US for over $3 billion to plug the existing gaps in its surveillance of the entire Bharatiya Ocean Region (IOR).
While these aircraft will be based in Rajali, Navy is also going to deploy spy drones or UAVs at the Parundu air station in Tamil Nadu.
11. MR MODI'S MIRACLE: Gujarat's silent green revolution is boosting farm output:
Even as the Planning Commission says that India’s desire to hit double-digit economic growth is being constrained, among other things, by the inability of the farm sector to grow at an annual average rate of 4 per cent a year, largely semi-arid Gujarat, with poor agro-ecological endowments, has reported an average growth rate of close to 9 per cent per annum over the past decade. Gujarat’s agricultural performance this past decade has turned out to be as impressive as its performance on the industrial front. What are the secrets of Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s “Gujarat model of farm development”? The twin mantras that seem to have spurred agricultural growth in this drought-prone state are improved diffusion of technology and better utilisation of water, both achieved through extensive and concerted extension services and the pooling of individual, community and official initiatives. These seem to have been followed by essential support services that provide inputs, credit, power and marketing facilities.
Other states, like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, have also performed fairly well on the farm front, but they have a long way to go before they can match Gujarat. The original Green Revolution states in the north-west, on the other hand, have begun to lag behind on agricultural growth owing to laxity in developmental efforts and inadequate attention being paid to the over-exploitation of natural resources, including groundwater. West Bengal, which had a record of good performance in agricultural development, has slipped and is among the poorly performing states, with agricultural growth going down from over 5 per cent in the early 1990s to under 2 per cent in recent years.
The new and innovative approach that Gujarat adopted to rejuvenate its virtually defunct farm extension system involves bringing farm scientists and service providers on the same platform and taking them to the farmer’s doorstep, rather than the other way round. For this, Krishi Raths (mobile agricultural units), carrying experts and service providers, traverse the state during month-long Krishi Mahotsavas (farm fairs) organised every year to take care of all needs of the farmers. Soil health checks are carried out to counsel farmers on the right kind of crop to grow and the precise amount of inputs to use to optimise farm production with minimum cost. Given the scarcity of water in Gujarat, several unconventional initiatives have been taken to ensure its judicious and sustainable use. Stress on water conservation, through rainwater harvesting, and on expanding area under irrigation, to enhance crop productivity, has helped. Apart from digging ponds on individual farms, bori-bandhs (sandbag dams) and concrete check dams are being constructed at appropriate sites in watersheds to hold water in the natural depressions so that part of it percolates down to recharge the groundwater aquifer and the rest could be used for irrigation. And most importantly, dedicated feeder lines have been put up for assured power supply to the farm sector at fixed hours under the Jyotigram scheme. This has encouraged farmers to reduce wasteful use of pump sets and excessive use of groundwater. Consequently, Gujarat’s farmers seem to be making better use of scarce water. Clearly, there is much that farmers from the rest of India can learn to improve productivity, output and incomes. If India follows Gujarat, 10 per cent growth should be possible! (Business Standard New Delhi April 22, 2011)
12. FUKUSHIMA EFFECT: AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN IN ALL N-PLANTS: Bharat has decided to arm all its nuclear reactors with automatic shutdown mechanisms that will be triggered at earthquakes much lower in intensity than what they currently work at. The dramatic new plan is a part of the recommendations of an internal review by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, which runs the country’s nuclear reactors, in the aftermath of the Fukushima crisis.
NPCIL executive director N Nagaich told on April 14, “Safety is our prime concern.”
At present, only four — at Narora and Kakrapar — of Bharat’s 20 operating nuclear reactors automatically shutdown at seismic activity beyond their safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) — the earth shaking limit for which the particular reactor is designed, Nagaich said. The rest have monitors that sense seismic activity and trigger alarms, but need to be shut down manually once the SSE is reached, he said.
The NPCIL will provide additional back up power facilities — like batteries — that do not require a power line for all reactors, and will retrofit them to allow portable cooling water supplies to be hooked on.
The NPCIL will also introduce additional sea shore protection measures at the Tarapur and Kalpakkam plants to protect them from tsunamis.
13. RALLY AGAINST CORRUPTION BY GRAHAK PANCHAYAT AT JANTAR MANTAR: Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat organised a procession from Ramlila Grounds to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on April 7 to protest against growing corruption and price rise. After the procession, over 3,000 activists staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar led by national president Shri Rajabhau Pophali. Addressing the demonstrators he said it is due to the wrong economic policies that the people are suffering in the country.
Later, a delegation including National general secretary Shri Somnath Khedkar, Secretary Shri Arun Deshpande and others presented a memorandum to President of Bharat.
14. TAP THEM YOUNG, GUIDE THEM TO BE GOOD CITIZENS -KARIYA MUNDA: "AT the time when our young generation is fast turning to the western way of life, the value-based activities of Balagokulam are necessity of time. The teaching of ancient Hindu cultural values will bring up the children as responsible, patriotic and cultured citizens for the future," said Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha Shri Kariya Munda at Krishna Darsanam 2011, the 10th anniversary celebration of Balagokulam Delhi in New Delhi on April 10.
RSS National Executive Member Shri Ram Madhav was the chief speaker and said, “All the activities of Balgokulam have been designed to ensure total personality development of the children" . Eminent Malayalam poet and famous Malayalam film lyricist Shri S Ramesan Nair and many other senior leaders associated with the Balagokulam including it’s Delhi unit president Shri MP Balakrishnan, Shri N Venugopalan, Rakshadhikari of Delhi unit, Kerala unit president of Balagokulam Shri Hareedaran Master , were also present at the function.
During the conference, Prof Omchery NN Pillai, Principal of Sardar Patel Institute of Communications run by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and an academician of high repute was offered guruvandanam by the Balagokulam children through padapooja by flowers. Later, 300 Balagokulam children presented Dashavataram dance drama in a very marvelous form.
