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Jan 17, 2011, 7:18:16 AM1/17/11

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17/01/2011 by navanavonmilita

Jolt to RSS as Aseemanand sticks to his confession

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: January 16, 2011 09:38 IST

New Delhi: In a major setback to the RSS, terror-accused Aseemanand
has stuck to his confession. The RSS had tried to junk Aseemanand’s
earlier confession before a magistrate saying he was coerced, but on
Saturday Assemanand stuck to his confession that Hindutva radicals
were behind the bomb attack on the Samjhauta Express in 2007 which
killed 68.

In a statement he has named Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, both on
the run as the key plotters in the terror attack.

His statement came days after the CBI announced that it will
reinvestigate the 2006 Malegaon blasts case. A MCOCA court had earlier
granted the permission to CBI.

Aseemanand, alias Jatin Chatterjee, had reportedly made a statement
before a magistrate on December 18, 2010 in which he said that in June
2006, he and other members of the Sangh Parivar like Riteshwar, Sadhvi
Pragya and Sunil Joshi met at Riteshwar’s house in Valsad (Gujarat).

Aseemanand reportedly told everyone present at the meeting that ‘bomb
ka jawab bomb se dena chahiye’. He also said that he realised that
Joshi and his group were already doing something on the subject.

Aseemanand is believed to be a close aide of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, one
of the main accused in the Malegaon blast case.

Thirty one people were killed and another 312 injured in Malegaon
blast on September 8, 2006.

Story first published:
January 16, 2011 09:36 IST

Tags: Aseemanand, right-wing terror, RSS, Samjhauta blast

In editorial, RSS questions Aseemanand confession

Press Trust of India, Updated: January 17, 2011 16:13 IST

New Delhi: Raising questions over the role of investigating agencies,
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said it found “intriguing” that
only those persons arrested for alleged links to Hindu radicalism were
“confessing” to terror acts, whereas convicted militants like Ajmal
Kasab and Afzal Guru appeared to be more “tight-lipped” with them.

“…Intriguing that only persons named in alleged Hindu radicalism seem
to be making ‘confessions’. We have not heard of a Kasab or Afzal Guru
or captured jehadi, terrorist making such a confession. Are they so
tight-lipped?” the Sangh said in an editorial in its mouth-piece
‘Organiser’.

The RSS editorial was a reflection on the recent alleged ‘confession’
of Swami Aseemanand, a key accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast that
killed nine people, to the CBI.

He was heading the RSS-affiliated Van Vasi Kalyan Ashram, Shabri Dham
in Dangs, Gujarat.

Aseemanand has allegedly confessed to playing the role of an ideologue
to the terrorists. Besides presiding over terror meetings held in
Dangs and Valsad in Gujarat, he also selected Malgeaon, Ajmer Sharif
and Hyderabad as terror targets.

The Sangh said in the editorial that if the agencies wanted to really
unearth the plot behind the terror strikes, they would not have given
“this kind of propaganda to the so-called confession of Aseemanand”.

The Sangh termed the “leak” of the “confession” to the media as
“politically motivated”.

“Before the CBI took over the case, the Hyderabad police named HuJI,
the banned outfit, to be behind the Mecca Masjid blast”, it said.

Story first published:
January 17, 2011 16:09 IST

Tags: Ajmer blasts, Aseemanand confession, Mecca Masjid blasts, RSS,
RSS Aseemanand

2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samjhauta Express bombings

Location Panipat, Haryana, India

Date 18 February 2007

23:53 (UTC +5:30)
Target Samjhauta Express train
Weapon(s) Improvised explosive devices
Death(s) 68
Injured 50
Belligerent(s) Not established yet. Allegations on various Hindu
nationalist organisations including Abhinav Bharat[1] Allegations also
concurred on Lashkar-e-Taiba[2]

v · d · e

Terrorist attacks in India

(since 2001)

Attacks with 50+ deaths in bold

2001: Indian Parliament – Srinagar – 2002: 1st Raghunath Temple –
Akshardam Temple – Kolkata – Kaluchak massacre – Qasimnagar massacre –
Rafiganj train – 2nd Raghunath Temple – Mumbai 2002 – Kurnool train –
2003: 1st Mumbai 2003 – 2nd Mumbai 2003 – 3rd Mumbai 2003 – 2005:
Ayodhya – Delhi 2005 – Jaunpur train – 2006: Varanasi – Jama Masjid –
Doda massacre – Mumbai 2006 – Malegaon – West Bengal train – 2007:
Samjhauta Express – Mecca Masjid – Hyderabad – Ajmer Dargah – Uttar
Pradesh – 2008: Jaipur – Bangalore – Ahmedabad – 1st Delhi 2008 – 2nd
Delhi 2008 – Malegaon/Modasa – Agartala – Imphal – Assam – Mumbai 2008
– 2009: 1st Guwahati – 2nd Guwahati – 2010: Pune – Dantewada –
Gyaneshwari Express – Varanasi 2010

The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings were a terrorist attack that
occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express,
a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore,
Pakistan.[3][4] Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with
passengers, just after the train passed Diwana station near the Indian
city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of New Delhi.[3][5]
Sixty-eight people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more
were injured.[6] Of the 68 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians,
but the victims included some Indian civilians and Indian military
personnel guarding the train.[7]

Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) and flammable material, including three
undetonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the
undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was
packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and
chemicals.[7] After the bombings, eight unaffected carriages were
allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.

Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and
officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to
disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack
came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud
Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian
leaders.[4] There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of
the bombings. As of 2011, nobody has been charged for the crime though
it has been linked toAbhinav Bharat, a shadowy group headed by former
army officer Prasad Shrikant Purohit.[1]

Background

Main article: Indo-Pakistani relations

Since their formation resulting from the Partition of India in 1947,
India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their
plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely states to
decide which country they wanted to join.[8] Most Hindu-majority
princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-
majority princely states joined the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The
decision made by the leaders of some of these princely states has been
a source of conflict and tension between the two countries. Kashmir is
one of these princely states—its population was mostly Muslim, but the
Hindu ruler Hari Singh of the state decided to join India.[8] The
countries have fought three wars over this disputed region: the Indo-
Pakistani Wars of 1947 and 1965 and the Kargil War in 1999.[9] Since
the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on
civilians, members of the government and the Indian Army. Some groups,
like the Islamist militant organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-
Mohammed, believe that Kashmir should be integrated into Pakistan,
while others—such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front—believe it
should become an independent state. All told, thousands of civilians
have died due to the insurgency.[10][11]

In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made
attempts to bring peace or to at least calm the tensions between the
countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch
of the Samjhauta Express, so-named because the word samjhauta means
“accord” and “compromise” in Hindi and Urdu, the national languages of
India and Pakistan, respectively. This twice-weekly train service runs
between Delhi and Attari in India and Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan.
[12] Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail
connection between the two countries until the launch of the Thar
Express. Given the nature of the transnational service and the ongoing
violence in the region, the Samjhauta Express was always heavily
guarded, as it was a high-risk target for terrorist attacks. Weeks
after the Indian Parliament terrorist attack on 13 December 2001, the
train service was discontinued amid security concerns.[13] Although it
resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high
security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri announced that he was going to Delhi on 21
February 2007 to meet with Indian government officials to continue
peace talks and to sign a nuclear risk reduction agreement.[14]

Details

Panipat is located in India

Panipat

Location of Panipat within the state of Haryana

Twin blasts shook two coaches of the Samjhauta Express travelling
between India and Pakistan at around 23:53 IST (18:23 UTC) on Sunday,
18 February 2007, shortly after the train had passed through the
railway station in the village of Diwana, near the Indian city of
Panipat.[15] One railway employee manning the level crossing at the
time stated:

It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari
[Samjhauta] Express which was coming in very fast, probably at over
100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as [it] reached near the home
signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the
guards’ van at the rear.[5]

After the explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many
passengers were incapacitated by the smoke. Witnesses claim to have
seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of
the train’s windows were barred for security reasons, many could not
escape in time. The injured were pulled out of the burning carriages
by fellow passengers and local residents.[3]

In the end, the terrorist attack left 68 people dead and 50 injured.
[14] Most of the dead and injured were Pakistani nationals, though
some Indians, including railway workers, were also killed. Initial
identification of the victims was hindered by the fact that many of
the bodies were charred beyond recognition.[7] The rest of the train,
which was left undamaged by the attack, continued on to the border
town of Attari.[7] There, passengers were transferred to a Pakistani
train which took them to their destination in Lahore.[7]

Reactions

India

Lalu Prasad Yadav, the then Indian Minister of Railways

Indian Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav, condemned the
incident[16] and went on to say that the attack was “an attempt to
derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan.”[15] He
also announced compensation payments of Rs. 1,000,000 (approx. €17,500
or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs.
50,000 for those injured.[17] Home Minister Shivraj Patil claimed that
“whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil
our growing relationship with other countries”. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh expressed “anguish and grief” at the loss of life, and
vowed that the culprits would be caught.[3] India’s foreign ministry
also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed
or injured in the blasts.[18] Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan
argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any
wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.[19]

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the attacks and
petitioned the ruling Indian National Congress to ask Pakistan to
comply with its 2004 promise to crack down on cross-border terrorism.
The party also argued for a harsher anti-terror bill to take a “zero
tolerance” approach to terrorism in India.[20]

Pakistan

The government of Pakistan reacted in the same vein, through its
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, proclaiming that this was an
act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities.
Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to
India, as he “will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace
process.” He went on to say that “we should hasten the peace
process.”[21] In response to the terrorist attack, President Pervez
Musharraf stated “such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to
further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired
objective of sustainable peace between the two countries.”[21]
Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of
the attack.[3] In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated “we
will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace
process to succeed in their nefarious designs.”[7]

Elsewhere

In the United Kingdom, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells condemned
what he termed “utterly shameful” attacks, offered his “condolences to
the family and friends of those killed and injured”, and offered “the
Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to
bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack.”[22][23]
Leaders in the British Pakistani community called the terrorist attack
a “despicable act” and urged for a speedy investigation into the
tragedy so that those responsible could be arrested and jailed.[24]

The Bush administration condemned those responsible for the bomb
explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express. On behalf of the United
States government, White House spokesman David Almacy stated:

We express our deepest sorrow for this tragedy and extend
condolences to the families of the victims. We appreciate the
leadership of Indian Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh and Pakistani
President (Pervez) Musharraf, and condemn those who seek to undermine
the progress in relations between the two countries.[25][26]

Tension

On 23 February, a Pakistani Air Force C-130 plane landed, upon being
granted approval, in New Delhi to evacuate Pakistanis injured in the
train bombings. Of the ten people to be evacuated, three were missing,
all from the same family. Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson,
Tasneem Aslam, claimed that the father, Rana Shaukat Ali, was harassed
by Indian intelligence agency personnel at the Safdarjung Hospital.
Aslam also said that Pakistan High Commission officials were denied
entrance into the hospital. An Indian External Affairs Ministry
spokesperson, Navtej Sarna, denied these allegations and stated that
the patients would be taken to the airport. Sarna told the press that
Ali’s family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided
not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital.[27] He also
stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take
off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the “[C-130] aircraft
was still at the airport” and that Mr. Ali chosen to travel back to
Pakistan via a land route.[28] Despite the tensions between the two
countries’ External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off
from New Delhi at around 21:00 local time.[27] After the incident, Ali
criticized the media, who asked him for “stories for their
publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death
of my five children.”[29] He also stated that Indian officials showed
him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them.[29]

Investigation

The day after the bombings, Indian police stated that the suitcase
bomb attack was the work of at least four or five people with a
possible militant connection.[30] The police also released sketches of
two suspects who the police Inspector General said had left the train
just fifteen minutes before the explosions.[30] The police say that
one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, “plumpish” and dark,
with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf
wrapped around his head. The police also stated that both men were
speaking Hindi.[31] Another man, a Pakistani national who was drunk at
the time, was being questioned because he said he threw one of the
bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana state
railway police official said that the man’s “account has been
inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet.”[32] Later, the
Inspector General said “the suitcase was thrown on the track” and that
the Pakistani national “was there and said he had thrown it.”[30]

In early March, Haryana police arrested two people from the city of
Indore who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombings.[33] No
charges were pressed on the individuals. A probe conducted by the
commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the
explosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs
located in the upper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857.
[34] The probe also showed that the train slowed down to a speed of 20
kilometres per hour (12.4 mph) just before it was going to pass the
Diwana train station. The results strengthened the belief that the
suspects got off the train before the explosions.[35] On 31 March, a
25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar
after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances.[36]

Later developments

No major developments took place in the investigation since late March
2007. Meanwhile, the Indian and Pakistan governments agreed to a
bilateral pact to extend passenger train and freight services between
the two countries until 2010.[37] In late April, the Indian and
Pakistan governments initiated steps for safety and security measures
for the Samjhauta Express. The two countries started sharing
information on passengers travelling on the trains. The train is now
under a reservation system, and as one Railway Ministry source said,
“[w]ith no unreserved coaches, we now have complete passenger details
from their ticket reservation data a few hours prior to their
boarding, and departure of the train.”[38] Also in late April, three
new coaches equipped with India’s most advanced fire fighting systems
were added to the Samjhauta Express. Indian Railway Ministry sources
commented that the system acts with brake pressure, and this glass-
encased system could throw water up to 15 metres (49.2 ft).[39] Indian
and Pakistani members of the Anti-Terror Mechanism (ATM) group met on
22 October 2007 to update each other regarding the status of the
investigation.[40]

In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials also suspected
the attacks were linked to Prasad Shrikant Purohit, an Indian army
officer and member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat.[41]
Investigators concluded that the suitcases used to make the suitcase
bombs originated from Indore in India, based on their stitching.[42]
Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with
Pakistan.[43]

Reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the
Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both of whom have
been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past.[44] On July 1,
2009, the United States Treasury and UNSC placed sanctions on Lashkar-
e-Toiba, and named Arif Qasmani as having played a role in the bombing.
[45] In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik accused
India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge
details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit.[46][47]
Malik alleged that Purohit had hired Pakistani extremists to carry out
the bombing.[46][47] In October 2010, an 806-page chargesheet prepared
by the Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad revealed that the Samjhauta
Express had been discussed as a potential target for an attack at a
meeting of Hindutva bomb makers in February 2006; the group
subsequently travelled to Indore.[48]

Involvement Of David Headley

Wikileaks reports name David Headley as behind the Samjhauta
attacks[2], and the NIA has been unable to rule out the role of
Lashkar-e-Toiba in the attacks[49]

Confessions By Swami Aseemanand

On December 30, 2010, National Investigation Agency claimed that they
have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand was the mastermind behind
the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate,
and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive
devices used in the blasts.[50] On January 8, 2011, Aseemanand
allegedly confessed that Saffron terror outfits were behind the
bombing of Samjhauta express[51], a statement later found to be
obtained under duress.[52]. Later RSS sent a legal notice to CBI
accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand’s confession in
media. RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of
organizations and individuals.[53]

See also

* 2006 Malegaon blasts
* 2007 Mecca Masjid bombing
* Hindu extremism
* 2008 Malegoan & Modasa bombing
* 2004 Moscow Metro bombing
* 2004 Madrid train bombings
* 2005 London subway bombings
* 2006 Mumbai train bombings
* 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
* Islamic terrorism

Notes

1. ^ a b The Mirror Explodes – Outlook – July 19, 2010
2. ^ a b US review finds five warnings of Headley’s militant links
DNA India – November 8, 2010
3. ^ a b c d e “Dozens dead in India train blast”. BBC News.
2007-02-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6374377.stm.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
4. ^ a b Naqvi, Muneeza (2007-02-19). “66 Die in India-Pakistan
Train Attack”. The Washington Post. Associated Press.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/18/AR2007021801136.html.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
5. ^ a b Rao, Hitender (2007-02-19). “66 killed as Samjhauta
Express becomes terror target”. Hindustan Times.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=8dda2692-f3f2-4096-aa7d-3c3b81c80791.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
6. ^ “Toll reaches to 68 in Samjhauta Express explosions”. Islamic
Republic News Agency. 2007-02-20. http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-239/0702206010190550.htm.
Retrieved 2007-02-20.
7. ^ a b c d e f Rajesh, Y. P. (2007-02-19). “At least 66 killed in
India-Pakistan train blast”. Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSDEL34195220070219.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
8. ^ a b “Kashmir: The origins of the dispute”. BBC. 2002-01-16.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1762146.stm. Retrieved
2008-05-16.
9. ^ Wirsing, Robert (2003). Kashmir in the Shadow of War: Regional
Rivalries in a Nuclear Age. New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.. p. 4. ISBN
0-7656-1090-6.
10. ^ “Thousands protest civilian deaths in Indian Kashmir”.
Reuters. 2007-04-16. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP241652.htm.
Retrieved 2008-05-19.
11. ^ Kapur, S. Paul (2007). Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons
Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia. Stanford: Stanford
University Press. p. 102. ISBN 0-8047-5550-7.
12. ^ “Samjhauta only between Attari and Wagah”. United News of
India. 2000-04-16. http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/20000416/ina16011.html.
Retrieved 2008-05-16.
13. ^ Bhardwaj, P. K. (2003-12-19). “Samjhauta Express from December
25?”. The Hindu. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/12/19/stories/2003121905561100.htm.
Retrieved 2008-05-16.
14. ^ a b “Terror on agenda: Kasuri arrives, visits Samjhauta blast
victims”. The Times of India. 2007-02-20.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1646561.cms. Retrieved
2007-07-01.
15. ^ a b Sengupta, Somini (2007-02-19). “Train bombing tests India-
Pakistan ties”. International Herald Tribune.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/19/news/india.php. Retrieved
2007-02-19.
16. ^ Pandey, Alok; Rati R, Sushmit Sengupta, and Vikram Chowdhury
(2007-02-19). “Cross border tragedy: Samjhauta Express blasts kill
66″. NDTV. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070002287.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
17. ^ Swami, Praveen (2007-02-19). “Samjhauta Express firebombed, 67
killed”. The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022012520100.htm.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
18. ^ “India offers visas after train attack”. Press Trust of India.
2007-02-19. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070002256.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
19. ^ Varadarajan, Siddharth (2007-02-19). “Keep the peace process
on track”. The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022005101000.htm.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
20. ^ “BJP seeks anti-terror bill in budget session”. The Times of
India. 2007-02-19. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1639890.cms.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
21. ^ a b “Musharraf says train blasts won’t sabotage peace”.
Reuters. 2007-02-19. http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/02/20/d70220130182.htm.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
22. ^ “68 killed as blasts rock Indo-Pak special train”. Press Trust
of India. 2007-02-20. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/19blast.htm.
Retrieved 2008-05-16.
23. ^ Page, Jeremy; Devika Bhat (2007-02-19). “India and Pakistan
unite to condemn train bombing”. The Times (London).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1405283.ece?token=null&offset=0.
Retrieved 2008-05-16.
24. ^ “British Government condemns bomb attack on India–Pakistan
train”. Pakistan Press International. 2007-02-19.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29691164_ITM.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
25. ^ “White House condemns those behind India train bombing”.
Reuters. 2007-02-19. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1934135020070219.
Retrieved 2007-02-19.
26. ^ “US condemns attack on Samjhauta Express”. Press Trust of
India. 2007-02-20. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070927215807/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200702201823.htm.
Retrieved 2007-02-20.
27. ^ a b Baruah, Amit (2007-02-23). “Pakistani plane waits for
hours”. The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/23/stories/2007022308480100.htm.
Retrieved 2007-07-09.
28. ^ Baruah, Amit (2007-02-24). “Train attack probe: plea to
Pakistan”. The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/24/stories/2007022404911200.htm.
Retrieved 2007-07-09.
29. ^ a b “Adieu to Pakistani brethren”. The Hindu. 2007-02-25.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022520110800.htm.
Retrieved 2007-07-09.
30. ^ a b c Denyer, Simon (2007-02-20). “Police release sketches of
bomb suspects”. Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDEL34195220070221.
Retrieved 2007-02-20.
31. ^ “Images Of Bomb Suspects”. Sky News. 2007-02-20.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1252387,00.html.
Retrieved 2007-02-20.
32. ^ “Indian police release sketches of 2 suspects in bombing of
India-Pakistan train”. USA Today. Associated Press. 2007-02-20.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-18-india-train_x.htm.
Retrieved 2007-07-04.
33. ^ “Two held over Indian train blast”. BBC News. 2007-03-14.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6448671.stm. Retrieved
2007-03-14.
34. ^ “Samjhauta Express fire caused by bombs: Railway probe”. Press
Trust of India. 2007-03-26. http://ushome.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/26samblast.htm.
Retrieved 2007-07-01.
35. ^ “Samjhauta Express slowed down before blasts”. Press Trust of
India. 2007-03-28. http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14419091.
Retrieved 2007-07-01.
36. ^ “Man interrogated in Samjhauta Express bomb blast case”. The
Indian Express. 2007-03-13. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=226465.
Retrieved 2007-07-01.
37. ^ “India, Pak to continue running Samjhauta, Thar Express
trains”. Press Trust of India. 2007-04-09.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200704091614.htm. Retrieved
2007-07-01.
38. ^ “Safety measures initiated for Samjhauta Express”. Press Trust
of India. 2007-04-28. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/28samblast.htm.
Retrieved 2007-07-01.
39. ^ Vasuki, K. G. (2007-04-25). “Coaches with fire fighting system
for Samjhauta Express”. United News of India.
http://samjhauta-express-news.newslib.com/story/9881-170/. Retrieved
2007-07-01.
40. ^ Dikshit, Sandeep (2007-10-22). “India to seek data on terror
suspects”. The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/22/stories/2007102251990100.htm.
Retrieved 2008-05-14.
41. ^ Agencies. “Purohit supplied RDX for Samjhauta bomb: ATS”.
Express India. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Purohit-supplied-RDX-for-Samjhauta-Express-blast-ATS/386143/.
Retrieved 2010-12-22.
42. ^ “Police reach Mumbai to quiz Purohit,Sadhvi Pragya”. Mumbai/
Lucknow: Hindu.com. 2008-11-13. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200811132161.htm.
Retrieved 2009-02-15.
43. ^ Subramanian, Nirupama (2008-11-25). “India may share Samjhauta
probe details with Pakistan”. ISLAMABAD: The Hindu.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/25/stories/2008112559321000.htm.
Retrieved 2009-02-15.
44. ^ “Leaders condemn India train blast”. BBC News. February 19,
2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6375749.stm. Retrieved on
Feb. 19, 2007
45. ^ “Treasury Targets Al Qaida and Lashkar-E Tayyiba Networks in
Pakistan”. US Treasury. July 1, 2009. Archived from the original on
2009-07-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5iXZBzwtJ. Retrieved
2009-07-22.
46. ^ a b “Pak blames India for not providing details about
Samjhauta Express bomb blast”. oneindia. January 23, 2010.
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/24/pakblames-india-for-not-providing-details-about-samjhautae.html.
Retrieved 31 January 2010.
47. ^ a b “India not providing details on Samjhota: Malik”. Dawn.
January 23, 2010.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-india-not-providing-details-on-samjhota-malik-ss-05.
Retrieved 31 January 2010.
48. ^ “A blast and a conspiracy”. Indian Express. October 25, 2010.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-blast-and-a-conspiracy/701976/0.
Retrieved 10 November 2010.
49. ^ Samjhauta blast: The story so far Rediff – July 30, 2010
50. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/Direct-hand-of-Aseemanand-in-Samjhauta-blasts-NIA/Article1-644360.aspx
51. ^ Vishwa Mohan; Abantika Ghosh (8 January 2011). “Aseemanand
owns up to strike on Mecca Masjid” (in English). Times of India.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Aseemanand-owns-up-to-strike-on-Mecca-Masjid/articleshow/7238763.cms.
Retrieved 8 January 2011.
52. ^ Swami Aseemanand ‘confessed’ under duress Times of India –
January 10, 2011
53. ^ Iyer, Shekhar (8 January 2011). “Indresh lawyers issue notice
to CBI for statement ‘leak’”. Hindustan Times.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Indresh-lawyers-issue-notice-to-CBI-for-statement-leak/Article1-647916.aspx.
Retrieved 8 January 2011.

External links

* Wikinews:Bombing on train from India to Pakistan kills at least
68

v · d · e

India Indo-Pakistani relations Pakistan

Treaties and summits

Karachi Agreement · Liaquat–Nehru Pact · Indus Waters Treaty ·
Tashkent Declaration · Simla Agreement · Lahore Declaration · Agra
summit

Events and conflicts

Partition of India · Kashmir conflict · Integration of Junagadh · 1947
War · Sir Creek · Operation Gibraltar · 1965 War · 1971 War · Line of
Control · Maritime trespassing · Siachen conflict · Operation
Brasstacks · Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir · Pokhran-II / Chagai-I ·
Kargil War · Atlantique Incident · Iran–Pakistan–India gas pipeline ·
2001 Indian Parliament attack · 2001–2002 Military standoff · 2007
Samjhauta Express bombings · 2008 Mumbai attacks

Initiatives

Transport · Samjhauta Express · Delhi–Lahore Bus · Srinagar–
Muzaffarabad Bus · Thar Express · Indo-Pak Confederation · Indo-Pak
Joint Judicial Committee

Personalities

Jawaharlal Nehru · Lal Bahadur Shastri · Liaquat Ali Khan · Ayub Khan
· Indira Gandhi · Zulfikar Ali Bhutto · Zia-ul-Haq · Atal Bihari
Vajpayee · Nawaz Sharif · Pervez Musharraf · Asif Ali Zardari ·
Manmohan Singh

Related templates

Foreign relations of India · Foreign relations of Pakistan · Indo-
Pakistani wars and conflicts ·

v · d · e

Railway accidents in 2007 (2007)
Location and date

Brooks, KY, United States (16 January) • Panipat, India (18 February)
• Grayrigg, United Kingdom (23 February) • Kerang, Australia (5 June)
• Benaleka, DR Congo (1 August) • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (30 August) •
Painesville, OH, United States (10 October) • Mehrabpur, Pakistan (19
December)
2006 Arrow Blue Left 001.svg Arrow Blue Right 001.svg 2008

See also

* List of terrorist incidents, 2006
* 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
* 2007 Ajmer Dargah attack
* 2008 Malegoan & Modasa bombing

References

1. ^ Maharshtra doctor arrested for LeT links Times of India – May
15, 2006
2. ^ Malegaon blasts: SIMI activist held Times of India – October
30, 2006
3. ^ Hari, Kumar (November 11, 2008). “India Police Say They Hold 9
From Hindu Terrorist Cell”. The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/world/asia/12india.html. Retrieved
October 16, 2010.
4. ^ Blasts rock Malegaon 38 killed, over 100 injured ‘Hindustan
Times’
5. ^ Chicago Tribune.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609090030sep09,1,2178741.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true.
6. ^ Khan, Aftab (9 September 2006). “Gandhi Calls on Indians to
Maintain Calm Washington Post”. The Washington Post. Archived from the
original on 2009-05-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5gpG2rUPg.
Retrieved 2009-03-21.
7. ^ Centre rushing additional forces to Malegaon Indian Express
8. ^ a b “Indian town seething with anger”. BBC News. 9 September
2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5330832.stm.
9. ^ Religious leaders pray for peace NDTV
10. ^ . http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20384569-1702,00.html.
[dead link]
11. ^ Gujarat Muslims hold anti-Pak rally IBN
12. ^ “Blasts kill 37 in India graveyard”. BBC News. 8 September
2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5326730.stm.
13. ^ Breakthrough in India Blasts Probe Saudi Gazette
14. ^ a b AFP Police release sketches of India blast suspects Yahoo
News (Link dead as of 15 January 2007)
15. ^ Cops gain vital leads ‘Rediff.com’
16. ^ No evidence of Bajrang involvement Times of India
17. ^ Perpetrators of Malegaon Blasts identified
18. ^ South Asia Terrorism Portal
19. ^ Malegaon blasts Is it Bajrang or Lashkar? Times of India
20. ^ DNA India
21. ^ Serial blasts kill 31 in India al-Jazeera
22. ^ . http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/08/india.blast.reut/index.html.
[dead link]
23. ^ NDTV
24. ^ Times of India
25. ^ Indian Express
26. ^ Malegaon, 7/11: Same Lethal cocktail used The Times of India
27. ^ PM Not OK With ‘Rule Out, Rule In’ of Hindus Samachar
28. ^ Terrorists make no distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims
Rediff.com
29. ^ “Police crack Malegaon serial blasts case, spot SIMI hand-
Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times”. The Times Of India.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/610189.cms.
30. ^ SIMI behind Malegaon blasts: Police – Sify.com
31. ^ 3 confess in Malegaon blast case, 2 retract

External links

Wikinews has related news: 38 dead, over 180 injured as blasts rock
Maharashtra town

* Thirty-five people killed in India blasts
* Blasts kill 37 in India graveyard
* 38 killed in Malegaon blasts
* Pictures of the blast
* Voice of America news article
* BBC news article
* Aljazeera news article
* Google news link
* Allegations by Indian Muslim Newspaper of “Corpse with fake
beard found”
* http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/ATS-files-chargesheet-in-Malegaon-blast-case/413034/

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Malegaon_blasts“
Categories: Terrorist incidents in India in 2006 | Islamic terrorism
in India | Hindu terrorism

* This page was last modified on 12 January 2011 at 07:22.

* Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License;

Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Mecca Masjid bombing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mecca Masjid Bombing

Location Hyderabad, India17°21′36″N 78°28′24″E / 17.360106°N
78.473427°E / 17.360106; 78.473427

Date 18 May 2007

13:15 (IST (UTC+5.30))
Target Mecca Masjid
Attack type RDX activated by Mobile
Death(s) 16
Injured 100

Suspected belligerent(s) Abhinav Bharat[1] or Harkat-ul-Jihad al-
Islami[2][3]

v · d · e

Terrorist attacks in India
(since 2001)

Attacks with 50+ deaths in bold

Wikinews has related news: Bomb blast kills at least seven at Mecca
Masjid mosque, India

The Mecca Masjid bombing occurred on May 18, 2007 inside the Mecca
Masjid, a mosque the old city area in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh[4] located very close to Charminar. The blast
was caused by a cellphone-triggered pipe bomb.[5] Fourteen people were
reported dead in the immediate aftermath, of whom five(official
record:disputed) were killed by the police firing after the incident
while trying to quell the mob.[5]
Overview

According to the Deccan Chronicle, the bomb comprised a high explosive
substance filled in a 10-inch (250 mm) by 3-inch (76 mm) pipe. The
Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory claims that RDX and TNT
were used in the 10 inches (25 cm) by 3 inches (7.6 cm) pipe bomb. The
bomb was placed under a heavy granite slab that broke in two. Police
later said that the slab had taken the force of the impact and saved
many lives.

The blast occurred near the open air section of the Mecca Masjid. At
the time of the blast more than 10,000 people were inside the mosque
premises, for the Friday prayers. The injured were treated at the
Osmania hospital in Hyderabad.

Following this Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra were put on
alert. State Home Minister K Jana Reddy said the blast, which injured
over fifty people in addition to the death toll, could be the act of
foreign elements.

Rioting and Police firing

Five individuals died as a result of the police firing. This has
caused considerable controversy. The Telegraph reports[6]:

Six rounds were fired in the afternoon and evening to prevent
shops and public property from being damaged, including petrol pumps
and ATMs. One person was killed in the firing in the Moghapura area,
while two fell to the police bullets elsewhere. Another lost his life
when the police had to pull the trigger to control a mob trying to
break into an ATM.

According to police commissioner Balwinder Singh, his men resorted
to firing after water cannons, tear gas and baton-charge failed to
bring the mob fury under control.

It is reported that[7] a frenzied mob attacked state-owned road
transport corporation buses, forcing the closure of Falaknuma bus
depot.

According to the police, the rioters were trying to set fire to a
petrol pump.[8] Inspector P. Sudhakar of Falaknuma police station, who
has been removed from his position on the charge of opening fire
`indiscriminately’ to control the rampaging mobs[9] stated:

“While I asked my subordinates to be on high alert, mobs from
Shalibanda and the mosque came towards Moghalpura pelting stones. They
set ablaze a wine shop and charged towards a petrol pump where we were
stationed.”