15. BHARAT QUIETLY BEGINS COMBAT DRONE PROJECT: Bharat is quietly going ahead with an ambitious programme to develop its own stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) or 'smart' drones capable of firing missiles and bombs at enemy targets with precision.
Talking about the secretive AURA (autonomous unmanned research aircraft) programme for the first time, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) told that the aim is to develop the UCAVs for IAF in seven to eight years.
DRDO's chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada said, "Capable of flying at altitudes of 30,000 feet and weighing less than 15 tonnes, the UCAVs will have rail-launching for the missiles, bombs and PGMs (precision-guided munitions) they will carry" .
16. . HC SWITCHES FROM 'MY LORD' TO 'YOUR HONOUR': The Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association on April 7 passed a resolution asking its members not to address judges as 'my lord' or 'your lordship.' With this, it has become the 2nd high court in the country after Kerala which passed such a resolution in 2007.
President of the 4500 strong bar association Kulbir Singh Dhaliwal said: "We passed the resolution to endorse the already existing rules framed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) in 2006 that had resolved that the form of address in the Supreme Court and high courts should be 'your honour' or 'honourable court”.
The Bar Council had held that words such as 'My Lord' and 'Your Lordship' were "relics of the colonial past.
17. EGYPT ENVOY SEEKS CEC HELP IN CONDUCTING POLLS: Egypt's ambassador to Bharat Khaled el Bakly met chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi recently, seeking assistance in conducting elections after Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
Parliamentary elections will be held in Egypt in September, followed by presidential polls in November. During the meeting with Quraishi, Bakly wanted to know about various aspects of election management and electronic voting machines (EVMs). "He asked how fast we can provide EVMs in case they decide to use them," said a senior election commission (EC) official.
"We get a lot of requests from various countries to train their poll officials," said Quraishi.
18. REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN TO RULE GLOBAL TRENDS IN COMING YEARS: STUDY: One of the top mega trends that will influence and shape the world in the coming years would be reverse brain drain, with a steady flow of foreign nationals and migrants returning home to fill vacancies for the senior level positions, says a study. According to a new report by Frost and Sullivan one of the top global mega trends the world will witness reverse brain drain, wherein the vast vacancies for CXOs in countries like Bharatl be filled not only by returning Bharatiyas , but also by Americans and Europeans seeking better prospects. There will be as many as two million BPO- KPO jobs for foreign nationals from China, Poland, Philippines, besides, salary given by the BRIC nations would be at par with developed countries (in terms of purchasing power) and even more benefits.
19. BHARATIYA -AMERICAN GEETA PASI NAMED AS US ENVOY TO DJIBOUTI: US President Barack Obama has nominated Bharatiya -American Geeta Pasi, a career foreign service officer, as his envoy to Djibouti. Geeta Pasi is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and currently serves as the Director of East African Affairs in the Africa Bureau at the Department of State. Prior to this assignment, Pasi has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at Embassy Dhaka from 2006-2009.
20. ‘BHARAT TO BE AMONG TOP 3 LIFE INSURANCE MARKETS BY 2020’: The insurance industry will continue to outpace the rapid economic growth to reach $350-400 billion in premium income by 2020, making Bharat amongst the top three life insurance markets and top 15 non-life insurance markets by the year, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled ‘India Insurance — Turning 10, Going on 20’.
It stated that the total penetration of insurance (premium as percentage of GDP) has increased from 2.3 per cent in 2001 to 5.2 per cent in 2011. In addition, there has been a vast increase in the coverage of insurance.
Said Rajiv Kumar, director general, FICCI, “The report estimates the total insurance premium at approximately Rs 17 lakh crore to Rs 22 lakh crore in 2020 (with life being Rs 15 lakh crore to Rs 20 lakh crore). This massive growth will have a significant impact on Bharat’s ranking in the global insurance industry and is based on strong fundamentals.”
21. HUMAN CHAIN BY ABVP IN DELHI AGAINST CORRUPTION: Extending support to the anti-corruption campaign launched by Shri Anna Hazare the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad formed a human chain at Jantar Mantar on April 9. Hundreds of ABVP activists participated in the human chain. Similarly, the Kolkata unit of ABVP formed a human chain from Presidency College to Calcutta University on April 8.
22. WORLD'S SUPER-RICH SEE MUMBAI AS FUTURE HUB: The globally wealthy see New York and London remaining the world's leading hubs over the next decade but emerging centres like Mumbai, Shanghai and Sao Paulo are fast catching up as future cities. Mumbai's importance increased by 118% from 2010, the highest among 20 world cities, according to the 2011 edition of The Wealth Report, launched by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank on April 6.
The survey covered 5,000 ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) who are clients of Citi Private Bank and based in 36 countries. Each is worth on an average $100 million (approx Rs 450 crore).
23. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Shyam Parande, Secretary, Sewa International will conclude his tour of Caribbean countries Guyana, Trinidad&Tobago and Suriname and move to USA and Canada.Visitors: Dr.Manohar Shinde, USA
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When we rise in contemplation, when there is the vision of the Supreme which is entirely beyond the power of the soul to prepare for or bring about, we feel it is wholly the operation of God working on the soul by extraordinary grace. In a sense all life is from God, all prayer is made by the help of God’s grace, but the heights of contemplation which are scaled by few are attributed in a special degree to divine grace. - Dr S Radhakrishnan

JAI SHREE RAM

OUR RIGHT TO REFORM

Minhaz Merchant

Anna Hazare's most telling comment on the second day of his fast - when the government was still dismissing his movement as undemocratic and the Jan Lokpal Bill as utopian - was lost in the general tumult. Hazare told the government: "We are the maliks, you are the sevaks."
Minister, of course, is Latin for servant. Rahul Gandhi may not share his views with us on most issues but he understands the popular mood. Sensing that the nation was increasingly outraged over corruption and nepotism, Rahul told an election rally: "I am your naukar; you are my malik." It could have been Anna Hazare speaking.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi herself established the validity of civil society engaging with the government on equal terms by instituting - and heading - the National Advisory Council (NAC), packed with just the sort of citizen-activists who wrote the draft of the Jan Lokpal Bill. As the 10-member panel, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, meets for the first time on April 16 to begin redrafting the Lokpal Bill by the June 30 deadline, four improvements could make it a strong and practical legislation.
First, power. Some cynics fear that a tough, independent Lokpal body will be a law unto itself - a super-cop or extra-constitutional prime minister's office. This fear can be allayed by building into the Lokpal Bill a clause for appellate judicial review by the Supreme Court of contested decisions. Removal - again by the Supreme Court - of any Lokpal member, including the Lokpal himself, on specific charges of wrongdoing, is already part of the draft Jan Lokpal Bill.
Second, size. The proposed Lokpal has 11 members. That would make it unwieldy. It is wise to restrict the number of members to seven, including the chairperson. The draft Bill already includes a provision for a large administrative Lokpal office and staff.
Third, selection. The Jan Lokpal draft Bill suggests "advertisements" to invite recommendations from the public of candidates of "unimpeachable integrity", followed by public feedback, vetting, videotaped interviews and so on. The process of selection must be as transparent and broad-based as possible, but it cannot resemble a tender. The process must be comprehensive but concise.
Fourth, deemed police status. The draft Bill gives the Lokpal the power to issue search warrants. A better way forward would be to depute officers of the anti-corruption investigation department of the CBI to work under the Lokpal's direct control.
But a strong Lokpal is only part of the larger architecture of political reforms to improve governance. Concurrently, we need to make the CBI autonomous of the executive. The Supreme Court ordered wide-ranging police reforms through a 2006 directive, which governments at the Centre and in the states have cynically not yet implemented.
The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill will also come up for enactment into legislation in the monsoon session of Parliament. For citizens, once the Bill is passed, justice will be swifter and fairer. Electoral reforms would then be the next milestone. Nearly 25% of MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha have criminal charges against them. Over half of these are serious charges: murder, kidnap and rape. A candidate facing criminal prosecution in a trial court should be barred from standing for election. In order to protect candidates facing politically motivated charges, prosecutions pending for over one year without a hearing or adjournment would not count as a valid ground to debar candidates. This will filter out a majority of rogue candidates but also provide protection against frivolous political charges.
We need to clean up our Parliament, our assemblies and other elected chambers. The modified Jan Lokpal Bill is one instrument to do that. An autonomous CBI is another. A strong, transparent judiciary is a third. A vigilant media and engaged civil society is a fourth. The country has fought long and hard for the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Right to Education (RTE) Act and now the Right to Food (RTF) Act, currently under review. There is one more legislation a mature democracy of, by and for the people - rather than of, by and for the privileged - needs to enact: the Right to Recall.
In several states in the United States (notably California, since 1903, and most recently Minnesota, since 1996), the right to recall an elected politician before his term ends is a fundamental democratic right. If a petition against an elected lawmaker crosses a specified threshold number of signatures from citizens in his constituency - on legally verifiable charges of malfeasance, to prevent misuse of the statute - a poll becomes mandatory. If the elected representative secures less than a specified percentage (usually 50%) of votes in the ensuing poll, he is removed from office before the end of his term and a fresh election to the constitutiency called. In 2003, California governor Gray Davis was recalled over mismanagement of the state's budget; 55.4% of the electorate voted to recall him.
The Right to Recall is a critical electoral reform that will complete a quartet of empowering legislations along with the RTI, RTE and RTF to strengthen Indian democracy. The Lokpal is the beginning of real change. The writer is an author and chairman of a media group. ( Times of India, New Delhi 15 April 2011 )

WHEN LORD INDRA ANSWERED THE CALL OF VEDAS

The primal Vedic chants that ring across the rolling greens of village Panjal in Thrissur district are a ceremonial invitation to Lord Indra, the god of rain, to join the ancient fire ritual of Athirathram. Towards the evening, thunder rumbles in the distance, almost as if Lord Indra is responding to the call of the 18 Vedic priests. And it rains. The priests have been chanting round-the-clock for the last three days to build up the energy level.Panjal, 30 km from Thrissur town, was teeming with humanity on the 11th day of the ritual i.e. April 14 evening. For most tourists, it was a cultural and spiritual pilgrimage covering the Kerala Kala Mandalam, near the venue of the ritual, and the Guruvayoor temple in Thrissur district.
The village of 32,000 people has drawn nearly 300,000 visitors in the first 10 days. The footfall is likely to touch 500,000 on the last when the sprawling 380-square metre venue is set afire to mark the end of the 12-day fire ritual for peace, purification, fertility, health and rain.
It has been organised by a local non-profit group Varthathe Trust to revive dying Vedic traditions in the country.
Panjal is one of the key bastions of the 'Samavedis' and 'Rigvedis' - practitioners of the ancient Hindu scriptures Sama Veda and the Rig Veda - who have kept the two living traditions of Vedic chants and 'yagnya' (worship of elements) alive for nearly 4,000 years.
Five families each of Rig Veda practitioners and Sama Veda practitioners preserve the tradition.
The village has played host to four major Athirathrams in 1901, 1918, 1956 and 1975.
In 1975, noted Dutch Indologist Frits Staal documented the ritual in a two-volume Vedic treatise -- "Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar".Staal, 81, who has returned this time, watched the proceedings from behind a barricaded enclosure. "Not much has changed. The ritual is alive and well. But it is a real pleasure to be back to Thrissur," he said.
A team from Harvard University led by professor Micheal Witzel is also studying the Sama Vedic chants. "It is one of the oldest living Vedic traditions and has not changed much," Witzel told.
The ancient fire rite is an elaborate avatar of 'agnihotram' and 'somayaga' - fire worship and offering of the 'soma' rasa to the ritual fire - prescribed in the Vedas.It's said to symbolise the creation of the world with a ball of fire from the big bang, scientists studying the phenomenon say.