The mobs took out petrol from the dispenser and sprinkled it on
the room. “When they tried to ignite it with the help of dry grass, I
ordered my men to open fire with .303 rifles to disperse them,” he
says. “As the situation turned worse, I sought additional forces.
Quick Reaction teams along with Moghalpura Inspector arrived and
scattered the crowd by opening fire.” At least 10 persons, including
policemen, could have been killed if fire orders were not issued, he
insists.

Suspected bombers

While the United Progressive Alliance-led central government has
claimed that Abhinav Bharat was behind the Mecca Masjid bombing[10],
the South Asia Terrorism Portal[11], the Institute for Defence Studies
and Analyses[12], the National Counterterrorism Center[13] the United
States[14], and the United Nations[15] have asserted that the Islamic
outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami was actually behind the attacks.
Noting this, security analyst Bahukutumbi Raman has questioned “the
two different versions that have emerged from Indian and American
investigators.”[16].But every thing was proven wrong when CBI
investigated the matter.

The Central Bureau of Investigation produced the preacher Swami
Asimanand before the court in connection with the Mecca Masjid blast
in Hyderabad in May 2007. The court remanded Swami Asimanand to CBI
custody till 30th of November and was taken to Chanchalguda Jail. He
was nabbed in Haridwar and was brought to Hyderabad. The Additional
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi had granted CBI the transit
remand of Swami for two days. Today the CBI produced him in the CBI
Court seeking his custody. Two more accused in the case are already in
judicial custody. The face of the Swami was covered when he was taken
inside the designated court in Nampally.[17][18][19][20]

See also

* 2006 Malegaon blasts

References

1. ^ The Mirror Explodes – Outlook – July 19, 2010
2. ^ Arrest of Some Hindus as Terrorists- Getting Curiouser &
Curiouser South Asia Analysis Group – August 7, 2010
3. ^ Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) South Asia Terrorism Portal
4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6668695.stm Article on
BBC website
5. ^ a b bomb in Mecca Masjid
6. ^ The Telegraph – Calcutta : Nation
7. ^ Mob violence after Hyd blast, 4 killed : hyderabad, blast,
mecca masjid, char minar, police firing, mob violence : IBNLive.com :
CNN-IBN
8. ^ Decoding the Hyderabad blast
9. ^ I’ve acted to avert a disaster: Inspector
10. ^ HuJI ban takes no note of ‘Hindu terror’ role Times of India –
August 8, 2010
11. ^ Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) – South Asia Terrorism Portal
12. ^ HuJI after the Death of its India Chief Institute for Defence
Studies and Analyses – February 13, 2008
13. ^ ‘Huji, not Hindu group, behind Mecca Masjid blast’ Hindustan
Times – September 23, 2010
14. ^ US, UN declare HuJI as terrorist organisation Times of India –
August 8, 2010
15. ^ US, UN declare HuJI a terror group NDTV – August 7, 2010
16. ^ Bahukutumbi Raman (7 August 2010). “Arrest of Some Hindus as
Terrorists- Getting Curiouser & Curiouser”. South Asia Analysis Group.
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers40%5Cpaper3971.html.
Retrieved 9 August 2010.
17. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/report/why-swami-aseemanand-is-a-prize-catch-for-the-cbi/20101119.htm
18. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Swami-Aseemanand-sheltered-Best-Bakery-accused-on-the-run-/713969
19. ^
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Aseemanand-arrest-Major-boost-to-Ajmer-dargah-blast-probe/articleshow/6956704.cms
20. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Swami-aseemanand-sheltered-be…/713969/

External links

* Article on Zee News
* Bomb hits mosque in India
* 9 killed in Hyderabad blast; 5 in police firing
* Bomb hits Indian Mosque (MSNBC)
* 5 killed in Indian Mosque attack (CNN)

redirectToFragment(“http://wikipedia.org/wiki/
#Criticism_and_support”);

Hindutva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Hindu extremism)

Part of a series on
Hindu politics

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Concepts

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Politics portal
Portal:Himalaya region
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v · d · e

For Veer Savarkar’s book, see Hindutva (book).

Hindutva (Devanagari: हिन्दुत्व, “Hinduness”, a word coined by Vinayak
Damodar Savarkar in his 1923 pamphlet entitled Hindutva: Who is a
Hindu? ) is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu
nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.
[citation needed]

In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions
the concept of Hindutva. The sangh comprises organizations such as the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
Bajrang Dal, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

This ideology has existed since the early 20th century, forged by Veer
Savarkar, but came to prominence in Indian politics in the late 1980s,
when two events attracted a large number of mainstream Hindus to the
movement. The first of these events was the Rajiv Gandhi government’s
use of its large Parliamentary Majority to overturn a Supreme Court
verdict granting alimony to an old woman that had angered many Muslims
(see the Shah Bano case). The second was the dispute over the 16th
century Mughal Babri Mosque in Ayodhya — built by Babur after his
first major victory in India. The Supreme Court of India refused to
take up the case in the early 1990s, leading to a huge outcry. Tempers
soon flared, and a huge number of nationalist Hindus from all parts of
India razed the mosque in late 1992, causing nationwide communal
riots. The razing of the mosque and subsequent conflict arguably
lifted the BJP and Hindutva to international prominence.

Definition

Ancient Hindu flag with two pennants.

According to Savarkar, Hindutva is meant to denote the Hindu
characteristic, or Hinduness.[1]

In a judgment the Supreme Court of India ruled that “no precise
meaning can be ascribed to the terms ‘Hindu’, ‘Hindutva’ and
‘Hinduism‘; and no meaning in the abstract can confine it to the
narrow limits of religion alone, excluding the content of Indian
culture and heritage.” The Court also ruled that “Ordinarily, Hindutva
is understood as a way of life or a state of mind and is not to be
equated with or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism. A Hindu
may embrace a non-Hindu religion without ceasing to be a Hindu and
since the Hindu is disposed to think synthetically and to regard other
forms of worship, strange gods and divergent doctrines as inadequate
rather than wrong or objectionable, he tends to believe that the
highest divine powers complement each other for the well-being of the
world and mankind.”[2]

Central concepts

Cultural nationalism

According to this, the natives of India share a common culture,
history and ancestry.

M S Golwalkar, one of the main proponents of Hindutva believed that
India’s diversity in terms of customs, traditions and ways of worship
was its uniqueness and that this diversity was not without the strong
underlying cultural basis which was essentially native. He believed
that the Hindu natives with all their diversity, shared among other
things “the same philosophy of life”, “the same values” and “the same
aspirations” which formed a strong cultural and a civilizational basis
for a nation.[3]

Savarkar similarly believed that the Indian subcontinent (which
includes the area south of the Himalaya and the Hindu Kush or Akhand
Bharat (undivided India, अखण्ड भारत) is the homeland of the Hindus. He
considered “Hindus” as those who consider India (Bharat, भारत) to be
their motherland (matrubhumi), fatherland (pitrubhumi, पितृभूमि) as
well as their holy land (punyabhumi, पुण्यभूमि), hence describing it
purely in cultural terms.[1]

RSS, one of the main votaries of Hindutva has stated that it believes
in a cultural connotation of the term Hindu. “The term Hindu in the
conviction as well as in the constitution of the RSS is a cultural and
civilizational concept and not a political or religious dogma. The
term as a cultural concept will include and did always include all
including Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Christians and Parsis. The
cultural nationality of India, in the conviction of the RSS, is Hindu
and it was inclusive of all who are born and who have adopted Bharat
as their Motherland, including Muslims, Christians and Parsis. The
answering association submit that it is not just a matter of RSS
conviction, but a fact borne out by history that the Muslims,
Christians and Parsis too are Hindus by culture although as religions
they are not so.”[4]

Decolonization

Emphasizing historical oppression of Hindus by colonial invaders like
the Muslims (see Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent) and the
Christians (see Goa Inquisition) and the call to “reverse” the
cultural influence resulting from these intrusions.[3]

Social justice

The acceptance that Hindu social structure “is ridden with castes and
communities”, and that this has led to “barriers and segregation” and
condemnation of “obnoxious vice of social inequality” and
“untouchability”.[5] The supporters of Hindutva have a positive
outlook towards the Dalit community, which they aim to bring to
leadership positions in their organizations.[6]

Uniform Civil Code

Leaders subscribing to Hindutva have been known for their demands for
a Uniform Civil Code for all the citizens of India. They believe that
differential laws based on religion violate Article 44 of the Indian
Constitution and have sowed the seeds of divisiveness between
different religious communities.[7]

The advocates of Hindutva often use the term pseudo-secularism to
refer to policies which they believe are unduly favorable towards the
Muslims and Christians. They oppose what they see as a ‘separate-but-
equal‘ system; some supporters of Hindutva see it as the Indian
National Congress party’s effort to woo the sizable minority vote bank
at the expense of true equality.[8] The subject of a Uniform Civil
Code, which would remove special religion-based provisions for
different religions (Hindus, Muslims, Christians, etc.) from the
Indian Constitution, is thus one of the main agendas of Hindutva
organizations.[9] The Uniform Civil Code is opposed by Muslims[10] and
political parties like the Indian National Congress and The Communist
Party of India (Marxist)[11]

Followers of Hindutva have questioned differential religious laws in
India which allows polygamy and triple talaq among Muslims and thereby
compromises on the status of Muslim women and “marginalizes” them.[12]

The passing of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,
1986 by Rajiv Gandhi government to dilute the secular judgment of
Supreme Court under pressure from the conservative Muslims was opposed
by Hindutva organisations. The new act, in tune with the Shariat,
denied even utterly destitute Muslim divorcees the right to alimony
from their former husbands.[13]

Protection of Hindu interests

The followers of Hindutva are known for their criticism of the Indian
government as too passive with regard to the ethnic cleansing of
Kashmiri Hindus[14][15] by Kashmiri Muslim separatists and advocates
of Hindutva wish a harder stance in Jammu and Kashmir.[16]

They have called for the protection of native Hindu traditions,[17]
holy structures, rivers[18] and the cow (which is considered holy by
Hindus).

Hindu nationalists have the stated aim of uniting the Hindu society
which is plagued by casteism, regionalism, and passive religion.

Views on other faiths

The votaries of Hindutva believe that the way Muslims and Hindus have
treated each other in the past is a one-way compromise and they intend
on making society more balanced and fair towards the majority Hindu
population.[19] The BJP has also invited Muslims to be a part of this
new society and work with the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs for a
better India.[20] Even more militant parties such as the Shiv Sena
have invited Muslims to join and the party leader declared after the
Babri Mosque incident,

“We must look after the Muslims and treat them as part of us.”[21]

Hindutva groups are supportive of the Jewish State of Israel,
including Savarkar himself, who supported Israel during its formation.
[22] The RSS is politically pro-Israel and actively praised the
efforts of Ariel Sharon when he visited India.[23][24] RSS
spokesperson Ram Madhav recently expressed support for Israel.[25]

Views on Indian history

The Hindu organisations like the RSS believe that the history of India
was written by the British with a condescending attitude towards the
native people and their culture. M S Golwalkar writes that the history
of ancient India was summed up as “Tanglewood Tales“. Similar concerns
were raised by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in his essay, “The
History of Bharatvarsha”, in 1903. He calls the history books
“nightmarish account of India”. He writes “while the lands of the
aliens existed, there also existed the indigenous country” meaning the
latter was grossly being neglected. He adds that the British accounts
of Indian history “throw a beam of artificial light on such a spot
that in our own eyes the very profile of our country is made dark”.
[26]

M S Golwalkar argues that it was a delibrate Imperialist strategy to
teach Indians a wrong version of history.[3] In this context, writings
of Lord Macaulay,”the brain behind the system of English education”,
are referred to as an indication of this.[3]

Lord Macaulay had stated “We must at present do our best to form a
class who may be interpreters between us and millions whom we govern-a
class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in
opinions, in morals and in intellect.” [27]

He had also written “No Hindu who has received an English education
ever remains sincerely attached to his religion. It is my firm belief
that if our plans of education are followed up, there will not be a
single idolater among the respected classes 30 years hence.” [28]

Senior RSS leader H V Sheshadri refers to this attitude of “White
man’s burden” which he believes shaped the English education system in
India and British version of Indian history.[29]

The RSS is opposed to the theory of Indo-Aryan migration to India, a
number believing in the alternative Out of India theory. While largely
uncontroversial in academia, the “Aryan Invasion theory” debate in
India, involving e.g. Sita Ram Goel, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and
Arun Shourie, is also a matter of politics.[citation needed]
Further information: Indigenous Aryans and Aryan Invasion Theory
(history and controversies)

Organizations

Main article: Sangh Parivar

Hindutva is commonly identified as the guiding ideology of the Sangh
Parivar, a family of Hindu Nationalist organizations, and of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in particular. In general, Hindutvavaadis
(followers of Hindutva) believe that they represent the well-being of
Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Ayyavazhi, Jainism and all other
religions prominent in India.

Most nationalists are organized into political, cultural and social
organizations. The first Hindutva organisation formed was the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), founded in 1925. A prominent Indian
political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (BJP) is closely
associated with a group of organisations that advocate Hindutva. They
collectively refer to themselves as the “Sangh Parivar” or family of
associations, and include the RSS, Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu
Parishad. Other organisations include:

* Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh – Overseas branch of the RSS
* Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh – Worker’s Union
* Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad – A Student’s Union
* Bharatiya Kisan Sangh – A Farmers’ organisation

The major political wing is the BJP which was in power in India’s
Central Government for six years from 1998 to 2004 and is now the main
opposition party. It is also in power in the states of Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Uttaranchal. It is an alliance
partner in the states of Orissa, Punjab, and Bihar.

Political parties pertaining to the Hindutva ideology are not limited
to the Sangh Parivar. Examples of political parties independent from
the Sangh’s influence include Praful Goradia’s Akhil Bharatiya Jana
Sangh[30] and Uma Bharti’s Bharatiya Janshakti Party.[31] The
influence of these groups is relatively limited.

The controversial Maharashtrian political party, the Shiv Sena,
converted its ideology to the Hindutva one in recent times. It has
been very influential in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The party is
not part of the Sangh Parivar but is associated with the Bharatiya
Janata Party. Similar is the Shiromani Akali Dal, which is a Sikh
religious party but maintains ties with Hindutva organizations, as
they also represent Sikhism.[32]

Criticism and support

The opponents of Hindutva philosophy consider Hindutva ideology as a
euphemistic effort to conceal communal beliefs and practices.[citation
needed]

Many Indian Marxist sociologues have described the Hindutva movement
as fascist in classical sense, in its ideology and class support
specially targeting the concept of homogenised majority and cultural
hegemony.[33] The Hindutva movement on the other hand terms such
description as coming from the far left.[34][35] More moderate critics
of Hindutva do not base their criticism on allegations of “fascism”,
but raise issues with regards to their sometimes-vacillating attitudes
towards non-Hindus and secularism. The epithet of “fascism” is also
used to evoke double standards against Hindus in political and
academic discourse. The academia and polity have been accused of
engaging in a form of anti-Hindu McCarthyism against Hindu political
expression by leveling the accusation of “fascism” against anyone who
expresses sympathy for Hindus.[36]

Marxist critics,[37] have used the political epithets of “Indian
fascism” and “Hindu fascism” to describe the ideology of the Sangh
Parivar. For example, Marxist social scientist Prabhat Patnaik has
written that the Hindutva movement as it has emerged is “classically
fascist in class support, methods and programme”[38]

Patniak bases this argument on the following “ingredients” of
classical fascism present in Hindutva: the attempt to create a unified
homogenous majority under the concept of ‘the Hindus’; a sense of
grievance against past injustice; a sense of cultural superiority; an
interpretation of history according to this grievance and superiority;
a rejection of rational arguments against this interpretation; and an
appeal to the majority based on race and masculinity.[citation needed]

Views on Hindutva and fascism include those of the Christian convert
to the RSS viewpoint, Anthony Elenjimittan, who based his views on
RSS’s symbolism of the Bhagva (the banner of lord Shiva), Dharma
Chakra [the Wheel of Faith] and Satyameva Jayate [Truth alone
triumphs] (one must note that these symbols are normative in Hinduism
and bear no relation to Hindutva and the latter is the national motto
of a secular democratic India).[citation needed]

The description of Hindutva as fascist has been condemned by pro-
Hindutva authors such as Koenraad Elst who claim that the ideology of
Hindutva meets none of the characteristics of fascist ideologies.
Claims that Hindutva social service organisations such as the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are “fascist” have been disputed by
academics such as Vincent Kundukulam.[39]

Academics Chetan Bhatt and Parita Mukta reject the identification of
Hindutva with fascism, because of Hindutva’s embrace of cultural
rather than racial nationalism, because of its “distinctively Indian”
character, and because of “the RSS’s disavowal of the seizure of state
power in preference for long-term cultural labour in civil society“.
They instead describe Hindutva as a form of “revolutionary
conservatism” or “ethnic absolutism”.[40]

Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipaul also rejects these allegations and views
the rise of Hindutva as a welcome, broader civilizational resurgence
of India.[41]

See also

* Veer Savarkar
* Indian nationalism
* Hindu nationalism
* Hindu nationalist parties
* Uniform civil code

References

1. ^ a b Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar: Hindutva, Bharati Sahitya
Sadan, Delhi 1989 (1923)
2. ^ Supreme Court on Hindu Hindutva and Hinduism
3. ^ a b c d M S Golwalkar (1966), Bunch of thoughts, Publishers:
Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana
4. ^ Quoting RSS General Secretary’s reply to the Tribunal
constituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 to
hear the case on the RSS, Organiser, June 6, 1993
5. ^ M. G. Chitkara 2004, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Published by
APH Publishing, ISBN 81-7648-465-2, 9788176484657 (Quoting Late RSS
leader Balasaheb Deoras “If untouchability is not a sin, nothing is a
sin”).
6. ^ Organize under Dalit leadership: RSS
7. ^ BJP leader, Rajnath Singh demanding Uniform Civil Code
8. ^ [1]
9. ^ Uniform Civil Code, Article 370 back on BJP Agenda
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Uniform-civil-code-Article-370-back-on-BJP-agenda/317218/
10. ^ http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=23591
11. ^ Uniform civil code will divide the country on communal lines:
Congress
12. ^ http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=239&page=36
13. ^ Shah Bano Case
14. ^ See refs in Kashmiri Pandit
15. ^ see refs in Wandhama massacre
16. ^ Indian Summer looks set to become a long autumn by Robert
Jenkins
17. ^ Speech by RSS leader K S Sudarshan,Oct 18 2008
18. ^ ‘Save Ganga’ Campaign by RSS, BJP
19. ^ BJP Official Website See philosophy
20. ^ Bharatiya Janata Party Official Website Hindutva: The Great
Nationalistic Ideology
21. ^ The Rediff Election Interview/Bal Thackeray,Rediff.com
22. ^ Hindu-Zion
23. ^ The Hindu
24. ^ Rediff
25. ^ Press spotlight on Sharon’s India visit,BBC
26. ^ Rabindranath Tagore, The History of Bharatavarsha, Bhadra 1309
Bengal Era (August 1903)
27. ^ George Anderson, Manilal Bhagwandes Sudebar, The Last Days of
the Company: A Source Book of Indian History, 1818-1858, Published by
G. Bell, 1921
28. ^ Benedict Richard O’Gorman Anderson, Imagined
Communities:Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,
Edition: 2, revised Published by Verso, 1991, ISBN 0-86091-546-8,
9780860915461
29. ^ Sheshadri H V, Tragic story of Partition, Publisher: Sahitya
Sindhu Prakashana
30. ^ Jana Sangh promises to make India Hindu nation
31. ^ Uma launches new party
32. ^ SAD-BJP Alliance helped bridge Hindu Sikh gap Indian Express
33. ^ Fascism of our times Prabhat Patnaik
34. ^ eg. Partha Banergee
35. ^ – Rajesh Tembarai Krishnamachari, South Asia Analysis Group
36. ^ Puzzling Dimensions and Theoretical Knots in my Graduate
School Research, Yvette Rosser
37. ^ eg. Partha Banergee, Romila Thapar, Himani Bannerji, Prabhat
Patnaik
38. ^ “The Fascism of Our Times” Social Scientist VOl 21 No.3-4,
1993, p.69 [2]
39. ^ Christian Post,archive link
40. ^ Ethnic and Racial Studies Volume 23 Number 3 May 2000 pp. 407–
441 ISSN 0141–9870 print/ISSN 1466–4356 online
41. ^ Naipaul V.S. India, a million Mutinies now, Penguin 1992

and/or www.mantra.com/jai

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Jan 17, 2011, 3:59:33 PM1/17/11

Forwarded message from M. V.

Shri Narendra Modi: Another big feather in his cap

In a first in 200 yrs, Gujarati to head Dar-ul Uloom

By Yagnesh Mehta, TNN
The Times of India
Monday, January 17, 2011

Surat - For the first time in 200 years of the Dar-ul Uloom Deoband ,
a Gujarati has been elected vice-chancellor of the institution.
Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi was elected after the death of
Maulana Marghoob Rahman, who was Mohtamim (vice-chancellor ) of the
Islamic seminary for 30 years.

Vastanvi belongs to Vastan village of Magrol taluka in Surat district
and studied at a seminary at Tadkeshwar near Kim. He got his Aalim
and Faazil degrees from the Tadkeshwar seminary itself.

Born and brought up in the tribal-dominated and economically backward
area of the state, Vastanvi worked in tribal areas of Maharashtra .
After completing his studies, the cleric taught at Kantharia for
nearly a decade before setting up a reputed Jamia Islamia Ishaatul
Uloom in Akkalkuwa of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra .

The Jamia in Akkalkuwa offers various courses in engineering,
medicine, pharmacy and education apart from other regular and short-
term courses. The introduction of modern education was Vastanvi's
initiative. The model was replicated in other parts of Maharashtra .
The science stream has recently been introduced in Jamia's associated
centre in Kosamba in south Gujarat . For these efforts , Vastanvi was
also honoured with the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Award by the
Maharashtra government.

Having coveted one of the most respected posts among Islamic clerics,
Vastanvi said, "It's a great opportunity for me to work for a most
respected institution. It is a proud moment for a Gujarati too as for
the first time a Gujarati has become vice-chancellor of Dar-ul
Uloom."

"Maulana Marghoob Rahman had worked for the Dar-ul Uloom for 30 long
years and keeping his contributions in mind, I will work for the
institute," he added. Vastanvi's election was celebrated in
Tadkeshwar during his recent visit to the village where he studied.
Several Islamic clerics from the region and villagers of all faiths
attended his felicitation.

Read more: In a first in 200 yrs, Gujarati to head Dar-ul Uloom - The
Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/In-a-first-in-200-yrs-Gujarati-to-head-Dar-ul-Uloom-/articleshow/7301433.cms#ixzz1BHXaFNIT

End of forwarded message from M. V.

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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Jan 17, 2011, 5:01:01 PM1/17/11

Killing for 'Mother' Kali
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,322673,00.html

By Alex Perry atapur Monday, Jul. 22, 2002
Click here to find out more!

For the magic to work, the killing had to be done just right. If the
goddess were to grant Khudu Karmakar the awesome powers he expected
from a virgin's death, the victim had to be willing, had to know what
was happening, watch the knife, and not stop it. But even
tranquilizers couldn't lull 15-year-old Manju Kumari to her fate. In
his police confession, Karmakar says his wife, daughter and three
accomplices had to gag Manju and pin her down on the earthen floor
before the shrine. In ritual order, Karmakar wafted incense over her,
tore off her blue skirt and pink T shirt, shaved her, sprinkled her
with holy water from the Ganges and rubbed her with cooking fat. Then
chanting mantras to the "mother" goddess Kali, he sawed off Manju's
hands, breasts and left foot, placing the body parts in front of a
photograph of a blood-soaked Kali idol. Police say the arcs of blood
on the walls suggest Manju bled to death in minutes.

Human sacrifice has always been an anomaly in India. Even 200 years
ago, when a boy was killed every day at a Kali temple in Calcutta,
blood cults were at odds with a benign Hindu spiritualism that
celebrates abstinence and vegetarianism. But Kali is different. A
ferocious slayer of evil in Hindu mythology, the goddess is said to
have an insatiable appetite for blood. With the law on killing people
more strictly enforced today, ersatz substitutes now stand in for
humans when sacrifice is required. Most Kali temples have settled on
large pumpkins to represent a human body; other followers slit the
throats of two-meter-tall human effigies made of flour, or of animals
such as goats.

In secret ceremonies, however, the grizzly practice lives on. Quite
simply, say the faithful�known as tantrics�Kali looks after those who
look after her, bringing riches to the poor, revenge to the oppressed
and newborn joy to the childless. So far this year, police have
recorded at least one case of ritual killing a month. In January, in
the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a 24-year-old woman hacked her
three-year-old son to death after a tantric sorcerer supposedly
promised unlimited earthly riches. In February, two men in the eastern
state of Tripura beheaded a woman on the instructions of a deity they
said appeared in their dreams promising hidden treasures. Karmakar
killed Manju in Atapur village in Jharkhand state in April. The
following month, police dug up the remains of two sisters, aged 18 and
13, in Bihar, dismembered with a ceremonial sword and offered to Kali
by their father. Last week on the outskirts of Bombay, maize seller
Anil Lakshmikant Singh, 33, beheaded his neighbor's nine-year-old son
to save his marriage on the advice of a tantric. Said Singh: "He
promised that a human sacrifice would end all my miseries."

Far from ancient barbarisms that refuse to die, sacrifice and sorcery
are making a comeback. Sociologists explain the millions who now
throng the two main Kali centers in eastern India, at Kamakhya and
Tarapith, as what happens when the rat race that is India's future
meets the superstitions of its past. Sociologist Ashis Nandy says:
"You see your neighbor doing well, above his caste and position, and
someone tells you to get a child and do a secret ritual and you can
catch up." Adds mysticism expert Ipsita Roy Chakaraverti: "It's got
nothing to do with real mysticism or with spiritualism. It comes down
to pure and simple greed." Tarapith in particular is a giant building
site of new hotels, restaurants and stalls selling plastic swords and
postcards of Kali's severed feet. Judging by the visitors here, Kali
appeals to both rich and poor: the rows of SUVs parked outside four-
star hotels belong to the ranks of businessmen and politicians lining
up with their goats behind penniless pilgrims. ("The blood never dries
at Tarapith," whispers one villager.)

There are no human sacrifices at the temple these days. But the
mystique of ritual killing is so powerful that even those who actually
don't perform it claim to do so. In their camp in the cremation
grounds beside the temple, a throng of tantrics tout for business by
competing to be as spooky as possible, lining their mud-walled temples
with human skulls and telling tall tales of human sacrifice. "I cut
off her head," says 64-year-old Baba Swami Vivekanand of a girl he
says he raised from birth. "We buried the body and brought the head
back, cooked it and ate it." He pauses to demand a $2 donation. "Good
story, no?" While most of this is innocent, some followers, like
Karmakar, are inevitably emboldened to take their quest for power to
the extreme. Karmakar, like many others, was caught. But in the dust-
bowl villages of India, where superstition reigns and blood has a dark
authority, the question is how many other "holy men" have found that
ultimate power still rests in the murderous magic of a virgin
sacrifice.

Indian cult kills children for goddess
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/mar/05/india.theobserver

'Holy men' blamed for inciting dozens of deaths

* The Observer, Sunday 5 March 2006

A painted image of the Hindu goddess Kali is propped up against a
stone in the dirt, her long red tongue goading terrified worshippers
into submission. From one of her eight flailing arms a severed head
dangles, her neck is adorned by a necklace of bleached human skulls.

There are bloodstains on the cracked wall behind the terrible postcard-
size image and, around the dark room, splattered gore on the heavy
wooden furniture. These dark marks bear witness to a child sacrificed
in the name of the abominable goddess.

Through the doorway, in the distance, colourfully dressed women are
bent double, toiling in the fields, their faces worn and wrinkled from
the sun, their hands cracked from digging at the dry earth from dawn
until dusk.

It's an intolerable life in the remote village of Barha, a squalid
collection of mud-bricked farmers' dwellings in the heart of the
impoverished province of Khurja, Uttar Pradesh. This corner of rural
India is a lawless place of superstitions and deep prejudice. The
region, known for its sugarcane, is a tortuous eight-hour drive from
Delhi and a lifetime away from the 21st century.

In Bulandshahr, the nearest town of any description, locals whispered
darkly of happenings in Barha. Their advice was unanimous: 'Don't go.
It is an evil place. The people there are cursed.'

Sumitra Bushan, 43, who lived in Barha for most of her life, certainly
thought she was cursed. Her husband had long abandoned her, leaving
her with debts and a life of servitude in the sugarcane fields. Her
sons, Satbir, 27, and Sanjay, 23, were regarded as layabouts. Life was
bad but then the nightmares and terrifying visions of Kali allegedly
began, not just for Sumitra but her entire family.

She consulted a tantrik, a travelling 'holy man' who came to the
village occasionally, dispensing advice and putrid medicines from the
rusty amulets around his neck.

His guidance to Sumitra was to slaughter a chicken at the entrance to
her home and offer the blood and remains to the goddess. She did so
but the nightmares continued and she began waking up screaming in the
heat of the night and returned to the priest. 'For the sake of your
family,' he told her, 'you must sacrifice another, a boy from your
village.'

Ten days ago Sumitra and her two sons crept to their neighbour's home
and abducted three-year-old Aakash Singh as he slept. They dragged him
into their home and the eldest son performed a puja ceremony, reciting
a mantra and waving incense. Sumitra smeared sandalwood paste and
globules of ghee over the terrified child's body. The two men then
used a knife to slice off the child's nose, ears and hands before
laying him, bleeding, in front of Kali's image.

In the morning Sumitra told villagers she had found Aakash's body
outside her house. But they attacked and beat her sons who allegedly
confessed. 'I killed the boy so my mother could be safe,' Sanjay
screamed. All three are now in prison, having escaped lynch mob
justice. The tantrik has yet to be found.

Police in Khurja say dozens of sacrifices have been made over the past
six months. Last month, in a village near Barha, a woman hacked her
neighbour's three-year-old to death after a tantrik promised unlimited
riches. In another case, a couple desperate for a son had a six-year-
old kidnapped and then, as the tantrik chanted mantras, mutilated the
child. The woman completed the ritual by washing in the child's blood.

'It's because of blind superstitions and rampant illiteracy that this
woman sacrificed this boy,' said Khurja police officer AK Singh. 'It's
happened before and will happen again but there is little we can do to
stop it. In most situations it's an open and shut case. It isn't
difficult to elicit confessions - normally the villagers or the
families of the victims do that for us. This has been going on for
centuries; these people are living in the dark ages.'

According to an unofficial tally by the local newspaper, there have
been 28 human sacrifices in western Uttar Pradesh in the last four
months. Four tantrik priests have been jailed and scores of others
forced to flee.

The killings have focused attention on Tantrism, an amalgam of
mystical practices that grew out of Hinduism. Tantrism also has
adherents among Buddhists and Muslims and, increasingly, in the West,
where it is associated with yoga or sexual techniques. It has millions
of followers across India, where it originated between the fifth and
ninth centuries. Tantrik priests are consulted on everything from
marital to bowel problems.

Many blame the turn to the occult on the increasing economic gap
between rural and urban India, in particular the spiralling debts of
cotton and tobacco farmers, linked with high costs of hybrid seed and
pesticides, that has led to record numbers of farmers committing
suicide.

According to Sanal Edamaruku, president of the Indian Rationalist
Association, human sacrifice affects most of northern India. 'Modern
India is home to hundreds of millions who can't read or write, but who
often seek refuge from life's realities through astrology or the
magical arts of shamans. Unfortunately these people focus their
horrific attention on society's weaker members, mainly women and
children who are easier to handle and kidnap.'

Tantriks caught up in the crackdown in Uttar Pradesh say their
reputation is being destroyed by an insane minority. 'Human sacrifices
have been made in this region since time immemorial,' says Prashant, a
tantrik who runs a small 'practice' from his concrete shell of a home
on the outskirts of Bulandshahr. 'People come to me with all sorts of
ailments. I recommend simply pujas and very rarely animal sacrifices.'

In her squalid home Ritu Singh rocks back and forth, beating her chest
in grief. She has been mourning since the day her son Aakash's body
was discovered in a sewer outside Sumitra Bushan's home. Her husband,
Rajbir, said: 'We expect them to be jailed or fined but they won't
spend longer than a few years in prison for what they have done. They
were my neighbours, they ate in our house. The Tantrik who made them
do this has disappeared, they will never find him.'