Athirathram is the most complex of the Vedic fire 'yagnas', first documented in 1100 BC and continued till 600 BC across the northern Indian river plains after which it disappeared from the northern part of the country.
A Vedic community of Namboodiris Brahmins in south India, however, clung to it."It combines chants and rites from the Rig Veda, Sama Veda and Yajur Veda," said Nellikaatilmamanul Vasudevan Namboodiri, one of the oldest Sama Veda practitioners of Panjal.
Yajamana Ramanujan Akkhithiripad, a priest from Chembra in Mallapuram district, presided over the rituals assisted by a team of 17 Vedic priests. Ramanujan's wife - known as the 'yajman pathni', has been camping at the 'yagshala' - the venue of the rite - for the 12 days with her husband as part of the rituals.The yajamana (presiding priest) and his wife carry the scared fire home in pots and keep it burning for the rest of their lives, Vasudevan Namboodiri said.
At the heart of the ritual is the sacrificial fire that burns in a blaze of fragrant wood and herbal smoke. The ritual hearth resembles the white-crested red eagle found in the area.
"Sighting an eagle is a good omen," says priest Sivakaran Namboodiri.
However, the ritual that generated maximum curiosity was the pressing of Soma stalks or 'somaabhishavam' on the 10th day to be offered as oblation to the fire god Agni. The 'soma' - an intoxicating creeper that grows in the Western Ghats - is ferried to the venue in special donkey-drawn 'soma' carts in a recreation of the Vedic era.
Over 300 women, decked as brides, partook of the special offering, 'soumyam, (prasadam)', a dish of clarified butter and rice -- for healthy childbirth and conjugal happiness. And an 'annaydanam (food offering)' kitchen fed 40,000 people everyday with traditional Kerala platters of ponni rice, poreal, avial, sambhar, pickles and payasam. (Times of India 16 April 2011)

Chaitra Krishna 13 Samvat 2067. Yugabda 5112: 1 April 2011

1. FESTIVALS: Rama Navami is a festival celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, 7th avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu. The festival falls on Chaitra Shukla Navami, April 12th this year, and marks the end of the nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations.
The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Bhadrachalam (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu). Celebrations begin with a prayer to the Sun early in the morning. At midday, when Lord Rama is supposed to have been born, a special prayer is performed. People sing devotional songs in praise of Rama and rock images of him in a cradle to celebrate his birth.
Sitarama Kalyanam, the ceremonial wedding ceremony of the Ram and Sita is held at temples throughout the south region, with great fanfare and accompanied by group chanting of name of Rama.
2. ‘SQ BEST PARAMETER TO FIND ONE’S ABILITY, APTITUDE’ : ADVANI : Stating that epic like Ramayana and Mahabharata develop the Spiritual Quotient (SQ) of an individual, senior BJP leader LK Advani on March 28 said SQ is the best parameter to determine ability and aptitude of one. “Contrary to the principle of West that a person’s capability and intelligence can be judged through his Intelligence Quotient (IQ) or Emotional Quotient (EQ), I believe if you want to judge a person, you should examine his SQ level,” he said.
Advani was speaking on the occasion of release of a book, Ramayan-the hymns of Himalaya, a prosaic English translation of the epic authored by Dr Akhilesh Gumashta, a Jabalpur-based orthopaedic surgeon and published by Prabhat Publication New Delhi.
Among the luminaries present on the occasion, Former Chief Justice of Bharat Ramesh Chandra Lahoti said Ramayana is source of inspiration for constructive and creative introspection.
Sadhvi Ritambhara said with the English translation of Ramayana, the author will quench the thirst of spiritualism of the West.
3. ASEEMANAND SAYS CONFESSION WAS COERCED: In a significant development, Swami Aseemanand, who is under scanner for his role in Ajmer, Mecca masjid, Malegaon and the Samjhauta Express blasts, has retracted his previous confessional statement, saying it was "coerced".
According to reports, the right-wing spiritual leader has made a submission before a court in Ajmer that he was mentally and physically pressurized by the investigating agencies to 'confess' that he was the man behind those blasts.
Aseemanand is also believed to have informed the court that he was also threatened and being forced to become a government witness in the case.
He is said to have pleaded before the court to reject his previous application in which he had wished to become a witness in the Ajmer blast case, while deposing that he had no intentions whatsoever to turn approver in the case.
If reports are to be believed, Aseemanand has also sent a written appeal to the President about his alleged harassment by investigators.
The development has added a new twist to the ongoing probe into the Ajmer blast and complicated things for the ATS, which has so far failed to file a chargesheet against Assemanand and the other accused.
4. HINDUISM, A WISDOM RELIGION – PROF. THILLAYVEL NAIDOO: Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are ‘wisdom religions’ while Islam and Christianity are ‘religions of revelation’. This was stated by Prof. Thillayvel Naidoo while delivering 6th Chamanlal ji memorial lecture in Delhi on March 25, 2011.
Prof. Naidoo, former Professor of Eastern religions – Department of science of religions at the University of Durban – Westville South Africa, dealt with the theological aspects of various religions and cultures and the quest for harmony among them. While stating the need to understand the reasons for conflict, he opined that few cultures of the world take the problem of harmonization seriously and asserted that any possibility of cultural harmony flowing with absolute authenticity will be only through the light of spirituality as professed by Swami Vivekananda.
The lecture held under the auspices of International Center for Cultural Studies (ICCS), was chaired by Prof. Kapil Kapoor – former pro vice Chancellor JNU and Justice (retd) Vinodkumar Gupta – former chief Justice of Jharkand, Uttaranchal and Himachal was the chief Guest. Prof. Amarjiv Lochan conducted the proceedings.
5. TALENT SHOW RAISES $11,500 FOR SEWA PROJECTS IN BHARAT: Over 300 people attended the “Talent for Charity” cultural program organized by Keertana Pariwar at the Durga Temple in Fairfax Station, Virginia USA, on March 12. The program raised more than $11,500 for Sewa International’s development initiatives in Bharat.