Kali in Hollywood's Temple of Misogyny
http://homepage.mac.com/kia/magick/kali_essay.htm

by Fran Nowve

published in The Beltane Papers Beltane '93

The return of the Goddess in modern western culture is being
experienced by different segments of the population on vastly
different levels. To many people, the Goddess is a pleasant
alternative to the authoritarian Father God of Judeo-Christianity. The
Goddess is seen by these people as a loving Mother who is
unconditionally giving and accepting. (Actually, that is a very
radical step for our consciousness to take. Unconditional love is
deeply subversive of the values upheld by the Patriarchy.) As powerful
as this first step is, however, it is but the beginning of an
exploration into the long-denied heart of the Goddess (and our own
suppressed female psyches).

Those who have proceeded further along the path of Goddess worship
speak of the "Dark Mother," who represents aspects of the Goddess
which are sometimes frightening, painful and confusing. The Dark
Mother is nothing less than the totality of our long denied self. If
the Male principle is rational and "moral" and orderly and white, the
Female principle is irrational, immoral/amoral, chaotic, and black.
She is our very shadow, the much-feared "evil" which we spend enormous
amounts of energy pretending not to know even exists. Books like
Shakti Woman by Vicki Noble are now proliferating which deal with the
process whereby we may come to terms with that long buried reality.

Among the various examples of the Dark Mother, Kali is possibly
the most misunderstood. Thus, it should not come as a complete
surprise that even a film-maker like Steven Spielberg, who has been in
many ways a spokesman for the New Age (e.g. ET), should deal with Kali
in a highly reactionary manner. In making Indiana Jones and the Temple
of Doom, Spielberg erected a temple to Misogyny. The film presents two
images of Woman: Woman as Clown and Woman as Demon. The former is
exemplified by Willie Scott, who is vain, acquisitive, childish, and
lets a little boy put her in her place ("You call him 'Mr. Jones,'
Doll!" says Short Round, a little boy who takes his masculinity
seriously). Willie's pain and terror are not taken seriously by
anybody. The viewer is encouraged to experience them as "comedy" and
the other characters either don't notice or treat her cries of
distress as "noise" (for example, the scene where she tries to mount
the elephant and winds up facing backwards and the scene where
unaccustomed to jungle sights and sounds, she panics).

The latter image of Woman is presented by the Goddess, Kali-Ma,
who is depicted more as demon than as Goddess. Spielberg takes some
strange liberties with Hindu theology here; he can't or won't go
beyond Christian polarities. Kali is made into a Hindu counterpart to
Satan while the God, Shiva, is treated as a counterpart to Christ or
(the good) God. All the "good" characters are on the side of Shiva and
Indy even tells one of the villains that he will have to answer to
Shiva in the next life. Kali provides the evil-doers with Satanic
power (the dark light). They rob poor villagers of a sacred stone,
causing poverty and desolation to descend upon them while kidnapping
their children, whom they make into slaves. Such Christianization of
the Hindu deities is particularly laughable in light of the fact that
Shiva is Kali's consort. Tradition depicts him lying prostrate at
Kali's feet, swooning in ecstasy (or dead).

These evil Kali-worshippers are none other than members of the
notorious "Thuggee" cult. The Thuggee are a real historic phenomenon.
They were worshippers of Kali who actually practiced human sacrifice
to the Goddess. As such, they are pointed to as examples of everything
"evil" about Goddess worship. For example, William Schoebelen in
"Wicca, Satan's Little White Lie,"1 makes much of the Thuggee and even
refers to "Indiana Jones." He uses the propaganda of that movie as
"proof" that Wicca (and all Goddess worship) is evil.

As strange as Spielberg's version of Hindu theology is, he takes
some even stranger liberties with history by locating the Thuggee in a
palace in Bangkok. The real Thugs were highwaymen, outlaws, who
depended upon he predominance of food travel for their success in
finding "victims." The advent of the railways in the 1800s seriously
cramped their style, all but eliminating their power. Furthermore
their method of execution was strangling, not fire in a fancy
contraption, as Indiana Jones would have it.2

But more needs to be said about this strange phenomenon. India is
a predominantly Hindu nation. The Hinduism of today has a long and
colorful history. For one thing, it is really the result of combining
various other religious traditions and paths. Just as the England of
today is the result of the intermingling of two peoples, the Norman
aristocrats and the Celtic peasants, modern India is the result of two
different populations coming together, the Aryans and the Dravidians.
The Dravidians were the Goddess worshippers. The indigenous
population, they were darker and shorter than the fair skinned Aryans
who invaded. The Aryans brought with them their patriarchal culture,
and imposed the caste system and their sense of racial superiority on
the Dravidians. Dravidians had a religious history going back many
centuries. Jainism, Buddhism, and Yoga are some major traditions
practiced by Dravidians. Both Buddhism and Hinduism are the sort of
religions which have the capacity to absorb other traditions.
Tantrism, which is usually regarded as part of Hinduism, is really a
separate religion, according to Isaac Bonewits. "Tantrism survived (in
India) by masquerading as a sect of Hinduism."3 It is "the system of
yoni-worship, or female-centered sex worship, allegedly founded
thousands of years ago in India by women of a secret sect called
Vratyas. The primary object of its adoration was the lingam-yoni-Shiva
and the Goddess Kali."4 "It's entirely possible that in this
reinstatement of the Goddess, both in the popular cults and in the
deep philosophy of the Tantra, we have another sign of the resurgence
of the religiosity of the non-Aryan matriarchal tradition of Dravidian
times."5

A Triple Godhead was set up as a counterpart to the triple
goddess: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Of these three, Shiva, who is
credited with the invention of Yoga, had originally been part of the
Dravidian religion. There was a feeling on the part of those loyal to
the "old religion" which worshipped Kali and Shiva that Brahma and
Vishnu were "punks," not worthy to be put on a par with Shiva. The
present pantheon of Hinduism was clearly a compromise, somewhat of a
patching together of diverse theologies.

"Tantric yogis insisted that their supreme Shiva was the only god,
and all the other gods were only inferior imitations of him. He was
certainly older than the vedic heaven-gods... Shiva's worshippers may
have been literally correct in viewing other gods as recent upstarts.
Some of the scriptures claimed that Brahma and Vishnu were so puny
that they couldn't even realize the limits of Shiva's cosmic lingam."6

The Thuggee considered Brahams, the top caste, to be enemies of
Kali. Sacrifices were taken exclusively from this group. Women were
never sacrificed. Clearly, there is more to this "human sacrifice"
business than actually meets the eye. It would seem that the Thuggee
were actually engaged in a class war- or even an anti-imperialist war
on class and national enemies. The Brahams represented the Aryans who
invaded and imposed their religion on the Dravidians. The Dravidians
were the underdogs. Their side of the fighting took the form of
guerrilla warfare, highwaymen waiting to take the enemy by surprise.
It is amazing that this political aspect to the subject of Kali
worship and the Thuggee cult hasn't been more widely discussed and
documented.

But who is this Goddess who could inspire such dreadful acts (even
if they were done to fight imperialism)? As stated above, she is a
Dark Goddess. The name, Kali, is th Hindu word for Black. She is
usually depicted dancing on top of the lifeless form of Shiva. There's
no getting away from it: Kali is not "nice." As ex-Wiccan Christian
fundamentalist William Schnoebelen put it, she is "not the sort of
girl you'd wish to bring home to mother."7 (Incredible that even an ex-
Wiccan Goddess worshipper would think of the Goddess in such terms,
isn't it?) No, Kali isn't a "girl" at all. Although she is a triple
Goddess, she is far too powerful to imagine as anything less than a
full-blooded woman embodying danger and mystery.

Myth has it that Kali sprang from the brown of the Goddess Durga
in the middle of a full-scale battle wherein Durga was fighting the
demons, Mahisasura, Sumbha and Nishumba at the behest of the gods who
had begged her to save them. Kali appeared black, naked (or draped in
tiger skin), and "emaciated, wide-mouthed, lolling-tongued, with deep
sunken red eyes."8 She severed the heads of Canda and Munda, servants
of the demons. Then she took on the demon, Raktabija:

From the blood shed from his wounds sprang thousands of fresh
combatants, representing the destructive masculine principle. To
annihilate this archtypical power, Kali again and again drank the
rakta-bija (the seed blood). This symbolic devouring represents the
"taking possession of" or rendering harmless of an overpowering
destructive element, a phallic power.9

From the stories can be seen the basically beneficent nature of
Kali (and Durga) despite her terrifying image and her actual role as
"destroyer." Not being dualistic, Wiccan and Paganism accept
destruction as a natural and beneficial part of the whole.

Kali is nothing less than a long denied, long forgotten aspect of
our female self- our power to be "ugly;" to impose limitations just as
Nature imposes mortality on everything which has a temporal existence
on earth.

We are no longer accustomed to associating the feminine with that
kind of power. The Goddess has returned with a message of feminine
power and Kali is the greatest expression of it. As such, we can
expect her to continue to draw flack from the Spielbergs and the
Schnoebelens. And we can consider it a tribute to the depth and
breadth of her and our power.

Human sacrifice? Beheaded body found near Kali temple in Birbhum
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/human-sacrifice-beheaded-body-found-near-kali-temple-in-birbhum/607102/

Express News Service Tags : religion, Kali temple, crime Posted: Fri
Apr 16 2010, 00:56 hrs Kolkata:

In a case of suspected “human sacrifice”, the blood-splattered
beheaded torso of a 25-year-old man was found outside a temple of
Goddess Kali this morning at a village about 15 km away from Bolpur
town in Birbhum district.

Police sources said in rural Bengal, such acts of superstition and
primitive religious rituals are not uncommon, especially on sankranti,
which fell last night.

A senior police officer said the torso was of a male body and was
found near the altar placed in front of the temple in a village called
Paruldanga. It was first spotted by the temple’s priest around 5 am
when he went there for prayers.

“The slain torso had new clothes on the body. His hands were not tied.
There was no indication of any resistance on the victim’s part. It
seems he was drugged and was completely unconscious when he was
slaughtered,” said the officer, who visited the spot and saw the
torso.

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“Several articles of worship like burnt incense sticks were found near
the body. There was blood stain on the altar. Tantrik (occult) rituals
are generally performed on amavasya and sankranti,” added the officer.

A police team sent to the area with sniffer dogs around 9 am was led
to the house of a villager named Lalmohan Hansda.

Birbhum SP Rabindranath Mukherjee said, “It seems to be a case of a
human sacrifice. But it can also be a as we have found injury marks on
the face. We have picked up a person from the village.”

Chandan Mukherjee, the priest of the Kajjala Kali temple, reportedly
told the police he had performed puja at the temple till 9 pm last
night. When he returned this morning, he saw a body lying just outside
the temple.

...and I am Sid Harth

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Jan 17, 2011, 5:24:06 PM1/17/11

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Jan 17, 2011, 5:25:20 PM1/17/11

and/or www.mantra.com/jai

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Everything you always wanted to know about India and more

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http://cogitoergosum.co.cc/2011/01/18/indias-superpower-euphoria-ccx/

18/01/2011 by navanavonmilita

Built on a house of cards
Hindustan Times

January 17, 2011

First Published: 22:57 IST(17/1/2011)
Last Updated: 00:41 IST(18/1/2011)

1 Comment

You win some, you lose some. This seems to be environment and forests
minister Jairam Ramesh’s mantra. A week after he was criticised by the
green lobby and the fishers’ community for not incorporating their
views in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2011, Mr
Ramesh’s verdict against
the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society might have a soothing effect.

In a strongly-worded directive, Mr Ramesh said that the 31-storey
Adarsh must be demolished within three months and the area should be
restored to its “original condition”. The society had flouted the CRZ
Notification, 1991. Though this notification has now been replaced by
the 2011 rules, the case will face charges according to the 1991
rules.

The CRZ rules govern the country’s 7,000-long coastline. From 1991,
there have been more than 25 amendments to the 1991 law thanks to the
pressure from builders and politicians, especially in places like
Mumbai where the demand for housing outstrips supply. In places like
Goa, the pressure comes from the tourism lobby.

It is important to have strong laws protecting the coastal areas
because, first, the ecologically sensitive zones work as buffers for
coastal cities against natural calamities and, second, they can ensure
that those who depend on the seas for their livelihood are not washed
away in this race to provide housing and entertainment for the haves.
Along with grabbing the no-go areas, builders often flout the Floor
Space Index norm, which is the ratio between the built-up and the plot
area. By breaking them, as has been the case with Adarsh, more flats
are built and sold for huge profits.

The now 31-storey building was originally planned as a six-storey
housing project. But despite allegations, the state government had
refused to move against it suggesting that links exist among
politicians, bureaucrats and the violators (builders). Many are hoping
that the Adarsh order will set the stage for the demolition of 13
other projects under construction in Parel and Lower Parel in Mumbai.
Though the minister has acknowledged that the Adarsh order will be a
precedent, only time will tell whether this is a one-off case or the
beginning of a purge.

Since the 1991 CRZ norms were flouted so widely, the question now is
whether the 2011 norms have been better designed. Environmentalists
are adamant that the government has diluted the provisions but Mr
Ramesh feels that the new norms have taken into account the
requirements of today. Yet, what can’t be discounted is the need to
increase monitoring at the ground level and also have a zero-tolerance
approach towards violators. In cases of such serious violations, the
violators (rightly so) end up at the receiving end. But what happens
to the officials who facilitate such activities? No one knows, and
post-Adarsh, it would still be business as usual.

Comments:

Simple Indian [Moderator] 15 hours ago

Though this is a welcome decision, it will never see the light of the
day, with so many netas and babus involved in the society. This is
just like all our laws – good on paper, but rarely get implemented in
letter or spirit !

CRZ norms may hit development

K.S. Sudhi

Vembanad Lake now comes under Critical Vulnerable Coastal Area

In focus: Provision entails rigid controls on activities in areas
around Vembanad Lake.

KOCHI: The inclusion of Vembanad Lake in Critical Vulnerable Coastal
Areas in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2011 may
impede development activities in a few districts of Kerala, it is
feared.

The Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority had expressed its
reservations regarding the inclusion of the lake on the list as it
implied “very rigid controls/ regulations.” It had urged the State
government to take up the case of the lake with the Union Ministry for
Environment and Forests as the inclusion “will impede the development
of Cochin [Kochi] and other adjoining areas.”

With the inclusion on the list, a wide range of activities in the lake
and its adjoining areas will be controlled by two Central legislations
brought in by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests — the CRZ
notification 2011 and the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules
2010.

The Wetlands Rules were made applicable to the lake as the Vembanad-
Kol Wetland was a Ramsar wetland of international importance under the
Ramsar convention. The rules also gave the lake protected wetland
status whereby the clearance from the Central Ministry was mandatory
for initiating development activities there.

The reduction of the No Development Zone (NDZ) to 100 metres on the
seafront in CRZ 3 has been welcomed by the Kerala authorities. This
has been one of the major demands of the fisher folk and the State.
Earlier, the NDZ was 200 metres.

The notification has permitted the construction/ reconstruction of
dwelling units of traditional coastal communities, including fisher
folk, between 100 and 200 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL) along
the seafront.

It has included all the islands in the backwaters of Kerala in its
ambit. It has also fixed 50 metres width towards the landward side
from the HTL as the CRZ area for the islands within the backwaters.

Kerala was given special consideration along with Goa and Greater
Mumbai as “areas requiring special consideration for the purpose of
protecting the critical coastal environment and difficulties faced by
local communities.”

The notification has permitted the repair and reconstruction of
existing dwelling units of local communities within 50 metres from the
HTL. However, no new constructions would be permitted.

Beyond the 50-metre limit on the landward side of backwater islands,
dwelling units of local communities can be constructed with the prior
permission of the respective grama panchayat.

Several foreshore facilities such as fishing jetty, fish-drying yards,
net-mending yard, fish processing by traditional methods, can be taken
up within 50 metres from the HTL of these islands.

Construction of hotels and beach resorts will not be allowed in
ecologically sensitive areas such as marine parks, mangroves, coral
reefs, breeding and spawning grounds of fish, wildlife habitats and
such other areas notified by the Centre or the State government or
Union Territories.

For beach resorts and hotels in CRZ 2 and 3, according to the
notification, the “project proponent shall not undertake any
construction within 200 metres in the landward side of HTL and within
the area between Low Tide Line and High Tide Line.

Revised CRZ norms to help Konkan growth, says Chavan
Press Trust of India

Posted: Monday, Dec 27, 2010 at 2336 hrs IST
Tags: Revised Coastal Regulatory Zone Guidelines | CRZ Rules Put
Restrictions | Konkan Growth

The revised Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) guidelines, to be announced
by Union environment ministry within two weeks, is expected to provide
fillip to the development of Konkan region of Maharashtra, chief
minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Sunday.

Fishing and tourism were the two important aspects of Konkan’s
development and if the CRZ rules put restrictions on infrastructure
creation in these two sectors, then it would be injustice with people,
he said.

The need to preserve and protect environment should not override
building and strengthening infrastructure facilities for fishing like
cold storage and minor ports, he said, speaking at the inauguration of
a three-day National Fish Festival at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in
suburban Mumbai.

“I will personally look into these issues and if the revised CRZ
guidelines do not address the Konkan’s concerns, I will take up the
matter with the environment ministry.”

The chief minister expressed concern over the declining fish
production in the state, saying it was a serious issue. There are 2.86
lakh fisherfolk in the state and the total fish production is 3.60
lakh tonne, which is just 13.5% of the national output, he said on
Sunday.

CRZ norms shield open spaces, limit FSI to 2.5
TNN, Jan 9, 2011, 06.20am IST

Tags:RTI|Coastal Regulatory Zone

MUMBAI: Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh unveiled a host of
policy decisions that are part of the new Coastal Regulatory Zone
norms here on Saturday.

One of the most important measures that will cheer the greens is the
open space policy. All open spaces in the city will have to be treated
like areas that fall within CRZ-3 areas. The law limits development of
areas governed by CRZ-3 norms if the projects are not linked to
“public interest” like supply of power, mining and petroleum, and
recreation facilities.

Another equally important policy introduction is the limiting of FSI
to 2.5 for redevelopment in CRZ areas. Earlier, it was suggested that
the cap could vary from area to area and go up to 4 depending on the
type of development.

Moreover, builders who take up development projects in CRZ areas,
where the government’s participation has to be at least 51%, will now
be exposed to queries under the Right To Information Act. “This will
ensure a proper check-and-balance system in CRZ areas,” Ramesh said.

The new norms also cleared the way for development. For instance,
roads on stilts can now be built in CRZ areas and thousands of
families living in slums and dilapidated cessed buildings can benefit
from redevelopment.

Rules of law

All open spaces now fall under CRZ-3 norms, putting them beyond any
development unless linked to public interest

FSI for redevelopment in CRZ areas limited to 2.5

Builders undertaking such redevelopment projects will come under RTI
scanner

Roads on stilts allowed in CRZ areas

CRZ norms will give Mumbai new life: Jairam Ramesh
Published: Saturday, Jan 8, 2011, 23:32 IST
By Surendra Gangan | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Terming the special relaxations given to Mumbai in the newly released
coastal regulation zone (CRZ) 2011 notifications as “liberalisation
with guard and safeguard”, minister of environment and forests Jairam
Ramesh said that they will give new impetus to the city that was
“dying a slow death”.

Referring to the stern restrictions in the outgoing CRZ notification
and the hurdles it posed to the redevelopment of dilapidated and
cessed buildings, construction of the flyovers, and commercial
activities in the coastal areas, Ramesh said that his ministry’s
pragmatic and practical approach will give the city a second life.

He said that his ministry has tried to achieve a balance between the
environment conservation and development and that it was a gamble.
While warning the authorities about enforcing and the people of the
city about their responsibility to avert the misuse of the
relaxations, he said he won’t mind withdrawing them if found violated.

Taking a dig at the builders and their “creativity” in evicting the
original tenants from the city, Ramesh said that the notification has
emphasised on the development by government agencies to maintain
transparency. “If we continue the old CRZ regulations, the city will
keep bleeding. The relaxation will help 146 slum dwelling clusters
accommodating 2.5 lakh people and 620 dilapidated and cessed building
accommodating 38,000 families to redevelop their structures,” he
added. “It will also facilitate the cluster development of 38
koliwadas.”

Ramesh said that the redevelopment of old and dilapidated buildings is
under the gambit of the Right to Information Act and subject to
comptroller and auditor general’s assessment. “This will ensure
transparent and fair development of the habitats and also that the
original tenants are not evicted. Concurrent audit by the state-Centre
monitoring committee will further keep a check on such development,”
he said.

While clarifying that violations like Adarsh will not be condoned
under the new notifications, he directed the state government to
conduct satellite imaging of other such violations in the city.

“Through satellite imaging, Goa has identified 5,000 violations of
various types. Other states, including Maharashtra, also are being
directed to identify such violations in four months and take action
against them in four months thereafter,” he said.

Ramesh said that the states also have been directed to create a Hazard
Line in next four to five years to safeguard the biodiversity. He also
clarified that the salts pans in the state will not be governed under
the new CRZ norms.

Environment ministry team will check Gujarat’s Mahuva plant impact
Published: Tuesday, Jan 18, 2011, 15:19 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

The union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) will send a team
of experts to Mahuva to assess if the cement plant coming up in the
taluka of Bhavnagar district will have any adverse impact on the
environment as feared by the local farmers. The report by the team
will decide the fate of the environmental clearance already given by
the ministry for the cement plant.

On Monday, the central government told the Supreme Court that the MoEF
had decided to send the team to Mahuva. Attorney-general GE Vahanvati
informed the apex court that the ministry had taken the decision as it
had found “some new material in the issue”.

The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by Shree Mahua Bandhara
Khetiwadi Pariyavaran Bachav Samittee, a group of farmers from Mahuva.
The farmers had challenged the Gujarat high court order giving the go-
ahead to the plant being set up by Nirma.

The Gujarat government had allotted 268 hectare near Mahuva for the
cement plant in 2008. However, the local farmers, apprehending serious
environmental problems, filed a PIL in the high court seeking that the
land allotment done to the company be withdrawn. The farmers’
agitation is being spearheaded by BJP MLA from Mahuva, Dr Kanubhai
Kalsaria.

The farmers claim that the plant will destroy a huge water body that
has been the lifeline for thousands of villagers. According to them,
of the 268 hectares allotted to Nirma, 222 hectare covers the water
body.

The farmers’ protest has also got support from people like Chunibhai
Vaidya, Ila Pathak and Prakash N Shah.The 40-km stretch in Mahuva has
not been touched yet by any cement company. The agricultural land in
the region is very fertile and farmers grow bountiful of vegetables
and other agricultural produces.

Environment ministry status quo move may land Lavasa in trouble
Published: Tuesday, Jan 18, 2011, 1:25 IST
By Sreejiraj Eluvangal | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA

The Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF) is learnt to have
directed Lavasa Corporation to maintain ‘status quo’ on its earlier
‘stop work’ order.

While Lavasa officials on Monday said they had received no intimation,
highly-placed sources in the ministry have confirmed it.

The ministry was supposed to reach a decision after conducting a site
visit and inform the Bombay high court too. In case there is a status
quo order, Lavasa is likely to move the Bombay high court again.

The court had asked the firm to wait for the ministry’s final order.
It was expected to be submitted on Monday, but is likely to be done on
Tuesday.

The status quo order will be a big setback to Lavasa. The move is
likely to pour cold water over the hopes rekindled by a recent comment
by Naresh Dayal, chairman of the ministry’s delegation that conducted
an on-the-spot check on the hill city project.

“Prima facie, forest destruction does not seem to have happened in
case of Lavasa,” he had said after a three-day visit 10 days ago.

The comment had raised eyebrows at the ministry, which clarified that
it must not be taken as the final verdict of the visiting panel.

Lavasa: Environment ministry submits affidavit and order in Bombay
high court
Published: Tuesday, Jan 18, 2011, 13:56 IST
Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI

The Union ministry of environment and forests today told the Bombay
high court that it would submit its affidavit and a copy of its order
on the controversial Lavasa housing project near Pune, which allegedly
violated green norms.

Additional solicitor general Darius Khambata, appearing for the
ministry, told a division bench of Justice VC Daga and Juctice Rajesh
Ketkar that the ministry would be submitting its affidavit and order
to the court registrar later in the day.

Khambata said the matter would be heard on January 27.

The high court had on December 22 last year directed the environment
ministry to take a final decision on its show-cause notice to Lavasa
Corporation, the promoter of the project at the hill station
(Lonavala).

According to reports, the environment ministry has pointed to “grave
violations” in the Lavasa project and is mulling over strong action
against it.

The ministry had served notice to Lavasa Corporation on November 25,
2010 as to why it did not obtain environmental clearances as per
notifications issued under the Environment Protection Act before
commencing the project in 2004.

Lavasa Corporation, a subsidiary of Hindustan Construction Company,
challenged the notice before the high court. The corporation has
claimed that it is a tourism project and was based on the state hill
tourism policy, formulated by the Maharashtra government, allowing the
Rs2,000-crore project to come up.

Govt decides to ease CRZ norms for special areas

2 Comments

Express news service Tags : Mumbai coastline, Environment Ministry,
Coastal Regulation Zone Posted: Thu Sep 16 2010, 02:09 hrs New Delhi:

Opening up the possibility for the redevelopment of hundreds of slums
along the Mumbai coastline, the Environment Ministry has decided to
relax Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms for areas having special
development needs such as Greater Mumbai and Kerala.

The CRZ notification of 1991, that seeks to protect and regulate the
use of land within 500 metres of the coast, prevents almost any new
construction in coastal areas.

The Environment Ministry has decided to amend this notification,
realising that the pressure of development is not uniform across
India’s 7,500-km coastline and that certain areas need to be given
special consideration. The Ministry has thus decided that slum
redevelopment projects — provided the state government or its agencies
have at least 51 per cent stake in the plan — in Greater Mumbai will
not be held hostage to the tough CRZ regulations. Similar will be the
case of renovation and reconstruction of old, dilapidated and unsafe
buildings in Greater Mumbai that fall in the CRZ areas.

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In Kerala, which has a large number of small islands and narrow strips
of land in its backwaters, the CRZ provisions will apply only till 50
metres from the coast and not 500 metres as in general areas.

The proposed new regulations also provide for an integrated management
plan to be drawn up for Sunderbans and similar other “critical
vulnerable coastal areas” with unique development needs. Sunderbans
has some of the largest mangrove areas and is affected by the rise in
sea level.

Nearly five lakh people living in the Sunderbans face a lot of
hardship due to lack of adequate infrastructure facilities.

Areas such as Gulf of Khambat and Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, Karwar and
Coondapur in Karnataka and some others will be treated similarly and
integrated management plans for development will be prepared in
consultation with local communities.

The relaxation in CRZ rules is only one of the several amendments that
have been proposed.

Another important amendment is the inclusion of India’s territory on
seas in CRZ areas. The 1991 notification applies only to the land side
of the coast.

View all Comments (2) |
accountantBy: PRAJIN KAKKANT | 17-Sep-2010

This rule will help many peopele specialy kerala to start fishiers
realted industry such as ice plant boat yard etc
Setting a precedent to favour Land Mafia By: bhanu | 16-Sep-2010

Just that the rules that are relaxed for Mumbai would be cited for
razing the coastlines everywhere else in the country.Its just setting
a precedent that GOING TO SCRUB DOWN THE ECOLOGY EVERYWHERE….

Mumbai airport project gets exemption from CRZ norms

Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai | May 05, 2009 09:55 IST

An important hurdle in getting environmental clearance for Mumbai’s
second airport at Navi Mumbai was cleared by the Bombay high court
earlier last week.

The high court order enables the union ministry of environment and
forests to issue notification exempting construction of the airport
from the Coastal Regulatory Zone norms.

A senior official from the state government’s urban development
ministry said formal clearance from the Union government is expected
once the new government is in place at the Centre.

It may be recalled that in January this year, chief minister Ashok
Chavan had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also
holds the portfolio of MoEF, requesting him to grant exemption to the
airport project from CRZ regulations.

However, in March this year, the MoEF wrote back to the state
government, expressing its inability to grant such an exemption in
view of the Bombay high court order directing the Centre and states to
provide protection to mangrove forests in the CRZ zone.

The second airport for Mumbai, being developed by the state
government’s town and industrial infrastructure arm CIDCO at Panvel in
Navi Mumbai area, is expected to come up on 2,000 hectares of land at
an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion).

Subsequently, the state government moved a petition before the Bombay
high court and assured the court to replant the mangroves in other
areas.

Accepting the state government’s plea, the high court has now passed
the order which allows MoEF to grant the exemption. Nearly 800
hectares of mangrove forest is expected to be cut to facilitate
construction of the airport.

Revised CRZ norms may spell concrete revamp of coastline

Sanjeev Shivadekar

Environment Minister May Announce Changed Rules, Says Govt

With Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh likely to wave a green
flag for the new Costal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules, the state
government has claimed that the city’s coastline may soon witness a
concrete makeover. However, this has not gone down well with
environmentalists.
If the revised CRZ norms are implemented, builders would get more
floor space index (FSI) for every house going in for a revamp and that
would buttress redevelopment activities in parts of south Mumbai and
other areas dotting the sea. If state officials are to be believed,
the government will raise the FSI to 2.5 to 4 from the current 1.25 in
island city and 1 in the suburbs for proposed reconstruction projects.
According to minister of state for environment Sachin Ahir, the CRZ
rules pose a major hurdle in the redevelopment of dilapidated and
cessed buildings in south Mumbai, some parts of which are governed by
CRZ norms. “The Union environment minister should be announcing the
changes in the CRZ rules this week itself and the modifications would
bring relief to hundreds of residents of south Mumbai who are looking
for redevelopment of their old buildings,” Ahir said. A senior
official also added that Ramesh would announce the changes on Saturday
and that would “relax construction norms for the old and dilapidated
buildings, slums, fishermen’s colonies and other structures falling in
CRZ areas”.
Confirming the development, an environment department official said,
“The FSI for a coastal building slated for a makeover will depend in
which category the project will be done.” For instance, one will get
2.5 FSI if the redevelopment is done under the Development Control
Rule 33(7), but the figure will be raised to 4 if it is carried out
under the DC rule 33 (9). Under the DC rule 33 (7), an individual is
allowed to submit a revamp proposal, but under the DC rule 33 (9),
residents of the building have to form a group. South Mumbai MP Milind
Deora said, “Keeping the dense population of the city in mind, I had
urged the Union government to have a separate set of CRZ rules for
Mumbai,” he said.
When asked if environmentalists will support the “modification move”,
the senior state official said the notice was made public in October
last year after which, the department had invited suggestions and
objections to the proposals. “Only after incorporating all the
suggestions will the final draft be ready,” he added.
Environmentalists, of course, are not happy with the likely change and
said the only people it would help were builders. “Raising FSI in CRZ
areas would solve housing problem is a false impression given to the
Union ministry. If the Centre goes ahead with the modifications of the
CRZ rules, I can only say that Ramesh is doing what is predecessors
had done: giving in to pressure,” said environmentalist Debi Goenka.
Urban planner Prashant Malwade and retired urban development
department official Y V Kanhere objected to the disparity in the FSI
offered in CRZ areas. “Slums are granted an FSI of 4. The government
should offer the same FSI to old buildings that cannot be redeveloped
for the stringent norms,” Malwade added.

Category: CRZ, FSI, Redevelopment

Rich, powerful bend CRZ norms

Express News Service
First Published : 11 Jan 2011 04:38:52 AM IST
Last Updated : 11 Jan 2011 08:44:53 AM IST

CHENNAI: Pressure from the powerful and influential property owners
along the East Coast Road (ECR) had forced the CMDA to reclassify
three villages on the coastline to subvert certain development norms,
CMDA Chief Planner SR Rajendhiran revealed on Monday.

“We all know that VVIPs have houses and beach houses in areas along
ECR. Because of that pressure we have brought Kottivakkam, Palavakkam
and Neelangarai into Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) II from Zone III,”
said Rajendhiran.

Rajendhiran’s comments came in response to a question from a member of
the audience at a talk on CRZ organised by the Institution of
Engineers. The question: is the ISKCON temple in Injambakkam in line
with regulations as it was being constructed on lands that acted as a
fresh water aquifer? CMDA Senior Planner S Selvakumar was also
present.