Keertana Pariwar has organized this event for the ninth year in a row to support different charities. This year’s event saw the highest turn out as well as the largest amount of funds raised.
The three beneficiary projects are ; an economic empowerment project for women in Kutchh – Gujarat, Aruna Chetana - a school for children with disability in Bangalore and the Katherine & Lobo Blind School in Mangalore.
6. GITA IS THE SOURCE OF ALL EXISTING RELIGIONS: Several principles laid down in Gita and Koran, both the sacred books are surprisingly similar; said the noted Sanskrit scholar Dr Mohd Hanif Khan Shastri. Dr Khan, a devout Muslim who teaches at the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, a deemed university under the Ministry of Human Resources Development, was delivering a talk on ‘Gita, Koran and Civilisational Harmony’ organised by the Global Foundation for Civilisational Harmony (GFCH-INDIA), in collaboration with Vivekananda International Foundation on the eve of Holi on March 19, in New Delhi.
Maintaining that Gita held the key to entire Bharatiya philosophy and ancient religious discourse, Dr Khan said the sacred book can be hailed as a source for all the existing religions in the world.
Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, Head Priest at the Delhi Jewish Synagogue said all religions taught good principles to enable human beings to lead a peaceful and harmonious life.
7. ROTORUA HOLI FESTIVAL GIVES IMPORTANCE TO YOUTH: Rotorua public got the opuportnity to celebrate Holi – the Festival of Colours – on Sunday, 20th March 2011. Both children and adults enjoyed this festival; in particular playing with coloured powder and water which was the highlight of the festival.
The celebration also included international cultural performances including Bharatiya dances, traditional Chinese dances, belly dancing, Salsa, Zumba, singing and guitar performances.
8. DR KASBEKAR AND REKHA DAVE HONOURED WITH BHAURAO DEORAS SEWA SAMMAN : 16th Bhaurao Deoras Sewa Samman was presented to Dr Milind Kasbekar of Saksham (Nagpur) and Kumari Rekha Dave, joint general secretary of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari at a function organised at Hapur on March 5. Dr Kasbekar is serving the visually challenged people in Maharashtra through the Saksham while Kumari Rekha Dave is propagating the ideals of Swami Vivekananda in the field of service. The function was presided over noted economist and Uttar Kshetra Sanghachalak of RSS Dr Bajrang Lal Gupt. Noted saint Shri Vijay Kaushal Maharaj was the Chief Guest. Speaking on the occasion Shri Vijay Kaushal Maharaj said one has to abandon the feeling of pride and insult while serving the people.
9. TURBAN ROW: BHARAT PLANS TO MOVE UNSC RESOLUTION: Bharat has decided to move a resolution at the UN General Assembly stating that the turban was a symbol of Bharatiya religious sentiments and has to be respected by all. "We attach highest level of importance to the series of incidents where disrespect has been shown to turban, which is a symbol of our religious sentiment that has to be respected,” a government official said.
The move comes after top Bharatiya golfer Jeev Milkha Singh’s coach Amritinder Singh was forced to remove his turban by security officials twice at the Milan airport in month of March.
10. PROJECTING THE ALTERNATIVE: Five years is a long time in the life of a democracy. It seems even more laborious in the rapidly transient world of today where any event or issue, irrespective of its consequences, ceases to impact public opinion for long. That only raises a simple question: Will the government's indifference to corruption or the opposition's no-holds-barred attack that we see today have any bearing on the elections of 2014?
A case in point is the way UPA-I handled terrorism. For four and a half years, Shivraj Patil, then home minister, was consistently ridiculed for inaction. The BJP was all set to fight the 2009 elections on the plank of "national security". However post-26/11, thanks to some deft damage control initiated by the new home minister, P Chidambaram, "national security" was instead usurped by the UPA. And instead of incurring losses for its mediocre performance in the first four years, UPA-I reaped the benefits of forging an image of aggressive governance in the last six months.
In a country where vast chunks of the population are not well-informed or discerning with their electoral choices, it is easy to psychologically manoeuvre their perceptions. That possibly explains why UPA-II continues to remain indifferent in the wake of umpteen scams. It knows that the opposition will find it virtually impossible to drag these issues till the next elections, especially if UPA-II changes its prime minister sometime in 2013 and effectively kills the very issue of a "weak PM". In that situation, it will be easy to paint Manmohan Singh as the culprit, while the Congress from being the culprit will effortlessly don the mantle of 'saviour'. And, for all you know, the party might fight the 2014 elections on the promise of cleaning up the mess that Singh had left behind.
This is where the opposition needs to show more foresight and form a shadow cabinet, a move that has been discussed at various points but has never taken a concrete form. In the present Indian scenario, a shadow cabinet holds several advantages. (Tuhin A Sinha , Times of India, , Mar 23, 2011),
11. KILLING THE GOLDEN GOOSE: In the budget, IT's golden goose - Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), the most successful Indian scheme copied by a number of foreign governments - was squashed prematurely. While India started its liberalisation process in 1992 with attractive tax incentives for the IT sector, the Chinese had instituted similar incentives for manufacturing in 1978. Thirty years later, in spite of conquering the manufacturing sector, China continues with its tax incentives. India's decision to end the tax incentive signals the impending decline of Indian IT.
In 1978, when China was in dire straits, Deng Xiaoping went to the US to plead for more foreign currency. China had depleted all its foreign currency reserves and did not even have enough dollars to buy return tickets for Deng's delegation. The Chinese People's Bank, with just 80 employees at its head office, was the only financial institution in the country with no linkages to the outside world.
But thereafter, China liberalised and announced incentives for manufacturing and SEZs. It reduced tax rates from 55% to 25%. For manufacturing, the policy provided for zero tax for two years and just 12.5% tax for another three years. Thirty years later, China has reserves of almost $3 trillion. Its manufacturing sector at over $2,500 billion is 12 times bigger than India's. In spite of this stupendous achievement, China continues with all its tax incentives till date.
With the world recognising Chinese supremacy in the manufacturing sector, we find the "Made in China" label on almost everything we see. Indians have even found it cost-effective to worship Ganesh idols manufactured in China. Today, China is in a position to charge higher prices for their products without affecting their business, because no country will be able to respond in the short run. Building infrastructure and manufacturing plants and training industrial workers take decades. In the next decade, the Chinese can happily extract exorbitant monopoly prices for manufactured products. (Vivek Kulkarni, Times of India ,Mar 22, 2011)
12. I-T QUERIES ON GUJARAT MOUS A MISTAKE: PM: Chief Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of income tax department asking Gujarat government for details of MoUs, pledging more than Rs 1,000 crore investment at Vibrant Gujarat global investors' summit during a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh on March 26.
The PM told Modi it was wrong and a mistake when he heard about the I-T department's letter to the state government seeking details, including the amount of committed investment and actual investment, said a Modi aide. Singh assured an extra Rs 4,600 crore from the Centre's kitty to develop a canal network for the Narmada project.
13. AYURVEDA ANSWER TO HEALTHCARE CHALLENGE: PITRODA: Taking healthcare to the masses will be Bharat's biggest challenge in the next two decades, and the ancient medicinal system of ayurveda is the only reliable way of doing so, Sam Pitroda, adviser to the PM and chairman of the National Innovation Council, said at the inauguration of the Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine (I-AIM) on March 17 at Bangalore "We can't adopt the western model - the five-star culture of health delivery system. Health care has to reach the masses,"
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata inaugurated the 100-bed healthcare centre that aims to integrate traditional medicine with modern health science. Darshan Shankar, who along with Pitroda had floated the foundation 17 years ago, said the healthcare centre aspires to be a modern Nalanda University for traditional health sciences.
14. LESSONS FROM JAPAN'S TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM: Experts say Japan's tsunami warning system won a seemingly impossible race against giant ocean waves, offering possible lessons to countries like Bharat. The Japan Meteorological Agency put out its first tsunami warning with details of which prefectures were likely to face the most dangerous waves at 2.49pm just three minutes after the quake on March 11.
A detailed warning, listing the height of waves likely to strike each prefecture and the time of arrival of the tsunami at each place followed a minute later - at 2.50pm.
15. ORISSA NOW ODISHA, ORIYA ODIA: Orissa will hereafter be called ‘Odisha’ and the Oriya language will be known as ‘Odia’ with Parliament giving approval to amendment of the Constitution and also passing the related bill.
The Rajya Sabha passed the Orissa (the Alteration of Name) Bill and adopted the Constitution (113th) Amendment Bill after a brief debate with members from all parties hailing the move as “historic” for people of the state.
16. MAKAR SANKRANTI SPORTS DAY 2011: HSS HongKong celebrated annual Makar Sankranti Sports Day on 23rd January, 2011 at the beautiful Kowloon Tsai Park. The total number of participants was 85, the highest so far since 1980s.
Regular Shakha team games such as kho-kho, kabbadi, ring – o – stick, lathi relays, Ram Raja Ravan, etc were played with full enthusiasm. While all the teams gave in their best performance, the final winning trophies were given to Keshav and Balaram among the boys, and Laxmi team among the girls. A very important feature of this sports day was the whole-hearted participation of the parents – the parents took part in the 100 meters race specially arranged for them.
17. AGRICULTURE CANNOT BECOME AN INDUSTRY - GOVINDACHARYA: Noted Swadeshi thinker and ideologue Shri KN Govindacharya came down heavily on those policymakers who are trying to convert Bharatiya agriculture into an industry. “The overall objective of our developmental activities should be to achieve self-reliance as was done by Nanaji in Chitrakoot and its surrounding areas," he said while delivering Nanaji Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on March 19.
The topic of Lecture was ‘Relevance of Self-Reliance in Development’. Senior BJP leader Shri Jaswant Singh presided over the function and many other eminent personalities, thinkers, intellectuals and economists were also present on the occasion.
18. BHAGAT SINGH REVISITED IN NEW DELHI: A well-researched book, Bhagat Singh Revisited, which highlights various aspects of his life was released on March 23 in the presence of eminent historians and intellectuals in New Delhi.
The book has been written by a Ghaziabad-based researcher Dr Chandrapal Singh.
Releasing the book, Prof. Aparna Basu, said the author Dr Chandrapal Singh has successfully presented Bhagat Singh in correct historical context. "I feel the attempts on the part of left historians to portrait Bhagat Singh as a Marxist ideologue was basically to draw benefit from his popularity.
Presiding over the function, former Governor Shri Triloki Nath Chaturvedi described the book as unique.
19. RELIGIOUS GROUPS PUT FAITH IN BUSINESS - STUDY: Bharatiya religious organizations across all major faiths are diversifying their "business model" to maintain the loyalty of their followers and attract new devotees. This is the finding of a Cambridge University study, carried out over two years surveying 568 Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Jain religions in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat.
Cambridge, one of the world's leading seats of learning, constituted a group drawn from its faculty of economics and Judge Business School, which discovered that cow-lending, computer-based learning, sewing and aerobics classes are some of the innovative non-religious services being offered by religious bodies to stay ahead of the game.
The survey is believed to be one of the first in Bharat with researchers finding that although Bharat is becoming more powerful and wealthy, rising social inequality — especially in the poorer states — means religious groups often fill the breach left by the lack of social welfare, especially in education and healthcare. In total, 272 Hindu religious groups were interviewed, along with 248 Muslim, 25 Christian and 23 Sikh and Jain religious organizations.
The research unearthed that religious institutions are acting in the same way as businesses in competing to offer unique selling points when it comes to matters of ideology. Interestingly, the feedback contradicts the progressive view that religion is the poison of the people. Iyer underlined, "Counter to some analyses of religion in Bharat that have mainly studied the negative consequences religion might engender, we are emphasising the positive role of some religious organisations in Bharat and the work they do among the wider community."