The change of zoning of the above mentioned three fishing villages
would make way for construction activity. Development on these lands
was earlier prohibited as they are part of the groundwater aquifer,
which is affected by tidal action. Following approval from the Centre
in 2009, a CMDA authority meeting on January 19 last year resolved to
reclassify the zoning of the three villages.

“There are many unauthorised constructions in that region. If anyone
goes for a PIL, we will have to demolish a lot of buildings,”
Rajendhiran acknowledged, stressing that this was not an invitation
for people to file PILs.

Responding to a question from Express on the role of the CMDA in
enforcing CRZ Notifications in the area, Rajendhiran said, “The
Enforcement Cell of the CMDA has the authority to take direct action
against offenders, but the cell is very small. We receive thousands of
complaints everyday. The actual enforcement of the regulations has
been delegated to local bodies, which are politically controlled,
unlike the CMDA.”

Rajendhiran also acknowledged that there was a need to expand the
CMDA’s Enforcement Cell to ensure the enforcement of regulations. “The
CMDA is a young organisation. We are evolving and improving our
systems everyday,” he said.

Fishermen want tougher CRZ norms
Published: Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010, 0:14 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Agency: DNA

A delegation of the city’s fishermen community staged a dharna outside
the suburban collector’s office on Monday.

They were protesting against the neglect and sidelining of their
welfare issues by the agencies planning the city’s development.

The protest, staged under the banner of the Maharashtra Macchimar
Kruti Samiti, invited the participation of hundreds of fishermen.
Among the issues raised, the community reiterated the demand for
strengthening the existing coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms in
order to protect their means of livelihood.

Led by Kiran Koli, the organisation’s vice president, the delegation
also demanded a relaxation in the protected area zone earmarked around
the oil wells operated by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC).
The protected zone was increased from 500 meters to five nautical
miles following the 26/11 attacks.

Arguing that this had hampered fishing activity, the delegation
demanded a restoration of the 500-meter norm. The forum also protested
the state government’s plan of setting up a nuclear power plant at
Jaitapur in Ratnagari.

New CRZ norms a boon for real estate companies

January 12, 2011

The new rules allow slum rehab in the CRZ area, redevelopment of
dilapidated structures in this previously no-go area and higher FSI.
But benefits could take a while to come in

The new coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms open up huge development
potential for real estate companies in Mumbai. The new rules will
impact the sector in three major ways. Slum development which was not
permitted in CRZ areas is to be allowed. It will now become possible
to redevelop dilapidated, cessed and unsafe buildings within the zone.
The new norms also allow a floor space index (FSI) of 2.5 times in the
CRZ areas, in line with the rest of Mumbai city. Till now it was only
1.33 times.

The CRZ area, as defined by the environment ministry, is the stretch
within 500 metres of the high-tide line on the landward side. Under
CRZ 1, the construction of roads, approach roads and missing link
roads is allowed on stilts, to ensure that free flow of tidal water is
not impacted. Under CRZ 2, building development will now be allowed on
the seaward side of the CRZ stretch, with separate provision for slum
rehabilitation with FSI in accordance with existing regulations
(maximum 2.5 times + TDR) and government stake of 51% in such
projects.

As a safeguard against corruption, the Right to Information Act (RTI)
will be applicable to all such projects; the schemes of the Slum
Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) will be undertaken through companies
with a 51% or more government stake; the Ministry of Environment and
Forests will have the right to appoint statutory auditors for
redevelopment of dilapidated, cessed and unsafe buildings, while
projects under the SRA scheme will be audited by the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG). The government of Maharashtra will also set up
a ‘high level oversight committee’. The government sees a 51% stake in
projects as a positive, but the markets view it as a negative-the
players believe this will be a major deterrent for companies as it
leaves ‘very little room for them’ and it will in fact lead to a
breeding ground for kickbacks and corruption.

It is believed that as many as 47,000 families will benefit from the
new norms and that 146 slum clusters will be developed with the
additional FSI. Additionally, an attempt can be made to develop 620
dilapidated, unsafe and cessed structures where about 38,000 families
are residing currently. Other beneficiaries may include 38 colonies of
fisherfolk, located right from Colaba (in south Mumbai) to Gorai (in
Borivali).

To put things in perspective, of the 437 sq km area that is Mumbai
city, nearly 202 sq km is under, or is impacted by the CRZ, that is a
whopping 46% of the total area, according to a research report from
Kotak for its clients, published on Tuesday. The brokerage believes
that assuming all the families which can be rehabilitated will be at
300 sq ft per family, with a 2.5 times FSI, there is a potential for
real estate development of 89 million sq ft, “which at the current run-
rate would be equal to a decade of supply in various micro markets”.

Kotak says that if all works out well, “a case can be made for a win-
win scenario for both-developers and property buyers. Buyers could
benefit from lower residential property prices due to increased supply
(led by higher FSI available; while developers could benefit on
greater volumes and an internal rate of return (IRR) similar to
current redevelopment projects, as long as constant property prices
are factored when the bid is submitted to SRA (Slum Rehabilitation
Authority).”

Up until now, due to existing prohibitive norms, most SRA projects
took place only in north Mumbai-mostly inland. However, the new norms
will allow such projects throughout the coastal city.

While all this sounds great on paper, Kotak believes that any
meaningful impact will be 3-5 years away. “We are not turning bullish
on property developers focusing on rehabilitation projects on the back
of this, as we believe any meaningful NAV accretion will be at least
three years away, while project completion could be 5-7 years away and
we await progress in government-developer partnerships.” Even market
watchers believe that it will take at least six months to a year
before policy changes are incorporated in the city’s development plan
for redevelopment to start.

For now, it looks like HDIL, with around 49 million sq ft of developed
and ongoing slum rehabilitation projects (largely the Mumbai airport
SRA work) is the biggest beneficiary of the new norms, Kotak says. One
drawback is that it has very little presence in south Mumbai.

The slum problem in Mumbai is huge. According to some estimates, the
city has a 60% slum area, where unhygienic conditions and the lack of
basic amenities causes epidemics (malaria, dengue, even cholera) all
the year round. Some say that around 50% of Mumbai’s 14 million people
live in slums.

(This article is based on secondary research. The report is for
information only. None of the stock information, data and company
information presented herein constitutes a recommendation or
solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any securities. Investors
must do their own research and due diligence before acting on any
security. Some of the opinions expressed in this article are the
author’s own and may not necessarily represent those of Moneylife.) —
Munira Dongre

– Sucheta Dalal

CRZ norms hampering Karnataka tourism: Minister

Our Bureau

Mr Inamdar admitted that the disturbances over the Cauvery water-
sharing between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had affected the tourism
industry, particularly in the Mandya-Mysore belt, which has the prime
tourist attractions in the State.

BANGALORE, Sept. 25

KARNATAKA has sought relaxation in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
norm from the current 500 metres to 50 metres to enable it to develop
coastal tourism in the State. The current regulations have affected
the State’s efforts to promote coastal tourism in a big way, according
to the Minister for Tourism, Mr D.B. Inamdar.

The Minister said the delay however would not affect the Government’s
aggressive promotional activities to make the State a preferred
destination.

In an informal chat with reporters here today, Mr Inamdar admitted
that the disturbances over the Cauvery water-sharing between Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu had affected the tourism industry, particularly in the
Mandya-Mysore belt, which has the prime tourist attractions in the
State. The ongoing blockade of traffic to Mysore from Bangalore and
Tamil Nadu had resulted in the drop in the tourist inflow. Though he
did not quantify the loss due to disruption in tourist flow, the
Minister said, “overall, we will be hurt in many ways”, implying loss
to the service sectors dependent on the tourism industry.

While expressing confidence that the State would overcome this
temporary setback, Mr Inamdar regretted that the blanket travel
advisories issued by various countries due to disturbance in some
parts of the country had a negative impact on other regions which were
peaceful. He also said that the State would make extra efforts to
market its diverse topography focussing on areas of specific interest
to foreign travellers such as adventure, forest tourism and eco-
tourismHe said this in reply to a question whether the Government was
not relying excessively on Mysore as the main attraction.

Comment on this article to BLFee...@thehindu.co.in

Orissa denies violation of FRA and CRZ norms at Posco site
BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar October 22, 2010, 0:25 IST

The Orissa government has filed its response to the Ministry of
Envionment and Forest (MoEF) regarding Meena Gupta committee’s reports
on Posco project, denying all allegations about violations of Forest
Rights Act (FRA) and Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) at the project
site.

The state government has reiterated its earlier stand that there are
no tribals at the Posco project site and palli sabhas had been
conducted as per established procedures and there had been no
irregularities.

“We have already faxed our response to the MoEF on the two separate
reports of the Meena Gupta panel. In our response, we have stated that
there has been no violation of FRA and there are no tribals at the
Posco project site”, B K Pattnaik told media persons.

On issues pertaining to environmental clearance and CRZ clearance, he
said, “One cannot say there has been violation of environmental and
CRZ norms as work on the project is yet to take off and this has also
been mentioned by Meena Gupta in her report. The compliance of
environmental and CRZ norms can be ensured only after work on the
project begins.”

Pattnaik also stated that the palli sabhas have been conducted as per
procedures and there have been no irregularities in the process. He
further said the state government has requested the MoEF to allow work
on the Posco project to continue.

It may be noted that the MoEF had issued a stop work order on the
Posco project on August 5 based on the recommendations of the N C
Saxena committee.

“The FRAs have been implemented as per procedures. As far as
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) is concerned, Posco has
announced a special package and this package has been approved by the
Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC).
If any family is left out of the R&R process, it can be included”,
said an official source.

The report submitted by the three other members of the panel- Urmila
Pingle, Devendra Pandey and V Suresh- strongly felt that there have
been serious lapses and illegalities in the EIA process. They held
that the EIA prepared for the Posco project was a rapid EIA, based on
one season data without taking into account all the components of the
project like township project, water project, rail road and transport
facilities.

South Mumbai bldgs violating CRZ norms under court scanner
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times

Mumbai, November 19, 2010

First Published: 01:27 IST(19/11/2010)
Last Updated: 01:29 IST(19/11/2010)

The Bombay High Court has turned up the heat on constructions in south
Mumbai which violate the Coastal Regulatory Zone Notification of
February 1991. The court on Thursday directed the additional collector
(encroachments) and municipal commissioner to submit a report stating
action taken pursuant
to the communication by December 23.

Central Environment and Forest Ministry had issued the communication
on November 20, 2001, asking the state government to identify and
remove all constructions [after February 19, 1991, when the
notification was issued] in south Mumbai, which were in violation of
the CRZ notification.

The communication was issued following a high court order. Acting on a
public interest litigation filed by the Colaba-Cuffe Parade Citizens’
Group, the court had on March 21, 2001 directed the environment and
forest Ministry to take action in accordance with CRZ notification.

The court had also directed the ministry to submit an action-taken
report, for which the communication was forwarded to the state.

On Thursday, counsel for the petitioner association, Rui Rodricks,
contended that the state government had neither taken any action
pursuant to the communication nor any action-taken report was
submitted to the court.

He submitted that instead during the period rampant violations have
taken place by way of illegal construction from Nariman Point to Navy
Nagar and destruction of mangroves.

While a number of slums settled along south Mumbai coastline are
listed by a commissioner appointed by the high court, some high-rise
buildings, such as the controversial Adarsh Co-operative Housing
Society, are on the list of alleged violators of CRZ norms.

The matter will come up for hearing in January 2011.

No gimmicks, no pie in the sky, no bull. Proven, 20-year track record:
Just a click away

New CRZ norms a boon for real estate companies
January 12, 2011 11:51 AM
Munira Dongre

slum

The new rules allow slum rehab in the CRZ area, redevelopment of
dilapidated structures in this previously no-go area and higher FSI.
But benefits could take a while to come in

Up until now, due to existing prohibitive norms, most SRA projects
took place only in north Mumbai-mostly inland. However, the new norms
will allow such projects throughout the coastal city.

CRZ norms revised; likely to modify Mumbai’s coastline

By Indrajit Sen

Mumbai: The city’s sea skyline is set for a makeover. Construction
along the coastline could gain momentum now with the Union environment
ministry recently notifying new coastal zone regulations, lifting the
restrictions on floor space index (FSI) for the redevelopment of slum
colonies and dilapidated cessed buildings under the Coastal Regulation
Zone (CRZ).
There are over 80 large slum pockets and 300 small ones on the coast
between Cuffe Parade and Dahisar. Most builders were not interested in
redeveloping these pockets primarily because the FSI—the permissible
built-up area to the size of the plot—was restricted to between 1.25
and 1.6. The new notification, which came into effect recently, allows
such slum projects to get an FSI of 2.5 to 4.
The new regulations, however, do not give slum developers a carte
blanche. The state government will have to partner with builders in
redeveloping these slums and hold a minimum stake of 51%. A senior
state official said he was hopeful this would give a fillip to
affordable housing.
Also benefiting from the additional FSI will be more than 4,000
dilapidated cessed properties in the island city, and other “unsafe
buildings” falling under the CRZ.

BUILDERS’ BOON

• Extra FSI for slum redevelopment and old buildings under CRZ.
Construction boom expected along city coastline

• No-development zone reduced from 200 m to 100 m from high tide line.
Move will benefit fisherfolk

• Open spaces, parks and gardens in CRZ classified no-development
zones

• All projects more than 2 lakh sq ft require clearance from the
Centre. Builders must seek tenants’ consent sooner Union Environment
Ministry Rains FSI On Structures In CRZ II,

But Introduces Safeguards For Project Approval

Under the new norms, builders redeveloping these structures will get
an FSI of between 2.5 and 3, instead of an FSI of 2 that was allowed
by Coastal Zone Regulations, 1991.
As an ostensible safeguard, the environment ministry has mandated that
these projects can be executed only after public consultation. From
now on, the builder has to get the consent of the legally entitled
slum dweller or tenants of dilapidated cessed buildings before
approaching the environment ministry for project clearance.
Besides this, the ministry has streamlined the procedure for project
approvals following complaints. Earlier, a redevelopment project in a
CRZ II area of less than Rs 5
crore was approved by the state, while those above the amount had to
seek the Centre’s nod. Removing the old condition, the ministry has
now stipulated that projects above 2 lakh sq ft (built-up area) will
need its sanction. But before the MoEF comes into the picture, the
state Coastal Zone Management Authority will have to evaluate the
projects and recommend them to the Centre. Government sources said the
ministry changed the Rs 5-crore clause after it found that many
builders undervalued their projects to avoid the Centre’s clearance.
Insisting that redevelopment projects be carried out in an
“accountable and transparent manner”, the MoEF has ruled that the
Right To Information Act shall apply to all redevelopment or
reconstruction projects granted clearance by the authorities. Also, in
future, details of the slum rehabilitation scheme, including names of
eligible slum dwellers, will have to be revealed a month before
approving the project.
The new notification reduced by half the minimum no-development zone
of 200 m from the high tide line. The ministry said the change is
meant to meet the “increased demands of housing for fishing and other
traditional coastal communities”. There are 43 Koliwadas in the city,
housing around 1 lakh fishermen.
“Fishing settlement areas, identified under the development plan of
1981 or under records of the state government, shall be mapped and
declared CRZ III so that any development, including construction and
reconstruction, shall be undertaken in accordance with local Town and
Country Planning Regulations,” said the new notification.
Under the new coastal norms, open spaces, parks, gardens and
playgrounds indicated in developments plans within CRZ II shall be
categorized ‘no-development zones’. No residential or commercial use
of such open spaces will be allowed. However, an FSI of up to 15% will
be permitted for the construction of civic amenities, stadiums and
gymnasiums meant for recreational or sports-related activities on such
plots.
An area of up to 12 nautical miles into the sea will be used for
traditional fishing and related activities by local communities. “No
untreated sewage, effluents, fly ash or solid waste shall be let off
or dumped. A comprehensive plan for treatment of sewage generating
from coastal towns and cities shall be formulated within one year in
consultation with stakeholders including traditional coastal
communities, and implemented,” the notification said.
The ministry directed all state governments to demarcate all CRZ areas
using satellite maps.

Mapping Mangroves

The norms require the state Coastal Zone Management Authority to
classify CRZ areas and map mangroves falling under CRZ-I. Also, a
1,000-sq-m buffer zone along mangrove areas has to be colour-coded

Sand Mining, Groundwater Digging

Barring for rare minerals and oil exploration, mining has been banned.
Construction industry experts said that the move could affect the pace
and cost of projects

Sea Link phase II

The norms permit construction of roads, approach roads and missing
links in Mumbai’s CRZ-I areas. The permission will help the second
phase of the Sea Link

Discharge of Waste

Restrictions have been placed on coastline development and on throwing
untreated waste and effluents up to 12 nautical miles into the sea

Mapping Sea-Level Rise

Besides tidal currents, the state has to include hazard mapping based
on sea-level rise and shoreline changes

Kolis in Mumbai find new CRZ norms a fishy proposition
Published: Sunday, Jan 16, 2011, 3:00 IST
By Apoorva Dutt | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

When US president Barack Obama uncharacteristically took to the floor
to join a Koli dance in November, the images were beamed across the
world with the tacit affirmation that all was well with the oldest
community of Mumbai.

Last week’s redevelopment bonanza doled out to the city’s fishing
community should have sealed that image, but has it?

Uday Shanbhag spent five days living on Juhu beach with the Koli
community.

His project consisted of him ritualistically scribbling ‘kuberanige
niru beku’ on the sand twice a day (a palindrome phrase meaning ‘the
sea god wants more water’), drinking tea with Kolis, listening as they
got drunk and talkative in the evenings, and accompanying them on
swaying boats to pick up empty fishing lines in the early hours of the
morning.

Sunil, a Koli fisherman who lives a hundred steps away from the houses
of some of the richest people in the city, played his host and
teacher.

A friendly and soft-spoken man, Sunil is initially hesitant to comment
on either the new legislation or Shanbhag’s unexpected visit. “I don’t
know how the laws will affect me,” he shrugs.

“I am happy, but many family and friends were displaced in Thane and
Worli because of building projects. Such things should be prevented.”

Professor Sanjay Ranade is the head of the Communications department
of Mumbai University, and has been working closely with the Koli
community for the past four years.

“Trombe and Worli will be the worst affected, along with Thane and
Madh Island, because of their proximity to the water,” he points out.

Ranade believes that the legislation cannot be judged yet. “We made
the sea link, and we love the easy traffic, but we won’t know the
repercussions for another ten years — how the pillars have changed
fish patterns, which currents are broken, and so on.”

Ashok Ram, a fisherman from the Worli Koliwada, places the blame for
his diminishing catches on company trawlers whose large catches leave
close to nothing for him.

“Look at this,” he says, pointing at his catch for the day — ten small
fishes and two large ones. “This is all I will take to the market. Of
this, I will take very little back home.” Ashok remembers when he took
to fishing in his early teens.

“I used to be able to see the bottom of the sea, and now there is so
much pollution that I can taste the chemicals in the fish I eat,” he
says. He also places the blame partly on the construction of the
Bandra-Worli sea link, saying, “My entire family has been displaced
twice because of development. Where is the development for us?”

The new plan, to be implemented within two years, includes amendments
aimed at protecting erosion-prone areas, re-allocation of slum
development, to public finance to avoid exploitation of the community
and providing basic infrastructure facilities for sustaining their
livelihood.

Under the liberalised coastal regulation zone (CRZ) rules, the
koliwadas have been placed under the CRZ- III category, making them
eligible for a floor space index (FSI) — the ratio between the built-
up area and the plot area available — of 2.5 as opposed to the earlier
cap of 1.33 FSI.

Ranade believes that this will not change much, because of the
staggering number of non-Koli tenants living in koliwadas. Some areas
have a ratio of one Koli for every ten tenants.

“These tenants have been living here for many years, and their tenant
rights will not allow the full benefits of the cap increase to go
directly to the Kolis,” he says.

Developers have dismissed the new policies as vague and impractical,
environmentalists have attacked them for ignoring ecological issues,
while the National Fishermen’s Forum chairperson Mathany Saldhana has
called it a “sleight of the hand” by the ministry towards opening
coastal lands to large-scale development.

Others have hailed it as a piece of legislation, which, if implemented
correctly, could vastly improve the living conditions of more than 25%
of the country’s population — more than 10 million fishermen who
depend directly on the sea for livelihood.

Jaimram Lochan, a private builder, says, “It doesn’t matter whether
land belongs to the Kolis or to the government. The contractor will
always be the middleman who benefits.”

Ghanshyam is a fisherman in the Thane Koliwada. When asked about his
livelihood, he takes out a small notebook in which he has neatly noted
his daily catch for the last two years.

The numbers’ upward spikes become less frequent as the pages turn,
with the catch eventually dwindling below a dozen on an average. “It’s
the pollution, it’s the trawlers,” he says. “There is nothing but
problems. I have very little hope.”

“Mumbai doesn’t care about the Koli community,” Ranade says
dismissively.

“But they are multicultural on a level that the ‘other’ Mumbai is not.
Every koliwada has a Muslim pir that must be served with a plate of
offerings during celebrations. When the Obamas came here, we showed
him the Koli dance. The truth is that Mumbai has no cultural identity
without the Kolis. But they have been abandoned by us, and are left in
a cultural limbo.”

Comment

Expanding national highways is not the road to the future
Yatish Rajawat | Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The myopia of our mandarins continues. Union minister of road
transport and highways Kamal Nath, on taking office, grandiosely
announced that ‘the central government intends to spend Rs100,000
crore on building roads’. He said he wanted to build 20km of roads
every day.

One may ask what is wrong with the idea, as these roads will connect
villages and make travelling within cities better. But specifically,
these are not village or city roads; these are highways and they are
not being built, but are being expanded. A four-lane highway is being
turned into a six-lane.

The first question is: Why is the government spending so much on
national highways when the common man rarely uses them? India has the
world’s second largest road network at around 33,00,000 km of roads;
national highways constitute just 70,548km or around 2%. The
government intends to spend Rs100,000 crore on sprucing up 2% of
India’s roads! Of course, it must be noted that the national highways
are important for the movement of goods, since they carry 50% of the
country’s freight.
Article continues below the advertisement…

But it still doesn’t explain why the government is spending such a
large sum of money on national highways. If this money was spent on a
billion people, each would get Rs1,000; it can fund MNREGA for more
than 10 years; it is also several times the amount that the government
has spent on city roads under JNNURM.

The reason this is happening is because our bureaucrats and ministers
seek importance from how much their ministries can spend.If they don’t
have the money, they will give the projects to private companies, who
will charge every individual who uses these roads.In a way, this money
will come out of your pocket as you will either pay the toll every
time you use these highways, or in the form of higher prices for
commodities that travel on these roads to reach you.

The private companies may or may not rebuild these roads, but they
will certainly build toll plazas and the ministry will give them the
license to charge toll. And this is the second reason for not fixing
an expenditure amount: it will allow the ministry to give out licenses
to companies to collect money from the common man.
If the government wanted to address the real problem, which is the
movement of freight and passengers, it would have sought a more
sustainable solution.

The ministry is called road transportation but its focus is on roads,
not transportation. Which is why against the Rs100,000 crore being
spent on roads, it is spending just Rs74 crore on public
transportation.

It is a fact that vehicles using diesel or petrol are not a viable
solution for moving freight or passenger; trains are more efficient.
Moreover, oil prices are rising. Most oilfields have been emptied and
the daily production is steadily falling; corporates are trying to
find new sources of oil like shale oil.

Oil will never be cheap and will never meet the needs of the world.
But electricity can be generated by coal produced locally, which will
remain available for a longer period of time. Locking such a large
part of our capital in building road infrastructure, which is bound to
become costlier to use, will only affect India’s competitiveness in
the coming years.

In such an environment, we should be channelising these funds towards
building rail corridors for freight and passengers. Another part of
the government is working on such a project. The Delhi-Mumbai
industrial corridor will have a freight railway line alongside. This
entire project requires Rs400,000 crores and is currently starved of
funds. Why doesn’t the ministry of road transportation divert its
resources to support this corridor?

Most passenger traffic on the national highways is concentrated around
less than 500km of travel. Here too, electrified rail or metro will
prove more efficient. Even cities and state government have realised
that metros are the best means for mass transportation. Unfor
tunately, the ministry of road transportation seems to be stuck in the
19th century, when roads were the preferred mode of transport.

If a government scam is defined as a loss of public funds due to wrong
policies, expanding the national highways should be counted as such.
The prime minister needs to step in and set the priority for this
ministry, otherwise future generations will never forgive us for
creating a colossal mess of merely widening the national highways.

…and I am Sid Harth

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

* Jairam’s Gandhi Giri: why should he explain for something that
is true..?
* India to protect the environment from damaging development
projects

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unread,

Jan 19, 2011, 1:05:54 AM1/19/11

Everything you always wanted to know about India and more

← India’s Superpower Euphoria CCXI

India’s Superpower Euphoria CCXII
http://cogitoergosum.co.cc/2011/01/19/indias-superpower-euphoria-ccxii/

19/01/2011 by navanavonmilita

* January 18, 2011, 12:06 PM IST

Corruption Drives Even Mighty to Lose Faith

* Comments (4)

By Paul Beckett

It was heartening – and surprising – to see the range of prominent
people who are bemoaning the state of things in India. In a letter
published Tuesday by many of the big English-language dailies, a group
of powerful business people, former judges, two ex-governors of the
Reserve Bank of India, among others, called for governance in the
country to improve rapidly.

The “open letter to our leaders” said the country has “witnessed
eruption of a number of egregious events.” It doesn’t really need to
specify them; we all know what they are.

“What we are deeply worried about is not to allow India’s huge growth
potential and poverty alleviation challenges to be diluted or
digressed from, and which would be a great loss, especially to the
poor and the dispossessed,” it says.

The nation’s politicians would do well to listen. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh is reportedly mulling an imminent Cabinet reshuffle. He
has a chance to evict those who are doing a less than stellar job and
ensure that all members of the nation’s governing council are above
reproach.

It will be an important litmus test of his sincerity in bringing about
meaningful change that can alter the poisonous level of public
discourse, for which the government has only itself to blame (though
we noticed that the letter also called for a distinction between
dissent and disruption – presumably a jab at the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s Parliamentary tactics in the winter session.)

Those behind the letter represent a constituency that the government
needs to keep on board and can ill afford to alienate. The “aam aadmi”
might be the biggest voting block and the middle class less of a
political concern for the government. Yet, the people who signed this
letter are the types that play the biggest role in crafting India’s
international image.

They are Davos attendees, heads of international business committees,
“connected” citizens who are avowed India supporters suffering some
disillusionment despite an economy growing at more than 8% a year.

If a foreign investor looking at India sees its great and good
lamenting that corruption is “the biggest issue corroding the fabric
of our nation,” then why would they put their money here?

Of course, it generally takes two to be corrupt—government officials
can’t be paid off unless there’s someone with the ability to pay them
off. (We’re not talking about petty street-level shakedowns, where the
bribe-giver probably has little leverage to say no) To that end, we
think this group would do well to send off a similar letter on the
dangers of corruption to the rest of India Inc.

* BJP,
* Congress Party,
* Corruption,
* India Inc.,
* Manmohan Singh

Comments (4 of 4)

*
o
+ 1:46 am January 19, 2011
+ Vijay wrote:

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is reportedly mulling an imminent
Cabinet reshuffle. He has a chance to evict those who are doing a less
than stellar job and ensure that all members of the nation’s governing
council are above reproach.” Mammohan Singh is as corrupt as the cabal
(led by Sonia Gandhi) he answers to. Expecting him to clean house is
akin to expecting the Generals across India’s western border to really
return the army to the barracks. The Gandhi/Nehru family have set the
bar for corruption.

That it is now pervasive among all parties is partly also due to the
same folks who are now voicing their concern after leaving office.
Where was their conscience or sense of civic duty when they occupied
office? Every one of them could have resigned when in office to
protest corruption -as it surely was there in their time – even if it
was, in absolute terms, much less that what one sees today. I
*
o
+ 10:09 pm January 18, 2011
+ Morgan Harry wrote:

“Of course, it generally takes two to be corrupt—government officials
can’t be paid off unless there’s someone with the ability to pay them
off” – This article.

Precisely.

A latest survey by an International body estimates that about 54% of
the Indians “grease the wheels” routinely. If you include the number
of people who DEMAND bribes into this, a full 75% of the population
either GIVES and/or DEMANDS bribes for their daily activities.

Here, the active bribe givers and takers are in ALL political parties.
BJP/AIADMK & NDA is as corrupt as Congress/DMK.& UPA.

This is a common knowledge to most Indians. How come our “esteemed,
prominent personalities are bemoaning the state of affairs in India ”
only NOW?

The fact of the matter is most Corporations, Govt officials,
Politicians, Ministers, Judges, people working for police, courts, CBI
etc are viscerally corrupt.

Including the Davos attendees, the hypocrites.

Then, who can set things right?
*
o
+ 1:15 pm January 18, 2011
+ CDIAS wrote:

What hope does a country have when politicians and bureaucrats
blatantly abuse the system. Corruption is endemic in Indian society.
Does this say something about us as a people ? Are we Indians
inherently corrupt or is it that a certain kind of cretin makes it
into politics and our civil service ? I would say the latter.
So, how would we tackle this ? Surely not using the organisations that
we have. Thinking logically I can see only one way that things will
progress. A critical limit of people’s patience will be reached as in
Tunisia and then our society will be cleansed of corrupt politicians
and bureaucrats. Is this what we want ? Do we want a civil war in
India ? Wake up India, do not let the cretin destroy our hard won
freedoms. I do not want to see India disintegrate because of the slimy
creatures who call themselves our leaders. Maybe a Chinese style
policy of a bullet in the back of the head is what we need.

Jai Hind !!
*
o
+ 12:45 pm January 18, 2011
+ Mayank Bhatnagar wrote:

Not only for the poor, even for those who are trying to lead honest
lives in India corruption is extremely demoralising. Corruption in
India is like a two way street: it benefits both the giver and taker
starting with a small time traffic offender who bribes a cop to a
large telecom company that bribes politicians or political parties for
licenses, it’s how the ’system’ works here. Many honest Indian
nationals, sadly, find more satisfaction in living as second class
citizens in foreign lands than to live in the Banana Republic of
India.

Can’t control supply of corruption: Jairam
TNN, Jan 19, 2011, 05.38am IST

Comments (7)

Tags:vedanta|Jairam Ramesh|Confederation of Indian Industry|CII

NEW DELHI: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday made a veiled
attack on corrupt practices in the corporate world saying, “I can
control the demand for corruption but someone has to control the
supply of corruption too. I cannot stop that.”

Ramesh was addressing the media after a closed-door interaction with
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on environmental governance
and climate change. He made the remark in context of the number of
companies found flouting green laws and his ministry’s ability to
check the violations.

Clarifying that he was not on a witch-hunt of high profile violators,
Ramesh said, “I am not sniffing around for a big guy to catch… my
actions are not suo motu actions. My actions are in response to the
representations I receive from different organisations.”

The minister held the first formal meeting with CII delegates since
taking charge of the ministry in wake of sharp reactions from industry
and his Cabinet colleagues on his strong action against violators and
in implementation of green laws in cases like Vedanta, coal mining
regulations and Adarsh.

His purpose of meeting CII on Tuesday and slated meeting with Ficci on
January 24 would be to “alleviate fears and concerns of industry that
environment is becoming a constraint to industrial growth”.

Taking on critics within and outside the government who raise concerns
about sacrificing economic growth at the alter of environmental
regulations, Ramesh said, “I don’t think animal spirits would be
unleashed by giving up these laws.”

CII and Ficci will form an advisory panel, which will consult the
ministry on a quarterly basis, he said.

Comments (7)

Recommended (2)

Vivek Burse (Mumbai)
7 mins ago (10:42 AM)

Is Mr. Minister calling corruption as s business activity? Can we
illustrate this as an example in book for understanding the concept of
Supply and Demand? Hell !!! The demand is on its high pick. If you
able to stop Demand then I will assure you supplier will quit this
business…. But is this to you to stop of control demand…..???
Agree (1)

Sen (Chennai)
8 mins ago (10:41 AM)

There are honest officials amongst Public office holders. Its just
that they are never in the position of taking any major decisions,
save a rare few. Its heartening of a minister at least talk about it –
in the company of the Sharad Pawars & Yediyurappa! Here are some
suggestions: 1) Let the Minister start by promoting officers by merit
and strengthen his team. 2) Let every pollutant organization pay for
such increase in team size – akin to what the income tax team did. 3)
Set Goals for ‘recharging’ or ‘replenishing’ of the environment more.
Agree (1)

sumer (pondy)
10 mins ago (10:39 AM)

Wonderfully classic case of kettle calling the pot BLACK. The aam
aadmi is being painfully roasted in this fire.