20. ELECTING CRIMINALS AND TAKING BRIBE TO VOTE ARE SINS: DEOBAND: Knowingly voting for candidates with criminal record or taking a bribe to vote are un-Islamic and sinful. This was stated by Darul Uloom Deoband, the seat of Sunni Islam in Bharat, in a fatwa (edict). "Voting is akin to giving testimony in Islam. By voting, a voter provides testimony that the candidate is suitable and would fulfil all duties. A false testimony is a sin," the seminary said, responding to a fatwa sought by the Ghaziabad-based Social Awareness Society.
According to the electoral data, around 40% of candidates who get elected in Bharat have a criminal record and voters are often courted with bribes.
Former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami welcomed the fatwa and said: "As politicians fail to act, religious organizations have risen to the occasion."
21. 2006 MALEGAON BLASTS: BAIL PLEA OF 9 ACCUSED REJECTED: The bail plea of nine persons accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts has been rejected by a special MCOCA court in Mumbai on March 14.
The nine accused had moved the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court last month seeking bail on the basis of the confessional statement of Swami Aseemanand, a key accused in the Samjhauta blasts case.
22. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Shyam Parande, Secretary Sewa International will tour Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname and USA starting from 9 April.Visitors:Dr.Manohar Shinde, USA, Prof.Thillayvel Naidoo – South Africa.
FOOOD FOR THOUGHT: Persevere in thy quest and thou shalt find what thou seekst. Pursue thy aim unswervingly and thou shat gain victory. Struggle earnestly and thou shalt triumph. – Gautam Buddha

JAI SHREE RAM

J&K: TRUTH LOST IN TRANSLATION

S.K. Sinha
Although the interlocutors appointed by the Centre have so far denied it, the media has been persistently reporting that pre-1953 status is being recommended for Kashmir.
The crux issue in Kashmir has been obfuscated by virulent propaganda and misrepresentation of facts. The common thinking is that Kashmir has a Muslim majority and the people there want to break away from India and join Pakistan or become independent.
This is contrary to ground realities. In 2002, a Mori poll conducted by a British NGO under the patronage of Lord Avebury, a known protagonist of Pakistan, found that 61 per cent of the population of the Valley wants to remain in India, six per cent wants to join Pakistan and 33 per cent is undecided. Even if we do not give credence to this survey, we cannot ignore the fact that the Valley Muslims, referred to as Kashmiri Muslims, are a minority in Jammu and Kashmir. They constitute about 45 per cent of the population. Other Muslims, like Gujjars, Bakherwals and Kargil Shias, are 20 per cent.
Non-Muslims, that is Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, are 35 per cent. The silent majority among the Valley Muslims is of Sufis who are being gradually marginalised. The Sunnis constitute the bulk of the intelligentsia and hold the levers of political and economic power. It may be mentioned that the office of J&K chief minister has been a monopoly of Kashmiri Muslims. Senior Congressmen of the state once met me to express grave reservations at Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad being appointed chief minister. I pointed out that he was a son of Jammu, educated in Kashmir, and a son-in-law of Kashmir, an ideal combination for CM. He was not allowed to complete his full term.
The people in the Valley are often misled by false propaganda projecting threats to Islam. This happened in 1963 when the Holy Relic at Hazratbal had disappeared, and again in 2008. On the latter occasion, it was alleged that Hindus were going to be settled on a 100-acre plot of waste land to change the demography of the Valley, like Israel had done in Palestine. This despite the fact that this land is unapproachable and uninhabitable eight months of the year. This plot had been given on lease for `2 crore.
The ownership was to remain with the state government and it was stipulated that no permanent structure was to be put up on that plot. At that time Omar Abdullah, in an emotional outburst in Parliament, had asserted that they would give their lives, but not their land. This only exacerbated matters.
Delhi has never had a road map for a solution of the Kashmir problem beyond reiterating that Kashmir is an integral part of India and a solution will emerge through dialogue. It has no media policy, with the result that we have been losing the media war internationally, nationally and regionally. Not only do we not effectively counter hostile propaganda, we fail to project our national viewpoint on Kashmir. The Valley press is often more anti-India than the Pakistan press. They assert that Kashmir has never been a part of India, forgetting history and that Srinagar was founded by Emperor Ashoka.
They put facts on their head when they state that the Indian Army invaded Kashmir on October 26, 1947 and Pakistan sent raiders to help the freedom struggle. They maintain that Kashmiri Pandits were made to move out from Kashmir in 1989 by India to give the freedom struggle a bad name and, of course, ignore that their 100 odd temples were vandalised.
As regards Kashmir reverting to pre-1953 status, those making this demand do not want the restoration of the Dogra dynasty. They are asking for an elected Sadr-e-Riyasat.
What is being demanded implies permits for other Indians to enter Kashmir, for the Indian flag to not be flown in Kashmir, for the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, Election Commission and Comptroller and Auditor General to be withdrawn from Kashmir, a Prime Minister for the state and no IAS or IPS officers in Kashmir. In other words, it involves breaking political links with India as far as possible while continuing with maximum economic assistance from New Delhi, and, while demanding maximum autonomy at the state level, letting autonomy at the regional and panchayat levels remain neglected. The self-rule demand involving dual currency (India and Pakistan) and a joint Upper House in Kashmir with Pakistan goes a step further, giving Pakistan a foothold in Kashmir.
There appears to be a consensus on maintaining the territorial integrity of the state, but this can only be the residual part comprising the Indian administered part. Given the present international scenario, it is not practicable to recover the Pakistan- and China-occupied areas of J&K. Article 370 may continue, but putting back the hands of the clock and loosening political links with India can only be suicidal. Appeasement whets the appetite for more. In any case, a constitutional amendment will require a two-third majority in Parliament, at present an obviously impracticable proposition.
There can be no change in the present Centre-state equation. Good governance, economic development and maximum autonomy at the regional and panchayat levels need to be ensured.
There must also be a robust media policy to counter false propaganda. It must be repeatedly brought out that notwithstanding few unfortunate incidents, for which the guilty are being duly punished, the Indian Army’s human rights record in Kashmir is far superior to that of the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Pakistan Army’s in Balochistan and Waziristan, leave alone what happened in Vietnam and in East Pakistan. The fate of Sufis in Pakistan should be highlighted in Kashmir.
Internationally, we need to emphatically project that we are not only fighting to uphold secularism in Kashmir but also serving the interests of the international community by fighting against international jihad, to which the US seems to be succumbing in Afghanistan.
The author, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir. (The Asian Age, Mar 30, 2011)

CAUTION OVER MISADVENTURE

G Parthasarathy

Rather than go along with the West and back its duplicitous decision to ‘intervene' in Libya, India has decided to chart its own independent course in foreign affairs.
After emerging from a situation two decades ago, when the country was bankrupt and internationally isolated following the collapse of the Soviet Union, India can derive satisfaction with what has been achieved since then. The nuclear tests of 1998 and end of global nuclear sanctions by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008, has led to worldwide recognition of India as a legitimate nuclear weapons power. It is now for India to negotiate skillfully with partners like Russia, France, the US and Canada, to see that agreements on nuclear power it signs are economically advantageous and meet the highest standards of transparency and nuclear safety.
With a sustained high rate of economic growth and increasing integration with the world economy, India is now a member of the G-20 and the expanded East Asia Summit comprising the members of ASEAN together with the US, Russia, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand. India is closely linked to emerging economic powers like Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa, through forums like BRICS and IBSA. It is only a question of time before India joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, laying the grounds for a larger profile in Central Asia. But, it is crucial that despite its economic progress, India has to retain its strategic autonomy, if it is to be respected internationally.
India’s candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council has been endorsed by all its permanent members except China, which remains distinctly obstructive. But, given the absence of consensus on the size and composition of an expanded UNSC, it is evident that there is still a long way to go before India’s ambitions on this score are fulfilled. In the meantime, there have been unambiguous suggestions from the US and even American client states like the UK that India would be considered worthy of a permanent seat in the UNSC only if the ‘international community’ (a euphemism for the Nato members) is satisfied with how India ‘behaves’ with its voting on important contemporary issues as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. These are pressures India will have to resist and deftly deal with.
Despite these blandishments, New Delhi appears to have broadly shaped the contours of how it will proceed to deal with Western pressures involving the typical Western double standards on ‘human rights’ and their pet topic of ‘Responsibility to Protect’. One is all too aware of how NATO did not hesitate to dismember Yugoslavia in the 1990s after virtually demonising the Serbs. Force was then used to carve out and recognise Kosovo — an action mercifully not sanctified by a majority of UN member-states. The UN General Assembly Resolution of 2005 on the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ has been used at the convenience of the Nato members to pressurise and seek to remove regimes alleged to be guilty of “war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.
Needless to say, NATO would not dare to act on anything the Russians do in Chechnya, or against Chinese clampdowns in Xinjiang or Tibet. Genocide in Rwanda will be long ignored, because it is a poor African country with no oil or mineral resources. A blind eye will be turned when a Sunni minority ruling elite in Bahrain clamps down on the Shia majority in the country, because the US’s Fifth Fleet has bases in Bahrain. But, if Colonel Muammar Gaddafi clamps down in oil rich Libya, he is subject to a ‘No-Fly Zone’ and bombed by the virtuous British and French with American backing.
There now appears to be a clearer enunciation of Indian thinking on such issues. After consultations with like-minded emerging powers like Brazil and South Africa, India made it clear that on issues like developments in Libya it will first seek consultations with regional groupings like the Arab League and African Union before finalising its response. Rather than blindly following the Western lead, India would seek to forge and back a regional consensus in formulating its policies.
This would mean that in developments in sub-Saharan Africa, Indian policies will take into account prevailing views and a consensus, if any, in the African Union. On Zimbabwe, the advice of South Africa would be more important than that of Whitehall. In Myanmar, India will seek to promote and back a consensus evolved in consultation with Asean. The views of the GCC would be of primary importance in formulating policies on developments like the Shia-Sunni divide in Bahrain. This policy makes it clear that India is not going to be a rubber stamp for Anglo-American and NATO policies of selective use of force against regimes considered distasteful.
Over 17,000 Indians living across Libya have safely returned home, thanks to commendable work by our Ambassador Manimekalai and her staff. Col Gaddafi knows that India is not exactly pleased by his use of air-power against his own people (as Pakistan is regularly doing in Balochistan and in its tribal areas). India nevertheless joined hands with Russia, China, Germany and Brazil in abstaining on the March 17 UN Security Council resolution on Libya because of the absence of carefully considered guidelines on the use of force amidst a raging civil war, the lack of specificity on the countries and organisations undertaking the military effort and the absence of any clarity on how a political solution would be evolved to end the Libyan impasse.
The fiasco in Somalia and the attempt for ‘regime change’ in Iraq demonstrate how misguided external intervention can have disastrous consequences. India is concerned that the military intervention in Libya is going to result in a prolonged stalemate and growing radicalisation in West Asia. It will inevitably be perceived there as an attempt to partition an oil rich Muslim state.
If ‘gunboat diplomacy’ was the hallmark of European colonial powers in the 19th century, ‘No-Fly Zone’ NATO diplomacy seems to be the order of the day after the Cold War. Lessons will be learned only after European powers, who have no appetite for real combat and body bags in tough places like Afghanistan, face the wrath of people opposing them, as the Americans faced by ill-advised military interventions in Lebanon in 1983 and in Somalia in 1993. Tired and tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Americans appear understandably more cautious in taking the lead in intervening in Libya. (Daily Pioneer March 31, 2011 )