Ganapathi Hegde (Dharwad)
27 mins ago (10:22 AM)

Corruption is a two-way action. As per law the person who demands the
bribe and the person who pays both are the offenders. In the
commercial and the industrial sector it appears; just like the prices
of goods and services, the ‘bribe money’ also depends on the market
forces ! It is said this Minister J. Ramesh is an economist. But, I
fail to understand how could there be uncontrolled ‘Supply’ of
something without any ‘Demand’.
Agree (3)Recommend (1)

Praveen (Hyderabad)
48 mins ago (10:01 AM)

The distinguished and honourable minister should know that “THERE IS A
SUPPLY ONLY IF THERE IS A DEMAND!!! “
Agree (3)Disagree (1)Recommend (1)

vb dandapani (Portland)
2 hrs ago (08:01 AM)

Mr.Loose Tongue ! You are a “Hon’ble” minister and thus a member of
Congress Party. You should place this question before your High
Command and Cabinet, both, and seek a correct, ever-lasting and strong
solution in the interest of the Nation in whose name you have taken
Oath. Till the, please step down and pray empty-stomach for 365 days x
7 years.
Agree (11)Disagree (4)Recommend (7)

Kris (Pune) replies to vb dandapani
1 hr ago (09:25 AM)

JAI RAM !!! Mr Minister. If Corporate does not pay bribes, NO Projects
will be passed. Also Inspectors will throttle the industry so much,
that they will keep answering inspectors and not get time to work. 4
out of the 5 fingers are pointing to you and your Party, Mr Minister.
Lets see one clean deal in this year. Just one. Make a start, and we
will finish it.
Agree (5)Disagree (4)Recommend (3)

Government to clip ministers’ discretionary wings
Gaurav Choudhury and Anupama Airy, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, January 19, 2011

First Published: 00:09 IST(19/1/2011)
Last Updated: 01:23 IST(19/1/2011)

14 Comments

Block of empty chairs for the Cabinet Ministers during Arjuna Awards
ceremony in the Rashtrapati…

Rocked by the recent spate of scams, the government is all set to
reduce or even abolish most of the discretionary powers that central
ministers and chief ministers presently enjoy. Arbitrary use of these
powers, many of which are loosely defined, has been largely blamed for
the some of corruption
scandals in high offices.

Appointments and transfers of bureaucrats and top executives of public
sector undertakings (PSUs), quiet instructions to change file notings
on important policy prescriptions to favour industry houses, power to
make discretionary allocations such as coal linkages, power to decide
how the lands that fall under his ministry’s ambit should be utilised
and sanctions and approvals of projects are among the undefined powers
that ministers presently enjoy.

Most of these are set to be done away with.

“The process to curb the discretionary powers of ministers has
started,” a top government official said.

A senior bureaucrat, who had served as a principal secretary to a
chief minister, said ministers do not hesitate to exploit
discretionary powers for populist gains.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTPopups/190111/19_01_pg01b.jpg

“The chief minister ordered purchase of power at rates as high as Rs
12 per unit, just days before the Assembly elections were notified. In
normal circumstances, the state was struggling to even buy power at
nominal rates of Rs 2 per unit,” the bureaucrat said.

The GoM headed by the finance minister will meet next week to begin
discussions to recommend doing away with these powers and suggest
measures to tackle corruption in public offices.

The department of personnel and training (DoPT) has written to all
ministries seeking details of discretionary powers enjoyed by the
respective ministers.

“It is requested that a list of discretionary powers enjoyed by your
minister as also the views of the ministry/department on
relinquishment of the same be conveyed to us,” the DoPT said in a
letter to secretaries of all central ministries and departments.

The eight-member GoM, which has been asked to submit its report within
60 days, was set up in the backdrop of the five-point plan of action
outlined by Congress president Sonia Gandhi last month to tackle
corruption “head-on”.

The GoM’s terms of reference also include state funding of elections,
ensuring full transparency in public procurement and contracts and
enunciation of a new public procurement policy and introduction of
open and competitive system of exploiting natural resources.

The government has been facing an onslaught from the Opposition over a
series of scams, including the 2G spectrum allocation, CWG and Adarsh
Housing Society.

14 Comments
…

Ivan 35 minutes ago
What about powers of rotten onions like sharad pawar????

karmicsoliloquy.blogspot.com/

Kseg2007 3 hours ago
Another eye wash…pls don’t expect anything…

1 person liked this.
*

Kljain 4 hours ago
The legislatures ie. MP and MLA should not be executive,as in USA.
PM should appoint secretaries to carrying the polices approved by
legislature and they should act as guard.

Bay Area 5 hours ago
Yea, that will do the job. There will be no corruption in government
anymore. keep trying to extinguish the inferno with a mouth blow.

Pillaipmg10 5 hours ago
dear in line editor, Discretinery poiwers can be permitted ibly when
the person act in a DISPASSINATE manner but alas Indianpoliticians can
not act in that manner as they are highly partisan in their thinking
hence this problem.The cabinet must function as a joint one and every
policy must be disvussed at the caninet level and decision taken so
that no minister can act as if is unaware of it/Lack of cabinet
discussion creates an environment where selfish memvers are FREE to
act as per their wish eg 2G specturn is such one hence proper cabinet
system must be follwed dated Jnaury 20th 2011 time 0424Hrs ist AM

o
Pillaipmg10 6 hours ago
dear on line editor, Cabinet reshuffling to being in more efficient
uncorrupted and members with knowledge and intelligent will help the
government to improve their perfor,ance and thus public comfidence in
the government.Selection of ministers be not nased on total vores
polleded but purely MERIT and the criteria that SC ST ne a minister
must be considered as an obsolelet one and discarded for efficieny
dated Janaury 20th 2011 time 0412Hrs IST AM

Puneet 8 hours ago
This will be a good step towards removing corruption

1 person liked this.
o

Gandhivaad 7 hours ago in reply to Puneet
Puneet you are right. While they are finally on the path of trying to
do some good for the country, they also need to get rid of all the
IAS, IPS positions and that will seal the deal. What will happen in
the future we don’t know? But I am very positive that the UPA
government will not accomplish anything. This will drag on for years
and the elections will come and go. A new group of thieves will take
over if the current thieves loose. People have already forgotten
because they are so consumed in Facebook. Jai Hind. Long Live
Gandhivaad.

1 person liked this.
o

BM 6 hours ago in reply to Gandhivaad
I fully agree with you. I think that Antonia Maino and Manmohan Singh
never expected the public rage about these scandals, corruption, price
hikes and on top of that came the news that as far as Rahul Khan is
concerned Hindus are the most dangerous “terrorists” not the LeT.
These all half hearted excercises are to pour cold water on the public
rage and bid for the time, still three and a half years are left,
public will forget and will vote these crooks back.

1 person liked this.
o

chezhian 8 hours ago
No amendment of discretionary power or anything else would bring any
difference with our Ministers and
chief Ministers unless there is change in their mind set. Now
corruption is taken granted and
govt is more interested to cover up. All Congress spokespersons are
interested to blame BJP when they are asked about their failure in 2G
or CWG. Instead of answering directly, they started to talk of BJP.
Let BJP be corrupt. Doest it mean that Congress should also be
corrupt. or they justify corruption.Congress is ruling the Country for
decades together. Congress is responsible for all the ills of this
Country.

Edit

2 people liked this.
o
Ramesh Talwani 6 hours ago in reply to chezhian
WHATEVER SAID IS TOTALLY TRUE.NOTHING WILL CHANGE UNLESS PRIMEMINISTER
IS CHANGED.

vic 8 hours ago in reply to chezhian
It will make a difference. Actually, the BJP has zero credibility –
just look at the corruption in Karnataka. Also, they were responsible
for the telecom scam when they were in power in 2001. Also balco sale
scam.
The fact is both BJP and congress politicians are from the same
society, and the Indian people are also a corrupt people. How many
people sell their votes.

2 people liked this.
o

Guest 6 hours ago in reply to vic
The running dogs of Congress will fall to the lowest common
denominator. You are comparing 20 crore scam with 1,76,000 lakh crores
rupees. Why you even mention BJP (apart from the fact you are a anti-
Hindu Christian) when Congress ruled India for 57 years ? The total
setup is from Congress. Get education in a proper school instead of
Christian madarsa.

As Bhardwaj mulls Yeddyurappa prosecution, BJP seeks his recall

New Delhi, Bangalore After holding their fire for a while, the BJP on
Tuesday decided to go on the against Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj
once again. The party’s top leaders and MPs from Karnataka are set to
meet President Pratibha Patil next week, seeking the Governor’s recall
for misusing the Raj Bhawan to destabilise the BSY government.

The immediate trigger for the BJP’s move is the Governor’s disclosure
that he was considering a petition seeking permission to prosecute
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, his two sons and state Home Minister R
Ashok for alleged land scams.

Sensing trouble, the Chief Minister along with several ministers
rushed and held a lengthy discussion with senior BJP leader Arun
Jaitley to chart the counter strategy. Sources said the party would
back BSY and take the Governor head-on.

Even if the Governor accords sanction for prosecution of Yeddyurappa —
as demanded by two Bangalore-based lawyers under the umbrella of the
Justice Lawyer Forum in their petition — it does not make it mandatory
for him to step down, said leaders close to him. But such a move by
the Governor would surely embarrass the BJP which is now claiming high
moral ground over corruption. The lawyers had filed a petition before
the Governor last month.

Speaking on the sidelines of a function at the Raj Bhawan on Tuesday,
the Governor said he was examining the “ticklish” matter of permission
for prosecution of the Chief Minister. “I have to study whether I am
legally competent to deal with it and the merits of the case,” he
added.

The BJP, sources said, wanted to give the issue a political colour and
launch a propaganda campaign against the Governor accusing him of
playing mischief at the instance of the Congress and the JD(S). It was
decided that BJP MPs led by some of the national leaders would meet
the President on Monday to complain against Bhardwaj.

After a prolonged war of words with Bhardwaj, Yeddyurappa had smoked
the peace pipe a fortnight ago, largely at the instance of Jaitley,
who has been asked to pay special attention to the party’s Karnataka
affairs. BSY dropped plans to complain to the President and announced
that he would call on the Governor every fortnight. Jaitley had also
met Bhardwaj in a conciliation exercise.

Both BJP spokespersons Ravi Shankar Prasad and Shahnawaz Hussain went
to the Karnataka Bhawan to meet the CM. Prasad later said Bhardwaj was
acting like an “agent of the Congress” and was a “missile guided by
the Congress”.

‘Corruption eroding fabric of our nation… must be tackled urgently’

Express news service

Posted: Jan 19, 2011 at 0028 hrs IST
Print Email To Editor Post Comments

Karnataka

since 1986, when Karnataka replaced its vigilance commission with the
Lokayukta, the latter has earned a reputation as one of the country’s
most effective institutions in tackling corruption, thanks largely to
the initiative of two retired judges who have held that position in
the last decade — N Venkatachala and current incumbent Santosh Hegde.

A special police unit works under the Lokayukta. All powers for
investigating and prosecuting corrupt government servants are vested
with the Lokayukta police.

Venkatachala, appointed by the Congress government of 1999-2004,
personally led raids on officials under provisions of the Prevention
of Corruption Act ,1988. This was despite court judgments that the Act
can be enforced only by police. Though hundreds of officials were
publicly caught taking bribes, few were prosecuted.

In contrast, Hegde, appointed by the JDS-BJP government in August
2006, appears in public only after his police have completed raids and
arrests. He has assembled a crack police team and given his office
more credibility by taking the battle to ministers, elected leaders,
and IAS and IPS officials. BJP MLA N Sampangi was trapped in 2008
accepting Rs 5 lakh to address concerns of a resident of his
constituency. Katta Subramanya Naidu, though powerful, was forced to
resign as IT Minister last year after Lokayukta investigations
revealed his involvement in a land scam.

Last September, the BJP government moved to give the Lokayukta suo
motu powers to prosecute class-I officers including bureaucrats, but
left politicians out of its purview. The government has, however,
proposed that the Lokayukta must first tell the government in writing
of “the grievance/allegation on which they want to start suo motu
investigation”.

The Lokayukta has powers to address corruption issues involving
government servants up to the Chief Minister. It needs government
clearance to punish such officials — something rarely accorded.

Madhya Pradesh

The Lokayukta office replaced the state vigilance commission in 1982.
The Lokayukta is assisted by a deputy and has the authority to
investigate complaints against all public servants except the Assembly
Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and judicial officers. The deputy
Lokayukta can hear cases involving officers in corporations, vice-
chancellors, registrars and cooperative societies. Under the Lokayukta
is a Special Police Establishment (SPE) headed by a director general
of police, assisted by two IGs and an SP. Besides the Bhopal
headquarters, the Lokayukta has seven divisions, each headed by an SP.
There are 26 deputy SPs, seven special public prosecutors, 41
inspectors and about 150 of ranks deputy inspector and below. Not many
posts are vacant. The Lokayukta and the deputy Lokayukta are vested
with powers under the Evidence Act and the CrPC for conducting
investigations. All proceedings before them are deemed to be judicial;
both are considered courts under the Contempt of Court Act.

Uttar Pradesh

In a state where the Chief Minister recently dropped a minister
(Rajesh Tripathi, homeopathy and religious endowments) after the
Lokayukta had found him guilty of irregularities, the Lokayukta still
wishes he had a dedicated team of investigators. His office has only
three police officers of DSP rank and three judicial officers of
additional district judge rank to investigate them, says Lokayukta N K
Mehrotra.

Of the government’s six anti-corruption agencies, none reports to the
Lokayukta. “If we ever ask any of them to conduct an investigation,
they say they need a government direction,” Mehrotra said. The
Lokayukta’s office has been demanding judicial powers and
infrastructure to match those in MP and Karnataka.

Orissa

Orissa in 1970 became the first state to start the Lokpal-Lokayukta
system but the law was repealed in 1992 by the Biju Patnaik
government. The institution was revived in 1995 and the law amended in
2005. It provides for a Lokayukta with the same powers as that of a
Lokpal but Orissa has always had only a Lokpal discharging the
function of both. The Lokpal has no investigation wing, and the state
vigilance department does not report to him, but he can ask the
government for vigilance officials to help him in an investigation;
they would then report to him. The Lokpal cannot act against anyone on
his own; if his recommendations are not carried out, he can send a
report to the Governor.

Punjab

Punjab has a Lokpal rather than a Lokayukta; the vigilance bureau does
not report to him. The bureau works independently under the Chief
Secretary. The first Lokpal was appointed in 1995 but it was only
recently that draft rules defining his role were sent to the
government for final approval. The position has frequently been vacant
for long periods. The present Lokpal, former judge D S Dhaliwal, is
short of staff to deal with complaints. “Around 60 complaints are
pending as there are no officers. About 70 complaints have been
investigated and recommendations sent to the Governor, who forwarded
it to the government, but the government took no action. Complaints
mostly deal with selection and service matters, but some have been
against ministers and other politicians,” said a member of the
Lokpal’s staff.

Haryana

The vigilance bureau does not report to the Lokayukta. He can look
into complaints against any public servant, including the Chief
Minister, but it is up to the government to act on his
recommendations. The Lokayukta can ask any public servant to produce
records pertaining to a specific matter within a specified time. N K
Sud, who retired as Lokayukta this month, calls it a toothless body.
He has since been succeeded by Justice Pritam Pal. Sud too cited the
cases of Karnataka and MP. At a meeting with the Prime Minister and
the President, the Association of Lokayuktas had recommended a Central
law to ensure uniformity in the functioning of such offices.

Maharashtra

It has both a Lokayukta (a retired judge) and an Upa-Lokayukta (a
retired IAS officer) but their powers are limited. The Lok Ayukta has
no jurisdiction to investigate action by a public servant in certain
cases, such as action taken for investigating a crime; appointments or
salaries; grant of awards; and if any alternative tribunal or court
exists to redress a certain grievance. The Lok Ayukta has no
jurisdiction to investigate commercial relations between a public
servant and contractors, and cannot intervene if any action has been
taken with the approval of a judge, the chairman of the Maharashtra
Public Service Commission, the Chief Election Commissioner of the
state, the Speaker of the Assembly or the Chairman of the Legislative
Council. The office receives about 12,000 complaints a year. The Anti-
Corruption Bureau of the state police reports not to the Lok Ayukta
but to the state police chief. At times, it co-operates with the Lok
Ayukta if the two are working on a case together or the Lok Ayukta
asks it for assistance.

(Inputs: Johnson T A, Milind Ghatwai, virendra nath Bhatt, Debabrata
Mohanty, Harpreet Bajwa, Rajendra Khatry, Rakshit Sonawane)

Forget 2G, target Mayawati: Rahul tells cadres

Express News Service
Posted: Jan 19, 2011 at 0536 hrs IST

Lucknow A day after UP Congressmen expressed concern over price rise
and corruption at a meeting of the coordination committee, AICC
General Secretary Rahul Gandhi told them there was no need for them to
be defensive on these issues; they should be aggressive like an
opposition party and raise local issues of corruption and lack of
development under the Mayawati government.

He told meeting, which was called to lay down an action plan for
success in the 2012 Assembly elections, that the controversy over 2G
spectrum was not an issue for villages, and the Centre alone could not
be blamed for price rise. Since states also had a responsibility for
price rise, there was no need for Congressmen to be on the backfoot.

A senior party leader said Rahul Gandhi told them that they should
stop assessing the number of seats which the Congress would get in
2012.

“He told us to think positive, work hard and have belief in our
abilities to ensure the party’s victory in 2012 elections in UP,” said
Azharuddin, Congress MP from Moradabad.

Digvijay Singh, AICC General Secretary in charge of UP, said, “Rahul
Gandhi told us that we will make the government in the state with full
energy.”

It was also decided that the party would declare its candidates before
May 31 in consultation with local leaders.

Sources said that in a closed-door meeting of senior party
functionaries, some frank observations were made regarding the party’s
future. It was discussed that the fate of the Congress in the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections would depend on its success in UP in 2012, because the
party’s base in states like Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan was slipping.
It was observed that issues like the 2G spectrum allotment do not
affect voters in the long run and the UP Congress should concentrate
on raising the issue of corruption in UP, especially in Central
government-funded schemes, which affect the people in the state
directly.

Since the functioning of AICC-appointed observers came under
criticism, it was decided the selection of candidates would be done at
the local level. The proposals on the probable names would be
collected from the district-level committees, which will have
observers appointed by state Congress committee and local leaders. The
meeting of AICC screening committee would also take place in the
state.

Digvijay Singh said it was decided to form district and state-level
monitoring committees to keep a watch on the implementation of all
Centrally funded schemes in the state. The state-level committee would
be headed by state Congress president and would include union
ministers from the state. In all, 16 Centrally funded schemes will be
monitored.

SC/STs missing in pvt sector jobs: India Inc’s first caste census

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer
Posted: Jan 19, 2011 at 0400 hrs IST

New Delhi The first-ever caste census of India Inc’s human resources
has revealed that the proportion of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe employees in the private sector in some of the most
industrialised states of the country hardly reflects their strength in
the general population of those states.

The only exception is Tamil Nadu, which ranks number one in
industrialisation and employment (by number of factories and persons,
according to the Annual Survey of Industries 2008-09). SCs/STs account
for almost 18 per cent of the industrial workforce and 20 per cent of
the state’s population.

In sharp contrast are some of the other most industrialised states
such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and
West Bengal, which show a sharp mismatch between SCs/STs as a
percentage of the total workforce in the private sector and as a
percentage of the states’ total population.

Living under the constant threat that the government may reserve jobs
in the private sector as part of its inclusive growth agenda, the
Confederation of Indian Industry, the country’s largest industry
chamber, undertook a caste census of its members spread across 22
states and Union territories.

Covering 8,250 members of the CII, together employing 35 lakh people,
it gives a flavour of the manpower mix in India Inc.

SCs/STs, for instance, make up 19.1 per cent of Maharashtra’s
population but their share in the private sector human resources is
only 5 per cent. In Gujarat and Karnataka, SCs/STs are just about 9
per cent of the staff strength, but account for 22 per cent and 23 per
cent respectively of the state population.

The survey, in a nutshell, reveals that companies in the least
industrialised eastern region, where jobs are far and few, have the
highest percentage of SC/ST employees. So, in Bihar — which ranks a
distant 17 as per the Annual Survey of Industries 2008-09 — they
together constitute a fourth of the total workforce, whereas they form
just 16.6 per cent of the state’s total population. Chhattisgarh is a
shade better, with more number of factories, but here too, half of the
total workforce comprises SCs/STs, compared to them making up 43.4 per
cent of the population.

The private sector in the western region comes as a surprise.
Maharashtra, the hub of India Inc, is second only to Tamil Nadu in
terms of industrialisation and employment. CII members in the state
employ 20.72 lakh people in the state, almost 57 per cent of the total
employee base considered in the survey by the chamber. But SC/ST
proportion in the workforce is one-fourth of their percentage in the
total population. In Madhya Pradesh that ranks 11 in industrialisation
and workforce, SCs/STs account for 11 per cent of the private sector’s
total staff strength, less than a third of their strength in the
state’s population.

States in south are an exception. The private sector in Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala has on its rolls a remarkably high
percentage of SCs/STs. Tamil Nadu — where the politically driven
Dravidian movement significantly empowered the backward castes — is
distinct because it also ranks number one in terms of the number of
employees and factories. SCs/STs here account for 18 per cent of the
workforce in CII’s member companies, and 20 per cent of the state’s
population.

In Kerala, for entirely different reasons such as 100 per cent
literacy, the percentage of SCs/STs in the private sector is higher
than their share in the population.

In the north, Delhi and Haryana buck the general trend, where the gap
between SCs/STs at work and their representation in the population is
significantly higher. The CII survey of the private sector’s manpower
mix in Chandigarh, Punjab and Rajasthan shows that SC/ST proportion
there is 25-50 per cent lower than their strength in the total
population.

Tell all who has black money stashed abroad: SC to govt

Agencies
Posted: Jan 14, 2011 at 1447 hrs IST

New Delhi Talking tough, the Supreme Court on Friday questioned the
government why it was reluctant to disclose the names of Indian
nationals who have allegedly stashed black money in foreign banks.

“What is the difficulty in disclosing the information,” a Bench
comprising B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar asked when Solicitor
General Gopal Subramanium informed the Bench that the government has
got the details but did not want to reveal it.

The court’s remarks came after the government contended that it has
got the information from the German government pertaining to the bank
accounts of Indian citizens in Liechtenstein Bank there.

“What is the privilege you are claiming for not disclosing the
information (about those who have money deposited in foreign banks),”
the Bench asked Subramanium.

After the court’s poser, Subramanium submitted that he would take
instructions from the government with reference to the names of the
Indian nationals holding bank accounts in foreign countries.

The court was hearing a petition filed by noted criminal lawyer Ram
Jethmalani, who along with some retired bureaucrats and police
officers approached it seeking directions to the government to take
steps to bring black money stashed in foreign bank back to the
country.

The court said it would like persons including Pune-based businessman
Hassan Ali Khan, who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate
(ED) in connection with alleged black money stashed in foreign banks,
to be impleaded as a party to the petition.

“If the names of the account holders are before us then why not
implead them in the case. Let them come,” the court.

The Centre also submitted that it has no problem in placing status
report on its investigation on any individual.

“I am prepared to give status report on any individual. There is no
difficulty in giving status report. We are committed to our position
that there has been tax avoidance cases,” the SG said.

The court, however, said that it was a serious problem and not only
about tax avoidance.

“Issues involved in the case are serious and of larger dimension. Its
not only about tax-avoidance,” the court said.

DoPT challenges CIC on disclosure of records
Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, Jan 19, 2011, 04.59am IST

Tags:Satyananda Mishra|RTI|DoPT|CIC|Central Information Commission

NEW DELHI: The personnel department has challenged the transparency
panel’s demand for proactive disclosure and appointment of
transparency officers by the government.

The department of personnel and training ( DoPT) has refused to follow
Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order for systematic disclosure
of records and appointment of transparency officers. This could mean a
severe setback to the proactive disclosure of information as other
ministries follow suit. The CIC has sought legal advice on the
objections and is likely to discuss the issue in its meeting on
January 25.

The CIC order had in November 2010 asked all central government
ministries to make public all its records except those exempted under
the Right to Information (RTI) Act. It had also for the first time set
a deadline of 30 days for appointing transparency officers and six
months for cataloguing records and creating a negative list of records
that can’t be made public.

Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, chief information commissioner Satyananda
Mishra said, “We have taken the issue seriously and will examine if
there is merit in the objections. But I feel that the ministry should
rise above the technicality and look at the objective of the CIC
order, which was to ensure that government implements the provisions
of the act.”

The department has objected to the changes offering technical reasons.
It has argued that the commission had exceeded its powers and under
Section 19 of the RTI Act, an order of this nature can only be issued
during a hearing and not suo motu.

Sources said that the government’s progress in implementing the act
has been tardy so far.

COMMENT

End The Drift
Jan 18, 2011, 12.00am IST

Comments (2)

Decision-making isn’t a synonym for governance. Even so, it’s a good
pointer to a ruling dispensation’s ability to be on its toes. On that
score, data shows UPA-II fared badly in 2010.

The cabinet’s record on number of decisions taken in 2010 compared to
earlier was below par. Between 2005-08 during the Congress-led
coalition’s first tenure, the cabinet took an average of 242.5
decisions yearly.

The annual average since 2005 is 183. In 2010, however, the cabinet
managed consensus on just 112 decisions, the lowest single-year figure
since the UPA came to power.

Amazingly, decision-making actually decelerated post-2009, when the
Left was no longer around to ambush it!

This can’t but buttress public perceptions of a drift at the top. Some
say coalition constraints have been hobbling governance, a view
recently aired by Congress apologist Rahul Gandhi.

Others claim governments tend to take it easy in the initial phase of
their tenures. Still others point to 2010′s string of scams and food
price crisis, thanks to which the UPA is down but not necessarily out.
If there’s some truth in all of this, none of it excuses policy
paralysis.

Power-sharing can’t be a fig leaf for blockaded governance. In the
saddle since 2004, UPA-II surely didn’t need time to limber up, more
so given 2009′s enhanced electoral mandate.

The fact is, the UPA needs to muster far greater resolve to tackle its
current challenges. It’s yet to nail graft in high places. Nor has
spiralling food inflation been checked. If anything, Sharad Pawar has
turned out to be the Shivraj Patil of the agriculture ministry.

His breathtaking statement that he monitors supply of only certain
categories of farm produce and not others is of a piece with his habit
of buck-passing. But the UPA as a whole can’t dodge flak either.

Consider recent prime minister-led consultations taking an ‘overview’
on food prices. They came up with little more than stale thinking on
ad hoc ‘solutions’ like export bans and crackdowns on hoarders.
Nowhere is there a strong official commitment on agriculture’s reform,
to tackle the problem at the root.

Overall, the Manmohan Singh-led regime hasn’t delivered as expected on
reforms, be it tax rationalisation, financial sector or retail
liberalisation, labour reform, the rural sector’s modernisation or
land acquisition revamp to push rapid industrialisation and
infrastructure-building.

Instead, the UPA has increasingly seemed a house divided, with no
clear centre of authority. Pulling in different directions, its
predicament owes in large part to the spurious distinction between
‘government’ and ‘party’ the Congress has tried to erect.

All of this has given a handle to the BJP-led opposition to indulge in
its own brand of obstructionism, impacting lawmaking. It’s time both
sides bucked up. The nation doesn’t deserve a political rut. Nor can
it afford it.

Readers’ opinions (2)

Recommended (1)
Ankit (Pune)
10 hrs ago (12:12 AM)

There were lots of expectation from UPA – II when it was a clear
winner in last elections. But, it seems that most of the ministers
were eagerly waiting for a second term to continue with their loot or
start with loot if they had not done it in their first term. The
corruption news in India is comparable to suicide bombing news in
Pakistan area; one new everyday. The government is unable to address
any of the major scams from the series of scams we have now. our own
PM had confirmed that none will be spared and exemplary punishment
will be given to those when CWG scam was unearthed.But, nothing
satisfactorily has been done so far. Everyone knows that till date, no
concrete action has been taken ever against any of the ministers
except asking them to leave or serving a short term in prison as
special guest of owner. Opposition party, BJP is trying to cash on
this situation but it itself is no good either(Karnatka’s case). This
should come to an end if India really wants to be next superpower or
else some of the powerful persons will end up compromising security
and freedom of second largest populated country for their selfish
benefits.
Agree (2)Recommend (2)

SUMAN KUMAR (Kolkata)
23 hrs ago (11:33 AM)

If you appraise UPA-2nd term, findings could be fairly bad. In certain
parameters it is performing well, but Labour reform, Tax
rationalisation and Investement in Retail Cases are failed. We need to
revamp these parameters, it bacame essential for all essence of the
policy.
Agree (1)

COUNTERVIEW

Wasteful symbolism
Deep K Datta-Ray, Jan 18, 2011, 12.00am IST

Tags:kargil war|Jangpura MOSQUE|Adarsh Housing Society|Adarsh

It is a shame that scams like Adarsh occur regularly but to demolish
the building adds insult to injury. Originally intended for the
families of those who sacrificed themselves at Kargil, Adarsh was
hijacked by a band of politicians, senior civil servants and their
kin.

Regularising the building and handing it over to those it was intended
for is the only way of containing mistakes already committed in a
morally responsible way.

We live in a country of scarce resources with a dramatic shortfall in
infrastructure. It is unbecoming in such circumstances to raze an
apartment building when it could be altered to meet most safety
requirements.

Doing so only keeps to precedent and that too for a noble cause. Other
land has been built upon without the correct paperwork. In New Delhi,
illegal colonies are regularised as a matter of course. Meanwhile, the
Jangpura mosque in New Delhi demonstrates that political will trumps
the law.

Though demolished because it was illegally constructed, the chief
minister pledged that it will be rebuilt given popular demands. Should
war widows protest on the streets of Delhi to be heard?

Rather than focus on political symbolism – destroying a building at
least 100 metres tall makes headlines – the state ought to ensure such
scams do not happen. The environment minister should assess the
quality of the vast amounts of land under state jurisdiction.

Those areas that are barren and uncultivated should be developed by
the government or, better still, sold in a properly regulated manner
to the private sector for development thereby nipping the problem at
its source. Adarsh should not be used for political grandstanding. We
are much too deprived for such luxuries.

TIMES VIEW: Sets the right precedent

FOR THE PEOPLE

In India bribes are an accepted norm
Arvind Kejriwal
17 January 2011, 06:10 PM IST

I was arrested and subsequently released by NOIDA police on Saturday.
The whole incident was quite bizarre. We had gathered outside
Registrar’s office in Noida to protest against corruption in that
office. Gaurav Bakshi, an NRI had been asked for a bribe in this
office about two months back for some work. He refused to pay the
bribe and recorded a video of the babus demanding bribe. This enraged
the babus. They assaulted him and his father (a retired IAF officer)
and their camera was snatched away. Someone present there clicked the
pictures of assault. Gaurav filed a police complaint with those
pictures (culprits are easily identifiable in those pictures). Gaurav
was offered Rs 8000 by the NOIDA police who tried to persuade him not
to file a police complaint. However, he persisted. Two months after
the complaint was filed, the NOIDA police did not take any action.

Rather than give up, Gaurav collected all his friends and decided to
protest. On Saturday, less than 50 people gathered outside Registrar’s
office on the main road. All of us were shouting innocuous slogans –
“Choosna band karo, rishwat lena band karo”, etc. We decided to take a
round of the parking area and encourage people to stand up against
corruption. However, the police stopped us. So, we stayed on the side
of the main road. All of us demanded to know from the police, why were
they shielding the corrupt, why they had not taken any action against
corrupt people on Gaurav’s complaint? SHO present on the spot refused
to reply.

At that time, one person came out of Registrar’s office and said that
he a bribe of Rs 100 had demanded from him. Everyone asked the police
officers present on the spot to immediately arrest the staff who had
demanded bribe. But the police did not budge.

Suddenly, one of their senior police officers came, and without any
provocation, on his orders, the police started assaulting people. We
were slapped, thrashed and assaulted with batons. Gaurav was beaten up
and put into a police van. Eight of us were “detained”. We were taken
to a few police stations for the next few hours without being told why
we were being transported around before we were finally presented
before the city magistrate. At this point, we realised we had actually
been “arrested”.

The city magistrate arrived and screamed at the police officer –
“Muzrimon ko hathkadi kyon nahin daali?” Police officer replied –
“Baahar bahut media wale khade hain.” The magistrate informed us that
we had been arrested for violating public peace, for interfering with
the work of government officials and for creating ruckus inside
government building. We protested that we never entered any government
building and we never met any government officer. The magistrate
replied that it was for the police to investigate the allegations and
the court would take a final decision. Some non-bailable sections were
slapped against us. He ordered our arrest. We were bundled up in
police vans and were sent to Dasna jail.

Midway, the police vans stopped. We were told that the vans had been
asked to come back. “You will be released on bail,” one of the police
officers told us, who was taking instructions on phone from his
bosses. We said we will not apply for bail as we had not committed any
crime. The policeman, perplexed, informed his seniors that these
people don’t want bail. He was directed to still bring us back whether
we wanted bail or not.

Back in magistrate’s office, we were released without bail. We learnt
that the police did not know about our backgrounds when they arrested
us. Once arrested, there was flood of enquiries from media and eminent
citizens. And so, we were being released.

Isn’t it completely bizarre? Either we had done a crime or we had not!
How could we be treated as hardened criminals just a few hours back,
so much so that the magistrate had to order our handcuffing? And how
could we be suddenly released and all charges against us dropped when
they come to know who we were?

This means that the police can practically arrest anyone and slap any
IPC section against him. The magistrate will blindly endorse arrest
saying that the charges will be investigated later. How scary is that?

The magistrate met us after our release in his chamber. He warned us
not to disrupt public peace in future. We told him in all humility –
“We had not disrupted the peace of the public but had actually
disrupted the peace of corrupt people and we will continue to do that
even after our release. Don’t you find it strange that the police did
not arrest those who had demanded bribe from Gaurav and those who had
assaulted Gaurav and his father till now but we, who were fighting
against corruption were arrested and produced before you immediately?”
We politely told the magistrate that we will continue with our
activities even after release. Still he released us.

Who do we blame for this incident? In my opinion, it is the system
that is at fault. The system places so much power in the hands of a
few individuals that they simply go mad with arrogance. They lick
their seniors and kick the public and they are accountable to none. I
wonder whether it was any different during the British times?

Many people say that we have sufficient laws in our country, just that
they are not implemented properly. I completely disagree with them. I
have studied many of the laws very carefully. We are still being
governed by the same colonial laws which existed in British times.
They have not been changed. Many of these laws need to be changed.

Economic growth and ‘future superpower’ status is all very good but
that doesn’t guarantee dignity for every individual. We need new and
contemporary laws for a new India and to push for these, a citizens’
movement has been initiated.

Thousands of people will assemble at Ramlila grounds at 1 pm on 30
January 2011 for a March Against Corruption – not only to protest
against corruption, but to demand enactment of a strong anti-
corruption law drafted by none other than Prashant Bhushan, Justice
Santosh Hegde, National Campaign for People’s Right to Information,
Kiran Bedi and others. Please visit www.indiaagainstcorruption.org to
read the complete text of this law. Many eminent citizens will be
present in this march – Aruna Roy, P V Rajagopal, Harsh Mander, Kiran
Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan, Devinder Sharma, Rev. Arch
Bishop of Delhi, Anna Hazare, Madhu Kishwar, Sunita Godara etc.

Similar marches will take place simultaneously in many cities and
towns across India on the same day. Please join the March Against
Corruption wherever you are to demand effective anti-corruption
systems! Please visit www.facebook.com/indiacor to know more details.

77 Comments | Post Your Reviews. Rated 5.0/5 (156 Votes)

Recommended (47) | Most Discussed (6) | Agree (58)

mshagv says:

January 18,2011 at 09:33 PM IST

Noida police exhibited its professional acumen by not solving a simple
case of child Aarushi’s murder. They should keep their face hidden.

Kuldip Gupta says:

January 18,2011 at 08:33 PM IST

AND WE CALL IT A DEMOCRACY. Arvind a Magasasay Award winner can be
bundled into a prison for doing what is the basic duty of a citizen.I
know who had merely commented to a bureaucrat that he and the
Bureaucrat did not share a state and subject relationship.It was a
state and citizen relationship.He had to suffer the consequences for
next five years.Now he too like me believes that in India it is state
and subject.Like the commies said “Ye Azadi Jhoothi Hai”.

arvind says:

January 18,2011 at 08:04 PM IST

Arvind, We all are so proud of you! This happens each day with the
commoners in Noida, I think we should start with the arrest process of
the city magistrate right way by filing a FIR for his mis deeds
( Assult and threatening)

Suresh Kumar says:

January 18,2011 at 07:59 PM IST

We Indians are constantly held hostages by all the organs of our
democratic state.Anybody found questioning this is branded law
breaker. I wonder if Pritba Patil or Manmohan singh (modern Viceroys)
is bothered. Shame on my President and the Prime Minister.

Deepak says:

January 18,2011 at 07:46 PM IST

Hi Arvind I believe, the way you have suggested, it is high time that
many of the laws are changed. There is no point in modifying the old
laws. Like Business Process Re-engineering, or BPR in short, we need
Governance Process Re-engineering or GPR. We need to start with blank
paper and see what are the processes that are needed to provide good
and transparent governance to the citizens of India. With the new
realities of Information Technology and ubiquitous internet, we should
be able to engineer SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT and
TIME phased (SMART) Key Process Indicators (KPIs)to keep track how the
processes are functioning and continually improve. Trying to tinker
the current laws leads us to getting stuck in legalese morass. I am
sure wise and bright leaders like you would get all the support from
like minded people in the country. Let us make it our 2020 vision.

S.N.Gupta says:

January 18,2011 at 06:03 PM IST

Action needs to be initiated against police officials for arrest
withot any provocation.

Agree (1)

KD says:

January 18,2011 at 04:57 PM IST

Arvind, why have you shied away from naming the individuals? You had
all the evidence, in the form of video footage, of your peaceful
protest march. Therefore, the names of the officer in Reistrar’s
office, policeman (who offered Rs.8000 as bribe, SHO who rounded you
up, Senior Police Officer who ordered assault and the City Magistrate
should have been mentioned. Better lodge an FIR against all these
persons and also file a case against them in the appropriate Court. ab
jab panga liya hi hai to poori tarah se lado – jhapad khakar chup
baithna kayarta hai. Also ask the media to repeatedly hihlight the
incident not only in print but on TV channels also.

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

Ashok Gupta says:

January 18,2011 at 03:44 PM IST

Why can’t be City Magistrate be arrested for his Remarks ” Muzrimo ko
Hatkadi lagao”, knowing well that there is Supreme court order against
his statement.

Agree (6)

Recommend (2)

Yesu says:

January 18,2011 at 03:16 PM IST

great!!! movement

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

Ujjwal Agrain Ujjwal Agrain says:

January 18,2011 at 03:08 PM IST

This event has come to me as shock. This is really sad that these hand
full of people are collectively harassing the common…the voiceless.
you were having a background then you were released, but if a common
man like us are ‘detained’ then it could kill the entire carrier of a
young citizen… shocking

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

Shivendra S Chauhan says: [In India bribes are an accepted norm :
India : Arvind Kejriwal : TOI Blogs]

January 18,2011 at 02:51 PM IST

@ Vee Kay: Sanjay Chauhan – City Magistrate, NOIDA, Girish Jayant,
SHO, Sec-24 PS, Noida was the first to slap Arvind Kejriwal and Vikas
Chand Tripathi, CO, Noida Police ordered assault on peaceful
protestors.

Agree (5)

Recommend (1)

(Reply to Shivendra S Chauhan)- Ashok Gupta says:

January 18,2011 at 03:45 PM IST

Arrest the city Magistrate first for his wrongful Orders? He appears
to be a bigger culprit?

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

vijay says:

January 18,2011 at 02:45 PM IST

kudos to the writer and others for their stand against corruption…once
all of us join this movement i am sure lot of changes can be done.

Agree (5)

Recommend (1)

shally says:

January 18,2011 at 02:40 PM IST

grotesquely strange incident happened with the author.

Agree (3)

P C JOSHI says:

January 18,2011 at 02:22 PM IST

gandhi giri is the only way

Amit says:

January 18,2011 at 02:04 PM IST

Arvind has very eloquently narrated the cruel reality of police and
the overall system. I fully agree because I have also seen similar
incidence where I was stopped by a drunk policeman (ironically his
name was Satyawan) while I was teaching one of my friend how to drive
a scooter. It was some inner lanes near our colony and there was no
voilation of traffic rules as such. This guy took my license and took
it to police station. When we went to collect the license, they
started shouting and teaching us traffic rules. Only after paying them
some money, I could get my license back.

Agree (1)

IAC says:

January 18,2011 at 01:46 PM IST

@ Vee Kay: Sanjay Chauhan – City Magistrate, NOIDA ordered
handcuffing, Girish Kumar Jayant, SHO, Sec-24 PS, Noida was the first
to slap Arvind Kejriwal and Vikas Chand Tripathi, CO, Noida Police
ordered assault on peaceful protestors.

hortense vaughan says:

January 18,2011 at 01:45 PM IST

Do not try and blame the raj for indian corruption as it was a way of
life even before the raj. The corruption gene is embedded in the
Indian DNA and is accepted and widely practised ;it is as Indian as
chappatis and rice.

Agree (7)

Disagree (3)

Gaurav says: [In India bribes are an accepted norm : India : Arvind
Kejriwal : TOI Blogs]

January 18,2011 at 01:17 PM IST

It is a well known fact that the police, specially the UP Police is a
hotbed of corruption. They auction thanas routinely and the NOIDA
thana is one of the most lucrative thanas in UP. Had it not been for
known and eminent citizens, any common, regular, citizen or even a
whole crowd would have been arrested and put behind bars with no one
asking about them. This happens in NOIDA. Imagine what happens in
villages like Dadri and just imagine what happens in Basti and
Gorakhpur and Gonda. Not only should the entire police station be put
under suspension but even the magistrate needs to be brought to
justice for hte travesty

Agree (14)

Recommend (4)

(Reply to Gaurav)- Naresh says:

January 18,2011 at 02:36 PM IST

Definitely, Magistrate must be taken to task and the SHO.. all these
people have been making money at the cost of law & administration and
have brought very bad repute to the image of India as a nation! I will
be definitely be there on the Ramlila grounds and will pray for the
day when such SHOs are punished in public.

Agree (1)

Recommend (2)

Gautam says:

January 18,2011 at 01:14 PM IST

most of the corruption we have is mostly due to the implementation of
same old British Law’s and procedures which where actually for
enslaving public of India,not to provide good governance, it sad to
see we call our country as Republic and still follow same law’s made
against us but not for US

Agree (1)

Disagree (1)

Recommend (1)

anjali g says:

January 18,2011 at 01:04 PM IST

You’ve sais it. The entire episode is bizarre and scary and there is
no wonder then that an MLA was recently stabbed to death in Bihar . If
the hands of the law are tied by powerful people then the common man
will seek recourse by taking the law into his hands.

Agree (8)

Rakesh Katyal says:

January 18,2011 at 12:55 PM IST

Excellent job done. The judiciary, police, executive , the politician
are all in it. But let us not give up. We the people can make a
difference. And why our Rajdeeps, Arnabs and Barkhas are quiet. We
know they are in it too. All for the 30th. Let us make it big success.

Agree (4)

Recommend (1)

kashi mallya says:

January 18,2011 at 12:49 PM IST

I am notashamed tin saying that the biggest mistake the British did
was to leave India and hand over the country to scoundrels.

Agree (1)

v.k. vohra says:

January 18,2011 at 12:41 PM IST

Sir, this is nothing new but eye opener. When the top brass is corrupt
swallowing crores and get away with it, why blame a babu. Why you do
not protest against Kalmadi & co., Raju, Ballari & Yaddurappa co. and
so on? Are you scared. The recent past has shown as to how corrupt we
are at the highest level. When the ministers are corrupt what do you
expect from the samll officers. The methods applied by you will never
work. The root is the ministers and goons. By God hang 2-3 of them and
see the difference, every one falls in line. Remember Indira Gandhi
when all the goons were in jail within 24 hours during the emergency.
I was visiting India and travelled from Jabalpur to Mumbai. When I
paid the TC for reservation, he returned me the balance including the
coins. I told him it is OK he can keep it. But the reply came ‘no sir
I can not do it’. All the trains were on time/before time, babus were
in their offices half an hour earlier than their office time. All this
was possible since there was will to do it. Strong medicine is good
some time but the cure is certain. Imagine our corrupt practices have
perculated to our armed forces which is very dangerous. WE MUST WAKE
UP BEFORE THE PEOPLE METE OUT THE JUSTICE TO THE CULPRITS.

Agree (2)

Indian says:

January 18,2011 at 12:33 PM IST

Cops are the biggest goondas in town…they have no ethics…It is they
who should be arrested for obstructing justice! People who say that
they have no power are wrong. If willing, they can single-handedly
take out corruption from our country…They just need to act!

Agree (1)

Recommend (1)

Vee Kay says:

January 18,2011 at 12:24 PM IST

Why do not you publish the names of the magistrate and the police
officers as well? They were taking the sides of the corrupt. Not only
corrupt but those who take the corrupt’s side should also be ashamed.

Agree (17)

Recommend (4)

Karthik says: [In India bribes are an accepted norm : India : Arvind
Kejriwal : TOI Blogs]

January 18,2011 at 12:11 PM IST

Personally, I think a few govt officials should be lynched without
mercy. Sometimes, vigilante justice is the answer when nothing else
works. That’s the only way fear can be instilled in them. I request
Mr.Bakshi to publicise the video that he has shot. Forget the
defamation laws – they don’t apply when public servants and public
offices are involved. Just publicise! Let the neighbours and
especially family and children of those corrupt officials know their
true characters!

Agree (15)

Recommend (8)

(Reply to Karthik)- KAUTILYA says:

January 18,2011 at 05:20 PM IST

This is what I have been sugesting since long. Not only some Govt
officials, but to create a shining example START with UPA CHAIRPERSON
(the mother of corruption), the Cabinet and ALL the top IAS/IFS/IPS
Engineers etc. Besides these round up some IT Commissioners,
Registrars of Property etc and LYNCH them in public and throw their
bodies before HUNGRY DOGS to have their feast.

Agree (3)

NR Rao says:

January 18,2011 at 12:10 PM IST

It was really an eye opener. Are all babus / government servants
corrupt and heartless ? Who is leading it all ? Can we make sure that
key leadership positions is occupied by men of impeccable integrity
and not people like current CVC ?

Agree (7)

Recommend (3)

Sharma M C L says:

January 18,2011 at 11:46 AM IST

Arvind, you are Mangal Pandey of 21st Century India. It is high time
that we kicked the corrupt babus and politicians. In this process many
protesters will go to jail. But if media is supportive there is hardly
anything that police can do. I guess struggle for freedom from
corruption in this century would be far easier than 19th century since
media is having that much reach and people are frustrated from head to
toe

Agree (7)

Recommend (2)

Kon says:

January 18,2011 at 11:33 AM IST

Kudos, Arvind ji! I don’t live in Delhi, but I have informed my
friends there about the 30/1 march. Hope people turn up in so high
numbers that it becomes impossible for the govt. to ignore us.

Agree (9)

Recommend (2)

Vijay Singh Paliwal says:

January 18,2011 at 11:21 AM IST

We must fight all forms and types of corruption. Where an ordinary
person’ll get justice when Judiciary and Police is also corrupt ? We
wants a “Big War” now,not an ordinary “Aandolan” to fight corruption.

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

Puneet Nayyar says: [In India bribes are an accepted norm : India :
Arvind Kejriwal : TOI Blogs]

January 18,2011 at 10:12 AM IST

This is the only way to fight corruption. Only common man can mend
this corrupt system. Stop bribing and gradually things will come under
control. It should be our social responsibility to expose the corrupt
next to us. I am not angry with the ones who take bribe. I am angry
with those who give. It’s time to change our thinking. “Kaun jhamele
mein pade”…”Kaun iss jhik jhik mein pade”… This message is to all
those who feel that by giving bribe they are easing their lives. You
can never run away by bribing and getting your work done easily. One
day or the other this corruption will definitely bite you to your
bone. Just wait and watch. It’s time join hands against the corrupt
system. Please expose these scavengers.

Agree (6)

Recommend (3)

(Reply to Puneet Nayyar)- Amit Pai says:

January 18,2011 at 12:54 PM IST

Puneet, I fully agree with you. Corruption starts with us. Yesterday a
traffic cop stopped me since I was talking on my cell phone while
driving. It was very evident from his body language that he wanted a
bribe. I however allowed him to confiscate my license and write the
‘parchhi’. I know I will have to take leave in order to go to court
and pay the fine but at least I am happy that I did not grease the
cop’s dirty hands.

Agree (1)

Recommend (1)

Venkatesh says:

January 18,2011 at 09:48 AM IST

The police system is flawed totally. Police is ment to protect and
maintain the freedom of people but on the contrary every one fears
police in India despite knowing that they did nothing ( criminals
never fear police in India they have good connections). But is the
police that we should blame? We tell our children to do ‘something’
otherwise police will catch them. This is the general mentality the
kid never knows why he will be caught. The reason is power in the hand
of wrong people. You can never question a police in India. Talk to a
policeman. The people who are assigned with the task to maintain law
and order are not at all civilized, they are almost uneducated, they
can’t talk to you without saying bad words. Something is seriously
wrong here and that needs to be addressed quickly.

Agree (5)

Recommend (3)

Aryan says: [In India bribes are an accepted norm : India : Arvind
Kejriwal : TOI Blogs]

January 18,2011 at 09:26 AM IST

Can anyone think what made that clerk to ask for bribe.. ?? what makes
anyone to ask for bribe.. I am not supporting it.. but we should
understand what are we fighting against… To get admission in a good
school in delhi we got to pay bribe of more than 12 lakhs… Look at the
sky-rocketing price of basic commodities… Is that Clerk wrong if he
thinks that he/she has to give his kids a descent education.. HOW DO
YOU GUYS THINK THAT HE CAN BREAK THE CHAIN OF â€œMIDDLE CLASSâ€ and
do somethingâ€¦.. Everyone of us have a dream that we send our kids to
good college.. have a descent education.. have a good life.. The
smallest Pizza at a cheap restaurant like Dominos cost around 400
rupees. Which is some ones daily/monthly earning. I ask you ALL how
much a person who earns a meager salary of 12-20,000 live up to the
cost of living in places like delhi or be it any place where every
other thing is costly.. and when your kids/spouse demands something
which you cannot AFFORD but your neighbors CAN.. how does it feel… ??
also I want to ask each one of us.. that according to you at what all
levels Corruption exist or does not exist.. Just think guys.. from
Raja’s Telecommunication to Raju’s Satyam .. to DDA Scams to CWG
scamsâ€¦ to the lowest level.. ask yourself.. How many of us buy
pirated CDâ€™s download pirated songs.. and many many other things
which we do dailyâ€¦ which Auto wala in delhi drives his auto by
meter.. why you have to pay EXTRA everytime at ALL the PLACEs to get
every single work done.. which profession today is clean..?? we ALL
our responsible for thatâ€¦ Is it wrong for a middle class person to
dream big.. HAVING SAID ALL THIS I AM NOT SUPPORTING BRIBERY OR
CORRUPTION .. but I want that we should ask ourselves .. instead of
just pointing fingers at one guy will not solve the purpose..

Agree (4)

Disagree (13)

Recommend (1)

(Reply to Aryan)- Samik says:

January 18,2011 at 01:37 PM IST

Hi Aryan, now days the people across the board of “Sarkari machinery”
are earning well, at least after 6th pay commission, indeed they got
better hike than in any privatized organization. So I would request
you not to justify bribery, in the name of the cliche, that the
“Sarkari Babu” is not earning well thats why he he is taking bribe.
And also do you think the bribery classify people between haves and
have nots? And that means only the Haves can buy the things by
bribing, but then what about have nots? The state also provide the
education at free of cost or at a very meager cost, but then why
should we bribe the governing body of a private school in that
illusion that the child is going to have a better education there. The
20% of our society is interested to buy the system by bribing so it
became a norm, under which the rest 80% suffer, its we who created
that monster. These corrupt people should be executed mercilessly,
should be disgraced, and they should pay at least 3 times they took as
bribe, and the state need to be stringent for sake of the rest 80%.

(Reply to Samik)- Aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 08:26 PM IST

Sir .. I agree with the fact that corrupt people should be executed
mercilessly but then according to you who all are corrupt..

(Reply to Aryan)- Aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 02:03 PM IST

I would love to read the views of the people who disagree and agree
with me..!! my point is that we can just blame small fishes for making
the pool dirty.. its the big fish who should be corrected first, who
set an example for the rest of the small fishes..!! thanks..!!

Agree (1)

(Reply to Aryan)- Subba says:

January 18,2011 at 02:17 PM IST

So the policeman is asking bribe so that he / his children do not miss
out on something as ‘essential’ as a Dominos pizza, huh ? Pleeease !!!
Lets stop making excuses for anyone who takes bribes.

(Reply to Subba)- Aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 08:22 PM IST

Dear Mam, As I said I am not making an excuse for taking bribe… PLEASE
TRY AND UNDERSTAND THE BIGGER PICTURE… understand the bigger.. will
answer this question in a while.. got a meeting to catch in few mins..
thanks for your time. ok tell me this.. What will you do if you want
to send your child to good schools who are costly and not the
Government school where no person from upper middle class want to send
his child… My gardner gets 1000 rupees per month.. he works at 6
places.. How do you expect him to full fill the need of his family…
JUST THINK….. I AM NOT SUPPPORTING CORRUPTION… BUT PLEASE ITS NOT A
PERSON.. ITS A DEVIL INSIDE ALL OF US…!!

(Reply to Aryan)- bms says:

January 18,2011 at 03:16 PM IST

Aryan, try to understand that the big fish u r talking about is
another small fish like u and me, who was voted as such by the rest of
the small fishes. So unless the small fishes reform themselves, they
cannot find a clean leader.

(Reply to bms)- aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 08:03 PM IST

Sir, I am happy that you agree that the blame goes to US also.. “you
and me” ..!! that was my whole point…!!

(Reply to Aryan)- preeti says:

January 18,2011 at 03:03 PM IST

Dear Aryan, you explain well the reason of corruption. By telling this
midle class story will do not make any difference. Actualy you want to
say accept bribe whole heartedly and give justification to yourself
that it is the need of the hour.Our children will not become a good
human beings by our bribery.RISHVAT KA PAISA EK NA EK DIN RANG
DIKHYAGA

Agree (1)

Recommend (1)

(Reply to preeti)- Aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 08:17 PM IST

Dear Mam, I AM NOT SUPPORTING BRIBE OR ANYTHING… MY POINT IS THAT MOST
OF THE TIME ITS THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT RULE A PERSON AND NOT HIS/HER
INNER SOUL…..

(Reply to Aryan)- Anmol says:

January 18,2011 at 04:43 PM IST

@Aryan, U r point is correct that we need to identify the source of
corruption. But U r talking about an ‘easy’ solution which all of us
resort to. But I think u r incorrect in assuming that Money is the
resource that ppl need. For better education, the government schools
have to be improved that provides access to all. N we already have
excellent examples like Kendriya Vidyala.. But improving the standard
of all schools is though .. Similarly it can be argued for other areas
like food supply chain (the strong middlemen lobby is the real
culprit). Moreover Y arn’t we looking at western democracies. Y they
dont have corruption at grassroot level? Dont u think ppl in these
countries also aspire to go up the ladder ??

Agree (2)

Recommend (2)

(Reply to Anmol)- aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 08:00 PM IST

Sir, I agree with you..?? but KV is no doubt a good option.. but I am
sure you must be knowing the number of students we have and the number
of instiution like KV.. the ratio is very very small… As I said and I
repeat.. I dont believe in Bribery … but to a certain extent all of us
are responsible.. this is a chain reaction.. not 1 person is entitil’d
for all the blame..

(Reply to Aryan)- Nirbhay says:

January 18,2011 at 05:07 PM IST

Aryan, STUPID FELLOW, tell me which school has demanded RUPEES 12
LAKHS from you for admission, and name the restaurant where the
SMALLEST PIZZA COSTS RUPEES 400? I am sure you are one of the SCUMS
who is brought up with and is now thriving on cheap income. Give up
your dirty habit else you will be dragged on the street, beaten up and
left bleeding to served as feast for hungry dogs.

(Reply to Nirbhay)- aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 07:57 PM IST

What you wrote was utterly disgusting… Everyone has a write to express
their views but upto the level of decency.. Let me ask you something..
1. Have you ever enter places like a pizza hut or dominos .. if you
had then you must have realised the fact what i am talking about. 2.
Do you have a child to whom you wanna give good education.. upto the
level of IITS,AIIMS, IIM’s… Kindly restrain from violent language..

(Reply to Aryan)- krishnakumar says:

January 18,2011 at 07:22 PM IST

Hello Aryan, Justifying a bad action that too which affects the public
is a bad thing. You can justify an bad action which involves you and
your family members. You are also contradicting yourself first you
argued cost of living and social status is the root cause of bribery
and then you are asking to examine our bad actions does that mean can
i justify my bad actions through useless arguments. Haves, some how
get things done think about have nots. Arvindji is right one way
system has to be changed but what is the alternate and who has to
implement it and who will drive the officials to implement a different
system. Corruption is a complex issue and it is a combination of
attitude and system problems. The corruption has spread like a cancer.
How do we address the problem where to start whom to approach or what
we need to do it is a million dollar question . The only thing right
what we know is right now to protest against police,govt officials not
to encourage bribery and arrest people who take bribery which will be
a lesson to other. it is not an easy task to make people protest. As
people are afraid of what will happen to them and to their family if I
protest such questions and fear are inherent in nature as manipulating
the system. It’s only few people have the GUTS to fight against the
issues and once the movement has started picking up momentum then
others will join the movement.I protested one or few times but nothing
happened. Eradicating corruption is not an easy task and it is a long
way to go. Probably we cannot make this generation say above 30
stopping from getting bribes probably the next generation from 1-25 is
the only hope for us. Schools especially rural schools are the best
places to start and kindle the students thinking totally in a new
direction.It all goes back to education where we develop intellectual
and emotional individuals who can play different honest roles in the
society and lift this society out of corruption.

(Reply to krishnakumar)- Aryan says:

January 18,2011 at 08:50 PM IST

Krishna Sir,,,, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU… My point was that only… I
was trying to touch most of the aspect of daily lives.. When I spoke
about auto walas taking extra money then I referring corruption at
that level.. I wrote about Politicians like Raja… Educated Guys like
Raju from Satay,,,,, Youngsters who download Pirated stuff…
Educational institutes in Metros.. SHOULDNT WE BLAME THAT MAGISTRATE
WHO STARTED THE ARGUMENT WITHOUT KNOWING THE EXACT CASE.. THE BLAME
GOES TO ALL THE PEOPLE AT DIFFERENT LEVEL.. NOT JUST 1 PERSON MY POINT
WAS THAT WE HAVE TO TACKLE THE WHOLE ISSUE… BUT I AGREE WITH YOU THAT
THIS IS NOT A EXCUSE.. AND I ASLO WITH YOU THAT WE GOT TO START FROM
THE YOUNG BUDS AND TAKE STRONG ACTIONS… SIR, as you wrote that you
tried a couple of times then gave up… thats what I am talking about..
ITS VERY EASY TO DISCUSS THIS ISSUE HERE, SITTING IN AIR COOLED
CHAMBER.. AND SIPPING HOT COFFEE.. BUT THE REAL SITUATION IS DECIDED
BY THE BIG CHUNK OF MIDDLE CLASS.. I HEARTILY APPRECIATE YOUR
SUGGESTION…THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR KNOWING THE PROBLEM AND BEING A
PART OF IT. IN THIS INCIDENCE,

seshashayi says:

January 18,2011 at 09:16 AM IST

The incident is a true commentary about the pathetic state of affairs
in our country.there is an urgent need for the govt to come up with
concrete steps to root out corruption both at political and
administrative levels to avoid extreme measures that may be resorted
to by disillusioned citizens of the country.Having said this one
should be appreciative of the fact that police cannot on there own
initiative arrest corrupt officials as corruption has not been made a
criminal offence.The proper course of action should have been to
report to vigilance dept.Of course that dept may be in state of deep
slumber.

Agree (2)

Recommend (1)

kuldip singh says:

January 18,2011 at 09:10 AM IST

PEOPLE join police,politics,ias,ips to make money nobody and nobody is
willing to do service of the country even the same people who
rule,they also join politics only for money and power,they are not
here for service.so are the red tape ppl. we are country of corrupt
people,thats all, only a KRANTIKARI neta can save country,need atleast
20years starting from now to be a corruption free country.only if
there is no immunity to any body against any crime,here in india if
police man kills people he got promoted,or some times sent to police
lines,thats not justice,they shouuld not be immuned also.

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

Prashant says:

January 18,2011 at 08:43 AM IST

That is a common phenomenon in India whether it si Punjab or its
Tamilnadu or any state the treatment meted out to the people of India
by the Police is the same.I am not perturbed by this, what really
baffles me the most is that whenever UPSC results are announced we
cherish the success of almost 50-60% of successful candidates who
belongs to middle and lower classes of society and they speak a lot
that in order to change the society they took this path. You will
almost hear a lot good stuff from them and bureaucracy really sucks in
our country. So what happens to them and their tall promises to the
society. Unless they join the common people against corruption nothing
can change in our country because they keep the keys to all locks in
their pockets, whether it is drafting a policy or proper execution of
any existing policy and normal running of the country. And i m not
really surprised when i find many of my friends who are very good at
studies and would do good if they sit for UPSC, dont cherish this
dream and leave for IIM or MS from any good foriegn university. That
hypocracy and complete disconnect of bureaucracy from the common
people leave us disheartened and sometimes disillusioned too. That has
become a sad but true reality of our country.

Agree (4)

Prabhakar says:

January 18,2011 at 07:13 AM IST

Arvind Ji, whatever you have experienced may be bizzare but not
uncommon. Most people do not want to go to police and reason are
obiously very clear for everyone to see. Whom soever pays police,
police protects. Unfortunately this system existed since long and
still continue. Changing the laws may not be of much help as the
persons implementing the laws will be same. Also can all the persons
be like Mr. Gaurav? May be just 1 in a 1000. Protests may highlight
the issues but the issues close as soon as protest finshes. I believe
some NGO shall form legal help groups where in common man can go and
report. From that point onwards, these groups with the help of media
have to fight legal battle against the establishment. This has to be a
long battle and not just adhoc reactions. Protests may be show our
resentment but not likely to bring any result.

Agree (8)

Recommend (4)

SA says:

January 18,2011 at 05:12 AM IST

Wow! You’ve actually done it unlike a lot of other articles where
people just describe what happened. I agree the system is so
entrenched with corrupt people(mostly).

Agree (4)

Recommend (3)

Citizen says:

January 18,2011 at 05:11 AM IST

Salute your efforts! Very inspiring..

Agree (4)

Recommend (2)

mshagv says:

January 18,2011 at 05:10 AM IST

If police and other law agencies comply the oath they took while
joining the service, no wrong can be done. The police and other govt
officials violate the oath generally and do not serve as proper govt
servants.

Agree (2)

Recommend (1)

Anmol says:

January 18,2011 at 04:47 AM IST

This incident is preposterous. We cannot be ‘any’ power forget super
power. This is extremely shameful. The solution starts wid us, wid me
I will participate in which form possible. I will request others to
join. Please ensure this Story DOES NOT DIE. We need to ensure the
guilty is not spared

Agree (12)

Recommend (10)

vgr says:

January 18,2011 at 01:46 AM IST

Sir, You say, they released you when they came to know who you were.
What if it was some one who was a ‘no man’. A common citizen? What
would have been his case here sir. How could he fight?

Agree (2)

Recommend (1)

Rohan says:

January 18,2011 at 01:19 AM IST

This as tragic. Corruption seems to be in blood. Please go ahead and
take this matter to the Prime Minister and the president.

Agree (3)

Disagree (1)

N Kumar says:

January 18,2011 at 01:18 AM IST

Arvindji Our Best Wishes for such a noble cause and this Peoples’
movement.

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

NKumar says:

January 18,2011 at 01:12 AM IST

This is a good start, people’s movement, no poltics. It is not
Advani,Jetley vs Manmoanji or Sonia. They are political gimmicks,
please be sure to keep all these figures away and our best of wishes
from Munich, Germany for this Wake- up call .

Agree (4)

Recommend (2)

Vikram says:

January 18,2011 at 12:52 AM IST

Wow. Hats off to you sir for standing up against corruption. People
should start secretly recording the demands for bribes and place them
on major website as well as report to media.

Agree (4)

Recommend (2)

Qaari says:

January 17,2011 at 11:10 PM IST

As you have quoted British Raj time laws it reminds a poet in those
days. Akbar Allahabadi wrote satirically: ” Le ke rishwat phans gaya
hai, De ke rishwat chhoot ja” meaning you are trapped by taking bribe,
get released by giving bribe” . Ironically the same formula is in use.
They take bribe because they know they will get released when caught
by bribing.

Agree (4)

Recommend (1)

Ashok says:

January 17,2011 at 11:06 PM IST

This is very sad news and hurt every indian staying in any part of the
world. Please let me know how NRIs contributes in India against
curruption march which will held on 30th Jan 2011 becuse we are unable
to join the march but every NRI wants to contibute this holy movement.
JAI HIND!!!! Vande Matrum!!!!

Agree (4)

Recommend (2)

sid says:

January 17,2011 at 10:49 PM IST

Thanks Arvind, for trying to save India.

Agree (4)

Recommend (3)

S Padmanabhan says:

January 17,2011 at 10:42 PM IST

This article should be sent to the SC who can take suo moto notice to
the Police and Magistrate who appears to have asked why the accused
were not hand cuffed.SC should identify who the senior officer who
assualted them and punish him.

Agree (5)

Recommend (2)

B.S.Chandra shekhara says:

January 17,2011 at 09:55 PM IST

Sad story! Even a small political party worker will not be treated
like this by the police or govt officials. Both the officials and
police have the support and sympathy of politicians. hence it is
difficult to fight against corruption./bsc

Agree (7)

Recommend (2)

Prashant says:

January 17,2011 at 09:49 PM IST

Thanks for bringing this forth. I have recommended this blog’s link to
more than 400 people till now. We need a “culture” AND a government
change, to bring forth some sense to this sad state that we’re in.

Agree (6)

Recommend (2)

Amol Garje says:

January 17,2011 at 09:48 PM IST

shame on you noida police

Agree (3)

Recommend (1)

VS says:

January 17,2011 at 09:43 PM IST

Is there any way for the NRIs or not present due to some other reason
to participate? would like to know and contribute. sincerely

Agree (8)

Recommend (3)

Karthik says:

January 17,2011 at 09:27 PM IST

Dear Arvind I agree with you that the laws are outdated, but cannot
see what the new laws are going to achieve The implementers of these
laws are going to be the same set of people, so how is that going to
be different, laws however carefully drafted can be interpreted in
multiple methods What I feel is that we need to change is the mindset
of the people. Corruption is accepted and even to a certain extent
lauded by people, I know of many cases where a wife/ husband nudges
husband/ wife and points out to the benefits of taking Bribes and
speak about that proudly in their social circles This should change,
people taking bribes should feel that they would be ostracised in
their social circles if they take bribes What I therefore feel is a
sustained campaign against corruption through various channels is
required more than the law

Agree (1)

Recommend (2)

S.M.Singru says:

January 17,2011 at 06:51 PM IST

Arvindji, you say that our system of laws needs amendment. I feel that
our basic approach towards God also needs a radical change. For us,
God is an authority whom you first offer something, and then he grants
you favours. The same logic confers legitimacy to offering of bribes
to lesser mortals, too e.g. government authorities, for receiving
favours. Doesnâ€™t it?

Agree (8)

Disagree (1)

Recommend (5)

Aritra Gupta says: [In India bribes are an accepted norm : India :
Arvind Kejriwal : TOI Blogs]

January 17,2011 at 06:36 PM IST

This incident reveals the true state of law and order in this country.

Agree (10)

Recommend (1)

(Reply to Aritra Gupta)- Harish Advani says:

January 17,2011 at 10:53 PM IST

There is no law and order in India.It truly is ‘Andher Nagri’.The
police and the govt servants are the biggest thieves,around in the
country.The experience for an NRI starts the moment he/she lands in
the country.

Agree (3)

KILLER COMEDIES

When outlaws run out of luck
Soumittra S Bose

17 January 2011, 01:57 PM IST

A lemon, black strings and dark powder were unusual objects for cops
to find in the pocket of a notorious burglar. Later, cops were told by
the superstitious culprit that a Godman had given him the objects to
ward off ‘evils’ like police and to bring good luck while stealing!
The revelation left cops stupefied.

Seeking divine blessings before coming for duty is a regular practice
for most cops who often risk disciplinary action for retaining ‘tika’
on forehead. It is same for the miscreants too, a situation that might
create some dilemmas for the Almighty. With both playing a fraught
game, luck plays a big role in the life of guardians of law as well as
law-breakers. No wonder, both strive to win divine favour with their
devotion.

Recently nabbed by Sitabuldi police, Rahul Makkrelwar, a notorious
vehicle thief from Chhindwara, was almost certainly planning something
to improve his luck as he landed behind bars. It was sheer ill-luck
that saw him fall in police net. He had managed to slip away when the
cops visited his Nagpur cops residence in Madhya Pradesh. He returned
home after two hours realizing he had forgotten his wallet at home.
The cops too returned to his place at the same time. The outcome was
obvious.

Same could be said about the teenage girl who was picked up, along
with her mother, by the crime branch for a series of alleged thefts at
various marriage venues. In one such case, the girl had stolen an
expensive mobile belonging to a guest at a marriage party. The girl
landed in police net after gifting the stolen cellphone to her
boyfriend. With the phone, the girl seemed to have parted with her
luck too as cyber crime cell traced the location of device as the
boyfriend started to use it.

That led to rounding up of the mother-daughter duo. Sizable amount of
stolen properties were recovered from their residence. Here, too, luck
let them down. A piece of a stolen jewellery was spotted by the cops
under the bed. They lifted the bed to find other stolen properties
under it.

In another case, a woman constable was able to hoodwink the department
for more than a decade until she had a fight with her husband. The
upset spouse revealed to the department that the woman had furnished
fake documents at the time of recruitment. Along with her husband, her
luck also walked out on her.

In similar fashion, an imposter from Nagpur was working as a doctor in
Mumbai. He was posing as ‘Dr Meraj Shaikh’, who was actually a former
classmate of his, for almost a decade. The ‘original’ Dr Shaikh,
employed as an intensivist in Nagpur hospital, was bewildered on
learning this from another friend happened to visit the hospital where
the imposter worked. The original Dr Shaikh ensured that the duplicate
soon landed in jail.

The miscreants seem to realize the importance of keeping Almighty
appeased. A notorious burglar would head to religious places to
distribute a portion of his stolen booty as alms to beggars. Later, he
would travel to a pilgrimage after each successful mission. But
apparently his gods were not interested in ill-gotten pieties. After
stealing cash from district court premises, the burglar had
distributed a portion of it among the poor outside a dargah. Still,
police managed to net him.

A smooth-talking trickster, targeting railway passengers, apparently
goes on a pilgrimage after having robbed a victim by drugging. He is
learnt to be wanted by several state. He seems to be holding on to his
luck. This high-flying trickster maintains a girlfriend in Mumbai and
is a frequent flier too. Police managed to reach his girlfriend but
somehow his luck has prevailed over that of the cops so far.

4 Comments | Post Your Reviews. Rated 3.5/5 (11 Votes)

What is making the cops shiver

Agree (2)

Shyam S. Kapoor says:

January 18,2011 at 06:30 PM IST

A very good & realistic assesment of the situations are compared with
by the auther as both Police & Criminals believe in God to be in their
side while committing their jobs.

Ignorant says:

January 18,2011 at 02:40 PM IST

with converging voice, data, video, social, banking, medical,
educational & profesional networks and the state having the capacity
to monitor these networks, scamsters will have to be much smarter! or
join politics and rise above the fear of getting caught!

Chandu says:

January 18,2011 at 12:13 PM IST

Often I pity many of us on our understanding toward what God is. God
is not some one who does not look at good or bad. God does not look at
pain. We often limit the God to our human deeds and pains. He is not a
healer. He is just God (as per Einstein), it is One Super natural
energy which is trying to balance negative energy over positive
energy. It is lord Vishnu,Allah or Jesus. Quiet unfortunate, often we
even limit him to our world of reasoning

Agree (1)

mshagv says:

January 18,2011 at 04:57 AM IST

Out of thieves and police, one is to be lucky. Police should depend
more on professional skills for success.

Agree (1)

cogitoergosum

unread,

Jan 19, 2011, 6:13:30 AM1/19/11

Everything you always wanted to know about India and more

← India’s Superpower Euphoria CCXI

India’s Superpower Euphoria CCXII
http://cogitoergosum.co.cc/2011/01/19/indias-superpower-euphoria-ccxii/

19/01/2011 by navanavonmilita

19 Jan, 2011, 01.17PM IST,AGENCIES
SC calls black money plunder of nation, pulls up government

* Comments (9)

Read more on »swiss banks|supreme court|liechtenstein bank|black money

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over
the government’s reluctance in coming forward with full information on
the black money stashed by Indians in foreign banks, saying it as a
theft of national wealth and amounted to “plunder” of the nation.

“It is a pure and simple theft of the national money. We are talking
about mind-boggling crime. We are not on the niceties of various
treaties,” remarked a bench comprising justices B Sudershan Reddy and
S S Nijjar, while hearing a petition by former Law Minister Ram
Jethmalani and others for retrieving Indian black money stashed in
foreign banks.

The remark by the bench came when Solicitor general Gopal Subramanium
was explaining various steps taken by the government under the Double
Taxation Avoidance Act.

The court was unhappy that the government filed an affidavit
restricting information relating to the money deposited by 26 persons
in Liechtenstein Bank in Germany.

“This is all the information you have or you have something more?,”
the bench asked.

“We are talking about the huge money. That is the plunder of nation,”
the bench remarked.

The government on Tuesday said it is at an “advanced stage” of inking
tax information exchange treaties with some countries, a move that
will help speed up its efforts to trace black money stashed in foreign
banks and help check tax evasion.

India is inking the TIEAs with countries like the United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, China,
Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, South Korea and Vietnam.

The Income Tax department detected concealed income of Rs 15,000 crore
in the last two years and has written to various “tax-haven” countries
for obtaining financial information for its various high profile
probes.

CBDT said the revised tax exchange treaty with Switzerland has been
ratified in the first stage by the Swiss government. The treaty will
now be placed before the Swiss Parliament for final approval.

SC calls black money plunder of nation, pulls up government

* Comments(9)

Recommended (6)

Rajaraman (noida)
19 Jan, 2011 03:34 PM

But my doubt is: If the list contains Sonia’s names, how could
Government submit the names which it has already done. it will delete
Sonia’s name and give to Court.Earlier I heard about the 50 number of
persons having account.Now I am hearing 27. How has been the number
reduced?

abdulkalamdasan (Chennai)
19 Jan, 2011 03:33 PM
Even if the details are obtained and before any fruitful action is
taken to retreive it, the money will vanish to some other safe place.
The CBI will at last enter the scene and a happy end to the drama will
happen. There is a limit to SC and their questioning to this amount is
a welcome one. Even the SC’s question on the appointment of CVC is
questioned by the idiot politicians. Only when the Congress is thrown
out of politics, honesty will imorove in India

NILESH (india)
19 Jan, 2011 03:23 PM

THE POLICTICIANS WILL NOT DECLARE THE BLACK MONEY ACCOUNT HOLDER’S
NAME. NATURALLY THEY CAN’T DECLARE THEM SELF, I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT
THE OPPOSITION PARY’S ARE DOING ?
Agree (2)Recommend (2)

NILESH (INDIA)
19 Jan, 2011 03:19 PM

ACTUALLY TODAY SUPREME COURT IS ONLY RUNNING THE REAL DEMOCRACY AND
LEADER OF COMMON MAN.
Agree (2)Recommend (2)

s.prakash (tumkur)
19 Jan, 2011 03:04 PM

Block money is block money,the double taxation agreements should have
taken care of there issues while sigining the same with the countries,
now the government saying that they are under process of sigining some
agreement is foolishness on the part of the government.Surprising is
that the present Hon’PM knows better than any one else in the country
about these formalities and other procedures.When a WEB SITE owner can
get the details of the same how can a NATION LIKE INDIA IS NOT GETTING
THE SWISS BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS? THERE ARE PERSONS CAPABLE OF getting
the information from any part of the world even from the moon,but how
can either BJP or Congress,CPI<CPIM or so are not getting the Swiss
details? All are cheats and frauds and experts in giving fraudulent
statement on others.
Agree (2)

Ramachandra (Hyderabad)
19 Jan, 2011 02:53 PM

Supreme court is the only saviour left. The Govt. is totally
paralysed. Improvement in governance can be expected only through the
intervention of Supreme court. A few good politicians and beurocrats
are also helpless in the present situation since the whole system of
government is rotten.
Agree (2)Recommend (2)

Anil (Jaipur)
19 Jan, 2011 02:47 PM

Unfortunately court is asking the custodian of that money to divulge
details. I have strong doubt that plunderers and hoarders of that
money would ever allow this to happen, democratically.
Agree (2)Disagree (0)Recommend (2)

sasi (erode)
19 Jan, 2011 02:30 PM

sonia gandhi and her sisters from italy will be the toppers here.may
be this will be the mother of all scams more bigger than spectrum.
That is why the issue is more complicated
Agree (2)Disagree (2)Recommend (2)

B.Kar (Mumbai)
19 Jan, 2011 02:02 PM

Supreme court has hit the nail on the head. Germany has already taken
action on the depositors in Liechen-stein. USA has taken action
against UBS and collected huge taxes and penalties. India is showing
inertia in the matter for obvious reasons. I cherish the stron
language used by the Apex Court which is exactly the feeling of the
entire country. Any investment from Mauritius,Cyprus, Malta,Channel
Islands, BVI etc show red signal to the authorities for investigation
notwithstanding DTA .
Agree (2)Recommend (2)

19 Jan, 2011, 03.36PM IST,PTI
2G scam: Mathur to appear before PAC on Jan 21

Read more on »parliament|pac|murli manohar joshi|bjp

BHOPAL: Former Telecom Secretary D S Mathur will appear before the
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on January 21 to present
his views on the 2G spectrum controversy, official sources said here
today.

The PAC headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has asked
Mathur and former member (Finance), in the Telecom Commission, Manju
Madhavan, a 1971 batch IRS officer to appear before it on the given
date, in connection with the spectrum allocation irregularities,
sources said.

Mathur, an IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre retired on December
31, 2007, just before the 2G spectrum was allocated in January 2008.

He has claimed that then Telecom Minister A Raja was bent on giving
licences although several irregularities were spotted in the process.

18 Jan, 2011, 10.02PM IST,PTI
Govt law officers misled SC on black money: Swamy to PM

Read more on »subramanium swamy|manmohan singh|liechtenstein bank|
janata party|german government

NEW DELHI: The Janata Party today claimed government law officers have
“misled” the Supreme Court on the issue of black money stashed in
banks abroad.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , party chief Subramanium
Swamy expressed surprise at the stand of the government in the apex
court that the names of Indians having illegal bank accounts cannot be
made public due to a bilateral agreement with Germany to keep the
information confidential.

“From my inquiries it appears that there is no such bilateral
agreement and therefore it appears that your law officials have misled
the Supreme Court in this matter,” Swamy said.

Praising Singh for obtaining the names of Indians having accounts in
Liechtenstein Bank from the German government , Swamy requested the
prime minister to look into the issue and ensure that the names are
made public and the guilty punished.

IANS
Cabinet urges governor not to sanction Yeddyurappa’s prosecution
2011-01-19 14:21:22

Bangalore: Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj had made up his mind to
grant sanction to prosecute Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa over land
scam charges after Jan 26, a cabinet minister revealed Wednesday.

“The governor had told Yeddyurappa on Dec 31 that he has no option but
to grant sanction for prosecution and he would do so after Republic
Day (Jan 26),” state Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar told reporters.

In view of this, the state cabinet Wednesday “unanimously” passed a
resolution urging the governor to drop his plans, Kumar said.

The governor had reportedly decided to sanction Yeddyurappa’s
prosecution based on complaint by two Bangalore advocates.

The advocates, Sirajin Bhasha and K.N. Balakrishna, submitted
documents running into 1,700 pages to Bhardwaj Dec 28 and claimed the
papers establish over 100 cases of nepotism, misconduct and corruption
by Yeddyurappa, his two sons and some cabinet colleagues.

On Tuesday, Bhardwaj had said “it is ticklish issue” and he was going
through the documents and would take a decision without delay.

Kumar said the charges against Yeddyurappa and other ministers were
being probed by Lok Ayukta (ombudsman) and the state government had
also set up a judicial commission to probe all land deals since 1995
to November 2010.

The high court was also hearing a petition on whether both Lok Ayukta
and the judicial commission could concurrently investigate the
charges, he said.

“In view of this, action of considering the request for sanction of
prosecution will not inspire confidence that the decision would be
judicious,” Kumar said.

He said the cabinet hoped the governor would “positively respond” to
the cabinet appeal to drop his plan to grant sanction.

Later, Yeddyurappa said “no, no” when asked whether the cabinet
planned to urge President Pratibha Patil to recall Bhardwaj, who has
been frequently criticising the Bharatiya Janata party’s first
government in Karnataka and south India.

“We have only urged the governor not to proceed with considering the
request for sanction for prosecution,” he said.

Yeddyurappa, however, added that BJP parliamentarians from the state
planned to meet Patil and also the party’s central leaders soon. The
BJP parliamentarians have decided to meet Patil in New Delhi soon to
urge her to remove Bhardwaj as Karnataka governor.

19 Jan, 2011, 03.43PM IST,REUTERS
Food inflation puts squeeze on RBI

Read more on »rbi|monetary policy|food inflation

MUMBAI: Last year, lentils and sugar pushed up food prices in India.
Now the surging cost of onions, tomatoes and edible oils is driving
broader inflation.

While the immediate causes are different — not enough rain in 2009,
too much in 2010 — food inflation puts the central bank in a tight
spot. It can do nothing to ease supply shortfalls but must battle the
knock-on effects, at the risk of an aggressive rate response that
slams the brakes on India’s heady growth.

The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI )), which is expected to raise
interest rates next week for the seventh time in a year after headline
inflation accelerated to 8.4 per cent in December, is getting little
help from a government that has taken only stopgap measures to address
food prices.

Record global food prices add to India’s woes, which result from
rising incomes but little investment over more than two decades in a
farm economy beset by low crop yields, a lengthy chain of middlemen,
and poor transport that means up to 30 per cent of produce spoils
before it reaches consumers.

When India’s overall inflation was stuck in double digits last summer
it was a purely domestic phenomenon. Now, global food prices are at
all-time highs and crude oil is near $100 a barrel, which limits
India’s options and means any government measures to ease price
pressures will worsen its fiscal position.

Petrol prices are up 22 per cent since New Delhi deregulated them in
June, but diesel and cooking fuels remain state controlled. The
government, under siege from the opposition over high prices and the
handling of a series of corruption scandals, has put off a decision on
whether to raise them.

“There’s a lot of repressed inflation,” said Abheek Barua, chief
economist at HDFC Bank , who said India’s usual strategy of importing
its way out of temporary food squeezes will not work amid tight global
supplies.

“Unless we have a huge productivity boost coming in some of these very
critical sectors like non-foodgrain agriculture, I think we won’t be
able to climb out of this mess for quite a while now,” he said.

BEYOND FOOD

Food isn’t the only source of inflation in India. Rising overall
demand in an economy growing at nearly 9 per cent is running up
against stretched capacity for everything from cement and steel to
cars and skilled labour.

Credit growth, meanwhile, has picked up sharply since November, with
real corporate lending rates turning positive only in recent weeks
despite nearly a year of policy rate increases, adding to demand side
pressures. The RBI’s policy lending rate of 6.25 per cent is still
well below inflation.

Surging rural incomes, resulting from government programmes that have
increased spending power in recent years as well as the benefits to
farmers and others of higher crop prices have driven up demand and
prices for foods like meat, fish, eggs and milk.

Under its National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the government
on Jan. 1 lifted minimum rural wages by 17 to 30 per cent, which will
drive consumption but add to inflationary pressures as well as the
government’s fiscal cost, Nomura noted.

There has been plenty of talk in recent years about revamping a farm
economy that is based on small holdings, remains heavily dependent on
monsoon rains and lacks adequate cold storage. Opposition from
politicians courting rural voters has meant reforms have been uneven
and slow.

Cabinet reshuffle today, eight ministers in the ‘danger zone’
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, January 18, 2011

First Published: 19:41 IST(18/1/2011)
Last Updated: 10:20 IST(19/1/2011)

125 Comments

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh receives a memento from HRD Minister
Kapil Sibal during a function…

The first ministerial reshuffle since the UPA returned to power in
mid-2009 is expected to be an attempt to refurbish the image and tone
up the performance of the government.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi
finalised the changes on Tuesday, Congress sources indicated it would
be a reasonably ‘serious’ exercise that may place many ministers in
‘danger zone’ while rewarding those seen as efficient.

Four major portfolios – finance, home, defence and external affairs –
won’t be disturbed.

Kapil Sibal, who was handed the telecom portfolio to carry out a clean-
up following DMK nominee A Raja’s involvement in the 2G spectrum
controversy, will continue to remain in charge of the ministry.

Besides, he was likely to continue to look after HRD ministry and
science and technology, where he had undertaken several initiatives.

The speculation in the Congress was, however, as many eight ministers
could be in the ‘danger zone’.

They include Kamal Nath (highways), Veerappa Moily (law) S Jaipal
Reddy (urban development), M S Gill (sports), Virbhadra Singh (steel),
Vilasrao Deshmukh (heavy industry), B K Handique (mines) and A Sai
Pratap (MoS-steel).

On the other hand, the names of CP Joshi (rural development), Kanitlal
Bhuria (tribal Affairs) and V Narayanasamy, figured among those who
might leave the government to take up AICC work. Selja Kumari, who
holds urban poverty alleviation and tourism, could be shifted to urban
development in place of S Jaipal Reddy.

Salman Khurshid, minister of state (MoS-Independent charge) for
minority affairs and corporate affairs could be getting promotion as
the new law minister – in place of Veerappa Moily. Ajay Maken,
currently MoS in home, could move to sports and youth affairs in place
of Gill.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has health ministry, may take charge of
parliamentary affairs.

Another MoS (independent) Srikant Jena may become the Cabinet
minister, ending the “injustice” of not giving him the Cabinet
position despite enjoying a similar rank in previous governments.

TR Baalu, as DMK nominee, is expected to fill the place of A Raja, as
his party is seeking the shipping ministry.

The portfolio is held by Congress nominee GK Vasan, who may get
another ministry or shift to Tamil Nadu as PCC chief ahead of the
state polls.

Another UPA ally, the Trinamool Congress, nominated Sudip
Bandhopadhayay to be MoS and was eyeing the steel ministry to fill up
the six ministerial berths promised to Mamata Banerjee in 2009.

Also, there was talk of agriculture minister Sharad Pawar might shed
consumer affairs, one of the three portfolios he has. If he does,
Praful Patel – who is heading the civil aviation ministry at present –
may get Cabinet rank.

Among the new faces from the Congress, Keshava Rao figured to give the
Telangana face in the Cabinet and handle the crisis over the demand
for a separate state.

Similarly, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, Ashwani Kumar and
Pawan Singh Ghatowar, who are from Punjab and Assam where elections
are due, were also said to be in the reckoning.

Showing 1-5 of 126 comments
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Ajaib Singh 0 minutes ago
This is time to bring Tax payers hard earned money back to the country
and not to play politics with the innocents people of India to save
their skins. Lal Bahadhur Sashtri was thousands time better than
Manmohan Singh.

Common Indian 23 minutes ago
Media should talk to Nira Radia to get the latest update of Cabinet
reshuffle. She is in charge of preparing the final list.

Julian_Asange 37 minutes ago
Hi Indian people ,
This is Julian Asange from wikileaks and here is the list of people of
Indian origin having highest amount of money in Swiss accounts :-
1. Rajiv/Sonia Gandhi and family 1 trillion $
2. Karunanidhi/Raja and family 100 billion $
3. Sharad Pawar and family 100 billion $
4. Sahara group and Subrato Roy family 100 billion $

There are many other politicians and businessmen in the list and the
total amount of money lying in swiss banks are close to 3 trillion
dollars .

2 people liked this.
*

Sadeep Ahire 54 minutes ago
I don’t know how you people comments on such news and easily become
fools. Folks this is politics..this change is their regular process ..
“Khao aur Khilao”…
they share the money with everyone..What a shame full leaders we have
got..mainly ..no one wants to do a work seriously and cleanly.

80% politicians to Bhukkad hi hai..Aare aapane bal bachcho ko and
apani biwi , ma baheneko..ye haram ka hi khana khilate ho kya tum
log..? Tumhe issan ke rup me janm nahi lena chahiyetha..a sure ke rup
me aana chahiya tha..tumhe ** khane ki aadat hai…. Bhagavan..mer sab
prathanaoka fla muje sirf in sab politiocians life kabi aachi na ho…

sibi 1 hour ago
Who is the King Maker, is it Nira Radia?

Again a cabinet reshuffle. Let us hope that it is done purely on
merit. We don’t know is there any Radia in the background…Let us hope
the new ministers will do justice to our nation. Let us hope they will
have the wisdom to select the right CVC, right Telecome Minister,
right Games co-ordinator and above all the willingness to admit
mistakes.

1 person liked this.

o
Indian by Default 1 hour ago
Four major portfolios – finance, home, defence and external affairs –
won’t be disturbed. If the reports are accurate then Indian Public
should keep their fingers crossed and hope of the best as PMO is not
among those four listed. Who knows people outcry against MMS be
listened and he will be replaced for good.

Sathya Raj 1 hour ago
Corrupted & Non-performing ministers should be rooted out.. don’t want
waste of the common man’s money to be spent unnecessarily..Its our top
layer cabinet ministers duty including Soniaji.. This is an democratic
nation.. you are the responsible.. Hope our honorable prime minters
itself an basically economist.

Nila Krishna 1 hour ago
Edvige Antonia Albina Maino Alias Sonia Gandhi. India is taken over by
a child pro cum barmaid planted in India and is stealing the nation
bone dry, killing the leading politicians with Italian mafia men and
converting the nation to terrorist religion called Christianity
bit.ly/T9vJN, manmohan sonia cia isi
bit.ly/txg1J, the Last Nail in the Coffin of the Judicial Process’
bit.ly/yTuvd, A Visit to Sonia Gandhis Home Town in Italy
scr.bi/2I7gqQ, Pope planted sonia
scr.bi/4qeoNR, Sonia’s Ottavio Quattrochchi paid for R’s assassination
scr.bi/9SAsNs, do you know your sonia by swamy
scr.bi/b8pUkT, sonia red saree
scr.bi/cdKXuH, KGB paid
scr.bi/ctxzWX, KGB paid
scr.bi/i0Uej9, do you know your sonia Gandhi
bit.ly/hYl81R, Antonia Maino alias Sonia wordpress

bit.ly/13VS1N, Ron watts and sonia operate together
bit.ly/16koCQ, Quattrochchi Paid for Rajiv Gandhi Assassination
bit.ly/184O9F, Edvige Antonia Albina Maino Alias Sonia Gandhi
bit.ly/1dK2U0, Edvige Antonia Albina Maino Alias Sonia Gandhi
bit.ly/1ydfg9, Sonia helps illegal missionaries
bit.ly/254ben, Sonia Khan Was the Bofors Thief
bit.ly/2IvJGb, Parliamentdiscussion when BCCI collapsed
bit.ly/2mdp5o, Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi in Swiss Magazine Schweitzer

Raj 1 hour ago
chor ka expansion

2 people liked this.
o

Nila Krishna 2 hours ago
MANMOHAN SINGH WAS ON THE PAYROLL OF ISI, CIA, FROM 1983. Bank of
Credit and Commerce International Accusations in India. August 14,
1991, NEWYORK TIMES. Note: India’s present prime minister Manmohan
Singh has permitted the opening of the Paki Crooks and Criminals bank
that was operated by CIA and ISI in 1983 in return for favours while
Manmohan Singh was the Reserve Bank of India governor. Manmohan’s
daughter Amrit Singh got a foreign scholarship in return. BCCI is
known to supply Paki pre-puberty girls by plane loads to Arab Sheikhs
and the politicians in the 73 nations where the bank operated. BCCI
had a protocol department for running the pros *titution network. BCCI
had a black operations department manned by ISI to further the
operation of the bank. bit.ly/gtYVN5, bit.ly/fnffK4,

2 people liked this.

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Nila Krishna 2 hours ago
BCCI HAD BRIBED INDIA’S PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI, PRESIDENT CARTER
AND SENIOR BUSH AMONG OTHER POLITICIANS. CIA USED BCCI FOR DRUG
TRAFFICKING AND TERRORIST FUNDING. MANMOHAN SINGH WAS TAKEN IN TO THE
CONGRESS PARTY AFTER THIS. CIA PUT PRESSURE ON INDIA TO INDUCT
MANMOHAN TO P.V. NARASIMHA RAO’S GOVERNMENT AS ITS FINANCE MINISTER.
bit.ly/fqVo2X, A Prattler’s Tale’ rattles the Congress, Manmohan, cia
bit.ly/eNyoib, Vedam books, Manmohan, cia

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Nila Krishna 2 hours ago
Economist Dr Ashok Mitra whowas also Chief financial Advisor to Indira
Gandhi wrote a book titled ‘A Prattler’s Tale’ Samya, 2007, ISBN :
81-85604-80-0, Dr Ashok Mitra was a well known economist and was a
former Finance Minister of West Bengal. His book says that the USA
asked P.V. Narasimha Rao to make Manmohan Singh as finance minister in
his Cabinet. Manmohan Singh was flown back from Washington in a CIA
plane, late in the night 20-6-1991 and on 21-6-1991 Singh was sworn in
as Finance Minister along with PV Narasimha Rao as PM. The media
should do the digging on Manmohan’s true background.

CIA HAD AGAIN APPLIED PRESSURE TO PUT MANMOHAN SINGH TO BE MADE THE
PRIME MINISTER WITH THE FOREGN SPY PLANT ANTONIA MAINO, ALIAS SONIA
GANDHI. FULL REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS NATIONS THAT
INVESTIGATED THE TERRORIST ACTIVITIES OF BCCI, AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF
BCCI IN 1991 WITH A LOSS OF 16 BILLION DOLLARS. NOW READ ON THE NEWS
REPORT FROM NEW YORK TIMES.
B.C.C.I. Accusations in India Published: August 14, 1991, New York
Times NEW DELHI, Aug. 13, An Indian opposition leader has accused
officials in the Governments of Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and her
son, Rajiv, of protecting the operations of the Bank of Credit and
Commerce International.
The lawmaker, George Fernandes of the Janata Dal Party, also said that
B.C.C.I. had run a money-laundering operation in collaboration with
Reliance Industries Ltd., a leading Indian industrial house, and
provided jobs for the relatives of officials in Rajiv Gandhi’s office.
Mr. Fernandes, a former Industry and Railways Minister, made his
charges in a letter to Finance Minister Manmohan Singh that was given
to Mr. Singh’s aides on Saturday.
In the letter Mr. Fernandes said that “at least nine persons” from Mr.
Gandhi’s office had relatives in B.C.C.I. and that 55 Indian
Government officials, including “senior civil servants,” had “obtained
scholarships from B.C.C.I. in foreign exchange for their children to
study abroad, and most of these officers are from the Finance Ministry
and other economic ministries.” Mr. Fernandes did not cite any names
in these cases.
Reliance has denounced any attempts to connect it to wrongdoing with
B.C.C.I., saying that such charges are “false, baseless, mala fide and
a malicious attempt at misleading the people.”

bit.ly/gtYVN5, bit.ly/fnffK4,

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SADHU-VEDANT-MUNI 2 hours ago
selection of ministers is a herculean task P.M. because in democratic
process group ism and lobby both are very essential for the existence.
poor P M is helpless and showing timidness due to those factors. if
you want to be next P.M and the survival of congress party to lead
some leading roles against corruptions, price control and soothing the
public crisis ultimately it will be a last chance for you either you
should quit the post or mid term polls will not give you an
opportunity to you and your party.

raavi18 2 hours ago
Manish Tiwari! He sure deserves a portfolio. Call him the chief
‘Lapdog’, heading the ministry of sycophancy. Please give him a piece
of bone. That would, at least, stop him from barking on the TV every
night.

3 people liked this.
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Nila Krishna 2 hours ago
BALAKRISHNAN LOOKOSE, THE CHRISTIAN CHIEF JUSTCE OF INDIA

WHY KERALA CHRISTIANS ARE A THREAT TO INDIA

Vatican stooge K G Balakrishnan Exposed by Kerala Scheduled Caste
Scheduled Tribe federation

Kochi: Kerala SC – ST federation Advocate K V Kumaran, revealed
explosive information about former Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishnan and his family. As revealed K G Balakrishnan is a Crypto
Christian planted by Vatican as part of their global evangelisation
agenda.

K G Balakrishnan’s daughter and son in law Sri Nijan was sponsored by
World Council of Church to complete higher education in law in London.
World Council of Church is a Vatican sponsored organisation with an
annual budget of 145 Billion dollar and their aim is global
evangelisation.

K G Balakrishnan’s father was one Mr Lookose who changed his name as
Gopinathan to usurp the benefits of SC-ST Hindus.He later got retired
in a high post from Kerala High court.

K G Balakrishnan was a pawn planted by Vatican to take favourable
verdict for converted Christians in a case registered in 2004 with
case number 180. Once get a favourable verdict converted Christians
can get all benefits granted by Constitution to SC-ST Hindus. By this
Vatican can intensify their conversion agenda. The forces who stand
for Ranganatha Mishra report is also sponsored by Vatican and aims to
bring constitution amendment to extend reservations to converted
Christians.

A Memorandum was submitted by Kerala SC-ST Federation in 2006 to
Indian President and copy of it were given to Prime Minister and CBI
Director with full evidences that K G Balakrishnan is a Crypto
christian who grabbed the benefits of genuine SC-ST Hindus.

Sri Nijan who is now exposed by Asianet was a Congres candidate in
Njarrakkal in a SC-ST reserved seat. Sri Nijan is a practicing
Christian who even openly went to worship in Church even on poll day
making mockery of law of land. These fake name sake Hindus should be
exposed and is doing more harm to SC- ST Hindus
.

K G Balakrishnan was made High Court judge with special recruitment by
former president K R Narayanan. K G Balakrishnan’s brother another
Crypto Christian Advocate K G Bhaskaran was earlier suspended from
practice for taking bribe when his wife was Magistrate.Later this
suspension was revoked following the interference of K G Balakrishnan.
This tainted Advocate K G Bhaskaran was made Government pleader by
Achuthanandan Government in Kerala. The complete silence of CPM over
this KGB episode owe to their links with this tainted family.

Kerala SC-ST federation Executive Member C C Gangadharan was also
present during the press meet called by advocate K V Kumaran.

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Nila Krishna 2 hours ago
BALAKRISHNAN LOOKOSE, THE CHRISTIAN CHIEF JUSTCE OF INDIA

WHY KERALA CHRISTIANS ARE A THREAT TO INDIA

Vatican stooge K G Balakrishnan Exposed by Kerala Scheduled Caste
Scheduled Tribe federation

K G Balakrishnan’s father was one Mr Lookose who changed his name as
Gopinathan to usurp the benefits of SC-ST Hindus.He later got retired
in a high post from Kerala High court.

Kerala SC-ST federation Executive Member C C Gangadharan was also
present during the press meet called by advocate K V Kumaran.

Prof Karuppan 2 hours ago
By conceiving of danger zone and a non-danger zone in allocating
ministerial portfolios, the real expectation from a government
compriing both categories of ministers, is masked. The people expect
corruption-free and efficient governance which calls for each of the
ministries and departments with the respective ministers and the
attched bureaucracy and lower administrative hierarchy, to function in
the spirit and letter to which their allegiance lies. This translates
into a culture of individual and party-related greed for bribe (be in
crude or sublte manner) despite the inducements from potential
beneficiaries. Coalescing with this culture expected, the ministers
should also exhibit great competence and the will to not compromise
principles in ‘times of challenge’. Ministers and administrators
sacrificing efficiency and expeditiousness in decision-making and
action-taking in the name of integrity, or misusing power for
favouring beneficiaries who offer huge bribes to them, in the name of
efficiency, are both despicable, and such hypocrites of officials and
ministers must not only be chucked out of responsibility but punished
legally with deterrent terms and without much ado by way of evidences
and proofs that are valid for the court. The courts should take a
pragmatic view for ministerial and administrative corruption. It is
not as if only danger zone represents such scope for expression of
greed and inducements for favouritism, even in other areas, like say
minority affairs, there could be scope for killing the spirit and
letter of the constitution — thus, for example, a minorities affairs
minister permitting, for hefty inducments in kind and cash, all manner
of illegal methods of Christian missionaries for propaganda to destroy
the cultural foundation of India as a strategy to expand their flock
size, is acting against the Constitution and nation of India.

2 people liked this.
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Strange 2 hours ago
Why is that crook Kapil Sibbal who dismissed the existance of any
scams giving away a trophy (see this article) to the “Puppet PM
Manmohan Singh ??????????

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Prof Karuppan 2 hours ago in reply to Strange
Simple reminder at the right time, of a horrendous truth. This horror
lies in the fact that Sibbal, with such observational power, or more
precisely, over-enthusiasm to save his battered image among the people
due to the most recent scams consecutively happening in quick
succession (2G spectrum, CWG games,and Adarsh, not to speak of the
ones in progress) . Such an outlandish dismissal of scams, as that of
the humongous 2G scam which is pursued, perhaps seriously and honetly,
under apex court supervision), in a manner of speaking forebodes an
unknown number of prospective ones during the rest of the
Parliamentary tenure. It is not clear, thus, for what political or
other reasons, the telecom ministry with scope for corruption as ever,
is being foisted so wisely on Mr Sibal.

2 people liked this.
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anil 2 hours ago in reply to Strange
May be there is stuff received through A Raja, 2G inside the trophy!

2 people liked this.

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sarees 2 hours ago
Great step taken by them..

Indy 3 hours ago
If this exercise is really to please a few noise makers and remove non-
performers, I wonder what should be done to the PM? He has been the
biggest non-performer for the last 6-8 yrs. Indian democracy has been
the biggest mockery with scam tainted money that should make us into a
developed nation in one stroke.

4 people liked this.
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anil 3 hours ago in reply to Indy
PM being guilty by association at the very least, still, Indian
civility does not find anything wrong with him! World’s largest
democracy is very strange indeed!

Hindu 3 hours ago
no manish Tewari who bark about Hindu terrorism in media will bark
about it sitting in cabinet.

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anil 3 hours ago in reply to Hindu
He is the running dog of the mafia clan.

1 person liked this.

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anil 3 hours ago in reply to Hindu
He is the running dog of the mafia clan.

1 person liked this.
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anil 3 hours ago
Are these 8 ministers are the ones who did not talk enough about Hindu
terrorism or did not shower enough praise to Cong-rat Goddess? Is it
confirmed, those did talk they will remain for time being?

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Jon 3 hours ago
The PM himself in dangerzone. May be that position is meant for
puppets.

4 people liked this.
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Simple Indian 3 hours ago
This Cabinet reshuffle is a greater ‘danger’ to people than to certain
politicians. This will only enable new politicians with empty pockets
to develop deep-pockets asap, and lead to more scams and corruption in
the process. No Cabinet reshuffle in the past is known to have
improved governance. It is only an exercise to please some and punish
some.

1 person liked this.
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ANIL 3 hours ago
SONIA GANDHI IS VERY CORRUPT. SHE HAS GOT RS. 10,000 CRORES HIDDEN
AWAY IN A SWISS BANK ACCOUNT. LOCK HER UP IN TIHAR JAIL.

2 people liked this.

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Guru592006 3 hours ago
While the non performing Ministers will be removed by the PM- who will
remove the non performing PM- we the people?

3 people liked this.
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BJPSupporter 4 hours ago
really i mean i dont believe in this democracy.
see only about 55% of registered and eligible voters vote every
national election……..How can u claim that this is right?.
If u want to be successful then make compulsary voting or abolish
democracy.

BJPSupporter 4 hours ago
really only 50-60% eligible voter vote every election ………..what does
it indicate?

It clearly indicates that Democracy is hated by 40-50% Indians and
they really dont care who comes to power because they have given up
hope.

Gangadhar 4 hours ago
Guys, all comments though serious of nature seem to be comedy. How to
bring down this government? One thing is certain all of you please go
and vote in next election and make others to vote. Educate people
around you who are ignorant and make them vote.

3 people liked this.
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BJPSupporter 4 hours ago
really i like Baba ramdev but what he is doing will bring congress
back to power in next elections. he will only manage to divide Hindu
votes which will result in congress victory.

if he was really desh prem then Baba ramdev should join with Narendra
Modi in BJP or start new party.

2 people liked this.

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Dorothy 3 hours ago in reply to BJPSupporter
Exactly. A year back there was news that Congress was getting Ramdev
ready to divide the Hindu votes, just as they got Raj Thackeray to
split the Sena vote and capture power there!

1 person liked this.
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BJPSupporter 4 hours ago
all boot lickers remain

rest of them go.

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Simple Indian 4 hours ago
It would have been interesting to see Rahul Gandhi take responsibility
for some Ministry so people would know how good an administrator he
is. Though he will have the huge advantage of a ‘bankable surname’, it
is time for him to leave his mother’s pallu and prove his worth, if he
aspires for the top-job after MMS is eased out at an ‘appropriate’
time by Sonia Gandhi.

3 people liked this.
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Shiva 4 hours ago in reply to Simple Indian
You are arsshole simple Indian Rahul and Manmohan are running the
country so effectively still you have doubts . You must be a retard.

4 people liked this.
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Indy 3 hours ago in reply to Shiva
Shiva, you are a big joke. Anyways your name sounds like Raja, and you
seem to hail from that corrupt lootland. Are you mentally retarded to
think the country is prosperring like china! Just visit any village in
the country, the same story repeats itself. Poverty, unemployement,
illetracy and no infra, while your cousin, and all the cronies in the
govt aree stashing away trillions in swiss banks. Even if we get half
of the 70 lakh crores home, povery will be eradicated, everyvillage
will have medical facilities, drinking water and elecctricity. So who
is responsible for this sad state of affairs? The Gandhi, nehru family
and cronies like u, MMS, raja. chavan, shinde, didi etc. I would like
a 10 earthquake in delhi’s corridors of power.

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Dorothy 3 hours ago in reply to Shiva
Double digit inflation and 2.7% Industrial growth! Running the country
effectively. You seem to be as much of a donkey as Manmohan Singh is!

3 people liked this.
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BJPSupporter 4 hours ago in reply to Shiva
Shiva means the “Auspicoius” who remove ignorance. i pray to Shiva
that he remove ignorance in you.

Bagoftreasures 4 hours ago in reply to Shiva
and you Shiva?
So effectively?look up the meaning of that word in the dictionary

Sailoronsea 4 hours ago
All the faithfuls who have vociferously helped in covering up the
scams will be rewarded. Manish T and Abishek S stands fair chance.The
total scam value (TSV)of the cabinet may come down slightly. But the
vested interest factor(VE) will be high since many of these worthies
have the Telecom Companies as their clients. The Queen Bee, as usual,
will do no work, it up to the servant Bees to collect the honeys to be
stashed away at Swiss Banks.

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Nsrajan7935 5 hours ago
Of all the changes,the one most useful is of Manish Tiwari getting an
‘elevation’ as we will henceforth be spared his sermonizing,sneering
and holier than thou look on the news channels. The rest is just
tweedledee for tweedledum.Particularly T.R.Baalu.

5 people liked this.

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Nsrajan7935 5 hours ago
Of all the changes,the one most useful is of Manish Tiwari getting an
‘elevation’ as we will henceforth be spared his sermonizing,sneering
and holier than thou look on the news channels. The rest is just
tweedledee for tweedledum.Particularly T.R.Baalu.

5 people liked this.
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Raj Vir Singh 5 hours ago
What about Avtar Singh Bhadana from Faridabad Contituency. Rumour was
that he will get MOS (Rural Development)?

2 people liked this.
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Lulu Sharma 5 hours ago
Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi can do their ‘cabinet shuffle and
reshuffle dance’ but they will fail to fool Indians, who are
absolutely fed-up with the corrupt genetic make-up of the Congress
Party and its political cronies.

4 people liked this.
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Rajangeorge 5 hours ago
All politiicans above the age of 60yrs should be asked to resign or
removed. why can’t supreme court or EC put a age bar of 60 yrs like
for all professions. the older the politician, they are more corroupt.

4 people liked this.
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Suri Sudhir 5 hours ago
Respected PM .
You were hope of many Indians. The loss of faith in you due to
inflation and scam has been earth shattering I am writing in public
interest..
Hope I am proved wrong in future.I am really not sure what will change
of ministers achieve.Happy and contented populace should be first aim
of the rulers.

6 people liked this.

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Niranjan Desai 5 hours ago
One fraud in, other fraud out. Super frauds will always remain.

4 people liked this.
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Darshan S 5 hours ago
Price rise, corruption, CWG mess, inflation etc These are all not the
real issues…….(1)

If the person sitting on the top of these departments were honest then
no situation like this will appear, The honesty inside a person
sitting on the authorized seat of administration is the real point…..
(2)

3 people liked this.
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nishitdesai 5 hours ago
Price rise, corruption, CWG mess, inflation etc. All of these problems
are yet to be solved and the government has ample of time to make
Cabinet reshuffle. Perhaps people who have been left out of the
earlier loot of money will be given a chance to make money this time
so as to fill their personal coffers and the party’s also because of
the upcoming elections in 4 States. Poor Manmohan Singh. He could not
resent even this deciison also. It is rightly said that a person who
is a master in his or her profession should not deviate from his/her
professional field lest he or she might be a major failure. The
economist PM is a failure as far as politics is concerned.

9 people liked this.
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Rdsr_203 5 hours ago in reply to nishitdesai
PM is like Gandhiji’s two monkeys: Hear no evel, see no evil but do no
good

3 people liked this.
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Ivan 6 hours ago
Shared pawar should be moved to the dog house in parliament

karmicsoliloquy.blogspot.com/

5 people liked this.

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One 6 hours ago
Non Performers will be promoted and given lucrative roles. If they
find any honest, or who has not looted, they will be sacked

5 people liked this.
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Yadav Soham 6 hours ago
Oh Man, Manmohan is going to axe himself!!!
Bravo!!!!!!!!!

2 people liked this.
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Rg 5 hours ago in reply to Yadav Soham
Man Mohan Singh i like the Gandhi’s two monkeys:
See no evil, hear no evil but do no good.
How can he axe himself!!

1 person liked this.
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Irnbru16 7 hours ago
Non performers will be sacked….
How can they sack whole UPA govt?…except Mr Jaipal Reddy, only
“working” minister in UPA govt…

4 people liked this.
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Aam Aadmi 7 hours ago
Non-performers in Congress ideology is the people doing less
corruption or who have been caught while doing corruption or who are
still unable to open Swiss bank accounts.

Congresses or allies who haven’t been caught doing corruption are who
are capable of doing corruption on a larger scale are considered as
important people for the party and will be rewarded.

By chief of All India Corrupt Commitee (AICC)

4 people liked this.

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Poor-Indian 7 hours ago
Actually UPA is saying to media “Non Performer will be Axed”.

But Internally they are saying, “Non Corrupted will be Axed”..

Because of high inflation and high gold prices in 2010, what so ever
they have looted is not a good figure to be deposited in swiss bank.

8 people liked this.
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Altaf Hussein 7 hours ago
Cabinet re-shuffle for new comers to do new scams and loot this
nation. Sonia Pseudo Gandhi should be thrown out of country with her
fraud son Raul Vincci who uses Italian passport.

4 people liked this.
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S. Prakash 7 hours ago
Great news. Finally MMS has decided to sack himself with Chiddu,
Pawar, Moily and Sibal.

6 people liked this.
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Madhavamurthyb 9 hours ago
There should be a minister in charge of R&D(corruption) to find new
way and means of looting the people and a criminal rehabilitation
(ministerial births) committee has to be formed to appease the
coalition partners.

9 people liked this.
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Gangadhar 4 hours ago in reply to Madhavamurthyb
well said!!!

1 person liked this.

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Aam Aadmi 9 hours ago
Non-performers in Congress ideology is the people doing less
corruption or who have been caught while doing corruption or who are
still unable to open Swiss bank accounts.

Congresses or allies who haven’t been caught doing corruption are who
are capable of doing corruption on a larger scale are considered as
important people for the party and will be rewarded.

By chief of All India Corrupt Commitee (AICC)

5 people liked this.
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JANAKI-ARVINDAN 5 hours ago in reply to Aam Aadmi
fantastic comment

1 person liked this.
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guest2 9 hours ago
they can recycled every 6months, but ministers don’t show committment
to the people!
Its sad we don’t have mid-term polls to bring accountabilty in the
govt.

2 people liked this.
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Ozymandias 9 hours ago
*****INDIA NEEDS NEW ACT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT (POLICING) BILL PASSED
THROUGH PARLIAMENT*******

Indian police are the same (if not worse) as when the British left,
just like their .303 Enfield rifles. India needs a modern, up to date
police force, particularly in the cities (where most of the big crimes
are). Nobody should be allowed to interfere with police (politicians)
and they should do their work and protect ordinary citizens. See
around the world, how they do policing, riot control, forensics etc,
and bring those best practices back to India.

1 person liked this.
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Dorothy 9 hours ago
With a donkey like Manmohan Singh at the top, will ther be any change
at all? Unless the donkey who leads the team is replaced and the the
female dacoit who controls him is gone, there’s not going to be any
change at all!
Why write so much about this non event?

7 people liked this.

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Ramesh Sharma 9 hours ago
Law for Khurshid and Parliamentary Affairs for Nabi Azad. Congress has
given a clean chit to Khurshid to amend the law to suit the Imams to
promote Islamisation of India. Nabi can change the way the parliament
and country runs. It is like selling the nation tyo the muslims.

5 people liked this.
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Dorothy 9 hours ago
If non performers are to be axed, the entire Congress party needs to
quit Parliament and politics too!

4 people liked this.
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Ravi 9 hours ago
Non Performers to be axed- meaning we are getting a new Prime
Minister????

4 people liked this.
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Ramesh Sharma 9 hours ago
Sonia, MMS, it is too late to reshuffle and make any other attempts to
survive in the goverance any more. The day for CONgress has come to
depart. Getting new ones to join and become another bunch of non
performers? Just admit, that it is a ploy to give the rest of them a
chance to loot the nation. Whereas the Aam Admi is just suffering and
not getting any hope.

5 people liked this.
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EMKAY, USA 9 hours ago
Non performers to be axed – as per Manmohan Singhji. I doubt, are
there any performers at present?

3 people liked this.

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Italian Goddess 10 hours ago
Mr Quatrochi will finalise the list in next few minutes and will hand
over the list to ah_mad patel to be finally given to PM ( my personal
manager)
for final announcement.

5 people liked this.
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Jegadeesan .a 11 hours ago
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh doesnt instil any more confidence in the
minds of people.He may be a great economist but the test of pudding is
in the eating of it.
In his six years stint we have been hearing only the statistical
progression of the economic affairs but without reflecting any ground
realities as far as common man is concerned.While the business
community and bureaucrats heve their slices to utmost satisfaction the
common man is at the receiving end of inflationary pressures
without any relief hitherto or can expect in the foreseeable future.
A.Jegadeesan
Madurai

3 people liked this.
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S. Prakash 7 hours ago in reply to Jegadeesan .a
Aare ear, MMS ko mar mar ke great economist ban a Diyarbakir.

1 person liked this.
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Mahadev 11 hours ago
The following news is missing in HT: “all communities” are prospering
in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat and there was “no discrimination against
the minorities in the state as far as development was concerned.” said
the new chief of deoband Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi. We can
understand that HT doesn’t want to hurt the feelings of Antonia, Rahul
Khan, Digvijay Singh etc, but, a news must be published, even, if hurt
some people.

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Rvlkrish 10 hours ago in reply to Mahadev
India is the only country where maximum number of its media houses are
against their own country. If the media had projected the facts no
Kasabs would have attacked this nation. Even Pakistan is inimical to
India because of the media only. Especially the English press & the tv
channels along with secular politicians continue to propagate that the
majority community is crushing the minorities in India. Naturally the
members of the community living in all parts of the globe are agitated
and proceed against this nation. Our media would not highlight what we
did to Bangladesh , Palastine , Afghanistan ..etc.,. they want money
and luxurious lives for them.

7 people liked this.

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Gangadhar 4 hours ago in reply to Rvlkrish
Well said!!! Only change that was required was not secular politicians
but pseudo secular politicians. English Media is run by money of
missionaries, then how will they support Indian cause.

2 people liked this.
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Bay Area 11 hours ago
Replace all old timers. After all new faces should also get a chance
to loot the country. After all India a democracy.

6 people liked this.
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Mahadev 11 hours ago in reply to Bay Area
Yopung faces did loot the country. Remember Rajiv Gandhi and his
Bofors ?

4 people liked this.
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Bay Area 12 hours ago
Poor “non-performers.” They should have contributed more to the family
coffers. Some “ministers” never learn. A word of advise for newcomers,
play along or you will be gone soon. Pay attention to 2G, CWG, learn
how to “clean out” without leaving much traces. Be a pet not a leader
and you will do fine.

5 people liked this.
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PSC 11 hours ago in reply to Bay Area
3G and 4G are coming; Good timing to distribute the “WEALTH”

6 people liked this.

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Gaurav1947 13 hours ago
My kids are always a very good performers at their school….I am
thinking to send them to sonio to give them a new role….I am sure they
willbe good at that …..at least they do not know how to cheat people
at this age!!

6 people liked this.
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Guju 13 hours ago
WHAT DOES NON – PERFORMERS STAND FOR ? DOES IT APPLY TO ROYALS OR ”
KHANDAANI FAMILY “FROM ITALY ?
AS WE HAVE CONGRESS GOVERMENT IN BIHAR BECAUSE OF RASHOOL VINCI
PERFORMANCE, SOON U.P WILL BE CAPTURED WITH THE HARD WORK OF CONGRESS
YURAJ.
IT LOOKS LIKE 2013 IS YEAR FOR CORONATION OF THE KING IN INDIA AND
SHOULD BE DECLARED A PUBLIC HOLIDAY LIKE U.K HAS HAS DONE FOR ITS
PRINCE WEDDING.
ON THE DAY OF CROWING, PRESIDENT SHOULD PARDON ALL THOSE INVOLVED IN
BOFORS – BHOPAL – CWG – ARDARSH – 2G SPECTRUM OR RAJA RANI – AND OTHER
SCAMS AND INDUCT INNOCENT IN THE CABINET AND START FROM FRESH –
LOOTING WITH NEW CHAPTER.
YES, SOOOOOOOONIA WITH AHMED PATEL AS ADVICER CAN DO IT.

Rajpal Harvinder and 3 more liked this
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Iqbal 14 hours ago
Non-performers (Read – not involved in 2G, CWG etc) will be dumped. Of
course they will be and must be because they have not followed 10
Janpathdiktat – Must follow 2G (SoniaG and RahulG) otherwise outG. The
code about 2G is that all collection was for the 2 ji’s (Soniaji and
Rahulji)

15 people liked this.
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Aks 14 hours ago
How about adding some CBI and NIA officials in the cabinet as they
work as a team with congress!!

8 people liked this.
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Manohar1946 13 hours ago in reply to Aks
The biggest non-performer is Mauni Baba Dr. Manmohan Singh himself. He
is Kalyugi Dhritrashtra responsible for all the ills in India. He must
quit.

12 people liked this.

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Aks 13 hours ago in reply to Manohar1946
He is mauni baba but dont forget that sonio is watching each and every
activity of his as she has appointed this mauni baba so that she can
do all the ills behind his name…

Rajpal Harvinder liked this
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Guest 14 hours ago
Bring the truth out on 2G and CWG scam and there will be nobody left
in Cong I.

4 people liked this.
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india 14 hours ago
next shuffling will be …..rahul baba will be sitting on PM chair….
non deserving candidate….rahul has unsuccess educational background…

11 people liked this.
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Rohit Sharma 14 hours ago
Manmohan singh himself should be booted out first. thumbs down to him

12 people liked this.
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Common Indian 15 hours ago
I thought our MMS will be the first on line if somebody is looking for
non-performers.

16 people liked this.

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Indian 15 hours ago
Non-performers? – You mean whole cabinet is going to be axed?

10 people liked this.
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Raz 17 hours ago
Re: Re: remove all ministers more than 75 years old.

corrupt and evil needs a cover to do their illicit activity.

Did you hear how sibal assured the corrupt -

“all this 2g allegations are speculation”

such a honest man Sibal, he says there is no 2g corruption, more
honest than MMS.

congress sewa dal is fed on kickback money routed back to india quite
like the paid indian media and videshi media, syndicate killing of
inner opposition, etc.

join congress sewa dal and live on kickback money. dont worry, when
the money and tips come to your hand it would be legal.
or work for RSS nikars for free lunch at nearest VHP bania shop.

in either case, you work for bjp-congress nexxus.

Anthony almost said, “kickback on defense/etc are ongoing” and added
” but we will indigenise someday”

even Nehru said that about indigenous, but the angrez made them build
a structure that needed to be fed kickbacks …

they angrez/euro/etc are even feeding china into such kickback enabled
structure even when chinese have a legal framework/structure.

Angrez also built pak who was fed money and weapons in case india
broke the kickback structure and took it’s own course…

not saying just angrez alone, now multiple blocks all the way from
isreal, france …sweden russia are doing the same.

some act as friends/allies, some as enemies. it is just a perception,
but the policy is the same.

the angrez also organized a leftist meeting where Karat was invited to
get him into the kickback network. I am sure angrez have lot of
organized intel. network.

thus, multiple party (who coordinate to not split votes) is just a
path, not the end goal.

ultimately, we will resort to direct election of PM and CM by people.

direct impeachment powers to people.

4 people liked this.
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dart 18 hours ago
Get rid of old Chor and get some new ones in!

4 people liked this.
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Deep 18 hours ago
Great but will he able to reshuffle his masters Madam Sonia and Master
Rahul??

6 people liked this.
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Mmr 15 hours ago in reply to Deep
Hey guys this is an equal opportunity looter Govt that gives each and
every member of UPA an opportunity to loot the nation according to
their god given potential with out any discrimination based on race,
religion, color or gender. This is what we call secular democracy in
India. Otherwise other members of the UPA might complain, withdraw
support or even file petition in the supreme court asking why only
Raja, Sonia, Rasool and even Quetterachi and the likes should make all
the money. Every Congress MP has earned an inallienable right to loot,
boot and trash the poor hapless citizens

3 people liked this.

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coolfunnytshirts.net 18 hours ago
He will reshuffle for sure. But, unfortunately he will reshuffle the
old cards…

3 people liked this.
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Aks 18 hours ago
Congress can add afzal and kasab in the cabinet as they are doing
nothing and eating Indian meals!

5 people liked this.
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V.K.CHAWLA 17 hours ago in reply to Aks
Very good idea. They are pure secular & can adjust in the Congress
secular space very well . Nitty gritty of corrupt pratices of great
party Congress can be learned by them , after proper training by the
panel of experts like of Diggi Raja , Kalmadi , Pawar , Chavan & the
list of such experts is endless in UPA II

6 people liked this.
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Aks 14 hours ago in reply to V.K.CHAWLA
How about adding some CBI and NIA officials in the cabinet as they
work as a team with congress!!

2 people liked this.
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Aam admi 18 hours ago
This reshuffle has no meaning for Aaam Admi. All a bunch of jokers.
Like pack of cards, the same cards are reshuffled and few jokers can
be put any way you like. It is all approved by “high command” and has
nothing for “aam admi’. Then why waste your head line space for these
bunch of jokers?.

5 people liked this.

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Raz 18 hours ago
such as honest man Sibal, he says there is no 2g corruption, more
honest than MMS.

congress sewa dal is fed on kickback money routed back to india quite
like the paid indian media and videshi media, syndicate killing of
inner opposition, etc.

join congress sewa dal and live on kickback money. dont worry, when
the money and tips come to your hand it would be legal.
or work for RSS nikars for free lunch at nearest VHP bania shop.

in either case, you work for bjp-congress nexxus.

2 people liked this.
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Raz 18 hours ago in reply to Raz
Anthony almost said, “kickback on defense/etc are ongoing” and added
” but we will indigenise someday”

even Nehru said that …

Ved 18 hours ago
Their is need to CHANGE the Govt. rather than the few ministers.

2 people liked this.
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Ashish 19 hours ago
Is there a reshuffle in his MASTERS ???
Will he listen his inner voice now ????
will he take his own decision now ????
the answer is a big NO … so make no difference
Country will be looted by new ministers and we only can watch it
HELPLESSLY

8 people liked this.
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38dollar 19 hours ago
This comment was ged for review.

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SADHU-VEDANT-MUNI 19 hours ago
P.M. is a man of dependency. still he has no power to choose his
cabinate ministers. his remote is in her hands. it is a golden
oppoturnity to P.M to select good team bearing good
characters.corrupts will lead to him in down fall. P.M. show your
power aand strength..

1 person liked this.
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Raz 19 hours ago in reply to SADHU-VEDANT-MUNI
PM the mute watchman to home being robbed is culpable to crime as
well.

3 people liked this.
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Hindu 19 hours ago
look at the PM face, shameless person thousand of people have died in
rural areas..no shame still smiling.

7 people liked this.
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Raz 19 hours ago in reply to Hindu
congress sewa dal is fed on kickback money routed back to india quite
like the paid indian media and videshi media

1 person liked this.
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Raz 19 hours ago
AUTOCRACY AND ANARCY in india under pretext of democracy.

this is coalition of name sake, when only the AUTOCRAT commands while
the rest of corrupt slaves listen.

1 person liked this.

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Raz 19 hours ago in reply to Raz
congress sewa dal is fed on kickback money routed back to india quite
like the paid indian media and videshi media

2 people liked this.
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Deep 20 hours ago
Media is real enemy of this nation and indian antinationalist jurnos
shud get killed on the roads like in pakistan for their anidemcratic
and pro terrorism journalism

7 people liked this.
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Pradeep 20 hours ago in reply to Deep
Burkha dutt, sagarika ghosh, rajdeep sardesai top the list

7 people liked this.
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Norbert Almeida 20 hours ago
Its useless only the sycophants in the media will be impressed by this
reshuffle.

4 people liked this.
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Roko 20 hours ago
Already Bdutt types are lobbying.

5 people liked this.

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Hindu 20 hours ago in reply to Roko
maino will make the final call

3 people liked this.
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DKSAHOO1947 19 hours ago in reply to Hindu
Who is Maino? She has become Gandhi long back !

4 people liked this.
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Ashish 19 hours ago in reply to DKSAHOO1947
What the difference name can make either Gandhi or Maino she is the
same personality who is looting OUR country with both hands

6 people liked this.
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pishabh 20 hours ago
But what will happening to Rahul? Does he even know? I feel so sorry
for him

4 people liked this.
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Deep 20 hours ago in reply to pishabh
i wont feel sorry for rahul even if he is dead

8 people liked this.

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DUDE 20 hours ago
Sack all the dead woods and the moribund shakers and appoint me as the
CEO, I will make the country rise and shine and make a better job than
these inept cabal.

Hindu 20 hours ago
throw all cabinet minister in gutter led by the PM

4 people liked this.

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